Catching Up

Yeah, it's been a while.  Sometimes life gets in the way of blogging.  But I still have thoughts.  Oh yes I do...

 

* Will someone please explain to me what the hell the big deal is with this conversion to digital TV?  Who actually still has an analog-signal rabbit ears TV?  Those are the only people impacted, and I don't know any of them.  Actually I did see one such TV in a doctors office waiting room the other day.  Should've just told the doctor to drop $15.99/mo. on cable and be done with his problem. 

 

Every time I turn around, there's a proposal to delay the February date.  There are *government coupons* (!) to help people get whatever upgrade kit they need to get.  And the government has apparently been unable to keep the stock of said coupons up where it needs to be. 

 

I'm completely sick of reading about this.

 

* I'm also sick and tired of reading the weekly article (it comes out on Sunday's and you can't miss it) on what gas prices have done in the past week.  I'll say this much for gas prices - you cannot drive by a gas station without seeing exactly what gas prices are doing.  If it's $1.89 in the morning and $1.93 on the way home, odds are pretty fucking good that gas prices went up that day.  Yet every media outlet passes along the weekly summary of gas prices on Sunday (and into Monday) as if it's BREAKING NEWS. 

 

This is marginally even news back when gas was $4+ in the summer.  At prices <$2, this is trivia at best. 

 

* I need a new pair of running shorts.  First question: why is it called a pair?  It's just one "short" which - conveniently and appropriately - has two holes for my legs.  Here's the real problem.  All I want is a pair of running shorts.  Yet I cannot find them.  Not at Dick's, not at Target, not at Kohl's, not anywhere.  What I can find are these:

- Things that sure look like running shorts, but have built-in underwear.  I don't want these...I want shorts, not an ensemble

- Things that look like you'd be playing a pickup game in Rucker Park.  I don't need shorts that cover my knees, and generate a small breeze every time I take a stride.

- Things that are 100% cotton.  I wouldn't wear these to bed.  Surely not to run in, so I can get them soaked in sweat and add 5 lbs. to the excess weight I'm already carrying. 

- Things that look like bikini bottoms.  These may work for some, but they sure as hell don't work for me. 

 

Just a simple pair of running shorts, please.  This should not be hard.

 

* I'll be a bit vague here.  Some readers may get this.  Some may not.  People who bitch about something, but don't expend one ounce of effort to fix it are worthless to me.  Interestingly, these same people tend to be know-it-alls, and often are unnecesarily abrasive to others.  Moreover, I've had experiences with these people where you go to them looking for reasoned discussion in private, only to have them turn around and dump the dirty laundry in public.  I've got no use for them.

 

Yet, incredibly, people are drawn to these idiots like flies to shit.  Does this mean that I sometimes associate with a group of flies?

 

* The great Joe Posnanski has a fantastic post (as usual) on his blog about the Rock 'n Roll Hall of Fame, and how the original concept has run its course.  I can't do it justice, go read it. 

 

* Finally I've been playing a lot less online poker lately.  Mostly because I've been busy and/or traveling and/or sick.  The former and the latter still apply, though to a slightly lesser degree.  Anyway, this has been about a three-month long cooler, where I'm typically getting it in good, or getting it in on a coin flip, and getting out raced or out-sucked.  I'm not playing great - there are a handful of things I'm doing that I wasn't doing when I played well back late summer/early fall.  And thanks to one solid night of AIPS and a $5 NLHE donkfest, the bankroll hasn't suffered much.  But I'm just not nearly as interested as I've been in a while.  Perhaps Season IV of AIPS will change this.  Maybe I'm just sick of the grind.  Maybe I just need a break.  Maybe I like sleeping more than I remembered.  Or maybe I'd rather lose bogus points to idiots on Mario Kart Wii than lose real money to idiots on Full Tilt.