Hopefully, my only words on the Ramsey-Brunell saga

I find it AMAZING that sportswriters don't understand why Joe Gibbs would have moved to Mark Brunell. I'll admit it is quick, but I would rather him do it now than 8 weeks in, when the Redskins are 3-5 like last year. To be honest, it's real simple: like SI's Andrew Perloff notices, Patrick Ramsey had the whole preseason (which amounted to around 8 quarters, or about 2 full games, worth of time) to solidify his starting job. He just plain didn't. Ramsey has had the starting job since at least week 9 of last year, and he has done nothing with it.

Last week Tony Kornheiser seemed to understand Gibbs saying: "Gibbs is doing what coaches do everywhere -- putting a guy out there who he thinks gives his team the best chance to win." I think Gibbs is smart enough to realize that last year Ramsey and Brunell were about same in his old system. (Hmm, maybe if you think about it, maybe it was Gibbs system that sucked... thats sarcastic if you haven't noticed) If you've watched the preseason and first game you'll notice that Ramsey still likes to throw iffy balls. The QB just cannot do that with this WR corps. You need a tall physical WR like Terrell Owens or Randy Moss to do that, and the Skins don't have any one like that. And I think Mark Brunell is experienced enough to run this system. And that is what counts, not who needs or deserves a chance, but who can do the best with the tools at hand.

NFL Top 15

The NFL seems to be off to a very interesting start. By tuesday morning there will only be 7 undefeated teams after two weeks. One team, the Bengals, have benefited from playing two terrible teams in the Vikings and Browns. Another team, the Colts, finally have a defensive front, and scare me.

Anyways here comes my prediction: first, the Redskins/Cowboys game will be close. If the Redskins win they will be the lowest ranked unbeaten team (although the Bucs might be close) in ESPN's week 3 NFL Power Rankings. If Dallas wins, the Redskins will be the lowest ranked 1-1 team (although the Niners might be close) and will be ranked lower than the Bears who would also be 1-1 and who they beat last week. Peter King even has the Bears ranked #15. (I really think he has a man crush on Kyle Orton.) It's not that I disagree with the Bears at #15, but if you just lost to a team, that team should be ranked higher than you (unless it is a fluke, which the Redskins win wasn't; there are a few other exceptions to this rule but i'll cover them later.) And how Dallas gets all that love (#8 at ESPN and #13 with King) after only barely beating the surprisingly weak Chargers is beyond me. Have I mentioned how I don't like King.

The point is that the Redskins will get no love this weekend, unless they blowout the Cowboys, and that won't happen. But once again... this might be a good thing.

Now for the rest of my thoughts:

1. About the Ravens, I am confident about saying this: I told you so.
2. Kansas City's defense isn't as good as people seem to think. The Raiders scored 2 touchdowns on them which were called back on a bad penalty (Randy Moss's catch), and a stupid penalty that had nothing to do with the play (Lamont Jordan's run). I think they'll drop once they play good teams. (Oakland could be a good team if they weren't being run by Norv Turner)
3. The only teams that get by the "you lose, you're lower" rule are last year's Superbowl teams and League championship game teams. So the Patriots and Eagles (and Steelers and Falcons to a lesser extent) need to lose a few more times to be knocked below the teams they lose to.
4. And even though the Steelers were in last years AFC champ game, like i said a few weeks ago... they seem weak to me. They have not impressed me with wins over the Titans and Texans. And in case you are wondering the Falcons haven't impressed me either... 14-10 over the Eagles doesn't do it, when you're at home. The second Michael Vick gets hurt its over for the Falcons.

My top 15 (16):

1. Indianapolis Colts
2. New England Patriots
3. Tampa Bay Bucs
4. Kansas City Chiefs
5. Redskins or Cowboys (whoever wins)
6. Saints or Giants (whoever wins)
7. Philadelphia Eagles
8. Pittsburgh Steelers
9. Cincinnati Bengals
10. Atlanta Falcons
11. Jacksonville Jaguars
12. Carolina Panthers
13. Redskins or Cowboys (whoever loses, as long as it is close)
14. Saints or Giants (whoever loses, as long as it is close)
15. Seattle Seahawks and Chicago Bears

Trying to explain the lyrics to Don Edwards's "Coyotes"

Earlier this summer, when I first watched the trailer to "Grizzly Man," I became familiar with Don Edwards and his song "Coyotes" (written by Bob McDill). I loved the song and was happy to hear it played at the end of the movie. I also became interested in the meaning behind the figures in the lyrics and, in particular, the things that are listed as "gone" in the chorus. So here is a list of things mentioned in the song with explanations and links to wikipedia, if you care to learn more.

• Pancho Villa - General in the Mexican Revolution.
  
• Longhorns - Breed of cattle common to cattle drives.
  
• Drovers - persons who drove livestock.
  
• Comanches - American Indian nation in the southwest.
  
• Outlaws - Criminal in the American Old West.
  
• Geronimo - Legendary American Indian of the Chiricahua Apache.
  
• Sam Bass - Wild West train robber.
  
• Red Wolf - A critically endangered species which was once widespread in the Southwest.
  
• Cointreau - Orange flavored liqour and original ingredient of a Margarita.
  
• Quantrill - William Quantrill, Confederate guerrilla leader of Quantrill's Raiders
  
• And last but not least, Coyote.
  

There is one thing which, I cannot make out. It sounds something like "Stan Juanti" or maybe "Stanwanti." If you are familiar with the song and know what that word is, please email me.

UPDATED (2/7/07): I found out that "Stanwanti" is Stand Watie, a leader of the Cherokee Nation and a general in the CSA during the Civil War.

UPDATED (10/4/07): I've now had more than one person point out that "Cointreau" is most likely actually, "Quantrill." I'll believe it, so I've made the change.

President Bush finally gets some points in my book

I would be remiss if I did not acknowledge President Bush's admission of responsibility for his administrations failures in responding to Hurricane Katrina. Hopefully this is a step, and not just a response to his record low popularity numbers.

Ansel Adams's Autumn Moon

Astronomers at Texas State University have figured out that Ansel Adams shot his photo "Autumn Moon" at 7:03 p.m. on September 15, 1948. It seems that the scene reoccurs every 19 years. So people are getting together to watch and photograph the moment this time around. My first two thoughts. First, it's cool that the astronomers can figure these sort of things out. Second, it's sad that people are getting together for it... but hey its a better reason than anything else to gather there.

football, football, football...

I'll start out by saying this: I was at the Redskins game yesterday and I am pretty sure Mike Wilbon was there too. So I find it surprising that he so easily dismissed the role the crowd played in the Bears three straight false start penalties. It was loud, and Wilbon makes it seem like the crowd had nothing to do with it. Silence and the Skins defense could have done it just as easily.

Now about the game: How it is passed over I understand. No one cares about two very good defense holding two offenses to single digits. But that the Redskins are getting no credit is a joke! I wasn't sure of a win until the false start sequence, but I never felt like the Redskins wouldn't be able to respond. The offense was strong enough to make one certain that even if the Bears got a field goal, they could drive for at least a field goal if not a touchdown.

SI's Peter King is a homer, in that he loves NY teams and he loves player and coaches that are nice to him. So I really don't mind that he praised Bears QB Kyle Orton, without mentioning the Redskins. But the fact that the Bears defense could take blame for the loss (Chicago Tribune and Sun-Times) is entirely misleading. It sounds like the Skins defense could have lost the game to Orton, and it was the Skins offense which won the game. To be honest though, I don't respect King (to slanted) and the Chicago columnists do spread the blame for the loss. But still no one is crediting the Skins for the win.

And to Len Pasquarelli's column I say: okay fine, the Skins didn't outwardly impress this weekend. But maybe you should have watched the game before commenting. The Bears red zone offense and special team was pretty good. And the Redskins did score a touchdown, but it was taken back on a questionable offensive pass interference (Cooley was being held on that play). Plus, not everyone wins blowout games (see the Patriots for more on that). The Cowboys impressed me, but they could have easily lost that game, and th Giants win just showed me that Arizona apparantly isn't the sleeper everyone was talking about (it looks like their defense will keep that from happening).

Come to think of it this game reminded me of another game I attended back in 2000. The Redskins lost to a Giants team with a great defense, 7-9. The Giants went on to lose the Super Bowl that season to a better offense, the Baltimore Ravens. That Giants team knew how to win the close ones with a questionable QB, Kerry Collins, and great tandem in Thunder (Ron Dayne) and Lightning (Tiki Barber). Reminds me of Patrick Ramsey, Ladell Betts, and Clinton Portis.

I'll finish by thanking everyone for not talking about the Skins. Not too many people were talking about the Giants and Ravens before the 2001 Super Bowl. Just like no one was talking about the Rams (2000 Super Bowl winners) and the Patriots (2002 Super Bowl winners). Since then we had a string of expected Super Bowl participants (except for the Panthers) so I think it's time for a little of the unexpected, the untalked about.

Nationals tickets for the Hurricane Evacuees at the DC Armory?

So I went to Nats game on tuesday, where they lost a close one with a pitcher making his debut, Darrell Rasner. I noticed two things: All the news trucks outside the Armory and a good amount of empty seats in the upper deck. The news trucks were there for the Hurricane Evacuees who had just arrived on tuesday. So the obvious occurred to me. The Nats should invite the evacuees to a game.

I mean its right across the street. No need to bus them over or anything, just giv'em the tickets and let them walk across the street. Really its perfect... the Nats Triple-A affiliate are the New Orleans Zephyrs!

So I have emailed them to suggest it. No response yet but I'll write something if it comes up. I'm even willing to pay for 10-12 tickets. I know its not alot but hey... im not exactly rich ya know!

Google Maps has a Hurricane Katrina View

What more can I say than the title... check it out.

It's official, No need to worry about Katrina's vicitms.

George Bush's mom thinks that things are going pretty well for Katrina's victims because they were poor anyways. Please tell me this isn't evidence for how disconnected the family is.

ESPN is not watching the preseason

Did ESPN watch ANY of the preseason games. Or did they make their power rankings before the preseason? It really looks like they just phoned it in, by using last seasons final rankings. Now, I'll admit to being a homer... I certainly have a bias towards the Redskins, but this is a joke. They have the Redskins 8 spots out of last place and the Steelers are #5 and the Ravens are #8. Allow me to retort:

The Redskins TOTALLY handled both teams starting offenses not allowing either a touchdown. And although they didn't finish as well as one would like, the Redskin's starting offenses moved the ball on both teams starting defense. Now I'm not saying the Redskins are going 11-5 this season, but I seriously don't think 10-6 is out of the question (split their division games (even tho i think sweeping the Giants is possible) and allowing for losses at the Chiefs and at home vs. the Chargers would leave them in that 5 or 6 loss range). The cetainly don't deserve #26... more like #15.

These 3 teams are pretty even, and to be honest I think the Raven's are the worst of the 3. I guess it just comes down to this: I don't think the Steelers and Ravens are that good. The Steeler's defense was alright, but their offense was terrible. They better hope Big Ben isn't slumping in his second season. The Raven's defense (minus Ray Lewis) was certainly not impressive. And their offense was not there, until the 4th quarter against the former Redskins who are now looking for jobs in the Arena League.

Sure, it might just be preseason, but that first quarter in preseason games tells you ALOT! During last year's preseason (and the Spurrier preseason to) I was pretty worried watch the Redskins do nothing until the second half. This season there was promise, especially in that last first quarter against the Ravens. Unless all those dropped balls become a constant, I'm not too worried about this season. Well as long as they stop getting all those penalties...

Seriously this is REDICULOUS!

Now even Republicans (like Newt Gingrich and Mitt Romney) are saying that FEMA's response to New Orleans is a joke. FEMA chief Mike Brown was fired from his last job overseeing horse shows! Horse Shows! He has little experience which would qualify him for the job. But of course, Bush tells Brown that he's "doing a heck of a job!" Entirely not surprisingly, the Bush Administration is blaming everyone but themselves. Obviously the buck does not stop at Bush's desk. Does he not feel even a modicum of accountability in any of this? (and of course I speak of the response, not the actual tragedy)

And now Chief Justice Rehnquist is dead. As sad as a death is, I hope this spurs Congress into not just rubber stamping John Roberts on to the Supreme Court. This is nothing against Roberts, but in light of the past week (if not the past 4 years) Bush's appointees should be subject to such scrutiny. Especially when speaking of the Supreme Court.

Finally, and this is the least of anyones worries, but I went by two gas stations today that were closed because they had no gas. And ironically enough the gas station named "Lowest Price Gas" was selling at $3.99, $4.05 and $4.15, while the Citgo next door (and every other station for that matter) was at least 30 cents cheaper.

btw, most of these links are via PoliticalWire.com.

links and stuff

• So when did the US Open paint their courts blue? Watching it this year has been weird... was it like this last year?
  
  
• I know I didn't give a movie recommendation last week so I'll do two things this week. First I'm recommending The Constant Gardener, a movie I haven't seen. And I'm recommending it mainly because it stars one of my favorite actors, Ralph Fiennes (who for you Harry Potter nuts will play Lord Voldemort in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, but you probably already knew that).
  
  
• Second, now that I have seen it, I'm re-recommending Grizzly Man. A very well done documentary about a man who just wasn't all there. Many parts made me laugh, others made me jealous, and yet other parts infuriated me. Finally though, I just felt bad for Timothy Treadwell. He obviously had asocial (almost antisocial) and psychological issues. Werner Herzog seems pretty fair in his depiction of Treadwell as a man who seemed to (at least to Treadwell himself) function better among a group of wild animals. Unfortunately for Treadwell it took just one of those animals to live up to it's instinct to kill him.
  
  
• I never did put up a link to pictures of the Big U Turn (National Park Sampler) Tour 2005.
  
  
• Finally, I travelled to NYC in August of 2001 and went to the observation deck of the WTC. Last year I took my first trip to New Orleans. Went down Rt. 90, which runs along the coast line, all the way through Mississippi to Alabama... right through what is now the most devestated areas. It feels weird, even though it has been more than a year, to see roads, places and lives destroyed like that. I still really don't know what to say about it.
  
  

Softsoap at Safeway almost for free

Safeway has a pretty good deal going on right now. If you have a Safeway card, Softsoap Hand Soap (the one with the pump) is on sale, 10 for $10 (1 dollar per soap). And Colgate (makers of softsoap) have a automatic coupon at Safeway that is: buy 5 items get 5 dollars off. So if you buy the soap in groups of 5, they end up being free... you just pay tax.

I just got 35 at my local safeway for $2.03. Be careful though because for some reason some softsoap don't count towards the colgate 5. I got some of the "Real Moisturizing Lotion", "Lavender & Chamomile", and the plain ones (they look like Aquariums). But for some reason the pink ones didnt work at my local safeway... Read more about it over at Slickdeals.net.

what should we do?

A friend asked me this today, "What would be your solution to the war?" I don't pretend to be well enough informed to give an answer, but I am smart enough to recognize that things aren't working. So what is my solution? Well, I believe Wesley Clark's plan is a start. It obviously isn't complete, but what would you expect in a short op-ed. Sadly he has said more and given more in these 11 paragraphs, than Bush has in the past 3+ years.

a little housecleaning

When I started this superjuan thing a few years ago (almost 5 to be exact), I was explaining it to a former boss. He was southern, from Georgia, and therefore not surprisingly a "no bs, get to the point" kind of guy. His response was, "Oh, a blog."

I remember almost taking offense to it. I remember thinking, "No. I'm not that conceited." To me, it served 2 main purposes. First and foremost it was a journal. I was terrible at writing thoughts down, but I was slightly better at typing them. Second, it was a way to have friends keep up with me if they cared to. The most important aspect was that, as a journal, it reflected my thoughts. I never wanted it to become solely my thoughts on sports. Or my political views.

With that said, I hope I'm not headed in a political direction. I have removed boingboing from my links list and replace it with a site I eagerly wrote of before, the HuffingtonPost. Recently, it has drawn me more than a few of the other sites. And yes, this is probably a direct result of the growing anti-war effort, Bush's 40% and under approval rating, and his insistence on repetition when speaking of the war.

That Panda Needs a Name!

So the little bugger over at the National Zoo seems to have made it long enough to deserve a name. Lo and behold 'we' get to name him. And by 'we' I mean those privileged few people who picked the 5 fairly uninteresting names which everyone else gets to vote for. They should have aleast asked for suggestions to be sent in. Anyhoo just head on over to the National Zoo Cub Naming Site and pick a name from the list.

As for me, I'm going with Tai Shan. The Hua Sheng/Sheng Hua combo is just rediculous, trying a bit too hard to connect him to DC. (Plus if you think about neither should win. Since they are so similar any vote for them should be split between them. Yeah I'm probably thinking a little to political about it, but it makes sense right?.) And do I need to say why Long Shan sucks as a name? Really, no pet should ever be named Long something, it's just... strange. Finally Qiang Qiang is too Panda, if you know what I mean mean. (and thats not a typo)

Oh the Nats!

I've recently found a cool blog concentrating on the Nats. Now I can torture myself even more with a statistical analysis of why the Nats have been tanking for the last 2 months. Like I don't realize by watching and listening to the games that they're sadly underpowered when it comes to hitting.

I least I take solice in this: The pitching rotation needs just one more quality starter to go with my boy #22 and Hernandez. I'm fine with Armas and Ayala as number 4 and 5 starters. The pen is set. And then a couple of big bats and a lead off hitter. You know someone that at least looks like a lead off hitter (sorry Wilks). Really, is that too much to ask for next year?

Movie Recommendation... kind of?

This week's movie recommendation is more of a what to look forward to if you go see The 40 Year Old Virgin. Because I wouldn't go so far as recommending it. If you have nothing better to do, go see it.

Not that it's a bad movie, it's just okay... maybe even good. I'ld put it on par with Wedding Crashers.

Now on to more exciting movie news: the trailer to Sam Mendes's new movie, Jarhead, was recently posted. Mendes, if you don't already know, directed Road to Perdition and American Beauty, two extremely beautifully done movies. Not to mention, American Beauty is one of my favorite movies of all time.

Anyways, I've got lots to say about this movie so I'll leave it for another time. For now go see The 40 Year Old Virgin, if you've got time... at least it's not bad.

How to get out of your Verizon Wireless contract

If you are on Verizon Wireless they are adding a 40 cent fee to you monthly bill. What that means is that since they are changing the terms of your contract you can get out of it and not have to pay the $175 fee. Why would you want to do that?

Well for one you can get a new phone and new plan, with them... or any other carrier for that matter. It especially makes sense if you have a 2 year contract and have more than about 5 or 6 months remaining. It is in essence a chance to get a new phone. You just cancel your old contract and get the new phone/plan. If you want to stay with Verizon you might have to get a new phone number tho.

It seems people who have been trying this have to make a big deal of it with the customer service reps, even talking to supervisors, but it's probably worth it. Maybe even get them to send you a new phone for not cancelling. More on this over at SlickDeals.net.

Movie Recommendation 08/12

I've decided to start recommending movies that I yet to see. And sometimes movies that I have recently seen. Either way you can be pretty certain that I have or will have seen it. This weekends movie: Grizzly Man.

This is a documentary on Timothy Treadwell, the man who lived with the grizzly bears of Katmai National Park in Alaska. Now by 'lived with' I mean during the summer season this guy camped near, photographed, walked up to, and freakishly on occasion touched the bears. He believed himself to be so close to them (apparently, emotionally as well as physically) that he started naming them. Not surprisingly, 2 years ago, one of those bears killed him and his girlfriend. The trailer, linked above, shows an intriguing snippet of this fella including some of his abnormal behaviors.

Nascar, Yeehaw!

So I've never been much of a Nascar fan, and I've never really liked the Earnhardts. I guess the whole 'Intimidator' name/images just didn't appeal to my pacifist nature. Oddly tho, there was something that I liked about Tony Stewart, maybe its because he raced Indy cars. Even though he has a reputation of being as brash as Papa Earnhardt.

Anyways, I found something out yesterday. It seems Junior is a big Redskins fan. And as another big Redskins fan, that makes him awesome in my book. So I guess I'm now a Nascar fan... and a Dale Jr. fan at that.

DC Tax Free Shopping, Sorta...

When I was in Montana during the "Big U Turn" this summer I was excited to find out that there was no sales tax. Needless to say, I ended up buying a few items. And now for the next week, August 6-14, 2005, Tax free shopping has come to DC.

Sadly not everthing is tax free. It only applies to clothing (items must be less than $100), shoes, accessories (jewelry, glasses, watches, belts, gloves, etc.), and school supplies.

DC Restaurant Week

Yet another DC Restaurant Week is here. Check out this site at OpenTable.com to make reservations. If you you're not familiar, This week a lot of restaurants (including some high end ones) in the DC area area having full course meals for $20.05 (lunch) and $30.05 (dinner).

They usually have a list of appetizers, meals, and desserts. You pick from the list and the price is fixed (doesnt include drinks or tip... so dont skimp on the tip). Makes it nice and easy to go to restaurants where you are not familiar and when you're not to sure what you want. In case you are wondering, I'll probably be hitting up one of the seafood places... the ones with the $$$$ next to them.

freaky deaky

Check out this set of color optical illusion. (From Fark.com)

a new planet

so they found a "planet" orbiting the sun farther out and larger than Pluto. So technically it should be the 10th planet. Or the real 9th planet, since some ppl don't think Pluto should be a planet in the first place.

oprah redux

Remember how I pointed out a little while back that if September 8, 1986 meant anything to you Oprah wanted to see you. Well i thought that it was interesting that if you did a yahoo search for "oprah september 8 1976" my entry is the 2nd result. Oh and by doing that search I also found out why that date was important to Oprah. It was the day her nationally syndicated show debuted.

I love Laguna Beach

I just got my first taste of a reality show on MTV called Laguna Beach. Apparantly it is in it's second and it is REDICULOUS. Even thought the disclaimer at the start of the show claims that it is real, there is very little to make it feel like it. It felt like an episode of 90120 where the actors adlibbed the script.

Now I have no illusions that any of the 'reality' shows on TV have any sort of reality aspect to them... but this show is a joke. The characters are all to aware of the cameras. The actresses (because calling them anything else would be disingenuous) look and act like 40 year old married women. All of the blondes look EXACTLY alike. The one named Kristen, seems to be the main character, but most of the time I can't tell which one she is. The camera work and cinematography is just too good (too many angles and too artistic), making things feel even faker. The only clue that any of it is real is the vapid nature and dialogue of the characters. One would hope script writers would be more creative than this.

New Urbanism

I remember first discovering the Kentlands (in Gaithersburg, MD) a few years ago. Driving through it gave me a creepy feeling. Like I was driving through the set of the Truman Show. I come to find out now that I wasn't that far off, it's called New Urbanism. (If you already know this, sorry... I'm late to the party.)

I had thought that Seahaven (Truman's town) was a set made for the movie. Well it's not. It happens to be a real town in Florida called Seaside. Seaside and Kentlands are based on the ideas of New Urbanism.

Now, I don't really know that much about it... and of what I've read, it seems like it has some good idea. But in existence, I just find it creepy. It doesn't feel natural.

Pi Approximation Day

In honor of Pi Approximation Day, I present to you Pi written out to 1,500,000 places. It might take a while to load, if you don't have time here is Pi to 1,000 places.

stuff for $2

Not sure how long this is going to last but Suave will send you 5 full sized products (shampoo, conditioner, hair gel/spray, body lotion, and deodorant) for $1.99 shipped.

maps and maps, oh my

So I've seen bunches and bunches of google map hacks like the craigslist and map measuring hacks. And most of them are pretty cool. But I don't want spend all my writing on the newest google map hack. To make things easy there is the Google Maps Mania Blog which list the newest and coolest hacks out.

success

So if you grew in washington dc you know how crazy this city (or at least the cities news) gets when there is news of baby panda at the zoo. Well here we go again: Mei Ziang had a cub this morning.
The last 5 times there have been cubs they have all died. One even lasted about a week. Well its time for this town to get all giddy and hope this cub's fate is better than Ling-Ling's offspring.

Another opening on the Supreme Court?

According to Robert Novak, Cheif Justice Rehnquist will announce his retirement before the week is over. (from PoliticalWire.com)

where is the hate

Espn.com has a poll asking which sports stars, managers and teams people hate the most. I would like to point out that currently 3 of the top 4 hated teams are rivals of my favorite teams: 1. The New York Yankees (Sox rivals) 3. Duke Basketball (Terps rival) and 4. Dallas Cowboys (Redskins rivals). The Sox are 2nd but I think thats mostly because of last year's World Series win.
The Lakers, who I also don't like, are 5th. After that I really don't have anything against the rest of the teams... except maybe Ohio State. Their national championship stills reeks of NCAA rules violations to me.

kryptos

One thing that a few people are aware of is that I am amazing skilled at wasting time with this internet thing. Well this one definitely took (and is still taking) up alot of my time.
I've just spent the past hour learning about Kryptos, a sculpture on the grounds of CIA Headquarters in Langley, VA. The articles at the bottom are very informative... including the Wired.com one from earlier this year.

new music

Moving like the fog on the Cumberland River
I was leaving on her Delta Queen
I wasn't ready to go, I'm never ready to go
27 years of nothing but failure and promises that I couldn't keep
Oh lord, I wasn't ready to go, I'm never ready to go

- Ryan Adams
Let It Ride

annoying sign ups

I've registered for accounts on so many sites I'm tired of telling people the truth. Especially when it's a site I don't really trust. Well BugMeNot.com lets you share those logins.

I've always thought it would be cool to have the same thing for all those stores (CVS, Safeway, etc.) that ask for your phone number to track your purchases. If someone would just make a bunch of accounts at all these stores with an easy to remember phone number (like 123-456-7890) and then everyone could use that same account everywhere. Maybe I'll start that soon. I'll tell you where I've made accounts.

The Big U-Turn

So the trip has ended. After 22 days and about 10,000 miles I'm finally back in DC. I've gone from 32 states that I have visited to 42. Now I have not been Maine, New Hampshire, Michigan, North Dakota, Colorado, Kansas, and Oklahoma in the lower 48. This is now my map at World66.com.

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Back in Maryland, nearing the end. Just east of Hancock, MD.

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Totally random, but this is me with the mayor of Cleveland, Jane Campbell. Outside the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, OH.

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I never knew Seurat's "A Sunday on La Grande Jatte" has a border of red, orange and blue dots. The Art Institute of Chicago in Chicago, IL.

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Frank Lloyd Wright's Unitarian Meeting House in Madison, WI.

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Mt. Rushmore in Keystone, SD.

random oprah

so i know this is very random since im on a cross country tour... but if september 8, 1986 has any significance to you (your birthday, you got married, etc.) Oprah wants to know your story.

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Old Faithful erupting behind me at Yellowstone NP, WY.

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Logan Pass, cleared of snow and opened just hours before, on the Going To The Sun Road in Glacier NP, MT.

connectin in montana

I am in Montana tonight at the Big Sky Motel in Superior. Since we have been camping and motel/hoteling this is only the second time I've had internet access. The first time was at the Fairfield Inn in Tracy, California. That is were I first noticed that right after Mammoth Cave the images weren't posting correctly. Not sure why but I'll keep trying. Well there would be too much to write so I'll leave it at that for now. Off to Glacier NP tomorrow...

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Me in Crater Lake NP, OR. I couldn't see a thing because it was snowing like crazy. And yes that is SNOW in June!

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People photographing Bridalveil Falls as the sun sets on Yosemite NP, CA.

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Me on snow at Sonora Pass less then 24 hours after being in Death Valley NP, all in CA.

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At the foothills of Mt. Whitney is Manzanar NHS where more than 10,000 Japanese-Americans were interned during WW II. In all about 120,000 people of Japanese ancestry were relocated to one of ten sites across the US.

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Spent the night in Las Vegas, NV and had to check out the sign before we left. On to Death Valley NP.

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Hoover Dam on the AZ-NV border

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Me outside Juan's Garden at Snow Cap on Route 66 in Seligman, AZ.

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Mather Point on the south rim in Grand Canyon NP, AZ.

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Amazing... Thats all i can say. Verde Valley from the Chapel of The Holy Cross in Sedona, AZ.

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I-10 in Phoenix, AZ on the way to the Grand Canyon via Flagstaff, AZ.

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Saguaro NP, right outside Tucson, AZ.

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On top of a dune in White Sands National Monument, NM.

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Guadalupe Mtns. NP (TX) just southwest of Carlsbad Caverns NP (NM).

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About 20 mins west of Hobbs, NM. Headed to Carlsbad and White Sands today.

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Dealy Plaza, Dallas, TX. Where JFK was shot.

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Hope, AR. Birthplace of President Bill Clinton.

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I-30 just west of AWESOME Hot Springs, AR.

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Graceland. Memphis, TN.

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There is a good reason why Mammoth Cave needs no other name. You might not be able to see the pic well, sorry. Mammoth Cave NP, KY.

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Keenland race course just west of Lexington, KY.

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Charleston, WV. Went through here back during high school. Now it looks like a mini-Pittsburgh.

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Near LaVale, MD

more on the tour

I've been asked enough times that I figure I should write out what the planned itinerary for "The National Park Service Tour 2005." Goofy name, I know but I'm still working on it okay? Anyways here is the tentative itinerary:

DC - MD - WV - Mammoth Cave NP (Kentucky) - Memphis (Tennessee) - Hot Springs NP (Arkansas) - Dallas (Texas) - Carlsbad Caverns NP and White Sands NM (New Mexico) - Saguaro NP (Arizona) - Grand Canyon NP (Arizona) - Las Vegas (Nevada) - Death Valley NP (California) - Yosemite NP (CA) - Lake Tahoe (CA) - Lassen Volcanic NP (CA)- Crater Lake NP (Oregon) - Mt. St. Helens (Washington) - Idaho - Glacier NP (Montana) - Yellowstone NP and Grand Teton NP (Wyoming) - Devils Tower (Wyoming) - Mt. Rushmore NM (South Dakota) - Badlands NP (SD)

The italicized parts are parts that can be lopped off if it doesnt look like there will be time. After Badlands it's pretty much up to how much time is left and then back to DC.

Oh and now that blogger.com is doing this "Blogger Mobile", look out for texted messages and photos from the road.

dell deals

I just got my new Apple iBook and am very happy with it. And as much as I would recommend a Mac I know some of you just don't want one. So for those of you who are looking for a great deal on a portable Windows machine, This Deal is for you.

Every so often Dell has a great deal on it's laptops. In particular Dell has a $750 off a $1499 laptop deal. If you are bad at math, that makes the final price around $750... Which is awesome. So awesome in fact that there must be some bad news, right? Well the bad news is that the deals are limited to about 1500 redemptions... which isn't alot. There is a mad rush to buy because of links from sites like FatWallet.com, SlickDeals.net and DealCatcher.com). The last time Dell did this it only lasted about 30 minutes! This deal starts at 9 AM EST. So if it is after about 10 AM on Tuesday morning, you probably have already missed the deal... if not, good luck!

Preakness Stakes

Afleet Alex won the Preakness Stakes which means that for me, one thing is for sure. Afleet Alex WILL win the Blemont, bet on it. I haven't checked but I know this has happened before... The horse that should have won the Kentucky Derby ends up losing and then winning both Preakness and Belmont.

The last few years it has been the other way around... the favorite won the Derby and the Preakness but fell short on the much longer Belmont. But I have the feeling this time that Afleet Alex will be one of those horses that is just better than the rest. Even at the Belmont's mile and a half. Just wait... In the mean time I'll have to wait another year for the possibility of seeing a Triple Crown winner.

Teva

So a few weeks ago the Teva rep came by and talked to us about their sandals and shoes. Any ways the point of this post is that they mentioned that Teva is pronounce 'teh vah.' Which means I've been mispronouncing it. And now I am a snob who says 'teh vah' while everyone (who doesn't know) still says 'tee vah.'

winning without a hit

check this out. Last night the Savannah Sand Gnats (The Single A Minor League affiliate of the Nats) beat the Greenville Bombers 4-3. What makes this interesting tho is that they did it without getting a single hit.

a little dap for paul

so i mentioned how "people were combining features" with the google map. i had neglected to mention that the first kind of site i had seen was a craigslist housing/google map site by this fella named Paul. and the cheap gas site/google map is his interface used with gasbuddy. dont i feel like an ingrate. so much dap to Paul for hooking up the google map.

cheap gas

so there is a website called gasbuddy.com which can help you find the cheapest gas prices in your area (WashingtonDCGasPrices.com if you live in the DC area)... and now that google's online map site is so popular people are combining features with it... including gasbuddy. so now you can find the cheapest gas stations on the map.

so obviously tubular pin locks suck

remember a few months ago when someone made a video of how to pick a kryptonite tubular pin lock with bic pen? well now there is this video of how to pick one of those laptop cable locks with a bic pen, some tape and a roll of toilet paper. (via boingboing.net, gizmodo, and what tian has learned)

ginormously annoying

so i used to have no problem with people who said 'ginormous.' i even used the term every so often. and now... because of this... i must stop.

NPS Tour 2005

I got my first National Parks Passport a few ago and got maybe 3 or 4 cancellation stamps in it before either losing it or "losing it in a break up." I got another but didnt give it much attention... and I'm pretty sure I've lost it. So I recently bought a new on at Shenandoah National Park and am now determined to get as many cancellation stamps as possible.
So I did some investigative work and found this site with a great guide on many, if not all, of the stamps. It really helps that I live in DC since you can get 30+ stamps in one day by visiting two places... the Survey Lodge right next to the Washington Monument and the National Capital Parks-East headquarters in Anacostia Park.
And now that I am headed on my cross country trip later this month I'll be able to pick up a few more stamps. More on that trip later...

free stuff

so even tho i don't like chocolate, and i especially hate frostys, i have to post this so that those of you who love them know about it. Go to any Wendy's this weekend and say "Free frosty please" and voila! you get one...

celeb bloggin

Arianna Huffington has started The Huffington Post. If you don't know who Arianna Huffington is you should do what you should do when you're not familiar with something: check it out on wikipedia (Link to Arianna Huffington on wikipedia).

Anyways, the cool point of her site (besides the news) will be the celebrity bloggers. Now maybe blogger is the wrong term since i doubt each individual celeb will be posting very often. Maybe quick celebrity columnists is a better term. Currently those blogger/columnists include celebrities like Ellen Degeneres and John Cusack.

freaky deaky

so if ya wanna freak yourself out a bit check out ZabaSearch.com and type in your name... and try a few other people you might know. Supposedly the info you get isn't all that accurate if you pay the $20 to get the "background check" but its still a little weird right?

So I get WAY into games... especially when they mean something. I watched part of the Wizard's Game 2 (in Chicago), and they just weren't doing to well. It was annoying. So I didn't watch the next two games (in DC) and they won both. So I figured I'ld just 'monitor' Game 5 back in Chicago.

And they started well. In fact so well that I just started watching half way through the second quarter. They were leading by 10 and strecthed it to 12 at the half. In the third they were up by 22. Even the dreaded 4th quarter started well. For the first 11 minutes the Bulls were never closer than 7 points. And then came the final 12th minute.

Up by 10 with 42 seconds to go, the Wizards decided to miss their free throws, while an unknown Bull's benchwarmer went on a 3-point shooting spree. It drove me nuts! And finally when the Wizards were up by 3 with 10 seconds left, the Wizards fouled Kirk Hinrich and he missed BOTH free throws.... but got the rebound for the second miss to the benchwarmer, Pargo... and he drained a three. Tie game, 5 seconds to go.

I thought at best overtime, and maybe the Wizards could take advantage of all the Bulls with 5 fouls left. But they didn't need it. Amazingly, after going 4-for-a gazillion, Gilbert Arenas calmly sank a 14 footer with two Bulls in his face and no time left. Just drained it... all net. And with that the Wizards take a 3-2 series lead with a 112-110 win over the Bulls.

Talk about ups and downs.

"Loose him, and let him go"

It seems people are rediscovering animals everywhere! Now its three snails in Alabama. (btw, Edward Abbey and friends might be quick to point out the section in the article that says: Many [snails] were lost as dams were built along the Coosa River from 1917 to 1967, when it became a series of reservoirs.)
In case you are wondering... and I was... They are called Lazarus taxon. It refers to any taxon (species, genus, etc.) which has seemingly become extinct and then "return." The ivory billed woodpecker can be considered one of these Lazarus taxons. It also refers to other species which 'skip' period fossil records.

buried treasures and more

You might have heard the story of the guys who were digging in their back yard and found a bunch of old money and such? Of course it sounded a little fishy (in hindsight ALOT fishy) but you were willing to maybe believe, weren't you? Well believe no more... those doofuses didn't find it... they just stole it on a job site. You see these geniuses are roofers and decided to make up the buried treasure story. Why not just keep quiet and not attract all the attention they got? Well, because they're stupid... when they could have just shown up to an Antiques Roadshow with a little bit of the loot? who knows... stunningly idiotic.

woodpecker redux

So a few years ago i wrote (on my older bitterspider.com site) about the supposedly extinct ivory billed woodpecker. I wrote about how i wanted to go to the Louisiana bayous and take a camera and hope to get extremely lucky. Well, i made it to Louisiana and its bayous but I never had the opportunity to look for it... which seems to be a good thing because apparently i would have been a few hundred miles to far south. The AP is reporting sightings in Arkansas. It's always cool to hear that an animal might not be extinct... gives ya hope somehow.

richest zips

Check out the richest zip codes in america (if you don't like reading here is the list by itself). Anyways, I'm willing to bet none of them are your zip code. Not surprisingly, the top 4 are all in California: just south of San Fran (Atherton), just north of San Diego (Rancho Santa Fe), and just north (Montecito) and just south (Newport Beach) of LA. California actually has 18 of the top 30. New York has 3 zips in the top 30 all within about an hour of NYC (one being Tribeca, in Manhattan). Connecticut and New Jersey each have 2 zips, again all near NYC. Nevada's 2 zips are both along Lake Tahoe. And finally my surprise of them all: the great state of Maryland has 2 zip codes: Gibson Island, a gated island on the Chesapeake just north of Annapolis; and Stevenson, a northwest suburb of Baltimore. I'ld have never guessed.

(And in case you are counting and wondering the zip I left out of the top 30 is in Miami Beach, FL)

ummm yeah...

so if you are squemish, you might want to stop reading right about now.

now, since you are still reading don't say i didn't warn you: check out this "body modification" called corset piercing. it's kinda hard to explain... so i'll let the pics do the explaining. i dunno why it intrigues me, it just does. its a cool look if not exactly pleasant to look at...

dolly sods

so just in case you didn't believe that i went to dolly sods, west virginia... the proof is in nick's photos from the trip.

a quick run through of the trip to explain the pics: drove there friday afternoon. car camped that night at primative (ie. hole in the ground toilet and muddy well water) campground. woke up sat morning (thats the pick of my head coming out of the tent). got a flat tire that morning. put donut on car and tried to make it back to town. donut went flat. got stuck in the middle of nowhere with 2 flat tire and no working cell phone. amazingly got a ride back into town with busted tire, got a new tire. even more amazingly finagled (thanks to pamela) a ride back to the van. finally got on the trail and had an abbreviated, yet awesome, hike.

the simpsons...

(from forevergeek) check out a real life version of the simpsons house. its cool, but makes me think of something that would really suck unless done exactly right... a live action simpsons movie.

yeah... very questionable...

free stuff

its that time of year again... ben and jerry is giving away a free scoop of ice cream today from 12-8. if you live in the dc area (or an area with an equally nice day) this couldnt have been timed better.

back in the saddle again

you would think i was busy or something, considering i havent said a word in almost a week. anyways im headed to dolly sods this weekend so im surely not posting at least until sunday night.

my happiest moment on thursday? well attending the Nationals win on opening night of course... a little behind it was finding out about yahoo's new beta news site. (thanks once again to ForeverGeek.com) i might have said it before, but ill repeat it... i love reading yahoo and google's news feeds and something new is always exciting. ill tell you if there's anything that stands out.

maps and maps and more

remember that cool new feature for google's map service? well someone just made it way cooler by combining it with the craig's list for real estate rental and sales. Check it out, it's seriously awesome.

have a seat

So if you've ever booked a flight online, you might have done it on a site that allows you to pick your seat. It was a nice feature, but SeatGuru.com is now making it an awesome feature. The site tells you which are the best seats on practically every airline's planes. For instance, one thing i learned was that on all jetBlue planes the seats in rows behind the wings have an extra 2 inches of legroom... good to know. (thanks ForeverGeek.com)

oh and on a side note... i'ld like to introduce you to your first place Washington Nationals.

Mona Lisa, men have named you

If you had been to the Louvre in the past you of course went to see what is arguably the most famous piece of art in the world, Leonardo da Vinci's Mona Lisa. And if you were like me you were probably severely disappointed. It was pretty small and displayed in rather common and (understandibly) crowded room. To make matters worse it sat at least 3 or 4 feet deep into the wall in a dark climate controlled booth. An excellent way to protect her, but not exactly the best viewing circumstances.

But it seems that has changed now. She has a new 'sitting' place at the Louvre. And it looks like she's much more viewable now.

i'm in!

Online registration for the 2005 Marine Corp Marathon begins today. This is a popular marathon and it fills up quick, so if you had planned on it... register now!

I've registered, paid the $85 fee (plus $4.95 service charge), and am currently lightly running. That is to say, I'm only running about 15-20 minutes every other day. Which is not marathon training, but I'll get to a decent pace by the end of this month... i'll update my progress later this month.

the coming glory of the olives

Pope John Paul the Great (I definitely agree with calling him this) will be buried on the same day as a solar eclipse. This fits in perfectly if you believe in St. Malachy's Prophecy of the Popes. (The entire prophecy list can be seen here)

maps galore

so google adding satellite photos to their map service is the big news in blogland. but i still prefer microsoft's terraserver because its resolution is much better (at least half a meter in big cities), and it doesnt cost you anything (unlike google's awesome keyhole program, which is free for 7 days but then $30 to keep running).

it is nice that you can toggle back and forth from map and sat image, and that you can click and drag the image... but just checkout the difference in resolution in these photos of the washington monument from google (you'll have to zoom in once to get the closest image) and terraserver.

vegas baby, vegas!

so i saw sin city, and i'm just not as into it as everyone seems to be. it's not bad, but it's just not that good. the cinematography is very true to its comic book roots, which is actually pretty interesting. but the plot is rather mundane... oh well, i must be getting old or something.

Do not be afraid...

I was christened Juan Pablo on the 30th of October in 1976. Slighty less than 2 years later Pope John Paul I succeeded Pope Paul VI. Then only 8 days after my second birthday John Paul I died, and as a tribute to him the suceeding Pope Karol Wojtyła took the name John Paul II. It has never been lost on me that we share this name.

You are probably aware that the Supreme Pontiff passed away today, April 2nd. There is very little I can say to explain my feelings aside from saying that this world has lost a true father today.