Extreme Waterfowlers

I saw this window decal on my way to work this morning. "Un-stereotypically", it was on the rear window of a Subaru Outback. Anyway, I'm sharing this with you because it made me laugh out loud this morning.

I'd like to apologize for the sarcastic nature this post is now going to take. OK, now that I've apologized...what exactly makes an "xtreme" waterfowler? Do you have to wear totally righteous and gnarly camouflage? Do these guys do back flips or something on water skis while shooting at their targets? Maybe someone scares the fowl up and then they launch their dirt bikes off of ramps and try to do a back flip while actually catching the bird with their bare hands? No, I got it. They use "xtreme" weapons like bazookas and Gatling guns to explode their prey into pre-cooked McNuggets. Do their retrievers have spiked hair and tattoos and have names like Green Day, Korn, Silverchair, and Foo Fighter (obviously my knowledge of music is limited)?

Anyway, I think you get my point. Somehow I just can't reconcile what the word "xtreme" implies or how it's used elsewhere and hunting - let alone hunting waterfowl. All I could figure was that this was the result of combining someone related to Jeff Foxworthy, a few cans of beer, and a NASCAR race (if you get my point). So this afternoon I Googled this logo and found their site. If finding out these guys are located 1 hour west of Omaha, Nebraska wasn't enough (I'm assuming they're located in Wahoo, Nebraska - seriously, look it up on a map)...the errors in the text on the front page of their site confirms my suspicions (not that I'm perfect).

It's time to do the Dew baby and get amped - it's Waterfowlin' time! YEEEHAWWWWW!

Glory Glory Tottenham Hotspur

I know they have a game in hand, but this is just too sweet to not post. I'm going to head to McD's cause "I'm lovin' it"! (roll eyes now).

Story Time Video

Spa Day

We spent Thanksgiving with my parents on Thursday. My Mom was planning on watching Julia all day Friday so that Stacey and I could celebrate her birthday properly. As we were driving over to their house Thursday night we realized that it wouldn't make much sense to drive back across town 12 hours after Thanksgiving evening ended just to drop Julia off.

Luckily we had all of the needed supplies and were able to leave Julia at my parent's house overnight. She slept/did great. We picked her up almost 24 hours after leaving her there.

My Mom sent me this picture (hopefully she won't kill me for uploading it). Apparently Julia wanted to have her hair done just like Grandma. Thanks again for watching her Mom. It was a very nice day.

Dadda Pick Up?

This morning Julia wanted to play in a box but also wanted to sit on the counter and watch me get ready for work. I caved.

The Sunglasses Make a Comeback

Julia also brushed her own teeth. Unfortunately, it was her teeth in a picture that sits on the end table.

Bedtime Stories

Spurs on Cloud Nine

For those who haven’t heard, I had the joy yesterday of watching Tottenham completely thrash Wigan in the English Premier League 9-1.

At halftime Spurs were leading 1-0 and had completely controlled the match (we could have been up 3-0). The second half saw 9 goals in the span of 45 minutes! Jermain Defoe scored a hat trick in 7 minutes and ended the game with 5 goals, something only two other players in the Premier League have ever done. It was also the second fastest hat trick in Premier League history. Although Aaron Lennon only scored 1 goal, he was the terrorizing force on many plays. Wigan’s defense was atrocious. Watching the game I felt that every time we got the ball we were going to score…really, even the times we didn’t score in the second half it was really close to going in. If it weren’t for Wigan’s keeper making some great saves, we could have reached double digits. Wigan’s only goal shouldn’t have been allowed (it was controlled in the box by a hand, similar to the France Ireland match a few days ago). It actually reminded me of a few high school games I played in, most notably one game against Mitchell where we thrashed them by a similar score line. This just doesn’t happen in a top flight professional league.

According to ESPN, this is the second biggest blowout in Premier League history. The first biggest blowout was Manchester United’s drubbing of Ipswich 9-0 in 1995. Unfortunately for Wigan, the whipping boy in the top 3 biggest margins of victory in Premier League history before yesterday have all been relegated that year. The commentators said a few times that this is the kind of result that many teams never recover from (which is supported by the previous few sentences). It was so bad that today Wigan announced that it will be offering a full refund to all of the Wigan fans that attended the match. That’s how bad it was.

What was also so exciting about the 9 goals was that each were fantastic strikes. It’s not like these were garbage goals. Even the goal that was scored an own goal was really scored off of a fantastic free kick by David Bentley that just happened to hit the cross bar and bounce in off the back of the keeper. Each shot was perfectly executed even if the defending was poor.

Another great part about this weekend/result is that all of the teams in the table around Spurs failed to win. Even Arsenal lost 0-1 to a strike from Bent, a Spurs player last season. This put us back up into fourth spot in the table – something Spurs fans have dreamed about achieving in recent years since it’s the last Champions League qualifying spot.

Finally, this game was also a great result in terms of personnel. We started the season on a tear and then Defoe and Lennon were suspended or injured. Not surprisingly, this was the first game back with both of them. Also, Redknapp finally saw what the rest of the fans have been calling for and put Robbie Keane on the bench and in his place a proper left-midfielder.

Taking all of these things into consideration, this was a massive weekend for Spurs in so many ways. It was a joy to watch. I’m definitely going to be saving this game for a long time on my computer…or at least the highlights.

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Scoreline:
From the time we scored our first goal to our last goal in the second half (51-90 minutes), we averaged a goal every 4.875 minutes. However, they all came within two distinct time frames. During the first spell (51-69 minutes), we averaged a goal every 3.6 minutes. During the second spell (87-90+ minutes), we averaged a goal almost every 2 minutes!

Tottenham Hotspur 9
Crouch 9, Defoe 51, Defoe 54, Defoe 58, Lennon 64, Defoe 69, Defoe 87, Kirkland (og) 88, Kranjcar 90

Wigan Athletic 1
Scharner 57

Latest FIFA Rankings

FIFA just released their latest rankings today, two days after qualification ended. Since the discussion points about my last post really center around what pot the USA will be placed in (and maybe that the Netherlands might get a seeded spot), I figure I should give you some more information. The rankings don't mean a whole lot in determining who is the best team, but I do think that they are used to determine seeding. Plus, these rankings are produced by the same organization (FIFA) that will be determining where the USA gets placed.

Latest Rankings
South America - Chile 17, Uruguay 19, Paraguay 30
North America - USA 14, Mexico 15, Honduras 38

Average Ranking of the 3 Teams
South America - 22.00
North America - 22.33

It's pretty close when you look at the rankings. It could go either way. However, I'd still give South America the advantage due to the fact that their region is much harder (they will probably have 2 seeded teams) as well as the fact Uruguay just beat Costa Rica (another North American team) in Wednesday's playoffs. When you look at the lowest ranked teams in each region, Paraguay is actually much better then Honduras in my opinion. Paraguay were on the top of the South American qualifying group for much of the time. Although the USA did great at this summer's Confederations Cup, we had a terrible showing at the World Cup in 2006...so those are probably a wash if not a demerit (using past World Cup performances).

I hope we will be placed in the 3rd pot with the African teams, but it probably won't happen. Then again, FIFA always deliver some surprise in the draw format. Plus, I don't have all of the information that they will have. It will be a close decision, but I think South America will probably get the nod...that is, unless FIFA place more emphasis on other/the factors that will favor the USA.

Let The World Cup 2010 Countdown Begin!

Here's an article I wrote up today and taped outside my cubicle at work now that all of the teams have qualified... The draw happens in 2 weeks!

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FIFA World Cup South Africa 2010 Group Draw
December 4, 2009, 10 AM Mountain

The actual draw method is still to be determined *(see below). If the draw follows 2006 method, most likely it will look something like this:

Pot 1 – Seeded Pot – Seeds based on world ranking in previous 3 years and performance in 2 previous World Cups

Pot 2 – Remaining 8 non-seeded European teams ensuring no 1 group contains more then 2 teams from Europe

Pots 3 and 4 - divide the remaining qualifiers from the CONCACAF (North America), CONMEBOL (South America), Africa, Asia, and Oceania regions

* Note the three CONEMBOL (South America) or CONCACAF (North America) teams could be in either pot, depending on how FIFA decide to organize the draw. Most likely, they will organize it according to the strength of teams in that region (with 3 being stronger then 4). Since the 5 Asia and Oceania teams are clearly the weakest, they will probably be assigned to Pot 4. Unfortunately, that means the determination for the other 3 teams in Pot 4 will be made between the 3 unseeded teams in CONEMBOL (South America) and 3 teams in CONCACAF (North America). Most likely, the 3 teams in CONEMBOL (South America) will be seeded in Pot 3 and the 3 in CONCACAF (North America) will be seeded in worst Pot, Pot 4.

Pot 1: South Africa, Brazil, Germany, Italy, Spain, England, France, Argentina

Pot 2: Portugal, Netherlands, Switzerland, Slovenia, Greece, Denmark, Serbia, Slovakia

Pot 3: Uruguay, Chile, Paraguay, Ghana, Cameroon, Cote d’Ivoire, Nigeria, Algeria

Pot 4: South Korea, Japan, Australia, North Korea, Mexico, USA, Honduras, New Zealand

Aaron’s Mock Draw

Group A – South Africa, Greece, Chile, Japan
Group B – Germany, Slovakia, Ghana, Honduras
Group C – Spain, Netherlands, Uruguay, New Zealand
Group D – Brazil, Slovenia, Nigeria, Mexico
Group E – Argentina, Portugal, Cameroon, North Korea
Group F – England, Denmark, Algeria, Australia
Group G – Italy, Switzerland, Ivory Coast, South Korea
Group H – France, Serbia, Paraguay, USA

Norah Jones - The Fall

I just happened to check iTunes today...the day it was released. I'm not a big music buff, but I have enjoyed her first 3 albums. I kept 33 songs from her first 3 albums...so do the math.

I decided to download her 4th album tonight (listening to it now) even though I didn't know much about it. I did hear that it's a different style from the past 3 albums - something that always worries me.

I'm sure that I'll find a few tracks that I really like. For me, her songs usually grow on me...something that I think is an indicator of good music. That is, it's not an instant pop bubble gum song that's catchy at first but quickly loses its appeal (much like those bubble gum balls you get from the machine).

At the very least, it's music I can listen to while at work or after a long day. I don't need my music to add stress to my life! Noise - it's ALL noise! Hey you punk kids, GET OFF MY LAWN.

Moab - More Pictures

All of the guys exchanged pictures at church on Sunday. It was good to finally see some pictures with me in them. Typically, I'm the one who is taking the pictures which usually means I'm not in them. Here are some of my favorites:

Blackhawk Down

"All right, listen up. We're gonna hold the perimeter and we're gonna hold the strongpoint. Conserve your ammo. Only shoot at what you can hit. The convoy is gonna come. We're gonna get home."

The timing belt broke...good thing we bought roadside assistance for a measly $1 a month. The tow was "free" (ok, I had already paid for it over the course of a few years in premiums). Too bad it wasn't something cheaper to fix. I'm just happy Stacey was rescued by the Japanese tank sent to save her (which was piloted by a former Captain and a 2 year old girl).

Moab - Monday

Monday we left Moab and stopped in Fruita, Colorado. We happened to time it perfectly with Ibis Bicycles who were demo-ing their line. Ibis is a very high-end bike manufacturer. The founder had decided to take a road trip to demo his bikes. So, a few of the guys got to ride the trail on $4,000 - $5,000 carbon fiber demo bikes.

The trail was okay. After a few short climbs we rode the ridge and then dropped down about 2-3 awesome hills. The descents were short, steep, and fast. The trail looked like the Great Wall of China but felt like a roller coaster. It was a good short trail to end the weekend with, and although it wasn't the greatest trail, it sure was fun to dive bomb the hills.

I raced home just in time to see Julia and put her to bed. Apparently, earlier that day she had thrown her arms up in the air and said "Dadda, where are you"?

Moab - Sunday

Sunday was by far my favorite day. Our campsite was literally across the street from the famous Slickrock trail. Slickrock is just one of those trails that everyone should experience. You can hike and ride dirt bikes on it too. It's like no other, weaving its way entirely through a section of Moab comprised entirely of miles and miles of sandstone. It's basically the same stuff as Garden of the Gods, except that it's been laid flat over a massive area. What makes this trail very unique is that since you ride entirely on solid rock, you can pretty much ride straight up any hill, no matter how steep, as long as you can keep your front wheel down. Your rear tire will grip. Everyone pretty much has to pedal like crazy up each hill while leaning over their handlebars to keep the front of their bike from tipping back and over down the hill. Since there is no dirt trail, the trail is marked by the same dashed white lines that you've seen on the road.

As its name suggests, this trail was made for me. There were lots of hills all over the place and my sprinting muscles and low body weight were an ideal combination. There were times that I didn't make it entirely up a hill, but there were also times where I was the only one that made it up a hill. Even though I had rode my legs to exhaustion and was cramping in the quads, I was determined to ride the entire trail back out. The others weren't as in shape or maybe didn't feel like pushing themselves that hard, so the rest of them walked their bikes up the steep hills on the way out. I can't really explain how steep these short hills/climbs were except that they are pretty difficult to walk up let alone ride.

The crash of the weekend happened about halfway through the day. Randy, our class teacher, went over backwards while climbing up a hill. In addition to the expected road rash from the road and bruises from landing, he took a bike to the face. Specifically, the sprocket (the metal ring with teeth between the pedals that the chain rides on) hit him in the face on the way down. The sprocket teeth actually went through his lip into his mouth. At first he thought that he had lost a tooth, but the object he spit out was a piece of metal that had broken off in his mouth. The rest of his face had a nice dotted line that matched up perfectly with the rest of the teeth on the sprocket. Although he didn't lose any teeth, a few of them were loose. He was understandably shaken up and hurt. The picture below doesn't really show how bad his face looked after the ride. Later in the day on another trail, Dwight impaled himself on the end of his handlebars and may have cracked a rib or his sternum. Anyway, it was a good thing that Lanny the bike mechanic (by hobby) and Joey the firefighter and EMT (by work) were part of our group. Many others ended the day with bumps and road rash from the rock.

I thought the trail was amazing. It's not your standard mountain bike trail so many people probably don't like riding it after a few times. Plus, it's a pretty strenuous workout. That night we ate at an all you can eat pizza, soup, and salad bar. It was really good. I called home and again all Julia said on the phone to me was "Dadda home".

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Rock formations near our campsite

Slickrock Trail - Lanny, Colorado River, up and down hills

Colorado River Photo Ops - group, Randy (pre-crash), me, Joey

Hill shots - Joe falling, Lanny thinking

Scenery on Slickrock

Overlook of Moab

Randy's facial injury, Me