Fantasy football time!

Three drafts in five days. The better half is thrilled...

Was this some sort of joke?

Let me get this right... the Miami Doplhins were 6-10 in 2006, followed by one of the worst early drafts in years (passing on Brady Quinn to take Ted Ginn Jr at #9). Did I mention that they also traded a wide receiver to a division rival? Wes Welker to the Patriots, who finished the season w/ 1,175 yards and 8 touchdowns? The Dolphins were a mess when Nick Saban bolted for his "dream job" and Cam Cammeron managed to dig them in to an even deeper hole with a disastrous 1-15 2007 season.

In December 2007, the Dolphins brought in Bill Parcells as vice president of football operations, and appears that he has done more with his team in 8 months, than Carl Peterson has in 20 years with the Chiefs.

It was stunning just how bad the Chiefs looked Saturday night. The TV guys kept bringing up the point that the Chiefs "didn't really game plan" for this game. Excuse me? I see, they just rolled in to Miami and let the starters play for almost 3 quarters, and didn't really put much thought in to it? Most coaches won't take a dump w/o a game plan, so how in the world could they not have one for a game?

I would think this would be the ideal opportunity to devise a plan of attack, force it down the rookies throat all week, and see how they react. It's great to see that a guy can make a tackle... but can you teach him a scheme in a week and can he execute it on game day? Ridiculous. That game was an embarrassment.

The Chiefs better be careful... the fans have been more than patient as this organization has bled them dry for years and filled our heads with promises of being one player away. Now that they are forced to rebuild, due to inept spending and coaching (a-hem, Dick Vermeil, Shawn Barber, Kendrell Bell etc...), they better damn well be prepared each week.

What would happen if in a few years when they unveiled the New Arrowhead, and no one showed up?

Paradise Point - The Posse

Played the Posse at Paradise Point of Friday. Once again, I managed to get up earlier for golf, than I do for work. Smithville is a nice drive from Prairie Village, so we left around 7, to make our 8:15 tee time. Folks in the pro shop were super nice. Our plan was to play the Posse in the morning, than turn around and play the Outlaw in the afternoon. I've played 36 holes in one day before, and it's quite a rush.

My how quickly a bad round of golf will change your plans! The course itself was pretty nice. The lake comes in to play a few times, and it's a nice change from the courses in our area. But it totally kicked my ass. Nothing went right. Driver was a mess and long irons didn't seem like they wanted to help me out either. Short irons were OK and putting had it's moments. But all in all, a true Alabama Ass Whuppin'. As a result, neither of us could get motivated to play another 18 holes.

Despite being aerated a few days ago, the greens rolled pretty true when putting. Approach shots didn't hold up as well. More than once, Grant or I would have a nice approach, and the second bounce would get all squirrelly on us. Certainly not an excuse for bad play. As a matter of fact, Grant locked in on the back 9 and carded a +6 (a huge jump vs. his front 9). I on the other hand, picked up two strokes from the front, but it didn't make any difference.

All in all, a fun round. A shitty round of golf w/ good weather, sure beats the best day a guy can ever have at work. It's too bad I played so crappy, because I didn't get a chance to truly appreciate the course. I'm sure we will head back up there to play the Outlaw at some point.

Tropic Thunder

Saw Tropic Thunder last night. Lots of fun. The first 40 minutes are about as funny as it gets, and then the movie goes on cruise control. Pretty crude and enough usage of "fuck" (my favorite swear word...) to make a Teamster blush.

There's been some stink about a running joke about people w/ mental disabilities. The liberal use of the word "retard" has the folks at the Special Olympics upset. I have to admit, that at one point it pretty much crosses the line when it comes to bad taste. Having said that, the movie itself is a fantastic display of the absurd. Just about everything is over the top.

I've always been a casual fan of Robert Downey Jr. After seeing Iron Man, I had a new appreciation for him and his ability not to take himself too seriously. After seeing Tropic Thunder, I can't think of another actor that could have pulled off the role of a white Australian actor, playing a black guy. In lesser hands (I don't know... Jim Carrey?), this could have ruined the careers of everyone involved.

Make sure you get there on time, because part of the set up for each of the characters is a preview for a movie that they have each been in. Pretty funny stuff.

On a side note, when did movie tickets go up to $10 each for a Friday 5:45 showing?

A little good Karma

My wife and I had the opportunity to volunteer for a few hours last Saturday at Harvesters. For those that aren't familiar w/ Harvesters, they are a clearinghouse for the collection and distribution of food and related household products. Just about everything that comes in their doors, is sorted and then distributed to service providers among 13 counties in Kansas and Missouri. I had been told that it was a pretty impressive operation, but was surprised at how big it is, and how smoothly it seems to run.

From what I have heard, there are a few roles that volunteers work. Most people think of sorting canned and box foods. Believe me, there's a lot to be sorted. Other tasks include washing eggs (donated by local grocers) and sorting other fresh, perishable items.

Bulk, perishable donations are double edged sword. While we were there, we were part of a group that sorted donated potatoes. More specifically, 3 pallets full of 50 pound bags of potatoes. Since they are perishable, our task was to sort thru all of them, and then put them in smaller bags of about 5-10 pounds each0. The smaller bags then went in to a giant bog, that was carted off to the warehouse (I think we filled 4 of those boxes). The potatoes were pretty small (most likely too small to be sold at a market or grocery store) and some were well past fresh. If I had to guess, I'd say about 10% of what was in the bag, was bad and had to be pitched. What's amazing, is that Harvesters can get perishable items into the hands of people that need them, while they are still good.

(bad cell phone pic)

When our 3 hours were over, we were pretty tired. Frankly, we smelled pretty bad too. Rotten potatoes and sweat are a subtle aroma that I can live with out for a while.

I could go on forever about the place, but will leave you with this... I heard someone say "I'm glad we are fortunate enough that we don't have to rely on organizations like Harvesters to keep our family fed." That's certainly true, but I would like to think of it a little differently... I think we are fortunate to have an organization like Harvesters, to help out families in need.

They're baaaaaaaaaaack!!!

Saturday October 4th at the Bottleneck in Lawrence KS.

Wow! I heard that the show earlier this year at Wakarusa was a little sloppy and a lot of loud. What do you expect from these guys? I was lucky enough to catch them about a dozen times before the finally, officially and once and for all called it quits. Dive bars, outdoor shows or the majestic Liberty Hall, they always kicked some serious ass.

Mad, relieved or just embarrassed? (and I'm not talking about my Senior prom)

Rant removed. Another day, another time...

Hey, China! Light My Fire

I caught the Opening Ceremony of the Beijing Olympics the other night. Pretty cool, but nothing tops Barcelona for lighting of the Olympic cauldron.

Sign of the Apocalypse #1

Sweet Christ! Have Americans become so spoon fed, that they can't handle pouring milk out of a square jug? Even worse, have we been reduced to actually needing instructions on how to pour milk from the damn things? I know this story has been out for a month or so, but after a rough day at work, I thought to myself "These rubes are probably the ones bitching about the new milk jugs!".

Here's the story from the NY Times. The KC Star picked up the story, and then ran a follow up of reader responses/posts. (kudos to the "stupid helmets" comment!). If you don't want to read the article, the Cliff Notes version is that warehouse retailers Costco and Sam's Club are going w/ the square jugs. They allow for more efficient packaging and transportation, as well as create a "more recyclable" container. Not to mention, they fit perfectly in the doors of newer refrigerators.

Sure, it's human nature to resist change... especially for something so routine, that we can practically do it in our sleep. But I would guess this is a sign of things to come. Steps to reduce costs (costs that are inevitably passed on to consumers), will one day be the standard, and not a novelty. Apparently, that frustrates suburban housewives and the folks that tend to bitch when the wind changes directions.

It's a drop in the bucket, but here's an opportunity to reduce consumer cost, and folks are complaining! Amazing. Did I mention that as of Saturday August 2nd, a gallon of 2% milk at Costco cost $2.99 and it was over $4 at a local PV grocery store? Additionally, because processing time has been reduced, the milk is good for almost 2 weeks, and not 6 days like the current "pour friendly" milk jugs. To me, the savings and increased shelf life, should trump any perceived learning curve.