Damn. I finally find a well made flannel shirt that doesn't have those stupid button down collars. (I’ll make a short story long as I have a glass of wine and there’s a random football game on providing me with benevolent background noises).
Subscribe to a gun magazine and you’ll get on some random catalog list. Subscribe to all of the gun magazines (except the British ones because I can’t read dense 5 pt font for more than a minute) and you receive the mother load of catalogs.
Aside. Why subscribe to every gun magazine? To figure out which ones are worth a damn. $10-$30 for a year long review is a fair price to pay, I think. Conclusion? A good chunk of them are crap.
So back to flannel. The new Orvis catalog arrives. Pricey, and a snob factor but they sell relatively good crap. And they have the elusive normal collar flannel shirt. After a week or two (and with temperatures dropping) I decide to take the plunge and order two of them.
A few days later I receive them and they are damn nice and they will most likely last many years. But Orvis wasn’t happy enough to take my dollars and provide me with their products. They also provided me with The Message. The Message was an insert in the package along with the packing slip.
On one side of the Message was a nice graphic with the title ‘Making Environmentally Responsible Decisions’. And an introductory essay as to the confusion in making the ‘correct’ decisions on things from light bulbs to which fish to eat. And what was The Message?
‘Fear not ignorant consumer! We have made those decisions for you.’
And the reverse side of ‘The Message’?
An essay titled ‘Carbon Credits Explained’. It had Indians in it. Really. And why carbon offsets are awesome. To save the environment and Earth and everything. The Message?
Carbon offsets are awesome! (brushing economic reality under the table).
All I wanted was a Pepsi. Or in this case, two shirts. Instead I received two shirts and a hell of a lot of preaching I didn’t ask for. Thanks Orvis. I might ask if I could get a discount on your products in the future if I just received what I paid for and you could take off the price of sermonizing but I realize that I would be wasting my time. So I’ll just end this so short relationship. Goodbye forever, you sanctimonious jackasses.
I brewed up a batch of Kern River Red for the Christmas holidays as I had quite a bit of family coming in. Unfortunately, it wasn't quite ready. It takes a good 3-4 weeks in the bottle for good results. This is 5 weeks in the bottle. This is as good as it gets. Excellent head and carbonation. Smooth malt with just a bit of bitterness and dryness from the hops. I need to finish this batch up so I can bottle the North Dakota Sweet Porter.
Mad Oilman is not a Longhorn. He is a Terrier, albeit a native Houstonian Terrier.
1. Defenses on both sides collapsed at the end.
2, Vince Young #2 Heisman? Right. That was proven tonight. A 6'5" mobile quarterback is a hell of a lot more valuable in the draft than a 6' running back/receiver that is a playmaker against crappy teams. A guy slated before this game to be the #1 pick in the NFL draft, who runs an average of 12 times a game. LenDale White proved to be the better offensive threat in this game, and his collegiate numbers prove him to be a good pickup if he is available. Reggie Bush is talented, yes. I see him going down the Antwoan Ranle El path. Fast as hell, not quite a receiver, not quite a runing back, to small for a tight end.
1. Pete Carrol is a damn good coach. Second half adjustments have been masterful. This game may come down to coaching.
2. Field goals are always important. Points on the board. Or in the case of Texas, not on the board. 4 points squandered.
3. Stupid penalities and turnovers are key. Texas is losing this battle in a big way.
4. Where did Texas' defense go?
5. Mack Brown's halftime motivational speech had to be one of the worst in history. As was his staff's first half analysis.
So the Astros pick up Preston Wilson. At best a sideways move. Yes, he had some key hits for the Nationals and his numbers look good, but he played in Colorado for quite a while and that town tends to inflate stats quite a bit. Average player.
What's infuriating, though, is listening to our local sports talk jackasses, Rich Lord and Mark Vandermeer discussing the move. They actually brought up that race (Preston is black) might have played a part in the signing as the Astros at that point had no 'black' players on the roster. They lamented that Major League Baseball as a whole only had 10% black athletes. Black population in the US is around 14% .
Vandermeer, in brilliant analysis, brought up the fact that a Major League roster is 30 players. Therefore the Astros should have at least 3 black players. What!? There are quotas in baseball? BULLSHIT! Baseball, as all sports are merit based. You are compensated based on talent. Period.
Then they intimated that this was a marketing move to get the black fan to the park. Again, What?!
The entire conversation implied old boy racism. In fact, it showed an inherent racism in the sportscaster, looking for problems where they do not exist.
Professional sports are based on skill, period. A player's value is based on his ability. His paycheck is based on his ability (and a good agent).
Given the demographic argument presented by Lord and Vandermeer, let me play devil's advocate and ask a few questions:
Why are there so few whites on the Texans, given there demographic distribution in the country? Is it racism?
Why are there so few Hispanics on the Texans, given there demographic distribution in the country? Is it racism?
Why are there so few Asians in any major sport? Is it racism?
Answer to all of the above? NO.
Let's continue.
Why are there no Black sports commentators on the 610 lineup? Is it racism? Are Kevin Bass contributing during the Astros season and Andre Ware calling during the Texan's season marketing ploys to bring in the Black audience? Why does the regular staff not reflect the demographics of the USA?
Stupid commentary by inherently ignorant people, creating controversy where there is none to generate callers. Again, Bullshit.
1. Keith Jackson - Time to retire. Calling an obviously wide right extra point good shows you don't even pay attention any more. It was obvious.
2. How long is halftime? Come on, let's play some football.
3. USC Band - Beat It, Michael Jackson. Nice collective 250 person crotch grab and thrust. Classy.
4. U2 performance/commercial - Ummm, Apple used that song about a year ago. Hideous waste of time delaying the game needlessly for some stupid and ill thought out marketing campaign.
5. Midway through the 3rd quarter. Reggie Bush? Sorry, this is the Vince Young show. Reggie Bush has been shut down. It's still a damn good game, but looking at sheer talent at this point, Reggie Bush is not a #1 draft pick. Don't do it Texans. Don't do it.
6. Officiating. Typical college garbage. Vince Young's knee was down on the lateral. Texas intercepted a ball near the end of the second half. Even in the impact of incompetence at this point.
It's always entertaining to look at the search terms and referrals to this pathetic website. My personal favorite search term was 'witch doctor for hire'. Number six for that one.
Given my numerous cooking posts about Italian food, I'm a big hit on Microsoft Italy's portal. The Fiorentina steak photos are ogled by Italians on a steady weekly basis. So I'm used to some odd Italian search engine hits. But not this one. This comes close to unseating 'witch doctor for hire'. Close, but not quite.
Yes, if you're in search of a black american husband and you happen to be using MSN search in Italy, I'm the number 5 hit. And I'm plumb out of black american husbands. It seems I need to stock up a bit. I see opportunity.
Channel 786. Cable radio. Metal. It is the foundation channel for this household's avoidance of commercials. Hit 786, play a name that tune through to the Golden Oldies channel and guess what? Back to the original show with perfect timing.
Well as it is the night before Thanksgiving, there's not a whole lot on. I've been roaming channels but I keep coming back to good old 786.
Then something strange happens. Forgetting the channel I am on, I hear the intro to a song. I immediately scream 'Bjork'. Looking towards the tely, I am proven correct, but in a very, very wrong manner.
Yes, this is Bjork. 'Army of Me'. Covered by Helmet. OK, a bit of a stretch but I like Helmet a lot. Then I see the album title. Something about 'Save Our Oceans' or some other garbage like that.
So is this what it has come to? Helemt covering Bjork songs for the Save our Oceans album? On the 'friggin METAL Channel!
Judas Priest came up two songs later and erased all of that evil debasement. 'The Ripper'. That will atone for quite a few metal transgressions.
Oh the humanity. Dude's GF left him and he can't figger which juice to buy. And her half of the $600 rent is coming up and he may not be able to come up with the money. What! $300? Really? $300!
That's a weekend job. Yes, you'll have to sacrifice a bit. But it's infinitely doable.
Here's a tip. Deliver pizzas a couple nights a week. You'll earn $75 in two nights easy. Two nights a week, 4 weeks a month, well you get the math.
I read that post and I felt like crotchety old man (back in my day, sonny...) but given I'm not even close, it must just be life experience that makes me laugh.
Summers spent on campus, working 50 hours during the week at a t-shirt manufacturer for the overtime, working 30 hours a week at night at a liquor store and sharing a 3 bedroom house with three guys to save on the rent. And putting money in the bank to support myself during the upcoming school year. Sunday was my only true day off. Yeah, my social life was brilliant at that point of my life. But guess what? I did it. And today, if the shite hit the proverbial fan, I would do it again. That damn work ethic thing.
