Weeks like these...

It's week like these that I really hate being at work. We have the big 4 day supersized weekend coming up, and I just have 0% initiative at work. There is stuff to be done, but I just don't feel like doing it. So I've been practicing some of my "deligating" skills this week.

The weather has FINALLY cleared up. After 6 straight days of rain. Over 13 inches of rain, I woke up this morning and the sun was out and the sky was blue. SWEEET! I never thought I would be so glad to see the sun. I don't know how those people in rainly places like London and Seattle do it. I can see why the suicide rate is so high in places like that.

We have our first golf lesson scheduled tentaively for tonight. The driving range where the lesson is supposed to be was under water the other day, so not sure if we'll get our lesson in despite the weather being ok today. Probably take several days for it to dry out. If the lesson is scratched again tonight, that will be three in a row that have been canceled due to bad weather. Geesh.

This is the time of year when I get excited. The weather is nice (usually), basketball and hockey are done, and baseball is in full swing. ESPN starts talking about football, rookie QB's, and college football is right around the corner. I saw a couple of fantasy football magazines at the store the other day, which was also great to see. It also means that the next version of Madden is only a couple months away. NCAA 2007 is only about 3 weeks away. I usually get suckered into buying NCAA just so I have something to hold me over till Madden comes out. But if it's $60, I may just have to holf off.

Anyway, I saw some screen shots of the new Madden for XBOX 360 and the graphics are just ridiculous. The graphics for Madden 2006 were pretty good, but I felt like some of the animations were a little cheesy because they really had to rush to get the game done in time for the release of the 360. The graphics this year are just amazing. I've grabbed a few screen shots from IGN. Ridiculous!!!!


Shawn Alexander breaks a tackle and is off to the races...




























Cadillac!!! Look out behind you!!!!



One of the cool things they are working on for the 2007 verion is that you can controll the blockers for your offensive players. So many times, I have a big opening and can break things off for a big run, but my offensive lineman (CPU controlled) doesn't pick up a much needed block and I get taken out. Supposidly what you can do in Madden is take control of a blocker, open a hole, then quickly take control of your RB, WR or TE and run with them. Sounds good in theory, hopefully it plays as cool as it sounds. Another thing they did a way with is the QB passing cone. While the passing cone did add a level of extra realism to the game, Im just not coordinated enough to control the cone, watch my receivers and look after my QB to make sure he doesn't get sacked. They didn't remove the cone completely from the game, but they turned it off by default. I think it makes the game a little more fun and spontaneous without the passing cone.

Messin' With Sasqatch

Click This!!!!

Darn the Luck...

So last night my father in law and I had our first golf lesson scheduled. When I left work, the sky was kind of overcast. Some black clouds off in the distance. But they had been predicting rain for the past 2 weeks, and the rain always seems to "blow over". So I figured, it would just be a passing shower or we wouldn't get rain at all. As I'm driving home, it begins to drizzle. The road is so hot, that steam is rising off it where the drops of rain are hitting. Hrmmm this can't be good.

I get home, eat a snack, change my clothes and head over to the commuter lot to pick up Rachel's dad. We get down to the course, and it begins to pour. Thunder, lightning, the whole shootin' match. I go up to the clubhouse and they tell me they are closing the course due to the lightning.

It hadn't rained here for weeks, but of course the day we have a lesson planned, it just so happens to rain. So we rescheduled for next monday. Hopefully the weather will be a little more cooperative.

A couple of items...

While I'm not a dad, I am a Godfather. So it makes me smile when I hear things about my nieces and nephews. On Saturday little Andrew and his dad went to watch the Carolina Hurricanes game. Even though the actual game was in Edmonton, they opened the colliseum where the Hurricane play and showed the game on gigantic screens.

While Andrew and Ashley were up a few weeks ago, I was sitting with the kids watching the Yankees-Red Sox game. And I taught the kids to say "Let's Go Yankees!". They didn't quite get the proper cadence or inflection, but hey they're little kids. Well I guess it had a more profound impact than I had imagined. According to my brother in law Mike, while they were watching the hockey game, Andrew kept chanting "LETS GO YANKEES!". Corrupting the minds of the next generation, that's what Im all about baby!!!

Yesterday Rachel and I went to RFK Stadium to watch the Yankees play the Nationals. I had never been to RFK, so it was cool to visit a new ballpark. I definitely think the Nationals have a much cooler vibe than they do up in Baltimore. People in Baltimore are just odd, it's hard to explain. The Nats home stadium is a very fun, exciting environment. We got to get up close and personal with the Nats mascot "Screech". And they have really hot girls shooting t-shirts into the crowd, and pumping up the crowd in general. The one complaint I have of the stadium is the seating. Most modern stadiums have very tiered seating. So if you have someone who is tall sitting in front of you, you can still see over them. Since RFK is an older stadium, the seats are arranged at a very slight pitch. Since I was seated behind a girl who was sort of tall, and who appeared to be a human pendulem, it made it a little tough to watch the game.


I girl in front of me was with her dad and another girl around her age who I assume was her sister. Very nice of them to take dad to the stadium for a game on Fathers Day. But I don't think she watched one pitch of the game. She was too busy talking, getting up to go to the bathroom, standing up to adjust her skirt, standing up to get the beer guys attention, and just being dumb in general. I would move my head to the left to see around her, and she would turn her head to the left. I would move my head to the right, she would stand up. I was ready to chop her head off by the 5th inning. But then she got up and disappeared for two innings and it was great. We had pretty good seats. We sat behind home plate, underneath the press boxes. So we were in the shade for the entire game. It was really hot and humid here yesterday, so it was nice that we werent roasting in the sun.

As if it wasn't bad enough that I had the human pendulem, around the 3rd inning the two seats to my right were occupied by two people who showed up late. Let's just say these were two really big fellas. One had to be 6 foot 3 and 350 pounds, and the smaller of the two was probably around 280. Of course Gigantor has to sit next to me. So I was pretty scrunched in my seat. But they left by the end of the 6th inning. Thank God for small miracles.

Despite all the dumb people around us, we still managed to have a really fun time. Some day I would like to see a game at every major league park. As of now, I've only visited 4. Yankees Stadium, Shea, Camden Yards and Comerica Park. I've also been to Legends Field in Tampa which was awesome.

What are the cool kids doin' this summer?

I don't really like Jamie Kennedy, but damn this is funny.


Rollin' With Sagett

The US Open

My prediction to win the US Open...














Jim Furyk
Godspeed Baldy!!!

My longshot...Stewart Applebee

Zarqawi's Brand of Evil

The overhwleming sentiment is that the war in Iraq is pointless. I think Steve Harrigan of Foxnews puts things into perspective...

Brand of Evil

Random Thoughts...

Since I don't seem to be able to string together complete sentences anymore, I think I'll go with the old bullet points.

• Paradise by the Dashboard Lights is a very dangerous song to hear when you are in the shower (see groin pull)
• Me and Rachel's dad are going for golf lessons! First lesson is Monday June 19th
• Rescue Me just keeps getting better and better
• The writers of the Sopranos could learn a thing or two from Dennis Leary
  
• Helping people move really sucks
• Mikey's got a brand new (golf) bag
• The show Saved on TNT is a cheap rip off of Rescue Me
• Ben Rothlesberger is even dumber than I gave him credit for
• Boxer shorts without a fly can be problematic
• "I Am Legend" is an awesome book. A little dated, but awesome none the less
• Since Michelle Wie is from Hawaii, when she chokes, is it because she's choking on an imaginary macadamia nut?
• I'm looking forward to the US Open this weekend
• I don't have World Cup fever, but I do have a rash of some sort
  
• PowerBar performance bars are awesome. Except for the chocolate. Trust, me you don't want to try the chocolate
• US mens soccer coach Bruce Arena resembles "Poppie" from the Bacardi factory tour
• The new IBM Thinkpads, much improved over the old ones
• Matt Dillon is creepy
• Denise Richards....Has she always been that hot?
• I like to move it move it
• Kids today don't know how to properly use a slin n slide
• Next time you buy a new computer, make sure it's a dual core!
• Seriously, dual core is the way to go
• Arizona Grapeade tastes like cough medicine
  
• Since I stopped using gel in my hair, I notice a lot more gray hairs
• If anyone has Jesus Christ Pose by Soundgarden on MP3, may I "borrow" it
• Hockey in HD is awesome
• Shaq shot 12% from the free throw line on Monday night. Seriously, a blind man could shoot better than that
• Just the tip!
• When I grow up, I want a mustache like Wilford Brimley
• Hey Al Zarqawi, whats the weather like in hell this time of year?
• Slobodan Milosovic and the Hussein brothers now have enough for a golf foursome

Funny Stuff...

So we're sitting here at work, on a lazy friday morning. And the guy Shawn who I share an office with is playing some Mp3's. Pinball Wizard by the Who came on, and Shawn turned to me and said "Ya know, whenever I hear this song, I really want to see a deaf, dumb and blind kid play some pinball". It probably loses the effect when you read it, but damn it made us laugh.

Soder....

Over the past 2 months or so, I've really cut back on the amount of soda I consume on a daily basis. At work, we used to get these vending slips that we called "funny money". It's like play money that works in the vending machines. We made friends with the guys in the mailroom who distributed them, and he would hook us up with like 50 at a time. So I would drink 3 or 4 cans of soda a day while at work. Then at night I was have another 2-3 sodas. So I was drinking on average 5-5 sodas a day.

Well the vending bucks are now distributed by one of the executive assistants who is more thrifty and stretches them a lot thinner. So I've been bring those iced tea packets with me and using the bottled water in our kitchen at work. My stomach has felt so much better since I started drinking less soda. I always used to have gas pains, and my stomach always felt unsettled. Now, I just pea a lot more for some reason.

I don't believe in cutting out something I enjpy completely, but now I try to limit myself to 1 or 2 cans a soda per day. I couldnt have picked a worse time to cut back though. 7-11 now sells there biggest, most impressive Big Gulp ever. It's called the team gulp. I believe it's around 1 gallon of soda. One of the guys at work has one and its freakin' awesome!!! And I think its only like $1.50 for refills.

Soder....

Over the past 2 months or so, I've really cut back on the amount of soda I consume on a daily basis. At work, we used to get these vending slips that we called "funny money". It's like play money that works in the vending machines. We made friends with the guys in the mailroom who distributed them, and he would hook us up with like 50 at a time. So I would drink 3 or 4 cans of soda a day while at work. Then at night I was have another 2-3 sodas. So I was drinking on average 5-5 sodas a day.

Well the vending bucks are now distributed by one of the executive assistants who is more thrifty and stretches them a lot thinner. So I've been bring those iced tea packets with me and using the bottled water in our kitchen at work. My stomach has felt so much better since I started drinking less soda. I always used to have gas pains, and my stomach always felt unsettled. Now, I just pea a lot more for some reason.

I don't believe in cutting out something I enjpy completely, but now I try to limit myself to 1 or 2 cans a soda per day. I couldnt have picked a worse time to cut back though. 7-11 now sells there biggest, most impressive Big Gulp ever. It's called the team gulp. I believe it's around 1 gallon of soda. One of the guys at work has one and its freakin' awesome!!! And I think its only like $1.50 for refills.

Bullet Points

I havent posted in forever. So here are just some bullet points....

• Prairie Home Companion while star studded, looks ridiculous. Movie critics will love it, I will watch and it be very confused

• Mission Impossible 3. Action packed, and man Philip Seymour Hoffman is such a bastard in that movie. Man he was impressive

• Caulking a bathtub sucks and is rough on the back

• Having your golf swing analysed by a "PGA professional" is a very humbling experience

• The Breakup, not as funny as I was expecting. It had its moments, but it was more serious than funny

• Im gonna start calling everyone "brother" like Desmond does on Lost. It's very European

• Kudos to Canada for foiling that terror plot. Oh those wacky Canadian Muslims. A fun loving bunch!

• Yeah yeah yeah, I know not all Muslims are crazed religious zelots who want to blow things up. And not all Catholic priests are pedaphiles either, but I still wouldnt leave my kid alone with one

• Womens college software can be sexy