X-Tra Rant

Dallas Clark Is Awesome.

This IM thread with CJ is too good not to share with the world.

me: God.. the Celtics are 5-8 and leading the Atlantic division.
CJ: Seriously? I’ve not been following the NBA that closely. That’s just freaking terrible.
me: get this… as much as we complain about the pacers…. 11 of 15 teams in teh East are at least 2 games under 500 and the pacers are 8-7.
me: god damn that is scary.
CJ: Damn, I had no idea the East was *that* terrible.
me: The Pacers are FOURTH in the Eastern Conference. FOURTH. at 8-7. Leading the way? Orlando at 11-4. My God. That’s atrooooooooocious.
me: http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/standings
CJ: See, my prediction of us getting the 7 seed was based on the assumption that there were some minimally competent teams in the East. Guess I assumed too much.
me: yeah.. the Pacers could have home court in teh first round at this rate.
CJ: If the Pacers get home court in the first round, the East should just fold up shop and start over.
CJ: They’re like the NFC, lol.
me: or get replaced by the ACC. heh
CJ: Oh yeah… We need the European system! In football ‘m quite sure OSU is ready for promotion. They’re at least the second best pro football team in Ohio, and possibly better than that given how often Cincy’s defense goes in the tank.
me: and most big tiem college players are already getting paid….
CJ: Maybe we should promote OSU and USC, and thus relegate Detroit and Oakland.
CJ: Heck, Oakland might be able to have a winning record in the Pac-10.
me: heh sounds like a perfect solution to me. and USC would finally give the NFL that long desired LA franchise.
CJ: Oh, that’s right! Call the commissioner!
me: Of course Detroit in teh Big 10 would just be more competition with Northwest and IU for that coveted #8 spot in the league.
CJ: True, they get a bit of a bad draw there.
me: Maybe promote… Miami Ohio or Marshall to the Big 10 and stick the Lions in the MAC. That woudl be more fair. and regionally it works. heh
CJ: I’m looking at the NBA now.. Chicago, how the hell do you improve your overall roster and get worse? Amazing.
me: you tell Ben Wallace it’s against team rules to wear a headband, in teh process pissing him off and not making him want to work to earn that fat contract.
CJ: Oh, good idea. The Lions would actually have a shot a winning the MAC, thus giving football fans in Detroit something to do besides egg Matt Millen’s house.
me: exactly! and with the MAC beign such a QB friendly conference, mayeb all those WRs can pan out.
me: This needs to happen.
CJ: I would like to point out that every team in the Western conference other than Memphis would be leading the Atlantic division right now.
me: at least we get to watch Isiah Thomas flame out spectacularly.
CJ: Heh, what writer was it who was claiming that NY would surprise people this year?
me: Where next for poor Isiah? NBDL? Would it be possible for him to not screw up a developmental team? Maybe he can get a team full of 12 year old point guards for his NBDL team. Talk about their upside and how it’s his team and now he can coach it.
CJ: The problem with my all-combo-guard strategy is that it just hasn’t been tried enough!
me: someone needs to get Matt Millen and Isiah Thomas together. Mayb eput them in charge of a baseball team - they’ve already fucked up an NFL team and an NBA team between them.
CJ: Oh God. They’d make the Pirates look like a well run organization.
CJ: They’d somehow find a way to lose 120 games or more, just watch.
me: They would put together a team made up entirely of utility infielders and middle relievers.
me: and somehow outspend the Yankees.
CJ: Oh, of course. Isaiah would need to lock in as many past-their-prime prima donnas to long term high dollar contracts as possible. And with no salary cap, he’d have even more room to blow money!
me: I know!! A TV show for The Ocho - The Millen/Thomas Group. Millen and Thomas build fictional fantasy teams and then rationalize them. Allow them to play their teams on video game consoles. I’m telling you… it would be a hit.
CJ: rofl.. I would totally watch this.
CJ: Matt Millen keeps trying to run seven wide and wonder why he keeps getting called for illegal formation and ineligible man downfield…..
me: Isaiah Thomas running 5 PG lineups and watching other teams set rebounding records.
me: they both complain when the MLB simulation won’t let them start two pitchers at once.
CJ: He’d of course wind up with 5 selfish point guards who don’t really like to pass.
CJ: They’d fight to see who could bring the ball up. It would be awesome.
me: a spinoff - PG Cage Match. Put PGs, handpicked by Isiah Thomas, into a steel cage with one basketball. 5 men enter, one man leaves.
CJ: lol
me: Jamal Tinsley tags out only to see Stephen Jackson enter with a loaded machine gun. Stephon Marbury is too busy tossing cheap shoes over the cage to the front row and doesn’t know what hits him.
me: hell just call it NBA Cage Match.
me: Poor Adam Morrison huddled in the corner in the fetal position, muttering “There’s no place like spokane. There’s no place like Spokane.”
CJ: This would so totally rule. We need TO’s Wide Reciever Showdown as well.
me: heh there are so many options. We really need to be put in charge of The Ocho. Get Jamie, Matt and Mike in on running the network.

This is how my brain works.

I love the Swedish Chef from the old Muppet Show. So you can imagine how thrilled I was when I found a collection of the Swedish Chef skits on YouTube.

So browsing Engadget in the aftermath of the PS3 release is fun. While the day of crime spree is fun, the further aftermath is even wierder.

There’s the PS3 turned into a very expensive table top grill that no longer plays games. There are the geniuses who bought a PS3, then promptly smashed it with a sledgehammer right in front of the line of fanboys and someone deciding to install Linux on a PS3.

But the coup de grace has to be the loser who postponed his engagement and then used the ring money to buy a PS3. That guy is never getting laid again. Ever.

“They look at us like we have nothing to do… but we are getting a PlayStation 3.”

Indeed.

I’ll stick with my 360, thanks.

Via Matt. Damn memes

1. Explain what ended your last relationship?

Ummmmmm probably best that that not be explained here and all. Suffice to say it just wasn’t working, at least for me.

2. When was the last time you shaved?

Well, I have a beard, but I trimmed and shaved my neck on ummm Saturday I think? I am teh scruffy.

3. What were you doing this morning at 8 a.m.?

Attempting to wake up and failing.

4. What were you doing 15 minutes ago?

Bitching about work to co workers and talking to my special lady.

5. Some things you are excited about?

Thanksgiving. My new TV. Winter and snow.

6. What is your favorite flavor of JELL-O?

Red. Of course.

7. Your prom night, what do you remember about it?

Prom 1: Being miserable in the throes of an ending relationship

Prom 2A: Dancing badly.
Prom 2B: Dancing badly at another high school where I only knew my date.

8. Do you have any famous ancestors?

Hmmmm not really? There was a great (great?) uncle who was a Grand Dragon in the KKK. Not exactly good-famous.

9. Last thing received in the mail?

Like real mail? Bills

10. How many different beverages have you had today?

1, just water.

11. Do you ever leave messages on people’s answering machine?

If I have to.

12. Do you draw your name in the sand when you go to the beach?

I think I did when I was 10 with my family in Florida.

13. Any plans for Friday night?

Probably not. Friday is my birthday so I’ll probably just hang with my family, maybe see a friend who’s back home too.

14. Do you like what the ocean does to your hair?

It’s been so long, I don’t remember what the ocean does to my hair.

15. Have you ever received one of those big tins of 3 different popcorns?

Nope. I’m not a big popcorn fan.

16. Do you re-use towels after you shower?

Always. Because I put off laundry until I absolutely need to do it. Like…. now.

17. Describe your keychain(s)?

A small padlock from the coat racks at JC Penny in Kokomo circa 1997, a spark plug gap tool, my keyless entry thing fo rmy car, apartment key, car key, parents’ house key and a couple keys I have no idea what they are for.

18. Where do you keep your change?

Pockets. When I get home I have a small jam jar for quarters and a Nathans Hot Dogs novelty hot dog shaped cup from Coney Island for other change.

19. When was the last time you spoke in front of a large group of people?

January 2004, ran the Downtown Indianapolis Dean for America meetup, probably 70 people or so.

20. What kind of winter coat do you own?

An awesome long black leather coat. (PETA is mad at me)

Economist Milton Friedman has passed away. In honor of his strong support for laissez faire economics, I say we leave his body where it is and let the market bury it.

As much as I loved the book Freakonomics, the statement on their blog of “so many of his ideas that were thought to be crazy when he suggested them eventually came to be seen as obvious: school choice, a volunteer army, etc.” really makes me wonder just exactly what people think school choice is “obvious.”

School choice is hardly good, let alone obvious. But eh, he was a critical economics thinker and influencer of our current economic thinking (as flawed as some people may see our current uber-capitalist system to be).

Oh, and this is damn funny.

Crossposted from my Last.fm music journal

We’re down from 160 to 4. For the final four, I’m going to re-seed based on total votes so far through the whole thing. It’s my battle and I’ll re-seed if I want to

How The Cure made it this far, I’ll *never* know (even though I voted for them over The White Stripes because well… at least they’re better than them, long term) but the other matchup is an insanely hard decision.

A.
1. The Beatles (109 votes)
4. The Clash (80 votes)

B.
2. Johnny Cash (95 votes)
3. The Cure (87 votes)

Finish Him!! (click to see larger)

Originally uploaded by xtrarant.

Inspired by the title of CJ’s blog post on the election, and talked about more at Drinking Liberally: Indianapolis.

I just had to share with the class.

The official theme song of the 2006 election. (Speak of Kool & The Gang, damn they were awesome. Seriously. Awesome. I need to go back and listen to more funk from The Day.

Crossposted from my last.fm music journal.

Alright down to Round 5. There were a number of really close votes this time around, but no ties. I’m very disappointed that so many people really think The White Stripes are better than Beck (seriously?!), but hey, this is a vote not a dictatorship.

On to round 5 now. Same as last time, vote for one in each group of two, the seeds were handled as if it was the NCAA tournament, no reseeding. Groups A and D are just brutal.

A.
1. The Beatles
9. Radiohead

B.
15. The White Stripes
26. The Cure

C.
19. The Clash
6. The Smashing Pumpkins

D.
4. Johnny Cash
5. Pearl Jam