As always, me and my friend Art did a NCAA toruney auction for the 64(65) teams in the tourney. We have had a few weak years, but overall, we have done surprisingly well, and I had no reason to doubt this year would be any different. Our strategy is somewhat simple....we presume we don't know near as much as the people who seed the field. Also, we presume that past success from how seeds have performed can help dictate future results.
However, even though we were one of the most active bidding coalitions, we failed to secure very many teams. The 'best' teams we got were Marquette and Oklahoma. often it would come down to us and some other random team, and the other team would go the extra step to shut us down. So, teams we bid a fortune on, like UCLA, Kansas, Memphis, Pittsburgh, Tennessee and Xavier were taken away from us via different teams. Man, that sucks. An interesting note is, if I had a chance to do it over, we would've paid more for Kansas and UCLA, so, it'll be interesting to see how those two teams do and see if we would've taken a bath.
I also think Notre Dame has 2 good possible opponents for it's first 2 games, but I can not see a Irish victory of North Carolina. Maybe someone will upset them and the Irish will prevail!! I suppose the Irish can shoot the daylights out, and that gives them hope, but I think I prefer the aggressive Luke Harangody will carry us and we'll seal it with free throws down the stretch approach.
When I filled out my bracket, I had Kansas defeating UCLA in the finals, and the rest of the final 4 was North Carolina and Marquette. Yeah, I let my auction teams effect my selection...sue me.
Thursday, March 20, 2008
Wednesday, March 12, 2008
Colts Cap Space
Was reading an interesting article talking about cap space, and it never occurred to me that Colts would be under it?!? It seems like we sign every star on our team to a huge contract every week. it got me wondering what player would be cool to sign....An interior defensive lineman, a good run stopper...that'd be good. The only other thing would be some depth for pass rush, to spell our two awesome guys. Well, maybe a kick off dude, but Vinatieri at the end of the year had apparently rested his leg, cause he was booming them late in the year.
I just got done watching the tv miniseries Shogun, which I got via Netflix. I had read the book a few times, (James Clavell has got serious writing game), and figured what the hay. What a great miniseries, but dang, if I hadn't read the book, it'd be dang hard to figure out what the hell is going on. All the dialogue is in Japanese, well, most of it, and no subtitles. If you turn on subtitles, it only subtitles the part in English!! However, it is still dang good, and probably the whole can't understand thing is good for presenting the story so you feel for Anjin-san. After each disk of the 4 part set, I was walking around the basement talking in fake Japanese.
Sharon was watching one of them with me, and two of the characters do the Japansese Tea Ceremony. Sharon said they were doing the "Karate Kid Ceremony, which it will be forever now known as." I wonder if when they made Karate Kid II they realized they were forever changing it....probably not. MIAGI!! (That was in Kato voice)
I just got done watching the tv miniseries Shogun, which I got via Netflix. I had read the book a few times, (James Clavell has got serious writing game), and figured what the hay. What a great miniseries, but dang, if I hadn't read the book, it'd be dang hard to figure out what the hell is going on. All the dialogue is in Japanese, well, most of it, and no subtitles. If you turn on subtitles, it only subtitles the part in English!! However, it is still dang good, and probably the whole can't understand thing is good for presenting the story so you feel for Anjin-san. After each disk of the 4 part set, I was walking around the basement talking in fake Japanese.
Sharon was watching one of them with me, and two of the characters do the Japansese Tea Ceremony. Sharon said they were doing the "Karate Kid Ceremony, which it will be forever now known as." I wonder if when they made Karate Kid II they realized they were forever changing it....probably not. MIAGI!! (That was in Kato voice)
Everquest Stuff
Hey, important news....Staten Island hit level 80 yesterday!! I know, I know....earth shattering stuff and all.
On a somewhat interesting note, I was in a Maiden's Group yesterday, when Staten hit level 80. I actually had one of my lvl 80 spells at master waiting for me, Repent. (Probably about the best spell I got now on that dude) I also had some gear upgrades that weren't wearable til I hit 80. Anyhoo, we were able to clear most of Maidens with no enchanter, including Drusella and the sisters...but we weren't able to do the Sandstorm guy. However, being the sport that I am, I logged my Illusionist, Faker, on, used him to help kill Sandstorm, and then bring back Staten for the Final scorpion dude. Hmmm, occurs to me none of you will know what the hell I am talking about.
Ok....Maidens is what is called an instance. An instance is a dungeon, that a group can go into, but it is only created on the spot for THAT group. If another group enters Maidens at the same time, they will go into a different Maidens instance. So, while you can do the dungeon with your group, you won't be running into any other groups while you are at it. Generally, as you kill things in an instance, they never come back. So, if you clear an area, you can be safe. Maiden's is one of those...once dead....stays dead.
There are 6 "named" in Maidens, and some must be killed to reach oth
ers. A Named monster is one that generally has the best loot, and are generally bigger, tougher, cooler looking, than the "trash" counterparts. Let me see if I can root up some pictures....(well, was sort of successful)Anyway, think of trash as being the run of the mill mosters you fight a horde of, and the named as being the bosses. When you first enter the zone, you fight some trash, including these two side by side dudes facing each other. Remember, those big dues are just trash, just trying to give you a feel.
Oh, one more thing about trash. When you fight any kind of trash, generally, every battle is exactly the same. The tank either charges them, or pulls them somewhere, often times so he is up against a wall, the monster facing him, and everyone else behind the evil beastie. The tank keeps his attention, the mobs ONLY damages the tank, the healer(s) only heal the tank, and the damage people kill the mob.
Bi'lithu of the Old Ways
See, that's how you can tell he's a named, he has a NAME. (Takes years of studying to become a true Everquest ex
pert, I tell you) The picture to the left is the best I could come up with, as my friend Zgog would say, a flying sperm monster. He, like most of the bosses in Maiden's, has his own little trick. His trick is at 75%, 50%, and 25% left in his health, he teleports everyone in the group to his room. He puts an incurable trauma on a basically random amount of people, and it is in essence a bomb that goes off, huring that person and people around them. So, when we all get teleported, we all scatter like the winds, in order to get out of range of each others bombs, and once they go off, we regroup and get back together and get ready for the next teleport/explosion. Until we figured out the trauma bomb thing, he was kicking our butts like we stole something from him, now he isn't so bad. Killing him allows you to flip the lever and progress through to the rest of the zone.
Sandstorm:
I couldn't find a picture close enough for Sandstorm, but he is basically a big golem dude made up of.....a grainy yellow/orange substance....best described as...hmmm....Sand. Anyway, this guy is a beast, and at this second, the absolute toughest guy in the freaking zone. (Which is weird, since he is the 2nd named) His trick is, he does a 20 second stoneskin at various times in the battle. (Stoneskin means he is impervious to all damage....whatsoever) When he goes into stoneskin mode, he immediately summons 2 sand dude lackeys, that hit hard as heck, and generally beat the the crap out of people. After some time, like 45 seconds, he stoneskins again, summons 2 more.....you get the drift. Generally, we have an enchanter, like my boy Faker, mezmorize the lackeys. The rest of the group concentrates on the sandstorm, while the enchanter keeps the 2 initial, and any subsequent lackeys, from doing anything. I'm not the greatest enchanter ever, but I'm not bad. This fight is more a product of complete luck and not having my/whomever spells resisted. Killing him allows you to raise the prison to the scorpion guy.
Gear of the Ancients:
I swear, SoE throws in this named as a reward for getting this far, because this guy is a total pushover. I mean, he hits harder than trash, some, but he doesn't do anything weird. Just charge in, start beating on him, that's about it. I couldn't find a picture of him either, but since he completely sucks, who cares. Killing him allows the pit elevator to function.
Impaler Tzilug:
Not only does he have the coolest name, he is the most lucrative name to kill, since killing him completes the Anaphylaxis quest, which means you get to choose an awesom
e weapon....like the Staff of the Impaler, which both Manratten and Faker both use. (And a cool sounding name...Staff of the Impaler...) He looks like a half human, half scorpion dude. Like a centaur thing, if you are familiar with them, except instead of legs of a horse...legs of a scorp. Like the guy pictured...just bigger. His trick is that he puts a curable noxious on people, and if it isn't cured in like 3-4 seconds, it is certain death. Since a cure takes just under 1 second to happen, you have 2-3 seconds to notice it and cure it. This is the kind of 'split second' ability that separates us experts. (You'd be surprised at how many healer's can't seem to cure this thing in time, was ready to kill someone) Anyway, that's it...cure that noxious every so often and the dude is dust.
Ok...breaking news....in the middle of typing this, I just found out my boss went to the Big East tournament....wtf!! Noone asked me. Remember me!?! Notre Dame #3 seed in Big East tourney, and I don't get to go?!? Oh wait, just remembered, the tickets are like 3.2 million dollars.
Thera'ta, Xe'ziza, and Derzitha (the sisters):
Ok...the sisters used to be a total nightmare, but now they aren't so tough. In essence, they all do mammoth damage, but you can only mez/root one of them. So, we mez/root Derzitha, and then beat the crap out of Thera'ta and then Xe'ziza. That in essence is the 'trick', but mostly it involves killed Thera'ta as fast as humanly possible. Really no big deal if everyone level 80 and awake at keyboard. Couldn't find a picture, but they don't look all that cool anyway.
Drusella.
Drusella is the boss of Maidens, and drops the best loot. Probably about the best loot you can get without raiding is found right here, like the Robe of Royalty Manratten is wearing. Anyway, her trick is that she goes into a shield stance like every 20 seconds, and anyone who hits her whatsoever during that time heals her....ALOT. So, you just hit her some, everyone stops attacking, she goes into defense mode, we stand around, she comes out, we start up attacking again. Fight takes forever, she heals every so often because most people playing everquest2 pretty much suck, and after awhile she dies. A typical named fight takes 1:30, this fight takes like 12 minutes. This is alot like a raid mob, in that raid mobs often take strategy and execution far more than raw power, but I got to tell you, I am sick of doing it with different people whom have never done it....spend too much time explaining what to do.
Ok...more breaking news...Just got a text message joke from Sharon.
Why did Governor Spitzer go to a prostitute instead of his wife?
Because his wife is a Spitzer, not a swallower.
On a somewhat interesting note, I was in a Maiden's Group yesterday, when Staten hit level 80. I actually had one of my lvl 80 spells at master waiting for me, Repent. (Probably about the best spell I got now on that dude) I also had some gear upgrades that weren't wearable til I hit 80. Anyhoo, we were able to clear most of Maidens with no enchanter, including Drusella and the sisters...but we weren't able to do the Sandstorm guy. However, being the sport that I am, I logged my Illusionist, Faker, on, used him to help kill Sandstorm, and then bring back Staten for the Final scorpion dude. Hmmm, occurs to me none of you will know what the hell I am talking about.
Ok....Maidens is what is called an instance. An instance is a dungeon, that a group can go into, but it is only created on the spot for THAT group. If another group enters Maidens at the same time, they will go into a different Maidens instance. So, while you can do the dungeon with your group, you won't be running into any other groups while you are at it. Generally, as you kill things in an instance, they never come back. So, if you clear an area, you can be safe. Maiden's is one of those...once dead....stays dead.
There are 6 "named" in Maidens, and some must be killed to reach oth
ers. A Named monster is one that generally has the best loot, and are generally bigger, tougher, cooler looking, than the "trash" counterparts. Let me see if I can root up some pictures....(well, was sort of successful)Anyway, think of trash as being the run of the mill mosters you fight a horde of, and the named as being the bosses. When you first enter the zone, you fight some trash, including these two side by side dudes facing each other. Remember, those big dues are just trash, just trying to give you a feel.Oh, one more thing about trash. When you fight any kind of trash, generally, every battle is exactly the same. The tank either charges them, or pulls them somewhere, often times so he is up against a wall, the monster facing him, and everyone else behind the evil beastie. The tank keeps his attention, the mobs ONLY damages the tank, the healer(s) only heal the tank, and the damage people kill the mob.
Bi'lithu of the Old Ways
See, that's how you can tell he's a named, he has a NAME. (Takes years of studying to become a true Everquest ex
pert, I tell you) The picture to the left is the best I could come up with, as my friend Zgog would say, a flying sperm monster. He, like most of the bosses in Maiden's, has his own little trick. His trick is at 75%, 50%, and 25% left in his health, he teleports everyone in the group to his room. He puts an incurable trauma on a basically random amount of people, and it is in essence a bomb that goes off, huring that person and people around them. So, when we all get teleported, we all scatter like the winds, in order to get out of range of each others bombs, and once they go off, we regroup and get back together and get ready for the next teleport/explosion. Until we figured out the trauma bomb thing, he was kicking our butts like we stole something from him, now he isn't so bad. Killing him allows you to flip the lever and progress through to the rest of the zone.Sandstorm:
I couldn't find a picture close enough for Sandstorm, but he is basically a big golem dude made up of.....a grainy yellow/orange substance....best described as...hmmm....Sand. Anyway, this guy is a beast, and at this second, the absolute toughest guy in the freaking zone. (Which is weird, since he is the 2nd named) His trick is, he does a 20 second stoneskin at various times in the battle. (Stoneskin means he is impervious to all damage....whatsoever) When he goes into stoneskin mode, he immediately summons 2 sand dude lackeys, that hit hard as heck, and generally beat the the crap out of people. After some time, like 45 seconds, he stoneskins again, summons 2 more.....you get the drift. Generally, we have an enchanter, like my boy Faker, mezmorize the lackeys. The rest of the group concentrates on the sandstorm, while the enchanter keeps the 2 initial, and any subsequent lackeys, from doing anything. I'm not the greatest enchanter ever, but I'm not bad. This fight is more a product of complete luck and not having my/whomever spells resisted. Killing him allows you to raise the prison to the scorpion guy.
Gear of the Ancients:
I swear, SoE throws in this named as a reward for getting this far, because this guy is a total pushover. I mean, he hits harder than trash, some, but he doesn't do anything weird. Just charge in, start beating on him, that's about it. I couldn't find a picture of him either, but since he completely sucks, who cares. Killing him allows the pit elevator to function.
Impaler Tzilug:
Not only does he have the coolest name, he is the most lucrative name to kill, since killing him completes the Anaphylaxis quest, which means you get to choose an awesom
e weapon....like the Staff of the Impaler, which both Manratten and Faker both use. (And a cool sounding name...Staff of the Impaler...) He looks like a half human, half scorpion dude. Like a centaur thing, if you are familiar with them, except instead of legs of a horse...legs of a scorp. Like the guy pictured...just bigger. His trick is that he puts a curable noxious on people, and if it isn't cured in like 3-4 seconds, it is certain death. Since a cure takes just under 1 second to happen, you have 2-3 seconds to notice it and cure it. This is the kind of 'split second' ability that separates us experts. (You'd be surprised at how many healer's can't seem to cure this thing in time, was ready to kill someone) Anyway, that's it...cure that noxious every so often and the dude is dust.Ok...breaking news....in the middle of typing this, I just found out my boss went to the Big East tournament....wtf!! Noone asked me. Remember me!?! Notre Dame #3 seed in Big East tourney, and I don't get to go?!? Oh wait, just remembered, the tickets are like 3.2 million dollars.
Thera'ta, Xe'ziza, and Derzitha (the sisters):
Ok...the sisters used to be a total nightmare, but now they aren't so tough. In essence, they all do mammoth damage, but you can only mez/root one of them. So, we mez/root Derzitha, and then beat the crap out of Thera'ta and then Xe'ziza. That in essence is the 'trick', but mostly it involves killed Thera'ta as fast as humanly possible. Really no big deal if everyone level 80 and awake at keyboard. Couldn't find a picture, but they don't look all that cool anyway.
Drusella.
Drusella is the boss of Maidens, and drops the best loot. Probably about the best loot you can get without raiding is found right here, like the Robe of Royalty Manratten is wearing. Anyway, her trick is that she goes into a shield stance like every 20 seconds, and anyone who hits her whatsoever during that time heals her....ALOT. So, you just hit her some, everyone stops attacking, she goes into defense mode, we stand around, she comes out, we start up attacking again. Fight takes forever, she heals every so often because most people playing everquest2 pretty much suck, and after awhile she dies. A typical named fight takes 1:30, this fight takes like 12 minutes. This is alot like a raid mob, in that raid mobs often take strategy and execution far more than raw power, but I got to tell you, I am sick of doing it with different people whom have never done it....spend too much time explaining what to do.
Ok...more breaking news...Just got a text message joke from Sharon.
Why did Governor Spitzer go to a prostitute instead of his wife?
Because his wife is a Spitzer, not a swallower.
Wednesday, March 5, 2008
Favre has had enough
I was watching Mike and Mike this morning, and they talked alot about where Favre ranked in the scheme of things. Was interesting, and different people will rank QBs based on dif things, but I certainly agree with Greeney on this point....How can anyone rank Marino in front of Favre? I mean, want to say Montana has more championships, fine. Want to say the combination of Elways career with his two late SBs, ok. Hell, want to say Jim Kelly with 4 Sbs in a row...ok, whatever. (I'm not saying I agree with this, just saying you can argue dif ways) The only way I can see arguing for Marino is with raw numbers, and since Favre has more, (And a championship), I guess I don't get it. Any Marino fans out there that can clear this up?
(That said...Manning is far better than those guys regardless)
On the Everquest2 front, a group of guildies, (including me playing Staten), was able to clear Maidens, the toughest single group instance in the game. Wasn't exactly flawless, as I died a few times, but we got it done. I scored zero loot personally, and pretty much everything that dropped was pretty lame. Maybe we'll do better tomorrow.
Oh, reminds me, in case I mention these dudes later...
Manratten Island: My Ratonga Necromancer. Strong DPS, and an excellent soloer. I play him mostly when by myself, or if dual boxing.
Staten Island: My Froglok Templar. Supreme healer, but can't kill crap by himself. I end up getting suckered to play this guy alot because we always need healers.
Faker Outer: My Gnome Illusionist. Most overpowered class in the game, illusionists. Crowd control, great DPS, and can buff people too. Get asked to play him alot as well since there is a general shortage of mezzers. I guess everyone just wants to play Assassins and Rangers and Wizards.
(That said...Manning is far better than those guys regardless)
On the Everquest2 front, a group of guildies, (including me playing Staten), was able to clear Maidens, the toughest single group instance in the game. Wasn't exactly flawless, as I died a few times, but we got it done. I scored zero loot personally, and pretty much everything that dropped was pretty lame. Maybe we'll do better tomorrow.
Oh, reminds me, in case I mention these dudes later...
Manratten Island: My Ratonga Necromancer. Strong DPS, and an excellent soloer. I play him mostly when by myself, or if dual boxing.
Staten Island: My Froglok Templar. Supreme healer, but can't kill crap by himself. I end up getting suckered to play this guy alot because we always need healers.
Faker Outer: My Gnome Illusionist. Most overpowered class in the game, illusionists. Crowd control, great DPS, and can buff people too. Get asked to play him alot as well since there is a general shortage of mezzers. I guess everyone just wants to play Assassins and Rangers and Wizards.
Monday, March 3, 2008
Rock Band
Well, it was my GF's daughters 13th birthday party this weekend, so I went pretty much nuts and bought a xbox 360 and a Rock band game. Talk about a cool game, and I can totally throw down on the drums. I have a feeling I am going to regret it when I am trying to sleep though, laugh. I'll probably pickup Halo3 at some point as well. Until then, if you go past our house between 9 and 9, you'll me totally rocking out on the drums, because I pretty much rule! Before I bought it, since it is actually available for both the 360 and the ps3...I wanted to ensure I was getting the right one....dig the comparison.
Pardon me while I go back to playing!!
(A friend of mine was gleeful in informing me I had left out a key word here in this post....my be fun and try and determine which word I could leave out and make it sound the most damaging)
Thursday, February 28, 2008
Got Milk?
Ok, kind of related to the morning cereal, but only tertiary.
Brought in some Chocolate Honeycombs, (which pretty much sucks, btw, there's a review for you), and went to the fridge here to grab a cup of milk. So, I am pretty paranoid about milk, and sniff it to ensure it passes the Sheehy smell test (tm). Smelled ok. What the hay, checked the expiration date, and it was then I saw something curious. The expiration date was Mar 7th. (Since today is Feb 28th, way in the clear) However, underneath that, was a NYC expiration date. It was Mar 4th. Now, while that is still in the clear, it implies to me that in all the world, milk goes bad faster in NYC than anywhere else. Too bad Seinfeld isn't on, they'd clearly be forced to cover this after my admittedly astute journalistic skills turned this up. I presume you don't believe me, (and I wouldn't), but I have proof of this!!
And, because it's been a few days since I ripped on the Patriots!! I see they have a new official soda for the Patriots. Be sure to buy some.....
Tuesday, February 26, 2008
Go Irish!!
Notre Dame is totally hanging in there in the Big East regular season race. They have had an astoundingly beneficial schedule this year, and are making the most of it. I saw McAlarney dropped 9 3 pointers on a zone playing Syracuse. Zone against ND?!? I guess Syracuse plays zone against everyone, but sheesh, ND? I'll have to do some research and see if they play zone against West Virginia, the other Big East long range bombers. The upcoming game against Louisville, (unfortunately at Louisville), could be for the Big East title, as ND has 3 pretty easy games down the stretch. Go Irish!!
Saw Jeff Gordon came in 3rd in the delayed Nascar race. I'm not the biggest Nascar fan in the world, but have some marginal interest. Maybe I'll bet on the races again like me and Art did before, that is what prompted my interest. Kind of funny turning on the race at home, on my tv, in my basement, and my girlfriend goes ballistic. "Turn it off.....I don't want to watch it....I'm serious!!". (By funny, I mean, not that funny) My girlfriend is cool and all, but I don't think she understand s that down in the basement, I am allowed to fart, and I am allowed to watch Nascar!! I'll put the foot down and let you know how it goes.
Was building a snowman a couple of days ago, and somehow in the process of pushing the snow around I hurt my left shoulder something fierce. I can life stuff with that arm, but if I try to reach across my body, dang does it hurt. I'm nervous to go to a doctor, since I know he'll charge me a visit and tell me, "try not to use that arm/shoulder until it doesn't hurt." I'd go kick ole Frosty when I got home, but would probably then injure my foot.
Saw Jeff Gordon came in 3rd in the delayed Nascar race. I'm not the biggest Nascar fan in the world, but have some marginal interest. Maybe I'll bet on the races again like me and Art did before, that is what prompted my interest. Kind of funny turning on the race at home, on my tv, in my basement, and my girlfriend goes ballistic. "Turn it off.....I don't want to watch it....I'm serious!!". (By funny, I mean, not that funny) My girlfriend is cool and all, but I don't think she understand s that down in the basement, I am allowed to fart, and I am allowed to watch Nascar!! I'll put the foot down and let you know how it goes.
Was building a snowman a couple of days ago, and somehow in the process of pushing the snow around I hurt my left shoulder something fierce. I can life stuff with that arm, but if I try to reach across my body, dang does it hurt. I'm nervous to go to a doctor, since I know he'll charge me a visit and tell me, "try not to use that arm/shoulder until it doesn't hurt." I'd go kick ole Frosty when I got home, but would probably then injure my foot.
Thursday, February 21, 2008
Tiger F'n Woods
When I left work yesterday, Holmes was ahead of Tiger. When I got home, I found out Tiger had come back and won. No big deal, right?
I'm watching ESPN this morning, and before I go out door, they show the last 5 holes in a quick recap. Jesus Christ!! He must have made 4 30+ footers!! That's just col blooded right there, Holmes must feel like he got freaking robbed. I did see Phil Mickelson won, and even though I don't have any logical reason whatsoever to cheer for him, I hope he wins. I suppose some of my cheering for him comes from when me and my friend Art bet on him to win the Master's, and he returned us 6:1 on the investment.
Shaq had his debut with the Suns yesterday, and played surprisingly well. That article makes note of it, but dang, the West is sure loaded. I took a look, and noticed in some kind of shocking development that the Pacers lost. Man, ever since they traded Artest away, that team went from contender to suxx0rz. (A little l337 speak there for you) I'll go ahead and make my prediction now, the Suns are going to win, because screw Nash, Shaq rules!! Shaq-fu!!
Just saw that the day after, or even maybe the day of, the Colts franchising Dallas Clark, they went ahead and resigned him. Personally, I am kind of astounded, since sheesh, he totally dropped the ball. He must block better than I know, since he doesn't seem to be all that vital to the passing game, since it seems any tight end in the world can catch at least as well as he does. Am I the only one who thnks for a small market team, with a salary cap, that the Colts have signed like every player at every positiom to whatever monster contract is necessary? Manning, Harrison, Wayne, Freeney, Sanders, and now Clark. Is the salary cap a myth? Someone explain this to me, cause I don't get it.
Ok, speaking of things I don't understand...The Lunar eclipse. I'll probably look this up after I get done typing this, but I don't get it....don't we have a lunar eclipse every month? What makes this cool....oooh...can't see the moon. Sharon last night while I was in the midst of killing unspeakable monsters and making Norrath a safer place, (Norrath being the world of Everquest), she wanted me to go outside and freeze to death and watch...in essence...the ability to see nothing in the sky.....Whippee!!
I'm watching ESPN this morning, and before I go out door, they show the last 5 holes in a quick recap. Jesus Christ!! He must have made 4 30+ footers!! That's just col blooded right there, Holmes must feel like he got freaking robbed. I did see Phil Mickelson won, and even though I don't have any logical reason whatsoever to cheer for him, I hope he wins. I suppose some of my cheering for him comes from when me and my friend Art bet on him to win the Master's, and he returned us 6:1 on the investment.
Shaq had his debut with the Suns yesterday, and played surprisingly well. That article makes note of it, but dang, the West is sure loaded. I took a look, and noticed in some kind of shocking development that the Pacers lost. Man, ever since they traded Artest away, that team went from contender to suxx0rz. (A little l337 speak there for you) I'll go ahead and make my prediction now, the Suns are going to win, because screw Nash, Shaq rules!! Shaq-fu!!
Just saw that the day after, or even maybe the day of, the Colts franchising Dallas Clark, they went ahead and resigned him. Personally, I am kind of astounded, since sheesh, he totally dropped the ball. He must block better than I know, since he doesn't seem to be all that vital to the passing game, since it seems any tight end in the world can catch at least as well as he does. Am I the only one who thnks for a small market team, with a salary cap, that the Colts have signed like every player at every positiom to whatever monster contract is necessary? Manning, Harrison, Wayne, Freeney, Sanders, and now Clark. Is the salary cap a myth? Someone explain this to me, cause I don't get it.
Ok, speaking of things I don't understand...The Lunar eclipse. I'll probably look this up after I get done typing this, but I don't get it....don't we have a lunar eclipse every month? What makes this cool....oooh...can't see the moon. Sharon last night while I was in the midst of killing unspeakable monsters and making Norrath a safer place, (Norrath being the world of Everquest), she wanted me to go outside and freeze to death and watch...in essence...the ability to see nothing in the sky.....Whippee!!
Tuesday, February 19, 2008
Cereal Killer of Columbus Day
Well, back from the 3 day weekend at work. I don't know about anyone else, but these goofy holidays which give us a 3 day weekend and the possibility of leaving work early on Friday (which we were allowed to do) completely rule all. My absolute favorite holiday is Columbus Day. On Columbus Day, we celebrate the absolute total failure of the "hero" to achieve any of his stated goals. If you think about it, we are celebrating a man for getting completely lost, "discovering" a new continent that already had people on it, and naming them for a completely different continent. I wonder if Italy or Spain celebrate Columbus Day...might look into that.
Cookie Crisp
So, because it is a new weekend, I brought in some new cereal for the week. This got me thinking about the best cereals in the world, so, without fourther ado....The Sheehy Cereal Rating system!!
1 star
Kix
"Kids like Kix for what Kix has got, moms like Kix for what Kix is not". Catchy little jingle, but full of crap. Believe me, I've had this crap, and it is awful. Parents probably think they are helping their kids out when they buy this, but they are awful parents, as their kid will get beat up mercilessly when the other cool kids find out that crap that little Jonny has to eat.
Oroes
This cereal was to me, surprisingly bad. I would have thought it would be pretty good, but after about two bites of it, you're ready to toss it in the trash with noone looking.
This cereal was to me, surprisingly bad. I would have thought it would be pretty good, but after about two bites of it, you're ready to toss it in the trash with noone looking.
2 stars:
Rice Krispies
The texture, and the dudes Snap, Crackle and Pop help. However, this cereal is in desparate need of a flavor boost. Luckily, Kelloggs figures this out later.
Cheerio's
Cheerio's were a staple crop when I was growing up, but, because it is almost completely tastless, so was a huge spoonfull of sugar as well. Since I probably added 3 times more sugar than is in any "normal" cereal, that of defeats the purpose.
Total
This cereal is the absolute opposite of Kix, which is why it gets 2 stars. It doesn't pretend to be anything other than health crap, and in that, it succeeds. Taste's like crap, though.
Fruity Pebbles
I know alot of people really like this stuff, but personally, I think it smells pretty strange, and looks weird. It tastes ok, I guess. Prob better than 2 stars, but screw it....it freaking smells weird, ok!!
3 stars:
Honey Toasted Cheerio's
This is more like it. The taste isn't over powering, but it is a far sight better than the original.
Golden Grahams
On taste alone, and originality, graham's would have gotten a far better score. But, most people in the free world eat cereal with milk. I am one of those people. Golden Grahams with the addition of milk goes from good stuff to paper mache in about 20 seconds. A strong snack for dry feeding, though.
Lucky Charms
Another solid cereal, and this just shows how good a cereal has to be to get one of my "esteemed" 4 or 5 star rating.
Count Chocula
Yeah, this is actually probably a better cereal than a 3 star rating, but dangit, this dude is holding Booberry back from the recognition it deserves!!
4 stars:
Cookie Crisp
Cookie Crisp is one of those cereals when I first ate it I assumed it would be pretty bad. I mean, I like cookies and all, but a bowl of them? Surprisingly, it is pretty good. It is also one of the best at snack food when dry. The only thing holding it back from a 5 star is that it does tend to get old after awhile.
Cocoa Crispies
Kind of a no brainer, and it is really tasty. Rice crispies as mentioned were tolerable, but only just. Kellogg's upped the ante with the addition of the chocolately goodness. While it is tasty dry, it is almost completely unmanageable to eat, since the peices are so freaking small.
Captain Crunch
Another awesome cereal. I debated giving it a 3 star rating for the inherent weakness of disintegrating in milk, (like golden grahams), but the taste is just so awesome. Another weakness of captain crunch is that after eating it, everyone for the rest of the day you talk to will know you ate it. However, I view that as a testament to the tastely power of the crunch.
Chocolate Lucky Charms
Seeing the power of the coca krisp and puffs, Lucky Charm got in on the act. It might be totally thieving the idea, but dang, it is a good theft. There is only one weakness of lucky charms, and that is the marshmellows go stale after prolonged exposure to the environment. (in this case, prolonged being defined as 2.47 seconds) If someone else gave it a 5 star, I'd understand the argument, I just don't think it is quite as good.
5 stars: (Only 2 cereals rate 5 stars...)
Cocoa Puffs
The great thing about Cocoa Puffs, is that if you've had it 34 days in a row, it is still dang good. It is good dry as well, excellent snack food. They only issue whatsoever with cocoa puffs, is that if you drop them, you wonder if a rat got into your cube and left presents. Oh, and the absolute king of leaving behind great "cereal milk".
Booberry
This is the greatest cereal in the world, it is a testimate to how good Cocoa Puffs is to get in the same category. Blueberry flavored cereal.....talk about a no brainer. Even the marshmellows are blue tinted!! This cereal, though, is a total mystery, in the fact for some reason it is so rare. if you come across this cereal, I recommend buying the whole carton, truckload, whatever. Don't believe the hype? Then, get a load of this!!
Thursday, February 14, 2008
Bill Simmons agrees with me?
Well, I suppose even Chicken Little only has to be right once for the sky to be falling. I just read Bill Simmon's article on Shaq, and he agrees with me that this is a good deal for the Suns. Hard to believe me and any ridiculously zealous New England Patriot fan would agree on anything, but I guess the Big Diesel is the wearer on the unification belt.
Notre Dame suffered a tough loss in that game against UCONN I'd been mentioning lately. Luke Harangody was a destroyer of worlds with 32 points and 16 rebounds, but Kyle McAlrney got held to a weak shooting night, and we lost a close game that the Irish led by 6 points or so for a majority of. While I wish we had won, both teams played actually at a pretty high level, and since the Irish ended up splitting the season series with UCONN with each team winning at home, not all bad.
On a completely off the wall, super late, note....I am astounded Will Smith got absolutely no love for his acting in I am Legend. I thought he was awesome, and thought the movie was really really good. Yeah, I've read the "book", and I agree it deviated from the book. So what!?! I thought the book was ok, it killed 2 hours of commuting. The movie was flat out awesome, probably the best movie I have seen in the theatres since the LotR movies came out. Kind of scary though...just saying. On a related note to that....The vampire/ghould/zombies in I am Legend are NOT special effects, even though most people think they are. They are actually just Indianapolis Colts Defensive Player of the Year...Bob Sanders!! Great way to describe Bob Sanders....an Undead Demon!!
Wednesday, February 13, 2008
World is out to get you
Has anyone else ever noticed that the world seems to be out to get you. I don't mean the human race as a whole, I mean you, (me), personally. I'll explain with some examples....
I was walking to work this morning from Penn Station. Not the longest walk in the world, about 2 avenue blocks, which is about 6 regular street blocks. It was raining this morning, nothing biblical, but enough to make you not want to hang around outside longer than you had to. So, as always, a bunch of people walking, some slower than others. I can see a person walking in front of me, and they are reasonably close to the left hand side. As I approach, and can almost pass, traffic comes from the other way, so have to wait a few seconds. So, it clears, and I move to the right to pass....but as I am about to...the person drifts to the right, cutting me off. I don't think she saw me, just seems like it happens. So, I drift left, and will pass on that side, and again, am stopped by oncoming traffic wedging through. It passes, and she drifts left. it is almost funny. Almost.
I walk home from the train station more often than not. It's about 3 miles, and there is a 2 block stretch in which there is no sidewalk. The road itself is not very busy, you could sit there an hour and see 1 or 2 cars. However, when I am walking home, guaranteed a car will come. Now, not only that, it also is guaranteed that another car will come from the other direction at the same time. Now, this is not just restricted to this street, and I can't believe I am the only one this happens to. I could be walking in the Nevada desert, and walk for 10 hours, and in the entirety of the time walking, have two cars pass me, each one going opposite directions...and it is a certainly they will cross at the exact point I am on a narrow 2 lane bridge over a gulley.
This got me thinking Murphy and Finagle and a nuch of other "optimists". Most of these were pretty interesting, but I really liked Gerrold's Laws of Infernal Dynamics. The sausage law was funny as well.
I was walking to work this morning from Penn Station. Not the longest walk in the world, about 2 avenue blocks, which is about 6 regular street blocks. It was raining this morning, nothing biblical, but enough to make you not want to hang around outside longer than you had to. So, as always, a bunch of people walking, some slower than others. I can see a person walking in front of me, and they are reasonably close to the left hand side. As I approach, and can almost pass, traffic comes from the other way, so have to wait a few seconds. So, it clears, and I move to the right to pass....but as I am about to...the person drifts to the right, cutting me off. I don't think she saw me, just seems like it happens. So, I drift left, and will pass on that side, and again, am stopped by oncoming traffic wedging through. It passes, and she drifts left. it is almost funny. Almost.
I walk home from the train station more often than not. It's about 3 miles, and there is a 2 block stretch in which there is no sidewalk. The road itself is not very busy, you could sit there an hour and see 1 or 2 cars. However, when I am walking home, guaranteed a car will come. Now, not only that, it also is guaranteed that another car will come from the other direction at the same time. Now, this is not just restricted to this street, and I can't believe I am the only one this happens to. I could be walking in the Nevada desert, and walk for 10 hours, and in the entirety of the time walking, have two cars pass me, each one going opposite directions...and it is a certainly they will cross at the exact point I am on a narrow 2 lane bridge over a gulley.
This got me thinking Murphy and Finagle and a nuch of other "optimists". Most of these were pretty interesting, but I really liked Gerrold's Laws of Infernal Dynamics. The sausage law was funny as well.
Tuesday, February 12, 2008
Everquest Guild Drama
Well, back on the Everquest2 commentary. I've been following a thread on EQ2Flames, and doing some small commentary in it, about a guild Elysium that is purportedly bugging the Avatars and then killing them. The gist is, they say they killed the monster, but they didn't do anything untoward. The public opinion is, (and this is with no proof whatsoever...none), is that they bugged the mob beforehand and then killed it via that exploit. Now, I like some things on EQ2Flames, but the people there for the most part have no touch with reality. A word to the meek....that site has many posts of extreme nature, so be forewarned.
I do have some great news!! (Not some Geicho thing, either) I pretty much gave up on the computer last night, and did a full system restore from backup. This took a couple of hours, but when it was done, I could play EQ2 again on the computer that was dying. That bad news is that alot of the programs I had installed on that comp are now dust, but hey, I can use that comp for playing again...cheer me!!
Ok, yesterday I talked about Notre Dame moving up, maybe being possible Big East champion. On the projected Bracket Big Board, they have ND as a #3 seed, the 12th team rated....holy smokes!! I'm not so sure I agree, guess I am not completely sold yet, but good to see recoginition. The game against UCONN will tell alot, that's for sure. The Louisville game now looks to be more important as well.....Go Irish!!
In other "news", on a completely different note, I got a haircut. Yeah, earth shattering news and all that. I delayed getting a haircut for awhile, (it had been 2 months), but finally, with the weather getting warmer, and Staten Island Chuck predicting an early spring, (I did not make that up...there really is a Staten Island Chuck), I decided it was safe. I now realize my hair actually controls the weather!! It has been like 13 and 14 degrees the last 2 days, and I know if I had just kept the hair long, it'd be the 68 degree day we had last week.
I do have some great news!! (Not some Geicho thing, either) I pretty much gave up on the computer last night, and did a full system restore from backup. This took a couple of hours, but when it was done, I could play EQ2 again on the computer that was dying. That bad news is that alot of the programs I had installed on that comp are now dust, but hey, I can use that comp for playing again...cheer me!!
Ok, yesterday I talked about Notre Dame moving up, maybe being possible Big East champion. On the projected Bracket Big Board, they have ND as a #3 seed, the 12th team rated....holy smokes!! I'm not so sure I agree, guess I am not completely sold yet, but good to see recoginition. The game against UCONN will tell alot, that's for sure. The Louisville game now looks to be more important as well.....Go Irish!!
In other "news", on a completely different note, I got a haircut. Yeah, earth shattering news and all that. I delayed getting a haircut for awhile, (it had been 2 months), but finally, with the weather getting warmer, and Staten Island Chuck predicting an early spring, (I did not make that up...there really is a Staten Island Chuck), I decided it was safe. I now realize my hair actually controls the weather!! It has been like 13 and 14 degrees the last 2 days, and I know if I had just kept the hair long, it'd be the 68 degree day we had last week.
Monday, February 11, 2008
Assante Samuel coming to the Colts!
Wouldn't that be cool if we got Assante?!? Yeah, right. Peyton Manning made a half hearted joke about it at the Pro Bowl. Don't see it happening, but regardless, our defense was actually pretty dang good. Will love to get Freeney back for next year...heal Dwight...heal!!
Haven't talked much Everquest2, but I'm gonna!! For those not aware, in that game you take on a fictional persona, and you generally go around and slay evil beasties, (or good ones if you are a anti-do-gooder), and the more you slay, the better at it you get. One character by him/herself is ok, but alot of the characters work better together if teamed with one or more allies. In order to ensure I have an ally on standby, I often play two computers at once...this is called dual boxing.
The reason this is pertinent, is that one of my computers keeps failing in EQ2, with a DirectX9RenderDevice error, that I just can't get around. I even went to the store yesterday and bought a new video card, with the hopes that a new and improved card would overcome my problems. Not even. Still having the issue. Not likely, but if anyone reading this can solve my issues, that'd be right sporting of you. I think I'm gonna try removing my UI's and reloading them, maybe that will help.
Lastly, obviously with my encouragement a few days ago, the Notre Dame Fighting Irish won again!!. This was a pretty big win, pretty much guaranteed a NCAA tourney spot. My brother Patrick seem
s to think we'll get crushed first game, but I was a little more optimistic. I figured we'd go in as a 8 seed, win a nailbiter, and get North Carolina second round. One more win like that, though, and we'll be a 4 seed, and will have to win 2 games to play UNC!! Seriously, I am impressed that the team seems to be getting better as the year goes on. Probably a good thing we lost some early games, the pressure would be huge if we were 20-2 right now, (with 2 blow out losses to G'Town and M'Quette) We play UCONN in 2 days, another team that is red hot. That should prove interesting, and will give a good barometer of where we are. I saw G'Town lost to Louisville, we could be in first by Wednesday!!
s to think we'll get crushed first game, but I was a little more optimistic. I figured we'd go in as a 8 seed, win a nailbiter, and get North Carolina second round. One more win like that, though, and we'll be a 4 seed, and will have to win 2 games to play UNC!! Seriously, I am impressed that the team seems to be getting better as the year goes on. Probably a good thing we lost some early games, the pressure would be huge if we were 20-2 right now, (with 2 blow out losses to G'Town and M'Quette) We play UCONN in 2 days, another team that is red hot. That should prove interesting, and will give a good barometer of where we are. I saw G'Town lost to Louisville, we could be in first by Wednesday!!Friday, February 8, 2008
I guess football is over
I was watching Mike and Mike this morning on ESPN2, (I am still waiting for the Ocho), and mostly they were talking about Roger Clemens and his steroid/potential steroids use, and Peter Gammons came on and talked about it for 20 minutes. The big "scoop" being the the commentary on what the lawyers were saying about the evidence. Must be because I don't give a rats tail, but sheesh, is this what I got to watch and listen to for 6 months? Maybe Jessica Simpson will start going out with Roger Clemens, and put some "real news" into baseball. It almost makes me wish I was actually a baseball fan, because while I like basketball, there really is nothing like football.
Just so I can jump on the bandwagon, here is the picture of the "evidence". I don't know about you guys, but if I am going to take part in any criminal endeavors in the future, I am going to make sure I save every bit of incriminating evidence so I can be castrated by public opinion in the future. And for dang sure, it'd all go in a crushed Miller Lite can, because old beer cans are universally applauded for the way they keep the contents fresh over time. I'm betting that won't be on a Miller Lite ad in the upcoming weeks, but maybe the TV execs will surprise me.
I did see Notre Dame either had the #1 or the #2 signing class depending on who you read, which is good on the college scene. The Colts, I presume, will be awesome and win a zillion games as usual. Go Colts. Want to see about the best Pro Colts website/blog on the internet, which actually pays homage to my own personal favorite player, Marvin Harrison? What a great site, and they must spend alot of time each morning looking for news, which is great, since then....I don't have to. (Which I think we'll agree is in all our best interests) I'll probably refer to that site alot, (18to88), because no point in me researching Colts stuff if they want to do the dirty work.
Reminds me...can you actually be a die-hard Colts fan right now? I was wearing one my ridiculously expensive Colts polo shirts at work yesterday, and one of the gleeful Giants fans mentioned I must be a total die hard fan. I thought that was interesting, since while I thought I was 10 years ago, isn't it impossible to be a die hard fan when you win 12+ games and make the playoffs as far back as anyone who can remember? On a similar note, my boss is a big NY Yankee fan, and he was described by a fellow coworker as a "die hard" fan. Now come on...how many freaking titles do you need to win before you can admit there is no actually dying going on. A bad year for the Yankees is like this recent one, winning 95 games and making the playoffs. Boohoo.
I saw Shaq passed the physical. Sounds like he walked in the room, the team trainers determined he could walk without using a cart, and declared him fit. I'll go on record and say this was a great move, but one with some risks. I'm sure on the exact numbers here, but doesn't Steve Nash have more league MVP's than Shaq? Someone want to explain that one for me, live it up, cause I don't get it.
Thursday, February 7, 2008
Jaywalking
As I was walking through Penn Station this morning, as usual there were a bunch of homeless guys moping about. I actually tripped over one, and as I went to apologize, I saw it was Tom Brady!! I guess New York sacked him again. Bada Bing!! This article is about the same as the rest, but it has the greatest title, laugh. Check it out at Tom Brady sacked all night, no one impregnated.
Anyway....you guys ever jaywalk? You know, cross the street when the traffic light is red, because you didn't see anyone coming? Well, in NYC they do this, with cheese. Screw waiting for the light to turn, or even for traffic to slow/stop...people flat out walk into the street with traffic absolutely bumper to bumper. Every day...every hour.
People here complain endlessly about the taxi drivers being some pretty weak excuses for motorvehicle operators, but sheesh, they have to be traffic ninjas just to avoid all the dang pedestrians on the street. It is hard to imagine what I am talking about, so take a look at this...
Anyway....you guys ever jaywalk? You know, cross the street when the traffic light is red, because you didn't see anyone coming? Well, in NYC they do this, with cheese. Screw waiting for the light to turn, or even for traffic to slow/stop...people flat out walk into the street with traffic absolutely bumper to bumper. Every day...every hour.
People here complain endlessly about the taxi drivers being some pretty weak excuses for motorvehicle operators, but sheesh, they have to be traffic ninjas just to avoid all the dang pedestrians on the street. It is hard to imagine what I am talking about, so take a look at this...
You'll note note only is this light green, but so is the next one, and you can see people all over the dang place as they completely blow off traffic. Most of the streets are 3/4 lanes wide, and if traffic is coming in 2 of them, people will edge out absolutely as far as they can go into the lanes, and hang out in the middle of the street waiting for a second to make a dash through the traffic. Others will just go off what the others do, and will walk obliviously into traffic if they see their fellow suicide victims do it. I'd like to take second to commend pretty much all NYC drivers on not killing everyone in sight on a daily basis.
On a Notre Dame note, I saw they defeated Seton Hall last night. (The Pacers won, too, but it was against the Knicks...so who cares) Notre Dame is actually 17-4, solidly second in the tough Big East, but I am not certain whatsoever they are even any good. They got absolutely hammered in two losses in the Big East, but then yesterday they totally laid down the law on a decent Seton Hall team. Me and my friend Art do a NCAA basketball draft every year, and I have no idea what value to place on the Irish. They do seem to be playing better as the year goes on, and Luke Harangody is a beast. Our shooting guard, Kyle McAlarney is from Staten Island (NYC), so that is probably where he got his ability to "weave through traffic".
Probably the biggest news I saw was that Shaq was traded to the Suns. My personal thought was that all he could do is help, since I don't care if he is 36 years and has bad legs....he is freaking Shaq!! He'll change the game just being in there, and the Suns have enough weapons he won't be asked to do alot, except be a presence down low. Heck, he's a presence down low for Phoenix now, and he hasn't got on the plane yet!! Wish he played for the Pacers.
Wednesday, February 6, 2008
Today's Morning Commute
So, I generally get on the train at 7:28 in Middletown, New Jersey. This train ends up being packed at all get out by the time we reach NYC, but us intrepid commuters can tough it out. This morning, as usual, was no different.
The setup on this train, and dang near all of them except the rare doubledeckers, is that there are two seats on one side of the aisle, and then a 3 seater opposite. Generally they fill up one person in the double, and then 2 people in the triples. Then, once it gets crowded, the double seats fill up, and lastly, a 3rd person joins the triple. (If that doesn't make sense enough for you, screw it, don't worry about it, not worth thinking about) Anyhooo....
It was crowded, just a few interspersed seats left, when 2 women joined the train. Of course they would not be able to sit next to each, so one sat in one row, and another joined the row of seats directly in front of her friend. It just so happens that our hero...me...was sitting in that row. I got up and let her into the middle seat, thinking this would be like every other day.
The woman didn't actually sit down. She stayed standing up, facing over the seat, so she could talk to her friend. It was obvious she was excited, and she talked about how she woke up at 4am this morning, was afraid to go back to sleep for her normal wake up time at 6am, how she was called repeatable by her daughter and her husband to vote, and how she voted. I got to hear about their conference they were going to this mroning, and of course how they would meet for lunch later. I even got to listen to possible plans for the return trip, whether by bus...train...or even, gasp...the ferry. I kind of figured this couldn't last long, so tried ignoring this, (remember she is standing right next to, facing backward), but after 5 minutes I was getting sick of it.
Ok...so a dilemna hits me here....I don't want to bother people unnecessarily, but sheesh, I don't want to listen to this for another 45 minutes either. There is actually a sign posted in front of me, which reminds people to be courteous to other passengers, and to limit loud talking and cell phone use if at all possible. (I'm thinking she can't read it, since she is freaking faced the wrong way) So, I decide to bite the bullet, and interrupt her.
"Excuse me, maam?"
"yes?"
"I hate to mention this, but if you turn around, you'll see a sign there that comments on behavior on the train. I mean, it is extremely distracting and bothersome to have you standing there over my should the entire ride talking about the day today and the ride homer and lunch and voting and who knows what else I'll hear on the way there. Do what you want, but remember, there are 100 people in this car alone, and we are having to listen to this."
Ok, so she makes the big sacrfice and turns around. I feel bad and all for her, but she was killing me. So we are 3 mins out from Penn Station, so I get up and walk to the area between cars. I mostly didn't want to have to have any kind of conversation with her as we debunked, so as to avoid any unpleasantries, I went to stand to wait til we arrived. A few seconds later another guy joins me, and a few seconds after that, a 3rd. Here is the conversation we had.
Guy1: "Good god, thank you for stopping her. I was 3 rows away and it was annoying, it must have been killing you."
Guy2: "This is the guy? Man, I was wondering if you'd say anything."
Me: "Well, I was wondering if it would make things worse, but I was getting nervous this was going to continue the entire way, and decided to just be a jerk and tell her basically to can it."
Guy1: "Oh, you were way within your rights. You couldn't see it, but everyone was eyerolling and dying until you said something."
Me: "Well, to her credit, once alerted, she turned around and was quiet, so am sure glad I said something, laugh"
So...where am I going with this....? How do people not notice that other people are sitting there, and that them talking or carrying on about the most inane crap might not exactly be the top of the list for everyone else? I like to think in my own world that the world revolves around me and all, but sheesh, I do acknowledge that there are actually other people in the universe.
So, in short, when riding the train, especially in the morning....shut the hell up...noone cares.
The setup on this train, and dang near all of them except the rare doubledeckers, is that there are two seats on one side of the aisle, and then a 3 seater opposite. Generally they fill up one person in the double, and then 2 people in the triples. Then, once it gets crowded, the double seats fill up, and lastly, a 3rd person joins the triple. (If that doesn't make sense enough for you, screw it, don't worry about it, not worth thinking about) Anyhooo....
It was crowded, just a few interspersed seats left, when 2 women joined the train. Of course they would not be able to sit next to each, so one sat in one row, and another joined the row of seats directly in front of her friend. It just so happens that our hero...me...was sitting in that row. I got up and let her into the middle seat, thinking this would be like every other day.
The woman didn't actually sit down. She stayed standing up, facing over the seat, so she could talk to her friend. It was obvious she was excited, and she talked about how she woke up at 4am this morning, was afraid to go back to sleep for her normal wake up time at 6am, how she was called repeatable by her daughter and her husband to vote, and how she voted. I got to hear about their conference they were going to this mroning, and of course how they would meet for lunch later. I even got to listen to possible plans for the return trip, whether by bus...train...or even, gasp...the ferry. I kind of figured this couldn't last long, so tried ignoring this, (remember she is standing right next to, facing backward), but after 5 minutes I was getting sick of it.
Ok...so a dilemna hits me here....I don't want to bother people unnecessarily, but sheesh, I don't want to listen to this for another 45 minutes either. There is actually a sign posted in front of me, which reminds people to be courteous to other passengers, and to limit loud talking and cell phone use if at all possible. (I'm thinking she can't read it, since she is freaking faced the wrong way) So, I decide to bite the bullet, and interrupt her.
"Excuse me, maam?"
"yes?"
"I hate to mention this, but if you turn around, you'll see a sign there that comments on behavior on the train. I mean, it is extremely distracting and bothersome to have you standing there over my should the entire ride talking about the day today and the ride homer and lunch and voting and who knows what else I'll hear on the way there. Do what you want, but remember, there are 100 people in this car alone, and we are having to listen to this."
Ok, so she makes the big sacrfice and turns around. I feel bad and all for her, but she was killing me. So we are 3 mins out from Penn Station, so I get up and walk to the area between cars. I mostly didn't want to have to have any kind of conversation with her as we debunked, so as to avoid any unpleasantries, I went to stand to wait til we arrived. A few seconds later another guy joins me, and a few seconds after that, a 3rd. Here is the conversation we had.
Guy1: "Good god, thank you for stopping her. I was 3 rows away and it was annoying, it must have been killing you."
Guy2: "This is the guy? Man, I was wondering if you'd say anything."
Me: "Well, I was wondering if it would make things worse, but I was getting nervous this was going to continue the entire way, and decided to just be a jerk and tell her basically to can it."
Guy1: "Oh, you were way within your rights. You couldn't see it, but everyone was eyerolling and dying until you said something."
Me: "Well, to her credit, once alerted, she turned around and was quiet, so am sure glad I said something, laugh"
So...where am I going with this....? How do people not notice that other people are sitting there, and that them talking or carrying on about the most inane crap might not exactly be the top of the list for everyone else? I like to think in my own world that the world revolves around me and all, but sheesh, I do acknowledge that there are actually other people in the universe.
So, in short, when riding the train, especially in the morning....shut the hell up...noone cares.
First post!! Quick bio sortof
Hi,
My name is Tim Sheehy, (that is pronounced She-He, btw) and this is likely the first post of many talking about random crap that I am going to talk about. My guess is, I will mostly talk the Indy Colts, Notre Dame, the Pacers, Everquest2 (or whatever game I am playing), my daughter Mallory Hope, or maybe even just whatever occurred to me as I commute to work and back.
My guess is, likely only my family will read this, (which is hardly the end of the world), but if others do read, I live in New Jersey and commute daily to NYC and work in Midtown Manhattan. I just bought a house in New Jeersey with my girlfriend, so I am generally broke, since I can't afford the area. I'd explain what I do for a living but it would be more boring to read than is normally humanly feasible, so I'll just say I am a financial computer programmer.
When I get home, I generally watch movies from Netflix and play computer games. The current game I am playing is Everquest2, which isn't bad. (Takes alot of time though...not for the faint of heart) My "main" character there is named Manratten, who is a rat. (Hey, I thought it was clever to be a rat dude who lives in NYC...Manratten...get it? ) My daughter Mallory Hope lives with her mom in Alabama, so when she visits periodically it will be a fun change of pace to talk about her. She thinks I am rich, which provides a constant source of amusement for me.
Oh, I participate alot in fantasy sports, and currently my golf team is getting the crap knocked out of it. Take a look at the carnage if you want. My team is called Indy Colts XLI....check near the bottom.
Anyhoo....I got my thoughts for the first real post, but will toss it in a separate entry.
Greetings!! Go Colts!!
My name is Tim Sheehy, (that is pronounced She-He, btw) and this is likely the first post of many talking about random crap that I am going to talk about. My guess is, I will mostly talk the Indy Colts, Notre Dame, the Pacers, Everquest2 (or whatever game I am playing), my daughter Mallory Hope, or maybe even just whatever occurred to me as I commute to work and back.
My guess is, likely only my family will read this, (which is hardly the end of the world), but if others do read, I live in New Jersey and commute daily to NYC and work in Midtown Manhattan. I just bought a house in New Jeersey with my girlfriend, so I am generally broke, since I can't afford the area. I'd explain what I do for a living but it would be more boring to read than is normally humanly feasible, so I'll just say I am a financial computer programmer.
When I get home, I generally watch movies from Netflix and play computer games. The current game I am playing is Everquest2, which isn't bad. (Takes alot of time though...not for the faint of heart) My "main" character there is named Manratten, who is a rat. (Hey, I thought it was clever to be a rat dude who lives in NYC...Manratten...get it? ) My daughter Mallory Hope lives with her mom in Alabama, so when she visits periodically it will be a fun change of pace to talk about her. She thinks I am rich, which provides a constant source of amusement for me.
Oh, I participate alot in fantasy sports, and currently my golf team is getting the crap knocked out of it. Take a look at the carnage if you want. My team is called Indy Colts XLI....check near the bottom.
Anyhoo....I got my thoughts for the first real post, but will toss it in a separate entry.
Greetings!! Go Colts!!
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