Monday, February 28, 2011

Monday Reading

Judges 19-21.


Want proof we're already in spring, besides spring training?

Saw some Naked Ladies in my yard!

Sunday, February 27, 2011

Sunday Reading

Judges 15-18.


You can only reach one conclusion in these chapters...Samson was a mite bit nuts.

Saturday, February 26, 2011

Saturday Reading

Judges 11-14.


This is a depressing book to read, isn't it?

Friday, February 25, 2011

Friday Reading

Judges 7-10.


I have never been a Star Wars fan. I saw the first 2 movies and haven't seen any since then.

But the young Angus loves Star Wars. So I post the following in his honor, found on YouTube.

It's the great Bill Murray as lounge singer "Nick Winters" singing the theme from Star Wars. I still laugh at this after more than 30 years.


Thursday, February 24, 2011

Thursday Reading

Judges 3-6.


In case you haven't noticed, I finally got around to updating the sidebar. I hope it's up to date. Glad to see Aardvark Alley, Ask The Pastor and Cyberbrethren are back. I've also updated my music playlist.

All I need now is an emergency link for suicidal Cardinals fans who are distraught about this season's prospects.

Wednesday, February 23, 2011

Wednesday Reading

Joshua 23-24. Judges 1-2.


This past week has been disastrous. No Pujols contract. Edmonds retires. Wainwright is now done for the year.

I'm no longer looking forward to this season. Looks like it's all going wrong.

Tuesday, February 22, 2011

Tuesday Reading

Joshua 19-22.

"Good morning" evolved to "G' morning" and finally just "morning" as a greeting. I think most people now just say "morning" to each other. I noticed this at church on Sunday. It's like we are going around telling each other the time of day.

But why stop there? I'm ready for "morning" to be shortened to just "mor" as a greeting.

Or even better, we can drop the "mor" and just say the end, "ning", to one another. I like that better. I think I'll say "ning" this Sunday and see if it catches on.

Although, if we go with "mor", we can shorten that eventually to just the "mmm" sound at the beginning.

Which is in effect just a grunt. Which I think is what we should be doing anyway. Just grunting at one another in the morning.

That's all I usually feel like doing anyway.

Monday, February 21, 2011

How I Did

I've been dreading this post.

But it's been put off for too long.

Back in September, I went through the entire NFL schedule and tried to "Carnac" my way through it. I derived a record of every team, then tried to determine playoff winners and ultimately, the Super Bowl winner.

Before you either laugh out loud or have me committed for those picks, let me explain two important points about the season.

One, I thought the absence of Ben Roethlisberger the first 4 games of the season would put the Steelers in a huge hole from which they would not recover. Little did I know they would play just as well without him. They didn't miss a beat. What does that say?

Two, I thought the 49ers were for real. I had read quite a bit before the season and listened to a lot of pundits. That really cost me, not only in my pick of the 49ers, but also for my picks the first few weeks of the season. As you'll recall, I really got off to a slow start with a very mediocre record, before I finally figured out for myself what was going on, including that the 49ers were not good.

So show a little mercy.

Let's review. My picks before the season started are listed first, in parentheses, followed by the actual record, followed by order of finish. Records or places I actually picked right are in bold (yes, there are a few).

NFC EAST
Philadelphia (9-7). 10-6, 1.
Dallas (9-7). 6-10, 3.
Giants (9-7). 10-6, 2.
Washington (7-9). 6-10, 4.

NFC NORTH
Green Bay (9-7). 10-6, 2.
Minnesota (8-8). 6-10, 4.
Chicago (6-10). 11-5, 1.
Detroit (4-12). 6-10, 3.

NFC SOUTH
Atlanta (13-3). 13-3, 1.
New Orleans (10-6). 11-5, 2.
Tampa Bay (5-11). 10-6, 3.
Carolina (1-15). 2-14, 4.

NFC WEST
San Francisco (12-4). 6-10, 3.
Arizona (12-4). 5-11, 4.
Seatle (3-13). 7-9, 1.
St. Louis (2-14). 7-9, 2.

AFC EAST
New England (13-3). 14-2, 1.
Jets (11-5). 11-5, 2.
Miami (9-7). 7-9, 3.
Buffalo (4-12). 4-12, 4.

AFC CENTRAL
Baltimore (12-4). 12-4, 2.
Cincinnati (9-7). 4-12, 4.
Pittsburgh (8-8). 12-4, 1.
Cleveland (4-12). 5-11, 3.

AFC SOUTH
Indianapolis (13-3). 10-6, 1.
Houston (11-5). 6-10, 3.
Tennessee (9-7). 6-10, 4.
Jacksonville (2-14). 8-8, 2.

AFC WEST
San Diego (11-5). 9-7, 2.
Denver (8-8). 4-12, 4.
Oakland (7-9). 8-8, 3.
Kansas City (6-10). 10-6, 1.


Surprisingly, as one can see, I did accurately pick either the team's record or order of finish for 13 of the 32 NFL teams. That's 41%.

My best work was the AFC East, getting the order of finish right, getting 2 out of 4 records right, and was only 3 wins off the records of the other two teams combined.

I also got the order of finish correct in the NFC South.

My worst work was in the NFC West. I got nothing right and was 22 wins off of the records of the 4 teams, an average of a whopping 5.5 wins per team. Ouch.

I only predicted 4 out of 32 records correctly. That's a little worse than what I expected. I was within 1 win on another 8. I don't think that's too bad, to predict within 1 win 12 out of 32 teams.

But boy did I screw up some. The worst was Arizona, being 7 wins off, while I was 6 wins off of San Fran and Jacksonville.

I'm most embarrassed about the Steelers and 49ers, but a close 3rd are the Bears and Bengals. It was a surprising year.

I also misfired on the Seahawks, Rams, and Texans.

But I'm pretty happy about getting right Philadelphia winning the NFC East.

And I did get 8 of the 12 playoffs teams correct.

It's a mixed bag, I know.

This would be even funner if someone else would play next year.

Besides the ESPN guys, that is.

Monday Reading

Joshua 15-18.


Found out the other day there's a new Zelda game coming out this year for the Wii! Better get as much done as possible between now and then.

Sunday, February 20, 2011

Sunday Reading

Joshua 11-14.

Daytona 500 today. I'm glad to see Michael Waltrip is starting 7th this year. I'll be rooting for him again. Maybe that cat can win another one.

I do think someone other than Jimmie Johnson needs to win the championship this year. That's getting old. I wouldn't mind seeing Jeff Gordon win another championship.

Saturday, February 19, 2011

Saturday Reading

Joshua 7-10.


Where are the counter-demonstrators in Wisconsin?

Probably at work.

Friday, February 18, 2011

Friday Reading

Joshua 3-6.

February 18th. This is one of the all-time worst days of the year. I hope you don't like this day.

First there was this. I still remember vividly where I was sitting and what I was doing when I heard the announcer on the radio.
Now this.
And although it happened yesterday, I found out about this today.

Thursday, February 17, 2011

Thursday Reading

Deuteronomy 33-34. Joshua 1-2.


I need a place to escape. The news is 24 hours of Pujols and I don't want to hear about it. But all this coverage has confirmed one thing I suspected- the Cardinals GM and owner are in over their heads.

Wednesday, February 16, 2011

Tuesday, February 15, 2011

Tuesday Reading

Deuteronomy 25-28.

Believe it or not, 46 days into the new year, I have already posted more this year than I did in all of 2010.

Monday, February 14, 2011

Monday Reading

Deuteronomy 21-24.

Tomorrow's a big day for Stan The Man. I hope the White House does a better job than the Cardinals did in "honoring" him at the All Star Game 2 years ago.

Sunday, February 13, 2011

Sunday Reading

Deuteronomy 17-20.

Hard to believe it's NASCAR time again and the Daytona 500 is next Sunday. A lot of Dale Earnhardt related programming is expected this week. Hard to believe it's been 10 years.

Saturday, February 12, 2011

Saturday Reading

Deuteronomy 13-16.


I'd be shocked if Pujols signed a contract in the few days remaining before Spring Training. Ordinarily I'm excited about ST, but this year I think it marks the beginning of the end of an era.

We all know Pujols (relatively speaking) has been wildly underpaid these past few years. Which makes it seem the Cardinals are obligated to pay him whatever he requires to make up for this. But we all know if they do that the team will be severely hampered for years to come, especially if it's a 10 year deal he wants.

I'll be sorry to see him go, because he's been amazing to watch these past 10 years. But, if he really wants 10 years, the Cardinals just can't afford that. Their future would be brighter without him.

Friday, February 11, 2011

Friday Reading

Deuteronomy 9-12.


It's almost spring, right? Won't be long for these little flowers to return. I like how these two play off each other.

The white flowers with silvery foliage are Snow in Summer. It likes the cool weather and fades during the hot weather.

The red flowers are a type of Dianthus. The exact name escapes me at present.

I also like how, even though they've long ago finished blooming by this time, the daffodil foliage gives this grouping yet another dimension.

Even though they're small, this grouping is one of my favorites. I may try it again in some other beds.










Thursday, February 10, 2011

Thursday Reading

Deuteronomy 5-8.

The writing is clearly on the wall that Albert Pujols will not sign an extension this off-season and will become a free agent. The only question is, will the Cardinals come through with the money at that time? I think they're just waiting to see what the market will be, which is a huge gamble. A bidding war they cannot win. They are just counting on being able to offer a little more than market value to keep him. I can see this backfiring if New York or Chicago or Anaheim are in the mix of competing bidders.

It's a little infuriating that just last year they had enough money to sign Holliday to a $17 million a year contract for 7 seasons, but now can't pay the best player in baseball. What kind of general managing, or owning, is this?

Wednesday, February 09, 2011

Wednesday Reading

Deuteronomy 1-4.

Had a Subway Sandwich with Jimmy Chips from Jimmy John's. Was afraid of causing a war in my stomach, like the Black and White Cookie Jerry ate. Guess I survived those worlds colliding.

Tuesday, February 08, 2011

Tuesday Reading

Numbers 34-36.

Interesting article here about offseason grades in the NL Central. The Cardinals are definitely the hardest to grade. It's almost like there are two different issues- there's Pujols and there's the rest of the team. For Pujols the grade is definitely D- and quickly heading to an F. For the 2011 team, I give them an A-. I'm seriously looking forward to this season.

Monday, February 07, 2011

Monday Reading

Numbers 31-33.

Look who posted again. Must have been my post the other day. Angus G Van Halen lives!

Sunday, February 06, 2011

Super Bowl Pick

I'm 5-5 for the playoffs. Obviously this is a game I'd like to have, to finish the post-season with a winning record and to end on a positive note.

It's only 7 months until the next season starts, by the way. Barring a work stoppage.

This is a hard game to pick. It's obviously a game either team could win. That's why I'm picking a tie.

That's right. A draw. I predict it will go 10 OT periods, and they'll just call it quits after that. I think that's in the Super Bowl rules somewhere.

But if that doesn't happen...

Pittsburgh.

Sunday Reading

Numbers 27-30.

It's Super Bowl Sunday. So why do we have to be subjected to Obama being interviewed by O'Reilly? Bad move, Fox. I know you "have" to fill 4 hours of programming prior to the game, but can't we just concentrate on football today?

But it will make a good bathroom break.

Saturday, February 05, 2011

Friday, February 04, 2011

Friday Reading

Numbers 19-22.


I love this. Only fitting. I'm excited for the new baseball season to begin.

Here's one of my favorite moments in baseball. He followed this up with "The Catch" the next night.

Thursday, February 03, 2011

Thursday Reading

Numbers 15-18.

After reading more and more of stuff like this, I'm beginning to think our man is going to take his talents to some other beach. I'd ask the good people of Cleveland for their thoughts, but don't want to dredge up bad memories of this past summer.

Wednesday, February 02, 2011

Wednesday Reading

Numbers 11-14.


This rocks.

By the way, I'm about to update my links. Some blogs have come back to life again and are going back up, others have apparently died. So if you haven't posted for over a year, I am going to assume your blog is dead and remove the link unless you let me know.

Tuesday, February 01, 2011

Tuesday Reading

Numbers 7-10.

I'm not sure why, but I'm waxing nostalgic for the summertime today.

Anyway here's our Tiger Lillies and Bee Balm from last summer.


Here are two up-close and personal views of the lillies.





The brightness of these pictures is from something called "sun-shine". If you wait long enough, you might see it again.