Well I think that sums it up nicely

I went up to my church's 4th of July celebration for a little while yesterday and took the camera that my mom gave me last week.

While I was up there, I saw this on the back of a little BMW convertible:

That pretty much says it all, doesn't it?

Technorati Tags: oil,crude oil,gas,gasoline,gas prices,oil drilling,domestic oil drilling

A couple to mark the occasion

Welcome to Friday Photo, a new feature where I share photos that I've taken with the world.

This week I've got a couple to mark today's date, both from the Astros' 2006 Opening Day. You can click each image to be taken to it's page in the photo gallery.

You'll want to see Wanted

Yesterday I went and saw Wanted. It's the story of seemingly normal guy Wes Gibson (James McAvoy) who's recruited to be an assassin for an ancient group called The Fraternity.

I won't reveal too much of the plot but I'll drop some comments random thoughts style:

• Morgan Freeman's character Sloan is bad-ass, especially when he tells you to "shoot that motherfucker!"
• Watch the letters that fly off the keyboard when someone gets whacked upside the head with it.
• Fox (Angelina Jolie) is hot (in a somewhat freaky way). And Jolie's performance in this flick is pretty good.
• The special effects were awesome. Like The Matrix on crack awesome. I've never seen anything like them before.
• The plot was pretty strong for an action movie. Had a good story that had plenty of turns you weren't expecting to see happen.

All in all, this is an awesome flick. It's just as good as The Bucket List was to me, but for totally different reasons.

I'm giving it an 8 and telling y'all that it's worth every penny you'll spend to see it at the theater, as well as the gas you put in your car, the meal you eat, and anything else related to the experience you can think of, assuming you like action flicks.

So, yea, go see it. Like now.

Technorati Tags: Wanted,James McAvoy,Morgan Freeman,Angelina Jolie

And that's it for the spring season

Finished up softball tonight.

Had a lot of fun.

We lost the first game, one in which I was more than content to not play in. It was pretty ugly.

I walked, scored a run, and struck out in the second game, which we won 11-6.

The fall season can't get here soon enough.

Here are the final numbers:

BA: .308 (4-13) OBP: .438 (7-16) 1B: 4 BB: 3 K: 3 RBI: 3

Technorati Tags: softball

My experience with Windows Update error code 80071a90

(Note to my regular readers: The only reason I wrote this post is because there's not much help for this situation to be found on Google. Don't worry, I won't be blogging about weird error codes from now on.)

Today I wiped out my system and did a clean install of Vista.

While it was downloading updates I kept getting the above error code for two updates. I googled it and found nothing but a bunch of posts that more or less said "what does code 80071a90 mean?"

Well, I can't tell you what it means, but I can tell you how I got around it.

On a shot-in-the-dark guess, I set Windows Update to just install one of the two updates. As the updates were most of a year apart, I set the older one to go first.

It installed fine.

I restarted and installed the other one.

It installed fine.

So I guess the code means "these updates don't play well together, install them separately."

(if anybody wants to know I was installing Ultimate x64 on a homebrew machine)

Technorati Tags: Windows update,error 80071a90

UPDATE 8/17/12: Amazingly, this is by far the most-visited post on the blog and still gets comments every once in a while. Because of time constraints I have now, I've disabled comments on this post since I don't really have time to moderate them anymore.

Figures I get the fat, bald guy

Welcome to Stupid Quiz Sunday, in which I'll take an online quiz that may or may not be stupid and post the results.

You Are Homer Simpson

You're just an ordinary, all-American working Joe... With a special fondness for pork rinds and donuts. You will be remembered for: your little "isms" and philosophies on life Your life philosophy: "Weaseling out of things is important to learn. It's what separates us from the animals ... except the weasel."

The Simpsons Personality Test

Have you taken this quiz? Have a quiz you want me to take? Leave a link in the comments.

Technorati Tags: online quiz,The Simpsons

Sitting on a log

Welcome to Friday Photo, a new feature where I share photos that I've taken with the world.

That's the tree that Rita blew over while we had a contractor here taking the tree apart to haul it off.

We'd taken some pics of it to send to my grandmother's brother so he could see what kind of progress we were making to get things cleaned up. I got the idea to do this picture just to give the whole thing some scale and I think it came out looking pretty cool.

Technorati Tags: Hurricane Rita,tree

Chacon grabs his problem by the neck and slams it to the ground

	Shawn Chacon at a Pittsburgh bar doing who knows what. Picture from Free Tank Carter. Click the image to see the post it came from.

It's just not the kinda problem he shouldn't be doing that kind of stuff to:

Already upset about being demoted from the starting rotation to the bullpen, Astros pitcher Shawn Chacon was suspended indefinitely Wednesday night after a heated exchange with general manager Ed Wade turned violent an hour before the Astros played the Texas Rangers at Minute Maid Park.

Chacon, who realizes he might not play again this season, admitted he lost his cool and threw Wade to the ground after Wade insisted he go to manager Cecil Cooper's office. The argument took place in the team's dining room, which Chacon refused to leave when asked to report to Cooper.

Chacon said he lost his temper after Wade cursed at him and told him to "(expletive) look in the mirror." Wade declined comment on the specifics.

"Insubordination to the club," Wade said. "I'm not getting into the details. It's an internal matter."

I don't think Chacon will be playing in the majors again. I mean, who in their right mind would sign someone who did that.

But seriously, what the hell is Wade doing yelling at his players? I mean, that's extremely unprofessional.

I hope Uncle Drayton has a talk with him about that.

Technorati Tags: Shawn Chacon,Houston Astros,Ed Wade

Wow that brings back memories

I've been wanting a digital P&S for a while because SLR cameras, like the Rebel XT I normally use, just aren't suitable for everything.

Sometimes you just want something simple and easy to carry around, ya know? Not to mention that a lot of sports venues don't allow long-lensed cameras.

Yesterday my mom gave me a point and shoot digital camera that she'd bought a replacement for.

It's a Gateway DC-M42. Nothing impressive at 4 megapixels (half of what my Rebel has), but the price was certainly right!

That's not the interesting part.

I found the camera case I knew I had from years back and I stumbled upon something more interesting: my old Kodak Advantix C650 APS camera, still in the case, along with a roll of unexposed APS film and a battery for it.

The camera looks like it's been to hell and back. It's got what look like teeth marks from a dog chewing through the case (although said case has no teeth marls that I can see) and there's something loose on the innards of the camera. It probably doesn't work anyway.

Seeing it brought back some good memories. I used this camera as my main one from either 1999 or 2000 when we bought it until 2001 when I got my first SLR, a 35mm Rebel 2000, but still using it for a while as a P&S for those times I didn't feel like lugging around all my gear.

This makes me wonder, do they still even sell or develop APS film?

Technorati Tags: camera,digital camera,Gateway,Gateway DC-M42,APS,Advanced Photo System,Kodak Advantix C650

Not much to say about this week

I wasn't in much for softball this week. We had something like 4 extra men, and with only one game I volunteered to come out early.

We got our asses handed to us 17-4 and I went 0-1. Not much else to say.

We finish up the season with a doubleheader next week.

Here's the numbers:

BA: .333 (4-12) OBP: .429 (6-14) 1B: 4 BB: 2 K: 2 RBI: 3

Technorati Tags: softball

Updated: Blogging will be light

Blogging will be light today as I head back to Houston for a follow-up eye appointment then go to the Downtown Aquarium.

Some Italian guy who called himself Little Vinnie called me the other day and offered me some free passes and a special chance to "sleep with the fishes."

Since I like sleep and fishes, I figured I might enjoy sleeping with the fishes.

And Little Vinnie seemed like a nice guy, so what bad could happen?

Regular blogging will resume tomorrow.

(This wasn't supposed to publish last night... oops)

UPDATE: Ended up going to the Museum of Natural Science instead of the aquarium. Did the free Tuesday thing and we decided to do the DaVinci exhibit too.

Technorati Tags: Houston Downtown Aquarium,sleeping with the fishes

Readers, we have a photo gallery!

Oooooooh! New technology-like stuff!

I shut down the poll on whether or not I should do a photo gallery because, well, I decided to go ahead and set up a gallery.

It's still very much a work in progress (takes time to upload thousands of pictures, ya know) but I'll go ahead and unveil it.

The address is http://photos.jrtblog.com/ It'll allow you to rate the pictures, leave comments, all sorts of stuff. You'll have to register for some of the features to work, but that's just to keep the spam down.

Enjoy!

Who said anything about Jelly Beans?

Welcome to Stupid Quiz Sunday, in which I'll take an online quiz that may or may not be stupid and post the results.

You Are a Pineapple Jelly Bean

Easy going and undemanding, you have good taste but aren't a show off about it.

What Flavor Jelly Bean Are You?

Have you taken this quiz? Have a quiz you want me to take? Leave a link in the comments.

Technorati Tags: online quiz,jelly beans

loldog of the day

see more dog pictures

Reminds me of Bruiser when he was humping one of my mom's (boy) dogs that was visiting. That's what got him fixed.

Thinking about it...

I'm considering setting up a gallery of pictures I've taken. Would y'all be interested in that?

UPDATE: I put a poll up top of the right sidebar. Polls are open until July 4th at 11:59 PM

Sitting on the porch

Welcome to Friday Photo, a new feature where I share photos that I've taken with the world.

The reason I never want to leave the lake when I'm up there is probably the view from the back porch:

Gotta love it, huh?

Technorati Tags: Toledo Bend,lakehouse

I have been summoned from on high

No, God didn't summon me to do something amazing. It's just a jury summons.

Hopefully it'll go as smoothly as it did two years ago.

I'm due to show up July 7th at 8:30 AM.

Don't I seem excited?

Technorati Tags: jury duty

In which what kind of music I listen to is analyzed

Welcome to Stupid Quiz Sunday, in which I'll take an online quiz that may or may not be stupid and post the results.

What Your Taste in Music Says About You

Your musical tastes are reflective and complex. You are intellectual to the point of being cerebral. You are very open to new experiences, and even more open to new ideas and theories. Wisdom and personal accomplishment are important to you. You are naturally sophisticated. You are drawn to art, especially art by independent artists. You are likely to be financially well off... and not because you were born that way.

What Does Your Taste in Music Say About You?

Have you taken this quiz? Have a quiz you want me to take? Leave a link in the comments.

Technorati Tags: online quiz,music

Harsh much?

I was quoted in an article in today's paper about the clusterfuck the Drillers have turned into.

Was I too harsh?

On the fence

Welcome to Friday Photo, a new feature where I share photos that I've taken with the world.

From this week's trip to the lake:

This shot is from the observation deck on the Texas side of the Toledo Bend Reservoir. We were up at the deck talking and taking pictures when this bluebird flew over and perched itself on the fence. I got about three pictures of it, but this was the best one.

He flew off right after this picture.

Technorati Tags: bluebird

Everybody needs to unplug once in a while

Blogging will be light for the next few days, as I'm heading up to my aunt's lake house on Toledo Bend with my grandmother to unplug for a few days.

And, since I'm there anyway, do some fishing.

I plan on coming back from the trip relaxed, rejuvenated, and with a whole bunch of pretty pictures for all of y'all to see in upcoming Friday Photos.

What I don't plan on coming back with is a sunburn, though it's probably going to happen since I'm going to be fishing on a boat in the middle of a lake.

Note to self: bring a hat.

Regular blogging will resume Thursday.

Technorati Tags: fishing,Toledo Bend,unplug

In which I LOL K T Cat's photo

K T Cat's latest post inspired me:

moar funny pictures

You can vote and stuff here.

I know, this caption's probably a FAIL but who knows...

For those that don't know, it's a reference to the "fresh fish" thing in The Shawshank Redemption.

Technorati Tags: LOLCats,The Shawshank Redemption

So. uh, is this good or bad?

Welcome to Stupid Quiz Sunday, in which I'll take an online quiz that may or may not be stupid and post the results.

Your Mood is a 6

You're mood is so-so... but you're feeling more up than down.

How Does Your Mood Rate?

Have you taken this quiz? Have a quiz you want me to take? Leave a link in the comments.

Technorati Tags: online quiz,mood

Hillary and government class

Hillary's speech (or what I've read about it, to be more precise, reminded me of a political cartoon that was in our Government books back in high school.

The caption was something like "I endorse my former opponent, please forget all the nasty things I said about him in the primary."

Hopefully people won't.

Technorati Tags: Hillary Clinton,Presidential election

Yea, thanks doc, you obviously want to see me so much

I go to an eye doctor in Houston.

I've been going there for probably about 20 years now. Seeing as I'm just 23 now, that should say something.

Well, lately they've been pissing me off.

You know how you get those little cards in the mail that remind you that you need to schedule an appointment soon?

Yea, well, I haven't been getting those lately.

I've got an appointment scheduled for next Monday since I realized my eyedrop prescriptions, which were written to be good for a year, expire this month.

Seeing as I was supposed to be back to see the doc in six months, that's great.

Just. Fucking. Peachy.

I'm starting to wonder if they really want my business or not, seeing as this happened last year too.

I'm planning on a conversation with my doc about it. If they fail to get me a card again I'm seriously going to consider dumping him for a doc here in Beaumont.

Technorati Tags: eye doctor

Going down

Welcome to Friday Photo, a new feature where I share photos that I've taken with the world.

A Drillers defender wraps up the Florida Scorpions' quarterback for a sack in their game May 31 at Ford Arena. The Drillers went on to win the game 74-46 

Technorati Tags: Beaumont Drillers,Florida Scorpions,APFL

One long national nightmare ends, another begins

Last night Obama clinched the nomination, ending that long national nightmare. Now we enter the next one with who his running mate should be...

He wouldn't dare pick Hillary, would he?

If he does, I would advise him to watch his back, as he could very easily get stabbed in it at any moment.

Technorati Tags: Barack Obama,Hillary Clinton,Vice President,back-stabbing

An ugly game, but I did something...

Softball picked up again this week after taking a week off for the holiday.

The Slackers lost 22-3.

I played third base for the first three innings, but played in left for the fourth. I didn't do much defensively, except for a little thing that saved my ankle. An extremely hard hit grounder was rocketed right at me. I didn't have the time to get my glove down, just enough to set my feet and start to... Thank goodness I got my feet set, as the ball would have hit me square in my right ankle. As it was, I felt the ball brush my jeans as it went between the wickets.

I may love my Slackers (our team's name) but I really don't want a nice, huge welt (or worse) on my ankle. Yay for self-preservation!

Anyway, I had two at-bats. Worked the first one to a 3-2 count then lined one to the shortstop, who nabbed me at first by a couple of strides.

The second at bat I took strike one and then swung at the next one, hitting it to about the same place. I beat out the throw to first this time but was thrown out at second for the final out of the game.

Here's my updated numbers:

BA: .363 (4-11) OBP: .461 (6-13) 1B: 4 BB: 2 K: 2 RBI: 3

Next weeks a doubleheader, with games at 8:30 and 9:30, our only 9:30 game this season.

Technorati Tags: softball

Not like I'd want to work for him anyway!

Welcome to Stupid Quiz Sunday, in which I'll take an online quiz that may or may not be stupid and post the results.

This week it's a "Would House Hire You?" quiz I stumbled across on Facebook

Sorry...no...House probably didn't even think of taking you at all...

Unless you were unfortunately eliminated by the 'eliminate a random row' technique House uses, you're probably not really interesting to House. You may be a briliiant doctor, but we all know House doesn't only want brilliant..he wants interesting..

Have you taken this quiz? Have a quiz you want me to take? Leave a link in the comments.

Technorati Tags: online quiz,House

Jesus reaches out and... um... well I'm really not sure what He's doing here

Maybe y'all can help me with this:

more funny fail pictures at FAIL Blog

The extra point

Welcome to Friday Photo, a new feature where I share photos that I've taken with the world.

The Drillers kicker attempts an extra point in the second quarter of their game on May 24 against the Conroe Storm. Conroe went on to win the game 30-22.

Yes, folks. That's light from the sunset you see in the background there. Conroe plays an an open-air (albeit roofed) rodeo arena. It was brutally hot in there.

Technorati Tags: Beaumont Drillers,Conroe Storm

These little shitheads got no respect for us old fogeys!

You all may have heard about Jay Bruce, the kid (and I mean it when I say kid) in Cincinnati that made a hella impressive MLB debut on Tuesday night.

I'm happy for him and all, but there's one problem: he makes me feel old.

For those that don't know, Jay's from Beaumont.

What most of y'all might not know is that I watched him playing little league alongside my little brother.

You see, up until now, I was used to seeing ballplayers in the majors that were older than me. This is the first time I know of that I've been put in my place, so to speak, and watched a player that's younger than me out there on the field.

Nevermind the fact that the person who does it to me is someone I watched play in little league.

It's quite humbling.

In all seriousness, I wish all the best to Jay (whenever he's not playing the Astros of course)

RANDOM FACTOID: The Astros are 75-41 against the Reds since 2001, and have won the season series in every year of that span except 2006.

Technorati Tags: Jay Bruce,Cincinnati Reds

I wish I'd thought of this

TechCrunch's take on Twitter.

Heh. Indeed.

In which my temper is analyzed

Welcome to Stupid Quiz Sunday, in which I'll take an online quiz that may or may not be stupid and post the results.

Your Wrath Quotient: 57%

Ouch! You've got a bit of a temper going on there, don't you? Just make sure to keep your revenge fantasies just that... fantasies only!

How Much Wrath Do You Have?

I DO NOT HAVE A TEMPER YOU IDIOT! TAKE THAT BACK NOW BEFORE I SLASH YOUR TIRES!!!

Oh dear, I don't know what got ahold of me there.

Have you taken this quiz? Have a quiz you want me to take? Leave a link in the comments.

Technorati Tags: online quiz,temper

Saying hey to the fans

Welcome to Friday Saturday Photo, a new feature where I share photos that I've taken with the world.

One of the Drillers players interacts with some fans during their game May 17th. The Drillers went on to defeat the replacement Port Arthur Hurricanes 75-0

The Drillers were playing an outdoor semi-pro team, the Port Arthur Hurricanes, after the team they were scheduled to play failed to make the trip.

Technorati Tags: Beaumont Drillers,Port Arthur Hurricanes

An open letter to Twitter

Dear Twitter,

Your service sucks ass. Three days in a row it breaks. That's just pathetically sad.

I wish I could quit you...

Sincerely,
Justin

Technorati Tags: Twitter,downtime

The night in which I'm reminded I am, in fact, not a great hitter

Tonight I got sent back to earth.

Due to having just enough guys, I was in for all of both games.

First game didn't do much, 2 K's and a groundout.

Second game, well, that one's a story.

We let in three runs in the top half of the inning, but put it together in the top half to bat around and get seven across the plate. I did my part late in the lineup by getting a two-out walk with the bases juiced, waling in two runs. Remember, in co-ed a man gets to go to second on a walk and, with two outs, the woman batting behind him can take first automatically if she chooses. She did.

After a pitching change, my brother came up to the plate and hit me and whoever was on third in.

My next AB I grounded into a fielder's choice and advanced to second on a single by the next batter before an inning-ending grounder.

There was about 5 minutes left on the clock and we were up 11-3. All of us are thinking "just get three outs." We'd already sat the other team down

Uh, yea, well that didn't happen. They mounted a furious comeback and ended their half of the inning up 12-11.

I was leading off the bottom half. I hit a fly to right-center that dropped in for a single. The batter after me grounded out and I was forced out at second on a grounder my brother hit.

That turned into a good thing.

My brother ended up scoring from first on a hit by the next batter, something he wouldn't have done if he'd had my slow ass in front of him, for the tying run. The next hitter hit a deep fly that dropped, practically allowing the winning run to walk in from second.

We won it 13-12! What a game!

I decided to do my stats for the season:

BA: .333 (3-9) OBP: .455 (5-11) 1B: 3 BB: 2 K: 2 RBI: 3

Nothing spectacular, but it's better than I've done in the past.

We're off next week for Memorial Day, then we've got three more weeks in the season.

Technorati Tags: softball

Those folks that say I talk too much are so wrong and here's the proof

Welcome to Stupid Quiz Sunday, in which I'll take an online quiz that may or may not be stupid and post the results.

OnePlusYou Quizzes and Widgets

Can't say I'm really all that surprised by the results...

Have you taken this quiz? Have a quiz you want me to take? Leave a link in the comments.

Technorati Tags: online quiz,verbosity

I felt sick just watching this

Sure I hadn't eaten at Beaumont's Baytown Seafood since November after they got a bad grade from the health inspector, but this just convinced me to never go there again:

A Beaumont restaurant owner is denying allegations that he re-served food that had already been on other customers' plates.

However, a former manager of Baytown Seafood on College Street says she's seen it happen with her own eyes, and that's not the only thing she's concerned about.

You can watch the video here.

Technorati Tags: baytown seafood

Proof that my readers aren't the only people who think I'm crazy

Welcome to Friday Photo, a new feature where I share photos that I've taken with the world.

Me down at Petey's level:

What the HELL are you doing? 

I really don't know Petey, I really don't know.

I feel somewhat humiliated posting this photo, seeing as there's something from whatever I had for lunch that day on my chin. Oh well.

Technorati Tags: sheltie,dog,dogblogging

Someday, ants will rule the world

"Crazy" ants are in Houston:

In what sounds like a really low-budget horror film, voracious swarming ants that apparently arrived in Texas aboard a cargo ship are invading homes and yards across the Houston area, shorting out electrical boxes and messing up computers.

The hairy, reddish-brown creatures are known as "crazy rasberry ants" — crazy, because they wander erratically instead of marching in regimented lines, and "rasberry" after Tom Rasberry, an exterminator who did battle against them early on.

Well, at least they do something that I don't mind much:

The good news? They eat fire ants, the stinging red terrors of Texas summers.

I can't say that it's really a good thing considering the rest of the stuff I'm reading about these pesky little buggers.

Seriously, ants like these will rule the world someday.

Technorati Tags: crazy ants

My hot bat shows me just how out of shape I am

Well, softball picked back up on Monday after a week got rained out.

We lost both games by fairly wide margins, but I think I had an OK night.

I came in about halfway through the first game but never got an at bat. There was a throw to me that I "let pass by me" because I "knew it would bounce off the fence and go to the catcher."

Hey, it sounds good, right?

Anyway, I started the second game and was put in the leadoff spot. As I said, "Y'all got too much faith in me." We were batting first so I started out at the plate. I hit a grounder towards the second basemen that I should have been out on, but the first sacker had her foot on the orange base instead of the white one, meaning I was safe.

In slow pitch, there's the normal white base and an orange one right next to it in foul territory. It's set up that way to avoid having collisions on close plays like that, as the first basemen takes the white bag as the baserunner runs for the orange one.

That's the first call I've ever seen argued in my years playing softball, and I can understand why as I was sure I was out.

I got moved up to second by the next batter but was tagged out as the front end of a double play ball hit right at the third basemen.

An inning or two later, I got another at bat, being told that after the AB they'd take me out for someone else. Since I don't really care about how much playing time I get as long as I get some, I was happy.

I hit the ball to about the same place as the first time, but not as hard. This time I legitimately beat out the throw. Again I was moved up to second by the next hitter. The next batter I took off running to third. I swear the guy we had in as first base coach was telling me to go at first and then said something to the tune of "NO, NO, STOP!"

It was too late for that. I rounded third, figuring as hard as I was running I would have been halfway home before I could have slowed down my momentum enough anyway. The throw was in time to the catcher, but the catcher dropped it, allowing me to cross the plate safely for a run.

It's about the time I used the backstop to stop myself that I realized just how out of shape I was. I walked over to the bleachers and just laid down for a few minutes to catch my breath.

Thank goodness I didn't have to go back into the field.

Wonder if they'll have me bat leadoff next week...

Technorati Tags: softball

What happened over the weekend

Do you want to read about my trip to Dallas on Saturday to see the Drillers play?

If you do, click here.

MySpace makes me want to blow chunks all over Tom

Welcome to Stupid Quiz Sunday, in which I'll take an online quiz that may or may not be stupid and post the results.

Created by OnePlusYou

For the record, the number it gave me is 66% filled with hate for MySpace.

Have you taken this quiz? Have a quiz you want me to take? Leave a link in the comments.

Technorati Tags: online quiz,myspace

Whoring out my links

Welcome to Friday Photo, a new feature where I share photos that I've taken with the world totally botch the whole idea behind this feature for the sake of shameless promotion.

This week I'm not posting a photo here.

Why, you ask?

Because a good chunk of the photos I took while at the last Drillers game are posted in a gallery on that little website I've been working on.

Normal Friday Photo content shall return next week.

Updated: Rule number one of online surveys

If you leave a goofy answer as an option, a good chunk of participants are going to pick said goofy answer.

I said they should "fill it with water and stock it with fish."

Update: When I'd scheduled this post, half of the people responding had selected the last option. Seems to have leveled out a little now.

Technorati Tags: online survey

That's quite a big hole ya got there, son

Daisetta: getting a hole to China?

DAISETTA — The nervous vigil at a huge sinkhole that mysteriously opened in this Liberty County town on Wednesday -- and grew rapidly throughout the day -- is continuing early today as county officials hand off oversight of the emergency to the Texas Railroad Commission.

The sinkhole, which appeared near the center of Daisetta on Wednesday morning and grew to four football fields in diameter and 200 feet deep by nightfall, did not grow severely during the night and no evacuations have yet been ordered, a Liberty County sheriff's official said today.

I must say, the pictures of this are quite impressive. The size alone is just baffling.

Technorati Tags: Daisetta,sinkhole

John McCain don't need no pansy-assed Secret Service

As always, gotta love The Onion:

McCain Declines Secret Service, Dares Assassins To Try Something

Updated: I now know what Purgatory is like

Purgatory is like the Stars game I'm watching right now.

They've just begun the 4th OT period and there's no sign of either side giving up anything.

Yep, this is what it's like.

UPDATE: Apparently I got heaven. Stars win 3-2!

Technorati Tags: Dallas Stars,NHL,overtime,purgatory

Good eatin'

Welcome to Stupid Quiz Sunday, in which I'll take an online quiz that may or may not be stupid and post the results.

Created by OnePlusYou

Have you taken this quiz? Have a quiz you want me to take? Leave a link in the comments.

Technorati Tags: online quiz,cannibals

Blogging may be light

Blogging may be light for a while as I'm putting a lot of effort into getting a new Drillers fan site up and running.

Sorry for the incontinence.

The grill man

Welcome to Friday Photo, a new feature where I share photos that I've taken with the world.

This shot's from the pre-game tailgate before the last Drillers game:

Technorati Tags: tailgating

I really ought to wear a chest protector

So I finally remembered to write about softball this week.

I really didn't do that much.

We won the first game, but I can't remember the score. It was a game where it looked like we were going to get clobbered then we wound up batting around and then some one inning, giving us the lead.

After that inning I got put in at third base and got some action, though not the kind I'd prefer. Fighting the setting sun right in my face, it wasn't a friendly place to be playing. The other team had folks on first and second. Their batter hit a grounder and the 2B threw it to me.

I didn't see it coming and the ball hit me squarely in the chest. Before you ask, I'm fine.

Thankfully I redeemed myself a little by grabbing the ball once it hit the ground on one knee and touching the bag with my other hand to get the force. Embarrassing, but I got the out. Had another throw to me later that I saw coming but didn't get a glove on.

Second game was interesting. I got put in the field on a temporary basis after one of our teammates had a ball one-hop her in the mouth. Her boyfriend (I think he is anyway) helped her get cleaned up and stuff so the ump let us put in someone to fill in while that was getting taken care of. I was in the field for about two at bats then came out.

Don't worry, she'll be fine.

Last inning of this game I get put in to hit. Two outs with us down pretty big. I worked the count to 3-2 then got pretty solid contact on one, but I got too much air under it.

It was really solid contact. I mean, I've gotten hits out of much weaker-hit balls. I remember one where the ball never got more than a couple feet away from home plate that I somehow beat out.

Fun times.

One game next week against the other church team in our league.

Technorati Tags: softball

Scheduling posts is now out of beta

Blogger Buzz informs us all that Blogger has rolled out scheduled posts to everybody.

It even works with Windows Live Writer, just change the date in the box to the right of the categories box to set the desired time and date and click publish.

(Image found in a TinyPic search for clock)

Technorati Tags: blogger,scheduled posts

Something that just boggles my mind

Safe sex is a good thing. I think we'd all agree on that, right?

I think we'd also agree that we should do things to encourage people to have safe sex if they're going to have it, right?

With that being said, why do places like Walgreens keep the condoms in a locked glass case? Seriously, you really think people want to go find someone to unlock the case so they can get their freak on?

I know I don't, I'm too shy. I'd be red as a tomato the whole time.

Maybe it's an extension of Bush's abstinence-only sex ed program, discouraging sex through embarrassment.

Technorati Tags: condoms,Walgreens,safe sex

Dear Pinnacle Systems,

FUCK YOU!

I've been using one of your TV tuners for well over a year and a half. I've tolerated your crappy hardware and buggy software because it got the job done.

Well, tonight it didn't.

Ya see, I set it up to record House for me tonight while I was out playing softball.

When I got home, I hopped onto my computer to check it and I see an error message that PMCloader.exe encountered a problem and needs to close.

I checked my videos folder, nothing there.

DAMN YOU!!!

Because of some "problem" with your crappy software I missed the first episode of House since the strike!

THANK YOU VERY FUCKING MUCH!!!

Your tuner will be replaced ASAP.

Thanks for nothing,

Justin

Technorati Tags: Pinnacle Ststems,TV Tuner,software bugs

Florida wants to castrate your truck

The Florida legislature wants to get their hands on your junk:

They're proudly displayed by any self-respecting bull, but dangling big metal ones on the back end of a truck could be banned in Florida.

Metal replicas of bull testicles have become trendy bumper ornaments in some parts of the Sunshine State, but state Sen. Carey Baker is campaigning to ban the orbs.

If they're tackling truck testes then they must have everything else taken care of, right?

Baker acknowledged that Florida lawmakers have more pressing issues, including huge revenue shortfalls, but said the state needs to draw a line on what's obscene before more objectionable adornments appear.

I guess not...

In all honesty, I've got no problem with these. Sure it's stupid, but a lot of people put a lot of stupid stuff on their cars. You know, all those people with spinners and lights under their car and all that other stupid stuff.

Technorati Tags: florida,truck testicles

How much of a maniac am I behind the wheel?

Welcome to Stupid Quiz Sunday, in which I'll take an online quiz that may or may not be stupid and post the results.

Your Driving Is is: 47% Male, 53% Female

According to studies, you drive both like a guy and a girl. This means you're a pretty average driver, with typical quirks. Occasionally you're frustrated and or a little reckless, but that's the exception - not the norm.

Do You Drive Like a Guy or a Girl?

Have you taken this quiz? Have a quiz you want me to take? Leave a link in the comments.

Technorati Tags: online quiz,driving style

I got ya!

Welcome to Friday Saturday Photo, a new feature where I share photos that I've taken with the world.

This week I've got my first photo from a Drillers game. This one was shot last Saturday night as they beat Conroe 56-30.

I don't have any rosters so I don't know who's who or anything, but I can tell you that the Drillers are wearing black and I think that's from a sack.

Technorati Tags: Beaumont Drillers,football

A great one for the hockey fans

Someone pointed me to this and I thought I'd share it.

Technorati Tags: hockey,baseball,shortstop

Finally!

After repeated delays, we finally got to kick off the softball season yesterday evening.

They stuck me in right field, which I wasn't upset about since nothing got hit towards me all game. The way the sun was right in my eyes it's not like I would have seen it coming anyway.

I got two plate appearances. I could see while I was on deck that the pitcher for the other team was shaking off some rust so I was patient at the plate. I watched strike one go by and then managed to resist as the next four all either hit the plate or fell short, sending me to second (in co-ed, men get to go to second on a walk to discourage walking them to get to women, as the lineups alternate between the sexes) and bringing in a run.

The second appearance I worked the count full and hit a hard grounder to the first basemen, who flipped the ball to the pitcher and got me by a step.

So I went 0-1 with a BB and an RBI. I'm not upset.

Next week we've got a doubleheader, which'll be nice.

Now if I can just remember to look up what the ASA strike zone is.

Technorati Tags: slow-pitch softball,softball

Trapped in a vacuum

(NOTE: This is the first post of a new weekly feature I'm calling "Stupid Quiz Sunday," in which I'll take an internet quiz and post the results here for everybody to see)

Created by OnePlusYou

Have you taken this quiz? Have a quiz you want me to take? Leave a link in the comments.

Technorati Tags: online quiz,vacuum of space

Seeing the one that got away

Welcome to Friday Photo, a new feature where I share photos that I've taken with the world.

I know I missed last week. Hopefully this'll make up for it.

Charlotte Checkers' goalie Mike Ayers looks back at a puck that got past him and into the net during a game against the Texas Wildcatters on January 5, 2008. The Wildcatters went on to win the game 4-1.

Technorati Tags: hockey,ECHL,Texas Wildcatters,Charlotte Checkers,Mike Ayers

This blog NOT recommended for kids

(Spotted on JimThompson.org)

I ran the blog through the Cuss-O-Meter:

Created by OnePlusYou

Technorati Tags: Cuss-O-Meter

Fun Trivia

Q: How do you become two years older than everybody thought you were?

A: Admit you lied about it:

Saying he wanted to unburden himself, Miguel Tejada approached general manager Ed Wade and asked to correct misinformation he gave the Oakland A’s when he signed in 1993. The Astros’ new shortstop is actually 33, two years older than he’s listed in the club’s media guide and other baseball records.

Tejada was actually 19 when he signed as a kid out of poverty-stricken Bani, Dominican Republic. At the time, he says, a local coach encouraged him to say he was 17.

"I'm a poor kid that wanted to sign," he said. "I’m feeling free now,” he said. “It’s something that I had in my mind.”

Someone's bound to make a big stink out of this, but I don't really see it as a huge thing. I mean, how many times in the history of the game has stuff like this happened?

After all, the Astros don't see it as a big deal.

“Fact of the matter is that he plays like he's 25, so I don't think it really matters a whole lot,” said [Astros GM Ed] Wade, who indicated the age discrepancy first came out during the course of a media interview. “We're still trying to figure out Jose Cruz Sr's age.”

If they're not upset then i see no reason to be.

Technorati Tags: Astros,Miguel Tejada

Supreme Court: the needle ride to hell is not cruel and unusual punishment

Go to hell, go directly to hell, do not pass go, do not collect $200:

In a case closely watched in Texas, the U.S. Supreme Court today upheld the use of lethal injection for executing convicted killers in Kentucky.

The 7-2 decision clears the way for 36 states, including Texas, to resume lethal injections. Those executions had been delayed for more than six months since the high court first agreed to hear the case. The case splintered the Supreme Court into five factions and no single opinion garnered a majority.

As y'all might remember, I have zero sympathy for people on death row suffering while poison is pumping through their veins.

So, when's Huntsville going to start catching up?

Idaho Dems have an alternative to Clinton and Obama in their upcoming primary

If you're an Idaho Democrat and you don't feel like being conned by Clinton or Obama in November, you can vote for a con:

A federal prison inmate got himself listed on the ballot for Idaho's May 27 primary as a Democratic presidential candidate, the state's top election official said.

Keith Russell Judd is serving time at the Beaumont Federal Correctional Institution in Texas for making threats at the University of New Mexico in 1999. He's scheduled for release in 2013.

Judd, 49, qualified for the ballot by submitting a notarized form and paying the required $1,000 fee, state Secretary of State Ben Ysursa said. As a result, Democratic voters will be able to choose between Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton and Judd.

Sounds to me like Ohio needs to tighten up their standards a little.

Local high school's targeted mentoring a prime example of the hypocrisy of race relations today

The ACLU is making an inquiry over an assembly at a local high school:

West Brook High School administrators on Wednesday defended a black-male-only mentoring session that has prompted a recent inquiry by the American Civil Liberties Union.

The March 29 program, dubbed the "Big 3 Conference," was an invitation-only event for the school's more than 800 African-American males in the ninth, 10th and 11th grades.

The sessions were divided by grade-level and addressed issues such as education, test scores, crime, family and gangs.

[...]

"I think it's really problematic on its face," [ACLU Foundation of Texas legal director Lisa Graybill] said by phone Wednesday. "Targeting a specific ethnicity for a program I find extremely worrisome."

[...]

"On what basis is the conclusion being drawn that black people need some kind of special intervention and to what end is that intervention tailored?" Graybill said.

I'm a West Brook alum (Class of 2003) and I can recall a couple of instances where students were pulled for targeted assemblies, which are listed after the jump:

• My freshman year there was one where all the girls in the entire school were pulled for some sort of women's health awareness thing, something I'm glad I wasn't forced to attend.
• There was one where all the Asian students were pulled out of class for some sort of assembly. I don't remember any details on that one.

Dividing people up by color, creed, or whatever else is wrong, no matter the reason. Martin Luther King preached it and I believe it.

That belief is the reason I have such a problem with this. It's similar to how people like Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson claim to preach equality whilst trying to differentiate themselves, to make themselves special in one way or another. That's not equality, it's hypocrisy. I sincerely believe that people like that do more to damage race relations in this country than they do to improve them.

What they did is wrong, it's that simple. There's no excuse for it.

Now I'm not going to go screaming for people to be fired or anything but I do believe that the people involved come out and man up to their mistake. Just come out and apologize so we can all get on with our lives.

But what do you do about the issue of hypocrisy in race relations? I believe that if people would just look back at the message that MLK left us and stick to those principles then the hypocrisy would go away.

The straw that broke the camel's back

I finally had it with the hockey team.

A couple weeks back I bought a playoff ticket package.

On Monday I went to the office to pick them up and was told that parking wasn't included with the packages this year.

I was like "WHAT?"

Ya see, the free parking with the packages is what makes the packages such a bargain to me. That's $5 a game I'm saving. $85 if all the potential games were played

So I left, muttering to myself and extremely pissed.

On the way home it hit me that this was definitely the straw that broke the camels back, so I decided to turn around and drove back up there and demanded my money back.

I had a talk with Quincy (one of the guys working in the office) where he kept trying to change my mind, telling me that "but this year we have kids prices." I responded "So? Do I look like I have kids?"

Needless to say, they didn't change my mind.

So they tell me that since they'd already deposited my check they'd have to cut me one, but the person who could do that wasn't in and wouldn't be for the rest of the day.

So I called Quincy this morning to see about what time he's supposed to be in and get told "about 10" and that they'd call me back when he got in. I gave them my cell number to get me that way.

About 11:30, still without a phone call, I decided to go treat myself to a birthday lunch at Frankie's, a locally-owned Italian place. Had lasagna, it was great. Then again, I don't think I've ever eaten anything there that I didn't like.

Now let's get back on topic...

While I was in the restaurant I called Quincy I'd been talking to about this and got his voicemail. I asked for an estimate of when he'd be in because "I've got things to do this afternoon." I didn't, but he didn't need to know that.

About 1:30 I called again and talked to him. He said something to the tune of "Oh, he's been in for half an hour, let me go talk to him about it."

WELL THANK YOU FOR LETTING ME KNOW WHEN HE GOT IN, QUINCY!!!

Then there's the whole matter of how you manage to keep a job if you're supposed to be in at 10 and don't get in until about 1? Guess it doesn't really matter if you won't be there much longer anyway...

Anyways, he told me that I could bring in the tickets and they'd mail me a check in about a week.

So I took them in.

Pissed me off that I had to go through all that to get my money back, but who ever really is willing to be more than accommodating when people want money back?

The tie remains

The Pulitzers were announced today.

I still have just as many Pulitzers as the Houston Chronicle.

I'm surprised, I thought I would have gotten one for my gripping piece on topics such as:

• Raggedy Andy shooting up
• The UIL's proposed steroids testing procedures
• My Humberto Coverage
• The NFL hating people who use the interwebs
• MLB hating cancer kids

How the hell do NONE of those win?

Updated: What do you call it ...

... when your team wins 95-8?

The Beaumont Drillers, our indoor football team, defeated the Wichita Falls Diablos by that margin tonight.

The way I see it, calling that game an ass-kicking just doesn't do it justice.

So what do you call it?

Leave your suggestions in the comments.

UPDATE: Here are some highlights from one of the local TV stations.

Digging out more dog pictures from the archives

Welcome to Friday Photo, a new feature where I share photos that I've taken with the world.

This week we've got an old one of Petey and Bruiser out in the backyard:

What the hell is Bear doing?

Beats me, boys!

It took me a long time to get to the point where I could think about Bear and have a smile on my face again. Taffy's helped with that a lot as she took over a lot of the same roles in the pack that Bear had.

Hulu is a great time-waster

This is *NOT* a Pay Per Post or ReviewMe.com ad. I'm doing it of my own free will in part because I don't believe in blogging about something when wads of cold, hard cash are involved.

I've been messing around with Hulu for a while, watching a couple things here and there.

For those that don't know, Hulu is a service that provides ad-supported, on-demand video of movies and TV shows.

Last night I got looking at the movies section and saw Red Dragon on the list. I've been wanting to see that, so I decided to watch it.

Since it's an R-rated movie, I had to register first. Registration was painless, a one page form asking pretty standard questions. It's a kinda stupid hoop to have to jump through considering they don't verify your age, but I didn't mind. The only question I didn't care for was the household income question, but you have the option to not say.

Once I hit submit I went and started up the movie. It launches in a very nice-looking flash player similar to how YouTube works, but with MUCH better quality video. Not TV quality, but still quite good for an internet stream. The site offers the ability to view any of their videos in a resizable pop-up window, which is quite handy for watching and getting other things done at the same time.

Of course, with the free movie you have to endure something. What you endure is an occasional commercial. You only get one ad per break, and the ad is never for longer than thirty seconds. The ads are spaced out about the same way as if you were watching the movie on basic cable.

All in all, I'm quite happy with Hulu and I'll be visiting again.

And, oh yes, I enjoyed Red Dragon a lot.

Just so everybody knows ...

... Houston from Tater Tots for the Masses said on Twitter that he feels "moderately retarded" and told me to "feel free to tell the world."

So I am.

You can thank me later, Houston. :)

OK, if you must see it, here's the story:

Tots4Masses @fatelvis04 Thanks. I feel moderately retarded. Feel free to tell the world. :) 43 minutes ago from web in reply to fatelvis04

fatelvis04 @Tots4Masses Click the Utterz link about 1 hour ago from web in reply to Tots4Masses

Tots4Masses @isfullofcrap IM me a link to the snapshot please. about 1 hour ago from web in reply to isfullofcrap

isfullofcrap As you can plainly see from that snapshot, my crash diet has worked. about 1 hour ago from web

isfullofcrap [utterz] http://tinyurl.com/2rpfm4 Snapshot from work.: Instead of having something useful like network alerts or new prod about 1 hour ago from web

That clear it up for ya?

9/11 was not a conspiracy theory

So says Al-Qaeda:

9/11 Conspiracy Theories 'Ridiculous,' Al Qaeda Says

Random thoughts about the NCAA South Regional experience

Thought I'd do a post to sum up my experience:

• Firstly, a humongous FUCK YOU to METRO for jacking up the price of parking at the Fannin Park and Ride unannounced on Sunday. I pull up expecting to pay the normal $2.50 and this dude comes up to me and wants $10 to park. If I was a Houston taxpayer I'd want Frank Wilson's head on a stick for that.
• Granted the $10 from METRO was a hell of a lot better than the $20 that Reliant wanted.
• As far as the train itself, I actually liked it. I'll do it again, just steer clear of parking there when there are major events going on.
• I thought that this would be the best of all the regionals with a lot of close games and I end up with three double-digit wins. That was a little disappointing.
• Concessions at Reliant are too fucking expensive. $5.50 for a Dr. Pepper is outrageous.
• I loved the seats. Only real gripe was that there was only about four inches between rows on the risers they set up down low, so you were fighting the heads of tall dudes to see the action. The elevated court did help a lot.
• The environment was really something, especially for the Sunday game. Friday the crowd was kind of trickling in during the early game (Texas and Stanford) and about half the building left at the half of the Michigan St.-Memphis game (as Memphis was leading 50-20), but they were all there and LOUD for the Sunday game between Memphis and Texas. Shame the outcome wasn't better.
• My cell phone sucks for texting. Next one's got to have a full keyboard.
• Memphis is a hell of a lot better of a team than I'd expected them to be. I'd discounted them because they were in Conference USA, but seeing them in person gave me a whole hell of a lot of respect for them. They were just dominating.
• Wearing a Longhorns hat in public wasn't nearly as bad as I expected it to be but I still won't root for them when they're playing the Aggies.
• The Memphis and Michigan State fans that I met were all really nice. I'd say the same about Stanford fans, but I don't recall talking to any of them.
• I should have gone back to Beaumont the back way. Traffic on I-10 was pretty thick since the Memphis fans that drove were going back the same way. I ended up getting off of I-10 at Winnie and taking a two-lane highway that goes about the same route the rest of the way into town.

Well, that's all my tired mind can think of right now.

Summing up last night

(posted by email)

 

Good morning, my loyal minions.

 

What a night last night. Two games, two ass-kickings in what I figured would be closer games.

 

Sunday's game will be a good game though. Memphis and Texas should be a hell of a matchup.

 

There were a lot more Memphis fans there than I'd expected to see, but UT fans outnumbered them at least 10-1.

 

It'll be a fun afternoon. Tons of it.

 

Now I'm off to go get a shower before the Astros game.

 

(P.S. Don't forget to watch Twitter and Utterz for updates)

A blast from the past

Welcome to Friday Photo, a new feature where I share photos that I've my brother has taken with the world.

This week I dug into the archives and found a good one of Bear:

I got the ball! I got the ball!

This one was taken Feb. 15, 2006 by my brother. If I remember right, he wanted me to throw the ball to Bear and he wanted to get pictures. He was about a year and a half old then if my math is correct.

A few housekeeping things for the rest of the week

If you haven't yet heard, I'm leaving tomorrow and will be out of town all weekend at the NCAA South Regional in Houston.

Updating this place will be sporadic at best. There should be a few scheduled posts that go up, but nothing more.

Where the real action will be is on my Twitter and Utterz pages.

I'll text occasional updates to Twitter and I'll try to send a few cell phone pictures and call in to Utterz when I get a chance to.

I'd post the images straight to Blogger from my phone, but last time I did that the response text that Blogger sent me killed my phone.

Blasphemy can be funny!

Let me introduce y'all to my Twitter friend TweetJeebus.

Just look at this exchange I had last night (in chronological order):

TweetJeebus Arrived at the resort in Herzliya, but they have totally hosed our reservations. No room at the inn. It all seems so familiar. 21 minutes ago from web

fatelvis04 @TweetJeebus Maybe you'll get some "wise men" to give you free stuff! 17 minutes ago from twhirl in reply to TweetJeebus

TweetJeebus @fatelvis04 Mom is still upset over the gold, frankincense and myrrh. "All that way and forgot the diapers! And they call themselves wise?" 4 minutes ago from web in reply to fatelvis04

I'm probably laughing myself straight to hell for this...

So the field is set ...

... for the NCAA Division I Basketball South Regional in Houston.

It'll be Memphis, Texas, Stanford, and Michigan State.

If you haven't heard, I've got tickets to the regional just six rows off of the court.

So, here are my predictions:

Friday:

6:27 PM CDT tip: (3) Stanford vs. (2) Texas - Texas.

Approx. 8:57 CDT tip: (5) Michigan St. vs. (1) Memphis - Memphis

Sunday:

Time TBD: (2) Texas vs. (1) Memphis - Texas

You might wonder why I pick Texas. For the record I am NOT a Longhorns fan so it's not a homer pick. With the regional being in Houston, it might as well be a home game for the 'Horns. That's a huge advantage in the NCAA's.

Video worth watching

Port Arthur native Kevin Everett, the Buffalo Bills player that broke his neck during week one of the NFL season and is now walking again, did an interview with a local TV station.

Watch it.