Yearly Bonus...

This year at work I really put my mind to getting a good bonus. I did some things that I normally don't do (as far as volunteering for things and such) and it ended up paying off.

I ended up getting the Level 5 bonus on our PASS system at work. PASS means "Performance, Accountability, and Standards System." It's what we're rated on for how good we did at work. Level 5 is the highest level that you can get, and it comes with some pretty good bonuses.

First off is a 4% raise for the next year on top of any other cost of living and across the board raises. That equals out to about $1,500 per year, which isn't bad. That, of course, doesn't include any of the shift premiums and such that I get on top of my yearly pay. To illustrate this, I have already made my yearly salary for this year, and we still have three pay periods left in the year. That just kind of illustrates how much the shift premiums help out with my pay.

Second, is a $2500 cash bonus. I could have gotten nearly $1,000 more than this...but I missed ONE more bag than is allowed on my image test. I missed three and you are only allowed to miss two in order to get the maximum score. So basically I missed out on about $1,000 by one bag. I was a bit upset with myself because of that, but I am looking at the bright side. $2500 is a pretty nice chunk of change!!!

I have already decided what I'm going to do with it. I'm going to take Cathy and I on another trip. I have determined that traveling makes me more happy than buying things. I had originally thought about selling my motorcycle and using the money from this bonus with the money from that to get a bigger motorcycle, but I don't ride the bike enough to actually warrant doing that. I will end up getting us a trip somewhere and that will be a ton of fun. With what I have left from the bonus I may look to buy a new laptop computer because mine simply hasn't been working all that great lately, or possibly just paying down some debt.

I figure that I worked pretty hard for the bonus this year, so I'm going to use it for something fun instead of just to pay off bills. It's not like I'm having trouble paying the bills anyways, so I might as well use the money for something cool!!!

Hopefully I can keep it up and get this high bonus again next year. I don't think I should have too much of a problem getting it done!!!

Got Thanksgiving Off...

Cathy and I ended up getting Thanksgiving off this year. We didn't end up taking any holidays off last year, but this year we got both Thanksgiving and Christmas. We're not that big on partying on New Year's Eve, so we didn't worry about that.

We're going to end up going up to Lansing on Thanksgiving for dinner with my parents and probably my grandparents. On Tuesday we are going over to Cathy's dad's house for a Thanksgiving dinner there, as well.

Basically, in a span of three days we're going to have more turkey than I think we know what to do with!!!

It's also a good way to get a nice little three day weekend!!!

Didn't Make It to Work Today...

Last night when I was taking Gordon out, I somehow managed to slip and fall on the wet driveway. I landed pretty hard on my side, mainly because I didn't have the use of my hands to break my fall.

I didn't want to let go of the leash because I was worried that Gordon would run off, so even when I knew I was going to fall there wasn't much that I could do to stop it.

When I woke up this morning I was really sore. It doesn't look like it got bruised or anything, so I'm wondering if in the process of trying to catch my balance or something I strained a muscle. Either way, it was really uncomfortable so I ended up calling in sick to work.

I spent most of the day just sitting around watching TV and playing some video games. Oh yah, and browsing around on the internet.

I'm feeling a bit better, but it still feels a bit sore. I'm guessing in a day or so I'll be fine. I hope so at least.

New Addition to the Zoo...

So Cathy's hamster, Ash, died a little while back.

She thought that maybe she would want to replace him, so I started suggesting that maybe we think about getting some rats.

Well, the other night we headed to Pet Supplies Plus to look at them. We had been to several other stores and they either didn't have any or they wanted quite a bit more for them than we thought they should cost.

So at PSP, they had what appeared to be one little baby boy rat. He was climbing up on the wall of the cage when we came to look at him. We didn't get him then, because we thought that they were supposed to be kept in pairs or more, and they only had one. So we went home and looked up some information and it said that you can introduce young rats from different litters at a young age without many problems. So we decided to go back to PSP and get the one, then we'd get another young one from one of the other stores that we had found them at.

Well, when we got back to the PSP, there were two in the cage!!! The other one must have been hiding when we were there before. So we found a cage and got all the supplies. We then asked one of the workers if we could get some help with the rats so she came and unlocked the cage. She then moved this little hut thing and...

...HOLY COW!!! There were about 20 of them hidden underneath the hut!!! They were all huddled together and when the thing got moved they scattered!!!!

We ended up getting two of them...one of them was the one that we initially saw climbing on the wall of the cage. His name is Archibald. He's just a gray colored rat with GIANT ears!!! That is the one that Cathy picked out. The other one was really active inside the cage. His name is Roswell. He's gray and white, with a little white spot right on the top of his head. He's the one that I picked out.

We got them home and got them set up. They are pretty skittish. They seem to be scared whenever it's really bright in the room. The first night we kept them mostly in the bathroom because we THOUGHT that would be the best place to get them out of their cage and not lose them. Well, after Cathy went to bed I got Roswell out in there and quickly learned that it's NOT the best place to not lose them. He promptly went underneath the vanity in the bathroom and up inside it. I had to take some drawers out to get him out.

They are pretty cool. Even after just a few afternoons they are starting to get a bit more willing to be picked up and held and such. They are still a bit skittish, but they are getting better.

Cathy really likes them. I do too. I hope that they get over being the little bit skittish that they are soon, because I'd like to be able to get them out and actually play with them!!!

WHAT A GAME!!!!

So the Colts came back...from down 17 points...to beat the Patriots tonight in an absolutely epic game between the two best teams of the past decade.

They went into the game tonight with the Colts having 109 regular season wins and the Patriots sitting at 108 regular season wins.

The Colts trailed early in the 4th quarter by 17 points. The Colts then proceeded to outscore the Patriots 21-3 in the next 14 minutes to come out with a last second TD catch (and an AMAZING one at that) by Reggie Wayne to secure a 35-34 win.

The key moment?? Coach Belicheat deciding that his defense wasn't going to be able to stop the Colts and going for it on fourth and two. A good call by the official put the ball short of the first down marker and gave Peyton Manning the ball on the Patriots 29 yard line with two minutes left and down by six. I'll tell you what. Peyton Manning will take that chance EVERY TIME...and 99% of the time he will assassinate you and make you pay. And it happened again tonight.

Did Belicheat not have any confidence in his defense?? Did he think that his offense was so unstoppable that it was a given that they'd get the two yards?? We might not ever know, but the bottom line is the Colts have now won 18 straight regular season games, and come out of week ten with a 9-0 record.

Amazing.

Go Colts!!!

Looking Like Another Mediocre Fantasy Week...

In my first public league I have won 111-92. Neither of us have any players left so the game is done. That will take me to 5-5 in that league which will put me solidly in third place. I'm in good position in that league to make a run at the playoffs.

In my other public league, I actually lost both games. Neither of the games were even really close. That will drop me to 3-7 with one of the teams and probably in 18th place. The other team will drop to 7-3 and will remain in second place. I'm still in good position to make a playoff run with that team, as well.

In my first public league I got absolutely hammered. I lost by nearly 40 points. That drops me to 6-4 in that league and in a tie for fourth place. That league is up in the air. I'm not sure if I'll be able to make a playoff run or not. I still have some time left to put some wins together, though.

In my last public league, I dominated my opponent by 60 points. He still has Ray Rice to play tomorrow, but there is no way that Rice gets 60 points so that game is done. That puts me at 9-1...and best of all, the other guy that had one lost got smashed this week, so I'm now all alone in first place in that league!!!

So, all in all it was another mediocre week. I can't seem to put together two really good weeks in a row at all. I went 2-3 this week.

After this week, I am now 30-20 through 10 weeks of the season. Not too bad, but it could be better.

I also made a SNAFU in my Pick'Em league. I forgot the game on Thursday night started at 8, and I didn't get my pick for that game in on time. There were also quite a few upsets this week, so I was 7-6 today. Luckily most of the guys in the league all had VERY similar picks, so I didn't really lose much as far as points go.

After today, in the Pick'Em league I will have a 10 point lead over the second place guy. I think he can gain two points on me tomorrow, but we both probably have Baltimore picked, so he'll get no closer than 8 points. The third place guy is down by 32. The fourth place guy is down by 87.

Magic...

It's getting near the holidays, and that means that Penguin is starting to have some deals. They are really good deals, too.

For instance, today for one day only they had a deal where if you bought ANY physical item for ANY price, you got a free trick valued at $15, a free book valued at a few bucks, and a free deck of cards valued at $10. So basically, if you bought one $2.00 item you got about $30 worth of stuff for free.

Needless to say I ordered a trick. It was one that I just found by chance this afternoon, and I really liked it. I showed it to Cathy and she said it was really cool. So I bought it. I'll gladly take free stuff if Penguin wants to give it to me!!!

Alpha Coney Island...

I know I've made a post about food already this week, but this one needs to be mentioned as well.

In the Jackson Crossing mall is a little place called Alpha Coney Island. I have lived down here for over two years now and never went in there...even though I like hot dogs and Coney Dogs. I guess I just figured that Cathy didn't like them.

Well, I heard on the radio yesterday that they had moved to a new location in the mall, so I wanted to try it out. Cathy and I went there today, and to my surprise it was much different than I thought.

I had originally figured it would be a fast food place...but it's not, it's a sit down restaurant.

The new location is awesome. It's stylish, the atmosphere is nice, the menu is large, and the overall place seems really cool.

Then there's the food. Cathy had some chicken kabobs and I had two hot dogs and a Supreme Coney Dog. Amazing. We got a ton of food for not a ton of money, and all of it was really, REALLY good.

I can't believe I hadn't tried this place before. It will now be added to our rotation of restaurants that we go to...and it's price and location probably will make it be one that we go to often.

I'm glad they moved...because I might not ever have gone in had they not.

Not Much Going On Lately...

So...you may have noticed that I'm not posting to my blog as much as I used to.

It's not because I've forgotten about it...it's simply because there hasn't been that much going on. The weather has started to change and that means I've been spending much more time inside just doing a whole lot of nothing. No new games have come out recently so I haven't been playing any games.

Really about the only thing I've been doing is studying up on magic. I've found more and more tricks that I like, and my collection has grown to nearly 40 effects already.

So really, other than that there hasn't been much to post about. Add to that the fact that the Red Wings didn't start out the season so well, the Lions are still just the Lions, and nobody cares about the NBA and you've got a recipe for not many posts. College hoops will start REALLY soon, so that might give me something to post about.

In closing, I haven't forgotten you blog...I just haven't had much to say!!

Left 4 Dead 2...

If you've been reading my blog for a good long while, you'll remember that I LOVED the original "Left 4 Dead" by Valve for the Xbox 360.

Well, next Tuesday the sequel to it comes out. I finally took the time to download the demo, and the demo plays just like the first game, with some tweaks that make it just a bit better.

I think this is going to be the game that keeps me on my Xbox over the next several months. It's going to be great.

I haven't been looking forward to any game more than this...and hopefully this one will give me a good solid six months of online play...just like the first one.

I can't wait!!

Another Bad Fantasy Week...

So...every time I have a good fantasy week, like last week's 5-0 record, I follow it up with a bad week.

This week I went 2-3. I lost one game by .4 points.

Luckily, the two wins were in leagues that I'm still hanging out near the top. So I'm still tied for first ine one of them and in the other I'm not .5 games back.

I also lost some of my lead in my Pick'em league. I now lead by about 20 points. Still pretty solid.

Worst of all...I got my last strike in my Survival league...thanks to a horrible game by the Packers. So I'm out of that league now.

Oh well, hopefully next week will be better!!!

What a Breakfast...

So Cathy and I had today off. Her brother, Nick, was going to be in Ann Arbor for the weekend to watch the Michigan Wolverine game, and he wanted us to come to Ann Arbor with Cathy's dad for brunch.

So we took the day off and headed to Ann Arbor to go to this place called Angelo's.

When we first pulled onto the street that the restaurant was located on, we noticed what appeared to be a mob of people just standing down on the corner. It turns out that was the group waiting to get inside.

We made our way to Nick and he already had his name in...the wait was supposed to be an hour. We waited for right about that long and got inside. We were seated at a tiny little booth that seemed like it didn't really even have room for the four of us and plates. We made our orders and waited a little while for the food to come.

Cathy, Nick, and I all had homemade French toast. Cathy's dad had some corned beef hash. The French toast was great. It was the thickest bread I think I've ever seen, and there was literally a ton of it. I had tried to order sausage to go with mine, but they were all out so I had bacon instead. It was really good, too.

Nick ended up treating us all, which was really nice of him. I thought the food was great. It might not really have been worth an hour long wait, but it was gorgeous outside so it didn't really feel like it was that long.

I'd like to try and go back there one day during the week, to see if the wait is as much and to try some of their other things. Their menu had lots of stuff that sounded good on it.

Lazy Days...

So, for whatever reason I've been DEAD tired for the last few days.

I had been thinking about it a bit the last couple of days, and it seems like ever since the time change my internal clock has been all messed up. I've been tired and not had any energy at all. I'm sleeping okay, but I just feel lazy and tired.

Hopefully as the days go on, I'll get a bit more used to it and start feeling a bit better and less tired. But then of course winter will get here, and I won't want to do anything anyways!!!

First Magic Show...

So tonight Cathy and I went up to my parents house for her birthday, my dad's birthday, and our anniversary. Kind of just a general get together.

I knew that my grandparents on my mom's side were going to be there, and I figured my grandma would like some of my magic tricks so I took the entire lot of them...except for my iPod trick, I accidentally left that at home.

When I got there, my mom let me know that my grandparents would be there a little later, and that my other grandfather was going to be there, and my aunt was going to be there.

I didn't really know if I wanted to perform any of my tricks for that many people. I get nervous when I'm the center of attention for more than just one or two people.

Well, when my aunt got there we started all talking about Las Vegas and how my mom wants to go there for Christmas next year. My aunt started talking about the magic show that she watched while she was there last, and how she doesn't believe in magic but the things they were doing at the show really made her wonder, and how to this day she still doesn't know how any of the tricks were done.

I figured that was a good time to get started. My mom asked me if I would start, anyways, so it worked out perfectly.

I started out with a pen through dollar routine. That left my grandpa literally speechless. I then followed it up with a couple of coin tricks. For each coin trick I used a different spectator, and those worked out pretty well. I then did a few more card tricks. I finished the cards up with a transposition that went over really well.
After that I did a dollar bill routine, and that was pretty much my finisher. I ended up doing one more card trick quite a while later. Then, as everyone was getting ready to go home I did a coin vanish and followed up with some work with the D'Lites. My grandpa and aunt really were in awe of the D'Lites. They had literally no idea what was going on.

I thought for a first ever real performance, it worked out pretty well. I need to work on delivery still, and I need to find some way to string the effects together in a logical way. It seemed like a lot of "Hey, look at this!!! Now, look at this!!!" The tricks went off without a hitch, though, so that was nice. I think everyone had a pretty good time.

I'll keep working on the tricks and maybe do some more around Christmas when everyone gets together.

WHOA!!! What a Finish!!!

So, in my first private league I ended up holding onto my lead and winning 121-100. That brings my record in that league to 4-4. That should move me into fourth place in that league, which puts me into prime position for midway through the season.

In my second private league, MY team came back to win by a final score of 68-58. That brings me to 3-5 and breaks a three game losing streak. That should move me into 16th place...but hey, a win is a win!!!

My OTHER team in that league led 50-47 going into the game tonight, and somehow held on for a 57-54 win. That brings me to a 6-2 record with that team and keeps me holding on strong to second place.

In my first public league, I won by over 55 points to climb to 6-2 and stay in a three way tie for first place.

In my second public league, I won by 35 points to climb to 7-1. The big news in that league, however, is that the guy in first place FINALLY lost today, so him and I are now tied for first place in the league.

So, after a down week last week, I ended up going a good strong 5-0 this week. That takes my overall record to 26-14 through 8 weeks. That's not too bad.

I also hold strong at 23 points ahead in the Pick'em league after this weeks games. So that's looking pretty good right now, too.

So, all in all it was a GREAT week for FFL for me!!!

So It's Been a Few Weeks...

...since I last updated about Fantasy Football.

To be quite honest, that's because last week was a really bad week for me as far as the leagues went.

I lost in my first private league to drop to 3-4, and fall into sixth place.

In my second private league, MY team lost it's third in a row to fall to 2-5 and 18th place. My OTHER team won to climb to 5-2 and second place.

In my first public league I lost to fall to 5-2 and I'm in a four way tie for first place.

In my second public league I won to climb to 6-1 and I'm still in second place.

That means that last week I was 2-3...not really a very good week.

So after seven weeks, I am a combined total of:
21-14, not really that great, but not really that bad either.

Also last week in my Pick'em league I pushed my lead to 21 points. I didn't get the most points of the week, but the guy that did missed making picks a few weeks ago so he's so far behind it doesn't really even matter.


This week has been a bit of a different story. So far it's been a pretty good week, overall. Of course there is a game tomorrow, but I don't think it should hurt me TOO much overall.

In my first private league I lead by 41 points. He still has Drew Brees and Michael Turner to play, who can put up a ton of points, but I have Pierre Thomas who can also put up some good numbers. I'm thinking I've got about a 60% chance of winning this one, which would push me to 4-4 in that league.

In my second private league, MY team is getting beat 43-21. However, I still have Drew Brees, Roddy White, and Jason Elam to play. They are projected to get 43 points. He still has New Orleans' defense, which is projected to get 10 points. If the players all get close to their projections, I'll win by a few points and climb to 3-5. My OTHER team is in a good game...I lead by three with Jeremy Shockey left to play. He's got Mike Bell and John Carney to play. If they get their projections, I'll lose...which will drop me to 5-3.

In my first public league I have won 96-40. That will pull me up to 6-2, and I will remain in a tie for first place, but one of the four teams will end up falling out of the tie because two of them are playing each other. So it will probably be a three way tie at 6-2.

In my other public league I lead 110-91. I still have Marques Colston to play and he is done...so that is another win that will push me up to 7-1 and at worst in second place. The guy that is in first is losing, so I could be tied for first after the game tomorrow night.

So, I'm guaranteed two wins. I'm ahead by a large amount in one leauge, which should be my third win this week. I'm within striking distance in another league, which should give me four...and then one I should lose which should make me 4-1 this week. Of course, I COULD lose all three of those games that are still up in the air...but I could win them, too.

Also, in the Pick'em league I have padded my lead even more. I have pushed my lead to 24 points. The guys in second and third place keep flip-flopping back and forth every week, but they haven't seemed to be able to close on me very much. They both have a better win-loss pick record, but they aren't doing as well placing those confidence points.

Looks all around like it's going to be a better week...I guess we'll see after that game tomorrow night!!

Happy Anniversary!!!

So today is our One Year Anniversary. We actually exchanged our anniversary gifts for each other right at the stroke of midnight, which has turned into our thing. Christmas, birthdays, whatever, we do the gifts right at midnight.

Cathy got me a bunch of magic tricks off of my wish list at Penguin. I got two decks of cards, a packet card trick, a magic coloring book, a pen trick, and a sponge ball trick. They were some of the things on my wish list that I really liked, so that was an awesome present. I really like all of the tricks, and not a single one of them is anything less than what I expected.

For Cathy I combined her anniversary gift and birthday gift into one big thing. See, her birthday is November 1, so it comes exactly one day after our anniversary.

When we were in Vegas, she saw these things that she liked at the Swarovski store. They were pendants that looked like little characters. But she didn't get one while we were there because they were a tad bit expensive. That, however, gave me all I need to know for what to get her for this gift. I found one online and ordered it. I've had it for a little while now. She really likes it though. I actually think it's pretty cool looking. It's called Erika, and it looks just like this...

This afternoon we're going out to dinner, probably just to Outback because the couple of nice places around here don't have very good fall menus. After that we'll be coming home and handing out candy for a little while. It's supposed to be pretty cold, but it looks like we'll miss the rain that we were supposed to get.

Here's to our first year together, and looking forward to many more!!!

Anniversary in a Few Days...

So Saturday is Cathy and my one year anniversary.

It's of course on Halloween. We actually have the day off, we took it off a few weeks ago, so we'll be home instead of working. I think we're probably going to go out to dinner and then come home and maybe pass out candy, depending on how bad the weather is. I think it's supposed to rain.

Tomorrow after work we have to stop by my parents. When we got our wedding cake last year the lady that made it also told us that we could get a cake made for our one year anniversary, so my dad went and got the cake the other day

It doesn't seem like it's already been a whole year. I guess time flies when you're having fun!!!

Rest in Peace, Ash...

So today Cathy's hamster died. I am pretty sure he went in his sleep, and that he didn't suffer. He was an OLD man!! He was around before Cathy and I got together, which means he was at least 2 years and 6 months old. Not too shabby for a little guy who's life span usually goes to right around 2 years.

Either way, it's sad that he is gone. Cathy was really upset by it. We are thinking that maybe in a few days we'll go out and try to find a replacement for him.

I buried him in the back yard this afternoon. Rest in Peace, Ash...we'll see you at the bridge.

iPod Touch Update...

So, after a 35 minute drive, 15 minutes in the Apple Store, and a 35 minute drive home I now have a brand new iPod touch.

The guy at the store said that there is no way an App could have caused the problem that I was having and that it must have just been a faulty backlight. So they replaced it for me free of charge and sent me on my way.

I guess an hour and a half isn't a bad amount of time to wait to get my iPod taken care of!!!

Bad Luck Continues...

So tonight I was at the store getting some Pizza Rolls for dinner. When I was leaving they had some of those little quarter vending machines that always have little trinkets in them.

I noticed that one of them had miniature collectible NFL team mugs for 50 cents, so I figured I'd give it a shot seeing as I had just gotten 93 cents back.

So I put my quarters in and as I was getting ready to turn the thing I noticed a Redskins mug was showing straight out of the front of the machine. It was surrounded by various other teams, like the Titans, Colts, Jags, Seahawks...

So I think to myself..."You know, there are 32 NFL teams, the only mug that I really don't want is the Redskins." So I spin the knob and grab my trinket from the spout. Turn it around and...

...what do you know, it's a Redskins mug.

Amazing. There is a 96.875% chance of getting anything other than the Redskins.

So Close...

So the Spartans were 2 seconds, 3 yards, and one down away from coming away with a HUGE win over a Top 10 ranked Iowa team tonight, but couldn't get it done.

Iowa called the right play at the right time and walked into the endzone virtually untouched for a win that they didn't really deserve.

So goes the Spartans season. They now sit at 4-4, with all four losses by a combined total of 14 points. Three of them by a combined total of 6.

Now it's time to just start hoping they can get to six wins and hopefully pull out a bowl win for the first time in a while.

I'm So Sad...

...today my iPod Touch that is only two months old stopped working. It still comes on and plays music and such, but the backlight inside of the screen won't work, so I can't see anything unless I'm holding it directly under a light bulb.

I guess that maybe on Tuesday I'll drive it over to the Apple Store that's in Ann Arbor and see if there is anything that they can do to fix it.

I got an App for it the other night and it was working fine after I got that, but I can't help but wonder if that App had something to do with the demise of the poor thing.

It's really depressing because I use my iPod a lot. I hope they can get it fixed and get it back to me soon...I'm going to miss not having it around for a week or so.

"Paranormal Acitivty"

Went to see it tonight. I wanted to go check it out in Ann Arbor at this creepy old theater called The State Theater. But I ended up just going to see it at the megaplex in East Lansing with a bunch of people from work.

Simply put...most suspenseful movie ever. It's build up for the first 20 minutes or so is a tad slow, but nothing bad. The suspense continues to grow with each passing night of footage, and culminates in a couple of nights that are just straight up terrifying.

Great movie. Worth the price of admission. If you're looking for horror movie scary, like "Halloween" or "Friday the 13th," you might be a bit let down. If you're looking for an awesome story that uses it's cameras, actors, sounds, effects, and suspense to perfection, you will love it.

New Tricks...

Got more new tricks. One of them is AWESOME. It uses an everyday object to absolute perfection...it's visual and stunning, and got some really good reactions from a couple of people.

I also got another card trick, made another dollar bill trick, and worked out a shoelace trick.

I also have a couple more on the way, because Penguin had a deal where if you buy any one trick you get a $35 DVD for free for their "Halloween Bonus." So I got a trick that uses dominoes, which is pretty cool.

My list of tricks is growing really fast...and I love it!!

Rough Week...

In my first private league I lost, which drops me to 3-3, which should put me in 4th place. Out of eight teams. Not doing so well.

In my second private league, MY team lost to put me at 2-4 and in probably about 17th place. My other team lost, also, to drop them to 4-2, which should put me AT WORST in a tie for sixth...

In my first public league, I lost to the guy that is in first place. We were tied, so now I'm all alone in second at 5-1.

In my second public league, I won to climb to 5-1. This was against one of the two guys that I was tied for first place with. The other guy I was tied with also lost, so I am now alone in first place in that league.

So for this week my record is a whopping 1-4!!!

This means that with all my teams I am now:
3-3
2-4
4-2
5-1
5-1

So my overall record is 19-11, or a .633 winning percentage. I'm looking good with three of the teams so far, in good position to make the playoffs so far. But in those other two, I'm not so sure.

Not a Good Fantasy Week...

So right now it looks like I'm going to end up going 2-3 in my leagues this week. I lead in one other one, but only by 7 points and his QB is playing tomorrow, Kyle Orton, so I imagine that he'll gain more than 7 points to put me at a loss.

Luckily, one of the wins is in a league that I'm tied for first in, and it's against one of the other guys that's tied for first. So that drops him into second place, and the other guy tied for first is also getting hammered by his opponent, so the win should put me into first place all by myself in that league.

To make the week even worse, in my pick'em league, I have managed to have a better record than the other guys but my confidence points have put me into third place so far this week. Also, it looks like if everything pans out I'll have no chance of getting any higher this week. I'll still be in first overall, but the two guys that are still in competition with me will be just a bit closer.

Worst of all?? I am also in a pick'em league that you pick one team each week and get strikes when they lose. Well, I picked Philly to beat Oakland and got my first strike this week. The only good thing about that is that EVERYONE in the thing picked Philly...so everyone got a strike. Only one more strike and I'm out!!!

Even With All The Help...

...Weis and the Irish couldn't get it done tonight against USC.

The loss drops Weis to 30-23 as head coach of the Notre Dame football team. When is it going to become obvious to everyone else in the country that:
A. Weis isn't the guy for the job
B. Notre Dame isn't a good football team
C. NBC's announcers are as big of "homers" as you can get

Weis is now o-fer in big games, and still doesn't have a single quality win to his name. They are currently 4-2...but if it weren't for a horrible decision by Michigan State's QB, they would be 3-3. If it weren't for an amazing last minute drive against Washington, they would be 2-4. And if it weren't for an EVEN MORE amazing last minute drive against Purdue, they would be 1-5.

Let's just put it this way...they have one win that wasn't a last second comeback, and that was against Nevada. Not really cream of the crop competition.

Now, on to the game tonight...on the final drive of the game, there were two absolutely horrible calls. The roughing the passer call that put Notre Dame inside the ten was ridiculous. If the linebacker hits the QB 1/8th of a second after he releases the pass, and doesn't even hit him hard, it's not a penalty. But worse than that by far was the "the pass was incomplete with one second left" call.

How many times in any game, let alone that game, do you watch as a second or so runs off the clock after an incomplete pass?? It's part of the game. It takes a fraction of a second for the clock operator to react to the refs whistles...so in just about any game out there, there are SEVERAL examples of a clock ticking for a brief moment...now why does it happen to get reviewed on ONLY the final play of the game?? If we're going to review and add time, shouldn't we be doing it on EVERY incomplete pass just in case a split second manages to run off?? Basically what I'm saying is that if you're going to do something, be consistent with it. Either check the clock after every incomplete pass, or deal with the fact that there's a bit of human error in the game and reaction times aren't perfect. The play shouldn't have been reviewed, game should have been over.

As it is, it was inconsequencial anyways, as the "free" play was even more off the mark that the previous pass.

So basically here we are...different season, same results.

It's On it's Way...

Yup.

Winter is on it's way. It's been getting colder and colder outside, and I read today on a message forum that Massachusetts saw it's first snow this evening.

It's only a matter of time before snow rears it's ugly head here in Michigan...and I can think of NUMEROUS other things that I would rather have. I wish winter was just rain...maybe some days that get cold, but snow and freezing ridiculous temperatures are a bit of a downer. Especially when there isn't much outside that you like to do when it's like that outside.

Last year I tried to do some snowshoeing...but it wasn't really the greatest. I can think of other things I'd rather be doing, like sitting inside where it's not frigid.

I guess I have one thing going for me this winter, and that's the fact that I have discovered all these new magic items, so I can at the very least have something to keep me occupied while the snow and the temperature fall.

Here's to spring!!! It can't get here soon enough. Maybe I'll use my bonus at work later this winter (like in February or March or something) to go somewhere that the winter isn't...

New Shift...

So, it's pretty nice to be back to the OLD shift again. Getting up later in the morning is excellent, and staying up later at night is ideal for me.

I'm the kind of person that likes to stay up really late so the extra few hours in the morning really make a difference in how late I can stay up at night.

It's also nice to not have to work with some of the people on the morning shift anymore. I found more and more that they just irritated me to no end.

So far everything is nice. I am, however, already missing the extra day off. On the old schedule we would have tomorrow off because we've worked two in a row...but on the new one we only have the two days off each week. Oh well, I think the extra day off is a small price to pay for having a much more ideal work schedule.

Strange Travelers is a HIT...

So this trick that I got is an absolutely amazing effect.

It was very easy to learn and I got it down really quickly. I have taken it to work twice now and let about 6 or 7 people witness the trick...and it's gotten the best reactions of any of the tricks that I've done so far.

People are literally baffled by it. I've gotten the best reactions out of two people, Dan and Lisa. Lisa was literally falling out of her chair, and Dan several times asked if I had some kind of evil inside of me.

I follow the Strange Travelers up with a finish from another trick that works out really well, and just makes the effect leave people speechless.

This trick so far is my absolute favorite. I'm getting better and better each time I do it, as well, which just keeps making it even more astounding.

Fantasy Week Five...

So today saw the majority of the NFL games, obviously.

My five teams all had the majority of their players play today, and the majority of my opponents had players going today. The Jets-Dolphins game tomorrow didn't seem to have a ton of players for either myself or my opponents this week.

So, as of right now, here's what's going on for me this week:

In the Private League that I am running two teams in, my "other" team has won it's matchup by a score of 83-71. This was a big win for me because I was slated to get beat 71-62. So behind Larry Fitzgerald, Cedric Benson, and the Vikings defense I put up another win in that league. The win brings that team to 4-1 and in what will effectively be a tie for second place. It looks like the leader in that league is going to pull out another win and go to 5-0...but if something odd happens then I COULD be tied for first.

In that same private league, MY team currently leads 70-63. However, each of us has one player left to play tomorrow, with me having the receiver from the Jets, Jericho Cothery, and my opponent having Miami's running back Ronnie Brown. Cothery is slated to get 3 points and Brown 12...so that one could end up being a loss. I took a chance with that team this week and picked up Jacksonville's defense...which netted me -3 points as the Jags got blown out by the Seahawks 41-0. So had I left my OLD defense in there (which ironically WAS Seattle) I would probalby be up by a pretty solid margin. So right now that team is 2-2 and the win or loss is still up in the air.

In my other private league, my opponent has the Jets tight end Dustin Keller playing tomorrow, and I don't have anyone left. Now, I don't want to count my chickens before they are hatched, but Keller's going to need 45 points to tie me...because I currently lead 104-59. So I'm going to go ahead and count that one as a win right now, and I'll be climbing to 3-2 in that league. That will put me in a three way tie for second place in the league, with the first place team being 5-0.

In one of my Yahoo Public leagues, I am done playing for the week. My opponent has two players going at it tomorrow, one being that Jets tight end Dustin Keller, and the other being Jets newcomer this week Braylon Edwards. Those two are slated to get about 11 points. I currently lead by 30.3 points. Now, stranger things have happened, but I'm liking my chances in that game pretty well. With a win I will climb to 5-0 and effectively stay in a tie for first...but I believe I'll be in second because I'll have less points. The other undefeated team in that league and I keep flip-flopping back and forth for who is actually in first. It probably won't be settled until we actually play each other.

In my other Yahoo Public league, the games are all done. I have won 92-84. I didn't come anywhere near my projected points for the week, but hey, a win is a win, right??? So with that win I will climb to 4-1 in the league which will be good for a three way tie for first place!!!

So, all in all this week has been pretty successful, even if I manage to lose that one game in the private league. It looks like, barring anything insane, I'll go 4-1 this week and bring my overall records to the following:
4-1
2-3
3-2
5-0
4-1

That's good for a total record on the season through five weeks of the season of 18-7, or a .720 win percentage. Not very bad. If I could get a bit more consistent play out of my players in the league that I'm not doing the greatest in (the 2-3 team) I would be sitting pretty solid for the rest of the season.

I also took over first place in my NFL Pick'em league today. On the heels of a pretty good day picking, I took over first place...but not only took it over, I smashed the guy that was in first. I lead by 20 points now with a chance to add 8 tomorrow, and he can only get 1 tomorrow. So no matter what I'll end up leading by at least 19 points.

All in all, it was a really good day for me when it comes to fantasy football!!!

Another New Trick...

So today I got another new magic trick. It's called "The Haunted Deck."

It's a trick where a spectator picks a card...of course. Then the card gets put back into the deck and with nobody touching the deck, the spectator's card silently slides out of the deck and onto my hand. It works perfectly, is a really great effect, and the best part???

...it's the first trick that I have made myself. I got the instructions from Penguin and then put the deck together myself. So it's the first trick that I have that I have made from scratch. I'm pretty happy that it turned out so well. It's about as good as it could be, in my opinion.

Once again, I'll TRY to get some video up of it sometime soon...

Fantasy Stat Correction...

So in the league that I'm running two teams in, there was a stat correction in the last couple of days.

Instead of ending up with a tie, I ended up with a win!!!

So, that makes me 4-1 on the week instead of 3-1-1...which is really good, considering I thought I was going to be 1-4 going into the last game of the week!!!

Strange Travelers...

So my new tricks came in the mail yesterday. I got a coin trick, two card tricks, and an ESP trick. The coin trick is really cool, and one of the card tricks is pretty good. It's a great trick for saving another trick that doesn't go over well. The ESP trick isn't that great, but it was only a couple of bucks so I guess it's alright.

The "other" card trick, however, is absolutely stunning. It's a great trick that is so easy to perform. I got it down pat after reading the instructions and testing it out one time.

It's a visual change with a card that is completely flawless when done correctly. I really like it a lot, and I'm sure it will be a good one for performing at work. The trick is called Strange Travelers, and it's rumored that it was the trick that David Blaine performed in order to seal the deal on his first TV special.

So I got 3 really solid tricks, to go along with the tricks that I already have. I've now gotten my trick count up to about 12 or so, and they are all really good ones, in my opinion. I continue to practice the ones that I already have, and have gotten really good with a couple of them. They entertain people at work, and I have fun doing them. I'm looking forward to my next batch of them that I order...

What a Crappy Week...

So it seems like it's been raining pretty much this whole week. I haven't been able to get outside to mow the lawn as I had been planning, and it doesn't seem like it's ever going to stop.

The other night the rain was coming down pretty hard, but the wind was INSANE. I'm guessing we were having gusts up to about 40 MPH. It was so bad that it actually kept me awake for several hours while I was trying to go to sleep.

The worst part?? It's still not taking any of the leaves off of the big trees in the yard. Last year the leaves didn't come down until after it started snowing, which means I never got a chance to try and rake or mow them. Hopefully this year that won't happen.

One More Ten Hour Day...

So Saturday will be the last ten hour day that Cathy and I have to work.

We'll go back on Sunday, but we don't have to be there until 11:30 in the morning. I'm glad. The tens have been getting really annoying lately, and I"m looking forward to being able to stay up a little bit later again.

It's also going to be nice for the winter, because we won't have to worry about leaving extra early in the morning if there is snow on the ground. We'll still have to leave early, but at least it won't be at like 7:45 in the morning!!!

Fantasy Football, Week 4...

So, I started this week with a couple of key games. First off, in one of my private leagues I was in second place and had a huge showdown with the guy in first place.

In that league, this week, I ended up scoring 97 points...which would have beaten any team in the league...except for the guy that I was playing. Bolstered by 24 points from Philip Rivers, 25 by Steve Smith of the Giants, and an INSANE 43 points from the 49ers defense, he ended up scoring a whopping 135 points. So, needless to say, he pulled himself even further ahead of my team. I fall to 2-2 in that league, which should be good for third place right now.

In one of my public leagues, I sat in a 3rd place tie with a record of 2-1 to start the week. After a strong win, I climb to 3-1, which puts me effectively in a tie for 2nd place. The two teams that were in first at 3-0 played each other, so obviously one of them had to lose which effectively forced what is now a 4 way tie for second place in that league.

In my other private league, the one that I'm managing two teams, I ended up tying with MY team, which should drop me to about 15th place. I needed Drew Brees to just throw ONE TD, or Chester Taylor to get TWO more rushing yards tonight in order for me to get a win...but it just didn't happen. With the other team I'm managing, I came away with a four point victory for a 3-1 record. That puts that team at a BIG tie for second place. Ironically enough, the only loss that the OTHER team has is one to MY team in week one. How awesome is that??

Last, but not least, is the Yahoo Public league that I was tied for first place in at 3-0. I went into the game today (Minnesota vs Green Bay) down by approximately 36.5 points. Yahoo Public leagues switched to fractional scoring a few weeks ago, hence the .5 points. I thought I was toast, but I had Minnesota's defense and Aaron Rodgers. I figured if one of those "players" got a lot of points, it would be impossible for the other to get a lot of points. Well, after the game was all done, Rodgers had managed to get me 21.96 points, and the Vikings D had come up with 15 points...giving me a win by the score of 106.96 to 106.40. Yes, I ended up winning by .56 points. Amazing. So I'm still tied for first in that league at 4-0, but I believe that I am now technically in "first overall" because I have more points scored now than the other guy at 4-0.

All in all, it wasn't a bad week. I went into the Monday Night game losing in EVERY game except for one...but after the end of the Monday Night game I was 3-1-1 for the week. Not bad, considering I was pretty sure I was going to end up 1-4 on the week.

I need Drew Brees to get back on track if I want to do ANYTHING in my one private league. His first two games were amazing, but since then he's been just average...

Ordered Some New Tricks...and Tried Out Some Old Ones at Work...

So today I ordered a few more magic tricks. I ordered two new card tricks, another coin trick, and a mind reading trick. All of them came to a total of less than $50, and the two card tricks will be great. I also really like the coin trick, and it should be pretty easy to master.

With that said, I unveiled a couple of tricks at work today that I hadn't done. I used The Bat and The Raven on a couple of different people, and they got really good reactions. The Bat had everyone completely baffled...so much so that one guy, Mike, said "I know how it works." Then Becky said "How????" To which Mike replied, "I'm pretty sure it's magic." That got a laugh out of everyone.

I also used The Raven to COMPLETELY baffle a couple of people. Both of them that I showed that to were absolutely caught off guard and had NO idea what had just happened.

Hopefully the new tricks will be here in just a few days...I'm having too much fun with this stuff!!!

Victory for MSU!!!

So despite TRYING their best to give the game away, the Spartans came out of the day with their first back to back wins over the Michigan Wolverines in 42 years.

The Spartans led 20-6 with 14:30 left in the game, when Michigan went a bit crazy on offense. A 60 yard touchdown pass by Michigan freshman QB Tate Forcier cut the lead to 20-13 with less than 5 minutes to go. Michigan State then had a sputtering offensive and gave Michigan the ball back with about 4 minutes to go.

Forcier led Michigan down and threw a TD on 3rd down with 2 seconds left to tie the game. This final drive was aided by a few Spartan penalties, including one roughing the passer flat that was questionable...at best.

So we go to overtime and the Spartans win the toss. They elect to play defense, like any normal team would. Michigan got a first down in the OT, then on 3rd down and five well within field goal range, Forcier threw a pass that was tipped and ended up in the hands of Chris Rucker. Michigan State had picked off Forcier in the endzone in OT.

The Spartans went on offense, and on a 3rd down and 9 from the 24 yard line, freshman Larry Caper broke a tackle and scampered into the endzone, sealing the Spartans victory.

This victory made a few things clear with this football season.

First off, the Spartans still need some help learning how to seal a victory. They led by 14 points with less than 5 minutes to play, and somehow still managed to go to overtime. If the Spartans could figure out how to close games out, they very likely would be 4-1 right now instead of 2-3. The last second loss to Central Michigan came because of an offsides play. The Spartans were offsides on a missed field goal, giving CMU another shot at the kick from 5 yards closer which they connected on for the win. The last minute drive that the Spartans were putting together against Notre Dame was going perfectly...before an ill timed interception thrown on a first down play while they were clearly in field goal range. Those two single plays are the difference between 4-1 and 2-3 right now. Had the Spartans learned how to close games out, then todays game probably would've never gone to overtime.

Secondly, the Spartans secondary isn't quite as horrible as everyone thinks. They played well against a Michigan offense that is supposed to be pretty high powered. Couple that with the fact that they held the Wolverines to 28 yards rushing today, and you get that maybe they played poorly in two games where they were on the field way too much, against Notre Dame and Wisconsin.

Thirdly, the Spartans NEED to choose a QB. They don't seem to be playing the switch very well. That, and it doesn't make sense to switch the quarterback out when the team is driving and seems to be getting into a bit of a rythm.

Now, on the other side of the ball, some things that we might have learned about the Wolverines...

First off, they aren't "back" like everyone wants to think. They are still a very poor football team, who has close victories over several other "poor" football teams. The Wolverines have a 38-34 comeback win over Notre Dame, a team that by any real standards is far from good. They also have a 36-33 win over Indiana, a team that was 1-7 in Big 10 play last season...and keep in mind, this win was preserved by a seriously blown call by the officials where the Hoosiers receiver and the Wolverine defender both caught the ball at the same time, yet instead of it being ruled a complete pass (which is the way the rule is supposed to go) it was deemed an interception, and Michigan held on for the win. This Michigan football team is 4-1 with zero quality wins, and two wins that easily could be losses, which would put them at 2-3 with wins over lower tier teams Eastern Michigan and Western Michigan.

Second, despite the Big 10s best efforts to help them out with officiating, the team still needs more help. In consecutive games now (against Indiana and today against Michigan State) I have watched the Wolverines benefit from no less than 5 ABSOLUTELY HORRIBLE calls. I know the Big 10 desperately wants to be considered one of the better conferences out there again, but by trying to help a bad Wolverine team out, they aren't going to prove anything.

Third, Michigan didn't look very good outside of The Big House. They have played their first four games of the season at home, and in their first road trip of the season they looked seriously flustered at times. It'll be interesting to see how they handle road situations agains teams that are actually good.

Well, that's enough for now...it's time to just be happy for the Spartans victory!!!