Tell Me How You Really Feel.

This $700 BILLION bailout package of Wall Street isn't very popular. Everyone has an opinion on the subject. The fact the vote failed and the Dow Jones went down 777 points (is that 111 points better than expected) elicits various responses.

A wee bit blunt, but I kinda agree with my friend. I'm such a sick, sick boy.

Quote One:
"Whoo-hoo! I want to see suits diving out of skyscrapers before Congress says boo with MY money. More billionaires need to become paupers before we as a whole pony up $700 billion."

Total Brain Fart

Nope it wasn't mine, though I do that all the time. My boss had the total mental meltdown. We thought we would be smart and swap a few files so we wouldn't have to travel to different courtrooms. I could take all the cases in one court, and the boss could handle all the cases in another court.


It seemed like a good idea at the time.


It was supposed to be an even swap with one file apiece. Yet somehow one or two more hearings were scheduled than what appeared on our calendar. Of course those hearings belonged to the boss, but they were mine now. I provided the boss with my single file. The boss later gave me three files.

I was in the middle of one hearing and the boss suddenly appeared looking for something. He rustled through the files on the table and grabbed at least one file. WTF?!?! I had the files I needed, but he mumbled he was looking for something. Did he somehow insert some extraneous files when I wasn't looking? A few minutes later the next case come up and suddenly I didn't have that file in my stack. WTF it was here when I came into the courtroom!?!?!?

I went into my office to look for it. I went into the file room to look for it. I went into my boss's office to look for it. I couldn't find the damn file and I printed off some data from the computer. Though incomplete at least I could do something at the hearing. The boss came into our office saying he couldn't find the file I gave him. WTF? I gave that file to him just before lunch!

I went into the courtroom he was at. I stared at the table and immediately realized what the problem was. Our filing system is based on a primary name; however, at times the person involved is the secondary name. Usually that secondary name is printed somewhere on the file, but not always. I flipped open the file and pointed out to the boss there was the name he was looking for. It was right there on all the paperwork I prepared for this hearing. He knows this system. From who was in the court that day he could easily tell it was a secondary name. Yet somehow he just totally spaced it.

I glanced at the pile of files and noticed the file I needed was right there! WTF, it was in my possession about 45 minutes earlier! Why did my boss grab this, no wait there was a second file I would need later!!! Between finding the files, looking at the calendar, switching files to be with the proper person BEFORE the hearings I spent easily 15 minutes making sure everything was right. Thanks to my boss's bumbling we both looked like idiots in front of two different courts!

The reality is my boss is burned out. He needs a sabbatical to recharge his legal batteries. A shame sabbaticals only exist in academia or high end private practices. His complete exhaustion affects his work, our office, and at times my work. I don't know what to do. I can only control my boss so much.

This Night Isn't Good For My Football Pool!

Okay on ABC I have Georgia beating down on Arizona State badly. Arizona State is my PAC 10 team. On ESPN I have Auburn laying the smack down on LSU. LSU is my SEC team in the pool.

I doubt I'll be first place in our division by the end of tonight.

At least Notre Dame lost. Michigan State isn't my Big 10 team, but I simply hate Notre Dame. I hate them like I hate the New England Patriots.

Football is life and I'm having a heart attack right now.

EDIT: Oh praise my picks. At least LSU mounted a comeback to win the game. Of course with 4 minutes to go Arizona State isn't doing too well right now. Eh one out of two isn't bad.

9-21-2008 EDIT Part Duex: Note to self: I need to make sure I know who my teams are. I have ARIZONA, not Arizona STATE!!! Gargh, all the fretting for nothing as Arizona beat UCLA 31-10. Okay I had 7 out of 11 teams win yesterday with one team having a bye week. A good week, but not a great week. I don't even have any money on these games. This is pure pride and ego!

Money, Money, Money....MONEY!

If more people had a philosophy like this, our country wouldn't be having a financial meltdown right now.

Your Money Personality is Healthy

You have a good relationship with money. You don't spend wildly, but you're not opposed to treating yourself on occasion. In general, you save some of what you earn. You know the importance of a nest egg. You aren't afraid of being financially literate - you embrace learning more about finances. From a retirement plan to having an emergency fund, you know what you need to have to be safe.

What's Your Money Personality?

Rock God In My Own Mind.

Your Taste in Music:

Eighties: Highest Influence Alternative Rock: Highest Influence Classic Rock: Highest Influence Adult Alternative: High Influence Country: Low Influence

How's Your Taste in Music?

I Don't Want To Wait Until 2010.

Season 5, or if you're British Series 5, teaser for the return of Doctor Who. The ol' Doc gets another companion again. I love the power of the beats and the fiery looks. Sometimes less is more.

Where Is My Passport?

I get around a bit, but I need to relearn my Spanish.

You Are Quite Worldly

You've done a good bit of worldly exploring, and you have an international perspective. And you're definitely looking forward to your future adventures abroad. You've got the passport, the desire to travel, and maybe even the language skills. Now all you need are the means!

How Worldly Are You?

I Will Always Hate This Anniversary.

While it is 7 years later I still hate this day. A few weeks ago I found this rather unique story about Ladder 5. A good demonstration of how something good can come out of a world class tragedy so I offer it with no more commentary.

So Very Tired.

I haven't slept well the past few nights. By the time I'm about t0 fall asleep some thunderstorms start coming in. The resulting exhaustion has affects my work. Even with caffeine I simply run out of power after lunch. Which sucks especially due to the lack of hearings the past few afternoons. I could get rid of so much paperwork if only I didn't want to fall asleep.

It wouldn't be so bad if I wasn't so swamped in August. I've been doing paperwork from this week, last month, and even some stuff from late July these past few afternoons. Too many files and too many stray pieces of paper demanding my attention. To top it off, I haven't been staying in the office as late as I normally do. Not that I had other things to do, but I simply was too tired to stay. I even took a nap at a parking lot halfway home the other day. The drive was too long and I really needed a 15 minute nap.

Honestly, I don't get paid enough to deal with all this crap.

Why I Hate Television Network Schedulers.

Okay, what moron decided to put this new show Fringe opposite Eureka?

Seriously, I love Eureka. It is light hearted fun. I just saw the pilot to Fringe and I'm willing to give it a shot. A post 9-11 X-Files might be a good show if they have a coherent story line/mythology in mind already.

Oh well I'm sure my parents will record one, if not both of the shows. I can catch the good stuff later at their house.

Master And Human

NFL Week 1: Hank William Jr. vs Faith Hill

Week One of Professional Football. Booya baby the games are finally for real!

Tom Brady appears to be crippled. Excellent. I hate the Patriots. May Brett Farve maul the Pats next week with the new look Jets.

I miss seeing the Hank Williams Jr. introduction for Monday Night Football.

However, for Sunday Night Football Faith Hill is an acceptable substitute.

Okay, Hank Williams Jr. had a for more kickin' intro, but Mrs. Tim McGraw is...well hot.

I hate the fact I'm so easily turned by looks on this issue.

Addendum: Danica Patrick driving the Outback Madencruiser around the Indianapolis Motor Speedway was also cool.

Didn't I Already Do This?

I tried to organize for today yesterday afternoon. I knew the calendar was overloaded, but I researched which hearings were mine and which weren't. However I didn't get a chance to discuss things with my boss. I came in this morning and things were already hectic and falling apart. Some hearings weren't on the calendar. One calendar seemed to have extra hearings. Some people were early and others were very late. 90 minutes into the day and suddenly I'm realizing I already researched these hearings!

I slept since last night so I was reinventing the wheel again.

First order of business tomorrow: get in early to discuss with boss which hearings aren't his and cover his butt in the afternoon. One of the judges is about to scalp him so I need to cover him.

I Got Some Serious Brain Going On!

Your IQ Is 120

Your Logical Intelligence is Above Average Your Verbal Intelligence is Genius Your Mathematical Intelligence is Exceptional Your General Knowledge is Exceptional

A Quick and Dirty IQ Test

Spellcheck Is My Friend. Sometimes.

I admit it is very frustrating to be a mediocre speller. In school I excelled in most subjects, except spelling. I've seen far worse spellers, but I know I can't expect anything I've written to be error free.

Your Common Spelling Mistake Score: 70% Correct

Your spelling is decent, but you do make quite a few mistakes. Let's just say you won't be winning a spelling bee anytime soon!

Do You Make Common Spelling Mistakes?

The Big Pig In The Big Green Egg.

*Sunday afternoon, approximately 5:00 p.m.*

Me: Whoa! That's a lot of pork loin.

Cook: It's 9.4 lbs according to the label. I'm putting some hot peppers in the middle, some mustard, and wrapping some bacon around the whole thing.

Me: So really this is a pepper sandwich wrapped in pork. Is this even going to fit on the grill?

Cook: I have the large size of the Big Green Egg. Wrap the loin around itself and put it in the rack and it'll fit fine!

Me: That is a pretty large Green Egg.

Cook: Oh they have an extra-large one you can get.

Me: An extra large egg?!?!?! That must weight 100 lbs. You could probably fit the whole pig one of those monsters.

Cook: I'm willing to give it a shot.

College Football Means Life Is Good!

Now is my favorite time of year: the start of the college football season. The beer is cooling. The grill is heating up. The TV is on.

Nirvana does exist for at least a day.

One Final Lap.

In a depressing, yet also heartwarming, turn of events I read this story. 83 year old actor/racer/political activist (who I disagree with on some things)/philanphropist/living legend Paul Newman is dying of terminal lung cancer and isn't expect to see this October. In an age of tabloid Hollywood where anyone can be famous for 15 minutes Paul Newman excelled in his chosen crafts and was a genuinely nice guy. Most people know him for his fine films. Cinema history wouldn't be the same without Cool Hand Luke, The Hustler, The Color Of Money, Butch Cassidy and The Sundance Kid, Slapshot, Road To Perdition among others.

Yet many people forget, or never knew, that Paul Newman was one of the greatest racers of his era. "P. L. Newman" placed second at the 24 hours of Le Mans, raced numerous SCCA and Trans Am events, and at the age of 74 won a Daytona 24 hours. Mr. Newman, with co-owner Carl Haas, has owned one of the best IndyCar/ChampCar teams of modern times and actively participated at numerous races. Oh yeah, I guess he donated over $200 million in profits to numerous charities and non-profit organizations from that salad dressing of his.

To honor a great man and racer the Lime Rock Park race track near his Connecticut home shut down for a few hours on August 13 to let this lion in winter drive a few final laps in his beloved GT1 Corvette. Though depressing to think about the impending death of a good man, I admire his ability to do something he truly loves one last time. May we all be so lucky when the twilight comes.

Just Another Manic Monday.

Leave for work: 6:55 a.m.

Arrive home: 7:55 p.m.

Does anyone see a problem with that?

Please note: except for hitting a Mexican restaurant for lunch I never left the office nor did I do any stops on the way home.

Draft Day.

With college football season approach our annual rite of passage appeared today: the draft! Here's how it works. You draw one team from each Division IA (no bloody bowl championship series nonsense) and you can pick an independent (Army, Navy, Notre Dame) or an extra team from a conference as your wildcard pick. Every win a team gets is one point. The person with the most number of points/wins after the bowl games is the winner.

Please note: 2 years ago I won! Last year I was second place in two leagues.

I managed to do some research, but I was never able to scare up 30 precious minutes at lunch to research half a league. Since I'm not home an average of 11 hours a day I didn't have much time to research at home either. Still I managed to get about 2/3 of my predictions down before the draft. Compared to many people that's more research than they do.

*drum roll please*

ACC: North Carolina. Eh okay.
Big 12: Oklahoma St. I think they're okay.
Big East: South Florida. I honestly think the can be 10-2 this year. Maybe.
Big 10: Ohio State. My first round pick. 10-2 at worst and could be undefeated going into the bowl games.
Conference -USA: UTEP. Oh crap! This was a later round pick obviously.
MAC: Kent State. I think they can hit .500 and maybe a little bit more.
Mountain West: Utah. I think 9 or 10 wins is realistic.
PAC 10: Arizona. Is 8-4 realistic this year?
SEC: LSU. 10 wins easy!
Sun Belt: Troy! I wanted Florida Atlantic, but I'm okay with Troy. Everyone moaned as the only two teams worth anything in the conference were gone now.
WAC: New Mexico State. My last pick and oh does it show. I'm hoping for 4 wins and I'm hoping they're better than Utah State or Idaho since those were my other choices at the time.
WILDCARD: Navy. 7 wins for a wildcard isn't bad. Possibly 8 but that's stretching I believe.

Now on Saturdays, Thursdays, and whatever other night ESPN decides to put games on I will be paying attention to conferences I normally don't care about. Why, because they're my teams baby!

Oh I love this time of you! College football is the best sport ever!