Tomorrow We Close
The closing is set for late tomorrow afternoon and the people who currently own the house still have not called me back on the washer issue. I suspect they didn't like my request for $300 to cover a replacement.
I also suspect that their lawyer is telling them to not talk to me until the closing. I'm sure they'll try to strong-arm me into accepting a pittance for the washer, knowing I won't walk away from the deal at the last minute.
I think I'll take them to small claims court if they do this.
Anyway, after the long, long struggle finding a home and going through all the paperwork and hoops to but it, ...I'm not as excited as I should be.
I'm glad. That's the best way to sum it up.
I'm glad that I won't have to share space with another family anymore. I'm glad I won't have to go outside to go into the basement. I'm glad I don't have to worry about ruining the landlord's property. I'm glad I'll have room for all my things. I'm glad I won't have to walk up three flights of stairs just to enter the house. I'm glad I won't have to park on the street, sometimes far away from my house. I'm glad I'll be leaving the busy Astor street area where morons make loud noise all night every weekend. I'm glad I'll be further from a high crime area.
But excited, I am not.
I've got too much to worry about. There are many repairs needed at the new house. Lot's of prioritizing. And the wife is starting to turn the screws on how everything's gonna be at the new place.
For example, she says no TV during dinner. There's no real polite way to say "Fuck that!", so I just said "we'll see".
She wants a new mattress that has the softness properties of hardwood. I say, "Uhh, no." But she doesn't give up.
She wants me to "finish" the new basement right away. This means removing the old ceiling, putting up studs and frames, drywalling, putting in the new ceiling and lighting, putting in carpeting, etc. See, when I told her it would be "easy" to do, I meant that the individual tasks are mostly within my ability. She misinterpreted that to mean, "I'll have it done by X-mas".
She says "No" to a new widescreen, flat panel LCD HDtv. "No" to a new Alienware Area-51 Extreme PC.
Pretty soon I'm going to have to pull out the Aligator claw (reference to Ross Perot's 30 minute campaign spots where he used an aligator claw on a stick to point to diagrams and grafs) and lay down the law. I've sacrificed a lot since her and I met.
I've spent a lot of money moving her here, visiting her, calling her, buying things for her and the baby, buying the wedding rings, ...I've converted my entire diet to generic foods. My hair gunk, ...Mennnen brand instead of Bumble. My shaving cream, generic.
No soda, no beer, no going out, no special treats for me. This means no McDonald's, no candy from the vending machine, no chips, no new clothes, no new CDs.
No
Simpson's Season 4 DVD, no
Looney Toons Golden Collection, no
Star Wars.
No
United Offensive, no
9800 pro, no fun at all for me.
This is going to have to end soon.
She doesn't understand, but sometimes a man's gotta run down pedestrians with a stolen car, fire an UZI out of a moving car, shoot a rocket launcher at a police helicopter, and open up a machine gun on a crowded street. Sometimes a guy just needs a vacation in
San Andreas.
Chicken
You've probably noticed that this space has had a quiet week on the Shermbutt front. No colobus monkey screeching about rolling Sherbutt out of town on a carpet of tacks, then dipping him in paint thinner, and finally scraping him against a giant piece of sandpaper until he ignites, ...nope, none of that.
Have I gone soft on him? Have I been humiliated into silence? Let's see:
The Packers have won 2 in a row and have looked like a COMPLETELY different team. Sherbutt is calling the plays and everything seems to be clicking offensively. They have been more aggressive and played to win instead of playing not to lose. That's a BIG difference.
Still, some pundits say that playcalling doesn't matter.
That's bad CW. It makes me wonder if these people are watching the games at all. The playcalling has been superb, and it's to Shermbutt's credit.
So, yes, Sherbutt is doing something good, ...but only because he was forced to. A good coach would have realized what myself, 90% of Packer fans, and Brett Favre have known for a few years, ROSSLEY SUCKS.
If it wasn't for an act of God (with an assist from McD's, Taco Bell, and Dunkin Donut), Rossley would still be calling the plays, the offense would still be stymied, and Shermbutt would still be standing behind Rossley 100%.
That's a sign of a bad coach.
He may do some good things, but a coach/GM's decision-making is most important because only the coach/GM can make certain decisions. His decision-making has not gotten any better.
Here are the reasons why they are winning:
1. They played two teams with ZERO running game and a very suspect passing game.
2. Shermbutt is calling the plays.
3. The team was embarrassed on Monday night and that slap in the face really woke them up, ...but it's probably too little too late.
Some are saying that the last two games are a good reason Shermbutt shouldn't be fired. I disagree.
I'm not prepared to trade 2 wins for a franchise. I'm not prepared to take an 8-8 season to make me feel better in the short term while letting the franchise slip away into mediocracy. I'm not prepared to look at these last two games and forget the last two years.
A better coach would have had us in the Super Bowl last year.
The Super Bowl.
Instead, we got a long ride home from Philly and a black, burning hole in our tongues that we can still feel.
We still got two punters, 4 QBs, and no pass rush or shut-down corners. We've got a weak and decimated secondary because Sherman took punters and undersized corners instead of stocking up on better players, ...for example, Chris Gamble who was taken 3 spots after Carrol.
Let's see, how's Gamble doing ...he's legitimately starting at RCB, 1 int, 3 Pdef, and 16 tackles. Not blazingly awesome, but good.
My point is, it's nice to win, but this season is indeed lost. Shermbutt is to blame for that. This team is also not stocked with young talent. That's also his fault. He's not the man to lead this team to another Super Bowl, or to re-build this team in the post-Favre years.
A couple of nice wins may make you forget temporarily about the FOUR GAMES IN A ROW THAT THEY LOST, ...but it won't make you feel any better when January 9th rolls around and the Packers are watching the playoffs at home on TV like a Viking.
Maybe then we can all return to the "FIRE SHERMAN" discussion that I'm begging for now.
Uhaul Update
Got a response from Uhaul customer service.
I was going to post the email they sent, but they say the email is confidential, so I won't. They can't do anything to me if I do post it, but I'll play nice.
They apologized and said that there is a form on the website for complaints, but I must have missed that.
They've contacted the regional office in my city with the complaint, and the regional office will be following up with me and the business itself.
Good.
I'll let you what else transpires.
Fraud Update
Good news.
The theif only used my wife's credit card numbers for that one incident. She's cancelled her card, the hotel is refunding the money, and everything is apparantly ok.
We were lucky. We got off easy. Lesson learned.
She's more and more convinced that the numbers were stolen when she reserved a room for her father at two local area hotels. She then cancelled one reservation for the other. We'll be contacting those businesses soon, and I'll probably name them.
We're also filing police reports, but that's gonna take some time as they want US to do all the investigative work for them.
Who Enjoys a Good, Old-Fashioned, American Bitch-Slap?
I do! I do!
Check it out here, ...the fun starts about 4 paragraphs down. Too many good and funny quips to mention them all, but here's a sampler:
He (Kerry) knows that if he lets his guard down and if terrorists strike or succeed anywhere, he runs the risk of discrediting the Democrats as a party of national security for a generation
Is it instructive to note which side Sen. Kerry instinctively inhabited in the 80s? Apparently not. Because now he knows that if terrorists strike, he runs the risk of discrediting his party. Got that? Runs the risk. Of discrediting his party. Of all that the theats he might face, apparently that's the one that seals the deal. Look: The guy voted against the first Gulf War. What else do you need to know? UN thumbs up, global test, allies coming out the wazoo, and he voted no. Because that’s who he is. There are lots of Democrats with hard-core pro-defense no-nonsense smite-the-fascist records. He ain't one of them.
Oh, What a Shitty Day.5
In chronological order:
1. Yesterday, I get a call from the people who currently own the house I am buying. My cell phone dies in mid-conversation. I am on the road and I know they are calling because there is some sort of problem. My charger is at home, so I need to make the 30 minute trek home to get the charger. Annoying, but it’s my fault for being too lazy and sleepy to charge it the night before because I had been busting my ass all weekend moving, packing, and cleaning – almost entirely by myself.
2. The people call back and tell me that the washer (which is listed as one of the inclusions in the home purchase) no longer works. In fact, it spilled water everywhere. They’d like to handle this without having to rewrite or amend the contract, …meaning they’d like to just give me some cash to get a new one, which is fine with me.
So, I leave work early to survey the used washing machine market and also checked out some scratch n’ dent models, …a cheapo washer + delivery = $300. I can tell they didn’t like the dollar amount I asked for, so I’m expecting some sort of response today.
3. That brings me to today, …where my phone (now fully charged) sits on my coffee table at home instead of in my pocket at work because I forgot it this morning.
4. Next, I decide to clear up a matter with the unholy DMV. Seems they think my license is suspended. I actually found out about this while in Cedarburg:
Note on my car –someone hit it while it was parked. See police.
Police tell me someone hit my car, no damage. Also say my license is suspended, they won’t let me drive away. Wife drives. This happens in front of my in-laws.
I call DMV, “your license is not suspended, it’s a mistake”.
Last week, insurance guy says, “you got higher rates because your license is suspended.”
I call DMV. It is suspended. Why did they say it wasn’t before? No idea.
It’s been suspended FOR TWO FREAKING YEARS!!!! I’ve received NO NOTICES of this at all. I’d file a complaint, but what good will it do. I owe $50.
5. I need to rent a truck for this weekend’s moving festivities. My first call was to a local Uhaul place run by Arabs. It’s very near my new house and would be most convenient. So, I call. The phone rings between 7000 and 10000 times. Finally …
“Yes, hello?” Heavy accented old women.
“Hi, I’d like to rent a truck for this weekend.”
“uhhh, when do you need it?”
“This weekend,” Said in a still cheerful way.
“Can you do my favor? Call back 2 hours.”
Ok. So, I call some other places in the meantime. All booked. I find a few places that can squeeze me in for a few hours and a few hundred bucks, no thanks. I find a Ryder place that has what I need, but their rates are higher. I call back the Arab place in 2 hours.
“Yeah, …” Heavy accented man.
“Hi, I’d like to rent a truck for this weekend.”
“Ok, when you need it?”
“I’m flexible, Friday or Saturday.”
“Which day?”
“Friday, and I’d like to keep it until Saturday.”
“Friday, no, no. Can’t have on Friday.”
“Ok, …what about Saturday.”
“You can have truck until 3pm. Bring drivers license and credit card. Ok?” He’s trying to end this call.
“Uhhh, hold on. What size truck is it?”
“17 foot, ok?” Irritated and trying to end the call.
“Well, what’s the rate?”
He sighs. Jeebus H Crisper, …I’d like to know what I’m renting and how much it will be jackass!
“$29.95. .89/mile.”
“And I can have it till 3, …what time can I pick it up?”
“We open at 6:30.”
“Ok, can I reserve it?”
“Bring in credit card and drivers license.”
“Can’t I do it over the phone?”
“What? No. No. We don’t do that.”
CLICK
That fucker hung up on me! That son of a bitch. So, I wrote a letter to the PR department at Uhaul, I’ll let you know if I hear anything back. In the meantime, I’m going with Ryder.
6. The wife calls this afternoon to tell me that there are charges on her credit card that she did not make. One’s a hotel reservation in Indianapolis. She called the hotel and they investigated. They are refunding her money because they made a mistake in not asking for ID.
The charges were for about $700. They have phone numbers that the person called and signatures that he left. The guy also used our address.
The wife suspects that he got it from some hotel reservations she made for her dad in July. Or, he could have gotten it from our trash, but she’s not sure.
If that’s the only charge he made, then we’re probably ok, but we won’t find out for sure until later tonight.
On the way home tonight I am picking up a fraud packet at the police department and we’ll fill it out tonight. We’ve got some leads, so it would be great if they caught this guy, but it really pisses me off that someone was taking advantage of her.
I hope it hasn’t gone any futher.
Fingers crossed.
No Big Surprise Here
You Should Vote For Bush |
(You May Want to Hide This From Your Left-y Blogger Friends) |
Packer Prediction
Victory over the Tuna on Sunday.
Why?
Here's my recollection of a conversation I heard on the radio this morning:
Grady Jackson: I feel fine, my knee is fine, I'm ready to play. I just gotta convince Mike Sherman.
Reporter: How are you going to convince him?
Grady Jackson: I'll just put him in a headlock and hold him there until I'm in the lineup.
later ...
Reporter: So Grady Jackson is going to put you in a head lock until you put him in the lineup, how are you going to handle that?
Shermbutt: It shouldn't be too hard, I'll just toss some Snickers bars on the ground and he'll chase after them and release me.
I think they are loose, Rossley won't be directing the offense, and Dallas pretty much sucks. I think we'll pull it out.
There haven't been any calls for Sherman's head this week, ...I guess most people feel that he's got the message (albeit late) that the team needed an enema.
But I really think that it was the players that bailed him out. The players were playing for their own pride and self respect, I'm not convinced they were playing for Sherman. They got embarassed Monday night and couldn't wait to go out and reverse that.
I still think he needs to go. He's not the right person to have all the reigns. He's a better play caller than Rossley, perhaps he should just focus on that. He's got too much responsibility, he can't spread himself all around. Focusing on one thing is probably best for himself and for the team.
Moving Day
The hourglass in the back of my head is quickly losing sand. Moving day is just seven squares away and as usual, I am uncomfortably ahead of schedule.
The stone tablets of history have pre-recorded my fate, and who can blame them?
My mental print queue only holds so many threads. When too many items are added to it, some are invariably punted. If I know anything, I know my own weaknesses, helpless as I may be to them. So, to combat insufficient RAM, I make lists. Lots of lists.
This leads to annoying situations where I can forget to mail a bill for 14 consecutive days (no list), but I can plan a move across the country to the smallest detail (extensive listing), and stick to it.
All loose items within my control are either packed or scheduled to be packed at an appropriate time. All the paperwork is done, all the appointments made, and most of all the address forwarding is done. All that's left is the waiting and one half day of moving.
Why is this efficiency uncomfortable? Because now I am so far ahead of schedule that I can relax and kick back a little. Once that starts, it's just a matter of time until I'm behind schedule. And so it goes ...
So, this will be my last weekend on the eastside. To celebrate, I'm off to the Cactus Club on Friday night to see Crime and Judy. If the Doc is around we'll hopefully hit a few of the old watering holes.
I'll be back, but it won't be the same. Age and time constrict around your chest so slowly you scarcely realize that parts of you are dying. Of course, you could say that new parts of you are being born, but that's just rationalization.
Parts of you die for different reasons. Some parts die when they cease to be used, other parts die because they were overused, and some die because they just aren't important enough to maintain. But nothing new is ever born.
A young man is a tightly wrapped jumble of options and choices. The older you get, the less able you are to keep it all together. You let some things fall while other options remain tightly in your grasp. It's not new, but it feels like it. Nakedness in itself is a "thing". Something you need to get used to, get good at, ...but mostly get used to. Because wherever you are, it's not the end of the line. You don't become an expert at dealing with 6 month old babies, because in a few short weeks you are suddenly a novice at dealing with 7 month old babies.
It's an orderly procession,(sort of) like marching a fourth grade class from the caffeteria to the library. We all know where we're supposed to go. We're just waiting for the bell when we'll one foot in front of the other, and try not to lose our way.
I guess I'm trying to say, ...goodbye eastside, and all that you were to me. From Miller Lite, to Tecate, to Newcastle. From the hot dog guy, to Grecian Delight, to Jimmy Johns. From Landmark, to the Globe, to Esos, to the Vox, to the Garage, ...fare thee well.
Shermbutt Alive?
In order of importance:
1. The Motor City Pussycats looked, played, and smelled more like a rotted Ox corpse than like ferocious Lions. They just aren’t very good, mainly because they are undermanned. Their D-line looks powerfull, but they tire quickly and couldn’t hold-up as the Packers dominated the time of possession. Also, their best players are out. Harrington did not look great, but he looked like Harrington. “Harrington today, gone tomorrow” seems to be his motto, playing good on some weeks, bad on others.
2. Having Shermbutt otherwise occupied and distracted certainly helped the team. The fact that he was consumed with the offensive play calling, not even watching the defense, seemed to really loosen up the team. Maybe next game they can send him out for doughnuts, then forget to let him back into the stadium, …the Packers would probably win by 50!
Not really, …but I think his lack of involvement with the majority of the team was a plus.
3. Sherbutt did a lot better than Rossley. That was obvious. The main thing I noticed in the first drive and throughout the game was that they used their personnel much better. They spelled Ahman often, they used more than a handful of plays, and they utilized players whose names we had scarcely heard all year. Nice job of mixing it up and keeping the defense guessing.
Rossley, who Favre hates, is obviously tone deaf to this. If I was him, I would retire out of decency.
4. The offensive players all talked about how happy they were that Ray Sherman, Doug Peterson, Favre, and Darrel Bevel were often sought out for opinions, thoughts, and philosophy. Together, those guys know a lot more about moving the ball than Rossley. Shermbutt smartly used that knowledge.
5. With no receiving or running threat to worry about, the Packers were able to play tough, tight defense. This yielded the play of the game when Sharper grabbed an INT and took it in for 6.
6. And lastly, the speech. The players talked about a speech Shermbutt gave Saturday night that helped inspire them on to victory.
This last point leads to one my main criticisms of Shermbutt, that he has failed to motivate these players, to give them a sense of purpose, and to properly prep them for battle. While he did do these things this week, what about weeks 2-5? What about the collapses last year? Why did he wait so long?
Because he didn’t realize it was a problem until his head was on the block. He is so out of touch and so removed from the players that he did not realize that their intensity, attitude, and focus had depleted.
He knows now, and has finally done something about it, but it is too late to save this season. In order to make 8-8, they have to beat all the mediocre and bad teams on their schedule, plus also split with Minnesota.
I’m thinking they will lose in Minnesota, in Philly, and at home against St. Louis and Jacksonville. This means that if they lose to Dallas, Houston, or Minnesota at home, they will have a losing season.
To have a remote chance at the playoffs, they need to win all the winnable games, plus two games against this bunch: Philly, Minnesota, St. Louis, or Jacksonville.
Seriously tall order, …and that would give them a 10-6 season, and a remote chance at the playoffs. It would also mean that they win 8 of their last 10 games.
And even with that record, the playoffs are probably out of reach.
Something's Up With AD
If you watched the amazing Badger victory yesterday, you saw that AD was on the sideline fo much of the second half.
The ESPN2 sideline bird asked the Badger trainer if AD was hurt, he said "Not that I know of". Then, the trainer went up to AD and asked him if he was ok, AD responded "I feel fine."
In today's paper, there is scarcely a mention of AD's absence. As an aside, they do say he was "slowed" by a tight quad.
If he was hurt, why didn't the trainer know it? If they are making up with story now about a tight quad, then what is the real problem?
Prediction
Packers play better this week. Defense stiffens.
Caroll gets burned, but steps up a bit.
Packers lose.
Fans continued to demand Sherbutt's head on a cheese platter, newspaper columnists continued to scoff, Bob Harlan continued to screen his calls.
Impulse Buy
While stocking up on dried, pelletized, intestines and artificial mean powder (otherwise known as IAMs doog food) for the World's Naughtiest Dog (WND), I walked past a display showing the
following items.
I couldn't resist. I bought a John Kerry squeak toy so that the WND can actually help me release tension rather that just adding to it.
On that note, I'll update everyone on the WNDs latest heist.
I had a hankering for grilled chicken pizza. Budget being what it is, we made it at home from scratch. The wife grilled up the chicken and grated the cheese while waiting for the dough to rise.
She placed the bowl of cheese and the bowl of chicken on the kitchen cutting board. She decided it was time to toss the kitchen towels in the wash, so she gathered them, walked to the bathroom to also gather the hand towels, dropped them into the hamper and returned to the kitchen. This took literally 15 seconds.
"WND(dog's real name omitted)! NO! GET OUT!! OUT!!!! BAD DOG!"
Both bowls were entirely cleaned of food.
What interests me about this is that she KNOWS it is wrong. That's why she waited until she was alone. I guess she can't think ahead enough to know that she will get caught or that we will know she did it.
But she is alone in the room with food often and rarely takes the opportunity for a forbidden snack. She knows that the spanking power of MASTER is absolute in these cases.
What made her do it this time? I guess she was just tired of waiting for us to reward her flatulance, incessant manic behavior, constant licking, jumping, barking, digging, and garbage eating obsession.
But she's good at keeping the Jehova's Witnesses away.
Flu Shot
Every year I get a flu shot. I'm really prone to getting sick, so I make sure I get that shot really early each year. For the last two years I've gotten them on the first day they were offered.
This year we moved to a new office building. An occupational health company resides in the next building and offers flu shots to everyone in the building if they reserve them in advance.
When the notice went out, I reserved a shot for myself. The clinic was supposed to start at 11am on the 8th floor of our building. I went up around 11:15.
The first thing I noticed is that the elevator would not accept the command to go to the 8th floor. Usually you press the button you want and the button lights up. The button would not light and the elevator would not budge. So, I went to the 7th floor and walked up to the 8th. Totally deserted.
Well, maybe they are running late. I went back to work and tried again around noon. Same deal. No one there.
So, I called the building management company who sent out the first notice, ...no answer. I leave a message.
There are two buildings in our complex, so I thought that maybe they meant for me to go to the 8th floor in the other building. So, I hiked over there, went up the 8th floor right into the middle of an office. They had no idea what I was talking about, and neither did the old-codger security guard on the first floor.
Back to my building. So, I thought I'd stop at the offices of the building management company, ...locked. No one inside.
Back to my office where I called the building management company again. I worked the phone menu to dial up the manager's cell phone, no answer. I tried the secretary's desk, no answer. Left messages all around and went back to work.
Around 3pm I get a call from the secretary. The clinic is over. She asks if I still want my shot.
"Yes, I do."
"Ok, hold on." Lot's of mumbling in the background. "Ok, can I get your phone number and they will call you back to reschedule you. They are out of shots now."
"um ok"
"Hold on." In the background I can hear her explain this to the nurse. She says, "He was scheduled to get a shot, but
he went to the wrong floor so can you call him ..?"
When she gets back on the phone, I say "I went to the 8th floor, but no one was there."
"We had it on the 9th floor."
This is one of my pet peeves, when people who are responsible for something screw up in some minor or major way, but then try to blame the person with the least amount of blame because they can get away with it. I am on the phone and cannot speak directly to the people she is talking to, so as far as they know, I'm some idiot who doesn't know the difference between 8 and 9.
But, it's
her fault for either giving me the wrong floor or forgetting to update me with the change. She just didn't want to have to admit that she forgot to update me.
So, a week or two later they call. The very next day Britain stops shipment on US bound flu shots and there's a huge shortage. Now, I'm ineligible.
However, the wife discovered that if our child is under 6 months old, we can get a shot. You see, children are one of the high risk groups, but children under 6 months of age cannot get a flu shot at all. They are two young. So, everyone in close contact with a child under 6 months is eligible for a shot. Great.
I checked out the line at Mayfair mall on Monday and line went from the center of the mall all the way to southern end of the mall. F--- that.
Online I found a smaller, lesser known venue giving out shots, ...the Bavarian Inn. So, at 10am we got in line with about 100 codgers and got our shots. The line snaked outside the building a bit, and as we finally worked our way inside, a tall old man said something to my wife. I couldn't really hear what he said, and I assumed it was about not blocking the entrance because everyone was stupidly using the same door entering and exiting, despite the fact that there were three other doors they could have used for exiting.
Later, my wife told me that he said, "You can go right out that door," gesturing to the unused doors people should have been using for exiting. Then, a women with him said, "No, she has a baby so it is ok for her to get a shot." He apparently said ok, and moved on.
My wife wanted to know if he was telling her to leave or if he was assuming she was trying to exit out of the wrong door. So that I wouldn't upset her, I told her that he probably thought she was using the wrong door to leave.
Truth is, I think that bastard was telling her to leave.
When he said that to her, her and I were separated by about 7-10 feet because of people who were exiting and talking. I notice that he said NOTHING while I was next to her. He waited until she was alone to shoot off his mouth.
By the time she told me about it he was long lost in a sea of silverheads, but I really wish I would have heard that ...
"FLU PANIC: 33 year old man pummels elderly veteran in Flu line fracas"
And
I would have been portrayed as the bad guy!
MIKE SHERMAN SHOULD BE FIRED (day eleven)
Ahhh,
my people have spoken.
They want the bubble boy out of the green and gold shrine, it's sacred after all, and it is currently being defiled.
Interestingly, the only debate amongst us "unwashed" is
when bubble butt should kicked down the stairs. I say now, and have a
sure-fire-gold-nugget plan to run out the season. Others say we should sit still for now, do it after the season because it would be to chaotic.
My response, ...you gotta stop the bleeding. The players aren't playing for him anymore. How else does a team look demoralized in the first series of the game!??!! Taking the chainsaw to Shermbutt would stop the bleeding now and prevent this loss of a season from infecting the franchise for years to come.
The season is lost. Let that sink in real good. It's over. We gotta worry about the future, and right now it looks awful bleak.
Of course, there are those who think Sherman should stay, but those are the people who write about sports for a living in this state, and therefore they are complete sycophantic idiots with the worst of track records. Tell me when they haven't been wrong (or haven't been on both sides of the same issue) and then we can talk.
Oh, the Compassion of the Left
They care so much, but their unending devotion to human rights and peace apparantly doesn't extend
victims that the US tried to help.
A mass grave containing the bodies of children, babies and their mothers has been unearthed in Iraq.
Shocked investigators reported finding "thighbones the size of matchsticks" at what they believe is the site of one of Saddam Hussein's atrocities. Among the findings-were the skeletons of unborn babies and toddlers clutching toys.
A baby had been shot in the back of its head and was found still being clutched by its mother, who had been shot in the face.
This would still be a daily occurance if John Kerry were president. This is what he calls the "wrong war".
Think the moderator in tonight's debate will ask Kerry about this? Not bloody likely.
MIKE SHERMAN SHOULD BE FIRED (day nine)
Alright. So everyone who doesn't write sports columns for a living or is employed by the Packers
cough-Wayne-Laravee-cough agrees that Sherman should have flattened his last seat cushion in Green Bay by now.
We all want him fired, or worse.
So genius, what's your brilliant plan?
I'd fire Sherman now and also remove Slowik and possibly Rossley.
Oh, that's great ...you can't fire a coach in the middle of the season.
First, it's not the middle of the season, it's the beginning. Second, yes you can fire a coach now. The season is lost. Even comments by the Packers players hint to that. Everyone knows it is over, which means things are only going to get worse. The only reason you'd keep him is because you'd fear that it would ruin the season. Guess what, it's already ruined.
Who's going to replace them? Did you ever think of that!??
Yes, I have. We can promote from within so the players know the coaches, the scheme will remain mostly the same, and the transition will be mostly smooth. We can make it through the year like this, and look to start over next year. All these suggestions are currently on the Packers staff.
Interim head coach - Vince Tobin. Has four years head coaching experience, including playoffs, extensive defensive coordinating experience.
Defensive Coordinator - Kurt Schottenheimer. Has coordinator experience.
Assistant Defensive Coordinator - Lionel Washington.
Offensive Coordinator - Ray Sherman. Has coordinating experience. Did it for Vikings in 1999 when they went to the playoffs and 1998 with Pittsburg.
Assistant Offensive Coordinator - Darrell Bevell
Quarterbacks Coach - Doug Pederson
That's the plan.
It's a good plan. So, whenever you hear a sports pundit scoff and ask "whose going to replace him", you now have an answer.
Homeward
Offer, ...accepted.
Earnest money, ...down.
Appraisal, ...done.
Inspection, ...done.
Paperwork, ...working.
ETA, ...Nov 1.
Things to do:
Get cable hooked up.
Get gas/electric/water set up.
Get mail forwarded.
Change all my addresses with all the companies I do business with.
Buy a stove and fridge, and arrange to have them delivered on the moving day.
Buy a new vacuum.
Finish packing.
Clean up current abode by October 24th when it will be open for inspection.
And then once I move in I'll have some easter eggs to take care of. The garage side door needs replacing. New outlets need to be installed in the garage. Pipes with asbestos-type insulation needs to be wrapped. Furnace motor needs fixing or replacing (noisy). Downspouts need extending.
Long term, ...the windows need replacing, the furnace may just need replacing, installing a vent in the upstairs bath, possibly adding new insulation in the attic, finishing off the basement, buying a new washer and dryer, straightening the garage, and buying a new dining table.
All this means that I will not have the cash to upgrade my computer in order to play the most anticipated game of the year (for me, at least)
Pacific Assault, due out in a month. I could upgrade for $700, ...but unless I find $700 on the ground somewhere I'll have to sit out this one.
MIKE SHERMAN SHOULD BE FIRED (day eight.five)
Some things words cannot convey.
Words cannot possibly encapsulate the totality of the anger I am filled with, the horrid incompetance that was on display, nor the degree to which I was right.
This season is over, everyone understands that.
I knew it was over when Flanigan went down, but it might have even been over before that.
There is simply no reason to keep Sherman on for the rest of the season. There is no reason not to fire the heads of all the units, give the reigns to their subordinates, and try to start over next year.
There is not one redeeming fact sitting in Sherman's corner.
Nothing.
I would like someone to try and explain why Sherman is needed for the rest of the season.
He is a failure in every aspect of his job. The season is lost. There is no hope now, nor for the forseeable future.
Furthermore, I will cease to support this team until he is gone. This is beyond embarassing, beyond failure, beyond incompetance. You cannot play this bad unless you don't care. The worst teams in the league rarely lose this bad. You simply can't lose like this when you are giving some sort of an effort.
The team spirals down down down, with literally no end in sight.
Until they say goodbye to the worthless, miserable, moronic, shit-head Sherman and his staff, I am saying goodbye to them.
Goodbye. I don't need this. And you don't deserve my support.
MIKE SHERMAN SHOULD BE FIRED (day eight)
Well, there are 8 minutes left in the 1st quarter and the Packers are down 14 and just fumbled in their own territory.
The team is not playing for Sherman anymore.
They are slow, weak, mistake prone, and playing like they don't have any idea what they are doing. Sherman has lost this team.
He must go.
Garner the Idiot
Everyone around the league is starting to know the Phil Garner that we all know here in Milwaukee. He's a nice guy, a real player's coach, a scrappy, firey guy, ...but he's got absolutely no baseball smarts.
Because he was fired from here and then fired from Detroit, sports pundits around the country have used Houston's rise to the playoffs this year as a way to stick it to Bud Selig and to Milwaukee.
"SEE? You guys suck! It wasn't Garner, it was YOU YOU YOU!"
Coming from a bunch of ink-stained stiffs who didn't sit there and watch game after game of perplexing decisions, of players bossing the coaches around, zero accountabillity, and pitching moves that appeared to have been decided by a random number generator, ...I never took those comments seriously, though they did annoy me.
Czabe was one of those clowns, I guess he can be excused (as usual) for having no idea what he's talking about.
And I will admit that they were half right, ...yes we did suck, but let Garner's reign of error in Milwaukee forever prove that you CAN make a bad team suck worse. THAT'S the point all the pundits missed.
Here's a quick run-down of what I gleefully watched take place Sunday afternoon (
from espn):
Up 2 games to 1, Garner didn't have to start Clemens, who admitted his legs still haven't recovered from the virus that turned him greener than Tal Smith's Hill last weekend. But the manager ran Clemens out there on short rest anyway -- and got only five innings out of him. Which created all kinds of trouble over the post-Roger portion of the afternoon.
Reliever Chad Qualls then marched in to relieve Clemens and gave up a game-tying, crowd-anaesthetizing, three-run, upper-deck homer to Braves first baseman Adam LaRoche. And that development led Garner into a double switch that caused him to take out his leadoff man, Craig Biggio, even though the game was tied and Biggio was already 3 for 4, with a double and homer.
An inning after that, Garner waved for his closer and most trusted reliever, Brad Lidge, with a man on in the eighth inning of a still-tied game. But this time, the manager didn't double-switch. Which, naturally, forced him to pinch-hit for Lidge when the Astros got two runners on in the bottom of the eighth. So Lidge was done for the day -- having thrown only seven pitches.
That meant Garner had already blitzed through the best of his bullpen many outs sooner than he wanted to. But somebody still had to pitch the ninth. And that somebody turned out to be Russ Springer -- a man who was sitting home retired as recently as this June.
Which led to the final, ill-fated decision of the day -- the decision to let Springer pitch to J.D. Drew with first base open and the winning run on second with two outs in the ninth, even though on-deck hitter Marcus Giles was right-handed, and happened to be 0 for his last 12, with five strikeouts. As if there were any doubt, given how Garner's day had gone, Drew promptly singled in the winning run.
Go Atlanta.
MIKE SHERMAN SHOULD BE FIRED (day four)
First, he finally made Craig Nall the number two QB. It's only 72 hours late to do us any good for the Giants game. Hey, you never know, we could all accidentally enter a time warp that takes us back to Sunday afternoon and ...ah ferget it.
More evidence that the medical staff
over reacted to Favre's injury:
"I feel fine, I feel great," Favre said in his first news conference since the injury. "I remember it all now. Probably towards the end of the game everything just came back to me."
...
I'm glad I did what I did," Favre said. "I just ran back out there. Towards the end of the game I knew exactly what had happened. I hadn't forgotten anything. I mean everything I had forgotten came back to me.
Two Steps Forward, One Step Back
Mr. Attanasio made some promising statements yesterday as he was
officially introduced as the prospective new Brewers owner.
Good step:
"My goal for the team is to win a World Series," he said.
Good step:
"To be honest, I never even looked at the contract from the standpoint of whether you could get out of it or not, because you know the big attraction, the dual attraction for me to buy the team, is that it is a great baseball town with a great facility," Attanasio said Monday.
Bad step:
"This team is really moving in the right direction," he said. "My goal is to continue and enhance that."
I think he's misreading the situation here. The fans would LOVE it if he said, "The franchise has been failing for over a decade, and I'm going to end that. First step, I'm cleaning house."
He seems very cautious, which I don't really like. This team needs an enema, from the field to the operations side. They need to put Bernie's challet back, get rid of Sports Service, fire Rick Schlesinger, and tell everyone who survives to stop being panzies.
But let's give him a honeymoon. I'll not be too harsh on him for the next year. If after next season things still look the same, I'll be very, very worried.
MIKE SHERMAN SHOULD BE FIRED (day two)
For the following reasons, Mike Sherman (and his staff) should be immediately fired from their positions with the Green Bay Packers.
1. As GM he has FAILED to improve the team since 2001 when Ahman Green was added. He did get lucky and acquired Grady Jackson off of waivers in 2003, but that had nothing to do with his GM skills. During this time he has not added a receiving threat for Favre, has not added skilled defensive backs, linebackers, or linemen. Nick Barnett had a good rookie year, but is under performing this year. Not to mention all the horrible mistakes: Tim Couch, BJ Sander, Jamal Reynolds, ETC ETC ETC
2. As coach he has FAILED to have the team ready to play on numerous occasions throughout his tenure. Most notably: in 2002, at NY Jets and at home vs. Atlanta in the playoffs. In 2003, at home vs Minnesota, at Detroit, and at Arizona.
3. As coach he has FAILED to make smart in-game decisions, ...some of which cost his team not only games, but seasons. He failed to challege the fourth down spot of Favre's 4th quarter scramble in the Philly playoff game last year. He failed to go for it on 4th down as he promised his team he would at half time. He failed to make changes that would have alleviated the patented Packers 3rd quarter swoon. He failed last week to put in Craig Nall to replace an injured and hapless Doug Pederson.
4. As coach he has FAILED to keep his team together. We have players asking to be traded for the first time in 12 years. We have players getting into fist fights with one another. We have open sniping of the coaches from the players. He has lost his team, and their performance shows it. They are not playing for him anymore.
5. He hired Bob Slowik.
He has consistantly made poor decisions, hurt his own team, and failed to put his team in the best possible position to succeed.
I am tired of the losses, of the bad decisions, the listless play, ...I'm tired of the Sherman era.
For these, and many others, the fat man needs to go.
Bob Harlan, you are now on the clock ...
MIKE SHERMAN SHOULD BE FIRED
Starting today, I am counting each day until he, and his staff are fired. I was going to also call for crucifiction, but some might think that's a little extreme.
I don't care to recount the abyssmal Packers performance, so I'll just assume you all saw the debacle and will understand the significance of the following:
1. Favre should have come back in during the 4th quarter. Medical staff should be fired.
As the Giants were scoring a touchdown on the ensuing possession - a 52-yard Tiki Barber run through the heart of the Packers defense - Favre's memory was being tested on the sideline.
Nall said he was told to quiz Favre on a couple of plays the Packers run to see whether the quarterback could remember all the details. He apparently passed with flying colors.
"I was over there when the doctors were talking to him, and they asked me to ask him a couple plays, and I asked him, 'What's your read on this?' and he spit it out just fine," Nall said. "I asked him to call another play, and he said it just fine. I talked to him, and he said he felt good."
...
"I think Brett will be fine," Pederson said, declining to talk about his own injury. "He seemed to be fine later in the game. Obviously, the doctors will watch him, and we'll see what happens this week."
2. Nall should have been playing instead of Peterson, a point which was obvious to all by the middle of the 3rd quarter.
Unbeknown to most observers (ed. except those with eyes and/or a brain)
, Pederson, who completed seven of 17 passes for 86 yards, was hurt, and as the game wore on, his side tightened up.
"We saw it on the sideline in front of the bench," Rossley said. "I don't know if it was his kidney or what. I guess they're going to do an MRI. It bothered him more and more as the game went on."
It was particularly apparent on the Packers' last possession when he attempted a deep, sideline pass to Robert Ferguson with 15 seconds to go in the game. The ball bounced about 10 yards short of the target and Pederson took himself out so that Nall could take a shot at a tying touchdown.
"He had a tough time throwing to his left," Nall said.
3. The Packers stopped trying to run the ball, and didn't commit to or stay with the run at the beginning of the game. They seemed to have no plan.
The Giants came into the game with the NFL's 22nd-ranked run defense and had allowed all three of their opponents to rush for more than 100 yards.
...
"We have an extensive playbook and sometimes when we get in these ruts they have to find a play that's going to work," Wahle said. "It's tough to get into a rhythm but we're not making things happen."
4. The Packers have failed to upgrade their defensive line, defensive backfield, and their offensive receivers. Sherman has been there for 4 seasons now and the talent on this team has not increased since that year.
He has failed as a coach in 2002 and 2003 by losing winnable games. He has failed as a GM by not improving the team after his first year. For this reason and many others, Mike Sherman and his staff should be removed from their coaching positions in Green Bay.
Today is day 1 in the "Number of days since fat-ass Sherman should have been fired".
Offer Away
So, every Saturday morning I search the
jsonline website for classified home listings, looking for open houses.
While tooling around Saturday afternoon looking at homes, I realized I had forgotten about one of the houses I found online in the morning. By the time I remembered, we were miles away and the open house was ending in 15 minutes. I would be really tight for us to get there on time. My first instinct was to pass on it, but for some reason I decided to check it out.
It was in the neighborhood where we wanted to live, the same neighborhood as the other two houses we placed offers on. We got there with five minutes to spare.
Rolling up to it, it was a really nice and clean Colonial. But the price was pretty low, so I assumed it was in bad condition. We were shocked at how nice it was on the inside and outside. It's only a two bedroom, but the two bedrooms are very big, and one has a huge walk-in closet. It's a bath and a half (important to me), has a nice yard that is fenced in on the sides. The kitchen is completely remodeled, the dining room has two built in china cabinets, the living room is open, spacious, and has a sweeping staircase leading upstairs.
The bad things, ...there is no bathroom on the main floor, but we're considering adding a small addition with a half bath and an additional bedroom on the main floor. The garage can fit two small cars, but it is tilted towards the alley. It looks like the back of the garage has settled in a bit, causing the front to tilt. But it looks suprisingly solid, and I really don't think it's going anywhere. The basement is unfinished, but clean. The half bath is in the basement and is not enclosed. I'll have to frame out a small bathroom, which should be no problem since we plan on framing the entire basement and finishing it off.
We placed an offer tonight and gave them almost what they were asking for. Unless someone else comes up and outbids us in the next 24 hours, it should be ours. But, I've thought that before. I'm trying not to get too excited just yet.
Incompetence and Ineptitude
Remember when we had a good football team?
I do. It was nothing like this. I'm watching the highlights from around the NFL today, ...so many teams have so much to look forward to, but not us.
First, the Packers medical staff needs to be taken out behind Lambeau field and beaten into sticky paste.
Second, if you are going to keep Favre out of the entire game, then by all means play Craig Nall. After two series you could see that Peterson could not throw more than ten yards, and was wildly inaccurate under ten yards as well. The Giants were sitting on all the short routes and focusing on the run. They were daring Peterson to throw the ball. At least Nall can take the ball down field, throw with accuracy, and throw the ball hard enough to get it past the defenders. Sherman is full-blown idiot. Nall comes in for the last play of the game and throws a bullet for a huge gain. Plus, the Packers stupidly ran post routes with time running down instead of running sideline routes.
Third, the Packers now have the worst defense in football. Statistically, that might not be entirely accurate, but I'm certain they are the worst. Bob Slowik went up against a weak offensive team and got whooped. The jury is back with a decision on him, complete shithead.
Fourth, I'd like a clarification from the refs. Is it league policy to call only 1 out of every 3 instances of holding against a Packer opponent, or is it 1 out of every 4?
And lastly, Nall should be given the number 2 slot immediately. After that, Sherman, Rossley, Slowik, and the medical staff should be given cement slippers and taken for a cruise.
I'll buy the cement.
Hee Hee
For some reason the Simpson's are on Fox tonight.
It's a newer episode where Mr. Burns buys all the media outlets in town to enhance his image.
He apparantly owns Itchy and Scratchy as well, because they air an Itchy and Scratchy where Scratchy (the cat) is protesting nuclear power. Itchy impales him with a forklift and begins a monologue about how nuclear power is great.
Scratchy says, "What about wind power? It's clean and safe."
Itchy says, "Is it?" and proceeds to drive him up to a windmill. The swinging blades cut off Itchy's head. While his head spins around on the blade, the camera goes in for a close-up and says, "Don't end up like me, vote Republican!"
Say Goodnight Lucy
Goodnight Lucy.
