The Friday Four Fill-In

This meme comes from this web site.

1. Sometimes I ____

2. I ___ high school

3. Deciding what to ___________________________ before I ___________________ is such a pain sometimes

4. _________________is my favorite_________________

And here are my answers:

1. Sometimes I want to leave my body and be able to observe my life hoping that I could gain some insight as to which direction I need to go from here.

2. I was so incredibly awkward in high school (but it was an amazing learning experience).

3. Deciding what to wear before I go to work is such a pain sometimes.

4. Bruce Springsteen is my favorite musical concert performer.

Get Your Mind Out of the Gutter

Any idea as to what this is? I'll let you know tomorrow.

UPDATE: 2/17

Here's a different picture of the same:

Starbucks is the Apple of the Coffee House Industry

Starbucks is raising prices. Interesting, let's take the most expensive coffee (also the most overpriced) and raise the price, there's a great nod to the loyal consumers who shop their everyday. Yet another example of a large corporation not giving a crap about the very people that support them.

The brag about how they "give back" but what about what they take away? Their offerings are 100% driven by profit and profit alone. I recognize this is an important decision in commerce but don't tell me that you give a crap about me as a consumer, if you did, it would be easier for me to get products that are caffeine free and/or diabetic friendly at your establishment.

I have no problem with you doing business, just don't try to come off as holier than thou, you're no better than anyone else in business.

A Few Moments from Karaoke Night

Here's a few minutes from the Karaoke Fundraiser I emceed on 2/11:

Japanese Baseball Geniuses

Over the last number of years, there have been a number of Japanese ball players who've managed to command millions of dollars just for the privilege of having a conversation with them about possibly signing a contract to play for an American ball club.

Once they receive this bounty, they often negotiate a contract guaranteed them many, many more millions of dollars. Then, for the most part, they end up being sub par players not worth any of the money they've been paid.

So, what's the deal? there are probably several factors that apply in some combination but in a nutshell, the game in Japan is different, it look the same for the most part, but it's different enough (structure of ball parks, pace, etc.) that stats alone are misleading.

So I find this interesting in that I am constantly complaining about how I hate that professional sports has become more of a business than a sport then here I allude to the less than business savvy of the same folks.

Stuff

Grammys-still on, some good moments so far. LL is a class act, Bruce rocked it, Bruno kicked it, Foo Fighters killed, I won't even talk of the crap.

Karaoke-Last night's fundraiser was awesome; I'll post some video and/or audio soon.

Volbeat-Tori turned me on to them earlier this year and I loved the one album I heard; I have three more en-route via Secondspin.com; I can't wait.

Pot Luck- I made a large Chicken and Orzo Fritatta for tomorrow's pot luck at work. If that sounds delicious to you, I'm fairly certain I've posted the recipe on this blog, just use the search feature.

RIP Whitney

I'm just back from a spectacular karaoke night fundraiser and ready to talk about how great it was and how tired I am right now after teaching for 5 hours this morning then working on this fundraiser - I turn on the computer and the first headline I see is Whitney Houston is dead...I thought if I was going to be speechless it would be because I have nothing of a voice left but this too is pretty nuts. I know some may say it's not surprising, perhaps that's true, but when someone just about your age only a billion times richer and more famous dies, it stops you in your tracks. RIP.

(another) Untitled Post

I feel the winds of change as they blow through my life
Bitter moments, sure
Sweet moments - all that matter

Everywhere I've been thus far
and Everyone I've met
All that makes me who I am
No point in regret

The breeze right now has calmed itself to a subtle whisper
There's a longing, a desire, a hope
There are still distances and challenges to conquer

I've begun to find some balance
But there's still a significant void
I know you're out there somewhere
I think I might even know where

Can you hear me?

How to Fix Professional Sports

I may have ranted on this at one time or another, but the most frustrating thing for me about professional sports is the idea that the number one priority isn't sportsmanship, it's business and the almighty dollar. I know it will never change - but it's changed the game in so many ways and 100% for the worse.

If it were up to me, there would be no long term contracts allowed and especially no guaranteed giant salaries. There would be a base salary structure, that all players are guaranteed. This base would be multi-tiered and only increase based on years of service. And, it wouldn't be in the millions either, I am thinking somewhere in the 100k for rookies to perhaps top off at 250k for the eldest of veterans.

All other earnings would be performance based and level across all teams and markets in the league. A rate for batting average, hits, RBI's, HR's, etc. A similar performance based structure for pitchers and fielding bonuses based on lowest number of errors across the league.

Using such a system puts all teams on the same playing field economically and the talent pool can be spread more equitably across the league instead of the current system which favors the teams with the largest bankroll. The incentive based pay would be motivation for the players to actually play the game instead of sit on the bench for a fake injury and still get paid bazillions for zero contribution.

I can dream if I want to.

The End of House

It was announced today that the current season, its eighth, will be the last. I've watched this show since the start and still love it. I find the writing and in particular, the characterizations to be stellar. If you think about it, the storyline in its skeletal form is identical in every episode - however, the characters are written so well along with the occasional twists that every moment is as compelling as the last.

While his series introduced me to the genius of Hugh Laurie, I've since seen some of his prior work. Of particular note is the series "Jeeves & Wooster" in which Laurie co-stars with Stephen Fry - a treasure for sure.

I'm curious to see whether Laurie might return to TV or focus on the big screen. Sad to see such a great show end but at least it never sold out (in my opinion).

Beignet Magic (Pictures Not Included)

Sunday afternoon, Vickie and I were hanging around killing time before the super bowl and because I occasionally like to come up with cool dad ideas, I said to her, "how about I make some beignets?" "Dad, you always come up with good ideas!" So off I went to get the deep fryer heating up some oil while I carefully mixed the beignet dough, then even more carefully rolled out and cut the dough.

First batch of four come out, quite excellently, I pull one out without sugar for me then liberally shake the powdered sugar on the other three for Victoria which she enjoys while I get the next batch in the fryer.

Next batch comes out and I pull out the powdered dark cocoa (unsweetened) and sprinkle a dash on a naked beignet fresh out of the oil while I add it to the powdered sugar for Vickie's batch and we enjoy while I get the last batch in the fryer.

This is where I go all genius on this dessert; magic if you will. By this time, Vickie wanted a breather and went into the living room to sit down. I pull the last batch from the fryer and get this idea to cut one of the beignets in half, lengthwise, then place a scoop if ice cream in the middle, serving it as an ice cream sandwich. Of course, I put powdered sugar on it then placed a dollop of whipped cream on the plate for dipping and presented it to my child for which she referred to me as a dessert genius insisting I open some sort of cafe.

Fun quality father daughter time before the super bowl.

Mixed Bag

• Karl Lagerfeld is a jerk.
• I am not going to watch the Academy Awards this year.
• I wasn't planning to watch the Grammy's until I heard that Adele will be singing.
• I'll be making a giant Fritatta for next Monday's pot luck at work.

Regarding the not surprising horror show that was Madonna's super bowl half-time performance, it was one of the worst ever. I've been a fan of Madonna's recorded music but have always resented her for not singing live. I think it's wrong when any artist lip syncs and at the very least feel taht it should be mandated by law that if the artist plans to lip sync, there should be a prominent warning before tickets are sold.

Ohh...brain i giving out...sory for the pathetic-ih posts of late.

Disappointed, but Moving Past It

I felt immense disappointment at the Patriots loss in the Super Bowl but as my daughter reminded me, "it's just a game". Eli Manning cemented his legend while I must say, as much as I hate too, Tom Brady distanced himself from his.

I'm going to remain brief here - there's not much more that can be said. I offer heartfelt congratulations to the New York Giants, especially the great Eli Manning. Good night.

The Big Game

There so much anticipation and press surrounding the super bowl tomorrow and I too am filled with anticipation. This is one of those games where I can't wait - everything indicates that it should be a terrific game and that is what I am hoping for. I want the Pats to win but I also want a great game, something that the sport can be proud of, something that can serve as a great example of sportsmanship.

I have a great deal of respect for this NY Giants team, especially Eli Manning but there is so much riding on a Pats win and being a fan, I just want my team to edge out the competition.

Be happy and healthy, be safe, have a great time and may it be a great game.