OK, I need help from all you PC experts out there.
I'm having trouble with my 2006 Dell Laptop - with Windows XP. It can't boot up. The message I get:
"Windows could not start because the following file is missing or corrupt:
\WINDOWS\SYSTEM32\CONFIG\SYSTEM"
It says I can attempt to repair this file by starting Windows Setup using the original Setup CD ROM....
....but I can't find it.
Question: how screwed am I? Can I get this Setup CD Rom at Best Buy?
Jan 31, 2009
Jan 30, 2009
You know you work for a software company when...
you produce things like this at work. Click this you must....
I expect this phone call in April...
*phone rings*
"Hello, this is Lakota Schools. This is Tuesday, April 22.
Our crews have been out and we found a pothole on Cincinnati-Dayton Road, 1 mile from one o four elementary schools. Therefore, out of caution, we will be closing schools today.
Thank you for your understanding! "
The boys are now out of school for the 4th straight day due to the snow/ice strom we had Monday night into Wednesday. It's a bit ridiculous they can't go to school today.
"Hello, this is Lakota Schools. This is Tuesday, April 22.
Our crews have been out and we found a pothole on Cincinnati-Dayton Road, 1 mile from one o four elementary schools. Therefore, out of caution, we will be closing schools today.
Thank you for your understanding! "
The boys are now out of school for the 4th straight day due to the snow/ice strom we had Monday night into Wednesday. It's a bit ridiculous they can't go to school today.
Jan 28, 2009
Vegas: Historical Recap #2
Now we get into trips 6-10, trips that have been talked about and summarized on the blog before. Quick highlights from each of those trips:
Trip 6: Mar 2006, Monte Carlo, NCAA Weekend: Credit Card Roulette....Card Sharks at the MGM!.....Golfing in two groups, with Layup/Leland/Wiz betting on Don/Kermit/me.......What do you do if you have a 16 vs a 10 showing? ......Black Friday (5-14 in Basketball).......predicting Women's lines at dinner at the Mirage....... a puzzling decision to play $5 craps at the Aladdin........"What, exactly, do you see in Layup?".....witnessing firsthand the lethal Layup/Wiz/Alcohol trifecta at the roulette table
Trip 7: Nov 2006, Mandalay Bay, Layup's Bachelor party: Dumbest move ever, sitting down at the restaurant upon arrival as Layup and the group are finishing up; I order a $7 Vodka tonic.....the Columbus Blue Jackets, the official NHL team of the Bachelor party.......12 hours at the sportsbook at one table.........Rutgers!........The Mensa card.......The Excalibur run (I still need a shower).....winning $500 in BJ at the Luxor and a $500 slot jackpot at McCarran
Trip 8: Mar 2007, Hooters, Conf Champ weekend: Another one of Steve's hockey trips, this time at the lovely Hooters. This trip was a complete, alcohol-induced blur. Friday: golf with Kermit, with vodka tonics on the 1st fairway. I was completely wasted at the end - and, of course, I 3 putted 17 and 18 to lose, 1 up.....then we stopped at the podunk casino (I wish I could remember the name) to gamble at a $2 craps tub - they had to open it up for us - and we started winning. I won $150, Kermit won about $600 or so.....Mer was the least drunk of us, so he drove back (I was texting his stripper girlfriend) and then we had the famous Smith & Wollensky's dinner. We won't link to the picture again. The next day, after sleeping on the floor of the hotel room (ugh), Steve and I played BJ at the Monte; the table was cold and I left after 2 shoes. That's when I learned that Steve and I have a different philosophy about gambling. He's in for the long haul; if it's cold, I get up and leave. Kermit hits another jackpot (royal flush) for $1500 and, I believe, loses it all back before Steve and I can get to him. And - I forgot - he missed the flight going home Sunday night.
Trip 9: Mar 2007, Mirage, NCAA Weekend: For those of you counting, that's 4 Vegas trips in 53 weeks. How did I manage that? The quick highlights: Watching the Maryland game at Caesar's while pounding my shoe on the bar.....Royal Links and the beginning of the Breakfast burrito tradition....the Red Rock casino run......Wiz talking me into a $100 Pai Gow bet (my hand, of course, was Q-10-9-7-5-3-2)......."Hello, Bee" is born........The unforgettable Golden Nugget Pai Gow run....."How much trouble can you get into at a $5 craps table??".........Gus Johnson's Ohio St/Xavier call............The Lady Boilers are a lock!......Micah's broken foot
Trip 10: Mar 2008, Palazzo, NCAA Weekend: Who can forget last year? Once again, I stand up from a table when things aren't going so well - and that decision costs Kermit $600......"Maybe.....YES SIR!".....Civil war breaks out among the group: what do you do with a 4-2 vs a dealer 6? ......."Occupied!"............Wiz betting the don't pass because he is a crappy roller, then ending up hitting nothing but numbers.....Dice in my coffee.......The Cabana.....Allison Lacey is our hero.......The meal at the MGM..........How the f do you lose a ring at the Pai Gow table??......first foray into $25 craps......Cliff Clavin and "The Whale" at the Mirage
By the way, when doing my research for this posts, I think the phrase "don't ever leave Wiz and Layup alone unsupervised in a casino" at least 9 different times over the years. Good to see that things never change.
Trip 6: Mar 2006, Monte Carlo, NCAA Weekend: Credit Card Roulette....Card Sharks at the MGM!.....Golfing in two groups, with Layup/Leland/Wiz betting on Don/Kermit/me.......What do you do if you have a 16 vs a 10 showing? ......Black Friday (5-14 in Basketball).......predicting Women's lines at dinner at the Mirage....... a puzzling decision to play $5 craps at the Aladdin........"What, exactly, do you see in Layup?".....witnessing firsthand the lethal Layup/Wiz/Alcohol trifecta at the roulette table
Trip 7: Nov 2006, Mandalay Bay, Layup's Bachelor party: Dumbest move ever, sitting down at the restaurant upon arrival as Layup and the group are finishing up; I order a $7 Vodka tonic.....the Columbus Blue Jackets, the official NHL team of the Bachelor party.......12 hours at the sportsbook at one table.........Rutgers!........The Mensa card.......The Excalibur run (I still need a shower).....winning $500 in BJ at the Luxor and a $500 slot jackpot at McCarran
Trip 8: Mar 2007, Hooters, Conf Champ weekend: Another one of Steve's hockey trips, this time at the lovely Hooters. This trip was a complete, alcohol-induced blur. Friday: golf with Kermit, with vodka tonics on the 1st fairway. I was completely wasted at the end - and, of course, I 3 putted 17 and 18 to lose, 1 up.....then we stopped at the podunk casino (I wish I could remember the name) to gamble at a $2 craps tub - they had to open it up for us - and we started winning. I won $150, Kermit won about $600 or so.....Mer was the least drunk of us, so he drove back (I was texting his stripper girlfriend) and then we had the famous Smith & Wollensky's dinner. We won't link to the picture again. The next day, after sleeping on the floor of the hotel room (ugh), Steve and I played BJ at the Monte; the table was cold and I left after 2 shoes. That's when I learned that Steve and I have a different philosophy about gambling. He's in for the long haul; if it's cold, I get up and leave. Kermit hits another jackpot (royal flush) for $1500 and, I believe, loses it all back before Steve and I can get to him. And - I forgot - he missed the flight going home Sunday night.
Trip 9: Mar 2007, Mirage, NCAA Weekend: For those of you counting, that's 4 Vegas trips in 53 weeks. How did I manage that? The quick highlights: Watching the Maryland game at Caesar's while pounding my shoe on the bar.....Royal Links and the beginning of the Breakfast burrito tradition....the Red Rock casino run......Wiz talking me into a $100 Pai Gow bet (my hand, of course, was Q-10-9-7-5-3-2)......."Hello, Bee" is born........The unforgettable Golden Nugget Pai Gow run....."How much trouble can you get into at a $5 craps table??".........Gus Johnson's Ohio St/Xavier call............The Lady Boilers are a lock!......Micah's broken foot
Trip 10: Mar 2008, Palazzo, NCAA Weekend: Who can forget last year? Once again, I stand up from a table when things aren't going so well - and that decision costs Kermit $600......"Maybe.....YES SIR!".....Civil war breaks out among the group: what do you do with a 4-2 vs a dealer 6? ......."Occupied!"............Wiz betting the don't pass because he is a crappy roller, then ending up hitting nothing but numbers.....Dice in my coffee.......The Cabana.....Allison Lacey is our hero.......The meal at the MGM..........How the f do you lose a ring at the Pai Gow table??......first foray into $25 craps......Cliff Clavin and "The Whale" at the Mirage
By the way, when doing my research for this posts, I think the phrase "don't ever leave Wiz and Layup alone unsupervised in a casino" at least 9 different times over the years. Good to see that things never change.
Jan 26, 2009
Vegas: Historical Recap
Well, spurned on by Layup's post and my first transaction to get cash on hand for Vegas, I thought I'd look back on my history in Vegas.
2009 is the 15th anniversary of my first trip to Vegas, and this will be my 11th trip overall. Here is a quick recap of the other 10 trips, which I hope will spur discussions, defenses and (of course) corrections of my fading memories:
Trip 1: Aug 1994 (Palace Station). A grad school friend of mine went with me. I went during the baseball strike, so the only real sports I could gamble on was Preseason NFL and regular season CFL. I planned to play only blackjack until my friend introduced me to craps. First session: layout $30, lost it in 5 minutes. Put out another $30, and won $120. This is easy!
He went to play 7-card stud, and I went to the strip to play - and conquer - craps. Uh, not so fast, my friend. Had losing sessions at the Frontier and (ugh) Circus Circus.
Walked the strip, from the north end all the way down to MGM. God, nothing was down there!
Lost all of my bankroll on that time - my last hour was spent playing the nickel slots. However, I was comped at the Frontier for my 3-4 sessions there, which set me up for....
Trip 2: Dec 1999 (Frontier) . Layup went with me on a weekend trip on my way to Phoenix. This trip started it all in creating the unforgettable Zahn brothers' gambling memories: the ill-fated BJ trip to the Desert Inn; the 4:30 am "wake-up" calls to run downstairs to play craps; creepy gambling sessions at the Stardust. I remember placing sports bets at the Imperial Palace in a back room somewhere. I lost, but no more than expected; a distraught Layup, however, lost his original bankroll and more by the end of the trip.
Trip 3: Mar 2003 (Monte Carlo). My first NCAA trip with Layup and the crew. What, were there 5 of us in that room that year? I remember the Boardwalk run with Laura; winning big the first night (always a bad sign) , and my first poker session in the Monte poker room. My first winning hand was against a Gene Keady look-alike; I won, as my pair of aces with a Q kicker beat his J kicker. This was the year of the "international" incident, where I played craps betting with the dice against two middle-easterners who bet the don't pass. I got killed, but sacrificed myself as I told Layup not to play: "this doesn't concern you". In the sports book, I hugged a 6'5" Hispanic gang member during the Arizona-Gonzaga game, and yelled for Dan Rather to get off the TV as bombs started falling in Baghdad. Oh yeah, Layup said there were two other friends of his (one was Leland, and the other? some friend of Leland's who seemed like a dick) who stayed at the Mirage - we made it up there once. What assholes....what, were they too good for us? Is the Monte Carlo beneath them?
Trip 4: Mar 2004, Conf Champ weekend (Monte Carlo). This was the first of the hockey trips with Steve and Kermit, as Steve's adult hockey team had an annual spring tournament. I think Layup came on these trips in 04-05. Five to a room, with Steve's brother sleeping in a sleeping bag on the bed; Layup on the floor. Smith & Wollensky's was a staple for us. We saw Steve's brother maybe twice the whole trip. Only gambling memories I have are: 1) me making a terrible faux pas, requesting to become the banker at the Pai Gow table with Steve and Kermit, and 2) a classic scene at the craps table where the roller was on fire, winning on every roll - and his hockey team trying desperately to pull him away to catch the bus for the hockey game. Oh yes, and I got depressed at the end of the trip and ended up breaking down emotionally...but that's another story.
Trip 5: Mar 2005, Conf Champ weekend (Monte Carlo). Same cast of characters. I remember leaving the house in Iowa to the Cedar Rapids airport.....and then what? Steve never seemed to be in the Monte at all- he always played black jack at the MGM (in the morning) or- gulp- at the Luxor. Steve, for whatever reason - loved the Luxor. This was Kermit's Blazing 7 infatuation, I think - he won a $1500 jackpot, considered kicking us out of the room for a hooker that night (it was 4 in the morning), and then lost it all away in the SAME FREAKING SLOT MACHINE. I think we made side trips after Steve's games to the Rio and the Palms - and oh yes, got to see the breasts of a wife of a teammate of Steve's at the game.
Wow, this is taking longer than I thought. Part 2 coming later...
2009 is the 15th anniversary of my first trip to Vegas, and this will be my 11th trip overall. Here is a quick recap of the other 10 trips, which I hope will spur discussions, defenses and (of course) corrections of my fading memories:
Trip 1: Aug 1994 (Palace Station). A grad school friend of mine went with me. I went during the baseball strike, so the only real sports I could gamble on was Preseason NFL and regular season CFL. I planned to play only blackjack until my friend introduced me to craps. First session: layout $30, lost it in 5 minutes. Put out another $30, and won $120. This is easy!
He went to play 7-card stud, and I went to the strip to play - and conquer - craps. Uh, not so fast, my friend. Had losing sessions at the Frontier and (ugh) Circus Circus.
Walked the strip, from the north end all the way down to MGM. God, nothing was down there!
Lost all of my bankroll on that time - my last hour was spent playing the nickel slots. However, I was comped at the Frontier for my 3-4 sessions there, which set me up for....
Trip 2: Dec 1999 (Frontier) . Layup went with me on a weekend trip on my way to Phoenix. This trip started it all in creating the unforgettable Zahn brothers' gambling memories: the ill-fated BJ trip to the Desert Inn; the 4:30 am "wake-up" calls to run downstairs to play craps; creepy gambling sessions at the Stardust. I remember placing sports bets at the Imperial Palace in a back room somewhere. I lost, but no more than expected; a distraught Layup, however, lost his original bankroll and more by the end of the trip.
Trip 3: Mar 2003 (Monte Carlo). My first NCAA trip with Layup and the crew. What, were there 5 of us in that room that year? I remember the Boardwalk run with Laura; winning big the first night (always a bad sign) , and my first poker session in the Monte poker room. My first winning hand was against a Gene Keady look-alike; I won, as my pair of aces with a Q kicker beat his J kicker. This was the year of the "international" incident, where I played craps betting with the dice against two middle-easterners who bet the don't pass. I got killed, but sacrificed myself as I told Layup not to play: "this doesn't concern you". In the sports book, I hugged a 6'5" Hispanic gang member during the Arizona-Gonzaga game, and yelled for Dan Rather to get off the TV as bombs started falling in Baghdad. Oh yeah, Layup said there were two other friends of his (one was Leland, and the other? some friend of Leland's who seemed like a dick) who stayed at the Mirage - we made it up there once. What assholes....what, were they too good for us? Is the Monte Carlo beneath them?
Trip 4: Mar 2004, Conf Champ weekend (Monte Carlo). This was the first of the hockey trips with Steve and Kermit, as Steve's adult hockey team had an annual spring tournament. I think Layup came on these trips in 04-05. Five to a room, with Steve's brother sleeping in a sleeping bag on the bed; Layup on the floor. Smith & Wollensky's was a staple for us. We saw Steve's brother maybe twice the whole trip. Only gambling memories I have are: 1) me making a terrible faux pas, requesting to become the banker at the Pai Gow table with Steve and Kermit, and 2) a classic scene at the craps table where the roller was on fire, winning on every roll - and his hockey team trying desperately to pull him away to catch the bus for the hockey game. Oh yes, and I got depressed at the end of the trip and ended up breaking down emotionally...but that's another story.
Trip 5: Mar 2005, Conf Champ weekend (Monte Carlo). Same cast of characters. I remember leaving the house in Iowa to the Cedar Rapids airport.....and then what? Steve never seemed to be in the Monte at all- he always played black jack at the MGM (in the morning) or- gulp- at the Luxor. Steve, for whatever reason - loved the Luxor. This was Kermit's Blazing 7 infatuation, I think - he won a $1500 jackpot, considered kicking us out of the room for a hooker that night (it was 4 in the morning), and then lost it all away in the SAME FREAKING SLOT MACHINE. I think we made side trips after Steve's games to the Rio and the Palms - and oh yes, got to see the breasts of a wife of a teammate of Steve's at the game.
Wow, this is taking longer than I thought. Part 2 coming later...
Jan 25, 2009
Vegas
Need to post something to get that drunk post about sisters off the top story. So here is another drunk post about my trip last weekend to Vegas.
Bellagio: Hate it even more than before. Dealers are solid and nice, but the fucking foot traffic is too much. It just feels like an airport. Way too loud and just way too crowded. But not at the tables, just people wandering around. And they don't play any music, only live soft jazz by a piano players placed around the casino. I never noticed it before.
Bellagio: How slow is it now in Vegas? I had my pick of $25 BJ tables on Saturday evening. The craps tables stayed at $10 the entire time. When Carol, Susan, and Johnny were looking for a $25 Pai Gow table on Sunday and there weren't any open, the Pit Boss came over and changed a $50 table to a $25 table. Not too strange you say? Well there were already three people sitting at the table. Now I have seen the pit boss change the table limits lower when it was dead, but never when people were already seated at the table.
South Pointe: New casino south of Vegas on the way home to LA, but seemed like it was 20 years old. $5 tables which was nice, and gambling degenerates as their craps' dealers. About 5 different times, I had to remind the dealer to place my odds because he was watching the Ravens game. When the Ravens didn't make a 4th and 1, the entire craps' crew, including the pit boss, went bezerk. I have a feeling that Eric and I will be making a run to that casino.
Ultimate Texas Holdem: I love this game. LOVE IT so much that while I played it at the Mirage on Sunday morning, I didn't mind the 60 year old guy hovering over my shoulder the entire 90 minutes I played. I was having so much fun, that I would show him the cards while I looked at it and at times asked him if I should play the hand. He was actually more excited than I was when I was winning.
The Bank: We all went to the big dance club at the Bellagio. Very amazed at the amount of sluts still hanging out at expensive clubs in Vegas. Good time, except for the DJ, who only played a song for about 20 seconds before mixing in a new one. I would get excited about hearing a song and before you know it they changed the song. Sucked.
Shopping: So Jorge Blogsada was out there with me and he decides to show up without packing any shorts. So we spent Friday night walking around the stores and the malls looking for a pair of khakis. But there was a problem. Jorge is a little larger than me, so he needs a something larger than a size 38. And wouldn't ya know it, there are no stores on the strip that have a pair of shorts with anything larger than a size 38. Well, that's not true. Jorge and I found a pair that would of fit him, but the pair of shorts were $210.
All in all it was a great time. Got to see Jorge Blogsada and his wife, along with Carol's family. All I have to say is that the next time I get married, I'm doing it in Vegas. It was perfect.
Bellagio: Hate it even more than before. Dealers are solid and nice, but the fucking foot traffic is too much. It just feels like an airport. Way too loud and just way too crowded. But not at the tables, just people wandering around. And they don't play any music, only live soft jazz by a piano players placed around the casino. I never noticed it before.
Bellagio: How slow is it now in Vegas? I had my pick of $25 BJ tables on Saturday evening. The craps tables stayed at $10 the entire time. When Carol, Susan, and Johnny were looking for a $25 Pai Gow table on Sunday and there weren't any open, the Pit Boss came over and changed a $50 table to a $25 table. Not too strange you say? Well there were already three people sitting at the table. Now I have seen the pit boss change the table limits lower when it was dead, but never when people were already seated at the table.
South Pointe: New casino south of Vegas on the way home to LA, but seemed like it was 20 years old. $5 tables which was nice, and gambling degenerates as their craps' dealers. About 5 different times, I had to remind the dealer to place my odds because he was watching the Ravens game. When the Ravens didn't make a 4th and 1, the entire craps' crew, including the pit boss, went bezerk. I have a feeling that Eric and I will be making a run to that casino.
Ultimate Texas Holdem: I love this game. LOVE IT so much that while I played it at the Mirage on Sunday morning, I didn't mind the 60 year old guy hovering over my shoulder the entire 90 minutes I played. I was having so much fun, that I would show him the cards while I looked at it and at times asked him if I should play the hand. He was actually more excited than I was when I was winning.
The Bank: We all went to the big dance club at the Bellagio. Very amazed at the amount of sluts still hanging out at expensive clubs in Vegas. Good time, except for the DJ, who only played a song for about 20 seconds before mixing in a new one. I would get excited about hearing a song and before you know it they changed the song. Sucked.
Shopping: So Jorge Blogsada was out there with me and he decides to show up without packing any shorts. So we spent Friday night walking around the stores and the malls looking for a pair of khakis. But there was a problem. Jorge is a little larger than me, so he needs a something larger than a size 38. And wouldn't ya know it, there are no stores on the strip that have a pair of shorts with anything larger than a size 38. Well, that's not true. Jorge and I found a pair that would of fit him, but the pair of shorts were $210.
All in all it was a great time. Got to see Jorge Blogsada and his wife, along with Carol's family. All I have to say is that the next time I get married, I'm doing it in Vegas. It was perfect.
Jan 22, 2009
Sisters
Just throwing out a question to the group here. Would you ever have a threesome with two sisters? Would it be just too weird or just plain awesome? I would say it would be awesome, but a little awkward afterwards. Someone in the house thinks it gross and I couldn't handle it. I beg to differ.
Jan 19, 2009
Shout out to Ben!!!
Its about fucking time President Bush. Way to wait until the last second to make the right call. How did it take this long? Especially when both political parties wanted this reversed? Even Feinstein made a call to President Bush on behalf of the Border Patrol agents when the verdict came down. And they don't tell the entire story, but who cares, these guys are free.
Jan 18, 2009
Depressing Sunday night
Random thoughts from a cold snowy night:
1) It does depress me that the Cardinals made the Super Bowl. Jesus, if the Cardinals can do it, why can't (or haven't) the Browns? Is 1986 (actually, January, 1987) the closest we will come?
(by the way, sorry to the Eagles fan(s) out there).
2) I admit it, when it comes to Ravens-Steelers, I am a bad person. We watched the 4th quarter helmet to helmet collision of McGahee and a Steeler..... Janice actually showed some sympathy toward the players. I calmly said: "Stop it. It's a Raven and a Steeler - both down. A good outcome".
3) Went roller skating Friday night with the kids - and ended up doing "YMCA" on the rink floor. All we needed was a "Defender" arcade game, and it would be 1984 again. Ah, those days at "Skateland" in Cockeysville off of York Road - where the "Advance Business Systems" headquarters is now located.
4) Our country is raising a bunch of wimps. THe kids got off school on Friday because - well, because it was cold. In the morning, it was -3 degrees F outside - and sunny. So what? Bundle up! Get on the bus!
5) Watched a lot of college basketball on Saturday. Let me just say one thing - someone, on the court, whether a player, coach or ref, will be killed by a spectator within the next 20 years. Just watch these two videos - which, if you think about it, are kind of scary - and prove me wrong.
a) Wiz's old classmates at Clemson;
b) Hey, I'm just sticking up for my brother! (the fun starts around the 1:30 mark; watch the person coming down the stairs in the upper right part of the video)
If fans can get this close to the players, it's not a big leap of fate to predict something more ominous could conceivably happen.
6) Two months to go until Vegas! 59 days and counting.
7) Layup went to Vegas - and a classic scenario unfolded, one we all can relate to.
At 1:35 pm Eastern time on Saturday, I got a text from him. "Heading for the Craps table at Bellagio - wish me luck!"
(pause)
At 1:51, the phone rang.
"Hello?"
"Hi...", a shocked Layup said. "That was brutal!"
Let's not have any 15 minute craps sessions in March, ok?
1) It does depress me that the Cardinals made the Super Bowl. Jesus, if the Cardinals can do it, why can't (or haven't) the Browns? Is 1986 (actually, January, 1987) the closest we will come?
(by the way, sorry to the Eagles fan(s) out there).
2) I admit it, when it comes to Ravens-Steelers, I am a bad person. We watched the 4th quarter helmet to helmet collision of McGahee and a Steeler..... Janice actually showed some sympathy toward the players. I calmly said: "Stop it. It's a Raven and a Steeler - both down. A good outcome".
3) Went roller skating Friday night with the kids - and ended up doing "YMCA" on the rink floor. All we needed was a "Defender" arcade game, and it would be 1984 again. Ah, those days at "Skateland" in Cockeysville off of York Road - where the "Advance Business Systems" headquarters is now located.
4) Our country is raising a bunch of wimps. THe kids got off school on Friday because - well, because it was cold. In the morning, it was -3 degrees F outside - and sunny. So what? Bundle up! Get on the bus!
5) Watched a lot of college basketball on Saturday. Let me just say one thing - someone, on the court, whether a player, coach or ref, will be killed by a spectator within the next 20 years. Just watch these two videos - which, if you think about it, are kind of scary - and prove me wrong.
a) Wiz's old classmates at Clemson;
b) Hey, I'm just sticking up for my brother! (the fun starts around the 1:30 mark; watch the person coming down the stairs in the upper right part of the video)
If fans can get this close to the players, it's not a big leap of fate to predict something more ominous could conceivably happen.
6) Two months to go until Vegas! 59 days and counting.
7) Layup went to Vegas - and a classic scenario unfolded, one we all can relate to.
At 1:35 pm Eastern time on Saturday, I got a text from him. "Heading for the Craps table at Bellagio - wish me luck!"
(pause)
At 1:51, the phone rang.
"Hello?"
"Hi...", a shocked Layup said. "That was brutal!"
Let's not have any 15 minute craps sessions in March, ok?
Jan 13, 2009
End of an era
So Thursday will be my last day managing the Long Beach/La Mirada territory. Ahhhh, finally I get to leave the LA area. On Friday, I'm taking over the Orange/San Diego offices in preparation of bringing over our new acquisition Bristol West. Am I going to miss the LA area? Hmmmm, sort of. Who is going to wake up the homeless sleeping on the floor mats in front of the office? Who is going to install flood lights on the side of our building to keep the homeless from sleeping? Who is going to pick up the 100 pounds of trash they dumped in our parking lot in retaliation of the flood lights? Who is going ensure that their cardboard houses are broken down every morning? Who is going to pick up the rotten meat they threw up on our roof in retaliation of destroying their home? And most importantly, who is going to make sure that the toilets are kept in tip top shape?
Ahhh Little Siagon and Koreatown, who are you going to kick out of your body shops now? Watts and South Central, your "White Devil" of a claims manager is leaving you for greener pastures. And who could forget the lovely Russians that control everything from Glendale to Wilshire. No more arguments about framed accidents, stolen parts, or being threatened on a weekly basis from your lovely attorneys, body shop owners, and claimants.
And who could forget about the employees? Well, now we have a great group. But back in the day I felt like I was at the Alamo. Brighter days ahead.
For those of you that call me at work, please call me on my cell from now on.
Jan 10, 2009
Another year older....
Yes, it's that day of the year. Another year older. This is the best image I could come up with to mark this date - never mind the fact that my name is not "Colin".
Some random birthday memories, spurned on by those "Acura" commercials this holiday when the little kids were riding around the house in Big Wheels:
Best present: For whatever reason, the birthday present that sticks out the most from my childhood was my 12th birthday in 1984. We just got an Atari a few months before, and of course that was great as Layup and I battle each other in "Breakout" and "Combat". But then, for my birthday, Mom and Dad gave me "Missile Command". Oh my God - that was the best. I played that 14 hours a day on the weekend trying to reach new scores and levels.
I just realized that 1984 is now TWENTY FIVE years ago. I remember 1984! Mary Lou Retton, "Where's the Beef?" - wow. I am old.
Most sentimental present: During winter break for my senior year in college in 1993, I turned 21 and was spending it at home. Janice sent me a card for my birthday - signed by all of the people we hung out with in the dorm. (You know- all the people that Steve hated.) I think I still have that card.
Golfing memory from my birthday: None. I don't think I have ever golfed on my birthday.
Sporting memories: Two of them:
1982: This was the 1981 AFC Championship and most likely Air Coryell's best chance to get to the Super Bowl. Unfortunately, they had to travel to Cincinnati, where it was -7 degrees and the wind chill was -59F. The Bengals won, 27-7, and they went to their first Super Bowl (led by Kenny Anderson). I wasn't rooting for anyone, but was fascinated by the fact they would be playing outside in those temperatures.
2004: I love playoff overtime, and I think I can recite 80-90% of the NFL playoff overtime games. The double OT Carolina-St Louis overtime game happened on this date, 5 years ago...and I remember watching this at the Hershey's as they were throwing us a goodbye party as we planned to move to Iowa. 5 years ago! Wow.
Jan 7, 2009
Mangini
Well, thank God the Romeo Crennel era is over in Cleveland. By all accounts - even after he was fired - Romeo is a stand-up guy, a great man of character. But that and $3.99 will get you a Starbucks coffee in today's NFL. He was a coach for the 1960s, caught trying to coach today's players. And when you are actively being criticized by Don Criqui and Dan Fouts is asking "Is anyone awake on the sidelines over there??", well, it's time to go.
So - here comes Mangini. On a scale of 1 to 10, with "1" being Art Shell and "10" being Vince Lombardi, I give this hiring a 7. I'm starting to like the hire.
- I believe he is the first Browns head coach to have NFL head coaching experience since Nick Skorich in 1971. That is, the last time we hired a coach with NFL experience as a head coach was before I was born. Over the past 10 years, we've tried the longtime assistant - Crennel; we've tried the young up and coming assistant (Chris Palmer), and we've tried the hotshot college coach (Butch Davis, who by far was the best coach we've had since the return). So let's try this. Look at the some of the recent coaching studs that we look up to:
- Belichick
- Dungy
- Coughlin
- Turner (no, no, scratch that.....)
What do they have in common? This is their second go around in the NFL.
- The fact that we are probably going to get Rob Ryan for a Def Coordinator (current job: D coordinator for the Raiders) excites me. Finally -an attacking defense? Wow!
- Really, what should a head coach do? A head coach doesn't need to know X's and O's - that's the coordiantor's job. They:
- need to know the rules of the game in and out (what happens when you force the opposing team to punt from their own 4 with :05 left?),
- need to know how to run a 2 minute drill (what a concept),
- need to get their team prepared for the game from the first minute, and
- should motivate/discipline the players.
The players LOVED playing for Romeo. They said as much. Why? Because they were never disciplined.
So far, it seems that Mangini is pretty good at all of the above. I'm not totally 100% in love yet, but I am optimistic.
So - here comes Mangini. On a scale of 1 to 10, with "1" being Art Shell and "10" being Vince Lombardi, I give this hiring a 7. I'm starting to like the hire.
- I believe he is the first Browns head coach to have NFL head coaching experience since Nick Skorich in 1971. That is, the last time we hired a coach with NFL experience as a head coach was before I was born. Over the past 10 years, we've tried the longtime assistant - Crennel; we've tried the young up and coming assistant (Chris Palmer), and we've tried the hotshot college coach (Butch Davis, who by far was the best coach we've had since the return). So let's try this. Look at the some of the recent coaching studs that we look up to:
- Belichick
- Dungy
- Coughlin
- Turner (no, no, scratch that.....)
What do they have in common? This is their second go around in the NFL.
- The fact that we are probably going to get Rob Ryan for a Def Coordinator (current job: D coordinator for the Raiders) excites me. Finally -an attacking defense? Wow!
- Really, what should a head coach do? A head coach doesn't need to know X's and O's - that's the coordiantor's job. They:
- need to know the rules of the game in and out (what happens when you force the opposing team to punt from their own 4 with :05 left?),
- need to know how to run a 2 minute drill (what a concept),
- need to get their team prepared for the game from the first minute, and
- should motivate/discipline the players.
The players LOVED playing for Romeo. They said as much. Why? Because they were never disciplined.
So far, it seems that Mangini is pretty good at all of the above. I'm not totally 100% in love yet, but I am optimistic.
Too many topics to post about
Happy New Year 2009 ! So many things to blog about.......we'll save the Mangini hire for the next post, and we will talk about politics later, but for now, random notes from the last two weeks:
- I was so looking forward to a civil war in Vegas with a possible Maryland-Purdue 2nd round game or even a Maryland-Dayton 8-9 game....but today's loss to Morgan State just killed those possibilities for now.
What's worse? Maryland losing to Morgan or Boston College (who just beat North Carolina) losing to Harvard? Oh yeah, the ACC is up this year.
- Like Layup, I am so giddy for the golf pool to start. What a fun ride last year - weekly phone calls with Layup on Wednesdays at 10:30 to pick the golfer, and then running downstairs on Thursday morning (like a kid on Christmas) to check for an email from the commissioner that detailed the week's picks. Half the reason why this pool is so good is because the commissioner sends out everyone's picks Thursday morning and sends out a summary Sunday night - weekly!
- Just a Home & Garden note: if you have hardwood floors, please make sure they are sanded and polished. Or, if you fail to do that, then provide your guests with slippers so they don't impale the ball of their foot with a 5" sliver that takes 4 days to remove.
I'm looking at you, Mr. Hershey. Last year, your floor took out Freddie. This year, the floor got me.....
(and yes, on January 2nd, with the sliver, I still ran 3 miles.)
- I am embarrassed to say that in my first head-to-head matchup with Freddie on Madden 08 for the Wii, I had to make a goal line stop at the end to prevent Freddie's Packers from beating my 49ers. I won, 40-35.
- Speaking of the Wii, Warren is starting to write stories in Kindergarten. He wrote about making cookies with Mom. His sentence started :
"Wii got the mixer out......"
- Had a run to the boats over the holiday; Don & I headed to the blackjack table at Argosy - and dammit, they had the auto shufflers. We sat down with one other person who was on first base.
The third or fourth hand, this person had a soft 13 (2-A) against a dealer 9.
"Hit me" he said. Of course!
Ace.
"Hit me"
Ace again. Now a soft 15, 2-A-A-A.
"Hit". No, no it couldn't happen again......
Ace again. 2-A-A-A-A. 16.
"Hit". Don and I are cringing.
Ace again. 2-A-A-A-A-A. 17.
"Hit". Of course, it is the correct play. Don and I have closed our eyes.
Ace. 2-A-A-A-A-A-A. 18.
Now what? He hit, got a 6, then hit again, a Q. A nine-card bust.
Needless to say, there were no back doors for Don or I at that table.
- I was so looking forward to a civil war in Vegas with a possible Maryland-Purdue 2nd round game or even a Maryland-Dayton 8-9 game....but today's loss to Morgan State just killed those possibilities for now.
What's worse? Maryland losing to Morgan or Boston College (who just beat North Carolina) losing to Harvard? Oh yeah, the ACC is up this year.
- Like Layup, I am so giddy for the golf pool to start. What a fun ride last year - weekly phone calls with Layup on Wednesdays at 10:30 to pick the golfer, and then running downstairs on Thursday morning (like a kid on Christmas) to check for an email from the commissioner that detailed the week's picks. Half the reason why this pool is so good is because the commissioner sends out everyone's picks Thursday morning and sends out a summary Sunday night - weekly!
- Just a Home & Garden note: if you have hardwood floors, please make sure they are sanded and polished. Or, if you fail to do that, then provide your guests with slippers so they don't impale the ball of their foot with a 5" sliver that takes 4 days to remove.
I'm looking at you, Mr. Hershey. Last year, your floor took out Freddie. This year, the floor got me.....
(and yes, on January 2nd, with the sliver, I still ran 3 miles.)
- I am embarrassed to say that in my first head-to-head matchup with Freddie on Madden 08 for the Wii, I had to make a goal line stop at the end to prevent Freddie's Packers from beating my 49ers. I won, 40-35.
- Speaking of the Wii, Warren is starting to write stories in Kindergarten. He wrote about making cookies with Mom. His sentence started :
"Wii got the mixer out......"
- Had a run to the boats over the holiday; Don & I headed to the blackjack table at Argosy - and dammit, they had the auto shufflers. We sat down with one other person who was on first base.
The third or fourth hand, this person had a soft 13 (2-A) against a dealer 9.
"Hit me" he said. Of course!
Ace.
"Hit me"
Ace again. Now a soft 15, 2-A-A-A.
"Hit". No, no it couldn't happen again......
Ace again. 2-A-A-A-A. 16.
"Hit". Don and I are cringing.
Ace again. 2-A-A-A-A-A. 17.
"Hit". Of course, it is the correct play. Don and I have closed our eyes.
Ace. 2-A-A-A-A-A-A. 18.
Now what? He hit, got a 6, then hit again, a Q. A nine-card bust.
Needless to say, there were no back doors for Don or I at that table.
Golf Tourney
For those of you that might be interested, the PGA Golf Pool is just about to start up. There is still time to join. Right now we have RRD, Wiz, Lee, Eric, my Dad, and myself, with Don and Mike on the verge. If anyone is interested in joining, this is easily the best run pool that I've been apart of and its only $100 for 41 weeks of entertainment. That's only $2.41 a week!!! What a value.Also, I'm setting the over on text messages between the group for tomorrow's opening round at 90.
And for the newbies that are just joining the tourney, please study the above picture. This man will crush your heart and screw up your entire tournament. He is the devil and if I have a chance I will kick him in the nuts when I see him.
Jan 6, 2009
60% Winning Percentage
How do you go 135-100 in NFL gambling and only have $40 left in the account? Well you are a degenerate gambler that can't control himself from wagering on College Football, College Basketball, NBA, and Hockey.
Nice work Mr. Zahn
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)