Sundays Suck
And I don't mean that in a good way. There's nothing to ruin a good weekend than having that impending doom feeling that it is over soon. From about Sunday at 3pm on, I can't relax because I'm thinking about all the crap that needs to be done for Monday plus the fact that there's work to be done at work. Yes, I live a terrible existence. This has always happened to me since I lived in Rhode Island and listened to 92PRO-FM and Casey Kasem's weekly top 40 on Sunday nights during grade school. It was only later I learned the reason for all those pre-recorded Sunday night programs was becuase NO ONE WAS THERE..but I digress. I remember those Sundays, freshman year of high school, not doing my homework and instead playing tons of Commodore 64 games and listening to Dr. Demento and Dr. Ruth. Now you see, I wouldn't let me 15 year old kid listen to Dr. Ruth talk about anal sex, but either my parents were very progressive or not that smart.
Anyhoo, for the first time in days, I'm feeling better. I think laying off the Entex (Sudafed/Mucinex combo) helps. Throat still hurts and the magic mouthwash seems to be numbing every part of my mouth save for my throat, but whatever.
I see the Orioles lost yet again. It was funny seeing in USA Today how the O's blame the Nationals for losing 10,000 tickets per game. Obviously, sucking ass as a team had absolutely nothing to do with it. LOL.
If all goes well, I'll be playing my first golf of the season tomorrow. Looking forward to it, but hoping the weather and my health will both be ok.
I see that Barbaro is still in surgery. They found a third (!) break. It's amazing this horse is still alive. I'm dying to hear Bill's take on all this stuff, haven't seen him on the usual IM places, hope we'll hear what's going on soon.
Alright, time to put away the laundry, make sure lunches are ready, give the kids a bath, save the world and get ready for the Sopranos....
Sad Preakness
Wow, what a sad, sad day to see something like that happen at the Preakness. You never want to see that, and what was with the 'false start'? I had never seen that before either.
Last night I went to see the Sea Dogs and it was very enjoyable, fortunately the weather held out (yay)!
Another visit to the doctor gave me no better diagnosis. It was 'well it could be mono, but we'd have to do a blood test and there's nothing we can do'. I can't tell you the amount of pain I have in my throat and neck glands...it's weird -- everything else is fine but that. That is a big but though. It's very uncomfortable. They were saying it may be a yeast infection so take this 'magic mouthwash.' Let's just say it's not magic and it is in fact, disgusting, and it doesn't seem to do much for my pain. Ugh.
I'm watching the O's-WAS game on MLB now. Thank god it's a night game so no stupid FOX blackout. That is the dumbest rule ever. I wonder if/when the NFL will allow you to watch games online. That would be incredibly lucrative.
I have a few reviews to do, but I literally have zero energy. There have been some comments at home about my lethargy; however, I keep my medical stuff private. It just doesn't seem to matter -- if I mention it, it's a big deal so if I don't, I just get little not doing anything issues. You can't win, so why even bother bringing it up. Sounds like a guy who has zero energy, doesn't it?
Alrighty, time to get back to the game. This Raspberry coffee from Green Mountain isn't bad, maybe it'll wake me up...
Cthulhu ends, HoMM5 begins
Well, I finished Cthulhu yesterday. Took me 9 hours and 23 minutes. (The game tracks this, I'm not that anal.) Good game. Dated graphics, some cliched scary bits but totally Lovecraftian, so it gets a thumbs up despite the save checkpoint thing.
So now it's on to Heroes of Might and Magic V, which arrived a couple of days ago. I'm finishing up the tutorial campaign and so far so good. I think the biggest letdown is the lack of custom maps (there's like 10 MP maps and 6 solo skirmish maps), no map editor, and no random map generator although the editor is planned as a July download.
Nival and Ubisoft have a touch task on their hands: how do you please one of the most rabid and at times irrational fanbases around while introducing the series to newbies? Well, you make it pretty, for one, which I think they succeeded at doing.
The test will be once I get past the intro campaign and check out the AI, which was the downfall of HoMM4. If the AI puts up a fight, it's going to be a winner. If not, it won't. Sometimes it's just that simple.
I love college football.
Ok, Ivan's Top 25 and choice for #1 does not remove the fact that I think Maisel is a dolt. This is also the most sane placement for Notre Dame that I have seen in any preseason poll.
Speaking of bottled water
The city I work in is currently sold out of bottled water because there's still a boil order on the public supply. Why, do you ask? When the flood happened, the water treatment plant's power went out. This means the shit wasn't treated (literally) and the shit got into the public water supply. So you could be drinking water enriched with shit. Needless to say, this isn't pretty. All of the fast food restaurants can't operate becuase their soda fountains use tap water. Oops. Good times. We are all hoping that the lab tests from today allow us to drink again (and shower)..glad I don't live here!
Anyway, in other news, I scored some luxury box seats to the Portland Sea Dogs game tonight...(DUSTIN PEDROIA bobblehead night, btw) but it's raining right now (big shocker, I mean 10 days of rain, one day of sun, this is great)...so I don't know if the game will happen or not. Fortunately the Sea Dogs give us 15 minute updates on their website to see if there is a game or not, so that's good. Last year, I had luxury box seats for a playoff game. I saw Hanley Ramirez and figured he'd be awesome in Boston next year. Of course, Boston traded him, and I guess they did get a good player in return, but still....Ramirez was awesome (he's doing well for Florida I hear).
Sportsgaming wise, I've been playing that MotoGP 06 demo, which is very impressive. Of course, I'm still playing Uno. Are card games sports?
Cats and Dogs Living Together…
MASS HYSTERIA!!!
This is what it is to be a Detroit sports fan right now. Let's take a deeper look:
1. The Detroit Red Wings win the President's Trophy for the league's best regular season record and go down in six games to the Edmonton Oilers. (Including blowing a two goal lead in the third period of Game 6.)
2. The Detroit Pistons finished with a franchise record for wins and the best record in the NBA. They cruised against the Bucks in the first round, cruised in the first game and the first three quarters of Game 2. Since then the Cavaliers have beat their brains in and the teams is now on the verge of playoff oblivion.
3. This is the one that has me buying bottled water and canned goods and consulting a few priests (and rabbis, and a bunch of other religious types). The Detroit Tigers have the best record in all of major league baseball. (I'll pause a moment so that you can finish screaming in terror.) They are #1... In baseball... Major League Baseball. Seriously. You can't make this kind of thing up.
Seriously, have the seas turned to blood? Are the dead rising from the grave? Has Bush resigned from office after realizing his own incompetence? Has the country finally realized that daytime talk shows and reality TV is for pure shit? Just what is happening out there?
This is the damndest April and May I have ever seen. Granted, I do think the Tigers run will slow eventually. They're for real, but they're not best team in baseball for real. At this point, however, I do think they'll finish ahead of Cleveland for the second place in the division and I think they'll compete for the wild card all the way to the end. Then there's the Pistons.
There should be an episode of Without a Trace dedicated to this team right now. They have absolutely gone MIA. The guys on the court the past three games are not the same guys I watched all season long. I still have zero doubt they can pull this series out and get back on track, but to do that they have to remember who they are and start playing like it again.
That, however, is to take nothing away from the Cavaliers and the job Lebron James has done. The Jordan comparisons are bcoming more and more valide by the game, but for me there's a huge difference: I hated Jordan. Hated him. I still don't much care forhim. But my respect for James has gone up a million fold during this series. This guy is a champion being born before our eyes and it's something to behold. And he's barely old enough to drink. For a kid to have the kind of maturity and leadership James has, especially given what his life has been like, having been in the national spotlight since high school... it's simply amazing that he seems to have such a good head on his shoulders. In this day and age, that's amazing to me. If the Cavs do dispatch the Pistons in this series I will have no trouble rooting for them to go the rest of the way. (Did I mention that I also hate the Miami Heat? Hate 'em. I do... a lot.)
That said, go Pistons! Please don't rip my still beating heart of my chest tonight. This season has been too damn special to just watch it fizzle like this in the second round to an opponent that, while determined and talented, should be inferior to them in the here and now.
Holy Cavs….
Show of hands: Who wants to read Todd's next Pistons blog now? I freely admit to not being a Cavs fan (I'[m impartial when it comes to the NBA), but I eagerly await reading Todd's thoughts on the monumental implosion we are witnessing.
Oh, and in game news...
I'm currently wading my way through Call of Cthulhu Dark Corners of the Earth on the PC. It's a first person action/adventure game based on the Cthulhu Mythos. Being a big Lovecraft fan as well as a fan of the old Cthulhu PnP RPG, I am amazed at how well Bethesda and Headfirst captured the essence of the shadowy port town of Innsmouth. It's a scary, tense game.
A few oddities, though:
Save checkpoints suck, period.
Also, where's my gun? I'm playing a 1920s PI and I can't defend myself. It's very odd. Of course it adds tension to chase scenes but it's sort of contrived because you'd think I'd be able to shoot these guys that are after me.
Still, I love creepy games and this one rates about a 9 on the freak-out meter.
Happy Wednesday,,,
1. Sad news from Bill "Dubious Quality" Harris -- I think that's too bad about Kentia Hall losing it's lustre. I used to call it "Can't See It" hall...there was so much weird shit in there. Now it's just Atari south or something.
2. The RIAA is suing XM becuase it's not paying a license for it's MP3 player. The RIAA are complete idiots. It's like you're recording off the radio -- you can't say hey I want Sunday Bloody Sunday and download it. You have to actually listen for the song and record it. Just like the olden days. Apparently SIRIUS caved. Stupid. Very stupid. I think XM should win this one.
3. Who cares who leaves tonight on Idol as long as it's not Taylor. Soul Patrol!
4. I have so many shows to watch, I'm out of disk space. D'oh!
Two Thoughts on the Presidential Address
1. Does anyone find it incredibly ironic for this president to lecture the country quite so vigorously about the importance of the knowing the English language? To quote Jib-Jab's flash-animated John Kerry, "You can't say nuclear... that really scares me."
2. We've drifted a long, long way from, "Give us your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free."
PureSim 2007
One of the most underrated baseball sims has a brand new version. Check it out -- I love those screens.
TivO alert
Don't forget that President Bush will be on TV tonight, ruining Tivo's everywhere. Pad your recordings!
Rain Rain, get the F out of here.
In the words of Monty Python, for those of you who don't like rain, there's rain. More rain. Lots and lots of rain. (actually they said "sport" but that really doesn't fit my post)
You know it's bad when 2 of the 3 roads you use to get home from work are flooded out. In my city, 1750 homes are being evacuated as we speak. The bridge that goes over the river between two states is now closed and guarded by the National Guard. Hey, that's cool -- the national guard actually being used as the natinoal guard. You know, as opposed to getting illegal immigrants, etc. Sorry, of course I have to get that in. Anyway, we are one of the few cities that have reverse 911, so the fire department bulk dials everyone who has to leave. It's actually a pretty impressive system -- the city uses the same system to cancel school -- so when my cell phone rings, my home phone rings and I get email all at the same time, I know there's no school for the kids.
Anyway, it's been freaking crazy. Thankfully, our house is ok, but our mother in law got the call to voluntarily evacuate. She's staying -- for now (she's not that far away from us, so either she got an incorrect call or we're going to get one).
And of course this fun + not feeling so well = fun times. So, I'll try to take it easy tonight, watch some hot 24 action and get some sleep.
Bill, it's called Entex. Ask for it by name. LOL. May cause mind numbing drowsiness though. I'm just saying.
Following Dan’s Footsteps
I've been under the weather a bit for about a month now, and it came to a head last night. After reading Dan's post -- our symptoms are very similar. I've had an earache for about a month, light headed with a nasty sore throat that feels like someome is taking a blowtorch to my esophagus when I cough. It's lovely. Odd thing, I have some Mucinex in the medicine cabinet so I'll give that a go. Maybe a Mucinex/TheraFlu cocktail. Yum.
Anyway, a few post E3 thoughts:
- The PS3 controller feels cheap. (Maybe it's just a prototype?)
- NCAA '07 was fun. Deep balls could be an issue but I did have fun with it.
- Every EA game was on Next Gen hardware (sans PSP stuff) so I have no clue how Ps2/Xbox stuff will look.
- The 2K Games booth was also hopping. NBA 2K7 looked ridiculously good, visually at least. College Hoops 2K7 was also playable on the floor and I was really digging that game as well. On the 360 both games looked marvelous. They had these games for the Xbox displayed as well and the graphical difference (particularly the sharpness) was pretty significant.
- NHL 2K7 was also playable but I never got a chance to mess w/ it.
- Bioshock, Spore, Mark of Chaos, Warhammer Online, Vanguard, The Witcher, Medieval II: Total War, Mage Knight, Age of Conan, Dark Messiah of Might and Magic, Alone in the Dark, Neverwinter Nights II, Brothers in Arms 3, Company of Heroes, ParaWorld, Anno 1701, Sid Meier's Railroads, and Supreme Commander all looked very good (to varyinmg degrees) -- and all are PC games.
- The new booth babe policy was in effect this year and it was noticeable. Still lots of gals there but not as much skin -- much to the chagrin of buyers from Blockbuster.
- After the show ended on Friday we all went out to see Poseidon. Why, I have no idea. I blame Tom Chick. It was his idea.
- It's good to be home, that's for sure, especially now that I am full blown sick with this bizarro illness.
- Time for a nap.
When 10 inches is too much
Well, we all know frequent newsgroup poster and Blog commenter Jonah's endowment, but 10 inches can indeed be too much.
When you ask? When it comes down as rain nonstop in a 3 day period. This is just insane. Roads are flooded, dams are near breaking, people are being evacuated. So far locally, our house is okay, but the road I drive to the real job is now closed.
They are now running a schools closed ticker. You don't often see this in May around here.
On top of it I've been under the weather with some weird illness. I can breathe through my nose, I can taste, but my throat hurts like hell and I'm very lightheaded. Needless to say, I'm not doing much this weekend but sleeping. The doctor said I have a lot of fluid in my ears but it's not infected. They gave me a prescription sudafed/mucinex combo called Entex. It definitely does the job but knocks me out. They also gave me some sort of hydrocodone for the coughing, which apparently is a narcotic. Narcotic + sudafed = unconscious.
So I'll go watch the river now.
Have you seen this boat?
Big article in USA Today about this new ship. It has it's own ice skating rink. Honey, let's go on a cruise and go ice skating. Check it out.
Contact Us
Riding the Pines Podcast
Search Amazon.com
What We’re Playing
Dan:
