The Frinklin and Fred Show

This is an emergency?

The situation: I'm on the computer. My wife is laying on the couch, snuggled up with a good book and a puppy. Both are under a blanket. My wife yells for me... something is wrong! I hustle back into the living room, "What's wrong honey?"

"My toe ring is caught on the blanket and I can't move."

Are you kidding me?

Jeff Nelson returns for his 327th stint with the Mariners. Who knows how long it lasts or how much he has in the tank. I will give him this though: he was absolutely right about this team in 2003.

72%

That would be the projected voter turnout for elections in Iraq. Will it prove anything? Will this excuse the Bush Administration's sloppy handling of post-war Iraq? Who knows, but there are few things like seeing a people taking control of their own destiny.

The following is from Fred Kaplan's Slate column. Kaplan, for those who don't read him, is much like me: pro-war, but not necessarily pro-Bush. It’s what the President is counting on, something that the anti-war crowd never seems to understand.

Finally, imagine a Syrian watching Al-Arabiya, seeing Iraqi-born Syrians going to special polling places to elect Iraqi leaders, observing that no Syrians of any sort have the right to elect the leaders of Syria—and perhaps asking himself, "Why?" It is not inconceivable that this flicker of democratic practice in Iraq could ignite a flame of some sort across the Middle East. To what end, and for ultimate good or ill, who knows. But something happened in Iraq today, something not only dramatic and stirring but perhaps also very big.

That, the Syrians, Jordanians, Saudis, Palestinians... that's why bringing Democracy to the Middle East is so important. I hope, for all our sakes, that it works.

Update Alright, maybe its closer to 60%. Still impressive.

Make that 1 for 49!

The Cougar men's basketball team upset #11 Arizona in McKale Center today. It was the Cougs first win over a ranked team in its last 49 tries. It was also the first win over Lute Olsen in 39 games.

Dick Bennett's team may not be pretty or as far along as Lorenzo Romar's team, but it won't be long until there are two legitimate D1 programs in Washington.

The Super Bowl is WHERE?

Ahh.. the dead week, where the columnists start reaching for stories. One of the old standbys is to rag on the host city. This time, they have a point. Jacksonville? Really? While I'm very happy for citizens of the largest city in America, as measured by square miles, I can't imagine why the Super Bowl would end up there. It is Florida... sorta. Just not the cool part.

I would love to see a future Super Bowl in Seattle. I won't, since Qwest Field isn't a dome, and if the NFL puts one above the Mason-Dixon line, it damned well better be indoors. Since Detroit in January is so much preferable inside than Seattle is outside. Anyway, just leave the game in San Diego, LA, New Orleans and Miami, with the occasional shout-out to Palo Alto. Everybody else, especially these awful New South cities like Nashville and Jacksonville and Tampa-St. Pete can forget it.

Tony Kornheiser had a I-hate-this-place article this week, and its classic.

Have you ever been to Tampa? It's heaven, if you like Waffle Houses.

Jacksonville makes Tampa look like Paris!

Jacksonville has this one great thing, the TPC course with the island green on No. 17. (Which is actually in Ponte Vedra.) And the rest of it can be described with this phrase, "Welcome to Hooters."

KotOR 2…I mean 3!

The first Knights of the Old Republic 3 rumor is up from a supposedly reliable source called “The Hedgehog”.

Obsidian’s New Baby Jedi?? George and crew are most pleased with the initial performance of KOTOR, so pleased in fact that KOTOR 3 is well into development! This time however expect everything to be new and improved! An all new next-gen engine is being prepped as is a modified battle system that will place a heavier emphasis on the lightsaber. There are even whispers that the game may be shown in some form at E3 THIS year, though I’d expect it to be far from completion, perhaps nothing but a video!

The Hedgehog’s Take- Are we finally going to encounter the real Sith, or will we be stuck fighting cheap imitations again??

As much as some people would like to see Bioware come back to the franchise, that is not an option. Bioware has previously announced it will no longer work on licensed properties. If OE is given enough time to complete a new game they will do an excellent job. The fact that there might be a video at this year’s E3 isn’t a good start. I would hate to see KotOR 3 rushed as TSL was.

Cockboxing?

I could not flippin’ believe this when I saw it. Oklahoma, a state that took it’s own damned time banning the abhorrent practice of cockfighting (2002?!?), has an enterprising state Senator named Frank Shurden. The Democrat, described as a longtime defender of cockfighting, has proposed fitting tiny boxing gloves on the birds and starting up rooster boxing.

Yep… Boxing chickens.

My favorite part of this mess is Shurden repeatedly referring to cockfighting as an “industry”.

An industry that is still legal in Louisiana and New Mexico.

Just a Touch of Stability

My time as unemployed will be short. In fact, it will be non-existent. I have a new job. At least, I will. My last day at the Sunken Ship will be on Monday February 14. My first day at the hopefully buoyant ship will be… Monday February 14. Yep, they want me so bad I can’t take anything off. Whenever they release us (with severance packages in tow) from the old place, I head to the new one.

Now, what this means about any possible moves is up in the air. In fact, the third question they asked me in our marathon interview was, “Do you have any plans on relocating anytime soon?”

Ummmm…no, course I don’t.

Now, if the Missus’ interview went well and her parents can loan us some money….

Well, then it is a different story

A can't miss column on... columns?

Stephen Rodrick has a terrific piece in Slate on the continuing devolution of newspaper sports columnists. The villain is easy to see: the proliferation of shows like Around the Horn and I, Max. I agree with the author of this piece. While I love PTI, it's knockoffs merely seem like groups of shrieking retards.

Sometimes my wife is just… odd.

Times are stressful in the Frinklin house. This weekend we finally did the “Please-please-PUHLEEZE-give-us-money-for-a-house” bit with her parents. They’re thinking about it. The wife put in for a transfer up to Seattle. My job is 3 weeks away from dissolution. This morning I had to get up and go to an interview that turned into a marathon. I was in at 8:30 and they didn’t release me until damn near noon. Such fun that is. What was nice is that the office is close to Ensie’s, so we caught lunch together. It was a tough, long day for her too, and we’re both stressed about our rather liquid situation.

So, what does my wife do to relax after coming home?

Her taxes, what else? What better way to unwind than pouring over a 1040?

Ensie loves to do her taxes. I mean loves them. She starts looking forward to tax time in November. It’s like a continuation of her holiday season. She signed up for this thing at Bob’s Hogs and Wiener Pigs to get her W2 forms early. It arrived today and she was off to the races. Now that she’s done, she’s sitting down to a nice dinner of Fritos, onion dip and Hershey Kisses with Caramel. Lest I forget she has a magazine and two-half read books to keep her busy all at the same time.

I’m really worried that any future Little Frinklins are going to end up with both our quirks. We’ll end up with brainy, shy kid obsessed with video games and tax preparation that’s capable of reading three books at once while eating everything except real food.

The future can be scary.

Super Bowl XX-Whatever

Really, isn't the NFL's use of Roman Numerals the most pretentious thing in sports?

VS

We have the match up for Super Bowl XXXIX or 39 as we mortals would call it. The Philadelphia Eagles and the New England Patriots. For the fourth year in a row, we'll see two teams I actively dislike. Why? It's not so much the teams but the fans. The Eagles are from Philly and play in front of what can only be perversely termed fans. These people take great pride in the fact that Santa Claus was once booed off the stage in Veterans Stadium and that they actually cheered when Michael Irvin was feared to be paralyzed. The Patriots are the latest team whose fans act like they invented the damned game, much like Dallas Cowboy fans of the 70's and 90's and the 49ers in the 80's. If I have to see any further stories on Tom Brady and his aggressively Average Joe persona I make puke.

The King of Late Night

Johnny Carson passed away today at the age of 79. He was the host of The Tonight Show for thirty years, leaving an indelible mark on American culture. I know when I was a kid, getting to stay up late enough to watch Johnny's monolouge was proof I was growing up. An estimated 50 million people watched his farewell show in 1992.

Speaking of VH1

Yeah, I have been watching I Love the 90s, Part Deux this week. If you ever wondered what the Law of Diminishing Returns looked like, just watch this show. The first incarnation of this, I Love the 80s, was fun. I Love the 70s was too. I Love the 80s Strikes Back was not quite as good as the first but still fun. When we reached I Love the 90s, it seemed tired. Now at the 5th version of the same basic show, it is over. I made the point that it was too soon for 90s nostalgia and I was right. Aside from the first couple of years of the decade, we’re just too close to adequately mock this stuff.

The other problem is the format of the show. Between the deluge of “I Love the Whatevers”, the endless list shows, and Best Week Ever, VH1 has now officially drowned in its own snark. Everything about this show seems tired, especially the panels. How much more Mo Rocca and Michael Ian Black can you stand until your head explodes? Black seems to be in on the joke somewhat, and much of his funniest stuff is self-mocking. Rocca seems to be moving beyond unfunny into painfully unfunny. They made two nice additions in ESPN’s Sports Guy Bill Simmons and comedian Greg Giraldo, but neither are used that much. Speaking of new additions, when did the former Baby Spice get so hot?

Unless they want to do a sequel to I Love the 70s, I think this particular format is exhausted. This is a good thing.

How can you not want to watch this?

Steve Kelley does not like the idea of a Doug and Jackie Christie reality show.

What the hell is wrong with this man? He makes the point that the NBA is “reality” enough and anyone interested should watch the games.

Oh, shut up Steve. If it is still possible to be an NBA fan these days, it has to be at least partly due to what happens off the court. I mean, c’mon now, between Ron Artest and his Hulk-like temper to T-Mac and his private jet, the fun stuff happens off the court. And nothing is better than Doug Christie and his wife. Hand signals during games; her demand to travel on the team plane; Jackie going after Rick Fox during a preseason game; the Christies just rule.

I do not like reality shows. I haven’t watched Newlyweds since about halfway through the first season. I would not miss this show. It’s still in the development stages at VH1, and the Magic seem to be a little less tolerant to Jackie’s shenanigans than Sacramento was, but this needs to happen anyway.

Why Dogs are Necessary

No cat could ever do this.

McGrath redeems himself

After last week’s rather moronic column on Clemens and Franklin, John McGrath has a very strong piece on the foolishness of hyping college choices by football recruits. My favorite is this from Ohio State signee Maurice Wells ““I’m going to be a Buckeye,” the running back said, “because they showed me the most love.”

Considering the Bucks’ reputation these days one has to wonder just what kind of love he got.

Money?

Hookers?

Drugs?

A combination of all three?

Random Puppy Blogging

Between me and the Missus, most of our readers have seen the Jeffery. I've always wanted to put our other dog, the equally adorable (but seriously camera-shy) Matchbox up as well. You can see though, that no matter how cute he is, as soon as we bring out the camera he immediately acts like we're about to hit him with a tire iron.

Amateur Movie Review: In Good Company

For those unaware, this is the latest movie from Paul Weitz, the director of American Pie (the funny first one, not the increasingly awful sequels) and the delightful About a Boy. This stars Dennis Quaid as 51-year old Dan Foreman, the longtime head of advertising sales at the obviously SI-inspired Sports America. In the span of a day, Dan finds his life pitched upside down, as he faces a demotion at work, his 40-something wife is unexpectedly pregnant, and his eldest daughter Alex has decided to transfer to NYU and live in the city.

Dan’s new boss is Carter Duryea, 25 years younger and obsessed with the current corporate mantra of “synergy”. Carter, played by Topher Grace, is obviously talented but socially inept, and known primarily for his aggressive campaign to increase cell-phone use amongst toddlers. Carter is facing troubles as well; wrecking his trophy 911 as he exits the lot, and finding his wife is leaving him. He latches on to Dan as mentor and “wingman”. Dan acquiesces, more due to his troublesome home issues than any desire to work for this neophyte. From there the movie tracks the relationship between Dan and Carter, with the unexpected and secretive romance between Carter and Alex (a radiant Scarlet Johansson), and the continued problems at the magazine.

This movie really worked for me, on all its levels. The three leads are excellent. Grace, while initially purposefully lightweight, adds a depth to Carter as he is forced to fire longtime employees. The chemistry between he and Johansson is very natural, and she does a fine job portraying the college girl away from home for the first time. The dorm-room seduction scene is worth the price of a ticket alone. In Good Company also features a terrific supporting cast led by David Paymer as an aging salesman terrified of the firing line, Marge Helgenberger as Dan’s wife, and Malcolm McDowell’s turn as the comically malevolent Teddy Kay.

The movie belongs to Quaid though. He brings real feeling to the amiably jockish Dan. The emotional highlight of this movie is comes when Dan realizes that Alex and Carter are seeing each other. As he storms out of the restaurant, he cannot help but remind Alex they always promised to be honest with each other. Alex responds that she made that promise when she was five. Dan snaps back that he “liked you better when you were five.” The effect is instantaneous. Johansson looks stricken, Dan equally so. Neither can say anything. It is a perfect moment.

The movie is not perfect though. It is a little long, and drags at points. It also seems dated sometimes, as if it is a Michael J. Fox vehicle from 1987. The characters might be a little too nice at times. Even Carter, the shallow and supposedly heartless corporate-shark-in-training is eminently likable, and compulsively reveals his true feelings to Alex. The movie wraps a little too easily, and one has to wonder what this movie would have been with a director with more of a mean streak, like a Neil LaBute or Alexander Payne. Still, In Good Company is likable, funny and enjoyable, a movie well worth seeing.

I can live with this

Your Famous Blogger Twin is Wil Wheaton

You're a friendly, funny guy (or girl) next door With more than a touch of geekiness

Seen at Steve Silver's.

The Perils of getting my hair cut.

I got my hair cut today. As always, it’s an adventure. I don’t like to get my hair cut. I can’t really explain why. I just don’t. It’s one of those things I put off until the last possible minute. So I end up pretty shaggy sometimes.

This drives the Missus crazy.

Another problem between me and haircuts is a bit embarrassing: I’m not very good at it. When sitting in the big chair I screw up. Sure, I don’t need you to cut that part of my hair, go ahead and leave it long. Sure, go ahead and part it on the side, I’m sure that will look fine. Very seldom can I manage to get the haircut person to do what I want them too. Not that I have any idea what I want. I don’t know what looks good. Hell people, I’ve had both a rat-tail and a mullet in my lifetime.

Enter the Missus. She’s much better at getting my haircut for me. She convinced me to settle on a style. Short, but not too short. I have hair that is charitably described as “thinning”. This means I have nice full hair on the side of my head, while in the middle it looks like someone’s lawn that hasn’t been watered in about year: sparse and unhealthy.

My last haircut didn’t go well. My wife let me go alone and do it myself, and I was umm.. Conned into leaving a bit longer than usual. When I came home my wife agreed. It looked great, if I had a haircut 3 weeks ago. So this time I was set on getting it nice and short.

And now I look like a damned Marine. It’s very short. Short enough my wife began laughing at me when I came home.

I’ll need her to start coming with me again.

Hey McGrath! Shut Up!

I usually like John McGrath. I think he's as intelligent as any Seattle-area sportswriter, but this piece comparing Roger Clemens and Ryan Franklin (?!?!) is just ludicrous. The obsession with Franklin is approaching Bloomquist-like. Franklin is the epitome of the mediocre MLB pitcher. Please, enough with how much he's a "battler" or how "He's out there every fifth day".

Shut up...

This ain't Galatica 1980, now is it?

Wow...

We get back-to-back episodes to premiere the new Battlestar Galactica last night. One was brilliant, the other was merely excellent.

I was worried about a drop-off in quality from the mini to the ongoing. If anything these two episodes were better than the mini.

Bill has an excellent write-up on both, and throws in a mention of how lousy Enterprise was last night. I'll admit it, I've given up on that show.

Quiz Time

This seems about right.

Seen a couple of places, but finally linked to from MHKing.

Whoa...

The Hugyens lander has begun to transmit pictures of Saturn's moon Titan. And it's really, really cool. There is liquid on the surface-not water, but methane or ethane.

The Several Days Old Guilty Pleasures Meme

I'm a couple days late on this, but I first saw it at Bills. It's been just about everywhere else too.

CD I have in my car that I roll up the windows to listen to:
If the Bee Gee's "Tragedy" comes on at any time in my life, I will sing along.

Badly, but I will.

Book I read flat so no one could see the title:
I've read every Star Wars book (I refuse to call them novels). I've gotten to the point I have no shame about this.

Crappiest song ever sung at karaoke:
My only Karaoke try: America by Neil Diamond. Needless to say, there was alcohol involved.

Bad movie I watch repeatedly:
If any of the 11 Star Trek movies are on, even the bad ones like 1 or 5, I will watch it. I'll hit the "channel return" button if my wife comes in, but I can't hide it.

She knows. She always knows.

Article of clothing I love though I know it's wrong:
If you listen to my wife, everything I own that she didn't pick out lands in this category.

What I order at the bar when no one is listening:
Hmmm.. stopped drinking sometime ago (4 years, 4 months and 17 days ago to be exact), but when I did I tried really hard to be a manlier drinker than I am. I could stick to LIITs and White Russians, but I'd invariably end up with a Sex on the Beach or Buttery Nipple. Ya'll know how embarrassing it is to order that as a straight male?

Fast food item I adore:
God, where do I begin? The Carls Jr "Super Star with Cheese", while horrifyingly bad for you, is pretty damn tasty.

A TV show that is a good example of the downfall of civilization that I love anyway:
Blind Date is still the king of bad TV.

Hell, is it that time of year already?

We're over a month away from Pitchers and Catchers reporting, but ESPN has launched its Hot Stove Heaters series. Goodness... baseball again already? The missus will not be pleased.

They Call it the Baggage Handler

Now, I've seen some goofy public sculptures. I lived in Seattle, remember? Home of the Hammering Man? This sucker wins the prize though. It's the Naked Baggage Handler. Yep, naked guy with a bunch of luggage. When it was completed, the town was aghast at the nudity. To solve this, they conviced the scuplter to bolt a metal plate over the offending genetailia.

The Continuing Disintegration of my job

Well, now that we've cleaned out the place somewhat, the objective is to file everything away. Since we're in healthcare, just about every piece of paper in our archives is considered protected by federal guidelines. We need to take all this stuff, refile it and catalogue it as well.

You just can't imagine how much fun this is.

Right now on my desk you'll find a file box completely filled with documents from a Los Angeles-area hospital. I'm taking out each, individual document and noting the name, account number and general description on a spreadsheet. Then I put the damned thing back in the box. This is what I do all day.

ALL DAY.

According to the head of our clerical department, we have about 500,000 individual documents. Everyone in our office has become an overpaid data entry clerk.

We're getting steadily angrier about our fate. Tell me if this makes sense: We’ve hit our company goal for the past three months, and 7 out of the last 8. For December, the last month of actual collections, we're already at 115% of our goal. And we have about a week left to calculate. How stupid is our sales department? They couldn't get anyone to bite on that performance? Of course, I'm sure it doesn't have anything to do with our corporate masters relocating to Northern Virginia, now does it?

Damn you Northern Virginia. You and your business-friendly climate. Damn you all to hell.

The Giants? What??

SI came out with an unpdated Hot Stove League standings today. The Beloved M's check in the six spot, but what gets me is the 5th place team. The San Fransisco Giants? The team that signed the old Moises Alou and the Really Old Omar Vizquel? Seriously?

The Angels are listed as 7th, which should give Richard a laugh.

KotOR 2 Searchers

Cuz I'm still being inundated with Knights of the Old Republic 2 searches, my observations are here and sorta-FAQ is here. Also, some walkthroughs are up at GameFaqs, but I don't know how good they are.

If you have any questions, leave them here or at the other links, and I'll do my best to answer them.

Goddamnit!!

AAAAAAAAAAAAAUUUUUUUUUUUUUUGGGGGGHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Hey Mike Holmgren!

Just a couple minutes before the Seahawks-Rams playoff game, and I'd like to give the Frinklin's guranteed-win tip:

RUN THE DAMNED BALL!!

Thank you, and good luck.

Update @3:30 This is just about the longest game ever isn't it? So far it's pretty much what we expected, isn't it? The two teams are pretty even, but St. Louis seems a touch better. The D improved throughout the 2nd quarter. The offense doesn't seem to be clicking. I have a bit of hope for the 'Hawks, but not much.

If only they were this good at writing the damn movies!

The cover of Vanity Fair, featuring the cast of all six Star Wars movies.

The Frinklin Sell Out? Sure!

If you haven't heard yet, Grace Hill, the production company behind the upcoming In Good Company is giving away free tickets to bloggers willing to blog about the movie. I've already begun the sign-up process (and you can too by emailing info@gracehillmedia.com) and they're also giving away a free in-home screening to one lucky blogger willing to link to the official trailer.

I do need to mention that, while I'm always willing to sell out, I've been wanting to see this movie since I first heard about it.

Okay, now it seems real

There has been a certain sense of unreality at my work since the announcement that we were closing. Not anymore. Today was a profoundly depressing day, as we were unexpectedly ordered to clean out our desks. It came out of left field. As of last Thursday we were going to continue working our accounts until the beginning of February. That changes this morning, as the powers-that-be decided we would halt normal work and move directly into clean up and organization. So we spent today cleaning. There is something profoundly depressing about this, especially the giant stacks of old staplers and file folders. The powers are also keeping us in the dark about what this bump-up in the schedule means for us.

I was wrong before. This isn't fun, not at all.

The Hobbit House and the Possibility of Moving

God, it was good to be home.

I left Seattle almost 7 years ago now, and I am still stumped when anyone asks me why. I mean, I have no regrets about the move, and considering I met the Missus F down here, it certainly worked out well. Still, the Pacific Northwest is my home, and probably always will be. It started strange though, as we stayed at my Dad’s house (where I had never been before) in a place called Elk Plain (which is even more remote than it sounds, if possible). It took me several days to get my bearings. Plus we had to deal with the post-divorce split-family Christmas, which is never easy. Once we got past the holiday though, it turned into a wonderful time.

This was an important vacation to me, even beyond reconnecting with family. This was Ensie’s first visit up north, and I wanted her to like it. When I met her, she was adamant about not wanting to leave San Diego. I was okay with that. I like San Diego. It is difficult NOT to like San Diego. Recently though, with the dawning that we may never be able to own a home here, the Missus and I have been shopping around for a new home. I did not really consider Seattle at first, since it is nearly as difficult to buy a home in Seattle as it is in Southern California. Though I bounced around the PNW has a kid, from Renton to Bellingham to the Tri-Cities and Spokane as well, home to me as always been that stretch of Seattle and east King County between the I90 and 520 bridges. We would have the same luck buying a home in Kirkland as we would in Scripps Ranch. So, we thought about Ann Arbor (more work-related than anything), Albuquerque and Santa Fe, Boise (much nicer than you would think), Salt Lake City (immediately shot down by the Missus), and the wilds of Colorado. The last is where the Frinklin In-Laws will eventually settle.

My Dad had a different idea.

Tacoma.

My first thought to that was my father is apparently crazy. Tacoma? Oakland to Seattle’s San Francisco? The ugly, industrial city infamous for its aroma and rampant crime? Are you insane?

No, it’s not like that anymore, he told me. The city is in the midst of a renaissance. It’s Seattle just before the LA/Orange County-inspired suburban onslaught of the late-80’s. Money has been pouring into downtown; they have rebuilt the area on Commencement Bay and the Thea Foss Waterway. A new convention center, two new art museums and innumerable restaurants and clubs he told me. Moreover, it is still affordable. Get in on the ground floor, be part of the gentrification. So, the Missus and I took a look on various real estate sites on the Net. We checked out Tacoma’s tourism site. It certainly looks nicer than it did. The houses are cute, and really what we’re looking for. Neither Ensie nor I are much into newer houses. We love character. Meaning we love old houses. If we were at a stage where money was not an object, she would want a home in Mission Hills of San Diego, while I would head for a restored Victorian up on Queen Anne in Seattle.

Obviously then, one of the main reasons for our recent vacation was to check out T-town. We looked at houses one morning, but weren’t really impressed with anything. The most promising to me was cute, but had suffered through a horrific mid-80’s renovation and looked much like a bachelor apartment from 1985, especially in the kitchen. The most promising to Ensie was cute, but small, and (to me anyway) somewhat dumpy. It turned out that one had water problems and could have fallen over at any time.

That afternoon we were discouraged. We headed out to Mt. Rainier and recharged. That night, my Dad found a new house for us to check out. Ensie thought it was promising, and it was empty, so we could visit at night. We headed out there, and our first impression was how incredibly cute it was.

Also, how incredibly small it was. I mean, really… it was adorable. Old, recently renovated, and full of cute little details forgotten in today’s houses. It was also about the size of the most recent Barbie Dream House. It is also spaced a little oddly. The walls upstairs curve in drastically. The house had an almost organic feel to it, and coupled with its size that made it The Hobbit House. It was not a stretch between this place and Bag End. It is listed as a three-bedroom, but it is closer to one and a couple pieces of bedroom. We loved it though, especially the renovated kitchen. It was in good shape, with a new furnace and water heater. It was in our price range too.

We didn’t put an offer down. We considered it. A lot. In the end though, we decided the Hobbit House probably is not for us. It did rekindle our interest though, and the next morning Ensie and I went exploring Tacoma. I was shocked. My Dad was right. The city has poured a lot of money and effort into improving. The downtown was terrific, exactly as Dad had described it.

Now what?

We’re still looking… Dad sends us his info on recent listings every day. In fact, we found one on Friday we really liked. Dad checked it out and found it was only three doors from a dog park. The Missus and I find ourselves in a weird limbo right now. We want to move, but we haven’t really decided. Combine that with my time running out on the job and… well, you have a lot of uncertainly.

And a lot of opportunity. It will be interesting.

To us, I mean.

Dear Oklahoma

Shut Up

That goes for Auburn, LSU and anyone else listening.

Goodness... is there anyone out there who doesn't understand that USC is the best team in college football?

Was this game over at 14-7 or 21-7?

Last of the Bowls tonight

Should be a good one, as #1 USC takes on #2 Oklahoma in the Orange Bowl.

I'll be rooting for Souther.... Southern Caaaa.... Southern Calll....

Gack!

I can't even say it.

Unlucky 15

The SuperSonics just snapped Miami's 14-game winning streak, and did it in Miami.

Hell, is this team for real?

Nawwww....

Just when you wonder how nasty people can get

Bill McCabe, the tainted one, points me to this... this... I dunno. It's so evil I can't even describe it.

Cuz everybody knows, Jesus was ALL about hating people.

I need to go take a shower now.

Good News/Bad News

So, the Seahawks backed themselves into playoffs yesterday. Other than the hapless Vikings, who lost their way in, I can't think of a team that looks less impressive than this one. Yeah, everybody is celebrating the division championship, and the fact they managed to finish with an actual winning record, but c'mon... do playoff teams have to hang on against a rookie QB in the last second of the game? Really, how lucky were the Seahawks that Atlanta made such a lousy call on the two-point conversion? Warrick Dunn ran right into the Seahawk D. If he busts it outside he probably makes it, since this team is starting the slowest linebackers in the game right now.

Can you tell how much I love this team right now?

So, we get a playoff game next weekend, against our old friends the St. Louis Rams. The Rams, who have looked as ugly as the 'Hawks have much of the year, unfortunately just own Seattle.

The Angels....seriously?

Well, after much speculation, the Angels today announced a name change. Say Hello to the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim.

Just rolls off the tongue, don't it?

So, does Arte Moreno really think that people in the SFV and Santa Monica will wake up this morning and say, "Dude... the Angels are MY team now!"

If he does, then it makes one wonder how someone who's made so much money can be so dumb. Disney had the right idea: It isn't LA's team, or California's team. It's the Orange County's team. If you must change the name, change Anaheim to Orange County. Play on the wierd inferiority/superiority complex the OC has toward Los Angeles, don't add to it. This is a stupid, unneeded move that will be laughed at nationally.

I figure this will be forgotten within a couple years.

Whoa Nellie Indeed!

I dare you to find three more exciting sporting events, at any level, in a 24 hour period. The Liberty Bowl, Capital One Bowl, and Rose Bowl all rank among the best bowl games I've ever seen.

Happy 2005 Everybody

Happy New Year everyone. Stay safe, have fun, and remember, New Years Day is the more important of the two. I do miss the old days though, when we had the Rose, Sugar, Orange and Fiesta all on the same day.