Thursday, August 27, 2009

No Match

The company I work for made an announcement yesterday - no more 401k company match on employee contributions. Yeah, that's an awesome sign that the company is in good shape...actually, I'm pretty sure we are still hemorrhaging money due to loan losses.

So, what's the over/under on the date for the next round of layoffs? Sept 30?

Tuesday, August 18, 2009

Flesh For Fantasy

The 8th Annual MexFL Fantasy Football draft was held this past Saturday, and for the 8th year in a row I despise the team I cobbled together through a brown haze of Maker's Mark.

My running back situation is outstanding, anchored by Michael Turner, Steven Jackson, and Pierre Thomas. I do get queasy thinking about Jackson though - the Rams are a disaster, and with Avery out with a foot injury he is the only weapon that team has....Meaning every team playing them will put 10 men in the box to stuff the run with a loan safety to swat down Marc Bulger's lame ducks. Thomas proved to be a playmaker over the second half of last season, and Turner is a stud, so I may start a combo of Turner/Thomas more often than not. Nothing like burning your 2nd pick just to use him to plug bye week roster holes!

Quarterback wise I am in decent hands. I'm looking for the Seahawks and Matt Hasselbeck to bounce back this year...and that means hoping Hasselbeck's back holds up. His spine has more tricks than a Port of Tacoma pimp. I also picked up Donovan McNabb, who may or may not be pouting over the Michael Vick signing. McNabb is more insecure than a once chubby high school girl that lost all kinds of weight but still sees herself as fat. Perhaps I should send McNabb a couple of Hot Wheels and a box of Uncrustables and tell him that he is still appreciated.

My weakest link, again, is at Wide Receiver. I missed out on all the really big guns like Fitzerald, Andre Johnson, Boldin, and Moss. Steve Smith was available when I picked, so I nabbed him in hopes he wouldn't sucker punch teammates again and get suspended. Once again feeling the Hawks are going to be much better than last year, I drafted T.J. Houshmandzadeh, who is a lot like Larry Fitzerald...only not as fast, strong, quick, or dynamic and plays in a much different offense. I have no idea who my third receiver is...so, that should tell you something right there....I will be undone by my WR corps again. Oh, my third WR is Steve Breaston...who is currently undergoing an MRI on an injured knee.....

Draft day is always the best day of the fantasy season, mainly for the company but also for the goofy crap that takes place during the draft....like the Pescado brother picking Jason Witten in the 2nd round just so he could have a player on his team ranked #1 at something (not sure which publication he was using that placed Witten as the top TE...the Cowboys media guide?). Shelvis's pre-pick justifications are always entertaining, although I could have done without some of the Holocaust denial speechifying during the mid-draft break. Lutes is always steadfast and serious, which is why he has been a constant in post-season play. Not sure why EB decided to pick fights with everyone and everything, but maybe that is why his wife placed him on a 6 month drinking hiatus...

Anyhoo, I can't wait for the NFL season to start...and go Hawks!

Thursday, August 13, 2009

From Armstrong to Zappa

Les Paul, a true American genius and creator of one of rock & roll's iconic guitars passed away today. He was 94.

Les Paul collaborated with Ted McCarty in the design of the Gibson Les Paul, a solid body work of art.

Besides creating the guitar that 'made the sound of rock & roll possible', Les Paul is also credited with developing multi-track recording, overdubbing, and delay effects.

He was also a brilliant, brilliant guitarist and will be missed...although the musical legacy he leaves behind is epic.

Gibson Les Paul's have been played by a who's who list of rock, jazz, and country musicians.

How Many Shots Would It Take...

It would take 29 shots of Whiskey to kill me

Created by Bar Stools

Tuesday, August 11, 2009

Brock Lesnar Is Bad News For The UFC

The UFC has an image problem, and its name is Brock Lesnar. For the longest time I resisted becoming an MMA/UFC fan, but eventually gave in and sprung UFC 66 and then I was hooked. I found MMA to be much more interesting than boxing, learned to appreciate the ground game, and soon began following certain fighters (my favorite is Lyoto Machida, and I was ecstatic when he knocked Rashad Evans out). It was difficult to ignore the lunkhead factor when it came to a majority of UFC/MMA fans...and by lunkhead I mean a certain greased up d-bag segment of society. While it was nice to see Mandy Moore in the crowd shots at UFC events, even she couldn't negate the presence of several thousand liquored up wannabe goombahs and all-around idiots in the stand. But ignore them I did because their collective idiocy was relegated to the stands, not the ring. Then came Brock Lesnar.

Brock Lesnar is a former collegiate and professional wrestler, and by professional wrestler I mean the WWE. He's freakishly athletic and quick and has been a quick study in the Octagon, but he has brought an element of the WWE to the UFC that is both unwanted and unneeded.

To call Lesnar a boorish dolt would be too kind, he's rude, knows nothing of sportsmanship, and has no respect for other fighters. While there may be bad blood between other fighters, that ill will never carries over after a fight. The same can't be said for Lesnar, who went after a still dazed Frank Mir after their match had ended.

UFC president Dana White needs to make it abundantly clear to Lesnar that his WWE stupidity has no place in MMA. If Lesnar wishes to play up his bad guy role, fine, he's free to do so...back in the WWE where he can act up to that functionally retarded fan base. The more Lesnar wins, the more compelled he will be to continue his routine, a routine that is an embarrassment to the UFC...and should Lesnar's antics go unchecked and he is rewarded with more lucrative fights, the more up and coming fighters will adopt his methods - and that will turn the UFC into nothing more than the WWE, but with actual strikes and submissions.

Here's hoping Dana White has put Lesnar on some kind of notice that his pro wrestling hack show will not be tolerated. I won't purchase any future UFC events with Lesnar on the card, and will turn my back on the sport if fighters begin to emulate Lesnar. It's bad enough being a fan of a sport where more than half the fans repulse me....but should that sport devolve into the ridiculous spectacle that is the WWE, well...count me out should that ever happen.

Thursday, August 6, 2009

Part Of My Teen Years Just Died

John Hughes, director of the 80's classics 'Pretty In Pink' and 'The Breakfast Club', passed away today. RIP, Mr. Hughes, the 1980's would not have been the same without you.

Monday, August 3, 2009

The Idiocy Of Government

So, what happened to all those cars that were traded in during the 'Cash For Clunkers' subsidy of the auto industry? This is almost too absurd for words, but the government is paying to have them destroyed...driving up the price of used cars and parts in the process, and because this is the government we are talking about the cars can't even be crushed...because an industrious and handy frugal owner could still find parts to use to keep the car they didn't trade in...and we can't have that:

Kevin Helliker in the WSJ: [S]odium silicate is the designated agent of death for cars surrendered under the federal cash-for-clunkers program. To receive government reimbursement, auto dealers who offer rebates on new cars in exchange for so-called clunkers must agree to "kill" the old models, using a method the government outlines in great detail in its 136-page manual for dealers: Drain the engine of oil and replace it with two quarts of a sodium-silicate solution.

"The heat of the operating engine then dehydrates the solution leaving solid sodium silicate distributed throughout the engine's oiled surfaces and moving parts," says the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration publication. "These solids quickly abrade the bearings causing the engine to seize while damaging the moving parts of the engine and coating all of the oil passages."

Your government at work, people. Why not just invalidate the VIN on each car, so they can't be sold but can still be used for parts? That seems to be a much better solution than the one in place. Oh, but that wouldn't be good for the environment, but pouring sodium into engine blocks is....

This was nothing but another bail out for the auto industry and one more way government is trying to keep us as nothing more than debt slaves. It won't work because as soon as this subsidy ends, the auto industry will again be in the gutter...unless they extend the program indefinitely, which would drive the price of used cars and parts even higher.

These are the same inefficient idiots some of you want running health care. What happens when this same type of crude efficiency is applied to hospitals? Don't think that can happen? I suggest you think again...