Um, what?

February 5th, 2012

Super Bowl was pretty Sub-Par. Didn’t care too much about who won. It featured two less than stellar teams playing a pretty bad game. And to top it all off, a 9-7 won it all. Meanwhile, a 15-1 team sat at home. Just seems wrong…

The halftime show though, what the fuck was that all about? First you have Madonna being pulled on to the field by about 100 guys dressed up as Romans (how heavy is she?) And when they reveal her, she’s dressed up like a viking or something. Then it all ends with World Peace. Yeah, because the Romans and Vikings were huge on World Peace. Ridiculous nonsense.

Man, what I wouldn’t give to have seen Pearl Jam up there on a plain wooden stage. And I’m not even a fan of them. How about U2 again? Or hell, get Willie Nelson up there. Somebody halfway decent. The guys of Aerosmith are still technically alive, right? Hell, I’ll take a ship full of aliens singing “Rock Around the Clock.”

Overall, the game was nothing to get upset about, but nothing to be really too pleased about. It had nothing on Game 6 of the World Series. You really have to give baseball credit. It’s all about the game in that sport. Not about the other crap. Every year the Super Bowl becomes more and more about the other crap.

I know I’m starting to sound like the old guys who complain that Christmas is too commercialized.

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St. Louis and the Penguins.

January 27th, 2012

On Sunday afternoon, I walked to the Sears Tower. When I walked in, the lady told me that I could go to the top if I wanted, but there was no visibility. So I wouldn’t be able to see anything. So I got a cab ride back to the hotel where I got in my car, ate lunch and left for St. Louis.

That was a pretty easy drive. Especially when I got out of downtown Chicago. I-55 was as dull as hell. And foggy. And rainy. And cold.

On Monday I went to Verizon to get my iPhone looked at. It’s broken. They’re sending me a new one. After that, I went to the Arch and went up in it. Which was kinda cool. Then I walked around downtown for a while. Saw Busch Stadium and the Edward Jones Dome. So yeah. Cool stuff.

On Tuesday Jennie and I went to the old St. Charles Downtown. Which is kind of like old Downtown Dubuque or Galena. It was cool. Saw a copy of the “Monster at the end of this book”. Which is one of the all time greatest books. I bought something called “Apple Cinnamon Jelly”. Looking forward to trying that out. Maybe at breakfast tomorrow mornin’.

On Tuesday night we all went to the Penguins and Blues game at the Scott Trade Center. It was pretty freaking awesome because the Pens won and it was my first time seeing them. It went to OT and then the shoot out. Had four rounds of shoot outs before the Pens put it away.

Overall, I think that hockey is a better game to attend in person than basketball. It seemed like during the Bulls game, I had to keep getting up to let people out. Meanwhile, during the Pens game, I didn’t have to get up once. And it’s not like we were in the middle of the isle either. We were pretty close to one end. Although to be fair, the Bulls at halftime had the limbo queen while the Blues didn’t really do much of anything during the intermissions. Oh yeah, here’s a video of the Limbo Queen:

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Joe Paterno and Chicago.

January 22nd, 2012

Well, it appears that Joe Paterno is on his death bed. I certainly hope that Penn State is happy with itself. Instead of letting a true legend of college football retire on his own terms, they fired him without a single criminal charge being levied against him. And now he’s dying.

It’s not his fault that his assistant coach is a fucking child rapist and it certainly wasn’t his fault that his efforts to stop it was hindered by the administration of the school.

I dunno, I just think what they did was pretty despicable. Considering what he did for Penn State, he deserved better. And he just won’t get it.

On the other hand, visiting Chicago has been pretty cool The Bulls won the game tonight despite some shitty play from Omer Asik. My buddy here was calling him Goofy. Really, when the score was still close, he missed two free throws. And he played shitty defense. From now on, he’s “Goofy White Guy”. Carlos Boozer was pretty good once he got in his groove. But I was sort of disappointed that I missed out on Rose, Noah and Gibson since they were all out with injuries.

Before the game we went to Pizzeria Uno for some of the authentic Chicago Deep Dish pizza. I’ve never had it before and it really filled me up. Great stuff. Then we walked along the magnificent mile up to the Hancock Building where we went up to the 96th floor to the Signature Room. Awesome, view of the whole especially at night like that. Just incredible. Everyone should check it out sometime.

After the Bulls game, we stopped by the Billy Goat bar just to get out of the cold. We took a cab after that back to my hotel and found out that I was staying not far from the Harry Caray Restaurant. Got to see some great sports memorable like the Steve Bartman Ball and Harry Caray’s glasses. So yeah, overall a pretty awesome night and stuff.

Tomorrow gonna drive from Chicago to St. Louis. Wish me luck on my dangerous journey and stuff.

Finally:

Patriots 27, Ravens 10.

Ginats 21, 49er’s 17.

There.

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They could be Giants.

January 16th, 2012

Wow. The Giants beat the Packers. Don Banks over at SI.com said it best:

Twice now in the span of five seasons the Giants have done the unthinkable, beating both the 18-0 juggernaut that was the 2007 Patriots and the 15-1 machine-like Packers of 2011. No other team but Tom Coughlin’s gritty, gutty Giants can claim two such monumental and unprecedented upsets in NFL history.

New England, of course, was the first 18-0 team in history when the Giants knocked them off 17-14 in Super Bowl XLII, considered one of the NFL’s two most celebrated upsets of all time, along with Jets over Colts in Super Bowl III. And then came Sunday’s monstrous upset, making Green Bay the first 15-1 team to ever get beaten in its playoff opener.

Put them together and the Giants’ twin feats are made even more mind-boggling by the fact that New York went a modest 10-6 in 2007, earning only a wild-card berth, and an even more lowly 9-7 this season, winning a weak NFC East to get into the playoffs. And from such humble origins sprang two of the greatest upsets in NFL history.

If you were already weary of reading about the similarities between this year’s Giants and the surprise Super Bowl champions of 2007, you haven’t heard anything yet. Get ready for a whole new wave of 2007 retrospectives, because it’s unavoidable. Just like they did four years ago, the Giants seemingly got their spark this season when they narrowly lost to the league’s supposedly best team late in the year. That 38-35 defeat at the hands of Green Bay in Week 13 at MetLife Stadium served the same purpose as New York’s 38-35 “moral victory of a loss” to visiting New England in Week 17 of 2007.

I wonder, if the Giants go back to the Super Bowl and win it, is Tom Coughlin a HOF coach? Is Eli Manning better than Peyton? Last night, I was thinking that it will be a Patriots-49er’s Super Bowl, but now the more I think about it, the more I think it’ll be the Giants going back to win their 4th Super Bowl, no matter who wins the AFC.

So yeah, yesterday the Penguins beat the Lightening, the team that beat the Pens in the playoffs last year and the Packers, the team that beat the Steelers last year, lost. The only thing that could have made the day better was a Ravens loss, which will hopefully come next Sunday.

In other news, I’m going to Chicago on Saturday. It’ll be the first time I ever go to Chicago without riding a bus or a plane. I’m not sure if stopping over in O’Hare really counts as “going to Chicago”. So yeah, in the last twenty years I’ve been there twice. I went there in 7th grade and saw the Sears Tower and the Museum of Science and Industry. Then I went there in 2001 and saw the Cubs play the White Sox at Wrigley Field. Haven’t been back there since then.

So yeah, going to a Chicago Bulls game, which they should win with no trouble at all. And then I’ll be on the road Sunday to St. Louis where I will watch the Penguins and Blues play Tuesday night. Then back to work on Wednesday afternoon….

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The most boring Super Bowl match ups I can think of….

January 15th, 2012

Someone just told me that he thinks the Super Bowl will be the Ravens and the Packers. Man, if that’s the game Super Bowl night, I think I’ll just go bowling or to a movie or something that night instead. I would like to see the Patriots and 49er’s play in the Super Bowl. That would be a pretty awesome game there.

I mean, it’s kind of nice when I don’t care who wins. Like that Colts-Bears Super Bowl five years ago. Or the Buccaneers-Raiders Super Bowl nine years ago. Or the Colts-Saints Super Bowl two years ago. Or the Broncos-Falcons from 1998. That’s not to say I didn’t have an idea of who would win, I just didn’t care if I was wrong.

With the 6 teams left, I’d like to see the 49er’s and the Texans in the Super Bowl. But yeah, that’s not going to happen. I really would like to see 49er’s and the Patriots and I don’t think that’s completely impossible.

So what would be a boring Super Bowl game for me:

1. Cardinals-Jaguars: A really old bad team that’s moved around a lot because nobody cared about keeping them and the and a really new team that could move because nobody cares about keeping them.

2. Buccaneers-Dolphins: Would anyone outside Florida really care?

3. Seahawks-Chiefs: It’ll be like an old AFC West game of the week.

4. Panthers-Jaguars: The Super Bowl of bland mid-90′s cat names that wouldn’t offend anyone.

5. Chargers-Bills

6. Texans-Rams: It’ll make people think about how the Astros-Cardinals NLCS’s in the mid-00′s were so much better than this Super Bowl.

Anyways, that’s just sort of what I thought would be some boring games. I guess for fans of those teams, it’d be pretty fun. But for me, it wouldn’t be that great.

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We’ll make him an offer he can refuse.

January 12th, 2012

I love getting credit card offers in the mail. It must mean I’m doing something right in life if they think I’m “credit worthy” and stuff.

Anyways, one I got today from American Express had this in the first paragraph:

Congratulations are in order. You’ve earned an important distinction – a Card that reflects your achievements and complements your life. A Card desigend to reward you and bring you the extra service and privileges you require.

Later on they said:

You’ve earned the right to be selective about the Card you carry.

Man, they’re just really kissing my ass to get me to take this credit card. That has a $125 annual fee. And a bunch of airline miles as rewards that I would never use because I haven’t been in a plane since July of 2008. So yeah, it’s going in to my outbox. Right in to the furnace to burn and die with the rest of my trash!

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Another Steelers loss.

January 9th, 2012

That fucking sucked.

Ike Taylor is reportedly not talking to reporters. I’d be too embarrassed to as well.

And with the Penguins looking more like a hospital ward, it’s hard to find much to like in Pittsburgh these days. The Pirates probably won’t be as awesome as last year.

Oh well. Chicago Bulls are absolutely killing it so far this season. I’m sort of tempted to go to a Bulls game on the 21st. I’d have to check with everyone first. The next day, I’d go visit someone in Peoria on the 22nd. Then visit my sister in St. Louis on the 23rd and 24th, see the Penguins against the Blues that night.

I duno. I’d have to sleep on it. I know a guy in Chicago and I asked if he’d like to go to a Chicago Bulls game with me and he said he’d go with me, although he said he’s not a big NBA fan right now.

The diet and excercise continues. So far the biggest change I’ve noticed is that my arms are getting stronger and less flabby. Also my pants are getting looser and the belt might need a new notch soon.

Other than that, not much else going on.

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Caucus Night 2012.

January 4th, 2012

Well I survived yet another Caucus. This time was so much better than last time. First of all, they didn’t try to cram every Republican in the county in Dubuque Senior High School. they actually split up the precincts in to four different locations. Mine was at my old Jr. High. I was kind of tempted to wonder around the school after the caucus and see how things changed. But the fat guy in the police uniform sort of dissuaded me from doing that.

So it actually got started at 7:00 and first the head of the county Republicans got up and said that he’s happy in 309 days that we get to tell the president that his services are no longer required. (Haha!) Anyways, after that there was the Pledge of Allegiance to the cloth and what not and then the prayer (dear God, take me now).

The guy who did the prayer then got to speak for Michelle Bachmann. He was terrible. He said he was a pastor at one of the few non-Catholic churches in town and I was sort of wondering if people quit going to his church because of what a terrible speaker he is. Seemed to run out of breath easily and when he was done, he went off on some tangent about how evil liberals make fun of the Republicans wonderful intelligent ladies like Bachmann and Sarah Palin. (Ugh).

Next up was Newt Gingrich’s speaker. I really don’t remember much of anything about her speech other than at some point she was complaining about the Occupy movement and someone yelled out “BULLSHIT!”

When her speech was done, Ron Paul’s speech was next. The lady who did it went up on stage and said something like “I would like to ask that you all to please hold your applause and profanity until the end.” The nice thing was that unlike in 2008, nobody booed Paul’s speaker. Completely different attitude this time. In 2008, I heard some people say they liked Ron Paul, but he can’t win so they were going to vote for someone else. So much more respectful this time, which is pretty cool.

Then some southern guy from out of state did Rick Perry’s speech. Which I think pretty much killed him in Dubuque. I mean, get someone who actually lives here to do the speech, not some random campaign person from out of the state.

Then came Romney’s speech. The funny thing here was that they got two separate people wanting to give a speech for him. So the two of them, I think, had to cut their speeches in half and neither of them were very good.

Then the head Republican guy asked if anyone wanted to give a speech for Santorum or Huntsman. Some random dude got up there and gave a pretty dull monotone speech for Santorum. Nothing too exciting there. Nobody wanted to speak for Huntsman.

After that we broke off and voted in our precincts. This time there were 97 people from our precinct unlike last time where only about 40 people showed up. Here are the vote totals as I remember them:

Ron Paul: 35

Mitt Romney: 24

Rick Perry: 22

Rick Santorum: 11

Newt Gingrich: 4

John Huntsman: 1

So yeah, our precinct was pretty awesome. Furthermore, you will notice I didn’t put Bachman up there. She got 0. Out of 97. Zero! No wonder she dropped out this morning.

Also I was just looking at the caucus map for Iowa. It sort of reminds me of the 2000 election maps where George Bush covered the most territory, but Al Gore won the most votes. Romney got all the big cities while Santorum got sparsely populated counties, especially in the western half of the state.

So yeah, nice night, but Ron Paul didn’t win Iowa and if I were betting, I’d say that Romney will win the nomination….

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Post-Christmas, pre-New Years.

December 30th, 2011

This year, Christmas was pretty good. I got an Atari joystick from Sean that has about 10 old time Atari games on it. So I can pick up where I left off in 1990 when I couldn’t figure out how to win at Adventure on the 2600. I also got a stainless bbq set, calendars, iTunes gift cards, Star Wars Blu-Ray, MST3K DVD and money.

I really didn’t get anything that I didn’t want, besides candy (which I will talk about later). So yeah, not to bad. And so far nobody has asked for a receipt to return something so yeah. I win and stuff.

Christmas day, I was hanging around at my grandparent’s house and Sean’s 3 year old was talking to my mom. She said that he should ask me for a tractor ride some day. Well, he came over and started to ask us if he could go for a ride right now. So since the weather was nice and not muddy and there was some time until I had to get milking started, we brought him back here and I gave him a ride on the tractor.

He absolutely loved it. We got him in the tractor and he was waving his arms up and down due to his sheer excitement and happiness about getting a ride in the tractor. He sat on his dad’s lap for a while as I drove the tractor out to the field. After a while, I turned around and he came over to my lap and took the wheel. He turned it a lot more than he needed to. A few more hours behind the wheel and he should be a pro. Just needs to grow a couple feet first.

We put the tractor away and went back to our grandparents, but almost everyone had left by then. The only people left were Sean’s wife, mom and 9 month old. Three year old ran around the house, so excited about it. It’s just moments like that where I think I should have kids some day in the distant future and stuff.

It’s raining out today. Last year, this would have been about 6 inches of snow. I guess the winter of 2011-12 is our year off from real winter weather. I can live with that. The sad thing is that I thought winter would be brutal again so I was thinking about looking in to maybe finding a good used snow mobile. But I guess not now…

On a new diet and excercise thing. I really haven’t had any sweets, cookies, cake, ice cream or anything like that for almost two weeks now. Saturday is my day off from it. I think New Year’s Resolutions suck. Why should a change in the calendar encourage you to actually change your bad habits/unhealthy lifestyle? Shouldn’t just wanting to change be good enough?

Or is it something physiological? Like “Well the calendar changed so that means it’s now okay for me to change too!” Not that most people follow through on it. I dunno. Or maybe it’s the whole “Well I’m done being a glutton for Thanks-Christmas-Year’s-Eve. So time to get back in shape, not that I ever was in shape.”

Mostly, I’m eating lean meat, vegetables, fruit, whole wheat breads, skim milk, egg whites, etc. I’m trying to avoid stuff with a lot of fat, grease, white bread, white rice, candy, cookies, crackers, etc. Avoiding fast food and the like as well. I then take Saturday off every weekend, where I can eat whatever I want, within reason.

As for excercise I’m weight lifting 50 minutes a day on Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday and stationary biking 25 minutes a day on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Then Saturday is my rest day. I would like to keep this up until at least April and see if I’ll change at all between now and then.

Also, one more thing, have you watched videos of Robin Williams and want to tell him to calm the fuck down? George Carlin and Bill Hicks didn’t need to act like a kid who ate a bag of sugar in order to be funny. I just don’t think his act is especially brilliant.

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Christmas, New Years, Caucus.

December 17th, 2011

Free Talk Live had a great show on Monday. In the third hour, they started talking about Christmas and an article about people going into debt for Christmas. And they further went in to how buying adults Christmas presents is kind of dumb. I agree. Eleven years ago, I found a copy of “Car Wash” on DVD for a couple bucks at Wal-Mart. I bought it and gave it to a co-worker because I heard him joke around about how you gotta see it. Now that’s a good Christmas present. He didn’t expect it at all, thought it was pretty cool and I didn’t go broke buying it for him.

The last four or five years or so, I have a big problem with people spending lots of money on me. $20? That’s reasonable. If you want to spend it on me, that’s cool. Especially if you can surprise me something fun or cool. Or if you’re getting me a little gift card to go spend on something I’d like, again that’s cool too. But sometimes I feel bad because I don’t think my gift will measure up to what other people buy me.

As I’ve gotten older, if I really want something, I’ll go out and buy it myself. But generally, I don’t really buy myself very much. In any given month, I put most of my money away. Any shopping I do is mostly at Hy-Vee, a grocery store. People around here ask what I want for Christmas and I can’t really think of anything most of the time. I mean, I’ll think of big things, like a really awesome SUV or a huge TV. But that’s not reasonable. So I’m stuck thinking of little things I want, but then I usually don’t even get those.

Thankfully, as soon as Christmas is done, we move right on to New Year’s. New Year’s Eve the last couple years has been pretty cool. And New Year’s Day has been pretty cool as well. But yeah, January 2nd has become a good holiday all it’s own. To me it’s the day we return to normal and get back to the old routine.

Then comes January 3rd, when we have the Iowa Caucus. So I suppose we could say that January 4th is the real return to normal day as the stupid political ads will disappear from local TV until about June or July. Unless we get hit with a monstrous blizzard, I’ll be there for Ron Paul. It seems this time, they’re trying to avoid having it be a gigantic clusterfuck like they did last time, where they tried to cram every Republican in the county in to Senior High School. I was just looking at it and they’re splitting us up. I’m supposed to go to my old Jr. High. Such memories. I probably haven’t been inside there since 1994.

So yeah, right now Ron Paul is sort of tied for first with Newt Gingrich here in Iowa. Not sure why or how the Newt got that high in the polls. Of course, if Ron Paul wins here in Iowa it will sure piss off a lot of the old school Republicans like Rush Limbaugh and Mark Levin. Meanwhile, true liberals like Cenk Uygar and Glenn Greenwald have thrown their support behind him.

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