The Immortal Soul

For those of you who don't know, I keep a personal blog where I write essays of a more personal nature that is only accessible to myself. Here is a recent entry that I'd like to share with you, I think it's good:


I Believe I have the soul of an explorer.That, or i am missing being outside to such and extent I need to do something extreme outdoors to make up for the cubicle nightmare I've been living in these past ten or so years. I have been coming to this realization more and more since I have found a few magazines that I read to pass the time at my eight hour a job day in a building with no windows. The last time I did anything outdoors was my vacation to Hawaii. that was in May. it is now September, and I've worked without a full weekend since then. travel is pretty much out because of that. Its hard to convince friends that the weekend is no longer Friday night through Sunday night, that the weekend lasts lasts only Friday through Saturday, and even then, Saturdays are only every other week. Yes, my job schedule sucks.Lately however, I've been reading some magazines that have me itching to get, pardon the expression, Outside. Between The surfer's Journal and Outside magazine, I am exponentially aware that the weather is always beautiful if you're not at work, and the sun warms you tot he bone, unlike the fluorescent light on rails over my head. I am instantly reminded of Joe vs. the Volcano.I have a 9' Robert August Longboard that I bought with deployment money from when I was in the army and I went to Iraq collecting dust in my board bag on my balcony. I have a pair of DC shoes Snowboard boots, Burton Snowboarding pants and jacket ready to get into some powder when the winter rolls around. There's a brand new pair of fins, snorkel and mask that I bought in Hawaii for snorkeling around the reefs, only used twice. I've got some very nicely broken in hiking boots in both Desert and Jungle colors. My running shoes, also nicely broken in are rearing to hit some of these sweet running trails around the DC/Metro area. Yet, every time I look at my gear I am not reminded or taken away to a Shangri-La of adventures in the great American Outdoors. I am only reminded of my work schedule, and my cubicle that's barely larger than the economy coach seats on the plane I wont be taking to get Outside.

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Ethical Dilemna

So Maniac and I recently went out to purchase our first piece of real furniture. By real I mean not from IKEA, not made of particle board, and not a hand me down. (Note: antiques do not count as hand-me-downs, and are therefore "real") We needed a dining room table and chairs and wanted something that would last us a few years and would be of good quality, but contemporary and functional. We decided to go with a set from a place I'll call East Oak. We opted to buy 6 chairs even though it would be a tight fit around our small table, but it was necessary that we be able to entertain without having 2 tables. Because who wants to be designated to the "kids table"? The short, often inferior, substitute for a real table. As you hunch over your plate, eyeing your glass lest it splash over the side when one of the substantial chairs at the "adult table" is pushed back, and forlorningly listening to the raucous laughter and poignant conversation j-u-s-t out of reach of actually joining in...{shudder}



Any how, being the frugal Red that I am, I didn't want to pay shipping charges so we agreed to make several trips to the store for the various pieces (6 chairs, one table top, one table base). The first day we were able to only fit 3 chairs into my shiny new Civic.



Day 2, Maniac took his Celica and was able to fit 6 chairs into it.

wait..6 chairs you say?

Yes. The schmo at the loading dock on Day 1, never marked on our pick up list that we had left with 3 chairs. So Maniac took all 6 chairs, the little thief that he is. "I didn't realize". huh.

But wait, its not over.



Day 3. Maniac runs on his lunch break to pick up the table base (they agree to ship the table top for free, since it won't fit in our cars), and the new schmo at the loading dock says (according to Maniac) "Do you want an extra chair?" "Why yes I do", Maniac answers.

So now we have 4 extra chairs (which we really have no room for)



Q: Do we take the chairs back and explain their mistake? Or sell them ourselves and make a profit of about $500+

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The Dangers of Fantasy Football

I've been playing fantasy football for as long as I can remember. I love it. Its easy to learn but may take longer to really master it. I encourage anyone interested to get a free account with yahoo! , it's the easiest format to learn how to play.

However, there are a lot of detractors who say fantasy football makes fans less loyal. that's all bullshit. No one is more loyal than a True Chicago Bears fan like myself. I've see my bears falter through every season, an lose int he playoffs since '85. last year was an elation that we got to the Superbowl. I'm no bandwagon fan.

The trick to Fantasy football and real football is this: PLAY fantasy football with you're head. Cheer for your football team with your heart. Don't Listen to too much of what all the analysts say. No matter what, always play you're good players. Here's some examples of what i mean.



A good example is this: Last week, San Diego played Chicago in San Diego. I have San Diego's defense and L.T as my running back. I wanted Chicago to destroy San Diego. I'm still pissed about the commercial and will change the channel when it comes on. But I'll be damned if I'm not going to put one of the best running backs in the NFL on the bench just because he's playing my team. As far as San Diego's defense goes: in a league where you get much points for sacks, it'd be silly to not play San Diego defense against Chicago. for several reasons. one is the 3-4 defense. in the 3-4 defense you have three D linemen and 4 linebackers. Chicago usually plays against team that play 4-3. San Diego has a hopped up on steroid linebacker in Shawn Merriman, and Rex Grossman will screw something up. all the more reason to play San Diego's defense. So I played members of my fantasy team hoping they would score some points, but that my Chicago bears would still win.
Last year, all the analysts were saying that Tom Brady was going to have a bad game because he was injured and he had no one to throw to. All the analysts said my backup QB Kurt Warner would have a field day against a weak defensive team. and with two excellent receivers there would be no reason he wouldn't. so i played Warner and sat Brady. rule #1: ALWAYS play you're best players. Kurt Warner got hurt int eh first quarter and Tom Brady threw three TDs and went for 3oo yds that game. I lost the championship game because I listened to analysts.
How do you get away from the whole how do i cheer for my fantasy team, and not my real team? easy. YOU NEVER CHEER AGAINST YOUR REAL TEAM. that's how you know you're a real fan. be pleased that you're fantasy team is picking up points, but at no time should you cheer for ANYONE playing you're team just because they are on you're fantasy team. in real life you should want you're fantasy players fall against you're real life team.
remember, in the NFL, its a long season, and its just as long in fantasy. you can afford one or two losses. Id easily take a loss in fantasy if the bears got int he "W" column. unfortunately, they let me down in week one. but like I said. it's a long season.

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Social Responsibility

Social responsibility for most people is something they associate with social science. When I was in high school I don't think I've even heard of the word much less associate with anything. Wikipedia describe it as.

"Social Responsibility is a doctrine that says that every being whether it is a village, town, state, corporation, organization, government or idividual has responsibility to society."

It's boring, it's textbook, it only exists in school discussion so I can only conclude that I may not have paid attention to it and thus not heard of the word. But the word did worm it's way into my brain along with some casserole. My mother insisted that I come to her friends son's birthday. I know the guy, he's actually my cousins friend and I've hanged out at his place a time or two. Hell his mom makes great spaghetti and I heard they have lecheon, lumpia and a bunch of shit I love. I Just felt like not going out.

Well you really don't win arguments with your mother and that casserole dish was shoved into my chest along with the words social responsibility.

You have a social responsibility to see these people. They are our friends/family/neighbor and you should go out!

Is that what it really means? I could have sworn I heard something like that in class. Well anyway I know that lately I've slacked in that responsibility area. I run in these phases where I go out and socialize, and then I become somewhat 'like' a hermit.

A little example, most of you remember some of the small shindig we've thrown at ViJo (Harold might even remember some that I've thrown back in Omaha) Yeah, I'll be a little social butterfly. Asked to go to someones place to hang out and celebrate? Yeah! Invite a couple of people over to watch anime? Sure! Go and watch that new release? Popcorn baby! Video game and movie night? Absolutely! Those I could be counted on more.

Go to a bar...hmm maybe. A club...I'll think about it. I really don't know why I become reluctant. Ask me to help you out with something, pick you up from the airport, help you move - I'll be there. So I don't exactly go to hermit mode just that I shy away from some social settings that before I hand I would be all about. Did I make any sense? No? Well I better end this before I'm told that I should make a blog over livejournal with the rest of the social degenerate emos :)

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Grading The AFC

Well yesterday we graded the NFC and today we will look at the AFC outlook. So lets not waste time

AFC East

New England Patriots - This team is always good and they have made themselves incredibly stronger this year. Dumping the underachieving receivers and adding not one, not two, but three big time legit WRs for Tom Brady to throw too makes this offense a formidable opponent for even the best of defenses. This team will be very good and make another legit push for a ring. A

Buffalo Bills - I think things are starting to come together for the Bills this year. This is a weak division and I don't see the Bills having to be all that good to finish second. JP Losman seems to finally understand how to play QB and a above average defense will help him out even more. This is a deep sleeper team that could possibly make some noise. Certainly wont make the playoffs but 8-8 even 9-7 is not out of the question. B-

New York Jets - Sorry, but I think this is a let down year for the Jets, one of the big surprises of 2006. The addition of Thomas Jones helps the running game, but the passing attack is anemic at best and the defense wont strike fear in very many. I like Eric Mangini, but I'm looking for a very disappointing year out of this club. C

Miami Dolphins - I guess I was the only one who watched Trent Green look like utter crap in the playoffs last year. Supposedly he is supposed to come in and be the savior for the Dolphins who have not had a decent QB since Dan Marino left. The fact is this team sucks. Chris Chambers was a one year wonder and Ronnie Brown has never lived up to expectations. This has train wreck written all over it. D

AFC South

Jacksonville Jaguars - I'll tell you why I don't think Indy repeats next, but let me get into why I think this is the Jags year. The release of Byron Leftwich is actually a big help to this team that relies a lot on the ground, short yardage game to move its offense. Leftwich was a slow, big armed QB, that just is not what the Jags need. With three top quality RBs splitting time, look for these guys to just pound it out and wear teams down. The Jags defense is possibly one of the Top 5 in the league with the two best set of DTs in John Henderson and Marcus Stroud. This team is the best team that nobody talks about. Watch out. A-

Indianapolis Colts - They will always compete as long as they have Peyton Manning throwing the ball downfield. However they have lost too much on the defensive side of the ball this year that last year struggled mightily with containing the run. They live in a conference that is stacked with top tier running backs who will just pound it down the Colts throats. They will still win a lot of games and make the playoffs, but I don't think they repeat as division champs. B+

Tennessee Titans - Not a bad team, certainly a team on the rise but quite a few years and a few draft picks away from making a serious run. Vince Young will have to avoid the Madden curse as he attempts to lead this mostly nameless, but competent club to a few victories. I don't see them getting many, but they will certainly get more than the...C

Houston Texans - How is Mario Williams working out for you guys? Yeah, this team still sucks. They added Matt Schaub, an unproven QB and stuck him behind that same offensive line that had David Carr on his ass all the time. Not a good recipe for success. Ahman Green is done and behind that very same line he will be getting gobbled up in the backfield a lot. This team doesn't get that football is won and lost in the trenches and as long as they don't work hard at fixing that offensive line, they will continue to be bad. F

AFC North

Baltimore Ravens - These guys look like the best in this black and blue division. The defense is obviously stuff of legends and will shut down pretty much any offense that gets in their way. There is not a single hole or weak spot on this defense. The only x factor for these guys is Steve McNair. If he plays a smart, ball control style offense then this team will win a lot of games. If he goes all air-McNair though, watch out. A

Pittsburgh Steelers - Are they back? Well, sorta. Having shaken the post Super Bowl champion hangover, I think this team is probably hungry enough to compete once again. They still have some glaring question marks in places, but overall they should be able to put up a good fight. Will be a team to watch for. B+

Cincinnati Bengals - The Lions of the AFC. These guys will be fun to watch as they air the ball out all over the place and watch Chad Johnsons TD dances. However, how will they stop people? They have what is possibly the worst defense in the NFL and some claim the worst defense EVER. Look for a lot of shootouts but probably not many victories. C-

Cleveland Browns - Was there a plan for the future in Cleveland before Brady Quinn just fell into their laps? It certainly doesn't feel like it as they really have nothing else to offer on either side of the ball. The only reason to tune into a Browns game this year will be to see how Brady Quinn is doing. I imagine he will be starting about week 4. D-

AFC West

San Diego Chargers - Ok, we all know how stacked this team is. That being said they have Norv Turner as head coach. That would terrify me if I were a bolts fan. He has never shown the ability to motivate a team to win and has underachieved pretty much everywhere he has gone. Still, this team has too much talent not to win this division and probably a first round bye. But I'm feeling another playoff collapse for these guys. A-

Denver Broncos - The Broncos are probably over the last 20 years the most consistent "pretty good" teams out there. They always compete and it is never a surprise on how they will beat you. Run, run, and run. I suspect more of the same this year with a little more freedom given to Jay Cutler to get it to his downfield receivers. I like this team and think they will push the Chargers and compete for a wild card. B+

Oakland Raiders - Moving up in the world. Still wretched beyond belief on the offensive side. As of this writing they still haven't signed the first overall draft pick and instead are looking at Josh McCown to lead them. However they have a decent defense and they may just get lucky in a few games and win 4 or 5. D+

Kansas City Chiefs - This may be the worst team in the NFL. I watched Hard Knocks as they went through training camp and outside of Larry Johnson, this team has nothing, zero. The DBs get beat bad all the time, the QB they went with Huard is washed up and the young guy backing him up (Croyle) is not even close to ready. Their WRs drop balls and run poor routes. This team is a mess and its too bad because I like Herm Edwards but LJ is not going to be able to run this team out of the basement. F

Wild Card Team #1 - Jaguars over Broncos
Wild Card Team #2 - Ravens over Colts

Division Playoff #1 - Jaguars over Chargers
Division Playoff #2 - Patriots over Ravens

AFC Championship Game - Patriots over Jaguars

Super Bowl Prediction - Seahawks over Patriots

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Drive North to get to the Midwest

So I had the distinct pleasure of going to visit Eric (does he have a Pardy name??) in Tennessee. For those of you that don't know my system of US geography there are 4 sections "The Northeast" (MD, DE, PA, NY, NJ, ME, NH, VT); "The South" (GA, AL, SC, LA, MI, WV); "The West" (CA, OR, WA, NM, TX, AZ); and everything else falls under the ubiquitous "Midwest" category. Sorry Harold, no "Pacific Northwest" crap on my map.

Anyway, back to the trip.

We stayed at his family home in Knoxville, TN. I honestly believe you don't know a person until you see the house they grew up in. Sometimes it comes as a surprise, but usually you can immediately understand how that environment produced the person you have thought you knew. We began our trip at one of the homes of E-Rock's childhood friends. No surprises here. A bunch of fun, loud, easy to laughter people. Thankfully, no one resembling those Patent office trouble makers!!
From there we went to visit the "city" of Knoxville. With excitable E-Rock leading the way we hiked up and down this college town. I must say, for being a small city it is very pretty. Nice architecture, good green areas...etc. Of course, in his excitement he forgot he was leading around an injured war vet, and poor Maniac was huffing and puffing and valiantly fighting his way up hills and stairs. The city once held the World's Fair in 1981 or something and is seems to be living a bit in the shadow of those glory days.
We then settled down to watch the most awesome display of fireworks I have ever seen. I can't even begin to explain the magnitude of these balls of light. If you ever have the opportunity to go to Boomsday in Knoxville, don't pass it up my friends.
Eventually we made it back to the childhood home of our good friend. Hoards of blackmail material decorated the walls and the memories of his family. Please E-Rock, bring some of those pictures home and hang them above your fireplace!!
His family is the epitome of Southern (Midwestern?) Hospitality. We ate homemade biscuits and sausage while his parents and grammy regaled us with tales of fishing, guns, neighborhood gossip, and tales of E-Rock's childhood. The picture albums were broken out, family recipes were shared, all from the comfort of a country kitchen (complete with artifacts from old family dairies). When it was time to for Red and Maniac to hit the road, it felt like we were leaving family. With laughter and promises to keep in touch and visit whenever we were craving a good meal and better company we left feeling full and content.

There will be a time where meeting friends parents will not filter into the equation, where we will visit each other's houses and fill them with our own spouses and children and it will feel like home. But until then, I hope to understand all of my friends a little more by entering the world in which they grew up in, even if only for a day.

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