Observations

Some weekend observations...

During Saturday afternoon's Badger football game, did anyone else find it particularly irksome that the first of the two Badgers to be injured was so injured due to an illegal block in the back?

Also, while watching the same game, I was wondering how many of the people calling for the firing of Brett Bielema are cognizant of the fact that many of the Badgers' woes have to do with poor decisions made by the players, especially the ones resulting in turnovers. It's not only the coach's fault if the quarterback throws an interception or a running back fumbles the ball.

Before the Badgers game I raked some leaves in the front yard. I didn't really get to the back yard, because I was running out of room at the curb to dump the leaves, mostly because the Stoughton street department hadn't picked up the last back of leaves I left there. We had the same problem last fall. Between this, how long it takes them to pick up brush left at the curb, and their mediocre performance at snow removal last winter, I don't have a very high opinion of their work.

Sunday brought what was perhaps the Packers best all around game of the season. The Bears didn't have many explosive plays, and the Packers were able to move the ball well both on the ground and in the air. Throw in a defensive touchdown, and it was the team's best performance so far, and hopefully indicative of getting their season turned around.

I turned on the TV before the game actually started, and caught the tail end of the Fox pregame show which featured Terry Bradshaw's rant about the Packers management and how they never should have let Favre go. Normally I like Bradshaw, and find him at least amusing if not insightful as well. However, the Jets success and the Packers mediocrity thus far are certainly not the sole result of Brett Favre, and I lost some respect for Bradshaw for him suggesting otherwise.

Mood: Thoughtful
Music: Judas Priest: "Breaking the Law"

Struggling

As they say on Fark, "this."

Mood: Thoughtful
Music: Billy Squier: "Everybody Wants You"

Barsoom

I was thinking the other day, as I was reading The Chessmen of Mars, the fifth book in Edgar Rice Burroughs' classic Mars series, that the books would make spectacular movies.

Well, the staff of the Topless Robot website must agree, because it was included in their list of sci-fi and fantasy books in need of the movie treatment.

Mood: Thoughtful
Music: Lynyrd Skynyrd: "Free Bird"

Births

With autumn in the air, it is a time of change.

Tuesday, October 14th, Maryanne gave birth to our second child, Magan Jean. We were better prepared this time than with our first child. So far things have gone about as well as could be expected. Sarah thankfully shows more excitement than jealousy over it.

Yesterday there were snow flurries in the air, a sure sign of the coming winter. Hopefully it isn't as harsh as last winter.

This morning there was yet another change: I learned that the radio station I've been listening to, WHLK, 93.1 FM, "The Lake," is no longer on the air under its previous format. It was previously a classic rock radio station, evolving a bit over the last few years. Since early this morning it's been broadcasting nothing but hip-hop. No thanks.

I wrote a long e-mail to the station. You can view it in the full post.

To whom it may concern:

To say that I'm disappointed by the demise of WHLK "The Lake" would perhaps be a gross understatement.

I don't know if there was any advanced warning of the impending end, but imagine my surprise and consternation this morning when I tried to turn on my favorite radio station and instead found something else.

When The Lake first came on the air I was intrigued by its format: a classic rock radio station that went deeper into the roots of rock and roll than most stations did and playing more obscure songs by sometimes obscure artists.

Over the years the station evolved, and I accepted that evolution, as all things must change to stay relevant and current.

This most recent change, however, seems to be a surrender, as if Mid-West Family Broadcasting is saying it can't compete with other classic rock radio stations in Madison and just gave up to play something else.

The Lake gave me an alternative to the repetition of WIBA, a station owned by Clear Channel and therefore a station I don't wish to listen to; it also gave me an alternative to the more insipid songs played on oldies stations like WOLX. It gave me a morning show I could actually listen to, unlike the irritating morning show on WWHG. In short, I could almost always count on The Lake to play something I liked, and to feature radio personalities that were interesting; it was rare that I went searching the dial for something else.

Now, unless your company owns another classic rock station in the Madison area, I will most certainly need to search the dial for something else.

This was the response I got:

Terry,

Thank you for the email. It is very difficult to make these decisions but with that said we did what our Research has been telling us to do with this signal for 3 years now.

I thank you for your loyalty to The Lake and I am sorry MWFB does not offer an alternative station for you to listen to.

Thank you.

--
Jolene K. Neis
Chief Financial Officer
Mid-West Family Broadcasting
608-441-3601
Jolene.neis@mwfbg.net

Now I have to find a new radio station.

Mood: Pensive
Music: Rush: "Working Man"

Grounded

According to this article in Rolling Stone, Robert Plant denies rumors of of a Led Zeppelin tour.

Mood: Sad
Music: ZZ Top: "Got Me Under Pressure"

Stung

Saturday I was able to mow the lawn for what could be the last time before winter. While doing so I was either bitten or stung by a small hornet, first on the back of my left calf, then on the back of my right ankle when it somehow fell into the back of my hiking boot.

Perhaps it was an omen of things to come, as the Badgers choked away a shutout and ended up losing to Michigan, and the Packers fared little better against the Buccaneers.

I'm sure there will be some Packers fans out there that will use this weekend as an example of how the management should have found a way to keep Brett Favre, what with Aaron Rodgers's performance yesterday compared to Favre's. I think everyone has to remember that Rodgers faced the Buccaneers yesterday, a team that made the playoffs last season, while Favre faced the Cardinals. Favre did no better than Rodgers did when faced by the Patriots, and that was a Patriots team without Tom Brady.

So will the Jets make the playoffs? Maybe, but I don't expect them to go far. Will the Packers make the playoffs? They have a much tougher schedule this season than they did last season. With a quarter of the season over, both teams are 2-2. It's rare that 8-8 teams make the playoffs. The question then is which team can pull things together, get a record that's better than .500, and make the playoffs?

Speaking of playoffs, the Brewers are in the playoffs for the first time in 26 years. That's fairly exciting, and I wish them a deep playoff run.

Mood: Thoughtful
Music: The Eagles: "Hotel California"

Flying

This is pretty awesome news.

Mood: Excited
Music: Led Zeppelin: "Ten Years Gone"

Fiendish

So one of the web 'toons I had discovered years ago, Making Fiends, is going to be appearing on the Nick Toons cable network. I'm excited to see what they do with it. The bumps they've been running to advertise it have been amusing. It kind of strikes me more as the type of thing that should be on Cartoon Network's Adult Swim, though.

Mood: Amused
Music: Bad Company: "Bad Company"

Inseam

Yesterday I split my shift, which gave me a chance, among other things, to visit J.C. Penney. I was hoping to find some more pants for work, as I could use some more. Unfortunately it's nearly impossible to find flat front trousers in a size 36/31. Now I know it's the inseam that does it. If I was a little taller (or shorter) I wouldn't have nearly as much difficulty with this. Still, it irks me knowing that the size is made by a number of brands, brands carried by J.C. Penney, yet they don't have them in the store. I could order them online, but shipping, tax, etc., are such a hassle. Maybe Amazon will be getting more of my money.

Mood: Thoughtful
Music: Pink Floyd: "Shine On You Crazy Diamond"

Elitist

So Arianna Huffington appeared recently on Larry King Live with Chuck Norris. When the topic turned to Iraq, things got a little heated.

I can certainly understand her concern for the American troops serving in Iraq. However, the bulk of her argument, or at least the beginning of it, seemed to be based on how much money it's costing. When Chuck tried to argue that the U.S. is spending a lot of money in a lot of places, her response seemed to be "what's that got to do with anything" and she kept interrupting him. When he tried to finish what he was saying, indeed raising his voice to try to be heard, she just kept on interrupting him.

Leave it to the hippies and elitist libs that visit her website to only see her side of the issue, resorting primarily to ad hominem attacks.

Mood: Thoughtful
Music: Iron Butterfly: "In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida"

Rabbits

I recently finished reading Watership Down, having borrowed it from Caly. It was a good read, perhaps surprisingly so. For a book that's a rather even mix of exposition and dialog it's a fast read, probably because the storytelling is fairly compelling. There are moments it gets a bit bogged down, but those are few and far between. For a book that's based on uniting stories the author once told his children (like another more recent English author, J.K. Rowling), it's rich and cohesive with its own mythos and language. I don't think anyone seriously willing to give the book a try will be disappointed, and I think that one day I will buy a copy so my own children can read it.

Mood: Thoughtful
Music: Queen: "Son and Daughter"

Bicycle

Recently I got into a debate online regarding bicyclists. (I know what's been said: Arguing on the Internet is like being in the Special Olympics -- even if you win, you're still retarded.) It was prompted by some vitriolic and overweening video about bicyclists some how standing up to ignorance and prejudice and this that and the other. I responded to the person that shared it that if more bicyclists followed the rules of the road and were more courteous then drivers would in turn be more courteous as well. Her response was to first ask if I wanted a medal for knowing the law, and then something to the effect that it's only commuters, recreational riders, and errand people that are to blame, and that true cyclists follow the rules of the road. My rebuttal was that I'd seen what I thought were true cyclists ignoring traffic signs, failing to use hand signals, and other wise being discourteous. She then chose to ignore me.

So I was reminded of this discussion, if you will, this past weekend. Friday evening while driving home Maryanne and I saw a bicyclist fail to stop at a stop sign posted on the bike bath she was using where it crosses a county highway, passing right in front of us where we had merely slowed for our yield sign.

We had also gone to Door County for part of the weekend, and while out driving Sunday we saw large number of what I would call cyclists participating in some large event. I can't answer to their actions around traffic signs and intersections, but I did see that as a whole they failed to ride single file near the shoulder of the road, thus making themselves a nuisance to motorized traffic.

So if the argument is that true cyclists obey the rules of the road and practice courteous riding, there must not be too many "true cyclists" out there, because I haven't seen very many of them.

Mood: Thoughtful
Music: The Traveling Wilburys: "Last Night"

X Factor

Last night I watched X-Men III on FX, or most of it, anyway. I was... disappointed. While it was certainly compelling enough to keep watching it, and used some interesting characters, it was not canonical by any means, nor did it much resemble anything from the comics beyond the characters themselves. It seemed to be more of a means to conclude a trilogy of movies.

Mood: Disappointed
Music: ZZ Top: "Waitin' for the Bus/Jesus Just Left Chicago"

White

The other day Maryanne and I watched the finale of "The Singing Office" on TLC -- the show hosted by Joey Fatone and eye candy Mel B.

This video made me think of awkward white people, probably because it features them dancing awkwardly. (I know, I know... I would too.)

Anyhow, in the finale of "The Singing Office" one of the office staffs (staves?) was singing some R&B tune (I forget which one) and the audience was clapping along to the beat.

But, like the bunch of white people they were, they were all clapping on the downbeats instead of the off-beats.

Now I wish I could remember what song it was.

Mood: Thoughtful
Music: Van Halen: "Best of Both Worlds"

Photograph

Here's an interesting collection of pictures you may not believe aren't Photoshopped.

Mood: Amused
Music: The Jimi Hendrix Experience: "Fire"

Moving

Maryanne, Sarah, and I went up north this past weekend. The original motive was that an old friend of Caly's, Marcel, found us and wanted to see us and the family in Door County. Caly flew out just for the occasion, since she hadn't seen him in over a decade. He was amazed at the changes in the people and places he'd last seen almost 15 years ago, but glad to get away from the city and enjoy some quiet time in Door County. He was warmly welcomed, of course, and I'm sure I wasn't the only one glad to see that he remained the intelligent, sensible person we first met, even if a little older and a little wiser.

It turned out to be a worthwhile trip not only for that, but also because Adam is moving out of the state. He finally had enough at Cherry Hills, and decided a move was in order. He's going to go work for his cousin at a restaurant in Helena, Montana.

It was an enjoyable weekend. The weather was beautiful, Sarah was good, and it was nice to see Marcel again. It was a tad bittersweet, though, since Adam's moving and it will likely be a long time before we see him again.

Mood: Thoughtful
Music: REO Speedwagon: "Roll with the Changes"

Oil

Got your hippy clothes in a bundle over the prospect off offshore drilling? Read this first.

Mood: Intrigued
Music: Rush: "Working Man"

Blues

I don't know of may 8-year-old kids that have a legitimate reason to play the blues, but this kid might.

Mood: Intrigued
Music: Cream: "Crossroads"

Resolution

The Brett Favre saga is over. The Brett Favre era in Green Bay is over (again).

I'm glad that the situation finally reached some form of resolution. I'm disappointed, though, that Favre couldn't be mature and put his hurt feelings aside and stay with Green Bay. I'll be disappointed if it turns out to be true that the Packers management forced him out.

It's unfortunate that someone's reputation and legacy will be tarnished by this. Favre's is most certainly tarnished by the immature and disrespectful way he's treated the Packers organization in his push to get what he wanted. Ted Thompson's reputation will be tarnished if it comes out that he's responsible, somehow, for Favre's departure.

The proof will be in the season, though. With Favre in a Jets uniform and competing against the Patriots, he'll be in the shadow of Tom Brady. In Green Bay, Thompson and Aaron Rodgers will be under the microscope. Only a winning season in Green Bay and a lackluster season from Favre will quiet some of the dissent among the Packers faithful. Anything else and Thompson will be forever questioned over his actions. Should the opposite actually happen, Thompson's career may be over.

I feel sympathetic toward Mike McCarthy. He's been caught in the middle, to some extent, trying to move the team forward with the players he has on the roster, while trying to figure out what to do with Favre, a legendary quarterback who can't make up his mind, can't commit, and apparently can't be mature and put past events behind him. I have a great deal of respect for McCarthy, especially now, after deciding that Favre's current state isn't good for the team, and since Favre won't change, move on without him.

Perhaps Favre's tenure in New York will be brief, a last hurrah to get professional football out of his system and show him that retirement is the best thing for him. I don't wish him any ill will, really, despite my disappointment in the way he's acted, though part of me selfishly hopes that something shows him it's time to call it quits and hang up the cleats. Hopefully he'll come to realize that it's time to put the bad feelings behind him and return to Green Bay for the honors that are sure to be heaped upon him.

Mood: Thoughtful
Music: Styx: "The Grand Illusion

Dreams

I had a dream the other night (maybe a nightmare?) that Brett Favre had been traded to another team, and became their starting quarterback. The Packers ended up playing that team, so it was Rodgers vs. Favre. The Packers won.

Mood: Thoughtful
Music: The Rolling Stones: "Paint It Black"