A week of disappointments.

The week looked so promising. A whole host of things to look forward to, and a whole host of things that didn't go as expected. It had to happen eventually. Life is full of ups and downs, and this just happened to be a little more down than usual.

Leading off is the Daytona 500. It looked like a great race at first, but once again rain decided to come marching by. The good part is, it waited til the race was halfway over to begin coming down. The bad part is Dale Jr and Brian Vickers, two lapped cars, got into a melee and wrecked a third of the field. So much for the "trouble only happens in the front at Talladega" rule. The best cars of the field, Kyle Busch, Jamie McMurray, Jimmie Johnson, and Denny Hamlin were essentially eliminated within seconds. They were all in the top 10 at the time of the incident.

Who was at fault? Surprisingly, most pepole seem to think Dale Jr is mostly at fault. I've watched the video several times and its definitely a tough call. I have to put most of the blame on Vickers not because he blocked, but because he didn't come back up the track after he blocked. He was still straddling the out-of-bounds line when Jr came up and tagged him. If you're going to block, you gotta get back in position.

Then the rains came, and Matt Kenseth, who led one (1) lap was declared the winner. Right place right time for Kenseth. At least Roush finally has a Daytona 500 victory now. Its hard for me to like that victory though.

Today is Friday, and qualifying was today. Vickers on pole and McMurray qualified 3rd, which is awesome. However, he was slow in practice, so I hope he and Wingo found something good for a race setup.

On Thursday, Tyson, Colman, Brig, and I tried to fix an Xbox 360 that Ty bought online. We did the same fix we did to Tyson's first Xbox. Unfortunately, it didn't work quite as good. In fact, it didn't work at all. Its okay, I spent invaluable time with the brothers I love, and we enjoyed our failure. Still, I was looking forward to having a 360 to play. /whimper

Also, Rick Santelli's comments on CNBC were priceless. Tell it how it is, Rick! This is a microcosm of what's going on out there. Glenn Beck also has a great way of putting complex things like federal money flow into perspective.

And finally, something that I hope will cheer up those who are as melancholy as myself. A random picture, taken June 7th, 2007 in Newport Beach, California.

The Green Flag

With the Daytona 500 10 hours away, I felt it was time to make my predictions for the 2009 season. Finally, something to write about!

Biggest improver: How about Kasey Kahne (9). We know he's good, but last year was dismal for him. Also, look for Mark Martin (5) to be good, now that he's with Hendrick. Also Brian Vickers (83) looks strong. Don't forget about McMurray(26) carrying tons of momentum. He's led laps in the shootout, and in the gatorade duel.

Biggest disappointment: I dont' think Clint Bowyer (33) or David Ragan (6) will be good this year. And look for one Hendrick team to struggle, though I can't decide who its going to be. Maybe Jeff Gordon (24). Also, one Gibbs team will struggle as well. Possibly Logano (20).

Making the Chase: Its tough to narrow it down to 12, but here goes. In no particular order: Jimmy Johnson (48), Carl Edwards (99), Kevin Harvick (29), Greg Biffle (16), Denny Hamlin (11), Jeff Gordon (24), Jeff Burton (31), Kasey Kahne (9), Kyle Busch (18), Earnheardt Jr (88), Jamie McMurray (26), and Tony Stewart (14). Sorry, Kenseth fans.

The winner: Give it Roush. Probably Carl Edwards (99).

Plug: McMurray has won at Daytona before (Pepsi 400 in 2007), and even came from a lap down to do it. The Daytona 500 has been bad luck to him in the past, but usually when running mid-pack. He'll start 21st, but he'll be in the top 10 before lap 20. If he can stay up front, there should be nothing to worry about. (Its the Talladega races where the front of the pack isn't safe.) McMurray now has Donnie Wingo as a crew chief, and together they have a reputation for top 10 consistency. Here's hoping it translates into a successful season.

Catching up

So its been more than a month since I updated. At least I got over that cold/virus/sinus-infection/et al. It was mid January when I finally started feeling better. Meaning that I was sick for nearly 7 weeks. What made it worse is that I separated from my girlfriend. I'm now falling back into my single, philandering ways. ¬.¬

Courney and Brigham's wedding went off without a hitch, but I was still sick at the time. More details can be found here. I can't complain about traveling, though. I'd travel for a living if I got paid for it.

I'm getting pumped for the new Nascar season. The Daytona 500 is coming up. I'll have more things to write about then. Winter is just so depressing.

Christmas in Bed

Well, I finally broke down and went to a doctor ($92). I had a sinus infection and a cold virus. No wonder DayQuil wasn't touching it. And I had rubbed my eyes too much, apparently; I also had conjunctivitis (aka Pinkeye). The doctor wrote me a prescription for the pinkeye ($40) and antibiotics for the sinus infection ($35). This essentially drained the rest of my account. Too bad, too I guess; the tires I need to get around in two feet snow had to wait until mom and dad broke down and lent me some funds. Thanks Mom and Dad; you're the awesomest! I got paid on Christmas Eve, and bought Brig a gift. The rest of the check is going for bills and rent. Oh yeah, and to pay back mom and dad. Such is life. Too bad I'm still coughing.

So far I'm seriously sucking at my College Football pool. That'll teach me not to gamble.

Ohh, and the TCU vs BSU game was awesome. It doesn't matter that BSU lost. It was close, physical, and intense game to the bitter end.

O pungent orange medicine take the pain away.

Under normal circumstances, I don't think writing a blog entry while doped up on cold meds is such a great idea. But oh well; tis the season.

For viruses I guess. Half the people at my office are sick, including myself. I deny giving them my virus, of course, but some of them look at me sideways regardless. I swear I never came within 3 feet of Brittany. Yet I'm responsible for her coughing? Bryan sent me home early, which is nice, but I don't think it prevented me spreading this virus further. I wonder who'll be sick at the Christmas Party on Monday. Probably Jim. He's already disowned me for picking Alabama over Utah in the Sugar Bowl. It would be unfortunate for me if he turned up sick. Very unfortunate. Jim can't fire me . . . can he?

Speaking of College Football, I went ahead and entered a pool, and these are my pics: (in order of time)
Navy over Wake Forest
Fresno State over Colorado State
South Florida over Memphis
BYU over Arizona
Southern Miss over Troy
Boise State over TCU
Hawai'i over Notre Dame
Central Michigan over Florida Atlantic
West Virginia over North Carolina
Florida State over Wisconsin
Cal over Miami
La Tech over North Illinois
Rutgers over NC State
Missouri over Northwestern
Nevada over Maryland
Rice over W Michigan
Oklahoma State over Oregon (sorry, Ducks)
Air Force over Houston
Oregon State over Pitt (go Beavers!)
Boston College over Vanderbilt
Kansas over Minnesota
Georgia Tech over LSU
Iowa over South Carolina
Georgia over Michigan State
Nebraska over Clemson
USC over Penn State
Virginia Tech over Cincinnati
Texas Tech over Ole Miss
East Carolina over Kentucky
Alabama over Utah
Connecticut over Buffalo
Texas over Ohio State
Ball State over Tulsa
and in the championship game I'm taking Florida over Oklahoma 41-27

I threw in a few upsets in there, and there will likely be a few more. Many of the games were difficult to predict and I could have gone either way. Also, I just noticed that I picked a lot of WAC teams to win. Truthfully, I think the gap between the BCS conferences and non-BCS conferences has narrowed. If I'm right, then the results of the bowls will reflect this. If not, I need to lay off the NyQuill.

And one final note about the Alabama-Utah game. These are predictions only. The picks above do not necessarily reflect who I will be rooting for. In my heart I want the Utes to beat the living snot out of the Crimson Tide. I also want Boise State to trounce TCU and show the BCS exactly what they're made of. And I sincerely hope Oregon can decimate Oklahoma State.

Jonah Goldberg article.

Cheers to Jonah Goldberg for writing an excellent article today. I'll post a small section of it; the full article is here.

Did you catch the political ad in which two Jews ring the doorbell of a nice working-class family? They barge in and rifle through the wife’s purse and then the man’s wallet for any cash. Cackling, they smash the daughter’s piggy bank and pinch every penny. “We need it for the Wall Street bailout!” they exclaim.

No? Maybe you saw the one with the two swarthy Muslims who knock on the door of a nice Jewish family and then blow themselves up?

No? Well, then surely you saw the TV ad in which two smarmy Mormon missionaries knock on the door of an attractive lesbian couple. “Hi, we’re from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints!” says the blond one with a toothy smile. “We’re here to take away your rights.” The Mormon zealots yank the couple’s wedding rings from their fingers and then tear up their marriage license.

As the thugs leave, one says to the other, “That was too easy.” His smirking comrade replies, “Yeah, what should we ban next?” The voice-over implores viewers: “Say no to a church taking over your government.”

Obviously, the first two ads are fictional because no one would dare run such anti-Semitic or anti-Muslim attacks.

The third ad, however, was real. It was broadcast throughout California on Election Day as part of the effort to rally opposition to Proposition 8, the initiative that successfully repealed the right to same-sex marriage in the state.

What was the reaction to the ad? Widespread condemnation? Scorn? Rebuke? Tepid criticism?

Nope.

The Los Angeles Times, a principled opponent of Proposition 8, ran an editorial lamenting that the “hard-hitting commercial” was too little, too late.

Full ad here, courtesy of YouTube.
And a related news video.

Letter to the BCS:

Dear BCS,

Your bowl system is horrifically pathetic. Fix it.

Respectfully,
Boise State and Ball State

How can it be possible that a team can beat teams from other conferences, have an undefeated season, win their own conference, obliterate everyone in their path, be ranked 9th in the nation, and not get a chance to play in a major bowl game? Its possible, all right; in fact, its a very likely possibility.

Is the BCS to blame for not putting BSU into a major bowl game? No, that's just the end result. The real problem is that BSU is too good for its own conference, but it isn't given enough out-of-conference games that are up to their level. They beat the Oregon Ducks, and that's it. Hardly giving them more claim than University of Utah, who faced TCU, BYU, and Oregon State, all of which are great teams. No, BSU obliterated Southern Miss, Bowling Green, and Idaho State. Those crickets in the background mean there's not much applause for those wins. Still, the BCS is smart enough to rank them 9th nationally, which I think is fair. But the rules of the BCS will not allow Boise State to play anyone their own rank, which is unfair. That means that their ranking doesn't mean anything concrete. Its all speculation.

I wonder how Ball State feels.