The Broncos fired Mike Shanahan.
I didn't see it coming. In fact, after Sunday's night's debacle, I was wondering to myself how long it would be before Shanny fired Bob Slowik, since firing the defensive coordinator has become an annual tradition for the orange and blue. So I logged on to denverpost.com this afternoon just to see if anything had happened in Dove Valley - and oh, boy - it sure did.
The press conference isn't until tomorrow, so we don't know yet how it all went down. But I'm guessing it was Shanahan the general manager getting fired more than Shanahan the coach. He pretty much dug his own grave after blowing half a decade's worth of drafts. But still, this was shocking. I didn't see Shanahan going anywhere for another five years or so - I figured Pat Bowlen would wait and see if he could turn things around with Jay Cutler. But I guess not.
This move makes a lot of folks around town happy - the ones who have been calling for Shanahan's dismissal for a couple of years now. I've always pretty much been in support of Shanahan - mainly because who else are they going to get that's better?
So that's the question now - who is Bowlen going to hire? Is he going to hire a GM and a coach to fill the void left by Shanahan? Probably. I don't think anyone on their current staff is equipped to be the next head coach. Gary Kubiak is still with the Texans. A lot of people are calling for Bill Cowher to come, but I don't see that happening. I don't even know who's out there. Maybe Dan Reeves wants to get back into coaching. Shanahan will have a job somewhere next year, if he wants one.
So do I agree with the move? It's a bold one, but something needed to happen. They may have been worse this year than last - but being in a weak division masked that so well. I'm guessing maybe Bowlen wanted Shanahan to give up some of his responsibilities on the personnel side and to focus exclusively on coaching, only Shanahan didn't want to, so they decided to part ways. I guess we'll find out in the future. So yeah, I agree that something needed to happen, and that something shouldn't be firing the d-coordinator again. So if they couldn't agree on reformatting the job description, then he needed to go. But that's all speculation.
All I know is that whoever takes over needs to spend at least 8 of the 10 draft picks on defense.
Tuesday, December 30, 2008
Sunday, December 28, 2008
My Report on the Paolantonio Report
I picked up this book on a whim recently and read through it pretty quickly. Sal examines some of the most overrated and underrated players, teams, and moments in NFL history. It was interesting to read his arguments and perspectives. He even went so far as to call some of the players that the media absolutely loves. . . overrated. Even Brett Favre. Even Barry Sanders. Even. . . the '85 Chicago Bears. Gasp! Blasphemy!
The author, Sal Paolantonio, obvioulsy touched a nerve with some folks. Go and read the reviews page for this book at Amazon.com and you can see that some people did not appreciate what he had to say about their football heroes. His whole point was that he wasn't saying that they weren't some of the best players and teams of all-time, he was just simply pointing out that maybe they received a little bit more credit than was warranted given what they actually did on the field.
Of course, he didn't call any Broncos overrated - so maybe I don't understand. I can't imagine what former Denver Bronco could possibly be overrated, since it is likely the most underrated franchise in NFL history. I was pleased to see a couple of former Denver Broncos listed as "underrated" - Lionel Taylor as one of the most underrated wide receivers and Shannon Sharpe as one of the most underrated tight ends.
I had more than a few "amen" moments in reading this book, as he asked some of the questions I have pondered for some time now, such as "Why exactly are Dan Fouts and Warren Moon in the Pro Football Hall of Fame?"
What is underrated is the use of a good editor. Paolantonio made some major factual blunders in this book that were easy for even a casual fan like myself to pick out. He asserted several times that the New England Patriots were the first franchise ever to win three Super Bowls in four seasons. . . although the Dallas Cowboys also accomplished the feat in the 1990s. Also, part of his argument that Marv Levy was the most overrated Hall of Famer of all time was that Levy was outcoached by Barry Switzer in Super Bowl 28. However, Jimmy Johnson was still the coach of the Cowboys at that time. Switzer was the coach of the Cowboys two years later when they beat the Steelers in Super Bowl 30. I don't know how a book goes to press with major errors like this. I'd think that you would have at least a person or two read through it before you hand it in - like the high school term paper. But I guess not!
The author, Sal Paolantonio, obvioulsy touched a nerve with some folks. Go and read the reviews page for this book at Amazon.com and you can see that some people did not appreciate what he had to say about their football heroes. His whole point was that he wasn't saying that they weren't some of the best players and teams of all-time, he was just simply pointing out that maybe they received a little bit more credit than was warranted given what they actually did on the field.
Of course, he didn't call any Broncos overrated - so maybe I don't understand. I can't imagine what former Denver Bronco could possibly be overrated, since it is likely the most underrated franchise in NFL history. I was pleased to see a couple of former Denver Broncos listed as "underrated" - Lionel Taylor as one of the most underrated wide receivers and Shannon Sharpe as one of the most underrated tight ends.
I had more than a few "amen" moments in reading this book, as he asked some of the questions I have pondered for some time now, such as "Why exactly are Dan Fouts and Warren Moon in the Pro Football Hall of Fame?"
What is underrated is the use of a good editor. Paolantonio made some major factual blunders in this book that were easy for even a casual fan like myself to pick out. He asserted several times that the New England Patriots were the first franchise ever to win three Super Bowls in four seasons. . . although the Dallas Cowboys also accomplished the feat in the 1990s. Also, part of his argument that Marv Levy was the most overrated Hall of Famer of all time was that Levy was outcoached by Barry Switzer in Super Bowl 28. However, Jimmy Johnson was still the coach of the Cowboys at that time. Switzer was the coach of the Cowboys two years later when they beat the Steelers in Super Bowl 30. I don't know how a book goes to press with major errors like this. I'd think that you would have at least a person or two read through it before you hand it in - like the high school term paper. But I guess not!
Sunday, December 21, 2008
Did I Call It Or What?
In my November 19th post, I wrote the following concerning the wacky Denver Broncos.
"I’m thinking that it’s going to come down to that last game – Broncos v. Chargers in San Diego – to determine the AFC West champ and a playoff spot. The Broncos will be 9-6, the Chargers will be 8-7 but would have the tiebreaker if they win the last game (due to the Broncos losing that game to the Chiefs). And the winner would host a playoff game versus the Dolphins, Patriots, Ravens, or Colts."
And so, here we are. Next Sunday night the Broncos and Chargers will play. The winner earns the right to host the Colts in the first round of the playoffs. About the only thing I missed on in my earlier prediction is the records of the teams - the Broncos are currently 8-7 and the Chargers 7-8.
Of course, I wrote the prediciton before the Broncos upset the Jets on November 30. Things were looking pretty rosy for them at that point - as they had a three-game lead on the Chargers with four games to play. All they needed was any combination of Broncos wins or Chargers losses that added up to two. And since then, the Broncos have one victory and the Chargers have zero losses.
I didn't really expect them to go to Charlotte and beat the playoff-bound Panthers last week, but a home game against the going-nowhere Buffalo Bills? Come on. I guess it's tough when you're down to your eighth-string running back, but they really needed to win today. Because I don't see them beating the Chargers next week - the Chargers are on a winning streak for the first time all year and probably still a little steamed at the missed fumble call back in the second game of the season.
So the Chargers go to the playoffs and get a home game with an 8-8 record, and everyone complains about that even being possible. And the Broncos miss the playoffs for the third year in a row - the first such occurrence since 1982.
Of course, this season is so wacky that the Broncos will probably win 37-2 while Jay Cutler plays the second half with no pants on.
"I’m thinking that it’s going to come down to that last game – Broncos v. Chargers in San Diego – to determine the AFC West champ and a playoff spot. The Broncos will be 9-6, the Chargers will be 8-7 but would have the tiebreaker if they win the last game (due to the Broncos losing that game to the Chiefs). And the winner would host a playoff game versus the Dolphins, Patriots, Ravens, or Colts."
And so, here we are. Next Sunday night the Broncos and Chargers will play. The winner earns the right to host the Colts in the first round of the playoffs. About the only thing I missed on in my earlier prediction is the records of the teams - the Broncos are currently 8-7 and the Chargers 7-8.
Of course, I wrote the prediciton before the Broncos upset the Jets on November 30. Things were looking pretty rosy for them at that point - as they had a three-game lead on the Chargers with four games to play. All they needed was any combination of Broncos wins or Chargers losses that added up to two. And since then, the Broncos have one victory and the Chargers have zero losses.
I didn't really expect them to go to Charlotte and beat the playoff-bound Panthers last week, but a home game against the going-nowhere Buffalo Bills? Come on. I guess it's tough when you're down to your eighth-string running back, but they really needed to win today. Because I don't see them beating the Chargers next week - the Chargers are on a winning streak for the first time all year and probably still a little steamed at the missed fumble call back in the second game of the season.
So the Chargers go to the playoffs and get a home game with an 8-8 record, and everyone complains about that even being possible. And the Broncos miss the playoffs for the third year in a row - the first such occurrence since 1982.
Of course, this season is so wacky that the Broncos will probably win 37-2 while Jay Cutler plays the second half with no pants on.
Saturday, December 20, 2008
I Joined Facebook
A couple of weeks ago, on Saturday night, everyone in my family inexplicably fell asleep about 9:00 PM, including newborn baby and Grandma. The older kids basically put themselves to bed without even being told. It was really, really weird. And so I was left sitting around wondering what to do with myself. And so I wound up signing up for Facebook, something I had resisted the urge to do for a long time. Actually, I never really had the urge. Once, I signed up for Linked In, which I guess is more of a professional networking thing, but I never really got into it. I think I have two links and couldn't really get excited about the whole concept. So I guess that's why I never looked into the Facebook thing. I'd never even heard of Facebook until I went to graduate school - I'm not sure how long it's been around.
So far, I don't really know what you're supposed to do on Facebook. Post stuff, I guess, although it's not exactly the same as a blog. I guess the thrill is finding people you haven't seen in years and adding them to your list. But then they add up so rapidly, it's not like you're taking the time to reconnect with every single one. I guess I'll learn.
I'm up to 43 friends and I haven't even been that agressive. They multiply pretty quickly. The breakdown is pretty interesting:
Centauri class of '94 - 13 friends
Washington Tacoma mission - 8 friends
Family - 6 friends
Old North Carolina ward - 6 friends
Current ward - 5 friends
Other high school/home - 3 friends
NC State - 2 friends
BYU - 0 friends
So far, I don't really know what you're supposed to do on Facebook. Post stuff, I guess, although it's not exactly the same as a blog. I guess the thrill is finding people you haven't seen in years and adding them to your list. But then they add up so rapidly, it's not like you're taking the time to reconnect with every single one. I guess I'll learn.
I'm up to 43 friends and I haven't even been that agressive. They multiply pretty quickly. The breakdown is pretty interesting:
Centauri class of '94 - 13 friends
Washington Tacoma mission - 8 friends
Family - 6 friends
Old North Carolina ward - 6 friends
Current ward - 5 friends
Other high school/home - 3 friends
NC State - 2 friends
BYU - 0 friends
Monday, December 15, 2008
Blog I Recommend
I've looked at a lot of blogs the past several months. I've found that there aren't that many that are worth going back to on a regular basis unless you know the author personally.
This, however, is a blog with a lot of good reading. I don't know the girl from Adam (Eve?) but she's pretty funny and a good writer. So if it is currently 1 degree Fahrenheit outside where you live (like it is where I live) then prepare a warm (not hot!) drink and go through her archives.
This, however, is a blog with a lot of good reading. I don't know the girl from Adam (Eve?) but she's pretty funny and a good writer. So if it is currently 1 degree Fahrenheit outside where you live (like it is where I live) then prepare a warm (not hot!) drink and go through her archives.
Sunday, December 14, 2008
Warning! This Post Will Probably Bore You.
My fantasy football season came to an end Monday night. All I needed was for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and their fabulous defense to hold Carolina Panthers receiver Steve Smith to a modest number of catches. Instead, Smith caught 9 passes for 117 yards and a touchdown, which gave my opponent enough points to beat me. With the loss, my record dropped to 7-7 and I ended up in a tie for the final playoff spot, which I lost due to a tiebreaker of total points throughout the season.
Much like the Denver Broncos, I started off the season like a house of fire. I won my first game by a margin of 34 points. I won my second game by scoring a total of 206 points, which was the highest single-game total in my league this season. And then I squeaked out a victory in game three as Chargers K Nate Kaeding scored 13 points for me in the Monday night game – pretty much exactly what I needed. At 3-0, I had high hopes for the season. But then my team went in the tank, losing 6 of 8 games and leaving me on the bubble for the playoffs. I rebounded with consecutive victories in weeks 12 &13, but then fell short last week.
Where did I go wrong?
I’ve played fantasy football for several seasons – and I pretty much know what to do and what not to do. And yet, in the draft, I didn’t stick to it 100 percent.
For instance, I knew that picking a quarterback anywhere in the first half of the draft was a bad idea. And yet, there I was, picking Carson Palmer in the 5th round. How did that turn out? The Bengals were awful, Palmer was hurt, and he totaled only 91 points of fantasy production. I cut him midseason.
My quarterback for most of the season was Eli Manning (392 points). And where did I pick him up? That’s right – in the 16th round, one of the very last players picked. I would have been better off spending my 5th round pick on another position.
Actually, my initial plan going into the draft was to look for Broncos QB Jay Cutler, since I knew he was a bit underrated. And he was available for me as late as the 10th round. So did I take him? Nope, I passed on Cutler and what would have been a 507-point season in order to take RB Fred Taylor (86 points).
The second place I messed up was in running back depth. Running back is the most valuable fantasy position, especially if you can snag one who gets yards both rushing and receiving. I started off okay, using my first round pick on Marion Barber (223 points) instead of Joseph Addai (127 points). But then I proceeded to ignore the position for the next six rounds.
It was my plan – sort of. I thought receivers were more valuable early in the draft and filled out my three starting positions in rounds 2, 3, and 4 with Reggie Wayne (191 points), Andre Johnson (243 points), and Brandon Marshall (220 points). That was my strategy, and I stuck to it, so I can’t really fault myself. But in the process, I passed up that second running back. I could have picked up Maurice Jones-Drew (228 points), Clinton Portis (212 points), or Reggie Bush (170 points).
Instead of turning my focus back to running back after the 4th round, I picked Palmer in the 5th round and grabbed TE Kellen Winslow in the 6th. In the process, I passed up Atlanta Falcons RB Michael Turner (215 points), who I had my eye on. I didn’t even get the right TE, either. Winslow totaled 103 points this year – the next player selected was Chiefs TE Tony Gonzalez (208 points).
I picked up Calvin Johnson (216) as a fourth receiver in the 7th round, with the idea I could trade one of my four receivers once the bye weeks were done. But that didn't work out.
And so I was left to pick Edgerrin James as my second RB in the 8th round. He was adequate until he inexplicably stopped playing midway through the season and wound up with only 75 points all year. And who was picked next? Jets RB Thomas Jones, who racked up 245 points this year.
I also decided to take a chance on a rookie RB later in the draft in hopes I might find a steal. I took Steelers RB Rashard Mendenhall. He totaled just 10 points before suffering a season-ending injury.
So I struggled with depth at running back all season, using free agent pickups Mewelde Moore, LeRon McClain, and Derrick Ward to cover my draft deficiencies. They did okay, but not having adequate RB depth probably cost me at least two wins this season, including the final week, when Marion Barber was out with an injury and my starting backfield was Ward and Moore.
I can look back at any number of games this past year as the one that cost me the playoffs – maybe in week 8 when I lost by less than a field goal – thanks in part to Edgerrin James and his 0.7 output that week. Or what about in week 10, when I had my second highest single-game point total of the year with 160 points, but still lost. This was partly attributable to my starting Calvin Johnson instead of Brandon Marshall.
So I’ll try again next year and maybe get this fantasy football thing right.
Much like the Denver Broncos, I started off the season like a house of fire. I won my first game by a margin of 34 points. I won my second game by scoring a total of 206 points, which was the highest single-game total in my league this season. And then I squeaked out a victory in game three as Chargers K Nate Kaeding scored 13 points for me in the Monday night game – pretty much exactly what I needed. At 3-0, I had high hopes for the season. But then my team went in the tank, losing 6 of 8 games and leaving me on the bubble for the playoffs. I rebounded with consecutive victories in weeks 12 &13, but then fell short last week.
Where did I go wrong?
I’ve played fantasy football for several seasons – and I pretty much know what to do and what not to do. And yet, in the draft, I didn’t stick to it 100 percent.
For instance, I knew that picking a quarterback anywhere in the first half of the draft was a bad idea. And yet, there I was, picking Carson Palmer in the 5th round. How did that turn out? The Bengals were awful, Palmer was hurt, and he totaled only 91 points of fantasy production. I cut him midseason.
My quarterback for most of the season was Eli Manning (392 points). And where did I pick him up? That’s right – in the 16th round, one of the very last players picked. I would have been better off spending my 5th round pick on another position.
Actually, my initial plan going into the draft was to look for Broncos QB Jay Cutler, since I knew he was a bit underrated. And he was available for me as late as the 10th round. So did I take him? Nope, I passed on Cutler and what would have been a 507-point season in order to take RB Fred Taylor (86 points).
The second place I messed up was in running back depth. Running back is the most valuable fantasy position, especially if you can snag one who gets yards both rushing and receiving. I started off okay, using my first round pick on Marion Barber (223 points) instead of Joseph Addai (127 points). But then I proceeded to ignore the position for the next six rounds.
It was my plan – sort of. I thought receivers were more valuable early in the draft and filled out my three starting positions in rounds 2, 3, and 4 with Reggie Wayne (191 points), Andre Johnson (243 points), and Brandon Marshall (220 points). That was my strategy, and I stuck to it, so I can’t really fault myself. But in the process, I passed up that second running back. I could have picked up Maurice Jones-Drew (228 points), Clinton Portis (212 points), or Reggie Bush (170 points).
Instead of turning my focus back to running back after the 4th round, I picked Palmer in the 5th round and grabbed TE Kellen Winslow in the 6th. In the process, I passed up Atlanta Falcons RB Michael Turner (215 points), who I had my eye on. I didn’t even get the right TE, either. Winslow totaled 103 points this year – the next player selected was Chiefs TE Tony Gonzalez (208 points).
I picked up Calvin Johnson (216) as a fourth receiver in the 7th round, with the idea I could trade one of my four receivers once the bye weeks were done. But that didn't work out.
And so I was left to pick Edgerrin James as my second RB in the 8th round. He was adequate until he inexplicably stopped playing midway through the season and wound up with only 75 points all year. And who was picked next? Jets RB Thomas Jones, who racked up 245 points this year.
I also decided to take a chance on a rookie RB later in the draft in hopes I might find a steal. I took Steelers RB Rashard Mendenhall. He totaled just 10 points before suffering a season-ending injury.
So I struggled with depth at running back all season, using free agent pickups Mewelde Moore, LeRon McClain, and Derrick Ward to cover my draft deficiencies. They did okay, but not having adequate RB depth probably cost me at least two wins this season, including the final week, when Marion Barber was out with an injury and my starting backfield was Ward and Moore.
I can look back at any number of games this past year as the one that cost me the playoffs – maybe in week 8 when I lost by less than a field goal – thanks in part to Edgerrin James and his 0.7 output that week. Or what about in week 10, when I had my second highest single-game point total of the year with 160 points, but still lost. This was partly attributable to my starting Calvin Johnson instead of Brandon Marshall.
So I’ll try again next year and maybe get this fantasy football thing right.
Saturday, December 6, 2008
Forward This
My favorite type of forward e-mails are the one where they put a little tag on the end that says if you don't forward it to every person you know, then you don't believe in God or freedom or whatever it is they're e-mailing you about. If that's really the case, then I guess I'm basically a communist/atheist. My second favorite are the ones where they quote something somebody wrote or said and then take a few liberties with the text. The most recent example is the Lee Iacocca one where he is quoted from his book and then whoever inserted all these lines with him bagging on Barack Obama. Nice. I'm sure Lee appreciated that.
Wednesday, November 26, 2008
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
Not Too Late
The Broncos have only won the AFC West once since winning Super Bowl XXIII. They've had some good teams, but there has always been a better team.
This isn’t the worst Broncos team of my lifetime, and it certainly isn’t the best. But it might be the strangest. The season was looking pretty hopeless a mere two weeks ago, with the Broncos sitting at 4-4 after losing twice at home and getting blown out on Monday Night Football. The two best players on what was already an unimpressive Bronco defense, D.J. Williams and Champ Bailey, were out with injuries. Offensively, the Broncos were down to their fourth-string tailback. And three of their next four games were on the road. It took some effort for one to remind oneself that the Broncos were still in first place in the stanky AFC West division.
In the first half of their Thursday night game with the Cleveland Browns, it appeared that the Broncos were going to continue to sink to the depths of the NFL. And then they scored three touchdowns in the fourth quarter to prevail, 34-30, although Brandon Marshall almost ruined it with an Obama tribute after scoring the winning touchdown. The aforementioned fourth-string tailback, Ryan Torain, the much-hyped late-round draft choice who some had pegged as the second coming of Terrell Davis, was lost for the season in this game. Starting middle linebacker Nate Webster was also injured.
So for the much hyped rematch with former kicker Jason Elam this past Sunday, the Broncos trotted out rookies such as Spencer Larsen, Wesley Woodyard, and Peyton Hillis to carry them on to a 24-20 victory over the Atlanta Falcons. P.J. Pope, who I had never heard of, came up from the practice squad to make his debut in the Broncos backfield. Tatum Bell, who had been selling cell phones at the Aurora Mall and working out at Smoky Hill High School since being cut by the worst team in the NFL last summer, was resigned by the Broncos a year and a half after being traded away. For some reason, a lot of people thought this was a huge upset as the Falcons are apparently destined to become the greatest team since the 1966 Green Bay Packers. Whatever.
Anyways, the Broncos are still maintaining a two-game lead in the AFC West over the San Diego Chargers. Two of their next three games are home games against Oakland and Kansas City – which should be sure wins – although you never know with this year’s edition of the Broncos. If the Broncos get to 10 wins, they win the division. I’m thinking that it’s going to come down to that last game – Broncos v. Chargers in San Diego – to determine the AFC West champ and a playoff spot. The Broncos will be 9-6, the Chargers will be 8-7 but would have the tiebreaker if they win the last game (due to the Broncos losing that game to the Chiefs). And the winner would host a playoff game versus the Dolphins, Patriots, Ravens, or Colts.
This isn’t the worst Broncos team of my lifetime, and it certainly isn’t the best. But it might be the strangest. The season was looking pretty hopeless a mere two weeks ago, with the Broncos sitting at 4-4 after losing twice at home and getting blown out on Monday Night Football. The two best players on what was already an unimpressive Bronco defense, D.J. Williams and Champ Bailey, were out with injuries. Offensively, the Broncos were down to their fourth-string tailback. And three of their next four games were on the road. It took some effort for one to remind oneself that the Broncos were still in first place in the stanky AFC West division.
In the first half of their Thursday night game with the Cleveland Browns, it appeared that the Broncos were going to continue to sink to the depths of the NFL. And then they scored three touchdowns in the fourth quarter to prevail, 34-30, although Brandon Marshall almost ruined it with an Obama tribute after scoring the winning touchdown. The aforementioned fourth-string tailback, Ryan Torain, the much-hyped late-round draft choice who some had pegged as the second coming of Terrell Davis, was lost for the season in this game. Starting middle linebacker Nate Webster was also injured.
So for the much hyped rematch with former kicker Jason Elam this past Sunday, the Broncos trotted out rookies such as Spencer Larsen, Wesley Woodyard, and Peyton Hillis to carry them on to a 24-20 victory over the Atlanta Falcons. P.J. Pope, who I had never heard of, came up from the practice squad to make his debut in the Broncos backfield. Tatum Bell, who had been selling cell phones at the Aurora Mall and working out at Smoky Hill High School since being cut by the worst team in the NFL last summer, was resigned by the Broncos a year and a half after being traded away. For some reason, a lot of people thought this was a huge upset as the Falcons are apparently destined to become the greatest team since the 1966 Green Bay Packers. Whatever.
Anyways, the Broncos are still maintaining a two-game lead in the AFC West over the San Diego Chargers. Two of their next three games are home games against Oakland and Kansas City – which should be sure wins – although you never know with this year’s edition of the Broncos. If the Broncos get to 10 wins, they win the division. I’m thinking that it’s going to come down to that last game – Broncos v. Chargers in San Diego – to determine the AFC West champ and a playoff spot. The Broncos will be 9-6, the Chargers will be 8-7 but would have the tiebreaker if they win the last game (due to the Broncos losing that game to the Chiefs). And the winner would host a playoff game versus the Dolphins, Patriots, Ravens, or Colts.
Saturday, November 15, 2008
Time Travel: If It Were Possible. . .
You have to turn up the volume on your computer to hear the music and get in the proper mood to read this.
Where would you go? Or rather, when would you go?
The rules are the same as in Back to the Future and The Time Machine. That is, you can only change time, not location. No going to 15th century Spain or Jerusalem 1 B.C.
My choice is made. If I could go back in time at any point in the history of Aurora, Colorado or whatever was here before, I would choose 1977.
Strange, I know.
The main reason I started thinking about this has to do with our current house and the townhome where we previously lived. Today, in 2008, they've both seen better days. Both were built circa 1975 - I would love to see both neighborhoods when they were new and swanky. We learned when buying our current house that the neighborhood has covenants! Needless to say, they are not enforced any longer. And our old townhome community has a guard gate, tennis courts, swimming pools, that certainly looked much better in 1977 than they do today.
Also, 1977 is the year the Denver Broncos made their first run to the Super Bowl. It would have been great to experience that firsthand. See my archived review of Terry Frei's book '77 on this blog for details.
Star Wars was released in 1977. That would have been awesome to see it brand new in the theater. I love the subtle 70's influence on Star Wars fashion, by the way.
Also, I would like to go back in my current profession of public accounting. I'd trade in my laptop and start rockin' the ten-key. I'd do depreciation by hand on 14-column ledger paper. I'd foot a ream's worth of accounts payable detail printed on green bar. It would be awesome!
The 70's just seem like they would have been a fun time. Technically, I was born in the 70's, but I was not yet self-aware.
And yes, I would do the fashions as seen above.
Thursday, November 13, 2008
Bye
Well, it finally happened. The Rockies traded away 2007 MVP runner-up Matt Holliday to the Oakland A’s.
The general reaction in Denver was one of outrage and disappointment that the Rockies didn’t pony up the big bucks to keep their star player. I think that the fans and media should have had such feelings out of their system by now, because this day had been coming for well over a year, long before the Rockies made their fantastic run to the World Series. The chances of Matt Holliday staying in Colorado past the 2009 season were roughly 2.163%.
Matt Holliday wants the absolute most money he can get. It’s his career – he’s only going to be a professional baseball player once.
The Brothers Monfort apparently want to be a “small market” club like Minnesota or Oakland, developing young talent and then shipping it out the door when payday comes. I wondered if their philosophy of running the Rockies on the cheap might change with the World Series appearance. Looks like no. Hey, it’s their money. They can spend it how they choose.
Personally, I think the Rockies made the right call. He’s a good player, but I don’t think he’s worth $150 million. Paying Todd Helton top dollar a few years ago didn’t work out so well.
Of course, the Rox won’t be going to the World Series in 2009 without him. . . but I think they’re okay with that. The fans won’t stop coming despite what they might say.
The general reaction in Denver was one of outrage and disappointment that the Rockies didn’t pony up the big bucks to keep their star player. I think that the fans and media should have had such feelings out of their system by now, because this day had been coming for well over a year, long before the Rockies made their fantastic run to the World Series. The chances of Matt Holliday staying in Colorado past the 2009 season were roughly 2.163%.
Matt Holliday wants the absolute most money he can get. It’s his career – he’s only going to be a professional baseball player once.
The Brothers Monfort apparently want to be a “small market” club like Minnesota or Oakland, developing young talent and then shipping it out the door when payday comes. I wondered if their philosophy of running the Rockies on the cheap might change with the World Series appearance. Looks like no. Hey, it’s their money. They can spend it how they choose.
Personally, I think the Rockies made the right call. He’s a good player, but I don’t think he’s worth $150 million. Paying Todd Helton top dollar a few years ago didn’t work out so well.
Of course, the Rox won’t be going to the World Series in 2009 without him. . . but I think they’re okay with that. The fans won’t stop coming despite what they might say.
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
More Bailouts
So we're bailing out Wall Street. And now we're going to also bailout Detroit automakers since the unions have pretty much sucked the life out of them. I started in on a post about this a few weeks ago, but didn't finish, because who cares? It's out of my hands.
My question is this - who is going to bail out the big-box retailers?
Who is going to bailout Linens n' Things? They're liquidating all their assets and no one is lifting a finger to help them out. Where will Americans go to buy overpriced crap for their homes? I suppose they'll go to Bed, Bath & Beyond although I can't imagine how long that will last since it's not even as good of a store as Linens n' Things. I guess Americans will have to settle for buying moderately priced crap at Wal-Mart and Target.
And what about Circuit City? They have to close a bunch of stores and I don't see Congress doing anything to help them out. If we don't bailout Circuit City, Americans will have to resort to Best Buy for electronic crap. And Best Buy already charges three times what stuff is worth so I can't imagine that's a good thing for middle-class Americans.
We better start getting something in the pipeline for these guys because after what is sure to be a dismal December for these guys, they are going to need some help. I'm a little worried about JC Penney myself. Every week they send out a flyer advertising the Sale of the Ages. Let's get going on this before it gets out of hand.
Fantasy Football: It Messes With Your Head
I'll keep this brief, because I realize that there is possibly nothing more boring than reading about someone's fantasy football exploits. I'm not into FF very deep this season - I'm only playing in one league. And I doubt I've spent more than 30 minutes a week on it this year, which is probably too much. Like the Denver Broncos, I started out hot, winning my first three. But I've been in a bit of a slide since then and currently stand at 5-5.
I lost this last week by some ridiculously small margin - 2.8 points or something. And I should have won - if I had not thought about it too hard. You see, part of my strategy this year was to go heavy on receivers - I picked Reggie Wayne, Andre Johnson, and Brandon Marshall with three of my first four picks. And then I added Calvin Johnson later on. You play three receivers in my league - so having four recievers works out good if one of them has a bye - but otherwise I'm always worried about sitting the wrong guy on the bench.
Brandon Marshall started out the year strong but has slowed down a bit since. So with three other receivers playing well, I decided to sit him on the bench this past week. So he goes out and has a big game, outscoring the two Johnsons for the week. If I would have played him, I would have won! So frustrating.
But more frustrating was my own reaction when watching the Broncos-Browns game on Thursday night. Marshall caught the winning TD pass to complete a dramatic fourth-quarter comeback for the Broncos. And I remember being a little ticked off that it was Marshall who was the recipient of the TD pass. He made my decision to sit him on the bench look bad! How dare he! Wait a minute. . . the Broncos are my team - why am I not way more excited that they just took the lead with a minute to go?
Similarly, the Broncos fell behind in this game 17-7. I should have been really mad that the Broncos were playing poorly yet again. Yet this bad news was softened a bit by the fact that both Cleveland touchdowns had been scored by Kellen Winslow. You guessed it - Winslow is the TE on my fantasy team.
In conclusion, don't play this game - it really screws up your rooting interests.
I'll probably keep playing, though, because everyone is doing it.
I lost this last week by some ridiculously small margin - 2.8 points or something. And I should have won - if I had not thought about it too hard. You see, part of my strategy this year was to go heavy on receivers - I picked Reggie Wayne, Andre Johnson, and Brandon Marshall with three of my first four picks. And then I added Calvin Johnson later on. You play three receivers in my league - so having four recievers works out good if one of them has a bye - but otherwise I'm always worried about sitting the wrong guy on the bench.
Brandon Marshall started out the year strong but has slowed down a bit since. So with three other receivers playing well, I decided to sit him on the bench this past week. So he goes out and has a big game, outscoring the two Johnsons for the week. If I would have played him, I would have won! So frustrating.
But more frustrating was my own reaction when watching the Broncos-Browns game on Thursday night. Marshall caught the winning TD pass to complete a dramatic fourth-quarter comeback for the Broncos. And I remember being a little ticked off that it was Marshall who was the recipient of the TD pass. He made my decision to sit him on the bench look bad! How dare he! Wait a minute. . . the Broncos are my team - why am I not way more excited that they just took the lead with a minute to go?
Similarly, the Broncos fell behind in this game 17-7. I should have been really mad that the Broncos were playing poorly yet again. Yet this bad news was softened a bit by the fact that both Cleveland touchdowns had been scored by Kellen Winslow. You guessed it - Winslow is the TE on my fantasy team.
In conclusion, don't play this game - it really screws up your rooting interests.
I'll probably keep playing, though, because everyone is doing it.
Sunday, November 9, 2008
The Street Lawyer
A few weeks ago, I did a post about how I hadn't read any John Grisham titles for several years. So I checked one out of the library.
If I had to describe "The Street Lawyer" in one word, the word I would choose is propaganda.
It tells the tale of a yuppie lawyer named Michael Brock who reorders his priorities in life after he's held hostage by a homeless man for an afternoon. He quits his high-paying job even though he's only a couple of years from making partner - and goes to work for a free legal clinic that helps the homeless. He thinks his old firm was partially responsible for the deaths of a homeless family, so he commits a crime on the way out the door that will help him figure it out. And so the rest of the book is him trying to get his old firm before they get him.
It wasn't really a thrill ride. I think Grisham just wanted to write a book about homeless people.
****SPOILER ALERT!****
The resolution of the conflict is that they settle out of court. Wow! What a climax!
****END SPOILER ALERT****
There was a subplot where Michael's marriage to his yuppie wife is coming to an end. She keeps popping up in the story here and there and I was half expecting them to maybe reconcile but it just gets to the point where she isn't mentioned anymore. Kind of a letdown. Instead he likes this other homeless crusader who has about one line in the whole book.
I didn't like the main character at all. He was a major league dumb-bunny. I didn't like him when he was a rich lawyer and I didn't like him when he was a poor lawyer.
The book was just okay. It didn't really fall into the Grisham "legal thriller" genre. Nothing thrilling ever happened - it was kind of like "The Chamber" in that respect. At the end, I was just sort of like, "I spent how many hours reading for that?"
In conclusion, we should take care of the homeless. Otherwise, they will turn on us. I think that was the point he was trying to get across in this book.
Friday, November 7, 2008
Great Ideas
Do you ever come up with a great idea and wonder if anyone else has thought of the same thing?
I sure have. And with the internet, it is fairly easy to answer your question.
Here is my most recent such incident.
I would do my own, but I do not possess the necessary photoshop skills.
I sure have. And with the internet, it is fairly easy to answer your question.
Here is my most recent such incident.
I would do my own, but I do not possess the necessary photoshop skills.
Thursday, November 6, 2008
Return of the Nuggets
I haven't cared much about the Denver Nuggets for some time now. But I was happy to hear the news on Monday that the Nugs traded Allen Iverson for Chauncey Billups and Antonio McDyess.
First of all, it was good to see them admit that the AI & Melo experiment was not going to work out. They could have kept the duo around for the sake of selling tickets, but instead opted to try to make the team better. Or maybe they just did it to save a buck. I don't know enough to comment on the salary ramifications, and I don't care enough to research.
Chauncey, of course, is the only notable NBA player ever produced by the great state of Colorado. The Denver native went to CU and played for the Nuggets for less than a season in the late 90's. And now he's back after a successful stint with the Detroit Pistons. The problem, of course, is that he's 32 years old and probably on the downside of his career. The Nuggets should have kept him around the first time and things would have worked out. Of course, when they traded him to Minnesota in February of 2000, the deal netted them the legendary Tariq Abdul-Wahad. And when considering all that the legendary Abdul-Wahad did for professional basketball in Denver, I guess we can forgive the Nuggets for letting go of Chauncey.
The most exciting part of the deal was the fact that the Nuggets picked up Antonio McDyess, who has enjoyed two previous stints in the Mile High City. I was disappointed to hear that they may try to buy him out of his contract, which would prevent a third McDyess tour. I hope he ends up staying.
Who else can we bring back? Is Dan Issel still available to coach? What about Dikembe Mutombo? He was still playing somewhere as of last season, even though he's about 48 years old. Let's bring him back too.
First of all, it was good to see them admit that the AI & Melo experiment was not going to work out. They could have kept the duo around for the sake of selling tickets, but instead opted to try to make the team better. Or maybe they just did it to save a buck. I don't know enough to comment on the salary ramifications, and I don't care enough to research.
Chauncey, of course, is the only notable NBA player ever produced by the great state of Colorado. The Denver native went to CU and played for the Nuggets for less than a season in the late 90's. And now he's back after a successful stint with the Detroit Pistons. The problem, of course, is that he's 32 years old and probably on the downside of his career. The Nuggets should have kept him around the first time and things would have worked out. Of course, when they traded him to Minnesota in February of 2000, the deal netted them the legendary Tariq Abdul-Wahad. And when considering all that the legendary Abdul-Wahad did for professional basketball in Denver, I guess we can forgive the Nuggets for letting go of Chauncey.
The most exciting part of the deal was the fact that the Nuggets picked up Antonio McDyess, who has enjoyed two previous stints in the Mile High City. I was disappointed to hear that they may try to buy him out of his contract, which would prevent a third McDyess tour. I hope he ends up staying.
Who else can we bring back? Is Dan Issel still available to coach? What about Dikembe Mutombo? He was still playing somewhere as of last season, even though he's about 48 years old. Let's bring him back too.
Gem of the Day
From time to time I like to post bizarre quotes that I read in the newspaper. Here's one for today. It comes courtesy of Oakland Raiders cornerback Nnamdi Asomugha, commenting on his team releasing teammate DeAngelo Hall, who was paid an $8 million signing bonus to play in 8 games for the 2-6 Raiders.
"I don't think he's the one scapegoat," Asomugha said. ". . . He was kind of singled out in regards of let's cut someone."
Uh. . . no, that's not a tree. That's something growing out of the ground that has leaves and branches.
"I don't think he's the one scapegoat," Asomugha said. ". . . He was kind of singled out in regards of let's cut someone."
Uh. . . no, that's not a tree. That's something growing out of the ground that has leaves and branches.
Sunday, November 2, 2008
Life
We don't watch a ton of TV or anything, but it is nice to have a show or two that you like and can look forward to. It kind of gets you through the week - "only two more days until X show is on!"
American Idol was like that for about one season. And then they ran out of talented people to be on it the year after Carrie Underwood won.
We had a run of a couple of years with The Amazing Race as well. But I kinda hate the host of that show and so we stopped that as well.
Survivor has been a longtime favorite - but we're kind of off and on with that one even though every season is pretty much the same. However, making fun of Jeff Probst never gets old. It's been tough to watch consistently since we moved back to the Mountain Time Zone. Settling in to watch a show at 7:00 is really tough.
We became fans of Veronica Mars - a great show that used to be on the WB. But it was canceled after the third season. As if the WB or CW or whatever has higher-quality programming. We do own seasons 1 & 2 on DVD and are on our second time through.
So it kind of dwindled down to the point where The Office was our only show. And as anyone who follows that show will probably admit, it's been on a slow decline for the past two seasons. The last couple of episodes have been kind of lame.
But it's okay, because we have discovered a new show: Life, which airs at random times throughout the week on NBC. Seriously, it's on its third time slot in the past month! It started out on Mondays, then moved to Fridays, and now it is moving to Wednesdays. Next it will move off the air entirely!
Which will be disappointing because it's a good show. It's the one about Charlie Crews, the cop who gets sent to prison for life for a crime he didn't commit. After twelve years of incarceration, he is freed by DNA evidence and gets a huge settlement. Part of the settlement is that he gets is old job back as a homicide detective. He's pretty low on the totem pole, and so he gets paired with another bottom of the barrel detective, recovering addict Dani Reese. And so they solve a crime every episode - but there's also the continuing story arc of Charlie digging around trying to figure out who the real killer was and who set him up.
The characters are interesting and likeable, and there is plenty of humor. Charlie is kind of a quirky guy. I think towards the end of Season 1, with the pending writer's strike, they got a little sloppy and strayed a little bit from some of the storylines that were introduced early on, but it's still an enjoyable show.
We saw one episode of it last year before the strike and liked it. And so we decided to try watching again this year and still liked it, but we were a little lost as to exactly what the story was. Nothing that Netflix can't fix! We reactivated our Netflix membership and caught up on Season 1. So now we have a new show to watch - one that will almost certainly be cancelled by NBC in a few weeks!
Thursday, October 30, 2008
The Pumpkin From Hell
Hi. I'm posting a story I wrote 15 years ago as a senior in high school for my Composition class. So I'm not exactly Stephen King, but we already knew that. Hopefully this makes someone's Halloween a little spookier.
Thrusting the shovel down towards the earth, Dave finally severed the pumpkin vine. His friend Pete cheered and clapped loudly as a big grin spread slowly across Dave’s face. They had finally loosed a giant pumpkin.
The two boys gathered around the pumpkin, placing their hands on the underside of it. Using all their strength, they lifted the giant pumpkin into a wheelbarrow. Dave knew the pumpkin had to weigh at least one hundred pounds. Pushing the wheelbarrow across the pumpkin patch, they discussed how they planned to carve a champion jack o’lantern.
Once they arrived at their pickup, they again lifted the pumpkin up and set it in the back. They hopped in the cab and sped towards Dave’s house, anxious to see what they could do to the massive orange fruit. They definitely had material for a masterpiece.
Soon they arrived at Dave’s house. Unloading the pumpkin once more, they began the journey to the porch. They had to stop and rest several times before they finally had the pumpkin at the front door. Nevertheless, they eventually had it sitting on the kitchen table.
They then proceeded to turn it into a jack o’lantern. As Dave removed the seeds from inside, Pete traced the outline of the eyes and mouth on the side of the pumpkin.
“Do you suppose those tales about the pumpkin patch are true?” Dave asked Pete.
“Well, that’s what I heard,” Pete replied, “But I doubt it. I don’t really put too much faith in this Halloween crap.”
“Yeah, besides,” Dave said, “what could be enchanted about a pumpkin patch?”
The boys shrugged and continued their project. As they began to carve, they noticed that the pumpkin would jump slightly or move from side to side when an incision was made. It struck them as something weird, but they were too involved in what they were doing to worry about it.
Soon they were finished with it and stepped back to admire their work. They took pictures of it and were beginning to think of a place to put it when they noticed unusual changes taking place.
The hard orange pumpkin suddenly became soft. The boys poked at it, and their fingers sunk in slightly when they touched it. Then it began throbbing and pulsating like a heart. With each beat it inflated slightly, becoming larger by the second.
The two boys watched in amazement as the jack o’ lantern grew and grew some more. Soon it became such a burden for the table that the legs collapsed and the jack o’lantern hit the floor with a loud thud. Dave and Pete jumped back, startled at what had happened. Both were beginning to become frightened.
Now a soft wind began to whistle in the room as the pumpkin continued to increase its size. The wind blew inside the hollow pumpkin. The wind was icy cold, and made the boys shiver. Pete was about ready to run for the hills at this point, but Dave held him back.
Just then a blinding flash of lightning ignited the room with flames. They were now surrounded by flames which encompassed the entire kitchen with a circle of fire. The temperature increased by about two hundred degrees in an instant.
There was no way for the boys to leave now, and they watched more changes take place in the jack o’lantern. The eyes shone with a bright white glow and flashed between brilliant and dim.
The boys noticed huge pools of blood gushing back and forth against the interior walls of the pumpkin. Blood began to spew forth from the mouth and spotted the clothing of the boys.
The jack o’lantern then began to jump around the room, creating giant cracks in the walls when it crashed against the boundaries. The electricity went out, and the pumpkin continued to bound around the room. It hit Pete and knocked him down. Dave shook him, but Pete was unconscious.
The jack o’lantern totally had a mind of its own. It had pulsated and grown so much by now it nearly filled the room. Dave knew he had to act fast. He lunged against the pumpkin, beating it with his fists. His adrenaline was really flowing, and he put all his strength into defeating the pumpkin and its evil ways.
Dave began throwing objects at it, and the pumpkin seemed to weaken somewhat when a microwave hit it. But the pumpkin bounced back fiercer than ever, sucking Dave internally, and he splashed in the pools of blood. Dave seemed to have lost all hope, and screamed out it fear.
Suddenly he heard the voice of his old neighbor Gus outside the pumpkin. The pools of blood began to go dry, and Dave laid inside the pumpkin. Gus cut the pumpkin open and Dave climbed out and stood next to Gus, and they both stared down at the pumpkin, which laid bloody and slaughtered before them.
“Thanks, Gus,” Dave said, “how did you do that?”
“Well, it’s along story, but I learned years ago that I can communicate with jack o’lanterns on Halloween if I put on my bib overalls and stick a toothpick in my mouth. It seems to be some sort of magical power I have. When Is aw you boys were in trouble, I put on the overalls and rushed over.”
“Thanks, Gus, “ Dave said. “I thought I was gone.”
“Well, Dave, I’m glad I could help. Stay away from those pumpkins. They’re far too evil.”
With that Gus exited and left Pete and Dave to catch they breath after their horrifying experience with the pumpkin from hell.
Thrusting the shovel down towards the earth, Dave finally severed the pumpkin vine. His friend Pete cheered and clapped loudly as a big grin spread slowly across Dave’s face. They had finally loosed a giant pumpkin.
The two boys gathered around the pumpkin, placing their hands on the underside of it. Using all their strength, they lifted the giant pumpkin into a wheelbarrow. Dave knew the pumpkin had to weigh at least one hundred pounds. Pushing the wheelbarrow across the pumpkin patch, they discussed how they planned to carve a champion jack o’lantern.
Once they arrived at their pickup, they again lifted the pumpkin up and set it in the back. They hopped in the cab and sped towards Dave’s house, anxious to see what they could do to the massive orange fruit. They definitely had material for a masterpiece.
Soon they arrived at Dave’s house. Unloading the pumpkin once more, they began the journey to the porch. They had to stop and rest several times before they finally had the pumpkin at the front door. Nevertheless, they eventually had it sitting on the kitchen table.
They then proceeded to turn it into a jack o’lantern. As Dave removed the seeds from inside, Pete traced the outline of the eyes and mouth on the side of the pumpkin.
“Do you suppose those tales about the pumpkin patch are true?” Dave asked Pete.
“Well, that’s what I heard,” Pete replied, “But I doubt it. I don’t really put too much faith in this Halloween crap.”
“Yeah, besides,” Dave said, “what could be enchanted about a pumpkin patch?”
The boys shrugged and continued their project. As they began to carve, they noticed that the pumpkin would jump slightly or move from side to side when an incision was made. It struck them as something weird, but they were too involved in what they were doing to worry about it.
Soon they were finished with it and stepped back to admire their work. They took pictures of it and were beginning to think of a place to put it when they noticed unusual changes taking place.
The hard orange pumpkin suddenly became soft. The boys poked at it, and their fingers sunk in slightly when they touched it. Then it began throbbing and pulsating like a heart. With each beat it inflated slightly, becoming larger by the second.
The two boys watched in amazement as the jack o’ lantern grew and grew some more. Soon it became such a burden for the table that the legs collapsed and the jack o’lantern hit the floor with a loud thud. Dave and Pete jumped back, startled at what had happened. Both were beginning to become frightened.
Now a soft wind began to whistle in the room as the pumpkin continued to increase its size. The wind blew inside the hollow pumpkin. The wind was icy cold, and made the boys shiver. Pete was about ready to run for the hills at this point, but Dave held him back.
Just then a blinding flash of lightning ignited the room with flames. They were now surrounded by flames which encompassed the entire kitchen with a circle of fire. The temperature increased by about two hundred degrees in an instant.
There was no way for the boys to leave now, and they watched more changes take place in the jack o’lantern. The eyes shone with a bright white glow and flashed between brilliant and dim.
The boys noticed huge pools of blood gushing back and forth against the interior walls of the pumpkin. Blood began to spew forth from the mouth and spotted the clothing of the boys.
The jack o’lantern then began to jump around the room, creating giant cracks in the walls when it crashed against the boundaries. The electricity went out, and the pumpkin continued to bound around the room. It hit Pete and knocked him down. Dave shook him, but Pete was unconscious.
The jack o’lantern totally had a mind of its own. It had pulsated and grown so much by now it nearly filled the room. Dave knew he had to act fast. He lunged against the pumpkin, beating it with his fists. His adrenaline was really flowing, and he put all his strength into defeating the pumpkin and its evil ways.
Dave began throwing objects at it, and the pumpkin seemed to weaken somewhat when a microwave hit it. But the pumpkin bounced back fiercer than ever, sucking Dave internally, and he splashed in the pools of blood. Dave seemed to have lost all hope, and screamed out it fear.
Suddenly he heard the voice of his old neighbor Gus outside the pumpkin. The pools of blood began to go dry, and Dave laid inside the pumpkin. Gus cut the pumpkin open and Dave climbed out and stood next to Gus, and they both stared down at the pumpkin, which laid bloody and slaughtered before them.
“Thanks, Gus,” Dave said, “how did you do that?”
“Well, it’s along story, but I learned years ago that I can communicate with jack o’lanterns on Halloween if I put on my bib overalls and stick a toothpick in my mouth. It seems to be some sort of magical power I have. When Is aw you boys were in trouble, I put on the overalls and rushed over.”
“Thanks, Gus, “ Dave said. “I thought I was gone.”
“Well, Dave, I’m glad I could help. Stay away from those pumpkins. They’re far too evil.”
With that Gus exited and left Pete and Dave to catch they breath after their horrifying experience with the pumpkin from hell.
Monday, October 27, 2008
Brand Loyalty
What brands are you loyal to?
I admit, most of the time it doesn't really matter. The $1 bag of cotton swabs from the Dollar Tree works about as well as the $4 box of Q-Tips from Wal-Mart. And you get twice as many. But there are a few things where the store brand or any other brand just won't do. Here are a few of mine:
Right Guard deodorant. I figured this one out early on. Nothing else works as well. Speed Stick sucks. Old Spice - nope.
Campbell's Soup. Store brands are pretty yucky. They are cheaper, but to me it's not worth the price difference. I've tried Progresso Soups - it is a bigger can, and I think they're trying to make good soups, but it's just not working out for them.
Hush Puppies. The shoes, not the deep-fried balls of dough. I just got some for my birthday, and man are they great. I'm probably never buying a different brand for the rest of my life, even if I have to make an occassional trip to the outlet store in Las Vegas solely for the purpose of buying them. It's like wearing slippers to work - but they look way nicer! The first pair I owned was when I left on my mission. They also were the first pair I wore out on my mission. But I never forgot them. I bought another pair a few years back and they're still going strong but starting to show some age. It's as if all other makers of men's dress shoes do product testing to make sure the shoes are as unforgiving as possible. I know, because pretty much every other pair I've ever owned, I've also hated.
I admit, most of the time it doesn't really matter. The $1 bag of cotton swabs from the Dollar Tree works about as well as the $4 box of Q-Tips from Wal-Mart. And you get twice as many. But there are a few things where the store brand or any other brand just won't do. Here are a few of mine:
Right Guard deodorant. I figured this one out early on. Nothing else works as well. Speed Stick sucks. Old Spice - nope.
Campbell's Soup. Store brands are pretty yucky. They are cheaper, but to me it's not worth the price difference. I've tried Progresso Soups - it is a bigger can, and I think they're trying to make good soups, but it's just not working out for them.
Hush Puppies. The shoes, not the deep-fried balls of dough. I just got some for my birthday, and man are they great. I'm probably never buying a different brand for the rest of my life, even if I have to make an occassional trip to the outlet store in Las Vegas solely for the purpose of buying them. It's like wearing slippers to work - but they look way nicer! The first pair I owned was when I left on my mission. They also were the first pair I wore out on my mission. But I never forgot them. I bought another pair a few years back and they're still going strong but starting to show some age. It's as if all other makers of men's dress shoes do product testing to make sure the shoes are as unforgiving as possible. I know, because pretty much every other pair I've ever owned, I've also hated.
Saturday, October 25, 2008
Broncos Rant
So maybe everyone was a bit optimistic about the 2008 edition of the Broncos. After starting 3-0, they are 1-3 in their last four games, including losses to one of the worst teams in the NFL and their recent Monday Night spanking. The local sports yakkers have turned negative again after they also got a bit carried away with the Broncos' September success, predicting 12 or 13 wins and noting that the Broncos were on pace to break the NFL record for points scored in a season. Even I knew that the Broncos weren't going to continue to average 30+ points a game. And what do you know? They have averaged 15 points in their last four games.
Coming into this season, I felt that the Broncos would probably contend for a playoff spot, but were probably two years away from being a serious contender. And I still feel that way. The defense is just as bad as it was last season, and the offensive talent is still young.
But contending for the Super Bowl in two years isn't automatic. The Broncos need good drafts in 2009 and 2010. The media finally figured out sometime last year the obvious, which was that the Broncos weren't very good because of their crap-tacular drafts from 2001 to 2004. They have only two players left from those drafts - guard Ben Hamilton and linebacker D.J. Williams. Although it's fair to note that they also drafted Clinton Portis during that period, who they got two good years from and then traded for Champ Bailey.
The 2005 draft looked pretty promising. But then Darrent Williams, the prize of that draft, was murdered on New Year's Day 2007. Dominique Foxworth was traded to Atlanta a few weeks ago for a 7th-round draft choice. Karl Paymah probably won't be around next year. So that's another draft which produced no long-term fruit for the Broncos.
Thank goodness the Broncos nailed the 2006 draft - picking up Jay Cutler, Brandon Marshall, Tony Scheffler, and Elvis Dumervil - or else the Broncos would really be in a sorry state.
But then there is the 2007 draft - it's still early, but it's looking pretty shaky. The top two picks, Jarvis Moss and Tim Crowder, haven't shown much even though there isn't much competition on the defensive line. Third round pick Ryan Harris is starting on the offensive line, and fourth round pick Marcus Thomas is starting on the defensive line. But who knows how many of those guys will be around in three years? And the main problem isn't entirely just who the Broncos chose to draft - it's the fact that they traded FIVE additional picks to move up in the draft and select Moss and Thomas. So that's a total of SEVEN picks spent on two guys who don't appear headed for the Pro Bowl any time soon.
And let's not forget the number of other questionable choices Mike Shanahan made over 2006-07: picking up Dre Bly, Travis Henry, and Javon Walker; dumping defensive coordinator Larry Coyer for Jim Bates; and the decision to which all panicked moves since can be traced back to: replacing Jake Plummer with Jay Cutler midway through the 2006 season when Plummer would have led the Broncos to a playoff berth that season.
As to whether it was the right choice to acquire Cutler in the first place, I'm not about to suggest that. After all, Cutler is God's gift to football. My question is - why have the Broncos been so hopeless since he took over as the QB?
Coming into this season, I felt that the Broncos would probably contend for a playoff spot, but were probably two years away from being a serious contender. And I still feel that way. The defense is just as bad as it was last season, and the offensive talent is still young.
But contending for the Super Bowl in two years isn't automatic. The Broncos need good drafts in 2009 and 2010. The media finally figured out sometime last year the obvious, which was that the Broncos weren't very good because of their crap-tacular drafts from 2001 to 2004. They have only two players left from those drafts - guard Ben Hamilton and linebacker D.J. Williams. Although it's fair to note that they also drafted Clinton Portis during that period, who they got two good years from and then traded for Champ Bailey.
The 2005 draft looked pretty promising. But then Darrent Williams, the prize of that draft, was murdered on New Year's Day 2007. Dominique Foxworth was traded to Atlanta a few weeks ago for a 7th-round draft choice. Karl Paymah probably won't be around next year. So that's another draft which produced no long-term fruit for the Broncos.
Thank goodness the Broncos nailed the 2006 draft - picking up Jay Cutler, Brandon Marshall, Tony Scheffler, and Elvis Dumervil - or else the Broncos would really be in a sorry state.
But then there is the 2007 draft - it's still early, but it's looking pretty shaky. The top two picks, Jarvis Moss and Tim Crowder, haven't shown much even though there isn't much competition on the defensive line. Third round pick Ryan Harris is starting on the offensive line, and fourth round pick Marcus Thomas is starting on the defensive line. But who knows how many of those guys will be around in three years? And the main problem isn't entirely just who the Broncos chose to draft - it's the fact that they traded FIVE additional picks to move up in the draft and select Moss and Thomas. So that's a total of SEVEN picks spent on two guys who don't appear headed for the Pro Bowl any time soon.
And let's not forget the number of other questionable choices Mike Shanahan made over 2006-07: picking up Dre Bly, Travis Henry, and Javon Walker; dumping defensive coordinator Larry Coyer for Jim Bates; and the decision to which all panicked moves since can be traced back to: replacing Jake Plummer with Jay Cutler midway through the 2006 season when Plummer would have led the Broncos to a playoff berth that season.
As to whether it was the right choice to acquire Cutler in the first place, I'm not about to suggest that. After all, Cutler is God's gift to football. My question is - why have the Broncos been so hopeless since he took over as the QB?
Thursday, October 16, 2008
Location, Location, Location
So we really like our new house which we have lived in for almost one year. One thing we really like is the proximity to so many places. We sort of planned for being close to the school, but we sort of just got lucky on everything else. Here's the rundown:
0.1 MILES - Dairy Queen, 7-11
0.3 MILES - Elementary school, high school
0.5 MILES - Albertson's
1.0 MILES - King Soopers, Safeway, Target, Lowe's, Church
2.0 MILES - Wal-Mart, Home Depot
Also, we don't do much fast food, but McDonald's, Subway, Burger King, Taco Bell, Arby's, and KFC are all within a one-mile radius.
The farthest place I drive to regularly is the office, which is only 5.6 miles. Plus we do Sam's Club, which is 6.5 miles. It's great having everything else really close. And our neighborhood isn't overly noisy - unlike our last place, which offered better proximity to our bank and insurance agent but not much else.
Compare this to living in North Carolina, where it was a couple of miles to the nearest grocery store, 5 miles to Wal-mart, 10 miles to Target, 15 miles to Sam's.
Or compare it to growing up: 15 miles to the nearest supermarket, 15 miles to Wal-Mart, 135 miles to the nearest Target (or any other major chain without a Mart in the name).
0.1 MILES - Dairy Queen, 7-11
0.3 MILES - Elementary school, high school
0.5 MILES - Albertson's
1.0 MILES - King Soopers, Safeway, Target, Lowe's, Church
2.0 MILES - Wal-Mart, Home Depot
Also, we don't do much fast food, but McDonald's, Subway, Burger King, Taco Bell, Arby's, and KFC are all within a one-mile radius.
The farthest place I drive to regularly is the office, which is only 5.6 miles. Plus we do Sam's Club, which is 6.5 miles. It's great having everything else really close. And our neighborhood isn't overly noisy - unlike our last place, which offered better proximity to our bank and insurance agent but not much else.
Compare this to living in North Carolina, where it was a couple of miles to the nearest grocery store, 5 miles to Wal-mart, 10 miles to Target, 15 miles to Sam's.
Or compare it to growing up: 15 miles to the nearest supermarket, 15 miles to Wal-Mart, 135 miles to the nearest Target (or any other major chain without a Mart in the name).
Sunday, October 12, 2008
Much Better
It seems like since we bought our house one year ago, most of our efforts have been focused on the exterior of our home. With the help of friends and family, we've painted (although not quite done), replaced the windows, replaced the front door and storm door, redone the landscaping in front, removed about 60% of the overgrown bushes in the backyard, and cleared a garden spot. And so it looks much better than it did one year ago. Here are some of our last projects of 2008 before the snow and ice comes:
The first picture is our project of yesterday. We have this spot in the front where the grass is long gone and consisted mostly of goathead-producing weeds. It looked truly awful and I neglected to take a good "before" picture. What I have posted is an "intermediate" photo. A few weeks ago we did some weed killer. And then yesterday we tilled and pulled out all the old dead weeds. We put down a walkway between the driveway and the front porch using pavers we dug up from all over the yard. And we put down grass seed in hopes of making the front a bit more attractive. The heavens erupted with approval for our hard work and rained a lot yesterday, so we haven't had to worry about watering it yet. So hopefully we can see some progress in the few weeks. But even with just the dirt patch it looks much better than it did with the weeds.
The second picture is of our new rain gutter. The old original gutter was kind of trashed due to a basketball hoop once being mounted over the top of it, and it leaked water all over the place. So I tore down the old one and installed a new vinyl gutter. The hardest part was probably figuring out how to do the bend from the gutter to the downspout. I decided to save $10 by keeping the old metal downspout, which was just fine. The trick was getting the right number of pieces to link them together, and I also wound up having to remove the downspout from the house so that I could hack about six inches off the downspout in order to get the angle right. But it looks much better than what we had, and what's more important, it works much better.
On the last picture, it's hard to see what we did. The original seal on the bottom of the garage door was in shoddy condition and all sorts of water would leak in whenever it rained heavily or when snow melted and ran off our crappy rain gutter. So we put on a new one - this was our general conference project. We would run out between sessions and work on it. Somehow, it still leaks slightly, maybe because the garage door isn't clamped down super hard, but it is much better than it was.
So we're almost ready for winter and next summer we should be able to focus on getting more things done on the inside of the house.
The first picture is our project of yesterday. We have this spot in the front where the grass is long gone and consisted mostly of goathead-producing weeds. It looked truly awful and I neglected to take a good "before" picture. What I have posted is an "intermediate" photo. A few weeks ago we did some weed killer. And then yesterday we tilled and pulled out all the old dead weeds. We put down a walkway between the driveway and the front porch using pavers we dug up from all over the yard. And we put down grass seed in hopes of making the front a bit more attractive. The heavens erupted with approval for our hard work and rained a lot yesterday, so we haven't had to worry about watering it yet. So hopefully we can see some progress in the few weeks. But even with just the dirt patch it looks much better than it did with the weeds.
The second picture is of our new rain gutter. The old original gutter was kind of trashed due to a basketball hoop once being mounted over the top of it, and it leaked water all over the place. So I tore down the old one and installed a new vinyl gutter. The hardest part was probably figuring out how to do the bend from the gutter to the downspout. I decided to save $10 by keeping the old metal downspout, which was just fine. The trick was getting the right number of pieces to link them together, and I also wound up having to remove the downspout from the house so that I could hack about six inches off the downspout in order to get the angle right. But it looks much better than what we had, and what's more important, it works much better.
On the last picture, it's hard to see what we did. The original seal on the bottom of the garage door was in shoddy condition and all sorts of water would leak in whenever it rained heavily or when snow melted and ran off our crappy rain gutter. So we put on a new one - this was our general conference project. We would run out between sessions and work on it. Somehow, it still leaks slightly, maybe because the garage door isn't clamped down super hard, but it is much better than it was.
So we're almost ready for winter and next summer we should be able to focus on getting more things done on the inside of the house.
Tuesday, October 7, 2008
One Accountant's Request
One week from tomorrow is the drop-dead deadline for filing individual and partnership tax returns. Not having your stuff together by April 15 is quite understandable - if you have an interest in several S-corps or LLCs, it's highly unlikely that all those returns can be completed 3 1/2 months after year-end. So the IRS offers an automatic six-month filing extension.
And yet people are still apparently putting it off until the absolute last minute. In some cases, the return is almost completely done except for a handful of simple things that are missing - I have about 10 of those in my office right now.
One client was really anxious for her return for a couple of weeks ago - finally we got it all ready to go. All we need is a simple John Hancock in order to release it - I've been waiting on that for almost a week.
Another client has 98% of the stuff in for his 2007 return - and 0% of the stuff in for his 2006 return.
And there are another 6-10 files in the office for which we have received no 2007 information whatsoever. Not sure what their plans are.
Obviously, we're accountants so we take it a bit more seriously than your average American, but what is the holdup? Take a few minutes and get your stuff together! You don't have to wait until October 13 to get around to it! 2008 is almost over! 2007 is almost ancient history!
Today I was working on an S-corp return - the filing deadline for corporations was September 15. But we just barely got the stuff.
Tomorrow I'll be doing two individual returns for clients who are owners of a company that does business in about 10 states. So I'll be spending hours reading instructions for multiple states - good times. Each state has its own unique take on income taxes - it's loads of fun to figure them all out! I think I saw Maryland and New Jersey in there - at least two states I know nothing about! But it will keep me busy until the answers start rolling in on the other stuff.
Sunday, October 5, 2008
Escape
Yes, I do read books, contrary to what my prior post may have led you to believe. Elizabeth borrowed this from her friend Jess. She read it and said, "You have to read this!" And so I did. And now I'm saying, "Read this book. Right now. Go buy it, or check it out, or borrow it, or whatever."
The book details the author's life growing up a Fundamentalist Latter-day Saint and later entering into a polygamous marriage and how she eventually found freedom. I don't think that was a spoiler - it says ESCAPE right on the cover.
The book was an eye-opener. Going in, I knew that the FLDS were a little wacky, but I don't think I comprehended how seriously evil some of the powerful people are. Every kind of abuse was described - physical, sexual, emotional, spiritual - all done in the name of celestial marriage. But really, it's all about control - plural marriage is just the tool they use to that end.
Some of the stories are mind-blowing and I wondered a time or two if maybe she was like that broken glass dude who got in trouble with Oprah a couple of years ago for embellishing his memoir. But it can't possibly be fiction - because who would have made this up?
I couldn't believe that something like this could have happened in the United States of America. Carolyn Jessop is awesome.
Friday, October 3, 2008
Learning to Read Was a Waste
So I saw this on another blog - and I realized I'm totally lame at literature!
These are the offical rules:
The Big Read reckons that the average adult has only read 6 of the top 100 books they’ve printed.
1) Look at the list and bold those you have read.
2) Italicize those you intend to read.
3) Underline the books you love.
4) Strike out the books you have no intention of ever reading, or were forced to read at school and hated.
5) Reprint this list in your own blog so we can try and track down these people who’ve only read 6 and force books upon them! :)"
MY COMMENTS ON THE RULES
1) As you can see, I've read just 3 of the 100. So I guess that I proved the point of whoever created this.
1a) What's the deal with putting several books on one line - i.e. all the Harry Potter books on one and the Complete Works of Shakespeare on one plus Hamlet separately? That puts it way over 100!
2) I don't intend to read anything until I have it in my hands and begin to open the cover. My question is that there is no provision in the rules made for "started but didn't finish" or "partial reads". I've read several of the works of Shakespeare, but not all of them. So I'm italicizing the ones I plan to finish someday. Maybe.
3) I don't love any of the 3 books I read. I read them one time each.
4) In lieu of striking out books I have no intention of reading, I'm striking out everything I've never heard of before, so I can't possibly have intended to read it!
5) It wouldn't take much work to get up to six - I can probably manage that.
1 Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen
2 The Lord of the Rings - JRR Tolkien
3 Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte
4 The Harry Potter Series - JK Rowling
5 To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee
6 The Bible
7 Wuthering Heights - Emily Bronte
8 Nineteen Eighty Four - George Orwell
9 His Dark Materials - Philip Pullman
10 Great Expectations - Charles Dickens
11 Little Women - Louisa M Alcott
12 Tess of the D’Urbervilles - Thomas Hardy
13 Catch 22 - Joseph Heller
14 Complete Works of Shakespeare
15 Rebecca - Daphne Du Maurier
16 The Hobbit - JRR Tolkien
17 Birdsong - Sebastian Faulks
18 Catcher in the Rye - JD Salinger
19 The Time Traveller’s Wife - Audrey Niffenegger
20 Middlemarch - George Eliot
21 Gone With The Wind - Margaret Mitchell
22 The Great Gatsby - F Scott Fitzgerald
23 Bleak House - Charles Dickens
24 War and Peace - Leo Tolstoy
25 The Hitch Hiker’s Guide to the Galaxy - Douglas Adams
26 Brideshead Revisited - Evelyn Waugh
27 Crime and Punishment - Fyodor Dostoyevsky
28 Grapes of Wrath - John Steinbeck
29 Alice in Wonderland - Lewis Carroll
30 The Wind in the Willows - Kenneth Grahame
31 Anna Karenina - Leo Tolstoy
32 David Copperfield - Charles Dickens
33 Chronicles of Narnia - CS Lewis
34 Emma - Jane Austen
35 Persuasion - Jane Austen
36 The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe - CS Lewis
37 The Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini
38 Captain Corelli’s Mandolin - Louis De Bernieres
39 Memoirs of a Geisha - Arthur Golden
40 Winnie the Pooh - AA Milne
41 Animal Farm - George Orwell
42 The Da Vinci Code - Dan Brown
43 One Hundred Years of Solitude - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
44 A Prayer for Owen Meaney - John Irving
45 The Woman in White - Wilkie Collins
46 Anne of Green Gables - LM Montgomery
47 Far From The Madding Crowd - Thomas Hardy
48 The Handmaid’s Tale - Margaret Atwood
49 Lord of the Flies - William Golding
50 Atonement - Ian McEwan
51 Life of Pi - Yann Martel
52 Dune - Frank Herbert
53 Cold Comfort Farm - Stella Gibbons
54 Sense and Sensibility - Jane Austen
55 A Suitable Boy - Vikram Seth
56 The Shadow of the Wind - Carlos Ruiz Zafon
57 A Tale Of Two Cities - Charles Dickens
58 Brave New World - Aldous Huxley
59 The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time - Mark Haddon
60 Love In The Time Of Cholera - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
61 Of Mice and Men - John Steinbeck
62 Lolita - Vladimir Nabokov
63 The Secret History - Donna Tartt
64 The Lovely Bones - Alice Sebold
65 Count of Monte Cristo - Alexandre Dumas
66 On The Road - Jack Kerouac
67 Jude the Obscure - Thomas Hardy
68 Bridget Jones’s Diary - Helen Fielding
69 Midnight’s Children - Salman Rushdie
70 Moby Dick - Herman Melville
71 Oliver Twist - Charles Dickens
72 Dracula - Bram Stoker
73 The Secret Garden - Frances Hodgson Burnett
74 Notes From A Small Island - Bill Bryson
75 Ulysses - James Joyce
76 The Bell Jar - Sylvia Plath
77 Swallows and Amazons - Arthur Ransome
78 Germinal - Emile Zola
79 Vanity Fair - William Makepeace Thackeray
80 Possession - AS Byatt
81 A Christmas Carol - Charles Dickens
82 Cloud Atlas - David Mitchell
83 The Color Purple - Alice Walker
84 The Remains of the Day - Kazuo Ishiguro
85 Madame Bovary - Gustave Flaubert
86 A Fine Balance - Rohinton Mistry
87 Charlotte’s Web - EB White
88 The Five People You Meet In Heaven - Mitch Albom
89 Adventures of Sherlock Holmes - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
90 The Faraway Tree Collection - Enid Blyton
91 Heart of Darkness - Joseph Conrad
92 The Little Prince - Antoine De Saint-Exupery
93 The Wasp Factory - Iain Banks
94 Watership Down - Richard Adams
95 A Confederacy of Dunces - John Kennedy Toole
96 A Town Like Alice - Nevil Shute
97 The Three Musketeers - Alexandre Dumas
98 Hamlet - William Shakespeare
99 Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - Roald Dahl
100 Les Miserables - Victor Hugo
These are the offical rules:
The Big Read reckons that the average adult has only read 6 of the top 100 books they’ve printed.
1) Look at the list and bold those you have read.
2) Italicize those you intend to read.
3) Underline the books you love.
4) Strike out the books you have no intention of ever reading, or were forced to read at school and hated.
5) Reprint this list in your own blog so we can try and track down these people who’ve only read 6 and force books upon them! :)"
MY COMMENTS ON THE RULES
1) As you can see, I've read just 3 of the 100. So I guess that I proved the point of whoever created this.
1a) What's the deal with putting several books on one line - i.e. all the Harry Potter books on one and the Complete Works of Shakespeare on one plus Hamlet separately? That puts it way over 100!
2) I don't intend to read anything until I have it in my hands and begin to open the cover. My question is that there is no provision in the rules made for "started but didn't finish" or "partial reads". I've read several of the works of Shakespeare, but not all of them. So I'm italicizing the ones I plan to finish someday. Maybe.
3) I don't love any of the 3 books I read. I read them one time each.
4) In lieu of striking out books I have no intention of reading, I'm striking out everything I've never heard of before, so I can't possibly have intended to read it!
5) It wouldn't take much work to get up to six - I can probably manage that.
1 Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen
2 The Lord of the Rings - JRR Tolkien
3 Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte
4 The Harry Potter Series - JK Rowling
5 To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee
6 The Bible
7 Wuthering Heights - Emily Bronte
8 Nineteen Eighty Four - George Orwell
10 Great Expectations - Charles Dickens
11 Little Women - Louisa M Alcott
14 Complete Works of Shakespeare
15 Rebecca - Daphne Du Maurier
16 The Hobbit - JRR Tolkien
18 Catcher in the Rye - JD Salinger
21 Gone With The Wind - Margaret Mitchell
22 The Great Gatsby - F Scott Fitzgerald
24 War and Peace - Leo Tolstoy
25 The Hitch Hiker’s Guide to the Galaxy - Douglas Adams
27 Crime and Punishment - Fyodor Dostoyevsky
28 Grapes of Wrath - John Steinbeck
29 Alice in Wonderland - Lewis Carroll
30 The Wind in the Willows - Kenneth Grahame
31 Anna Karenina - Leo Tolstoy
32 David Copperfield - Charles Dickens
33 Chronicles of Narnia - CS Lewis
34 Emma - Jane Austen
35 Persuasion - Jane Austen
36 The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe - CS Lewis
38 Captain Corelli’s Mandolin - Louis De Bernieres
39 Memoirs of a Geisha - Arthur Golden
40 Winnie the Pooh - AA Milne
41 Animal Farm - George Orwell
42 The Da Vinci Code - Dan Brown
46 Anne of Green Gables - LM Montgomery
49 Lord of the Flies - William Golding
50 Atonement - Ian McEwan
52 Dune - Frank Herbert
53 Cold Comfort Farm - Stella Gibbons
54 Sense and Sensibility - Jane Austen
56 The Shadow of the Wind - Carlos Ruiz Zafon
57 A Tale Of Two Cities - Charles Dickens
61 Of Mice and Men - John Steinbeck
62 Lolita - Vladimir Nabokov
65 Count of Monte Cristo - Alexandre Dumas
68 Bridget Jones’s Diary - Helen Fielding
70 Moby Dick - Herman Melville
71 Oliver Twist - Charles Dickens
72 Dracula - Bram Stoker
73 The Secret Garden - Frances Hodgson Burnett
75 Ulysses - James Joyce
81 A Christmas Carol - Charles Dickens
85 Madame Bovary - Gustave Flaubert
87 Charlotte’s Web - EB White
88 The Five People You Meet In Heaven - Mitch Albom
89 Adventures of Sherlock Holmes - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
91 Heart of Darkness - Joseph Conrad
92 The Little Prince - Antoine De Saint-Exupery
94 Watership Down - Richard Adams
97 The Three Musketeers - Alexandre Dumas
98 Hamlet - William Shakespeare
99 Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - Roald Dahl
100 Les Miserables - Victor Hugo
Surprised, not shocked
So the Denver Broncos lost last week to the Kansas City Chiefs. Their hopes for an undefeated season are gone. Everyone expected the Broncos to roll to an easy victory - all five Denver Post columnists picked the Broncos, and there were a couple of inflammatory articles in the Sunday paper about how awful the Chiefs are. So that pretty much guaranteed a Chiefs victory.
As for me, I was cautiously optimistic about the Broncos' chances. For some reason, they have never done well in Arrowhead Stadium, especially since Mike Shanahan became coach. Under his leadership, the Broncos are 4-11 when playing @ Kansas City. Apparently everyone believes that history was swept away because the Broncos did win at Arrowhead last year. But I guess some things never change.
As for me, I was cautiously optimistic about the Broncos' chances. For some reason, they have never done well in Arrowhead Stadium, especially since Mike Shanahan became coach. Under his leadership, the Broncos are 4-11 when playing @ Kansas City. Apparently everyone believes that history was swept away because the Broncos did win at Arrowhead last year. But I guess some things never change.
Thursday, October 2, 2008
Things That Make You Go HMMM. . .
Interesting quote I saw in today's paper from Michelle Obama, who was up in Boulder trying to get teen slackers to register to vote yesterday.
"We're going to need your prayers; we're going to need your work. We're going to need you to pray; we're going to need you to work. And then after you work, pray a little more. And then after you've prayed, keep working."
?????????????
I guess her husband's public speaking ability hasn't rubbed off on her.
"We're going to need your prayers; we're going to need your work. We're going to need you to pray; we're going to need you to work. And then after you work, pray a little more. And then after you've prayed, keep working."
?????????????
I guess her husband's public speaking ability hasn't rubbed off on her.
Saturday, September 27, 2008
Straying From Grisham
Last night we watched The Pelican Brief starring Denzel Washington and Julia Roberts. I'd already seen it several times, but we purchased the DVD at Wal-Mart last Christmas for $3 and had not yet watched "our" copy. It's kind of a bizarre DVD - no menus, no special features. You just put the disc in and it starts playing. And halfway through you have to turn it over to the other side - weird. Anyways, good movie.
I realized that I've fallen behind on John Grisham novels, though. I started reading them in high school and read six of his first seven books. I still haven't read his first book, A Time To Kill (probably because it doesn't start with The), and I haven't read any of his books that have come out in the last 10 years. For someone that is always looking for something to read but never finding it, this is a bit odd. I don't have an explanation. I guess I was looking to branch out or I knew if I started one I'd just read it straight through.
I've heard some critics say he's not a good writer. I don't know. I probably don't read enough to know the difference. He's a fairly easy read - I could never figure out what Tom Clancy was talking about in his books, although Patriot Games was fairly readable. The only Grisham book I didn't like that much was The Chamber.
I've only seen four of the movie adaptations (the word adaptation might be a bit of a stretch, however - he sold the rights to The Pelican Brief before he wrote the book) and both The Client and The Pelican Brief are outstanding. I didn't like The Firm or The Rainmaker that much. But both of those might have been a case of watching the movie too soon after reading the book.
So the next time I'm at the library I guess I'll have to pick one of his titles up.
I realized that I've fallen behind on John Grisham novels, though. I started reading them in high school and read six of his first seven books. I still haven't read his first book, A Time To Kill (probably because it doesn't start with The), and I haven't read any of his books that have come out in the last 10 years. For someone that is always looking for something to read but never finding it, this is a bit odd. I don't have an explanation. I guess I was looking to branch out or I knew if I started one I'd just read it straight through.
I've heard some critics say he's not a good writer. I don't know. I probably don't read enough to know the difference. He's a fairly easy read - I could never figure out what Tom Clancy was talking about in his books, although Patriot Games was fairly readable. The only Grisham book I didn't like that much was The Chamber.
I've only seen four of the movie adaptations (the word adaptation might be a bit of a stretch, however - he sold the rights to The Pelican Brief before he wrote the book) and both The Client and The Pelican Brief are outstanding. I didn't like The Firm or The Rainmaker that much. But both of those might have been a case of watching the movie too soon after reading the book.
So the next time I'm at the library I guess I'll have to pick one of his titles up.
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
The Most Crazy Thing I've Heard Today
My favorite activist organization - People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals - is up to their old tricks once again. I thought the most crazy request I'd ever heard from PETA was when they wanted the Green Bay Packers to change their nickname in order to protect animal rights. But now they have penned a letter to the cofounders of Ben & Jerry's Homemade, Inc., asking them to consider replacing cow's milk used in the production of ice cream with human breast milk. They got the idea from some wackmobile in Switzerland who was doing it in his restaurant. They want to lessen the suffering of dairy cows, so their solution is to pay women to give them breast milk. As April Zesbaugh of 850 KOA said, "What about the suffering of women?"
I can't imagine Ben & Jerry's ever doing this - that's a huge risk to take with your product - but if they did, think of all the new creative names they could come up with: Mammary Swirl. Mom's Crunch. Baby Food. . .
I can't imagine Ben & Jerry's ever doing this - that's a huge risk to take with your product - but if they did, think of all the new creative names they could come up with: Mammary Swirl. Mom's Crunch. Baby Food. . .
The Least Crazy Thing I've Heard Today
Clay Aiken is gay. After years of speculation, he finally owned up to it in this week's People magazine. The headline - "Yes, I'm Gay". I wonder what other scoops People has in store for us:
Ruben Studdard - "I'm Really Big"
Paula Abdul - "Sometimes I Drink"
Taylor Hicks - "I am Prematurely Gray".
I wonder if someone at People had to write the gay Clay story up last week, or if they've had it in a filing cabinet ready to go for the last five years.
The clincher for me personally on this matter was when he had the in-vitro baby with the woman old enough to be his mom.
Ruben Studdard - "I'm Really Big"
Paula Abdul - "Sometimes I Drink"
Taylor Hicks - "I am Prematurely Gray".
I wonder if someone at People had to write the gay Clay story up last week, or if they've had it in a filing cabinet ready to go for the last five years.
The clincher for me personally on this matter was when he had the in-vitro baby with the woman old enough to be his mom.
Saturday, September 20, 2008
Have Your Accounting Cake and Eat it Too
I will now attempt a post that is not about sports or politics.
Two years ago today I interviewed with two public accounting firms in the Denver area. I bought a plane ticket and flew to Colorado to seek employment after failing to get hired anywhere in North Carolina. The first interview was the one that originally led me to try my luck in Colorado - one of the owners and another guy that I corresponded with were LDS. So it seemed like a good connection. But I didn't end up working for them. Although I did see the owner of that firm in the temple a year later - he asked me to do a family file name for him - but I'm not sure if he remembered me at all.
I went to the second interview later that afternoon and talked to both owners for about an hour and a half. It really didn't go that much different than any other interview I'd ever had - but I remember being impressed by the owners. They were so unpretentious - which is not a common thing when seeking a job in public accounting. I thought I would enjoy working for the firm. They called a few days later and offered me a job.
When I was in the early stages of job-seeking, I had lots of opportunities to talk to professionals. Usually one of the first questions they would ask was, "Audit or tax?" I think that my answers varied - but what I was really thinking can be summed up by the teenaged kid who gave Geena Davis a ride to the Suds Bucket in the movie A League of Their Own - "Can't we do both?"
Almost all firms make you choose one path or the other. They always claim you can switch later, but who knows how easy that is in reality. However, I do both audit and tax at my job, as do all my co-workers. I can't imagine having it any other way. The variety is great because sometimes you get tired of auditing and vice versa. I'm so glad I wound up not being forced to pick one. Otherwise I probably would have already dropped out of public accounting.
If you told the recruiters you weren't sure which one you wanted to pick, they always brought up that the main difference was that tax accountants worked out of the office while auditors spent most of their time at client locations. So, if you liked having your "own space" you should probably choose tax. Which is kind of stupid advice. I figured I should probably choose tax since I'm an introvert and kind of a homebody.
But that would have been a mistake. If I had to be in my office eight hours a day, five days a week, every week. . . I probably would have dropped out of public accounting, unless I had already jumped out the window to my untimely death first. I love having my own office - but after three or four weeks solid in the office, it gets really old. But then it's time to go on an audit, which is a great change of scenery. And then after a couple of weeks on the road, it's great to go back to your own office for a few days. Again, I'm glad it's not one or the other.
Travel is pretty limited. Almost all of our clients are located between Colorado Springs and Fort Collins, with a few more in the mountains. I go on exactly one overnight trip per year, to Avon, which is all of two nights in February. Sometimes I think it would be fun to get out and see more of the country. But then I think of what a hassle air travel is.
I found the right situation for me and succeeded - which was no surprise to me - I knew I was smart enough to do the work. I just didn't have the chops to get a job at a Big Four firm. Which is fine with me - it's just kind of a rite of passage for accountants to start out at Deloitte or one of those. I'm fine with skipping that rite. If I had wound up at a pretentious firm where the partners wear blue shirts with white collars I probably would have already dropped out of public accounting, if not fired for punching one of those Big 4 snobs. Lucky for me I'm not much of a butt-kisser.
Two years ago today I interviewed with two public accounting firms in the Denver area. I bought a plane ticket and flew to Colorado to seek employment after failing to get hired anywhere in North Carolina. The first interview was the one that originally led me to try my luck in Colorado - one of the owners and another guy that I corresponded with were LDS. So it seemed like a good connection. But I didn't end up working for them. Although I did see the owner of that firm in the temple a year later - he asked me to do a family file name for him - but I'm not sure if he remembered me at all.
I went to the second interview later that afternoon and talked to both owners for about an hour and a half. It really didn't go that much different than any other interview I'd ever had - but I remember being impressed by the owners. They were so unpretentious - which is not a common thing when seeking a job in public accounting. I thought I would enjoy working for the firm. They called a few days later and offered me a job.
When I was in the early stages of job-seeking, I had lots of opportunities to talk to professionals. Usually one of the first questions they would ask was, "Audit or tax?" I think that my answers varied - but what I was really thinking can be summed up by the teenaged kid who gave Geena Davis a ride to the Suds Bucket in the movie A League of Their Own - "Can't we do both?"
Almost all firms make you choose one path or the other. They always claim you can switch later, but who knows how easy that is in reality. However, I do both audit and tax at my job, as do all my co-workers. I can't imagine having it any other way. The variety is great because sometimes you get tired of auditing and vice versa. I'm so glad I wound up not being forced to pick one. Otherwise I probably would have already dropped out of public accounting.
If you told the recruiters you weren't sure which one you wanted to pick, they always brought up that the main difference was that tax accountants worked out of the office while auditors spent most of their time at client locations. So, if you liked having your "own space" you should probably choose tax. Which is kind of stupid advice. I figured I should probably choose tax since I'm an introvert and kind of a homebody.
But that would have been a mistake. If I had to be in my office eight hours a day, five days a week, every week. . . I probably would have dropped out of public accounting, unless I had already jumped out the window to my untimely death first. I love having my own office - but after three or four weeks solid in the office, it gets really old. But then it's time to go on an audit, which is a great change of scenery. And then after a couple of weeks on the road, it's great to go back to your own office for a few days. Again, I'm glad it's not one or the other.
Travel is pretty limited. Almost all of our clients are located between Colorado Springs and Fort Collins, with a few more in the mountains. I go on exactly one overnight trip per year, to Avon, which is all of two nights in February. Sometimes I think it would be fun to get out and see more of the country. But then I think of what a hassle air travel is.
I found the right situation for me and succeeded - which was no surprise to me - I knew I was smart enough to do the work. I just didn't have the chops to get a job at a Big Four firm. Which is fine with me - it's just kind of a rite of passage for accountants to start out at Deloitte or one of those. I'm fine with skipping that rite. If I had wound up at a pretentious firm where the partners wear blue shirts with white collars I probably would have already dropped out of public accounting, if not fired for punching one of those Big 4 snobs. Lucky for me I'm not much of a butt-kisser.
Thursday, September 18, 2008
Sucktember
So there's my attempt at coining a new term. A failed attempt, I guess, because I just googled "Sucktember" and there were 120 results. So it's not knew. But maybe I'll hurry and print it up on some T-shirts. Do you think they'll sell? Or do you think the Colorado Rockies Baseball Club will attempt to copyright "Sucktember" for their exclusive use?
Has anything been more painful to follow than the National League West this season? The Arizona Diamondbacks jumped out to a fast start and then said, "Hey, guys, you know what? We changed our minds - is anyone else interested in winning this thing?" The Rockies had several opportunities to jump all over that and take control. And several times it appeared they were ready to do just that - they'd go on a nice little streak, and just when the time was right - they'd crap out and do something like get swept by the Washington Nationals.
The Rockies finally surrendered with a nice seven-game losing streak earlier this month. The D-backs were swept by the Dodgers and handed the division over at that point. Whatever. I don't really watch baseball anymore. I saw half of the All-Star Game this year and maybe I'll watch some of the playoffs (although listening to Tim McCarver and Joe Buck is a huge deterrent). I didn't even listen to the Rockies on 850 KOA much this year because there was no point. I thought I would get to Coors Field for at least one game this summer but I never made it.
I don't know what the point of this post even is. I guess just to say, "Yep, these are the Rockies I know. Nothing says Colorado baseball like 76-86."
Has anything been more painful to follow than the National League West this season? The Arizona Diamondbacks jumped out to a fast start and then said, "Hey, guys, you know what? We changed our minds - is anyone else interested in winning this thing?" The Rockies had several opportunities to jump all over that and take control. And several times it appeared they were ready to do just that - they'd go on a nice little streak, and just when the time was right - they'd crap out and do something like get swept by the Washington Nationals.
The Rockies finally surrendered with a nice seven-game losing streak earlier this month. The D-backs were swept by the Dodgers and handed the division over at that point. Whatever. I don't really watch baseball anymore. I saw half of the All-Star Game this year and maybe I'll watch some of the playoffs (although listening to Tim McCarver and Joe Buck is a huge deterrent). I didn't even listen to the Rockies on 850 KOA much this year because there was no point. I thought I would get to Coors Field for at least one game this summer but I never made it.
I don't know what the point of this post even is. I guess just to say, "Yep, these are the Rockies I know. Nothing says Colorado baseball like 76-86."
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
Broncos: Two-and-Oh!
Let's talk about that Broncos-Chargers game on Sunday. Wow! Where does that rank for all-time best Broncos games? For regular season games, I'd say easily top ten, maybe top five. I don't know. I've never sat down and made the list. Probably like everyone else, I thought they were sunk when Jay Cutler was intercepted at the goal line and the Chargers immediately turned around and scored a touchdown to take a 38-31 lead, completing their comeback from 18 points down. But no - the Broncos come right back down the field. Cutler turns the ball over once again deep in Chargers' territory, but thanks to the small miracle of an inadvertant whistle, the Broncos retain possession. They score a touchdown on fourth-and-goal from the two, and then Mike Shanahan holds up two fingers. I thought it was the right call all the way - win or lose, and one only a coach with Shanahan's job security can make. And so Cutler throws another dart to Eddie Royal. Broncos win.
Going in, I thought this was a huge game for the Broncos. If they had ANY ideas about winning the AFC West, they NEEDED to beat the Chargers in Denver. If they failed, they were probably no better than a wildcard contender. But now they have a two-game lead on the Chargers and suddenly, the AFC West appears to be theirs to lose.
I'm a pretty heavy consumer of Denver sports media, especially as it pertains to the Broncos. And people have been dumping on the Broncos since training camp opened up. The consensus was that they would be no better than 8-8 this year and it was pretty much the bleakest outlook of the past quarter-century. I'm usually an optimist when it comes to the Broncos, but I didn't know what to think with all the negativity swirling around me.
I went to the Broncos-Cowboys preseason game after a week of listening to the sports yakkers debate all week about whether the Cowboys would be 13-3 and go to the Super Bowl, or go 14-2 and go to the Super Bowl. They talked about how big and mean Dallas was and how Denver wasn't anywhere in their league. And then the Broncos came out and worked over the Cowboys for a half as Jay Cutler looked really good and Tony Romo-Simpson didn't do anything. Granted, it was the preseason, but still. . . maybe these Broncos weren't going to be so bad. And then they went out and did the same to the mighty Packers of Green Bay the following week.
Everytime I went through the Broncos schedule, I kept coming up with 11-5. No worse than 10-6. I was going to post all my predictions, but I didn't. Because I felt like I was probably looking at it through orange-colored spectacles. So I kept quiet and took the wait-and-see approach. I expected a tough game in Oakland - alas, the Broncos blew them to pieces. And now, they're 2-0. Suddenly 11-5 seems very possible. The schedule isn't too tough - Miami, Atlanta, Kansas City twice, Oakland again, Cleveland. . . I'm just saying.
I realize the Broncos also started 2-0 last year and then fell apart. So we shouldn't get too far ahead of ourselves just yet. But there are plenty of reasons to be optimistic. The Broncos offense won't be their downfall. They haven't been this loaded receiver-wise for awhile - Marshall, Royal, Scheffler, Graham, Stokley. The offensive line seems okay despite what the doomsayers might have led you to believe. They're scoring touchdowns consistenly, not settling for field goals. I guess we'll see what the defense does as the season goes along. It's probably not a championship-caliber group, but if the offense continues to averge 40 points per game that won't matter.
Going in, I thought this was a huge game for the Broncos. If they had ANY ideas about winning the AFC West, they NEEDED to beat the Chargers in Denver. If they failed, they were probably no better than a wildcard contender. But now they have a two-game lead on the Chargers and suddenly, the AFC West appears to be theirs to lose.
I'm a pretty heavy consumer of Denver sports media, especially as it pertains to the Broncos. And people have been dumping on the Broncos since training camp opened up. The consensus was that they would be no better than 8-8 this year and it was pretty much the bleakest outlook of the past quarter-century. I'm usually an optimist when it comes to the Broncos, but I didn't know what to think with all the negativity swirling around me.
I went to the Broncos-Cowboys preseason game after a week of listening to the sports yakkers debate all week about whether the Cowboys would be 13-3 and go to the Super Bowl, or go 14-2 and go to the Super Bowl. They talked about how big and mean Dallas was and how Denver wasn't anywhere in their league. And then the Broncos came out and worked over the Cowboys for a half as Jay Cutler looked really good and Tony Romo-Simpson didn't do anything. Granted, it was the preseason, but still. . . maybe these Broncos weren't going to be so bad. And then they went out and did the same to the mighty Packers of Green Bay the following week.
Everytime I went through the Broncos schedule, I kept coming up with 11-5. No worse than 10-6. I was going to post all my predictions, but I didn't. Because I felt like I was probably looking at it through orange-colored spectacles. So I kept quiet and took the wait-and-see approach. I expected a tough game in Oakland - alas, the Broncos blew them to pieces. And now, they're 2-0. Suddenly 11-5 seems very possible. The schedule isn't too tough - Miami, Atlanta, Kansas City twice, Oakland again, Cleveland. . . I'm just saying.
I realize the Broncos also started 2-0 last year and then fell apart. So we shouldn't get too far ahead of ourselves just yet. But there are plenty of reasons to be optimistic. The Broncos offense won't be their downfall. They haven't been this loaded receiver-wise for awhile - Marshall, Royal, Scheffler, Graham, Stokley. The offensive line seems okay despite what the doomsayers might have led you to believe. They're scoring touchdowns consistenly, not settling for field goals. I guess we'll see what the defense does as the season goes along. It's probably not a championship-caliber group, but if the offense continues to averge 40 points per game that won't matter.
Sunday, September 7, 2008
A Real American Problem
I've been real political lately, which isn't like me, so I apologize. But I have to share a brilliant quote from today's Denver Post, from Toni Panetta, the political director of NARAL Pro-Choice Colorado. The context is that Ms. Panetta is complaining that John McCain has opposed funding for programs that would provide birth control to low-income women:
Panetta challenged McCain to look into the eyes of a mother "who struggles to balance the checkbook and make a mortgage payment while choosing between whether to fill a gas tank to take her kids to school or to fill her monthly birth control prescription."
?????????????????????????
Panetta challenged McCain to look into the eyes of a mother "who struggles to balance the checkbook and make a mortgage payment while choosing between whether to fill a gas tank to take her kids to school or to fill her monthly birth control prescription."
?????????????????????????
Tuesday, September 2, 2008
Veepstakes (I Hate That Word)
When I heard that John McCain selected Alaska Gov Sarah Palin as his running mate, my first thought was - "Who?" My second thought was - "Wow, a politician who's easy on the eyes!" I'm not sure what my third thought was, but I think it was something along the lines of what Tom Hanks said in A League of Their Own after he knocked down Stillwell with a baseball mitt - "We're gonna win!"
I thought it was interesting that Obama has been talking about how he is going to offer a change from the same old Washington politics - and so he picks fusty old Joe Biden, who has been in the Senate for 35 years. And McCain, after criticizing Obama's lack of experience, goes out and picks Sarah Palin, who the average American had never heard of before last Friday.
I was voting for McCain all along, but my vote was based mostly on the fact that he's not Obama or Hillary and also because he did a fine job hosting Saturday Night Live about 5 years ago. And of course, you can't go wrong with the POW thing. But picking Sarah Palin - that gave his whole campaign a jolt of energy. Something that wouldn't have happened if he had picked Joe Lieberman or Mitt Romney (unless you're Mormon) or a reanimated Jimmy Carter zombie.
What a biography she has - born in Idaho, raised in Alaska, won a state basketball championship, Miss Alaska runner-up, graduate of the University of Idaho (The Vandals), worked as a sports anchor, husband is one-quarter eskimo, was mayor of Wasilla (pop. < 10,000) just six years ago, kicked corrupt political butt in Alaska, has something like an 80 percent approval rating as governor, mother of five, had a baby at age 44 while in office, the baby has Down Syndrome. Fascinating stuff.
All other things being equal, I'm always going to vote for the POW from Arizona and the Lady Governor from Alaska over the Harvard guy and his crusty old East Coast running mate.
Sunday, August 31, 2008
Audacity of Crap
I don't plan on voting for Obama. I never did - although I'm sort of glad he beat Hillary. I roll my eyes at the e-mail forwards that say he is the anti-Christ or that he is ineligible to be president, but I'm not a fan. It seems like his whole candidacy is based on hype. Just what does he plan to do to "change" America?
I'm not really qualified to speak on how to fix health care. That's a tough nut to crack. Does it even need fixing? I'm not sure.
But I did do some reading on his tax policy because I feel somewhat qualified. I don't claim to be an expert but I do have prepared a few hundred tax returns in my day, so I have been in the trenches with "working class" America, helping them file tax returns - so naturally, I have opinions.
Obama wants to create a new tax credit of $500 to $1000, to offset the cost of payroll taxes for working class Americans. Yes, I know everyone hates having that 7.65% withheld from their checks. But that's part of being employed. What I don't understand is that Obama is also against privatizing Social Security. And yet he wants "working class" Americans not to be burdened with funding the program. Last I checked, weren't they trying to figure out a way to get MORE money into Social Security?
He wants to provide a universal homeowners credit to filers who don't itemize their deductions. Hey, Obama, we already have that. It's called the STANDARD DEDUCTION. Besides, I've done hundreds of tax returns for "working class" Americans, and the number of homeowners who are unable to itemize their deductions are few. It consists mostly of people who are close to paying off their mortgage or have already done so.
He also plans on eliminating the income tax for senior citizens earning less than $50,000. Social security income is already nontaxable for most seniors - partially taxable for those who have significant income apart from Social Security. Seniors who are generating enough income from pensions, interest, and dividends to require them to pay income tax - I think they probably have enough in the bank to get them by. I don't think eliminating income taxes for these folks is going to help anything or anybody - although it will probably win a few votes, which is the whole point, right?
He wants the IRS to send out pre-filled 1040s already containing income information for the taxpayer to verify. This eliminates the need for "working class" Americans to hire a tax preparer. (This actually eliminates jobs, Barack. Should we count this against your plan to add 5 million new jobs?) I'm also unsure how this fits in with the IRS goal of getting more Americans to e-file.
Of course, he wants to raise the tax on capital gains and dividends, because rich people need to pay more taxes. Maybe so. But some of the returns I've prepared for some of our clients scare me. Paying six figures - in federal income tax? Ouch. That has to hurt. And I'm sure there are those who pay seven, eight, nine figures. Obama taxing more heavily the people who create jobs seems like a curious way to add 5 million jobs.
My main point is that it is nice of Obama to want to ease our tax burden - but there isn't really much of a burden to ease. I am among these "working class" Americans that he speaks of - I make a good salary at a full-time job with a public accounting firm, but I'm not well off by any means. My wife doesn't work outside the home, and we have three children.
How much did I pay in federal income tax last year?
Zero dollars and zero cents.
B.O. stinks.
I'm not really qualified to speak on how to fix health care. That's a tough nut to crack. Does it even need fixing? I'm not sure.
But I did do some reading on his tax policy because I feel somewhat qualified. I don't claim to be an expert but I do have prepared a few hundred tax returns in my day, so I have been in the trenches with "working class" America, helping them file tax returns - so naturally, I have opinions.
Obama wants to create a new tax credit of $500 to $1000, to offset the cost of payroll taxes for working class Americans. Yes, I know everyone hates having that 7.65% withheld from their checks. But that's part of being employed. What I don't understand is that Obama is also against privatizing Social Security. And yet he wants "working class" Americans not to be burdened with funding the program. Last I checked, weren't they trying to figure out a way to get MORE money into Social Security?
He wants to provide a universal homeowners credit to filers who don't itemize their deductions. Hey, Obama, we already have that. It's called the STANDARD DEDUCTION. Besides, I've done hundreds of tax returns for "working class" Americans, and the number of homeowners who are unable to itemize their deductions are few. It consists mostly of people who are close to paying off their mortgage or have already done so.
He also plans on eliminating the income tax for senior citizens earning less than $50,000. Social security income is already nontaxable for most seniors - partially taxable for those who have significant income apart from Social Security. Seniors who are generating enough income from pensions, interest, and dividends to require them to pay income tax - I think they probably have enough in the bank to get them by. I don't think eliminating income taxes for these folks is going to help anything or anybody - although it will probably win a few votes, which is the whole point, right?
He wants the IRS to send out pre-filled 1040s already containing income information for the taxpayer to verify. This eliminates the need for "working class" Americans to hire a tax preparer. (This actually eliminates jobs, Barack. Should we count this against your plan to add 5 million new jobs?) I'm also unsure how this fits in with the IRS goal of getting more Americans to e-file.
Of course, he wants to raise the tax on capital gains and dividends, because rich people need to pay more taxes. Maybe so. But some of the returns I've prepared for some of our clients scare me. Paying six figures - in federal income tax? Ouch. That has to hurt. And I'm sure there are those who pay seven, eight, nine figures. Obama taxing more heavily the people who create jobs seems like a curious way to add 5 million jobs.
My main point is that it is nice of Obama to want to ease our tax burden - but there isn't really much of a burden to ease. I am among these "working class" Americans that he speaks of - I make a good salary at a full-time job with a public accounting firm, but I'm not well off by any means. My wife doesn't work outside the home, and we have three children.
How much did I pay in federal income tax last year?
Zero dollars and zero cents.
B.O. stinks.
Saturday, August 30, 2008
All-Time Broncos Team
This is a list I've been thinking about for some time, and with a brand-new season of Broncos football upon us, I thought it was the right time to unveil my All-Time All-Broncos Team. Every player from 1960 to now was eligible. Eleven offensive players, eleven defensive players, and three special teamers.
QB – John Elway (1983-98). That was easy.
RB - Terrell Davis (1995-02) and Floyd Little (1967-75). That was easy, too.
WR – Rod Smith (1995-06) and Lionel Taylor (1960-66). The initial instinct was to go with Ed McCaffrey or Vance Johnson, but the right choice is Taylor, who piled up big numbers when the Broncos were bad, and is still third on the Broncos all-time list for receptions and receiving yards.
TE – Shannon Sharpe (1990-99, 2002-03). He’ll go into the Hall of Fame next summer.
T – Gary Zimmerman (1993-97) and Ken Lanier (1981-92, 1994). Zimmerman’s an easy choice – he went into the Hall of Fame this month. Lanier gets the nod for his longevity, edging out Matt Lepsis and Tony Jones.
G- Keith Bishop (1980-89) and Mark Schlereth (1995-00). It’s hard to pick offensive linemen – no stats to compare. Bishop was the first Broncos lineman to be selected to the Pro Bowl (1986 & 1987) and Schlereth started for both Super Bowl teams.
C – Tom Nalen (1994-now ). The only active offensive player to make the team.
And now for the defense. . . I guess the first order of business is to decide if the All-Time Bronco team would play in a 3-4 or a 4-3 alignment. I decided on a 3-4, mostly because the Broncos have more linebackers to choose from.
DE – Rich Jackson (1967-72) and Rulon Jones (1980-88). The Broncos need some guys like these now.
DT – Trevor Pryce (1997-05). I couldn’t choose between Paul Smith and Rubin Carter, and ultimately decided to go with Pryce instead, although he did play both end and tackle.
OLB - Tom Jackson (1973-86) and Simon Fletcher (1985-95). Fletcher is the Broncos all-time sack leader with 97.5, but was never selected to a Pro Bowl, so he finally gets an honor.
ILB – Randy Gradishar (1974-83) and Karl Mecklenburg (1983-94). Both should be in Hall of Fame, but neither is or probably will be selected by the biased Hall committee.
CB – Louis Wright (1975-86) and Champ Bailey (2004-now). Bailey is the only active defensive player to make the team, and the shortest tenured.
S – Steve Atwater (1989-98) and Billy Thompson (1969-81). The Bronco have had a lot of good safeties: Goose Gonsulin, Steve Foley, Dennis Smith. But Atwater and Thompson were the two best.
And the specialists. . .
K – Jason Elam (1993-07). Who did you expect, Rich Karlis?
P – Tom Rouen (1993-02). The Broncos have had trouble with the punter spot since he left.
KR/PR – Rick Upchurch (1975-83). Some wonder why he isn't in the Broncos' Ring of Fame.
QB – John Elway (1983-98). That was easy.
RB - Terrell Davis (1995-02) and Floyd Little (1967-75). That was easy, too.
WR – Rod Smith (1995-06) and Lionel Taylor (1960-66). The initial instinct was to go with Ed McCaffrey or Vance Johnson, but the right choice is Taylor, who piled up big numbers when the Broncos were bad, and is still third on the Broncos all-time list for receptions and receiving yards.
TE – Shannon Sharpe (1990-99, 2002-03). He’ll go into the Hall of Fame next summer.
T – Gary Zimmerman (1993-97) and Ken Lanier (1981-92, 1994). Zimmerman’s an easy choice – he went into the Hall of Fame this month. Lanier gets the nod for his longevity, edging out Matt Lepsis and Tony Jones.
G- Keith Bishop (1980-89) and Mark Schlereth (1995-00). It’s hard to pick offensive linemen – no stats to compare. Bishop was the first Broncos lineman to be selected to the Pro Bowl (1986 & 1987) and Schlereth started for both Super Bowl teams.
C – Tom Nalen (1994-now ). The only active offensive player to make the team.
And now for the defense. . . I guess the first order of business is to decide if the All-Time Bronco team would play in a 3-4 or a 4-3 alignment. I decided on a 3-4, mostly because the Broncos have more linebackers to choose from.
DE – Rich Jackson (1967-72) and Rulon Jones (1980-88). The Broncos need some guys like these now.
DT – Trevor Pryce (1997-05). I couldn’t choose between Paul Smith and Rubin Carter, and ultimately decided to go with Pryce instead, although he did play both end and tackle.
OLB - Tom Jackson (1973-86) and Simon Fletcher (1985-95). Fletcher is the Broncos all-time sack leader with 97.5, but was never selected to a Pro Bowl, so he finally gets an honor.
ILB – Randy Gradishar (1974-83) and Karl Mecklenburg (1983-94). Both should be in Hall of Fame, but neither is or probably will be selected by the biased Hall committee.
CB – Louis Wright (1975-86) and Champ Bailey (2004-now). Bailey is the only active defensive player to make the team, and the shortest tenured.
S – Steve Atwater (1989-98) and Billy Thompson (1969-81). The Bronco have had a lot of good safeties: Goose Gonsulin, Steve Foley, Dennis Smith. But Atwater and Thompson were the two best.
And the specialists. . .
K – Jason Elam (1993-07). Who did you expect, Rich Karlis?
P – Tom Rouen (1993-02). The Broncos have had trouble with the punter spot since he left.
KR/PR – Rick Upchurch (1975-83). Some wonder why he isn't in the Broncos' Ring of Fame.
Friday, August 29, 2008
Becky Gets Bronze
Russia's Rebekka Linn Hammon (L) celebrates with assitant coach Boris Sokolovskiy after winning the women's basketball bronze medal match China against Russia of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games against Russia on August 23, 2008 at the Olympic basketball Arena in Beijing. Russia won 94-81. (ANTONIO SCORZA/AFP/Getty Images)
Becky Hammon played for Russia in the Olympics. And the world didn't come to an end. This post is mostly an update - I already expressed my feelings on the matter in a June post entitled "Tough Choices."
Everything played out pretty much as expected. Team USA won gold and Australia received the silver. Becky Hammon and her Russia teammates beat out the host Chinese for the bronze medal. Russia was 6-2 overall in the Olympics, losing only to Australia and the United States.
Hammon shot 54% from the field in the Olympics, including 50% from three-point range. She made 15 of 16 free throws and averaged 13 points per game. Surprisingly, her worst game came against the US in the semifinals when she scored just 3 points. Her best game was against the Chinese in the bronze medal match when she scored 22 points, handed out 4 assists, and made 4 of 6 three-pointers.
Tuesday, August 26, 2008
More Medals
To celebrate the conclusion of the 2008 summer games, I have a few medals of my own to hand out.
OBNOXIOUS NBC COMMENTATOR
Gold - Tim Daggett, gymnastics. I expect him to repeat in 2012.
Silver - Cynthia Potter, diving.
Bronze - Rowdy Gaines, swimming. We like Rowdy - but wow - what a fitting name.
BOB COSTAS HEIR APPARENT
Gold - Bob Costas.
Silver - Bela Karolyi. I'm convinced that Bob was training him.
Bronze - Jim McKay? I know he's passed on, but we don't have to worry, since Bob doesn't age.
WEIREST OLYMPIC RITUAL
Gold - Divers taking 15-second showers
Silver - Track medalists draping themselves with flags
Bronze - That single-file march that gymnasts do before & after competitions
CUTEST OLYMPIAN
Gold - Shawn Johnson, US gymanstics
Silver - Shelly Ann Fraser, Jamaica 100 meter gold medalist
Bronze - Jonathan Horton, US gymanstics
MOST OVERDONE OLYMPIC CONTROVERSY
Gold - Usain Bolt's showboating. If you're from Jamaica and those are the only medals your country is going to win, I say you can get away with just about anything.
Silver - Chinese under-16 gymnasts. Really, who cares? If they take them out of their homes as toddlers to train, it's not like they have much else going on in life.
Bronze - The time-reducing swimwear. I love how swimmers are so worried about how to shave another one-hundredth of a second of their time, but the sprinters have all these sunglasses and bling that they run with.
BEST OLYMPIC UNDERDOG
Gold - The white sprinters from Russia or Europe. They try SO hard.
Silver - The swimmers in lanes 1 & 8.
Bronze - Female gymnasts not from USA or China.
MOST ANNOYING NBC HABIT
Gold - Interviewing Michael Phelps at every possible moment
Silver - Showing Shawn Johnson and Nastia Liukin as they warm up or stand around instead of showing other gymnasts compete
Bronze - (On behalf of my wife) Showing close-ups of gymnasts as they sprint down to do the vault
SPORTS I WATCHED THE MOST (because that was pretty much all they showed)
Gold - Gymnastics
Silver - Swimming
Bronze - Track
SPORTS I WOULD HAVE WATCHED MORE OF (if I had more time and more TV channels)
Gold - Volleyball
Silver - Tennis
Bronze - Basketball
SPORTS THAT WOULD BE FUNNER TO SEE THAN BOB COSTAS INTERVIEWING PEOPLE
Gold - Table tennis
Silver - Water Polo
Bronze - Badminton
SKIMPIEST OUTFITS
Gold - Men's diving
Silver - Women's beach volleyball
Bronze - Women's track
LEAST SKIMPY OUTFITS
Gold - Fencing
Silver - BMX Racing
Bronze - Baseball
MOST MEMORABLE OLYMPIC MOMENT
Gold - Jason Lezak coming from behind to beat the cocky Frenchman to win gold for the USA in the 4x100 swim
Silver - Thinned-out US Men's gymnastics team winning a bronze medal.
Bronze - Usain Bolt winning the 200 meter run - easily.
MOST ANTICLIMACTIC OLYMPIC MOMENT
Gold - Michael Phelps winning gold after gold after gold.
Silver - Kerri Walsh and Misty May winning gold in beach volleyball - again.
Bronze - The "Redeem Team" winning gold - as they should.
BEST NAMES
Gold - Libby Trickett, Australian swimmer
Silver - Usain Bolt, Jamaican sprinter
Bronze - Natasha Kai, US soccer
So that's about it. The scope of this exercise was somewhat limited giving that I didn't see much Olympics outside of the holy trinity of gymnastics, swimming, and track. But it was fun to do anyways.
OBNOXIOUS NBC COMMENTATOR
Gold - Tim Daggett, gymnastics. I expect him to repeat in 2012.
Silver - Cynthia Potter, diving.
Bronze - Rowdy Gaines, swimming. We like Rowdy - but wow - what a fitting name.
BOB COSTAS HEIR APPARENT
Gold - Bob Costas.
Silver - Bela Karolyi. I'm convinced that Bob was training him.
Bronze - Jim McKay? I know he's passed on, but we don't have to worry, since Bob doesn't age.
WEIREST OLYMPIC RITUAL
Gold - Divers taking 15-second showers
Silver - Track medalists draping themselves with flags
Bronze - That single-file march that gymnasts do before & after competitions
CUTEST OLYMPIAN
Gold - Shawn Johnson, US gymanstics
Silver - Shelly Ann Fraser, Jamaica 100 meter gold medalist
Bronze - Jonathan Horton, US gymanstics
MOST OVERDONE OLYMPIC CONTROVERSY
Gold - Usain Bolt's showboating. If you're from Jamaica and those are the only medals your country is going to win, I say you can get away with just about anything.
Silver - Chinese under-16 gymnasts. Really, who cares? If they take them out of their homes as toddlers to train, it's not like they have much else going on in life.
Bronze - The time-reducing swimwear. I love how swimmers are so worried about how to shave another one-hundredth of a second of their time, but the sprinters have all these sunglasses and bling that they run with.
BEST OLYMPIC UNDERDOG
Gold - The white sprinters from Russia or Europe. They try SO hard.
Silver - The swimmers in lanes 1 & 8.
Bronze - Female gymnasts not from USA or China.
MOST ANNOYING NBC HABIT
Gold - Interviewing Michael Phelps at every possible moment
Silver - Showing Shawn Johnson and Nastia Liukin as they warm up or stand around instead of showing other gymnasts compete
Bronze - (On behalf of my wife) Showing close-ups of gymnasts as they sprint down to do the vault
SPORTS I WATCHED THE MOST (because that was pretty much all they showed)
Gold - Gymnastics
Silver - Swimming
Bronze - Track
SPORTS I WOULD HAVE WATCHED MORE OF (if I had more time and more TV channels)
Gold - Volleyball
Silver - Tennis
Bronze - Basketball
SPORTS THAT WOULD BE FUNNER TO SEE THAN BOB COSTAS INTERVIEWING PEOPLE
Gold - Table tennis
Silver - Water Polo
Bronze - Badminton
SKIMPIEST OUTFITS
Gold - Men's diving
Silver - Women's beach volleyball
Bronze - Women's track
LEAST SKIMPY OUTFITS
Gold - Fencing
Silver - BMX Racing
Bronze - Baseball
MOST MEMORABLE OLYMPIC MOMENT
Gold - Jason Lezak coming from behind to beat the cocky Frenchman to win gold for the USA in the 4x100 swim
Silver - Thinned-out US Men's gymnastics team winning a bronze medal.
Bronze - Usain Bolt winning the 200 meter run - easily.
MOST ANTICLIMACTIC OLYMPIC MOMENT
Gold - Michael Phelps winning gold after gold after gold.
Silver - Kerri Walsh and Misty May winning gold in beach volleyball - again.
Bronze - The "Redeem Team" winning gold - as they should.
BEST NAMES
Gold - Libby Trickett, Australian swimmer
Silver - Usain Bolt, Jamaican sprinter
Bronze - Natasha Kai, US soccer
So that's about it. The scope of this exercise was somewhat limited giving that I didn't see much Olympics outside of the holy trinity of gymnastics, swimming, and track. But it was fun to do anyways.
Saturday, August 23, 2008
Flags Everywhere
LaShawn Merritt, Flag Draper (AP Photo)
The thing that kills me about track at the Olympics is all the flags. Whenever someone finishes a race in medal position, one of the first things they do is run over to the edge of the track and someone tosses them a folded up flag which they immediately unfold and drape over themselves. Who started that tradition? How many flags does the US bring to the Olympics? What do they do with the flags when they're done? Fold them back up and save for 2012? Donate them to charity? Keep them as souvenirs? Hey, here's my gold medal and here's my nation's flag which I wrapped up in when I was all sweaty after the race. . .
And why is it just track? Could you imagine Mike Phelps winning a race and immediately hopping out of the pool, tossing his goggles aside while striding over to grab a flag to wrap around his wet body before his 173rd interview with Andrea Kramer? Or Shawn Johnson finishing her beam routine and when she sees her score and determines she will probably medal, having her coach fish a fresh flag out of a box? Or an NBA star, draping a flag over his warmup to hide the logo of the competing sneaker company? Okay, maybe that one.
Thursday, August 21, 2008
Luck of the Draw
What's the best way to find a competent professional to assist you?
Most people say that you should get referrals from friends or neighbors. That's tough when moving to a new place and you don't know all that many people. We've been living in the Denver area for almost two years and have had some trouble finding doctors we are happy with.
We totally scored on a pediatrician in North Carolina. Pretty much our approach was 1) no foreign-sounding names and 2) no mega-practices. We were on Harris Teeter health insurance at the time, which wasn't exactly the best, but found a pediatrician that we were totally pleased with on the first try.
We needed a pediatrician when we moved back to the Rocky Mountains. My sister-in-law has kids, so she would have been happy to recommend one to us. Only they're on Kaiser Permanente and we're not - so that approach didn't work. So we tried looking one up in the insurance book and went a couple of times. I personally didn't meet the doctor, but Elizabeth was not impressed and decided she wouldn't be going back. So we've been dragging our feet on finding another one and little Russ is five months past his well baby visit.
We've typically tried to avoid the mega-pratices, where they have like ten doctors and whoever doesn't have anything better to do is the one that sees you. But with no better options in "the book", Elizabeth tried calling one. They were currently taking appointments for October. Really, ten doctors and the soonest you can get us in is two months down the road? We wound up getting an appointment with a smaller practice - two doctors - and we'll see how that works out.
And then there's the OB/GYN situation. Elizabeth's on her fifth pregnancy and has seen about a hundred doctors over that time. The only one she really liked that much was the first one. When we moved here, she asked a friend for a referral, but it quickly became evident this wouldn't be a long-lasting relationship. I went to one of the early appointments and it was. . . tense. The doctor is pretty much, "We're going to do this my way because I'm the one treating you," and Elizabeth is all, "You can kiss my butt." They have some very different ideas on what should go down and the doctor has below-average communication skills.
So my advice was to find another one. Most of my co-workers also felt that she should bail if she didn't like the doctor. So we're back to square one - how do you find a good doctor? My co-worker recommended one but Elizabeth nixed it due to their advertised willingness to perform abortions. There are hundreds of OBGYNs in the metro area. Who has time to sort through all the rubbish to find the one you can get along with? The referral method didn't work the first time around. So she's still going to the doctor she doesn't like and they are still having disagreements and Elizabeth is angry when she gets home from those appointments. And the baby's due in three and a half months. We might be stuck.
But when we needed a realtor, we pretty much went with the first one we had any contact with. And he did a great job. We were totally satisfied with him.
I guess the main point of this is that it seems to be pretty much the luck of the draw when it comes to choosing a professional. Sure, you'd love to interview 10 or 12 and pick the best one, but who has the time for that? And what doctor would put up with that?
Now if I could just find a decent accountant. . .
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