Gobble gobble

Just wanted to wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving! I am in Wisconsin, and given that I will actually be doing stuff, posting may be light. In the meantime, check out some of the blogs and other fair to good reading on the 'ol blogroll.

Oranges, lepruchans, and Indiana

As I posted earlier, I went to South Bend to go check out a Notre Dame football game against Syracuse. Some weird things happened there, not least of which was the game itself. Before the game, we checked out the campus. At the Basilica of the Sacred Heart, we spotted one Norm Coleman. Interestingly enough, I have never seen Norm in Minnesota. But go to Indiana, and there he is. I believe his daughter goes to school there.

Anyway, we went to the College Football Hall of Fame, which was a cool place. It doesn't look like a lot of work has gone into the place lately (the video highlighting the collegiate experience featured, in its most recent footage, Danny Kanell), but it was pretty cool nonetheless.

Also found in Indiana, the greatest newspaper name in the world, The Elkhart Truth. I mean, how do you compete with the truth? The Mishawaka Fabrication? Please!

Anyway, we had a blast down there, and even snuck in a quick trip into Michigan, where we had a beer at a great place called the Sauk Trail Bar & Grille, in a little town called Union.

The Notre Dame experience is something that I really think most sports fans should do at least once in their life, even if you don't like them.

Anger in the Nation

I'm in a little bit of F the World mode today. I don't want to go into too much detail, but suffice it to say I am not in a good mood based on stuff happening at work (not the job itself, but other things...the Packer game isn't helping either). So, while we're at the half, I want to talk about good angry music. I like to listen to either really aggressive rock or hardcore hip-hop. Angry lyrics, hard beats, shredding guitar, that's what I want when I am upset. Some examples:

"Trife Life" by Mobb Deep
"Killing in the Name Of" by Rage Against the Machine
"Downfall" by Atomic Number 9 (defunct band from Milwaukee)
"Channeling Elements" by Candiria (really any hardcore music works)

My question to you: What do you listen to for music therapy when you are mad, angry, pissed off, whatever? I have more, I am just paying attention to the game and blogging, so good angry tunes are not coming to me. I will post some in the comments if I think of any...

Oh, bonus points to whoever can tell me about "Anger in the Nation."

Stinger's hitting the road...again! (aka Indiana wants me)

Posting will be light to nonexistent for a couple of days. I am heading with some buddies down to South Bend, Indiana to watch Notre Dame play Syracuse this weekend.

For me, there is an internal conflict. I don't like that Notre Dame thinks they are too good for the Big Ten. I don't like that they have their own TV contract with NBC, and I don't like that they get preferential treatment in the BCS rules. But, they apparently have a beautiful campus, and they definitely have a great stadium with a lot of history. It's one of the places people who are sports fans should go to at least once in their life (like Lambeau, Fenway, Wrigley, Madison Square Garden, etc). So, I will be in South Bend this weekend. Of course, there will be post-trip reports because I know my audience loves those.

The price of honesty

This is an interesting story: J.P. Hayes, a pro golfer from Appleton (and a classmate of one of my brothers), apparently used a non-sanctioned ball in a qualifying tournament at Q-School. He probably could have gotten away without reporting it, but he did report it. His twinge of honesty means he will not be a regular on the PGA Tour next year because the stroke penalty knocked him out in the 2nd round.

One thing though: How much do you want to bet that this will get Hayes a bunch of sponsors' exemptions next year? I bet he will play in at least 10-15 events next year just based on those.

So yeah, while he won't be on the tour, I bet this episode will bode pretty well for his immediate future. Hopefully this will show that good can come out of admitting mistakes and being honest.

Obama and cities

The Antiplanner put up a post speculating that an Obama administration will be more pro-city than previous presidents (and presumably the current one), or more to the point, anti-suburb. His point is that Obama has mostly lived in large cities, and comes to the White House from that perspective. Of course, his being a community organizer was a punchline to the GOP in this election cycle. Anyway, The Antiplanner speculates that because there will be a director of urban policy in the White House, that this scenario will happen.

I happen to disagree. I think a wholesale attack on suburbia would be absolutely ridiculous. I will have to verify this, but I am fairly certain about half of the nation lives in suburban areas of larger cities. To completely alienate the denizens of the burbs is just politically stupid. I do think that Obama will have more of a pro-city policy, but it will not be a zero-sum game for that very reason. What will be interesting to see is if Obama's environmental policy has an effect on suburban life (lowering emissions, increased funding for mass transit and/or less federal funding for roads).

This is something I will keep an eye on as the Obama administration takes root, as someone who lives in a major city and has a big interest in urban affairs.

Stinger rant #3

There is a terrible new trend that has emerged in the past couple of years...it affects many of us acutely, and will eventually affect many more of us. It is pernicious, unforgiving, and possibly one of the more evil developments in recent society. What is this terrible menace??? Voice-activated automated phone systems.

In case you don't know what this is, these are automated phone systems that, instead of prompting you to push buttons (1 for English, oprima numero ocho para espanol), it asks you to say what you want to do. I despise these things. The most recent instance of me using this was when I called to pay my cell phone bill. At one point, it asked me for the security code on my card. I had to dig it out of my wallet to get the card. Not five seconds after asking me the first time, it asked me a second time. Good Lord, the stupid thing nagged me!!! I was so upset I actually yelled, "I'm working on it, jerk (only I didn't say jerk)." The other problem of course is that you have to say things exactly right, or it doesn't understand you. That is pretty damn frustrating as well.

You: Yes
Software: Sorry, I didn't understand you. Please say yes or no.
You: YES!
Software: Sorry, I didn't understand you. Please say yes or no.
You: YES!!!! I SAID YES, DAMMIT!!!!!!

1 second.....2 seconds.....3 seconds....."hey, maybe it got it this time".....4 seconds......5 seconds
Software: Sorry, I didn't understand you. Please say yes or no.
You: BLEEEEEEEEEEEP!!!!!!!!!

The thing that bothers me is that this is the solution presented because people don't want to press buttons, they want to talk to someone when they make a customer service call. But, companies don't want to pay a lot of customer service representatives. So, they compromise. You want to talk to someone? OK, talk to this voice-activated automated system. See how you like that.

Personally, if that's the choice I have, I'll press 3 to press buttons. Voice-activated automated phone systems can go to Hell....which is likely where they came from in the first place.

Recount time

The Minnesota Senate race has a certified result, with Norm Coleman being all of 215 votes ahead of Al Franken going into the recount which begins tomorrow. This promises to be a pretty contentious recount, as the Coleman and Franken clearly have little use for each other. Here are the questions I have:

1. How many people are going to be watching the counters on this? I know Coleman has dispatched an army of lawyers to contest ballots, and Franken likely has as well. How will this affect the counting?

2. Is there a standard that is uniform that will determine what counts as a vote? If so, what is that standard? I am inclined to think that people should have to follow instructions in order for their vote to count. But, I will be OK as long as there is a standard that all have to follow. But, the instructions were pretty clear to me on my ballot.

3. I know many on the right question the integrity of Mark Ritchie. In the times I have seen him, he seems to want to do this right....but, what does he believe to be right? I am inclined to take him at his word for now.

So, as things progress, I will post as I feel inclined. In the meantime, may the process go smoothly and that the right person wins, whoever he may be.

It was a good day

You know what a good day is....when the Packers beat the Bears by 34, the Vikings lose, and the Lions lose too. That is a good day.

After further review, the Bears still suck!!!

That is all.

Goin' to New Delhi with an achin'...in my knee

This is an interesting development. Wellpoint is offering people working for Serigraph in West Bend, WI the option to travel to other countries for non-emergency surgery, specifically India. What amazes me about this is that it is actually cheaper to fly someone to India and have surgery than it is for someone to have surgery here. I don't know that this will work, as I don't think there would necessarily be a high level of trust in doctors abroad with a lot of people. But, there is that much cost savings? Clearly something is out of whack with health care costs in this country.

Would I do it to waive the deductible and copay? I am probably not a good person to ask because I like to travel. But, for non-emergency surgery? I don't know...I can't dismiss the idea out of hand, especially if the hospital and doctor(s) are properly accredited. But, the cost of missed work, passport, etc makes me wonder if it would be worth the cost. I will give Serigraph and Wellpoint points for creativity.

CC-C ya later...so now what?

They say there are two certainties in life: death and taxes. Certainly these days there is a third, that being that CC Sabathia will not be a Brewer next year. I mean, it's not "certain," but with the Angels and Yankees probably throwing money at him, it's a done deal.

So what do the Brewers do? Despite his injury history, it would be interesting to see how Ben Sheets will do on the market. He potentially will make a lot of money too, but I think he is too injury-prone to command CC-type money, which may make him signable for the Brewers.

Really, the Brewers really, really need to work on that bullpen. A good first step would be to not re-sign Eric Gagne. He was too useless at too many big moments, so he was not worth the $10 million. With Salomon Torres retiring, the bullpen becomes even more of a problem than it already is. The Brewers need a new closer.

I will try to post more thoughts on the Brewers' offseason needs later.

Prop 8

I first read about California's Prop 8 to ban same-sex marriage about a week or so before the election. I figured there was a headwind against its passage, given California's political leanings and the excitement about Barack Obama. Besides, Arizona had rejected a gay marriage ban two years ago, so California certainly would, right? Well, it passed 52-48.

One issue where I part with conservatives is same-sex marriage. I have heard all the arguments, including people saying it's a question of judicial overreach. But, when it comes down to it, to me the judicial overreach argument is a red herring. I don't believe that all proponents of same-sex marriage bans (including the one that unfortunately passed in Wisconsin) hate homosexuals. But, some do. And, others seem to feel queasy about it. Others will argue that they are defending the sanctity of marriage. What sanctity? We as a society have done a pretty good job of ruining the sanctity of marriage. I don't think there is a good legal argument against same-sex marriage. Now, if any church does not want to marry same-sex couples, that is their perogative.

Amanda has a good post about this at her place. It also includes a video from Keith Olbermann. I don't agree with him on a lot, but he is dead on here.

Here is the bottom line: Same-sex marriage is going to happen (it already is in Massachusetts and Connecticut), and we are going to end up wasting a lot of time overturning constitutional bans that have been enacted once we realize that same-sex marriage is no big deal. As for me, I don't care if gays want to marry each other. Let them...it's not taking away any marriage license I may eventually need. If Minnesota ever puts a ban like this on the ballot, I will vote against the ban.

I know I will get flak from conservatives on this...so be it.

Houston Review 2 - They don't like Ike

I was originally supposed to go to Houston for work in September, but was derailed by Hurricane Ike. So instead of going in September and seeing an Astros game, I went last week and saw the Rockets. Quick review: Ike was a large storm that hit the Texas Gulf Coast in September. It made landfall as a category 2 hurricane, but it was huge in area, and packed a big storm surge. Galveston took a big hit from the storm, but Houston was affected as well. But, you would barely know it looking around Houston two months later. Other than a few boarded-up windows I saw downtown, and some damage in League City (the closest I got to Galveston), it hardly looks like a large hurricane hit town.

I am not sure what this means, other than both the feds and local government learned lessons from Katrina. But, I do believe that Houston probably has better local government than New Orleans from the standpoint that people got out (except those who chose to ride out the storm...monumentally stupid, by the way). Granted, I did not see Galveston, so I can't speak to the recovery efforts there. But, just up the pike, things looked pretty good relatively speaking. I guess not having an incompetent mayor like Ray Nagin helps. I also suppose having different leadership at FEMA helps as well.

The only way my trip was affected was that a burger joint that was highly recommended by my co-workers hadn't re-opened yet. That was in League City. Instead, we ate lunch at a pretty decent Mexican joint up the street.

You're out of touch, I'm out of time

OK, really this is an experiment to see if I am out of touch musically. You can join in the fun too. Here is the most recent Billboard Hot 100 chart. Two questions: 1. How many artists in the top 50 do you know? 2. How many songs do you know?

For me, I know of 36 out of 50 artists in the top 50 (repeats count). As for songs, I have heard a paltry 4 of the songs in this week's Billboard top 50. I would say that I am pretty much done with new pop music (not old pop obviously, what with quoting Hall and Oates). Either that or I am a huge music snob, because I do listen to some current music, just nothing that is charting apparently.

Oh, one other thing: Lil Wayne is involved in six of the top 50 songs...SIX!! I knew that dude was everywhere. However, he could be in all 50 songs, and my niece would still not be impressed.

Houston Review 1 - Rockin' Rockets

As part of my trip to H-Town, I got to watch the Houston Rockets play the Boston Celtics. The Rockets play at the Toyota Center, which is a pretty new arena that replaces The Summit, which is now a megachurch. I gotta tell you, the atmosphere at the Toyota Center is outstanding!! Of course, the Rockets are a pretty good team, so that stands to reason. As in most new arenas and stadiums, there are many luxury suites. But, where I sat (lower level behind the basket), there were a lot of great fans. While the Rockets made it interesting, the Celtics won in the end.

Having been to only the Target Center and the Bradley Center before, I have to say the Toyota Center is definitely a step or three up from either of those places.

Overdue preview of little probable interest - Bucks Ball!!!

It's sad that I say the Bucks don't rate a lot of interest. But, that's the reality. In the meantime, I still like them, so here's the Stinger preview.

Guards: The Bucks traded Mo Williams to the Cleveland Cavaliers. While Williams was a solid scorer, he was not a true point guard, which on a team that wasn't really a team, is not a good thing. The Bucks in 07-08 were a team that couldn't play team ball and couldn't play defense. Having a shoot-first point guard is not conducive to what new coach Scott Skiles wants to do, so away he went. In comes Luke Ridnour, who I liked coming out of Oregon. He is a solid 1, so I think he will eventually help. At the 2 is the well-traveled Michael Redd, who has a gold medal from Beijing. He will get the Bucks 22-26 points every night, but it will be interesting to see if he sticks around through yet another rebuild. Someone may want him at the trade deadline. Backups are the occasionally solid Ramon Sessions and Charlie Bell, and Damon Jones and Tyronn Lue.

Forwards: The Bucks made a splash this year by miraculously getting rid of Bobby Simmons' contract and a malcontent-in-the-waiting in Yi Jianlian, and getting Richard Jefferson. This was a great move to get someone who will be a good three for the next few years. This has not been a position of strength since Glenn Robinson was around (which is saying something considering Big Dog could shoot, but little else). The Bucks have the frustrating Charlie Villanueva at the 4, who shows flashes of brilliance, but doesn't always show up. The Bucks drafted Joe Alexander and Luc Mbah a Moute to solidify the forward slots. Both have some promise. Austin Croshere is there to provide some experience off the bench. I doubt he has much left in the tank, though.

Centers: The man is Andrew Bogut. He is fast becoming a solid center in this league, which is exactly what Milwaukee wanted when they drafted him (although Chris Paul would have looked awfully good in Bucks gear). The thing is, if you have a good center who can alter shots and get some boards, that is a great start to a good team. The unshakable Dan Gadzuric is still around (unshakable because of his contract), so Bogut will need a lot to play a lot of minutes.

Coaching: Larry Krystowiak was in over his head coaching in the NBA. That was patently obvious pretty much right away. Getting Scott Skiles in was a big move, but not the biggest move. I think Skiles is worth at least 5-7 more victories by himself.

Overall: This Bucks team is better than last year's edition. In the East, they will be in contention for the 8 spot. But, they aren't good enough to make a run yet. It will be interesting to see how much of a rebuilding project the Bucks will be in the next couple of years. But, I think John Hammond will guide the Bucks to better days.

Iron Range shenanigans

Norm Coleman had a 725ish-vote lead after all the votes were counted initially. Over the past few days, that lead has dwindled to 221, courtesy of 100 votes from Mountain Iron, amongst others. Mr. D has a pretty intense post about this situation. We should be used to bitter recount situations, what with half the country believing Bush stole the 2000 election while the other half thought Gore was trying to steal it. Just recently, 32 absentee ballots from Minneapolis were ordered to be opened, which should almost certainly narrow the count by 32 more.

I am not sure what to think. Having supported Coleman in the election, of course I want him to be victorious. But, I am not going to get into a lather about this until the scenario Mr. D spelled out actually happens.

Shout-out to Gino

In the craziness that has been happening with me and with the election, I forgot to mention the situation regarding my blogging buddy Gino. He went in for surgery for a tumor and is currently recovering. You can read more details on his blog. So here's hoping things continue to improve for him.

Post-Houston, Post-Election

First thing...I am back from Houston, and I gotta say it's alright. I wasn't as impressed as I was with Denver (another city I visited for the first time this year), but I had a good time. I found myself in the happiest place in the city Tuesday night, a bar called the Flying Saucer in downtown Houston, where there was a big Obama celebration on Election Night. Obama's election seemed to cause a nationwide burst of emotion in a lot of people. It was hard to not feel good about it. And, Obama did win easily, which I thought would happen. The GOP is in trouble, and I think they need a couple of years in the wilderness to get their act together. I will post my thoughts on how they should do it in a different post.

Boy, things got pretty interesting here in Minnesota with the Senate race, didn't it? I am happy that Coleman is ahead, but I am disappointed that a lot of people are so full of hatred for the GOP that we are damn near sending Stuart Smalley to the Senate. He is a spiteful individual that, in my opinion, does not have the demeanor to serve in the Senate. I hope Coleman stays ahead. In addition, Coleman winning will greatly reduce the likelihood that the Dems will get to 60 senators. We need to have 41 GOP senators to serve as a check on the Dems. Remember, divided government is a good thing.

Michelle Bachmann hung on, which I didn't think would happen. She is troubling to me because of her ultra-conservative views on social issues, but she won in the 6th. I think the national Democratic party will continue to gun for her in the future.

It was good to see Erik Paulsen win in the 3rd. Ashwin Madia was not a good candidate for the 3rd, which is a moderate-right district. I think Madia was trying to portray himself as a moderate, but his past endorsements of raising taxes does not play well out in the burbs.

I will post more thoughts on Houston later.

Hanging in the 713 and some predictions

Well, the computer is not fixed...but, here's a quick post. I am pretty excited as I am taking my first business trip, which involves a trip to Houston. Beyond work, I am going to see the Rockets play the Celtics, which should be fun. If anything piques my interest, I will post about it when I get back. In the meantime, here's how I think tomorrow will go:

President: Obama wins easily.

MN Senate: I think Norm Coleman will win, but barely...

MN-3: Hard to call, but I think Paulsen will squeak by

MN-6: I am not sure Bachmann will win.

All other MN incumbents will win easily I think.

WI-8: This is my hometown district (actually I think my childhood home may be in the 6th now), so I will make a prediction based on nothing more than tidbits I have heard: While Dr. Kagen has said some outlandish things, and the 8th is fairly conservative, it's not as conservative as it used to be. Also, I think Obama is going to have some coattails in Wisconsin, where he has been ahead the entire time. So, Kagen wins by a hair.

Gotta go, but I will post more when I get back from H-Town.