Sure-fire Sports Predictions

Baseball's post-season has turned into a dreadfully predictable affair. Where once there was drama, now there is inevitability. A golden rule has emerged that rules baseball play in October: he who is hot, wins. It ain't pitching. Defense does not win you championships. A murderer's row just isn't enough. And as the past several years have demonstrated, if you win a lot in September, you're probably going to be partying a lot in October. So with that in mind, I presnet my fearless predictions for this year's MLB playoffs.

In the AL, a league that I can't stand because of the DH, and Idea that was most likely spawned by evil incarnate or maybe W, the stage is nearly set. NY, Boston and Minnesota, we know. The leaves Anaheim with a game lead of Oakland in the West. SoCal has been scoarching the past 2 weeks and NoCal has been nowhere to be found, so let's Sharpie marker the match-ups: NY vs Minnesota and Boston vs Anaheim. Those could actually flip-flop, depending on how the Anaheim and Minnesota do since right now they're tied. Either case, I think Boston and Anaheim are going to square off, wether in the 1st or 2nd round, and Boston will win. Eventually, Boston will be headed to the World Series as NY just doesn't have the mojo this year. But you know what? It doesn't matter becasue this year's World Series Champ is coming from teh NL.

You have St. Louis locked in at the Central and Atlanta in the East. St. Louis is backing into the playoff, picking the wrong time to be playing the worst baseball. They're done, pulling a Mariners in the first round. And Atlanta, the other first round host, well, they've show over the years what spineless, uninspired play gets you in the post season: an early exit. And they'll get more of the same again this year. That means the NL Championship series will come down to the winner of the Wild West and the Wild Card. And San Fran doesn't play a hand in either (this is a whole karma thing and there's no way I'm picking a team with Barry Bonds on it to do anything but die a slow death). And unfortunately for the Dodgers, they traded their bull-pen and their leader back in July so they're not going to make a run. That leaves us the Cubs or the Astros as the eventual NL Wild Card and World Champ.

I'm sorry, Blair. They really have given it a valient effort all year. But this past week, your Cubbies have been absolutely mediocre. They gave themselves every chance to stand up and scream, "THIS IS OUR YEAR". But all they've done instead is hope that the Giants keep losing, too while the Astros came flying from behind and 'YOINK' snatch the Wild Card away.

The Astros? Am I insane? No. I've just watched a local team, the Angels, fly out of no where 2 years ago to grab the Wild Card and the ring and then my 2nd favorite team, the Marlins (a team I watched grow up) do the exact same thing last year. That, my friends, earns you quality karma, mojo AND history points. It's almost a formula at this point: stay within striking distance, keep your starting pitching solid and under the radar, don't let your bullpen blow up, have a couple of clutch situational bats (no need for a moster masher like Bonds), and win down the stretch wehn it really matters. That's where they are. The only thing that concerns me about the pick is that before the season, the Astros had expectations where the Angels and MArlins had none. However, we're talking about a formula here and where would Coke or KFC be without a formula? Exactly.

It sucks, I know. Who in the hell gives a crap about the Astros? No one. But you know what, no one gave a crap about the Angels or Marlins eaither. Seriously. It was just random dumb luck that I had a connection with both of those teams. But I have no connection with the Astros so I will most assuredly NOT be watching game 7 of the World Series. I don't want to have to see the countless fan shots in Fenway. The one's where the fans have the inexplicable "there is no way Carlos Beltran just belted the game winning homer" look. Many of them crying. The Red Sox and Boston deserve better than having that happen to them and from the Astros no less. Could be worse though. Could be the Mets again.

Reason # 1086 not to vote for W: When he start's on the "KERRY THE FLIP FLOPPER" rants at his horrifically staged ralleys, and he gets that stupid look on his face (you know the one I"m talking about, where he's shrugging his shoulders and his head is bobbing a bit and he has this completely comfused and quizzical look like, "I can't believe these people are actually falling for this crap") I just want to punch him. And anyone who you just want to punch for no good reason should NOT be a world leader.

Thoughts on 30

I turned 30 today. I suppose I have some thought on that, when I forget to not think about it. Here we go.

- You still get zits when you're 30. I thought this was suppoesd to stop 12 years ago. And yet it continues on. Sure not quite in volume, but it seems I'm always dealing with one. Today, for instance, I've got the classic "where the nose meets the face making it impossible to pop" zit.

- Car insurance is not any cheaper when you're 30. I haven't been pulled over in 3 years, and yet my insurance is more than anyone I know. This might be a by-product of living in California, but still, I'm paying way more than I feel I should even for California.

- You don't get to control the remote when you're 30. I've decided that I want to watch football whenever humanly possible without any sort of friction with the woman. Not that she's given me any friction whatsoever, because she hasn't. But I don't intend to ever NOT want to watch football, so with that goal in mind, when it's not Saturday, Sunday or Monday, I'll pretty much acquesce to watch whatever she wants. Call it preventive maintenance.

- Things that you started to collect in your 20's, you find that you have A LOT of them. My afflictions are DVD's and Star Wars Legos. I have far too many to count of either and continue to gather more. I find this is a function of both age and availibility of disposable income. Whatever the case, I'm glad I don't collect jars.

- Everyone's who has passed this miestone before me is right: turning 30 really isn't a big deal. I don't feel all that old. I don't feel all that different. I don't feel like people are treating me any differently.

Really, it's not a big deal. Yet. I'm sure at some point someone will ask me how old I am and I'll say 30 and it will dawn on me. I imagine it will be even worse if someone says something like, "There's now way you could be 30!" But alas, I am.

Reason #107 not to vote for W: he's doing everything he can to prevent 1000's of American young men and women from reaching 30.

Buy this Book

I haven't finished reading it yet. In fact, I've barely started. But I'm absolutely certain that America (the book) from the folks that bring us the Daily Show with Jon Stewart will be the most enjoyable read of my life.

My favorite book of all time is Catch 22. I don't see America supplanting that. But I know I'm going to enjoy reading America more. The only reason Catch 22 will keep it's title and remain the reigning champion of my little book world is because America is a text book, and I can't imagine reading it cover to cover more than once. Hell, I've NEVER read a text book cover to cover even once, but I think I'll muddle through this time.

The Daily Show is quite possibly the greatest show EVER on TV. It's definitely the smartest. It can occationally be the funniest. When you have Presidential candidates announcing their run on your show, then you know you're having at least a moderate influence on the political system. And then that guy goes on to become a Vice Presidential candidate. I think you can make an arguement that it's the greatest ever.

And now these guys have writen a text book on the history of politics in our country and democracy in general? Yeah, I'm getting that book.

I'm just now beginning to realize how difficult it is to write a book review before actually reading it. But this book is just like a text book. It has pie charts and pictures and facts and stats in the margins. It has a Glossary. It has quizes at the end of each chapter. And it has sections written by Stephen Colbert.

I'm writing this now because:
A) it takes me FOREVER to read books because when I have spare time I'm usually on teh computer
B) This book needs to be read by everyone before the November election. In fact, you should have to present a recipt of purchase for this book before you're allowed in the booth.

OK, that's a bit of the stretch. But the fact is, if you like to funny stuff, you think that our current government is both funny and scary, and you can't get rnough pictures of the Amazing Batboy, buy this book.

Reason #21 not to vote for W: he wouldn't understand 96% of this book.

DVD Generation

My generation is very interesting. Really. No, I mean it! Movie wise, we are defined, like it or not, by a trilogy. No other generation, since the dawn of motion picture, can lay that claim. The one that follows my own is defined by Titanic. I know 90% of those born after 1980 would complain about that, but tough. It's the female half of your generation that made it the top grossing movie of all time so you're stuck with it. And the men can't complain because these are the women that they'll be sticking their collective penis in, so TOUCH.

Where was I? Oh yes, the Trilogy. I will capitalize it, like the Trinity, because the Trilogy actually has more meaning for the people my age than the Trinity. We can actually probably move that down to trinity. Here's the problem: the Trilogy does not exist as it once did. George Lucas, like John Hughes before him (who was the defining film maker of our generation [Breakfast Club, Sweet Sixteen, Ferris Bueller] until he made Home Alone) has sold out his devoutees. The Generation which was not his, but which he helped define.

I think that's the reason for the betrayal right there: neither of these men REALLY understood their core audiences, which in fact were one in the same. And how could they? They didn't grow up with us. They didn't get to have the same experiences at the same times. And as a result, there's no way for them to realize just how important their art was to defining those experiences.

And becasue 2 of my generation's cultural icons have been stolen from us, we've decided to usurp a cultural icon from the one that follows us: the DVD. The fact is, they owned it dead to rights. There's no reason to even pretend that my generation WASN'T when VHS beat down Beta max and tranformed the TV from an appliance to the center of the entertainment universe. That was my generation. The one after us featured the DVD beating down the VHS unmercifully. Thanks for the memories now go away.

But we're taking that, thanks. It just FEELS like it should belong to us. It's like the movies of my time were MADE for the format. And most importantly, THEE movies, the Trilogy, of our generation, was made for the format. Yet we'll never get to see it in the format. Ever. Becasue the old man who really doesn't understand us, is taking that away from us. It's not enough that he's bastardizing the Trilogy's name with his recent set of films (which I like, a lot, but would never try to defend as they are indefensible).

Yesterday a star wars trilogy (not capitalized on purpose) was released on DVD. But this is the flashier updated "finished" version. The version that Lucus feels is the actual trilogy. I haven't watched it yet, but I know already that it will be missing something. A certain quality that made it the Trilogy. Lucas would call it "datedness" but I call it "autheticity". What we're getting is a lie. My generation has gotten a lot of those. We're the first that was told in no uncertain terms that you're not going anywhere without a college degree. We're the first to live our entire lives without a deep rooted trust in our Government and our President. At least our parents got to Believe for the first 18 or so years of their lives. We're the first to have to deal with AIDS, something far worse than the clap or herpes, bad enough to keep us virgins a few years longer than required. And the current president, the seoncd from our parent's time, George Lucas's time, don't get me started.

So why should the DVD I bought yesterday not be a lie also? It's not REALLY THE STAR WARS TRILOGY. It is in fact a star wars trilogy. The one I grew up LOVING and ADORING was not good enough it seems. Think about that. It wasn't good enough so it needed to be changed. Does that make us NOT good enough, as a generation? Maybe. So we're going to take the DVD format and make it our own to make US better, too. We're going to watch 4 different versions of trailers, becasue we're the ones that made it so you get to have 5 or 6 of those things in front of your movie rather than just 1 or 2. We're the ones that LOVE the making of footage becasue we told HBO and Showtime to show behind the scenes specials in the 80's. We're going to eat up deleted scenes and directors cuts. Why? Becasue we know it's the whole that matters. And not always the finished product. And if you fall in love with something you love IT and the periferals that make up it (trailers, making-ofs and deleted scenes). Not what it's NOT (digital affects and Jabba the Hutt one Episode too early).

If anybody knows how to copy a VHS over to a DVD, I'd like to actually own MY Trilogy on MY format, leagal or other wise.

Reason # 302 not to vote for W: He's never sat through the Trilogy start to finish with a group of his friends on a rainy Saturday at the Cheeto.

Feel the Funk

More on sports. Hey, I warned you in the beginning that this spot was going to be slightly consumed by this.

So yesterday was my first day combining the joys of TiVo and the Sunday NFL Ticket, a Direct TV package which enables yout o watch each and every football game on Sundays. Have I mentioned that I love TiVo? Just an all around wonderful experience. Jenn, even sat and watched with me. Well, sort of. She bought me the new Millenium Falcon Lego set for an early Birthday present and we were putting it together (yay fun!). Just a great Sunday.

And yet, I have a fog over me. Just something isn't sitting right. And that something was a very non-memorable performance from my Steelers. They looked absolutely terrible. The fact that they had a chance to pull within 1 TD in the 4th Quarter does not do justice to how poorly they played. When I perform poorly in something, I'm real bad at beating myself up over it. I'll be affected for a time period lasting anywhere from 24 hours to a week, depending on how disasterous the performance and the long-term ramifications of that performance.

During the regular season, I don't get quite that distrought over a Steeler loss. But Mondays are usually a little more hard to deal with. Just funky. It's silly, I know, but I have a feeling that the only reason I don't take it WORSE, like when I bowl a 130 (I average about 175), is because I have no control over the situation.

What this all means is that I'm a bad loser. So anyone worried that I might someday develop a nasty gambling habit can rest easy. It won't happen. Because the first time I hit a big loss, I wouldn't go chasing the next big win. I can't get the same rush from winning and losing, which is why, they say, gambling addicts can do what they do.

I really hope the Steelers pick it up from here on out. I don't know if I can deal with as many Mondays like this as I did last year.

Reason # 982 to not vote for W: Do you honestly believe for one second that this country is better off today than it was 4 years ago? Now ask yourself if you think it will be better off 4 years from now than it is today? If so how? He hasn't done a single thing to make me belive that he will help us leave the country for our children in better shape than when we found it. And that is what we owe every generation after our own.

Junk Bonds

I have a sports theory: you can't REALLY be a fan of a team/sport unless you LOVE a specific team/person in that sport and HATE a specific team/person in that person. As most of you all know, my allegiances lie with Pittsburgh. I have some affinity for Miami teams, but when push comes to shove, I'm a 'Burgh thing. And THAT is the reason that, in baseball, I HATE BARRY BONDS.

Hate him.

Flames, FLAMES from the side of my face...

OK, I'll grant you that if I was from Butte, MT, you could say, "hey, Paul, Barry Bonds very well may be the most self absorbed, biggest asshole in all of sports, why do YOU get to hate Barry just because you used to play for Pittsburgh." There's 2 things working here that go far beyond just free agency. I never hated Bobby Bonilla after he left, or any of the Steelers Linebackers. But Barry get special treatment because:

1) In 3 straight years in the playoffs, he did absolutely, positively NOTHING in a single one of them to help win a game. And 2 of those went to game 7's. And one of those, he had a chance to throw out a guy at the plate, a guy that had MAJOR knee surgery within the past 2 years on BOTH knees, but he didn't. Are you telling me that a league MVP, the supposed best player in baseball isn't worth at least 1 W in 14 games? Well, it seems not. How can this person be the best player in baseball? How can this person be considered one of the best players of all time. You throw up a bagel in 3 straight 7 game series, YOU CANNOT BE MENTIONED IN THE GROUP OF GREATEST ALL TIME. It's not like the Pirates were the Dolphin of the same era where Dan Marino were the only players worth a damn on the team. These were GOOD TEAMS. Solid D up the middle. Great situational hitters. Fantastic starting pitching. The best of all time win one game out of every seven single-handedly for their teams. Even in the games they DID win, Barry had little if any part in those victories. And this is one of the best of all time? I don't think so and pardon me if I have a free pass to be a little bitter.

2) In a last ditched effort to keep their "star" in Pittsburgh, the Pirates gave Barry an offer of (and I'm working off of 12 year memory here) 10 years $108 Million. The per year average was less than what the Giants had offered. But this is baseball where contracts are guaranteed. Let's say he pulled a Graff, Jr. And started getting hurt every year and could barely play in year 10 of the deal. As long as he doesn't retire, HE'S GETTING $ OVER A 10 YEAR PERIOD. You're telling me that that's not a fair deal? He had only one goal: play for the Giants. I freely grant that it's a free country and you should be able to work for whoever you want. But what ever happened to loyalty. What about, "Hey Pittsburgh, I'm sorry that for the past 3 years I've been the WORST clutch game performer of all time. I'm going to stay here, show some loyalty and right the ship." Nope. Instead he bailed. And this is a guy that I'm supposed to like and look up to? This is a guy I'm supposed to respect? Nope.

So fuck Barry Bond. Fuck every single sports writer that thinks the reason we hate Barry is because he's black. Fuck the Giants. Fuck anyone who thinks he's the best ever.

I Hate Barry Bonds because for 3 years he was the worst player on the field when it really counted. I hate Barry Bonds because he has no sense of loyalty. I hate Barry Bonds because in everything you ever hear him say, you get the feeling that he's above the game he plays. I hate Barry Bonds because he took illegal substances and now I'm forced to feel like I should look up to him. I hate Barry Bonds because he has never done a single thing to further the image of the African American athlete and I can't hate him in spite of that. I hate Barry because he represents EVERYTHING that is BAD in sports (with the exception of gambling).

And Fuck the Browns while we're at it.

Reason 540 not to vote for W: He probably called Barry to congratulate him last night.

If this is Fantasyland, I must be on Dumbo

September 4th, 2004. The date of my money league's Fantasy Football Draft. The date that, as a Fantasy Football Fiend, I was looking forward to since last December, the end of the Fantasy Football Season. I am not making this up when I say that the Fantsy Draft is the best day of the sporting year. And yes, I'm in 5 leagues, so you could agrue that I had 5 best days of the year. Except this one is my money league. The league where I've won the regular season title for 2 straight years. So it has a little more importance.

A brief Fantsy Football Primer: you draft individual offensive players that are on NFL teams. Each week, you set up the players you want to start on your team (you have extra players that sit on your bench) and compete against someone else's team for that week. You get points for yards and scores and lose point for fumbles and interceptions. If your starters manage more points than your opponants', then you win that week. The players on your team are not necessarily on the same NFL team. So, for example, I have a Running Back from Green Bay and a Wide Reciever from the NY Jets.

A highlight for me (and probalby not for Jenn) during our vacation was going to be the draft. Given already discussed circumstances, I (and 4 other out-of-towners) didn't make it. Also, because of those same circumstances, none of the other 9 people in the league that were already in South Florida could go anywhere. So we opted to set up a chat room and handle the draft that way, except that only 8 of the 14 either had power or were at the location of where their computer would normally be found, again because of already discussed MOTHER FUCKING HURRICANES GOD DA*$^#%@*&*$. OK, I'm sorry. Anyway. There were 8 of us on a computer. 1 guy on computer had 2 people on one phone. I had 2 people on another phone. And one of those 2 had 2 OTHER people on another phone. You can imagine the nightmare.

Me to Guy with 2 people on the phone: "OK, it's guy #1 on the phone's turn to pick. The last 4 picks since we last spoke have been blah blah blah blah. OK, call me when you have his pick"

2 minutes pass

GW2POTP: "What was the 3rd pick?"

Me: "Blah"

GW2POTP: "I thought that's what you said. That's who he wanted. Who would you take with this pick?"

Me: "Just get a pick for CHRIST'S SAKE!!! What does it matter who I'd take. GW2POTP, you're really beginning to piss me off."

GW2POTP: "OK, calm down. Just relax. I'll call you back when he makes his pick."

5 minutes pass

GW2POTP: "He wants blah. So who should I take with my next pick. I've got to get a Wide Receiver but I can't decide between Blah and Blah."

Me: sending nulear war heads to a hospital in South Florida where GW2POTP was located and on the phone (his wife had had a baby on Thursday, so you think I was displeased...)

This is how it went. For 6 hours. I probalby used 358 minutes on my cell phone that day. And throw in the fact that my apartment is the black hole of cell phone reception. What, in regular circumstances in a live draft (which tend to last a little long due to people making fun of each other and eating and trying to look at other peoples' stat sheets) would take about 2 hours, maybe 3 given that GW2POTP (who runs the thing) is highly laid back, highly unorganized and wouldn't rush someone to douse out his hair if it were on fire, took 6 HOURS!! And this was the first full day of my vacation.

I felt absolutely terrible about it. I didn't even know how to apologize to Jenn. There aren't words. Throw in the fact that what was supposed to be my most highly anticipated day turned into my own little brand of impatient, ADD riddled hell. Seriously, I know what hell will be like when I get there. I'll be at Disney World on nudist day and I'm holding my fantasy football draft while there EXCEPT there's a 2 hour wait for everything, Pirates of the Carribean, the Haunted Mansion and all the Mountains are closed for refurbishment, it's 45 degrees F out, so the only people naked are those with enough blubber to prevent a little chill from ruining their day (hey, they haven't seen their privates in 20 years so they won't notice a little shrinkage) and the other people that were supposed to come along for the draft were not able to get to Ornaldo so we're having it with everyone via cell phone and GW2POTP is the moderator.

Anyway, It's over now and I have a team.

I won my first match-up last week. For those who care, my big guns are Ahman Green, Kevin Barlow and Santana Moss. I'll be rotating the following recievers in the #2 and 3 spots all year (you start 2 RB's and 3 WR's): David Terrell, Plaxico Burress and Dieon Branch. QB will also be a rotation of Jake Plummer and Tommy Maddox, looking for match-ups against weak D's. TE, K and DEFENSE positions really don't matter all that much.

It should be a rally nice, long, Fantasy Season. And it will be a fantasy because I know the nightmare is already over.

REASON # 45 why not to vote for W: He would not sponser a nudist day at Disney World.

Back and Dry

We ended up getting into South Florida on the very first flight into Fort Lauderdale upon re-opening after a 2 day closure. My brother's place, where I was staying, had electricity by the time I got there, but was without phone service for almost my entire stay (hence the lack of any posting during the vacation). But I'm back now, and here's a re-cap of the vacation.

South Florida, it turns out, is still very very humid. Not much clean up had happened by the time we landed, so driving around was a bit odd. Debris in the road. Wendy's signs knocked down. The surge of the storm sent the ocean just to the other side of A1A in the vecinity of the Elbo Room and Beach Place.

We took a stroll on the beach and went to the Mai Kai for dinner. Sadly, due the to delayed arrival, that's just about all we had time for.

Disney was E-M-P-T-Y. And I can't stress that enough. Never in the 254 times I've been to the Disney parks (not including working days) have I seen it so vacant. I imagine it's a combination of cancelled flights, the season (September being a very advantageous time to go to Disney for crowd avoidance) and the sale at Penny's. Not a SINGLE attraction had a wait of longer of 5 minutes. Longest wait we had was when we went to Typhoon Lagoon. The family raft ride, which only has 4 rafts, had about a 10 minute wait. But considereing the heat, I suppose it wasn't the least bit surprising that it was busy.

Turns out Jenn's far more an amusement park kinda woman than a theme park woman. It's all good though. We had a grand time, as we always do. The lack of crowds made it easy for us to see everything worth seeing (read: NOT Food Rocks or Tiki Room: Under New Management). We did the Hoop Dee Doo Review and I got called on stage. Yes, I can mark that off of my life long to-do list.

We flew home and that was pretty much that. Wonderful vacation. Tons of things to do here now. I'll have more on that later.

Reasons 1298 - 1457 not to vote for W: http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/index.php?id=154

The Darma of Non-Drama

You'd be amazed at how tense you can get sitting around doing nothing. Just contemplating the fact that the fate of your vacation is in the hands of the airlines. Ever since their rash decision to cancel flights 24 hours before anyone knew anything, that has been my life. It's a life that I get to share with Jenn, and while I wish there were something I could do to make it a better life for her sake, there isn't and there's no one I would rather share it with.

Our red-eye flight that was going to get us in Sunday early AM was cancelled and we'll now be getting in at around 5PM on Sunday. This will make the SoFla portion of the trip brief, but I know we'll still have fun. We always do. I just hate the airlines. I'll get over that when I'm landing in FLL.

So this one isn't all that amusing. I'll have better days, I'm sure.

REASON # 193 to not vote for W: All his vacations, and there are many of them, go off without a hitch.

Clamer, slightly overreacting heads prevail

OK, so my flight got canceled at about 2 yesterday afternoon, just a couple hours after my post. Here's the thing, and I'm going to vent for a second so bear with me, hurricanes are completely unpredictable. Anyone who's lived in SoFla for more than 2 years knows that, as a hurricane forms in the Mid-Atlantic, they are ALL potential threats. You just never know what's going to happen. And everyone who was in SoFla for 4th grade history, which revolves around Florida History (they talk about the Seminoles, Ponce De Leon, gloss over a couple hundred years and then go right into Cuba and recent College Football History including a test on the top 100 High School prospects for whatever year you happen to be in the class) has done INNUMERABLE Hurricane plotting maps. Historical Hurricanes That Hit Florida. There is one that is burned in my memory: it crossed over Florida, flipped a bitch and crossed over again. YOU DON'T KNOW WHERE THESE DAMN THINGS ARE GOING!!! You can guess, but you just can't possibly know. Entropy at it's finest.

So that brings us to yesterday as I'm rescheduling my flight for Sunday, 24 hours before I was SUPPOSED to land in FLL. Since when did the airlines EVER get ANYTHING right? I was super nice. Nicest I've ever been to an airline because it certainly looked like this thing was chugging along and was behaving in a rational manner. Then an hour after that, it started to slow down. And then 3 hours after that, it started to weaken. And I wake up this morning, and SoFla won't be feeling any affects on this thing until LATE tonight, if not until Saturday morning.

My point here is, if any of you are EVER in charge of canceling flights in response to a hurricane, please do not act until the thing is 12 hours away, because you JUST DON'T KNOW!!! And now I KNOW I want to be in SoFla. Jenn was crushed because this was going to be her first ever vacation, first ever flight, first ever time OUTSIDE OF CALIFORNIA!! And now she doesn't believe this is ever going to happen. And as much as I tell her we'll get there, we're just delayed a little, we're still at the mercy of the airlines.

I'm at work now, but I just couldn't function if I didn't vent, and I figured my vents are kind of fun, if you can get in your head my voice as you read. So sing along, OK!

REASON #458 why not to vote for W: his brother is Gov of Florida and that state's pissing me off right now.

An actual EVENT!!!

GASP!!! Something's actually going on in my life. Actually several things and all at once. And none of them have ANYTHING to do with Tivo. Though one of them affects Football as a sort of domino of Doom.

I and my trusty companion (girlfriend, woman, goddesse extraordinaire) Jenn are scheduled for a 7:40 flight tomorrow out of LAX to FLL (that's Fort Lauderdale International Airport for those of you who are not down with the airport codes). We're set to land at 3:45. Of course also set to be making it's presence known in SoFla at just about the time that we'll be taking off is Hurricane W (everything that goes wrong between now and November is his fault). Do we actually want to go into the side of the belly of the beast? Yes, because I haven't had and actual vacation in 3 years. Am I a little anxious about the whole thing? Certainly, but I'll get to hang with the bro, play Parchisi and eat canned food.

That big swirly looking thing in the ocean has only added to an already stressful week for me. So I think being cooped up in a sauna for a day might do me some good. Seriously, though, not to make light of the situation, I am very conserned about the whole thing. Fact is, I can't do much about it. I could delay the flight, but Jenn and I both agree that getting out of town will do us both a world of good. And there's a little part of me that wants to be there with my family, just because then I'll KNOW that they're OK. I might actually worry LESS by being there. In the end I'm a little apprehensive, but I think this will be the best for my already freying nerves.

We're going to be in Disney from Tuesday through Sunday, so we'll need to get to Florida at some point. The question is when. And not even the Shadow knows for sure.

Other things going on: part of the reason for the trip was to participate in my annual Fantasy Football Draft in my money league. I've won $ each of the past 2 years, so you don't think I'm going to miss out on that, do ya? It was scheduled for Saturday. As for when it will actually happen, well, I suppose that will make for another post. By the way, this will be my 5th and final draft of the year.

So now I owe a Fantasy Football post and a TiVo post. I still love my TiVo, by the way.

I'll send updates here as I get them. And for all you worriers out there, American Airlines flight 384 out of LA.

REASON # 24 not to vote for W: Because 4 years ago his idiocy was a little amusing and slightly endearing. Now it's just frightening and enfuriating.