2014. I like the sound of that. Twenty fourteen. Sounds like a year-number you remember later. FSU predicts memorable.
Also, Fanfest announced for Saturday, Feb 8, based in the Oracle, but with access to the Coliseum as well.
Happy New Year, FKers.
"Kraut will get you through times of no money better than money will get you through times of no kraut."
Reports on recent Fanfests from some of you FKers have been positive. I’m pretty sure I’ll be keeping my never-attended streak intact. But if 2014 game tickets are on sale at the box office that day, I could see myself loading up the grill and the kids for a few hours of parking lot fun time.
Its a saturday, so I might go this year. Depends on the price and all. I don’t know if my kids will cue up for autographs
$10 for regular stiffs, $5 for season ticketeers, free for kids 6 and under.
so at most its $15 for me. (sorry didn’t click the link)
It’s been very good the last few years. Totally worth it.
Speaking of Opening Day, my brother-in-law in Denver reports hours-long lines (in 35° temps) outside the new legal retail pot shops this morning. I told him he should have packed a grill and cooler.
cooler?
I suppose a cardboard box to hold the beer and meat would suffice.
Hard not to love the NHL’s New Year’s Day outdoor hockey game, playing in the falling snow in Ann Arbor.
Agree, though I probably won’t actually record one until the Sharks get to play. Not that they should or anything.
Yes indeed, it definitely brings back memories of playing youth hockey in the great outdoors. Gotta love it.
Great throwback jerseys for both teams too.
Oh, man, yes. Just beautiful. I think these were the sweaters worn by the metal guys on my old table hockey game:
Gorgeous
There’s a series of high school and college hockey games scheduled at Fenway Park over the next several days, but today’s game has been cancelled due to too much snow.
Meanwhile, I did the unthinkable (for January) a couple hours ago: I washed my car.
It’s supposed to keep snowing for at least another day. My wife tells me that they are expecting >12 inches.
Tahoe’s Christmas and New Year business is driven by family vacations, partying and the like, but getting into January and into April, it all depends on skiing. Conditions are dreadful now and the prospects are bleak. We’ve already lost some Olympic trials to Colorado. It’s not that early anymore and we all know what a 10-game losing streak in May or June feels like. The FKing RAFs should think about putting the brick back in the toilet tank.
wake and bake with a clean slate. my favorite morning of the year. top three anyway.
“where the… what the…?” [blink] [blink] “oh… right…” [blink] [blink] “but why’s it so dark? i couldn’t have passed out that long… there’s still ice in the bong.”
true story.
I started going to Fanfests following their reintroduction in 2012…
Anyone recall what they were like when they were solely based at the Coliseum?
still never gone.
I remember positive accounts on AN from the Coliseum-based Fanfests. The Q&A sessions were more open to the fans, who were seated in lower box baseline seats facing the players on stages erected in the adjacent foul territory grass. Chances to go on field and in dugouts, plus clubhouse tours. The feel described in the Coliseum was more up close and personal than how Oracle’s setup has been described to me. But that could just be a function of the scale of the event.
That does sound pretty good.
I enjoyed the 2012 Fanfest, which, while not as organized as 2013’s, was far less crowded (even in the Oracle) and offered the clubhouse tours, autographs, and interviews.
I doubt I’ll go again this time around, because although 2013 offered the same amenities it was just insanely cramped. The Oracle is an alright place, but I always kind of got the feeling the older (and more expansive) Fanfest location at the Coliseum would be more ideal.
Possible weather issues aside, it seems like there would be far more places to move around and do things.
Yes, it was like that. I remember a read-stories-to-kids booth with a very young Mark Mulder making his way through some kind of Pat-the-Bunny knockoff, looking bored to tears. One reason the fan Q&A may have been reduced was the ever-increasing numbers of teenage girls using their moment at the mic to ask Bobby Crosby to take them to prom. It did seem a little less crowded/cramped than Oracle. But I also remember one miserable rainy FF, which I’m sure is part of the reason for moving much of it to Oracle.
Good God. Will someone please bring hipsters back?
I hope Miss Hawaii delivered before midnight. The difference between being born in 2013 vs. 2014 could be collecting full Social Security benefits at retirement age 90 vs. age 92.
When Brent Musberger retires great gushing praises will be heaped upon him, but I can’t stand the guy. He overdoes every damn call. Also, I own that Michael Kors tie he’s wearing.
I think of Curt Gowdy as the classic voice of the Rose Bowl (he did it from 1968-1979). You’re right, Musburger won’t be missed.
Trivia: Since 1952, only 6 broadcasters have called PxP on the national telecast of the Rose Bowl: Mel Allen (12 years), Lindsey Nelson (4), Gowdy (12), Dick Enberg (9), Keith Jackson (15) and Brent (today is his 11th).
Because we want very badly to live in a country where shoving things up your butt is an indicator of economic health, we will choose to believe that the relationship here is causative.
Does anybody really find ‘Furd’s band amusing? And someone needs to take an axe to that tree.
I adore the LSJUMB. I go out of my way to see them at parades and I have a couple of their CDs.
I adore the tree. It’s cute that you’re so bitter though ;)
For the record, I am NOT a Cal fan, either. :)
I wanted Stanford to drive down the field and score after ESPN showed the Former Michigan State Athlete Who Shall Not Be Named on Sparty’s sideline, but David Shaw’s conservative play-calling thwarted that quickly.
Other than that 50 yard pass in the 3rd quarter, ‘Furd has been getting stuffed most of the 2nd half.
I don’t understand why the kid is running from his father while eating the stuffed nacho thing, or why the father is chasing him. “Because your parents came home early”. Huh? It would make a little more sense if the announcer said “Because your girlfriend’s parents came home early.”
I thought it was “because her parents came home early”.
AHA! You are right. The hearing may be going, but I’m glad the mind is (usually) still sharp.
Five minutes left, hopefully Stanford can make a stop and get the ball back. Then go to a holder-based passing attack to move the ball.
Uh, Mr Shaw, have you figured out yet that Gaffney up the middle is not working today?
Stuffed!
The fullback up the middle doesn’t work, either.
I guess Shaw likes Stanford much more than any of the available NFL opportunities, because the pros can’t be impressed with this game at all.
I wouldn’t have thought that a 4th-and-one call could be too conservative, but there you go.
#AlsotooBriles
Sad panda.
Sorry batgirl, we were mostly all rooting for you. Hopefully last year’s Rose Bowl win eases some of this year’s loss.
Well, I’m mostly zen-ing it. I have been truly spoiled by my Cardinal for the last four years, and I love this team and coach shaw. So I’ll take what i can get and be grateful. Of course between the tigers and now the Spartans, Michigan can kindly go fk itself.
Today a patient said he liked working with me because I was sturdy. Nicest way someone has ever called me fat. I liked iy.
Maybe he meant your disposition…competent, unflappable, reliable.
He said he likes seeing me smile, but I’m the only one who can lift him.
Worried that Blake Bortles will throw 5 TDs, then be drafted by the Raiders, then never be seen as a starting QB ever again.
Also, if UCF were to win, alum Vince Cotroneo would remind us of it five times a game this season.
It’s appalling that Baylor, in their first-ever (and last-ever) BCS bowl game appearance, has abandoned their traditional green and gold uniforms in favor of horrid alternate black.
That’s on top of the usual reason to detest them, which is that the university president is Clinton nemesis Kenneth Starr.
Also, they hail from Waco.
The player names on those jerseys are deliberately obscured and hard to read. Just stupid.
It was marginally quirky when only Oregon did the different-jersey-every-game thing. Now it’s just a lot of teams looking awful.
Baylor could do it again, though. The Big-12 is pretty weak
I’m late to the party, but I thought the North Texas uniforms (helmets, especially) were fanFKingtastic
Thanks, and go As.
The chex mix I made last night has hit the point where everything soaked in yo get the right taste. I may eat 9 cups of it for dinner tonight.
I like Chex with taco seasoning on it.
That sounds like how the kids (not mine) eat Top Ramen raw with the seasoning pack thrown on it.
I’ve probably only cooked about 25% of the ramen I’ve eaten in my life. But I would never use the seasoning pack if I wasn’t cooking it.
Colin/ec bait
I was supposed to make it to McMurdo just in time for Icestock, but we were delayed by a day due to aircraft mechanical problems, so instead I had an uneventful NYE in Christchurch.
We flew on January 1 instead and the pilot took us on a nice tight loop around Mount Erebus, the southernmost volcano on Earth.
Sweet!
Neat! As luck would have it, earlier today I was looking at the circa 1914 photos recently found and restored from Scott’s hut and saw a pic of that very mountain.
cool
That’s fantastic
beautiful
I have to work in in the morning. Hopefully I can remember how to do my job.
Can’t holidays and vacations just be always? I thought technology was supposed to have eliminated work forever by now. I don’t want to go back to work tomorrow.
It’s 10:30 and it already feels like a long day. Good thing it’s Thursday already.
Working from home eases the transition for me
I love chili.
Living with a vegetarian has robbed me of good chili, sadly.
Sometimes you just need some good meat.
TWSS
Happy New Year to me! My reward for making it to 2014 – pneumonia in my left lung.
boo
So it could be worse, only one!
Actually, that sounds horrible, I’m so sorry. I had pneumonia when I was in high school, so it wasn’t all that bad because I got to miss a lot of school and my mom danced attendance on me, but still it was not fun.
I got a z-pack to fight the infection, and some extra-strength cough suppressant pills. The coughing fits are the worst – my head feels like someone is trying to expand my skull from within, and they also hurt in the chest area. At least I’ll get to stay home a couple of more days from work.
Damn, doc, that sucks. Heal fast.
Oh no. That just means that you’re getting the downs out of the way early this year!
It seems we have a candidate for an early test of the Obamacare Death Panels.
Get well soon, doctorK. OR ELSE.
If they make these decisions based on individuals’ political affiliations, I’m screwed.
Well, the vitamin-Z did it’s job. Aside from some minor coughing, I recovered nicely. Follow up with my GP confirms no further issues.
Latest Kluwe
I’m not sure how much of that is embellished, but Priefer sure comes off in a bad light.
Also, Kluwe also just isn’t that great of a punter and was making a pretty significant salary as far as punters go. After the Vikings he couldn’t stay on with the Raiders (King is pretty awesome though) and he tried out for the Bengals and wasn’t given a job.
I don’t doubt that Priefer is a grade a bigoted POS, but I can’t say that is why Kluwe was let go.
Thanks, and go As.
My observation over the years is that teams tend strongly to stay with their incumbent punters, unless that person starts really screwing up. So Kluwe’s suggestion that he was cut for being outspoken does ring true to me. However, the fact that he didn’t catch on with anyone else is probably more about him not being all that great, certainly not great enough to displace an established punter on another team.
I’m sure it had something to do with them looking to replace him, but they drafted a punter in the 5th and saved $1M in cap space by going with him over Kluwe.
Thanks, and go As.
why wasn’t he asked to restructure then?
Because he also wasn’t that good
Thanks, and go As.
i just don’t think that you go from being a middle of the pack punter to out of a job at the veteran minimum.
2 other teams this year tried him out and didn’t take him though.
Thanks, and go As.
Do you think he might have had more of a chance if the Raiders had cut him earlier? by the time he was available, rosters were pretty much set.
I think it’s a combination. If you need a punter, do you get a expensive one you know won’t be great and will be at least a bit of a distraction or do you pick up an UDFA lottery ticket and use the money elsewhere.
I think it more, if we hire another punter, we don’t have to deal with these questions or distractions and the difference in skill isn’t that significant.
King wasn’t all that awesome, and I think Seabass would have done better with a more experienced holder. But it’s not like it would have made much of a difference to the Raiders’ ultimate outcome.
FWIW, Kluwe says here that he has witnesses to his claims. Which is interesting given this statement by Prifer. I’m pretty sure that Kluwe is smart enough not to publish something like this on a lark.
Whether it has anything to do with him being let go, I have no idea.
Hobo nickels. Lovely.
Puppy Bowl lineups out! With all due respect to Poppy, Tyga looks like the pup to beat.
I say watch out for August…boxers aren’t my favorite dog breed, but she looks like the kind of dog that wins these events. Lots of hustle. High Puppy Bowl IQ. Strong intangibles.
Plenty of upside there!
I’m gonna go with Brody… he’s looking bouncey and ready to go!
My faves:
Benton
Hudson
Lily
Mila
Parker
Tyga
less cute overall than last year if memory serves
Best cars from the 2013 season of the 24 Hours of Lemons.
Awesome. Reading this, combined with an hour of Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee, has made me feel less unproductive this fine day in my automotive industry career.
Speaking of which… I need to start looking for homes near San Clemente. I just got promoted to corporate.
Corporate! Nice. Maybe you can talk the owner into selling this old place.
Maybe I can stage a break-in
woo hoo!
I’m excited and nervous–feel a bit intimidated about going to corporate and having to justify my existence instead of being able to disappear as a territory consultant.
Congratulations! In spite of the Orange County part. I remember you were scrounging for a job in a Chase branch in the SLC outskirts two or three years ago; if this move is worth making I’d say things have turned up a lot since then.
If it were me I’d stay anywhere along the ocean rather than go inland down there. San Clemente itself is fine, probably pricey. More distant, if Laguna Beach is too ambitious financially, look toward Oceanside or Carlsbad.
Yeah, it’s definitely a good move for us. It’s pretty crazy to contrast my job situation coming back from Japan with where we are now.
We’re quite bummed about living in Southern Cal. It’s going to be hard to find a place that will fit out family within a reasonable price range. We’ve looked into buying, but we have to hold off until August so that we don’t have to pay capital gains. And everything down there has Mello-Roos and high HOA fees. How can people afford to live in SoCal or anywhere west of Fairfield in the Bay Area?
My sister lives in San Clemente. Need any recommendations?
Great news, even if it means moving to Rev Halofan territory.
Get to see Mulder II though.
Maybe if he goes back to Salt Lake City.
no blackouts though
I admit, this was one of the first things I thought of!
the Customs Agent should be forced to pay for this himself.
Damn, I wanted him in Oakland on a cheap post-injury deal
Thanks, and go As.
Hey brian.only, is the softball crew convening at noon tomorrow? If so I might be in this time!
Yes we are, glad you might make it!
14th and Filbert, noon!
I’ll see you there! I actually used to play on a league team on that field, Google maps now makes me realize.
Some of you other FKers should show up too!
I would but I’m keezer-building tomorrow. Mosswood is a definite possibility though.
Ballpark on fire. Probably no truth to the rumor that this was Lew’s training run.
Another fine moment in burning ballpark history.
Of course not. A rumor implies that there’s some doubt regarding the facts. But you’d think he’d practice on a stadium more… concrete based.
wait. they got mos def on the dexter??? what happened, mos? no seriously… what. the duck. happened??
well, it’s not like anybody remembers him anyway. a KALX DJ about 3 or 4 weeks ago back-announced black star’s definition by referring to him as moss def a few times.
Brandon Moss Def.
Did you see his Guantanamo force-feeding demo?
yup. pretty good.
Bedbait
ouch. brainfreeze.
Sonic.net is coming to town!
WOOOOOOOOO
Thanks, and go As.
Tell me more about this. Is it just the price that makes you go woooooooo, or are the internet speeds noticeably better than Comcast/AT&T, or what? I’m intrigued.
No, they’re actually a little bit slower than Comcast, but pretty similar to ATT’s fastest U-Verse offering (24Mbps)
However, Sonic has no data caps, delete user data after 2 weeks, are a small local company, aren’t assholes, and the 39.99 monthly price includes internet and home phone even though I don’t use a home phone.
They are also rolling out their own fiber service, which I will sign up for immediately when it’s available.
Thanks, and go As.
I see. I’m currently on the slowest Comcast offering, which I guess is 25Mbps. Would I notice a difference dropping down to 20Mbps or whatever Sonic currently offers?
Depends upon your distance to a service station (call them and they’ll answer quickly/tell you exactly what to expect).
If you’re close, it’ll probably actually be faster. If not, you can trust them to tell you to stick with cable (when we moved I called them intending to just switch service and they told me not to use them b/c of distance)
I have them now. I like them. I think the total is about $58 when taxes etc are levied. They work great. I have been streaming video on TV computer and phone at the same time with no noticeable impact. Plus what Mike v says.
I also have Sonic now, and love the price, the service, the corporate non-evilness, etc. However, the problem is that it’s still the AT&T DSL lines, so if with AT&T you have a slowness problem due to the distance from the DSL switching cabinet (or junction point or whatever the right term is), that problem will not be improved at all when Sonic becomes the provider of record. That’s the situation I have, which may ultimately force me back into Comcast’s hands…just typing those words makes me feel icky.
Central office. I get around 6 Mbps, which still seems to be enough for decent quality streaming video, but yeah, it depends a lot on where you are.
I’m almost 2 miles from the central office. Is that bad?
That’s pretty far, yeah.
That does look bad. What’s the Y-axis measuring? Bytes/second?
Bits per second, I’d imagine. (Why does nobody ever label their axes?!)
and NERDS!
Real nerds would point out that it isn’t speed, it’s bandwidth.
the guy that came out to me was surprised at the speed I was getting, but I don’t remember anything about the numbers.
This is why we currently use UVerse. It apparently has different central offices than DSL.
$58 for Fusion? That’s like $19 in taxees on top of the $39 actual product?
That is absolutely FKing insane.
Unless you are talking about $29 for regular sonic DSL plus $20 for an ATT phone line plus taxees and all that stuff?
Thanks, and go As.
I suspect it’s $40 for fusion, $6.50 equipment rental, and taxes/fees. Phone line fees are high relative to cost because you’re paying for things like 911 service. As an Ooma phone user, I know that phone line fees are ~3.50 in Marin and ~$7 in SF.
oh, yeah I didn’t figure in the 6.50 modem rental. I’m gonna buy my own modem though, same as I did with Comcast.
Thanks, and go As.
Make sure they’ll let you. The guy I last talked to said you’d have to take their equipment, then confirm with a tech that yours works, then send their equipment back.
The internet suggests they are really discouraging the option.
They let you, they just push really hard for the rental unit because it’s basically pure profit for them after a few months.
One thing I like about Sonic is their CEO regularly posts on their forum and various other internet places talking about service, etc.
Thanks, and go As.
I am getting thoroughly delayed on my trip to South Pole. Left Boston last Friday (December 27) and it’s still going to be at least one more day of sitting around McMurdo before we take our last flight. On the bright side, this has given me plenty of time to upload the photos that I’ve taken so far. If people are interested, check them out here.
ouch. brainfre… PENGUIN!!
Yeah, I was pretty pumped. This is my fourth trip to Antarctica but the first time I have seen a penguin. That guy was hanging out near the road that runs between the station and the airfield. He wandered away from his flock (and away from open water) because he is molting.
not as lucky as pierre.
(ha! eyes on the ticker for news re: frank thomas.)
lions don’t molt
Shouldn’t the name Lucky Pierre have been reserved for one of the sexually flexible penguins at the SF Zoo?
so nice
This Cotton Bowl game between Oklahoma State vs Missouri is quite entertaining, helped in no small part having Gus Johnson on the play by play. Since they’re tied 17-17 with most of the 4th quarter left, Gus should yet have several levels of jubilant histrionics left to reach.
5 TDs and 2 FGs in the fourth quarter to a 41-31 final score, back and forth until the final minute. Crazy, wildly entertaining game. Gus Johnson was positively understated by comparison.
Both games tonight were quite entertaining. I was pulling for Okie State since Misery abandoned the Big 12 for the SEC.
Of course, any time Ohio State loses is fine with me.
Gus nearly ruptured himself on that last pick-6.
I saw American Hustle and The Wolf of Wall Street this week. Seems like David O. Russell kind of out-Scorcesed Scorcese.
I haven’t watched that much football this year, but I still have opinions:
Indy +2.5 over KC (that line seems totally crazy to me, what am I missing?)
NO +3 over Philly (Philly is in the playoffs?)
Cin -6.5 over SD (shrug)
GB +2.5 over SF (SF may be a better team in general and in terms of matchups, but given the weather and the venue I’ll take the home team and the points)
The Indy/KC line has been bizarre. Opened Colts -1, now at KC -2.5, with prices changing by the moment (this page shows an assortment of online books ostensibly with real time changes). I don’t see the KC attraction, they absolutely look like a one and done team to me. I’d go with Indy +2.5. Feels like free money.
A lot of people like Philly to make a sneaky playoff run. Football Outsiders gives them the best chance of reaching the conference finals of any team without a first round bye. So I guess I’ll take Philly -3, but without much conviction.
Outsiders also likes Cincy. San Diego is terrible…they lost to the Raiders, for chrissake. There’s sure to be at least one crappy blowout game this weekend, and this one looks like it to me. Cincy -6.5.
Supposedly SF’s running game should be able to shred GB’s feeble run defense. But yeah, betting a west coast team to cover 2.5 points on the literally frozen Lambeau tundra feels like folly. GB +2.5.
I really really want NO and (of course) SF to win. The super-cold kind of scares me, but at the same time our run defense is better than our pass defense, Rodgers may not be 100%, and our OL is possibly the best power running line in the NFL. Bad conditions seem like a good thing.
Philly scares me a little, but I’m picking NO because I can’t not wishcast a round 2 game in Carolina.
I understand there is an advantage to play at home. But why are we pretending that the players on the techie-niners are from the west coast. I am sure they played in foul weather. Didn’t the god fearing quarter person grow up in the mountains and went to college in Reno?
I can attest to him shredding Fresno St on more than one wintery occasion.
Now that Dad has basically thrown away his “free money” we need to know how Primera Upgrade handicaps the three remaining games.
…although if I were a nurse in western Missouri I’d be girding for a night of slashed wrists and gunshot wounds.
Nothing would make me happier than a Chef-fold-up after leading by four touchdowns. I would find some amusement, however, if somehow the KC team wins the Superbowl with Alex Smith as
game managerQB.That was a FKing train wreck of Byrnesian proportions. Actually “Byrnesian” is probably an understatement.
So the Chefs in fact fold up like a worn-out newspaper. Bummer.
Never a doubt
Also that season and that game (with a team that went 2-14 last year) are kind of Andy Reid in a nutshell.
I just finished catching up with this game on DVR. Came very close to bailing at halftime when a Chiefs victory seemed assured. Glad I stayed with it.
In addition to the collapsing defense, what a crappy job of time out use by KC. Two timeouts burned in the span of three plays for faikure to get the play call in, then the third TO burned on offense immediately after the two minute warning. Andy Reid is just a horribly bad game manager.
It’s funny because Alex Smith.
Also, I’m sorry but if you can’t protect a 38-10 lead in teh 2nd half of a playoff game, you are not a good coach.
Thanks, and go As.
Primera thinks football is stupid.
And yet again she’s right on the money.
Aces/WAC bait
As long as they don’t have to breathe.
Holy carp, FSU was clutch ++, great time had by many, serious any FK’ers want to play some low-key ball, come next week Saturday for softball!
Thanks for coming out J!
Dude, thank you for getting me out there, that was so much fun! I will most definitely join you and your very cool pals again soon, hopefully next week.
My legs are ridiculously sore today from just three hours of softball. Clearly I need to do this more regularly.
Well, you saw me stretching my legs for 10 minutes before throwing warmups, this is why, sorry buddy. :(
B.O is humbly not mentioning his game-winning, 9th inning, inside the park grand slam.
(blush)
Hey you FK’ers, AV needs company on the grassy knoll next time. fresh air, FK’ers, and free baseball.
Heading down to the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk, In The Warm California Sun™. Niners fans, I’ll be DVRing the Packers-Niners game for later viewing and won’t be around to taunt and jeer in real time as Anquan Boldin’s frostbitten fingers fall off and slide around the the Frozen Tundra™. But I love y’all anyway. Go Pack!
Hey, maybe you’ll run into some of your team down there — not like they have plans this weekend!
Thanks, and go As.
Perhaps. Though the 25¢ rides outside the Safeway may be more their speed.
Those are fun, don’t hate. :(
Thanks, and go As.
I finally made it to Beauty’s Bagels this morning. I may not be able to eat other bagels anymore.
hrm, I’ll have to step in there, I was put off because everyone says they’re reeeeeaaaaally slow.
i don’t know that it takes them any longer to bake a bagel than anybody else. do they mean that the lines are long (during weekend mornings when the lines are long)?
It did take them a little longer than I would have expected to toast my bagel and spread cream cheese on it, and my (very good) cappuccino didn’t come out until I had already devoured my bagel, so I can see speed being a little bit of an issue. It wasn’t even that busy either.
might be my proximity-luck then. i get to choose an 11am-ish midweek time to take a break from work, and even then, if it looks crazy, i turn around and go to sweet bar or something.
on weekends, we tend to go here (not pictured, they sell a shirt that says authentic but in the
atheistsathletics font). good bagels, takeout, small line. just one…. unusual thing. they only put cream cheese on one side of the bagel!!! works ok if you only get cheese (you just squeeze the bagel to make it stick to the other side) but if you get a cheese and something bagel, one side has no cheese at all. WHAT? (so takeout helps. because when we get home we restructure everything.)We try out different places for pre-work snackage, average time was around 20 minutes or something for a bagel and coffee, too hard to BS that on a time sheet when your companies hourly rate is somewhat criminal.
I should elaborate, we are on the clock, it’s pre-job snackage.
Where are they?
Near Macarthur BART. Telegraph and around 40th.
So much for the Bungles.
Oh well, at least the Niners victory gives me an NFC team to hate on next weekend. Otherwise it might have been hard to find my motivation.
The Packers and Saints are good enough for you? I really can’t stand Coach Duckface.
I have no problem with the Saints, or the Panthers. I somewhat like the Seahawks.
Go Niners and Saints again!
RIP Jerry Coleman. Safe to say that baseball will never again see a guy with a resume like this:
40 years broadcasting with one team, the Padres
Ford Frick Hall of Fame broadcasting inductee
MVP of the 1950 World Series for the Yankees
Veteran of WW II and Korea; only big leaguer to see combat in two wars
Marine Lieutenant Colonel
Two Distinguished Flying Crosses
he slides into heaven with stand up salvation.*
*not endorsing religion, just paraphasing my favorite colemanism
DO YOU NOT UNDERSTAND THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN
REDEMPTIONSCORING A RUN AND SALVATION???(i’ve been meaning to link one of those articles for a while. just love the guffawing at how unclear-on-the-concept these secular writers seem to be about the fine distinction between redemption and salvation… within a tautological imaginary construct that atheism rejects in the first place.)
Oh my god. NERDS!
I assume you’re including the secular writers at Catholic Online?
i feel there is a joke or a misunderstanding here. both?
i meant religious writers were calling out the secular writers at huffpo, and that the religious writers seemed more unclear on the basic tenets of atheism than the secular writers were on the fine points and hidden mechanics of getting into heaven.
but if you were making a joke, i’m not clear enough on the concept of catholic online to get it!
I was referring the the Catholic Online headline referenced near the end of the article that appeared to be as unclear on the concept as Huffpo.
ah.
cf Tom Hanks’ son:
idiots is as idiots does, i guess.
Sometimes. Sometimes we are fucking other atheists.
hee
So much Win.
I am trying but I can’t get into Game of Thrones.
Thanks, and go As.
But the boobs!
For the first year I found it really helpful to keep going back to HBO’s Season 1 viewer’s guide to remind myself about the families and character relationships. Because there’s a whole lot going on at once and it was definitely hard for me to keep it all straight. Sticking with the HBO guide by season will prevent any accidental spoiling.
The first few episodes are pretty confusing because of all of the damn characters and houses and previous wars that are introduced at once without much explanation. I’m reading the books now, and with all of the extra exposition in there I’m constantly thinking “Ah, that’s who that was and why they did that thing and how it relates to the thing that happens later or happened in the past.”
plot of holes.
You know, if you’ve read the books- oh wait I’m being ‘that guy’ now, sorry.
I hadn’t noticed that the NYT reporter who wrote the important Benghazi story a week or so ago was someone I knew in high school, until I saw this today.
Man, that is just sad.
So cool, thanks for sharing, I was meaning to read that.
Thanks, and go As.
Geez. Really?
That’s just silly.
3 games against GB he has 1200 yards of offense.
I dunno how but he is their Kryptonite.
Thanks, and go As.
i don’t know much about this football stuff, but that mcnair guy looks pretty good. he got to 250% more postseason games than the guy above him and still saved himself running those 7 extra yards.
Get back to me when he has an awesome helicopter dive in the super bowl ;)
Indians sign Francoeur to a minor-league deal, sparking debate between proponents of Bacon Monday Opening Night and Bacon Tuesday April Fool’s Day.
The latter seems more appropriate.
And it’s now been officially called for Tuesday. Bacon jester’s hat in the works!
Pretty nice work here by my colleagues. I especially like the moment at :28 where the giant American flag appears to vanish in a puff of smoke.
Doesn’t that assume that the 49ers and NO won’t both win next weekend?
Yes.
I love how one guy says that “we went through years of losing its like tourture city”
Lets be real the 49ers have been the most successful NFL franchise of the last thirty five years.
True. But the bleak years were not just shitty but boring-shitty.
Probably, but that’s too big of a chunk of time to call them the most successful, IMO.
The 80’s were clearly SF, the 90s were very much Dallas, but the Darth Hoodie era in New England has been pretty insane. Sustained winning and success in the NFL for more than 10 years or so is really, really hard to do.
Thanks, and go As.
67 years ago a Lady came to visit us… she didn’t stick around all that long, but when you consider the legacy she left us, I’m not sure she had to. Today’s bloggy post — whipped up as quickly as I could do it once I remembered it was her birthday — is about the one and only Ms. Alexandra Elene MacLean Denny. Or, more succinctly, Sandy.
Seriously with the flaming spear? We’re letting them do that in California?
The Florida State football coach’s name is “Jimbo.” You can’t make this stuff up.
Acronym-homonyms notwithstanding, I’m definitely rooting for Auburn. Hoping this guy hits his $500:1 shot.
I gotta think this kind of gambling is a good way to supplement income. I know, I know, gambling is a fools game. but I do so love it. But I never have been a sports gambler. In my vegas going heyday (6 times a year) college and just after, I was never much of a sports follower, but I would always linger in the sports book trying to get up the nerve to bet on baseball, because I know I knew as much as the average bettor. I never did though.
Am I talking crazy, or does gambling make football better?
Oh absolutely. Football owes much of its ascension to the king of American sports to gambling. Also to the acceptability of drinking beer at 10:00 AM.
The sports book was always a good way to stretch out my time in Vegas without blowing through my trip budget as fast as the blackjack tables could (sometimes) take it. You can nurse a couple of $5 bet tickets for a good long time.
What, you’ve never gone camping or to an early morning FK-gate?
Thanks, and go As.
what are the odds on the other side? / how much would he have to bet on florida for the same payday?
That was a bet before the season began, Auburn versus the rest of the nation. Auburn was unranked when the season began. FSU was ranked around #10 preseason I think, so I’d guess their odds would have been maybe 30:1 or so?
A little Googling suggests FSU had around 20:1 preseason odds to win it all.
i mean, if the guy does as people suggested for the situation he found himself in, that he could bet today on the other side to guarantee a payday, how much would he have to put down to get $50k? i’m just wondering how worth it. put down 25k to make 50k minus taxes… kind o thing? (sorry if it says it right in the article. i swear i looked for it.)
I think FSU was still a heavy 1:3 favorite going into the game, so he had about 12.5K in equity, i.e. for a complete hedge he would have had to bet 37.5K on FSU to win, guaranteeing himself a 12.5K profit either way.
Hard to blame him for not wanting to do that, psychologically you don’t want to bet a bunch of money against your own team, but in the unlikely even that I were in that situation I would be tempted to make some sort of partial hedge, just to guarantee a few thousand dollars in profit.
seems silly to not take one’s vacation piggy bank, at least, and bump it up a little. i mean, it’s a free savings upgrade.
Maybe he did and just didn’t tell anyone so as not to piss off fellow Auburn fans.
I can’t even imagine the psychological roller coaster that guy must have been on during the fourth quarter.
I’m just impressed at (i) how short the odds were for FSU to win the BCS single-handed, and (ii) how it has driven him to use a Rickeytastic 3rd person singular.
[thinks] [thinks] [thinks]
heh
Make that, “Jimbo, Coach of the National Champion FSU Seminoles”.
Ugh, the Tomahawk Chop call is even more tiresome here than in Atlanta.
I still contend that would be truly awesome if the chant were a true Native American song rather than a bunch of drunken idiots yelling gibberish in unison.
I hate the chop, but don’t hate too much on drunken idiots yelling gibberish in unison, as I understand it it’s the entire foundation of European soccer fandom.
You understand correctly, sir
Wow, that was a pretty awesome finish. Can’t really ask for a better national championship game.
Yep, very enjoyable game for the non-aligned fan to watch, for sure. Too bad Auburn’s defense faltered so badly on that last drive. Kind of weird, several times there were DBs and LBs scrambling for position as the ball was snapped, then pointing fingers at each other after the play.
I had an odd experience: paused after third quarter so Mrs. N could watch, got NYT news alert with final score, spent first 10 mins of 4th quarter wondering how the FK that could possibly happen, since the final score precluded overtime.
baseball
A cascade of Captain Chavezes!
Three more of them and we have the bullpen full
new undervalued asset:
cloning existing, cost-controlled players in lab beneath lake merritt
What up, FKers?
Hi ozz! Jennifer said you were in Beirut, or Bahrain, or some other middle eastern B place. And then she stopped posting, so I figured you two ran away together to become oil millionaires.
yep. bferrariland, in babu bdhabi.
where is the j-lady, btw?
she just said something on twitter about her birthday being Jan 26, but she is going out tonight to celebrate or something
well happy birthfortnight to her.
Sorry to destroy your illusions. I was in the UAE. There’s a B in Dubai, though. And 2 in Abu Dhabi. And we’re not oil millionaires, or at least I’m not. But my ex comes from oil money. Her great grandfather or someone had land that still has oil, and the payments are spread amongst his descendants. She got a check once a year, usually for around $6.
Can I have $5?
Talk to the ex. She’s the one with oil.
Should have divorced her in California. Then half of that would have been yours.
There goes my retirement plan. I guess it’s back to playing Powerball.
I have a 1/648th mineral rights share, or something like that, in an oil field in North Dafuckarewedoinginthisshitholekota which I got from a Norwegian bachelor farmer great-great uncle. I used to get about $1.98 every year, but I must not have given them my current address because I haven’t for a while. Since things have gone nuts up there, it might be up to $3.50 a year by now.
That’s damn near a gallon of gas. Can’t believe you’re just letting it get away.
Retirement strategy. It is now sitting in unclaimed property. In a few years EM will collect it all and run off to..well wherever you can go with the probably $12.50 total by then (less expenses to get it from the state.)
My version of that is that my Grandpa once gave me 5 shares in his wife’s company. Though the shares themselves are probably worth about one game in my ST plan, they are the only ones I own so I suspect transaction fees would be high. Their dividends are generally $1/quarter, and damned if they don’t snailmail me something every time saying they’ve direct deposited it.
Leave me alone.
NEVER!
dude! stories?
Hmm… I went to Ferrariworld and rode the world’s fastest roller coaster. Four times. It uses a catapult like the ones on aircraft carriers to launch you from 0 to ~150mph in 5 seconds. There were also a number of gorgeous Ferrari cars, but I didn’t bring my camera. I wanted to, but I wasn’t sure what I’d do with it while I rode the coasters. Turns out I could have rented a locker. I wish I’d known.
I also tried the racing simulator. Apparently, it’s the same as the ones used by the Ferrari F1 team to train drivers. It wasn’t all that great, honestly. You still don’t get nearly as much feedback about what the car is doing as you do in real life. Also, it’s 100 dirhams (about $27) for 5 minutes.
Admission and food weren’t cheap either (240 dirhams for admission; I had a chicken shawarma for lunch, it came with a soda and dessert for 60 dhirams. A similar meal outside the park could probably be had for under 20 dirhams, and it would probably be better). But overall, it was tons of fun. It was really fascinating to see women in burkas riding roller coasters.
There was a day we went to Fujairah. It’s another Emirate, with a very different landscape. It’s on the Arabian Sea and has mountains. We stopped at a roadside stand where a guy sold boiled or roasted corn, seasoned with lime, salt, garlic and chili powder. It was delicious! We stopped at a mosque that dates to probably the mid 15th century. It’s the oldest mosque in the area. I couldn’t go inside, as I had no head covering.
woo! sounds hella fun. and cheaper than disneyland (travel not included).
though perhaps…
…you only got as far as the mission and they told you it was the middle east?
Hmm, that could be… He only spoke Hindi, though.
Oh hey, I got to fly 1st class on the way back. That was fun.
What airline? I’m guessing that First Class on something like Emirates is pretty badass.
All you damn travel people.
I’m trying to figure out how to go to Cabo for the 4th of July (heh, ironing) with the pretty girl.
It’s expensive :(
Thanks, and go As.
Summer travel is always pricey. What sites have you tried?
Mostly looking at Costco’s travel site.
Thanks, and go As.
You could try Southwest. I just tried and they’re only showing vacation deals with dates to the end of June, though. Also, check travelocity and cheapcaribbean.com.
Just United. My dad used to work for them, so he gets flying privileges, and I tag along. First on Emirates looks sick, but I’d rather buy a new car for that price. Although they do have a non-stop from SFO-DBX. And coach is supposed to still be really nice on their planes, and not terribly expensive.
Oh, also at Ferrariworld, they have a pit stop challenge thing. You can work in groups of up to 3 people, changing a tire on an F1 car. The pros use 3 guys and get it done in 4 seconds. My bro-in-law and I worked as just 2 guys and did it in 7.3 on our 2nd try (first try was 17 seconds because he had trouble getting the new tire onto the hub). I think working on an F1 pit crew would be a nice little career.
¿Cómo se dice “elotes locos” en árabe?
That sounds like lots of fun! Also, would you rather have nine dirhams or a team of nine Durhams? Also also, can I have 5 dirhams?
I think a team of nine Durhams. And I can’t give you any dirhams, I left them with my mom when I came back. Sorry.
Someone I work with had a funny story that I don’t totally remember about Ferrariland. I think that he had like a 24 hour layover somewhere in UAE. His son was really into rollercoasters, so they decided to rent a car, drive like 4 hours to get there, and then rode that one rollercoaster like 10 times.
this got me thinking. My dad designed the water pump system for an amusment park in Kuwait City in the 70s or 80s. I remember going to some office somewhere and seeing a model of it on the floor. I remember my dad reluctantly taking Kuwaiti dignitaries (not royals, just high level civilian gov’t people) to disneyland and knotts berry farm around (I just recently stopped using a tennis racket one of them gave me). I never went there, haven’t been back there since the mid 70s. But I thought it must be on the web.
That said, this was a sad image to see first thing
It’s an image from the gulf war, its back up and running now.
Free drugs nighthawks soundtrack.