Evening Thoughts

I'm a bit upset about the Seahawks' loss, but it's not as bad as I feared it would be. Yeah, I think the pass attempt was the wrong call, but 24 hours later I think I get why they did it (to mix up the plays) and I'm just more impressed by the Patriots' defense on that play. I still think the 'Hawks should have tried one more running play, but... hindsight is 20/20.

One thing I've noticed. After the Seahawks' first Super Bowl loss I was angry and bitter due to the crappy referees and the general cheating by the league and the Steelers. Despite the notion that the Patriots cheat, the game itself was clean and exciting, and I really don't feel any bitterness at all. I will never be a Patriots fan, but I don't hate them like I still despise the Steelers (and I will continue to hate the Steelers until every member of that Super Bowl cheating team is gone from the league. *ahem*).

I'll go ahead and rant a little next, after the cut, about vaccinations and the lack thereof...

Morning Thoughts

I haven't been writing consistently. I have no excuse to offer. I just haven't done it.

Maybe because my life is boring... I mean, the first thing that comes to my mind to write about is "deflategate" or "ballghazi" or (my personal favorite) "the squishy ball scandal". My first response on hearing it was to shake my head and say it wasn't possible. The refs handle the football almost every down, which means the difference had to be subtle enough they didn't notice it. That made me think there wasn't much to the scandal. But then someone did an analysis of fumbles by the Patriots, and suddenly I doubt my own doubts. If the Patriots have been cheating, they've been getting away with it for years.

I've been training Inkwell to sit when I am preparing his food for him. He does it maybe one out of every five times now. This morning he sat patiently while I got his food ready. That was pretty neat.

Starting my third week of calorie counting. My Monday morning weigh-in says I've lost one pound since last week. My first week I lost three pounds, which was probably mostly water. I started up exercising again this week... let's see how long I can keep it up.

After the last Seahawks win, I've had a particular song going through my head a lot... "It's not how you start, it's how you finish."

This Huffington Post article about addiction makes perfect sense to me. I'm addicted to a lot of things that are not "addictive" in the chemical sense. Which is why I dare not try alcohol, even if I wanted to. In short, addiction is caused by dissatisfaction, not by just by chemicals.

I'm doing Relay for Life again. If you want to donate, visit my profile page and contribute.

Lastly, here's Inkwell learning about catgrass:

Seahawks... what???

So... five minutes left in the game and the Seahawks were down 12 points.

Then they scored 15 points in 44 seconds.

What?

I hadn't quite given up, but I was fairly certain the Seattle season was over. So I just watched because you always watch to the end. Then they got a TD. Not enough time, I said.

I didn't believe until the onside kick. That recovery was beautiful. Not in the slightest bit expected, either. I was shocked. But suddenly a spark of hope lit up within.

When they got the second TD... THEN the 2-point conversion... I was stunned. Simply shocked. With the time left, I knew Green Bay had a good chance to tie it, and a decent chance to win, but the Seahawks finally arrived and actually played the freakin' game.

Hubby-Eric and I had the quake monitor going, too, so we were getting about 10 seconds advance notification of big plays. The stadium really shook when there was a big play. So we saw those TDs coming.

I was disappointed when the Packers scored a field goal... it was very nearly tipped, but the tie was better than a flat out loss. When the 'Hawks won the toss, again I felt a great deal of hope. And when the quake monitor showed a HUGE jump, both Eric and I watched intently as the Seahawks won on that final TD in overtime.

Now to see who they will face in the Superbowl... and to get ready for two weeks from now. Wow.

Monday! I want it to be another Saturday so I can rest...

Slate has an article about how expensive it is to be poor. Also: Terry Pratchet and the "Boots" theory. via.

Breaking Cat News Christmas Special Part 3. Oh, Tommy!

So, I'm partially recovered from the parade Saturday night, but I gotta go to work today and write up the cutlines (captions) for the photos. I've also got high school sports to cover, so I probably should go early.

Inkwell jumped up on my lap, pushing my laptop off, just after halftime of the Seahawks game yesterday. Then he stayed there until the game ended. At the end of the game he sat up, yawned and jumped off my lap. I didn't realize he was an NFL fan.

My sister texted me yesterday to ask if my town has a crow problem. Turns out a Seattle TV station has done a piece about Sunnyside's crow problem. Yes, we hear the fireworks at night. Since I've lived here, the crows always come back to town at night in the winter... it's a heat sink. And they always make a terrible mess.

Ok, off to work. Maybe I'll write something else later if today isn't too hard.

Seattle Superbowl Rings

My thoughts: I love the logo, and the emerald eye is excellent. The 12th man flag shows up a couple of times, reminding the players of the fans. The side designs with the skyline and the mountain are also very cool. Overall, it's a pretty nice ring.

Inclusive rather than Exclusive

Pardon me while I rant about something that may or may not be true...

YES!!!!

YAY SEAHAWKS!

Wahoo, my home team has won the conference again! I don't know if they'll beat the Broncos, but I hope that this time the Super Bowl has fair officiating...

Thoughts on the Big Game

The only reason I was rooting for the Ravens is the literary reference in the mascot name. So, I didn't really care who won. I just wanted a good game. In the end, that's what we got. I was able to get worked up about the game after the long power outage delay when the Niners had their comeback. I was very surprised by the fake punt at the end and the safety, but I understand the reasoning.

As for the ads, nothing really sticks out for me. I enjoyed the Gangnam style jumps the shark ad, and the horsey ad was good as it often is. I can't really remember much else. Certainly no ads that will be classics.

Best part for me, by far, was the power outage. The response online was magnificent, and the sheer joy of watching people in the stadium deal with something completely unexpected was awesome. I look forward to more conspiracy theories about it. Ought to end up being a Fortean event in some ways.

Overall, I enjoyed watching it, which I wasn't expecting. Now, let's just get the Seahawks back into the big game... one in which the refs haven't been bribed to make calls for the other team.

Seahawks

Dish network solved whatever the issue was with the local Fox affiliate just in time for me to watch the Seahawks game yesterday.

The first half was dreadful for Seattleites. The second half, however, lived up to every fantasy I had about the game. It was simply fantastic. It wouldn't have been quite as intense without the dreadful first half, but that's what happens.

I could have done without the last 30 seconds, but although I'm disappointed at the result, I'm happy with how my hometown team managed to come back and take the lead right at the end. If the defense had held up the 'Hawks would be headed to San Fran.

As was pointed out repeatedly during the game, the Seahawks are a young team that has a great deal of potential in the future. So maybe we'll see that Super Bowl run next year, right?

Now, out to face the day...

Hey Kids, Links!

2007 LEGO Advent Calendar Day 11 & 12: A street sign (danger sign?) and a handtruck with a barrel of oil.

Readers Digest's Condensed Seduction of the Innocent. Lovely. Via.

I'm a sucker for LOLCats, and now there's LOLScience. Here's LOL_NASA. Yes, I'm easily amused. Good thing, too.

Fangoria's back issues are now collectibles. Ouch.

GO Norm Johnson! I always liked him when he was a Seahawk.

The "War on Christmas" gets nasty. I don't get why people who claim to be Christian can blaspheme against Christ's name like that. But then, it was most likely a bunch of jerks looking for a fight anyway.

On that note: The Bible According To Google Earth.

Mark Evanier in Spamalot.

Visual in-jokes in Pixer Productions. I hadn't heard about a few of these before.

Worried about what will happen when TVs all go digital? Worry no more.

I want.

Well, vodka does mean "water". Yikes.

The Princess Bride Game.

Top News Story: Female bodies are designed for pregnancy!

Best Buy Regrets stupid Cease & Desist letter.

Hey, who is decorating the freeway?

PI!

Woody Allen on the Writer's Strike.

Linkdump

Trying to get back into gear, here's a little linkdump for you...

ComicMix now has online comics. They've started the second part of their initiative. It was a good sight with just the articles and podcasts, it is now getting better. The first offering: "GrimJack: The Manx Cat".

Comic Book Urban Legends Revealed #122.

Greg Hatcher looks at witches in comic books.

Katie Cook has a great gallery of her artwork up, which includes this wonderful Aquaman and Tempest from a card set:

Via Blog@Newsarama. Be sure to check out the rest of the gallery. There's some good Doctor Who stuff there, too.

More on the Eightball flap. I checked out Ice Haven from the library, and didn't see anything that qualified as porn in it. Disturbing, maybe even disgusting, but not porn. I think that girl's parents are just a wee bit oversensitive.

Morgan on Sarah Jane Adventures. I loved it. It's definitely aimed at children, but that's a positive in my book. I love Doctor Who. I like Torchwood. And Sarah Jane is great as well.

Saving a Seattle Denny's Restaurant. I just drove by that Denny's the other day, noticed the land use proposals, and felt a pang of regret that we would be losing this great goofy building. And on a similar note: Free Ballard! (links via Vintage Seattle)

I don't know how to categorize this story, but I found it worth reading.

Why Knockoffs are good for Fashion.

Way cool Baseball Stats Slide Rule ad on Polite Scott's blog. By coincidence, Slashdot had an article on Slide Rules recently.

More on the Peruvian Meteorite.

Oooh, Bio-Optic Organized Knowledge device.

Darn. I wanted to get one of these, but I won't have enough money in time to get one. Maybe they'll make the offer available again later.

Mark Twain wanted to defeat copyright limits, but his plan was intelligent and useful, instead of the Disney way of changing the law.

Vintage Seattle shows off the Seahawks in the Kingdome. Cool!

Links

Johnny B's NFL picks. He was right about the Seahawks the first two weeks. I hope he's right this week. And speaking of football, read this article on old football players.

Silver Age Comics links to Dial B For Blog's takedown of Bob Kane. Pretty impressive evidence there.

Fonzie Jumps The Shark:

Ten minute look at DC: The New Frontier. Lots of interviews, some animated scenes. All good.

Can you solve the three way duel problem?

How to make witches jars for Hallowe'en decorations. Some year I may just do this. But not now.

The Pirate Bay files criminal charges against media companies that use MediaDefender. Interesting.

Too fat to be a model, but I wish I was that fat!

Speaking of models, Virgin Mobile Australia failed to get model releases for Creative Commons licensed pictures and now both Virgin and CC are being sued.

Here's a graphical illustration of what will likely happen if we do not get Net Neutrality:

I'm interested in this book, and not just because a friend is editing it.

Cute report: stolen bunny found.

Sunday Linkdump

Happy Birthday, Kurt!

Comic Book Urban Legends Revealed #120.

Bully's Ten of a Kind: Comic Takeover.

The Power of the Press. Carl Sifakis and Joe Sacco tell us about the Boxer Rebellion.

Johnny B's Fearless NFL Predictions, week 2. I hope he's wrong about the Seahawks.

Doctor Who Church Services and knit Daleks. This has been your Who update for the day.

How to Knit Marzipan. I've only had marzipan once: homemade and fresh. I enjoyed it.

I have to admit, the description of the Giant Palouse Earthworm makes it sound like a mythical beast: "Up to a yard long and known to spit on attackers... The giant worm is the largest and longest-lived earthworm in North America. It is reported to have a peculiar flowery smell, and to be cream-colored or pinkish-white. It has been reported to spit at attackers and move quickly through the soil to escape predators."

Too cool!

The Annotated Constitution.

Student Loan Scandal. Wasting the taxpayers' money by giving lots of cash to banks.

Pug in webcomic.

CameraPhone Zen

Sunday Links

Watching the game, trying not to cringe, compiled some links for you all...

Update: 1:11 pm - Seahawks kept it close, and at the end of regulation... tied 24-24. It's into overtime. I hate NFL overtime.
Update: 4:13 pm - The Seahawks made it a game. And my main objection with the way NFL does overtime was moot by the time it finished, as both teams got to go on offense. Ah well... now I can cheer on New Orleans without guilt.

Bully is once again posting stuff you ought not to miss, including a new Fun Fifty of 2006. If you aren't reading Bully's Blog, you should be, but I'll keep linking to him anyway.

Knitting Club Shut Down By Bank, because a bunch of stodgy old bankers decided that so many people couldn't possibly be interested in yarn, and decided the company providing the yarn was a scam.

I'm suddenly looking at the squirrels who live in our trees in a whole 'nother light.

Boing Boing Links:

• Nazi Raccoons Ravage Germany
• Innocent teacher may get 40 years in prison for running IE (ok, that's not the headline, but it should be)
• More on why you shouldn't buy Vista
• Cassette Tape ripper for your PC
• Microsoft Windows Promo Vid from 1988, "crack-smoking monkeys" indeed.

Warnings about crippling DRM on the iPhone.

Free on-line courses for people who like to learn. And if you want to learn... I did not know that yesterday!

The comet is visible in daylight. Cool. Maybe I'll be able to see it today, with the skies clearing up.

Water Intoxication can kill you.

Um. Go Seahawks!

So, I watched the game in fast forward last night, like I said. It was actually a pretty exciting game. Very nice of the Cowboys to give us the win. I wish the Seahawks had played it all a bit better, but at least the result gives them another chance to play. The officiating was as bad as last year. In fact, I kind of wonder if they gave the Seahawks this game like they gave the Steelers the win in the Superbowl last year.

I don't expect the Seahawks to get past their next opponent. Both Chicago and New Orleans are strong teams this year, and the 'hawks never pulled it all together. And if the Seahawks end up playing against New Orleans, I might have trouble deciding who to root for (ok, not really, but I like New Orleans this year, so if they play the Seahawks and win, I won't be as disappointed).

Update: They're playing Chicago. I have very low expectations for this one. Go Seahawks, but wow... they're up against it, aren't they?

And, oh yeah, Johnny B called it. I've been forgetting to link to his predictions, but he's still making them, and he's still doing well. Unless I'm much mistaken, he's 4-0 for the weekend.

Don't Get Your Feathers Ruffled

I stayed on a the Chicken Mailing List a bit longer to monitor it, in case notes from Eric's list suddenly started showing up again. In addition to a couple of nice notes from people on the list thanking me for fixing the problem, I got a couple of "silver lining" notes. One person, in particular, accidentally posted his note to the list instead of mailing it to me.

It seems that prior to the mess with Eric's list, there had been some unwanted excitement on the list because of two groups of very different chicken breeders. The mess with Eric's list seems to have driven both groups away, at least for a time. The groups in question? Well, one was animal rights activists... the other was cock fighters.

At first I was just amazed. How could two groups of people with such completely different philosophies end up on one mailing list? But it made perfect sense for both groups to be one a breeding list, I guess... and it's not like it's that different from many of the lists I belong to. There always seems to be more than one prevailing opinion on a list, and it often seems to people who believe in one opinion to not understand why the other opinion can even consider themselves in the same league.

Speaking of Animals

I had the most terribly strong urge to get a cat yesterday. I had just read an article about cats in animal shelters, and I started thinking about all the advantages to having a pet around the house. I also grew up with animals always around, so it wouldn't be a new experience for me.

But there are a few reasons Eric and I haven't gotten a pet, and most of them are still in force. The big reason is expense, but there is also the time factor in properly caring for (and cleaning up after) a pet. With both of us working, we wouldn't even imagine getting a dog, but a cat seems more likely.

But then, cats tend to own you, not the other way around. There would be a few changes in how we live if we got a cat. And the cat would rule the roost. That's how cats tend to be.

I'm not convincing myself, but I'm pretty sure Eric would seriously object to an animal in our lives at this point, so I don't see it happening. But I'm sure the urge won't go away soon. well, unless I imagine the beasty eating up/chewing up my LEGO, then it's easier to say "maybe not yet"

Seattle Sports Report

I just turned off the Seahawks game. Not because they were losing (although they were) but because they just didn't seem to be playing. I used to attend High School Football games because I was in the band. I used to watch Huskies Football all the time and enjoy it. And, even back in the day, I would watch the Seahawks and like it. But this year it's really hard for me to get "into" any Football game. I just haven't seen anything that interests me. The players seem to be going through the motions. I know it's illusion, that if I talked with those players they would tell me truthfully that they are playing hard, but it's just not working for me this year.