There are two things that happened in the world of sports recently that I feel like talking about. The first was when Michael Vick flipped off someone in the crowd. While this seems like a big deal, trust me that it is not. You can check this out if you want to read about other famous middle finger incidents. I am a big fan of Vick, mostly because he is insanely fast and possesses skills that are different than every other QB in the history of the NFL. For this reason, he is fun to watch and root for. Anyways, the part of the story that was surprising was the fine. I think I read that previously players were fined only $5K, but since he is super rich and a big name player, he was fined $10K. That is reasonable, I guess… Anyways, the other part of his punishment is that he has to donate another $10K to a charity. I think this is a good solution, and frankly all of the money that athletes pay in fines for acting stupid should go to charity. Can you imagine rooting for a player to act out of line in an effort to raise money for your charity? I can see it now, the Red Cross is watching an NBA game and rooting for Ron Artest to go goes nuts and jump into the stands to fight fans so they can get his forfeited salary. Or if MADD is monitoring the smoking gun secretly pumped to be collecting money from things like this (I know its wrong, but what irony.)
The other thing that happened involved another one of my more favorite athletes. Ben Wallace was benched for violating a team rule when he wore a headband. That is right; his coach didn’t play him because he was wearing a headband. To presumably keep the sweat out of his eyes and enhance his production, he was taken out of the game. I know that there is a strong chance that the purpose of Ben’s headband is more for fashion than anything else, but is it really that bothersome that the Bulls have a team rule forbidding the use of headbands? I suppose it’s a good thing that a GM makes strict rules and his coach enforces them. I agree with that aspect of running a team, but to me this sort of crosses the line. It is almost historically a part of basketball uniforms. I am pretty sure the NBA has licensed headbands, so that if players do choose to wear them, they have an official league approved one to use. The Yankees aren’t allowed to grow beards or have long hair, but they are allowed to use black bats, or red bats, or tan bats. They are also allowed to wear sunglasses. But the Bulls have a team rule because the GM didn’t like the way the players wore the headbands. I don’t know why they didn’t just make a rule describing how they should wear the popular head attire. Perhaps I am too reasonable to run and NBA team.
Wednesday, November 29, 2006
Tuesday, November 28, 2006
Zo Bo? More like Bozo
My thoughts on the season finale of ABC's The Bachelor:
Like everyone else watching the final episode of the Bachelor last night I was pretty surprised when Jen was selected over Sadie. If you have read any of my previous bachelor posts than you know that I was a Sadie fan since the first episode. I have been thinking about his choice and still am not sure why he selected Jen. But I have a few thoughts/ideas:
(Remember I am just brainstorming here…)
He may not have selected Jen as much as he selected Not-Sadie. He really liked Sadie and was into her, she was all the things that he wanted. But contestants who fall head over heels do not have a good track record on this show. There is a certain attraction to the person who is more difficult, and it is possible that Jen feel into this category.
Also, being that Sadie was so ‘innocent’ may have added pressure. Lobs might have felt like even he was getting in over his head with her. He was on the show looking for a girl, but not necessarily ready to completely lock it up. Perhaps he felt like she was totally ready to settle down and be with him forever. He was nervous that he might not be at the exact same point as her and he felt guilty/bad about selecting her with that being the case.
The last point on the Not-Sadie argument is that he may have not felt exactly as he had hoped about either girl. They were both totally great but for whatever reason he just wasn’t convinced he was totally in love and ready to be with just one person. He might have figured that breaking up with Sadie at the final rose ceremony and then Jen later on was easier than giving Sadie the rose but then eventually breaking up with her to. Just the prospect of facing that down the road might have stricken Bozo with enough guilt to convince himself to let Sadie go now. He did care about her and it was clear how difficult it was for him to give her the boot. But he also knew Jen’s crazy dad would be ok with him letting her ‘win’ now and then breaking up later. As opposed to feeling let down by selecting Sadie now, but then having it not work out afterwards.
After my initial shock (and repeated punching of the couch) I remembered that last week on the Women Tell All special, the eliminated girls were asked who they thought Lozo would pick. And more of the girls guessed Jen than Sadie. I found that shocking at the time and assumed they were just bitter and jealous and liked Jen more than Sadie. But seeing the final show, it is possible that Jen was more highly regarded all along.
The final, and perhaps most important reason that I was shocked is because of the way the show was edited and shown to the viewers. I feel fairly confident that it was edited so that all of the viewers, like me, would be shocked. Most likely they decide which clips they want to show to make the show work. They can basically dictate how each character is perceived. So even though it seemed like Sadie was the favorite and everything was going so well with her, it might be the case that things were just as smooth with Jen. They just chose not to show it exactly that way. I don’t know.
I heard that they are no longer together, and if that were the case I would totally not be surprised. I think that would tend to support more of the points I made in the beginning of this post. I think maybe Lo-Zo-Bo wasn’t completely satisfied with his experience and as ready to lock it up as he had hoped. If he is now single, I wonder if he regrets not picking Sadie. Part of me feels like although he will never admit it, he probably does.
In any case, the moral of the story is I am still a sucker for romantic comedies and reality dating shows.
Like everyone else watching the final episode of the Bachelor last night I was pretty surprised when Jen was selected over Sadie. If you have read any of my previous bachelor posts than you know that I was a Sadie fan since the first episode. I have been thinking about his choice and still am not sure why he selected Jen. But I have a few thoughts/ideas:
(Remember I am just brainstorming here…)
He may not have selected Jen as much as he selected Not-Sadie. He really liked Sadie and was into her, she was all the things that he wanted. But contestants who fall head over heels do not have a good track record on this show. There is a certain attraction to the person who is more difficult, and it is possible that Jen feel into this category.
Also, being that Sadie was so ‘innocent’ may have added pressure. Lobs might have felt like even he was getting in over his head with her. He was on the show looking for a girl, but not necessarily ready to completely lock it up. Perhaps he felt like she was totally ready to settle down and be with him forever. He was nervous that he might not be at the exact same point as her and he felt guilty/bad about selecting her with that being the case.
The last point on the Not-Sadie argument is that he may have not felt exactly as he had hoped about either girl. They were both totally great but for whatever reason he just wasn’t convinced he was totally in love and ready to be with just one person. He might have figured that breaking up with Sadie at the final rose ceremony and then Jen later on was easier than giving Sadie the rose but then eventually breaking up with her to. Just the prospect of facing that down the road might have stricken Bozo with enough guilt to convince himself to let Sadie go now. He did care about her and it was clear how difficult it was for him to give her the boot. But he also knew Jen’s crazy dad would be ok with him letting her ‘win’ now and then breaking up later. As opposed to feeling let down by selecting Sadie now, but then having it not work out afterwards.
After my initial shock (and repeated punching of the couch) I remembered that last week on the Women Tell All special, the eliminated girls were asked who they thought Lozo would pick. And more of the girls guessed Jen than Sadie. I found that shocking at the time and assumed they were just bitter and jealous and liked Jen more than Sadie. But seeing the final show, it is possible that Jen was more highly regarded all along.
The final, and perhaps most important reason that I was shocked is because of the way the show was edited and shown to the viewers. I feel fairly confident that it was edited so that all of the viewers, like me, would be shocked. Most likely they decide which clips they want to show to make the show work. They can basically dictate how each character is perceived. So even though it seemed like Sadie was the favorite and everything was going so well with her, it might be the case that things were just as smooth with Jen. They just chose not to show it exactly that way. I don’t know.
I heard that they are no longer together, and if that were the case I would totally not be surprised. I think that would tend to support more of the points I made in the beginning of this post. I think maybe Lo-Zo-Bo wasn’t completely satisfied with his experience and as ready to lock it up as he had hoped. If he is now single, I wonder if he regrets not picking Sadie. Part of me feels like although he will never admit it, he probably does.
In any case, the moral of the story is I am still a sucker for romantic comedies and reality dating shows.
Wednesday, November 22, 2006
self blog commentary
I was thinking about my blogging style and I realized I don't use many links like other bloggers. I probably could try and start mixing in a few. But also by including links there is a chance I will provide my readers with a really awesome link and I will lose their attention. Although I suppose this isn't entirely a bad thing because then they might check back on my blog and look for me in the future to provide enjoyable links.
One other thing I was thinking about was 1 space vs. 2 at the end of a sentence. Which do you do? I grew up assuming/using 2 spaces after a period. But I went to college with a guy who had never heard of such a thing. And since that time I have been mostly going single style. But from time to time I do switch from using a single strike of the space bar to pressing it twice. I feel like the internet, and IM and email, are to blame. The informality with which I grew accustom to writing in these mediums caused me to forget about things like capital letters and putting two spaces after a sentence. In this blog I have tried to obey the basic rules of grammar so as not to offend any of my readers [in particular those who are professional writers.]
Side note after making this post I noticed that blogger decides for you. whether i put one or two spaces it shows up the same. and if you copy and paste the text from my blog (something that I am sure happens all the time) you get something with only one space. The more I think about it, i could look it up and see what is actually correct. But I won't, I will just continue soul searching through the grammatical jungle, forever pondering which path is the rightous one. (who loves taking a meaningless sentence and jazzing it up to try and sound so real... this guy!)
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Updated: I just noticed that one of the ads on my page was for removing hair on your privates. I am not sure why it was there. I supposed the ads are supposed to be based on the content of the blog, but I am not sure I understand that one. I am tempted to click on it just to see what it is all about, but then I will be letting the advertisers win. So I am not going to check it out. Not to mention if I think really hard, I can probably think of a way to remove hair from my body without visiting that website. For those who are curious, here is the link. Normally I would encourage you to visit my sponsors (I think I have earned a few cents over the past few months) but this time I suggest you use my link.
One other thing I was thinking about was 1 space vs. 2 at the end of a sentence. Which do you do? I grew up assuming/using 2 spaces after a period. But I went to college with a guy who had never heard of such a thing. And since that time I have been mostly going single style. But from time to time I do switch from using a single strike of the space bar to pressing it twice. I feel like the internet, and IM and email, are to blame. The informality with which I grew accustom to writing in these mediums caused me to forget about things like capital letters and putting two spaces after a sentence. In this blog I have tried to obey the basic rules of grammar so as not to offend any of my readers [in particular those who are professional writers.]
Side note after making this post I noticed that blogger decides for you. whether i put one or two spaces it shows up the same. and if you copy and paste the text from my blog (something that I am sure happens all the time) you get something with only one space. The more I think about it, i could look it up and see what is actually correct. But I won't, I will just continue soul searching through the grammatical jungle, forever pondering which path is the rightous one. (who loves taking a meaningless sentence and jazzing it up to try and sound so real... this guy!)
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Updated: I just noticed that one of the ads on my page was for removing hair on your privates. I am not sure why it was there. I supposed the ads are supposed to be based on the content of the blog, but I am not sure I understand that one. I am tempted to click on it just to see what it is all about, but then I will be letting the advertisers win. So I am not going to check it out. Not to mention if I think really hard, I can probably think of a way to remove hair from my body without visiting that website. For those who are curious, here is the link. Normally I would encourage you to visit my sponsors (I think I have earned a few cents over the past few months) but this time I suggest you use my link.
Tuesday, November 21, 2006
am i the only one who thinks like this?
it annoys me that the soda machine here at work is ALWAYS sold out of cherry coke. it is never sold out of iced tea's or orange sodas. heck, it isnt even ever sold out of coke or diet coke. why cant the guy who fills up the machine be savvy enough to notice that everytime he comes to refill, the CCs are all sold out.
if you sold sodas, and had a machine that held say 100 sodas, and you were choosing between 10 different flavors, how would you stock the machine? wouldnt you adjust the flavor distribution because you noticed the ccokes are a big seller? this is like a lose lose situation. the guy isnt making as much money as he can, and the people in our office are not getting the sodas that they want. and it really fires me up, because the solution is so simple.
i think i might go write a note and leave it on the soda machine.
if you sold sodas, and had a machine that held say 100 sodas, and you were choosing between 10 different flavors, how would you stock the machine? wouldnt you adjust the flavor distribution because you noticed the ccokes are a big seller? this is like a lose lose situation. the guy isnt making as much money as he can, and the people in our office are not getting the sodas that they want. and it really fires me up, because the solution is so simple.
i think i might go write a note and leave it on the soda machine.
Monday, November 20, 2006
Jewel Live
I think in the blogworld it is common to talk about music and to review stuff, and since I havent done much of either, I thought I would give it a shot.
I saw Jewel on Saturday night at the Hippodrome in Baltimore and I thought it was one of the best performances I have seen. It reminded me very much of the old MTV Unplugged concerts because on stage was only Jewel and a guitar. She casually asked the crowd for song requests, and told a bunch of funny stories that I thought really helped me get a feeling for the type of person that she is. Perhaps I enjoyed the concert so much because I like Jewel. I have all of her albums and even though I dont talk about it much, I really enjoy all of her music. I think I like that her lyrics are orignal and meaningful, but not always too serious. Oh, and she is hot and can sing quite well. I felt the other night at the concert many of her songs were more like a story than a song. I also appreciated that the performance was different than the music on her albums. One thing that bothers me at concerts is when singers perform songs exactly as I hear them on the radio. I go to a concert to be entertained, and sitting and watching a boring person sing a song I have heard many times does not entertain me. I was very entertained, in particular when she was yodelling as I have never heard.
So if you enjoy relaxing in a nice theatre listening to hot female vocalists with unique voices sing and tell stories, than I would recommend attending a Jewel concert.
Bonus thoughts:
The concert was especially awesome because I attended it with my brother-in-law. There were not that many guys at the concert, and of the men who were there most of them were with their wives/girlfriends. And then a small percentage of guys were there, perhaps on a date, with another man. I honestly think we were the only 2 straight men at the concert together.
I saw Jewel on Saturday night at the Hippodrome in Baltimore and I thought it was one of the best performances I have seen. It reminded me very much of the old MTV Unplugged concerts because on stage was only Jewel and a guitar. She casually asked the crowd for song requests, and told a bunch of funny stories that I thought really helped me get a feeling for the type of person that she is. Perhaps I enjoyed the concert so much because I like Jewel. I have all of her albums and even though I dont talk about it much, I really enjoy all of her music. I think I like that her lyrics are orignal and meaningful, but not always too serious. Oh, and she is hot and can sing quite well. I felt the other night at the concert many of her songs were more like a story than a song. I also appreciated that the performance was different than the music on her albums. One thing that bothers me at concerts is when singers perform songs exactly as I hear them on the radio. I go to a concert to be entertained, and sitting and watching a boring person sing a song I have heard many times does not entertain me. I was very entertained, in particular when she was yodelling as I have never heard.
So if you enjoy relaxing in a nice theatre listening to hot female vocalists with unique voices sing and tell stories, than I would recommend attending a Jewel concert.
Bonus thoughts:
The concert was especially awesome because I attended it with my brother-in-law. There were not that many guys at the concert, and of the men who were there most of them were with their wives/girlfriends. And then a small percentage of guys were there, perhaps on a date, with another man. I honestly think we were the only 2 straight men at the concert together.
Deal or no deal
I was just watching Deal or No Deal and something out of the ordinary happened. There was a girl on the show who [i think] was obsessed with the color lime green. She also was pretty young, and based on her comments I assumed she was in college. She was being sort of funny because she was mocking Howie and saying all of the shows catch phrases. Anyways, she was doing ok and there were about 6 or so cases left to open. There was only one large amount remaining as she had just eliminated the second largest amount. They presented her with an enormous lime green lime on stage and told her that was her newest offer from the bank. At that point they rolled out a jazzed up Cadillac Escalade. It looked like something that Xzibit would create on Pimp My Ride. There were LCD screens all over, along with a big time stereo and some big spinning rims. [Side note, I think my favorite part of the episode was when Howie bent down and pointed out the 24" spinners.]
Anyways, they said the value of the car was $85K. There was 1 case with a big amount and all other cases contained small amounts. I was thinking that this is the type of situation where I would not take a deal. She needs to open only 1 case and over 80% of the time her offer will go up. The other thing that I was thinking is that I would much prefer to have the cash, over a brand new car with many costly upgrades. I think that an ugly overpriced car is not the best way to spend 85 grand. I can understand the appeal, since it is the type of car that you would never buy. Even if she won enough money on the show to buy such a vehicle, it seems unlikely that she would get this car. So she must have just wanted to take the car while she had the chance, since she took the deal.
Other thoughts:
The next guy on DOND brought his mailman as one of his friends. If you could go on TV and bring 3 people, would you bring your mailman? Even if he is your best friend, wouldnt you introduce him as that instead of the mailman? It makes him look like he doesnt have many friends... Also, if I see one more "save the cheerleader, save the world" preview or David Blaine Target commercial... How as Duke only -230 vs. Air Force tonight? That money line seems incorrect. I guess AF is strong this year, it just seemed bad to me, so I bet on Duke. They are up 10 with 3 minutes left so we will see... Morgan told me she wouldnt want to go on DOND because she wouldnt want to deal with losing money. She isnt excited about winning not the biggest amount, I mean she would be frustrated to win an amount and then find out she could have possibly won more... The next guy, the friend of the mailman, is doing pretty well so far and is on the way to getting a nice offer from the banker... The Bachelor is on tonight but I believe its the episode where the women all get together and confront one another...
Anyways, they said the value of the car was $85K. There was 1 case with a big amount and all other cases contained small amounts. I was thinking that this is the type of situation where I would not take a deal. She needs to open only 1 case and over 80% of the time her offer will go up. The other thing that I was thinking is that I would much prefer to have the cash, over a brand new car with many costly upgrades. I think that an ugly overpriced car is not the best way to spend 85 grand. I can understand the appeal, since it is the type of car that you would never buy. Even if she won enough money on the show to buy such a vehicle, it seems unlikely that she would get this car. So she must have just wanted to take the car while she had the chance, since she took the deal.
Other thoughts:
The next guy on DOND brought his mailman as one of his friends. If you could go on TV and bring 3 people, would you bring your mailman? Even if he is your best friend, wouldnt you introduce him as that instead of the mailman? It makes him look like he doesnt have many friends... Also, if I see one more "save the cheerleader, save the world" preview or David Blaine Target commercial... How as Duke only -230 vs. Air Force tonight? That money line seems incorrect. I guess AF is strong this year, it just seemed bad to me, so I bet on Duke. They are up 10 with 3 minutes left so we will see... Morgan told me she wouldnt want to go on DOND because she wouldnt want to deal with losing money. She isnt excited about winning not the biggest amount, I mean she would be frustrated to win an amount and then find out she could have possibly won more... The next guy, the friend of the mailman, is doing pretty well so far and is on the way to getting a nice offer from the banker... The Bachelor is on tonight but I believe its the episode where the women all get together and confront one another...
Friday, November 17, 2006
real life bluff
Like many people these days, I play poker. I won’t get into the strategy, but I do want to talk about bluffing. It is essentially making a play to win a hand by representing something. The goal is to fake out your opponent. While some people associate such a play with morals, it is a perfectly acceptable way to try to win. It is not a form of cheating, although some people (in particular those unfamiliar with poker) feel it is a form of lying.
I sometimes think about bluffing in real life. I have been known to tell tales and occasionally make stuff up. However, I am not a liar. Here is what I mean. Suppose I am talking to someone that I don’t know well in a borderline awkward situation and I tell them something that is not true. I might make up some BS story about something that happened my freshman year at Duke (being careful to avoid anything about a party with the lacrosse team…) or that I tried out for a reality show, or that I used to jump rope professionally… you get the idea. The point is it is not out of this world for me to be creative to enhance the fun of a given situation. I am tricking the other person but I am not in any way harming them. Most of the time I will come clean and tell them that what I just told them is not true.
The other type of real world bluffing I can think of is when someone asks an obvious question. Imagine I showed you a picture of a purple basketball and you immediately said “is that a purple basketball?” There is only one answer to this question, which I do not consider a rhetorical one. The answer is no. Of course it’s a purple basketball, that’s why I am showing it to you. It reminds me of when someone asks you an opinion or a question where they are looking for a specific answer.
I have realized after writing this that I am not making the point which I was orginally intending to make. The point was going to be that you should be able to bluff in real life. I was thinking there could be a distinction between lying for real (for lack of a better phrase) and jokingly misleading them for fun. Then through my discussion I recognized that the enjoyable tales that I may sometimes tell are not bluffs.
Sweet post. Gulp.
I sometimes think about bluffing in real life. I have been known to tell tales and occasionally make stuff up. However, I am not a liar. Here is what I mean. Suppose I am talking to someone that I don’t know well in a borderline awkward situation and I tell them something that is not true. I might make up some BS story about something that happened my freshman year at Duke (being careful to avoid anything about a party with the lacrosse team…) or that I tried out for a reality show, or that I used to jump rope professionally… you get the idea. The point is it is not out of this world for me to be creative to enhance the fun of a given situation. I am tricking the other person but I am not in any way harming them. Most of the time I will come clean and tell them that what I just told them is not true.
The other type of real world bluffing I can think of is when someone asks an obvious question. Imagine I showed you a picture of a purple basketball and you immediately said “is that a purple basketball?” There is only one answer to this question, which I do not consider a rhetorical one. The answer is no. Of course it’s a purple basketball, that’s why I am showing it to you. It reminds me of when someone asks you an opinion or a question where they are looking for a specific answer.
I have realized after writing this that I am not making the point which I was orginally intending to make. The point was going to be that you should be able to bluff in real life. I was thinking there could be a distinction between lying for real (for lack of a better phrase) and jokingly misleading them for fun. Then through my discussion I recognized that the enjoyable tales that I may sometimes tell are not bluffs.
Sweet post. Gulp.
Updated: Munchkin Results
I was going to post the results of the munchkin contest, but saw that Eric already wrote about it. I do want to give Jizzle (thats young Justine) and Ben credit for eating 45 and 36 munchkins respectively. While they fell very short of expectations, it is nothing to be ashamed of. Another guy in our office video taped it, so if i can somehow get a copy perhaps I will post it. (Warning, it probably isnt that interesting so I probably wont do it. However, the best part will be another co-worker from India breaking a silence by screaming 'Come on Jizzle!" That would be worth watching...)
Thursday, November 16, 2006
fun things
I love The Office. Tonights episode was great, and I am glad to see they are adding some new characters.
Work has been fun the last few days. Yesterday, this guy at work said he wasnt going to come to the office christmas party because he didnt have a date. I asked him if I could try and find him one and he said I could. He has gotten three inquiries so far, two that had a picture. I really think he should bring one of them to the party.
Every Friday at work we take turns bringing in breakfast. Usually just bagels, sometimes people bring in other morning treats. Anyways, tomorrow the guy who needs a date is competing with another co-worker in a race to finish 50 munchkins. There is also a cash prize for the winner if the time is under 4 minutes. I would be surprised if one of them does eat all 50 in under 4 minutes, although I dont think it is impossible.
Work has been fun the last few days. Yesterday, this guy at work said he wasnt going to come to the office christmas party because he didnt have a date. I asked him if I could try and find him one and he said I could. He has gotten three inquiries so far, two that had a picture. I really think he should bring one of them to the party.
Every Friday at work we take turns bringing in breakfast. Usually just bagels, sometimes people bring in other morning treats. Anyways, tomorrow the guy who needs a date is competing with another co-worker in a race to finish 50 munchkins. There is also a cash prize for the winner if the time is under 4 minutes. I would be surprised if one of them does eat all 50 in under 4 minutes, although I dont think it is impossible.
Wednesday, November 15, 2006
The Bachelor: The Final 2
I thought this week’s episode of the Bachelor was pretty boring. It was down to three girls, with each of them having their overnight dates with Lorenzo.
The first date was Jen. The date went better than I would have expected as the two seemed to get along very well. She seems relatively normal (aside from her family) and down to earth, and I think Lobes really likes her. She would probably be considered the dark horse candidate, but I think that is only due to the way the show edits the footage and chooses what viewers see. I suspect she has been a strong choice for much of the way, she just got less camera time than other girls. And I suspect the reason for this is because she is normal. There were many other bitter/jealous/drunk/stupid girls doing much more interesting things than having class and being normal.
The second individual overnight date was Lisa. This was awkward. It was clear that Zobo planned on using this date to be serious and ask questions that he had previously avoided. To his credit, he stuck with his plan and asked the girls the things he wanted to know. He certainly expressed how he felt and faced and uncertainties that he had. Unfortunately for Lisa, this caused her stock to drop dramatically. With her plan exposed, she did a very poor job of defending herself when questioned about her intentions. I don’t think that she was being fake, I just think that she was asked some difficult questions and she hadn’t thought about what she was going to say ahead of time. And stumbling over your suspect answers is never a good approach when you are being asked serious questions. (In her defense, I always feel the need to defend her; I think her answer about why she went on the show was acceptable. She said she went on there to have fun, and there is nothing wrong with that. That’s normal. What are not normal are people who prep themselves to fall in love with someone they have never met, and then do so. All a reasonable contestant can do is show up with an open mind, knowing there is a chance you might like what you see.) Needless to say, I felt it was pretty clear that she was the third ranked girl, even before they showed the date with Sadie.
The last date went well, which should surprise no one because Sadie has been the top choice since the first show. They always have a good time together and in my opinion he is the most intrigued by her. That’s not to say he doesn’t have feelings for the others, but I think there is the most chemistry between the two of them. The only annoying thing about their date was her issue with saving herself. I can understand that she was concerned about it, but as a viewer it was totally clear that Lozo was not going to care. And to make matter worse, there was no other drama or issues this entire episode. So the producers had to focus on this issue, which means every time she mentioned it (which was a lot) they showed it. And before every commercial break they had to bring it up (up next, the virgin decides… after the break, will she save herself? More to come, including Sadie’s choice for the overnight fantasy suite… What will go down next, will it be Sadie?) In any case, as I predicted in the last recap it all worked out and Sadie maintained her position as the favorite.
I was a little surprised how upset Lisa was in the limo. It’s a completely normal reaction; I just didn’t expect it from her. I guess since she has been pretty confident, and because they tried to make it seem like she liked getting married and sticking to her plan much more than Lorenz (which may have been true.) I also wish that when LBorg was saying his final goodbye to the loser that he would stop focusing on looks. Every week he makes a point to tell them that he thinks they are really hot, and I think it makes him sound like that’s all he cares about. Clearly if they made it this far he is attracted to them, and its not the only thing he cares about.
I think next week is the ‘Women Tell All’ which always gets on my nerves because you have a room full of bitter jealous girls. Then I assume the following week is the finale where LorBer will propose to say-it-ain’t-Sadie.
The first date was Jen. The date went better than I would have expected as the two seemed to get along very well. She seems relatively normal (aside from her family) and down to earth, and I think Lobes really likes her. She would probably be considered the dark horse candidate, but I think that is only due to the way the show edits the footage and chooses what viewers see. I suspect she has been a strong choice for much of the way, she just got less camera time than other girls. And I suspect the reason for this is because she is normal. There were many other bitter/jealous/drunk/stupid girls doing much more interesting things than having class and being normal.
The second individual overnight date was Lisa. This was awkward. It was clear that Zobo planned on using this date to be serious and ask questions that he had previously avoided. To his credit, he stuck with his plan and asked the girls the things he wanted to know. He certainly expressed how he felt and faced and uncertainties that he had. Unfortunately for Lisa, this caused her stock to drop dramatically. With her plan exposed, she did a very poor job of defending herself when questioned about her intentions. I don’t think that she was being fake, I just think that she was asked some difficult questions and she hadn’t thought about what she was going to say ahead of time. And stumbling over your suspect answers is never a good approach when you are being asked serious questions. (In her defense, I always feel the need to defend her; I think her answer about why she went on the show was acceptable. She said she went on there to have fun, and there is nothing wrong with that. That’s normal. What are not normal are people who prep themselves to fall in love with someone they have never met, and then do so. All a reasonable contestant can do is show up with an open mind, knowing there is a chance you might like what you see.) Needless to say, I felt it was pretty clear that she was the third ranked girl, even before they showed the date with Sadie.
The last date went well, which should surprise no one because Sadie has been the top choice since the first show. They always have a good time together and in my opinion he is the most intrigued by her. That’s not to say he doesn’t have feelings for the others, but I think there is the most chemistry between the two of them. The only annoying thing about their date was her issue with saving herself. I can understand that she was concerned about it, but as a viewer it was totally clear that Lozo was not going to care. And to make matter worse, there was no other drama or issues this entire episode. So the producers had to focus on this issue, which means every time she mentioned it (which was a lot) they showed it. And before every commercial break they had to bring it up (up next, the virgin decides… after the break, will she save herself? More to come, including Sadie’s choice for the overnight fantasy suite… What will go down next, will it be Sadie?) In any case, as I predicted in the last recap it all worked out and Sadie maintained her position as the favorite.
I was a little surprised how upset Lisa was in the limo. It’s a completely normal reaction; I just didn’t expect it from her. I guess since she has been pretty confident, and because they tried to make it seem like she liked getting married and sticking to her plan much more than Lorenz (which may have been true.) I also wish that when LBorg was saying his final goodbye to the loser that he would stop focusing on looks. Every week he makes a point to tell them that he thinks they are really hot, and I think it makes him sound like that’s all he cares about. Clearly if they made it this far he is attracted to them, and its not the only thing he cares about.
I think next week is the ‘Women Tell All’ which always gets on my nerves because you have a room full of bitter jealous girls. Then I assume the following week is the finale where LorBer will propose to say-it-ain’t-Sadie.
Friday, November 10, 2006
To Whom It May Concern
Dear coworkers-
I am writing to inform you that the urinals in our bathroom have flushing capabilities. I also wanted to let you know the purpose of such flushing is not only to empty solid contents. While I appreciate this style of flushing after using the normal style toilets, I ask that you extend the same courtesy after completing urination. I think that you think that because what you leave is only a liquid, it flows down the drain. You are incorrect. And we are not lucky enough to have those cake things in our urinal to combat the smell. As a result, the leftovers from your number one leave a strong to quite strong odor that makes me sick. Let it be known that I know who you are, because I have attended the restroom with you and witnessed this disregard for the silver lever atop the receiving device. I would hate to have to start taking a leak in your cubicle, but I will consider such retribution if your habits do not change.
Regards,
Brian
I am writing to inform you that the urinals in our bathroom have flushing capabilities. I also wanted to let you know the purpose of such flushing is not only to empty solid contents. While I appreciate this style of flushing after using the normal style toilets, I ask that you extend the same courtesy after completing urination. I think that you think that because what you leave is only a liquid, it flows down the drain. You are incorrect. And we are not lucky enough to have those cake things in our urinal to combat the smell. As a result, the leftovers from your number one leave a strong to quite strong odor that makes me sick. Let it be known that I know who you are, because I have attended the restroom with you and witnessed this disregard for the silver lever atop the receiving device. I would hate to have to start taking a leak in your cubicle, but I will consider such retribution if your habits do not change.
Regards,
Brian
Thursday, November 09, 2006
Man Word of the Day
Today's word is:
Mancation- a gathering or excursion of only guys to do things that they enjoy. The activities are ones that are not enjoyed by the women with whom the mancationers spend the most time (i.e. wife, girlfriend, etc.) like gambling, watching sports or playing video games.
Despite the similar spelling, manties and manscaping are not a part of mancationing.
Mancation- a gathering or excursion of only guys to do things that they enjoy. The activities are ones that are not enjoyed by the women with whom the mancationers spend the most time (i.e. wife, girlfriend, etc.) like gambling, watching sports or playing video games.
Despite the similar spelling, manties and manscaping are not a part of mancationing.
Wednesday, November 08, 2006
Just some thoughts...
In middle school I had a teacher who called Wednesday’s Hump Day. At the time I thought it was hilarious because I thought any word that could be used to describe sex was funny. That was when I was about 12. Now I am 26 and I still feel the same way. I am physically unable to say the word box to a female and not crack up.
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I was checking up on some of my contributions on Wikipedia, and noticed that some new material has been added. I also got a companywide newsletter via email the other day and noticed some external links. I found it strange that all the links were to Wikipedia. I emailed the HR guy who writes the newsletter and asked him why he chose Wikipedia. He was unable to provide any good reason, and I just pointed out that those pages are editable. I am pretty sure he did not know that, which is why he was not hesitant to send a corporate email to thousands of people. I seriously considered going to the linked entry for ebay and editing the first sentence to say something about the guy.
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Due to some Country Music Awards, the Bachelor wasn’t on this week. If you missed any of the recent episodes check out the recaps.
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I have been hearing advertisements on the radio lately for HD Radio. I know very little about this product, but I assumed it meant High Definition Radio. After some brief wikipediation, I learned it actually means Hybrid Digital. Well that’s good to know I guess… in any case, I confirmed that it is a form of higher quality radio.
The problem with this concept for me is that I don’t really value sound quality that much when I am listening to the radio. If I wanted to listen to high quality music I would put in a CD. Pretty much the only time I listen to the radio is on my way to and from work. And my car, like most others, makes some noise while driving. Not to mention often times (much more than 50% of the time) I am driving with a passenger. I talk frequently and would usually rather chat it up than sit silently in the car listening to music. Unless maybe there were some powerful Josh Groban-style vocals on, in which case I would be singing along anyways (you are lying if say you can listen to You Raise Me Up and not want to belt it out along with him.) The only other times that I can think of using a radio is for background noise at a party or maybe while showering (if I had a shower radio.) Neither of these scenarios warrants me paying more for higher quality sound.
Which leads me to the other problem: HD Radio costs money. I need to go out and buy a new radio to listen. I am not a student of business but common sense tells me that sounds like a not sweet business model… take something that isn’t broke, reinvent it by adding features that are not valued by consumers, then hope they go out and pay money for it. I just have a hard time imagining it being successful. I don’t think your average consumer is going to out and buy a new radio. And if they did want to pay for radio they might consider satellite radio. So I think the best way for it to work would be to put the HD radios into all new home stereo receivers and cars. If eventually that became the standard and replaced normal style radios I might listen. But I wouldn’t go out and specifically trade my cash money for a HD Radio.
I know what you are thinking… what about HDTV? In my opinion that is not exactly the same thing. It is true that the shaky business model is the same, adding an unnecessary feature to an already good product and raising the price. But I think that people value watching TV much more than they do listening to the radio. They do it more and it gives them more enjoyment, so they are willing to pay more for it.
Note: I have never listened to HD Radio, so I could be totally wrong. Let me know if that is the case.
----
I was checking up on some of my contributions on Wikipedia, and noticed that some new material has been added. I also got a companywide newsletter via email the other day and noticed some external links. I found it strange that all the links were to Wikipedia. I emailed the HR guy who writes the newsletter and asked him why he chose Wikipedia. He was unable to provide any good reason, and I just pointed out that those pages are editable. I am pretty sure he did not know that, which is why he was not hesitant to send a corporate email to thousands of people. I seriously considered going to the linked entry for ebay and editing the first sentence to say something about the guy.
---
Due to some Country Music Awards, the Bachelor wasn’t on this week. If you missed any of the recent episodes check out the recaps.
---
I have been hearing advertisements on the radio lately for HD Radio. I know very little about this product, but I assumed it meant High Definition Radio. After some brief wikipediation, I learned it actually means Hybrid Digital. Well that’s good to know I guess… in any case, I confirmed that it is a form of higher quality radio.
The problem with this concept for me is that I don’t really value sound quality that much when I am listening to the radio. If I wanted to listen to high quality music I would put in a CD. Pretty much the only time I listen to the radio is on my way to and from work. And my car, like most others, makes some noise while driving. Not to mention often times (much more than 50% of the time) I am driving with a passenger. I talk frequently and would usually rather chat it up than sit silently in the car listening to music. Unless maybe there were some powerful Josh Groban-style vocals on, in which case I would be singing along anyways (you are lying if say you can listen to You Raise Me Up and not want to belt it out along with him.) The only other times that I can think of using a radio is for background noise at a party or maybe while showering (if I had a shower radio.) Neither of these scenarios warrants me paying more for higher quality sound.
Which leads me to the other problem: HD Radio costs money. I need to go out and buy a new radio to listen. I am not a student of business but common sense tells me that sounds like a not sweet business model… take something that isn’t broke, reinvent it by adding features that are not valued by consumers, then hope they go out and pay money for it. I just have a hard time imagining it being successful. I don’t think your average consumer is going to out and buy a new radio. And if they did want to pay for radio they might consider satellite radio. So I think the best way for it to work would be to put the HD radios into all new home stereo receivers and cars. If eventually that became the standard and replaced normal style radios I might listen. But I wouldn’t go out and specifically trade my cash money for a HD Radio.
I know what you are thinking… what about HDTV? In my opinion that is not exactly the same thing. It is true that the shaky business model is the same, adding an unnecessary feature to an already good product and raising the price. But I think that people value watching TV much more than they do listening to the radio. They do it more and it gives them more enjoyment, so they are willing to pay more for it.
Note: I have never listened to HD Radio, so I could be totally wrong. Let me know if that is the case.
Tuesday, November 07, 2006
Monday, November 06, 2006
Halloween Jokes- a week late
Why didn’t the skeleton cross the road?
Because he had no guts.
Why don’t monsters eat clowns?
Because they taste funny.
How do you tell if a Vampire has a cold?
By his coffin.
Because he had no guts.
Why don’t monsters eat clowns?
Because they taste funny.
How do you tell if a Vampire has a cold?
By his coffin.
Thursday, November 02, 2006
Fun Pictures
I was looking over some pictures on my computer and found two that I wanted to share.
Here is what Jake looked like last spring when in Jamaica...
And here is Eric sleeping at Morgan's after a wedding...
Here is what Jake looked like last spring when in Jamaica...
And here is Eric sleeping at Morgan's after a wedding...
Wednesday, November 01, 2006
If you want nice game...
When I was young I would wash my hair at the end of my shower. About the time I was entering college, I started washing my hair first. I think there were two main reasons for this switch. The first was because of gravity. Any dirt particles that were released from my scalp would mix with the water and fall down along my body. In a sense I was washing my body and then dripping dirty water over my clean body. I am not trying to say that I have a lot of dirt in my hair or that this was ever really a problem that I had. It was just preventative maintenance. It is worth noting that about the time I made the switch I sported a very short haircut. Washing my hair was merely a formality at that point in time. The second reason that I modified my self bathing procedure was because of my desire to let the product more fully do it's job. Most of the time my showers are very brief, but from time to time I mix in longer spa-style shower. On these occasions I want the cleansing agents in the shampoo (or conditioner) to have time to wash and condition. Again, at the time my lack of hair didnt really need any additional time. But I was aware that this was a potential benefit for the future.
Years later I still wash my hair first when I get into the shower.
Morgan is pretty much responsible for selecting which products I use to wash and condition my hair. Well the products that I am currently using are so much of a treat that I wanted to post about it. Almost every morning while lathering up I think to myself how great these products really are. Both my shampoo and conditioner are from the same line, Herbal Essences. When I write that line, I think of those old commercials with the hot girls moaning in the shower. I also remember the flower like bottles that I have used many times. Well this new line is different, from looking at the website it appears they have many new types. I have no idea why this typein the blue bottle was purchased, but it is quite impressive. Sporting more than a pleasant (yet not overly strong and womenly) scent, this stuff leaves your hair feeling great.
Perhaps this post is a bit metro, but I just wanted to extend a recommendation to all my manscaping readers.
Years later I still wash my hair first when I get into the shower.
Morgan is pretty much responsible for selecting which products I use to wash and condition my hair. Well the products that I am currently using are so much of a treat that I wanted to post about it. Almost every morning while lathering up I think to myself how great these products really are. Both my shampoo and conditioner are from the same line, Herbal Essences. When I write that line, I think of those old commercials with the hot girls moaning in the shower. I also remember the flower like bottles that I have used many times. Well this new line is different, from looking at the website it appears they have many new types. I have no idea why this typein the blue bottle was purchased, but it is quite impressive. Sporting more than a pleasant (yet not overly strong and womenly) scent, this stuff leaves your hair feeling great.
Perhaps this post is a bit metro, but I just wanted to extend a recommendation to all my manscaping readers.
The Bachelor Rome: The Final Three
If you read my previous recap of the Bachelor, than you know that I was not surprised that Agnese went home on Monday. It is terribly difficult to have a relationship with someone that you can barely talk to. However, I will say that I thought she looked real good this week. It seemed pretty clear to me that LorB was attracted to her the most. I guess its no surprised since she made the final 4 and cant talk to him, but I thought his body language and move busting really showed how much he wanted it. Also I think he was surprised that he had as strong of feelings as he did. He really liked her physically but knew she couldn’t compare to the other girls in terms of a connection on a deeper level. I think he was sincerely upset when she was leaving, but he did sort of make it sound fake when he commented that he wanted to be emotional to let her know how hard a choice it was for him. I also think that the cry-session they shared might have helped Agnese if they had done it sooner. I think LoBo may have valued this other form of communication and it may have helped her stick around a bit longer.
I can’t believe that Jennifer is still around. I still really don’t see why he likes her. I think she is solid, I just don’t see LoBs being that into her. He knows she possesses good qualities, and sometimes I think he is too busy looking for reasons to eliminate girls as opposed to looking for the things he likes. For instance I thought he genuinely had a connection with Agnese, granted it was probably mainly physical, but it was more than I have seen him have with most of the other girls. And I haven’t even gotten to Jennifer’s family. I would like to think they were being extra awkward and weird because they were being filmed, but her dad was pretty sketchy. Did he not think about how strange I was to threaten a grown man on national TV? I know he is just being a protective father and making a point, but the guy who he is threatening is trying to decide between your daughter and a bunch of other hot girls (who potentially have normal parents.) I know he was just being honest because he cares for his daughter, but I am not sure he was really helping her cause.
If you want to talk about doing things to drop your stock, I should probably mention what Lisa did in this episode. She had her best friend stop by why LBo was at her place. That would be acceptable, but the problem was that she was carrying a wedding dress! In what world is this normal? I think every guy in the world sided with eL-Bo when he said something like “what guy wouldn’t be sort of freaked out?” And the worst part was life planning Lisa claimed she thought it went well and him seeing her in the dress helped her chances. Wrong! I couldn’t get as good of a read with Lisa’s family. They seemed kind of normal I guess, all aware that Lisa is a planner. This did, at least in my mind, somewhat justify her obsessive plan. It may not have justified it, but at least you could see that this is how she always is with her life. She is not just some crazy girl who is obsessed with only getting married. I can’t decide if Lisa or Jennifer is going home next week. Fearing for his life, I hope elbow gets rid of Jennifer first. Otherwise her dad is going to be pissed because she is going to be even more upset in the finale when ZoBo selects Sadie.
Sadie is still the lock to win the show. In my view, her family was far and away the most normal, and I agreed with ‘Renz that knowing Sadie this was not at all surprising. There isn’t too much to say about Sadie other than I could see a potential issue next week with the overnight dates. And it is going to go like this: They have romantic date, Sadie knows there is the fantasy suite option and will be all worked up about it. LoZo will know this is coming, and be classy about it. One of two things will happen:
1) after being asked, Sadie will say she would love to stay the night, and she even considers losing herself for him. However, ZoLo knows better than this, and having had his share of women doesn’t mind holding out. So he will be her knight in shining armor when he respectfully declines her invitation. He wants to be the one, he just doesn’t mind waiting. I am not sure if she will actually make the offer in this option, but either way the ending is the same: failure to launch the USS LoBo, but both parties are happy and she goes on to win.
2) Sadie declines the overnight date. It is just not her style, and despite having been stressed about it for days, she decides not to go for it. She fears that this will be a major dagger to her chances, but LB (not to be confused with LB33) doesn’t care. He still likes her the best and ends up picking her. Just that instead of getting with Sadie he calls up Agnese and spends the night with her, but never tells anyone. Just kidding, although LoZoBo wouldn’t hate that.
So that’s my thoughts on the Bachelor. If I had to make predictions, I would say: 3. Jennifer 2. Lisa 1. Sadie
I can’t believe that Jennifer is still around. I still really don’t see why he likes her. I think she is solid, I just don’t see LoBs being that into her. He knows she possesses good qualities, and sometimes I think he is too busy looking for reasons to eliminate girls as opposed to looking for the things he likes. For instance I thought he genuinely had a connection with Agnese, granted it was probably mainly physical, but it was more than I have seen him have with most of the other girls. And I haven’t even gotten to Jennifer’s family. I would like to think they were being extra awkward and weird because they were being filmed, but her dad was pretty sketchy. Did he not think about how strange I was to threaten a grown man on national TV? I know he is just being a protective father and making a point, but the guy who he is threatening is trying to decide between your daughter and a bunch of other hot girls (who potentially have normal parents.) I know he was just being honest because he cares for his daughter, but I am not sure he was really helping her cause.
If you want to talk about doing things to drop your stock, I should probably mention what Lisa did in this episode. She had her best friend stop by why LBo was at her place. That would be acceptable, but the problem was that she was carrying a wedding dress! In what world is this normal? I think every guy in the world sided with eL-Bo when he said something like “what guy wouldn’t be sort of freaked out?” And the worst part was life planning Lisa claimed she thought it went well and him seeing her in the dress helped her chances. Wrong! I couldn’t get as good of a read with Lisa’s family. They seemed kind of normal I guess, all aware that Lisa is a planner. This did, at least in my mind, somewhat justify her obsessive plan. It may not have justified it, but at least you could see that this is how she always is with her life. She is not just some crazy girl who is obsessed with only getting married. I can’t decide if Lisa or Jennifer is going home next week. Fearing for his life, I hope elbow gets rid of Jennifer first. Otherwise her dad is going to be pissed because she is going to be even more upset in the finale when ZoBo selects Sadie.
Sadie is still the lock to win the show. In my view, her family was far and away the most normal, and I agreed with ‘Renz that knowing Sadie this was not at all surprising. There isn’t too much to say about Sadie other than I could see a potential issue next week with the overnight dates. And it is going to go like this: They have romantic date, Sadie knows there is the fantasy suite option and will be all worked up about it. LoZo will know this is coming, and be classy about it. One of two things will happen:
1) after being asked, Sadie will say she would love to stay the night, and she even considers losing herself for him. However, ZoLo knows better than this, and having had his share of women doesn’t mind holding out. So he will be her knight in shining armor when he respectfully declines her invitation. He wants to be the one, he just doesn’t mind waiting. I am not sure if she will actually make the offer in this option, but either way the ending is the same: failure to launch the USS LoBo, but both parties are happy and she goes on to win.
2) Sadie declines the overnight date. It is just not her style, and despite having been stressed about it for days, she decides not to go for it. She fears that this will be a major dagger to her chances, but LB (not to be confused with LB33) doesn’t care. He still likes her the best and ends up picking her. Just that instead of getting with Sadie he calls up Agnese and spends the night with her, but never tells anyone. Just kidding, although LoZoBo wouldn’t hate that.
So that’s my thoughts on the Bachelor. If I had to make predictions, I would say: 3. Jennifer 2. Lisa 1. Sadie
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