Brow-Beaten

Today I put the finishing touches on three days of golf, split between Myrtle Beach (TPC, Tidewater) and Kiawah (Ocean Course). All three rounds delivered scores in the mid-80's, and have helped prop up my handicap heading into 2006 (a minor gift to myself). I may at some point describe the rounds in detail, but in summation:

1.) I've returned to the SW from bunkers, as opposed to the 60', as I can easily control both the flight and distance.

2.) My driver is in shambles, I have no idea where it is going. I made good use of the dozen Pro V1Xs that I received as a Christmas gift.

3.) I chap easily.

4.) If anyone has any putting tips, I am all ears. I also need a suggestion on a decent 3W, and not from anyone named Owens.

5.) Coming to Myrtle for golf between March - August is pointless, as gorgeous as the week unfolded. Temperatures in the mid '60s and reasonable rounds on excellent courses (save Kiawah).

Finally!

After months of searching, ending in a foraging effort through bins at Best Buy (a flea market in December) I found and purchased 'Better Off Dead' on DVD. It was just what I wanted for Christmas. I certainly ain't holding my breath on a Virginia bowl win.

Holiday?

Not the 25th, but today, the shortest day of the year, cementing my vampire-like existence when I leave work at 5:30 and it is pitch black. Looking foward to WD40'ing the joints next week for 3-4 days of golf after a two month layoff. December in DC has really sucked, between the cold and first week snow.

Secret Santa

Nothing exudes class like purchasing a six-pack of Miller Lite and ten Lottery scratch-off tickets at 9:15 on a snowy Thursday morning. It was extra classy to inquire whether 7-11 took a credit card for the purchase.

I know it is a gift I would like to receive.

RIM

I don't understand how RIM (Blackberry) has been unable to settle their patent-realted suit with NTP. $450M is quite a write-down, but could easily be withstood by RIM, and the days that pass without settlement only serve to eventually eat into the market monopoly enjoyed by RIM.

RIM should offer a mixed settlement of $$$ (<$450M) and equipping all goverment employees (underprivileged children, etc.) with Blackberries cost-free for two years. The cash hit to the company would decrease, they would be able to expand the market share of their brand, and NTP would be cast in a negative light for not accepting a deal that would assist a government/non-profit/positive association.

Expressively Frustrating

On weekends I really enjoy being able to watch European Tour golf tournaments. While watching an event from South Africa I was finally able to pinpoint somthing that had been bothering me for a while, the reactions/expressions of frustration that tour pros exhibit on most of their shots.

Not once after missing a putt from within 20 feet did a player not make some sort of outwaard gesture as an expression of annoyance (kicked putter, head shake, wince). While golfers rely on their game and expect to make every putt, their propensity to whine after missed shots has become cliche'. If I were to sum up a tour event in one word, it would be annoyance. For a gentleman's game, the prevalence of sneers, sighs, and other immature expressions of grief are unacceptable. Obviously, a golfer is going to miss more putts under 20 feet then they are going to make, and it should be treated as such, the expressive nature of professional golfers has lent itself to poor form.

Random Friday Shizz

- Why is it that when I start to accumulate a number of file folders dedicated to a single subject at work I always find myself thinking, "I am building quite the Penske file."

- Heard that Alanis Morissette (I hope I misspelled it) is now covering "Crazy" in her repertoire. I love it when my most hated artist sings my most hated song. Maybe I can catch her act at The Cheesecake Factory and see how long it takes before my head explodes.

- Why has no one created a website that tracks plane ticket costs over time? I sure would be interested in how much ticket X on flight Y cost since the flight was scheduled. A no frills, simple line graph. I wouldn't be surprised if orbitz, sidestep, eg. had agreements with airlines limiting the display of their data for the rights to extract from their databases.

- What happened to the Red Hot Chili Peppers?

Playing Hooky

With the marginal dusting of snow in the DC area last night, the majority of the area opted to stay home, rather than come into work. Those ignoring work are easily smarter than I, left to do battle with the mental midgets on the highways who are unable to drive with the added variable of Mother Nature.

I never claimed to be the greatest driver, but I don't put others in jeopardy by making myself a slow-moving target on 95 at 40 mph. I try to maintain my normal driving tendencies, with the small exception of cutting turns and stopping short in the attempt to shake the snow off my car. Probably not the smartest.

And it is only December.

Tax Cut Wariness

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/12/07/AR2005120702608.html

I applaud Congressional efforts to aid in the restoration of Katrina ravaged areas, and support US troops serving in Iraq, but raise my eyebrows at the benefits offered to the affluent, which reeks of pork barrel legislation.

While money collected through taxes has increased, it has not matched economic growth, and the notion that tax breaks directly fund expansion is foggy, at best.

Government expenditures and taxation processed need to be subject to a Lean event. Until we can escape from our current budget defecit tax cuts should be a zero sum game.

I've Added...

...'The Tuna Melt' to my pertinent links. Please have a view. The author has come a long way since riding The Short Bus in elementary school, being called slow, and having to take speech class in his retainer.

Someone Please Suggest...

...a song/album/compilation that defines Wilco and why they are considered to be so great. I've searched for something (anything) I find to be decent, but all I have encountered sound rambling and whiney. Might it be because I am a Jay Farrar disciple and am inclined to Sun Volt that I find Wilco to be disappointing?

One that was passed my way that I am currently enjoying is Cool Calm Pete.

Random Shizz

I was very happy that I took the time to connect my Christmas tree. Nothing fancy, the 6'6" $24.99 Walmart model that comes pre-strung with lights and takes three minutes from start to finish to concoct. I never really give much of thought to Christmas, and am always upset when January hits and I haven't been festive. The tree isn't much, but it is enough to remind me of the season, which is all I need.

Found out this week my sister was accepted early to the college of her choice. Many prayers were uttered that things would work themselves out, and her dedication to schoolwork and accomplishments (much better than my extracurriculars, which involved paying $5 to join every club possible) was deserving of early admission. Looking forward and am extremely proud to watch her live a portion of her life I remember so vividly from my own experiences.

Metro Woes

After months of research and brainstorming the Metro board delivered its plan for improving Metro transit and decreasing wait time;

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/12/01/AR2005120101955.html

Sadly, the effort probably received decent funding to amass ideas I could have concocted in five minutes, proving the more people involved in a decision, the less the chance of majority agreement, resulting in passage of the LCD of options, for mass appeasment.

Metro prices have been rising, and riders have been increasing, would it be too difficult to spend the $$$ on more trains? Is the Metro budget readily available through FOIA? I am sure the line items would be sickening, such as paying an overstaffed Metro board for nominal changes.

Flotsam and jetsam Enthusiasts

How can I go wrong with the following bets? Having a more intimate knowledge of gambling than I, I am soliciting opinions:

Colorado + 28 - Texas would rather give Bush the Heisman than play VY into the 4th quarter of a noncompetitive game and risk injury.
FSU + 14 - FSU has been kicked around recently, and could have a serious chip on their shoulder and put something (anything) together against VT. I would love to take the money line, but I cannot find it anywhere.

FN

As quality network television has gone the way of the dodo, one of the few shows I watch with any regularity is The Food Network's '$40-a-Day' with Rachael Ray. I love to hate her perky banter, which is both trite and repetitive. She acts the part of a prude, but has posed for FM and shot airbrush futures to all-time highs. If I were to bash the show to anyone over 45, I am sure it would be considered sacrilege. Thankfully, there are people who do it better than I could imagine.

Guarantee

I was just briefed on a meeting I missed, where a warfare center based its estimated cost on historical expenditures, which is good, unless they were blowing through money recklessly, and the estimations are awry. When trying to inform the client as to why estimations based on historical expenditures were a bad idea, I would have been hard pressed not to pull out,

"Because they know all they solda ya was a guaranteed piece of shit. That's all it is. Hey, if you want me to take a dump in a box and mark it guaranteed, I will. I got spare time. But for right now, for your sake, for your daughter's sake, ya might wanna think about buying a quality item from me. "

Bowl Projections

The build up towards a USC v. Texas Rose Bowl has blinded me from the mediocrity prevalent in college football in 2005. Granted, bowl selections are a the output of a biased assessment of what school will bring the most fans to the game, but the projected BCS Bowls (with the exception of the Rose) look awful.

TOSTITOS FIESTA BOWL - Tempe, Arizona
January 2, 2006, at 4:30 p.m. ET ABC
Sun Devil Stadium: 73,471
BCS vs. BCS
CFN Projection: Notre Dame vs. Ohio State

Commment: I hate ND in their resplendent glory, especially for a team that has won the games it was supposed to win. So they played USC close and lost. Who cares. OSU fans travel well, read not-so-well.

NOKIA SUGAR BOWL - Atlanta, Georgia
January 2, 2006, at 8:30 p.m. ET ABC
BCS (SEC Champion if not in national title) vs. BCS
CFN Projection: LSU vs. West Virginia
Comments: LSU is a great team, so great I have watched 0% of their games, including highlights. WVU, enjoy the last Big East BCS bid. It is probably a good thing this game was moved from NOLA, as having a city flooded and burned down in a six month span would be unthinkable.

FEDEX ORANGE BOWL - Miami, Florida
January 3, 2006, at 8 p.m. ET ABC
Pro Player Stadium 72,230
BCS vs. BCS
CFN Projection: Virginia Tech vs. Penn State
Comments: I hate them both.

You Have got to be Kidding Me

I ordered a jacket from Moosejaw on 11/07 as a gift, that I needed to receive by 12/01. As the jacket was on backorder and would not ship until 11/15, I was assured if any problems were to arise, I would receive a prompt phone call and explanation.

11/25, no call, no jacket.

I called moosejaw, and was told the jacket had yet to be shipped, although it was now in stock, and could be shipped in two days.

Normally, the terrible service would leave me steamed, but somehow the holiday spirit kept me from giving grief to the moosejaw phone representatives. Also, I was backed in a corner and forced to cooperate, should I wish to receive the jacket. All I can ask is never order from moosejaw; their shipping operation is a joke. I will be saying silent prayers every night their jobs are outsourced.

Shaking my head and smirking...

Outstanding (What Work is Really For)

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From:
Sent: Tue 11/22/2005 4:41 PM
To: Ryan
Subject: ?

here's the way i see it.

in MJ (sacrilegious, i know) you have a #1 receiver (depth chart only, #2 if you count algernon) going up against detroit and a dre bly-less secondary.

in BJ (sacrilegious as well because any BJ is better than BJ) you have a teams #2 receiver who often gets the single coverage thanks to the attention even an injured drew bennett commands.

both teams like to check down to their tight ends quite often and both have quarterbacks capable of pulling the ball down and moving.

it's encouraging that MJ had a pretty good showing last week against a tampa defense that's usually pretty stout against the pass.

it's also encouraging on the flipside that BJ is going up against what is arguably the worst secondary in the league in SF this weekend.

atlanta is away at detroit while tennessee has SF at home. away teams from my experience try to take the crowd out of the game by pounding the ball if they can and it's more common for home teams to be able to run the ball...

all of these things make them seem like somewhat equal choices maybe leaning slightly toward BJ in my mind at this point.

the next question is gameplan. after losing two in a row at home (one to a terrible GB team) while trying to pass the ball more will atl try to revert to what they do best? pound the ball with duckett, juke 'em with dunn and outrun 'em with vick? who knows... what will the gameplan be? ten. on the other hand frequently has issues running the ball and SF has shown that if they dedicate the personnel to it they can stop even a good runner (tiki for 71 yds, julius to 85) so the mediocre chris brown could be in for a long day and mcnair could put it up 35 times with great success...

then you have to look at which team has the most potential to end up throwing the ball more regardless of the initial gameplan (who is most likely to end up down 17 at halftime). my vote in this category would have to be ten. with the emerging dorsey-lloyd combo but then there's the frank gore/kevan barlow medical issues. on the other side you have detroit with one of the most powerful offenses in the league if they could ever get their sh!t straight. the roy williams/charles rogers/mike williams combo is pretty sick if they can find a way to score...

the final thing i'd look at are the early over/under indicators. i always go where the points are when i can't make a decision any other way. as it stands -- both games are at 42.5

what a b!tch...

i'm glad i don't have to choose (although i have some similarly sh!tty choices).

if it were me... i'd choose jones but it's really a coin toss in my mind...


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From: Ryan [mailto:]
Sent: Tue 11/22/2005 3:48 PM
To:
Subject: ?




Who do I start, Michael Jenkins or Brandon Jones?

I am leaning towards Jenkins.

I'm Over It

Last weekend I went to Charlottesville to view UVA taken behind the woodshed by VT. All the Hokies were in their glory, and I realized the great distance UVA will have to overcome to match VT's football ability.

While the loss was humbling, from a macro prospective I don't at all mind. A comparison between UVA and VT is no comparison, as UVA possesses the higher rankings (with the exception of engineering), greater prestige, a bucolic grounds and more successful alumni. I had a wonderful time as a student at UVA and have no regrets.

All VT has is football. I understand why it is their biggest source of pride.

In standard VT fashion, I was appalled by their 'Stick It In' chant, on the heels of convictions for sex with minors for their cuurent QB and RB, in addition to the Supreme Court ruling involving VT football players and the Violence Against Women Act.