In May, just six months ago, I blogged about gas crossing the $4 mark. Last week, I paid $2.41 and it looks like prices are down a few pennies since then.
That means gas prices have dropped 40% in 6 months. I sure crude oil is down, but that's an amazing price drop. Has any good dropped 20% or even 10% in the last six months (stocks aren't really goods)? My gut is everything is MORE expensive now. Seems like a fake scarcity to me.
Sunday, November 23
Monday, November 3
Here at Last
Finally the last day before the election. Likely tomorrow, we'll know who the next President of the United States will be. In fact, it's likely the major networks will call it officially at 8 PM Pacific when polls close in California, Washington, and Oregon giving Senator Obama 73 additional electoral votes and pushing him over the top. However, since not much West of the Mississippi is up for grabs, we'll really know three hours earlier if they can call the "close" states shortly after the polls close. Actually, at 4:30 Pacific time, Ohio and North Carolina close their polls and Florida and Virginia will have been closed for a while, and it might be over.
My prediction is Obama 53-45 nationally and winning 379-159* in the electoral college. He takes all of the Kerry states plus NM, VA, CO, OH, FL, NV, MO, NC, IN, the second district in NE, and MT or ND. I'm pretty convinced that the national polls underrepresent cell phone users and African Americans and both groups will come out strongly in support of Obama.
Best place to follow the election is HDnet or CNN on TV or fivethirtyeight.com online.
* Originally I wrote 382-162 but that's inconsistent with my breakdown as that would mean Obama would win MT and ND.
My prediction is Obama 53-45 nationally and winning 379-159* in the electoral college. He takes all of the Kerry states plus NM, VA, CO, OH, FL, NV, MO, NC, IN, the second district in NE, and MT or ND. I'm pretty convinced that the national polls underrepresent cell phone users and African Americans and both groups will come out strongly in support of Obama.
Best place to follow the election is HDnet or CNN on TV or fivethirtyeight.com online.
* Originally I wrote 382-162 but that's inconsistent with my breakdown as that would mean Obama would win MT and ND.
Sunday, October 26
NFL Update
At the start of the season, I remarked that the Bears could be pretty good if they got average play at QB and RB. Well Kyle Orton has actually been quite good this year. Not at Pro Bowl level but in the top 1/3 of QBs in the league, outperforming well-known names like Manning and Favre. Likewise Matt Forte has been an average running back. While that doesn't sound like much, last year Cedric Benson was so bad that his NFL career is over.
The Bears are 4-3 but if not for a fluky and poorly played final 30 seconds against the Falcons would be 5-2. And with some luck could have been 6-1! They aren't awesome, but they look like a playoff caliber team. As well, the league is pretty even with a lot of teams within a game of 500 so anything could happen in the playoffs.
The Bears are 4-3 but if not for a fluky and poorly played final 30 seconds against the Falcons would be 5-2. And with some luck could have been 6-1! They aren't awesome, but they look like a playoff caliber team. As well, the league is pretty even with a lot of teams within a game of 500 so anything could happen in the playoffs.
Tuesday, October 21
World Series
Well, I came pretty close in the LCS. The AL indeed went 7 games, though the Rays won and the Phillies took care of the Dodgers in 5 not 6. Off by two total.
I see the Rays in 6 games. Quite frankly they're just a lot better than the Phillies.
This will probably be the least watched World Series in years with Chicago, Los Angeles, Boston, and New York all watching from home.
I see the Rays in 6 games. Quite frankly they're just a lot better than the Phillies.
This will probably be the least watched World Series in years with Chicago, Los Angeles, Boston, and New York all watching from home.
Monday, October 6
Playoff FIrst Round
Yuck, yuck, and more yuck.
I'm not sure whether I'm more sad, frustrated, or embarrassed by the Cubs performance. Monica's sister and brother-in-law attended game 1 in Chicago, Monica went to game 2, and I went to LA for the weekend for game 3 (and what I expected would be game 4). What a waste of a season. And a double-whammy for me on top of the Storm's post season.
On the other hand, I had the other three series pegged right. I actually had Phillies in 4 originally, but didn't like picking them all to be four game series.
Red Sox in 7 and Phillies in 6 in the LCS.
I'm not sure whether I'm more sad, frustrated, or embarrassed by the Cubs performance. Monica's sister and brother-in-law attended game 1 in Chicago, Monica went to game 2, and I went to LA for the weekend for game 3 (and what I expected would be game 4). What a waste of a season. And a double-whammy for me on top of the Storm's post season.
On the other hand, I had the other three series pegged right. I actually had Phillies in 4 originally, but didn't like picking them all to be four game series.
Red Sox in 7 and Phillies in 6 in the LCS.
Monday, September 29
Baseball Playoffs
After my previous post, the Brewers won 5 of 6 and passed the "great collapse" tag over to the Mets who went 3-4.
Monica is headed to Chicago Tuesday night for the Cubs games Wednesday and Thursday, and I've just booked tickets to head to LA for the Saturday and Sunday games against the Dodgers. Yeh, we're excited about the Cubs in the playoffs and being the favorite to win the NL.
Predictions:
Cubs over the Dodgers in 4. This is a bad mismatch but it's hard to sweep.
Phillies over Brewers in 3. Likewise I don't think this is close, especially with Sheets hurt. The Brewers play poor defense, have a bad bullpen, and were lucky to get in the playoffs with a hot final weak AND the Mets collapse. I don't believe Sabathia can continue to pitch like he has on short rest and facing a quality offense.
Red Sox over Angels in 4. I really should get money down on this. The wisdom is the Angels are the best team in baseball, but I'd argue that they are at best the 3rd best team in the American League. They have the most wins, but beat up on a terrible division. In run differential, they're 6th in the AL. Home field advantage doesn't make up for team quality disadvantage. Angels don't even have the better closer here.
Rays over Twins in 5, White Sox in 4. Another good team vs. not-so-good team series.
Monica is headed to Chicago Tuesday night for the Cubs games Wednesday and Thursday, and I've just booked tickets to head to LA for the Saturday and Sunday games against the Dodgers. Yeh, we're excited about the Cubs in the playoffs and being the favorite to win the NL.
Predictions:
Cubs over the Dodgers in 4. This is a bad mismatch but it's hard to sweep.
Phillies over Brewers in 3. Likewise I don't think this is close, especially with Sheets hurt. The Brewers play poor defense, have a bad bullpen, and were lucky to get in the playoffs with a hot final weak AND the Mets collapse. I don't believe Sabathia can continue to pitch like he has on short rest and facing a quality offense.
Red Sox over Angels in 4. I really should get money down on this. The wisdom is the Angels are the best team in baseball, but I'd argue that they are at best the 3rd best team in the American League. They have the most wins, but beat up on a terrible division. In run differential, they're 6th in the AL. Home field advantage doesn't make up for team quality disadvantage. Angels don't even have the better closer here.
Rays over Twins in 5, White Sox in 4. Another good team vs. not-so-good team series.
Sunday, September 21
Skunky beer
In honor of the Brewers, I made French toast for breakfast. Ask David for an explanation.
Because their collapse happened in the first part of September rather than the end of the season, I expect this will be forgotten and left off the list of great collapses. But the Brewers' fade is truly amazing. By Baseball Prospectus's post season odds, Milwaukee had an 85% chance at winning the wild card on 8/31 and 2/3 of the time they "missed" the wild card it was because they actually won the division. They were a virtual lock (95%) for the post season.
Over the next three weeks, they went 5-15, including 1-8 in their last nine games, fired their manager (too little, too late) an now have only a 16% chance at the wild card. That's an 80% drop in three weeks, and a 55% drop in 8 days.
It's not over yet, but the team hurt most by this could be the Cubs who might get a hot Phillies team in the NLDS rather than a 500 Dodgers team who got in the playoffs by default.
Because their collapse happened in the first part of September rather than the end of the season, I expect this will be forgotten and left off the list of great collapses. But the Brewers' fade is truly amazing. By Baseball Prospectus's post season odds, Milwaukee had an 85% chance at winning the wild card on 8/31 and 2/3 of the time they "missed" the wild card it was because they actually won the division. They were a virtual lock (95%) for the post season.
Over the next three weeks, they went 5-15, including 1-8 in their last nine games, fired their manager (too little, too late) an now have only a 16% chance at the wild card. That's an 80% drop in three weeks, and a 55% drop in 8 days.
It's not over yet, but the team hurt most by this could be the Cubs who might get a hot Phillies team in the NLDS rather than a 500 Dodgers team who got in the playoffs by default.
Farewell George
No not that George. Our foster dog passed away in late August.
George was a sweetie who we rescued from death row. He had a loss of appetite and energy toward the end of July and we took him in for a check up. He went on Rimadyl and antibiotics and seemed to get better for a while but was never quite himself. He went in for surgery to have a small mass in his throat removed, and the vet discovered it was a large mass that was slowly closing off his windpipe and there was nothing they could do for him.
Take care George. Thanks for being part of our lives.
In happier news, we're fostering/dog sitting an 8-week old Beagle puppy this weekend. He's the cutest, sweetest thing you ever saw. If only he could stay that size forever.
George was a sweetie who we rescued from death row. He had a loss of appetite and energy toward the end of July and we took him in for a check up. He went on Rimadyl and antibiotics and seemed to get better for a while but was never quite himself. He went in for surgery to have a small mass in his throat removed, and the vet discovered it was a large mass that was slowly closing off his windpipe and there was nothing they could do for him.
Take care George. Thanks for being part of our lives.
In happier news, we're fostering/dog sitting an 8-week old Beagle puppy this weekend. He's the cutest, sweetest thing you ever saw. If only he could stay that size forever.
Sunday, September 14
New job
I started a new job four weeks ago working for Serena software. We're building Agile on Demand which is the product you see featured on the front page of the web site. It's a tool for managing Agile software projects that you'll access via your browser. The job is great, the people are great, and I feel like I'm making a real impact.
I left Ascentium at the end of July. Basically after being there for a year, my mom still couldn't remember the name of the company I worked for or what I did, so I decided to help her out. Seriously though, it just wasn't quite what I envisioned. When I interviewed and accepted the position, I really liked the people, though doing consulting would be a good experience, but was a bit apprehensive about the consulting structure and tracking hours rather than tracking work completed. And it stayed the same throughout. I liked the people and still do and miss the ones I don't see on a daily basis. And it was great when I was full-time on one project from January through March. But once that project abruptly ended, it was constant chaos trying to fill my hours and figure out if projects were real or just planned. I knew I'd be working on a number of projects and some would be short, but I always figured there'd be a backlog of waiting or upcoming projects to jump on and possibly people would be fighting for my time. Instead there just wasn't enough work and I felt like a contractor searching for work at times. I was salaried and still got paid but in the slow weeks didn't feel it was fulfilling enough. It's a good place and I'd even go back as a contractor -- I get paid when I work, I have free time when there isn't work -- but it just wasn't the right fit for me at this point.
Being back in the product world, rather than projects, I feel happier and am actually excited to see this huge pile of automation work we have to do. Oh, and I'm a pig. Mom, that should be easy to remember, but maybe it's not something to share with your friends over Rosh Hashanah dinner.
NFL and the Bears
Baseball has always been my #1 sport and still is. However unlike other professional sports, the NFL plays once a week and there's something magical about being able to sit down for one day (really 6 hours) and catch a week's worth of action. So I'm psyched about the start of the NFL season and have all the games on NFL Sunday Ticket even though my favorite team the Bears aren't supposed to be very good this year.
The consensus is that the Bears are a 6-10 or 7-9 team. However I'm actually excited about their potential. This would look a lot smarter before the first game against the Colts but I was really thinking it. 6-10 is based on an assessment that like last season they have no running game and no quarterback. However if their second-round draft pick or perhaps even Adrian Peterson can emerge as a solid running threat and Orton is mediocre instead of terrible, this team is really good in a hurry. As well, I've always felt a decent offense would improve the defense as they'd get longer breaks, spend fewer plays on the field and not have to defend a short field as often.
So far, so good.
The consensus is that the Bears are a 6-10 or 7-9 team. However I'm actually excited about their potential. This would look a lot smarter before the first game against the Colts but I was really thinking it. 6-10 is based on an assessment that like last season they have no running game and no quarterback. However if their second-round draft pick or perhaps even Adrian Peterson can emerge as a solid running threat and Orton is mediocre instead of terrible, this team is really good in a hurry. As well, I've always felt a decent offense would improve the defense as they'd get longer breaks, spend fewer plays on the field and not have to defend a short field as often.
So far, so good.
Monday, September 8
Thursday, September 4
Five Thirty-Eight
This may be the most fascinating site on the Internet right now.
Nate Silver is well-known for his work with Baseball Prospectus and PECOTA and now he's build a projection system not a prediction system for elections. This should be must read for every American at least once per week.
Before the Democratic convention, 538 projected an even race with a slight edge to Obama in electoral votes, popular vote, and likelihood of winning. Now it shows a big lead for the Democrats. That said polls are a bit of a trailing indicator and there aren't any polls that fully reflect the Republican convention. The projections attempt to adjust for that however. Have to read the latest blog posts to see where Obama has been gaining.
Nate Silver is well-known for his work with Baseball Prospectus and PECOTA and now he's build a projection system not a prediction system for elections. This should be must read for every American at least once per week.
Before the Democratic convention, 538 projected an even race with a slight edge to Obama in electoral votes, popular vote, and likelihood of winning. Now it shows a big lead for the Democrats. That said polls are a bit of a trailing indicator and there aren't any polls that fully reflect the Republican convention. The projections attempt to adjust for that however. Have to read the latest blog posts to see where Obama has been gaining.
Saturday, July 12
Spread Limit Poker
When I started this blog, I thought I'd post a lot about poker. But it turns out when I'm playing I don't have time to post and when I'm not playing there's nothing to post.
I played 2-40 spread limit at Club Hollywood in Shoreline today. Washington doesn't allow true no limit poker (yet) and non-tribal casinos have a $40 maximum bet, so 2-40 spread is as close to no limit as you can get without driving an hour. I took a horrible beat early (I my opponent all-in on the flop with AQ on a Q-Q-4 board against 66 and he rivered a 6 for those who play poker) but sill finished a two hour session up $60. I believe this is the most beatable and profitable game in the area (Omaha/8 is pretty good too). It's still a small sample size, but in 7 sessions for a total of 26 hours, I'm averaging a profit of $27/hour and have only one losing session. I think the key thing is that people don't understand implied odds for what's sort of a no limit game. And there are just some people there to gamble.
I played 2-40 spread limit at Club Hollywood in Shoreline today. Washington doesn't allow true no limit poker (yet) and non-tribal casinos have a $40 maximum bet, so 2-40 spread is as close to no limit as you can get without driving an hour. I took a horrible beat early (I my opponent all-in on the flop with AQ on a Q-Q-4 board against 66 and he rivered a 6 for those who play poker) but sill finished a two hour session up $60. I believe this is the most beatable and profitable game in the area (Omaha/8 is pretty good too). It's still a small sample size, but in 7 sessions for a total of 26 hours, I'm averaging a profit of $27/hour and have only one losing session. I think the key thing is that people don't understand implied odds for what's sort of a no limit game. And there are just some people there to gamble.
Friday, July 4
Sonics gone
...or so it seems.
It was a sad day in Seattle sports. We've known almost from day one that Clayton Bennett's plan was to move the team to OKC, whether he admits it or not. But I really thought they'd play out the lease. It was a sweet deal for the city -- they pocket the lost revenue and then some, but the local (Queen Anne) businesses that benefit from 41 Sonics home days get squat. Actually they get less than squat, they get screwed.
There's so much blame to go around, it's not funny. Bennett is obviously a snake is best described by the old joke -- how do you know when he's lying; answer: his lips move. Howard Schultz, who is a smart businessman was incredibly naive in buying the Sonics and selling to an out of town owner. A lot of people want to blame the city, but I'm of two minds here. Sure the city could have done more for the Sonics. But really spending taxpayer money to subsidize improving Key Arena for the Sonics would have been a bad move. As a whole people are against it and economic studies show it doesn't make sense. And they've already spent a bunch of money on two stadiums that have better draws. So to me, the city is stuck -- they shouldn't get a penny to the Sonics owners, but if they don't the team leaves.
The Schultz suit is still out there, but to me this is one of those suits that has a lot of merit in concept -- it's pretty clear Bennett failed to act in good faith, but in the end he won't win because a court won't reverse a sale two or three years later, after some assets have been sold and the team has moved.
I'm 90% sure Seattle will get another NBA team. The Pacific Northwest is just too large to only have one team. I'm also 90% sure it won't happen in the next 5 years.
It was a sad day in Seattle sports. We've known almost from day one that Clayton Bennett's plan was to move the team to OKC, whether he admits it or not. But I really thought they'd play out the lease. It was a sweet deal for the city -- they pocket the lost revenue and then some, but the local (Queen Anne) businesses that benefit from 41 Sonics home days get squat. Actually they get less than squat, they get screwed.
There's so much blame to go around, it's not funny. Bennett is obviously a snake is best described by the old joke -- how do you know when he's lying; answer: his lips move. Howard Schultz, who is a smart businessman was incredibly naive in buying the Sonics and selling to an out of town owner. A lot of people want to blame the city, but I'm of two minds here. Sure the city could have done more for the Sonics. But really spending taxpayer money to subsidize improving Key Arena for the Sonics would have been a bad move. As a whole people are against it and economic studies show it doesn't make sense. And they've already spent a bunch of money on two stadiums that have better draws. So to me, the city is stuck -- they shouldn't get a penny to the Sonics owners, but if they don't the team leaves.
The Schultz suit is still out there, but to me this is one of those suits that has a lot of merit in concept -- it's pretty clear Bennett failed to act in good faith, but in the end he won't win because a court won't reverse a sale two or three years later, after some assets have been sold and the team has moved.
I'm 90% sure Seattle will get another NBA team. The Pacific Northwest is just too large to only have one team. I'm also 90% sure it won't happen in the next 5 years.
Tuesday, June 17
Why I Don't Watch the NBA
or at least don't watch very much.
Tim Donaghy levels some pretty serious allegations at the league about influencing the outcome of games. Donaghy isn't exactly what we'd consider a fine, upstanding citizen and obviously we should believe this just because he says it's true. However one of three things are true:
We ALL know there different rules for superstars in the NBA. The Piston's "Jordan Rules" was always a double-entendre. Even if the league won't admit it, every TV commentator talks openly about it. The stars get protected -- the fans pay big $ to see them play or watch them on TV and really it's good for the league -- though it's clearly dishonest officiating.
Do I think the NBA is fixed -- predetermined like "pro wrestling"? No. But as far back as the year Jordan retired and the Bulls couldn't get a call, I've wondered if the officiating was totally on the up and up. It's ten+ years and I don't remember the plays, but I remember feeling the Bulls got jobbed. Maybe it's just as subtle as the selection of officials for the game or points of emphasis. Let's say the NBA didn't want the Malone-Stockton Utah Jazz to advance in a playoff series because Salt Lake City is a small city. By assigning referees who call lots of moving screens and let the defense get away with bumping and holding on the pick and roll, they can call the game "fairly" while putting the Jazz at a disadvantage.
I've watched most of the Magic games when I was visiting family in Orlando. And I've checked scores as I've passed by a TV. The one time I actually watched was the last minute of the LA-San Antonio game which solidified my view. It was the game when the San Antonio player was tackled with 1 second to go and prevented from shooting a game-winning or game-tying shot. When many inside and outside the game played it off as "you can't blow the whistle there" or "referees shouldn't decide the game' (ironic) , I wonder how you can honestly let the defense prevent a player from taking a shot.
Did anyone think the Celtics were going to win game 5 yesterday? It may be said half in jest, but with all the hype would the NBA let this be a 5-game series!?!
Tim Donaghy levels some pretty serious allegations at the league about influencing the outcome of games. Donaghy isn't exactly what we'd consider a fine, upstanding citizen and obviously we should believe this just because he says it's true. However one of three things are true:
- Donaghy's statements are 90% truth. Maybe he doesn't remember details exactly or maybe he exaggerated a bit.
- There's some basis to what he says -- some conversations between the league and the officials on how to call specific games, some things he was told though perhaps misunderstood -- but the specific examples are made up or speculation.
- Donaghy made the whole thing up.
We ALL know there different rules for superstars in the NBA. The Piston's "Jordan Rules" was always a double-entendre. Even if the league won't admit it, every TV commentator talks openly about it. The stars get protected -- the fans pay big $ to see them play or watch them on TV and really it's good for the league -- though it's clearly dishonest officiating.
Do I think the NBA is fixed -- predetermined like "pro wrestling"? No. But as far back as the year Jordan retired and the Bulls couldn't get a call, I've wondered if the officiating was totally on the up and up. It's ten+ years and I don't remember the plays, but I remember feeling the Bulls got jobbed. Maybe it's just as subtle as the selection of officials for the game or points of emphasis. Let's say the NBA didn't want the Malone-Stockton Utah Jazz to advance in a playoff series because Salt Lake City is a small city. By assigning referees who call lots of moving screens and let the defense get away with bumping and holding on the pick and roll, they can call the game "fairly" while putting the Jazz at a disadvantage.
I've watched most of the Magic games when I was visiting family in Orlando. And I've checked scores as I've passed by a TV. The one time I actually watched was the last minute of the LA-San Antonio game which solidified my view. It was the game when the San Antonio player was tackled with 1 second to go and prevented from shooting a game-winning or game-tying shot. When many inside and outside the game played it off as "you can't blow the whistle there" or "referees shouldn't decide the game' (ironic) , I wonder how you can honestly let the defense prevent a player from taking a shot.
Did anyone think the Celtics were going to win game 5 yesterday? It may be said half in jest, but with all the hype would the NBA let this be a 5-game series!?!
Monday, May 26
2007-2008 new TV shows recap
With the TV season nearing a close -- there are a lot of season finales on my TiVo -- it's time to look back on the new shows I noted I'd be watching and see how they turned out.
I watched every episode of Chuck and Monica even watched for a while but I think she quit following when they got backed up on the TiVo. I liked the show a lot and am looking forward to next season. Dirty Sexy Money -- watched bits of a few episodes; never got into it, never taped it, really don't know if it's good or not. Gossip Girl was my favorite new show of the year. It's good, clean trash television a la Melrose Place or Beverly Hills 90210. There's actually a bit of plot but I think this replaces Veronica Mars as the best written show on TV -- great snark, great kids acting like adults and parents acting like kids, a little bit of mystery. I've seen every episode of Veronica Mars and Gossip Girl is no Veronica Mars. But GG season 1 was more enjoyable that VM season 3. It's one of those shows where you look forward to next week's episode.
Pushing Daisies was the best new concept of the season. It's a pity this show got cut short by the writers strike. Like a good cherry pie, the show is a bit sickeningly sweet at times. Monica watched every episode of me with this one too. Worth watching live. We watched the first couple of episodes of Reaper, then several episodes got backed up on our TiVo and eventually they were deleted without being watched. I'm thinking of ordering the DVD to see what I missed and figure out if I should watch next year. Aliens in America met the same fate. It conflicted with Big Bang Theory and got taped on our second TiVo and eventually deleted in favor of poker. AiA was canceled so I'll never know. Back to You was laugh-out-loud funny at times though it went downhill as they replaced the actress playing Gracie just as she became a key character. I'm sorry it won't be back next year but at least it got a full season and some closure. Apparently the ratings were good, but not great, especially after the strike but with Kelsey Grammer and Patricia Heaton, it was too expensive to produce. Not sure what happened to Return of Jezebel James. The start got delayed and we saw the second episode but never figured out when it was on.
I watched every episode of Chuck and Monica even watched for a while but I think she quit following when they got backed up on the TiVo. I liked the show a lot and am looking forward to next season. Dirty Sexy Money -- watched bits of a few episodes; never got into it, never taped it, really don't know if it's good or not. Gossip Girl was my favorite new show of the year. It's good, clean trash television a la Melrose Place or Beverly Hills 90210. There's actually a bit of plot but I think this replaces Veronica Mars as the best written show on TV -- great snark, great kids acting like adults and parents acting like kids, a little bit of mystery. I've seen every episode of Veronica Mars and Gossip Girl is no Veronica Mars. But GG season 1 was more enjoyable that VM season 3. It's one of those shows where you look forward to next week's episode.
Pushing Daisies was the best new concept of the season. It's a pity this show got cut short by the writers strike. Like a good cherry pie, the show is a bit sickeningly sweet at times. Monica watched every episode of me with this one too. Worth watching live. We watched the first couple of episodes of Reaper, then several episodes got backed up on our TiVo and eventually they were deleted without being watched. I'm thinking of ordering the DVD to see what I missed and figure out if I should watch next year. Aliens in America met the same fate. It conflicted with Big Bang Theory and got taped on our second TiVo and eventually deleted in favor of poker. AiA was canceled so I'll never know. Back to You was laugh-out-loud funny at times though it went downhill as they replaced the actress playing Gracie just as she became a key character. I'm sorry it won't be back next year but at least it got a full season and some closure. Apparently the ratings were good, but not great, especially after the strike but with Kelsey Grammer and Patricia Heaton, it was too expensive to produce. Not sure what happened to Return of Jezebel James. The start got delayed and we saw the second episode but never figured out when it was on.
The $4 barrier
It finally happened that I paid $4/gallon for REGULAR gas. I've been over $4/gallon for premium for a while, but had to fill up the car that takes the "cheap gas" today. It doesn't seem like that long ago we broke the $2 threshold.
That said I think higher gas prices are a good thing. While I hate to see the price of any consumable go up -- higher gas prices cost Monica and I around $1000/year which is not chump change -- my hope is that we hit the pain threshold where people change their driving behaviors.
At some point people get out of their cars and take public transit to work, move or change jobs closer to home, run fewer errands or consolidate them, or do lots of things to get cars off the road. And cars off the road and less dependence on oil is a good thing.
It's always amazing to see how a pseudo holiday reduces traffic to a non-factor. On Friday, the Friday before a three-day weekend, I hit almost no traffic going to work leaving at a time where I'd normally drive 20 MPH much of the way. If we could permanently reduce the number of cars on the road (in the Seattle area) by just 10-15%, we'd go back to rush hour and not rush hours from 7-10 and 3-7. And no one would complain about that.
That said I think higher gas prices are a good thing. While I hate to see the price of any consumable go up -- higher gas prices cost Monica and I around $1000/year which is not chump change -- my hope is that we hit the pain threshold where people change their driving behaviors.
At some point people get out of their cars and take public transit to work, move or change jobs closer to home, run fewer errands or consolidate them, or do lots of things to get cars off the road. And cars off the road and less dependence on oil is a good thing.
It's always amazing to see how a pseudo holiday reduces traffic to a non-factor. On Friday, the Friday before a three-day weekend, I hit almost no traffic going to work leaving at a time where I'd normally drive 20 MPH much of the way. If we could permanently reduce the number of cars on the road (in the Seattle area) by just 10-15%, we'd go back to rush hour and not rush hours from 7-10 and 3-7. And no one would complain about that.
Monday, May 19
Storm win home opener
The Storm won their home opener Saturday night. After playing even for almost three quarters, they finally figured out the Sky and went on a huge run. The Sky outscored the bench a lot in the final minutes so it was only a six point margin, but the game was essentially a blowout.
It was also a very emotional game as it was the first game since a local group of women calling themselves "Force 10" bought the team from Clayton Bennett. Not only were the fans thrilled to know the Storm would be here long term, but the players brought the new owners to center court to join the post game celebration circle.
The Storm have a chance to be something special this year. When Sheryl Swoopes and Yolanda Griffith are your fourth and fifth best players that's quite a team if they have something left.
It was also a very emotional game as it was the first game since a local group of women calling themselves "Force 10" bought the team from Clayton Bennett. Not only were the fans thrilled to know the Storm would be here long term, but the players brought the new owners to center court to join the post game celebration circle.
The Storm have a chance to be something special this year. When Sheryl Swoopes and Yolanda Griffith are your fourth and fifth best players that's quite a team if they have something left.
Wednesday, April 23
Taking Responsibility
Yesterday I left voice messages for five different people, two left for businesses before 9 AM. In three cases I was doing someone the courtesy of responding to their message or email and in three cases I was calling a cell phone (two overlapped) where I'd think I'd be able to reach someone in the first place. Just about every call required a two-minute discussion.
None of the people called me back yesterday though one did just email me back this AM -- to say he found other Mariners tickets. Now I don't expect people to drop everything when I call or they get a voice mail from me. But each of my calls had some sense of time sensitivity, in some cases for the callee. Have people lost common courtesy. Do people not take responsibility anymore for communication? Are we all too busy surfing the Internet to have a human conversation?
I admit some of the pot calling the kettle black, but my frustration is the underlying sense that three days from now I'll still be waiting for responses.
None of the people called me back yesterday though one did just email me back this AM -- to say he found other Mariners tickets. Now I don't expect people to drop everything when I call or they get a voice mail from me. But each of my calls had some sense of time sensitivity, in some cases for the callee. Have people lost common courtesy. Do people not take responsibility anymore for communication? Are we all too busy surfing the Internet to have a human conversation?
I admit some of the pot calling the kettle black, but my frustration is the underlying sense that three days from now I'll still be waiting for responses.
Saturday, April 12
Amazon.com strange shipping
For Monica's birthday I ordered her two CDs from Amazon.com. I ordered them at the same time and they're both by the same artist. This seems like the kind of user behavior that happens a thousand times a day, though the artist wasn't mainstream.
Here's what we got:
The package on the right was shipped first from Illinois and arrived this morning. The one on the right was shipping a day later from California and arrived yesterday afternoon.
And of course the packaging is very different. Somehow this doesn't seem like the most efficient way to do this, either for Amazon or for me.
The good news is despite their prediction of an April 14th delivery, BOTH CDs made it her for her birthday.
Here's what we got:
The package on the right was shipped first from Illinois and arrived this morning. The one on the right was shipping a day later from California and arrived yesterday afternoon.
And of course the packaging is very different. Somehow this doesn't seem like the most efficient way to do this, either for Amazon or for me.
The good news is despite their prediction of an April 14th delivery, BOTH CDs made it her for her birthday.
Dog update
Those who have met Cocoa know he scratches and chews his paws quite often. We took him to a dermatologist last Friday to get checked out.
After giving him the once over he gave Cocoa allergy tests. Cocoa failed miserably. I wish we had a picture but couldn't get him to sit still. Picture a 4 x 10 grid with a dot at every vertex and big dots and most vertices. The large dots are everything he's allergic to including cat dander, wool, and grass. Great for a dog who lives in a house with oriental rugs and a cat and likes to run around a grassy back yard. We're getting him some allergy shots to desensitize him. We're also working on clearing up some yeast infections that cause him to itch. We hope he's better soon and thankfully he's really not so bad right now.
Hunny Bear went to the vet today because he's occasionally been limping. Thankfully the diagnosis is minor. His kneecaps are both loose but it's a grade 1 or 2 on a scale of 1-5. The vet recommended doing nothing.
After giving him the once over he gave Cocoa allergy tests. Cocoa failed miserably. I wish we had a picture but couldn't get him to sit still. Picture a 4 x 10 grid with a dot at every vertex and big dots and most vertices. The large dots are everything he's allergic to including cat dander, wool, and grass. Great for a dog who lives in a house with oriental rugs and a cat and likes to run around a grassy back yard. We're getting him some allergy shots to desensitize him. We're also working on clearing up some yeast infections that cause him to itch. We hope he's better soon and thankfully he's really not so bad right now.
Hunny Bear went to the vet today because he's occasionally been limping. Thankfully the diagnosis is minor. His kneecaps are both loose but it's a grade 1 or 2 on a scale of 1-5. The vet recommended doing nothing.
Tuesday, March 18
Long time, no blog
Eek. It's been a long time since I've blogged. Lots of stuff happening but unfortunately that leaves me little time to blog. I'll try to catch up with some short posts over the next few days.
Had a very neat experience at the end of February. In 2006 at the Jewish Day School auction, Monica won me the experience to go to a Sonics game with Seattle P-I writer Jim Moore. We finally got it scheduled for Feb 24 to see Kobe Bryant play. (Free tickets to a Sonics game isn't reason enough to go.)
Jim was kind enough to take me out to dinner before the game and we got to chat for an hour or so about Seattle sports, his background -- he actually grew up in a house not far from where we live -- and being a sportswriter. Then before the game, he had a press pass made for me and we got to walk around behind the scenes. I watched as he interviewed Jalen, a six-year-old kid on the Sonics boom squad, and the Jalen's dad. Well, at least I watched until the cheerleaders walked by about four feet away. I don't remember much of the interview after that though dad
was surprisingly level-headed and realistic about his son. The article never did run as far as I could see.
The game was a laugher and Kobe got tossed in the third quarter. But it was the most fun I'd had at a Sonics game in years.
Had a very neat experience at the end of February. In 2006 at the Jewish Day School auction, Monica won me the experience to go to a Sonics game with Seattle P-I writer Jim Moore. We finally got it scheduled for Feb 24 to see Kobe Bryant play. (Free tickets to a Sonics game isn't reason enough to go.)
Jim was kind enough to take me out to dinner before the game and we got to chat for an hour or so about Seattle sports, his background -- he actually grew up in a house not far from where we live -- and being a sportswriter. Then before the game, he had a press pass made for me and we got to walk around behind the scenes. I watched as he interviewed Jalen, a six-year-old kid on the Sonics boom squad, and the Jalen's dad. Well, at least I watched until the cheerleaders walked by about four feet away. I don't remember much of the interview after that though dad
was surprisingly level-headed and realistic about his son. The article never did run as far as I could see.
The game was a laugher and Kobe got tossed in the third quarter. But it was the most fun I'd had at a Sonics game in years.
Friday, January 11
Geneology and Family Tree
At the end of 2007, a friend turned Monica and I on to Geni, where you can create a family tree and make all of your relatives members and then can add to the tree and add their relatives and so on and so on. Essentially it's viral* family tree.
Monica and I each had family trees that were put together from our father's sides and were able to add a lot of relative beyond what we might know off the top of our heads. Then my parents both got involved and talked to my grandmother and filled out as much of their families as they knew. And slowly we're adding some (geographically) distant cousins who are adding their families. And we're searching on the internet to see if we can find people.
One of the neatest parts of searching for information was having my mom go through her old records and searching the Ellis Island records and finding the official records where my grandmother (mom's mother) and her brother and parents came to the United States. It's also somewhat surprising to find information that conflicts.
I hope as time goes by other members add to the tree. Anyone who is married into the family has a whole tree to add. And I'm going to start searching Facebook to find many of my third cousins who I don't know at all.
If you're in my family, let me know and I can give you access to the tree. Or think about starting your own family tree.
Monica and I each had family trees that were put together from our father's sides and were able to add a lot of relative beyond what we might know off the top of our heads. Then my parents both got involved and talked to my grandmother and filled out as much of their families as they knew. And slowly we're adding some (geographically) distant cousins who are adding their families. And we're searching on the internet to see if we can find people.
One of the neatest parts of searching for information was having my mom go through her old records and searching the Ellis Island records and finding the official records where my grandmother (mom's mother) and her brother and parents came to the United States. It's also somewhat surprising to find information that conflicts.
I hope as time goes by other members add to the tree. Anyone who is married into the family has a whole tree to add. And I'm going to start searching Facebook to find many of my third cousins who I don't know at all.
If you're in my family, let me know and I can give you access to the tree. Or think about starting your own family tree.
Tuesday, January 1
Happy New Year
Best wishes for a terrific 2008. Maybe this will be the year Monica blogs.
I sent our New Year's letter out this AM so you know what we've been up to. If you didn't get it let me know.
I'm already off to a good start, completing a couple of small projects around the house and having a winning day in poker.
My latest project is working on our family tree on Geni. More on that later.
I sent our New Year's letter out this AM so you know what we've been up to. If you didn't get it let me know.
I'm already off to a good start, completing a couple of small projects around the house and having a winning day in poker.
My latest project is working on our family tree on Geni. More on that later.
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