UngsungBlog: A (Fantasy) Sports Blog

I slept for about a good five minutes last night, after coughing non-stop. I’m high on cough syrup right now; I hope I don’t fall asleep as I type up this blog entry.

Ooooooh…the season finale of Heroes just started! I better not doze off!

(Actually, I don’t even know why I’m bothering with this blog entry right now; I know I’m not going to finish it during the show.)

- Korea’s reaction to the Starcraft 2 release is a bit over the top, don’t you think? I can’t make up my mind as to which panel is the funniest. 3v3-BGH? Record sales of pants? North and South Korea reforming into a giant hard on? LMAO!

(Fifty minutes into the Heroes finale, and I barely got this far! :P)

- My RMA with Buy.com is going smoothly (of course, by smoothly, I mean I’m getting a headache). Apparently USPS attempted to deliver my package to Buy.com on Saturday, but no one was available to accept delivery. A pickup notice was left, however, at Buy.com’s “doorstep.”

I fired off an email to Buy.com support, letting them know that there was an attempted delivery of my RMA request. I also gave them the tracking number, in case they wanted proof of what I said. Their response? Something to the effect of “Sir, as of yet we have not yet received your shipment.”

No freaking duh! I only said the package hadn’t yet been delivered!

The folks at Time Warner think that Buy.com has horrible customer service.

(Hmmm…I could’ve sworn that the Heroes finale tonight was supposed to be two hours long!)

- (from Consumerist) The crazies that make up the RIAA want radio stations to pay royalties, because it’s not good enough for the RIAA to get free promotion for their music labels. Says Rep. Howard L. Berman (D-Valley Village, sponsored by the RIAA):

Given the many different ways to promote music now that didn’t exist as effectively when this original exemption was made,” he said, “the logic of that I think is more dubious.

I can’t say I disagree with the guy; it’s not hard to fathom that online advertising can be more effective than TV or radio advertising (users of Firefox’s Adblock might argue otherwise). That being said, I wonder what would happen if these royalties have to be paid, and radio stations were forced to close up shop because they couldn’t afford the royalties. How bad would the RIAA look if they were involved in destroying their major source of advertising?

Go RIAA! Bury yourselves!

That’s all I’ve got for tonight. I’m coughing like crazy!

by Peter
No Comments »

I get sick frequently, and usually, the symptoms last for a day or two. Whatever pathogens are taking residence inside me this time, however, refuse to go away! I’m so drugged up right now that I’m not sure what I’m typing…hopefully, I am able to get through this blog entry, to remain alive in the IMBC.

Damn immune system of mine! I think it’s time for my body to start unleashing the immunological equivalent of nuclear missiles.

- Speaking of the IMBC, my survival in the contest may only last for another week, as I may be taking a trip up North to visit some relatives. If that’s the case, I’m going to need to pray for a hotel with free WiFi, or find an open WiFi connection somewhere. Hey, if Hank can do it, so can I, right?

(Of course, Hank has the luxury of wardriving in familiar territory; I’ve got to do it without a “home field advantage.” Either that, or I gotta figure out how to use my Sanyo Katana as a dial-up modem.)

- As an aside, I usually check the number of words for every blog entry I complete using MS Word. I’ve since been informed, by Krunk, that online word count tools like this one exist. I should have known such a tool existed; heck, there are even online coin flippers!

- The Dodgers finished a series with the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim near Disneyland, and the Boys in Blue got swept. Ouch. Does that mean I have to issue a self-moratorium on insults about the Angels of Anaheim in Orange County?

- A gas station attendant found a $10 bill in her store, and used it to buy a lottery ticket. She ended up winning a $1 million prize:

Kristina Schneider tried to persuade a customer at the BP station where she works to buy the last ticket on a roll of the Magnificent Millions lottery game.

“I always joke that the last ticket is the winning one, but he said he only had enough money for three tickets,” Schneider said.

This time, her advice was no joke.

I wonder what the guy who passed up the winning ticket is thinking right now.

Ms. Schneider took the 20 annual payments at $50,000 a year, claiming that she would have been “broke again within five years” had she taken the lump sum. While I understand the reason, I gotta say, taking the annuity is a horrible decision. Take the lump sum, hire a financial advisor, and make the money work for you! Life insurance, retirement accounts, even mutual funds; any half-decent investment vehicle will serve you better than taking an annuity!

(And no, the fact that my sister is a financial advisor has zero bearing on my opinion above.)

By the way, I’ve heard of lucky pennies, and even lucky $1 bills; I’ve never heard of a lucky Hamilton. I did find a $5 bill at a gas station once, and I used it to buy 5 Lottery tickets. All I won is a single free ticket :P.

- Days after a 19-year-old man was indicted on charges of injuring a child by putting his baby in a microwave, the baby’s mother blamed the devil and not her husband. Quoted from the article:

Eva Marie Mauldin said Satan compelled her 19-year-old husband, Joshua Royce Mauldin, to microwave their daughter May 10 because the devil disapproved of Joshua’s efforts to become a preacher.

“Satan saw my husband as a threat,” Eva Mauldin told Houston television station KHOU-TV.

As strange as the above passage sounds, it pales in comparison to this gem: “Police said Joshua Mauldin told them he put Ana Marie in the microwave because he was under stress. Eva Maudlin denied it.”

I was planning on commenting on this article, but instead, I’m going to pass. After all, I do not have a kid, and I am not a religious man, so I can’t possibly understand what was going through the mind of the husband as he microwaved his kid, and the mind of the wife for defending her husband. I’ll leave this topic with a single comment, though: in no way should the couple be allowed anywhere near their kid again.

Finally, I leave you guys with this video. The ending is hilarious!

by Peter
No Comments »

No thanks to my two-year-old nephew, everyone in this house is horribly sick, including myself. I’ve slept all day–tons of medication will do that to you–and I just woke up a few minutes ago.

I shall be making this post while munching on my dinner of Ritz crackers, slices of American cheese, and sliced turkey breast.

- So apparently Blogger timestamps each new entry based on the time the entry was drafted, not the time the entry was actually published. Case in point: the blog entry that I created on Thursday, which did not go live until Friday (because of the review of The Office) was initially timestamped Thursday ~8PM. Had I not woken up a few minutes ago to check my blog, I would never have noticed it, and would have been eliminated from the IMBC.

To remedy this, I changed the timestamp on the blog entry in question to Friday. You can check the RSS feed to verify that the entry for Friday was indeed posted AFTER the entry about The Office.

Nevertheless, Hank, if you’re reading this, I’d like you to administer a ruling on whether or not what I did was kosher. If it’s not, then I guess my run in the IMBC is over at 57 blog entries (and, personally, that would be 30 entries or so more than I would have anticipated).

- In the worst kept secret of the week, Blizzard has announced production of Starcraft 2: The Fight for More Money.

(Tangent: Yeah, I watched Spaceballs a few days ago, for the 25,000th time.)

In other news, nerds everywhere are already lining up in front of EBGames, Gamestop, etc., waiting for the release of the game. I’m surprised these stores aren’t already taking preorders.

One interesting passage from the article above: “As for initial StarCraft 2 impressions - the game looked very similar to SC1 - nearly identical user interface - graphic styles and unit proportions nearly the same - more flashy lighting effects but it seems like Blizzard didn’t want to mess with SC’s underlying formula very much.” On the one hand, why change what worked for one of the biggest and best RTS (Real Time Strategy) games of all time? On the other hand, StarCraft was released in 1997; I would have expected some sort of major graphical changes between the original and the sequel (kinda like the difference between Warcraft 2 and Warcraft 3).

I just hope Starcraft 2 turns out a heck of a lot better than Command and Conquer 3. C&C3 was pretty abysmal, IMO; I just recently played the original C&C, and thought the storyline AND gameplay in the original were a heck of a lot better than C&C3. I only played the GDI campaign in C&C3, and have no real motivation to play the NOD campaign. C&C3 was better than the second iteration of the series, though, but that’s because Tiberian Sun was complete and utter crap.

- Yeah, Brett Favre is yapping again. And yeah, Roger Clemens is getting way too much media attention. Rather than talk about either of these attention whores, I’ll leave you with this article, and remind sports fans around the country that, as bad as your team may be, your team isn’t the Royals (ripped from Bill Simmons’ blog).

Until next time!

by Peter
1 Comment »

Here is what should have been blog entry #100; it was pushed back only after I watched the season finale of The Office.

- The term “bad beat” is a poker term referring to a hand won by a player despite a holding a terrible hand, and then making the best hand by the turn or the river. There are bad beats, and then there some absolutely sickening bad beats (which I shall, from now on, refer to as “donkey sh!t”).

Case in point, from a hand I saw a couple days ago (I am player Quintaces):

Hand #1135011766000819: Munich 11766
Seat 2: MCRAIGA (6.25 in chips)
Seat 3: Vatson (25.15 in chips)
Seat 4: Quintaces (8.40 in chips)
Seat 5: GivMeDaMoney (25.52 in chips)
Seat 6: slick sammy (46.55 in chips)
Seat 7: SkunkEBuds (7.40 in chips)
Seat 9: TL1127 (21.49 in chips)
Vatson: posts small blind $0.10
Quintaces: posts big blind $0.20
Dealt to Quintaces [ Kh Ks ]
GivMeDaMoney: raises to $0.40
slick sammy: calls
SkunkEBuds: folds
TL1127: folds
MCRAIGA: calls
Vatson: folds
Quintaces: raises to $1.50
GivMeDaMoney: calls
slick sammy: calls
MCRAIGA: calls
*** FLOP *** [ 9s Qc As ]
Quintaces: checks
GivMeDaMoney: bets $5.80
slick sammy: calls
MCRAIGA: is all in
Quintaces: folds
*** TURN *** [ Qd ]
GivMeDaMoney: is all in
slick sammy: folds
GivMeDaMoney: returns uncalled bet $18.22
*** RIVER *** [ Tc ]
*** SHOW DOWN ***
GivMeDaMoney wins $2 with Two Pairs, Aces and Queens
*** SHOW DOWN ***
MCRAIGA wins $19.35 with Straight, Queen high

MCRAIGA held a jack and an eight. Calling before the flop was a horrible play enough, but then he called an all-in bet with just an inside straight draw (needing a ten to make his straight)!

There were a couple other horrendously bad beats, like the guy who flopped three queens and lost to four deuces on the river, or the guy who went all-in with absolute crap and got help on the turn and river to make a flush.

Online poker, it’s FAN-tastic!

- The Suns ran out of gas last on Wednesday, and lost to the Spurs to go down 3-2 in the best of seven series. As if that wasn’t bad enough, noted dirty player Bruce Bowen hit the game winning shot: a 3-pointer from the corner. Think the Suns could have used Amare Stoudemire and Boris Diaw yesterday? If the Spurs go on to win the NBA Championship, some votes have to go to Robert Horry, right? The Suns were totally gassed at the end of Game 5, and they had only a single off-day to recover for Game 6, AND they have to win tonight or go home (and it’s not looking good)!

I am praying for this series to go to a Game 7, for the following reasons:

1. I can’t rule out the possibility of a Suns’ retaliatory cheap shot, this time on the Suns’ home floor (I kid :P).
2. I want to see how the Suns’ fans treat Robert Horry. Maybe a fan will throw a towel at him.
3. Most importantly, this is the most compelling NBA Playoffs series to come around in years. I’d like it to go the distance.

- (from Consumerist) I should really stop complaining about how much Time Warner sucks. I don’t have it nearly as bad as these guys do. My favorite story is this one; ghetto-rigged “repairs” are nice if you’re doing it for yourself or for a friend, but not when you’re a technician for a major cable company!

(Tangent: I love the pictures that Consumerist uses in their articles, like the guy smoking crack in the first article linked above.)

- Finally, a Harford, CT, man will be paid $5 million nearly a year after he was released from prison, when DNA evidence proved he did not commit a rape he was convicted of in 1988:

Tillman, who was 26 when he was arrested, was sentenced to 45 years in prison after being convicted of raping and beating a woman in Hartford in 1988. The victim identified him, but Tillman was exonerated last summer after DNA tests showed he could not have been the attacker.

Tillman’s lawyer, Gerard A. Smyth, said his client believes the $5 million is fair compensation.

I hope I don’t hear that this guy has agreed to a book/TV movie deal in the next couple of weeks. In all seriousness, I hope the guy is able to life a normal life after being (wrongfully) imprisoned for so many years. Sure, $5 million would probably be enough for the guy to retire on, but is any amount of money enough to pay the guy back for losing eighteen years of his life?

Kudos to the guy for being so humble, and kudos to the CT legislature for their decision as well as their subsequent standing ovation to the guy.

by Peter
No Comments »

Well, I had an entire blog entry typed up for today, but after watching the season finale of The Office, I just had to share my thoughts on the episode.

(Warning: Mega spoilers to follow!)

This episode (entitled The Job) was at least as good as last season’s finale (Casino Night), if not slightly better! Ok, who am I kidding? The ending alone makes this finale a heck of a lot better than last year’s!

(Call me sappy, but seeing Pam’s smile at the end of the episode was great.)

From Jan’s “big” surprise–LITO reported that Melora Hardin, in an interview, said there was going to be a “big” surprise between Michael and Jan–and her subsequent actions after finding out about her pending termination (was it just me, or was Jan acting a lot like Michael once she found out that she was going to be fired?) to Dwight’s taking over the branch for a day, to Michael’s usual hijinks, to Ryan’s acceptance of the corporate job and his subsequent breakup with Kelly, the episode was probably the best Office episode to date.

(Of course, there was also that little storyline about Jim and Pam.)

Some thoughts about tonight’s finale:

• I really wish the producers of the show ended the episode before the scene where David Wallace formally offered the position to Ryan. It would have left us wondering if Jim got the job or not; for all we know, he could have asked Pam out on a date just to break the news to her (not likely, I know).
• What will happen to Karen? It’s pretty clear that Jim and Karen are through, but is it safe to assume that she will quit her job? Again, had the producers cut out the very last scene, it would have left open the possibility that Karen got the corporate job, and who knows what would have happened? Maybe she could have screwed around with Jim.
• HTH is Ryan qualified for a corporate job? My sister thinks that Ryan wasn’t offered Jan’s old job, but another job at the corporate office. Assuming that she’s wrong, I hope that doesn’t mean Ryan will be written out of the show. I love his character, and I hope he still appears on the show, even if it’s in a limited capacity. Maybe he’ll start getting back at Michael (remember Business School?) By the way, the way he non-chalantly broke up with Kelly was absolutely hilarious.
• With the members of the Scranton branch unchanged (save for Karen?), Jim and Pam can now go back to picking on Dwight. I hope we also get to see more Office-related “functions” that involve the whole cast, like the gambling that happened in Safety Training.
• The best thing about this episode is that it leaves so many avenues that the show can move on to for next season. I’ve always said that one of the great things about The Office is the fact that the show is so open-ended; this episode ends one storyline (now that Jim and Pam are together), but it leaves so many other possible storylines. Will Karen return? Will Jan remain in Michael’s life? How long will Jim and Pam last? What about Dwight and Angela?

(By the way, I love seeing Angela’s character develop in recent episodes; I wonder how she took Dwight’s “demotion”).

The one major drawback of the finale? I gotta wait four months for the next episode!

(By the way, reports have it that The Office will be moved to 9PM starting next fall. WTF is NBC thinking, putting up The Office against CSI and Grey’s Anatomy????? I hope this doesn’t lead to the eventual end of The Office).

by Peter
1 Comment »

- Quick thoughts on the Suns v Spurs series:

• The suspensions to Boris Diaw, Amare Stoudemire, and Robert Horry were correct; in no way were they fair. The rules state that one can’t leave the bench during an altercation, and that’s exactly what the two Suns’ players did. Therefore, the suspensions were properly levied. However, this sets a dangerous precedent; why can’t more teams send out thug players with the sole intention of baiting the stars on another team to get themselves ejected/suspended? Robert Horry could easily have been suspended for the remainder of the series, by the way.
• I’ve seen the video of the foul, and the subsequent actions of Diaw and Stoudemire, and although “rules are rules,” it appeared that the two Suns were running towards Nash to make sure he was OK. Sure, we don’t know what their true intent was–the fact that Stoudemire suggested that he went to the scorer’s table to check back into the game was ludicrous–but it didn’t look like they were going to do anything flagrant.
• The Spurs no longer have a squeaky-clean image, says Yahoo! Sports writer Adrian Wojnarowski. I wouldn’t be surprised to see neutral fans rallying against the Spurs as the playoffs continue.

(Slightly off topic: I never believed Bruce Bowen was a dirty player, but after seeing his actions during this series–a knee to Nash’s calf, among others–I can no longer agree with that sentiment).

• Bill Simmons agrees with most others that the decision was correct, but not fair. I love the soccer comparisons!

Long story short, no thanks to a thug move by Robert Horry–a guy who was very classy when he was a Laker, but is also the same guy who once threw a towel at former Suns’ coach Danny Ainge–the Suns v Spurs series has definitely tipped in the favor of the Spurs.

- Brett Favre will skip the Packers’ mandatory minicamp this weekend, and part of the reason is because of his daughter’s upcoming graduation. I guess that’s not a big deal; at least, it wouldn’t be a big deal if his daughter’s graduation was this upcoming weekend! Quoted from the article,

“They were going to have me sit out anyway,” Favre said, in a story that appeared on the paper’s Web site on Tuesday. “To be honest, we have [daughter] Brittany graduating in two weeks. Instead of going up there and not doing anything, I will be better off being at home because of graduation parties and banquets.”

And I thought Roger “It’s not about the money” Clemens was a primadonna. Sounds like there’s going to be tons of partying at the Favre home leading up to the graduation! Better off at home? I think you need to spend more time at home; it’s not too late to announce your retirement! In Favre’s defense, he’s not attending minicamp not because of the frustrations he has with the team:

Favre said the move is not related to his frustration with the team’s unwillingness to complete a trade for wide receiver Randy Moss.

“I am frustrated,” Favre told the paper. “But being frustrated and not going are not related.”

As if anyone in the world, outside Packer nation, is supposed to believe this.

Brett, go away!

- (from Consumerist) Wendy’s topped Zagat’s Fast Food Study in two categories: Top Burger and Top Overall of the “mega-chains.” Here are other results:

Mega-Chains:

Top Food

Wendy’s, Subway, Pizza Hut, Dairy Queen, KFC

Top Overall

Wendy’s, Subway, Pizza Hut, Dairy Queen, McDonald’s

Large and Small Chains:

Top Food

Panera Bread Co., Chick-fil-A, Chipotle, Quizno’s Sub, Wendy’s

Top Overall

Panera Bread Co., Chick-fil-A, Chipotle, Sonic Drive-In, Quizno’s Sub

Chain Restaurants:

Top Food

Outback Steakhouse, Red Robin, Cracker Barrel, Chili’s Grill & Bar, Olive Garden

Top Overall

Outback Steakhouse, Cracker Barrel, Red Robin, Olive Garden, Chili’s Grill & Bar

A few thoughts:

• What the hell are Outback Steakhouse, Chipotle, Pizza Hut, and KFC doing on this list??? Of those four, Chipotle has to be the absolute worst, with KFC and Outback Steakhouse a close second (worst).
• As much as I hate McDonald’s, I’m not surprised to see its inclusion on the list.
• If In-N-Out was a national chain, would it make the list?
• I could go for a Classic Double or a Spicy Chicken Sandwich right about now.

- And finally, a 10-month-old Illinois baby has his very own a gun permit. Apparently, his father applied for a gun permit for his son, not actually expecting to get one (there is no minimum age requirement to obtain a card). My favorite part:

The card lists the baby’s height (2 feet, 3 inches), weight (20 pounds) and has a scribble where the signature should be.

What’s even stranger is that the dad’s father–the baby’s grandfather–bought the kid a Beretta shotgun as a gift! Now that I think about it, why didn’t my dad buy me a gun when I was a toddler? I know I would easily have been the coolest kid in my play group! And no bully would dare mess with the kid with his own shotgun, right? Come to think of it, my nephew’s third birthday is coming up soon…

In all seriousness, WTF? I guess the possession of the gun permit isn’t that bad; it’s not nearly as bad the gift of the shotgun! How the heck does a parent think any of this is a good idea???

Tomorrow is blog entry #100!

by Peter
No Comments »

Some quick-hitters:

- While standing in line at the Post Office, a creepy woman sat (yeah, sat) next to me in line. As the line moved on, she would slide herself forward, each time nearly kicking my legs with her feet.

- We dropped by Costco today, and somehow, we walked out with a $35 bill!!! All we had in our cart were some bread, some bananas, a box of croissants, a bag of potato chips, and some juice. I expect a call from Costco tomorrow, asking me what’s going on.

- Man, I love this new laptop. Dual-core goodness, 2GB of RAM running in Dual Channel mode, 15.4″ WXGA+ screen (1440×900 resolution), and this thing runs a heck of a lot cooler than my old Inspiron XPS M140. A more thorough review will come in the near future.

(By the way, I noticed my XPS, and now my 6400, has a MediaDirect button. I never did touch the button, until last night, when I learned what the button actually does. With the laptop powered off, hitting the MediaDirect button fires up a Media Center-like application that gives you access to your multimedia files. It also gives you access to an Outlook-type program, as well as a Powerpoint-type program. Neat idea, I must say, but probably not something I’d ever use again.)

- Another day, another fiasco with a company’s customer service. This time, it’s Buy.com. About a week ago, I purchased an item with two rebates advertised. I found out that I could not claim both rebates that same day, so I attempted to cancel my order. The cancellation didn’t go through, and I was forced to accept delivery of the package (I couldn’t refuse it, because USPS left it at my doorstep).

I called Buy.com today, asking them for a refund on my order. They rep I spoke to gave me an RMA number (the RMA number wasn’t correct, as an email I got from Buy.com had a different RMA# from the one given to me), but refused to give me a prepaid shipping label for the return. I demanded one, citing that I only placed the order because of the two advertised rebates. The CSR wouldn’t budge.

The CSR said that she would give me a credit for one of the rebates if I could procure a receipt showing both rebates, which was impossible, as one rebate was pulled at around the same time I completed the order. I asked if a screenshot of the item page would suffice, and the CSR said she would accept it. I found the screenshot, and then asked the CSR where to send the picture. The CSR then backed up, saying that she could only accept the receipt.

She then told me that I had to pack the item up and write the RMA# on the outside of the envelope. She made no mention of what else I needed to do to process the RMA: include the original packing slip, and ship using a trackable shipping service. I only found out about what I needed to do when I got an email from buy.com, confirming my RMA request (that’s also when I found out that the RMA# the CSR gave me was incorrect).

I sent an email to buy.com support, explaining every way the CSR screwed up. I also mentioned that I shouldn’t have had to pay for return shipping on an order for a misadvertised product. Buy.com’s response was classic: they never acknowledged the errors the CSR made, and reiterated that I would not be getting a return shipping label. I angrily fired back, asking the next CSR to please acknowledge the screwup of the phone rep. This was their reply:

We sincerely apologize for the inconvenience caused to you. We work hard to ensure satisfaction. We look forward to helping you with all your shopping needs in the future. We are sorry you had this experience and want you to know we share your concern. Consumer satisfaction is most important to us, and we sincerely regret your recent experience with Buy.com product or promotion.

Gee, thanks!

(Argh…I just realized…I never wrote the RMA# on the package!!!)

I had lots more to say today, but I’m tired. Happy blogging!

by Peter
No Comments »

- (From Consumerist) Did you know that baby carrots are nothing more than whittled-down carrots? Apparently, the inventor of the baby carrot, Mike Yurosek, stumbled upon the idea while mulling over what to do with tons and tons of carrot culls–carrots that are deformed, twisted, or otherwise unsuitable to sell. With an industrial green-bean cutter and an industrial potato peeler, Yurosek created the baby carrot that we enjoy with dip, peanut butter, or plain out of a bag (all of which I enjoy).

And yes, I used to think that baby carrots were a different species of carrot than a “normal” carrot.

- (Also from Consumerist) Cingular still sucks, it appears. A customer had his Blackjack replaced with warranty replacement. Unfortunately, Cingular/AT&T never received the phone, and wants either the phone back or MSRP ($349.99). It seems that Cingular promised a refund, then reneged, then offered to charge the customer for the phone, only to get the money back in two months. While I can understand the customer’s anger with Cingular for providing contradictory information, how can you NOT ship a new cell phone–defective or not–without tracking information and/or insurance?

- NBC’s TV schedule for 2007-2008 has been released, and The Office has been canceled! (EDITED 5/17: Link added)

(Just kidding, Hank.)

This quote from the article, however, does alarm me:

The network took a risk by keeping its Thursday night comedy lineup intact. NBC has drawn strong critical praise but few viewers for shows like “30 Rock” and “The Office,” leaving the network faltering on a night it once dominated.

I was aware that The Office didn’t draw as strongly as I would expect a show that good to draw. I have to wonder, though, how much longer NBC will put up with their Thursday night ratings. I’m hoping this is a case, simply, of other networks dominating Thursdays, and not because shows NBC’s Thursday night shows are actually detracting viewers.

I can’t stomach the possibility, slim as it may be, of The Office being canceled in the near future.

(Off topic: My mom and nephew are staying here again. My nephew is already driving me insane; it seems that he somehow got his hands on a spindle of DVD+Rs–some of which have data written on them already–and emptied the whole thing. Anyone want some “like new” DVD+Rs?)

Warning: The following topic may contain sports-like substances.

- Brett Favre continues to speak, and I’m really getting tired of it. In his latest whine, Brat Favre (typo intentional) insisted that he never “wanted to be traded” from the Packers, despite speculation to the contrary. I don’t have a problem with him insisting that he never wanted to be traded, but he apparently did have his agent issue a trade demand a month prior. In response to this, Favre claimed, “sometimes when I get frustrated, I let my emotions got the better of me.” What? No claim that someone took your comments out of context? Weren’t you going to deny the comments for months, and then mention, right before the season starts, that you had “conversations” with the front office?

Enjoy an uneventful 8-8 season, Brett. I look forward to hearing you waver over your future once your team gets eliminated from post-season contention.

- Terrell Owens REALLY needs to shut up. In T.O.’s latest outburst, the temperamental wide receiver claimed that he got absolutely “nothing” out of his one season with former Cowboys’ coach, Bill Parcells. Easily the best part of the article:

Parcells isn’t missing Owens either.

In a New York Daily News column published over the weekend, Parcells said the Cowboys signing Owens last year “was not my decision. I had to do the best I could with him, which is what I tried to do.”

Owens said it doesn’t matter what Parcells is saying now, and that it doesn’t bother him.

“It’s funny, people can say a lot of things when they’re gone,” T.O. said. “It’s really not surprising, but why would he say it now? I’m pretty sure you guys asked him that question before.”

Clearly T.O. forgot about what he said about one Donovan McNabb, even after T.O. got left on the doorsteps of the Cowboys. Let’s see how long T.O. goes before he has something else to say about Parcells. I’ll give it five days before he has the need to drop another bomb on Parcells.

(By the way, is it bad to wish a big hit on T.O. every time he comes up the middle of the field to make a catch?)

Somehow, someway, I hope that Brett Favre and Terrell Owens end up as teammates next year. Maybe T.O. will drive QB Tony Romo insane, causing Romo to quit the NFL and play in Canada. Maybe Favre will suck again (hell, this is pretty much a certainty, isn’t it?), and the Packers, as a gesture of good will, ship him off to the Cowboys. Who would win that attention-whoring Royal Rumble?

Somehow, someway, this MUST happen!

by Peter
2 Comments »

- I love the avatars in the banner at the top of the LITO (Life In The Office) forum.

- Some random thoughts about Google Analytics:

• As stated before, doing a review on the Logitech MX3200 Cordless Desktop Laser was the smartest thing I could do to drive traffic to my blog. Unfortunately, my blog is no longer the #1 hit for a search of “Scroll Lock MX3200.”
• Easily the strangest keyword hit ever (all one word!): “a2ccb71d04d513df9c9202755c95975f 215c775b4e27dad6b85126cd83435119.” Other fun searches include some combination of “Time Warner” and “sucks,” searches for a review on the JVC RA-P10 portable boombox (for iPods), and another strange keyword hit: “2007 warren buffett vs. champion female ping pong player.”
• This past week was the first week in which the number of hits via Google was greater than or equal to the number of hits via the IMBC.
• My blog seems to be quite popular east of the Mississippi, and in Washington and California, of course.

- I can’t believe we’re nearing 45 days in the IMBC. I was also very happy when I found out that Hank is a big Office fan, and Amy loves Eddie Izzard’s Dress to Kill standup routine. The latter warrants a spot on my Links section on the strength of that fact alone :P.

(Of course, Hank’s blog is already on my list.)

Now if only I could find a poker blog worth subscribing to; one written by a peer would be preferable. William Springer, are you reading this?

- Mother’s Day started with a Mother’s Day Brunch for my sister’s friend at Marie Callender’s. Pretty good food–the omelette bar was damn good–and not terribly pricey–$15 per adult. I had to remind myself not to each too much because, for dinner, we’re taking my mom and my aunt out to a Korean BBQ place in downtown LA.

If I make it through today, without lapsing into a food coma, consider it a minor miracle.

(Seems like my oldest sister and my mom have already lapsed into food comas. If only my darn two-year-old nephew would fall asleep too…

- One sports topic, if you don’t mind: Brett Favre continued to whine and cry about the state of his team, saying this time that he was disappointed that the Packers weren’t able to acquire Randy Moss from the Oakland Raiders (Moss was traded to the New England Patriots during the NFL Draft). In full “I’m not saying, but…” mode, Favre stated,

“The last thing I want to do is start any [controversy]…But I think he would have been a great addition. You throw Randy Moss, you throw [current starters] Donald Driver and Greg Jennings on the field at the same time, and go three-wide receiver set … and I think it’s pretty intimidating. And we lost out on that, and I think that it’s a shame, because I know we could have had him.”

And with that, Brett Favre just lept ahead of Roger Clemens in the “overrated, middle aged, no longer relevant (but likes to think he is), attention-whore” athlete competition. First of all, if you were so ticked with your team’s inability to make a move during the Draft, why did you wait so long to say anything? Second, if you wanted Moss so badly, why didn’t you make a fuss any time between the end of your season and the weekend of the Draft? You’re a Hall of Famer with a Super Bowl ring; I think you earned the right to go to the Packers’ brass and demand help. Third, when are people going to realize that saying “I’m not _____, but ______….” is basically an admission that you are (trying to) [blank #1]?

(As an aside, I told my sister yesterday that I’d rather hear Terrell Owens whine than Roger Clemens. I swear, I didn’t mean that!)

Until next time, Happy Mother’s Day!

by Peter
No Comments »

- So it took me a bit over two hours to finish dinner tonight, no thanks to my family interrupting me several times.

(Yeah, I’m back home in the 626 for Mother’s Day. I wish I could cook about 10% as well as my dad can.)

I was interrupted several times, mostly by my mom and my sister, and I probably got a good 20 minutes of actual eating time during the two hour period. Food was damn good, though: rice, soup, fried eggs, and some really stinky dried fish that was awesome.

During my two hour dinner, I had to watch over my nephew (he’s been causing general mayhem more so than usual) help my sister locate a credit card that seemingly vanished into thin air (it turns out that the card, silver in color, ended up besides my sister’s desktop computer, also silver in color), and help my dad with some random stuff.

- Speaking of my sister, it was her turn to deal with an idiot CSR today. She had to activate a new credit card, and the CSR she spoke to tried every trick in the book to get her to sign up for a Credit Protector-type service. She even resorted to repeating, nearly verbatim, the same sales pitch again. My sister got so flustered with the pitch that she lept out of her chair, and demanded that the CSR quit trying to sell her anything. Apparently, during that fit of rage, the credit card that was in her hand shot out (Chris “Jesus” Ferguson would have been proud of the effort), and it ended up wedged between a book and her (silver, mind you) computer case. It took us nearly half an hour to locate the stupid card.

The fact that I still had an appetite after that entire ordeal was a minor miracle.

- Which one is worse? Lying about the content of your product, or being in violation of state law? That’s the dilemma that trendy California “fro-yo” stand Pinkberry is facing (from Consumerist).

(Tangent: Who in the heck refers to frozen yogurt as “fro-yo”???)

Apparently, there is debate on whether or not Pinkberry’s frozen yogurt contains any actual yogurt. Pinkberry has to contend with a lawsuit alleges “that the frozen treats don’t have the bacterial cultures that make yogurt good for you.” Retorted manager Jamin Katz, “It is yogurt. It’s made with non-fat yogurt. It’s healthy for you.”

Well, if Katz provides evidence that Pinkberry’s frozen yogurt is, indeed, made out of yogurt, Katz would have another problem to deal with. Apparently, it is illegal in the state of California to manufacture yogurt anywhere other than a state-licensed dairy facility; Pinkberry manufactures their “yogurt” at each individual store.

So either Katz is a liar, or in violation of state law. If you were Katz, which one would you rather be?

Until next time, happy blogging!

by Peter
1 Comment »