Sunday, July 30, 2006

Game Night

301 - 2394 (ug, cookout with 3 kinds of deserts) - 0

Good fun tonight. We started with Carcassone, moved on to Ticket to Ride, Settlers (I really couldn't suck more at that game), and (once the B got to bed and Kathy could join us) I pulled Apples and Squint out of the basement to finish the night.

I still need to track down a copy of U-Pac...maybe at GenCon.

Now I am mind-numbingly tired.

Saturday, July 29, 2006

Friday Night's Alright For Blocks


Found a block
Originally uploaded by lostonpurpose.
305 - 1465 - 1528

Ok, so I just barely scraped over, but it is one of the speedy days when I burned more (with 2 hours of soccer in the 95 degree heat) than I ate. This IN SPITE OF the work table of death, which had both donuts and kolaches. They are soo good...I had a small bacon and egg one, so not too much damage.

Friday, July 28, 2006

Ole!


Olle!
Originally uploaded by sethsdisciple.
This is obviously what I should have blogged about today.

I do want a Cerveceros hat/shirt/jersey...something.

And speaking of Los Cerveceros, how bad does it suck to get your #1 and #3 starters back just in time to lose 3/4 of your infield (and have to trade for Tony Graffanino just to be able to fill out the lineup card).

The year is slipping away, and at this point they're going to be forced to do one of 3 things: sweep the Reds to claw into the wild card, trade Carlos (and I'd expect they could get a lot for him, but what they really need at this point is a big bat, so they wouldn't choose to loose him I think), or keep him with the intent of signing him at the end of the season. I guess they could trade him and then dream of resigning him (or another big bat in free agency), but that seems a little far fetched.

What sucks is that they'd have been right in the middle of the wild card (if not leading it) if they wouldn't have lost the two starters and had the fill ins go 4-18 (or whatever). (call the whambulance)

This is Not the Picture


headblood
Originally uploaded by sethsdisciple.
306.5 - 1302 - 426

Though this is good gratuitous EA sports violence, it is not the leg broken at the ugly angle to which I referred...makes me think it wasn't EA 94 or 95. I guess it could have been 96?

The best part about finding this picture is that it was attached to an interview with Gretzky (99) discussing the scene in Swingers where they made his head bleed. Sadly, he had never seen the movie. It is so money and he doesn't even know it...

Thursday, July 27, 2006

Internet, How You Have Failed Me

305.5 - 1194 - 0

So we went to see C2 tonight. Good fun, and for me the best moment was when the guy fell to the floor and his leg was laying at the exact horrible angle from the injury animation in NHL 95 (it happened to Pavel once when Kathy and I were playing and I screamed like a girl).

I wanted to prove to myself that this really was a reference, but I just couldn't find the injury screenshot on the web from 95...found a reference to it, found a screenshot of the NHL 94 injury, just not the one I was looking for. Bah.

Tuesday, July 25, 2006

I, My Friend, Am Not a Giraffe

Read the sign if you don't believe me.

306 - 1306 - 0

I guess I've recovered from the vacation splurge. I felt bad when we were leaving town on Saturday when my Mom appologized for having all the schnecks around the house. I hate being the guy on the diet who bitches about food all of the time...I guess that statement makes the current focus of my blog more than just a little ironic.

Ben came back tonight! One run over 7 innings! And then Dave Bush came in and gave up 5 in the eigth (what the fuck was Dave Bush pitching in a tied game in the eighth inning for?!?).

Dingos Did NOT Eat My Baby

311.5 (ah vacation) - 1308 (ah guilt) - 305 (running 1.3 miles had to be more than that).

(continues title) though they sure looked like they wanted to.

Despite the storms (essentially, a near miss by a hurricane to you east coasters), things went relatively ok around here. Though my neighbor with the yappy dog had a table blow off his deck into my back yard on Friday. Wanna guess if it is still sitting in my yard? You had to know they were trouble when they only bothered to get siding on the front fucking side of their house (why bother with the back?).

We got power back even before leaving for Milwaukee, and before the second storm hit on Friday, and kept it through the second storm. It would be very hard to complain.

Plus, it essentially forced me to flex a day off so we could go up and see my parents, who took us to the Milwaukee zoo (which used to be the number 2 zoo in the country behind San Diego...they have dumped a bunch of cash back into it, so I'm betting it is top 5 again). I'd been meaning to do that, and it was a lot of fun.

We are talking about hosting a gaming night this Saturday with some of the guys from work (and a couple of gaming wives...who knew?). Which will be fun, but make me miss the folk from the company all over again.

More on Floyd when I get some time. Anyone see that Discovery is stalking him for next year?

Tuesday, July 18, 2006

Bring Back the Yellow Tires


Smile after the bath
Originally uploaded by lostonpurpose.
309 - 1575 (I forgot the miso soup!!!) - 0

Floyd and Kloden seem like they'll decide it among themselves, and right now Floyd is lookin' strong. Especially because the chances of Kloden doing much to Floyd in the final TT seem remote. On the plus side, someone apparently told Floyd that the green tights look really garish combined with mellow johnny on the victory podium so he has axed that look.

Anyone watch the Espy's? Apparently Lance called the French soccer team a bunch of assholes...making the French love him less (if that could be possible).

We took my neph and niece to their first Sushi meal tonight (and I forgot that I had the miso...leading to my first overage in two weeks). The raw shrimp came with the the heads...my niece seemed a little freaked out. At the server's urging, I cracked one of those babies open and tried it. Won't do that again.

My neph ate about whatever was put in front of her, but my niece seemed to prefer the california rolls (I give her credit for trying the tuna).

And finally, lets all welcome back Tomo Ohka tonight.

Monday, July 17, 2006

She Knows the Hot Key for Sinister Strike!


Littlest Computer User
Originally uploaded by lostonpurpose.
307.5 - 1450 - 199 (apparently Monday is my rest day)

I'd write and stuff, but I gotta get up in the morning for a bike ride. Soooo, tune in tomorrow when the Alps will have separated the pretenders from the contenders (Landis, Kloden).

Sunday, July 16, 2006

And Totally Unrelated to This Picture...


Stroller weariness
Originally uploaded by lostonpurpose.
309.5 - 1490 - 515

the Brewers finally won one, and the rumor is that Benny could be back by the end of the week.

Saturday, July 15, 2006

Accountability

309 - 1492 - 286

Ok, really, I got nothing. Well, I'll lament Turnbow and Capuano melting down the last two nights.

Oh, and the B got her first pair of shoes, which meant that she spent dinner banging her feet on the table at Bob Evans...funny.

A!

Friday, July 14, 2006

Popo

313 - 1494 - 2133 (which is greater than 1494)

Nice recovery by Discovery today. The day after being very dissapointed in the mountains, they shifted gears and threw guys in the breaks all day. Eventually they found the one that stuck, and then Popovich attacked relentlessly (4 times!).

I kinda think they may have had something going with Phonak, and may now work with them in the hopes of getting Popo onto the podium in Paris.

As for me, I found the bike for the first time in months (thus the 2133).

Better yet, I skated out a little early today and the fam headed back to the science center. Highlights: not losing the B's butterfly teething toy and seeing the programmable lego robots.

Thursday, July 13, 2006

Go You Crazy Menonite (Kathy Spelling Assist)!


Floyd
Originally uploaded by sethsdisciple.
314 (wtf) - 1506 - 481

So uh, Discovery, not so much. Just no form I guess.

Floyd on the other hand, had a great day, and benefited from work by T-Mobile (Kloden felt strong so he told his guys to press, and then cramped up), and Rabobank (one guy launching the eventual stagewinner) to take yellow.

I don't think he is going to be able to hold it all the way (his team just doesn't have the horses), but if he keeps this form, he should be able to take it back in the Alps. Good stuff!

And the thumbs down goes to Troutwig, who said "Rasmussen just doesn't look like a climber. He's so thin!" Spoken like a man who has never ridden a bike up a hill ever.

And the double thumbs down to the commercial from the local bike shop my nephew works at. Worst. Ad. Evar! I wish they'd put it on the web somewhere so you had to suffer through it too.

In other other news, my softball team won again, and (with me pitching) we only gave up 3 runs. That lowers my already ludicrus softball E.R.A. below 5 for the year. No idea. I guess it helps to have outfielders that catch everything. But we also kick the ball around a little on the infield, so it sorta balances out.. I hope they don't outlaw my spitball.

Wednesday, July 12, 2006

First Day in the Mountains and Other Ramblin's

312 (beep beep beep) - 1494 - 302 (work that lawn!)

Before going further, I should really (really) go for a run tonight to up that 302, but it just aint gonna happen.

Anyways, the usual plan of attack for the 1500 hundred is about 200 in the morning, 300-400 at lunch, which gives 900-1000 for dinner. That is my secret plan, make dinner about like it used to be.

Well, today was the long awaited return to Vietnam Star with some of the guys from my softball team for lunch. Very tasty...has one of those lazy susans in the middle where everyone shares dishes...soo good. But it meant that the 900 happened at lunch. Pretty sure I need to not do that very often, as gosh, what a long rest of the day with nothing to look forward to (food wise...savinig grace is coming home to a smilin' B).

And on to Le Tour...I'm beginning to think that this thing is going to be won when some decent rider gets away for 15 minutes on one of the mountain stages because there is no motivated, dominant team to drive the train and make sure it doesn't happen. And there isn't anyone who is a sure bet to be able to take back that much time...Landis could do it...Kloden could do it...but I sure won't say that they (or their depleated teams!) should do it. Discovery might still actually be the strongest GC team, but they might not have the GC guy to feature in the time trials, and who can get the 2-3 minutes he needs on one of the mountain stages. Salvodelli could maybe if he is in form, and I hope that George finds some form he's never had.

But if someone goes and grabs 15 or 20 minutes tomorrow (and they could, that profile is like a sawblade), it just might stick.

Sooooo Good to Get Home at Night


Giggling
Originally uploaded by lostonpurpose.

Tuesday, July 11, 2006

Bo Jackson Rides Again

309.5 - 1483 - 0 (zilch (nada (bubkus)))

I can't imagine walking around the block with a degenerative hip. Floyd Landis is riding the Tour with one. The crazy bastard gets his first taste of the mountains tomorrow. Wish I could stay home to watch the stage...or that the primetime coverage didn't have Troutwig and Roll nattering on for 2 1/2 hours and the real announcers for about five. Maybe the mountains will be different.

Best billboard I ever saw was for the "Hip Ticket Plan" for the Chisox the year after Jackson had the replacement done.

P.S. if 320 was a big red number, 210 would be a big green number, so at least I am back under 3 digits (Kathy spelling assist).

Oh, yeah, best culinary part of the day...big pot of chili, recipe on the fly:

15 oz diced tomatos (with peppers)
15 oz can spicy chili beans
6 oz chicken cooked on the grill and then shredded
8 oz can beef broth
packet of McCormick's Hot chili seasoning (this is shitty cheating, and I wouldn't do it if I had more time/energy to mess with the seasoning, but I so don't)
1 vadalia onion
1 green pepper
1 tbs flour (to thicken)
a cup or two of water? Enough so that it could simmer for a while and thicken back up

140 calories per cup, very hearty, very tasty, pretty hot...I was sweaten by the end of it. Served 2 cups of it over a cup of whole wheat pasta.

Monday, July 10, 2006

Fascinated


Funny little sitting baby
Originally uploaded by lostonpurpose.
I wish I knew what she was looking at...but it was off in the direction of the lake at the Japanese (Kathy spelling assist) garden.

By Popular Demand...

312 - 1465 - 460

I added a stat for Joe, as apparently he enjoys other people's pain...well, so do I, I guess. Why else would I watch the Tour?

I survived a close encounter with tasty looking doughnuts on the table of death at work...saved me enough calories to make some apple stuff (essentially apple pie filling) tonight. But one 500 calorie doughnut basically means no lunch and an amazingly long afternoon. After nosing around, I found out why:

"Fatty foods are not satisfying, even though people expected them to be," says Holt. "We think the reason is that fat is seen by the body as a fuel which should be used only in emergencies—it stores it in the cells instead of breaking it down for immediate use. Because it doesn't recognize the fat as energy for immediate use, the body does not tell the brain to cut hunger signals, so we go on wanting more. Carbohydrates are the opposite—they raise blood glucose so the body knows it has gotten enough fuel."

When you are working the 1500, you just can't afford to waste calories on stuff that won't help you survive until the next meal (dramatic, but that is what the challenge feels like).

From the same web site:

Jellybeans also scored higher than expected. Volunteers fed jellybeans did not feel satisfied, yet they ate very little afterwards. This resulted in the sweets getting a satiety rating of 118—higher than that of muesli and yogurt and almost the same as white pasta.

"I suspect the reason that the jellybeans came out so well was that they made our volunteers feel slightly nauseous," says Holt. "We'll be doing some research on that one..."

Translation:

Apples, potatoes, brown pasta, chili, and oatmeal. Well, and lotsa lettuce as it is pretty much free and filling after a while...just gotta keep rotating the lo-fat dressings (the thousand island isn't bad, the ceaser is pretty good, but the blue cheese sucks...Ken's light blue cheese where are you! They have other Ken's light, why not the blue cheese?)

Sunday, July 09, 2006

Selfish

313.5 - 1483

I was cheering for France...right up until Zidane did something that I have no hope to account for. A friend of my father's, and a great hockey man (he was an assistant coach at Notre Dame for a while) once defined penalties of falling in to two categories. Good penalties (perhaps it prevented a scoring chance) and selfish penalties. There are really no other kind.

Zidane did the most selfish thing I could imagine.

In other news, my coed team lost 3-1...but at least I got run around. I got totally roasted by a kid at the top of the box on their second goal...he toyed with me for a bit until he turned me and beat our keeper. If I was lighter on my feet I think I could have easily have stayed with him.

Crazy Day on the Roads

315 - 1445

"It's lucky Jan Ullrich is not here, otherwise the Tour would be over," Discovery Channel team manager Johan Bruyneel told Reuters.

"It was the worst time trial of my life," said Leipheimer after a performance that clearly showed a lack of rhythm, speed and strength.

Dave Z never found his rythem. The Disco boys were average. If Floyd has his climbing legs this year, and his team can protect him (pretty questionable), he might be moving into the favorite spot (this despite having the UCI fuck with him that morning, which forced him into a bike change while he was on the road). Kloden to be the big threat? Still lots of questions, but the mountains loom!

Friday, July 07, 2006

I Told Ya the Lip Was Going


No bottom lip!
Originally uploaded by lostonpurpose.
319 - 1475

This look about sums up her level of contentment tonight. I got back from soccer and tried to put her to sleep, but we had to bring in the veteran right hander to relieve me. Man was she cross. I think now she might be teething for sure.

Thursday, July 06, 2006

Long Overdue Pic of the B


Happy Independence Day
Originally uploaded by lostonpurpose.
We are starting to thing she might keep her blue eyes. Look at her lips and commit them to memory, as she has been attempting to swallow them for the last two days. Very serious looking...

I'm getting more excited!

319.5 - 1482

I think the time trial this weekend (52k?) is going to be very revealing, and like everything else in the Tour so far, I have no idea what is coming. It is going to add a lot of definition to the field. But what is even more exciting is that this year more than ever, the mountains might just completely trump the time trial gaps, as I'm not sure there is a complete rider. If someone put a gun to my head, I might yell "Landis" and then immediately start second guessing.

By the way, I forgot Kloeden (Kathy spelling assist) who survived the great T-Mobile purge...he is lurking in about 15th, so there is another Euro contender.

An Interesting Race in the Making...

I think, at this point, nobody has any clue who is going to win the Tour. Basso and Ulrich guilty until proven innocent (though I've been told that these guys all signed an agreement saying they didn't deal with the shifty guy at the heart of the investigation, so at least they are all guilty of that?), Valverde getting the classic cycling injury (ow, my clavicle).

I don't know if it is just OLN being scewed, but it seems like a couple of Americans (Georgie, Floyd and Levi) might actually have a legit shot...Julich is even in the team picture...maybe a couple of other Discovery guys too (Salvodelli and Popo). I think it is going to be a great couple of weeks!

Any other favs I'm overlooking at this point?

Wednesday, July 05, 2006

320

I'm not going to tell you what that number represents, but I bet you'll be able to pick it up fron context.

Fitday.com is back in my life (again), and I'm going to shoot for 1500 calories per day. It will be difficult, and I'm going to have to remember the two truths to actually making progress:

1. Hunger is not equal to mortal pain.
2. Boredom is not equal to hunger.

An additional challenge is that I sit across from the desk where everyone dumps baked goods at work, and I love me some baked goods. In my favor is the fact that the cafeteria at work has a servicable salad bar (I will make the salads).

Now I will post one of the best things that have come across that desk and pretend that I just ate it.

Hershey Brownies with chocolate chip cookie dough blopped on top. Bake the whole mess 10 minutes longer than the brownie box tells you to. Soooo amazingly good. Try it if your number is less than 320. Next time I see it on that desk, I'll be figuring how to fit a slice in under the 1500 calorie mark. And using my new anti-desk strategy of trying to wait for the last piece...my problem isn't the first piece, it's the third piece...

Monday, July 03, 2006

Kathy Said...

"Being married to you is like being in an eternal spelling bee."

Georgie Gets His Day


georgie
Originally uploaded by sethsdisciple.
Seems to me he earned it...after loosing the prologue by pointnothing seconds, he stole 2 seconds from the incredibly unfortunate Thor (Champion of Norway) Hushovd, who today received the worst...papercut...ever.

Has It Really Come To This?

Today, for the first time in...well, fucking ever, I went for a run. Even went and bought the shoes earlier today. Got sick of having throughballs played to me on the soccer field and not being able to run them down.

Someone shoot me.