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I’m Such an Idiot

Those are not my words, but those of Phil Mickelson, who lost the U.S. Open today in stunning fashion. Here are how the leaders finished their rounds just a few minutes ago:

Player             Score     16th   17th   18th
------             -----     ----   ----   ----
Geoff Ogilvy        +5       Par    Par    Par
Phil Mickelson      +6       Bogey  Par    Double
Jim Furyk           +6       Par    Par    Bogey
Colin Montgomerie   +6       Par    Birdie Double
Padraig Harrington  +7       Bogey  Bogey  Bogey

Or, viewed another way:

Player             Score     16th   17th   18th
------             -----     ----   ----   ----
Geoff Ogilvy        +5         E      E      E
Phil Mickelson      +6        +1      E     +2
Jim Furyk           +6         E      E     +1
Colin Montgomerie   +6         E     -1     +2
Padraig Harrington  +7        +1     +1     +1

Drive-In Theater

Carey and I saw Cars (not Pixar's best) and Stick It (lame) tonight at a drive-in theater. Apparently, drive-ins have done away with those speaker boxes for quite awhile now, instead asking drivers to tune in to a radio frequency. Next time we'll bring a radio so that we don't just drain the car battery. Next time, too, we'll bring more comfortable seating and look out the back of the Aztek or VW.

QotD: Carwash

Question: When was the last time you went through a carwash?

My Answer: I don't remember. Is it safe to assume that most modern car washes are safe? Or should one still look to avoid certain kinds of carwashes for fear of scratching, etc.?

You are encouraged to answer the Question of the Day for yourself in the comments or on your blog.

Potboiler

I learned a new word today thanks to John Gruber: potboiler. It's defined as "a book, painting, or recording produced merely to make the writer or artist a living by catering to popular taste."

Brain Age

Carey got Brain Age, the Nintendo DS "game," from her brother today and we had some difficulty in playing it. Though I'm "fast as a train" at the math problems, I was only at a "bicycle" level on the "say the color of the word" test. The game, as played on a DS Lite, doesn't seem to understand the word "blue" when I say it. It has even less success when Carey says it, and in fact stopped the game and said "I can't hear you properly" before moving her to the non-speaking tests.

As such, despite getting all the words correct but having to say "blue" repeatedly before it was accepted, my "brain age" was determined to be 56. 😛 Carey, who skipped that test, got an ideal brain age of 20. 😛

Is the DS Lite defective? How should one pronounce the word "blue" in order to have the game recognize it? Do you say "buh-loo" or "bl-ewwww" or what? "Red" and "Yellow" and "Black" have no problems and are recognized immediately.

QotD: World Cup Soccer

Question: Are you going to watch the World Cup?

My Answer: A little. I think International Football would be a whole lot more exciting if, once taken from a game, you could come back in. The way soccer is played at this level, once you're substituted, you're done. This leads to star players playing a very slow game with brief flurries of activity so they can stay in longer to better help their team. If soccer were more like hockey (or high-school soccer), I think it'd be a whole lot more exciting.

You are encouraged to answer the Question of the Day for yourself in the comments or on your blog.

Big Ben Goes Bang

Though I didn't specifically, Ben Roethlisberger's injury is a great example of "I told you so," even if nobody is willing to actually say it.

I had a scooter in Florida and I often told people "the first time I drove past a pole at 40+ MPH" I put a rush on my helmet order. I never took the thing out in less than ideal conditions.

How someone can ride a motorcycle without a helmet is beyond me. And this was no Harley cruiser, but a crotch rocket. Simply stupid, Ben.

Michelle Wie’s Putting

If I could putt for Michelle Wie, she'd not only be playing in the U.S. Open (with 151 other men), but she'd also have won an LPGA major or two by now.

Mulch 2K6

Last year, we got seven cubic yards of bark. This year, we ordered 10 cubic yards of mulch. Either we were ripped off last year or we got a lot more than we paid for this year, because the ratio was waaaaaaay off.

Happily, though, we're done. If you're curious what ten cubic yards of something looks like, here you go:

Before (12:30pm)
Mulch 2K6 Before

After (5:30pm)
Mulch 2K6 After

Chocolate Help: Mentoring and Immediate Answers

Sometimes, I'm simply amazed at the gall of some people. Keep your money. There are far, far, far better ways to spend $85. And that's all I really have to say about that…

Where are the Intel Towers?

I'm probably going to be making a computer purchase - or two - this year. I wish Apple had its Intel towers out already so that I could replace my 2 x 2.0 G5 with a second-generation product, but it doesn't appear that it's going to be possible.

The tower is now, as many have already pointed out, the only non-Intel-powered computer Apple really sells. The MacBook, MacBook Pro, Mac Mini, and iMac have all gone the way of Intel. Only the G5 lingers…

When oh when will we see the G5 replaced with something super-fast from Intel by Apple? What will the form factor look like? What other features will it have? Will it cost me less than $3k? 🙂

I’m Being Logged Out

Lately, my computer has been acting a bit strangely. Specifically, I'll come back and find that the computer is sitting at the login screen. My user is still logged in and all of my apps are running, etc. but I have to log in.

I have not set auto-log-out in the Security pref pane (it's unchecked) and I require a password to bring me back from a screensaver. Automatic login is disabled, etc.

I'm not sure why I'm forced to log myself back in as opposed to simply having the screensaver come back. Google searches have been rather fruitless. Any ideas?

Street Lighting Assessment

Carey and I received a notice for a $161 street lighting assessment. I've never heard of such a thing. Sure, I like having street lights, but how is that not included in property taxes? Houses tend to sit on streets. It's not like we're out in the township somewhere. We've got sidewalks and everything. 😛

I'm tempted to call them and tell them we'll pay the street lighting assessment when they fix the pothole I called in a few months ago. It's right at the end and just beside our driveway, so we hit it every time we back out.

Stupid Millcreek. At least we're not in Erie…

Wanton

wan·ton
adj.

  1. Immoral or unchaste; lewd.
    1. Gratuitously cruel; merciless.
    2. Marked by unprovoked, gratuitous maliciousness; capricious and unjust: wanton destruction.
  2. Unrestrainedly excessive: wanton extravagance; wanton depletion of oil reserves.
  3. Luxuriant; overabundant: wanton tresses.
  4. Frolicsome; playful.
  5. Undisciplined; spoiled.
  6. Obsolete. Rebellious; refractory.

Duh.

Inside the Ropes

It's soooooooo nice to watch a golf tournament from inside the ropes. Today was a long day, however: up at 5, out the door by 5:30, and just now got home. My bed awaits.