Bobby Knight has done it again. This time a short upper cut to a Texas Tech player who was not looking him in the eye. It was effective too. Is this it for him or is this just another on a long line of things that draws uproar but nothing happens to him? Personally, I don't think it was that big of a deal. The kid isn't hurt but Bobby probably overstepped his bounds in striking the kid. How would I feel if it was my son getting hit? I'm not sure since I don't have any kids. I'm all for discipline so I probably would be on Bobby's side if I thought my kid was not doing what he was told. How would you feel?
I forgot to mention I bought a new toy (yes, another one) on Saturday. Got an 80 gb iPod video. It's awesome. I put all our music (4,428 songs), 400 photos, a dozen tv shows and a movie on it and I still have 55 gb free! I also found some software called HandBrake for the Mac that allows me to copy dvd's to mpeg4 format in a size for the iPod (320x240). I did a Seinfeld episode in about 20 minutes and the movie Cars in about 2 hours. Not exactly fast but about as long as it takes to play the movie. Quality is excellent. The software is free.
Took my new bowling ball to Rob Bailey last night to get drilled. First we spent about 90 minutes going over what I was looking for it to do and discussing alternate balls but in the end it came back to just going with that ball. He polished it first to make it slide farther down before hooking. The other thing he did was to change the pitch of the hole for my middle finger that I have arthritis in to alieve the pain. I'll be damned, it didn't hurt at all. The guy is a wizard. The ball worked just how I wanted it. I could go way deep inside, standing at the far left and throwing it over 4th arrow and it would slide way down then snap into the pocket and destroy the pins. Can't wait till tomorrow. I also bought a spare ball, a 14 lb Columbia White Dot that won't hook much to use shooting 10 pins. Since I needed something to carry all these I also bought a 3-ball wheeled bag. Unfortunately I didn't get out of there till 8:30, a full hour after I told Cdubya I'd be home and 2 1/2 hours after I'd arrived there, so my dinner was a touch cold....
Fox cancelled another show on me. Justice was on Monday nights until yesterday, now it's gone. I enjoyed it, so it figures it is gone. In fact, I brought up the guide to check around 5:00 last night and it showed Justice briefly then changed to House right before my eyes. Oh well, I was watching too many shows anyway.
Later!
Tuesday, November 14, 2006
Monday, November 13, 2006
Tournament Bowling
I bowled in my first singles tournament in about 15 years on Saturday. It was a $60 buy in with 42 bowlers. 4 games of qualifying, top 12 make the cut for head to head. I was too nervous early, missing easy spares my first two frames en route to a horrible 179 game. I then had a beer... and it helped. I shot 248 and 247 my next game. 4th game I struggled to carry and ended up only having a 204. I ended up with 878 and missed the cut by 31 pins, finishing 19th. If only I'd gotten my average in the first game I would have made it.
Oh well, I did win a new bowling ball in a raffle. It's a Track Solution Power Plus. Not sure about the ball, have to head over to Rob Bailey and get it drilled. I'm looking for something that will carry down a long ways and snap hard on the back. Hopefully he can drill this one to help with that.
Here's the recap of the tourney: http://mast.bowlweb.com/archives/0607/prairie.html
Next one I'll probably bowl in is on December 2nd in McFarland.
In hockey last night we gave up goals on our first 2 shifts but rebounded to dominate the game, winning 5-2. I played D again and did fairly well, nothing spectacular. Had a few good shots and some nice passes.
Oh well, I did win a new bowling ball in a raffle. It's a Track Solution Power Plus. Not sure about the ball, have to head over to Rob Bailey and get it drilled. I'm looking for something that will carry down a long ways and snap hard on the back. Hopefully he can drill this one to help with that.
Here's the recap of the tourney: http://mast.bowlweb.com/archives/0607/prairie.html
Next one I'll probably bowl in is on December 2nd in McFarland.
In hockey last night we gave up goals on our first 2 shifts but rebounded to dominate the game, winning 5-2. I played D again and did fairly well, nothing spectacular. Had a few good shots and some nice passes.
Friday, November 10, 2006
Mutiny!
In a new twist in Survivor last night, they introduced the Mutiny clause. You have 10 seconds to decide. Quit your tribe and join the other or stay put. I assumed no one would do it, but to my amazement, 2 idiots decided to throw the game away and jump ship. Candace first (because she's in love with Adam and wanted to be on his team) followed shortly there-after by perhaps the most idiotic, Jonathan. He seemed to think he needed to stay with Candace, not knowing she really didn't trust him and wanted to get away from him. He basically screwed the pooch on that one. He went from a position of relative safety to being hated by his old tribe and on the bottom rung of the ladder in his new tribe. Nate said it best, that he was a total idiot if he thought they would ever trust him.
Now the tribes sit at 8 to 4. But the 4 left were bonded tightly by the betrayal and they came out smoking winning both the award and immunity challenges and Ozzie has a new life. He will be incredibly difficult to beat in individual immunity and might have gotten voted off had the mutiny not occured. He and Ule played with a vengence and Ozzie even told the others that "Mutineers die first." I loved it.
Luckily for Jonathan the old tribe was still pissed at Brad and wanted him gone first so he gets to play 3 more days but he's definitely next to go on that tribe. For a guy that planned everything well in advance and never made a snap decision, his downfall will be for doing the opposite, a fitting end.
Now the tribes sit at 8 to 4. But the 4 left were bonded tightly by the betrayal and they came out smoking winning both the award and immunity challenges and Ozzie has a new life. He will be incredibly difficult to beat in individual immunity and might have gotten voted off had the mutiny not occured. He and Ule played with a vengence and Ozzie even told the others that "Mutineers die first." I loved it.
Luckily for Jonathan the old tribe was still pissed at Brad and wanted him gone first so he gets to play 3 more days but he's definitely next to go on that tribe. For a guy that planned everything well in advance and never made a snap decision, his downfall will be for doing the opposite, a fitting end.
Thursday, November 09, 2006
Hookey
Beautiful day yesterday, so of course I didn’t go to work. I had my new LG front loading washer and dryer delivered in the morning, they are awe… wait for it… some.
After that Retro and I went out to play golf. Kind of windy but 65 on November 8th is not too damn bad. I struggled early, having not played in a few weeks but once I decided to quit trying to swing easy and just hit the fucker hard things came together. I shot 42 on the back with birdies on 16 and 18. I think I’ll quit now, birdie the last hole (had an eagle putt of about 20 feet that just missed), I’ll have that all winter to remember.
Of course, we had several beers as well, which might be why Retro shot 114… but that’s not highly unusual for him anyway.
Went to bowling after that and did ok early, shooting 233 and 226 but fell apart in the 3rd as the oil dried up and I couldn’t get the ball over to the right side, shooting a paltry 139, possibly my worst game in several years, ending up with a 598 series. Just sick… and to make matters worst we only lost that game by about 15 pins.
I’m still planning to try out a tournament Saturday, maybe sober will be the ticket. :)
Later
After that Retro and I went out to play golf. Kind of windy but 65 on November 8th is not too damn bad. I struggled early, having not played in a few weeks but once I decided to quit trying to swing easy and just hit the fucker hard things came together. I shot 42 on the back with birdies on 16 and 18. I think I’ll quit now, birdie the last hole (had an eagle putt of about 20 feet that just missed), I’ll have that all winter to remember.
Of course, we had several beers as well, which might be why Retro shot 114… but that’s not highly unusual for him anyway.
Went to bowling after that and did ok early, shooting 233 and 226 but fell apart in the 3rd as the oil dried up and I couldn’t get the ball over to the right side, shooting a paltry 139, possibly my worst game in several years, ending up with a 598 series. Just sick… and to make matters worst we only lost that game by about 15 pins.
I’m still planning to try out a tournament Saturday, maybe sober will be the ticket. :)
Later
Monday, November 06, 2006
More High Tech Toys for me
We purchased a new washer and dryer Friday night at the Home Depot. We got a top end LG front loader washer and dryer. They are expensive but an incredible upgrade in technology. No more agitator wringing my clothes into knots. The model we have also washes with steam, which is supposed to clean better. It also has a quick steam fresh cycle for quickly removing wrinkles. In addition it uses far less water and soap. Plus it’s way bigger than our current top loader model and can even handle a king sized comforter, which we usually had to take to a laundromat. They will be delivered on Wednesday and they will haul away our old ones.
On Saturday, the Badgers beat Penn State pretty easily, despite the low score. They only inched up to 15 in the BCS standings though. They play hated Iowa this weekend and haven’t beaten them since 2002. They look like a lock for the Capital One bowl on New Years day in Orlando, as the 3rd place finisher in the Big 10.
Couple interesting things in the game. First, at the end of the first half they had 23 seconds left and were kicking off. They sent the entire team 10 yards offsides and smothered the return at the 8 yard line. Of course, Penn State accepted the penalty and forced the Badgers to kick again. They did the exact same thing and this time Penn State had a holding penalty so they had to re-kick. This time they stayed onside and actually forced a fumble which they recovered but the clock had expired. Why did they do this? Turns out a rule change this year starts the clock when the kicker kicks the ball, instead of when the return team touches it. Taking advantage of this rule they were able to run out the clock instead of giving Penn State a chance to drive for a score. Man, Paterno was pissed! Of course, he was more upset when he got taken out on the sideline in the 3rd quarter, breaking his tibia and having ligament damage to his knee. He left on a cart with his leg in a brace. He’s still one tough mofo at almost 80 years old.
As for the Packers…. I’m not even sure what to say. I haven’t been that pissed off watching a game in a long time. Just sickening. And the worst part is that I can’t even give my friends that are Bears fans any crap…
Bowling Saturday night we actually won 2 games, maybe we’ve turned the corner, going 12-2 the last 2 times. I struggled quite a bit the first 2 games, not able to convert easy spares and wasn’t able to carry many strikes, shooting a 175 and 193. Fortunately I recovered in the 3rd game for a 260 (strike, spare, strike, spare, 8 strikes to end it) and a 628 series. I’m maintaining a 207 average in that league.
Hockey last night we came from down 3-1 to tie it in the 3rd period and won it in the shootout. I played defense and had an assist and had one goal against when I blocked a shot with my skate only to have it deflect right onto the stick of an opposing player who subsequently scored.
On Saturday, the Badgers beat Penn State pretty easily, despite the low score. They only inched up to 15 in the BCS standings though. They play hated Iowa this weekend and haven’t beaten them since 2002. They look like a lock for the Capital One bowl on New Years day in Orlando, as the 3rd place finisher in the Big 10.
Couple interesting things in the game. First, at the end of the first half they had 23 seconds left and were kicking off. They sent the entire team 10 yards offsides and smothered the return at the 8 yard line. Of course, Penn State accepted the penalty and forced the Badgers to kick again. They did the exact same thing and this time Penn State had a holding penalty so they had to re-kick. This time they stayed onside and actually forced a fumble which they recovered but the clock had expired. Why did they do this? Turns out a rule change this year starts the clock when the kicker kicks the ball, instead of when the return team touches it. Taking advantage of this rule they were able to run out the clock instead of giving Penn State a chance to drive for a score. Man, Paterno was pissed! Of course, he was more upset when he got taken out on the sideline in the 3rd quarter, breaking his tibia and having ligament damage to his knee. He left on a cart with his leg in a brace. He’s still one tough mofo at almost 80 years old.
As for the Packers…. I’m not even sure what to say. I haven’t been that pissed off watching a game in a long time. Just sickening. And the worst part is that I can’t even give my friends that are Bears fans any crap…
Bowling Saturday night we actually won 2 games, maybe we’ve turned the corner, going 12-2 the last 2 times. I struggled quite a bit the first 2 games, not able to convert easy spares and wasn’t able to carry many strikes, shooting a 175 and 193. Fortunately I recovered in the 3rd game for a 260 (strike, spare, strike, spare, 8 strikes to end it) and a 628 series. I’m maintaining a 207 average in that league.
Hockey last night we came from down 3-1 to tie it in the 3rd period and won it in the shootout. I played defense and had an assist and had one goal against when I blocked a shot with my skate only to have it deflect right onto the stick of an opposing player who subsequently scored.
Friday, November 03, 2006
The Streak is Dead
My hot bowling run has come to a screeching halt.
After dealing with incredibly tough lanes on Wednesday and struggling to a 585 (178, 194, 212) I was looking forward to the easier lanes on Thursday night. And I got them, nothing really hard about the shot. I figured another 700 was coming for sure, but I lacked consistency in speed, angle and carry. Just lost that feeling that I could hit the shot every time. I never got on track and shot 585 again (202, 213, 170). Ended up having about 4 splits and a few washouts. I guess it's over.
I bowl again Saturday in couples league, this will be the first time I have bowled 3 times in a week in many years. We'll see how my arthritis knuckle holds up. It's getting pretty sore.
After dealing with incredibly tough lanes on Wednesday and struggling to a 585 (178, 194, 212) I was looking forward to the easier lanes on Thursday night. And I got them, nothing really hard about the shot. I figured another 700 was coming for sure, but I lacked consistency in speed, angle and carry. Just lost that feeling that I could hit the shot every time. I never got on track and shot 585 again (202, 213, 170). Ended up having about 4 splits and a few washouts. I guess it's over.
I bowl again Saturday in couples league, this will be the first time I have bowled 3 times in a week in many years. We'll see how my arthritis knuckle holds up. It's getting pretty sore.
Monday, October 30, 2006
Poker Night #1
Stupid blogger, lost my post so I have to type it all over again. Grrrr
I hosted my first poker party in my new basement pub room and learned a couple of valuable lessons.
First, despite the basement being normally cool, if you put 7 guys in a closed in room with no air circulation it will get quite warm and muggy. I'll break out the fan next time, not sure why I didn't think of that, other than it might have been the beer...
Second, no more stupid "non-poker" games that take three hours to play and have dumb start-over rules. No more, not again, not in my house. We will play poker, which shall be limited to hold 'em, stud, draw, maybe even a badugi, but no more 4-toed pete and up your giggy. I had already banned in-between the sheets but I should have gone farther and I apologize to the rest of you that suffered through those idiotic games.
Saturday we went down to IKEA in Shaumburg, IL to pick up some more shelving for the basement and we also hit Nordstroms since we don't have one here. I picked up a new robe from there (how exciting) and some cool shoes from the Clarks store.
What a pain driving in Illinois is. Everyone is in some sort of emergency on the freeway where they must drive 80+ mph despite the construction signs stating 45 mph and minimum $375 fine. I swear they're asses must be on fire. The other horrible thing is the tolls. They have a new system where if you have an IPass you can drive right on through without stopping, but if you have to pay cash, you sit in a line for 15 minutes waiting to pay your 80 cents, dollar or $1.60. And of course, no sign telling you how much this next one will be, you don't know till you get to the booth, then start digging for the change. I'm getting a pass next time.
Yesterday was the start of hockey season again. We started slow as we normally do and despite dominating play the first 2 periods we could only manage one goal. We gave up 5 in the 3rd to lose 6-1, but beer was good afterwards regardless.
I hosted my first poker party in my new basement pub room and learned a couple of valuable lessons.
First, despite the basement being normally cool, if you put 7 guys in a closed in room with no air circulation it will get quite warm and muggy. I'll break out the fan next time, not sure why I didn't think of that, other than it might have been the beer...
Second, no more stupid "non-poker" games that take three hours to play and have dumb start-over rules. No more, not again, not in my house. We will play poker, which shall be limited to hold 'em, stud, draw, maybe even a badugi, but no more 4-toed pete and up your giggy. I had already banned in-between the sheets but I should have gone farther and I apologize to the rest of you that suffered through those idiotic games.
Saturday we went down to IKEA in Shaumburg, IL to pick up some more shelving for the basement and we also hit Nordstroms since we don't have one here. I picked up a new robe from there (how exciting) and some cool shoes from the Clarks store.
What a pain driving in Illinois is. Everyone is in some sort of emergency on the freeway where they must drive 80+ mph despite the construction signs stating 45 mph and minimum $375 fine. I swear they're asses must be on fire. The other horrible thing is the tolls. They have a new system where if you have an IPass you can drive right on through without stopping, but if you have to pay cash, you sit in a line for 15 minutes waiting to pay your 80 cents, dollar or $1.60. And of course, no sign telling you how much this next one will be, you don't know till you get to the booth, then start digging for the change. I'm getting a pass next time.
Yesterday was the start of hockey season again. We started slow as we normally do and despite dominating play the first 2 periods we could only manage one goal. We gave up 5 in the 3rd to lose 6-1, but beer was good afterwards regardless.
Thursday, October 26, 2006
Round 2, no 300 this time
I found out that many teams in the company bowling league don't bother to send out a request for subs so I just showed up at the lanes and found a team looking for a sub right away.
The lanes weren't quite as forgiving as last time at the place where I had the 300 and I struggled in the first game, not quite able to get in a groove. The 2 lanes were completely different and I couldn't get it quite worked out.
I managed to throw a 202 the first game. I seemed to get it going better in the 2nd game, starting with the first 7 strikes before succombing to a solid 10 pin in the 8th. I finished with a 258 and continued more of the same in game 3 for a 246 and a 706 series, lowering my average 10 pins from 256 to 246, hahahaha.
With the effect my average had on the team handicap we were lucky to win the 2nd game. My new teamates chided me that we won the one game I bowled my average. I like the league, some nice guys and since it starts at 4:30 and is only 3 man teams, I'm done by 6, so less likely to get much grief from Cdubya.
The lanes weren't quite as forgiving as last time at the place where I had the 300 and I struggled in the first game, not quite able to get in a groove. The 2 lanes were completely different and I couldn't get it quite worked out.
I managed to throw a 202 the first game. I seemed to get it going better in the 2nd game, starting with the first 7 strikes before succombing to a solid 10 pin in the 8th. I finished with a 258 and continued more of the same in game 3 for a 246 and a 706 series, lowering my average 10 pins from 256 to 246, hahahaha.
With the effect my average had on the team handicap we were lucky to win the 2nd game. My new teamates chided me that we won the one game I bowled my average. I like the league, some nice guys and since it starts at 4:30 and is only 3 man teams, I'm done by 6, so less likely to get much grief from Cdubya.
Finally, a winning night
After what was probably 6 weeks in a row of losing, we finally won at bowling last night. We won all 3 games, including a good come back in the 10th of the first game.
The Dude and Soup carried us with 616 and 592, respectively. I struggled a bit and shot 630 (226, 194, 210).
Friday night I will be hosting my first poker night in the new basement pub room. All seven guys from the bowling team will be there. Should be fun, I loaded up the mini-fridge with about 40 beers of 6 different varieties. Hope that's enough. The Badger hockey team is playing Boston College and it's on Fox Sports North so I'll have that on the big screen while we're playing.
On Saturday we'll be heading down to Shaumberg, IL to visit IKEA. I have some wood shelving from there in the non-finished part of the basement and want to add a couple sections to it so I can finally start putting all my crap away. Their prices are good and everything is super easy to put together. It's always a fun store to wander through.
I was planning to skip golfing this week, after last weekend's painful episode. But now I'm thinking I might play 9 holes tomorrow afternoon. Looks like the sun might be coming out and it should be near 50. Haven't decided yet.
Watched Lost after bowling last night. We learned a couple more things. 1) The others are not on the same island! and 2) Ben (leader of the others) has a serious tumor on his spine and Jack is most likely there to operate on him (since, of course, he is a spine surgeon).
The Dude and Soup carried us with 616 and 592, respectively. I struggled a bit and shot 630 (226, 194, 210).
Friday night I will be hosting my first poker night in the new basement pub room. All seven guys from the bowling team will be there. Should be fun, I loaded up the mini-fridge with about 40 beers of 6 different varieties. Hope that's enough. The Badger hockey team is playing Boston College and it's on Fox Sports North so I'll have that on the big screen while we're playing.
On Saturday we'll be heading down to Shaumberg, IL to visit IKEA. I have some wood shelving from there in the non-finished part of the basement and want to add a couple sections to it so I can finally start putting all my crap away. Their prices are good and everything is super easy to put together. It's always a fun store to wander through.
I was planning to skip golfing this week, after last weekend's painful episode. But now I'm thinking I might play 9 holes tomorrow afternoon. Looks like the sun might be coming out and it should be near 50. Haven't decided yet.
Watched Lost after bowling last night. We learned a couple more things. 1) The others are not on the same island! and 2) Ben (leader of the others) has a serious tumor on his spine and Jack is most likely there to operate on him (since, of course, he is a spine surgeon).
Monday, October 23, 2006
That's enough golf for me
Saturday was the Ice Cube open at Door Creek golf course and it lived up to the name. Starting at 9:45, it was raining and about 43 degrees, but it wasn't horrible. No wind and the rain wasn't hard so no big deal. I still wasn't playing that well though. Unfortunately on the back nine the temp dropped and the wind picked up and the rain started coming down harder. By the end the wind chill was about freezing and I was a soaked puppy. In fact, the last 2 holes I couldn't even hang onto the club. On my drive on 17, my driver flew out of my hands about 40 feet while my ball went about 100 yards to the left. After that I was so worried about losing the club I could barely swing. Ended up shooting 103, but I did win a free foresome to Foxboro in the drawing afterwards. I think golf season is over.
Saturday night was bowling. Didn't do too badly, shooting 703 (218, 249, 236). Then we left to go to dinner and it was snowing! After dinner, it was snowing so hard I could barely see the road, kept staring at the flakes flying at me... we ended up getting almost 2.5" of snow, most of it melted though. Yesterday was just plain cold but warmed up enough to melt the rest of the snow. I guess we skipped fall and went right into winter already. Gonna be a long, cold, miserable winter. I'm going to need to take a trip south soon.
Tigers and Cards split the first 2 games of the world series with the Cards roughing up Justin Verlander in the first game and Kenny Rogers continuing his post-season magic with 8 shutout innings last night. But... the big controversy is, what did Rogers have on his hand in the first inning? To me, it looked like pine tar. He said it was a "clump of dirt" and he washed it off when he noticed it. The umpires and his own manager said that the umpires told him to wash it off. Rogers said no one said anything to him. Why lie about that? Is it really an issue if you're not cheating? And why didn't the Cardinals players insist that the umpires check him? They should have checked his hat, glove, sleeves, etc after they saw the substance. And if they found anything he should have been ejected. Of course, with a clean hand he pitched 7 more shutout innings so it's probably not a big deal.
Here's a picture, courtesy of ESPN, that shows his hand from last night and from game 3 of the ALCS. I see a brown spot both times. How come no one noticed this before?
Here's the picture (game 3 alcs on left, last night on right):
Saturday night was bowling. Didn't do too badly, shooting 703 (218, 249, 236). Then we left to go to dinner and it was snowing! After dinner, it was snowing so hard I could barely see the road, kept staring at the flakes flying at me... we ended up getting almost 2.5" of snow, most of it melted though. Yesterday was just plain cold but warmed up enough to melt the rest of the snow. I guess we skipped fall and went right into winter already. Gonna be a long, cold, miserable winter. I'm going to need to take a trip south soon.
Tigers and Cards split the first 2 games of the world series with the Cards roughing up Justin Verlander in the first game and Kenny Rogers continuing his post-season magic with 8 shutout innings last night. But... the big controversy is, what did Rogers have on his hand in the first inning? To me, it looked like pine tar. He said it was a "clump of dirt" and he washed it off when he noticed it. The umpires and his own manager said that the umpires told him to wash it off. Rogers said no one said anything to him. Why lie about that? Is it really an issue if you're not cheating? And why didn't the Cardinals players insist that the umpires check him? They should have checked his hat, glove, sleeves, etc after they saw the substance. And if they found anything he should have been ejected. Of course, with a clean hand he pitched 7 more shutout innings so it's probably not a big deal.
Here's a picture, courtesy of ESPN, that shows his hand from last night and from game 3 of the ALCS. I see a brown spot both times. How come no one noticed this before?
Here's the picture (game 3 alcs on left, last night on right):
Thursday, October 19, 2006
No Repeat
It's become fairly apparent that not all bowling alleys treat you the same way. After bowling one week at a different house and shooting my first 300 ever, coming back to our normal lanes was a nice slap in the face. No consistency in the shots, oil evaporates at an incredible rate and the shot just disappears if you ever found it to begin with.
I thought I threw the ball fairly well but just couldn't get anything going. Never had more than 4 strikes in a row and added a couple huge splits in the 3rd game. Ended up shooting 644 (213, 222, 209) which doesn't seem bad but I really wanted a lot more. The 3rd game was ridiculous. I started out with the first 4 after moving a board left from where I ended the 2nd game. By the 5th frame I had to move another board, then another and another. By the end I was shooting what I normally would shoot to cover a 6-pin. It's a joke. No wonder hardly anyone shoots a 300 there.
On the other hand, the other house is too easy. Another 300 there last night and they have more 300's than any other in the area. Isn't there a compromise somewhere in between?
Ok, enough of my bitching. The Mets beat the Cards to force a game 7 tonight. I think the Cards should have the edge with their pitching... wait, did I just say the Cards have a pitching advantage???? That hasn't been true all year but Suppan was awesome in his last outing and the Mets go with Oliver Perez who has been horrible all year and is going on 3 days rest. What is Willie Randolph thinking? It's ok, I want them to lose anyway, so, way to go Willie!
Cards/Tigers start on Saturday night.
I watched Lost when I got home last night. Still not telling us anything other than there's still a polar bear out there. Of course, they show highlights for next week that make it look like it will be really exciting. I'm sure it will turn out to be more of the same and I'll be disappointed again. Seriously, I'm about to drop this show from my rotation. There are so many excellent shows now, why do I have to put up with this?
Ok, back to work. I'm still waiting for an email from someone needing a sub for bowling tonight. Hopefully someone is sick. Well, not that I want people to be sick... it's just that... uh, I'd like to bowl again.
Later!
I thought I threw the ball fairly well but just couldn't get anything going. Never had more than 4 strikes in a row and added a couple huge splits in the 3rd game. Ended up shooting 644 (213, 222, 209) which doesn't seem bad but I really wanted a lot more. The 3rd game was ridiculous. I started out with the first 4 after moving a board left from where I ended the 2nd game. By the 5th frame I had to move another board, then another and another. By the end I was shooting what I normally would shoot to cover a 6-pin. It's a joke. No wonder hardly anyone shoots a 300 there.
On the other hand, the other house is too easy. Another 300 there last night and they have more 300's than any other in the area. Isn't there a compromise somewhere in between?
Ok, enough of my bitching. The Mets beat the Cards to force a game 7 tonight. I think the Cards should have the edge with their pitching... wait, did I just say the Cards have a pitching advantage???? That hasn't been true all year but Suppan was awesome in his last outing and the Mets go with Oliver Perez who has been horrible all year and is going on 3 days rest. What is Willie Randolph thinking? It's ok, I want them to lose anyway, so, way to go Willie!
Cards/Tigers start on Saturday night.
I watched Lost when I got home last night. Still not telling us anything other than there's still a polar bear out there. Of course, they show highlights for next week that make it look like it will be really exciting. I'm sure it will turn out to be more of the same and I'll be disappointed again. Seriously, I'm about to drop this show from my rotation. There are so many excellent shows now, why do I have to put up with this?
Ok, back to work. I'm still waiting for an email from someone needing a sub for bowling tonight. Hopefully someone is sick. Well, not that I want people to be sick... it's just that... uh, I'd like to bowl again.
Later!
Wednesday, October 18, 2006
Going for 2 in a row
Back bowling tonight for the first time since the 300... I'm assuming now that I have one I should be able to do that at least once a week now. :)
And I'm going back to Arby's tonight as I finally will have time for dinner before league. I haven't been this excited to bowl in a long time. Probably going to be way too jacked up to bowl.
On the hockey front, I got drafted by my friend Bill again. Season starts a week from Sunday (and goes through the end of April!). Should be a pretty decent team though there's a few new guys I don't know, hope they're good! At least we'll always have good beer after the games, since Bill only drafts people that will bring good beer.
Really busy at work, better get back to it.
Later
And I'm going back to Arby's tonight as I finally will have time for dinner before league. I haven't been this excited to bowl in a long time. Probably going to be way too jacked up to bowl.
On the hockey front, I got drafted by my friend Bill again. Season starts a week from Sunday (and goes through the end of April!). Should be a pretty decent team though there's a few new guys I don't know, hope they're good! At least we'll always have good beer after the games, since Bill only drafts people that will bring good beer.
Really busy at work, better get back to it.
Later
Friday, October 13, 2006
No Arby's = 300?
Ok, so maybe Arby's has nothing to do with bowling... I subbed in a company league last night and shot my first ever 300 game.
Bowling at lanes I haven't bowled at since I was 18 in juniors, I struggled to find the shot during warmups. I kind of muddled through the first 6 frames but found it late and had the last 6 strikes for a 248. It just kept going in the 2nd game until I found myself in the 10th with it going. First 2 balls I wasn't nervous and they were perfect shots. I started shaking on the last one though. The hit was light in the pocket and everything mixed well but the 8 pin was still standing for about 4 hours it seemed, but the other pins ganged up on it and knocked it backwards. What a relief, only took 33 years to do it! :)
I ended up blowing a chance at 800 with an open in the 7th frame of the 3rd game and shot 222 for 770.
Phew!
Bowling at lanes I haven't bowled at since I was 18 in juniors, I struggled to find the shot during warmups. I kind of muddled through the first 6 frames but found it late and had the last 6 strikes for a 248. It just kept going in the 2nd game until I found myself in the 10th with it going. First 2 balls I wasn't nervous and they were perfect shots. I started shaking on the last one though. The hit was light in the pocket and everything mixed well but the 8 pin was still standing for about 4 hours it seemed, but the other pins ganged up on it and knocked it backwards. What a relief, only took 33 years to do it! :)
I ended up blowing a chance at 800 with an open in the 7th frame of the 3rd game and shot 222 for 770.
Phew!
Thursday, October 12, 2006
No Arby's = Bad bowling
Well, I did it. Skipped Arby's in favor of drinking a few Guinness at the local sports bar for a co-worker's 40th bday. I knew it all along, I was gonna bowl bad. Maybe I talked myself into it, maybe not, but I had my worst series of the season with a 589. The lanes were great but I couldn't do a damn thing.
Maybe it was mixing Guinness and Smithwick's. I gotta quit doing that, I get the worst headaches the next day. Tonight is a retirement party at an irish pub after work, I think I'll just stick to Guinness.
The weather has changed for the worse. High of only 38 today after mid 20's over night and a light dusting of snow. But, I still have a tee time for Saturday morning. Looking like a high of 50 so it will be bundle up time. I like fall golf, fewer people out usually (unless it rockets into the 70's at which point the courses are packed) and it's not hot. Not a big fan of 95 degree golf, saps your energy.
Until tomorrow...
Maybe it was mixing Guinness and Smithwick's. I gotta quit doing that, I get the worst headaches the next day. Tonight is a retirement party at an irish pub after work, I think I'll just stick to Guinness.
The weather has changed for the worse. High of only 38 today after mid 20's over night and a light dusting of snow. But, I still have a tee time for Saturday morning. Looking like a high of 50 so it will be bundle up time. I like fall golf, fewer people out usually (unless it rockets into the 70's at which point the courses are packed) and it's not hot. Not a big fan of 95 degree golf, saps your energy.
Until tomorrow...
Wednesday, October 11, 2006
Mental Health Day
Monday I complained about needing longer weekends and Tuesday I decided to do something about it. I called in sick and slept till 8am, which for me, is like others sleeping till noon.
I relaxed, watched tv, played video games and just recovered. I knew Monday night heading home that I couldn't go through another day like Monday. My brain completely shut down. The guy I was mentoring was suffering because I couldn't do anything right. Better that he didn't have me around if my brain was going to misfire that badly.
Caught up on some tv last night too. Watched The Nine which was awesome. Also caught Friday Night Lights and Boston Legal. I didn't bother watching the tivo'd Smith I had as it's been cancelled already. I did watch Kidnapped, though it's been moved to Saturday's so it's probably on it's way out too.
So today I'm back at work and the brain seems to be firing on all cylinders again and it's bowling night... I'm a little nervous about bowling tonight. Cdubya made lasagna last night (awesome) but stated we'll be having it again tonight. I informed her that it's Arby's night but she insisted. I told her it will be her fault if I bowl poorly (it's never my fault, duh).
Later...
I relaxed, watched tv, played video games and just recovered. I knew Monday night heading home that I couldn't go through another day like Monday. My brain completely shut down. The guy I was mentoring was suffering because I couldn't do anything right. Better that he didn't have me around if my brain was going to misfire that badly.
Caught up on some tv last night too. Watched The Nine which was awesome. Also caught Friday Night Lights and Boston Legal. I didn't bother watching the tivo'd Smith I had as it's been cancelled already. I did watch Kidnapped, though it's been moved to Saturday's so it's probably on it's way out too.
So today I'm back at work and the brain seems to be firing on all cylinders again and it's bowling night... I'm a little nervous about bowling tonight. Cdubya made lasagna last night (awesome) but stated we'll be having it again tonight. I informed her that it's Arby's night but she insisted. I told her it will be her fault if I bowl poorly (it's never my fault, duh).
Later...
Monday, October 09, 2006
Weekends should be 4 days
I could really use 2 more days to recover from weekends. Seems like I get to work on Monday morning totally beat in need of some serious sleep.
This weekend started out with golf from hell on Friday afternoon. Half hour delay then 5 hours and 15 minutes to play 18, waiting on every hole. That took a toll on me.
I get home expecting to veg and watch tv to find out that Cdubya has been thinking about painting the kitchen and dining room and we should go get paint right now. Great, that's all I wanted to do... so that done, we grab some dinner, then I get to veg...
Saturday morning comes and it's game time. I wake up at 3:30am so I won't miss my ride at 8:30... makes total sense... 9:00 rolls around and I've put down a big bloody mary and we're over to the tailgate party and drinking till game time. Badgers have a blowout by the 3rd quarter so we head back to the tailgate and drink for another couple hours.
I roll in around 3:00 to find Cdubya has painted half the kitchen/dining room. Now, I'd like nothing better than to throw myself onto the couch and take a little nap but we all know that's not going to happen while she's working so I head to the basement where I half work, half zone out for 90 minutes and then we have to go bowling. Around 8:00 I realize I haven't eaten anything since 8am... we go out for dinner at the outback where it takes us about 45 minutes to get a table. Finally, I eat and feel half normal again. Time to go to bed...
Sunday rolls around and it's now time for me to finish the painting she started. Oh joy... that takes forever then I come to find out that our rug under the table doesn't match any more and we must have another one right now.
Needless to say I fell asleep at 9:30 and woke up this morning dead to the world... why must we go to work on Mondays?
On the bright side, it's supposed to snow later this week...
This weekend started out with golf from hell on Friday afternoon. Half hour delay then 5 hours and 15 minutes to play 18, waiting on every hole. That took a toll on me.
I get home expecting to veg and watch tv to find out that Cdubya has been thinking about painting the kitchen and dining room and we should go get paint right now. Great, that's all I wanted to do... so that done, we grab some dinner, then I get to veg...
Saturday morning comes and it's game time. I wake up at 3:30am so I won't miss my ride at 8:30... makes total sense... 9:00 rolls around and I've put down a big bloody mary and we're over to the tailgate party and drinking till game time. Badgers have a blowout by the 3rd quarter so we head back to the tailgate and drink for another couple hours.
I roll in around 3:00 to find Cdubya has painted half the kitchen/dining room. Now, I'd like nothing better than to throw myself onto the couch and take a little nap but we all know that's not going to happen while she's working so I head to the basement where I half work, half zone out for 90 minutes and then we have to go bowling. Around 8:00 I realize I haven't eaten anything since 8am... we go out for dinner at the outback where it takes us about 45 minutes to get a table. Finally, I eat and feel half normal again. Time to go to bed...
Sunday rolls around and it's now time for me to finish the painting she started. Oh joy... that takes forever then I come to find out that our rug under the table doesn't match any more and we must have another one right now.
Needless to say I fell asleep at 9:30 and woke up this morning dead to the world... why must we go to work on Mondays?
On the bright side, it's supposed to snow later this week...
Thursday, October 05, 2006
Hanging the House
Bowling night last night. Always a good time but we finally hung the house* for the first time last night, meaning free drinks for the team! It was the first time our first 4 bowlers have all struck in the same frame this year (5 weeks). They were all brooklyn strikes (wrong side) too, which made it pretty funny. Of course my strike was perfect as usual. :) Only downside was we did it in the 10th frame of the last game so we were FORCED to stick around later to drink up.
Unfortunately, we only won 1 game but it was a blowout game so we were able to hang on to win total pins and went 3-4. We're sitting in the middle of the standings, not peaking too early.
I had a 640 to keep my average at 214. Lowest of the season so far is 610. I'm hoping to try to stay over 600 all year but I think it's probably impossible. Unfortunately for Cdubya that means eating at Arby's every Wednesday. It's not that I'm a superstitious person or anything, but I was a baseball player for 25 years and that means you don't mess with what's working. So, until I have a bad night we're eating there every Wednesday.
*hanging the house means all 5 bowlers get a strike in one frame.
Watched Lost when I got home. It was interesting, showing more new and puzzling things. Continues to make me ask more questions. I'm starting to think the writers are just making shit up as they go and there's no end result in their heads. I don't think they know the answers so they just keep introducing more questions as a way to try to keep viewers hooked. Every answer they do provide just leaves you with more questions and an empty feeling. At some point they need to answer a couple key questions or I'm going to give up on it.
That's it for now. I'm golfing tomorrow at noon and going to the Badger football game on Saturday so I probably won't post anything till Monday. The national champion Badger hockey team starts play this weekend too. Have a great weekend and Go Bucky!
Unfortunately, we only won 1 game but it was a blowout game so we were able to hang on to win total pins and went 3-4. We're sitting in the middle of the standings, not peaking too early.
I had a 640 to keep my average at 214. Lowest of the season so far is 610. I'm hoping to try to stay over 600 all year but I think it's probably impossible. Unfortunately for Cdubya that means eating at Arby's every Wednesday. It's not that I'm a superstitious person or anything, but I was a baseball player for 25 years and that means you don't mess with what's working. So, until I have a bad night we're eating there every Wednesday.
*hanging the house means all 5 bowlers get a strike in one frame.
Watched Lost when I got home. It was interesting, showing more new and puzzling things. Continues to make me ask more questions. I'm starting to think the writers are just making shit up as they go and there's no end result in their heads. I don't think they know the answers so they just keep introducing more questions as a way to try to keep viewers hooked. Every answer they do provide just leaves you with more questions and an empty feeling. At some point they need to answer a couple key questions or I'm going to give up on it.
That's it for now. I'm golfing tomorrow at noon and going to the Badger football game on Saturday so I probably won't post anything till Monday. The national champion Badger hockey team starts play this weekend too. Have a great weekend and Go Bucky!
Friday, September 29, 2006
Hockey Finale
A fitting end to our summer hockey season last night. We tied 2-2 to tie for 3rd place. Oh well, at least we didn't lose.
When I got there everyone was scrambling around like crazy people. First, they were doing sign ups for winter so there were too many people around. Second, it was 15 minutes to game time and we had no goalie and only 1 defenseman.
Luckily 1 more defenseman showed up but our goalie never did. Fortunately for us the center on my line also plays goalie (in fact, he was the winning goalie in the championship game after ours), so he suited up at goal. We had to shift our lines around which always causes us problems.
After a scoreless period and a half, a give away on our D led to a breakaway for their first goal. Soon after they got a rebound off a scramble and stuffed it past for a 2-0 lead.
Half way through the 3rd period I took a pass at center ice and saw a defenseman jumping me to break it up and caught a winger to my right just as I got hit. I was able to tip a pass to him avoiding the defenseman and he went in alone and scored through the five hole.
A few minutes later I was breaking in on left wing with my buddy Bill trailing me. The defenseman was all over me so I dropped it to Bill and cut to the front of the net. The D stayed with me and Bill walked in and rifled one low on the glove side to tie the game. He had just moved to wing from D and it was his first shift there. Maybe he should do it more often! Of course, he was our best D too.
We had a couple more chances but nothing really high quality. Last chance I got a pass up the left side and had 3 people on me so I had to stop and cut back to the middle and was able to get off a slapper from just inside the blue line that had some mustard on it but got blocked by a defenseman to the side boards as the clock ticked down to 00:00. No shootout or anything, just game over...
Winter season starts in a month so I have time to give my body some much needed rest.
Goal for this weekend, finish the basement! I really want to golf and Sunday is going to be 70 so it's gonna be tough to not sneak out for 18...
Have a great weekend, later.
When I got there everyone was scrambling around like crazy people. First, they were doing sign ups for winter so there were too many people around. Second, it was 15 minutes to game time and we had no goalie and only 1 defenseman.
Luckily 1 more defenseman showed up but our goalie never did. Fortunately for us the center on my line also plays goalie (in fact, he was the winning goalie in the championship game after ours), so he suited up at goal. We had to shift our lines around which always causes us problems.
After a scoreless period and a half, a give away on our D led to a breakaway for their first goal. Soon after they got a rebound off a scramble and stuffed it past for a 2-0 lead.
Half way through the 3rd period I took a pass at center ice and saw a defenseman jumping me to break it up and caught a winger to my right just as I got hit. I was able to tip a pass to him avoiding the defenseman and he went in alone and scored through the five hole.
A few minutes later I was breaking in on left wing with my buddy Bill trailing me. The defenseman was all over me so I dropped it to Bill and cut to the front of the net. The D stayed with me and Bill walked in and rifled one low on the glove side to tie the game. He had just moved to wing from D and it was his first shift there. Maybe he should do it more often! Of course, he was our best D too.
We had a couple more chances but nothing really high quality. Last chance I got a pass up the left side and had 3 people on me so I had to stop and cut back to the middle and was able to get off a slapper from just inside the blue line that had some mustard on it but got blocked by a defenseman to the side boards as the clock ticked down to 00:00. No shootout or anything, just game over...
Winter season starts in a month so I have time to give my body some much needed rest.
Goal for this weekend, finish the basement! I really want to golf and Sunday is going to be 70 so it's gonna be tough to not sneak out for 18...
Have a great weekend, later.
Thursday, September 28, 2006
Sandbaggers
So, bowling last night, we're bowling the defending champs. They're leadoff bowler had high average in the league last year, something about 215. But, we changed the handicap system slightly to put the high average at 210 instead of 200. So, for me, as a 202 average last year I was getting 0 handicap and this year I get 7 pins. But, this totally makes this guy into a big baby. I don't get it, it wasn't fair that I got 0 with a 202 and he got 0 with a 215 but all of a sudden him getting 0 still wasn't fair to him. Fucking whiner if you ask me.
What does he do about it? Proceeds to average 170 for the first 3 weeks so last night when we use our new averages for the first time he gets 36 pins handicap and goes out and averages 211 for the night and we get smoked. He proudly proclaimed how much he sandbagged. To me, that makes him a massive ass munch.
We struggled as a team to make up this gap and of course, couldn't, losing all 7 points. I did ok but only had a 623, lowering my 217 average to 214. The lanes were super dry and each lane was completely different requiring 2 different shots with 2 different speeds. I got a split in the 10th of the first game for a 212. Blew the 9th and 10th of the 2nd game with splits for a 177 and came back with a 234 the 3rd game.
Interestingly enough (or maybe not), last year my 3rd game was my worst by far (CB blames it on the beer, I think he's full of poop) and this year I'm averaging 234 the 3rd game. Go figure, it's early yet I may still go back to normal.
I watched sportscenter in HD this morning on the new tv, just beautiful. I still haven't even gone through the adjustment process to get the contrast, brightness, colors, etc just right.
Our last hockey game of the summer season is tonight. We're playing for 3rd place in a 4 team league (no, we're not playing for last place). Winter season starts at the end of October.
What does he do about it? Proceeds to average 170 for the first 3 weeks so last night when we use our new averages for the first time he gets 36 pins handicap and goes out and averages 211 for the night and we get smoked. He proudly proclaimed how much he sandbagged. To me, that makes him a massive ass munch.
We struggled as a team to make up this gap and of course, couldn't, losing all 7 points. I did ok but only had a 623, lowering my 217 average to 214. The lanes were super dry and each lane was completely different requiring 2 different shots with 2 different speeds. I got a split in the 10th of the first game for a 212. Blew the 9th and 10th of the 2nd game with splits for a 177 and came back with a 234 the 3rd game.
Interestingly enough (or maybe not), last year my 3rd game was my worst by far (CB blames it on the beer, I think he's full of poop) and this year I'm averaging 234 the 3rd game. Go figure, it's early yet I may still go back to normal.
I watched sportscenter in HD this morning on the new tv, just beautiful. I still haven't even gone through the adjustment process to get the contrast, brightness, colors, etc just right.
Our last hockey game of the summer season is tonight. We're playing for 3rd place in a 4 team league (no, we're not playing for last place). Winter season starts at the end of October.
Wednesday, September 27, 2006
Frosted Mini-Wheats, not just for breakfast
Last night we got the new tv, which meant I had a lot of work to do before I could watch it.
First, I rented an appliance dolly from UHaul. We dismantled the upstairs components and stuff. Used the dolly to take the 2 massive tower units to the garage. Then brought in the new tv stand. Phew, that about killed me there. Then Dr. Mike came over and we somehow managed to get the big screen downstairs but not before I had images of death running through my head.
Mike was at the top with the dolly and I was on the stairs. The thing is so big my first thought was it would get wedged into the ceiling and I would have to live in the basement forever. My second thought, as I'm standing under the tv, looking like Hercules, attempting to hold this tv up, is that if Mike loses control of the dolly I'm am dead, squashed by a 500 lb tv as we both tumble down the stairs. Very nervous going over that first step but we took it slow and managed to get all the way down without incident. It will live in the basement forever now, there's no way to get it back up again without a crane.
After we got that out of the way, we brought in the new tv. If you're looking for a new tv and someone is selling a big rear projection set for $1,000 cheaper than a new DLP or LCD or whatever, spend the money. That thing weighed 80 lbs and we had it in and set up in a minute.
I hooked everything back up and after a couple glitches (directv receiver reset to output 480p instead of 1080i, had me confused for a bit, and somehow I had turned off my subwoofer so the sound was screwed up initially), we were up and watching tv. Of course, by this time it was 9:30 and I hadn't eaten dinner... so a nice big bowl of frosted mini-wheats was just what the doctor ordered.
I took a picture this morning of the new tv and stand. Here it is.
First, I rented an appliance dolly from UHaul. We dismantled the upstairs components and stuff. Used the dolly to take the 2 massive tower units to the garage. Then brought in the new tv stand. Phew, that about killed me there. Then Dr. Mike came over and we somehow managed to get the big screen downstairs but not before I had images of death running through my head.
Mike was at the top with the dolly and I was on the stairs. The thing is so big my first thought was it would get wedged into the ceiling and I would have to live in the basement forever. My second thought, as I'm standing under the tv, looking like Hercules, attempting to hold this tv up, is that if Mike loses control of the dolly I'm am dead, squashed by a 500 lb tv as we both tumble down the stairs. Very nervous going over that first step but we took it slow and managed to get all the way down without incident. It will live in the basement forever now, there's no way to get it back up again without a crane.
After we got that out of the way, we brought in the new tv. If you're looking for a new tv and someone is selling a big rear projection set for $1,000 cheaper than a new DLP or LCD or whatever, spend the money. That thing weighed 80 lbs and we had it in and set up in a minute.
I hooked everything back up and after a couple glitches (directv receiver reset to output 480p instead of 1080i, had me confused for a bit, and somehow I had turned off my subwoofer so the sound was screwed up initially), we were up and watching tv. Of course, by this time it was 9:30 and I hadn't eaten dinner... so a nice big bowl of frosted mini-wheats was just what the doctor ordered.
I took a picture this morning of the new tv and stand. Here it is.
Monday, September 25, 2006
DLP's and the Amazing Ace
What an incredibly chaotic weekend!
So, as you know, I've been finishing the basement and set up my old entertainment center with an old 27" tv in the pub room with a new DVR from DirecTV. Cdubya had to watch a show down there that she had recorded there instead of upstairs because we already had a couple being recorded at the same time. She tells me "it's so small, I had to sit right in front of it." A light bulb goes on above my head and I toss out "well, there are newer technologies available in tv's and we could, at some point, replace the upstairs big screen with a new one and bring that downstairs." She doesn't hate the idea so I'm jazzed.
I do a little research on tv's and toss some more ideas out there to keep it in her mind… then comes Saturday. She's now got the bug and can't get rid of it. I keep doing research and find a couple tv's that are what I'm looking for (1080p, DLP). She suggests going to look at them. Long story short, we end up picking up a 57" Mitsubishi DLP from Circuit City! I'll pick it up today or tomorrow.
Saturday night was bowling and I couldn't buy a strike, just super unlucky the whole night and shot 563, my lowest of the season. We also got crushed as a team...
Sunday morning it was off to play golf. Fortunately, all the rain from Saturday had cleared up but it was still very windy and quite cold. Wind chill in the 40's as we teed off. The clouds cleared and it became a very nice day but the wind stayed in the 20-30mph range the whole morning. I played fairly well (played the Bergamont in Oregon, WI, an Andy North designed course). I opened with 10 straight bogies, just couldn't make any par saving putts, though all the bogies were tap ins. Ended up shooting 45/47 after taking 2 doubles and a triple on the back and finishing with 2 pars for a 92. That wasn't the interesting part though. Dr. Mike made his first hole in one! On the 17th hole, a 134 yard par 3 with water on the right. He hit 9 iron that landed just short and right of the hole, took one hop past and spun back right into the cup. It was awesome, first time I've seen someone do it. Pretty cool, we made him buy us a couple pitchers of beer.
Now the real work kicks in. Carpet installers come tomorrow to finish the basement. Then I have to finish the trim work. In the mean time I have to move the big screen to the basement, disassemble a 10,000 piece entertainment center down there and disconnect everything in the living room and get rid of the 2 towers and bridge that are currently there. Then I have to move the new tv stand (solid wood, weighs about 300 lbs) into the living room along with the new tv and hook everything up again. Yikes...
So, as you know, I've been finishing the basement and set up my old entertainment center with an old 27" tv in the pub room with a new DVR from DirecTV. Cdubya had to watch a show down there that she had recorded there instead of upstairs because we already had a couple being recorded at the same time. She tells me "it's so small, I had to sit right in front of it." A light bulb goes on above my head and I toss out "well, there are newer technologies available in tv's and we could, at some point, replace the upstairs big screen with a new one and bring that downstairs." She doesn't hate the idea so I'm jazzed.
I do a little research on tv's and toss some more ideas out there to keep it in her mind… then comes Saturday. She's now got the bug and can't get rid of it. I keep doing research and find a couple tv's that are what I'm looking for (1080p, DLP). She suggests going to look at them. Long story short, we end up picking up a 57" Mitsubishi DLP from Circuit City! I'll pick it up today or tomorrow.
Saturday night was bowling and I couldn't buy a strike, just super unlucky the whole night and shot 563, my lowest of the season. We also got crushed as a team...
Sunday morning it was off to play golf. Fortunately, all the rain from Saturday had cleared up but it was still very windy and quite cold. Wind chill in the 40's as we teed off. The clouds cleared and it became a very nice day but the wind stayed in the 20-30mph range the whole morning. I played fairly well (played the Bergamont in Oregon, WI, an Andy North designed course). I opened with 10 straight bogies, just couldn't make any par saving putts, though all the bogies were tap ins. Ended up shooting 45/47 after taking 2 doubles and a triple on the back and finishing with 2 pars for a 92. That wasn't the interesting part though. Dr. Mike made his first hole in one! On the 17th hole, a 134 yard par 3 with water on the right. He hit 9 iron that landed just short and right of the hole, took one hop past and spun back right into the cup. It was awesome, first time I've seen someone do it. Pretty cool, we made him buy us a couple pitchers of beer.
Now the real work kicks in. Carpet installers come tomorrow to finish the basement. Then I have to finish the trim work. In the mean time I have to move the big screen to the basement, disassemble a 10,000 piece entertainment center down there and disconnect everything in the living room and get rid of the 2 towers and bridge that are currently there. Then I have to move the new tv stand (solid wood, weighs about 300 lbs) into the living room along with the new tv and hook everything up again. Yikes...
Wednesday, September 20, 2006
And TV week rolls on
Last night we started out with War at Home, which aired on Fox Sunday night. Awesome show, basically shows how I'd raise kids if I had 'em. Everyone should be grateful I don't.
We followed that up with Deal or No Deal where a record $701,000 was taken home.
After that was the season premiere of The Unit. It started kind of slow but ended with a bang. Dennis Haysbert is awesome.
Last show of the night was the series premiere of Smith starring Ray Liotta. He portrays a high end criminal hidden in suburbia, pretending to be a cup salesman (that reminds me, I have a "cup salesman" that lives 2 doors down... hmmmm).
He's likeable enough and you can see he's torn between being with his family leading a normal life and the excitement and money that comes with the other side. His crew on the other hand, is not really likeable. In fact, they're pretty despicable criminals. I can see that this show is going to be mostly about Ray's inner struggles to get out of that lifestyle and his dealings with his wife and kids.
I tivo'd Boston Legal and will probably watch that tonight after bowling. I'm sure it will be very funny as usual.
We followed that up with Deal or No Deal where a record $701,000 was taken home.
After that was the season premiere of The Unit. It started kind of slow but ended with a bang. Dennis Haysbert is awesome.
Last show of the night was the series premiere of Smith starring Ray Liotta. He portrays a high end criminal hidden in suburbia, pretending to be a cup salesman (that reminds me, I have a "cup salesman" that lives 2 doors down... hmmmm).
He's likeable enough and you can see he's torn between being with his family leading a normal life and the excitement and money that comes with the other side. His crew on the other hand, is not really likeable. In fact, they're pretty despicable criminals. I can see that this show is going to be mostly about Ray's inner struggles to get out of that lifestyle and his dealings with his wife and kids.
I tivo'd Boston Legal and will probably watch that tonight after bowling. I'm sure it will be very funny as usual.
Tuesday, September 19, 2006
Basement Update
I've posted more pictures on the Basement Project site.
I pulled a pre-emptive strike on the lawn last night, just 3 days after the mowing from hell. I cut it down even lower and with the overnight lows we're getting now (upper 30's tonight), maybe it'll start to go dormant. I sure hope so.
Anyone catch Studio 60 on Sunset Strip last night? Intriguing show, interesting characters, I think it'll do alright. Now, the question is... where does NBC move it to, since it's in Medium's slot. Or do they move Medium. I hate these games they play.
3 shows to watch tonight: The Unit followed by Smith on CBS. And over on ABC, Boston Legal starts up again.
I pulled a pre-emptive strike on the lawn last night, just 3 days after the mowing from hell. I cut it down even lower and with the overnight lows we're getting now (upper 30's tonight), maybe it'll start to go dormant. I sure hope so.
Anyone catch Studio 60 on Sunset Strip last night? Intriguing show, interesting characters, I think it'll do alright. Now, the question is... where does NBC move it to, since it's in Medium's slot. Or do they move Medium. I hate these games they play.
3 shows to watch tonight: The Unit followed by Smith on CBS. And over on ABC, Boston Legal starts up again.
Monday, September 18, 2006
Long Grass Sucks...
Well, I finally got around to mowing Friday after a couple weeks of on and off rain had caused me to delay it. In hindsight, I should have found the time when I could. It was horrible, taking me almost 5 hours to mow and rake. I’ll probably mow again tonight to stay on top of it. If my back yard was rough at a golf course, you would have lost every ball in your bag in it.
I got up early Saturday morning and played 9 holes since I hadn’t played in a week. Didn’t do too badly, shooting a 44. Had 3 double bogies in a row in the middle that hurt me.
I was able to hang all my Guinness pictures, signs, etc along with the dartboard and got the tv and entertainment center all hooked up as well. Looks pretty good. I’ll take some more pictures soon. Still waiting on Home Depot for the carpet for the rest of downstairs.
Amazing Race started last night. I laughed pretty hard at the start. They started out in Seattle this time and sure enough, cold, rainy and most of them got lost trying to find the airport. Many tried taking I5 and got stuck in a traffic jam due to a jackknifed semi. That’s totally Seattle traffic, again I laughed.
As for the race, Phil added a new twist this time, doing a middle of the leg elimination as a surprise. I was kind of let down. They were going to the Forbidden City in China and I was hoping the surprise would be ninja’s jumping out and the last team having to fight them to the death. It was pretty anticlimactic to just have an elimination when I was yelling "Ninja’s! Ninja’s!"
I got up early Saturday morning and played 9 holes since I hadn’t played in a week. Didn’t do too badly, shooting a 44. Had 3 double bogies in a row in the middle that hurt me.
I was able to hang all my Guinness pictures, signs, etc along with the dartboard and got the tv and entertainment center all hooked up as well. Looks pretty good. I’ll take some more pictures soon. Still waiting on Home Depot for the carpet for the rest of downstairs.
Amazing Race started last night. I laughed pretty hard at the start. They started out in Seattle this time and sure enough, cold, rainy and most of them got lost trying to find the airport. Many tried taking I5 and got stuck in a traffic jam due to a jackknifed semi. That’s totally Seattle traffic, again I laughed.
As for the race, Phil added a new twist this time, doing a middle of the leg elimination as a surprise. I was kind of let down. They were going to the Forbidden City in China and I was hoping the surprise would be ninja’s jumping out and the last team having to fight them to the death. It was pretty anticlimactic to just have an elimination when I was yelling "Ninja’s! Ninja’s!"
Friday, September 15, 2006
Survivor Race War
Survivor started last night and as is the case every season, there's a new twist. The contestants were divided into 4 teams based on race. Asian Americans, Latinos, African Americans and Caucasians.
Kind of makes it interesting but not enough to make a big thing out of it. I think it'll be a topic for a few more days but it'll get old quickly and they'll move into 2 tribes before too long.
In the first challenge, the Asian Americans proved to be tops at puzzle building and boat rowing as they were the first to finish, followed by the Latinos and Caucasians. That left the African Americans to go to tribal council were Seikou was voted out due to his poor leadership (rule number 2: never take leadership position on day 1).
Last night was our final regular season hockey game of the summer. We lost 4-3 in a frustrating game. My line was buzzing all night and all we could show for it was one goal that I scored off a turnover. I had at least 5 or 6 shots as did the other 2 on my line but couldn't get one in. Oh well, playoffs start next week and since we finished 4th out of 4 teams we get last pick for goalies so that's not going to help, going against the first place team with the best goalie. Yikes.
Since today is Friday and it's my half day I have to figure out what to do with my afternoon... usually... and usually golf is part of that calculation, especially when it's supposed to be sunny and 78 today. Unfortunately, my negligence in the lawn mowing arena means I will be plowing my mower through 18" of very thick grass all afternoon. And no, I don't want your fucking pity.
Kind of makes it interesting but not enough to make a big thing out of it. I think it'll be a topic for a few more days but it'll get old quickly and they'll move into 2 tribes before too long.
In the first challenge, the Asian Americans proved to be tops at puzzle building and boat rowing as they were the first to finish, followed by the Latinos and Caucasians. That left the African Americans to go to tribal council were Seikou was voted out due to his poor leadership (rule number 2: never take leadership position on day 1).
Last night was our final regular season hockey game of the summer. We lost 4-3 in a frustrating game. My line was buzzing all night and all we could show for it was one goal that I scored off a turnover. I had at least 5 or 6 shots as did the other 2 on my line but couldn't get one in. Oh well, playoffs start next week and since we finished 4th out of 4 teams we get last pick for goalies so that's not going to help, going against the first place team with the best goalie. Yikes.
Since today is Friday and it's my half day I have to figure out what to do with my afternoon... usually... and usually golf is part of that calculation, especially when it's supposed to be sunny and 78 today. Unfortunately, my negligence in the lawn mowing arena means I will be plowing my mower through 18" of very thick grass all afternoon. And no, I don't want your fucking pity.
Thursday, September 14, 2006
What a load of crap...
Before I get into my Rockstar rant, quick bowling update.
We laid a major ass kicking on our opponents last night, going 7-0 and winning total pins by over 300. I had a pretty good night, shooting 236, 215 and 236 for 687. After 2 weeks I'm averaging 224. Doubt I can keep that up but I feel pretty good about it so far.
Ok, here's my Rockstar rant. If you haven't watched it yet, quit reading here and come back after you've watched.
I'm pretty sure the SuperNova guys have proven themselves to be just as idiotic as the stupid voters. First, Magni and Toby somehow end up in the bottom 2 of the voting and they have to perform first. Magni does Fire again from Hendrix and he is actually let go because he played guitar as well as sang "too much like one of the band instead of fronting the band" was what Gilby Clark had to say. That's just ridiculous as Gilby needs that guitar help, he can't do it alone, he's not good enough.
So, it's down to Toby, Dilana and that freak Lucas. They all perform one more time and Toby is let go next. Hello? Lucas sucks, what are you doing?
Then they have to huddle up again and everyone is chanting Dilana, Dilana, Dilana. So, what do they do? They pick Lucas to be their singer! What the fuck people? He had the most votes too... who are these idiots voting for him? He just cannot sing to save his life. They liked his "look" and his "moves". Holy shit, he looks like he's having seizures on the stage.
Then they performed 2 songs with Lucas joining them as a full band. God awful. Do not waste your money on concert tickets (which are about $95 by the way) or buying their cd. You will be disappointed.
On the bright side, Dilana will be fronting the house band on their tour. Now, I would pay money to see that. The house band is about 100x better than Crappernova. Gilby also offered to help write and produce a cd for her as well, and Dave Navaro chipped in that he would play on it and then Tommy Lee said he would too. Why didn't they just pick her if they all want to play with her anyway????
Stupid, just plain stupid...
We laid a major ass kicking on our opponents last night, going 7-0 and winning total pins by over 300. I had a pretty good night, shooting 236, 215 and 236 for 687. After 2 weeks I'm averaging 224. Doubt I can keep that up but I feel pretty good about it so far.
Ok, here's my Rockstar rant. If you haven't watched it yet, quit reading here and come back after you've watched.
I'm pretty sure the SuperNova guys have proven themselves to be just as idiotic as the stupid voters. First, Magni and Toby somehow end up in the bottom 2 of the voting and they have to perform first. Magni does Fire again from Hendrix and he is actually let go because he played guitar as well as sang "too much like one of the band instead of fronting the band" was what Gilby Clark had to say. That's just ridiculous as Gilby needs that guitar help, he can't do it alone, he's not good enough.
So, it's down to Toby, Dilana and that freak Lucas. They all perform one more time and Toby is let go next. Hello? Lucas sucks, what are you doing?
Then they have to huddle up again and everyone is chanting Dilana, Dilana, Dilana. So, what do they do? They pick Lucas to be their singer! What the fuck people? He had the most votes too... who are these idiots voting for him? He just cannot sing to save his life. They liked his "look" and his "moves". Holy shit, he looks like he's having seizures on the stage.
Then they performed 2 songs with Lucas joining them as a full band. God awful. Do not waste your money on concert tickets (which are about $95 by the way) or buying their cd. You will be disappointed.
On the bright side, Dilana will be fronting the house band on their tour. Now, I would pay money to see that. The house band is about 100x better than Crappernova. Gilby also offered to help write and produce a cd for her as well, and Dave Navaro chipped in that he would play on it and then Tommy Lee said he would too. Why didn't they just pick her if they all want to play with her anyway????
Stupid, just plain stupid...
Sunday, September 10, 2006
Sigh... Vacation is Over
Back to work Monday morning... I'm totally exhausted, some vacation.
But, the basement is in great shape. Take a look at the pictures I uploaded on the Basement blog.
That's pretty much all I did all week. I did bowl in couples league Saturday night (then went home and put together a 2,000 piece armoir for the basement till midnight). We have 4 returning teams and 5 new teams, so as league secretary I spent a good deal of time running around explaining things. I managed to bowl a 636 (225, 211, 200) but couldn't carry anything, constantly either a 10 pin or a 4 pin. I only had 1 open the whole night, a 4 pin in the 3rd game.
Sunday was golf league banquet and golf outing. Of course it rained the entire time, but some of us still toughed it out. Shot 92 on aerated greens that were horseshit, in constant showers.
Got home in time to see the Packers... next subject, moving on.
So anyway, looking forward to getting back to work where I can get some rest and relaxation. :)
Later
But, the basement is in great shape. Take a look at the pictures I uploaded on the Basement blog.
That's pretty much all I did all week. I did bowl in couples league Saturday night (then went home and put together a 2,000 piece armoir for the basement till midnight). We have 4 returning teams and 5 new teams, so as league secretary I spent a good deal of time running around explaining things. I managed to bowl a 636 (225, 211, 200) but couldn't carry anything, constantly either a 10 pin or a 4 pin. I only had 1 open the whole night, a 4 pin in the 3rd game.
Sunday was golf league banquet and golf outing. Of course it rained the entire time, but some of us still toughed it out. Shot 92 on aerated greens that were horseshit, in constant showers.
Got home in time to see the Packers... next subject, moving on.
So anyway, looking forward to getting back to work where I can get some rest and relaxation. :)
Later
Friday, September 08, 2006
Quick Hitters
I'm in the middle of finishing the basement, so just a couple quick items.
Rockstar: Lucas still sucks but Stormy sent home. Boo. Magni or Toby, but I'm thinking Magni will win.
Bowling: We won 5-2. I paid the price for no practice with a 156 first game. However, I did manage to wake up and reel off 14 straight strikes to shoot 257, 245 the last 2 games for a 658. Guess which game we lost...
Hockey: A lackluster effort in a 5-0 loss. I'm so freakin' beat from working on the basement.
I will have lots of pictures of the basement and a story on this whole week soon on the basement blog.
Later
Rockstar: Lucas still sucks but Stormy sent home. Boo. Magni or Toby, but I'm thinking Magni will win.
Bowling: We won 5-2. I paid the price for no practice with a 156 first game. However, I did manage to wake up and reel off 14 straight strikes to shoot 257, 245 the last 2 games for a 658. Guess which game we lost...
Hockey: A lackluster effort in a 5-0 loss. I'm so freakin' beat from working on the basement.
I will have lots of pictures of the basement and a story on this whole week soon on the basement blog.
Later
Wednesday, September 06, 2006
Vacation?
Vacation: a period of suspension of work, study, or other activity, usually used for rest, recreation, or travel.
Yeah, right.
I may be off from "work" but I've been going non-stop since Saturday. We finally got around to picking up flooring, trim, chair rail, etc for the basement project. I spent all day Sunday working on it. Got the chair rail and about 70% of the flooring done.
Then Monday was another trip up to Whistling Straits. I was so sore from Sunday that I didn't think I'd be able to swing a club. It was tough at first and walking that course will kick your ass every time. I ended up doing pretty well on the front nine, parring 7, 8 and 9 for a 44. I drove the ball very well, hitting 6 of 7 fairways, but couldn't hit an iron off the fairway to save my life. I pretty much ran out of gas on the back nine and for the 3rd straight time, the 18th hole kicked me right in the jimmies.
I hit a good drive down the middle. I was sitting about 260 out and decided to hit 3-wood and get over the ravine that was about 195 from me. I did, but hooked it a little and ended up in the giant bunker next to the green, which is also about 30 feet below the green. I knew I'd have to hit a hard sand wedge to get it up there and boy, did I ever. I picked it clean and sailed it way over the green, over the girl in the cart waiting to take us to the parking lot, over another tee box... and into very, very deep grass. I couldn't find the ball at first and almost took a drop but then I found it, buried deep. I tried to hit it out and yep, I got it out, but right into a grove of trees. I crawled in there and punched it out, then chipped on and 3-putted for a 9. Oh well, 1 shot better than last time!
I ended up shooting 54 on the back for 98. At least I broke 100 this time but I'm still pretty disappointed with that back 9.
I finished the flooring yesterday, I will have pictures on my other blog soon. It looks pretty good. Today will be trim work and staining.
Bowling league starts tonight and I haven't picked up a ball yet, should be interesting, considering I can barely walk this morning.
I'll probably be staining the fence tomorrow too.
I can't wait to go back to work...
Yeah, right.
I may be off from "work" but I've been going non-stop since Saturday. We finally got around to picking up flooring, trim, chair rail, etc for the basement project. I spent all day Sunday working on it. Got the chair rail and about 70% of the flooring done.
Then Monday was another trip up to Whistling Straits. I was so sore from Sunday that I didn't think I'd be able to swing a club. It was tough at first and walking that course will kick your ass every time. I ended up doing pretty well on the front nine, parring 7, 8 and 9 for a 44. I drove the ball very well, hitting 6 of 7 fairways, but couldn't hit an iron off the fairway to save my life. I pretty much ran out of gas on the back nine and for the 3rd straight time, the 18th hole kicked me right in the jimmies.
I hit a good drive down the middle. I was sitting about 260 out and decided to hit 3-wood and get over the ravine that was about 195 from me. I did, but hooked it a little and ended up in the giant bunker next to the green, which is also about 30 feet below the green. I knew I'd have to hit a hard sand wedge to get it up there and boy, did I ever. I picked it clean and sailed it way over the green, over the girl in the cart waiting to take us to the parking lot, over another tee box... and into very, very deep grass. I couldn't find the ball at first and almost took a drop but then I found it, buried deep. I tried to hit it out and yep, I got it out, but right into a grove of trees. I crawled in there and punched it out, then chipped on and 3-putted for a 9. Oh well, 1 shot better than last time!
I ended up shooting 54 on the back for 98. At least I broke 100 this time but I'm still pretty disappointed with that back 9.
I finished the flooring yesterday, I will have pictures on my other blog soon. It looks pretty good. Today will be trim work and staining.
Bowling league starts tonight and I haven't picked up a ball yet, should be interesting, considering I can barely walk this morning.
I'll probably be staining the fence tomorrow too.
I can't wait to go back to work...
Thursday, August 31, 2006
Rockstar voters have woken up!
One more person went home on Rockstar last night. After what I considered to be a butchering of Baba O’Reilly by Ryan, he was the first of the final 6 to be sent home. He made a lot of progress but I never thought he was right for Supernova. His departure was no shock for sure but there were 2 big surprises last night.
First, Magni was the only rocker that was never in the bottom 3 of the voting and was the leading vote getter. Now, that’s more like it, maybe my prior post asking the voters to wake up had an effect. I’d like to think so… :)
Secondly, Dilana was in the bottom 3 for the first time and had to perform. She was never in any danger of going home going up against Storm and Ryan and she performed like she knew that, staggering through an uninspired Talking Heads track that barely kept me from pushing the fast forward button on my tivo.
Supernova performed a 3rd crappy tune, this time with the Lucas freak singing. These songs suck and I think they need to hire 2 additional people: 1) a song writer and b) a better guitar player. Gilby is ok as second fiddle on guitar but he can’t lead the show. The riffs are boring and he can’t fill at all. I can’t see myself paying money for their album.
Golf league concluded last night in a dramatic fashion. While the top 2 teams were battling for the team championship, I was making a play for the individual honors. I came in 1 shot behind co-leaders at -2. 1 of them fell apart early so it became a 2 man race. Unfortunately I came up a shot short. I started out well going par, bogey, par but after that I just had bogies the rest of the way for a 7 over 43 and a net 35. The other guy had a net 35 as well which left me one shot behind. To make matters worse, I missed a 4 foot par putt on the last hole which sat on the lip dangling over the cup and wouldn’t fall. AND, the other guy had a hole-in-one! Of all the rotten luck. If mine goes a half inch left and his goes a half inch left I win. Golf is definitely a game of inches (or half inches in this case).
We have another Whistling Straits trip planned for Monday (Labor Day) and the weather is not looking very good. Currently it looks like rain from Sunday through Tuesday which doesn’t bode well for going up there.
First, Magni was the only rocker that was never in the bottom 3 of the voting and was the leading vote getter. Now, that’s more like it, maybe my prior post asking the voters to wake up had an effect. I’d like to think so… :)
Secondly, Dilana was in the bottom 3 for the first time and had to perform. She was never in any danger of going home going up against Storm and Ryan and she performed like she knew that, staggering through an uninspired Talking Heads track that barely kept me from pushing the fast forward button on my tivo.
Supernova performed a 3rd crappy tune, this time with the Lucas freak singing. These songs suck and I think they need to hire 2 additional people: 1) a song writer and b) a better guitar player. Gilby is ok as second fiddle on guitar but he can’t lead the show. The riffs are boring and he can’t fill at all. I can’t see myself paying money for their album.
Golf league concluded last night in a dramatic fashion. While the top 2 teams were battling for the team championship, I was making a play for the individual honors. I came in 1 shot behind co-leaders at -2. 1 of them fell apart early so it became a 2 man race. Unfortunately I came up a shot short. I started out well going par, bogey, par but after that I just had bogies the rest of the way for a 7 over 43 and a net 35. The other guy had a net 35 as well which left me one shot behind. To make matters worse, I missed a 4 foot par putt on the last hole which sat on the lip dangling over the cup and wouldn’t fall. AND, the other guy had a hole-in-one! Of all the rotten luck. If mine goes a half inch left and his goes a half inch left I win. Golf is definitely a game of inches (or half inches in this case).
We have another Whistling Straits trip planned for Monday (Labor Day) and the weather is not looking very good. Currently it looks like rain from Sunday through Tuesday which doesn’t bode well for going up there.
Tuesday, August 29, 2006
Father/Son Match Champs!
Dad and I won our 1st annual father/son match by 3 holes on Sunday. Good for $3 each! And the bonus is we didn’t even argue once! He played very well, I played like poop. I couldn’t get much of a rhythm going and the other son acted like a teenager throwing a temper tantrum. And he’s older than me too.
On the back 9 we ended up having a group of members behind us that were pretty good. They hit close to us a couple times (not bad but looked like a message to me). That turned this guy into a raving lunatic, yelling and throwing his clubs. He even called the clubhouse and threatened to shove his putter up their asses (he would have gotten his ass kicked by these guys easily). It really threw me off and was a total downer. Finally on 12 I said “hey, why don’t we just stop and let them play through”. So, we did, which cost us about 15 minutes of waiting around. At that point I went for beer…
We were pretty fortunate that Sunday was a very nice day. We had severe rain and t-storms from Wednesday through Saturday and then it rained again yesterday and could today as well. Tomorrow is supposed to get nice finally. I’m hoping that we get some great weather for Labor Day, as we’re making our 3rd trip to Whistling Straits this year. This time we got 2-1 pricing (only $70 each). 5 of the original 8 are going again so we’ve added 3 newbies to the mix.
Packers… sheesh. Could they have looked any worse last night? Or is Cinci just that good? I can’t imagine the Pack doing better than 6-10 this year. Cinci could be in line for a shot at the Super Bowl. I have the Giants at 15-1 in our pool this year. Shooting for my 3rd win in 4 years (I had TB 3 years ago and Pitt last year). I’m pretty happy I got the team I wanted with the 2nd to last pick.
Prior to the Packer game I installed new LED lights in our entertainment center. We had older, bigger lights under there and a few of them broke. These new ones are smaller and don’t give off as much light, giving a nice, soft appearance. They will also last 10 times longer.
All this rain allowed me to work on the basement some more and I finally finished the ceiling. That only took about 4 months! I’ll post some pictures on my other blog when I have time. Next up is getting all the trim and staining it while the weather is nice. Speaking of stain, I am also planning to stain our fence next week (we’re taking the week off to do stuff around the house, what a fun vacation!). I also need to decide on the flooring too. I’m going to do laminate wood flooring throughout most of the basement but am not sure on the workout room. I am leaning towards doing interlocking rubber tiles in there instead. They’re pretty expensive though. I checked out the floor pretty thoroughly last night and it’s flat with the exception of one area in the hallway where the center dips down about a quarter inch. I’ll need to spread some leveling compound in there to even it out. I’m pretty lucky as we’ve never had any water issues in the basement at all. Knock on wood!
Well, better get back to it. Tomorrow is our last week of golf league and I’m in the hunt for the individual championship that we do the last 3 weeks. Check back Thursday for the results!
On the back 9 we ended up having a group of members behind us that were pretty good. They hit close to us a couple times (not bad but looked like a message to me). That turned this guy into a raving lunatic, yelling and throwing his clubs. He even called the clubhouse and threatened to shove his putter up their asses (he would have gotten his ass kicked by these guys easily). It really threw me off and was a total downer. Finally on 12 I said “hey, why don’t we just stop and let them play through”. So, we did, which cost us about 15 minutes of waiting around. At that point I went for beer…
We were pretty fortunate that Sunday was a very nice day. We had severe rain and t-storms from Wednesday through Saturday and then it rained again yesterday and could today as well. Tomorrow is supposed to get nice finally. I’m hoping that we get some great weather for Labor Day, as we’re making our 3rd trip to Whistling Straits this year. This time we got 2-1 pricing (only $70 each). 5 of the original 8 are going again so we’ve added 3 newbies to the mix.
Packers… sheesh. Could they have looked any worse last night? Or is Cinci just that good? I can’t imagine the Pack doing better than 6-10 this year. Cinci could be in line for a shot at the Super Bowl. I have the Giants at 15-1 in our pool this year. Shooting for my 3rd win in 4 years (I had TB 3 years ago and Pitt last year). I’m pretty happy I got the team I wanted with the 2nd to last pick.
Prior to the Packer game I installed new LED lights in our entertainment center. We had older, bigger lights under there and a few of them broke. These new ones are smaller and don’t give off as much light, giving a nice, soft appearance. They will also last 10 times longer.
All this rain allowed me to work on the basement some more and I finally finished the ceiling. That only took about 4 months! I’ll post some pictures on my other blog when I have time. Next up is getting all the trim and staining it while the weather is nice. Speaking of stain, I am also planning to stain our fence next week (we’re taking the week off to do stuff around the house, what a fun vacation!). I also need to decide on the flooring too. I’m going to do laminate wood flooring throughout most of the basement but am not sure on the workout room. I am leaning towards doing interlocking rubber tiles in there instead. They’re pretty expensive though. I checked out the floor pretty thoroughly last night and it’s flat with the exception of one area in the hallway where the center dips down about a quarter inch. I’ll need to spread some leveling compound in there to even it out. I’m pretty lucky as we’ve never had any water issues in the basement at all. Knock on wood!
Well, better get back to it. Tomorrow is our last week of golf league and I’m in the hunt for the individual championship that we do the last 3 weeks. Check back Thursday for the results!
Thursday, August 24, 2006
Wake Up Rockstar Voters!
Who are you people that continually put Magni in the bottom 3? It makes no sense to me at all. He's cranking out great performance after great performance and yet, twice in the bottom 3? Makes no sense, you people are idiots.
And to top things off, I think he might be numero uno now that Dilana has decided to slit her own throat with her new found joy of being a bitch to everyone else. Where did that come from? Man, she did not impress the band with that crap. I had said that she would have to fall on her face to lose this gig and that just might have done it. Personally, I think Magni would be the best fit for that band.
Ok, on to golf. I began my recovery from the crap I called golf last weekend. In week 2 of a 3 week (27 holes) "league club championship" we played the front 9 from the red tees, which I just hate. It makes the par 3's into totally strange little shots where you can't hit them full. I mean the 115 yard one was short to begin with but from the reds it's 83 yards. The other was 159 and the reds turn it into 66 yards! 66! What a joke. Anyway, I shot a 38 with a lost ball and an unplayable lie. I really was relaxed and I think I realistically could have shot under par if not for a couple unlucky breaks. On the first hole I took my tee shot down the right side and it caught the side slope and rolled into the crap. I dropped and still saved bogey. Parred 2 and 3.
Then came 4, the par 5, I drove through the end of the fairway at about 145 yards out. I then missed the green right, then chunked my chip short. My 2nd chip ended up about 6" from the cup and I got my par but I wasn't happy about it.
Parred 5 with another nice chip from just off the green to within 3". Missed the fairway left on 6 but hit a gap wedge to within 7 feet and just missed the birdie putt but got par. On 7 I hit through the fairway again and got lucky that it went past a huge oak tree and left me a shot, which I hit to within 2 feet from about 110 yards. Got the birdie there to put me back to even par after 7.
Then came 8, the 66 yard par 3... I took a nice easy half sand wedge and... flew it over the green. This green runs severely back to front and the last place you want to be is long. But, I made the chip I wanted, hitting a soft lob to the fringe but it still ran about 12 feet past the hole. I then compounded things by 3-putting for a double bogey and my dreams of breaking par were shattered.
So, on to 9 I went, looking for redemption and here it was. This par 4 dropped to 260 at the red tees and I'm looking to drive the green and make eagle and get back to even, my only chance. So, we wait and wait for the group in front of us to finish. The other 3 have already hit and I can feel they'd like to move along. Finally, my chance comes, but I am concerned about hitting it over the green and into the pond behind it. I decide to choke down on my driver a little. That probably wasn't the right idea because it took me out of my normal swing and I blasted it WAY right, across a cart path and under a pine tree. I had to take a drop from there and then proceeded to hit a sand wedge from about 90 yards out of the rough to within 2 feet. Unfortunately, I got nervous about the side hill/downhill lie and didn't get the putt on line and ended with bogey for 3 over. At least it wasn't a 50 like my final 9 Sunday!
I will be making another attempt to play golf with my dad Sunday. We're actually teammates in a father/son challenge match. Pray for his safe return... ;)
And to top things off, I think he might be numero uno now that Dilana has decided to slit her own throat with her new found joy of being a bitch to everyone else. Where did that come from? Man, she did not impress the band with that crap. I had said that she would have to fall on her face to lose this gig and that just might have done it. Personally, I think Magni would be the best fit for that band.
Ok, on to golf. I began my recovery from the crap I called golf last weekend. In week 2 of a 3 week (27 holes) "league club championship" we played the front 9 from the red tees, which I just hate. It makes the par 3's into totally strange little shots where you can't hit them full. I mean the 115 yard one was short to begin with but from the reds it's 83 yards. The other was 159 and the reds turn it into 66 yards! 66! What a joke. Anyway, I shot a 38 with a lost ball and an unplayable lie. I really was relaxed and I think I realistically could have shot under par if not for a couple unlucky breaks. On the first hole I took my tee shot down the right side and it caught the side slope and rolled into the crap. I dropped and still saved bogey. Parred 2 and 3.
Then came 4, the par 5, I drove through the end of the fairway at about 145 yards out. I then missed the green right, then chunked my chip short. My 2nd chip ended up about 6" from the cup and I got my par but I wasn't happy about it.
Parred 5 with another nice chip from just off the green to within 3". Missed the fairway left on 6 but hit a gap wedge to within 7 feet and just missed the birdie putt but got par. On 7 I hit through the fairway again and got lucky that it went past a huge oak tree and left me a shot, which I hit to within 2 feet from about 110 yards. Got the birdie there to put me back to even par after 7.
Then came 8, the 66 yard par 3... I took a nice easy half sand wedge and... flew it over the green. This green runs severely back to front and the last place you want to be is long. But, I made the chip I wanted, hitting a soft lob to the fringe but it still ran about 12 feet past the hole. I then compounded things by 3-putting for a double bogey and my dreams of breaking par were shattered.
So, on to 9 I went, looking for redemption and here it was. This par 4 dropped to 260 at the red tees and I'm looking to drive the green and make eagle and get back to even, my only chance. So, we wait and wait for the group in front of us to finish. The other 3 have already hit and I can feel they'd like to move along. Finally, my chance comes, but I am concerned about hitting it over the green and into the pond behind it. I decide to choke down on my driver a little. That probably wasn't the right idea because it took me out of my normal swing and I blasted it WAY right, across a cart path and under a pine tree. I had to take a drop from there and then proceeded to hit a sand wedge from about 90 yards out of the rough to within 2 feet. Unfortunately, I got nervous about the side hill/downhill lie and didn't get the putt on line and ended with bogey for 3 over. At least it wasn't a 50 like my final 9 Sunday!
I will be making another attempt to play golf with my dad Sunday. We're actually teammates in a father/son challenge match. Pray for his safe return... ;)
Tuesday, August 22, 2006
You Shall Bow Before Me
My posting on the Beer Fest was quoted in the Isthmus Daily Page in Madison!
Thanks to CB for finding it for me, since I never read that rag... :)
Thanks to CB for finding it for me, since I never read that rag... :)
Monday, August 21, 2006
Staggering to the finish
What a beautiful day for golfing yesterday, couldn't have been nicer... didn't help my game however.
I walked up to the 10th tee (we started on the back) with all good intentions, wanting to redeem myself for my poor showing Saturday. I was ready, feeling pretty good since I didn't drink Saturday night and got a decent night's sleep. The 10th hole is a dogleg left and I usually go over the corner or attempt to anyway, and usually hit a draw. This time I aimed just over the corner and that's where it went, straight as a grizzly's dick, and of course, completely flew over the fairway, over the rough and directly into the pond. Nice start.
I ended up shooting 45/51 for 96 and managed to beat 5 people with my 2 day total of 49 OVER PAR, hahahaha. I also managed to get completely blotto by the end... I could barely see straight as I took a 7 on the last hole.
Highlights:
Long Drive contest - I sucked so bad it was pathetic. 1 low scooter down the middle for 229 was the only one that hit the grid. 1 wide right and 1 wide left. Guy before me hit 291 which held up. Of course, when I played that hole yesterday I crushed it 292. Figures.
I birdied #1 yesterday after that big drive and was the only one in my flight to do that so I should be getting money for the skins game.
I just missed eagle on #15 after hitting a 3-wood out of the left rough to the middle of the green from 238. Tapped in for birdie.
I parred #18 both days, the only hole I played well both times.
Dr. Mike shot 90 yesterday and ended up in a 4-way tie for 3rd place for his flight. He plays better when I'm not around I think. Maybe there's too much pressure playing against me. Who knows?
I walked up to the 10th tee (we started on the back) with all good intentions, wanting to redeem myself for my poor showing Saturday. I was ready, feeling pretty good since I didn't drink Saturday night and got a decent night's sleep. The 10th hole is a dogleg left and I usually go over the corner or attempt to anyway, and usually hit a draw. This time I aimed just over the corner and that's where it went, straight as a grizzly's dick, and of course, completely flew over the fairway, over the rough and directly into the pond. Nice start.
I ended up shooting 45/51 for 96 and managed to beat 5 people with my 2 day total of 49 OVER PAR, hahahaha. I also managed to get completely blotto by the end... I could barely see straight as I took a 7 on the last hole.
Highlights:
Long Drive contest - I sucked so bad it was pathetic. 1 low scooter down the middle for 229 was the only one that hit the grid. 1 wide right and 1 wide left. Guy before me hit 291 which held up. Of course, when I played that hole yesterday I crushed it 292. Figures.
I birdied #1 yesterday after that big drive and was the only one in my flight to do that so I should be getting money for the skins game.
I just missed eagle on #15 after hitting a 3-wood out of the left rough to the middle of the green from 238. Tapped in for birdie.
I parred #18 both days, the only hole I played well both times.
Dr. Mike shot 90 yesterday and ended up in a 4-way tie for 3rd place for his flight. He plays better when I'm not around I think. Maybe there's too much pressure playing against me. Who knows?
Saturday, August 19, 2006
Day 1 blowup
Well, so much for the excitement of the club championship... I played pretty well on the front nine only to have my putter go haywire and shot 45 with a ton of putts. I fell apart on the back nine for a 50. Pretty much out of contention now. The lack of sleep the last 2 nights really caught up to me on the back nine as I ran out of gas completely.
My only hope now is the long drive contest which starts in an hour. I decided to come home and take a quick nap and watch a little of the PGA championship for inspiration. I just need to suck it up for 3 shots.
Dr. Mike got off to a terrible start, going quad, double, triple. He finally settled down and shot 50 and then got a 46 on the back. With his handicap he's sitting at 73, not too far behind the leaders. Maybe he'll have something to play for tomorrow.
My only hope now is the long drive contest which starts in an hour. I decided to come home and take a quick nap and watch a little of the PGA championship for inspiration. I just need to suck it up for 3 shots.
Dr. Mike got off to a terrible start, going quad, double, triple. He finally settled down and shot 50 and then got a 46 on the back. With his handicap he's sitting at 73, not too far behind the leaders. Maybe he'll have something to play for tomorrow.
Game day
It's 7:50am and I've been awake since 5:15. I just can't sleep any more. Even getting fairly drunk and going to bed after midnight when I awoke and realized that I had a tee time in the club championship in a mere 5 hours I couldn't get back to sleep. Now I'm down to about 2 hours left and my stomach is starting to rumble, the nerves are tingling and I'm starting to sweat... ok, maybe I've had too much coffee!
Oh, a word of warning. Mike had a bourbon barrel stout from Central Waters Brewing ($12 a 6 pack) so I tried one. Holy shit, that's not beer. That's Jack Daniels disguised in a beer bottle. One bottle of that was plenty for me. I switched to a couple Guinness after that followed by another one I hadn't heard of called Estes Park Gold, which was an amber ale that wasn't too bad, pretty mild. After a couple of those I switched to Fat Squirrel Nut Brown from New Glaurus, I always like those. I think that's what I ended on, hard to remember now.
We played Mexican last night, which is a dice game for those that haven't played it. The last time I played it was in high school and I remember getting pretty damn hammered on it. We played a more mild version as old people... After that was poker but not for money which is unfortunate because I was hotter than a gas fire in pit row. I hooked every time I needed something and ended up with a huge pile of chips at the end. Just goes to show what I always tell the Grinder, it's all about the freakin' cards and whether you're in a lucky streak or not. There was very little skill in anything I did, I wasn't even paying attention that much.
132 minutes till my tee time, I'm soooo excited!!!!!!
Oh, a word of warning. Mike had a bourbon barrel stout from Central Waters Brewing ($12 a 6 pack) so I tried one. Holy shit, that's not beer. That's Jack Daniels disguised in a beer bottle. One bottle of that was plenty for me. I switched to a couple Guinness after that followed by another one I hadn't heard of called Estes Park Gold, which was an amber ale that wasn't too bad, pretty mild. After a couple of those I switched to Fat Squirrel Nut Brown from New Glaurus, I always like those. I think that's what I ended on, hard to remember now.
We played Mexican last night, which is a dice game for those that haven't played it. The last time I played it was in high school and I remember getting pretty damn hammered on it. We played a more mild version as old people... After that was poker but not for money which is unfortunate because I was hotter than a gas fire in pit row. I hooked every time I needed something and ended up with a huge pile of chips at the end. Just goes to show what I always tell the Grinder, it's all about the freakin' cards and whether you're in a lucky streak or not. There was very little skill in anything I did, I wasn't even paying attention that much.
132 minutes till my tee time, I'm soooo excited!!!!!!
Friday, August 18, 2006
Center action
We were short handed for hockey last night which meant instead of 3 full lines of forwards we had 3 sets of wingers but only 2 centers. We rotated 2 people as the centers each period. What does this mean? It means that I played center the first period and damn near died of exhaustion! The other center and I busted ass that first period, so much so that by the end we were each taking about 34 second shifts. It paid off though as we closed the period with a 2-0 lead. I scored with about 40 seconds left in the period at the end of a strenous 15 second shift... haha.
The second period I don't think either of us could do a thing for about the first 7 or 8 minutes. We ended up losing the lead and went to the 3rd tied at 2. Luckily we scored another goal early in the 3rd and held on for a 3-2 win.
Unfortunately, after a couple beers I didn't get home till after 11pm and had to get up early as usual. Cdubya didn't think it would be fair if she had to get up early and I didn't and I didn't feel like fighting about it so around 6am I staggered out of bed. Probably got about 5 hours sleep and had to do a bunch of mentoring this morning which always wears me out but the morning ended quickly.
Lunch time now then I have to mow the lawn. I wish it would just go dormant already but every time I think it will we get some more rain. At least it's cooler out, only in the 70's.
Tomorrow starts the Door Creek Club Championship, which is a 36 hole event with a long drive contest, keg of beer and a big cookout on Sunday. They have 4 flights for the men: Championship, which is the super stars; 1st flight which is the low handicappers; 2nd flight which is 15 to 20 handicaps which I'll be in; and 3rd flight which is over 20, which Dr. Mike sucked ass into, the freakin' sandbagger has a 23.
The only flight that uses handicaps is the 3rd so I'll be competing for gross score only. The winner of each flight gets their own private parking spot! That's been my goal, really want that baby this year. The long drive winners in each flight also win $75. I won the 3rd flight 2 years ago but couldn't do it in the 2nd flight last year.
Well, that's all for now, come back Monday to read all about it!
The second period I don't think either of us could do a thing for about the first 7 or 8 minutes. We ended up losing the lead and went to the 3rd tied at 2. Luckily we scored another goal early in the 3rd and held on for a 3-2 win.
Unfortunately, after a couple beers I didn't get home till after 11pm and had to get up early as usual. Cdubya didn't think it would be fair if she had to get up early and I didn't and I didn't feel like fighting about it so around 6am I staggered out of bed. Probably got about 5 hours sleep and had to do a bunch of mentoring this morning which always wears me out but the morning ended quickly.
Lunch time now then I have to mow the lawn. I wish it would just go dormant already but every time I think it will we get some more rain. At least it's cooler out, only in the 70's.
Tomorrow starts the Door Creek Club Championship, which is a 36 hole event with a long drive contest, keg of beer and a big cookout on Sunday. They have 4 flights for the men: Championship, which is the super stars; 1st flight which is the low handicappers; 2nd flight which is 15 to 20 handicaps which I'll be in; and 3rd flight which is over 20, which Dr. Mike sucked ass into, the freakin' sandbagger has a 23.
The only flight that uses handicaps is the 3rd so I'll be competing for gross score only. The winner of each flight gets their own private parking spot! That's been my goal, really want that baby this year. The long drive winners in each flight also win $75. I won the 3rd flight 2 years ago but couldn't do it in the 2nd flight last year.
Well, that's all for now, come back Monday to read all about it!
Monday, August 14, 2006
Beerfest
Saturday was the Great Taste of the Midwest beer fest in Madison. Breweries from all over the great lakes region brought their brews to share with us. Our group of 8 showed up about 90 minutes ahead of time and got a good spot in line so we could stake out or site inside before it was full. We like to set up a base camp with chairs, coolers, food, etc. from which to branch out.
My goal was to try every Stout available so I marked them out in the booklet and found 21 of them. I made it to about 15 and couldn't take it any more. Every oatmeal stout tasted the same. There were a couple of interesting ones though, a creme' brule stout that was good for sipping and a nitro stout that was very smooth (guinness like). After those I had a few IPA's and pale ales that were decent too. I think I ended up trying 23 different beers and actually wrote them down but I don't think I can read what I wrote, especially the last 10 or so...
We went out for dinner (mexican) afterwards and while the food was good, our waitress was horrible. Took us 40 minutes just to pay the bill!
Sunday I met up with a couple friends from Seattle that were visiting at Devil's Head resort about an hour north of me. We golfed there in the afternoon. I actually played pretty well and shot an 86 from the blue tees. They added a new 9 recently and mixed that in with the original course. Those new holes were terrible. The grass was all weeds and dirt. The greens sucked too. Hard so they wouldn't hold a shot but fuzzy so they were super slow. If I had putted worth a crap I might have broken 80. I reached 2 of the par 5's in 2 and 3 putted each time for par. Crap... I did manage 8 pars and birdied one hole, which was my only 1 putt of the day. Luckily that one was only from 2 feet away. The course is definitely not worth the $70 I had to pay. They had a deal (there were 11 guys), where they paid $250 for 2 nights at the resort including unlimited golf and all meals. I guess that's worth it but the single play was not. I now know why there were no Wisconsin cars in the parking lot. Way too many better courses around the area for that money.
I suggested they try Whistling Straits next time.
My goal was to try every Stout available so I marked them out in the booklet and found 21 of them. I made it to about 15 and couldn't take it any more. Every oatmeal stout tasted the same. There were a couple of interesting ones though, a creme' brule stout that was good for sipping and a nitro stout that was very smooth (guinness like). After those I had a few IPA's and pale ales that were decent too. I think I ended up trying 23 different beers and actually wrote them down but I don't think I can read what I wrote, especially the last 10 or so...
We went out for dinner (mexican) afterwards and while the food was good, our waitress was horrible. Took us 40 minutes just to pay the bill!
Sunday I met up with a couple friends from Seattle that were visiting at Devil's Head resort about an hour north of me. We golfed there in the afternoon. I actually played pretty well and shot an 86 from the blue tees. They added a new 9 recently and mixed that in with the original course. Those new holes were terrible. The grass was all weeds and dirt. The greens sucked too. Hard so they wouldn't hold a shot but fuzzy so they were super slow. If I had putted worth a crap I might have broken 80. I reached 2 of the par 5's in 2 and 3 putted each time for par. Crap... I did manage 8 pars and birdied one hole, which was my only 1 putt of the day. Luckily that one was only from 2 feet away. The course is definitely not worth the $70 I had to pay. They had a deal (there were 11 guys), where they paid $250 for 2 nights at the resort including unlimited golf and all meals. I guess that's worth it but the single play was not. I now know why there were no Wisconsin cars in the parking lot. Way too many better courses around the area for that money.
I suggested they try Whistling Straits next time.
Friday, August 11, 2006
Receiving End
No, I’m not in prison being abused by Bubba… Karma gave me a little payback for my hit on that jackass a couple weeks ago though. 2nd shift of the game last night, the puck is dumped into the right corner. It’s just me and the 240 lb defenseman going for it. Of course I beat him to the puck but not by much. As I spun to my left to try to center it towards the net he arrived… Next thing I remember I was off the ice pancaked flat against the glass and slowly sliding down to a lying position like maple syrup oozing down the side of the bottle after you finish pouring it on your pancakes…
I survived, obviously, but it set the tone for the whole night as we were out hit, out skated, out shot, out goalied, whatever... and lost 6-2.
I know I had not much in the tank to start with so I wasn’t very helpful. After getting up at 5:15am I met CB by the Interstate at 6 and we began our long day of slacking off. First up, 7:04 tee time at Naga-waukee Golf Course in Pewaukee. Weather was a little cloudy and moist but no rain and it actually felt pretty nice, in the low 70’s. The rain from the night before made everything a little damp though so the greens were a little slow but you sure didn’t have to worry about your approach shots running off the green. In fact, my 9 iron from 135 on the 3rd hole (par 3) was a good example. The green sloped down from back to front, pin was back. I drilled a really nice shot that landed about 10 feet right of the pin and I thought would stick right there but when I looked back after I picked up my tee the ball had spun all the way back to the front of the green leaving me a nice 50 foot putt instead.
That was just 1 of about 4 super long putts I had on the day. Just couldn’t hit the right part of the green. CB had a couple bad holes on 2-4 but recovered nicely and we pretty much played even from there on out. In fact, we tied on the back 9 after I got totally robbed on my par putt as the ball hit an old ball mark and deflected away from the hole. CB had 54/47 for 101 and I had 46/47 for 93.
We finished our round a little after 10:30 and headed for Miller Park. We arrived about 11:05 and parked in Preferred parking (a must do for those that live west of the park). We walked up to discover the gates don’t open till 11:30. Our plan was to eat at the TGI Friday’s in left field. There was already a huge line formed at that gate (maybe because it was water bottle giveaway day?). CB went to investigate as I got in line. He found that there was another line with about 10 or 15 people in it so we walked up to that one and voila, no problemo, we’re gold. At 11:30 they finally opened the gates and we high-tailed it for Fridays and got in quickly. I learned 2 things at Fridays: 1 – The don’t know how to spell Guinness (they had it with 1 "n" on the menu) and B – they have Guinness on tap for $5.50 for a pint. What the hell??? It’s $6 for a bottle of Miller Lite in your seat. (That reminds me, at Naga-waukee they had a sign by their bar saying “Featured Beer of the Month for August – Miller Lite, I had to laugh).
Anyway, now I gotta work all day today instead of my normal half day. Gonna be a busy weekend too. Tomorrow is the Great Midwest Beerfest in Madison. It’s awesome, 5 hours of drinking some great beer. Sunday I’m meeting a friend from Seattle at Devil’s Head for golf, should be fun, if I’m not too hung-over.
I survived, obviously, but it set the tone for the whole night as we were out hit, out skated, out shot, out goalied, whatever... and lost 6-2.
I know I had not much in the tank to start with so I wasn’t very helpful. After getting up at 5:15am I met CB by the Interstate at 6 and we began our long day of slacking off. First up, 7:04 tee time at Naga-waukee Golf Course in Pewaukee. Weather was a little cloudy and moist but no rain and it actually felt pretty nice, in the low 70’s. The rain from the night before made everything a little damp though so the greens were a little slow but you sure didn’t have to worry about your approach shots running off the green. In fact, my 9 iron from 135 on the 3rd hole (par 3) was a good example. The green sloped down from back to front, pin was back. I drilled a really nice shot that landed about 10 feet right of the pin and I thought would stick right there but when I looked back after I picked up my tee the ball had spun all the way back to the front of the green leaving me a nice 50 foot putt instead.
That was just 1 of about 4 super long putts I had on the day. Just couldn’t hit the right part of the green. CB had a couple bad holes on 2-4 but recovered nicely and we pretty much played even from there on out. In fact, we tied on the back 9 after I got totally robbed on my par putt as the ball hit an old ball mark and deflected away from the hole. CB had 54/47 for 101 and I had 46/47 for 93.
We finished our round a little after 10:30 and headed for Miller Park. We arrived about 11:05 and parked in Preferred parking (a must do for those that live west of the park). We walked up to discover the gates don’t open till 11:30. Our plan was to eat at the TGI Friday’s in left field. There was already a huge line formed at that gate (maybe because it was water bottle giveaway day?). CB went to investigate as I got in line. He found that there was another line with about 10 or 15 people in it so we walked up to that one and voila, no problemo, we’re gold. At 11:30 they finally opened the gates and we high-tailed it for Fridays and got in quickly. I learned 2 things at Fridays: 1 – The don’t know how to spell Guinness (they had it with 1 "n" on the menu) and B – they have Guinness on tap for $5.50 for a pint. What the hell??? It’s $6 for a bottle of Miller Lite in your seat. (That reminds me, at Naga-waukee they had a sign by their bar saying “Featured Beer of the Month for August – Miller Lite, I had to laugh).
Anyway, now I gotta work all day today instead of my normal half day. Gonna be a busy weekend too. Tomorrow is the Great Midwest Beerfest in Madison. It’s awesome, 5 hours of drinking some great beer. Sunday I’m meeting a friend from Seattle at Devil’s Head for golf, should be fun, if I’m not too hung-over.
Monday, August 07, 2006
Altercation on the Links
Well, it finally happened. I could take no more of my dad's constant "helpful advice" on the course and I blew up. It didn't take long either, just 6 holes into our 36 hole marathon Friday. As some of you know, having played with him before, he always is telling me something that I'm doing wrong. Top one... "keep your head down"... hit it right... "your feet weren't lined up"... on and on this goes. For the most part I've just quietly told him to stick it and I don't want his advice...
But Friday, it finally happened. 5th hole is a par 3 that I missed the green to the right and down a hill. I chipped up and ran up the hill to see where it was going only to see him tapping my ball on the green with his putter. I was like "what are you doing?" to which he replied "helping you, just stopping the ball, it was rolling off". I was seriously confused as to why he would do something like that. I just said "don't do that, just let me play the game" and moved my ball to the rough and played out the hole.
With that still in my mind, trying to figure out what would make a person do something like that, we moved on to the 6th tee box. I'm lined up for my tee shot, which takes me a good 20-30 seconds to get just that right feeling and I initiate my backswing and I hear this "WAIT!". I abort and spin around on him like he'd just murdered my dog and let fly with a "WHAT THE FUCK WAS THAT FOR!?!?" and he says "your feet were lined up to the right". Ok, that was all I could take. I let loose with about 700 profanities that I'm sure could not only be heard at the clubhouse but also in the cars on the freeway a quarter mile away. I don't even remember what all I said but I do know he had a strange look in his eyes like this might be the end.
I turned around, and quickly blasted my drive down the middle. He hits and we get back in the cart and I start in again with the "why in the hell would you do that?" and "just play the f'ing game and try to enjoy it." He finally tries to calm me down and says "ok, let's just drop it, I won't say any more". And he didn't. Finished the 18 peacefully and had a nice lunch. I still sucked and shot a 101.
We went back out 90 minutes later for our next 18 and my next door neighbor joined us. It was peaceful despite my poor play but dad couldn't make it past the 9th (his arthritis was bothering him) so we played the last 9 without him. I sucked again and shot another 101. Pretty pathetic. I keep telling myself it's all good since I was just padding my handicap for the club championship in a couple weeks.
Ah, parents...
Saturday and Sunday I spent more time trying to finish the basement ceiling but ran out of tiles. Need to go back tonight and get another box. We also discussed flooring possibilities. I think we're going to tear all the remaining carpet out of the house and put down hardwood laminate flooring throughout the whole place, including the basement. Not really looking forward to doing all that. I guess I'll try to do the basement first so I can be done down there then start on the rest of the house. Trouble is going to be finding a match to the Pergo I put in the living room. Home Depot doesn't carry it any more. Hope I can order it online or something.
Took mom to American Players Theater (outdoor amphitheater) to see a Shakespeare play called "Measure for Measure". First bad show I've seen there. The story sucked and the actors actually didn't seem to into it either, quite a few line flubs which I'd never seen there before. They lost me a half hour into a 3 hour performance. That makes for a long night.
But Friday, it finally happened. 5th hole is a par 3 that I missed the green to the right and down a hill. I chipped up and ran up the hill to see where it was going only to see him tapping my ball on the green with his putter. I was like "what are you doing?" to which he replied "helping you, just stopping the ball, it was rolling off". I was seriously confused as to why he would do something like that. I just said "don't do that, just let me play the game" and moved my ball to the rough and played out the hole.
With that still in my mind, trying to figure out what would make a person do something like that, we moved on to the 6th tee box. I'm lined up for my tee shot, which takes me a good 20-30 seconds to get just that right feeling and I initiate my backswing and I hear this "WAIT!". I abort and spin around on him like he'd just murdered my dog and let fly with a "WHAT THE FUCK WAS THAT FOR!?!?" and he says "your feet were lined up to the right". Ok, that was all I could take. I let loose with about 700 profanities that I'm sure could not only be heard at the clubhouse but also in the cars on the freeway a quarter mile away. I don't even remember what all I said but I do know he had a strange look in his eyes like this might be the end.
I turned around, and quickly blasted my drive down the middle. He hits and we get back in the cart and I start in again with the "why in the hell would you do that?" and "just play the f'ing game and try to enjoy it." He finally tries to calm me down and says "ok, let's just drop it, I won't say any more". And he didn't. Finished the 18 peacefully and had a nice lunch. I still sucked and shot a 101.
We went back out 90 minutes later for our next 18 and my next door neighbor joined us. It was peaceful despite my poor play but dad couldn't make it past the 9th (his arthritis was bothering him) so we played the last 9 without him. I sucked again and shot another 101. Pretty pathetic. I keep telling myself it's all good since I was just padding my handicap for the club championship in a couple weeks.
Ah, parents...
Saturday and Sunday I spent more time trying to finish the basement ceiling but ran out of tiles. Need to go back tonight and get another box. We also discussed flooring possibilities. I think we're going to tear all the remaining carpet out of the house and put down hardwood laminate flooring throughout the whole place, including the basement. Not really looking forward to doing all that. I guess I'll try to do the basement first so I can be done down there then start on the rest of the house. Trouble is going to be finding a match to the Pergo I put in the living room. Home Depot doesn't carry it any more. Hope I can order it online or something.
Took mom to American Players Theater (outdoor amphitheater) to see a Shakespeare play called "Measure for Measure". First bad show I've seen there. The story sucked and the actors actually didn't seem to into it either, quite a few line flubs which I'd never seen there before. They lost me a half hour into a 3 hour performance. That makes for a long night.
Wednesday, August 02, 2006
All is well
Left at 10:30 last night and just went right to bed. Back to work by 7am and we did manage to get everything working by 10:00. Crisis over... Looks like golf league is safe tonight (as long as it doesn't rain).
With the 15 hour day yesterday I'll be taking Friday off. My dad and I are going to go play 36 holes at The Oaks.
With the 15 hour day yesterday I'll be taking Friday off. My dad and I are going to go play 36 holes at The Oaks.
Tuesday, August 01, 2006
I'm gettin' sleepy
Ok, this is officially becoming quite a long night. It's 10pm and I'm still at work. I've been here since 7am with just a quick break for lunch.
It's amazing how, for such a big company with a huge IT staff, that application deployment is an incredibly long and painful process. We've been in deployment since 3:30 and, oh great, the lights just shut off.... at least my computer still has power. I'm giving it a half hour and giving up. The servers are now totally screwing up. Oh boy...
Cdubya is not a happy camper either so I still have that to deal with when I get home. The best part is that it appears we will not get moved into production tonight and will have to try again tomorrow night and that's golf league! If they mess up league night I will be quite pissed.
Ok, we've officially passed my bed time. Good night Irene....
It's amazing how, for such a big company with a huge IT staff, that application deployment is an incredibly long and painful process. We've been in deployment since 3:30 and, oh great, the lights just shut off.... at least my computer still has power. I'm giving it a half hour and giving up. The servers are now totally screwing up. Oh boy...
Cdubya is not a happy camper either so I still have that to deal with when I get home. The best part is that it appears we will not get moved into production tonight and will have to try again tomorrow night and that's golf league! If they mess up league night I will be quite pissed.
Ok, we've officially passed my bed time. Good night Irene....
Sunday, July 30, 2006
Smokin' Hot Weekend
Ah, 100 degree heat index, you gotta love that.
Mowed the lawn Friday afternoon, super hot. 2 big bottles of Gatorade hot. But first I went and bought a new putter. It's a Odyssey White Hot belly putter. Took it out to the range and it really did make a difference. It's very easy to get your putts on line that way. I struggled a little with distance control however but that will come before too long I think.
Saturday I played in a charity golf tournament to benefit the Epilepsy Foundation of Southern Wisconsin. It was a scramble and was paired with a co-worker, another consultant and his wife. As I thought, I putted well but struggled with the distance control. I left a few putts right on the lip, just didn't hit them quite hard enough, but the line was great.
The driver was really working though. I think I may have hit the best 3 drives of my life. On number 11, a 315 yard par 4 I drove it 290 right up to the green and in the middle of the fairway. Easily my best on that hole. Of course, of the 4 of us no one hit the green from 25 yards. Sheesh.
On the 1st hole (we started on 9 in a shotgun format), a par 4 playing 280 from the white tees I actually took my drive over a grove of trees and landed it square in the middle of the green. We two putted for birdie from there. I couldn't believe that shot, and was giddy when we drove around the corner and saw my ball lying there.
Then on the last hole we played, the 8th, a 374 yard par 4, in 95 degree heat after 5 beers, I pulled out my driver and smoked it, I mean smoked it. It was high and had a nice draw right down the middle... We drove over a hill and I couldn't believe my eyes. The ball was lying in the middle of the fairway and close. Using the GPS we saw it was 50 y ards from the pin. That's a 324 yard drive! Unreal... my farthest ever for sure. I'm only 5'8", 170 lbs, I don't think I'm supposed to do that, especially exhausted and buzzed but hey, I'll take it.
Anyway, we finished at 3 under par 68. The winner was 16 under, we weren't even close. But they were selling Mulligans for $5 each and many teams loaded up on them. I saved my money for beer... :)
I just returned from the Brewers/Reds game in Milwaukee. The Miller Park roof was closed since we had t-storms earlier in the day but by the time the game was over it was 96. There's absolutely no breeze in there with the roof closed, it's like being in a sauna. They won 4-3, barely hanging on to win as the Reds scored 3 in the 9th after not doing anything the whole game. Ben Sheets was phenomenal until the 9th. He had only given up 4 hits, 1 walk and struck out 10 in 8 innings. Unfortunately he went back out in the 9th and on his 101st pitch gave up a 2 run homer to Griffey to make it 4-2. Turnbow then came on to give up another homer to Aurilia and then put 2 more guys on. Newcomer Cordero came on to close out the game, just barely. The offense was provided by newcomer Kevin Mench who had an rbi single in the 1st and a 3-run homer in the 7th.
Supposed to be 98 Monday before finally cooling down a little.
Mowed the lawn Friday afternoon, super hot. 2 big bottles of Gatorade hot. But first I went and bought a new putter. It's a Odyssey White Hot belly putter. Took it out to the range and it really did make a difference. It's very easy to get your putts on line that way. I struggled a little with distance control however but that will come before too long I think.
Saturday I played in a charity golf tournament to benefit the Epilepsy Foundation of Southern Wisconsin. It was a scramble and was paired with a co-worker, another consultant and his wife. As I thought, I putted well but struggled with the distance control. I left a few putts right on the lip, just didn't hit them quite hard enough, but the line was great.
The driver was really working though. I think I may have hit the best 3 drives of my life. On number 11, a 315 yard par 4 I drove it 290 right up to the green and in the middle of the fairway. Easily my best on that hole. Of course, of the 4 of us no one hit the green from 25 yards. Sheesh.
On the 1st hole (we started on 9 in a shotgun format), a par 4 playing 280 from the white tees I actually took my drive over a grove of trees and landed it square in the middle of the green. We two putted for birdie from there. I couldn't believe that shot, and was giddy when we drove around the corner and saw my ball lying there.
Then on the last hole we played, the 8th, a 374 yard par 4, in 95 degree heat after 5 beers, I pulled out my driver and smoked it, I mean smoked it. It was high and had a nice draw right down the middle... We drove over a hill and I couldn't believe my eyes. The ball was lying in the middle of the fairway and close. Using the GPS we saw it was 50 y ards from the pin. That's a 324 yard drive! Unreal... my farthest ever for sure. I'm only 5'8", 170 lbs, I don't think I'm supposed to do that, especially exhausted and buzzed but hey, I'll take it.
Anyway, we finished at 3 under par 68. The winner was 16 under, we weren't even close. But they were selling Mulligans for $5 each and many teams loaded up on them. I saved my money for beer... :)
I just returned from the Brewers/Reds game in Milwaukee. The Miller Park roof was closed since we had t-storms earlier in the day but by the time the game was over it was 96. There's absolutely no breeze in there with the roof closed, it's like being in a sauna. They won 4-3, barely hanging on to win as the Reds scored 3 in the 9th after not doing anything the whole game. Ben Sheets was phenomenal until the 9th. He had only given up 4 hits, 1 walk and struck out 10 in 8 innings. Unfortunately he went back out in the 9th and on his 101st pitch gave up a 2 run homer to Griffey to make it 4-2. Turnbow then came on to give up another homer to Aurilia and then put 2 more guys on. Newcomer Cordero came on to close out the game, just barely. The offense was provided by newcomer Kevin Mench who had an rbi single in the 1st and a 3-run homer in the 7th.
Supposed to be 98 Monday before finally cooling down a little.
Friday, July 28, 2006
Pain in the a, ah, neck
I'm having to post without moving my head this morning. A little sore from last night's hockey game, which we lost 10-2 (we had the shitty goalie again but we still didn't play very well).
It's my 2nd shift of the night and I'm fighting for a loose puck along the boards in our zone when some jackass decides to kick the back of my skates and with the way I happened to be standing at the time, it sent me flying backwards landing on my elbows and whipping the back of my head into the ice. I was pretty sore and had a good headache for the rest of the night but I got that sonofabitch back...
You see, this is one of those guys nobody likes. He's a glory hound and a horrible cherry picker. For those who don't know, a cherry picker is a player who disdains the defensive zone to hover out at center ice hoping someone will send him a pass so he can get a breakaway. He is one of those guys... constantly standing out at center ice waiting for that lucky pass so he can maybe score on a crappy goalie and celebrate for 20 minutes.
Anyway, it's now towards the end of the 3rd period and even though they are up 7 or 8 goals he's still floating out at center ice looking for breakaways. It's been grating on me the whole game and I've built up a certain amount of animosity towards the guy. So, I see him coming around the boards in the corner and had a perfect bead on him so I decided to send a message and crushed him against the boards and he crumpled to the ice weakly swinging his stick towards me. Luckily the refs don't like him either and turned a cheek to it (it's a no-check league and that was definitely a check).
I expected some retaliation and kept an eye on him as we finished the shift but I think since they were on the offensive he didn't want to pass up a chance to shoot the puck. So he waited for the next shift and while we were in their zone he skated up behind me and put his stick between my legs trying to trip me. I just coasted it out and he didn't do anything and they blew the whistle. I circled around behind him and he stopped quick to initiate contact. I gave him a two handed shove and he went crazy, spit flying out from his facemask as he's hurling obscenity after obscenity in my direction. He gets close again and I punched him in the chest, letting him know how much I enjoyed his cherry picking. That pretty much ended it as we both got sent off the ice.
Oh, and I did score a goal though I never saw it go in. 2 on 1 with my centerman going down the right side and I was flying in from the left. He dropped a pass to me and I one timed it into the upper left side but all I saw was it hit the post and crossbar and thought for sure it wouldn't go in. They called it a goal and he told me that it went up into the top part of the next and then back out. Ok, I didn't see that but I'll take it.
I played in golf league twice this week. Monday I subbed and shot a 45 but played much better than that. Got my driver back working nicely. Wednesday I shot 44. Kept driving the ball well and I'm hitting my irons pretty clean. I just can't putt. I can't even count how many 3-putt bogies I've had over the last 2 weeks. It's sick. After work today I'm going to Nevada Bob's to look at belly putters. If it works for Fred Couples it just might work for me. Something's gotta help me turn it around. Besides, on Monday I played with a god-awful golfer but he had a belly putter and the SOB made everything.
Tomorrow I play in a charity golf tournament to benefit the Epilepsy foundation. The ex-VP of the company I sub contract through had epilepsy and passed away a couple years ago at the age of 33. This tournament was started on his behalf.
Anyway, it's going to be in the mid-90's all weekend. I'm taking my nephew to the Brewers game on Sunday (day game, seats in the sun, ouch). I couldn't get anyone else to go so I figured I'd give him another chance... Cdubya said I was nuts for even going with that kind of heat (the other ticket used to be hers). I figure I'll just drink plenty of water and eat lots of ice cream.
Have a good weekend!
It's my 2nd shift of the night and I'm fighting for a loose puck along the boards in our zone when some jackass decides to kick the back of my skates and with the way I happened to be standing at the time, it sent me flying backwards landing on my elbows and whipping the back of my head into the ice. I was pretty sore and had a good headache for the rest of the night but I got that sonofabitch back...
You see, this is one of those guys nobody likes. He's a glory hound and a horrible cherry picker. For those who don't know, a cherry picker is a player who disdains the defensive zone to hover out at center ice hoping someone will send him a pass so he can get a breakaway. He is one of those guys... constantly standing out at center ice waiting for that lucky pass so he can maybe score on a crappy goalie and celebrate for 20 minutes.
Anyway, it's now towards the end of the 3rd period and even though they are up 7 or 8 goals he's still floating out at center ice looking for breakaways. It's been grating on me the whole game and I've built up a certain amount of animosity towards the guy. So, I see him coming around the boards in the corner and had a perfect bead on him so I decided to send a message and crushed him against the boards and he crumpled to the ice weakly swinging his stick towards me. Luckily the refs don't like him either and turned a cheek to it (it's a no-check league and that was definitely a check).
I expected some retaliation and kept an eye on him as we finished the shift but I think since they were on the offensive he didn't want to pass up a chance to shoot the puck. So he waited for the next shift and while we were in their zone he skated up behind me and put his stick between my legs trying to trip me. I just coasted it out and he didn't do anything and they blew the whistle. I circled around behind him and he stopped quick to initiate contact. I gave him a two handed shove and he went crazy, spit flying out from his facemask as he's hurling obscenity after obscenity in my direction. He gets close again and I punched him in the chest, letting him know how much I enjoyed his cherry picking. That pretty much ended it as we both got sent off the ice.
Oh, and I did score a goal though I never saw it go in. 2 on 1 with my centerman going down the right side and I was flying in from the left. He dropped a pass to me and I one timed it into the upper left side but all I saw was it hit the post and crossbar and thought for sure it wouldn't go in. They called it a goal and he told me that it went up into the top part of the next and then back out. Ok, I didn't see that but I'll take it.
I played in golf league twice this week. Monday I subbed and shot a 45 but played much better than that. Got my driver back working nicely. Wednesday I shot 44. Kept driving the ball well and I'm hitting my irons pretty clean. I just can't putt. I can't even count how many 3-putt bogies I've had over the last 2 weeks. It's sick. After work today I'm going to Nevada Bob's to look at belly putters. If it works for Fred Couples it just might work for me. Something's gotta help me turn it around. Besides, on Monday I played with a god-awful golfer but he had a belly putter and the SOB made everything.
Tomorrow I play in a charity golf tournament to benefit the Epilepsy foundation. The ex-VP of the company I sub contract through had epilepsy and passed away a couple years ago at the age of 33. This tournament was started on his behalf.
Anyway, it's going to be in the mid-90's all weekend. I'm taking my nephew to the Brewers game on Sunday (day game, seats in the sun, ouch). I couldn't get anyone else to go so I figured I'd give him another chance... Cdubya said I was nuts for even going with that kind of heat (the other ticket used to be hers). I figure I'll just drink plenty of water and eat lots of ice cream.
Have a good weekend!
Monday, July 24, 2006
Busy Week
Golfed Sunday morning at 6:15am. I love playing at that time of the morning, except for 2 things. 1, I always think I'm going to miss my alarm so I wake up every hour to check the time, very annoying. And B, as I get older, it takes more and more time to get loose so I'm a little creaky at 6am....
I shot ok, hit the ball better than Friday, couldn't putt though. 3-putted for bogey (turning birdies into bogies) at least 5 times. Shot 93 (46/47) with a huge blowup hole on each side.
I got asked to sub in another golf league tonight, at 4:30. I've got that, league Wednesday, hockey Thursday, a tournament Saturday and a company outing to the Brewers/Reds game Sunday. I'll probably end up golfing Friday too...
Oh, and Cdubya's b-day is Wednesday (golf league night). Is it bad that I'm still going to play league then come home and take her out for dinner? She seems to think I've got my priorities out of order but b-days for us have never been that big of a deal, except the big ones. I'm planning on playing unless there's crying involved...
I shot ok, hit the ball better than Friday, couldn't putt though. 3-putted for bogey (turning birdies into bogies) at least 5 times. Shot 93 (46/47) with a huge blowup hole on each side.
I got asked to sub in another golf league tonight, at 4:30. I've got that, league Wednesday, hockey Thursday, a tournament Saturday and a company outing to the Brewers/Reds game Sunday. I'll probably end up golfing Friday too...
Oh, and Cdubya's b-day is Wednesday (golf league night). Is it bad that I'm still going to play league then come home and take her out for dinner? She seems to think I've got my priorities out of order but b-days for us have never been that big of a deal, except the big ones. I'm planning on playing unless there's crying involved...
Saturday, July 22, 2006
Panic Friday
I'm very happy that Friday is over. The day started with a problem with my email management application hanging and took a long time to solve and we are going to production this morning so it was important to get it fixed. Turned out to be a stupid mistake on my part but it being my half day I had a 12:30 tee time to make. I ended up getting it all corrected by about 11:45 and rushing to the course.
From there it didn't get any better. I hit a very nice drive down the middle to start but then shanked 2 shots in a row, very odd one where they seemed to hit off the heel, spin the club face and go way right. I ended up triple bogeying. Not a good start but it got worse. I topped my drive on the next hole (par 5) then topped 3 shots in a row before I got the shanks back and hacked two more off the trees to the right. I finally ended up with a 10. At this point I was looking at the clouds, begging for a massive t-storm to knock me off the course. Unfortunately all my begging resulted in a steady rain but not enough to make us quit and I had to keep going. I hit a good shot on the par 3 but 3-putted for bogey then followed with two more triple bogies. It was sick. I finished the front 9 with a 53 after finishing the last 4 holes in only +3.
I started the back with renewed confidence only to have that dashed with a topped drive and triple/double start. I recovered to go par/birdie/par and ended up shooting 45 on the back for 98. Not good, but I think I know what I was doing wrong at least. The birdie I took was as close to an eagle as I've been. It was a 476 yard par 5 with a dogleg left around big oak trees. I hit driver and hit a nice draw around the corner leaving me 213 to the center of the green. I hit my hybrid 2i and hit a nice high draw onto the green within about 25 feet. My eagle putt was right on line but stopped about a foot short. I left quite a few putts short after 7 holes of rain.
My next tee time is 6:15am Sunday morning. Luckily I told the dogs last night that it was the weekend and we would be sleeping in and they actually listened and we slept in till 8:00 and they didn't bother us once! They got big hugs for that one. :) In fact, I'm going to go out looking for a new driver headcover like this one today.
From there it didn't get any better. I hit a very nice drive down the middle to start but then shanked 2 shots in a row, very odd one where they seemed to hit off the heel, spin the club face and go way right. I ended up triple bogeying. Not a good start but it got worse. I topped my drive on the next hole (par 5) then topped 3 shots in a row before I got the shanks back and hacked two more off the trees to the right. I finally ended up with a 10. At this point I was looking at the clouds, begging for a massive t-storm to knock me off the course. Unfortunately all my begging resulted in a steady rain but not enough to make us quit and I had to keep going. I hit a good shot on the par 3 but 3-putted for bogey then followed with two more triple bogies. It was sick. I finished the front 9 with a 53 after finishing the last 4 holes in only +3.
I started the back with renewed confidence only to have that dashed with a topped drive and triple/double start. I recovered to go par/birdie/par and ended up shooting 45 on the back for 98. Not good, but I think I know what I was doing wrong at least. The birdie I took was as close to an eagle as I've been. It was a 476 yard par 5 with a dogleg left around big oak trees. I hit driver and hit a nice draw around the corner leaving me 213 to the center of the green. I hit my hybrid 2i and hit a nice high draw onto the green within about 25 feet. My eagle putt was right on line but stopped about a foot short. I left quite a few putts short after 7 holes of rain.
My next tee time is 6:15am Sunday morning. Luckily I told the dogs last night that it was the weekend and we would be sleeping in and they actually listened and we slept in till 8:00 and they didn't bother us once! They got big hugs for that one. :) In fact, I'm going to go out looking for a new driver headcover like this one today.
Thursday, July 20, 2006
Storms missed the target
Big storms last night but unfortunately they did not wash out golf league…
My neighbor and I video recorded ourselves at the driving range Monday night and I was amazed at how easy it is to pick apart your swing. I saw at least 4 things I considered to be messed up and I worked to try to correct them. Unfortunately shotgunning balls at the range is not the same as actually being on the course.
I started out with a gorgeous drive and should have quit right there. I hit a low screamer over the green on my second shot but saved bogey and made par on the next hole after a nice chip. Then it all fell apart. Popped up my drive into a bunch of trees and told myself to play the safe shot, punch back to the fairway and take the bogey. Unfortunately my punch was too hard and I flew over the fairway and one hopped into the weeds… lost ball. Took a drop, topped my next shot, then hit the green and 3 putted for a snowman… nice. Bogied the next hole then chunked my 8 iron on the par 3, missed the green again, finally chipped on, 25 feet past the hole, rammed my putt passed and missed the one coming back for a triple bogey 6. Par on the par 5 next hole then blasted my drive on the next one so far right I almost cleared the next fairway over. I was left with a shot where I had no idea what direction to hit or how far it was (or that there were still people on the green). I picked out a 5 iron and let it rip. I guess I had the line pretty well because the others in my foursome were like "Ooooh" and said I almost hit the other group. Ended up a couple feet from the green, chipped close and missed the putt after Dr. Mike reminded me it was a par putt. Sometimes I just hate that guy. :)
Anyway, I ended up shooting a crappy 49. Playing again tomorrow and Sunday.
Oh, forgot about the new toys I bought! My gas grass trimmer froze up on me a couple weeks ago and I had an electric blower that I always hated because I had to drag an extension cord all over hell. So, I bought a Black and Decker 18 volt battery powered set of 3 outdoor tools, a grass trimmer (weed whacker), hedge trimmer and leaf blower. It came with 3 batteries, and a mounting/recharging station, all for only $180. I used the trimmer and blower Tuesday night after mowing the back yard. Awesome. Not as powerful but for my yard they work just fine and I was done much faster.
My neighbor and I video recorded ourselves at the driving range Monday night and I was amazed at how easy it is to pick apart your swing. I saw at least 4 things I considered to be messed up and I worked to try to correct them. Unfortunately shotgunning balls at the range is not the same as actually being on the course.
I started out with a gorgeous drive and should have quit right there. I hit a low screamer over the green on my second shot but saved bogey and made par on the next hole after a nice chip. Then it all fell apart. Popped up my drive into a bunch of trees and told myself to play the safe shot, punch back to the fairway and take the bogey. Unfortunately my punch was too hard and I flew over the fairway and one hopped into the weeds… lost ball. Took a drop, topped my next shot, then hit the green and 3 putted for a snowman… nice. Bogied the next hole then chunked my 8 iron on the par 3, missed the green again, finally chipped on, 25 feet past the hole, rammed my putt passed and missed the one coming back for a triple bogey 6. Par on the par 5 next hole then blasted my drive on the next one so far right I almost cleared the next fairway over. I was left with a shot where I had no idea what direction to hit or how far it was (or that there were still people on the green). I picked out a 5 iron and let it rip. I guess I had the line pretty well because the others in my foursome were like "Ooooh" and said I almost hit the other group. Ended up a couple feet from the green, chipped close and missed the putt after Dr. Mike reminded me it was a par putt. Sometimes I just hate that guy. :)
Anyway, I ended up shooting a crappy 49. Playing again tomorrow and Sunday.
Oh, forgot about the new toys I bought! My gas grass trimmer froze up on me a couple weeks ago and I had an electric blower that I always hated because I had to drag an extension cord all over hell. So, I bought a Black and Decker 18 volt battery powered set of 3 outdoor tools, a grass trimmer (weed whacker), hedge trimmer and leaf blower. It came with 3 batteries, and a mounting/recharging station, all for only $180. I used the trimmer and blower Tuesday night after mowing the back yard. Awesome. Not as powerful but for my yard they work just fine and I was done much faster.
Saturday, July 15, 2006
Balance
I'm struggling... trying to find the balance between feeling the need to post something versus not feeling like saying anything... I guess sometimes you just don't feel like it.
Anyway, golf league Wednesday, nothing special, shot 47 with a quadruple bogey and two triples. Seems like I can't get myself out of these blow up holes. Yesterday we went and played 18 and I had the same type of problems. I was 5 over after 7 (not great but doing ok) when I blew up for a 9 on a par 5 and followed it up with a 7 on the next hole. Great, looking at 42ish and finishing the nine with a 48. I couldn't get into it on the back and once again blew up a couple times, including an 8 to finish on a short par 4 and end with a 50.
No hockey this week, high school camps needed the ice.
I need to get out and mow the lawn asap, it's 6:45 am and already 75 and quite humid. Going to be 95 today and 97 tomorrow. Probably end up going to see "You, Me and Dupree", looks pretty funny.
Oh, I forgot, the one funny thing. During golf yesterday, one hole had a road running down the right side. Mike, a notorious slicer, cranks his tee shot right and it's going right towards the road. All of a sudden a Suburban pulls up to the stop sign at a side street, damn near where his towering shot is headed. I yell "CAR!", not sure why, I should have yelled "FORE!" to the car. Luckily the dude turned right and drove off just as Mike's ball lands in the road and bounces across the street and into someone's yard. I laugh pretty hard. We go over and I can see his ball on the sidewalk so he runs over and gets it. He then takes a drop by the fire hydrant. Now the road really isn't in play for this shot but I see a car again and say jokingly that he better wait till it's gone, haha. He does, luckily, because he cranked this shot way out into the road again and it takes a huge bounce into a tree in someone's front yard. At this point I can't control my laughter any more, I'm just dying.... but then I notice another fire hydrant up ahead and tell him "hey, there's another fire hydrant for you up there." It was all pretty funny.
Anyway, I better get out working before the heat hits. Thank you dogs for waking me up at 5:45... yes, it's Saturday, no that's ok, you don't understand weekends...
Anyway, golf league Wednesday, nothing special, shot 47 with a quadruple bogey and two triples. Seems like I can't get myself out of these blow up holes. Yesterday we went and played 18 and I had the same type of problems. I was 5 over after 7 (not great but doing ok) when I blew up for a 9 on a par 5 and followed it up with a 7 on the next hole. Great, looking at 42ish and finishing the nine with a 48. I couldn't get into it on the back and once again blew up a couple times, including an 8 to finish on a short par 4 and end with a 50.
No hockey this week, high school camps needed the ice.
I need to get out and mow the lawn asap, it's 6:45 am and already 75 and quite humid. Going to be 95 today and 97 tomorrow. Probably end up going to see "You, Me and Dupree", looks pretty funny.
Oh, I forgot, the one funny thing. During golf yesterday, one hole had a road running down the right side. Mike, a notorious slicer, cranks his tee shot right and it's going right towards the road. All of a sudden a Suburban pulls up to the stop sign at a side street, damn near where his towering shot is headed. I yell "CAR!", not sure why, I should have yelled "FORE!" to the car. Luckily the dude turned right and drove off just as Mike's ball lands in the road and bounces across the street and into someone's yard. I laugh pretty hard. We go over and I can see his ball on the sidewalk so he runs over and gets it. He then takes a drop by the fire hydrant. Now the road really isn't in play for this shot but I see a car again and say jokingly that he better wait till it's gone, haha. He does, luckily, because he cranked this shot way out into the road again and it takes a huge bounce into a tree in someone's front yard. At this point I can't control my laughter any more, I'm just dying.... but then I notice another fire hydrant up ahead and tell him "hey, there's another fire hydrant for you up there." It was all pretty funny.
Anyway, I better get out working before the heat hits. Thank you dogs for waking me up at 5:45... yes, it's Saturday, no that's ok, you don't understand weekends...
Monday, July 10, 2006
New study: Bad golf can make you physically sick
Ok, the study is just of me, by me...
Played some really shitty golf Saturday (46/47 for 93) and by Saturday night I had a sore throat and cough. Coincidence? I think not...
My next test is to see if 1 person being sick in a small room with 8 guys in it will make all 8 sick. I'm pretty sure the other 7 are not too happy with me right now.
Went to see the 2nd Pirates of the Carribean Saturday night. Fun movie, lots of action. Not great but fun. Definitely set up for the 3rd movie, which apparently has already been filmed and will be released next summer.
Deadwood had one of the most gruesome fights last night. I almost barfed.
Played some really shitty golf Saturday (46/47 for 93) and by Saturday night I had a sore throat and cough. Coincidence? I think not...
My next test is to see if 1 person being sick in a small room with 8 guys in it will make all 8 sick. I'm pretty sure the other 7 are not too happy with me right now.
Went to see the 2nd Pirates of the Carribean Saturday night. Fun movie, lots of action. Not great but fun. Definitely set up for the 3rd movie, which apparently has already been filmed and will be released next summer.
Deadwood had one of the most gruesome fights last night. I almost barfed.
Friday, July 07, 2006
Streaking!
No, not that kind of streaking. Our hockey team made it 2 wins in a row last night with a thrilling 3-2 victory. A back and forth game that saw me make a nice pass to my other wing for our first goal and follow that up with a nice pass to the other team for their first goal.
Off a faceoff in their end the puck went back towards our D slowly. I chased after it and took it around to the right as the defenseman (my friend Bill) slid to the left behind me. I thought it would be slick for me to slide a pass back to him, you know blind, behind the back type of pass… right to their fastest player and he was off to the races. I still can’t believe I did that. I would have been screaming at someone if they had done it but no one said anything (to my face that is, I’m sure there was some mumbling). I apologized and had 2 really good chances to get that goal back but was stoned by the goalie both times.
We ended up going ahead 2-1 only to see them tie it again. We finally scored on a breakaway with about 4 minutes left for the game winning goal.
And the Brewers beat the Cubs again and are only 2 ½ games out of first place and finally back above .500 for the first time since late May. Maybe, just maybe, they have a realistic shot at the playoffs. Of course, my saying that is a sure kiss of death.
Off a faceoff in their end the puck went back towards our D slowly. I chased after it and took it around to the right as the defenseman (my friend Bill) slid to the left behind me. I thought it would be slick for me to slide a pass back to him, you know blind, behind the back type of pass… right to their fastest player and he was off to the races. I still can’t believe I did that. I would have been screaming at someone if they had done it but no one said anything (to my face that is, I’m sure there was some mumbling). I apologized and had 2 really good chances to get that goal back but was stoned by the goalie both times.
We ended up going ahead 2-1 only to see them tie it again. We finally scored on a breakaway with about 4 minutes left for the game winning goal.
And the Brewers beat the Cubs again and are only 2 ½ games out of first place and finally back above .500 for the first time since late May. Maybe, just maybe, they have a realistic shot at the playoffs. Of course, my saying that is a sure kiss of death.
Thursday, July 06, 2006
Rockstar: SuperNova - ROCKS!
The follow up to last season's hot summer hit Rockstar:INXS kicked off last night and I can tell right away that it's going to be even better!
SuperNova is the band, made up of Tommy Lee from Motley Crue, Gilby Clark of Guns N Roses and Jason Newstad of Metallica. They are joined by top record producer Butch Walker and of course, Dave Navarro in deciding which of the 15 rockstar wannabe's will front them.
One thing I can tell you right away. It will be a chick. It was clear early on that the chicks' rocked while the boys were, well, lame... Outside of the australian dude that sang an accoustic Knockin' on Heaven's Door and the crazy fucker at the end that did Rebel Yell, the boys were totally pop, doing Goo Goo Dolls, Coldplay, etc. Do they think that's the kind of music this new band will do? I don't think so... One moron attempted to do Roxanne (a big hit done by Suzi McNeal last year and she killed with it) but this guy couldn't sing to save his life. As Gilby Clark so elequently put it, "Dude, that just sucked." He'll be gone tonight as the vote off show is on at 8:00 CDT.
As for the women, man, they were hot, crazy, tattoo'd, pierced, multi-colored hair, wild chicks that rocked the house every time. Hard to pick a favorite, they were all awesome in their own way. I really did enjoy the last singer, Jill, who is 4'11" but sings like she's 6'4". Huge voice doing Janis Joplin and she's not hard on the eyes either. I also loved the Puerto Rican girl, Kayra, doing Evenescence. She brought a different feel to a hard rock vibe. Again, easy on the eyes does not hurt one bit. Then there's the sweet Georgia peach with the great pipes. At 22, she seemed quite uncomfortable attempting to be sexy but there's no denying her talent. I just can't see her hanging anywhere near Tommy Lee (sequel to him and Pam?).
Tune in tonight to see that lame ass guy get sent home. I'm not even going to bother learning his name.
Rock on!
SuperNova is the band, made up of Tommy Lee from Motley Crue, Gilby Clark of Guns N Roses and Jason Newstad of Metallica. They are joined by top record producer Butch Walker and of course, Dave Navarro in deciding which of the 15 rockstar wannabe's will front them.
One thing I can tell you right away. It will be a chick. It was clear early on that the chicks' rocked while the boys were, well, lame... Outside of the australian dude that sang an accoustic Knockin' on Heaven's Door and the crazy fucker at the end that did Rebel Yell, the boys were totally pop, doing Goo Goo Dolls, Coldplay, etc. Do they think that's the kind of music this new band will do? I don't think so... One moron attempted to do Roxanne (a big hit done by Suzi McNeal last year and she killed with it) but this guy couldn't sing to save his life. As Gilby Clark so elequently put it, "Dude, that just sucked." He'll be gone tonight as the vote off show is on at 8:00 CDT.
As for the women, man, they were hot, crazy, tattoo'd, pierced, multi-colored hair, wild chicks that rocked the house every time. Hard to pick a favorite, they were all awesome in their own way. I really did enjoy the last singer, Jill, who is 4'11" but sings like she's 6'4". Huge voice doing Janis Joplin and she's not hard on the eyes either. I also loved the Puerto Rican girl, Kayra, doing Evenescence. She brought a different feel to a hard rock vibe. Again, easy on the eyes does not hurt one bit. Then there's the sweet Georgia peach with the great pipes. At 22, she seemed quite uncomfortable attempting to be sexy but there's no denying her talent. I just can't see her hanging anywhere near Tommy Lee (sequel to him and Pam?).
Tune in tonight to see that lame ass guy get sent home. I'm not even going to bother learning his name.
Rock on!
Wednesday, July 05, 2006
The ups and downs of a holiday weekend
I’ve been reading quite a few cat related posts recently so I thought I’d join in… you see, my cat of about 14 years, Morticia, who hasn’t really been outside farther than the front porch in about 8 years, decided to sneak out Saturday afternoon. Neither of us saw her and can’t figure out how she got out but she did. To make matters worse, neither of us noticed until Sunday morning as we’re reading the paper and drinking coffee. She looks at me and says “when’s the last time you saw the cat?” I had no idea, some time Saturday afternoon I think. We do the whole house search thing and nothing. I remembered that I had ice cream the night before and Morty didn’t bother me at all. Usually she’s right in my face as soon as I sit down with a bowl.
So, I grab Delaney, who, inside the house, can find Morty in 2 seconds, and we head outside. Scouring the neighborhood (with a brief stop for Delaney to play with a giant ball in the neighbors back yard) and calling “hereeeee kitty kitty kitty” resulted in nothing. I made small posters and we went around and put them up on all the light poles. I figured someone had to have seen her but no calls Sunday or Monday. There is a barn across the street, I figure she’s gone over there to hunt. To make matters a little worse, Saturday night there were fireworks followed by a thunderstorm. My poor little 6 lb, 14 year old black cat with no front claws and who does not go outside, is lost, shivering, hungry, cold and afraid…
I don’t sleep very well Sunday night. You see, in the past 2 weeks I have yelled at her constantly, threatened to have her put down, threatened to throw her in the river, etc. She has been crapping in the basement wherever she wants (typically where I am working on my basement finishing project) despite my keeping her litter box perfectly clean. It’s been driving me nuts. So now I’m blaming myself for her “running away from home”.
Tuesday comes and now I’m thinking she’ll never come home but I have one last idea. After mowing the lawn again I decided I would clean up the basement, empty her cat box and put everything away. If she acts like life generally does when I do stuff like that she’ll come back the minute I’m done. So, I clean up everything and throw away the old litter and take the garbage out. Nothing… I head back into the house and realize I forgot to take off my lawn mowing shoes so I quickly spin around and go back into the garage and she’s standing right there! She’s probably lost another pound and looks pretty scrawny but she doesn’t seem to be hurt or anything. I took her back inside and called in Cdubya and we gave her some food and water (she was quite hungry after 3 days).
We went out later and bought her a collar and name tag. We never really worried about that before but she never really tried hard to get out before either. Better safe than sorry.
I went back down a little while later and set up a fresh cat box for her. This morning I went downstairs and there’s a big pile of crap in the middle of my work area… grrr, I’m going to take her to the river…
On the golf front, we went out Monday morning and I played like shit and shot a 94 (46/48). Couldn’t hit the driver straight for some reason and I kept doing stupid things on top of stupid things so I had a 9 and an 8 on par 4’s after hitting into the trees.
Later that day we went to some friends’ house for a bbq. Grabbing a bottle of beer I couldn’t find a bottle opener. Dr. Mike finds a corkscrew with the bottle opener/can opener on it. Unfortunately I hook the bottle opener under the lip of the bottle, not just the cap. Of course, it doesn’t want to come off easily so I wrench the fucker until the top of the bottle shatters in my hand… I tell Mike “oh crap” and he’s like “what the fuck did you do now?” (I have a history of these types of things). I say “wait for the blood…” and a couple seconds later, there it is, pouring all over the counter. Pretty good gash on my right index finger and its gushing blood. We can’t really get it stopped so we throw a band-aid on it and wrap it in duct tape to keep the pressure on. It was still bleeding Tuesday when the band-aid came off. Probably should have had some stitches… oh well. At least my tetanus shot is up to date.
So, I grab Delaney, who, inside the house, can find Morty in 2 seconds, and we head outside. Scouring the neighborhood (with a brief stop for Delaney to play with a giant ball in the neighbors back yard) and calling “hereeeee kitty kitty kitty” resulted in nothing. I made small posters and we went around and put them up on all the light poles. I figured someone had to have seen her but no calls Sunday or Monday. There is a barn across the street, I figure she’s gone over there to hunt. To make matters a little worse, Saturday night there were fireworks followed by a thunderstorm. My poor little 6 lb, 14 year old black cat with no front claws and who does not go outside, is lost, shivering, hungry, cold and afraid…
I don’t sleep very well Sunday night. You see, in the past 2 weeks I have yelled at her constantly, threatened to have her put down, threatened to throw her in the river, etc. She has been crapping in the basement wherever she wants (typically where I am working on my basement finishing project) despite my keeping her litter box perfectly clean. It’s been driving me nuts. So now I’m blaming myself for her “running away from home”.
Tuesday comes and now I’m thinking she’ll never come home but I have one last idea. After mowing the lawn again I decided I would clean up the basement, empty her cat box and put everything away. If she acts like life generally does when I do stuff like that she’ll come back the minute I’m done. So, I clean up everything and throw away the old litter and take the garbage out. Nothing… I head back into the house and realize I forgot to take off my lawn mowing shoes so I quickly spin around and go back into the garage and she’s standing right there! She’s probably lost another pound and looks pretty scrawny but she doesn’t seem to be hurt or anything. I took her back inside and called in Cdubya and we gave her some food and water (she was quite hungry after 3 days).
We went out later and bought her a collar and name tag. We never really worried about that before but she never really tried hard to get out before either. Better safe than sorry.
I went back down a little while later and set up a fresh cat box for her. This morning I went downstairs and there’s a big pile of crap in the middle of my work area… grrr, I’m going to take her to the river…
On the golf front, we went out Monday morning and I played like shit and shot a 94 (46/48). Couldn’t hit the driver straight for some reason and I kept doing stupid things on top of stupid things so I had a 9 and an 8 on par 4’s after hitting into the trees.
Later that day we went to some friends’ house for a bbq. Grabbing a bottle of beer I couldn’t find a bottle opener. Dr. Mike finds a corkscrew with the bottle opener/can opener on it. Unfortunately I hook the bottle opener under the lip of the bottle, not just the cap. Of course, it doesn’t want to come off easily so I wrench the fucker until the top of the bottle shatters in my hand… I tell Mike “oh crap” and he’s like “what the fuck did you do now?” (I have a history of these types of things). I say “wait for the blood…” and a couple seconds later, there it is, pouring all over the counter. Pretty good gash on my right index finger and its gushing blood. We can’t really get it stopped so we throw a band-aid on it and wrap it in duct tape to keep the pressure on. It was still bleeding Tuesday when the band-aid came off. Probably should have had some stitches… oh well. At least my tetanus shot is up to date.
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