Back To The Front

Thanksgiving was as nice as could be expected given the circumstances. The atmosphere was a bit subdued, which was fine. The food was excellent, as was expected. The rest of the weekend was quiet with the highlight being an impromptu visit from our Ann Arbor friends Russ & Holly and their two children. For me it was comforting to simply relax with friends over a beer or two while the children amused themselves. Quite nice indeed.

And now it's back to the grind. I received a nice form letter regarding the job I interviewed that basically stated "Thanks, but no thanks". Depressing but not unexpected. Still, it's making today even more craptacular than usual.

If it's any consolation I purchased Madden 2005 for PS2 for a whopping $7.49 last week and I've more than gotten my money's worth. The 2005 Madden Bills are a lot better in the real deal.

Give Thanks

Despite everything the past week (and year) has brought us the family will attempt to have a nice, quiet Thanksgiving by doing what we do best - eating. Turkey, stuffing, potatos, yams, ham, stuffing, hot turkey sammiches, more potatos, cranberry sauce, marshmallows, pumpkin pie, applie pie, pecan pie, more turkey, sandwiches made with turkey, ham, stuffing, cranberry sauce followed by some more pie, cold stuffing, sweet potatos, rolls with butter, and perhaps even a slice of the dreaded and mysterious concotion known as "mincemeat pie". And all of it will be topped with oodles and oodles of delicious turkey gravy.

I love Thanksgiving. Enjoy the holiday.

Rose Marie Shinherr

Although we weren't blindsided by it, it was still a shock to receive a phone call at work telling me Mother-in-law had passed away. She had been battling lung cancer since last December and that, combined with the death of my Father-in-law, was more than she could take. Recently her spirits and appetite had improved, giving us a cautious sense of optimism, unfortunately....

My Mother-in-law Rose was a warm, generous person that made me feel a part of the family from the first moment I met her. She was a doting grandmother and a fantastic cook. I feel terrible not only for my wife, who has really suffered this year, but also my daughters. They will never know what what generous, spirited and all around wonderful grandparents they had in Rose and Harold.

From Syracuse.com

November 16, 2005 Rose Shinherr, 77, of Syracuse, passed away Wednesday at home with her family around her following a brief illness. She was a life-resident of Syracuse, and lived on the Northside all of her life. Rose was a 1946 graduate of North High School. She worked many years for the Syracuse City District. Rose was married 41 years to her husband, Harold who recently passed away in August. Rose enjoyed cooking especially on Sunday's for her family. She also enjoyed caring for her four grandchildren. In addition she enjoyed her yearly trips to WildWood, NJ with her friends. Survivors: her daughters, Deborah (John) Minetto, Eleanor (Eric) Vandewater; and son, David (Rose) Shinherr; four grandchildren whom she loved: Sophia, David, Emma and Grace; her brother, Arthur (Louise) DeGirolamo; and several nieces and nephews. Calling hours: 2 to 5 p.m. Sunday at FARONE & SON. Funeral Services: 9:15 a.m. Monday at the funeral home and 10 a.m. in Our Lady of Pompei Church. Burial in Woodlawn Cemetery. Contributions: Our Lady of Pompei "Pompei First Fund", 301 Ash St., Syracuse, NY 13203. Dignity FARONE & SON FUNERAL HOME 1500 PARK ST. Four Generations of Funeral Directors Published in the Syracuse Post Standard on 11/18/2005.

Parting Ways

OK... anyone have a new football league for me to join next year? My current two-team keeper league is just wearing me down. Between the whining and bitching of the members and the commisioners transparent shady behavior (adjusting scores, interfering in trades), all the fun has been sucked out of the league. Plus, I have to pay $60 to endure this.

Fuck that.

Even though there isn't a lot of interaction I'm enjoying the free Yahoo! league I'm in. I'd like to find a league that does keepers, or individual defenders. Hell, even an auction league. I just want to have fun and not deal with these headaches.

Seriously, I'm a good owner- I can fill out your league without ever seriously challenging for the title. Think about it, and let me know by August 2006.

Hit Him With A Hammer

It's not often that I get a chuckle from DailyKos, but this article on Bill O'Reilly's enemies list cracked me up. Especially:

Dear Bill O'Reilly. Please put me on your Enemies List. It's "Hunter",
H-U-N-T-E-R. As for the reason, please put down "thinks it would be
hysterical if al-Zarqawi beat you to death with a shovel."

Hehe - Beating Bill O'Reilly to death with a shovel. That's comedy gold.

yes, yes, I'm a hateful man. I ain't no monument to justice. If the above offends you then move along. Pussy

Battle of the Right Wing Super Nutjobs

It's like they're trying to out perform one another in the quest for the ultimate in jaw-dropping stupidity.

It's Dumb vs Dumber

I yearn to see them fight to the death with sawed-off pool cubes. The survivor would then move on to face Sean Hannity in a naked cage wrestling deathmatch. That's the only way America wins.

If these ideas intrigue you please contact for me. I've devised a bracket for a a single elimination rightwing nutjob death tournament, the details of which are much to incendiary to ever be published.

You Stupid Bastards

Arrested Development cancelled.

Fuck.

A wonderfully clever show bites the dust. I'll admit that it could be tough to follow some of the Three's Company style misunderstandings in the plotlines. And sure, some people may have missed some of the lowkey humor woven into the dialogue. But still, this was one of the few shows to make me laugh out loud. And now it's gone.

And yet, somehow, this shit is still on the air. WTF?

As is this Married With Children ripoff?

And does anybody actually like this show?

I'm missing something. I weep for America

Ahem

Ignore the last post. It was a product of low blood sugar, removal of anti-psychotic medications, and too much corn liquor. Everything is fine now.

It's amazing what some relaxation, alcohol, and a nice poke in the whiskers will buy you.

I Surrender

Do you ever feel like your whole life is going right in the shitter? That no matter what you do nothing is ever correct, or good enough? Yeah, that's pretty much how I feel every single day now.

I surrender.

Thank You, TSG!

Yesterday, nearly every straight man in America sat up, took notice, and possibly unzipped when it was revealed that two Carolina Panther cheerleaders were behaving very badly in a Tampa, FL nightclub. The women in question were busted for brawling with angry women forced to wait for the can after they were discovered having sex with one another in the restroom. Finally, confirmation many guys deeply held belief that cheerleaders are all hot, slutty, bi-curious nymphos with a prediliction for catfighting. Yum

Like every other perv in America I attempted to cruise by the Carolina Panthers website to put a face to the names. No dice, the site had been wiped clean.

Here's where the Smoking Gun comes to the rescue, providing not only the mugshots of the saucy minx but also the individual bios



My judgement? The blond is pretty smoking. The brunette? Eh, she's kinda rough. The fake cans don't help either, but I can find a way to work with it.

Thank you again, TSG!

Election Day!

Off year elections are sooo exciting! Actually, these local elections are where we can make the most impact on our day to day lives. Still, I'm seriously debating hitting the polls. All I have is the Manlius Town Supervisor election (Hank Chapman vs. Gifford Duffy) and the two propositions on the ballot (to which I plan on voting "no" to both) and the usual list of uncontested judges, council members, etc.

The only local race of note is the mudfest for Syracuse Mayor. Here we have sleazy cokehead incumbent Matt Driscoll taking on Republican/Pyramid candidate Joanie Mahoney. I should note that their is a third candidate - Howie Hawkins of the Green party. It's a shame that Hawkins doesn't stand a chance- his ideas are logical and he doesn't seem beholden to private interests the way the other two candidates are. Gah, the city of Syracuse is really in a no-win situation.

Indian Summer

Yesterday marked the end of nice stretch of Indian Summer in Central New York (can we still use that term?) that lasted about a week. Simply beautiful - Sunny, highs in the 60's and 70's, a great mid-fall treat. And then yesterday at 4:45 it all ended with a string of violent thunderstorms that left us w/o power for over 5 hours. I can't complain too much though - my brother-in-law's power is still out, and my friend manning the Ft. Lauderdale chapter of SGWA endured 11 days without power thanks to Hurricane Wilma (less than two months after Hurrican Katrina left them sans power for 5 days). So yeah, 5 hours is small potatos by comparison. That said, 5 hours of my daughter asking "turn on light, daddy" every 5 minutes (alternating with "I wanna watch the Wiggles") made the time seem much, much longer. I mean, how are you supposed to keep kids entertained that long in pitch black?

Princess

Working in the spartan IT world I had long dreamed of surrounding myself with a team of buxom beauties. Careful what you wish for. Suffice it to say the woman we hired 4 months ago has turned out to be nothing but a big pain in the ass. No doubt about it, she's fairly intelligent (as she would tell you), but the rotten attitude is beginning to grind me down. I'm so worn out from spending all day listening to her whining, her sarcastic remarks, and her general annoyingness that I don't have the strength to write much. I had honestly thought that a college grad fresh out of school would have enthusiasm and a desire "to get the job done", especially considering how well the "entry level" position pays (double what I started at 9 years ago). Man, was I wrong. Hmmm... I wonder if the person I wanted to hire (considering she "works" for me ) would have turned out this bad...

Hard to believe, but she almost makes me miss the cube farter.

Stress

Is it bad when your boss suggests you take a day off because you're stressed out. Is it that obvious. What gave it away - my random and profane outbursts, the fact that I spend my lunches curled up sobbing on the floor of the break room, or the back issues of Guns & Ammo that I "accidently" leave sitting on my desk? hmmm...

So yeah, I'm a bit stressed these days. Why? Well, getting pulled in a million different directions at work doesn't help. Sick family takes a big toll also. Having a second child has really cut into whatever "me" time I may have had. What else? Personal health worries? Check. Losing the home upkeep battle? Check. Money? Check check. The list goes on.

What options do you have to relieve stress? The way I see it is there are a couple of options:
Drinking, smoking, eating, dope, or exercise. Right now eating is number one, drinking is moving up the list, and I can't help but think a weekend in an opium den would get me settled down. Smoking makes me nauseous, so no go there. Exercise really is the last option.

So, how can I find a good opium den?

Halfway Mark

We are just pas the halfway mark in the fantasy football season and my collective assessment of my teams? Mediocre.

Syracuse Squealers - 5-3
Despite watching Daunte Culpepper stink up the joint this team is only 1 game out of first, and currently in position for the playoffs. Why? Steve Smith and Steven Jackson. They've been fan-fucking-tastic, so much so that I've been able to get past the craptacular performance of Culpepper. I'm scrambling now that he is done for the season, but it's not like I'm taking a huge point hit going with my backups.
This is my last chance for salvation

Fighting Whities - 4-4
.500, but only one game back in their division. Riding high with the duo of Steven Jackson and Willis McGahee. Surviving with Drew Brees at QB. During the draft I had the option of taking either Darrel Jackson or Steve Smith. I took Jackson and with his knee injury I'm hurting. If I had a top-flight WR this team would be solid. Stupid draft decisions.

Big 'Ol Steamers - 3-5
This week I scored 80 total points and lost to an 0-7 team. Poor RB play is killing me, but I should have expected as much with Fragile Fred Taylor leading the way. Julius Jones was looking promising, but is now suffering from the most debilitating sprained ankle in recent history. I took Nate Burleson high at WR and describing his season as 'disappointing' is freaking understatement. Losing Takeo Spikes has hurt also, as my defense is weak. It' almost fire sale time.

So there it is - 2 of my 3 teams are still in the playoff hunt. I expect crashing and burning to commence soon.

1 Year

It's amazing how much things can change in one year. Last Halloween the biggest issue we faced as a family was where to take Emma trick-or-treating. My late father-in-law suffered a massive coronary later that day and everything since then has been turned upside down. My father-in-law never recovered, eventually passing away in August of this year. My mother-in-law has arguably endured a worse year, being diagnosed with lung cancer, selling her home of 40 years, seeing her husband pass away, etc. We don't know if it's the cancer or the depression, but she has become a frail shell of her former self and we are now preparing for the inevitable. My wife and her siblings have soldiered on in the most stoic of fashion, but the stress is taking it's toll on everyone involved. While my in-laws were in their seventies, they were a vibrant, healthy and vibrant couple that we expected to be with us for many more years. The last year has left us a family feeling shell-shocked. Hard to believe that things have unfolded as they have in just one year. I'm really not sure what the point of all this is, other than remarking on the anniversary. Forgive me for rambling.