Saturday, October 16, 2010

Tailgate 2010

The leaves are turning, the air has a bite, it must be that time of year. Time for the family tailgate at a Steelers game! It is going down tomorrow and I am pretty excited. I made a new tailgating CD and I am pretty proud of it. It includes all the old standards (Here We Go Steelers, some Pittsburgh Steelers polkas, NFL FIlsm excerpts) and some new ones I found such as "Stairway to Seven", "Put a Ring on It" (All the Steelers ladies, All the Steelers ladies), and some other unique 'Burgh hits.

We have two Gold Lot passes and are expecting about 25 people, it is going to be a great time. I have high expectations for a Steelers win and it is with tempered excitement that I am looking forward to Ben's return to the team. I think he is a great quarterback and will help the team, but I am still appalled at his off the field behavior and demonstrated horrible decision making. From the motorcycle w/ no helmet to even being in a college bar, he just comes across as immature and lacking common sense. I hope that he has grown up during this forced absence and that the fans will welcome him back... becuase he earns it and proves his worth. This city is his oyster if he can overcome his ego and selfishness. Here is to hoping he has.

Regardless of the type of person Ben truly is, it is going to be one hell of a party tomorrow and I can't wait. Go Steelers!

Tuesday, October 12, 2010

NFL Pick 'Em

I am in a pick 'em pool with a bunch of co-workers and friends at my old job. I am a game out of first with 41 correct picks so far this season. Last week was a bloodbath on the leaderboard with 4 people going 5-9. I went 8-6 and took second for the week *cringe* behind my wife who got 9 correct.

Noticing that the home team went 7-7 last week (outperforming most of the picks in our pool) I wondered how the home team strategy would have done so far this season. Answer? It would be a game ahead of first place. 43-33

Before I change my strategy, I should take note that this is largely because the home team went an impressive 12-4 in week 1. After that, it is been surprisingly close to splitting.

Week 1 - 12-4
Week 2 - 8-8
Week 3 - 8-8
Week 4 - 8-6
Week 5 - 7-7

None of this analysis can overcome the fact that my wife has picked higher than me 3 out of the 5 weeks. Luckily for me, when she misses, she misses big and we are tied in the standings. I guess that is what I get for marrying a football loving lady :-)

Tuesday, April 07, 2009

Time Waster

But it caught on like wildfire at work. There is a little brute army running around the tech team now.

http://karkass.mybrute.com

Challenge my brute to a fight!

Thursday, February 05, 2009

Why The Calls Went Our Way

Sawyer offered the officials a tasty knuckle sandwich. What a great kid!

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Flickr

This is a test post from flickr, a fancy photo sharing thing.

Saturday, January 31, 2009

In the 'Burgh

Drove into Pittsburgh today. Dropped off Sawyer at the relatives and headed down to Jerome Bettis' Grille to start getting the head straight for the game tomorrow. This will probably involve the symbolic IC Light and some of Bettis' nachos. Only one Ahrn City though, there is much better beer to be had.

I am hoping to get some good pics of the city.

Friday, January 30, 2009

Gettin' Geeked

Things going through my mind:
The Big Game is almost here again.
SB XL seems like it was just yesterday.
I struggle to muster the hate for the Cardinals that comes naturally with an AFC opponent.
I think the Steelers are going to kick Arizona's ass.
I would wear this t-shirt.
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Thursday, January 29, 2009

Sunday Drive

A buddy at work sent me this link -



http://maps.google.com/?ie=UTF8&layer=c&cbll=42.953557,-77.663247&panoid=6vAkor2kYZz3m5_1iSkMrw&cbp=12,181.53727377395012,,0,21.75107339062427&ll=42.953463,-77.663242&spn=0.027766,0.22316&t=h&z=13





I brought it up and noticed a deer in frame. This conversation ensued:





Me: that is pretty cool
Me: but also begs the question... is streetview really necessary there?



Him: did you keep driving?



Me: no
Me: oh no



Him: oh yeah



Me: I think the next click is the sad one, it is right there along side, right before impact

Me: probably realizing... "uh oh"
Me: I thought the gvan went pretty slow..
Me: must have been moving pretty good

Update: It appears that this got Digg'd or something because it is no longer available due to high demand. I still had the start of the drive up on my screen so I snapped it. Once the demand dies down, it is worth a click (unless google removes it) I should also note that I think the van stopped.. because the street view ends 50 feet or so past the impact.




Wednesday, January 28, 2009

Tough to argue with the logic

From a friend's tumblr blog - (He is Dutch and understands football to mean something else)


So, this weekend, I will be wholeheartedly rooting for my beloved Steelers to win Super Bowl XLIII and in the process, become the undisputed Handegg Champions of the 2008 season.

Go Steelers!!

Friday, January 16, 2009

Baby It's Cold Outside...

Every Christmas, that annoying pop duet (the Frank Sinatra version comes to mind as the worst offender) gets stuck in my head. SteelerSteph likes to play the "Holly" station of XM through the television to get in the mood starting around Thanksgiving and ending in the New Year. That results in the aural bombardment of my tiny ears with this tune.





With no prompting from the radio, (I was listiening to Opie and Anthony joke about the plane crash in the Hudson) I started humming it on the drive into work this morning. I could not feel my toes, this picture may explain why:


Yep. Without factoring in any wind chill, 10 minutes into my commute it was still -12. And yes, for the more observant, I have over 100k on the Honda. This month I am making my last payment on the 04 Pilot and it cracked 100k with all the Christmas driving. It has been a great vehicle and I would get another in a second if they offered a hybrid version. 21 mpg is not horrible, but it is not great either. I managed to put on all those miles despite having a motorcycle, the wife's company car, and our summer car (01 Mitsubishi Spyder Eclipse) to share the love. I get around.

Lest I complain too much about Mr. Sinatra I should consider myself lucky. Lately when it has been freezing around these parts, one of the worst songs I have ever heard will invade my brain. T-Baby's amazing hit, Its so Cold in the D.




This being my first attempt to embed a video on this blog, here is the link just in case:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aktLRiWXfqg

If you have 2 minutes of your life to completely waste check out this production and lyrical masterpiece. You will regret it and have been warned.

Wednesday, January 14, 2009

Monday, December 29, 2008

Peek A Boo


Sawyer at his Aunt and Uncle's over the holidays.
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Monday, December 08, 2008

Busted

Today started out rough. Traffic was backed up on the highway so I got off and took surface streets in an attempt to get to the office by 8:30. I had made Rice Krispy treats for an office bake sale and they were supposed to be in the 4th floor conference room by that time. Supporting our Troops became a little more expensive this morning as my haste on the surface streets resulted in a citation from the Farmington Hills Police Department. Arriving even later and bummed about the extra $150 or more that this will cost me I was happy to find this Dilbert taped to my monitor:

Dilbert.com

While no one likes being compared to PHB (Pointy Haired Boss), I have a bit of a reputation for doing exactly what he did. I work on the server team at my company so my peers have elevated privileges and we should all be in the habit of locking our workstations when we leave them unattended. The penalty for failure is usually an instant message to a peer from the unsecured pc. The standard message is, "I like nekid Star Wars". It is a real conversation starter.

Although I would prefer the cash, it is nice to be noticed (and loved/loathed) enough by my team mates to have them cut out a comic that made them think of me and take the time to tape it to my (always secured) workstation. Idiot invading my perimeter be damned!

(about the ticket - the officer said he was doing me a favor by reducing my 49 in a 35 to "impeding traffic" as that carries no points. There is no fine listed on the ticket so a quick google revealed that is a relatively common thing that is good for the no points.. but carries a $20 greater fine than the real ticket. I am not sure what the points would cost, but I suppose that is a favor by the officer. I have not had a speeding ticket since I was long distance dating my future wife. Traveling between Washington, D.C. and Akron, OH resulted in two performance awards on the PA turnpike in one year. That was in 1998/1999 so I guess they have been expunged. Farmington Hill's finest said that I had no previous tickets.)

12-1 in the regular season of the office fantasy football league means nothing when you lose in the first round of the play offs. DOH. The only saving grace this weekend was the stressful victory of the Steelers over the Cowboys. I am not sure I could have taken both losses... and truthfully, if I had to chose one or the other.... I would take the Steelers victory all day. Next week is the big matchup against Baltimore. While not a must win, it is certainly a should and better win. I have a double or nothing dinner riding on it with my parents and bragging rights when I take the family home to Baltimore for Christmas. Go Steelers!

Sunday, November 16, 2008

ZOMGWTFBBQ!!1!!

A work buddy e-mailed me about the Steelers taking it easy on LT.. he needed the points. I sent this reply and then went to look up how close I was on the penalty difference and thought that there was something wrong with the NFL site... they still had the score as 11-10.

My e-mail:

I don't normally bitch about the officiating.. but come on!! It was like the refs had money on San Diego or something. Sooooo many no calls on SD for holding (don't think there was one all game but I saw a ton) and calling every infraction on the Steelers. The Steelers committed 12 more penalties than the Chargers? Or did the Chargers get called 12 less? Hmmmm.

At least my boys got it done this week.... I would be fuming if they had not.

They let him have a TD...what more do you want? 100 yards? Heh, not this year.

J

-----Original Message-----
From: XXXXXX
Sent: Sunday, November 16, 2008 6:39 PM
To: XXXXXX
Subject: Pitt

Tell pitt to ease up on ladanian....I neeed the fantasy points.......


It turns out I was incorrect about the penalties, SD was charged with 2 to Pittsburgh's 13 and I am absolutely floored about the final. I watched the game and I thought it ended 17-10. www.espn.com and www.nfl.com both have the final as 11-10. What gives? The spread was 4.5 and it seemed like the officials did everything they could to keep it in that... including taking a couple of TDs off the board. I can give them the Willie Parker TD called back for holding.. but the Polamalu one at the end of the game is pretty much ridiculous. The Steelers got the win, but it was still very frustrating to watch James Harrison get held on most plays, blatantly facemasked, and have it not called once while every infraction of the Black and Gold is flagged.

Whatever officials. I am die hard Steelers and think Football is the king of pro sports but the league is really dissapointing me this year. I think some of the responsibility lies with the commish, bitch-ass Goodell. I miss Tagliabue. I do not agree with the league "cracking" down on the hits. All of these fines that are issued after the game for plays that were legal and (correctly) not called during the game. For feck's sake, its football. Not flag football, tackle football. We all understand the business side of the game, i.e. it is bad for the business when you lose a Tom Brady for the season (but feck him and all the Pats fans too), but that is a risk that is assumed when the players suit up.

I am running out of steam and have no real intention other than venting. Summation? This season has been the most memorable in my lifetime of being a fan for bad officiating, bad leadership of the league, and frustration as a fan. Goodell and the officials GFY.

Dammit

Poker Time has been filled in with WoW lately. I don't have a character high enough to do any of the new content in the Lich King release but I still get to experience the delays to logging in. Worst of both worlds :-)

Life has been nuts since this July and I have taken a hiatus from poker to a more +EV game (although it guarantees me to lose $14 each month). It is nice to have a rough week and then smash through stuff with my work friends on Tuesday nights. While the peaks are not as high... it lacks the troughs of poker. I am getting enough of the negative variance in real life right now.

On the odd trivia/bright side, I am now renting a townhouse that is sandwiched between two Detroit Lions players. The QB, Orlovsky, and the long snapper.... and I no longer have the care and maintenance of the grounds and driveway of our dream home. Silver linings and all that.