So I got the following video from a friend at work… take a peek. While alls fair in love and war… what about youth football?

Video moved to link. Click here to play.

This reminds me of playing summer baseball for the VFW. We were playing Owatonna at home and had a runner on second (a guy named Riley if you’re interested) and good ol’ Mr. XXXX in the coach’s box at 3rd. Coach XXXX hollers to the opposing pitcher, “Hey Pitch, lemme see that ball”. Well the pitcher tosses the ball to him over at third, and Coach just steps aside and lets the ball roll past him. He then turns to Riley and yells for him to come on down to third. Needless to say, the Owatonna parents in the crowd were none too pleased with this move, but for those of us in the dugout we couldn’t stop laughing for the rest of the game.

At what point does trickeration become acceptable in sports? High School, College, Professional?

Thoughts?

Dear toilet that auto-flushes in the staff bathroom,

I didn’t realize it was possible to be quite so annoyed at an inanimate object as I am frequently, repeatedly, with you. This morning while conducting the final phase of my coffee conversion to liquid waste, you flushed no fewer than four distinct times. Hello?! I was standing right there!

To be fair, it’s not really you personally, it’s what you stand for, you’re a symbol of a nation so coddled that it doesn’t even feel as though it should have to undertake the laborious work of flushing. It would help, though, if you managed to work properly once in a while, and adhere to the unwritten rule of “one flush per contestant”.

So I’m sad to say it’s come to this. From now on I’ll be exclusively visiting your cousin next door. The amicable fellow with the pushable handle.

Sincerely,
Alex

I’ve been avoiding talking about the political landscape lately, even though I have plenty to say. Part of the problem is that I haven’t had much time in general to devote to the site; that much should be obvious by my complete lack of content. Still, I couldn’t stay quiet after reading the following article:

The Unknown Front Runner.

It says that if we consider all the candidates, and all their stances on all the issues, that 57% of all voters (emphasis mine) will be most compatible with Dennis Kucinich. It links a site (which I’ll link below) where you can rate your position on issues (and weight their importance), and it’ll tell you who’s the best candidate for you. Yep, I ran it for myself. Yep, my top candidate was Kucinich. And it wasn’t even close.

Much like the author of the initial article, I’ve found myself being interested in what Ron Paul has to say lately, and like the author, found him to be lacking, but still interesting. After reading up a bit on Kucinich, I’m prepared to say that I’ll be registering for the primaries to support him. No question about it.

If you’d like to take the candidate test for yourself, that link is right here:

Pick Your Candidate.

If you’d like to check out Kucinich’s campaign site, that’s here.

Two bits of information in closing. Of the “mainstream” candidates, the highest ones listed for me were Obama and Clinton, pretty much in a dead heat, which is what I’d expect. And I’m going to go on record right now as saying that when the 2008 election finally does roll around, I’m voting on the issues this time. Last time I voted for Kerry, even though he was a limp noodle, just because he wasn’t Bush. This time I’m voting with my conscience.

I’ll have more to say as the months go along. Stay tuned.

P.S. If you take the test, please feel free to post your own results and opinions in the comments.

i was hoping i’d never have to write this post.

i’ve got a bad feeling about my favorite show.

the season started off nicely enough three weeks ago, with an hour-long episode that tied up a lot of loose storylines from last season (ryan to corporate, pam and jim, etc.) last week featured another hour-long episode that, while funny, didn’t leave me laughing like usual. an off week, i thought. everyone is allowed a misfire from time to time. so again, like usual, i eagerly awaited last night’s hour-long (sensing a trend?) show and… more disappointment.

the thing about “the office” is that it works because of its quirkiness. subtle glances. rolled eyes. momentary flashes of ineptitude, or downright craziness. and, that works nicely if you’re filling up 23 minutes. but double that? you’ve got to turn things that work in small doses up to 11 (for lack of better word) and what was once funny becomes belabored and awkward. several stretches of last night’s (and last week’s) show were almost unwatchable, and certainly not funny.

memo to television executives, then: there *is* such a concept of “too much of a good thing.” that’s been proven many times over– most recently with game shows like “deal or no deal” and “who wants to be a millionaire.” what’s entertaining when broadcast once a week gets to be a drudgery when shown three or four nights a week.

sigh…

Remember when you were in grade school and there would be a fire drill? When you were especially young you had to line up and be counted by your teacher; then march outside and if you were lucky you got to see an actual fireman and fire truck! In high school it was a time to see and be seen… and it got you out of class; or if you were really lucky it got you out of a pop quiz.

Now that I’m a professional I find the concept of a fire drill in the workplace quite ridiculous.

I agree that each person should be familiar with the various ways out of a building in case of emergency. But shouldn’t that be the responsibility of each person? For the sake of argument, let’s just agree that it is the responsibility of the employer to hold an annual fire drill. Could we maybe consider doing it in May-Sept instead of October where it has the possibility of being 45 degrees outside with a 23 mph from the NW (like today).

What’s next… are we going to go down to the parking garage and line up against wall in the tuck and cover position for a tornado drill?