Football time

Well, I got to see the Giants play on Sunday after all. I got a free weekend of DirecTV's Sunday Ticket package with a code from a Burger King Angus Burger. And what a treat that package is--combined with the stat tracker from my fantasy football leagues, I was able to see most of the scoring during the 1:00 games and the entire Giants victory at 4:00. Yep, my boys are in first place in their division--well, tied for it, at any rate. It's a bit early for Super Bowl dreams, but the line protected Eli pretty well, the defense made some plays, special teams finally looked more special and less special, and Brandon Jacobs is playing like Ron Dayne with talent.

Unfortunately, I only won one of my four fantasy games (largely because I forgot to pull the injured Jerome Bettis from two lineups) and finished near the bottom of my pick-em pool. Fortunately, the season is young for me as well as for the Browns.

Update: Spam blogs

Looks like Blogger.com (host of this useless site) is cracking down on spamblogs as per my complaining post from a couple of months ago. All the spamblogs I highlighted in that post are now four-oh-four'd, and Blogger's put up a new button in the toolbar that everyone can use to flag those spamblogs and get them ripped down as fast as they're put up. Kudos!

Update: For T.O.

Lil' Jeremy wrote a new letter to Terrell Owens. Not as long or as funny as the first, but still worth checking out. I just love watching Owens implode...now if it can just affect the team enough that the wheels come off on the field, I'll be happy.

It's the most wonderful time of the year...

I got five hours of sleep last night, despite drinking five beers from 9:00 at night till nearly 2:00 in the morning. And yet I feel great this morning, because the reason for both is that I was watching the NFL season opener. I love football, and I love gambling on football--I'm in four fantasy leagues this year, one of which had an entry fee, as well as a pick 'em pool with some rather nice prizes--5th place gets their money back, and it goes up from there. The only bummer (for me) is that the Giants opener isn't going to be on TV in my area--they're showing the Cowboys-Chargers at 4:00. Oh well--I guess there's always the sports bar.

I've also picked up the PC version of Madden 06, and I'm fairly unimpressed. It's not a bad game, but the whole "vision" thing (you need to direct your QB's eyes to the receiver you're trying to hit before passing the ball) takes a lot of getting used to (fortunately, you can turn this "feature" off), and the new "Superstar" mode (create an NFL rookie and guide him through his career) adds very little excitement to the game for me. It feels like an attempt to put a stripped-down version of The Sims into the Madden series, and it just doesn't work, as far as I'm concerned. Other than that, Madden 06 features the same great graphics, gameplay, and useability (it runs terrific on my Athlon 2700 with all the details maxed out) as previous games in the series, and features the least repetitive commentary in any sports game from Al Michaels and the big guy himself. Recommended for purchase if you don't have last year's version--otherwise, save your money and go find yourself a user-created roster for this season. You won't be missing much.

For T.O.

The Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver and multimillionaire Terrell Owens needs help to feed his family.

Fortunately, Lil' Jeremy has a plan to help him out.

Beast's Cookbook: Yogurt Pie

Once again, I'm back from the dead to update the ol' blog. It's hard to believe I've put this off yet again for two whole weeks. I went to another microbrewfest at Stoudt's Brewery in Adamstown, PA--the pictures from that are up on my Flickr photo site--and helped three friends in Virginia (Mike R., Pat, and Zeb, from my Flickr photos) move from three individual apartments into the young political hack version of an Animal House apartment.

I made a yogurt pie for dessert tonight--it's one of my favorites. It's tasty, it's pretty good for you compared to most other desserts, and it's the definition of simplicity itself to make.



1 tub of Cool Whip (8 ounces)
2 - 8 ounce containers of fruit-flavored yogurt (I usually use strawberry or raspberry--either pre-blended or fruit-on-the-bottom will do)
1 premade graham cracker crust

In a large mixing bowl, combine the Cool Whip and yogurt. Mix together until completely blended and pour into crust. Cover and freeze until solid, about 4 hours. Lick mixing bowl clean (or allow nearby children to do so for you). Before serving, let stand at room temperature for about 5 minutes to soften slightly. Serves 8.

Teaser!

I hate "tune in tomorrow" announcements, but an opportunity for fun on this here lil' blog has just presented itself.

I get to work at home tomorrow--mostly learning the configuration of a hardware VPN appliance--but this aftenoon, two laptops from the 90's came across my desk for proper disposal.

Before this can happen, the client group needs to be certain that confidential data on the notebook-size hard drives won't fall into the wrong hands. My job is to make sure that happens.

With extreme prejudice.

My objective is to fold, spindle, or mutilate these drives so that they can never be used again. Post some suggestions on how I can get rid of them permanently in the comments--I'll perform some of the best "crash tests" tomorrow and post pictures ASAP.

Some considerations:

-I have a dishwasher, a pond in my back yard (currently empty of fish), a small assortment of power tools, a pair of paintball guns, and everything that I consider a common household item.

-I do not have fireworks or other explosives, "real" firearms, or any significant variety of acid. I also will not risk substantial property damage or injury to myself or anyone else.

This is also a chance for me to see just how many readers I really have (or don't have). I'm counting on you guys!

Spam blogs

Fan-freakin'-tastic.

It's not bad enough that we all get the nonsensical spams in our e-mail.

Now they're creating spamblogs too.

I hope you all fall into a barbed wire fence with Tommy Morrison.

You're no good, you're no good, you're no good....

...cocaine!

There's no denying that ol' Osama is one crafty sum-biatch--that's evident from the fact that we haven't found him yet. But if this story is real, and every indication says it is, it shows that Bin Laden still has a thing or two to learn about striking fear deep into the hearts of Americans everywhere. If this plot had been successful, it would have meant absolutely nothing to me or anyone I know (at least as far as I know). It would have accomplished a goal the government has been unsuccessfully attempting for years by finally reducing the demand for cocaine (and most likely other illicit substances, to a lesser effect). And somehow, I think life would have gone on even without the likes of Bobby Brown, Robert Downey Junior, and Yasmine Bleeth. I'm not saying I approve or condone--just that if Bin Laden thought this plot would somehow be another 9/11, then he really doesn't understand America or the average American.

Hillary vs. Rockstar

Like Squidly, I picked up Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas last week. I'm not going to spend a lot of time reviewing it--suffice to say that in the short time I've played it, I've greatly enjoyed it, and everything Squidly says in his mini-review is on the mark.

If you listen to certain interest groups, our civil liberties are being yanked away from us every day by Emperor Bushpatine and the evil Republican Empire. But the fact of the matter is that laws like the Patriot Act aren't going to affect your life in the slightest--other than making it more difficult for terrorists to blow you up, gas you, or otherwise lower your life expectancy--unless you give someone a damn good reason to think you're up to something deadly on a mass scale. In point of fact, the real threat to our freedoms--and I'm talking about the ones we take for granted on a daily basis--come from people like Senator Hillary Clinton, a big-time proponent of nanny state politics who want to dictate what sorts of entertainment adults (like me) can enjoy because of the possibility that children might get their hands on it and the possibility that their fragile psyches could somehow be harmed as a result. And now Senator Clinton has gotten her wish.

Way to go, Senator. Way to perform an end-run around the First Amendment. Here's how it works: Big bad senator makes noise, and gets the rating changed. Rating change causes recall, costing studio, publisher, and retailers millions of dollars. And the next time a studio even thinks about taking a risk with their content, they'll remember this incident and decide they'd rather stay in business than create something original and edgy. And if they don't, their publisher will. And if the publisher doesn't, the retailer will. Indirectly, it's censorship wholly within the confines of the First Amendment, and in the end, we're left with watered-down, milquetoast entertainment.

Ironic, isn't it, that in the wake of Senator Clinton's calls for an investigation of this "harmful" game, a different sort of game with much more serious and real consequences has been ignored by practically everyone? No calls for an investigation here. I guess keeping kids and teens away from virtual sex and violence is more important than keeping them alive.

Flea

The latest digital music player out of Cupertino. (Large video download, dialups beware.)

Hat tip to Bribo for the link.

This is the next logical step, you know. The iPod Shuffle is absolutely huge, and I can't understand why. My SanDisk digital audio player is smaller, holds the same amount, costs about the same amount, and isn't locked in permanent shuffle mode. I don't know how he got anyone to buy a Shuffle, but Steve Jobs is a marketing genius.

Update: a few friends have explained to me that there is, in fact, a serial mode that will play your list in order. Even so, if you're looking for portability, I'd still recommend the smaller SanDisk (with nifty velcro strap for attaching the player to your "guns" while exercising) over the Shuffle.

Not Afraid

This site says it all.

My thoughts and prayers go out to the victims of the cowardly attack on London last week. I was simultaneously angered, saddened, and sickened, and I hope that the animals who perpetrated this vicious attack are brought to swift, brutal justice.