Hook 'em Horns

That is all.

Sammy Baugh, You Will Be Missed

For those of you who are living under rocks, 'Slingin' Sammy Baugh, the last surviving member of the NFL Hall of Fame's innaugural class and the only Redskin whose number has been retired, passed away yesterday at the tender young age of 94. Rather than try to wax poetic about a life so great, I'll leave that to the professionals. Matt Terl, the Redskins official blogger put together a nice piece http://theredskinsblog.com/2008/12/17/sammy-baugh-1914-2008/ and ESPN put together a well written eulogy as well http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=3776838&CMP=OTC-DT9705204233.

If for nothing else, let's hope the Skins win this weekend in his memory. Rest in peace.

EDITED: to add another link to more information from the Skins: http://theredskinsblog.com/2008/12/18/thursday-december-18-more-on-sammy-baugh/

Hannukah Lights

Yep, that's right. In addition to our two Hannukah bushes (Ficas trees with lights on them), we now have Hannukah lights decorating our house. What are Hannukah lights you ask? Well, the technical definition is long and complex, so to simplify for everyone out there, Hannukah lights are "blue and white Christmas lights." Except, they're for Jews. It's pretty awesome.

Happy Thanksgiving

Ashleigh and I have a lot to be thankful for this year, not the least of which is being able to spend the day with family. All our best to everyone, and we hope that you have as much to be thankful for as we do.

Be safe, and happy thanksgiving!

Way to go GRRM!

Any fans of A Song of Ice and Fire out there? Well, you're in luck! George RR Martin and HBO just announced that they will be filming a pilot episode of his series. This still does not mean that we'll ever get to see ASoIaF on television, but its a HUGE step in the right direction. And, from what I hear, George is going to be involved pretty closely with the project, keeping it true to his artistic vision (or, as close as a mini-series can get). Here's to hoping!

And, if you're interested in reading more, you should check out these links:

http://www.thrfeed.com/2008/11/hbo-orders-fant.html

http://grrm.livejournal.com/58155.html

Sean Taylor

The Redskins organization is showing it's class once more as Sean Taylor will be inducted into the Ring of Fame: http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=3684105&CMP=OTC-DT9705204233

If you're going to the game, you should plan on being in your seat early to watch the induction ceremony.

Joxer Daly's

Let me just start by saying that the Redskins looked pathetic on Monday night. That was embarrassing. On the plus side, the Redskins fans were pretty awesome out at Joxer Daly's in Culver City, CA. I had heard stories that it was the best Skins bar in the country; I think those might just be right. It's definitely the best one that I have been to. I actually noticed all of the Skins gear on cars outside of the bar before I noticed the bar itself. When I walked in, I was greeted by a sea of burgundy and gold jerseys. The place was PACKED with Skins fans. I no longer felt out of place wearing my Cooley jersey over a Skins tee-shirt, a Skins hat and Skins socks. No, I felt right at home. It would have been nice to hear the entire crowd sing "Hail to the Redskins" on a touchdown, but alas, our poor team struggled.

Burbank Skins Fans?

Hey All,

I'm looking for a good place to watch the Skins game tonight out in the Burbank Area.

If you have a good recommendation, please let me know!

Quandry

fanatic, fanatical, overzealous, rabid (marked by excessive enthusiasm for and intense devotion to a cause or idea) "rabid isolationist" - http://wordnet.princeton.edu/perl/webwn?o2=&o0=1&o7=&o5=&o1=1&o6=&o4=&o3=&s=fanatic&i=1&h=00#c

As you all know, I am a Redskins fan in the truest sense of the word. So, what am I to do when faced by the dilemma America is facing tonight? Basically, when the Redskins win their last home game before the Presidential election, the incumbent party retains control. http://sports.espn.go.com/espnmag/story?id=3679597&CMP=OTC-DT9705204233

As far as McCain goes, I probably could have lived with him in office if his politics hadn't changed so much in the last 8 years. However, considering who his number 2 would be, the prospect of McCain in office is terrifying. Sarah Palin scares the crap out of me. Forget about her lack of experience, her "maverick" tendencies, and her lack of support for women's rights for a moment. Just look at her educational policies for a good reason to stay away. In fact, it was McCain's educational policies that turned me off of him in the race this year. Since then, he's done much to convince me that he's not right for office, but when he announced that he would be continuing the "No Child Left Behind" act, that made up my mind.

At any rate, being a Redskins Fanatic, I'll be rooting for them tonight, while "voting" against them in the election. In fact, I'm bringing my full Redskins gameday gear on the road with me - I'm headed out to LA on business (as usual), and will be sporting my gear in full force tonight. In the meantime, the one sure way to gaurantee a Redskin's victory is to vote the Redskin's Ticket for the Pro-Bowl!

Hail to the Skins!

Legend of the Seeker

Wow, just 1 more day until Terry Goodkind goes mainstream with the Legend of the Seeker! Check it out:

http://www.legendoftheseeker.com/

With a little bit of luck, they'll do a decent job with this one. Check back in a couple of days for the review!!

CP, you da man!

How can you argue with the success that Portis is having this season? As the league's leading rusher, he's having one hell of a season. He's now won the FedEx Ground Player of the Week twice, and is up for it again. Go ahead, vote for him again! You know you want to!

The Big Bang Theory

Busy day for posting today...

I got a group of co-workers together a couple days ago and we all went out to see a taping of The Big Bang Theory. It was a pretty enjoyable 3.5 hours. For starters, the show is awesome, and you can tell how talented the actors are by watching them during the taping. There were quite a few scenes that were nailed on the first take, which was pretty impressive. In fact, the whole process had the feel of watching a play, minus the fact that they had to reset the pretty elaborate stage a few times, move the cameras, etc. Between takes, they had a host who kept us all entertained - he was quite good.

A couple points of note:

• I have seen a couple forums asking about whether the laughter is canned - I can tell you that it is not. In fact, when someone said their name during the laughter, they had to redo a take to get the laugh track right.
• Kaley Cuoco is even hotter in person than she looks on TV. Wow.
• The cast was all very gracious and stuck around to sign autographs and answer questions after the show. I wish I had brought something with me for them to sign!

There were a few negatives about the experience, too. First of all, the chairs for the audience are extremely uncomfortable. And, sitting there for nearly 4 hours got a little tedious. Also, make sure you eat before you go. Taping starts at 7 PM, and, while they do provide pizza, it's 1 slice per person, so you're not exactly going to make a meal out of it.

Blackberry Bold | Coming Soon!

Hey All,

My new phone is getting closer to store fronts! The Bold (Blackberry 9000) is scheduled to be released on November 4. Since I'm doing absentee voting this year, the release of the Bold has just made the top of my list of reasons to be excited about election day! Here is some confirmation:

http://www.boygeniusreport.com/2008/10/22/blackberry-bold-receives-technical-acceptance-at-att/

http://www.att.com/gen/press-room?pid=4800&cdvn=news&newsarticleid=26072

AT&T still has not updated their site, so I can't pre-order one just yet, but that's coming soon (I have to imagine)!

Vote the Redskins Ticket

Just thought I'd get my voice out there to remind everyone that Pro Bowl voting has started, so get out, vote early, vote often, and vote the Redskins ticket!

What an UGLY loss!

Wow, the Donkeys just plain stunk last night! That was one of the ugliest losses I've seen since I moved to Denver. The entire team played poorly, so you can't attribute this to O or D. Hopefully Shanahan gets the Broncos back in gear over the next two weeks so that they come back strong from the bye week!

What an UGLY win!

Don't get me wrong, I'll happily take the W, but come on! That was about as ugly as a victory can get.

A couple of notes:
* I would have liked to see Captain Chaos play a little better. Cooley seemed a little timid with the ball after his fumble last week. Chris, if you're out there, you know you're a great player, so take back that confidence! Cooley did lay down some big blocks and opened up some big holes, so please bear in mind that I am ONLY talking about when he had his hands on the ball. It kind of went unnoticed, but he did have another fumble - fortunately, the ball went out of bounds, so that was a nice break.

* Portis' fumble sucked, but what an impressive showing from our Defense! 7 straight goal line stands? Unbelievable! It was hard to see them sneak around our D on the 8th play, but somewhat inevitable. Great job Defense - especially London Fletcher who made 3 of those goal line stops himself!

* Plackemeier definitely helped the punt unit - too bad we had to lean on him so much!

* Campbell getting hurt in the first quarter definitely seemed to slow down our offense. Fortunately, Portis stepped up (175 yards!), which opened up the passing game a little bit.

Shaun Alexander et al

The 'Skins added a couple new faces to the roster this week just before the deadline. Shaun Alexander should bolster an already solid Redskins Running Back group, especially while Ladell Betts recovers. This should help ease the pressure on him to return too soon from his injury. I'm also glad to see that the Redskins picked up a new punter, but I have to wonder if Plackemeier is the right guy for the job. And we'll see if Reed Doughty's replacement can help take some of the work, especially on Special Teams. At least Chris Horton has proved to be a valuable addition to a very strong secondary, already having taken Doughty's starting job, but still hard to see a great player like Doughty out on IR. Best wishes to a speedy recovery and seeing him back in Burgundy and Gold next season!

The Price is WRONG

Just kidding!

I did go to a taping of the Price is Right yesterday. It was pretty cool, but definitely a long afternoon...

They recommend arriving at least 3 hours early. We got there 2.5 hours early and were numbers 304, 305 and 306. They only allow 325 into the theater, so we kind of lucked out! Once you get your number, they line you up and check your ID a couple times and take your picture for identification purposes. Then they move the line to the side of the building where you sit for another good period of time while they do the opening spiel and determine who the contestants will be. If you go, make sure you are loud and energetic during the "interview" process - it's about 6 seconds of time for you to make your impression on the guy who determines who goes on stage. Then you go stand in line for the metal detector. They tell you no cell phones, cameras, etc. But, if you bring one, they'll just tag it at "security" and let you pick it up later, so don't leave yours in the car - you'll need something to do! Then, you go stand in ANOTHER line to get into the theater. Once they let you in, you wait in line to get seated - the earlier you arrive, the closer to contestants row you will be. The taping itself takes about 2 hours - there's a lot of down time between takes where Drew talks to the crowd.

All in all, it was a pretty good time, but definitely something that you have to be pretty pumped up (drunk?) for!

Blackberry Bold

I have been desparate for a new phone for a long time. Now that I am being forced to switch over to AT&T (thanks work), I figured I should get the latest and greatest from them. Since I can't type on an iPhone (thank you fat fingers), I've decided to wait for the much delayed Blackberry Bold. This is the first Blackberry with 3G, but AT&T can't seem to bring it to market. Sigh. Hopefully it will come soon. Especially since Verizon will be launching the Blackberry Storm this fall - that's the first touch screen Blackberry to hit the market, and it will also have 3G. AT&T is looking to have another botched release... With the iPhone, they rushed it out before it had been fully tested. Now, they're waiting so long that people are losing interest.

The Economy

Who knows what the future will bring? A year ago, I was sharply critical about the government's actions and the media's response to the financial crisis that was just starting to hit. My feeling was that the government should do things to inspire consumer and investor confidence and that the media should be wary of portraying a slightly down economy as the next coming of the great depression. Look where we are today. Consumer confidence has steadily declined over the last 18 months, investors have fled from the market, and the media is still talking about how this is the next Great Depression.

No, the economic layout is definitely not rosy. No, we have not yet hit rock bottom. Yet, we need to take action to move things in a positive direction. Shore up our ailing banks to ensure that no more go the way of WaMu and Wachovia. As much as I dislike Bush and the way that he has led our country for the past 8 years, there is one quote of his that I feel is appropriate for times like this. "We must take swift and decisive action". With those words we have made more blunders with the international community than probably any other 7 words in the English language. Yet, in these circumstances, particularly at this time of year, we must act swiftly and decisively to restore confidence in the system. Now, in the 4th quarter, retail outlets nationwide are expecting lower than usual spending for the holiday season. Some companies use phrases like "1 day in December equals the month of May" to describe the importance of holiday shopping. If the American public continues on in fear, this holiday season could be disastrous for business. And what's bad for business, in this case, is bad for everyone.