That ol' pie chart was tired. And stupid. It's a modest improvement.
FOTF contributions: Only Tor would send in a story containing the words "nude wet meat soil." Hodge sends a video showing what life in marketing is like.
Ben's Chili Bowl at Nats Park YAY!
Lastly, making the rounds of the entire interwebs, but still worth mentioning: Garfield minus Garfield.
Yesterday I got my tickets for opening day at the new ballpark. They’re on regular tickets.com ticket stock, not the nice commemorative tickets that full and half-season ticket holders got.
In 2005, 20-game people got the commemorative tickets. That was when MLB was paying the bills, of course.
Weak, just weak.
No cookie break this week?!? Yeah, it's been crazy around here. But Friday is still Linking Fool Friday.
Good post at Slacktivist on the crazed spectacle that is Extreme Makeover Home Edition. I agree with the comments suggesting ABC try a "Neighborhood Makeover" approach, because I question the utility of giving one family so much stuff--not to begrudge them individually, but there are so many people that could use a leg up that maybe we'd be better served by spreading it around.
Your world in charts: poverty vs. social spending. Plus, logical follow-on Krugman article.
Lastly, remember that we only torture people who deserve it, and law-abiding Americans have nothing to fear.
No matter how bad your day is going, give thanks that you weren't almost crushed by a falling moose, or that you didn't drive your Weinermobile into a ditch. You know what would cheer you up? 2900 calories worth of cheese fries! And it's an appetizer!
If you enjoy the will.i.am/Obama "Yes We Can" video, you'll love the McCain version. (More on McCain's negativism, and its place in the presidential race, here.) A gold star to Lance Mannion for his description of how the Republicans treat the National Car.
Get yourself some cement blocks already.
Sports: Eagles fans, being ornery, even in Congress.
Lastly, kids' TV isn't always bad for you: The Aggrolites perform the official song of Banana Town on Yo Gabba Gabba, and even play it at their regular shows, with some modifications.
I'm pretty sure this is the first time I've voted in a presidential primary that it's mattered. Usually the nominee is a foregone conclusion by the time they get around to us. So rather than voting with my heart for Edwards or Kucinich, I went with my head and touched the screen for Obama. I find him more likely to stand up and fight for what's right than Hillary, and I suspect he may be talking a good bipartisan game right now but will make some liberal noise when he gets in office. Not to mention I find him more electable in the general than Hillary. If she gets nominated, the Republicans will pull out every last dirty trick in the book, and it'll make what they did to Kerry look like a garden party.
Heck of a line this morning at the polling place. They didn't have as many staffers and machines as usual, so that contributed, but still, waiting 15 minutes to vote is a fairly good sign. One poll worker said Dems were outnumbering Republicans 2 to 1.
Sadly, no bake sale. Boo, elementary school, boooooooooo!
It's not every day you see a movie featuring someone you know personally. In fact, that just about never happens. But this weekend we caught Air Guitar Nation on VH1. Those of you who know Mr. Jung from either F&M or Albuquerque, take note.
Modern conservatism: Hooray for fiscal responsibility! And bipartisanship! Also, the logical counterpoint to Obama's campaign theme of hope.
Post-Super Bowl: The best Super Bowl ad that isn't actually a Super Bowl ad. This tale of a fan sneaking into the Giants victory celebration is simultaneously cool and creepy.
Other sports: Phillies hitting coach Milt Thompson is awesome.
Lastly, if you've lost a camera, you might find it here.
I generally only post about poker games when I get beaten horribly, so I figured I should post about last night when something went right. The usual caveats about poker posts apply.
So last night they break up a table and bring a new guy to ours, and he's got a bigger stack than any of us already seated. About three hands after he arrives, I limp in with A3 suited, and the flop is 245. Big Stack bets, everyone else folds, and I call. He bets and I call on the turn; after the river he puts me all in, I oblige, and then I have twice as many chips as I did previously.
The very next hand, Big Stack calls the blind, and another player raises to three times the big blind. I'm on the big blind with KJ suited, and I'm feeling flush from doubling up, so I call, and so does Big Stack. The flop is KKJ. Big Stack pushes out a hefty bet. The original raiser thinks about it for a while, and folds (he had pocket aces--tough fold there, but the right play for him). I call. Big Stack goes all in after the turn, I call him, and soon he has no chips whatsoever. (He had the other king.)
My luck went south after that and I didn't win too many more hands, finishing 12th out of the 50 or so players. Still, that two-hand stretch was pretty frickin' awesome.
Cate: Look! I think it's Bindi!
Daddy: No, sweetie, that's Tom Petty.
Thoughts on the game: despite certain Philadelphia sports blogs saying there's no way an Eagles fan could root for the Giants today, I found myself doing so once the game started. The whole pulling for the underdog thing, the overall desire to see a good game, and I just despise the Patriots that much. Plus, when Tom Brady screamed at Wes Welker for running the wrong route (though it sure looked like Brady just threw a crappy pass), it reminded me of just how big a tool he is.
You know who I do like, though, is that Randy Moss. When the Patriots scored toward the end of the 4th and their defense needed one more stop, Moss was the one screaming at his offensive teammates to get their asses off the bench and cheer on the defense. No comment from Joe Buck on that, however. (Also, Joe Buck is crap.)
I've only seen the Giants a couple times this year, but I seem to recall Eli Manning looking pretty good in the two-minute drill. One of those QBs who seemed to play better when he didn't have time to think about it. So when the Giants got the ball there, I thought "They just might pull this off." Was he good enough to be MVP? I don't think so, but then I don't know who else I would pick. I hope the fan voting that was heavily touted during the game doesn't count much toward the actual MVP tally, because you know the fan base at large is only going to pick big-name players. I don't see too many fans banging out "Osi Umenyiora" in a text message.
I'd imagine the sports books in Vegas made a killing on this one. This is precisely why, as mentioned in this too-long Vegas trip summary, I try not to get overconfident on the sports betting. Had I been in Vegas today I'd have totally plunked down five hundred bucks on the Patriots.
If you have a 401(k), read this item on the expense ratios of funds.
Amusing: What favorite books say about your undergraduate institution. Also, George Costanza was wrong. This detective work to find the owner of a lost camera sounds like something I would do. Post-It Note art looks like something I would like to do but don't have the patience or talent for.
Sports: Trailer load o' hockey mascots! This clip actually makes me like Chris Berman again.
Food: No, just no.
Lastly, FOTF Tor can usually be counted on to send quality links, and he obliges with this tale of hundress of headless rats (which I suppose I could have filed under "Food" above, but I won't), and these interesting mug shots. Enjoy.
