death of a sportsfan

i've loved sports my entire life. however, unlike a lot of my friends who also love sports, i have never really been hooked on watching them on tv. don't get me wrong, i used to love watching games on the tube, but i wasn't addicted. perhaps that is one reason that i found it so easy to let them go.

sure, i still love to catch a baseball/basketball/football game on a saturday/sunday afternoon, but i long ago gave up on ever again seeing a game on tv that actually mattered to me. a tarheel game, the dallas cowboys, or the washington nationals would be fun to watch. instead i get to see games that no one cares about. if i want to see a game that actually means something - i have to pay for it. and that's just not going to happen.

cable companies and satellite providers now offer sports "packages", which will allow you to see just about any game you want - for a price. here are the figures for the sportsaholic who gets his/her feed from directv.

nfl package = $229
nba package = $109
mlb package = $159
college basketball = $159 (doesn't include ncaa tournament)
ncaa tournament = $59
college football = $159 (doesn't include bowl games)
bowl games = $59
nhl = $109
mls = $109
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total for all sports = $1092
monthly directv ($60 x 12) = $720
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total cost to watch sports = $1812 per year

if you want to watch boxing, add in about $50 per fight night, and "professional" wrestling (how can something that's entirely fake be called professional???) will cost you another $50/night. it's easy to see how true "sports fans" could spend $1800/year (above the $720 for the cable/directv connection) in subscription fees. that's $150/month, or a new set of really good golf clubs every year.

i'm sure plenty of folks pay to watch sports on tv - how else could teams afford to pay mediocre players over $1,000,000/year and really good players $25,000,000/year (or has someone beats a-rod's record contract?) - but i won't be one of them. instead, i'll be in the driveway working on my 3-pointer . . . i always liked playing more than watching anyway.

epitome of stupidity #2

i have a long list of "epitome of stupidity" topics, but not enough time to post them all. however, this one is just so far out that i have to post it.

seattle seahawks fans have raised the bidding on ebay to $10,069 for a game day hotdog from the seahawks-panthers game on 1/22/2006. an enterprising fan planned the whole thing and took several pictures, including pics of the hotdog stand, menu board, and the scoreboard showing the score, to validate the dogs authenticity. she also has the receipt. after the game, she (stacey) took the dog home and stuck it in the freezer, then opened an ebay auction to sell it. they are only accepting bids from pre-approved buyers, so she is most likely going to collect on the sale.

there just aren't enough words to describe how ridiculous this is. the only redeeming value is that stacey has agreed to donate 15% of the highest bid to the Grant Wistrom (Children's Cancer) Foundation. way to go stacey :-)

check out the link for the ebay posting:
$10,000 Hotdog

keeping kids safe

it seems as though we (cherie & i) have been having the same conversation with our kids for decades, yet we still find it necessary to put on our mom or dad hat and rehash old ground. maybe we are overly protective, or too afraid that something terrible will happen, or maybe we know just a bit more about how many really evil people are out there. whatever the reason(s), we found ourselves having the same conversations with Ray (34 yo son) and Mandie (21 yo daughter) over the last couple of weeks.

both Ray and Mandie are getting ready to take the plunge again, so we felt the need to remind them AGAIN!!!! about the need to take things slowly and to be safe. the conversations go something like this . . .

us: i know we've talked about this before, but now more than ever, you really need to be careful.

them: i know! i know! [somewhat irritated]

us: there are some really bad people out there. they pretend to be your friend, but . . .

them: i know [losing patience]

us: don't rush into anything, take your time, and . . .

them: i know, i learned a lot from the last time.

us: we know, but we've seen you make the same mistakes over and over.

them: well not this time.

us: please be careful.

them: i will, i promise.

us: and use protection . . .

them: mom!!! [or dad!!!]

us: well, you didn't last time, and look what happened!

them: i did use protection!

us: look, just loading some lame freeware version of antivirus software is not enough! you need to use a good antivirus program, you have to actually update the virus definitions, install a spyware detection program, tighten your security setting, block pop-up ads, regularly back up your critical files, scan you system for spyware and browser hijacks, and for the last time, would you PLEASE!!!! not load KaZaa or any other illegal file-swapping software.

them: but i like downloading songs

us: mandie!!! do you remember what happened last time?

them: ok! ok! i get it.

us: good, 'cause we don't want to have to have this talk again.

them: i know, i know [more sheepish this time]

us: good, now make sure you have protected your new computer before you connected it to the internet, and if you're not going to try to fix the old one, bring to our house next time you visit. i'm sure i can find a use for it.

evolution ???

chris got me thinking about this when he put a top-5 quote list on his blog. this is one of my favorite tv conversations.

background: the conversation is between "friends" ross and phoebe. for those who don't watch the show, ross is a very uptight anal-retentive palentologist who is trying to convince phoebe that evolution is how we all got here. phoebe, the somewhat out-of-touch-with-reality blond musical artist of "smelly cat" fame, earlier said that she didn't believe in darwin's theories because they we just "too easy." ross spends the rest of the show trying to convert phoebe to his way of thinking. this is the final exchange on the subject.

Ross: What? Ok, Phoebe, this is it. In this briefcase I carry actual scientific facts. A briefcase of facts, if you will. Some of these fossils are over 200 million years old.

Pheobe: Ok, look, before you even start, I'm not denying evolution, ok, I'm just saying that it's one of the possibilities.

Ross: What!? It's the only possibility, Phoebe!

Pheobe: Ok, Ross, could you just open your mind like this much, ok? Wasn't there a time when the brightest minds in the world believed that the world was flat? And, up until like what, 50 years ago, you all thought the atom was the smallest thing, until you split it open, and this like, whole mess of crap came out. Now, are you telling me that you are so unbelievably arrogant that you can't admit that there's a teeny tiny possibility that you could be wrong about this?

[long pause]

Ross: There might be, a teeny, tiny, possibility.

Pheobe: I can't believe you caved.

Ross: What?

Pheobe: You just abandoned your whole belief system. I mean, before, I didn't agree with you, but at least I respected you. How, how, how are you going to go into work tomorrow? How, how are you going to face the other science guys? How, how are you going to face yourself? Oh! That was fun. So, who's hungry?

epitome of stupidity #1

this is the first edition of what is sure to be a regular posting topic. it might have been named "things that make you go, huh?", but epitome of stupidity seems catchier and more original.

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[arizona] seems the purchasing manager for advanced cardiac specialist inc. has been buying pacemakers from eBay. odds are, something is going to wrong when you start installing used parts when doing repair work on a human - especially when you pay $200 for a device that is supposed to be worth $6,000. turns out that at least two of the pacemakers were "hot", a.k.a. stolen. and yes, one of the pacemakers was implanted before this little bit of information surfaced. and (big surprise here!), the pacemaker that was implanted immediately began to malfunction. no! really! who'd a thunk it?!?!?!

i'm not sure which disturbs me most - (1) the fact that hospitals are installing used parts, (2) the fact that they are getting them from eBay, (3) the fact that they didn't feel the need to test the used and unbelievably cheap pacemaker before installing it, (4) the fact that criminals are brazen enough to pawn their stolen property via the web, or (5) the fact that i now need to get a parts history (ala vehicle report) before i get any major work done on my body.

want more: http://www.kpho.com/Global/story.asp?S=3102573&nav=23KuXhuI
http://www.regrettheerror.com/2005/04/star_tribune_is.html

must watch movie list

i'm just curios . . . what's on your must watch movie list? here is mine. it's not the final version of my list, just a list of a few of my favorites. i'm sure i will ammend it several times before i have a final "top ten". anyway, here is the first cut (in no particular order).

1. casablance
2. my cousin vinny
3. with honors
4. contact
5. pay it forward
6. saving private ryan
7. castaway
8. the natural
9. the seventh sign
10. monty python - search for the holy grail
11. blazzing saddles
12. contact
13. office space
14. sleepless in seattle (if you have to watch a chick flick . . . )

a funny thing happened

a funny thing happened at the post office the other day. cherie was doing some running around and stopped by the post office to mail some packages (christmas presents actually). it was one of those days; you know the type; when nothing seems to go right and you're really not feeling that great either. so, of course, the post office was closed for lunch . . . things like that happen often in this neck of the woods. it was about 15 minutes 'til they were scheduled to reopen. cherie decided to call it a day and just head back home.

cherie was a little disappointed at not being able to get the presents in the mail, but like i said; things like that happen around here and you get used to it. she was just about to return to her car with the packages when the post office door opened and the lady inside said, "come on in". cherie politely told her that it was ok that they were closed and she would come back some other time.

the postal employee would have none of that and insisted that she come on in and mail her packages. cherie protested, "no, it's your lunch hour, i'll come back", but the lady insisted she had finished her lunch and didn't mind reopening early.

so cherie went in, mailed her packages and left in much better spirits than when she arrived. it's silly really, that one nice lady, who went just a little out of her way, could actually brighten an otherwise dreary day for a customer . . . i think they call that "customer service", yeah, that's what they used to call it. before coming to clear brook, i hadn't seen it in a very long time.

but here in the northern most parts of virginia, kindness, courtesy, respect, and yes, even customer service are bountiful. it's like a whole 'nother world.

and that my friends, is why life on the ridge is so wonderful . . .

winter in the hills

we've had snow on the ground for almost two weeks now. the first snow of the season, which, much to mandie's delight, arrived just before thanksgiving, was the perfect sort. it drifted down beautifully. gave us a show and quickly melted off all roads and travel routes. the rest of that snow melted away the following day. the second snow was pretty much the same except that the snow remained on the slopes and shaded areas until the third snow arrived last week. temperatures have been well below the norm, rising above freezing only occasionlly and only long enough to allow the snow to melt slightly before refreezing. After several thaw/refreeze cycles, the snow now glistens with a magical wintery sheen and begs for sledders.

the last snow quickly changed to the dreaded "wintery mix" - treacherous for driving and difficult to remove. it left behind a coat of ice too thick to be melted by deicing salts. i had to chisel the ice from the sidewalk, the driveway, and off my car before i could leave for work. while i don't particularly enjoy chiseling ice, i was quite entertained by nature's winter orchestra. This is the type of entertainment that you can't find in the noisy city.

it began with tubes of ice falling from the power lines. as the ice melted, a strip several feet long would sheer away from the lines and crash onto the frozen tundra below. as each section pulled away from the power line, it would drag several more pieces with it, creating 3-4 sequential ice on ice crashes. a few moments later, the ice percussions were accompanied by the loud cracking of horse hooves bantering through the icy pasture across the street. next, the thunderous sound of 200 or so cows trudging through the frozen hills as they made their way to greener grazing fields. it was a loud and magestic symphony. later in the evening, toby (our dog) and i startled several deer down in the eastern section of the yard. they graze there almost every evening, but they are still timid towards people. it's too bad we scared them off, but listening to them sprint across the moonlit frozen snow was another gentle reminder of just how great it is to be out here where nature still abounds.

when we moved out here to the hills, i wondered if i would miss the convenience of having the endless entertainment of the city so close at hand. as it turns out, we have plenty of entertainment, albeit a different variety, right here on the western slope of the shenandoahs. ah, life in the hills - it is as wonderful as i had hoped it would be.