College Football

I'm not a big football fan. In fact, I don't have a favorite team. I'm one of those people that likes to watch a good game and I could care less who is playing. But I went over to a friend's house yesterday and watched the KSU vs UT game. Which of course means that throughout the game they were giving updates on the other college games happening that day...and my god, it was like upset city:

CU (unranked) beat Oklahoma (#3) by 3 points off of a field goal kicked in the last few seconds of the game.

Kansas State (unranked) beat UT (#7) by 21 points.

Auburn (unranked) beat Florida U(#4) by 3 points...again off of a field goal kicked in the last few seconds of the game.

Illinois (unranked) beat Penn State (#21) 27-20.

Maryland (unranked) beat Rutgers (#10) 34-24

Georgia Tech (unranked) beat Clemson (#13) 13-3 (and Clemson's 3 points came from a field goal in the first quarter)

Florida State (unranked) beat Alabama (#22) 21-14

South Florida (#18) beat West Virginia (#5) 21-13

And as far as blowouts go, Texas Tech beat Northwestern by 68 points. And Arkansas beat North Texas by 59 points.

Fall Lineup Reviews

Chuck (NBC Mondays 7pm): A good show for the techgeek set. Now then, if only they'd get rid of the crappy action scenes. Though, I will say that I found them intentionally campy...much like a bunch of the stuff in Scrubs. So in other words, if a show KNOWS that it is campy, and embraces it, then is it really that much of a bad thing? I say no.
Status: Recording

Heroes (NBC Mondays 8pm): A decent first epi for a smash hit. It wasn't great, but it did do its job--(re)introduce you to the main characters so if you didn't watch last season, you can start this season and not really be that far behind (hell, we've saved the cheerleader, saved the world, and determined if we were on the list, plus we stopped an exploding man...but that all happened last season, and we shall never speak of it again).
Status: Recording

Journeyman (NBC Mondays 9pm): We didn't record this show (mostly because I thought it looked REALLY stoopid), but we watched it at Jamie's house. And for the first 48 minutes of the show I thought it was REALLY stoopid. But then the last 12 minutes made me want to give it another chance...so maybe we'll watch it again. Besides, it's just so darn fun to laugh at it. Basically, the synopsis is "An updated version of Quantum Leap--only the guy is always himself instead of different people."
Status: Not Recording, but will watch if it's on the boob tube.

How I Met Your Mother (CBS Mondays 7pm): Oh my holy hell this show is awesome. Also, they have brought back the Slap Bet... You know, the Slap Bet Commissioner was probably one of the best episodes last season so I'm glad to see that they are carrying through with it in a spate of continuity.
Status: Recording.

Big Bang (CBS Mondays 730pm): Very meh. The guys do well as acting like hopeless nerds who are trying to get in the hot neighbor's pants. But as I said...very meh.
Status: Recording and watching 2 more epis before decision. I bet this gets canceled though

Two and a Half Men (CBS Mondays 8pm): I thought the show needed much more Bertha and Rose. Also, it seemed that Charlie was written in a way that wasn't consistent with last season. Still, it's good for a few laughs.
Status: Recording

The Rules of Engagement (CBS Mondays 830pm): I like David Spade, I really do...so why must he be in mediocre shows? Still, good enough for me...Spade plays so well off of Oliver Hudson that it's worth watching.
Status: Recording

CSI: Miami (CBS Mondays 9pm): Oh my holy hell this has got to win the award for "editing guy had too much to drink before work...again". I swear I should time how much of the show actually is show and how much is filler. David Caruso's scenes will be considered filler. We have agreed that we will watch 2 more episodes this season and if it doesn't get better, it's cut.
Status: Recording...for now

New Amsterdam (Fox ?): ummm...I haven't seen this show on the listings...did it get canceled before it even aired or is it supposed to be a mid season show? I don't know...but I still want to watch an epi.
Status: Indeterminate

Beauty and the Geek (CW Tuesdays 7pm): I'm happy that this show was moved up an hour. That way it doesn't compete as directly with the big hits. So far so good, there's annoying geeks, there are sweet geeks, and there's a guy "beauty" and a girl "geek". This twist? Not as hot as the producers think it is. Especially since the guy beauty and one of the girl beauties hooks up...isn't that the point of the show? to get the people away from the normal types they hang out with? I'm so confused. This would have been a much better show if they just totally changed it with guy 'beauties' and girl 'geeks'.
Status: Recording

House (Fox Tuesdays 8pm): Yay for Hugh Laurie, Sean Robert Leonard and Lisa Edelstein!
Status: Recording

Back to You (Fox Wednesdays 7pm): Honestly, we never watched it. We decided that it just looked too blase'.
Status: Not Recording

Criminal Minds (CBS Wednesdays 8pm): Mandy Patinkin has left the show. The pilot for this season (which was supposed to air last season but didn't) had to have extra scenes added to set up for the Patink offing himself in the show (though that's not confirmed yet...they just IMPLIED it at the end of the pilot).
Status: Recording

CSI: NY (CBS Wednesdays 9pm): I really do like this show so much better than CSI Miami. I really, really do. This episode was well acted, and decently written...but I dislike it when I figure it out when they first introduce a character. That is only allowed to happen with Criminal Minds, CBS!
Status: Recording

Pushing Daisies (ABC Wednesdays 7pm): We didn't get to watch the pilot for this show because they put in on a different night (why the hell do networks do that? why would you air the pilot on a different night than the show is actually going to air--I mean, I understand the concept--you want a big lead in from one of your blockbusters, but really, how many of those people are actually going to clear time from their schedule to watch this show on a different night?) I've set up the MythTV to record an episode of it this week, so we'll see how it is.
Status: Indeterminate

Kitchen Nightmares (Fox Wednesdays 8pm): Ah, to hear Gordon Ramsay tell people that they are donkeys is music to my ears.
Status: Recording

Survivor China (CBS Thursdays 7pm): Sigh...see my earlier Rant about reality show contestants. Still, we'll watch for the betrayal and the stupidity. What fun is Thursday night if you can't spend it yelling at the idjits on your TV?
Status: Recording

CSI (CBS Thursdays 8pm): Ah, normal CSI, How I have missed you over the summer hiatus! Also, they have added Langham to the lineup (wee!!!).
Status: Recording

The Office (NBC Thursdays 8pm): It's the Office. Need I say more?
Status: Recording

Moonlight (CBS Friday 8pm): Hmm...This is like Buffy the Vampire Slayer (the TV show)...but worse...actually, it's more like Buffy when it was close to being canned. Yep. I give this show 6 episodes tops. This is one of those shows that's so bad you want to get smashed and watch it...just to make fun of it.
Status: Not Recording

Reality TV

At work the other day, Pam and I were talking about what idiots the people are that go on Survivor. If not for any other reason than they actually believe the production crew when they say "The game starts tomorrow. Please be aware that we will be taking a group photo later today, so wear whatever you want, but remember, we want you to look nice." That is just idiocy. Do you not instinctively know that the production team is there to screw with you and they are to be trusted as much as a politician?

As such, this is the list of stuff you should wear on the plane, on the boat, to all meetings with anyone that has anything to do with Survivor:
-Cargo pants/shorts. If you cannot decide, get the type that zip off at the knee.
-A T-shirt. You may opt for the 'fast wicking' type, but what's the point as this will be the only shirt you wear for the next 39 days.
-If you are a girl, a good sports bra.
-Underwear. Always wear underwear. Actually, if you're comfortable with wearing two layers of underwear, do so. You will be glad in the end.
-Wool socks...at the very least, socks...If you wish to forgo socks, always wear some form of "sport sandal". Crocs do not count.
-Good athletic shoes...of course, you may not want to go out and buy a brand new pair of shoes, as after this, you will never wear them again...but still, athletic shoes of some sort are a must. (This also seems to be the one item they will give you after the game has started, so you do not always have to have these on your person).
-A wool sweater...you can tie it around your shoulders or waist if need be. If you do not want to take a wool sweater, then do the same thing with some sort of lightweight jacket.

Also, for the love of God, learn how to start a fire without using aids. At the very least, learn how to start a fire using flint.

Deep Thoughts

Sorry, another Dog Rant coming up.

I recently joined a breed specific rescue group (I walk dogs boarded at the Vet clinic on Saturday mornings). One of the email posts we recently got was about 6 dogs (of a specific breed) at a shelter and "they need our help right now because they are at a kill shelter!" and I think to myself "what makes these ones more important?"

I also have heard stories of the Katrina Disaster and the breed specific rescue groups were basically told "sure, you can have these 5 whatevers, but you have to take these 3 other mutts" and a bunch of the groups thought this was unfair. And again I ask myself "what makes one breed any better than another?"

I have heard stories from the foster families of the rescue group who have had to pass off certain dogs because they didn't get along with everyone in the family (whether it's children or other dogs or the husband or whatever). And I just think "wow, this family could have spent their time fostering a different dog of a different breed with better results, but instead of saving the little mutt on doggie death row who is a really good dog and gets along with everyone he meets, they instead had to waste their time fostering a dog that ended up starting fights with the other dogs in the house and ultimately had to be put down because of wounds (from said fights). Yeah, this breed specific thing makes perfect sense."

Of course, at the same time, every time a breed specific rescue group comes and picks up a dog from a shelter, that obviously opens a kennel for a different dog, so they do help, but still, I think we need more dog rescue groups...especially groups that don't care about which breed, and just care about the personality.

Google searches that resulted in people visiting my blog

That's right...I got a sitemeter counter...which isn't all that spectacular. BUT. It does tell me when people visit my site because of a Google Search Engine hit.

So, here are the most recent search strings:
1. fat ones skinny ones
-This returned my picture of the snake I saw last year while doing creek inspections.

2. biggest sac in the wac
-This returned my transcribed e-mail conversation with Dana

3. bladder infection call in sick
-This returns my fear of doctor's offices. Also, what the hell are the Canadians doing, what type of crazy ass string of words is this? I think I'm going to Google "Cat pop-sickle stick" and see what comes back.
By the way, "Cat pop-sickle stick" returns this.

4. Zenni Optical Review
Okay, I don't think I wrote a review, just that I got glasses from them. So, here's a mini-review: I like them, they're cheap, and they're what you would expect. My only complaint was that they said they would email me when they shipped the glasses, and they never did. So, it ended up being a nice surprise when my glasses did arrive. They do give you a hard glasses case with lens cloth for each pair of glasses. So now, I have lens cloths out the wazoo. So, would I recommend them? Absolutely. I will have to remember to write an ACTUAL blog about this with pictures to facilitate this.

5. Baby Yam
-HAHAHAHA, someone in Singapore actually Googled "Baby Yam". This search apparently gives you recipes on how to make baby food yourself.

6. bedframe "two and a half men"
-At first I was like "uhhhh..." but I now figure that it's more like someone was watching the show and saw a bed frame they liked so they tried to figure out where they could get it. Also, I cannot find anywhere on that page that links to my blog. Google screwed up. How's your Algorithm now?

7. Katina Butler
- User located in Parker, Colorado...Um...yeah. Thanks Dad.

8. The Ambitious Mrs.
-The funny thing about this one is that the searcher apparently didn't bother to look in my blog links...otherwise they would have seen that I link to her blog (there was no outclick--which usually means the browser was just closed, I think). Oddly, I think this was her mom and/or dad...

9. Spreng Bling Bling
-Once again, I can't see where my page is linked (see #6)...but once again, I do link to this blog on my Links list to the right. The searcher didn't see that apparently as their out-page was a comment page...which doesn't mean they didn't see the link AFTER going to the comment page, but still, I like to pretend the interwebs isn't very bright sometimes.

le sigh

so the other day one of my coworkers asked me if two of the other workers were dating. I told the truth. I don't know. It seems no one knows. It seems they don't even know. But I digress. Anyhow, said coworker then asked if they ever WERE dating, and I told the truth, once again, in so much as "he wanted to, she didn't" and then the dreaded story of how it became known that she didn't want to. Coworker lady was wondering because the guy has been acting "down" and so she just wanted to know if there was anything major going on. And, I honestly believe that she DOES want to know because she acts like a mother to some of us and she is concerned...but then, I'm sure I'll be told that no, she's an evil, evil wench lady and I'm a biyotch for ever fraternizin' with the enemy. Blah. Besides...is it really 'ratting out' if it's something that happened 6 months ago and quite a few of the people at work already know about it? If anything, I figured it'd make bosslady more sympathetic and less likely to get angry at my coworker who I like lots and don't want him to leave because then work would be sad...besides, if he's happy, then there's less of a chance of the rest of us ending up dead.

clear as mud?

And the Peasants do Not rejoice...

Sigh. Bob was called by USAA today. They said they've decided that they weren't going to hire anyone for any of the positions he interviewed for. I think they may mean that for one of the positions, but all four? that seems a bit much to swallow without a bag of salt. Sigh.

I like Surfing

..Surfing the 'net that is. I was reading MSN's recap crap about last night's Emmy Awards. And one of their things is pictures of the stars on the red carpet. Now then, these aren't nearly as fun as the "undressed" part which I'm sure they'll do in about a week. But still...I found these a little odd...

Okay...Is her dress SUPPOSED to do that? or is this a "Gosh, I don't want to get in trouble like Janet did at the Superbowl, I better wear a sparkly bra just to be on the safe side" thing?





















I can only assume that Hayden is trying to sneak fellow "Heroes" star, James Kyson Lee (Ando), into the auditorium under her massive dress as it appears Kristin Bell (better known as Veronica Mars) has taken his place by Hiro's side. (or maybe it's just because as soon as her show went down the drain, she signed on to do a few epi's of Heroes...word is her character is similar to Mr. Bennet's--as in you don't know if she's good or bad until the end of the season). [Aside] Also, last night one of the presenters was Joe Mantegna (who?), and he was introduced as the 'star of Criminal Minds'. This rightfully freaked me out because we all know that this Joe Mantegna person is decidedly NOT on Criminal Minds. So a search on TWoP was in order and apparently Mandy Patinkin quit the show. QUIT! DAMMIT! [/Aside]





Pictures taken from MSN website...so credit goes to the AP for Paula's picture and to Wireimage.com for Hayden's.

Oh my God...

We just put a hold on a 2008 Honda Fit (Vivid Blue Sport 5-speed manual). Should be arriving the first or second week in October. Happy Birthday to Us!

Not mine, but close!

We drove it around the neighborhood by the dealership and I drove around in the bowling alley parking lot a bunch (problem of course with this is that I never got out of 2nd gear...but I guess if you can switch into one gear you can switch into them all). The salesguy was the one that suggested the parking lot--though he did concur with Shawn that if I can get the car going without stalling out, then I can drive it, but it's more that I just don't trust myself in traffic.

When we got back to the dealership we played around with the seats a bunch. I swear you could do all the configurations using just one hand if need be. Which I pointed out would be super handy if you were carrying something you didn't want to put down...like a kid (hey man, if they don't have leashes attached to them, what's to prevent them from running out into traffic?).

The shifting is very nice and very smooth, and driving it is completely different than driving Shawn's truck...like I couldn't find the point where you're stepping on the clutch and the gas and the car is resting, just about to go (handy for stopping on those hills and whatnot). But I'm sure it's because I can hear it when I'm in the truck (yay for diesels!), but I couldn't hear it in the Fit...but at the same time, the Fit has a tachometer and the truck doesn't. And I would shift faithfully when it hit 2500 rpms. Shawn was pushing it further than that...he claims I drive like a grandma. Whatever, I'll get better gas mileage, ass.

One of the nicest things about the Fit is that since it doesn't come with a bunch of options there's not a whole lot for the salesguy to try to sell you. Thus they don't seem to try. The only thing he did try to sell us on was financing, but Shawn held firm and said we were going to go through Capital One because it was a better deal. The dealer could offer financing in the 'low 6% range', but Shawn already knew he could get 5.99% from CapOne, so we told the guy we'd get our own financing.

Overall, I'm pleased with our car shopping experience and I highly recommend Al at First Texas Honda.

Also, I saw Steve Sun there...but I didn't get to talk to him. It was funny, we were just coming back from our test drive, and I noticed him standing next to my car (that is, between his car and my car) and looking around like he was looking for someone. Shawn asked if it was possible that he was looking for me since he'd look at the car, then look at all the people walking by, walk a little ways away, look at the license plate, look around at the people, rinse, repeat. I said it was possible, but I didn't know how many people at work really knew my car (which, isn't necessarily true because I know a bunch of people know what my car is--and how many green saturns with a license plate that starts with 666 can there be?). By the time we had parked the Fit and played with all the seats, though, Steve was gone.

I'm sorry

But I just think the darth vader costume is hysterical...

Also...

The neighbor's cat has disappeared. He is a long haired black and white cat (tuxedo, but with quite a bit of white and a pink nose). He meows a lot. And is de-clawed in the front. Also, he bites. We call him "Figacat." The neighbor-lady came by yesterday to ask when we last saw him...so he's obviously missing. Damn.

Nothing in particular

I watched the Britney Spears VMA performance the other night (it's almost like MTV wants people to talk about it since they put it up on their website). I swear I watched through laced fingers over my eyes and kept saying "oh, that poor girl..." But then I comfort myself by remembering that she went out later and probably flashed her lady bits to the paparazzi...which is precisely what happens when you wear a mini-skirt and no underwear.

Speaking of no underwear, the sorority intern has left (okay, she left a long time ago), and I'm sure it was a sad, sad day for all the guys I work with.

Also, I would like to warn everyone who actually did read David's blog to know that his wife isn't as mean as he makes her out to be...unless she's very Dr. Jekyll, Mr. Hyde. Which, I guess could be the case...I mean, she did tell us that she broke her cell phone because she threw it at the wall she was so angry once. But I swear that was a one time thing. And if you met Bond, you'd know what I was talking about.

Yesterday, my supervisor informed me that one of the customers I've been working with over the last week says that I don't know what I'm doing. Said customer then went on to insult my supervisor as well. Not very smart. See if we help you next time you have a question about the models--maybe I'll just play the "but I'm a girl!!! my brain's too small! I don't understand! I need to go get a pedicure and a purse dog. L8r!" card and my supervisor will play the "I don't speak English" card. And then where will you be Mr. I-don't-have-a-brain? This is about as smart as telling your waiter that he's horrible and you're not giving him a tip. Utterly stupid.

I also went and hung out with Miss Sarah and Yam for about 2 hours. Basically I sat on my ass and talked to Miss Sarah while she actually did things like laundry and feed and change the baby. She claims that she just likes having someone to talk to who doesn't crap their pants. My response, naturally, is "how does she know I DON'T crap my pants?"

New Glasses!

Yay for new glasses! The new photo is of the glasses I got from the eye doctor. I also bought three pairs of cheapo-glasses from Zenni Optical (2 sunglasses and 1 normal). Man, I should be able to color coordinate now!

Also, I think everyone should read David's blog because it's freaking hysterical...but then, at the same time, you may have to be signed into MySpace to do it. I'm not sure.

And, Shawn and I have been invited to a birthday party for a 1-year-old...what do you get a 1-year-old? A toy that comes in a really cool box because we all know that toddlers like the boxes better than the toys?

Working for the Weekend

Sigh. My poor little car has re-commenced its slow painful death.

Yesterday Shawn and I went down to San Antonio, and as we reached I35 and 51st street (in Austin), the check engine light came back on, so Shawn exited the highway and we pulled into a gas station and turned off the car...though as Shawn says, for the last bit there we were literally coasting as the car had completely stalled out. We filled the car with gas (as we needed gas anyway) and turned it back on. It started fine (well, it did the same thing as last time where it revved the engine at a high RPM for a bit before settling back down). We pulled out on the frontage road and began to figure out where we were supposed to go to get back on to I35 southbound. We got to a stop light and the car just died. There didn't seem to be any warning, but Shawn knew it was dying right before it actually did. I quickly threw the car into park (see...this is what happens when you drive stick all the time, you forget things like 'cars must be in park BEFORE starting the car, and the car will not turn off unless you're in park'), and he restarted it before the light turned green. We didn't have any other problems on the way to San Antonio, nor on the way back. But still, it's obnoxious when your car just up and dies on you and it seems to be a completely random thing because it was fine for a month and then it goes and dies on us 2 times within 10 minutes, but then afterward it's fine again...yeah, something is probably really wrong....and the bigger problem is that neither of us wants to spend a ton of money to fix up the car because it's pretty much on its last legs anyhow with the transmission and engine. So I think Shawn wanted to check the spark plugs and fuel filter/put in some fuel injector cleaner to see if that helps any. [Update: Shawn has decided after searching the net that there is probably nothing wrong with the spark plugs...and the fuel system was completely cleaned out exactly a year ago, so he's decided that it just means we gotta get a new car]

You may ask why it was that we were so gung-ho to get down to San Antonio. And the answer would be that we had to get down there because Shawn's parents were in town for an interview (okay, Bob was really the one down in SA for the interview, Elsie was just along for the ride). Because of the car problems, and the fact that San Antonio is like 90 miles away, we got there at about 1 pm. We then went with the 'rents to go look at model homes (as there's a very good chance that they will be moving down here). The funniest part was listening to Elsie talk to the sales people (as we went to 'new' subdivisions)--at one of them she said that she and Bob were currently living in a Victorian house built in the 80's. Shawn and I are pretty sure that the saleslady thought they were talking about the 1880's, and this explains why she was questioning why they were only wanting to look at the model houses in the $150K range. We also went to Del Webb's Hill Country Retreat ('The Llano' is pictured to the left) which is a community for "people 55 or better." The salesman was very nice, but it's obvious he is a salesman. The houses were very nice...as in, I wouldn't mind living in one. Of course, they come with a price attached--as in the mid-range houses are about $225K and of course there's the $100 a month in home owner's fees to maintain the entrance to the community, and use of the amenity center. And the amenity center isn't even open yet, nor are there plans to put in a golf course. Plus, you don't get a lot of options with the houses, basically, what you see is what you get, so if you get the mid-range house, you get Corian Countertops, but you can't upgrade to granite. Also, Elsie is very concerned (and I'm sure Bob is too) about having mature trees in their yard (either front or back)...of course, I would figure that if you wanted mature trees, you wouldn't be looking at a new subdivision...even if Texas developers are gung-ho about leaving live oak trees in the ground if they can. Also, it seems that they are looking for something in a cul-de-sac with a green belt behind (very similar to their current house)...But it's quickly becoming "Beggars can't be Choosers" I would think.

I went to a party on Friday night at the Ambitious Mrs. father-in-law's house. That was fun, I got to meet the newest member of their family, plus I got to hang out with the Venezuelan and Ma-Belle, and Miss Sarah and Yam...ah, babies are so much fun when they aren't your own. :) (the picture above is of Miss Sarah and the Ambitious Mrs. taking pictures of their respective children and the child of one of Sarah's co-workers.)