So this is what the other side of the hill looks like!

I'm back! I'm sure you missed me... right? Someone? Anyway, let's get caught up shall we:

• I turned 30 on Tuesday. I can honestly say that it was no biggie at all. I felt much more like an "old man" on my 20th birthday than I did this time. So I'm 30, life goes on.
• My break is over and I am back in school for 5 weeks as I take Software Engineering this summer. It shouldn't be that bad as long as the other two guys in my group carry their weight on our project. Then I'll have almost 2 months off to recharge (and work on my correspondence course) before fall semester starts and I get my lunch handed to me.
• Most of my break was spent writhing in pain as I managed to come down with some random virus that made me feel like crap and randomly attacked my joints in a very painful manner. And that is coming from someone with a history of joint "issues".
• At least I have this to show for the break. Going forward pretty much any sports related writing/posting that I do will go there. So if you're interested, check it out, and if you aren't then don't (be that way!)

I'm sure there are other things I should be including here, but I can't think of them at the moment. I hope to be posting more regularly now that I'm back on a consistent schedule, but we'll just have to see how that goes.

Spring grades are in...

• Computer Ethics - A
• Discrete Math 2 - A
• Fundamentals of Technology - C
• Historical Geology - B

All in all I can't complain. I dug myself such a huge hole on the first quiz in Fundamentals that a C was pretty much the best case scenario. The B in Geology was a nice twist since I just wanted to get through that class alive and with a C.

So on that note... let's kick it!

Spring semester is finally over!

Well, I'm out of school for almost a month. This semester seemed like it was never going to end and I am all too happy to put it behind me.

A more comprehensive post is forthcoming...

Hi, remember me?

So I'm at work right now. Ainsley is here with me because it's take your kid to work day and I'm a nice Dad so put two and two together...

What child labor laws?

I don't get paid enough for this.

Kaylee was supposed to come but bailed at the last minute. Ainsley, to her credit, was quick to jump on a way to get out of going to school for a day. That's my girl!

I'll post to explain my prolonged absence from here soon.

Well my laziness paid off!

For the past couple of weeks I have been all set to write a rant about how lame 24 has been this season. Well I would be eating crow big time right now if I had because season 6 just saved itself... Jack is off to fight China!

Although my prediction of Audrey dying is now back in the pending file, this is an excellent development that has completely revived the show for me. Hopefully the last 7 episodes will concentrate on Jack taking out two years of frustration on helpless Chinese people and not worry about whatever Wayne Palmer's problem of the hour is. Happy days are here again!

Wednesday is going to be a long day.

Here's the breakdown:

• Liverpool plays the home leg of their Champions League quarterfinal with PSV Eindhoven. Not a huge deal since they're up big thanks to their 3-0 away win, but it's still the Champions League none the less.
• The Penguins open their playoff series against Ottawa (my least favorite team for the next two weeks). First playoff game for the Pens since 2001 when The Moose made believers of us all.
• I register for Fall semester.
• I have a Geology lab quiz. I kinda sorta care.

My head may explode at some point during the day.

And exhale...

I just got out of my latest "quiz" for Fundamentals of Technology. All in all I think it went well. I'm hoping for another B. Then I just have to nail the final and keep on keepin' on in the lab. My life would be so much easier if I hadn't bombed that first quiz. Oh well, life goes on.

All stations, report in!

Okay, so the fallout from my pre/post Spring Break barrage of major assignments has settled. Here's the breakdown:

Geology:
-Test: 84/100 (just need to pass this class, no need to show off)

Computer Ethics:
- Mid-Term: 89/100
- Presentation: 100/100

Fundamentals of Technology:
- "Quiz": 81/100 (that's solid for that class. 3rd highest grade in the class.)
- Lab Mid-Term: 85/100 (this lab is a mess!)

Discrete Math 2:
- Mid-Term: 87/100 (he's letting us hand in corrections, so it will be a 92.)

All in all things turned out well. Fundamentals class is the only one I really need to worry about since I bombed the first quiz so bad. Everything else is under control.

A nice stroll through Holland

The Champions League quarter-finals got under way yesterday and the Reds came out flying. Hot off their trouncing of Arsenal, Liverpool took it to PSV Eindhoven from the get go and took an early lead thanks to a Steven Gerrard header from inside the box.

It's Superman!

John-Arne Riise would add a goal off a poor clearing attempt by the PSV defense. And then it was time for Crouchy to strike! A brilliant header from Peter Crouch (compliments of a gorgeous Steve Finnan cross) put the Reds up by three.

Celebrate good times come on!

Liverpool now has one foot in the semis as PSV would have to beat them by four goals when the teams meet again at Anfield to advance. That just isn't going to happen.

Don't even think it.

Bring on the winner of Chelsea/Valencia!!!

Postpone those tee times!

Well it took me almost as long to post on the Pens making the playofss as it took them to do it, but after 6 long, painful years the Penguins are officially back in the chase for Lord Stanley's Cup!

They did it in the most fitting fashion too... a come from behind win over the Caps.

Don't forget your sand wedge Olie!

So the Pens are currently a point up in the division over the Devils thanks to their OT loss in Toronto tonight, but the Devils have a game in hand and an easier schedule down the stretch. I still think the boys can get it done though. Even if they don't, if you had told me in September that the Pens would have the inside track to the 2 seed in the East with a week to go in the season, I would have gladly taken it.

Things to note:

• The Pens have the best record in hockey since the All-Star break.
• The Pens have the best home record in the East.
• The Pens are arguably the toughest team in the league to play against right now.

Welcome back Croucher!

Liverpool had a huge tilt with Arsenal this afternoon (or morning for us Yanks), with 3rd place in the Premiership on the line. 3rd is more critical than ever with the new UEFA Pres. trying to change Champions League qualifying from the top 4 to the top 3. But I digress...

Peter Crouch, back in the lineup after surgery to repair his broken nose, scored just 4 minutes in thanks to some nice work in the corner between Pennant and Arbeola. Crouchy added another before the half ended. Daniel Agger put in a nice header in the second half before Arsenal finally got one by Pepe Reina. And then it happened...

Suck it Gunners!

Now the team is off to Eindhoven for their Champions League tie on Tuesday. But not before Rafa met with Hicks and Gillett this evening to tell them how he is going to spend their money this summer.

Odds and ends...

So I am smack in the middle of mid-terms this week (3 down, 1 to go) which is why I still haven't gotten back to posting much. I had a pretty solid day though so I figured I'd give it a go.

• I spent pretty much my entire work day today watching my boss go over my last 3 (or so) months of work with a fine toothed comb (and sharp, red pen) only to have her come to the conclusion that it more or less rocked the house. At which point she informed me that I am never allowed to leave her. So yeah, I'll get right to work on my new book "How to Survive Working Only 22 Hours A Week" as soon as this semester ends.
• So far mid-terms have been pretty solid. Saturday is the one I really need to nail though. Keep the faith!
• My new Gerrard jersey arrived in the mail today... good times!
• I was again unable to get school to waive my second PE unit, so it appears that I will be taking Beginning Golf in the Fall. FORE!
• Finally, if this doesn't bring a smile to your face nothing will. YNWA!!!
  

24: How stupid do they think we are?

So the batteries on my Official Jack Bauer Suspension of Disbelief Emitter ran out this week and here's what I came up with:

• If it's 6:30pm in L.A. it is 7:30am in Omsk, Russia... I somehow doubt that the Russian President's wife would be giving a speech at 7:30 in the morning. Call me crazy.
• There is no way Wayne Palmer would have Powers Boothe as his VP! Especially after David Palmer had the power hungry VP in season 2. Nevermind that Powers Boothe only plays bad guys. Didn't Wayne see Sudden Death? Didn't that play into his decision?
• After doing some rough math I've determined the most conservative estimate still puts Jack in his late 40's. Realistically he's probably at least 50. Not to mention the fact that he has a little wear and tear on those old bones. Is this really the guy we want the fate of our country depending on? Can they reanimate Curtis or something?

The truly sad part is... these are the kinds of thoughts that go through my head. A little sad, yes?

Victory at last!

Just another manic Monday!

So Chris, how was your day?

Well:

• Some dopey lady rear-ended me on my way to work. I guess her lame conversation with her three dopey lady passengers was more important than not running me over. Damage is minimal and she seems to be being pretty cool about the whole thing.
• I got a 69 on my Geology quiz. That's actually not a bad thing. You'll have to trust me on that one...
• Mario sent out a letter effectively telling local PA officials that they had better put together a real proposal like yesterday, or they can start saving up for their new Kansas City Penguins jerseys.
  
• Draft status on Fantasy Baseball was set to Ready!!! Fantasy Baseball, this time it's Roto!

So yeah, happy Monday to all. On the positive side of things, I'm telecommuting tomorrow. Yay...

200 reasons why Wayne can suck it!

It has begun... The Kid has started his assault on Wayne's records. And it's gonna get worse for The Gambler before it gets better.

The picture above pretty much says it all. The guy in charge of the big NHL record book had better get used to erasing Gretzky and writing in Crosby. Maybe it has a search and replace feature or something. In any event, any day that makes Wayne a little less special is a good day.

"Man do I suck..."

Meet your new Pens!

There's nothing like trade deadline day in the NHL to get the blood flowing. The Penguins were arguably the most active team and for once weren't just dumping salaries. Here's the breakdown...

We got:

• Gary Roberts - LW
• EDIT: Gary Roberts is going to be wearing number 10... JERK!!
  
• "Big" Georges Laraque!!! - LW/Muscle
  
• Nolan Schaefer - G
• Joel Kwiatkowski - D
• Minnesota's 2007 3rd round pick

We gave up:

• Dominic Moore - C
• Danny Carcillo - W/undersized goon
• Noah Welch - D
• 2007 4th round pick
• 2007 7th round pick
• 2008 3rd round pick

My commentary:

• I'm not a big Gary Roberts guy, but if he can produce in the playoffs (assuming we make it) then I will be okay with him. He allegedly agreed to re-sign for next season too. I do think it was too early to give up on Welch, but we shall see.
• Losing Dom Moore hurts a little, but the other acquisitions gave us too many forwards plain and simple. Something had to give.
• I think Schaefer could end up being a huge get. I expect him to take over the backup role from Thibault next season and run with it. Just give us 15-20 quality starts.
• Freaking Georges Laraque!!! This makes it all worth it! I personally was not a part of the evergrowing group of people that felt the Pens needed an enforcer. But if you can bring in arguably the toughest guy in the NHL and he can actually play... I'm all for it.
• I was hoping for a top 4 defenseman and got nothing. I think that will come back to haunt us in the postseason. But if you told me in September that that would be my biggest complaint this season I would have taken that gladly.

Here's a little BGL in action:

Who has the coolest birthday?

So I was checking out all of our birthdays on Wikipedia just to see what kind of cool things went on on those dates. Some pretty cool stuff. I'll let you see for yourself and then you can decide who has the "coolest" birthday. I'd highly encourage you to look this stuff all up on Wiki if you have the time. Be careful though, you can get sucked into that thing pretty fast.

Ainsley – January 18:
Events
* 336 - Marcus elected Catholic Pope.
* 1778 - James Cook is the first known European to discover the Hawaiian Islands, which he names the "Sandwich Islands."
* 1788 - The first elements of the First Fleet carrying 736 convicts from England to Australia arrives at Botany Bay.
* 1827 - Joseph Smith, Jr. marries Emma Hale.
* 1886 - Modern field hockey is born with the formation of The Hockey Association in England. * 1896 - The X-ray machine is exhibited for the first time. [Sadly, lead underwear was still months away from production.]
* 1903 - Theodore Roosevelt, the President of the United States, sends a message of greetings from a Marconi station built near Wellfleet, Massachusetts to King Edward VII of the United Kingdom, marking the first transatlantic radio transmission originating in the United States.
* 1911 - Eugene B. Ely lands on the deck of the USS Pennsylvania stationed in San Francisco harbor, marking the first time an aircraft landed on a ship.
* 1919 - World War I: The Paris Peace Conference opens in Versailles, France. Ignacy Jan Paderewski becomes Prime Minister of the newly independent Poland.
* 1943 - Warsaw Ghetto Uprising: The first uprising of Jews in the Warsaw Ghetto.
* 1944 - Soviet forces liberate Leningrad, effectively ending a three year Nazi siege, known as the Siege of Leningrad.
* 1958 - Willie O'Ree, the first African American National Hockey League player, makes his NHL debut with the Boston Bruins.
* 1964 - Plans are revealed for the World Trade Center in New York City.
* 1964 - The Beatles appear on the Billboard magazine charts for the first time.
* 1974 - The Six Million Dollar Man debuts on ABC. * 1975 - The Jeffersons debuts on CBS.
* 1983 - The International Olympic Committee restores Jim Thorpe Olympic medals to his family.
* 1990 - Washington, DC, Mayor Marion Barry is arrested for drug possession in an FBI sting.
* 1993 - For the first time, Martin Luther King Jr. holiday is officially observed in all 50 United States states.
Births
* 1782 - Daniel Webster, American statesman (d. 1852)
* 1813 - Joseph Glidden, American farmer who patented barbed wire (d. 1906)
* 1849 - Edmund Barton, 1st Prime Minister of Australia (d. 1920)
* 1882 - A. A. Milne, English author (d. 1956)
* 1892 - Oliver Hardy, American comedian and actor (d. 1957)
* 1901 - Ivan Petrovsky, Russian mathematician (d. 1973)
* 1904 - Cary Grant, English actor (d. 1986)
* 1922 - Bob Bell a.k.a. Bozo the Clown, American clown (d. 1997)
* 1933 - Ray Dolby, American inventor (Dolby noise reduction system)
* 1938 - Curt Flood, baseball player (d. 1997)
* 1955 - Kevin Costner, American actor [Can't win 'em all Ainsley]
* 1961 - Mark Messier, Canadian hockey player
* 1970 - DJ Quik, American rapper
* 1971 - Christian Fittipaldi, Brazilian race car driver
* 1979 - Brian Gionta, American! professional hockey player
* 1980 - Julius Peppers, American football player

Kaylee – February 24:
Events
* 1803 - The Supreme Court of the United States, in Marbury v. Madison, establishes the principle of judicial review.
* 1839 - William Otis receives a patent for the steam shovel.
* 1868 - The first parade to have floats is staged at Mardi Gras in New Orleans, Louisiana.
* 1868 - Andrew Johnson becomes the first President of the United States to be impeached by the United States House of Representatives. He is later acquitted in the Senate.
* 1909 - The Hudson Motor Car Company is founded.
* 1920 - The Nazi Party is founded.
* 1925 - A thermite (magnesium) bomb is used for the first time to break up a 250,000-ton ice jam clogging the St. Lawrence River near Waddington, New York.
* 1946 - Juan Perón is elected president of Argentina. [Don't cry for him Argentina]
* 1970 - National Public Radio is founded in the United States.
* 1975 - Hard rock band Led Zeppelin release the classic double album Physical Graffiti.
* 1983 - A special commission of the U.S. Congress releases a report that condemns the practice of Japanese internment during World War II. [How big of them.]
* 1989 - Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini offers a USD $3 million bounty for the death of The Satanic Verses author Salman Rushdie.
* 1989 - United Airlines Flight 811, bound for New Zealand from Honolulu, Hawaii, rips open during flight, sucking 9 passengers out of the business-class section.
* 2002 - The Winter Olympic Games in Salt Lake City, Utah end.
Births
* 1500 - Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor (d. 1558)
* 1557 - Mathias, Holy Roman Emperor (d. 1619)
* 1709 - Jacques de Vaucanson, French inventor (d. 1782) [the man invented the robot!!!]
* 1874 - Honus Wagner, American baseball player (d. 1955)
* 1885 - Chester Nimitz, U.S. admiral (d. 1966)
* 1921 - Abe Vigoda, American actor
* 1938 - Phil Knight, American sportswear manufacturer
* 1943 - Terry Semel, chairman and CEO of Yahoo!
* 1943 - George Harrison, English songwriter, guitarist and member of the Beatles (d. 2001)
* 1947 - Edward James Olmos, American actor
* 1951 - Debra Jo Rupp, American actress
* 1955 - Steve Jobs, American computer pioneer
* 1955 - Alain Prost, French race car driver
* 1956 - Eddie Murray, American baseball player
* 1963 - Mike Vernon, Canadian ice hockey player
* 1970 - Jeff Garcia, American football player [if it looks like a rat…]
* 1971 - Brian Savage, Canadian ice hockey player
* 1972 - Manon Rhéaume, Canadian female ice hockey player
* 1973 - Alexei Kovalev, Russian ice hockey player
* 1977 - Floyd Mayweather Jr, American boxer
* 1977 - Bronson Arroyo, American baseball player

Chris – June 5:
Events
* 70 - Titus and his Roman legions breach the middle wall of Jerusalem.
* 1851 - Harriet Beecher Stowe's anti-slavery serial, Uncle Tom's Cabin or, Life Among the Lowly starts a ten-month run in the National Era abolitionist newspaper.
* 1864 - American Civil War: Battle of Piedmont: Union forces under General David Hunter defeat a Confederate army at Piedmont, Virginia, taking nearly 1,000 prisoners. [no word on how many were UT grads]
* 1917 - World War I: Conscription begins in the United States as "Army registration day."
* 1924 - Ernst Alexanderson sends the first facsimile across the Atlantic Ocean (to his father in Sweden). [the lengths kids go to in order to bum money...]
* 1933 - The U.S. Congress abrogates the United States' use of the gold standard by enacting a joint resolution (48 Stat. 112) nullifying the right of creditors to demand payment in gold.
* 1944 - World War II: The two largest invasion fleets heretofore in history sailed that morning on opposite sides of the world. Most of the ship were United States flagged vessels.
* 1944 - World War II: More than 1000 British bombers drop 5000 tons of bombs on German gun batteries on the Normandy coast in preparation for D-Day.
* 1944 - World War II: Rome liberated by the Allies
* 1945 - Allied Control Council, military occupation governing body of Germany, formally takes power.
* 1947 - Marshall Plan: At a speech at Harvard University, United States Secretary of State George Marshall calls for economic aid to war-torn Europe.
* 1956 - Elvis Presley introduces his new single, "Hound Dog", on The Milton Berle Show, scandalizing the audience with his suggestive hip movements.
* 1968 - U.S. presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy is shot at the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles, California by Palestinian Sirhan Sirhan. Kennedy dies the next day.
* 1977 - The Apple II, the first practical personal computer, goes on sale.
* 1981 - The Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report that five homosexual men in Los Angeles, California have a rare form of pneumonia seen only in patients with weakened immune systems, in what turns out to be the first recognized cases of AIDS.
* 2001 - Tropical Storm Allison makes landfall on the upper-Texas coastline as a strong tropical storm and dumps large amounts of rain over Houston. The storm caused $5.5 billion in damages, making Allison the costliest tropical storm in U.S. history.
* 2002 - Mozilla 1.0, the first 'official' version, is released.
Births
* 1850 - Pat Garrett, American Western lawman (d. 1908)
* 1862 - Allvar Gullstrand, Swedish ophthalmologist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (d. 1930) [I can see this post thanks to Allvar!]
* 1878 - Pancho Villa, Mexican revolutionary (d. 1923)
* 1919 - Richard Scarry, American children's author (d. 1994)
* 1920 - Cornelius Ryan, Irish-American author (d. 1974)
* 1925 - Art Donovan, American football star (d. 2006)
* 1934 - Bill Moyers, American journalist
* 1941 - Robert Kraft, owner of the New England Patriots
* 1956 - Kenny G, American saxophonist [Guh!]
* 1965 – Bob Probert, Canadian hockey player [simply the best!]
* 1967 - Ray Lankford, baseball player
* 1968 - Ron Livingston, American actor
* 1969 - Brian McKnight, American musician
* 1970 - Martin Gelinas, Canadian hockey player
* 1971 - Mark Wahlberg, American singer and actor
* 1976 – Tory Holt, American football player
* 1983 - Marques Colston, American football player

Landon – July 30:
Events
* 1619 - In Jamestown, Virginia, the first representative assembly in the Americas, the House of Burgesses, convenes for the first time.
* 1729 - Baltimore, Maryland is founded.
* 1733 - First Freemasons lodge opened in what will become the United States.
* 1930 - In Montevideo, Uruguay win the first Football World Cup.
* 1932 - Walt Disney's Flowers and Trees, the first Academy Award winning cartoon and first cartoon short to use Technicolor, premieres.
* 1953 - Rikiduzan holds a ceremony announcing the establishment of the Japan Pro Wrestling Alliance.
* 1954 - Elvis Presley makes his debut as a public performer.
* 1956 - A Joint resolution of the U.S. Congress is signed by President Dwight D. Eisenhower, authorizing "In God We Trust" as the U.S. national motto.
* 1965 - US President Lyndon B. Johnson signs the Social Security Act of 1965 into law, establishing Medicare and Medicaid.
* 1974 - Watergate Scandal: US President Richard M. Nixon releases subpoenaed White House recordings after being ordered to do so by the United States Supreme Court. [But he's not a crook!]
* 1975 - Jimmy Hoffa disappears from the parking lot of the Machus Red Fox restaurant in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit, at about 2:30 p.m. He is never seen or heard from again. [A crime in Detroit? Get outta here!]
* 1990 - The first Saturn automobile rolls off the assembly line.
* 2002 - Los Angeles Sparks center Lisa Leslie became the first woman to dunk in a WNBA league basketball game. [Booyah!]
* 2003 - 490,000 Rock Fans attend Sarsfest concert at Downsview Park in Toronto, Canada, Headlined by The Rolling Stones, AC/DC Rush, The Tea Party, and 12 other major rock acts. Births
* 1863 - Henry Ford, American industrialist (d. 1947)
* 1890 - Casey Stengel, American baseball manager (d. 1975)
* 1934 - Bud Selig, baseball commissioner
* 1936 - Buddy Guy, American guitarist and singer
* 1947 - Arnold Schwarzenegger, Austrian-born American actor, body builder, and Governor of California [womanizer]
* 1948 - Jean Reno, Moroccan-born French actor
* 1960 - Richard Linklater, American director
* 1961 - Laurence Fishburne, American actor
* 1963 - Lisa Kudrow, American actress
* 1963 - Chris Mullin, professional basketball player
* 1964 - Jürgen Klinsmann, German football manager
* 1971 - Tom Green, Canadian comedian and actor
* 1971 - Christine Taylor, American actress
* 1973 - Markus Naslund, Swedish ice hockey player
* 1974 - Hilary Swank, American actress

Christa – November 18:
Events
* 1095 - The Council of Clermont, called by Pope Urban II to discuss sending the First Crusade to the Holy Land, begins.
* 1307 - According to legend, William Tell shoots an apple off his son's head.
* 1477 - William Caxton produces Dictes or Sayengis of the Philosophres, the first book printed on a printing press in England.
* 1865 - Mark Twain's story The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County is published in the New York Saturday Press.
* 1883 - American and Canadian railroads institute five standard continental time zones, ending the confusion of thousands of local times.
* 1916 - World War I: First Battle of the Somme ends - In France, British Expeditionary Force commander Douglas Haig calls off the battle which started on July 1, 1916.
* 1918 - Latvia declares its independence from Russia.
* 1928 - Release of the animated short Steamboat Willie, the first fully synchronized sound cartoon, directed by Walt Disney and Ub Iwerks, featuring the second appearances of cartoon stars Mickey and Minnie Mouse.
* 1943 - World War II: Battle of Berlin (air), 440 Royal Air Force planes bomb Berlin causing only light damage and killing 131. The RAF lost nine aircraft and 53 air crew.
* 1943 - Holocaust: Aktion Emtefest: Nazis liquidate Janowska concentration camp in Lviv, western Ukraine, murdering at least 6.000 surviving Jews. German SS leader Fritz Katzman declares Lviv (Lemberg) to be Judenfrei (free from the Jews).
* 1978 - Jonestown incident: In Guyana, Jim Jones leads his Peoples Temple cult in a mass murder-suicide that claims 918 lives in all, 909 of them at Jonestown itself, including over 270 children.
* 1999 - In College Station, Texas, 12 are killed and 27 injured at Texas A&M University when a huge bonfire under construction collapses.
* 2001 - Luigi's Mansion makes its launch for the Nintendo Gamecube introducing two new characters: E. Gadd and King Boo [The Gadd family tree would never be the same!]
Births
* 1923 - Alan Shepard, American astronaut (d. 1998)
* 1948 - Jack Tatum, American football player
* 1953 - Alan Moore, British comic book writer and novelist
* 1956 - Warren Moon, American football player
* 1962 - Kirk Hammett, American guitarist (Metallica)
* 1963 - Len Bias, American basketball player (d. 1986)
* 1967 - Jocelyn Lemieux, National Hockey League player [Made the list of top 3 NHL Lemieux's for the 1990's]
* 1968 - Gary Sheffield, baseball player
* 1968 - Owen Wilson, American actor [The Owen WIlson face was born just a few days later.]
* 1969 - Sam Cassell, American basketball player
* 1970 - Peta Wilson, Australian actress
* 1975 - David Ortiz, Dominican Major League Baseball player
* 1983 - Jon Johansen, Norwegian software developer

I was pretty happy with my own birthday until I saw Kenny G. I still think Bob Probert and the Allied Invasion of France overcome that.

The lows of higher education...

So this week ended with all the excitement of a big, flaming turd! The fall schedule for school came out and it was less than good. As it stands now I am going to be taking classes this summer after all so that I can put myself in a comfortable position to still graduate next spring. The upside is that next spring semester will be pretty light/easy.

If that wasn't enough, I also totally tanked my Fundamentals of Technology quiz. I knew I made a bunch of dumb mistakes, but man... My professor also made it abundantly clear that he's not really into partial credit, to put it mildly. I won't tell you my exact score because I don't want to be come just a number in your eyes. Just take my word for it that it wasn't pretty.

I guess my dramatic re-commitment to school came a week too late. Overall I feel like school gave me the Peter Crouch treatment this week.

What do you mean summer school?

On the bright side, Michel Therrien is doing everything he can to create a full-blown goalie controversy in Pittsburgh. Oh wait, that's bad too... At least Amazing Race is on tonight. Either the bald guys or the coal miners are outta here!

Rafa's not playing for the draw!

When people use the phrase "best case scenario" in the near future, today's Champions League match between Liverpool and Barcelona should get a mandatory mention. Liverpool headed into Nou Camp wanting a win, but knowing that a draw would serve them just fine heading back to Anfield for the second leg. Well, the boys pulled out a huge 2-1 victory in very ironic fashion...

Earlier in the week a story came out that Craig Bellamy attacked John Arne Riise with a golf club in the middle of the night because he wouldn't throw down in a karaoke contest a few hours earlier. The team was pretty quiet about the incident (never denying it), but the media took the story and ran with it. There was even a story posted less than 24 hours before the game that the team plans to sell Bellamy over the summer (and they still may).

Surprisingly, Bellamy got the start today against Barca and he made the most of it. He scored just minutes before the half to send the boys into the break tied at 1. Apparently he even celebrated his goal with a mock golf swing. Stay classy Craig! If that wasn't enough, Bellamy then set up, naturally, Riise for the eventual winning goal with about 15 minutes left in the match.

Suck on it Barca!

This puts the Reds in great shape heading home for the second leg on March 6th. As good as they are at Anfield, the boys should definitely be able to lock up a trip into the round of 8. This was such a great win it even takes some of the sting out of Liverpool falling out of the hunt for the Premiership title.

Pick up skate wrap up

So I managed to skate for 2 whole hours without having a heart attack or getting maimed. I had no legs at all though. I was understandably rusty, but I made some decent plays and managed to put a few pucks in the net. My shooting accuracy was actually better than I expected, even though my sticks felt pretty dead. Maybe I'll have to spring for a nice $200 composite stick...

The older guys there were all pretty cool. We all got a kick out of watching the hot shot teenagers strut their stuff. One of the guys on my team told me that you "totally can't tell" that I hadn't played in 7 years. I'm pretty sure that was a compliment. Another guy told me I look like a cross of Sergei Zubov and Darryl Sydor. Well, at least I've got that going for me...

My two dads?

All in all it was a good time though. I'm looking forward to going back. I can't wait until my hands and my legs catch back up with my head. It'll be like the mid-90's all over again!

Keeping my head on a swivel!

I'm going to play pick-up roller hockey tonight. I'm finally dragging my butt out to do it after planning to for a couple months. It should be interesting considering I haven't played in like 6 years. Can't wait to see how sore I am tomorrow morning...

Ushering in a new era in Texas athletic excellence...

So Christa and I somehow got roped into coaching Ainsley's soccer team. It's not that big of a deal except that since I have class on Saturdays I will probably make it to somewhere around zero of the games. Still, it should be fun though. Any excuse to get out and kick the ball around for a little bit is just fine with me.

24: The world is full of retards!

Let's get right to it:

• Morris is a bum. How could he give the terrorists a working detonator when he knew Jack was right outside? I mean, he'd already been drilled once, what's another hole or two in the grand scheme of things.
• Jack's sister-in-law/former flame is a bum. She let's him waltz right into a trap and doesn't give up his evil dad just to protect her dopey, ninja son.
• CTU is a joke. They'll let just about anyone wander through that place freely. I mean really, how is Jack's dad not a suspect after all that has gone on? I'm convinced at some point we'll see a 4th grade field trip passing through CTU during a crisis.
• Our government sucks. Can they all stop trying to stab each other in the back long enough to keep me from getting nuked? I mean honestly, throw me a bone here!
• On the plus side, pretty soon Jack will be fighting Russians... it's like the 80's all over again! I can't wait.
• Oh, and 24 is so much better without commercials it's not even funny.
  

Oh and the Penguins won again last night. This is getting to be ridiculous.

This is getting to be like Groundhog Day!

Well the Pens have done it again. Shaking off their OT loss the Montreal, the Penguins rebounded by beating the top team in the NHL 4-1. I have to tell you, I could not be more in love with this team unless I was on it. Hopefully Shero will add a top 4 defenseman before the deadline. Even if he doesn't though, with Flower playing the way he is and the Sid Show at the other end... this is a team I would not want to face in the playoffs (yes, I said the P-word!)

Insert Stanley Cup here!

Is that Mack Brown on the phone?

So Landon had his 6 month well check this week and, as we already knew, he is huge! Here's the stat line:

• 75th percentile in height
• 85th percentile in weight
• 95th percentile in head size

insidetexas.com already has Lanny penciled in as the starting Left Tackle for the 2024 Longhorns. That scholarship will come in handy too since tuition will probably be over $20,000 per semester by then.

I can handle more days like this...

• My math class was cancelled so I had no school tonight.
• Liverpool beat West Ham 2-1 to pull within 2 points of 2nd place Chelsea on the table. Peter Crouch had a goal and an assist to celebrate his 26th birthday.
• The Penguins beat Florida 3-0 to run their record to 6-0-1 in their last 7 games. Another dominating performance by Flower. And there's word of them acquiring some veteran defensive help before the trade dealine. This team could make a run...

Flower shuts the door on the Panthers

YouTube-a-palooza!

Enjoy...

Pens vs. Stars


Ruutu vs. Robidas


Yo Gabba Gabba!


Top 10 Jagr goals

What $3.05 can get you on ebay (plus shipping)

My Genesis library is starting to round into shape with the recent addition of the following:

Cyberball

FIFA International Soccer

Galaxy Force 2
(to this day I regret buying Desert Strike instead of this one day at the mall.)

John Madden Football '92

Speedball 2

Sports Talk Baseball

And I only had to drive for 6 hours!

So I went to the Penguins game in Dallas last night. What a freaking awesome game! The 1st period was a bit of a snooze-fest, but things quickly turned around in the 2nd after the Pens got on the board, compliments of Jordan Staal. Mark Recchi chipped in a pair of goals, including a power-play goal with about 8 minutes to play that tied it up. The goal was also the 500th of his career. Props to the Stars fans for giving the Wrackin' Ball a nice standing O. The game moved into OT, and the overtime period was INTENSE. Both teams had some chances, but the Stars definitely had quality opportunities to end it. They couldn't though and the Pens uncharacteristically won in a shootout, with their proud papas on hand to boot.

The Pens left quite an impression on the Stars.

The real story of the game in my opinion was Marc-Andre Fleury. If the Pens make the playoffs this season it will be because of him. That's not a knock on Sid or Geno, the Pens' defense is just that bad. Flower was killing the Stars all night and brought the fans out of their seats on a couple occasions. He got a couple lucky breaks too, but that's all part of the deal when things are going well. He also stopped all three shooters in the shootout to secure the extra point for the Penguins. That is especially noteworthy when you consider the Stars are one of the best shootout teams in the league.

Not this time Sergei!

All in all the game was more than worth the drive and the price of admission. Dallas has a nice arena and a fun area around it to eat and such. I'm looking forward to seeing the Pens there again when they come back... in 3 years :(

Mixed emotions...

I know I said that I don't want the Penguins to move, and I still don't, but ownership met with officials in Houston today. And this is after being presented with what Mario deemed an insulting arena offer from Pittsburgh officials. I really don't want the Pens to leave the 'Burgh, but if they are, PLEASE let it be to Houston!!!

Mega Post: It's been a long time coming...

Let's get right to it!

• I'm back in school for real now. The ice has all melted and I have officially attended every class exactly one time. yipee...
• The Pens killed Toronto 8-2 Saturday night to head into the All-Star break on a high. There next game is at Dallas, and yes I will be there. One word to describe me when I think about that... giddy.
• Liverpool beat Chelsea 2-0 at home on Saturday also to possibly ressurect their title hopes. At least they'll be well rested down the stretch since they are out of the FA Cup and Carling Cup. I'm mostly serious there.
• 24 is officially better on DVD. Not much happened tonight except that we learned that the rest of Jack's family is trying to take over the world. More or less...
• And finally, in what is some of the saddest news ever, Berkeley Iceland is closing down. California is just about dead to me at this point. I wish I had the means to fly back and skate there one last time.

Farewell Iceland, we hardly knew ye...

We have liftoff!

So after an ordeal that was too long and painful to detail here, I have a working Sega Genesis up and running. And I couldn't be happier. For years I proclaimed the Genesis to be my favorite all-time console, and the last 24 hours have done nothing to dampen that point of view. There's also just something nice about getting to play Sonic 2 and World of Illusion with your kids. Takes the Genesis legacy to a whole new level. It doesn't hurt when Sonic 2 is probably better than any game that came out last year with the exception of the new Zelda.

Gaming at its best?

Family fun for two!

Baby it's cold outside...

This is what our week has looked like. It stared out with heavy rain/flooding over the weekend and turned into three solid days of ice/sleet/snow. Schools have been closed all week which has meant no school for Ainsley and no school or work for me. Awesome indeed! Looks like it should be back to reality tomorrow though. Just in time for Ainsley's birthday.

Book Review: How Soccer Explains the World

So I finished Franklin Foer's How Soccer Explains the World today. It was a very good read and a very fresh take on globalization. A lot of the American mainstream media likes to crap all over soccer (and Foer addresses that), but it was nice to have a nice work that presents just how important soccer is around the world. Foer really did a great job with the book as he looked at a wide variety of topics ranging from English hooligans, to the state of soccer in Brazil, to the Italian elite, to how soccer is impacting Islam in Iran.

My only complaint with this book would be the chapter dealing with FC Barcelona. Foer immediately stated that he is a big Barca fanboy, but this chapter was still a little much. I'm sure Barca is great and all, but he was laying it on a little thick. I was waiting for him to tell us how the players all got together and cured cancer during half time of a big game.

All in all I would recommend this book to anyone with an interest in soccer, or if you just want a refreshing and informative view of the world.

Day 6: 8am-10am

Here's my reaction to Monday night's episodes of 24:

• Curtis should have bought into the "less talk, more action" way of life. (And Jack can cry and barf all he wants, but from here on he'll always be the guy who killed Curtis.)
• Somebody nuked L.A. ... it's about time!
• Wayne Palmer learned the wrong lessons from his brother. "Oh sure, let's give the terrorists what they want!" Yeah, that always works out well.
• Sandra Palmer is a turd. And her boyfriend is up to something.
• I'm not buying the whole Milo is back thing. Where was he when the rest of them were getting blown up and gassed? What a fair-weathered worker. And he's just weird looking. He should start dating the Frankenstein looking guy from season 3.

Day 6: 6am - 8am

So what have we learned after 2 hours?

• Jack Bauer is part vampire.
• Chloe has a new partner in crime (and possibly a new partner).
• Buchanon married the Homeland Security chick, which means one of them must DIE.
• We have another President who doesn't think he's up to the task.
• Stabbing Jack Bauer in the spine does nothing.
• Even after being tortured for two solid years Jack Bauer was able to give himself a haircut better than any I have ever gotten... in 5 minutes!

All in all I have a good feeling about this season after the first two hours. I just hope Jack gets his taste for torture back. What was that "I can't do this anymore" crap all about Jack?!?

And the 7th day became Day 6!

So Season 6 of 24 starts tonight. Here are my predictions:

• Jack will brutally interogate a government employee.
• Mrs. Logan will still be crazy.
• Kim Bauer will still be an idiot.
  
• Wayne Palmer will be a better President than Logan, but not as good as his brother (the State Farm guy).
• Chloe will secretly do something against protocol to help Jack.
• Bill Buchanon, Audrey Raines, Chloe and/or Morris O'Brien, and Jack Bauer will all DIE!
• Something really important will blow up.
• Jack will kill more than 10 terrorists in a 3 minute span.
• There will be a mole within CTU.
• Jack will blow up China.

Obviously I went a little more out on a limb with some of these than others, but I wanted to have a couple gimmes to cover my you-know-what. Turn the phone off and enjoy kids... it's Bauer Time!!

This sucks...

I am still intent on making a legit post, but we're having network/router issues right now so I'm putting most of my computer energy into that at the moment. Sorry...

Sorry I've been neglecting you...

Substantial post(s?) coming soon...

If you look up awesome in the Dictionary this morning...

Odds are you would see my picture. I managed to win both of my fantasy football leagues for the second straight year. To think that I was a single play (more on that to come in the future) away from a 3-peat in the league I really care(d) about. Anyway, the moral of the story here is, as I've stated before, I'm better at fantasy than the jokers I play against. Apparently even when I barely pay attention as was the case with one of my leagues.

It's nice getting to go out on top since I'm retiring from fantasy football. I wouldn't be surprised if I pulled a Mario and made a comeback someday, but I will definitely not be playing next year. I'm at the point now where I expect to win so I've basically set myself up for nothing but disappointment and frustration. I wouldn't mind finding a better league to play in, but that will have to wait.

Now if only "Fantasy Genius/Guru" were an actual job somewhere...

My take on the Pens' situation...

I feel a strong need to weigh in on what is going on with the Penguins right now. After the Isle of Capri lost out on the exclusive gambling license in Pittsburgh, the Penguins saw their Plan A for a new arena shot to you know where. As near as I can tell from what I've read online nobody seems happy about the plan that was chosen. All three Pittsburgh sports teams seem pretty upset about it, most notably the Pens of course. Local politicians seem confident that a new arena deal is still going to get done, and possibly soon, but Mario has already made his stance known; the team is no longer for sale and he is now actively entertaining relocation possibilities. How much of this is legit and how much is just him playing hardball remains to be seen, but I don't think anyone could blame him for taking the team somewhere else at this point.

Save the Pens! Do it for Marc-Andre!!

So here's my take. I am someone who has loved the Pens ever since my Dad started taking me to hockey games (I'll never be able to thank him enough for that). I also grew up in California and live in Texas so it gets hard to claim having super strong feelings about the Pens relocating. Going into the week my general feeling was that I didn't care where the franchise ended up as long as they had an owner willing to put up the moolah to keep the team we have now together (mainly Sid, Geno, and Fleury). Honestly, unless the team moves to Oakland or Houston the odds of me ever taking in a Pens home game are pretty slim, so what difference does it make to me right?

Well then I got to think about it more and my mind and heart of flipped on the situation. I grew up obsessing over the Pittsburgh Penguins, not the Portland Penguins or the Kansas City Whatevers. It really does matter to me where the team ends up. The Penguins were the first sports team I truly followed, and I want to continue following them, as the Penguins. I grew up with my walls covered with guys adorned in this:And I want to be able to keep that alive. There's a reason why I wore my Sidney Crosby shirt to the birth of my son. I selfishly wanted one of the first things he saw on this earth to be that beautiful skating penguin that meant so much to me as a kid. And for the record, Landon always lets out a gleeful yelp when I wear that shirt now (mission accomplished). The bottom line is that the team won't be the same if they move. And for that, and for all of the Pens fans out there (not just the ones who live in Pittsburgh) I want the Pens to stay. It's bad enough thinking that they won't be playing in the Igloo much longer (again, I don't get to attend games there so it doesn't really impact me if the place is run down), but I can't deal with them not being the Pens any more.

I guess what I'm getting at here is that even though I never have been to Pittsburgh and probably never will, I really need the Penguins to be there. There may come that day when I do get to finally take in a home game (I came real close during my trip to Toronto) and if it does, I want that game to be in Pittsburgh. This team means too much to too many people (read the comments on The Pensblog if you don't believe me) for it to move. And just for the record, I don't think it will. I think Mario has one more miracle up his sleeve. Here's hoping I'm right.

Word out of San Marcos is I'm nifty!

So I got this in the mail today:

Along with a letter telling me how proud myself and my family should be about this magnificent achievement. So, yeah... I guess the whole Dean's List thing is something of a to do at Texas State. I don't mean to make light of this, I know it's a nice accomplishment and all, I just felt like I was treading water for most of the semester so I don't know that I deserve recognition for anything more than just surviving.

All grades are in!

So I ended up with a B in Geology. As far as I'm concerned that was the best case scenario for that class. I don't think too many people, if any, were getting A's out of that guy and I sure didn't put more than a C level effort into that class. So that leaves me with 2 A's and 3 B's for Fall '06. Considering my mental state over the last six weeks of the semester I'll gladly take that thank you very much!

Fantasy Update: It all comes down to this...

So I have managed to steer both of my Fantasy Football teams into their respective championships. This gives me a chance to repeat in both leagues. Not a bad way to end my FF career (for the next year at least). The team I care about and put effort into managed to squeak by in week 15 despite getting about 2 combined points from two of my WR's. I now carry my top seeding into a matchup with the #2 team in the league (my arch rival and home teaching companion!) My other team, which finished in 4th to grab the final playoff spot after a big week 14 victory, upset the Ladainian Tomlinson powered top seed relatively easily to move on to the championship. I will sum up my fantasy seasons to this point by saying that my faith in Steven Jackson has been greatly rewarded.

As for Fantasy Hockey, I'm pretty much right where I want to be. My team is going great except for some up-and-down goaltending. I'm in 4th right now (was as high as 3rd for a couple days) but the three teams ahead of me are dooming themselves and they don't even know it. I have a feeling things will work out like last year and I'll make a steady climb to the title in the closing weeks. The good news is I probably won't have to work my up from second to last like I did last year.

Texas State grades are in...

And the final results are:

• Discrete Math 1 - A
• Intro to Probability and Stats - A
• Human Factors - B
• Intro to Database Systems - B

That's about all I could have hoped for. I thought I bombed my Database final so that B is a relief, and my Human Factors professor was such a nutcase that I'm just happy to escape that class with a passing grade. So after one semester at Texas State I have a 3.5 GPA and am on the Dean's List. I'll take that any day considering what a struggle this semester was.

And the grades start to roll in...

So I got an A in both of my math classes. I figured I would since I knew I had an A in both going into the finals and the finals were take-home. Now I just have to wait until noon tomorrow to see how I did in my CS classes. I'm real interested to see my Database grade. I don't know when ACC will post their grades, but I don't care about my Geology class that much anyway. I know I passed, that's enough for me.

I guess Donna Summer was right...

Somehow I managed to survive this semester. My assessment may change once I see my grades on Friday (I don't think I did so hot on my Database final), but it's over and that is the truly important thing. Now I have a little over a month to spend with my family, Jack Bauer, "How Soccer Explains the World", and the new Legend of Zelda game. Things could be worse.

Oh, and the Pens smoked the Flyers 8-4 tonight, including 6 points for Sid. Like I said, things could be worse.

On the brighter side of life...

This weekend:

• I found out that Minute Maid makes Cherry Limeaid... GOOD TIMES!
• Liverpool beat Fulham 4-0!
• The Pens beat Atlanta in OT!

So what I'm getting at here is that the weekend wasn't a complete loss.

Progress is as progress does.

My Database term project is printing out right next to me as I type this. 84 pages of crap! Okay, 2/3 of it is pretty decent, but I'm not too thrilled with how things went down the stretch. My database definitely would have been a lot better if he had let me do it the way I originally wanted. Oh well, tomorrow is another day.

Speaking of tomorrow... I have a Geology test that I have yet to study for (what do you think the hour before class is for?) and my Database final that I have yet to study for (what do you think the 90 minutes before class are for?) So yeah, tomorrow can't get here fast enough is what I'm saying. On the bright side, after tomorrow all I have left to do is a Geology lab quiz (assuming I decline to take the optional final) and I'm done.

This semester has been a bear for me. I hit the wall around the end of October and it has been a struggle ever since. I guess this is my "Welcome to upper division" semester. At least I've learned some valuable lessons to take forward with me. The good news is that in about 24 hours I being what amounts to a little over a month of school-free livin'! Let's see if I can make it that long...

**UPDATE** The black ink cartridge in our printer may or may not make it to page 84. Plus the e-mails I have to print out for the appendix.

Apparently I'm awesome and stuff...

So I had to give my presentation on my Human Factors project yesterday and my crackpot professor freaking loved it. He said he thought it was a legitimately marketable idea and everything. You excuse me if I don't start coming up with ways to start spending all the money I get for selling my idea to Wal-Mart, now gimme an A!!!!!

If you want you can check out my retarded masterpiece here. Just remember that I had to do it on Wal-Mart... it wasn't my choice I swear!!!!!!!

It's gonna be a long 8 days...

• 3 (possibly 4) Final exams
• 2 Term Project papers
• 1 Test
• 1 Lab quiz

Can't you just feel the holiday spirit in the air?

One for the road!

Stop the presses!!! The Reds finally won a Premiership match away from Anfield! And they did it in style too, topping Wigan 4-0. Craig Bellamy celebrated being cleared of beating women by scoring two quick goals and setting up Dirk Kuyt for a third. The win moved the Liverpool into a tie for third in points, but they are fifth on the table thanks to their meager +4 goal differential.

I'm not even going to mention the Pens right now. Like I said before, they have come back to earth. Let's just leave it at that. On the plus side, if voting ended today Crosby, Malkin, and Fleury would all be starting in the All-Star game. And yes I have had something to do with that thank you very much. Now if you don't mind I'm off to go vote again... write in Gonchar!!!