Archive for March 2008

The monthlies.

• Final Four

  How does it feel to rest at 98.6% in the ESPN.com tournament challenge, you ask? Pretty damn good. Kids, it pays to play it safe. Stay in school. It is a little surprising that all four 1-seeds made it this far, the first time it has ever happened. I was counting on two, maybe three, [...]

• First Read

  The thing I don’t like about MSNBC.com’s First Read is that there is too much information in each post. Not too much substance, per se, but too many different topics being covered. It’s very un-blog-like. I don’t mind the effort — the NBC political team does do a good job — but don’t call it [...]

• Atonement

  I am not sure why this film was nominated for an Academy Award. In retrospect, I think the Academy may have had an off year. It was a different type of story, which is welcome, and my wife liked it. I think this is a film that must be watched more than once (which I [...]

• Elite Eight

  I guess playing it safe pays off. I have landed six out of eight Elite Eight teams, and none of my Final Four teams have been eliminated. I currently stand at 93.9% in the ESPN.com challenge. Not bad.

• Prefident Bush: Stay the Course

  The president is adamant that the Iraq war is going swimmingly…

• Blogging Live from the Hilton Ballpark

  There seems to be a distinct baseball theme to this hotel. The internet costs $10 here each day, but it is free in the lobby. Some more thoughts of the greatest city in the Midwest, after Chicago… I had a local pale ale — Schlafly — and it was very good. Well, more than one. [...]

• Prefident Bush: Saint Louis

  Reflecting on the city of St. Louis before I head home tomorrow.

• SFO to STL

  Flying from SFO into STL, I had the pleasure of sitting in the first aisle of coach, immediately adjacent to the restroom. This is my story. – While waiting for takeoff, background music played over the speakers in the airplane cabin. One song was “Rainbow Connection,” minus Miss Piggy and Kermit. – One flight attendant [...]

• Blogging Live from St. Louis

  Paying for internet access is so primitive. I mean, what is this, 2002? Saint Louis, from my initial perspective, complete with San Francisco liberal elitist bias, is classic mid-west, blue-collar. A lot of open space. The downtown is up and coming, and the new ballpark is gorgeous (it is right across the street from my [...]

• A President’s Burden

  The death toll of Americans in Iraq has eclipsed four thousand. A mosaic has been created to commemorate the continuing tragedy… Image: Nico Pitney / Huffington Post

• Saint Louis

  I am off to St. Louis for the next couple days for business — a seminar on earthquake engineering for dam safety. I have never seen the Mississippi River so I am looking forward to that, and a high-flood event will liven up the festivities. If any readers have any suggestions for activities in the [...]

• First Weekend

  Overall, I am satisfied with my bracket (so far). I picked 23 out of 32 in the first round, and landed 11 out of my Sweet Sixteen teams. That is not too bad. In the ESPN.com challenge, I rest at 86.5%. In the extreme foresight category, I chose 12-seed Villanova and 7-seed West Virginia (over [...]

• Jake and Amir

  I have just spent the last hour convincing my wife of the comedic genius of Jake and Amir (including the classics). It didn’t take. A shame.

• Flickr Video

  I have been waiting for Flickr video for years, and now the word is, Flickr video is coming… finally. But many possibilities exist that will make Flickr video useless, at least to me. I have come full circle in the world of online video sharing. I started with vSocial, and have used YouTube, blip, Veoh, [...]

• I Am Legend

  This had a good premise. This was a good idea. It just didn’t work on film. There are probably dozens of movies, er, hundreds of movies that don’t get made each year, even though they sound good. This should have been one of them. (Returned 03/21/08.) Rent with Netflix.

• Obamarama

  A passport breach? What information is on that passport? Hell, what information is on my passport? Now I’m worried. And one more thing. Not to go on a rant here, but saying “god damn America” is no big deal. I say it all the time. In fact, I’ll say it right now. God damn America. [...]

• Bracket Update

  I was 13-3 on the opening day, which is a typical first day for me. The second, third and fourth days is what usually destroy me. Bad news for the remaining 2-seeds, however. Since Duke should have lost yesterday, and there is always one 2-seed ousted in the first round, Texas, Tennessee or Georgetown have [...]

• In the News

  - President Bush has reached another new low: 31 percent approval. “Bush’s approval rating five years ago, at the start of the Iraq war, was 71 percent, and that 40-point drop is almost identical to the drop President Lyndon Johnson faced during the Vietnam War.“ – With Michigan and Florida not counting, it will be [...]

• Reynolds Wrapped

  The congressman representing my hometown — Tom Reynolds — is retiring. His seat was once held* by former Buffalo Bills quarterback and vice-presidential nominee Jack Kemp. I do not share the enthusiasm of Talking Points Memo, however, that this seat will somehow become a “swing state” in this coming election. The issue is not necessarily [...]

• When the Bracket Breaks

  It’s probably not a good sign that the Sports Guy (Bill Simmons) is also choosing UCLA as this year’s champion. Is it too late to change my picks?

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