Grills! Grills! Grills! February 3rd, 2010
Check out this hot little number. How’s about her? Bo-ing! I bet Vince Neil was talking about her. Then there’s this sweet little number, getting nasty right there on the side of the road…I bet it’s dirty. So so dirty.
Here’s Crue’s version.
I didn’t like the Crue “back in the day.” I despised metal. I despised big hair. I lived in the middle of Indiana, so my response was more this. And, to my immediate surroundings…you would not believe where I grew up. Upon reflection, my stance seems very serious (well, as serious as the Circle Jerks allow you to be), very angry and the hair bands and the jocks just partied and had fun. Get high and get laid, as any teenager should. Why was I so different and angry? I’m so certain I’m not alone here.
Also, upon reflection, not to get all Klosterman on y’all, the Crue seemed a little different or at least more…pure in their vapidity. It might have been an LA thing. I was friends in CA with a guy who was part of the punk scene pretty early on. He had moved to LA and had been part of that whole conversion from punk to hair metal and he made it seem so….organic. He became a lead singer in a hair band after being pretty hard care punk. He was also one of the most intelligent people I’ve ever met and, alas, a Giants fan. Poor fella. Last I heard, he was cooking in the Penal system in Oregon…
Right about now, sal’s asking himself, and cursing at the computer, “what the fuck does this have to do with baseball?!” And he’s right. It has little to do with baseball. I’m an incompetent post-maker if you’re looking for relevance or stats or, coherence, really.
I’ve been with completely inappropriate women my whole life. I enjoy an eclectic mix of high brow literature, low brow pornography, MMA, poker and baseball. I fucking love the A’s and would gladly jump into that little pit Conan started off in, armed only with a salad fork, if it meant the difference between success and failure for Oakland. I’d prefer ot have the miniature sword and shield, though–they’re really cute! And I’m almost 40 and uncertain as to whether that means I’m gay. But I look at naked women mostly and that what gets me going, mostly. Merlin Olsen is reliving one of my more scarring games in the other room, which means I should probably go turn the channel or wrap this up or whatever it is that normal folk do.
They’re offering me a 50% stake in the sign shop. What the fuck should I do, FK?
Okay, links…there’s this, which I like.
Gee, big news there, assholes. ASSHOLES! Mom got another shih tzu last night. The original, Sweetie Pie, was severely unthrilled with the new addition. Anyone got tips for acclimating dogs to one another?

woof.
Does anyone remember his days with The Sporting News? Does anyone else still hate his A’s-hating ways?
Okay, you get this late instead of early because I got signs to make, bitches! I’m still taking suggestions for bumper stickers/magnets. I will probably post a final thing this weekend and ask for addresses and such. Happy Hump Day, FK.
You like pictures of naked Neanderthals?
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with radishes

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that’s hawt.
I know how much LB likes facebook, so I just wanted to let him know that they are now funding graduate research. I got this email this morning:
(emphasis added)
It’s a damned generous graduate fellowship: 30K stipend, full tuition+fees, 10K for computer and conference expenses. That’s better than the NSF or DoD fellowships.
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It’s like a combination of all things shitty! Throw in signs, jail and my high school sweet heart’s parents and we’d have all bases covered.
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I’m assuming the parents were covering home:
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Nice.
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That would explain Mini-G and Byrnes.
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And Miggy’s aversion to 3rd.
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I like it!
Needs more baseball content:
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Get some ribs on there, and it’s Manny beefing Manny.
I’m excited about the Super Bowl…I always am, even if the game sucks, because I’m a big fan of the pageantry of Americana. It’s the same motivation which leads me to decorate a tree and hang Xmas lights all over my house every December even though I’m a non-believer. I enjoy the trappings and secular rituals of festive celebrations.
My wife and kids couldn’t care less about the Super Bowl, but everyone likes trappings. So I prepare food and drink for all, and while I’m watching the hype and game in one room, they’re in another, enjoying The Puppy Bowl. I even made photo scorecards in iPhoto for them to follow along.
My money’s on the Cattle Dog twins, Fava and Garbanzo. Bet the dog house on it.
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I, too, enjoy holiday trappings. That’s why we put the bear traps on the roof at Xmas. The venison hams are curing nicely. The elf meat, however, went rancid very quickly.
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Sal prefers these:


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only for this guy:
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ACK! ACK! ACK!

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He’s from Mill Valley, therefore the best character.
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After the Puppy Bowl, Fava will spend six months deciding whether to
retirebe put down.ed note: FTFY
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My ex-wife loved the Puppy Bowl.
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That really sounds dirty.
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The Puppy Bowl is basically the same as the Puppy Wrap but with fewer carbs due to the lack of tortilla.
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KOTM
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Silly monkey, the term is FUCK
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I dunno… once the season starts and we’re posting while watching games, that could get confusing…
So…we started on S1 of Battlestar Galactica last week. Quite good so far. A little cheesy in parts, particularly the expository first half of the miniseries, but otherwise quite well done. Like much good science fiction, plenty of of reflection on the current state of world/technological/political affairs.
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You’re really going to like the first few seasons. At the end it goes into plot hyperdrive a little, but there’s still a lot to enjoy.
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Yeah, I’m looking forward to it. It was only in the last few years that I could convince mrs salb918 that science fiction and fantasy were more than just spaceships and swords, but she’s really into it now.
She also thinks it helps her at work – being able to drop references from Firefly and (now) BSG is a big plus among her coworkers, who are pretty much all young male physics nerds. I already give her a weekly sports “talking points” update so she can converse with the older male crowd.
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You mean these guys?

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I ended up being really disappointed by BSG because of the way key characters were spectacularly stupid/incurious when deferred interest was required by the plot arc (hard to describe better without spoilers)
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As a Diamondbacks fan, I’m all about deferring without interest.
Great blog title
(As I believe I’ve mentioned before, I was a Blue Jays fan back in the day, and actually was at Stieb’s no-no at the ol’ Mistake By the Lake in Cleveland.)
I think The 39th Batter would be a thriller about a baseball player who’s hypnotized to kill a diplomat in the ninth inning of an exhibition game in postwar Vienna.
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I thought it would be about LINK FAIL.
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… or about a retarded baseball player who’s hypnotized to kill a diplomat in the ninth inning of an exhibition game in postwar Vienna.
Link.
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Or about a painfully obvious observation couched in irrelevant specificity to make the observer seem smart.
I seriously doubt there’s a huge jump between 38 and 39.
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Peterson comes off as an idiot whenever he says stuff like that. I recall him saying something about the importance of counts that illustrated that he didn’t know what he was talking about.
This one boils down to… uh…. try to get the opposing hitters out.
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Link fail.
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Comment read fail.
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Nah. I loaded the page before 10:38
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Obsessive refresh fail
Byg Csnurb is apparently going for the GOP version of the Jeff Pearlman career arc.
NM: is this a mistake/waste of time?
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I strongly agree with the administration that treating criminals like criminals instead of sub-human punching bags is the right approach. Both morally and cynically. As I’ve said before, it’s a debate Obama has to win (or at least act correctly on) if he wants my vote again.
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No, I meant the public campaign of pushing back against the counter-narrative through the media.
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Oh. Yes.
I think people are scared and watch too much 24, but are not blind to the message. Especially by highlighting both the moral and concrete benefits, Obama has a non-zero chance of winning hearts/minds.
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So, then (how did you not see this coming): why is doing the same thing for HCR misguided/unnecessary in your view?
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1. Obama did.
2. Obama doesn’t have total control over the outcome
3. There’s no reason he can’t try to do more
Even beyond that, HCR is at the point where it just needs politicians to act. Pelosi needs to PTDB and we’ll go from there. This would have been wrapped up awhile ago if Kennedy hadn’t passed, which is certainly not Obama’s fault.
Basically, the difference I that I think Obama did his job on HCR. It remains to be seen whether he will do his job on law.
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1. No, not really. Stating the rational case a couple times early in the process so that it shows up in Lexus-Nexus searches doesn’t count. And this now is a coordinated pushback.
2. Who said he does? It’s about the effort.
3. IIRC, you’ve said/implied several times he shouldn’t/doesn’t need to.
Wait — are you saying that (1) Kennedy’s illness was what slowed down the legislative process, and (2) that the fact of his illness and death somehow shouldn’t count in the realities the Obama admin has to face? The fact that Nelson, Stupak, Landrieu et al are preening idiots who face genuinely tough electorates for D’s isn’t Obama’s fault, either. Nor is the fact that HC costs are spiraling upward.
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I’m saying if Kennedy was alive this would be over. Unlike your examples, that example was not known going into the process. Also, Kennedy isn’t just a blue vote, it would have been reasonable to rely on him to do some parliamentary shepherding and deal blessing.
And it still could be finished on one House vote. And Obama is doing a fair bit of narrative pushing.
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So, a seizure and cancer diagnosis in May 2008 wasn’t enough advance notice? I guess the same folks doing Obama’s unemployment projections were in charge of that.
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Now that is some quality snark.
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ty
And I certainly hope they have a plan for Byrd’s seat.
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Byrd is a whole lot less important. Plus, if you’re seriously suggesting they should have, when they started, had a plan for Kennedy dying and his seat turning red I think you’ve lost a step or two.
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What? I’m saying they should have had a plan for Kennedy dying to line up a sensible and politically acceptable process for selecting his replacement as well as a halfway-decent candidate and team. Transparency, process, moderation, risk management — aren’t those supposedly Obama’s actual key positive traits?
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So Obama is supposed to exert perfectly-messaged control over state legislatures too? He isn’t god.
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He and Rahm and Bob Menendez and Tim Kaine (the latter two of which I hold far more responsible) are supposed to manage the process.
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Of STATE LEGISLATURES?
[mb reply: Menendez and Kaine, absofreakinlutely.]
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Byrd’s a whole lot less important now — since they’ve fallen below the supermajority threshold.
Plus, a whole lot less important senator here, a whole lot less important senator there, pretty soon you’re talking serious money.
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No, Byrd’s a much less important SENATOR. Especially when it comes to health care. You must be able to admit that.
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god damn, you two like to argue a lot.
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No we don’t. Jerkface.
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I love FK.
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True, but the GOP was going to oppose anything/everything en bloc anyway, regardless of what arms Ted twisted. You must be able to admit that. (And, no, that doesn’t moot my argument about media pushback on the messaging.)
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I agree that there were 40 nos. Kennedy’s role would have been to get 60 yeses faster/more efficiently. No one would FDL Kennedy the way they did Rahm/Reed/etc.
[mb reply: No disagreement there.]
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Also, stories like this seem to me like they should be very powerful.
Observation Post ManBearPig
Confusing euphemism of the month:
mikeA and I always hated Anita Bryant mainly for her sunshine advocacy.
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That bitch! I had no idea she was pro-sun.
Christ, what a Saslow
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I fully understand that people disagree with my view of the world. Maybe I’m even wrong. But can’t they not be totally dishonest in doing so?
Via Sullivan, this is a very interesting idea.
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It is an interesting idea (and I find the idea of many small reactors more appealing than a few huge ones). My problem with the Navy idea is that I think the Army Engineers suck (Katrina failures, environmental damage, etc)
Live nude grills.
Tee hee.
No Lost discussion? We decided it was ok, right?
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I haven’t seen it yet, but if I see spoilers it’s my fault not yours.
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SPOILER
With that out of the way special lady-friend and I watched. We were not impressed with the first hour, thought it picked up in the last half hour. I do not particularly enjoy the whole alternate-timeline approach that they will be employing this season.
Also, I keep asking myself why I believe the writers/producers when they say they are going to stop raising new questions and actually try to answer all the ones already out there.
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I actually kind of like the alt-uni thing, and the “what would have happened to them if they’d never crashed” storylines could be fun, in the same way the flashbacks were. But I’m not so sure about smokey and the bandits, I’ll have to take a wait-and-see attitude on that whole part of it.
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I think those alternate timelines are going to exist mainly as a way for us to see how lucky all those people were for finding the island. I actually love it.
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Totally: it’s like one of those questions: if you could choose between continuing on in your life or dropping into some weird and dangerous but incredibly awesome adventure, where you might die but you might also get to be a hero, which would you choose?
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The thing is, they aren’t continuing their lives. Everyone’s life is very different on the surface, anyways. From little things such as John going on the walkabout and Jack being nervous on the plane, to bigger things like Hurley declaring himself as lucky and Jin and Sun not being married.
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Ok, I need to watch it again tonight.
I assumed that I had just remembered things wrong re: John and the walkabout. Wait, Jin and Sun aren’t married?
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I was not sharp enough to catch it, but my lady was. She heard the lady at the airport address Sun as “Ms. Paik. We re-watched the scene again, and it looked like they each were not wearing wedding rings.
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Hmm, but was there not a wedding scene of Sun & Jin? Was that of another time frame? And I think Locke talking about the walkabout was wishful thinking – he was in the wheelchair, after all. Hurley describing himself as Mr. Lucky, yes, that was different. But Kate sure seemed the same, and Sawyer looked that way too.
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I took Locke’s walkabout story to be the lie, a sad, broken man making himself feel/sound brave.
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Makes sense to me.
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My question now is, didn’t that Abbadon guy originally convince Locke to go on the walkabout? So that still happens?
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Another thing: Boone having left Shannon behind in Australia, saying that “she didn’t want out” of the bad relationship he had gone to get her out of…
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I kind of like the parallel/alternate aspect. The whole show has really revolved around playing with timelines and linear narratives – first just with flashbacks, then flashforwards (flashesforward?), then jumps through time (and possible causality issues) and now this. Ultimately, it’ll depend on what they end up doing with it of course.
I’m mostly amused by the fact that they’re still introducing new characters and story arcs this late in the game. It will be quite a feat if they manage to tie all of it together in a way that makes sense. Even though I’ve watched religiously from the beginning, when I watched part of the recap show, I didn’t remember about half of what they showed from last season and had trouble keeping track of the parts I did remember.
Biggest disappointment: yesterday when JL said “I, for one, wouldn’t care if they never mentioned polar bears again” I almost added “Or smoke monsters.” Oh well.
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I figure they’ll spend another couple episodes raising still more new questions, before settling into the home stretch where things start coming together a bit. I figure they burned off the smoke monster question early as an easy giveaway, like awarding the Supporting Actress Oscar at the beginning of the show, as a hook.
The Jacob/Nemesis storyline figures to delight.
I too like the parallel current-day storylines, and the altered-future causality games (Hurley’s the luckiest guy in the world, Sawyer doesn’t try to con him, Desmond’s on the plane).
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I’m not so sure. Just as Locke’s story could be seen as a lie from a defeated man, so could Hurley’s. I’m convinced Sawyer will try to con Hugo given the way he kept eying him. Hugo may simply be resigned to his fate and may be trying to lose the money he believes is cursed.
Desmond on the plane is of course one of the little tie-ins that Lost always employs in flashbacks and flash-forwards. For example, when Des and Jack first met while running at the stadium (random memory of no importance).
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Hurley really did seem different though. IIRC, he was waiting in line for a taxi talking business. The original timeline Hurley never would have been asking detailed questions and wondering why he hadnt got business numbers yet (I think that was what he was asking for).
But I did feel like Sawyer would still try to con him.
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I agree on the Sawyer part.
We won’t be able to tell about Hurley for awhile, though. “I won the lottery and I like chicken” is pretty classic Hurley reasoning.
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Yeah–I wonder how they’ll explain smokey. With this “revelation” (I guessed it a while back) as to who/what Smokey is, it makes me wonder why he killed the pilot and Eko a long time ago. Perhaps the pilot was killed because he wasn’t Lapidus, who was supposed to have come on 815. As for Eko, I’m not so sure.
My long-held belief that Richard was originally some kind of Egyptian slave might actually hold some water.
It was cool to understand the Japanese guy and translate what he said for my wife before the Widmore/Gumby hybrid translated for him.
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Holy panzerfaust that was a messy episode.
I think to close out a season people who die need to start staying dead. The Sayid thing was dumb/unnecessary (at least unless there’s a reason for it later). No one thought he would end the show dead, so why bother.
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Perhaps Sayid’s body is a proxy for Jacob? Nah, too simple.
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Best explanation I’ve seen.
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He did have an odd expression.
Regarding Sweetie Pie, I would give it time. My dog hates it whenever I bring a new puppy home. Puppy #2 she got used to and tolerated for the duration. Puppy #3 she got used to and actually they are good buddies now. All it took was for Bronte to get tough and put Chantal in her place, and they got along just fine after that. If time doesn’t work, dip the new dog in peanut butter and see if that helps.
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I think LB’s ex-wife used to do that last one.
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Man, nothing smells worse than wet peanut butter.
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You clearly never visited my frat house on Saturday morning.
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… by the time the peanut butter had dried from the night before?
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Seriously, though. I am the resident dishwasher in our household, and that includes rinsing recyclables. mrs salb918, bless her heart, always presoaks the tough ones. This includes the peanut butter jar. On the rare occasion that we run out of peanut butter but I don’t get to the dishes that night, well, the kitchen smells awful the next morning.
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thank you!
OK, I gotta like Scott Fujita.
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That’s awesome.
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Go Bears!
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alma stigmater
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FYI: I hate signs.
Busy fails as a word.
Slusser:
Let’s sign him!
Also, the first comment is great.
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Maybe the physical therapist is a Zappa fan.
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Dammit
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Obsessive refresh fail.
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So: Tomko — Zappa fan, or not?
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I love Lagunitas Brewing Co. The owner played with his blues band for the 125th anniversary party at this Oakland treasure. The event was heavily populated with Clampers and Santas, making for a colorful, festive day.
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[Hm. Embedding doesn't seem to work in comments. Link.]
Jason Giambi is The Run Producer:
Who’s that in the Coliseum?
Who’s that on my new A’s team?
Who’s that in my rotation?
Gio is about to throw ball three
Gee, Gio’s on my mound
The way he looks at me his control cannot be found
Gee, Gio’s in my head
And when I talk to him I might as well be dead
Pitchers all around me
Pitchers like him everywhere
He’s the pitcher of my dreams
Pitcher perfect pitcher stare
Gee, Gio’s on my mound
The way he looks at me his control cannot be found
Gee, Gio’s in my head
And when I talk to him I might as well be dead
I hate you all for making me warn you, but … you’re warned: Double Ratto
Ratto-1: On the late great Bill King
Ratto-2: “Infidelity as a coaching alibi”
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You can blind link gay porn and I won’t get mad.
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I think I inadvertently downloaded “Double Ratto” last week. Some weird malware in it put a walrus moustache on every photo on my hard drive.
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I am so not liking the visual there.
Deuk Neukom is insisting Timmy use Explorer
Stereotypes, potentially proven true.
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Is that real? It’s waaaaaaaaaaaay too long — and what’s with the narrator’s weird, inconsistent, sub-Julianne Moore Boston accent? (“deh gubvenah’s chief budget officah”)
I mean, I know political ads in general suck, but that was ridiculous.
That can only be a fundraiser ad.
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Paid for by Carly for California. (I work with several former HP/Agilent employees. I think they would prefer this site.)
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I wonder if they’ll be able to keep that up since the URL is her name. I (vaguely) recall you couldn’t do that.
Also, it’s true that she was fired for incompetence.
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Look more closely.
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Err. Right.
I will say, though, it’s a pretty thin site content-wise.
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so’s this grill.
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Let’s just say that’s the second person saying positive things about sheep. And none of us like the first one.
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Heh.
what Hank Aaron has been up to lately
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I saw that too and almost did a spit take.
As far as conspiracy theories go, I like this one.
Do any of you miscreants know Billy Nayer?
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…The Science Gayer?
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LOL
If anyone is interested in joining a long-established fantasy league, we have two openings. It’s a money league, so you have to have some scratch to enter. In general I’d say there’s not a lot of real stat geeks, but we’ve been playing for +/- 20 years (with various players coming and going) so it’s mostly experienced. Draft, not auction. You should love the league name: We Have Nothing To Fear But Fehr Himself. If interested, you can contact me directly at coreylim at comcast dot net and I’ll give you the full rundown on league rules, etc.
I also can’t remember who from here (Sal only?) was in the ** Yahoo league, but I haven’t heard anything about that league re-forming. As I’m never on ** anymore and xbox seems to have parted ways with FK, I’d be interested in starting an FK league under the same basic head-to-head format.
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I’m certainly willing to join the FK league. And I’ve emailed about the other (which will depend upon rules, etc)
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I got your email and will get back to you shortly.
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I think I was in an AN yahoo league a few years ago, but I didn’t organize or anything. Also, I’m terrible at fantasy baseball, and I’ve since stopped playing.
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I have a counterproposal: if someone wants to set up an FK league wherein the objective is to lose big, I’d consider playing.
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I think there are some leagues where failure is a goal. There would have to be some criteria like minimum ABs and IP, but it seems like it could be done. And it could be fun. If your comment was serious and not simply comedic, I’ll look into it.
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I think he was not serious.
BPro’s HACKING MASS is sort of fun, and much less effort than a real fantasy team – you just pick a roster at the beginning of the year and see how poorly they do.
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I actually played in a fantasy league that worked that way. 25 rounds + pick 25 of the undrafted players to start the year then fill out your best roster at the end. Very early trading deadline (like 1 month into season).
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80:20 serious:comedic
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Grover and I were the other active FKers in that league. Sal and mb had played in previous years. I’d definitely like to play again, whether it’s xbx running it again or someone else taking it over. We’d probably have to recruit beyond FK in order to get enough players.
I might also be interested in your other league. I’ll send you an email.
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I could be convinced to do a FK league.
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Me too (I’d be a good punching bag).
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Same here. New job might still be kicking my ass which would make me a easy trade target (“yeah, Pujols sucks this year, you dont want him…”) but I’d throw my hat in regardless.
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I have never done baseball and would probably not be very good, but I’m in.
Speaking of grills–you’ll find some in this. (Warning: Objects are closer than they appear.)
Many of my favorite annual events are best savored with assorted inebrients and an epic Hunter S. Thompson rant:
“Any society that will put (Sonny) Barger in jail and make Al Davis a respectable millionaire at the same time is not a society to be trifled with.”
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I think we all need that this time of year. We sure could use HST in his prime right about now.
Grills on film