Wrist Watches

As if you could kill time without injuring eternity.  ~ Henry David Thoreau

I'm fed up with people saying they are going to stop wearing wrist watches just because they can always tell time from their phones.  The way I see it wrist watches were invented as an alternative to the pocket watch so people could tell the hour just by looking at their wrist, without having to dig into their pockets.  The pocket search is further complicated when any one of the following variables is in effect: a) tight pants, b) overcoats in cold weather, c) proliferation of pocket goods (e.g. keys, candy, etc.).  

The invention of the wrist watch is analogous to the new technology of the keyless entry and ignition.  This key was invented to help people avoid the trouble, and occasional injury, of always reaching into your pocket and exposing your cuticles to the harsh materials.  Ironically, by abandoning the wrist watch and reaching for the cell phone, people are literally rejecting science and technology.     

Specs

It looks like my computer-screen-intensive lifestyle has finally caught up with me... and not a moment too soon. On the east coast, you're a nobody if you don't wear glasses. You have to be a nerd to be heard. The experience at the eye doctor was all so sudden. He ran some tests and told me to respond "clear" or "blurry" and next thing I know, this young sales associate is telling me which frames look good on me and which don't. Suddenly, I now belong to this new society where you talk about books that you have read while wearing a vision-improving apparatus on your face. I was kind of nervous about the new look but preliminary feedback has been overwhelmingly positive--one person even plans to feign blurred vision at an eye exam. I think as long as I just continue wearing V-neck sweaters I'll be OK.

Fall TV: 30 Rock

30 Rock has been crushing it so far in Season 3. The Oprah episode was wonderful. My favorite part was the ethical dilemma theme with Kenneth ("scenarios are like lying to your brain", and the elevator scene [tripped wire, hermetically sealed, oxygen enough for 8 people, unfortunately there are 7, I have replaced the emergency phone with a pistol loaded with 1 bullet] where Kenneth can't pull the trigger fast enough). So far this season has been pleasantly comical. I'm not sure if you saw last week's episode with Kathy and the soap operas but the scene up in the top floor where Jack and Liz were acting out a passionate soap scene and were on the brink of kissing was pretty fantastic.

Season 1 is definitely on par with (if not better than) what we've seen so far in season 3. Season 2, as with so many other sitcoms, felt a bit interrupted, possibly gimmicky at times (thanks to the writers' strike) but the raw wit and the character interaction and the topical satire remained strong. I highly recommend renting/acquiring season 1 (and 2). If you're looking for some greatest hits, I think my favorites from Season 1 were 'Jack Meets Dennis' and whatever the episode with Thomas Jefferson is called. They pretty much all have at least something redeeming about them.

Financial Meltdown

As the financial markets came to a near collapse during the early part of this week, I, like so many others, found myself with head in hand. The Dow dropped nearly 500 points on Monday after Lehman's bankruptcy, Merril Lynch's merger, and AIG's troubling balance sheet came to light. Then, on Wednesday, stoked by investor pessimism, it dropped 450 points (4.1%) to finish at 10,609.66, its lowest closing level since Nov. 9, 2005. This led me to hastily sell off a sizable portion of my stock portfolio on Thursday morning--ironically, the market jumped about 400 points after I sold. The Fed announced that it plans to enact a bailout program which would take the bad assets off the balance sheets of financial companies, freeing them up to resume conducting business in a somewhat regular fashion, and restore some sense of trust and confidence between institutions. The market has reacted positively over the past 2 days but we'll see how this plays out long term.

The Bunkbed Series

It comes down to this: 2 brothers, former bunkmates, separated across the nation, but united as family, forced to duke it out. In one corner, The Al Pedriques (Desmond B.) bolstered by Chase Utley, Justin Morneau, the ailing Vlad Guerrero, the surging Andre Ethier, and Cliff Lee. In the other corner, The Gordon Geckos (Twainfecta) a.k.a. The Wall St. Whammers who surged from 12th place to 4th place over the course of about 6 weeks just to get into the playoffs, and who now, miraculously, find themselves in this 2-week September Classic. The Geckos boast a lineup of Alfonso Soriano, Jimmy Rollins, Manny Ramirez, Dustin Pedroia, Nate McClouth, et al. And a pitching staff backed by Jon Lester, Brett Myers, Mike Mussina, and a bunch of mediocres.

As these brothers go tete a tete, the question on everyone's mind is: who will end up on top?

There's a New Look-Alike in Town

Don't worry, Del Potro. I'm excited too.

Verlan L. from Eugene, OR, helped me find this gem. Looks like we'll have to add Juan Martin del Potro from Argentina to the list of look-alikes.

Prior Notables:

• John Kerry
• Tommy Reeve
• Marcos Mata

Please let us know who your lookalikes are by posting links in the comments section.

Say It Ain't So (Manny Ramirez: 2001-2008.5)

It was tough seeing Manny starting to dog it these last few weeks in Boston. I'm not going to turn on him, and I will continue to be mesmerized every time I see him step to the plate; I just wish he would have done something that was morally redeeming after incuring the wrath of just about every sportswriter on the planet. Below is a good article by P. Gammons (a colleague of mine) that raises some pretty convincing criticisms of Manuel.

The deal that had to be done

Thursday, July 31, 2008 | Print Entry

The text message from Alex Cora came not long after the deal was done. "I am very sad," wrote Cora, one of the game's best and brightest people. "I am happy for him because he wanted it, but he is a great guy. He taught me a lot. I will miss him."

That is what's so sad about the way the Red Sox had to spend $7 million, and trade two very good young players named Brandon Moss and Craig Hansen, to be able to trade Manny Ramirez to the Dodgers so they could get Jason Bay from the Pirates. But the way the past month had gone, there was no chance -- none, zilch, nada -- that Boston could make the playoffs with Ramirez on the team. In his mind, he had completed his obligation for the guaranteed $168 million the Red Sox paid him, and he was waiting to go on the market and collect the $100 million over the next four seasons he believes he is going to get, which would pay him through the age of 40. He insulted ownership and everyone in authority, and one player who really cares for Ramirez said he knew Ramirez could sit the last two months, collect his final $7 million and ride off into the $100 million sunset. The Red Sox knew that, as well. They already had threatened him with an unpaid suspension, but in a world in which the union fights for those who don't work, the last two months were going to be a living hell of sit-down strikes, followed by suspensions. It would have been a half-season of what the past two weeks have been, namely a choke hold on the team's baseball culture. Ramirez tried to sit, citing his knee. Problem is, after Felix Hernandez and Joba Chamberlain had come and gone, the Red Sox ownership and medical staff ordered him to take an MRI. If Ramirez hadn't forgotten which knee was bothering him, he would have been more convincing, but he got mixed up. Massachusetts General Hospital performed MRIs on both knees and found nothing, and the next day, ownership served Ramirez with a written notice that if he did not play, he would be suspended without pay. Someday, when we really understand the whole 1980-2005 steroids era of which one admitted user says, "The only guys who didn't do them after 1994 were either stupid or scared," we might ask the question: Was it worse to take performance-enhancing drugs to perform better and win, or to decline to play and steal money? That is a question for another decade. The suspension threat was this past weekend, hence the "woe-is-me" stuff on Sunday and the absurd statements about a team that protected him time after time after time after time. But as soon as the deadline passed, if Ramirez were still with the Red Sox, there would have been one incident after another with Ramirez secure in knowing that he didn't have to play, hustle or give any regard to winning to collect his remaining $7 million. Anyone who was watching John Lackey's run at a no-hitter continue in the seventh inning Wednesday when Ramirez jogged to first in 5.7 seconds, realizes that he is one of those rare, gifted athletes who cares nothing about winning, about the integrity of the game or about his teammates. He can hit. Oh, there had been attempts to rid the club of Ramirez. At first, it was about the contract Jeff Moorad snookered from Dan Duquette when no one else was bidding, a contract Ramirez decided he wouldn't abide by in the eighth year. The Sox put him on waivers. No one claimed him. They tried to trade him for Alex Rodriguez, but the union killed that. They tried to trade him to the Mets after the 2004 World Series, then at the 2005 deadline for a package that included Lastings Milledge and Clifford Floyd, but those deals fell through. And they won two World Series with him. But this season became a nightmare when Ramirez's attention span turned to the next four years, to the next contract. General managers said this past weekend that Red Sox GM Theo Epstein had begun calling around trying to get interest in the hitting machine, but by Wednesday night, there were but two teams, the Marlins and Dodgers. The way Boston looked at it was that, fine, Ramirez was gone, and Bay seemed the best replacement with his season averages of 32 homers and 102 RBIs. To get him at the end of the season would have cost more than Moss and Hansen, so they did the deal now. Their feeling was that if Bay adjusts to Boston right away, and they settle their bullpen, they will contend. They do not think they would have contended with their $20 million player on strike. Florida made every honest effort to get him. On Wednesday night, the Marlins thought they were getting Ramirez and Pirates reliever John Grabow for Jeremy Hermida, second baseman-third baseman Chris Coghlan and left-handed pitcher Taylor Tankersley, who would have gone to the Pirates with a Boston prospect for Bay. The Red Sox had agreed to add $2 million, so they were paying $9 million plus a prospect to do Ramirez-for-Bay. Pittsburgh wanted more in the deal, while Florida never wavered. The Pirates wanted another package, which was filled by getting Andy LaRoche and right-handed pitcher Bryan Morris as well as Hansen and Moss. It was a very good package for Bay, a package that frees cash to sign top draft pick Pedro Alvarez. Hansen and Moss were this year's Matt Murton, without whom the Red Sox could not have made the Nomar Garciaparra deal in 2004 that led to a championship. Ramirez should be great in L.A. The Dodgers need the bat. Joe Torre and Don Mattingly are perfect for him. He helps maligned young players such as Matt Kemp and James Loney. The Dodgers essentially got Ramirez and Casey Blake with the Red Sox and Indians paying their salaries. Ramirez will be there for only two or three months, and Torre won't have to live with the compromises that ate at Terry Francona. It'll be a nice stop en route to Cooperstown. Ramirez can blame Larry Lucchino as the reason for not running out ground balls or ducking Hernandez and Chamberlain or sitting out the last five weeks of 2006 when David Ortiz and his teammates needed him, and some of the L.A. media will sympathize. The Angels continually prove that baseball is not a computer game but a human sport, and the gap between Ramirez's numbers and performance widened this season as he became obsessed with his next contract. It is sad, sad that he trashed Francona and those who tried to coddle him to the point that one of the best managers of his time lost weight and sleep trying to live with what he had to allow Ramirez to do, including deck the traveling secretary. It is sad because most of us will always like Manny Ramirez, because the best people on the team -- guys such as Cora, Ortiz and Mike Lowell -- tried to make it work and cared. In the end, though, Ramirez listened to and cared about no one when it came to the next $100 million. He "tased" the 2008 team because management wouldn't pay him $100 million for four years. Now he has a chance to be happy, his back turned on the team with which he won two rings, a team that on Thursday turned the page and, in many ways, is morphing into a team far, far different from the Idiots of 2004, one built around Josh Beckett and Kevin Youkilis and Dustin Pedroia and Jonathan Papelbon and Jon Lester.

MLB All-Star Game: 2008 (Yankee Stadium)

Watching the Allstar game in the top of the 13th now. Let’s just end this thing. I can’t believe Aaron Cook escaped 3 innings with no damage. I guess Clint Hurdle isn’t really sweating it if the NL doesn’t get homefield advantage in the World Series. The 2 force-outs at home followed by the acrobatic Tejada play from Short in the 10th. Then the McClouth throw-out from centerfield in the 11th.

I’m glad that the game wasn’t decided on the run that Papelbon gave up in the 8th since everyone in NY misinterpreted Papelbon’s comments to mean that he thinks he should close the game instead of Mariano Rivera. We would have been hearing about the Papelbon/Mariano drama for weeks to come, and people like me would have been contesting, “well if Navarro would have helped out Papelbon with a throw-out instead of a throw-away, like he did for Mariano, then this would be a different story.”

Uggla just made like his 5th error in the bottom of the 13th, and Joe Buck and Tim McCarver are tyring to make excuses for him. It’s too bad for Uggla too cause Ken Rosenthal was talking earlier about Uggla and his dad used to come to Yankee Stadium to watch the greats and his father had always wished that his son would play a game in Yankee Stadium. He reminds me of a rattled Kevin Elster when he subbed in at shortstop in game 6 of the 86’ World Series.

Carlos Quentin strikes out and we’re going into the 14th inning. While I don’t disagree with the format for MLB tiebreakers—extra innings—I think that maybe for the All-Star game they could do something creative. Maybe a bat-throwing contest. Or a 3-on-3 butts-up game. Which brings me to another idea. What do you think about replacing Soccer shoot-outs with a best-of-5 3-on-2 midfield attack? I think you’d see some more spectacular plays and the better team would end up on top more often. Any other sports that need tie-breaker improvements? Ping-Pong: check. Football: NFL should mimic the NCAA format. Tennis: maybe a one-on-one dodgeball contest.

Webb comes in for the 14th inning. Lineout, strikeout, strikeout. On to the 15th.

Brad Lidge comes on in the bottom of the 15th after Kazmir gets the job done in the top half of the inning. Leadoff hit for Morneau. I was about ready to give up on the game and go to bed but I just heard that Kazmir is the last available pitcher for the AL and he just threw on Sunday. That means that if the NL can extend it one more inning, we might be headed for a pitching matchup of Jason Varitek vs. Russell Martin. J.D. Drew up at the plate with 1 out and runners on 1st and 2nd. I’ve got a good feeling about this. Put me down for J.D. Drew as MVP. Drew walks. Bases loaded. Michael Young up to bat. I’m still voting for J.D. Drew cause Michael Young is going to do something undramatic for the win.

…Michael Young mid-length popfly to right and Morneau tags and scores. Game over. AL wins, again. 11 straight.

Summer Flicks

Hollywood has finally come through with some good movies after a seemingly quiet first half of the year. July in particular is showing a lot of promise.

Hellboy II (July 11) – I saw this movie on opening weekend with some Del Toro fans. I left the theater very happy and we all agreed that II was better than I. I guess that ringing endorsement might not be so compelling to some of you. Let me explain. Hellboy is not just some cheap-thrill horror film. Hellboy is the code name given to the red, horned infant who was rescued by an American research team from the clutches of a Nazi Rasputin experiment. He grows up and joins the Bureau of Paranormal Research & Defense in order to defend the human race in a behind-the-scenes, light-hearted kind of way. Hellboy is a man’s man with a sense of humor and cynicism. This latest movie does a good job of exploring internal dilemmas and it has a great plot with a complex conflict and only partial resolution.

Batman – The Dark Knight (July 18) – I’m still not convinced that this movie is going to deliver like I hope it will, and like the first one delivered. But I’m excited to see it anyways, and maybe it will be awesome. Heath Ledger’s role as the Joker is intriguing to say the least. Maggie Gylenhall doesn’t turn me on which is OK, I guess. As far as Batman paramours, I don’t think anyone will ever top Kim Basinger as Vicki Vale in the Tim Burton version. Maggie G. and Katie Holmes (Batman Begins) just lack that mysterious dark side which is so essential in the world of Bruce Wayne.

X-Files – I Want to Believe (July 25) – I have no idea what the plot or the inspiration for this movie is. But I saw a cool billboard with the iconic flashlight “X” and shadows of the two agents, Mulder and Scully. That was enough for me. In other words, I want to believe.

(Also Neil Young and friends are coming out with a politically charged movie, ‘CSNY: Déjà vu’, later this month. It’s sure to be a smash hit.)

i Year Anniversary

It was exactly one year ago when I sprang for the revolutionary mobile device that is the iPhone. Overall, the experience has been excellent. Having a calendar, a notepad, a picture viewer, instant email, web and map access, and other features that are both productive and enjoyable in their use make it a life-changing, life-improving technological advancement. And that’s saying nothing of the impressive iPod integration, the video capabilities, media streaming, and the actual phone itself. I have definitely been a satisfied customer, but there have been a few annoyances:

Obnoxiously soft speakerphone
Recessed headphone jack
Occasionally inaccurate “Current Location” on Google Maps
Problems crashing to the home screen when using iPod and Safari simultaneously.

But now that the iPhone 3G is out, I imagine all these items will be resolved. I may need to get one. I’m not certain on the crashing issue but I know the headphone jack issue has been resolved, the GPS will be a big plus on the new model, and the volume on the speakerphone I know has at least been addressed.

By my calculations the new iPhone will cost an extra $360 over the course of 24 months ($10 extra for data, and $5 extra to maintain 200 text messages). And with the 1st generation used iPhone fetching upwards of $300 on ebay (people are still willing to pay top dollar for last year’s model due to it’s ability to be unlocked), it’s hard to stand pat. My only question is whether or not it’s worth it to hold out for a 32GB model.

R.E.M. Accelerate Concert

No, that's not a command to the Georgia rock band to wrap things up, 'Accelerate' is the name of the most recent album that they're showcasing on tour right now. I just came back from their show in Merriweather, MD, still on a bit of an R.E.M. high, quite possibly partially due to the excessive amount of gonja that was passing hands in the back corner close to where I found myself situated. In my opinion, the concert was a big success and I'm glad I shelled out the $40 and endured the 1.5 hr drive. I don't consider myself a huge R.E.M. fan but I feel like they're doing things now that are on par with what they put out at the height of their fame, and just as relevant politically and socially. Anyways here's an abridged setlist with some commentary. (Buy/acquire the newest album when you get a chance.)

1. The Finest Hour - The band sounded OK but Stipe was a little out of tune. I was kind of surprised to see this from such a seasoned performer.
2. Living Well Is The Best Revenge (new) - starting to get into the groove
3. It's Been A Bad Day - I noticed that Stipe plays the harmonica just about as well as I do (make sure you've got the right key and blow then suck, occasionally moving your mouth from left to right to left). It's interesting, though, how no matter how good or bad you are, when you produce a harmonica from your pocket you're guaranteed to draw some cheers and excitement from the crowd.
4. What's The Frequency Kenneth - Who doesn't love this song?
5. Then they performed a 3-song miniset dedicated to the people of the Washington, D.C. area: a) Ignoreland - about the hostage crisis that brought in the Reagan administration apparently; b) Man-Sized Wreath (new); c) Little America
6. Houston (new) - It's never too late (2008) to take a stab at Bush for his mismanagement of the Katrina disaster
7. Electrolite - I wasn't aware that this song is essentially an ode to L.A. It made me like it more than I already did.
8. Firehouse - awesome
9. [Acoustic Set] - nice touch
10. Orange Crush - now we're getting nostalgic, baby. Instant crowd energy with this song. Complemented nicely by one of those loudspeaker things that P.E. teachers started using in the mid 90's... megaphone??
    
11. Mr. Richards (new) - apparently about how we allow ourselves to be governed by people we not only don't like, but altogether despise... whatever. I like this song a lot.
12. Fall On Me - I didn't recognize this song but probably should have. They played it with guest guitarist Johnny Marr (of The Smiths, now playing with Modest Mouse). It had a smooth, rhythmic beat to it.

Check out the new posts on 'Trifecta's Blog'
Also, the addition of 'Dorfman's Blog'

Musingszzzzah

Just got back from the traditional trip to Duck Beach, Outer Banks, that all the LDS hotshots who live on the east coast go to. It was tons of fun. I calculated that between the 600 or so of us that met up out there we accounted for about a $100k jolt to the local economy (roughly $150 all in per person). Some coworkers of mine were cracking up that you could get hundreds of people aged 21-29 together for a beach party weekend and keep booze out of the equation. One of my coworkers was telling me about something called a "No Shower Happy Hour". I skipped out on the big volleyball tournament but I did go sea kayaking with Valerie W. We decided to head out towards a water tower in the distance but I think we misjudged the total distance a bit. What I had expected would be about a half-hour excursion ended up being a 3.5 hour voyage with the wind against us on the way back. My sparsely sunscreened back did not appreciate the extra time in the sun. I ended up with an odd-looking sunburn; like a large-scale version of Gorbachev's birthmark.

Found some new albums to digest: Elvis Costello - Momofuku, and Mudcrutch (Tom Petty). I'm a sucker for buying records of people that have proven themselves in the past. I will buy any Neil Young album at this point, even if the hit single were, "Don't buy my record". The Costello album is really cool. I'm impressed that he was able to reach back and pull out a lot of the classic sound and the angular voice from days past. The Mudcrutch album is just OK, so far. Two or three songs warranted a skip but it was otherwise enjoyable. Sounds to me like Tom Petty is trying to get back to the Florida deep South sound he started with. I appreciate more and more an album that you can mindlessly listen to the whole way through without being either annoyed by some particular tracks or overly engaged in others. I don't know if this is a good thing or a bad thing. The newest R.E.M. installment is also very cool--I don't think I mentioned that in a previous post.

Desmond B. got me signed up on Netflix and I still haven't watched any of the movies that I've rented. I'm trying to decide if I should cancel the membership once the trial period is over. The intriguing bit is that you can also rent Blurays from their service for the same price as regular DVD's. I guess I should buy a Bluray player and then not watch rented DVD's on that either.

I'm preferring Amazon MP3 store to iTunes store lately. The quality is higher if I'm not mistaken, most albums seem to be cheaper, and they are all DRM-free.

Saw an outdoor production of Lord Of The Rings: The Fellowship of The Ring last week. The video was shown on a theater-sized screen and they had a live symphony, and some soloists, and Tongan sit-ins performing the score. The audio enhancement was quite a treat. It wasn't the extended version so we didn't get to see anything like the Boromir Pert Plus commercial that shows up in #3.

Premium gas is north of $4.00/g around here. I'm thinking of either getting a hybrid or sleeping at the office Monday-Friday.

Future So Dim

In 2005 the Suns lost 4-1 in the Western Conference Finals. In 2007 it was the Robert Horry incident at the end of game 4 and the Suns lost the next two games. In 2008 things were almost looking good. We had beaten the Spurs 3-1 in the regular season series and we had started game 1 in complete control, leading by double digits for most of the game. Then the entire season ended with one ill-fated shot. Tim Duncan's OT buzzer-beater 3-pointer. His first 3-pointer in the last 2 seasons. I think that shot ended the game, the series, the season, possibly the era of the Phoenix Suns. I strongly dislike the Spurs. I have nothing more to say.

DC: Land of Dudes & Chicks

Living in the land of dudes and chicks has been a great experience so far. The work load is drastically heavier, dating activity has increased exponentially (thanks to a near 2:1 female to male ratio in the local ward), and video game hours logged are way down. Things I miss from the West coast:

• Mexican Food - there's nothing out here to fill the Ajo Al's / Julio's void. I would say I miss In N' Out but they do offer 5 Guys Burgers out here. East Coasters rave about it. I'll admit it's pretty good but a little too heavy and greasy--even for me.
  
• Straight-shot roads. Sometimes I think I'm following directions only to later realize that I somehow managed to merge onto a wrong road without making any turns or anything. It drives me nuts.
• Phoenix Suns games at a decent hour - they mostly play from 10:30 to 1:00 a.m. so when they lose I'm extra upset.
• Proximity to family and my blogmate, Trifecta. Though the virtual connection methods (e.g. video chat, Xbox live) alleviate that somewhat.

Music Thoughts:

Panda Bear 'Person Pitch' is one of the best albums of 2007. Vocals eerily similar to Beach Boys but a lot of thick, building, musical layers.

Rhymefest 'Man In The Mirror' is pretty fun. 'Fest does a few very cool covers of Michael Jackson songs and even creates some comical fake conversations with the King of Pop himself.

Scott Walker 'Scott 4'. This album came out in 1969 but I'm liking it in 2008. Thom Yorke cites him as one of Radiohead's biggest influences; songs like "How To Disappear Completely".

Sports Thoughts:

March Madness starts on Thursday. BYU got an 8 seed which will make it tough for them to make it past the 2nd round. UofA got a 10 seed and ASU got snubbed. I guess I'll also be rooting for Georgetown this year; I believe they got a 2 seed. I'd like to root for UCLA but they haven't looked convincing throughout the season from what I've seen. I guess UNC has the deepest team but even they barely squeaked past VA Tech the other day. I expect this year to have a lot more "upsets" than last year as there's a little more parity from team to team since such a deep pool of talent got snatched up to play for the NBA after last season.

MLB is just around the corner. This year I'll be able to see NL games in the new Washington Nationals stadium and AL games in nearby Camden Yards in Baltimore. This is a perfect setup. I just hope I can come across some tickets that are as cheap (free) as they were going to Dbacks games last year.

Suns are finally coming into form, and not a moment too soon. I'm gonna be severely put out if we end up with a better record than the Jazz but end up with a 5 seed or below just because of the stupid divisional setup. The Jazz are gay. How much longer can the madness continue for the Houston Rockets. I just watched them beat the Lakers for their 22nd straight win. Keep in mind Yao Ming is out for the rest of the season and it just so happened in this particular game that Tracy McGrady started out shooting 0-9. Something freaky is going on there. They match up against the Celtics tomorrow and the Suns on Saturday. I'll be watching to see how long the streak continues. The Wizards could be a serious threat in the East if Gilbert Arenas comes back soon enough to be a factor by the time playoffs start.

Cross Country Morale Chart

Cross-Country Blog Log: That Ol' Highway's A Callin' (Part III)

Raleigh

Now second guessing our plans to hit the beaches up the coast (Charleston, SC, and Outer Banks, NC), we were hit with heavy indecision. Des proposed a more direct route through Raleigh, NC, but neither of us could think of anything worth seeing there. After deliberating for about 25 frustrating minutes like a couple that wants to break up but nobody can say anything decisive enough to make it happen, I gave in to Desi saying, "Raleigh it is... I know it's what you wanted". Meanwhile, the stressful delay and the uncertainty that lay ahead was taking its toll on our morale (as clearly shown on the Pace and Des Morale chart) but we quickly countered with several consecutive episodes of 24 (season 3) that catapulted us back to healthy morale levels. By the time we got into Raleigh our suspicions had been confirmed and there truly was nothing to see. We ate at the Olive Garden and made our way over to our 2-tv, cabin hotel. Through the miracle of WiFi we were able to download Radiohead's 'In Rainbows CD2' which was the ultimate godsend. Then we turned on the tube and watched 'Romeo Must Die' with Jet Li, which had just the right mix of cheesy villains, quirky fight scenes, a fairly complicated plot, and a funny black guy, that my dad would have totally been glued to the tv with this one.

Before departing Raleigh we figured we owed it to the town to at least stop by UNC and Duke since we were so close. UNC was pretty cool I guess but we couldn't find anything (Dean Smith Center, some sort of bookstore, a food court) and there was no place to park. We ended up just kind of repeating the same figure-8 formation through the campus roads, never really seeing anything new but sure we would stumble into something. Eventually we did stumble into something: The Planetarium. This was even lamer than you might expect. There was not a single tour guide or fellow observer. We ran into a couple of construction workers and a half-asleep cashier and decided to book it before any pamphlets or questionnaires were forced upon us. The decision not to continue on and see Duke University ended up being one of the highlights of our time in Raleigh.

Our Nation's Capital

Made the final ascent and arrived at our destination in Arlington at about 8:00 p.m. My new place came with only about a 10-inch tv and we wanted to watch the Suns game at 10:30 so we decided to head out to Jeff's house in Baltimore. This 45-minute drive ended up taking about 2 hours due to some factors on which I won't go into detail--suffice it to say Des did some great navigating up until this point. Fortunately, we were still able to catch the 2nd half and then we slept over and enjoyed some delicious variations of Frosted Flakes in the morning before heading back. The journey officially came to a close when I dropped Des off at the airport on Sunday morning. Now I'm just doing my best to adjust to late work nights, $18/day parking fees, chilly weather, and life in the land of "dudes and chicks" (D.C.).


*Trip Stats:
Total Drive Time: 46:30
Avg MPH: 65
MPG: 31

Cross-Country Blog Log: That Ol' Highway's A Callin' (Part II)

New Orleans


Survived the drive from SA to NO thanks to some intense calisthenic exercises, tandem style. Arrived at the Marriott hotel around 9:00 pm; still plenty of time to get our NOLA New Year's groove on. Was almost tempted to stay in for the night since this hotel had FREE WI-FI!! Made our way into the French Quarter around 9:30 and after parking about a mile away, suddenly found ourselves in the vortex of sin: Bourbon St. But the drunkards and the thumpers were actually really amusing and energetic, and there were some really cool live jazz bands blaring through the cafe windows. Then we waited in line for a while to get in the Cafe Chartres where we had jambalaya, fried shrimp, and spicy hush puppies. Counted down the final 10 seconds on St. Peter + Decatur St. near Jackson Park and then watched a fireworks display by the bridge. It was a lot of fun. Desi did his best to let everyone know that "2007 sucks". Like most parties involving alcohol this one left its fair share of teary-eyed damsels in its wake and we witnessed at least one awesome heated argument between a couple. It left me curious, do these guys chose to drop relationship bombs on their girlfriends immediately following the start of the new year. Shouldn't there be like at least a 2-hour grace period in which neither party shall be allowed to deliver any serious relationship blows? Anyways, I enjoyed myself.

Pensacola


Made our way through Mobile, AL without getting the Memphis blues--team morale was still at a favorable level. Arrived at Pensacola around 3:00 pm and couldn't decide where to dine. There was a Mexican place called La Hacienda which supposedly had "the only salsa in town" so we had to determine if we wanted any salsa for lunch. We stopped at a Gulf of Mexico beach park to weigh our options and scope out the coast. We were approached by this bum in the first two places we parked so we got back in the car and looked for a spot that was a little more remote. We got close to the water and it was freezing and windy. We walked closer to the ledge and I asked Des what it would take him to go swimming in it. He answered $100. I countered with 2 gift cards valued at $90.10 (after activation fees) and he accepted. I couldn't stop laughing at the thought of it and then he was suddenly completely submerged. As he raced back to get out of the water another bum rode by on his bike and declared that Des's manliness exceeded that of his own (in not so many words). Once that little adventure was over, we had burned enough time that Outback would now be open for dinner. Once they opened the doors we rushed in to beat the senior couple and enjoyed a delicious meal before pressing on to Jacksonville.

Jacksonville


Stayed at an oceanfront Marriott Fairfield on the cheap. It was OK. The hot tub in the morning was nice except for the chilly wind which prompted us to cut our dry off short and just run inside the hotel still sopping wet. Once showered and checked out we walked over to the beach and endured it for about 10 minutes until a blistering cold gust of wind picked up. So this is why people don't go to the beach in the winter... My source has just informed me that Florida is experiencing its lowest temperatures since 1928. Yikes.

Cross-Country Blog Log: That Ol' Highway's A Callin' (Part I)

Tucson (12/29/07)

Official departure from the Creighton & Melissa B. residence (formally that of Li Farn Tang) at 7:15 p.m. We raced to get to Mark & Mika L's house before 10:00 pm so we could enjoy some delicious Sonoran hot dogs. Unfortunately, we were too late and the stand had closed early as we're now in the cold months. But Mark invoked his internal map of Mexican hot dog stands around town and we followed his backup routes. The 2nd stand was closed too but we struck it rich on the 3rd. The three of us marked twain on the spicy dogs and went back to the house to chat and watch Star Wars III (my favorite of the 2 trilogies). We liked the line where Anakin tells Padme, "our love won't save you, only my new powers can do that." We stayed the night there and Mika most graciously offered us waffles and eggs before we darted off to 8:30 church. She also gave us chocolate-covered twig snacks (the equivalent of lamus bread to the hobbits) and spicy japanese trail mix which didn't taste half as good as it normally does (don't buy 片仮名 brand). A great start to the trip and props to the Mark & Mika B&B establishment.

We left sacrament meeting a few minutes early so we could beat the big church rush, and so Des could practice on the clutch in the parking lot. We stopped for gas at a heavily advertised (a comical amount of billboards) fireworks store. Tempted to buy some $25 leather jackets and genuine moccasins but ended up resisting. I used the stinky torture chamber of a restroom and opted not to wash my hands believing that in the end the trade off of exiting the bathroom sooner would result in less total germs. We're assuming this gas station was somewhere in New Mexico... You do have to pass through NM to get to Texas right?

Lunched in El Paso at the Outback. As was to be expected the food was delicious, but Des was infuriated by the exorbitant amount of ice cubes hogging up precious coke-glass volume. This was appropriately accounted for in the tip.

After 11 hrs 50 min of straight-shot, foot-free cruise-control driving we arrived at the $100/night dump of a Motel 6.


San Antonio (12/30/07)

Enjoyed some local breakfast cuisine at the McDonald's and patronized the attached "Red Box" DVD vending machine (these $1 rental machines are ideal for brothers [or sisters] on road trips as you can return them at most McD's around the country). Then we drove into town on Houston St. and parked somewhere near the Alamo. The Alamo wasn't all that impressive in stature or anything but it was fun to walk around and read some snippets of the history of Travis and Santa Anna and Bowie and all that. The weather was ideal too (almost a lack of weather) which made it very enjoyable.

After taking in the sights of the Alamo we crossed the street to a place of historical significance which rivals, nay trumps the significance of the Alamo: The Guiness Book of World Records museum. Here we learned about the smallest dog ever, the most drum beats in a minute, and tons of other useless records. I will say I was disappointed not to see a display of probably the most famous GBWR character, the man with the longest finger nails.

Then we just walked around for a bit until we stumbled upon the "Riverwalk". This was much cooler than anticipated. It meanders all over the place and there are lots of cool, breezy cafes and eateries along the banks of the shaded river. We got some pizza and Orange Juliuses and just enjoyed ourselves for a good while before running back to the car to beat the parking meter and be on our way to New Orleans. Despite the negative connotation from the Spurs, San Antonio was much better than we both expected.