You Have To Forgive Me

"I'm going to win this conversation, look who's got the microphone..."  -Blue October-  (The Getting Over It Part)

Good morning everyone.  Just a little lyric from by favorite band to start out my Monday ramble with.  A Monday ramble on a MONDAY - what a novel idea...  As I type this entry, the blog is sitting on 3,498 views, so thank you for putting 'Bikini Hill' over 3,500 views.  You will have to forgive me if I ever ramble about the same annoyance in this forum more than once.  I am finding that there are topics that I have thought about harping on that I may not use, and then I don't remember if I have ranted about them before or not.  I'm sure that I haven't rambled about this topic before.  I was just skimming through a Yahoo! News article that gives instructions on how you can see when someone 'unfriends' you on facebook.  I happen to be a person who always gives other people a chance, but with that being said, if you don't want to be my friend, then don't be my friend...  :)  I rarely 'unfriend' people from my account, and if someone does so to me, then so be it...  There is this one girl who just stopped talking to me over three years ago, and to this day has never told me why she did so, but she did not let that stop her from talking about me behind my back and treating me like garbage, so I 'unfriended' her, but it's not like a random act that I routinely perform.  If someone doesn't tell me that they're going to delete me from their account before doing so, then why worry about it?  A Yahoo! article about facebook that I did find more interesting this week was the one summarizing a study about college students.  They found that college students with facebook accounts reported being unhappy that their lives weren't as good as the lives of their friends, based on the photos that they saw posted on the facebook accounts of others.  This sounds very similar to something that I mentioned in a ramble here a while back, when I stated that my least favorite thing about facebook was that I wasn't getting to do all of the things that I saw posted on the pages of my friends...  :)  They were showing the movie '2012' on cable again this weekend, and it still seems like it was given that title because the movie takes almost AN ACTUAL YEAR to watch...  One of my friends who now lives in California was complaining because she has to gear up for an exam to get a California driver's license.  She made a good point in her rant - when you move from one state to another, WHY is it necessary to retest for your license?  Your license is good if you drive from one state to another, right?  If you decide to move, I understand them making you get the license in their state's name, but why retest you?  A PERFECT EXAMPLE of red tape and wasted time and money...  At work this week I heard an interesting conversation about milk.  Well, not milk specifically, but more of a little rant about the pitfalls of living with roommates.  A recent college graduate who I work with was describing her experience of living with three roommates, ones who weren't particularly as concerned about waste as my friend was.  I smiled as my friend described how her roommates would eat a bowl of cereal, get down to the bottom of the bowl with just a little bit of cereal remaining, and would then pour almost another full bowl's worth of milk onto the cereal, this without adding any more cereal of course...  While I found it funny what gets on other people's nerves after they've lived together for a while, my friend said that she solved the problem when she started buying soy milk, which none of the other roommates liked...  :)  "I'll tell you what's not funny is driving without insurance" is the opening of a commercial for thegeneral.com in which a stand-up comedian is relaying the insurance information as part of his 'act'.  What's not funny is the commercial...  Have you ever felt bad about looking at a girl because she is so beautiful that you think she's going to say something because you're just looking at her?  Yes, I went back to my bank this morning, and this is a different teller than I wrote about here previously...  :)  As a matter of fact, it seems like the bank has different tellers EVERY TIME that I go - maybe my bank is a training ground for tellers, I'm not sure...  Anyway, this teller was so attractive that I just started randomly looking around the bank while she handled my transaction because I didn't want her thinking badly of me...  Again, the things that amuse me..  :)  If you are a poker player, I found a free app for your phone last week.  It's called Bravo Poker Live, and for the poker rooms and casinos that are participating, it gives you information about their poker rooms, including how many miles they are from you, address, telephone number, room information, and the number of live games that they are running at the VERY MOMENT you are viewing the app - very nice...  :)  That's all I've got for today - have a good one and I'll see you again on Wednesday!
                

NY Rangers Winter Classic

Gotta love Mike Rupp...

That's Why They're Called Opinions

Oh my loyal followers, I don't know what to say...  That was actually my problem earlier this week after working 11 days straight, but missing both a Monday AND a Wednesday post???  I hope that you found something else to fill the void if your life while I was on my little hiatus...  :)  Today I will give you my recap on last weekend's football picks, and then this entry will spiral into a ramble, which will be followed up by a Monday ramble.  I was pretty darn close to NAILING last weekend's football games, and if the Ravens didn't just kill themselves late in the AFC Championship Game, I would have picked both underdog winners OUTRIGHT.  As it was I went 3-1 for the week, bringing my record to 9-11 in the NFL postseason.  Sit down and get ready to be impressed...  :P  The Patriots beat the Ravens 23-20 (I predicted that the score would be Ravens 24-20 and that the game would stay under 50 1/2).  If Lee Evans doesn't drop what should have been a touchdown pass (very nice play by the Patriots defender on the play), the Ravens probably win 27-23.  I still went 2-0 on my picks, with the Ravens (+7) and the game staying under, but I would have picked both upset winners last weekend if Baltimore had won.  Even had the Ravens Billy Cundiff made what was obviously not a gimme field goal in hindsight after Evans' drop, they still had a chance to win the game outright in overtime (this would have put my under in jeopardy, so it was very thoughtful of them to pass on the trip to the Super Bowl just for me).  The Giants beat the 49ers 20-17 (I predicted that the score would be Giants 23-21 and that the game would go over 42).  That's pretty darn close...  :)  My over prediction wasn't so close since it was dead when the game went to overtime, but I was right in the ballpark on both conference championship games, two very entertaining ballgames thankfully.  I do not have that much hope for this weekend's Pro Bowl, and you will not be getting a prediction from me on that, other than that I predict that I will not be watching the game if there is ANYTHING better on t.v., and that is if I happen to be home.  A game where they don't play defense and don't have any representatives from either of the teams appearing in the Super Bowl - I'll pass...  I will be back with a prediction for the Super Bowl next Friday.  Let me continue on with a ramble right now since I jilted you on Monday and Wednesday.  The title of today's entry comes from a friend's quote at work last night about some inane conversation that we were having before we got SLAMMED - very busy night at work in San Marcos, America...  I told him that it would be a good title for a blog entry.  I had some customers who moved one of our tables UNDER A STAIRWELL, and I told them that it couldn't be there because it was a pathway (we were already PACKED at this point).  I was given the query "a pathway" with a blank stare, while another person in the party said that the table was already there.  "No, it wasn't" was my efficient response as I relocated the table...  They were nice enough about moving after that, unlike the person that I happened upon in line at the grocery store the other night...  :)  Don't get me wrong, there is no law that says that you HAVE TO BE KIND when you have a full cart of items at the grocery store at 2:00 in the morning when only one register is open and someone comes up right behind you with only FIVE items...  :P  Yes, I had the five items, and the girl saw me, and turned right back toward the front of the store.  I'm sure that my expression while we waited for the person ahead of her to check out must have been priceless, because when her boyfriend (I'm guessing) came into the store and stood in line with her, she said something to him and he looked straight at me, a look which I was more than happy to return...  I'm not really a confrontational person per se, but don't mess with me...  :)  Anyway, another 3 or 4 people got in line behind us, and then they found someone to open another register, which resulted in that cashier checking out people that were in line behind me BEFORE ME, because that makes perfect sense...  "Morons, your bus is leaving..."  Easily the line from the movie 'Groundhog Day' that I repeat most often in real life...  What's funny (and predictable) is that after I moved to the other line, behind the other people who had been behind me, I was STILL checked out before the couple that had been in front of me - SCORE!!!  I also posted to facebook earlier in the week that people who do not know what they want to order should not be allowed to enter a drive-thru ahead of those who do.  I was watching the driver's head on a swivel as he quizzed the car's passengers as to what they'd like to order, this being the car that was two ahead of me in line - GRRRR...  For those of you familiar with the river that runs below 'Bikini Hill' in San Marcos, America, that low river had almost risen above its concrete banks when I drove home in the thunderstorm a few nights ago, and I later heard that it did eventually rise above those barriers.  We had A LOT of rain in about 12 hours in central Texas a few nights back...  I just saw a mini-interview with actress Glenn Close a few hours back - she is evidently up for an Oscar.  She still looks like she would boil your bunny rabbit if she got angry with you...  :)  'Fatal Attraction' if you want to watch a TRULY scary movie...  I just saw a Yahoo! headline stating '16 Grams of Cocaine Seized at U.N.' - outstanding...  Also from Yahoo!, in Oklahoma a 9th grade student was suspended for using his cellphone to take a picture of a substitute teacher who was sleeping...  There's no word on what punishment, if any, the substitute teacher got...  :)  I think that's all that I can do for you today.  Have a great weekend and I will see you again on Monday (maybe)...  :)
                            

NFL Championship Game Round 2012

Good afternoon everyone.  I am now 6-10 overall on my playoff picks after going 3-5 again last week.  I was once again 2-2 against the spread and 1-3 on the overs/unders.  For the second week in a row, I was also 3-1 picking the winner straight up (notice any patterns here?).  What pleased me about last week's predictions was that I had the 'texture' of most of the games right - well, at least until the NFC games went haywire late...  :)  I thought that the Saints and 49ers would be one of the week's best games, and indeed it was.  Sadly for me, I had to leave for work with 2:20 to go in the game, thus missing the final 3 touchdowns - go figure...  In the Saturday night game, I predicted  Patriots 37  Broncos 17 (actual score - Pats 45  Broncos 10 - not bad)...  In Sunday's early game, I predicted  Ravens 27  Texans  17 (actual score - Ravens 20  Texans 13 - again, not bad)...  Foster had a little better day than I thought he'd have, and the Ravens dropped a few more interceptions than I thought they'd drop, or I would have covered here and made the over...  And who else do you know that picked the Giants outright and said that the Packers would be in trouble if they played in bad weather and couldn't throw?  ;)  Again, I went 3-5, but most of the losses were close, and I had a good feel for the games.  Now let's look at the championship games...



Baltimore (12-4) @ New England (13-3):     Patriots (-7)     Over/Under  50 1/2

This should be such a great matchup.  These two teams did not meet in the regular season.  New England has been putting up monster points this year, but their schedule wasn't difficult.  When they faced the Steelers and the Giants, they lost.  Baltimore has a great defense, tended to play down to bad teams, and looked very mediocre last week.  Makes this a fun game to call...  :P  It's going to be cold up there (for what it's worth).  I'm having a hard time with the winner and the over/under, but something in my gut tells me...

My Prediction:     Baltimore  24  New England  20   -----   Baltimore (+7)     Under  50 1/2



New York Giants (9-7) @ San Francisco (13-3):     49ers (-2 1/2)     Over/Under  42

San Francisco won this game 27-20 on November 13th.  Another very difficult game to call.  If you asked anyone a year ago, Alex Smith would be a very unlikely championship game round quarterback.  The Alex Smith from college, much more potent.  Eli Manning looks like he did a few years back when the Giants derailed the Patriots.  Both of these defenses are very capable.  The Giants running game is clicking now.  The 49ers are at home.  Two great coaches.  Outstanding game and another toss-up.  I have to go with the experienced team in this one...

My Prediction:     New York Giants  23  San Francisco  21   -----   New York (+ 2 1/2)     Over  42

Enjoy your games on Sunday - they should be two great ones to watch!  Have a great weekend and I will see you again on Monday.
  

Cancel The Search Party

Good afternoon everyone.  I apologize for missing my regularly scheduled ramble on Monday.  I worked my 5th night in a row on Sunday night, and then I returned about 6 hours later and worked for almost another 6 hours on Monday, which had me on my feet for about 15 out of 21 hours.  Spread the word that you can cancel the search party, and thank you for your effort in finding me...  The result of all this is going to be a Wednesday ramble...  For starters, I am looking forward to doing my Friday football predictions entry.  I didn't get all of my picks right last week, but I had the 'texture' of most of the games dead on.  How many other 'columnists' that you know picked the Giants to beat the Packers outright?  Stunner - Pfffttt...  San Marcos, America has come back to life after the return of the college students for the start of classes yesterday.  A trip to the bank that should have taken me 15 minutes took about half an hour a while ago.  On the plus side, my bank does have a machine available where you can scoop out a free bag of salt with some popcorn sprinkled in...  And to think that I used to eat BAG AFTER BAG of sunflower seeds when I was coaching...  I did my wash a few nights ago and noticed a cat that was watching me from the window of a neighbor's apartment.  My immediate thought was that it must be nice, to just sit there and people watch, but then it occurred to me, "WHAT ELSE should a cat be doing?"  It's not like the cat has clothes to wash, or some facebooking to catch up on, or a blog to write...  I swear that I could amuse myself for hours each day just by following the news.  I just read about 30 minutes ago where the captain of the cruise ship that capsized near Italy has said that he 'tripped' into the lifeboat.  Of course the issue here is that the captain is supposed to remain on the ship until all of the passengers are safe and accounted for.  Yesterday I read a Los Angeles Times headline online that stated that a severed head that was found in a park might be the victim of a slaying.  You think???  Is anyone else already sweating the fact that there are only a few more weeks of football left, and then we'll be waiting until the start of September?  Once the season does end I'll start paying more attention to college basketball so that I can make some bracket predictions for you. In case I haven't already stated this for the record here in the blog, I am a North Carolina Tar Heels basketball fan, dating back to before the days that Michael Jordan played for them when I was in high school.  With that being said, I was unfortunate enough to watch most of the second half of last weekend's game at Florida State when the third-ranked Heels just got DRUMMED by the Seminoles.  I don't know how I'll top my prediction from last season that none of the number one seeds would reach the Final Four, but we'll see soon enough.  Two more weeks until February - the time DOES fly by...  This is on Fox News right now - "is boosting kids' self-esteem making them weak?"  Chalk one up for the oxymorons...  :)  I went to my therapist a few days back - she gave me half a glass of water and asked me if I was an optimist or a pessimist.  I drank the water and told her that I am a problem solver...  That comes to you from my friend Ann via facebook.  The blog has now been viewed over 3,300 times in case you were wondering - it would probably be doing better if I wasn't skipping random Mondays, but thanks again for your support...  :)  I have to admit that I am finding it amusing that John Elway is now on board with the Tim Tebow plan after he was ready to throw him under the bus a few months back...  I heard earlier in the week that CBS talked to Tebow's "people" about having him in the studio for this weekend's AFC Championship Game, but I never heard the outcome of those talks.  In case you were wondering, I am watching ESPN again after my week-long hiatus.  It is safe now that they aren't showing the Broncos/Steelers highlights anymore...  That's all I've got for now my friends, but I will be back with my NFL Championship Game predictions on Friday, and I will do my very best to have a ramble for you next Monday...  Have a great day!
          

The New Winnipeg Jets

Can't say I'm a huge fan of the jerseys and identity...but it's growing on me!

Daaaaaa Bearss.