Oo! Oo! Wal-Mart is Out!!

Well I'll be darned. Looks like someone realizes that Netflix has a great thing going:

Under the agreement, Wal-Mart will offer its online customers the opportunity to sign up with Netflix at their current monthly subscription price of $12.97 for a year, and Netflix will promote Wal-Mart DVD sales to its 3 million subscribers.

Blockbuster is still in it; Amazon is still a darkhorse, but this can only be good for Netflix.

Cruise/Holmes = Huh?

Many props to the Manolo for this series of pictures, which somehow captures my feeling about the whole thing.

Kind of happy for them, I guess, but in some respects it just seems creepy. The main difference between this relationship and that of Ms. Moore and Mr. Kutcher is that Mr. Kutcher did not profess a desire to be married to Ms. Moore before he met her.

I want to believe that this is on the up and up, but somehow I just can't. That being said, they are a phenomenally attractive couple.

English Premier League Map - Circa ??

Source: Educational Services

My older brother sent this out to the fam today and I just had to share. They used to have this great satellite zoom before each of the EPL games on Fox Sports World (now Fox Soccer Channel), which I liked because it would show you specifically where the matches were taking place, even down to what the stadium looked like from the air. It was way cool.

Teams on this list that are currently not in the EPL: Sunderland (they were up two seasons ago!); Bradford City; Leeds United (they were up last season!); Derby County; Leicester City (they were up last season!); Coventry City (butt of a Monty Python joke!); Ipswich Town; West Ham United (they were up two seasons ago!); and, as of this past Sunday, Southampton.

It's Funny because it's True...

Spencer the Katt from eWeek

Saw this cartoon mentioned on Scobleizer and just had to share because a large part of my job involves tracking blogs and trying to get my company covered on them.

The cynicism is well-earned.

Bay to Breakers 2005

IMG_4501,
originally uploaded by davelu37.

Just a sample of the wackiness that went on yesterday at the Bay to Breakers in San Francisco. We actually saw this guy leaving the hotel, he was staying on our floor!

SigO and I walked the 7+ miles due to our gimpiness, but it was very entertaining. Many travelling alcohol dispensaries, sexual organs real and simulated, and a swarm of salmon running upstream to spawn. That one was my favorite.

Check out Flickr for more pics!

"Time keeps on tickin tickin tickin...

...into the future..."

Ah, that was one of my favorite songs growing up. Has some great electronic special effects in it, especially if you're six years old.

As things pick up at work and as I get ready to go on a jaunt back home to see my family, I've found it hard to get around to posting to this site. Add in the fact that the home Internet connection is wonky (grumble grumble Comcast sux grumble grumble), and you've got a recipe for "eh".

So I'm going to copy Jeremy Zawodny (without quite as much seriousness in the content) and put in a list of things rather than separate posts.

1. FEPL Update: We're nearing the end of the season, and it looks like my older brother has run away with the title, much in the spirit of Chelsea. Which actually had a lot to do with it since he consistently made Frank Lampard the captain of his fantasy team, and Lampard had a dream season. At least I'm not coming in last...but that's really an itty bitty consolation. Note to self: whenever SigO picks someone for his team, and particularly if he makes that player his captain, drop him like a hot rock. He's either about to get hurt or not play that week.
   
2. ManU & Glazer: Can't believe that this guy is getting his foot in the door, especially with a bid that includes so much debt. I'm with Sir Alex. It's also worrisome given that the team's quality seems to have fallen off this season. SigO and I have debated their seeming inability to finish and the lack of consistency (except for Rio Ferdinand) on the back line. If Mr. Glazer were intending to revitalize the team the way that Abramovich has Chelsea, it might be a different thing. At the moment, I'll have to use a Lucasism: "I've got a bad feeling about this."
3. Disney + Muppets: In the same vein, I have to agree with this article about the takeover of the Muppets by Disney and what it could possibly mean for the future of the characters. I grew up with the Muppet movies and The Muppet Show because it happened in the era between The Rescuers and The Little Mermaid when Disney animation just wasn't all that great (The Black Cauldron, anyone? And I loved the Lloyd Alexander series). I'm going to be watching "The Muppets' Wizard of Oz", don't get me wrong, I'm just not expecting to like it very much.
   
4. Fanzone: Fox Soccer Channel sometimes shows the Sky Sports coverage of EPL games called Fanzone, which involves a fan for each team on the pitch and a mediator, covering the game. There's no play-by-play, it's all color. There's plenty of screaming and smack-talking involved, and it's absolutely hilarious. Particularly the reaction to Rooney's spectacular goal against Newcastle United, where the ManU fan just ended up screaming for about 15 seconds.
   
5. Aussie Rules: One of my summertime treats is Australian Rules Football on Fox Soccer Channel. I just caught it randomly one night when FSC was still called Fox Sports World, and I got hooked. Mostly because I had to figure out what the heck was going on, but it's great! These guys make American football players look like pansies because Americans wear pads. Some similarities to rugby, but it's really a wide open game. The commentators are great, too. My favorite quotes from last week: "He chose the third of two options." and "He's got delusions of adequacy." Then there's also just the general screaming and carrying on that they do when they're excited.
   
6. Getting Things Done: I had been reading about this book in several blogs so I decided to check it out. It does have some interesting ideas, but my psychological makeup may be such that I don't get as much benefit from it as some others might. I'm always thinking of tiny detail things that need to be done just when I have no way to capture them, such as when I'm in the shower or driving. I also don't seem to find some of the open loops floating around in my brain to be important enough to merit writing down... which of course is a good way to undermine the entire system. I also found that I have a lot of the recommended habits already (do it if it's under 2 min, write things down, etc.). One good thing that did come out of it is that I picked up a wireless keyboard for my Tungsten E that is fantastic. It's also given me a bit more confidence that I'm getting things under control, and led me to try some interesting new online services such as Ta-Da lists, Backpack and AirSet. I'm a part-time marketing consultant using my client's PC as my base computer, and having the online sync capacities means that I don't have to clutter my Palm with the crap I don't want on there. Still working out the kinks in the system, but it has so far inspired me to take a more active role in running my rec league soccer team.
7. CWRISP!: This is an ongoing lament that SigO and I have with respect to the Oakland A's. Their record is terrible at the moment, and it's very discouraging to watch them. Mostly it has to do with how horribly they've been doing with Runners In Scoring Position, hence the acronym "Crappy With Runners In Scoring Position". I've taken to shouting that whenever they've got someone on 2nd or 3rd because generally that person is never moving any closer to home base. It does however mean that they are willing to try new things, which has resulted in such novel developments as a lead-off bunt single. But it's still not enough. Also Gold Glover winner Eric Chavez is having a slower start than he usually does -- personally I blame EA Sports MLB 2005. At least local boy Eric Byrnes is as nutty as ever.

I've got many more, but I've already been working on this for too long. SigO will be wondering where I am... hasta.

Google Logo: National Teacher's Day

Couldn't let this one slide by as my older brother is one of the few, the proud, the high school calculus teachers.



Give a teacher you know an attaboy! Or girl!

Review: Suspense and Sensibility

Whipped through this one in a little over a day, much as I knew that I would. Suspense and Sensibility is the second book in the Mr. and Mrs. Darcy mystery series by Carrie Bebris, and it picks up a few weeks after the first book, Pride and Prescience (see previous review) leaves off.

This time we are introduced to the characters from Sense and Sensibility some 15 years after we meet them in the original novel. Again there is the supernatural element that of course Darcy scoffs at, obviously making him the Scully to Elizabeth Bennet Darcy's Mulder in this relationship.

As I was describing this book to a friend of mine, she raised a very good question -- how is it that someone can take these characters and create a completely different story? I can only imagine that it has something to do with public domain as I could not find any acknowledgement of copyright or reference to permission from the Austen estate.

In any case, it is a mildly diverting addition to the Austenite pantheon; once again, perfect for a long flight. Some elements are not that well disguised, particularly for anyone who has read The Picture of Dorian Gray, but it is still very creative in its use of the characters.