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[Oct. 6th, 2008|01:21 pm] |
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I think my 401(k) is turning into a 50(b)... |
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| Under 90 and Over 9000 |
[Oct. 6th, 2008|01:13 pm] |
| [ | mood |
| |  disgusted | ] |
A barrel of oil is now just under $90. ($89.10 right now.)
The Dow Jones Industrial Average is Over 9000 (tm Brian Drummond / Terry Klassen) -- but Under 10,000. (9785 right now.)
And "The fundamentals of our economy are strong"??
Okay.... |
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[Oct. 6th, 2008|06:57 am] |
Christa and I went to Kings Island for the last rollercoastering of the season. All year, she's been unfortunately falling to queasiness early in the day; this time, I joined her in that respect. We knocked out seven rides on seven coasters in less than three hours (thanks to a ridiculously small crowd, given the outstanding weather and a late start for the hometown team), but I felt like I was just gtting banged around more on most of them, and the thrill was just missing on the others. I can only hope that the fault lies in maintenance and not on me getting too old for this kind of thing - especiall with Diamondback coming together nicely (took some track photos, but the camer'as still in the car. And they may well not be very good photos, so if you never hear me speak of this again, that's why).
After that, over to Jungle Jim's for an $82 afternoon of food, drink and fun. I think I only spent about $50 of that. Bought some ground ostrich and duck sausage for the next cookout and lots of their outstanding pretzel bread. Nothing too crazy on the beverage side, but Canfield's Diet Chocolate Fudge Soda merited a 6-pack purchase. and I couldn't pass up Dr. Pepper straight from the Dublin, TX plant with cane sugar. Also, from the Brit section, I snagged a bg of Walker's potato chips with Marmite flavour. They're not really as bad as that would lead you to believe. |
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| Complete 2009 Schedule!!!!! |
[Oct. 5th, 2008|09:11 pm] |
| [ | mood |
| |  excited | ] |
We plan to get to at least 4-5 games, preferably against that other team on the other side of the mountains.
Complete Reno Aces 2009 Schedule:
April 9-12 @ Salt Lake City
April 13-16 @ Colorado
April 17-20 vs. Salt Lake City
April 21-23 vs. Colorado
April 25-29 @ Fresno
April 30-May 3 vs. Portland
May 4-7 @ Sacramento
Map 8-11 vs. Fresno
May 12-15 @ Nashville
May 16-19 @ Memphis
May 21-24 vs. New Orleans
May 25-28 vs. Oklahoma City
May 29-June 1 @ Salt Lake City
June 2-5 @ Tacoma
June 6-9 @ Portland
June 11-14 vs. Salt Lake City
June 15-17 vs. Las Vegas
June 18-21 @ Tacoma
June 23-26 @ Portland
June 27-30 vs. Tacoma
July 1-3 @ Las Vegas
July 4-7 vs. Sacramento
July 8-12 vs. Las Vegas
July 16-19 @ Sacramento
July 20-23 vs. Portland
July 24-27 @ Fresno
July 28-31 vs. Tacoma
August 1-4 vs. Colorado
August 5-8 @ Iowa
August 9-12 @ Omaha
August 14-18 vs. Round Rock
August 18-21 vs. Albuquerque
August 22-25 @ Colorado
August 26-30 @ Las Vegas
August 31-September 3 vs. Sacramento
September 4-7 vs. Fresno |
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| Nightly Twittering |
[Oct. 6th, 2008|12:18 am] |
The following are my random thoughts and such during the past 24 hours ...
The preceding was made possible by LoudTwitter and BeTwittered (for your iGoogle homepage). |
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| Six months to go |
[Oct. 5th, 2008|09:04 pm] |
| [ | mood |
| | excited | ] |
Home opener:
April 17, vs. Salt Lake City. They'll be playing the first eight games on the road to allow time for the stadium to be finished. It'll still be 25 degrees that day, though.
I'd love to be there. |
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| I don't remember the last time this happened . . . |
[Oct. 5th, 2008|09:04 pm] |
4-1!!! |
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| Clip o' the Day! |
[Oct. 5th, 2008|09:32 pm] |
From last night's Saturday Night Live, and not the obvious clip.
Don't show this to the kiddies -- they'd be so bummed!
UPDATE: Apparently it's not embedding; here's the link.
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| Register to vote! |
[Oct. 5th, 2008|12:24 pm] |
| [ | mood |
| |  busy | ] |
![[info]](http://p-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif) kirbopher's friends Marc and Chris posted this yesterday on YouTube. It's a good reminder to you out there to register to vote soon -- today, if at all possible!
Virginia residents -- you have until TOMORROW to register to vote.
North Carolina residents -- you have until THIS FRIDAY to register to vote.
Many states have tomorrow or this Tuesday as the registration deadline. Check rockthevote.com/electioncenter for all the deadlines.
And if you are already registered to vote, thanks! And remember to VOTE ON NOVEMBER 4. |
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[Oct. 5th, 2008|06:41 am] |
Can someone recommend to me some good video editing software that's:
1) Cheap if not free,
2) Not a resource hog like the programs they sell at Circuit City, and
3) Not Windows Movie Maker, which can't do half the things I need it to?
EDIT: Corel is offering Ulead's VideoStudio (the program I did The Time Bomb on) for $40. Looks like we have a winner. |
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| So What's Worse? |
[Oct. 5th, 2008|07:57 am] |
| [ | music |
| | Allman Brothers, "Revival (Love Is Everywhere)" | ] |
A. Collapsing in the last three weeks of the season and dropping from leading the division to out of the playoffs altogether -- two years in a row (2007 and 2008 New York Mets)
B. Winning the division and then playing horribly and getting swept in the first round of the playoffs -- two years in a row (2007 and 2008 Chicago Cubs)
Remind me again why I've chosen these two teams? Oh, well, wait until next year. I can still root for Milwaukee, the White Sox, and the Red Sox for awhile. (There are going to be a lot of pissed-off fans here in Chicago if the White Sox lose today too. Not to mention all the retailers who stocked up on White Sox and Cubs stuff, now heading toward the $1.99 racks.) |
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[Oct. 4th, 2008|08:40 pm] |
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Oof. We're full. Not as good as Cafe Laguardia in Chicago but good enough to come back! |
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| Oh, Shut Up |
[Oct. 4th, 2008|07:42 pm] |
Now that Sarah Palin's made it through her debate without making any serious mistakes, she's apparently allowed to say anything she wants.
Palin: Obama "palling around" with terrorists
This is a crock of it, and I hope McCain pulls back -- but somehow I doubt it. Just remember, Sarah, here's how your "victory" is perceived:
 |
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[Oct. 4th, 2008|06:25 pm] |
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Dinner at Wapango, then off to see Big Bad Voodoo Daddy! |
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| That time of the year again |
[Oct. 4th, 2008|10:13 pm] |
OK, gang, about once a year I write about the world of chess. (2007, 2006, 2005.) It's chess season!
Headlines:
* World Champion Vishy Anand of India is preparing to defend his title in a match starting next month against the 2006 (and, arguably, 2000-2006) World Champion Vladimir Kramnik of Russia. We're still dealing with the aftermath of the dozen or so years of dispute where there were two world champions, but there's not a great deal of dispute these days.
* Garry Kasparov retired from competitive chess in 2005, though still occasionally plays quick chess and gives simultaneous displays. These days he is a political dissident heavily associated with the "The Other Russia" coalition.
* There is no identifiable single strongest player in the world these days - as ever, being World Champion doesn't mean you're going to win every time - with a rough top half-dozen or so. Anand and Kramnik are up there along with continually-improving Norwegian prodigy Magnus Carlsen and perennially-there-or-thereabouts hot-and-cold blowers Veselin Topalov, Alexander Morozevich and Vassily Ivanchuk, from Bulgaria, Russia and the Ukraine respectively. This rating chart is updated as frequently as possible; Topalov is currently top of the list, but there's no more than a game or two in it among the top six.
* When Vladimir Kramnik was World Champion in 2006, he played a six-game match against the Deep Fritz computer program and lost 4-2. This, as much as anything else, has been taken a sign that the best computer probably is better than the best human at chess these days. (Remember, Kasparov lost to Deep Blue in 1997, then there was a streak of drawn computer-versus-super-GM matches from 1999 to 2003.)
* Among British players, Michael Adams rolls along happily as being easily the best but is no longer thought of as a major threat on the world stage and Nigel Short continues to wither slowly. (They both came joint second in the recent Liverpool Chess International EU championship, but took rather different routes through the Swiss to get to 7½/10.) David Howell is the best of the rest among active players, but a long way behind and only number ten in the world for his age of almost 18; merely brilliant rather than world class.
I continue to be fascinated by ( the United States Chess League, and continue to regard it as a well-run possible model for other similar ventures. ) ( In comparison, I also consider the UK's premier team chess league. )
Another event that started very recently is the first World Mind Sports Games, taking place in Beijing and at least trying to capture some of the tail-end of the Olympics fever, even if possibly not actually reusing the infrastructure. ( Read more... )
Lastly, as a result of my interview with the USCL commissioner last year, I was one of four people to win a copy of Engaging Pieces by Howard Goldowsky kindly donated by the author in return for one of the most interesting USCL interviews of 2007. I'm not a habitual book reviewer, but ( a few words about the book would not go amiss. ) |
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| A good walk, not quite spoiled. |
[Oct. 4th, 2008|03:00 pm] |
It started with the Coke points.
We don't drink so much soda as to get anywhere near the "good stuff" MyCokeRewards offers, but I do log the points from our meager soda consumption, and we've cashed in enough to get a movie rental now and again.
One day while walking home from the library, I saw a probably-recently discarded bottle by the side of the road, its points-code-bearing Coke cap still intact. So I picked it up, pocketed the cap, and dropped the bottle. And then immediately felt guilty. So I took the library books I'd borrowed out of the canvas bag in which I was carrying them, picked the bottle up, and put it in the canvas tote bag
And then I passed another bottle. And picked it up, pocketed the cap, and bagged the bottle. And then I passed a Pepsi bottle. No points to be gained there. But, hey, I've started this, I might as well keep it up. I didn't pick up everything; I'm not Adopt-a-Highway. I just bagged stuff that should be in the recycling bin.
The library's about a .3-mile walk from our house, but well before I arrived home my bag was full.
I've taken to carrying an extra bag when I make my library runs. Or to the bagel shop, which is in the opposite direction. And sometimes I've taken a bag when I just want a little walk. And *every* *damn* *time* the bag is full before I get home.
I'm not going to theorize on the parentage of the creeps who think the roadside is an appropriate recycling center--to say nothing of their use of it for non-recyclable trash. I think it would make me crazy if I did. (Or, at the very least, prove that I'm turning into a grumpy old man.) I'm just going to dump my bagful of things that should be recycled into the recycling bin when I get home, throw the bag into the laundry to be washed for another day, and go on with my day. |
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| We'll jump off that bridge when we come to it |
[Oct. 4th, 2008|03:07 pm] |
| [ | mood |
| |  devious | ] |
When is a $25 bet to show a good thing? When an odds-on favorite has almost 80% of the show pool bet on him -- and looks extremely vulnerable.
That's exactly what happened in the 3rd Race at Belmont. The odds-on favorite was attracting a lot of money... to show. Apparently someone was so sure of this horse finighing 3rd or better, that they placed a significant amount of money on the horse to show. In cases like these, it's very important to check out the rest of the field and see who else might have a fighting chance to finish 3rd or better. That's pretty much the prime time to bet against the odds-on favorite and hope he runs out of the money. See, because there are three winning horses in a typical show situation, the payoffs for show bets are at the mercy of whoever else is in the money. If a HUGE favorite runs out of the money, then there's going to be a LOT more money to be had among the horses that did finish in the money.
I had an eye on a nice horse at 7-1, but I bet $25 to show on that horse. With the odds-on favorite having to check while on the backstretch, that horse lost a lot of ground and couldn't make it up to get in time for at least 3rd in the finish. Therefore, what would have paid something like $2.10 or $2.40 to show on that 7-1 shot ended up paying $13.40 to show. At $25 to show, that turns into $167.50. Ka-ching!
This situation is what horseplayers like to call "The Bridge Jumper's Special". So named because the one or two people that put in an ungodly amount of money to show on that horse will feel like jumping off a bridge if the horse fails to finish 3rd or better. It's very important to keep an eye out on those opportunities by paying attention to the Win-Place-Show pool amounts that are shown occasionally on the monitors of the particular track. If the conditions are right, and that favorite looks very vulnerable, you can bet a significant amount of money and possibly cash for hundreds. At the very least, you'll get your money back if your horse finishes 3rd or better and so does the odds-on horse. |
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| 2008 Reading List |
[Oct. 4th, 2008|10:46 am] |
Just as with my movie list, I will add to this each time I finish a book, approximately every 5-6 days. Since the list will likely get long, I will cut-tag all but the few most recent. Dates shown are the dates I finished the book. Bolded numbers are the number of books I am theoretically on pace to read in 2008.
So, with no further ado:
( 1 - 58 within . . . )
59. September 19: Whitaker, Jan. Service and Style: How the American Department Store Fashioned the Middle Class. (2006) 82
60. Septembaaar 19: Stern, Ellen and Emily Gwathmey. Once Upon a Telephone: An Illustrated Social History. (1994) 83
61. September 25: Kowinski, William. The Malling of America: An Inside Look at the Great Consumer Paradise. (1985) 83.0
62. September 26: Vanderbilt, Tom. Traffic: Why We Drive the Way We Do (and What it Says About Us) (2008) 84.0
63. October 4: Friedman, David. Hidden Order: The Economics of Everyday Life. (1996) 82.9
Fiction: 12 Nonfiction: 51 (Memoirs: 10) Abandoned: 1 |
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| Box sets and stuff |
[Oct. 4th, 2008|03:04 am] |
| [ | mood |
| |  confused | ] |
I was at Best Buy earlier tonight and noticed some DVD box sets for sale....
I think all the DBZ Season Set Orange Bricks have been $37-40 at Best Buy (despite me having snagged Season 6 for $32 at Target).... Online, Seasons 1-4 are selling for $30, while Seasons 5-6 are selling for $40. The DBZ "remastered" twin packs of movies (the 2 TV Specials, Movies 1-2, Movies 3-4) have been selling for $20 each.
I just realized that I have about $240 worth of DBZ on my shelf. I got Season 3 for free last year, I snagged Season 5 (plus the DBZ Movie 1-2 pack) for $45, and most of the other ones I know I've snagged for $30 or thereabouts.
I saw One Piece: Season 1 Part 2 at Best Buy - they're asking $41 for13 episodes. Also saw a couple of Case Closed box sets (1-26 and 27-52), asking price is $40 each. Fruits Basket - $50. Full Metal Panic! The Second Raid - $50. FMA's four box sets: $30 each (i.e. $120 for the entire TV series).
And what was my point exactly of this post? Hmmm. I'm not sure. ;-) |
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| Nightly Twittering |
[Oct. 4th, 2008|12:18 am] |
The following are my random thoughts and such during the past 24 hours ...
The preceding was made possible by LoudTwitter and BeTwittered (for your iGoogle homepage). |
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