So, Saturday. End of the week. In a little over two hours, a new week begins, and I'm that one week closer to the five years (260 weeks) I'll put in to graduate from Northwestern with a PhD, on average. With that in mind, it seems as though it would be prudent to relay to you, the reader, what I think of tonight's surroundings.
Blockbuster Video: Who told these people they could blockbust? This would be the second week in a row that I tried to rent something from them and failed. The first was last Tuesday, when Land of the Dead was released. They didn't have it because of some dispute between the Blockbuster higher-ups and Universal and whatever. Go to the Video TOWN entry if you'd like to read more. Today's movie (Batman Begins) is theoretically at Blockbuster sometimes, but through the fact that it's a relatively popular movie and the whole "don't worry about getting our movies back to us" advertising scheme, it was entirely gone. I got a raincheck and left. Determined to see this movie tonight so that RJ doesn't come to Chicago for the express purpose of snapping my neck, I decided to go to Borders.
CTA: To get to Borders from Blockbuster, I had to take the Red Line (once again) for the short trip between Berwyn and Lawrence. Which made me want to point out something. First, I'd like to shake the hand of the person who worked at a Ponderosa Steakhouse and, sick of refilling the little chicken bits in the buffet decided to get out of there and do something. Charged with a hatred of cheap food and a cardboard box full of dreams and wiring, this great person of indeterminate gender went to the massive gothic headquarters (office building) of the CTA and proposed the idea that would eventually morph into a landmark of the elevated train platform. Without them, it would be impossible to stand on the platform, warmed by the healing rays of fast food heat lamps which have been affixed to the roof. Second, I would like to applaud the decision to go with no roof for part of the platform. In addition to allowing the commuter to take in a wonderful night more fully, this section also provides an escape from the thousands of damn spiders in the rotting roof of the Berwyn stop. Go CTA, as it were.
Borders: Are you addicted to cigarettes, gambling or cocaine? Would you be cured of your addiction if only someone would take your vice and hide it, making it nearly impossible to find even with considerable effort on your part? Well, my friend, take your cigs/dice/blow to the Borders on Lawrence, where nothing is where it seems. I went there not knowing what I would buy, but having two possibilities. "Either," I thought, "I'll get Batman Begins on DVD, or I'll get that 1602 graphic novel by Neil Gaiman I've been reading about." Two problems.
The DVDs for sale in Borders are arranged more strangely than the contents of my apartment. Categories like "Horror" and "Mystery" and "Comedy" vaguely point to the section you'll need, but the alphebetization system changes from A-->B horizontally to vertically to diagonally in some places, depending on which shelf you're talking about. After coming upon Batman Begins in the bottom row of the "SciFi" Section (which precedes "Action, where BB was probably supposed to fit"), I decided I'd go to try to find that 1602 thing.
This particular Borders has got two floors and a directory that's probably more helpful if you ignore it entirely. It was near the DVDs, so I looked at it and, noting that "Graphic Novels" was listed as being on the top floor, went up the stairs. Lies! After twenty minutes of doing laps around the top floor, discovering that things are more haphazard than I thought (Automobiles next to Comedy? Metaphysical Studies in the "Art and Architecture" section? Why is the first shelf of "Romance" completely filled with Star Wars novels and figurines? Why on earth is there an entire section on Menopause, and why is it immediately after the Language Reference and before the "How To Buy Wines" books?), I gave up, went downstairs to find the graphic novels stuffed between the bargains and the magazines (which makes sense, I suppose). As I don't know that much about Marvel comics and was more interested in 1602 for the concept of it, I took a pass on that and got Batman Begins, which I'll start watching now, while I do some homework.
Yes.
Saturday, October 29, 2005
Wednesday, October 26, 2005
You can have a chair, but not good chair.
I have no idea what that was about, but I remember it being said.
Everyone else has already chimed in on this, but for the loyal thousands that read this thing (so, Rory, who I suspect knows about it):
If you value your life, you're going to wait outside the theater for the opening of Snakes On A Plane. This requires no further explanation. There are snakes, and they're on a plane, and it's got Samuel L. Jackson (who made them change the name back to Snakes on a Plane after they threatened to make it "Flight 121", complaining that "The only reason I did it was because of the title") and Kenan Thompson. And the only reason people will see it is because of the horrendous title, but that's ok. That's what happened with things like "The Day After Tomorrow" or whatever that was. Personally, I'm fine with just imagining snakes on a plane, with Samuel L. Jackson on a plane, giving the snake the "Say What Again" thing from Pulp Fiction, on a plane.
One of the newer ones at Rum and Monkey made at least two people in two different time zones not sleep, by bringing up the subject of zombies. I'll probably have some huge zombie post at some point around Friday.
Incidentally, this Halloween, I'm "Bach's Arco, Pitcairn". Because I'm going to try to get more and more obscure the older I get. Though, for that to count, I have to face once again that maybe 60% of the people at last year's Delt Halloween Party didn't know who Hunter Thompson was.
I've sent in my rent check, and all is right with the world.
Except that the third game of the world series is still freaking on. Currently, White Sox lead 7-5 going into the bottom of the 14th, with Buehrle coming out to pitch. That's right. They ran out of pitching.
UPDATE: Marte stays out there, strikes out Ensberg, walks Palmeiro, gets Lane to pop out and Palmeiro advances on defensive indifference, followed by a fielding error allowing Ausmus to get to first. Buehrle comes in and induces a pop-out to Uribe with his beard. Game over, White Sox 7, Astros 5. White Sox up in the series 3-0, with Game 4 tomorrow.
Everyone else has already chimed in on this, but for the loyal thousands that read this thing (so, Rory, who I suspect knows about it):
If you value your life, you're going to wait outside the theater for the opening of Snakes On A Plane. This requires no further explanation. There are snakes, and they're on a plane, and it's got Samuel L. Jackson (who made them change the name back to Snakes on a Plane after they threatened to make it "Flight 121", complaining that "The only reason I did it was because of the title") and Kenan Thompson. And the only reason people will see it is because of the horrendous title, but that's ok. That's what happened with things like "The Day After Tomorrow" or whatever that was. Personally, I'm fine with just imagining snakes on a plane, with Samuel L. Jackson on a plane, giving the snake the "Say What Again" thing from Pulp Fiction, on a plane.
One of the newer ones at Rum and Monkey made at least two people in two different time zones not sleep, by bringing up the subject of zombies. I'll probably have some huge zombie post at some point around Friday.
Incidentally, this Halloween, I'm "Bach's Arco, Pitcairn". Because I'm going to try to get more and more obscure the older I get. Though, for that to count, I have to face once again that maybe 60% of the people at last year's Delt Halloween Party didn't know who Hunter Thompson was.
I've sent in my rent check, and all is right with the world.
Except that the third game of the world series is still freaking on. Currently, White Sox lead 7-5 going into the bottom of the 14th, with Buehrle coming out to pitch. That's right. They ran out of pitching.
UPDATE: Marte stays out there, strikes out Ensberg, walks Palmeiro, gets Lane to pop out and Palmeiro advances on defensive indifference, followed by a fielding error allowing Ausmus to get to first. Buehrle comes in and induces a pop-out to Uribe with his beard. Game over, White Sox 7, Astros 5. White Sox up in the series 3-0, with Game 4 tomorrow.
Monday, October 24, 2005
World Series: Murphspot Coverage, Post Game 2
The Dye thing.
It didn't hit him. He knows it didn't hit him. He admits it didn't hit him. It nicked the bat. It should have been a foul ball, rather than a hit by pitch.
For those of you that didn't watch last night's game, IT was a pitch by Dan Wheeler in the bottom of the seventh, with two on and two out.
It's such a big deal because on the next pitch (from Chad Qualls), Konerko gets one of the 18 World Series grand slams in history.
Controversial call? Not nearly so controversial as the Game 2 Pierzynski call. For a number of reasons.
1) Pierzynski's call results (if it's made correctly) in an out, sending the White Sox on to the field for extra innings. Dye's call (if made correctly) results in a foul ball. The count remains full, and Wheeler is still stuck with runners on first and second with Jermaine "I can't get a hit when Ryan's playing MVP 2004 [Clarification: He was on the Athletics for me, not the Sox] but sure I'll do whatever in the actual World Series" Dye. While there's no guarantee that he'll walk (at least somewhat likely considering Wheeler's lack of control in that at-bat) or that he'll get a hit (scoring at least one), there's also no guarantee that the pitch would have resulted in an out.
2) This call was decisive. In that it was made, and everyone knew it was made, and that was the end of that. Eddings' call was controversial because Pierzynski got to first by noticing that the Eddings hadn't actually done his job to give a clear indication of what was going on in the play (yes, I know a "no catch" call isn't mandatory, but it's expected), forcing Eddings to make up his damn mind about whether the inning should be over or not instead of standing around like a fool. The Dye ball was decisive. "Take your base." No second guessing. He thought it hit him, and whether he was wrong or not, he was doing what he was supposed to do. Make the call.
3) The whole Dye thing doesn't matter if Qualls doesn't hang the most hittable pitch ever in front of Konerko. This is important, because bad calls happen in baseball. The Iguchi pickoff in the bottom of the fifth, for example, in which the replay clearly shows that he's safe. To be a good team is to take that into consideration, take what you can if a call goes your way and bounce back when a call goes against you. This is why I don't get the whole "Bartman Ball" thing. Yes. It could have ended the inning, but Steve Bartman didn't give up 8 runs immediately thereafter, nor did he lose Game 7 of the NLCS. The Marlins still needed to score the runs and win the next game. Having Dye on first is meaningless if Konerko doesn't do something (in this case, with the very next pitch). And, once again, the right call isn't an out.
4) It didn't hit him. Ok. Even Dye admits it. But for all the calls of "cheating", I don't think I can recall a single ballplayer getting a favorable call and replying "No, sir. That didn't hit me/I wasn't safe/I didn't tag him. Please don't award me the base/call him out." The call of the umpire is interesting in that respect, as it not only states a case, but makes the case exist. In a post game interview, Dye said he knew it hit him and was prepared to get back in the box for the next pitch when the ump said "Take your base." Find me a ballplayer that'll argue with that, and I'll be willing to take the cheating thing seriously.
That said, Podsednik's solo walkoff blast in the ninth was ridiculous, if only because a)hitting a walkoff homer in the World Series just isn't done that often and b) Podsednik didn't actually, technically have a homer during the regular season. At all. I'm concerned for Brad Lidge's personal well being (after giving up the Pujols jack in the NLCS and the Pods homer last night), but I think he'll pull through.
Series goes to Houston, where the sun shines bright. Except when Minute Maid's roof is closed. In which case it doesn't. Inside. It probably still does outside.
It didn't hit him. He knows it didn't hit him. He admits it didn't hit him. It nicked the bat. It should have been a foul ball, rather than a hit by pitch.
For those of you that didn't watch last night's game, IT was a pitch by Dan Wheeler in the bottom of the seventh, with two on and two out.
It's such a big deal because on the next pitch (from Chad Qualls), Konerko gets one of the 18 World Series grand slams in history.
Controversial call? Not nearly so controversial as the Game 2 Pierzynski call. For a number of reasons.
1) Pierzynski's call results (if it's made correctly) in an out, sending the White Sox on to the field for extra innings. Dye's call (if made correctly) results in a foul ball. The count remains full, and Wheeler is still stuck with runners on first and second with Jermaine "I can't get a hit when Ryan's playing MVP 2004 [Clarification: He was on the Athletics for me, not the Sox] but sure I'll do whatever in the actual World Series" Dye. While there's no guarantee that he'll walk (at least somewhat likely considering Wheeler's lack of control in that at-bat) or that he'll get a hit (scoring at least one), there's also no guarantee that the pitch would have resulted in an out.
2) This call was decisive. In that it was made, and everyone knew it was made, and that was the end of that. Eddings' call was controversial because Pierzynski got to first by noticing that the Eddings hadn't actually done his job to give a clear indication of what was going on in the play (yes, I know a "no catch" call isn't mandatory, but it's expected), forcing Eddings to make up his damn mind about whether the inning should be over or not instead of standing around like a fool. The Dye ball was decisive. "Take your base." No second guessing. He thought it hit him, and whether he was wrong or not, he was doing what he was supposed to do. Make the call.
3) The whole Dye thing doesn't matter if Qualls doesn't hang the most hittable pitch ever in front of Konerko. This is important, because bad calls happen in baseball. The Iguchi pickoff in the bottom of the fifth, for example, in which the replay clearly shows that he's safe. To be a good team is to take that into consideration, take what you can if a call goes your way and bounce back when a call goes against you. This is why I don't get the whole "Bartman Ball" thing. Yes. It could have ended the inning, but Steve Bartman didn't give up 8 runs immediately thereafter, nor did he lose Game 7 of the NLCS. The Marlins still needed to score the runs and win the next game. Having Dye on first is meaningless if Konerko doesn't do something (in this case, with the very next pitch). And, once again, the right call isn't an out.
4) It didn't hit him. Ok. Even Dye admits it. But for all the calls of "cheating", I don't think I can recall a single ballplayer getting a favorable call and replying "No, sir. That didn't hit me/I wasn't safe/I didn't tag him. Please don't award me the base/call him out." The call of the umpire is interesting in that respect, as it not only states a case, but makes the case exist. In a post game interview, Dye said he knew it hit him and was prepared to get back in the box for the next pitch when the ump said "Take your base." Find me a ballplayer that'll argue with that, and I'll be willing to take the cheating thing seriously.
That said, Podsednik's solo walkoff blast in the ninth was ridiculous, if only because a)hitting a walkoff homer in the World Series just isn't done that often and b) Podsednik didn't actually, technically have a homer during the regular season. At all. I'm concerned for Brad Lidge's personal well being (after giving up the Pujols jack in the NLCS and the Pods homer last night), but I think he'll pull through.
Series goes to Houston, where the sun shines bright. Except when Minute Maid's roof is closed. In which case it doesn't. Inside. It probably still does outside.
Sunday, October 23, 2005
So...hmm. This is unnerving.
So here I was thinking that I wouldn't write about any kind of news today other than the World Series, in a futile attempt to confuse Murphspot with being a sports blog. So I write the last entry, return to Rum and Monkey before shuttling off to Evanston in the cold rain, and come across this. Holy freaking...
People have beliefs that are screwed up. In this case, white nationalism. I've come to accept that. But these kids are 13 years old, from the Magical Land of California, and I find it hard to believe that they've decided, freely, to start issuing remakes of Skrewdriver songs and other racist propaganda music. Their mother, April, has raised them (that is, pounded into them) the messages spread by the Nazi party and people like Ian Stuart Donaldson who, despite not being from Germany, have some sort of strange Vaterland fixation. I don't know what to say about this, other than I don't think I'd be so completely repulsed by the concept if they were, oh, I don't know, not 13 years old.
Disclaimer: That is not to say that 13 year olds cannot make their own decisions, but rather that thirteen year olds, in my experience (that is, having been a thirteen year old at one point, nine years ago) rarely have the kind of get-up-and-go attitude to do something of this magnitude without serious pushing from their parents. I don't think I had the patience to thoroughly organize my baseball cards, much less release two records and tour the country, espousing whatever beliefs happened to come into my mind (which, I believe, where mostly about the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.)
I'm done with this now. The next update will be World Series-y.
People have beliefs that are screwed up. In this case, white nationalism. I've come to accept that. But these kids are 13 years old, from the Magical Land of California, and I find it hard to believe that they've decided, freely, to start issuing remakes of Skrewdriver songs and other racist propaganda music. Their mother, April, has raised them (that is, pounded into them) the messages spread by the Nazi party and people like Ian Stuart Donaldson who, despite not being from Germany, have some sort of strange Vaterland fixation. I don't know what to say about this, other than I don't think I'd be so completely repulsed by the concept if they were, oh, I don't know, not 13 years old.
Disclaimer: That is not to say that 13 year olds cannot make their own decisions, but rather that thirteen year olds, in my experience (that is, having been a thirteen year old at one point, nine years ago) rarely have the kind of get-up-and-go attitude to do something of this magnitude without serious pushing from their parents. I don't think I had the patience to thoroughly organize my baseball cards, much less release two records and tour the country, espousing whatever beliefs happened to come into my mind (which, I believe, where mostly about the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.)
I'm done with this now. The next update will be World Series-y.
World Series: Murphspot Coverage, Post Game 1
It's Sunday, and I'm having quite the time trying to force myself into studying Structural Inorganic. As soon as this post is up, however, I'm heading off to the lab to finish this off and possibly do some grading so that the Thursday Night Grade-Fest doesn't become an official weekly experience.
On The World Series:
"Give me the refrigerator-lookin' one"
Or, rather, the closer that throws 100mph fastballs and started the season as an acquisition from the Angels' scrap heap.
Chicago claimed the 5-3 victory in game one over the Astros, with Clemens leaving after the second (he appeared to be half limping once he'd reached the dugout) with a bad hamstring. The Sox bullpen, which was last used in July 1973, didn't show any signs of rust, retiring batters right when they needed to be retired (Ozzie's decision to leave Contreras in notwithstanding). Cotts and Jenks both exemplified Chicago's "Wake us when you're in trouble" bullpen and Ozzie's sign to bring out Jenks (spreading his arms wide and tall, to avoid any confusion as to which rightie he wanted) was a good thing, and if nothing else seemed to confuse the viewer even further, as neither Ozzie or any of the White Sox seemed to realize that they're in the World Series. They played relaxed, steady, good baseball, aside from Contreras' control problems. Houston, I should note, was quite good, but wasn't able to come up with the runs when they needed them. Yes, Clemens' departure probably had a sizeable impact on the game (though he had given up three runs by the time he left) and so Houston's fans should not look at the Game 1 loss as an insurmountable setback.
Also, I'm convinced that Joe Crede is one of the X-Men. Remarkable plays when they needed to happen.
The way it's raining here right now, I wouldn't be entirely shocked if the game tonight doesn't happen, but we'll see. Game 2 at 7:05 tonight (though MLB.com claims 6:30, Fox will probably find a way to stretch the pregame as long as possible).
On The World Series:
"Give me the refrigerator-lookin' one"
Or, rather, the closer that throws 100mph fastballs and started the season as an acquisition from the Angels' scrap heap.
Chicago claimed the 5-3 victory in game one over the Astros, with Clemens leaving after the second (he appeared to be half limping once he'd reached the dugout) with a bad hamstring. The Sox bullpen, which was last used in July 1973, didn't show any signs of rust, retiring batters right when they needed to be retired (Ozzie's decision to leave Contreras in notwithstanding). Cotts and Jenks both exemplified Chicago's "Wake us when you're in trouble" bullpen and Ozzie's sign to bring out Jenks (spreading his arms wide and tall, to avoid any confusion as to which rightie he wanted) was a good thing, and if nothing else seemed to confuse the viewer even further, as neither Ozzie or any of the White Sox seemed to realize that they're in the World Series. They played relaxed, steady, good baseball, aside from Contreras' control problems. Houston, I should note, was quite good, but wasn't able to come up with the runs when they needed them. Yes, Clemens' departure probably had a sizeable impact on the game (though he had given up three runs by the time he left) and so Houston's fans should not look at the Game 1 loss as an insurmountable setback.
Also, I'm convinced that Joe Crede is one of the X-Men. Remarkable plays when they needed to happen.
The way it's raining here right now, I wouldn't be entirely shocked if the game tonight doesn't happen, but we'll see. Game 2 at 7:05 tonight (though MLB.com claims 6:30, Fox will probably find a way to stretch the pregame as long as possible).
Wednesday, October 19, 2005
Video TOWN.
And then there's that.
First, and actually somewhat important: Chicago leads the nation in the decline of violent crime that has resulted in a 40 year low nationwide, reports the Chicago Tribune. I find this remarkably odd, as going to the Chicago Tribune front page nearly invariably results in hearing about at least one horrific crime(tm) in which, I don't know, some 16-year-old has decided that he was done being broke, and would rather spend his time being tried as an adult for the beating death of a 60 year old pizza delivery man who had the misfortune of being lured (by lured, I presume they mean "called") to a vacant house or the petty theft of about $200 that occured at the pizza delivery guy's funeral, which is more tasteless than actually horrific. The kid is being tried as an adult (which is its own set of controversies, which I won't get into here). The defense is claiming that DeAndre Baber, the kid, is being framed.
Harriet Miers continues to trudge on in her inevitable appointment to the Supreme Court despite never having any actual judicial experience, which President Bush attempts to put forward in a posotive light in a recent Bushism. It appears that she wrote that she would "promote the pro-life cause" and support an abortion ban. From a standpoint of looking at it only as a hot-button issue, this more or less solidifies her position on this one topic, which will certainly (at least now) be central in the decision to approve. While Roberts never indicated how he would rule on the subject, the 1989 memo more or less spells out how Miers would, which could be crucial, considering the place Miers is taking on the court.
Want to go to the World Series? Sorry. Not going to happen, at least if you're trying to go to one of the Chicago games and have less than $1000 to spend. Tickets to Chicago games sold out in 18 minutes, with most fans blocked out (or encountering error messages from Ticketmaster), with a large portion of the tickets going directly to brokers, who immediately jacked prices as high as $8,000+ for a single ticket, requiring the purchase of a four ticket package at the time of this post. Everyone's understandably upset, and life goes on.
Blockbuster (or at least the ones in the Chicago area, and reportedly elsewhere) are having some trouble with Universal, which resulted in me having to set up an account at a local store that rents videos for reasonable prices in order to see Land of the Dead. It's good in that it at least got me to go somewhere else for my rentals that would charge less, plus I'm more or less positive that the proprietors of Video Town on Thorndale don't take the time to edit their movies. As far as the movie goes...the political commentary does get a tad heavy handed for a Romero film at times, and Dawn of the Dead (the original) is still the best in the series in my opinion, but it was quite good, as zombie movies go. Were I you, I'd buy it. But then, if I were you, then you would enjoy zombie movies.
I haven't yet seen Batman Begins, as the Video Town place didn't have any copies left (Tuesdays are "every movie for $1, except those on DVDs, which are $2) and I wasn't going to pay $5 for a Blockbuster rental when I still don't have a replacement debit card.
First, and actually somewhat important: Chicago leads the nation in the decline of violent crime that has resulted in a 40 year low nationwide, reports the Chicago Tribune. I find this remarkably odd, as going to the Chicago Tribune front page nearly invariably results in hearing about at least one horrific crime(tm) in which, I don't know, some 16-year-old has decided that he was done being broke, and would rather spend his time being tried as an adult for the beating death of a 60 year old pizza delivery man who had the misfortune of being lured (by lured, I presume they mean "called") to a vacant house or the petty theft of about $200 that occured at the pizza delivery guy's funeral, which is more tasteless than actually horrific. The kid is being tried as an adult (which is its own set of controversies, which I won't get into here). The defense is claiming that DeAndre Baber, the kid, is being framed.
Harriet Miers continues to trudge on in her inevitable appointment to the Supreme Court despite never having any actual judicial experience, which President Bush attempts to put forward in a posotive light in a recent Bushism. It appears that she wrote that she would "promote the pro-life cause" and support an abortion ban. From a standpoint of looking at it only as a hot-button issue, this more or less solidifies her position on this one topic, which will certainly (at least now) be central in the decision to approve. While Roberts never indicated how he would rule on the subject, the 1989 memo more or less spells out how Miers would, which could be crucial, considering the place Miers is taking on the court.
Want to go to the World Series? Sorry. Not going to happen, at least if you're trying to go to one of the Chicago games and have less than $1000 to spend. Tickets to Chicago games sold out in 18 minutes, with most fans blocked out (or encountering error messages from Ticketmaster), with a large portion of the tickets going directly to brokers, who immediately jacked prices as high as $8,000+ for a single ticket, requiring the purchase of a four ticket package at the time of this post. Everyone's understandably upset, and life goes on.
Blockbuster (or at least the ones in the Chicago area, and reportedly elsewhere) are having some trouble with Universal, which resulted in me having to set up an account at a local store that rents videos for reasonable prices in order to see Land of the Dead. It's good in that it at least got me to go somewhere else for my rentals that would charge less, plus I'm more or less positive that the proprietors of Video Town on Thorndale don't take the time to edit their movies. As far as the movie goes...the political commentary does get a tad heavy handed for a Romero film at times, and Dawn of the Dead (the original) is still the best in the series in my opinion, but it was quite good, as zombie movies go. Were I you, I'd buy it. But then, if I were you, then you would enjoy zombie movies.
I haven't yet seen Batman Begins, as the Video Town place didn't have any copies left (Tuesdays are "every movie for $1, except those on DVDs, which are $2) and I wasn't going to pay $5 for a Blockbuster rental when I still don't have a replacement debit card.
Monday, October 17, 2005
Beginning of the Week Post
So I'm incredibly bad at posting as often as I'd like. I post consistently, at least, in the beginning of the week before I get twenty emails asking for regrades for the most recent organic chemistry exam, deal with exams and generally have the life sucked out of me.
But for those first few days of the week, I'm a pita full of sunshine and analysis.
So let's see what we have here now.
In the magical land of California, more people over 40 are dying of overdoses, and that the amount of drug users who are over the age of 35 has risen to one third of all drug users, up from 12% in 1979. Clearly, less people are inclined to be ripped out of their minds when the Pirates arae winning the World Series. It's really the only rational explanation. But for those involved with the report who would rather stick with "facts", the upswing in older drug deaths is more caused by a larger percentage of boomers that got into drugs, then just didn't quit until it killed them. Heroin is the largest portion of the problem. The article indicates that the trend is not confined to the Magical Land, which is somewhat unsettling. As someone who has been affected by this kind of thing, I don't have much to say about it other than that I'm saddened by it.
Having mentioned the Pirates, I'd like to say that I'm looking forward to see how Jim Tracy is going to handle things. I personally would have liked to see how Macha would have handled things with the Pirates, but I guess if I'm still interested I could always just see how he handles the A's next season following the "Just Kidding" end of his contract with the Athletics. Still, though Pat's rightfully concerned about Tracy's take on productive outs, I'm somehow hoping we can pull something together in '06. Sadly, I won't be able to attend many games (as the Bucs tend to play less home games in Chicago than I'd like, play the Cubs 9 times at Wrigley and the Sox three times at USCF, all of which I can't attend without my advisor killing me, regardless of who my advisor ends up being), but such is life.
RJ claims to have purchased this from woot.com, and I'll take him down if he didn't.
I'd like to thank, while I'm in the "talk about people I know" section of today's entry, Ryan Paal for inexplicably posting on a post I made in mid-July ("12 Big Macs"). Thank you, Ryan, for still being utterly impossible to understand. One of the Ghost of Allegheny Present scared me, but only because he appeared to have an unhealthy fixation on video-game baseball and the West Wing.
In movie rentals, Crash was decent, if a bit improbable and forced. Michael Peña's performance is quite good.
In School news: I've gotten through my first two exams at NU, and I'm still here, so that's a good sign. Grading has never been more irritating, but that's what you've got to do, I guess.
Finally, the White Sox won the pennant, after the umpiring crew made everything very odd. Summary of the oddities of the ALCS: Game 2's dropped third strike call probably should have been an out for Pierzynski, but Josh Paul's at fault for not taking the half second's effort to tag him to make sure (as typically happens on a catch that's questionable) and rolling the ball back to the mound, especially when he didn't look back to see the ump's sign, and no verbal call was issued. It was a heads-up play by Pierzynski, and that's all. Game 4's catcher's interference (again, with Pierzynski) should have been called, but the time to argue about it wasn't on the way to first. If Finley complains after getting to first, at best the call is given and at worst another run scores and the inning isn't yet over. Game 5: First of all, fans need to learn not to interfere with balls in play. That isn't too hard a concept, is it? Again, Pierzynski's at the heart of a bad call, though this one was against the Sox, and is overturned. The difference here being that more than one ump saw it, conferred with the others and changed a very blatantly bad call. Could the Angels blame the umps for their losses? Sure, I guess, but they don't seem to be. Bad calls happen, this umpiring crew seemed to be more conspicuously bad than most, but the White Sox bullpen throwing seven pitches in the entire series has to count for something. Being in Chicago while this is going on is, at the very least interesting.
In that I'm getting close to understanding Ozzie Guillen, whose intereviews should be grounds for starting a completely separate language department.
I'll be around. I'm going to bed now.
But for those first few days of the week, I'm a pita full of sunshine and analysis.
So let's see what we have here now.
In the magical land of California, more people over 40 are dying of overdoses, and that the amount of drug users who are over the age of 35 has risen to one third of all drug users, up from 12% in 1979. Clearly, less people are inclined to be ripped out of their minds when the Pirates arae winning the World Series. It's really the only rational explanation. But for those involved with the report who would rather stick with "facts", the upswing in older drug deaths is more caused by a larger percentage of boomers that got into drugs, then just didn't quit until it killed them. Heroin is the largest portion of the problem. The article indicates that the trend is not confined to the Magical Land, which is somewhat unsettling. As someone who has been affected by this kind of thing, I don't have much to say about it other than that I'm saddened by it.
Having mentioned the Pirates, I'd like to say that I'm looking forward to see how Jim Tracy is going to handle things. I personally would have liked to see how Macha would have handled things with the Pirates, but I guess if I'm still interested I could always just see how he handles the A's next season following the "Just Kidding" end of his contract with the Athletics. Still, though Pat's rightfully concerned about Tracy's take on productive outs, I'm somehow hoping we can pull something together in '06. Sadly, I won't be able to attend many games (as the Bucs tend to play less home games in Chicago than I'd like, play the Cubs 9 times at Wrigley and the Sox three times at USCF, all of which I can't attend without my advisor killing me, regardless of who my advisor ends up being), but such is life.
RJ claims to have purchased this from woot.com, and I'll take him down if he didn't.
I'd like to thank, while I'm in the "talk about people I know" section of today's entry, Ryan Paal for inexplicably posting on a post I made in mid-July ("12 Big Macs"). Thank you, Ryan, for still being utterly impossible to understand. One of the Ghost of Allegheny Present scared me, but only because he appeared to have an unhealthy fixation on video-game baseball and the West Wing.
In movie rentals, Crash was decent, if a bit improbable and forced. Michael Peña's performance is quite good.
In School news: I've gotten through my first two exams at NU, and I'm still here, so that's a good sign. Grading has never been more irritating, but that's what you've got to do, I guess.
Finally, the White Sox won the pennant, after the umpiring crew made everything very odd. Summary of the oddities of the ALCS: Game 2's dropped third strike call probably should have been an out for Pierzynski, but Josh Paul's at fault for not taking the half second's effort to tag him to make sure (as typically happens on a catch that's questionable) and rolling the ball back to the mound, especially when he didn't look back to see the ump's sign, and no verbal call was issued. It was a heads-up play by Pierzynski, and that's all. Game 4's catcher's interference (again, with Pierzynski) should have been called, but the time to argue about it wasn't on the way to first. If Finley complains after getting to first, at best the call is given and at worst another run scores and the inning isn't yet over. Game 5: First of all, fans need to learn not to interfere with balls in play. That isn't too hard a concept, is it? Again, Pierzynski's at the heart of a bad call, though this one was against the Sox, and is overturned. The difference here being that more than one ump saw it, conferred with the others and changed a very blatantly bad call. Could the Angels blame the umps for their losses? Sure, I guess, but they don't seem to be. Bad calls happen, this umpiring crew seemed to be more conspicuously bad than most, but the White Sox bullpen throwing seven pitches in the entire series has to count for something. Being in Chicago while this is going on is, at the very least interesting.
In that I'm getting close to understanding Ozzie Guillen, whose intereviews should be grounds for starting a completely separate language department.
I'll be around. I'm going to bed now.
Monday, October 10, 2005
KHAN!
Still studying, listening to something about one of those people that tickets your car for parking somewhere you shouldn't, or simply not returning to it for a while to deposit another quarter, and messing around with userscripts I don't understand. We'll see what happens with that.
Baseballprospectus reviews the Pirates season in their Notebook as though it were a version of Rounders.. Surprise! The report gives at least a bit of credit to having rookies up for a long-ish time, though we didn't bring as many up as the Braves or Rockies. In their assessment, Bay's the only thing we have going our way offensively. They laud Chris Duffy while threatening to revoke Eldred's status-as-prospect, criticize the Bucs for not getting rid of Mesa (preferring to keep him on to destroy chances we had of winning games) and claims that Wells and Redman both "deserved" 15 more wins than they got, blaming their lack of success on a lack of support. I'll agree with that, though Kip had some spotty starts on his own without the lack of help from the offense. They end claiming that 2006 will be a "make or break year". We'll see.
Some of you are fans of Family Guy. If that's the case, you may remember a particularly odd bit where Stewie does a very strange rendition of "Rocketman" in three personas. You may have been kept awake at night worrying about the well-being of the Family Guy writers. To ease your suffering, no. They're not crazy. William Shatner is loonier than an outhouse rat, but they're fine. Enjoy Shatner's 1978 performance that Stewie's bit wasstolen from based on. If nothing else, it at least keeps the opinion alive that William Shatner is not well.
Awesome, but not well.
Baseballprospectus reviews the Pirates season in their Notebook as though it were a version of Rounders.. Surprise! The report gives at least a bit of credit to having rookies up for a long-ish time, though we didn't bring as many up as the Braves or Rockies. In their assessment, Bay's the only thing we have going our way offensively. They laud Chris Duffy while threatening to revoke Eldred's status-as-prospect, criticize the Bucs for not getting rid of Mesa (preferring to keep him on to destroy chances we had of winning games) and claims that Wells and Redman both "deserved" 15 more wins than they got, blaming their lack of success on a lack of support. I'll agree with that, though Kip had some spotty starts on his own without the lack of help from the offense. They end claiming that 2006 will be a "make or break year". We'll see.
Some of you are fans of Family Guy. If that's the case, you may remember a particularly odd bit where Stewie does a very strange rendition of "Rocketman" in three personas. You may have been kept awake at night worrying about the well-being of the Family Guy writers. To ease your suffering, no. They're not crazy. William Shatner is loonier than an outhouse rat, but they're fine. Enjoy Shatner's 1978 performance that Stewie's bit was
Awesome, but not well.
Sunday, October 09, 2005
So, don't I look silly.
Before you jump to the most obvious conclusion that my title would seem to indicate, yes. My apartment was burglarized. Or burgled, if you're in to being British. My pants and wallet (less the $12 that was in the wallet) were found in a garbage chute that my apartment has, but my keys were gone. My reaction?
1) Hey, cool, my apartment building has a garbage chute!
2) I've got my pants back (which were new) and my identification, along with my bus pass, so I can at least survive, seeing as how I couldn't cash checks without ID. Identification, not Intelligent Design. No one has ever asked me my take on the origin of species before allowing me to buy something with a personal check, but it's not something I'd rule out.
3) Thank god this guy was only after the $12 in my pocket (How much crack can you buy with that, incidentally? Send your answers to subtleadmissionofbeingoncrack@chicagopolice.cops) and didn't freak out and try to kill me or anything.
I've got new locks installed (the same as before, courtesy Horizon Realty Group) and an additional chain lock. My feeling is that if he comes across that, while he could kick it in, gives me a little time that I'd notice him being there to call the police, plus he wouldn't risk the hassle of such an overt break in. The guy that was on the security tape attempting to break into the complex at 2am approached me later that night, trying to convince me to let him in. Then threatening me. Then giving up. Then asking for money. So I went inside, called the cops on him, and went about my business.
Which all looks completely silly in the context that Over 20,000 have died as the result of a magnitude 7.6 quake Saturday. While I haven't heard opportunists jumping on this one to claim that this is an indication of End Times, or that the earthquake was in retaliation for something (as Repent America's claim that Katrina's devastation was caused by a gay pride event), I'm sure it'll be out there. Still, the constant barrage of disasters lately drives home at least the mortality point, which makes me even more thankful that nothing happened after that guy's break-in on Thursday.
In Lighter News:
The White Sox finished an ALDS sweep of the Red Sox friday night, which inches closer to the ESPN nightmare that is a Yankee/RedSox-free ALCS. Personally, I'm glad. Immediately after the game, the animosity on message boards between ChiSox and BoSox fans disappeared, for the most part, as BoSox fans accepted defeat gracefully and wished the White Sox luck in the next series. There were still some ChiSox fans who rubbed it in the faces of the BoSox fans who had just seen their World Champions swept out of the first round, and some BoSox fans that attributed the White Sox win entirely to luck and continued to claim that the Red Sox would win if only the series was a bit longer. Tim Wakefield is one of these, who claimed on ESPN that this series shows that "The better team doesn't always win", which we'll refer to as a "2004 Derek Jeter". The Sox (White Sox will be implied until their season is over) will start Contreras in the first game of the ALCS, choosing to go with the guy who's hot right now, rather than the well rested (and possibly rusting) Jon Garland, who will start Game 3.
Buccos are interviewing Ex-A's manager Ken Macha tomorrow, and Ex-Dodgers Guy Jim Tracy Tuesday. Evidence so far seems to point toward Tracy getting the position, though personally I'd like to see Macha take it, considering his work with the A's. I promise this is not stolen from WHYGAVS. We just agree on this thing.
The straight-to-DVD release "Stewie Griffin: The Untold Story" was quite good. I actually watched one of the legitimate, rented copies, rather than downloading it like everyone else in the world. I won't say it was terrific, as it was more or less just three episodes with some hint of continuity and tons and tons of cut-away jokes, but whatever. If you like the show, you'll probably enjoy this.
And Wacky Waving Inflatable Arms Flailing Tube Man.
I've got a test tomorrow, so I'm going to get back to the studying thing.
1) Hey, cool, my apartment building has a garbage chute!
2) I've got my pants back (which were new) and my identification, along with my bus pass, so I can at least survive, seeing as how I couldn't cash checks without ID. Identification, not Intelligent Design. No one has ever asked me my take on the origin of species before allowing me to buy something with a personal check, but it's not something I'd rule out.
3) Thank god this guy was only after the $12 in my pocket (How much crack can you buy with that, incidentally? Send your answers to subtleadmissionofbeingoncrack@chicagopolice.cops) and didn't freak out and try to kill me or anything.
I've got new locks installed (the same as before, courtesy Horizon Realty Group) and an additional chain lock. My feeling is that if he comes across that, while he could kick it in, gives me a little time that I'd notice him being there to call the police, plus he wouldn't risk the hassle of such an overt break in. The guy that was on the security tape attempting to break into the complex at 2am approached me later that night, trying to convince me to let him in. Then threatening me. Then giving up. Then asking for money. So I went inside, called the cops on him, and went about my business.
Which all looks completely silly in the context that Over 20,000 have died as the result of a magnitude 7.6 quake Saturday. While I haven't heard opportunists jumping on this one to claim that this is an indication of End Times, or that the earthquake was in retaliation for something (as Repent America's claim that Katrina's devastation was caused by a gay pride event), I'm sure it'll be out there. Still, the constant barrage of disasters lately drives home at least the mortality point, which makes me even more thankful that nothing happened after that guy's break-in on Thursday.
In Lighter News:
The White Sox finished an ALDS sweep of the Red Sox friday night, which inches closer to the ESPN nightmare that is a Yankee/RedSox-free ALCS. Personally, I'm glad. Immediately after the game, the animosity on message boards between ChiSox and BoSox fans disappeared, for the most part, as BoSox fans accepted defeat gracefully and wished the White Sox luck in the next series. There were still some ChiSox fans who rubbed it in the faces of the BoSox fans who had just seen their World Champions swept out of the first round, and some BoSox fans that attributed the White Sox win entirely to luck and continued to claim that the Red Sox would win if only the series was a bit longer. Tim Wakefield is one of these, who claimed on ESPN that this series shows that "The better team doesn't always win", which we'll refer to as a "2004 Derek Jeter". The Sox (White Sox will be implied until their season is over) will start Contreras in the first game of the ALCS, choosing to go with the guy who's hot right now, rather than the well rested (and possibly rusting) Jon Garland, who will start Game 3.
Buccos are interviewing Ex-A's manager Ken Macha tomorrow, and Ex-Dodgers Guy Jim Tracy Tuesday. Evidence so far seems to point toward Tracy getting the position, though personally I'd like to see Macha take it, considering his work with the A's. I promise this is not stolen from WHYGAVS. We just agree on this thing.
The straight-to-DVD release "Stewie Griffin: The Untold Story" was quite good. I actually watched one of the legitimate, rented copies, rather than downloading it like everyone else in the world. I won't say it was terrific, as it was more or less just three episodes with some hint of continuity and tons and tons of cut-away jokes, but whatever. If you like the show, you'll probably enjoy this.
And Wacky Waving Inflatable Arms Flailing Tube Man.
I've got a test tomorrow, so I'm going to get back to the studying thing.
Thursday, October 06, 2005
Break-in.
Someone broke into my apartment, I think, and now I'm locked out, and the company I'm renting from is completely impossible to get a hold of before noon.
This sucks.
This sucks.
Wednesday, October 05, 2005
Dr. Skipper.
So, what's up today then now.
Grubbs (of catalysis fame) splits the Nobel Prize in Chemistry with Schrock and Chauvin for green chemistry. Good for them. Upon seeing that green chemistry had won the Nobel Prize, I held out a few seconds hope that Everyone's Favorite New Zealander Terry had somehow done something incredible that led to the Nobel Prize, but no. Just Grubbs.
Reuters reports that Britons steal everything that's not nailed to the floor and on fire. Which is fun.
Harriet Miers is busy telling everyone that everything's going to be ok if she's appointed to the Supreme Court. It appears she's got some support, though it's from Frist, Brownback and, somewhat unexpectedly, Reid. Slate's running an article which points out that she's no Sandra Day O'Connor, though it's not entirely clear if that's really relevant. We'll see how this plays out.
The White Sox destroyed Boston in the first game of the ALDS "B", though it's important for Chicago fans to remember that this Boston team has a tendency to kind of bounce back from things. Still, that puts the ChiSox one game closer to the ALCS, which I'm all for. Boston's bloggers responded by insulting White Sox fans. Yes, White Sox fans are excited. They've got the best record in the American League, were in or tied for first place in the AL Central for every single day of the season, and still they're being written off. So when they trounce the defending Champs by 12 runs, of course they're going to be happy. What I would caution them against is getting too cocky. It's important to remember that the Love must continue.
Bananas are an interesting food. In other news, that is.
Grubbs (of catalysis fame) splits the Nobel Prize in Chemistry with Schrock and Chauvin for green chemistry. Good for them. Upon seeing that green chemistry had won the Nobel Prize, I held out a few seconds hope that Everyone's Favorite New Zealander Terry had somehow done something incredible that led to the Nobel Prize, but no. Just Grubbs.
Reuters reports that Britons steal everything that's not nailed to the floor and on fire. Which is fun.
Harriet Miers is busy telling everyone that everything's going to be ok if she's appointed to the Supreme Court. It appears she's got some support, though it's from Frist, Brownback and, somewhat unexpectedly, Reid. Slate's running an article which points out that she's no Sandra Day O'Connor, though it's not entirely clear if that's really relevant. We'll see how this plays out.
The White Sox destroyed Boston in the first game of the ALDS "B", though it's important for Chicago fans to remember that this Boston team has a tendency to kind of bounce back from things. Still, that puts the ChiSox one game closer to the ALCS, which I'm all for. Boston's bloggers responded by insulting White Sox fans. Yes, White Sox fans are excited. They've got the best record in the American League, were in or tied for first place in the AL Central for every single day of the season, and still they're being written off. So when they trounce the defending Champs by 12 runs, of course they're going to be happy. What I would caution them against is getting too cocky. It's important to remember that the Love must continue.
Bananas are an interesting food. In other news, that is.
Tuesday, October 04, 2005
BP's Picks.
I'm about to run off to another group meeting and listen to some people talk about chemistry I'm not familiar with, but I just felt I should link to BaseballProspectus' Hit List for this week, which, while on the surface less objective than virtually everything else on BP, does have some basis in mathematics, and is predicting a Cards/White Sox World Series (NL's obvious, but I'm somewhat amazed to see that they're not choosing the Angels).
Off to Nano.
Off to Nano.
Monday, October 03, 2005
On The Tracks
Quick update before i have to get back to my physical organic textbook.
This morning was less awesome than expected, with a 40 minute wait on the platform of the Granville stop on the Red line, following a maintenance car derailment at 2:40am, which caused no injuries. So I missed almost all of my class, despite getting to the station on time. Feh. Most of what we talked about was still review from when the TA taught the class, so I didn't miss much. I just wish I would have known to sleep in, but I guess it did get me here. Whatever.
Bush nominates his lawyer for a position on the Supreme Court (filling O'Connor's seat) in a move that can be more or less aptly described as confusing. She's got no judicial experience, but is close to Bush, and that seems to be the prerequisite. This should be a tougher nomination than Roberts', but we'll see about that.
I can't get enough money together to go to a NU Football game, but this guy can do whatever the hell he wants, and what he wants is to play helper to some researchers on the ISS. He does work with near-infrared sensors, and so while I may not understand why people can do this, I'm happy that that whole "science doctorate" thing seems to have worked out for this guy.
The Pirates are happy they get to go home to their families and Chicago is praying like hell that someone around here can win a baseball game or two. Or three. Personally? I'm optimistic about the White Sox' chances against Boston. Boston's pitching has broken down, they're relying very heavily on Ortiz and Ramirez to get the job done, and the White Sox strength is their pitching, which surged back at the end of the regular season to capture 8 of their last 10 games and a 1.57 ERA in the last eight starts. Pat has both teams in his "AL Don't Like" category,which I thought was mildly interesting. While Chicago suffered a drop from their 15-game lead atop the AL Central as of August 1, they were 19-12 since September first. The Red Sox have had a similar 18-13 record in the same timespan.
I'm going to go do something productive now.
This morning was less awesome than expected, with a 40 minute wait on the platform of the Granville stop on the Red line, following a maintenance car derailment at 2:40am, which caused no injuries. So I missed almost all of my class, despite getting to the station on time. Feh. Most of what we talked about was still review from when the TA taught the class, so I didn't miss much. I just wish I would have known to sleep in, but I guess it did get me here. Whatever.
Bush nominates his lawyer for a position on the Supreme Court (filling O'Connor's seat) in a move that can be more or less aptly described as confusing. She's got no judicial experience, but is close to Bush, and that seems to be the prerequisite. This should be a tougher nomination than Roberts', but we'll see about that.
I can't get enough money together to go to a NU Football game, but this guy can do whatever the hell he wants, and what he wants is to play helper to some researchers on the ISS. He does work with near-infrared sensors, and so while I may not understand why people can do this, I'm happy that that whole "science doctorate" thing seems to have worked out for this guy.
The Pirates are happy they get to go home to their families and Chicago is praying like hell that someone around here can win a baseball game or two. Or three. Personally? I'm optimistic about the White Sox' chances against Boston. Boston's pitching has broken down, they're relying very heavily on Ortiz and Ramirez to get the job done, and the White Sox strength is their pitching, which surged back at the end of the regular season to capture 8 of their last 10 games and a 1.57 ERA in the last eight starts. Pat has both teams in his "AL Don't Like" category,which I thought was mildly interesting. While Chicago suffered a drop from their 15-game lead atop the AL Central as of August 1, they were 19-12 since September first. The Red Sox have had a similar 18-13 record in the same timespan.
I'm going to go do something productive now.
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