5.22.07

So it's been almost 5 full months, and I'm still going strong. As far as the scale is concerned, I've reached my goals--I don't need that number to go down anymore. But I'm not finished. There's something I've always wanted. And now they are slowly but surely coming into fruition...abs.

Even when I wasn't more than 10 pounds overweight in high school, I was always pudgy around the middle. And I've always wanted abs. Cut stomach muscles. Six-pack. And it's not there yet, but it will be.

An Enthralling 8 Minutes

I'm not a fan of watching other animals eat other animals, so I almost didn't bother starting this clip because I assumed that's what this was. That's not what this clip is about. It's not too graphic, and I found it captivating. This is reality tv.

The Best BBQ Sauce in the World

Some things in life aren't worth paying a little bit extra. This is not one of those things. Buy the best. Buy Stubbs.

Afternoon Scene: Unwritten Law

Unwritten Law is a San Diego band that formed in 1990 and became more popular because of some singles, that are mostly mediocre. I think their best stuff is on their 1998 self-titled CD. Here's 3 videos from that. (I also love Sound Siren from Elva, but couldn't find any version of the song online.)

"Teenage Suicide"


"Cailin"


"Lonesome"

The State of the NBA

I've never been a huge NBA fan.

I watched some of the playoffs with Jordan. I remember rooting for Utah to upset the Bulls in 98. I remember rooting for the Kings to knock off the Lakers during their dynasty. Throughout college I fell even more in love with the NCAA tournament, and the NBA was always second fiddle.

Until this year when the Warriors provided some May Madness and stunned Dallas. And Deron's Jazz pulled out a game 7 win on the road. The bar was set high for the Conference Semifinals. This is what it should have been:

• A rebirth of a classic Eastern rivalry: is this the year when the youth of the Bulls takes over from the talented team success of the Pistons.
• An Eastern shootout between teams led by All-Stars.
• A wild showdown in the west between two rebuilding teams.
• An epic 7-game battle between the best two teams still alive in the playoffs.

In case you didn't notice, none of those came true. The NBA playoffs fell flat, and doesn't seem to have much juice left in the tank.

Here's a recap of my Conf. Semifinal picks, with what really happenned.

Pistons in 5 (Pistons in 6)
Cavs in 6 (Cavs in 6)
Spurs in 7 (Spurs in 6)
Warriors in 6 (Jazz in 5)

Well, looking forward I think it's going to be:

Spurs in 5
Pistons in 6

Excuse me while I barf on my keyboard.






I'm back. Unless the Jazz magically have a run in them, or LeBron becomes LEBRON, I'm officially over the 07 playoffs.

But...It's probably just because of Simmons, but I'm very interested in the Lottery tomorrow. Will the tanking payoff for Memphis and Boston? The only good team with a lottery pick is the Bulls, what if they land a top-2 spot? It should be interesting.

Afternoon Scene: Incubus

Incubus is a 5-piece band from California that formed in 1991. They've really evolved, and I really like their stuff from Make Yourself on. Here's a sampling.

"Pardon Me" 1999


"Warning" 2001

"Talk Show on Mute" 2004


"Love Hurts" 2006

Softball 2007: Game One

First, some notes: We got new uniforms, they are 3/4 sleeve baseball jerseys, white with navy sleeves, blank on the front, company logo on the back. Also part of the uniform: victory socks. Full calf socks, navy with two white diamonds. They're pretty sweet, and serve a double purpose of protection on slides. (Although my left knee did get a little scraped, since they don't go over the knee.)

On to the recap. I was batting 2nd in the order, and we were the home team:


The game was called partially because of the Mercy Rule, partially because the other team was late getting there.

Batting Stats for Week One:
1st AB: 2B, run
2nd AB: line out
3rd AB: FC, run

Average: .333
Slugging: .666
2 runs scored, 0 rbi

Pitching Stats for Week One:
5 innings pitched
6 earned runs
1 K
0 BB

ERA: 8.40 (I'm multiplying ER by 7, since that's how many innings we play)
1 win (complete game)

I wanted to keep track of my WHIP, but it was too hard to record how many hits I gave up. It was probably around 15. Once our defense settled down, we were pretty good in the field. And our bats really came alive. Ironically, our 7-run first inning started with our solid lead off batter striking out on fouls. I ripped a double down the right field line, and scored on the next batter. The next time up, the lead off man turned a double into a triple into a home run. I thought that he had cost me a rbi, but I ended up lining out to the first basewoman. Our bats are pretty solid, and our defense is pretty good, we should finish above .500.

Oh yeah, and were obnoxious and brought a boombox, so everyone could have personalized batting music. Mine is the last 10 seconds from this, in support of my nickname that was inspired by how I eat buffalo wings (Wingman.)

Team Record: 1-0

Super Tecmo Bowl...2008?

As I learned from the FanHouse, there is a new Tecmo Bowl in the works. Does this have any chance of being cool? Not likely. Am I still holding out an ounce of optimism/excitement? You betcha.

Amazon Blows My Mind

On the morning of May 15th, I arrived at work and ordered something on Amazon. It was elgible for the Free Super Saver Shipping that typically takes about a week and a half to arrive, from the order date. But it's free, and I'm usually not in a hurry.

So I order it, and it in the automatic email, it says:
Shipping Estimate: May 21
Arrival Estimate: May 29-June 4

Okay, fine, whatever.

Less than 3 hours after I ordered it, still on May 15th, I get another email. It's a notice that the product has shipped! And it's updated the arrival estimate to May 21.

Wow, cool.

Then May 16th rolls around. I check the tracking number just for fun, and it says that it's out for delivery! And sure enough, when I get home, there it is. 1-day shipping for free. A full 13-19 days ahead of their original estimate. Well played.

Afternoon Scene: Arcade Fire

Arcade Fire is a 7-piece group from Montreal. Funeral is my go-to album when I want to write at work and listen to something peaceful, over and over again on repeat. Tunnels is my favorite song by them, and the video just happens to be pretty intriguing. Neat stuff.

"Neighborhood #1 (Tunnels)"


"Rebellion (Lies)"


"Wake Up" (live featuring David Bowie)

Jazztastic

Before the playoffs began, if you were picking the team to be the first to secure a spot on the conference finals, your list would probably look like:

1. Mavericks
2. Pistons
3. Cavs
4. Spurs
5. Suns
6. Raptors
7. Nets
8. Rockets
9. Bulls
10. Heat
11. Jazz
12. Nuggets
13. Lakers
14. Warriors
15. Magic
16. Wizards

But after coming down from 3-2 against the Rockets (including a Game 7 win in Houston) the Jazz won their second series in 5. Something even the Pistons weren't able to do.

Perhaps T-Mac, Dirk and Yao should get together for dinner and say, "Wha happenned?"

Review: Light Up Bowling

When I get a $2.99 miniature bowling game, I expect a lot.


PINS
The pins are fantastic. They have a surprising heft, which provides the necessary pin action. A+


BALL
The ball lights up. Sounds great, right? Except that it because the lighting mechanism is not centered, it doesn't roll so much as it wobbles. D-

Championship Gear!

Just in time to celebrate last summer's tournament victory!

Afternoon Scene: Cartel

Cartel is a 5-piece group from Atlanta. I only found about them last year, but have already listened to Chroma more times than I can count. They're set to record their follow-up in a bubble (!) starting May 23rd.

"Honestly"


"Say Anything (Else)"


"The Mistrel's Prayer" (acoustic, live)

FIVE THOUSAND FUCKING METERS

What does it feel like to accomplish something that I've never done before?

EXHILARATING/liberating
TRIUMPHANT/significant
POWERFUL/fast

I finished 3.11 miles at a constant rate of 5 mph for an official time of 37:15.

The first mile was easy. I got the first urge to quit around 1.5. My right calf was hurting but I kept going. Once I got to the second mile marker, I just kept counting down how many minutes to go. 12 minutes, 9 minutes. I kept thinking that once I reached 2.5 I would feel like I was on the home stretch. But it didn't feel like that at all. My whole body was tingling, as if a body part had fallen asleep. I knew that "feeling" happens when you cut off circulation to your foot or something, so it wasn't comforting thinking that my body had shut off circulation to my extremities.

There's a reason I hadn't done this before. I had been expecting to come to this blog and post on how easy it was, and how surprising that was. But it wasn't. Around 2.75 my shoes didn't feel right--they felt like I was running in heavy boots. I think that's because my feet had the "fallen asleep" sensation.

Around 2.96 I finally realized that I was going to finish. I had been telling myself the whole time that I can't quit, but once I reached the 3rd mile marker, I knew that I had done it. And then I finally felt like I was on the homestrech, and then I felt a lot better and there's that brief moment when you think that you can keep going past your goal. And then you see 3.11 on the display and every part of you says "stop."

Last night, the only part that was sore was my right calf. I iced it down using a bag of frozen peas. I cooled down, I stretched, I took a shower that briefly alternated cool/hot/cool. I got about 8 hours of sleep, and I feel pretty good. My right calf is still sore, but not really that bad. I think the ice helped. Anyways, no matter what happens, I'll be able to say I ran 5k. And hopefully the next time it's a little easier.