Saturday night December 8th

I have been drinking. Drinking at a new bar called Sips at Orchard Lake and Grand River. Site of the former Midfield Grill. Cool place

BTW - Song playing during post - Naked Eye by The Who

I tried to do a google search on sips, not out there yet. A cool place, I would recommend. Great pizza, and the bartenders are hot. Smokin' My buddy Walter and I sat, had a number of drinks, and talked with WDFN's Sean Beligian. That made us feel cool. He was a heck of a guy with a sweet Canadians hat that he picked up at a game 20+ years ago. You have to love that kind of dedication. Plus, I picked up a few WDFN Thunderstix for mom, who seems to love them.

Now - Baby Don't you Do It - The Who - From the extended version of Who's Next

Hey, guess what, Troy Smith won the Heisman. Really big surprise. Actually, the biggest surprise to me is that Quinn finished 3rd. Mike Hart finished 5th. Watch for him next year, with about 40 carries a game, at 5 yards per. Especially if Jake Long is coming back.

As for the title game, I agree with the polls, Michigan had their chance, if they could have stopped the big runs, they would be there playing Florida. The key seems to be for Michigan to beat USC in the Rose Bowl. If they don't, the pollsters were right and the BCS works.

I realized over the last few weeks that the most troublesome thing for me about not having a playoff is that we place reliance on the bowl system (and the BCS) to tell us who is the best team of the year. The problem is that the bowls are played several weeks after the final games of the season (51 days in the case of Ohio State, 44 for Michigan). Are the teams really the same after that much time off? How much of the teams edge is lost in that time period, with finals and family obligations involved? If there is a former athelete out there who reads this, amongst the 3 (at max) readers, is the team the same after that long of a layoff? Were the Tigers hurt by a 7 day layoff in the World Series?

Music wise - I really need to buy The Who - Live at Leeds (1970) - this live stuff at the end of extended Who's Next is amazing. I think it was from recordings in Montreal around the same time. I no longer have the liner notes.

As a last note, I don't know who is on the Red Wings anymore. It is so bad that I referred to Daysuk as Kozlov when he scored tonight. I need to start watching Wings games more carefully.

Sean

Happy Thanksgiving

Hello all or none,

Happy Thanksgiving. Hope everyone is able to enjoy a few days with (or without) your family. I did, mom made dinner and we watched the Lions take another beating. Then we had pie. All in all, exactly what we wanted for Thanksgiving.

Bye all.

Sean

Monday after The Game

So I wanted to come and talk a little about this past weekend. It was a major loss on Friday with the death of Coach Schembechler. I was listening to him on the radio at 8:45 AM (I was actually on time that morning), and thought about how great it was to listen to him talk football. It was WTKA in Ann Arbor, hosted by some guy Mike Wickett, Dave Schann, former hockey player at Michigan, and the guest in the studio was Mark Messner, legendary defensive end for the Wolverines. Coach called in and was talking about the game when he said something about Michigan needing to pass against Ohio State. Everyone fell off their chair in the studio. Go to MLIVE.COM to see footage of his press conference on Monday and for this interview. Just awe-inspiring. Here is the link from WDFN as well.

I noted over the weekend that the world has lost three very tough guys over the last month, with Red Auerbach, Jack Palance and Bo all passing recently. I really hope this is the end of the triangle, I don't think the world can lose much more of the toughness, will and integrity they brought.

As for the football game, a lot of people much smarter than me have written about it, but my biggest disappointment is that OSU won on a few big runs because of some missed tackles. Still, a heck of a game. It has already been scheduled as an Instant Classic for Wednesday night. I have it on the DVR, so I have to decide if I want to watch it again or move it to DVD or just delete it. I have just moved the ND game from this year to DVD.

I don't know if there should be a rematch or not, I would have no problem with either USC or Arkansas playing (if they both win out) playing OSU. A choice between Florida and Michigan would be tough, as long as Notre Dame is not the team. That would be a travesty. Not after the beating Michigan gave them earlier this year, especially since I don't think they have improved much in the mean time. I am not sure there is anyone else in the discussion.

Now I am watching the 1969 Michigan OSU game, it is so amazing to see the way the game has changed, and the way TV has changed. I love college football.

Well, I will talk to you later.
Sean

Monday Night

Trying to figure out if I should just go to bed, but I have things to do yet. Guess I should not have played that 3 hour game first.
This is Game week. Go here to see the countdown - 4 days 16 hours as I write this. The magnitude of this game is truly astounding. I don't want to think about it too much as I will not do anything, and I mean anything, else. I have already reviewed the TV schedule (as mentioned yesterday) and found all the prior games that Michigan won, and am recording them. That is one of the things I need to do tonight is to get some more things off my DVR to have room for the new things.

Anyway, nothing real exciting, however, I did have a thought. When is someone just going to develop a tapeworm that can be controlled? I wouldn't mind taking a tapeworm pill once a month that will eat all the fat going through my body, but allow my digestive system to absorb all the nutrients it needs. And then it dissolves and I create a new one. This sounds like the weight loss plan to beat all weight loss plans, why isn't anyone on this? Remember, nature has had all kinds of time to perfect these things, look to her for guidance.

Sean

Glad to be back - 11/12/06

Actually, I didn't go anywhere, just didn't post for a while. For a while I had to get my computer fixed, then was focusing on a few other projects. The main thing was getting myself set up to move all the Michigan games from my DVR to my computer to burn them to DVD. This process is critical so I can save them. I also spent about 30 minutes going through the schedule for next week to make sure I found every program that was about Michigan Ohio State football, including the games on ESPN Classic (except for the ones where Michigan lost). So I am going to need lots of room. The problem is my computer is kind of slow, so it is taking a while. I bought the machine in 2002 after all.

I don't know what else to talk about right now, but I will get back to you soon.

Sean

Saturday Night

Spent most of Saturday night over at my parents. My mother had a seizure last night so I went over to see her for a while, the short time while she was awake. She has had seizures before, but they still don't know what is causing them. She seems to be doing fine, but was very tired. So, I spent a few hours over there to be with her, and try to watch her for a little while so dad could relax a little. Don't know if he did or not. After she went to bed, dad, Jason and I watched The Maltese Falcon (1941) Jason had bought it for dad for his birthday last week. An excellent film, if you have not seen it, I would highly recommend it. It is #56 on IMDB.com Top 250. One of the things I noticed is that there are several plot elements that would be impossible to put into a story today, with technology being different and viewers having seen some of the plot elements used. Being a writer of limited talent, I find it hard to come up with a story that is not deriviative of something. And based on the number of bad films, stories and shows out there, I am not the only one that finds it difficult. Still, I wondered if there have been people that have written extensions of the film, picking up the story of the Falcon at other points. Maybe someone has the bird, maybe someone sees the film and recognizes someone in it that is their grandfather. The classic movie pitch - It's Maltese Falcon meets Rumor Has It.

Another thing I was thinking, once I got home and started playing some solitare - let's not even talk about the fantastically boring life I lead by the way - and listening to Neil Young. His song "Like A Hurricane" has the following lyrics.

You are like a hurricane

There's calm in your eye.

And I'm gettin' blown away

To somewhere safer

where the feeling stays.

I want to love you but

I'm getting blown away.



I am just a dreamer,

but you are just a dream,

You could have been

anyone to me.

I love that first line of the chorus. Absolutely astounding. Imagery that really brings home the force of personality.

Anyway, just wanted to share that lyric with you. I think I will finish my beer and go to bed. Feel better mom.

Sean

Baseball thoughts

I don't really want to comment on the whole Kenny Rogers dirty hand thing except to say "Stop it" and this really shows that rules in baseball are malliable at best. There are several rules that many have mentioned, but one I want to talk about is how pitcfhers are allowed to put their hands to their mouth when it is cold outside, but this is a ball when it is not cold. I think the umps actually tell the pitchers when it is cold enough. Ok, so that is pretty dumb rule that changes with the weather. Here is the real problem shown by that, the damn season is way to long!!! We shouldn't be playing the World Series in 40 degrees or colder. This is supposed to be the showcase of the two best teams, representing their leagues and they are playing a different game than during most of the season, during the hot summer months. The playoffs should be over by end of September, but I think I would settle for mid-October. How could this be accomplished? Well, eliminated the division playoffs would be a start, but a very bad one. I think the addition of the wild card has been good. I say remove 18 games from the regular season. This would allow the seaon to start a week later and end with enough time to get three weeks of playoffs before it gets too cold and the nature of the game changes. Plus, with a shorter season, and I think hockey and basketball would benefit from this, each game would mean more, and that is always a good thing

Where would those 18 games come from? Isn't that how many inter-league games that are played? hmmm....

Of course many people would fight this since it would mean less revenue for the owners, comparisons of records with prior seasons would be tough, but these are things that can be worked out. Less revenue for the owners? Ok, cut the players salary by 18/162 percent. Plus, with each game meaning more, there is a possibility that each game would generate marginally more revenue. Also, there is no reason, with the extra time we now have, that they couldn't make the division series a seven game series as well. Two more high-profit games for owners. (I have already talked about the 2-3-2 ... um ... disgraceful playoff format). And the reocrds thing, ahh, that was a straw man, nobody really cares about that. They mess with the game all the time.

Actually, one other point about the 2-3-2. I mentioned the logistics would be a bear, but wouldn't the extra travel and expense be good for the economy in a 2-2-1-1-1? Think of all that extra cash spent at the hotel, by the fans, by the press. Hotels and airlines need revenue right now. This would help the country, it's a patriotic thing.

Oh, and get rid of home team being determined by All Star game - stupid, stupid, stupid. The All Star game is an exhibition, get over it.

I am sure there are other problems with my ideas, but I can't think of them right now. Maybe you can tell me.

Later

Saturday Morning - 10/21

Hello all - and Happy Birthday to my brother Jason.

Well, I actually got up this morning and made myself breakfast. It has been a while since I tried to make an omelette, and I can tell I am out of practice, not that I was ever very good to begin with. It was too big, too many eggs, and I was using the wrong tool for the flip attempt. And ground beef might not be the best additive. I did fry the ground beef first, in case you are worried. It's ok.

I did have an interesting thought this morning. I have long dreamed about flying to Alaska, renting a car and just driving. I was wondering if the rental car companies in Alaska were renting low-emission or no-emission vehicles. I would guess that a lot of the tourists going to Alaska were ecologically friendly and would be willing to spend a little more to make sure the environment stays clean.

Not going to finish my omelette. Got through about half of it.

Today is a big day in Detroit sports. Michigan v Iowa at the Big House at 3:30 and then Game 1 of the World Series at 7:30 PM tonight at the CoPa. I plan on being at a bar to watch the both of them. I think the best part about playing the Cardinals is that we beat the team with most World Series championships (Yankees), we beat the team tied for second (Athletics) and we get to face the other team tied for second (Cardinals)[from wikipedia]. Seems appropriate if they can complete this run through history. I want to get real confidient and proclaim the Tigers the champs, but things can happen, things can happen. Go Tigs.

Ok, going to do the dishes and eat the last KitKat bar I found in my fridge. I was giddy when I found it. I told my friend earlier this week that a cold KitKat bar might be just a half step away from heaven. I just went and found the website for KitKat to add the link above and this is the statement on the page (which is a different site, don't ask me why).

KIT KAT wafer bar
KIT KAT's light, crispy wafers in chocolate are a simple treat that complements your lighthearted, positive approach to life.

I love that statement. Maybe I will start to take a more lighthearted, positive approach to life.

Sean

Friday night - The night before

Big day tomorrow. It's 9:30 on a Friday night, and I am at home blogging in my underwear. Not exactly the fast lane. (By the way, did you know that phrase came from the song and not the other way around?) At work I spent some time trying to find a copy of the radio call (by the excellent Dan Dickerson of WXYT) of Magglio's ALCS winning home run. My mother is going crazy for it, she says she can listen to it over and over again.

Found it on the WXYT myspace page. The Tigers Weblog had a link to it (and the other stuff below). Someone also synched up Dickerson's call to the fox feed and put it on youtube (hey, my first youtube link.) Link



They also mentioned that MLB.COM is allowing people to download, for free, the fox feed of the clinching game for each team. It's huge (750 mb), but cool to have.

Also commented on the Tigers Weblog about the pitching rotation - Verlander, Rogers, Robertson, Bonderman. Some people wondered about Bonderman being the guy to only pitch once, but he has had good luck in both game 4's so far....

Just awesome anticipation in this town for this game and this series. Go Tigers.

Thursday morning - 10/19

Wasn't sure about the date there, I just woke up from 13 hours sleep. I did one of those come home and go right to bed nights. Then I woke up briefly at 1:30, but was back in bed 15 minutes later. I don't know if it meant anything - not bouncing around with extra energy or anything.

Anyway, going to the shower, bye.

Out of the shower - Amy Sedaris has a new book out, she was just on the Daily Show, on Earl last week, she is a little hyperkinetic, but I am really drawn to her. Cute and funny, what else could you want.

Sean

Tuesday evening - 10 /17/06

It's quarter after nine, and I feel like going to bed. I thought I would try a post first to see if I wanted to stay up and do some work instead. Not likely, but I figure it is worth a try.

Last three days - got to work on time. Very proud of that.

Have to say something about major sports (Baseball, Basketball, Hockey) playoff formats. I really dislike, okay hate, the 2-3-2 playoff series. I am not sure what I don't like about it, except that it leads to streaks or runs too often. If the home team loses one of the first two games, there is a great possibility they will not play another game at home. I really enjoy the fairness and difficulty of a 2-2-1-1-1 format. I know there is more travel and logistics involved, and the days off are a little different (more in fact), but it can make great series last an additional 2 days. Isn't the savoring of the next game the best thing of all? Think of the extra savor time (Look! A little chart):

Day1 Day2 Day3 Day4 Day5 Day6 Day7 Day8 Day9 Day10 Day11
G G T G G G T G G
Day1 Day2 Day3 Day4 Day5 Day6 Day7 Day8 Day9 Day10 Day11
G G T G G T G T G T G

G=Game Day, T=Travel Day
(Trust me, it looked a lot better in Excel).

Look at those extra days of anticipatory goodness.

I will write some other time about reducing the length of the regular season - for each sport.

Quick note - Lauren Graham on Studio 60 this week. Did I mention I love her? Saw part of Bad Santa this weekend. Ummmmmm. Wow.

Those are the thoughts of the day.

Sean

Monday Morning - 10/16

First of all, Happy Birthday to my father, John Spitsbergen

For some reason, the oft-repeated line of Lex Luthor in Superman (1978), [shouted] "Miss Teschmacher!" kept popping into my head over the weekend. I have no idea why. So I looked her up on the web. See Valerie's hompage here. That's it.

I am awake, time is 8:18 AM. As I stood in the bathroom, I had another real hard internal battler regarding whether to go back to bed or not. Somehow I was able to just get into the shower instead.

I have had a dilemma today, I have Michigan v Iowa tickets for this weekend, but no one to go with me. I would like to sell them, but my normal sources can't go - I think it has something to do with the first game of the World Series being that night. Also, tickets for the WS go on sale and I don't have any cash to buy them. I am crying for sins of my past making my present harder than it should be. Interestingly enough, the song playing in iTunes right now is "Life Will Go On" by Chris Isaak. That seems to be a hint to get over it and also to wrap this up and go to work.

Later.

Paying student athletes

For some reason, in this week leading up to Michigan v Penn State, MSU v OSU, Tigers in the ALCS, Wings season starting and everything else related to great sports stuff, there was a lengthy discussion on one of the stations about paying student athletes. I used to be on the side that says they should be paid, but now I have switched. Got older I guess.

First of all, most athletic departments are in breakeven or deficit most of the time. Where would the money come from?

Second, how do you determine who gets what? Do revenue generating sports get paid and non-generating sports not? That seems nice. Doesn't that vary by school - I would think the Michigan hockey team makes some money, but some schools don't have a hockey team, how do you make rule for that? Do the men get paid more than the women, like in real society (which is not right either). Doesn't the women's basketball team at Tennesee deserve more than that men's team? The lacrosse team puts in just as much time as the football team, I guess.

Still, here is the biggest problem I have. I get tired of the primary argument being that the school makes all the money (and Michigan does make a lot) and the athletes get nothing. Do you have any idea how much that pisses me off? If the students get their degree from the University of Michigan for free, isn't that worth something? My degrees, the big one hanging on the wall next to me, cost about $30,000 or so, and that was 12 years ago. It has been worth more than that. So you are saying that is worth nothing?

How bout that?

Tigers in the World Series

Boy, I don't get to type things that make me that happy very often. mmmm, good feeling. And I am glad to say that I take back most of the things I said about Ordonez, he is not the least clutch player in the history of the game - turns out he just needed the appropriate stage. He went 2-4 with 2 home runs - the first to tie the game and then the other, with two on, to end the game, end the series and send the Tigers, yes, the Detroit Tigers, to the World Series. They have given us an amazing ride, and one of the best things is that, regardless of the outcome, it is very unlikely Mr. I will make Dombrowski dissolve the team, like he had to after the Marlins won in 1997. This might be a good (special?) team for a number of years. Mr. I has shown he will spend the money to be a winner, and now he has a team worth spending money on.
I was not at this game, but I was at the ALDS clinching game, and the way the team came out to celebrate with the fans just shows everyone the special relationship Detroit fans, of any sport, have with their teams, and the hysteria around a winner.
It was a great day all around, as far as I was concerned, except for the $100 bucks I lost at the casino - in the morning, did a charity walk to raise money for breast cancer, I didn't collapse during the walk, the Tigers won, the Gators lost and Michigan won, and moved to No. 2 in the AP poll. And I got to bed early (around midnight) since I didn't feel like writing this post last night.

Just a few notes about the Making Strides against Breast Cancer - this was a nice event that seemed to have plenty of support people to cheer on walkers and provide water along the way. I had not participated in something like this since I was 12 or something like that, so I was happy with the way things went, except for two things. One was the parking, trying to get that many people onto Belle Isle at one time is really hard, and the fact it was held in mid-October. People said it was better weather than in the past (sunny, little windy, mid-40's), but what do you expect? You schedule something on a small island in the middle of October in the winter, you are going to have weather issues. I would personally like to thank the sponsers and especially the people providing water and bathrooms on the course, and the snacks at the end.

Talk to you later. Maybe even later tonight.

Monday Evening TV talk

Thoughts from a weekend (plus a day) watching tv.

I spent a lot of time catching up on Law & Order (CI and SVU) over the weekend so I would have room for this weeks shows. One of the SVU episodes had Leslie Caron (in her first role in a few years) starring as a rape victim. Her performance was amazing. I would not be surprised to be up for a guest starring Emmy, she deserves it.

Just finished watching Studio 60 and I am more and more impressed every week. Bradley Whitford and Matthew Perry have great chemistry - they are written as good friends and you can tell from the conversation shortcuts - they don't have to finish thoughts, they have a common framework of a long friendship.

One of the things I have thought about the Studio 60 is that it hit the ground running. There does not seem to be an awkward setup time you usually see in the first few episodes. My feeling is that since it borrows a lot from the framework of both West Wing and Sports Night. The show is exceptional. The only problem with watching a new show is that I have to wait a week to see the next episode.

If only I had powers like Hiro Nakamura in my other favorite new show (I seem to only watch NBC for some reason), Heroes, so that I could jump to the future and see the next episodes.

If you have not watched these shows yet, I would recommend. On NBC.com, you can watch the whole episodes. Or get them off itunes.

Thanks - Sean

Hi from Tuesday

At work now, tired, very tired. We discussed naps at lunch - I think we should put a Murphy Bed in our store room and have a sign in sheet for half hour increments. They all laughed at me.

I am seriously losing the ability to concentrate, like I do everyday mid-afternoon. Today is a lot tougher, really tired for some reason. But, I figured it was better to be sleepy at my desk than asleep at home. Besides, it is continuous audit time of the month and I needed to be here to download and distribute.

That's all I can think of right now.

Sunday night thoughts

Went to the Tigers game today, and all I can say is that I hope that they are better next year. That was truly awful and it has been for the last month. Somebody needs to spend some time with a dictionary and determine the meaning of clutch. Nobody on that team has been clutch the last month. I have gone back and forth over the last few months on who would be the least clutch players on the Tigers - Magglio or Pudge. They have both given us so many moments that I could choose from, and both seemed to be proving me wrong today. Oh wait, until it got close. Building a lead seems pretty easy for these guys, but scoring a run when the game is close? Not these Tigers. Brandon Inge (K with bases loaded and one out in 11th after an error gave them a few runs in the 7th? 8th?) did his best to show he is heavily deserving of that honor. Since is not getting paid as much as the other guys, the expectations are lower. But damn.

My brother and I discussed two great ideas (Not including the great John McKay quote - "Coach, what do you think of your team's execution? I think they should begin immediately" nor that Fernando Rodney should be cut). One was that it would be really cool if someone wrote a program to simulate the fighting styles/capabilities of the animals/figures used as mascots in sports. The first thought was "I wonder who would win a battle between a ram and a lion (the answer from the football field was of course - Rams)?" Discussion then ranged over all kinds of variables - including such great nuggets like if the ram were able to get one shot head on, the lion would be done, but if the lion knew to avoid that, etc. We have all the nature documentaries, could someone use those to determine a true inter species battle royale? Thought that would be fun.

The other thought is that the Detroit Tigers need to publish a list of the songs they play as the players come to the mound or the plate. I know most of the songs for the American players, but some of the Latin players have great songs that I cannot identify (especially Omar Infante). If there is actually anyone out there, and you have been to the ball park, what is your favorite player song - I like Omar's song and Zumaya's song - Voodoo Child (I think). Also, what song would you want played as you came to the plate/mound.

Well, going to bed real soon - did no work stuff this weekend, although I did get a few things done. I can now transfer items from my DVR to my computer, problem is I have now run out of disk space. Might be a drive purchase in my future - I don't need all this blood.

Sean

Trying to stay awake

Friday at 8 AM.

Trying very hard to stay awake, and not go back to bed, so I thought I would post, since it has been almost a week. The problem is, I can only open one eye, and that for only a few moments at a time. And it isn't focusing very well. Hang on, alarm going off in the other room...

Why was my bed making very alluring cooing sounds? It said it wanted to hold me and be my friend. Are beds supposed to do that?

I did have a meaningful thought ... let me re phrase that to remove the pretensiousness ... I did have a thought. On the Daily Show this week was a very intersting interview with the President of Pakistan, Pervez Musharraf regarding his new memoir, In The Line of Fire. If I had time to read and didn't have a massive backload of books, I might buy it. That is one complaint I have with the Daily Show - since they have gone more political, there are too many books I want to buy. I can't afford them all. If someone does buy it, let me borrow it. Anyway, the interview was fasicinating, and finished with the new Daily Show feature - Seat of Heat (not sure if I like that or not) and Stewart asked if bin Laden and George W. were running for office in Pakistan, who would win, and Musharraf said they would both lose badly. Check it out.

The thought I was going to mention, which all that was background for, was a possible title for George W. memoir - "A Million Little Flip Flops". If you haven't heard it, check out Neil Young's "Let's Impeach the President" from Living With War CD.

How about "From Idiot to the White House".

Speaking of W. (not something that makes me happy by the way), how can Article 3 of the Geneva Convention be vague? "Outrages on personal dignity" is vague? Wait a second - his whole presidency has been a outrage on personal dignity, so maybe that is what he is worried about. That would probably be another good title.

Hooray to Clinton for slamming Wallace last week.

Anyway, I am more awake now, going to take a shower. See you later. I know I am going to cringe when I go back and read this.

Sunday night

I thought I would get people updated on stuff. My friend and I agreed today was nearly the end of the universe, since the Tigers clinched a playoff spot, and I went to the gym and changed my sheets. Had the Lions won - I fear what might have occurred.

I did have a meaningful thought as some point - I am the kind of person that starts working through a problem when I am talking about it, usually when I am asking for help, and I end up with the answer before I can get the question out. I was writing a post on a software message board and started to use the term "thinking out loud" - but that of course didn't make any sense since I was typing. Do we need to develop a new term for thinking out loud when we are typing to each other?

Yeah, that's it, that is the extent of my big thoughts this weekend. I am very upset with Lacie, (not a link on purpose) makers of hard drives and other computer periphials, since the CD/DVD drive I bought 15 months ago is now dead and they will do nothing to repair it. Their tech support didn't even mention that I should try to update the firmware, or that there was a program to do that. Sure, that is something I should know, but not everyone, so that should have been their first response. So, next time I look for a drive or periphial, Lacie will not be on the list.

Go Blue, congrats Rochelle and Robert, congrats Tigers.

At some point, remind to expound on my crush of Lauren Graham. ummmmm...

And, the spell check does not appear to be working for me - blame blogger - I am not going to go back and review. It is late and I am going to be on time for work tomorrow.

Monday Wake Up Exercise

No, not actual exercise, are you crazy? Posting on this thing helps me wake up a little, and I need it since I could not fall asleep last night. I laid in bed for three hours that I can remember, so I am sure it was more than that. But I am awake at 8:20 AM, and the bowl of Froot Loops was great.

The even better news is that I have already found a way to help (see Sunday's post). Imagine my surprise when I wake up and sitting in my email box is in the solution:

Please show your support for Northwest Airlines by signing our electronic petition.

The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) will allow only one U.S. Airline to add daily service to China starting next spring. If Northwest is selected, over 120 U.S. cities will enjoy convenient, single connection service to China. Plus, Northwest's state-of-the-art McNamara terminal facility at Detroit is the premier international connecting airport in the U.S.

Thank you for your support.

Sincerely,

Northwest Airlines

Sure, I am kidding about this being the answer to my need to help someone, but I did sign the petition. Maybe helping them with their bad business model will make the labor strife end and I don't have to worry if I will be stuck in Vegas in the future because of strike or slowdown, and their employees will be treated fairly.

Sorry, had to quit laughing at the last statement before I could continue, but I did sign the petition.

See you later.

Sean

Weekend Wrapup - Sunday (serious post)

This is a slightly more serious post than the last one, so I broke them up.

Sunday could have been an important day. I walked over and had breakfast at the local coney place, and as I was eating (corned beef hash and eggs - ummm), I was reading this months Technology Review (Sept/Oct 2006), and the cover story was the TR35 - 35 technologists and scientists under 35. There are some fascinating things going on out there, and it got me thinking, I am 35, and I haven't done a whole lot. One article is about the Humanitarian of the Year - Christina Galitsky. Her main job is to find ways for companies to identify and reduce energy inefficiencies, which is cool enough, but she is working on building a new stove for refugees in Darfur so they don't have to use as much wood. This is really important since the women of the camp frequently have to wander for hours to find wood and are at the mercy of roving gangs and are frequently brutally raped. Galitsky went there and met with the women of the camps and found out what their needs really are, and used that information to modify the design of an existing stove that could be produced cheaply and used in this situation and be a significant improvement over open fire pits. Designing more efficient stoves is a very interesting approach, and not the first one that might come to mind, but it will make a significant difference in these women's lives and was accomplished by non-governmental ogranizations with small resources, big thoughts and grander aspirations. (Wow, the language of that statement makes me kind of sick ). That seems like enough to be considered a great person, but she is also working on a low cost method to filter arsenic out of ground water in Bangladesh. This is being solved by a completely different concept, figuring out a new way to bind iron particles to filter mechanisms.

So why did I talk about this woman? She is truly doing great things, in a method I like, i.e. bringing together concepts from different disciplines to solve problems. But it made me think more about what I have never done, which would be everything, and I thought about my friend Rochelle who went to Hounduras to help build a church and is now leading the office drive to raise money for breast cancer. It's also time to donate to United Way.

I think I need to start helping something - people or something. I am not sure yet, not sure what I want to do, how I can do it. I used to give money to environmental causes, but ran out of money, so I had to stop doing that. I need to find something. Follow me as I find some way to help someone or something.

What are some of your favorite organizations and how do you help them?

When I find something I want to do to help - then Sunday will have been an important day.

Sean

(btw, don't bother to mention the spelling errors, didn't feel like proofing and the spell check is not working)

(upon rereading this post - it seems like a desparate cry for approval)

Weekend Wrapup - Sat (fluffy post)

I thought I would give everyone a little wrap up of my weekend. See how delusional I have become?

So, I got so drunk during the nearly orgasmic first half of the Michigan vs notre dame game that I could not drink a whole lot more in the second half. Except for some of the shots. We asked the waitress for an easy shot for each Michigan touchdown, and she suggested Superman shots. Since Todd and Walter have an unhealthy obsession with Superman - that was the choice. After a few of them (luckily, we didn't really try to keep up with Michigan touchdowns, we would have never made it home), the guys next to us asked what we were drinking, and then bought us one.

I got stuck at the end of that paragraph trying to come up with something funny about feeling like a woman and having drinks bought by the table next to you. At least I was good enough to blow the guys, some women have not been that good to me.

So that Michigan game - big statement, one of the greatest experiences of my life, at least in a long time - maybe I care about them to much, and get too far down when they lose, but I completed reveled in this game. Reveled I tell you. The defense was active, putting pressure on brady quinn, stopping the running game, making big plays, and the offense was what I want (after Henne's interception), a strong run game that can open up the pass - Henne has such a nice touch downfield. Bring on the Badgers. Unfortunately, I will not be there, some friend of mine (and you call yourself a Michigan fan) decided to go and get married on that day.

Reveled.

So I went over to hang out with my mom afterwords. Yes, I am that cool. Well, I knew she was watching the Tigers game in hi-def (thank you Brighthouse for finally putting FSN in hi-def) on the big tv, and my dad and brother had gone to the game, so she was alone. I stopped in, she re-heated me some pizza, I left when the game was over. Got some Ben and Jerry's on the way home. Went to bed early, I was completely spent.

I went a little overboard on the links this time, but it is so easy.

Sean

P.S. Bought some candy corn this weekend as well. ummm, so good, so ... so ... I have to publish this, I am a little nauseous from ... the excess candy corn, but oh...excuse me.

P.P.S. Back, feeling fine. Maybe just one more piece before bed, but before that, I had a thought, how could you look up words if you couldn't spell dictionary?

Friday Daily Upate

Well, I did get out of bed. Had breakfast, and have been fighting going back to bed. Still fighting in fact. I started to write a complicated post, and that has helped, but now that I put that to draft status, the sleep brigade is starting to fight again, and my resolve is slipping. Must get ... to .... shower.....


If I don't make it, tell my wife I love her.



Sean

Update: I failed.

George Bush's Big Crime

Other than selling the Rangers to Tom Hicks.

Once again, listening to NPR 7 AM podcast (as part of my continuing efforts to get out of bed on time). One of the stories was about the secret CIA terrorist "concentration" [my term] camps in Europe and another was about the Republicans fighting back and not passing the President's bill on trying terror suspects as enemy combatants in front of a military tribunal.

My problem with the administrations position (and worse - actions) on these topics, plus the torture of suspects advocated by Gonzales and others, have eroded the country's moral high ground. I was alway very proud I was able to say that we didn't do that to prisioners (at least as policy, individual actions notwithstanding) and that we had learned lessons from Vietnam about treatment of people where we cannot tell the figthers from the civilians. Bush and Rummy and Gonzales (sp?) have all worked very hard to erode that moral ground - saying that we have to be cruel in ordert to beat the terrorists. I am not privy to DOD workings and have not ever been in combat or in charge of those in combat - but I don't know if I want to, or if we can, win any "war" (can't be a war with no country to declare war against) for our way of life if we continue to degradate ourselves and our prisoners in this manner. If we want to be the shining light of democracy, we can never act in ways that we would want kept in the dark.

Sean

Thoughts on the Navy Chaplin case

First off - good morning, I woke up on time, had a bowl of cereal, and, most importantly, AM NOT GOING BACK TO BED FOR THAT EXTRA TEN MINUTES that always turns into three hours. I was listening to listening to the NPR news summary when they discussed the case of a Navy chaplin convicted in a court-martial for appearing in uniform at a war protest rally (NPR 7AM news summary, 9/14/06).

My initial thoughts were that Bush needed to pardon this guy so that it does not appear they are denying soldiers the right to speak and/or protest.

Thoughts after reading more: This guy wanted to be arrested and I have no sympathy for him. He wasn't simply protesting, he was trying to get attention. He mentioned Jesus when the Navy said to be non-denominational, he changed into his uniform before he prayed - probably when the camera arrived - at the protest after the Navy told him not too. I have no sympathy for a grandstander. I thought that was pretty interesting.

And final thought, as of 2:07 pm, Apple stock is up to 74.33, about 2 bucks from just before this weeks announcements. I wish I could have some. And the new iPod, not to mention the new Mac Pro with a really nice monitor, oh, and the iTV 1Q of 07.

Leave some comments.

Sean

Hello, is this thing on?

Hello Wednesday

So, I am a dumb guy. I cannot make the right decision each morning to get out of bed. I get up, turn off all the alarms, and think that I can lay down for a few more minutes and get up and go to work. That would be fine, except THAT I HAVE NEVER BEEN ABLE TO DO IT. The best definition of stupidity is doing the same thing and expecting different results. I am letting people down, putting stress on people supporting me, and I don't like myself very much.

Let's get to something more interesting. Only I can't think of anything more interesting. Not that I am that interesting, but I am kind of focused on myself right now.

I downloaded iTunes 7, and love the ability to browse by album covers, the only problem is that I spent a few hours last night updating the information in my music library, including album covers and correct album names. I get so obsessive about that stuff sometimes. That is what makes me good at my job.

Sorry, just spent the last hour doing it again.

Dammit, another hour. I have work to do.

See you tomorrow. I am going to try to not be stupid.

Tuesday night posting

Nice Apple announcements - go here or here for coverage, or check Apple.com. I have said I will not buy a new ipod until they came out at 100GB. Well, they are close at 80GB with the new model. They also introduced the movie download service, which most people were expecting. And the other cool thing is the iTV, where you can wirelessly send content, such as downloaded movies or tv shows (or music I guess) to your TV in HD. Of course, if you don't have an HDTV, (I don't - another reason I need to be rich), then you can get normal resolution. I am currently watching the Keynote and Jobs is cool as always.

What else is on my mind. Rain - I played golf in the rain tonight, and didn't like it very much. I wanted to leave after a few holes, but was guilted into staying. I need to buy some golf rain gear. That is all there is to it. A good rain jacket that is actually water repellant would be great. I suppose I need money for that - seems to be a theme.

Sorry I don't have anything more interesting, I am simply trying to dry out.

Daily Update - Tuesday

Ok, so, got out of bed late as usual and forgot my badge to get into the office and the parking garage, had to park outside. Bitter. Some other thoughts:

Can the Tigers trade (in the offseason) Ordenez, Minor/Grilli and Giritano(?) to the Orioles for Tejada and then move Guillen to first? I am tired of Mags non-clutchness (based only on watching, not any statistical analysis) and Guillen's errors.

What is Apple going to do today? As of 11:37 AM the stock is at 72.93, up .43. They have a press event later today, and are expected to announce movie downloads. This could be big. I wish I still had Apple stock.

That's all I can think of now, I should get some work done.

Sean

UPDATE: My buddy just sent me his new blog - I like the first posting

Daily Update

I am of the mind that if I publish a daily summary of the things I didn't do or did poorly, I will be more apt to want to do those things right - If I have to tell people, I will pay more attention do doing good things.

Shocker of shocks - my brother got a job. I am so thrilled for him, it may not be the ideal job, but it is something that will be interesting, he is working for a good person, and he will get out of the house.

Well - did I do any of the things I needed to do today? Did I drink 4 L of water? No. Did I get out of bed on time? See earlier post, no. Did I work a full day? Surprisingly, yes. I got a database to do more of what I wanted and applied knowledge from the conference I just went to. That pleased me. Did I update the blog? Kind of an obvious answer.

There was something else I wanted to talk about, but cannot remember it. Oh well.

So I am off to bed, wanted to congratulate my brother, and I will try to do better tomorrow.

Update: 12:40 AM Now I remember the other thing. Did I get up and have breakfast. Yes, I did, I had a bowl of cereal, listened to the morning news podcast on NPR The problem is that I went back to bed. Need to work on that tomorrow.

Why I need to be rich, part 1

Ok, I realized a reason I need to be rich. This will be part one of a long, long series.

A few years ago, I had very little (much like today), but I had a gorgeous hairdresser, she was beautiful. Her name is Amy. (I am going to mix tenses a lot in this blog - get used to it.) I loved to get my hair cut, and did it more than necessary (if I ever posted a picture, you would see there is not a lot of hair). She was always glad to see me, and always made me feel better about myself. She always seemed positive and was sweet and nice, always made me feel very special. I knew going in there I would come out with a good haircut, since I trusted her style and let her make all the decisions, and a light heart. These good feelings do not even include the hug (ummmmmmmmmm) or the (ooooohhhhh) erotic hairwashing. It was erotic to me since I like the feeling of a woman's nails on my scalp (and back of my neck, but that is for another time), but probably nothing special to anyone else. I loved her, no doubt about it. So anyway, she decided to move back home to Pittsburgh. I was crushed, not only did I have to find a new hairdresser, I would lose my source of hair happiness. Sure, she would be happier, but this is my blog.

The search has been tough, and I am satified with where I currently go. The two good things about where I go is that is it very close to my office (walking distance) and cheap. And they do a good job with my hair (fine, three things), but it is nothing like what Amy used to give me.

So here is why I need to be rich - I need to have the time and money to travel to Pittsburgh once a month to see my dear Amy and get my haircut. Maybe if I was rich she would go out with me as well, but that is pipe dream stuff. What I really need a quality haircut experience, so that is why I need to be rich.

Comments?

A quick one

Well, I was supposed to go to bed at a decent time tonight to make sure I get to work on time tomorrow and do what I am supposed to do. If you notice the time of this posting, you will see I failed at that. Hopefully I can go on 5 hours sleep and get up on time. I never do, so I have little faith.

Update: 11:08 AM - just out of the shower. Wrote a new song though (kind of howling) "I am not happy with myself/I am a failure of a man" Haven't gotten to much farther with it.

Women's Tennis and other sports

Wow, Maria Sharapova is a beautiful woman - you can find pictures of her all over the place. Oh wait, here is one. (From cnnsi.com)
She appears to be one heck of an athlete as well. So here is my complaint, why can't women tennis players play 3 out of 5 sets like the men? The best tennis matches in history are always the grueling 5 hour ones where two men battle it out over 5 sets and momentum makes huge swings back and forth, announcers musing about which player will break first - tennis wise, mentally and physically. A great battle of athletics and wills. You don't get that in women's tennis. How long was the match tonight (Women's final of the U.S. Open) - like 50 minutes or so? That's not even enough time to get interested. I am glad to see the money is getting up there for women - 1.7 million for Maria. From quick research they pay the men the same amount. Doesn't that seem unfair, someone getting paid the same amount of money for less work. That kind of thing should not be allowed.

That was a great dress though - based on Audrey Hepburn, Breakfast at Tiffany's style. The shot of Maria trying to call someone on her gold Razr was of funny.

If you have a good reason why the women can't go to the 3 of 5 format, I would love to read it. I suppose I could have done some research, but screw that. I would rather assume I am right. And I will eliminate dumb, stupid or sexist comments, only I get to make those.

Women's Softball -
Why the game so damn small? Why are the bases so close together? Why is the pitchers circle so close to the plate? The pitchers are powerful enough that what little I watched of the college world series seemed like nothing but slap hits from defensive swings or strikeouts. I couldn't watch it long. Until they get rid of the feeling like I am watching a little league game, it won't have the allure of baseball at real dimensions.

That was the sensible comment, here is the inflammatory one. How am I supposed to take the sport seriously when some of the girls were wearing makeup - not just eye-black, but mascara and eye-liner. Go ahead, comment on that.

Other notes -
I would like to congratulate the Detroit Shock for winning the WNBA title. Notice I did not say my Detroit Shock, like I would with any other Detroit team. Sorry, I don't follow the game, so I can't say my team. Good going though.

My Detroit Tigers look like they are going to bomb out of the playoffs after losing another to the Twins tonight. I have thought about this and decided that I will be upset for a while, and then spend the winter thinking about the greatness for the team next year and reliving the pleasure of the season for the first 120 games. When did this team stop hitting? More on that another time.

Ahh, that's enough. Later.

Why I started this

Does anyone really care, who knows. However, I don't care if no one cares. I am doing this anyway. Keeps me from playing games and seems mildly productive.

Why am I doing this? I decided I want to be great. I think I can be great with words and ideas. Blogging seems like a way to get people to read those words and ideas. It is free and easy. I went out and bought special equipment so I that could use an old school Apple Extended Keyboard so that typing would be more comfortable, so I should actually type.

Why do I want to be great? Well, my friend was just promoted to partner at a major accounting firm. Aside from the prestige this brings, she is now making a boatload of money. I am jealous of her, not in a resentful way, but (I hope) in a inspiring to make myself what I should be kind of way. I have a good job that I don't do good enough at, and I will be able to make a comfortable living once I get out of a sticky debt situation (final relief - March '08). But I want more.

I have done what I thought was one great money making idea - but it kind of died on the vine. I designed (and paid someone else to write, Techcoders.com - they did quite well) a program for tracking gambling sessions and trips on handheld devices. I figured there would be a whole lot of other people that would want to track their progress during Vegas or gambling trips. I just didn't find them, so the program languished with like 2 sales. Painful to admit, but what the heck. If you are interested - search for GambleTrac on Palmgear.com, or duh - GambleTrac.

I have started to write movies and short stories for publication, never got them done, except for two, and they were denied the first time I tried to publish them, and I never got around to submitting them elsewhere.

If you ever read this again - or if I ever post anything again - you might notice that as a theme, I never got around to doing someting about something. Massive theme. Me and the therapist are working on it.

So, what can you expect here? Who knows, hopefully I will be witty, sparkling and intelligent. Maybe throw some of my poetry out here. More likely I will never publish anything again.