Teamwork

This was a really tough shot to get thanks to a stupid sheet of plexiglass between me and the monkeys.

Catching a ballgame

Apologies for the image quality there, it’s a cell phone shot.

Anyway, yesterday I took my first journey to Chase Field to watch the Diamondbacks play the Phillies.

It was a good game, close all the way, with the D’Backs eventually winning 8-6 with the save by former Astro Chad Qualls. Why did we trade him again?

Oh, yea, back on topic. It’s a nice ballpark. Definitely big, maybe a little too big, but a 48k-seat stadium’s going to look huge and empty when there are just short of 30k there.

They’ve got good hot dogs, but all-in-all (at least where I was sitting) the food selection was lacking and a bit disappointing in my book. I won’t pass final judgment on it, though, until I’ve been to some more games and had more of a chance to wander around the park.

The weather yesterday was beautiful. Sunny with a high in the upper 80’s with a nice breeze. It’s kind of weird for me to call 90 degrees beautiful, but not having humidity really does make a huge difference. The only issue was the sun. I’ve tanned some since I came here, but my legs got their first real dose of it after buying a pair of shorts last week. They’re pretty roasted.

All in all, it’s a nice ballpark. I liked Minute Maid Park in Houston or Coors Field in Denver, but beats the pants off of the Rangers Ballpark in Arlington.

Not sure at this point when I’ll be going back, but I can’t wait to really explore the place.

Popping out

My Twitter followers will recognize this picture:

Well I guess I’d better start responding to text messages more…

Last night I got a phone call from my mom asking if I was ok.

My brother had called her freaking out because I’d not responded to a text from him in a few days. He was worried that something like this was going on:

The Silence of the Lambs

Moral of the story? Always answer text messages.

Changes

After a lot of thinking, I’ve made a decision. A big one.

I mentioned a while back that I was going back out to Phoenix for another visit.

Well, that visit has turned into a stay.

Yea, that’s right, I’m finally nowhere near hurricanes!

WOO-HOO!!!

Bending down

Video of the day: Tiger Woods ad parody

There are a ton of these, but this one is my favorite:

"Earl and Tiger" Nike Ad Parody: The Risks of VD from Adam Cohen on Vimeo.

Little bird.

So I went bowling today…

…for the first time in at least a year. Bowled two games with Jennifer (my incredibly awesome in every girlfriend who can make some mean chocolate-chip pancakes) and didn’t do too peachy.

Then again, I was rusty so I didn't really think I would.

But at least the games were close. She beat me 80-79 in the first game and 97-90 in the second.

I can live with that.

“Inside the Park: Voices of Baseball” covers all the bases in poetic beauty

A while back, J-Mag Guthrie approached me about doing a review of her new book Inside the Park: Voices of Baseball. How could I turn her down?

I’ve known “Annie” (She went by the name Astro Annie on the Astros web forums) for about 6 years. Even dated her daughter (but that’s a story for a different day). She’s written baseball poems and parody songs for as long as I’ve known her, so I wasn’t surprised when she told me about the book.

I finally got the chance to read it on Friday while I was waiting on my flight to Phoenix and found it to be a wonderfully-written collection of poems on a variety of topics. She has poems covering a wide variety of topics and perspectives, including bench players, veteran pitchers, fans, umpires, and even the broadcasters.

The poem that struck me the most was the one covering Shoeless Joe Jackson, who proclaimed his innocence in the 1919 Black Sox Scandal until the day he died. I loved it.

As someone that considers himself anything but a poetry junkie, I have to say that I was really impressed with it. Definitely a great read for any baseball fan, especially one that’s more into poetry than myself.

The death of Stupid Quiz Sunday

I’ve made the executive decision that last week’s Stupid Quiz Sunday will be the last as a weekly series, though the feature will likely make an occasional appearance as I come across interesting quizzes..

I’ve just lost interest in the feature, there’s nothing else to say, really…

Meerkat!

Another one from the Phoenix Zoo

In semi-related news, this afternoon I’m jumping on a plane and heading out there again.

Video of the day: Rainbows and Unicorns

I lol’ed:

A new path

It is with a heavy heart that I am today announcing that I am leaving blogging.

It was a very tough decision to make, but I realized that I simply won't have the time for it with my new career in the nude skydiving business.

I’m sure y’all are wondering to yourselves “What’s the nude skydiving business?”

Well, we jump out of planes. Naked. Yes, that’s right, not even a parachute. Trust me, there’s no better feeling in the world and it’s nowhere near as dangerous as it sounds. You see, the trick is landing on a huge stack of mattresses that you put in the middle of a field. If you hit those, you’re fine. Just, uh, make sure to not miss the stack.

It's been a great ride, with a lot of great people I've met along the way.

I'm really going to miss y'all.

Oh, and…

Video of the Day: Scarface School Play

(H/T Good Mom/Bad Mom)

Seriously… WTF?

(Short blurb on the video over at Mashable.)

How unoriginal…

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 Prank Is: Setting off stink bombs

And that's how you should celebrate April Fool's Day

What April Fool's Prank Should You Play?

Blogthings: Cheaper Than a Therapist

Yea, really, that’s the best they could come up with… so sad. :(

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

Bracket Update

So here’s how my bracket is shaping up:

Kansas (My national champion) is out, but Kentucky, Baylor, and Kansas St. are still alive.

Obama, whose bracket I declared a week ago that I would beat, has Kentucky and Kansas St. still alive in his Final Four, and we both have Kentucky making the championship game.

Obama has 590 points, I have 640.

But, since any points Obama scores from here on out would also score for me, it’s impossible for him to beat me.

Mission. Accomplished.

About the new look

Yesterday, I got an email from Blogger (who never, ever emails me about stuff) announcing their new Template Designer.

So I took a look at it and fell in love with the new, uber-customizable templates they offer.

After playing around with it for a while, this is what I came up with. I really, really, like it.

I’m curious what my three readers think about it. Leave me a note in the comments…

Prairie dogs!

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

This will be the last Friday Photo I do with the tagline thingy up top… it’s time for it to go.

Aren’t they cute?

You got this from 5’10”? Really?

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 Height Says You're Intuitive

You are a gifted communicator, and you understand other people well. You are compassionate and empathetic. You feel other's pain a little too easily. Because of your open heart and open mind, many people admire and adore you. You are classy and well mannered. You have the art of charm mastered. You are about as tall as the average Australian man.

What Does Your Height Say About You?

The First Rule of Blogthings Is: You Don't Talk About Blogthings

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

The first round is over and I’m beating Obama!

My bracket’s doing quite well. 26 of the 32 first-round games right and I’ve only lost two Sweet 16 teams, nobody I had going any deeper.

This year, I’ve only got one measuring stick. One goal with my bracket. To do better than Obama. And, so far, I’m succeeding. He got 25 of 32 and he’s lost an Elite 8 team…

Yay me!

And now for a much smaller bird

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

Continental drops free in-flight meals, makes Dwight Silverman sob.

It all started with @dsilverman posting a link to an article about Continental dropping free in-flight meals for coach passengers. Here’s his tweet:

RT @HoustonChron: Continental drops free lunches for passengers in coach http://bit.ly/a0UmTN | And I just may drop Continental.

I responded:

@dsilverman I won't fly anything but @SouthwestAir. Hobby's a hell of a lot easier to deal with and I don't really care about "perks"

And Dwight said:

@FatElvis04 i love the cheeseburgers on Continental. you even get a little salad. or used to. *sob*

And I fired back:

@dsilverman Dwight can haz cheezburger? Now you've given me a craving for one. I'm blaming you for any trips to Hamburger Depot today...

And then the idea for this came to me:

Shot of the plane from mrkathika’s Flickr account.
Dwight’s picture from TechBlog.

Star Wars name

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

Quite possibly the most confusing one I’ve done yet.

Your Star Wars Name Is Jusya Adbea

Your Star Wars Title Is Hguswe of Refinnej

What Is Your Star Wars Name and Title?

Blogthings: We Have a Quiz for Almost Everything

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

Puma’s knee needs to be cleaned out, could miss Opening Day

Damn:

Astros first baseman Lance Berkman will undergo surgery to remove loose particles from his left knee and will miss two to four weeks.

[…]

It's unknown whether Berkman will be ready for Opening Day.

[…]

"We're probably looking at two to four weeks," general manager Ed Wade said. "Whether or not he's going to be ready for Opening Day really just depends on the healing process. They haven't even gone in yet, so it's too early to tell, but the normal timeframe would be two to four weeks. We'll see where it flows from there."

Well, at least they’re dealing with this now instead of sometime in June or July. Get well soon, Big Puma!

Big bird

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

The condor’s getting his nom’s on…

New toilet design could help the environment. But will men like it?

As far as the environment is concerned, your #1 isn’t #1.

Thankfully, those crazy Europeans have found a solution for the problem. Read about it over at SciGuy.

Realistically, I could never see something like this being implemented on a wide scale. It would just cost way too much money to be worth it…

Well, that and I prefer to stand when I pee.

Reflections on Spring Training

As I’m sitting here reflecting on the tidbits I’ve heard so far from Kissimmee, the Astros are currently sitting at 3-3 through spring training. But what can I take from that?

Not much.

If they were 1-5 or 0-6 so far, then maybe I’d be concerned. I feel for the nine teams with just one win and the Nationals, who are sitting at 0-7 right now.

It’s still pretty early on in the game. Starters are throwing only two or three innings and surely don’t have their best stuff going yet. Everybody else is still shaking off some rust from the winter months. Nobody’s anywhere close to the top of their game, though I suppose hitters would have a little bit of an advantage as it shouldn’t take them nearly as long to find their groove.

There’s really not, in my mind, a huge window where you can look at teams during spring training and judge how good they’re really going to be. That window falls towards the beginning of the last week of spring training. I’d say the whole week, but the last two or three games there are players in the games that are fighting for that 25th roster spot.

So, realistically, you’re talking about a five-game window in my mind.

If they go 1-4 or 0-5 through that window, THEN I’ll be worried.

Video of the day: 2012

From SNL:

Please tell me I’m not an emo one, because that would just kill all the badassery of being a vampire.

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 Vampire

You have a real thirst for bliss, and you consider yourself a true hedonist. And you're not afraid to walk alone in life, if it means getting what you truly crave. You truly enjoy entrancing people. Not to mention the ensuing pleasures of the flesh. Your tastes have been called decadent and bizarre. You usually give in to your temptations, no matter how primal Your greatest power: Your flawless ability to seduce and charm Your greatest weakness: Human flesh You play well with: Werewolves

What Kind of Monster Are You?

Blogthings: A Fine Line Between Insight and Stupidity

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

(Wild) Dog Blogging

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

Well, ok, not really a dog. More like a Mexican Wolf:

Yes, I’m starting in on my photos from the Phoenix Zoo. I did eventually find the card. Two weeks later, after I’d ordered a replacement.

It’s a good thing we’re here to help nature!

So today Obama lays out plans to restore the Gulf Coast from:

…the catastrophic dangers of rising sea levels, hurricanes and erosion on the Gulf Coast, and backed efforts to invest in restoring barriers islands and wetlands in Mississippi and Louisiana.

A thought on the barrier islands and wetlands that I’ve always wondered…

Hurricanes have “always” happened, right? And they’d do damage to the wetlands and barrier islands in the past, right?

Logic would say so.

And didn’t those same barrier islands and wetlands eventually restore themselves without our help?

I’d think so…

So why are we doing anything?

I’m also the guy gunning it hoping the lightdoesn’t turn red…

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 Yellow Light

You take life at a sustainable past. Fast enough to do a lot, but not fast enough to leave everyone behind. You are open to whatever may come your way in life. You're very receptive. You are quite thoughtful and knowledgeable. You have the perfect mix of reflection and experience. You think before you act. You like to know some of the facts before you make a decision.

What Color Traffic Light Are You?

Blogthings: We'll Tell You The Truth... Someone Has To!

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

But… but… SCOTT BROWN’S A TRAITOR! Or not…

I’ve always thought the fuss about Scott Brown voting for the jobs bill was way too much.

Dean over at Beers With Demo agrees.

My take: The man voted his conscience instead of the party line. Who can’t admire that in a politician?

The lone prairie dog

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

This is a cleaned-up version of a cell phone pic I shot at the Phoenix Zoo.

Of course, since it’s a cell shot, it still looks kinda lousy. But I still thought it was kinda cool.

Wicked WIN of the day…

see more Epic Fails

I post this because they’re talking about us getting snow tonight AND I’ve got to drive to Houston in the morning. But I’m cancelling if it’s bad, so don’t worry.

I didn’t go cheat and look up any answers, so…

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 Passed High School with an B

You have the brains of a high school graduate... at least!

Could You Pass High School?

Blogthings: We Have a Quiz for Almost Everything

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

Reason #14,384,798 why the science isn’t, in fact, settled…

…is over at Snark And Boobs.

Another one from Houston’s zoo

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

I thought I would have scored higher…

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 48% Brutally Honest

Honesty is important to you, but generally, you try not to be brutal about it. You'll sugar coat the truth when you need to... and tell a white lie when necessary.

How Brutally Honest Are You?

Blogthings: Take a Quiz. Annoy Your Friends.

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

WIN of the day: Ninja style

Because we don’t celebrate WIN nearly enough…

see more Epic Fails

More reptiles

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

Because “Justin” just ain’t 80’s enough

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 80s Name Is Joshua Stephen

Totally radical, dude!

What's Your 80s Name?

Blogthings: If Quizzes Are Outlawed, Only Outlaws Will Take Quizzes

They know I was born in the 80’s, right?

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

Video of the day: Worse than Demon Sheep?

Remember the Demon Sheep?

Check this out:

Super Bowl Bingo!

B	I	N	G	O
A live shot of Bourbon Street	First-year head coach…	A shot of Eli and/or Archie Manning	Any bailed-out company having a commercial	Pierre Garçon's ties to Haiti
Last week’s Pro Bowl	Commercial involving a man taking a shot to the crotch.	Katrina	Roger Goodell	Peyton Manning possibly being the best QB ever
“Uncapped year”	Any reality TV show	FREE SPACE	Brett Favre	Who Dat
Telestrator dong	Concussion(s)	The rain earlier in the week	The Colts’ last Super Bowl appearance also being in Miami	“Bringing the wood”
Going for it on 4th down	Dwight Freeney’s ankle	The Wildcat	Peyton Manning’s ties to New Orleans	Mardi Gras

I’m sure y’all will be sad to hear that I’m no longer going to do predictions for the game. Why? Because I suck, that’s why!

Look at the birdie!

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

Bonus Video of the day: Say Anything…

From last night’s Modern Family:

Video of the day: DEMON SHEEP!!!

You have to watch this:

Best. Video. EVAH!

I’m a bad, bad man… with a bad, bad name!

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 Supervillain Name is Brain Supernova

Muhahahaha!

What's Your Supervillain Name?

Work is Hard. Time for Blogthings!

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

It’s a bird! No, really, it’s a bird!

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

FAIL of the day: The iPad

Possibly the worst name ever?

see more Epic Fails

Nah, the “exotic petting zoo” around here has to be worse.

Way worse.

State of the Union BINGO!

Sadly, I can't play myself. I’ve got choir tonight. But y’all have fun with this: 

 

B	I	N	G	O
Change	“I” (Must be said three times in one sentence)	Any sort of “crisis”	Let me be clear	Wall Street
Green jobs	Banks	Blaming Bush/Cheney (covertly or overtly)	I propose…	Acted stupidly
Bipartisan	Haiti		Main Street	In conclusion…
Created or saved	Hope	National Debt	Stimulus	Any sports analogy
Climate change	Any “shout-out”	Bailout	God Bless America	Understand this…

Of course, i might catch it on repeat and fill out the board just to see what happens.

Something about having a weird name…

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 Uncommon Name Is: Tobias Quintin Arrey

Weird, but it works.

What Very Uncommon Name Should You Have?

Blogthings: Quizzes and Tests and Memes, Oh My!

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

Something a little different

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

This is from my trip to Phoenix… sort of. I shot this with my cell phone in the terminal at Hobby Airport in Houston.

No, that’s not what I went to Phoenix in, though it would have been much faster.

I’m afraid I was relegated to one of these:

Video FAIL of the day: mmm… garlic!

What a flower says about me? Yea… right…

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 Calm and Optimistic

You have a tranquil and peaceful outlook on life. You are thankful for every small miracle. You think that it's important to keep the peace, even if it means swallowing your pride. You expect the best in people, and you hold everyone you know to high ethical standards. You are kind and compassionate. You treat people well, and you believe in second chances.

The Orchid Test

Blogthings: A Fine Line Between Insight and Stupidity

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

Because I’m a man of my word…

…and the Cardinals got their asses handed to them by the Saints today… I leave you with this:

This fulfills my obligations following my bet with K T Cat.

Lizards!

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

As of when I scheduled this post, I still haven’t found the memory card from Phoenix. That makes me sad.

In case you were wondering…

Yes, I’m a member of Team Conan.

That is all.

That’s about how I feel today

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

Today I wanted to be able to run a photo from my expedition to the Phoenix zoo last week, but while I was unpacking I managed to misplace my camera’s memory card and still haven’t found it.

I’m sure all three of my readers are all “Wait, when did you go to Phoenix?” I left last week, silly! You’d know that if you followed me on Twitter! You’d also be able to figure out why I went, unless you’re really that incredibly dense.

I guess I’ll have to make a trip back if that memory card never turns up. Ya know, I really hate to, but I think I might stomach it anyway…

8th grade math

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 Passed 8th Grade Math

Congratulations, you got 8/10 correct!

Could You Pass 8th Grade Math?

Blogthings: Take a Quiz. Annoy Your Friends.

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

Meerkats!

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

Fail of the day: Pass the chips

see more Epic Fails

Red or green?

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 Green

You are a peaceful, balanced, and together person. You are naturally calm. However, you have your own inner demons that you struggle with from time to time… mainly greed and jealousy. You are very reflective and creative. You are always thinking of and pursuing new ideas. You believe that spiritual and personal growth is important. You are always trying to change for the better.

Are You Red or Green?

Blogthings: Waste Time at Work!

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

The return of Friday Photo!

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

This shot fascinated me, if just for the way that bird’s legs are bent…

Merry Christmas!

[H/T Tater Tots For The Masses for the video]

Now it’s time for me to tell my own Santa story.

When I was in high school, every year at church we took a Saturday and watched everybody’s kids so their parents could go out and shop that day. One of the highlights was that Santa would come and we’d take pictures of all the kids with him for their parents.

Well, the last Santa visit of the day one year, I got drafted to play the big guy. I got the suit on and went in to greet the kids, sat down, and did the pictures. As I was leaving, some of the bigger kids realized it was me and tackled me and started to take the suit off of me.

I think they knew because my “Santa voice” sucked.

So, I’ve been Santa. And I was assaulted by 4th graders. Now you know.

Video of the day: Hear me sing!

Well, me and about 30 other folks…

This is from last week’s service, and it’s a unique arrangement of Away in a Manger by David Ashley White

FAIL of the day: Some people should just know better…

see more Epic Fails

Any man with half a brain knows you never let them win!

Back computing

After replacing the motherboard and processor, my computer’s back up and running again. Which, of course, means I’ll be back to blogging soon.

So no more oi this light blogging crap!

I’ll get a Friday Photo up sometime this weekend and get normal blogging back rolling.

Y’all miss me?

A statement from Justin regarding TigerGate

I would just like to state, for the record, that I have never had an affair with Tiger Woods. I realize that I'm in the minority on this, but it is the truth. I have no "transgressions" of that kind to confess publicly, nor do I ever plan on having them.

Still having computer problems

There won't be a Friday Photo this week because my computer died when I got back from Fort Worth. I'll make up for it when I get it fixed, I promise. It's just not terribly high on the priority list right now.

In other news, IT SNOWED TODAY!!!

How about that global warming, huh?

Porn star name

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 Adult Film Star Name Is: Michael J. Cox

Bow-chicka-bow-bow!

What's Your Adult Film Star Name?

Blogthings: Quizzes and Tests and Memes, Oh My!

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

Referees

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

Well, it is a zebra!

No word, though, if he was as blind as the ones on the football field usually are.

Update on the computer problems

I took the computer apart and debugged, thinking I found why it wouldn’t start and dreading what it would cost for me to fix it.

And then last night I hit the power button just for the hell of it and it started up just fine and has been working perfectly since.

What the fuck, man? Really?

I’m hoping that it was just some weird glitch, but who knows. I won’t be breathing easy for a while…

Blogging will be light...

Blogging will be light because my computer has decided to put my troubleshooting skills to the test and I haven't passed it yet. I've got it narrowed down to two or three things, I just have to do some testing on it to rule things out.

Regular blogging will likely not resume until after Thanksgiving since I'll be out of town anyway. Not that I've been blogging regularly anyway, but still...