A Christmas Story is a good movie, but there is one thing that drives me cuckoo. The mom's hair. The movie is set in the late 40s/early 50s. Women didn't have hairstyles like that. The movie does a great job of reconstructing that time.
But seriously, they couldn't change out her 80's hair?
Most people don't think about the director or the camera work. But I've always had an interest in that, so I probably pay a little more attention to that kind of stuff. And in the case of this game, the game was not the only story. An equal story is the pain and misery Cubs fans have had for all these years. And the director and the camera folks really found those people in the stands and their emotion. Young/old, men/women, didn't matter. The smiles and nerves of the fans were as fun to watch as the game.
The original top notch sports director was Chet Forte, the first director for Monday Night Football in its heyday. That guy was ahead of his time in game presentation.
And last night, that game showed why sports is the best TV property there is. It is unscripted, and you never know what is going to happen. So while not a Cub fan, I really enjoyed watching the game and the Cubs fans last night.
I bought the tickets about 5 months prior to the trip. About a month out, I decided to buy the Economy Plus add-ons. I first bought it on my outbound flight from Des Moines to Chicago. It was an extra $42 for that segment on a 737. 45 minutes in the air from DSM to ORD, so no problem to sit that long. But I had a 1.5 hour connect, but I really wanted to make sure I made my connection, so Economy Plus got me on the front of economy, and an extra 5 inches (I think) of leg room. So would I do it again on that segement? If Chicago was my final destination, no way. For a short flight like that, at 5'10" I could handle a regular economy seat like that with no problem. But in my case, the extra $42 was worth it, to know it would buy me a couple extra minutes to get to my connecting gate.
On the flight to/from Brussels from Chicago, it was around $170 extra each way. To me, that is a noticeable extra amount of cash, especially when buying upgrades for my wife and I. The advantage of getting on or off the plane sooner was not an issue in this case. It basically came down to an advantage of having an extra 3" on the 777. Also, the gamble of my wife and I having a 3 seat section for the 2 of us. I'd been watching the flights to/from Brussels, and at united.com, you can see the taken seats on a given flight. And I had noticed that Economy Plus seats on the Brussels flight frequently was way less than full. So I was also hoping that nobody would take that 3rd seat by us. (as an aside, the Boeing 777, in economy, has a 3-3-3 layout for seats).
I thought it was going to pay off on the flight to Brussels. Pretty much everybody was on the plane, and no more passengers were getting on, and nobody was sitting next to Vicki. Joy went to despair when a lady holding about a 1.5 year old baby started walking down our aisle, and she stopped at our seat. Shit! The last thing I want is a lap baby next to us for the next 7.5 hours.
Then the grandma showed up, and they called a flight attendant, because they thought they were in our seats. After much rigamarole, the flight attendants asked a guy sitting by himself in a row behind us, if he would move next to Vicki, and the mom, baby, and grandma could go back there. Fortunately the dude agreed (probably so he wouldn't be by the baby), and we had a decent flight. The extra 3 inches bought us some extra leg crossing.
The flight home was full, so no empty seat next to us this time either. So the question is, would I again spend an extra $680 total for my wife and I, to each have an extra 3 inches of legroom for a total of 16 hours in a plane seat? Initial thought? Yes, I would. Since I'm an Economics major, I'll break it down with a math equation. Between my wife and I, we had 32 person-hours in that seat for $680. That is paying $21 an hour for that extra 3". That is a little more painful with that factoid. We probably could have used the $680 for back massages and physical helps.
My wife and I are both 5'10", so we fit into economy seats ok. If it was my 6'4" son, I'm sure it would definitely be worth it.
Here are two pics I took. One is the leg room by itself. And then a pic with my magazine pushed up against the seat in front of me, and where it is in my lap. As a reminder, I'm 5"10.
As for my United experience overall, I know they are one of the lower rated airlines. But for me, it went about as smooth as possible. Flights on time. And I know people like to bag on airline food, but I thought it was pretty good. Hot and tasty. Free beer on the international flights. Bags arrived quickly and undamaged. Only minor complaint is that the flight attendants on ORD/BRU were a bit surly and seemed like old bags that were easily annoyed. But on the way back, they were typically older flight attendants, but they seemed happy and ready to help customers.
Well The Rocket is done, I'm not going back to the Herald, so this fall I go back to being simply a Norsemen fan. Here's a pic of Paul and I ready to call a game from the new pressbox.
The thing is, when reading Tom's list, I kinda just have to trust him on it, and can't argue it. I think high school sports has a limited viewpoint. I think people seem to pay more attention when their kids are in school, but don't really follow it as closely any other time. And while I lived here in 2000 for example, I don't know that I went to a Norsemen basketball game that year. So in my case, most readers will probably go, "Who was that?" for at least a few of the guys.
But I'm gonna do it anyway. Some guys are clear to me. But that is easy in the skill positions, because they have the stats in the paper each week. I'm also not going to name anybody two ways. And the spot where I struggle the most is the interior of the defensive line. I have nobody in mind for those spots. I have some potential names, but they will be going on the offensive line. And then for the picks. Some guys played on great teams, and some guys played on some bad teams. I tried to take in consideration of likely success no matter the year they had played. Also a note, for any player, I will put their graduation class after them, but remember, their senior football season would have been the year before. So if I say Thor Svensen (2008), that means his senior football campaign was in the fall of 2007.
So let's get started.....
My first draft pick regardless of position is Sam Hammes (2006). Sam ran for almost 1500 yards in the fall of 2005, and had a career per carry average of almost 7.7 yards. Just a beast running the ball for the Norse.
Now that the top pick is in, let's go over to the defense first, because, as they say, defense wins championships. Of course, depending on the opponent, is what kind of defense you might run. But I'm going to go with a 4-4-3 base package. So let's start up front first. Two come to mind right away. At defensive end, I'm going with Nolan Rasmussen (2009) and Brandon Morgan (2011). These guys were quick and strong off the end. Brandon had his career cut short due to concussions, but both are worthy.
For noseguard/nose tackle I have some guys in mind, but I'm going to put them on the offensive line, so scratch them. This position is difficult, because they don't get a lot of big stats as the linebackers do all the cleaning up. But I'm going to go with Garrett Schubert (2008) and Westin Barnes (2006) to plug up the front.
Switching to linebacker, there are a lot of good options. Some played hybrid positions, "Monster" being one of the well known name from years past. But I'm going to lump them all together with 4 linebacker positions. Cole Billerbeck (2009) comes to mind first. And he'd probably be my #2 overall draft pick, if I was doing that. A combined 290 tackles between his Junior and Senior years, and just always seemed to be getting up off the pile. Next I'm going with a guy I only saw for one year, Nick Handeland (2005). He was the District Defensive MVP. Enough said. Justin Doolittle (2008) was a 3 year starter with 240 career tackles. I'm struggling with who to go with my 4th linebacker. Because the 3 others are solid on the interior, I'm gonna go with a little more speed on the outside, and use him as a partial cover guy, and that is Josiah Soderstrum (2015).
Switching to the D-backs, a lot of good choices there. We've had 7 1st team All-District selections here in my timeframe. At the corner position, one guy comes to mind right away. He was a 1st team All-District pick. He wasn't that big, but his wrestling toughness really helped him, and that is Dan Brodie (2007). For the other corner, I'm going with somebody who seemed to be a good cover guy, and that is Jordan Sheahan (2005). At safety, this may be my toughest pick out of two guys in my entire list. So I'm gonna mention them both. Zeb Hammes (2009)did a great job at covering people, and was always there to clean up. But he is not my pick. I'm gonna go with Tyler Hovick (2016). The Norse have not had a harder hitting safety in my years covering the team. Fun to watch him crack the opponent pads. Unfortunately, he didn't play on the best defensive teams, so he got in on a lot of tackles too, leading the team in the fall of 2015, which is not a good thing for a safety.
Time to head over to the offense. Much of my time covering the team, the Norse ran a wishbone offense. And in my all-timer team, if I ran that, I'd need 3 running backs. I like the 'Bone, but with the guys I have, I'm gonna have a pro set offense, so 2 running backs, 2 wide outs, and a tight end. Also, the wishbone meant an option quarterback. The guy I am picking at quarterback, I would not choose for running the option tho. If I were, the aforementioned Zeb Hammes would be my pick, but again, he ends up as the runner-up at a position. My starting quarterback is Evan Johnson (2013). Johnson didn't throw a lot. But when he did, he was very efficient. A starter for a year and a half, 60% completion rate, even career TDs vs interceptions (which is rare at R-S). My team needs a good game manager, so Evan's my guy. Roland-Story's Trent Dilfer.
In the backfield, as I mentioned at the beginning of the post, is my first overall pick, Sam Hammes (2005). He's Roland-Story's 5th all-time leading rusher, and has the highest per carry average of any back with at least 100 carries. There are a lot of good choices for the 2nd running back slot. And a lot of guys in the career rushing top 10. I'm gonna go with Darren Johnson (2008). He has the 3rd most rushing yards of any Norsemen ever, and was tearing up the field starting in his sophomore year. Definitely had the quicks and was a 3 time 2nd team All-District rusher.
Switching to the wide receiver spot, I'm first going with Ryan Skaar (2013). He was more known for his basketball exploits, but he could jump and had good hands to catch the ball. He's 4th all time for the Norse in career receptions and receiving yards. And for my next slot, I'm biased, but with that said, I'm going with Jerald Fritz (2015). Jerald had his 6'4" height and speed to cause opposing defenses to change up to cover him, especially against smaller defensive backs. Other than Skaar, he had the single best receiving season during my time covering the Norse. Here's Brett Staton (2017) to Fritz for a long completion called back for a penalty, and then on the next play, the same play call, and the longest pass completion in Norsemen history.
Going to tight end, I'm going with Jacob Rathmacher (2009). Not to beat on the coaching staff, but he gets the award, in my opinion, for most under utilized player I have seen for the Norse. He was tall, big, and strong, but we rarely passed to him. Even so, he still did a nice job blocking up front.
As for the big uglies up front, here's my 5. Logan Voga (2006), Ben Whaley (2006), Bret Johnson (2011), Xavier Drake(2011), Nick Ahrens (2014). Voga was the best of the bunch, IMO, a 3 year starter, and 2 year 1st team All-District pick. Bret Johnson was my next pick, a 2 time 1st Teamer. Zippy Drake was always solid and Nick Ahrens gets in based on his senior campaign. He had a really nice senior year leading the line.
Of course we need special teams too. For a kick returner, I'm going with Bryttan Thompson (2011). 28 yard average for his career and 32 yard average his senior year. State Track sprinter speed. Bryce Sampson (2009) is my punt returner. Most punts returned out of anyone I've seen with a healthy 10 yard average
Punter is close. Gunder Howe (2016) and Bryce Holdridge (2009) both punted for 3 years, are 1/2 in R-S career punting average with Gunder having a career average of 8 inches (yes inches) more than Bryce. But I'm going to take Bryce as my punter. Bryce was a bit more consistent, so the old guy gets the nod.
Kicker is another close one. I have been witness to the golden years of Norsemen kicking. In the entire history of Roland-Story Norsemen football, there have been only 28 made field goals. And I have seen 21 of them.
I didn't necessarily layout the stats for other positions, but this one is really interesting. It is 3 guys that are neck and neck and neck. Gunnar Wyatt (2009), Charlie Steenhagen (2013) and Gunder Howe (2016). Career kickoff average is Steenhagen 47.63 yards, Wyatt 45.84, and Howe 45.71. Career made field goals: Steenhagen 8, Howe 7, Wyatt 6. Career PAT % Wyatt 84.7, Howe 84.2, Steenhagen 77.5. Longest career field goal: Wyatt 42, Steenhagen 38, Howe 38. I'm a stats guy, and I think a case could be made for any of them. But I've come this far, so I gotta make a pick. I'm just gonna go with my gut, and take Gunnar Wyatt as my kicker.
So there ya' have it. There are some guys I covered that are still playing, that I think could bump onto the list, if they have nice Senior years this year. But since my era ended with last fall, they hadn't shown enough to get onto the list yet. So hopefully the Norse have a nice year this year, and make some good memories.
So who did I miss? Who do you disagree with? I'd like to hear what you think, so leave a comment.
So what's the new count? We don't know yet. They are leaving it up to each member state to determine their own pitch count rules. That will certainly be interesting to administer. Will they put the game pitch count in Quikstats? I think they will need to. Will there be 1/2 inning pitch comparisons between opposing teams? I suppose so.
Little League has been doing it for awhile. Some mom or dad volunteers to keep pitch count, and then each half inning, they go find the other team's pitch count mom or dad, and make sure all is well. Will it become some sophomore sitting on the bench? I imagine so.
I'm guessing Iowa will come up with a number around 120 pitches a day. In Little League, 9-10 years olds can pitch a max of 75 a day. 11-12 year olds can pitch a max of 85, 13-14s can go 95, 15-16s can go 105, and I don't remember their 17-18 division. (Currently North Story Little League doesn't have any 15-18 year old teams, but they are chartered under Little League. So if the age increase is the same, the 17-18s would be 115, and that's why I'm guessing they will up it to 120 a day--with rest periods at different pitch counts.
Fun stuff. If you want to read the press release, it is RIGHT HERE.
In summary, the pitching limitation rule is nine innings on any given day, followed with two calendar days rest. If a pitcher pitches more than four innings, up to a maximum of nine innings, on any two consecutive calendar days, he will follow with two calendar days rest. The maximum number of innings a pitcher may pitch in a week is 16.
NOTE: As part of the pitching limitation rule, one pitch constitutes an inning having been pitched.
EXAMPLES: a) A pitcher pitches nine innings on Monday. How many days rest are required? Two calendar days rest, meaning Tuesday and Wednesday; he may next pitch on Thursday.
b) A pitcher pitches four innings Monday. How many innings can he pitch on Tuesday? He may pitch the maximum of five innings on Tuesday followed by two calendar days rest, meaning Wednesday and Thursday. He may next pitch on Friday.
c) A pitcher pitches three innings Tuesday, two innings Wednesday. He must now follow with two calendar days rest (Thursday and Friday). He can next pitch on Saturday.
d) A pitcher pitches nine innings on Saturday. He must now follow with two calendar days rest (Sunday and Monday). He can next pitch on Tuesday.
e) A pitcher pitches seven innings on Tuesday. When can he pitch again? He can pitch on Wednesday for the maximum of two innings. He must then follow with two calendar days rest, meaning Thursday and Friday. He may next pitch on Saturday.
f) A pitcher pitches two innings Thursday and five innings on Friday. He will now follow with two calendar days of rest (Saturday and Sunday). He can next pitch on Monday. Remember, pitching in any combination of innings greater than four innings up to the maximum of nine innings on any two consecutive days will result in two calendar days rest; OR pitching the maximum of nine innings in any one day requires two calendar days rest.
g) A pitcher pitches two innings Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. Legal: He has pitched 12 of his allowable 16 innings for that week.
h) A pitcher pitches one inning Tuesday and eight innings Wednesday. Legal and he will follow with two calendar days of rest, meaning Thursday and Friday. He can next pitch on Saturday.
i) A pitcher pitches eight innings on Monday; does not pitch on Tuesday, however, does pitch on Wednesday. How many can he pitch on Wednesday? He can pitch the maximum of eight innings on Wednesday because those eight innings, added to the eight innings he pitched Monday, give him his maximum of 16 innings for the week. Had he only pitched seven innings on Monday, he could have pitched the maximum nine innings on Wednesday and reached his maximum 16 for the week.
j) A pitcher pitches six innings Wednesday; does not pitch Thursday, but does pitch on Friday. How many innings can he pitch on Friday? He can pitch a maximum of nine innings, which would give him a total of 15 innings for the week.
k) A game begins Tuesday, July 25, at 10:45 p.m. and is completed at 12:35 a.m. the following morning. The starting pitcher pitches; (a) 7 innings; (b) 9 innings. Under the IHSAA pitching rule, the game would be considered played July 25th, even though the game did not end until early the following morning. In (a) the pitcher would be able to pitch 2 innings on Wednesday, those 2 innings combined with the 7 innings pitched on Tuesday make 9 innings pitched on two consecutive days. The pitcher would now have to take two consecutive calendar days off, Thursday and Friday. He may pitch again on Saturday. In (b), the pitcher would have to take two consecutive calendar days off, meaning Wednesday and Thursday. He could pitch Friday. This is all providing he does not exceed 16 innings in a week and stays within the prescribed guidelines (Sunday through Saturday).
l) A pitcher pitches 7 innings on Friday and 2 innings on Saturday, the pitcher must follow with two calendar days of rest, meaning Sunday and Monday. He may next pitch on Tuesday. The confusion with a few coaches was that Saturday ended the week by reference, and with that in mind they thought this individual could pitch again on Monday. The rule is for the safety of the individual and when two calendar days of rest are required, the pitcher is unable to pitch again until day three when category B of the pitching rule applies.
Other ads typically had celebrities, in a polar bear outfit. Like this one. Here's The Four Tops.
So anyway, I was having an 80s themed party, and wanted some Sun Country Wine Cooler. So I wanted to make my own. I found some recipes on the net. Tried 'em, didn't like 'em. One of them was to use pinot grigio wine. Don't! Tasted like crap.
Try this for a sampler to see if you like it. I had several people at my party say they really liked it. So stay to the same ratios if you want a bigger batch, but make yourself a glass first to try:
4 oz. Welch's Orange/Pineapple/Apple Juice Cocktail
4 oz. Pink Moscato wine. (though any Moscato would probably work)
6 oz. Ginger Ale
I thought it had the right amount of fizzy, fruity, winey.
I can't call Rich a friend, but certainly an acquaintance. I was in some Judge Story plays with him, being a Roland city councilman and mayor, I had times to cross paths with him on his work with Story City economic development, and I would talk to him occasionally as he was voice of the Norsemen football over the PA, while I did my radio work on The Rocket.
So I can't quite comment like his friends could. But he is a guy that any town would be happy to have.
Reading his obituary, I saw that he had lived in Story City since he was 2. I was aware that he graduated from school here, ended up as a coach, and then ran his own small business.
Normally, somebody that has lived their whole life in a town, I worry about being a "townie". My definition of a townie is somebody that has lived their whole life in a town, hangs out at the bar, is not in any civic organizations, and bitches about all the problems in the town (and he probably likes the Hawkeyes and worships Hayden Fry)
Rich met the first criteria for being a townie. But the reason why he was not a townie and instead was great for Story City was his civic-mindedness. He volunteered his time for stuff that made Story City and Roland-Story better. And with his economic development work, he made the area better, by helping bring in jobs.
I didn't know Rich enough to know if he bitched about stuff. But even if he did, he was out there trying to solve the problems of the community.
Not every town is lucky enough to have a guy like that. So his death is a loss for his family, but it is also a loss for the community as well.
So that paint job is how an airline was branded, and would be obvious to a flyer as to whose plane is was. American Airlines had an obvious one. They weren't painted. They had their bare aluminum skin.
I was thinking about my favorite liveries, so decided to make a blog post about it. In reviewing some, I think in general I like stripes across the windows, airline name above the windows. The wrong logos on the tail, I'm not a fan of either. While not a list in order, I'll start with some I don't like.
Here is one from now defunct PeoplExpress. An upstart after airline deregulation, they eventually went under. I don't like the brown, the highlighted windows, or that lame logo on the tail.
I don't like the airline name wide across the body. The Polish airline LOT has always done that. Northwest did it for awhile too.
And I'm just not a fan of the Eskimo on the tail of Alaska Air. It also has the airline name big across the body, so if one has to be chosen as my least favorite livery, this is it.
Coming in at #4 is the 80s/90s United Airlines with the "tulip tail". United has changed their livery over the years probably more than anyone. And they've never had a bad one. Of current liveries, I think they have the best one. On their tail is a nod to Continental Airlines, and their logo, after United took over Continental. So anyway, below is a 80s 737, and then as an added bonus, a 737 with their current livery.
Coming in at #3 and #2 are similar. At #3 TWA, and #2 PanAm. TWA is now a part of American, and I think Pan Am just kinda went under. I flew on TWA some, and never flew on PanAm. But they, to me, were the classy international airlines. If I ever had a chance to go to Rome or Prague or Cairo, it was going to be on TWA or PanAm. Now my experience on TWA was flying to Sioux City and not Rome. But in any case, I think I looked good doing it. TWA went thru some different liveries over the years, but I liked the version with the red block "Trans World", and the black under the windshield. A TWA 747 was just a bad ass jet. As for PanAm, I really liked the 60s and 70s look. White with blue and their recognizable logo on the tail. I include a photo of the 707, the first and best international travel jet--which was also on the the main characters in the movie Airport.
Now for my winner. North Central Airlines. North Central ended in the early 80s after merging with Republic, who merged with Northwest, who merged with Delta. Never had a chance to fly them. But I recall a trip my parents took me to the Minneapolis Airport, and with North Central headquartered there, there were plenty of those planes to look at. I remember seeing them on a trip to the Sioux City Airport as well, as a kid. I think their teal and silver look sharp, and their font on "North Central". They also had a distinctive logo on the tail. It even had a name, Herman the Duck. So here is a Convair 580 (I got to fly on one of those a few times-curtains in the windows even), their DC-9, and even an promo film for them.
(Grd)(CVC)(46)-L.jpg)
So wahat airline livery to you like?
I call BS. A fixed income sounds good to me. I could get thrown out on my ear tomorrow. My income is not fixed. Gramps, you are still gonna get your check next month, and the next month, til forever, and not ever have to worry about it. Plus, if inflation is high, you get a bump in pay.
Then if you still don't like it, get a frickin' job. That's a way to increase your income.
My sorrow for you is less than or equal to zero.
My peeve is people and companies who turn Memorial Day into "Salute the Troops Day". Yes, I like the troops. Yes, I am thankful for the efforts our troops do to protect our country. But Memorial Day is not a troops honoring day.
I saw a post on Facebook from Air Choice One " In honor of Memorial Day, tag a veteran, and tell us how you appreciate their service, and we will give one lucky winner 2 round trip flights on our airline."
That's great, and it is nice a company rewards our veterans. But the people who should get the prize for Memorial Day, can't use it, because they are deceased. I think it is bad karma to do special things for live veterans on Memorial Day. Again, this is a day to honor those who have passed away, in particular, armed forces who died in service of their country.
I feel the same way about people who are posting pictures of their alive and kicking current and/or former military friends and family. If you want to post a picture of old Uncle Joe, in his uniform when he was in Korea, and then died in 1992, I've got no problem with that either. But today is not the day to post a picture of Cousin Jimmy, who is currently stationed in the Azores. Today. is. not. that. day.
There is a line there, and maybe I'm coming off as anti-military or anti-veteran, but that is not the case. My request is to reserve this day for those that have passed away, and use it to honor them.
Here's my guy to honor. I went looking for Vietnam War casualties. You can search by date. I decided to search for my birthday. Unfortunately, there were a lot of US servicemen killed on the day I was born. I'm gonna choose this guy, Gunny Willis Bowman, from Philadelphia. If you want to read about him, here ya go.
In both cases, I got to deliver the state delegation vote totals for the presidential candidates. So that was kinda cool. I got my 30 seconds of fame on C-SPAN.
I sorta remember my speeches for both, in 96 it was something like, "Mr. Chairman, the delegation from West Virginia, where the state motto is Montani Semper Liberi, Mountaineers are always free, we cast our votes for the following....."
In 2000, it was, "Mr. Chairman, the delegation from Iowa, the birthplace of (I forget, it was somebody from Iowa who had just died or something), the birthplace of Super Bowl MVP Kurt Warner, and the future birthplace of Captain James T. Kirk, we cast our votes for the following..." I knew Libertarians tend to be Star Trek nerds, so I knew the Captain Kirk reference would get an applause line. It did.
I've always had kind of a love/like relationship with the Libertarian Party. For the most part, politically I am a libertarian. There are all sorts of definitions, I've heard "Pro Choice on Everything", "socially liberal, fiscally conservative", "Republicans Who Smoke Pot", "South Park Republicans", among others.
So there are libertarians (with a small "l"), who have a political philosophy. Then there are Libertarians (with a big "L"). That is a party member. The problem with being a big "L" is that America just doesn't, as a whole, vote for 3rd party candidates. It can be Greens, Reform, Libertarian, or whatever. Once any 3rd party starts getting too big, one of the 2 big parties will start endorsing what the 3rd party is pushing, and then the 3rd party goes back to irrelevancy. So to run or a support a Libertarian generally means you are voting for somebody who is not going to win. "Wasting your vote" is the frequent mantra. So to be active as a Libertarian means getting your brains beat in on Election Day. You don't get money because you can't win, you can't win because you don't have money.
Then I've found many Libertarians want to run a debating society, and not too the hard political work. People run for US Congress as Libertarians that have never even been elected to anything, don't belong to any civic organizations, but are the masters of online message boards. That's not a way to win elections. They may be great people, and great ideas, but that is like showing up with a bunch of 5 foot tall guys to play a NBA team in basketball.
So anyway, I was watching the convention today, that was taking place in Orlando. It was the same stuff that drove me crazy about those conventions. It is a meeting, run with 1000 people, with Roberts Rules of Order. So there are always people making "points of order" or "points of personal privilege". Then motions to argue all sorts of arcane crap. There is a certain segment of people that seem to get off on being Roberts Rules gurus. You even see it locally at the caucuses here in Iowa. "Mr. Chair, I move to suspend the rules to allow Joe Blow to make a 2 minute presentation to comment on the withdrawal of his nomination to be the party's Vice Presidential nominee". Then someone else hollers, "Point of information" "The Chair recognizes microphone #2. Please state your name." "Mr. Chair, John Doe, delegate from Ohio, is the 2 minute presentation now, or after the discussion of the motion to cease nominations?" ARRRGH!
Today was the awesome sauce of the LP tho. The Republicans and Democrats have highly scripted conventions. They care about what it looks like on TV, and nobody is getting to the stage without being properly vetted. But today....The LP was doing nomination speeches for individuals who were interested in becoming their national chairman. So the first speaker was some guy around 30 years old, about an 8" long beard below his chin, and weighing around 300 bills. He had the convention audio-visual people start some song, and he proceeded to slowly strip down to a thong. No one bothered to get him off the stage, and he danced in a thong for his allotted 2 minute time. Hilarious, sad, and pathetic all at the same time. At the end of the 2 minutes, he withdrew his nomination for chair. Here is American Democracy in action.
I don't think Sam Adams is overrated. It's a solid beer. Blue Moon is a good one for the list. I really don't get the appeal. "Put an orange with it". If it needs an orange, it sucks.
Which gets to my most overrated beer, and that is Leiney's Summer Shandy. I've never drank horse piss, but that is what I imagine it tastes like. Regular Leinenkugel's is ok. I'd love to have someone hand me a regular Leiney's. But their Summer Shandy is awful.
I get that people are trending to micro breweries. And these brewers are trying various concoctions. But please, no fruit in the beer. Beer should be beer. If I want wine, I'll drink wine. So this Summer Shandy crap has lemon in it. "It's like a combination of lemonade and beer." Think about that for a second. That sounds horrible.
It's still a little hokey at times. But it is the grand daddy of realistic cop/law dramas. It does a nice mix of drama and comedy.
Something that I noticed, is that my political opinion hasn't changed in the 30 years since this show aired. I really disliked the character of Henry Goldblum back then. His character is a detective that is a bleeding heart liberal. Sticking up for dirtballs, and just generally being whiny and full of doubt all the time. Just didn't like the guy. And the funny thing is, I fell the same way now. Just find him annoying.
I don't have a favorite character. If I had to pick one, I'd pick a guy that didn't get on the show until the last couple years, and he wasn't ever on that much. But that was Sid the Snitch. The character was really pathetic, a sleazeball and very self-interested, but he had a good heart in the end. Here he is in action...
Now at 9:30, I might flip over to 8.2 to watch Hogan's Heroes. Probably my favorite live action 1/2 hour comedy show ever. They had some stinkers, but all in all a good show. I can forgive the laugh track, which is awful. And I get, POW camps are not funny, and they were nothing like this. But in the end, they are making fun of Nazis, so that is good.
I might flip over to 13-3 at 10PM. They replay old Tonight Shows with Johnny Carson. I didn't really watch him much back then, mostly because I generally was in bed then. But I watched enough to know that he was King of Late Night. So I like to watch his opening monologues. They are flippin' hilarious. Of course a lot of the jokes are time bound. I've heard a lot of Al Haig jokes lately. I'm sure they would fall flat to anybody over 40. But lots of really laugh out loud funny stuff that is timeless. Johnny is a really good interviewer too. Whether it is a staple like Tony Randall, or some starlet that was never heard from again.
So if you have your rabbit ears hooked up, give it a try!
I had a really good time.
I wasn't expecting it to be that fun, but I kinda liked it. Now most of the fun was because I sat next to the Cyclone Hockey team, who went as a group to the game. And they were full of commentary, that you would expect from a bunch of college guys. They were cheering for the Cyclones. But they were also riding Baylor too. Nothing horrible or over the line, in my opinion, but snarky in a fun way.
Baylor had a player named Robin. So the guys were chanting, "Batman's sidekick! Batman's sidekick!" Or "You are a bird! You are a bird!" And they were hollering at on deck batters, "You have an ugly bat!" And of course they rode the umpires, especially on plays that weren't even close. A Cyclone player was thrown out at first by 3 steps. "C'mon Blue! Are you blind? Open your eyes!" A Baylor player hit a home run. They guys started chanting, "Steroids! Steroids!" It was hilarious.
I know the Clones have struggled in softball, and this game was no exception. Clones hung with them for 5 innings, then ended up losing by 10 or so.
The field is, what, maybe 3 years old now? It's really nice, and it in next to the new track and soccer field, just east of the Towers, and just north of the ice arena along Mortensen. Best of all, no charge to get into the game.
The really funny thing is, how much it is like high school sports tho. When we think about football or men's basketball, it is a huge event, and the players seem larger than life, and almost untouchable. Here, after the game, the Baylor girls left the dugout, walked behind the bleachers, and met their parents. They were carrying their own bat bags. I heard the Baylor pitcher's dad talking to his daughter about the plate umpire. Then the players all got onto the bus, still wearing their uniforms. So it is easy to say, Big 12 softball is not like Big 12 football.
But again, just wanted to mention it, because even though the Clones lost, and even though I was by myself, I had a pretty good time. I endorse Cyclone Softball for some good, cheap entertainment.
I was reading a copy of the newspaper of the Dubuque Catholic Diocese that Vicki gets, and found a commentary about the show. It surprisingly didn't rip it to shreds.
If you are interested in the show, it is an interesting read, HERE IT IS.
Of course, the original review from the Catholic News Service is a bit more harsh, from when the series first came out. HERE IT IS.
Tonite's episode was a bit more interesting from a dogma point of view. Of course the criticism from the church is that this show adds some glamour to Satan, aka Lucifer. But tonite, they pounded home the horrors of Hell. If you watched the show from a Christian perspective, I think it would be rather refreshing to see that on network television.
And speaking of the word "Dogma", it reminds me a bit of the movie of the same name. It is good entertainment, but it gives you something to think about, other than a straight laugh. However I realize how the movie Dogma is seen, would be widely open to interpretation, depending on your religious point of view. But I suppose that is another blog post. HERE is the IMDB review of that movie in case you are interested.
So schedules are set on two year schedules, to give a school a home and away for each opponent they are assigned.
So each fall, each high school conducts a census of their student population in grades 9-11. The top 48 (I think) are assigned to Class 4A, the next 56 to 3A, the next 56 to 2A, and so on. The smallest 11 man classification is A, so they get the remainder of schools, and will be some odd number. 8 man football is one class, and all 8 man schools are in it.
So to set the 8 team districts (for 7 games), the IHSAA looks at the schools in the class, and I presume start in the corners to get 8 teams, and work their way in. After those are set, schools can put in a request for opponents for the two non-district games, assuming a rival didn't get assigned in district play.
So in the past month of so, for the Fall 2016 and 2017 seasons, the district assignments were made. Roland-Story got a pretty favorable district assignment I think. Travel wise, nobody is over an hour away. There are a couple right at it-namely Parkersburg (Aplington-Parkersburg), Dike (Dike-New Hartford), and LeGrand (East Marshall). But the other opponents are closer, CMB (depends whether we play at Maxwell or Baxter), Saydel, West Marshall, and South Hardin.
Then, the opponents are no killers row. Now I expect D-NH and A-P to fight for the top, and maybe CMB. They are always solid. But East Marshall, West Marshall, Saydel, and South Hardin have struggled as of late, but so have the Norse as far as that goes.
Ok, so this past week, the non-district opponents were announced. I figured South Hamilton would be one of them, as I would expect both Roland-Story and South Hamilton both requested each other. Big rivals, close trips, and R-S and SH have played every year but two in the history of Roland-Story. And indeed they were assigned to each other, and will play in week 2 of the season.
I was thinking of various schools who the 2nd team would be. Maybe some newer "rivals" such as Iowa Falls or Hampton. Or maybe something out of the box, like a Class 2A school that we occasionally run into in other sports, like Eagle Grove, Clarion, or Prairie Valley. The other choice was a long time rival, but one that has passed us by in size and success. And oddly enough, that is who we got, namely the Gilbert Tigers. Not a big fan of the matchup. Much like college football, I'd prefer to open with a slappy, somebody with an easy win, that we can try out various people and schemes. Gilbert will be a handful. The bean counters at both schools will like it. It will be sure to have a huge crowd with lots of concession spending. And it will get the kids motivated much more than a game versus Belmond-Klemme.
But I have no say, so here is the Norsemen schedule for 2016.
Roland-Story 2016 Schedule: 08/26 Gilbert 09/02 @South Hamilton, Jewell 09/09 CMB, Baxter 09/16 @East Marshall, LeGrand 09/23 Saydel 09/30 Aplington-Parkersburg 10/07 @Dike-New Hartford 10/14 South Hardin 10/21 @West Marshall, State Center
And here is the map of the layouts of Class 2A districts
So part out of boredom, part out of interest of the math of it, and seeing how bad some are, I wanted to see how to make it work. I decided to make my own. And being a fan of high school sports, I decided to compare high schools in the Heart of Iowa Conference.
I was interested in the process of building one. It was a little time consuming, maybe took me two hours. But no big deal, Saturday night, put on some tunes, and fool around on the internet.
Only one problem I stumbled across. This particular program only allowed 8 choices. The HOIAC has 9 schools. So after some deliberation, sorry CMB, you weren't included.
So I set out to find some questions that differentiated the schools. Have soccer? Field turf on the football field? Multiple gyms? What sport are you good at?
The software then has you give a point total of 0, 1 or 2 to each school based on the answer given. So for example the soccer question was easy. If you answer you like soccer, all the HOIAC schools offering soccer get 2 points, the ones that don't get 0. If you click the answer that you don't like soccer, the schools without it get 2 points, and the schools with soccer get 0.
The bus trip question was a little more subjective. I came up with 3 answers. If you like bus trips, PCM, South Hamilton, and Greene County got 2s, Saydel, RS got 1s, and North Polk, Nevada, and Gilbert got 0s, because I saw them as the most centrally located. Oh yeah, there was one odd one. For the question on football field turf, 2s went to the schools that had grass or turf depending on the answer. However, for Nevada, 1 point was added no matter how you answered. They have grass, but are getting turf, so 1 point, no matter how you answered.
For presentation of the quiz, there are pictures. You can simply cut and paste in a URL for a pic out there on the net for the question itself, and for all the schools. That probably took as much time as anything. I had to find pics for 9 schools/towns, and for the 10 questions.
You can pretty much take the quiz to get to the answer you want. If you want your answer to end up as Gilbert, choose soccer, mega night, field turf, good in track/cross country, black or red, and that you like the roundabout!
So no smack talk in the quiz. I was getting tired, so the roundabout question was an add on just to get to 10.
If you want to take the quiz, HERE IT IS. It's starting to get shared around, so that is fun. Glad to see people are getting some amusement out of it.
I am actually watching 3 now, which is kind of amazing. One is soon to end. I have been really jacked about the 6 episode return of the X-Files. I've been pleased with it, and maybe a future post on that. I also stumbled across Angie Tribeca on TBS, which I document below.
So anyway, I watched the first episode of X-Files, left it on Fox, and started reading the paper. They had a brand new show on, called Lucifer.The pilot kinda interested me, to the point I put the paper down and was focused on the show. And it was enough to DVR the series.
So the title character is the devil himself, come to hang out on Earth. He gets hooked up with an attractive female detective on the LAPD. Lucifer has his expected powers, but he likes to hang out with the detective, and solve crimes to help punish the wicked. Lucifer runs a night club, has some fellow bad underworld characters show up and so on, trying to get him back to Hell. But Lucifer also gets advice from a psychiatrist, who doesn't know he is the devil, but offers her help with humans.
The show is a dramedy, you might say. It isn't always played for laughs, but it has its definite funny moments.
I suppose, if you were deeply religious, you might say this is a horrible show, because often the devil/Lucifer is played in a good light. Of course it could be argued the other way. Each episode is its own little morality play, and it is clear to the viewer who is good and who is bad, and the bad people always get their comeuppance. If you are a Star Trek The Next Generation fan, Lucifer reminds me of Q, and the detective is Captain Picard. Lucifer/Q are often bad, but intrigued by humans, and are humored by the actions of the detective/Picard
I love the show. I think it is fun, with a little naughty in there. It is not Masterpiece Theatre, and I've thought that some of the single episode characters have been acted weakly. And the best part, each episode ends like a Scooby Doo episode. The bad person ends up revealing all. The only thing it lacks is, "I would have gotten away with it too, if it weren't for those meddling kids!"
I've read some reviews online, and all the big reviewers have raked the show over pretty good. Ok, maybe it won't win any Emmys. But I think it is good fun, and I hope Fox re-ups the show.
But like Police Squad! it is a cop show. Which leads to all sorts of sight gags and such. In the episode I watched today, Angie and her partner "Jay Geils" (80s joke), are about to arrest an art dealer. He exclaims, "I've been framed!" right when movers are carrying a large frame by him. Yes, groan away. But I endorse it. Give it a look on TBS.
Oh yeah, that art dealer, his name was Dr. Zaius. (a main character from the movie Planet of the Apes).
Just when I think I'm done, I think of more dumb stuff. An expensive painting got stolen. In the art gallery, there was a sign in front of the painting that said, "Do Not Touch". The thief came with a can of spray paint and "X"ed out the word "Not". The police were incredulous at the thief who was smart enough to spray out the word "Not" so he could steal the painting. Fun stuff!
I haven't been in a play in over 10 years, probably closer to 15, when I was in Murder at Rutherford House. In that one, I played the part of Wendle Weedle, the detective out to solve a murder. Judge Story Theatrical Troupe has had off and on dinner theatre shows over the years. Being an empty nester, I decided to jump in and take another crack at it when this show opened up.
HERE is a link to the Judge Story Theatrical Troupe page, and the official description of Death By Design.
In my part, I play Walter Pearce, a conservative politician. Not too much of a stretch to play the part I guess. I have to deal with a bunch of moral degenerates when we meet up at a country estate in 1931 England. Somebody gets murdered, and somebody is the murderer. Is it me, the actress, the playwright, the chauffeur, the maid, the mysterious visitor, the artist, or the young Bernie Sanders?
When I first read the script, I didn't think it was very funny. But as it gets acted out, it is a pretty entertaining show. The ending might give you the tilted dog head confused look. But that's ok. It is not Masterpiece Theatre by any means.
I've enjoyed getting to do my role. I have to play the part with a stick up my ass, so to speak. Of course I am the conservative politician, but I also have an ulterior motive, namely putting the moves on a fading actress. So that's fun.
I've got my lines down pretty well. I made a recording of my parts, and then I listen to them on a CD when I drive around for work. Less listening to sports talk radio, but that's OK. I am hardly a theatre major. So the thing that has me interested to see, is how I remember the lines in front of a crowd. Laughter and such can throw off the timing, that you get used to in a closed practice. So I guess we shall see!
Not that funny if you haven't seen the movie I suppose. But if you have, I can't imagine you won't get a chuckle out of this.
So I am going to make my predictions on the caucus. I've seen the polls. I've heard the speeches. I've seen Twitter and Facebook commentary. I've driven around Iowa and seen what yard signs are out there.
In the past, I always seem to over predict the vote totals of people I like. I think that is because I tend to gravitate to those I agree with. So I've decided this year, I'm going to give a minus 3% to the people I like in getting the final percentages. So here ya go....feel free to mock me now, or on Wednesday morning.
Let's start with the Democrats. I think Bernie's going to win Iowa. Hillary got 3rd in 2008, if you do not recall, behind 0bama and John Edwards. Iowans want candidates to go to the Pizza Ranches, and small rallies in coffee shops. Hillary rarely does that. And for whatever reason, Iowa is a state that has not been comfortable with women candidates. If you recall, Iowa has never had a woman elected to federal office until just 1.5 years ago when Joni Ernst won the US Senate race.
Of course Hillary has plenty of supporters. But I think in what is of interest to the Democrat electorate in Iowa, Bernie matches more viewpoints. Martin O'Malley? Dude is running for Vice President or something. He should have an asterisk by his name.
Bernie Sanders 52% ||| Hillary Clinton 45% ||| Martin O'Malley 2% ||| Uncommitted 1%
The big story is that Trump leads in the polls. He gets huge crowds wherever he goes. But I'm calling my shot. He is not going to win Iowa. If he does, the Republican nomination is set. He will be the Republican nominee. But like I said, I don't think he wins. He would if we had a primary, but I just don't think he will get enough people out to a caucus to win it.
Ted Cruz is going to win Iowa. He has a great organization. And he is going to get most of the evangelical vote, which is what makes up the majority of Iowa Republican caucus goers.
Rubio is going to come in 3rd, plenty of interest in him. 2016 won't be his year. But if he keeps his nose clean, I can see him being the R nominee in some future election.
Rand Paul could have been in 2nd and 3rd, but for whatever reason, he didn't seem to keep his father's coalition together. I think a lot of his constituency is at Bernie Sanders too. Younger folks that are not fans of the drug war, and the NSA spying, often have some same economic ideas as Bernie, and that hurts Rand.
Ben Carson had his chance, people like him, but I think in the year of Trump, people probably want a little more a boisterous president, and not one as cerebral.
As for the rest, Carly will get some votes because she is a woman, not for any other compelling reason. Christie has some establishment support, but he just didn't click in Iowa. Kasich has appeal to more moderate Republicans, and would do better in a general election than a Republican caucus.
I forgot about Jeb Bush. Last August or so, the incestuous media always talked about Bush. Anybody with any nose to the ground knew he was getting nowhere. Yes, he had a crap ton of money. But there was no, and I mean NO, ground roots support for the guy. I know people across the political spectrum, and never once, this whole season, did I hear of someone who said they were going to vote for Jeb. Which annoyed me that the media propped him up all the time. But I digress...
Ted Cruz 32% ||| Donald Trump 30% ||| Marco Rubio 12% ||| Ben Carson 8% ||| Rand Paul 8%
John Kasich 3% ||| Chris Christie 3% ||| Carly Fiorina 2% ||| Jeb Bush 2%
And at 1% or less Mike Huckabee and Rick Santorumdoesn't add to 100% due to rounding
I'm still pondering revealing my caucus vote. Maybe because I'm still pondering who to vote for.....
Hillary Clinton is the New England Patriots
This one is the easiest. Has their wide share of fans, but everyone else hates them. Cheats all the time, and gets away with it.
Bernie Sanders is the Denver Broncos
Old guy at the helm. Everybody wonders why/how they do so well. Legal weed in Colorado also suits most of the Bernie supporters too.
Rand Paul is the New York Jets
Very dedicated and loyal fanbase. Some psychotic nut supporters. Liberty faction in the Republican Party is the redheaded stepchild of the party, just like the Jets are in NYC.
Jeb Bush is the Miami Dolphins
Very good pedigree. On paper, looks talented. But everybody laughs at the thought of a Dolphins Super Bowl or Jeb Bush presidency.
Ben Carson is the Tennessee Titans
Just like you can't hear Ben Carson, you can't really hear the Titans. You know they are there, but they don't really make any noise.
Ted Cruz is the Pittsburgh Steelers
A pick to win it all. A loyal and dedicated fan base around the country full of true believers. Opponents know they are good and resent it. Well coached and prepared.
John Kasich is the San Diego Chargers
Nobody really hates the Chargers, but a lot of times they are annoying like the talkative 9 year old that is always tugging at your arm. They are not going to win, but you are forced to acknowledge their presence.
Marco Rubio is the Cincinnati Bengals
All sorts of talent, but self-inflicted stuff that prevents going top tier. You always wonder, why don't the Bengals do better?
Carly Fiorina is the Detroit Lions
You start off saying, "No way." Then the Lions win 4 in a row, and you are thinking, "Wow, we are on to something here." Then by week 16, you kinda forget that the Lions are in the NFL.
Chris Christie is the Green Bay Packers
This is my weakest comparison. I don't really have a good one. I chose this because I like Christie himself well enough, and I like the Packer players. But when I look at his policies and most Packer fans, I want them to lose.
Donald Trump is the Dallas Cowboys
A lot of spectacular wins and buildings, and lot of bad losses and bankruptcies. I don't think there is a team with more Super Bowl trophies to go along with double digit loss seasons. Their fans love them, and the doubters think they are clowns (see Romo).
Rick Santorum, Mike Huckabee, and Jim Gilmore are the Canton Bulldogs.
They used to be in the NFL, 90 years ago. Unfortunately for these 3, they haven't realized their team has folded.
Stop.
Please stop.
There is no way we are going to have a 40" snow event inside the borders of Iowa. It has never happened, and it is not going to happen next week.
If you are apt to believe it, please take a look at a map. There are no bodies of water within 1000 miles that can supply a 40" snowfall.
Now maybe if the world started spinning the other direction, maybe we could get 40" of lake effect snow from Lake Michigan in Dubuque. But I'm guessing the sun will be coming up in the east next week.
It's fun to talk about, just like winning the Powerball. But It ain't gonna happen.
And trust me, I got an A in Meteorology at Iowa State.
My favorites went up and down the dial as I grew up. My first favorite radio station was 59 WOW out of Omaha. The followed by 13K KELO out of Sioux Falls, 62 KMNS out of Sioux City. Night time listening was at KAAY in Little Rock, and my all time favorite on the AM band, WLS out of Chicago. All of them were Top 40 stations, spinning the hits.
When I moved to suburban Chicago, I was awed by the choices on my radio band. I stumbled across some suburban FM station going by the moniker "Z-Rock". It was the greatest thing to a white boy tiring of Top 40 music. It was a hard rock/heavy metal station. Besides the more Top 40 hits by groups like RATT, Quiet Riot, and AC/DC, you would also hear Dokken, Krokus, Iron Maiden, Dio, Anthrax and other acts that were a bit to the left of Top 40 radio.
But Z-Rock wasn't local, it was the first national satellite music radio network. Wikipedia has a good rundown of the network.
Rightly or wrongly, this was the first shot in the battle of live and local radio.
They were on many stations across the country, including the one in suburban Chicago. When I got my travelling job with Motorola, I heard them in many other markets. It was always good to hear the same voices, jingles, and tunes.
A few years after I moved to Charleston, WV, they had a small local station at 1490AM pick up the Z-Rock network. It was a small 1000 watt AM station that I could barely get in my suburban home, but it was the same hard rock music that I live, albeit in scratchy AM. WCZR, AM 1490, Charleston's Z-Rock.
Part of their deal for fans was to join the "Z-Rock Metal Militia." You could go purchase some dog tags at a local store, and then use the tags to get discounts at various stores. Not sure I got a discount for anything, but they were a pre-internet way of organizing listeners. I still have them, and went digging for them. Below is my Z-Rock Metal Militia dog tag.
I found a sampling of airchecks from that Chicago station I listened to. WZRC, 106.7 (Z-Rock Chicago). They had two tags lines that were great too. They've been ripped off by other stations, but I think they may have been the first.
IF IT'S TOO LOUD, YOU'RE TOO OLD!
FLIP US ON, AND FLIP THEM OFF!
LOCK IT IN AND RIP THE KNOB OFF!
Here is the aircheck
In listening to this, it is amazing how fresh and modern the imaging is. This above audio is from 30 years ago. I think you could put this on the air now, and still have it sound like a 2016 radio station.
Of course, I like to offer my snark on the world as well. I tend to be a bit more course on Twitter than Facebook, because it is so easy to turn into a flame war between friends on Facebook. And that is no fun.
So last night, after ISU knocked off the #1 college basketball team, the Oklahoma Sooners, I had a little fun on Twitter as well. But it was at the expense of a Kansas hoops star. So anyway, ISU had not beaten a #1 team since 1957. And that was Wilt Chamberlain led Kansas. But currently, KU has a player named Perry Ellis. Ellis is a great player, been starting since his freshman year I believe. So in college basketball, that seems like forever. Added to that, he has a massive receding hairline, and to most observers, he looks way too old to be playing college basketball. So I tweeted this.
The last time Iowa State beat a #1 team, was 1957 against the Kansas Jayhawks. Back when Perry Ellis was a sophomore.
— Roger Fritz (@rogerfritz) January 19, 2016Anyway, this tweet went cuckoo on Twitter. It has been retweeted (shared in Facebook terms) scores of times. Over 12,000 people have seen it. I know that is not a big deal for Donald Trump, a Kardashian, or ESPN. But kind of a big deal for little ol' me. I just thought I was being funny to try to amuse my 250 followers. But it really blew up. Reminds me of a certain lawn mowing video.....
Just saw one that breaks that mold. Nissan has a new ad out for their Titan pickup. Nissan actually gives a nod of appreciation to their competitors, and what they have done.
Of course this ad follows my rule of, "If you are on top, never mention your competitors, and if you are not, you mention them every chance you get." I'm not a marketing major, but that is my opinion.
So Nissan met my rule in this case, albeit briefly. But it is just a great ad. Pulls at heartstrings, nostalgia, and still shows the product at the end.
I'm somewhat partial to Nissans. Drive the Titan's little brother, a 2005 Frontier. My first car was a Datsun/Nissan, and probably am going to get a Murano later this year. But I'm ready to go out and buy a Titan now!
Vicki took a girls' weekend trip to Galena, Illinois. She took her credit card along, so that was bad news. But fortunately, the nice wife that she is, she returned with a gift for me. Namely a 6 pack of random beers. I honestly cannot remember 4 of them. One I didn't like. It was ginger beer of some kind. It wasn't "bad", but certainly nothing I would drink, given a choice of any other beer.
But there was one I really liked, and it was Warsteiner Dunkel. I'm no beer connoisseur, where I write about them, and know my IPAs from pilsners, from my lagers. I know them when I see them, but can't really explain them.
In short, it is a dark beer, maybe a hint of coffee taste to it. Here is a description from their website.
Anyway, I thought it might be one of those micro beers I would never see again. But after a look on the web, I found a couple places in Ames where I could get it. My store of choice for adult beverages, Cyclone Liquors, carries it. And right across the parking lot, Hy-Vee carries it as well. So anyway, if you like trying different beers, I give it my endorsement.
I have a feeling the Chiefs might win. And I like the Panthers and Cardinals on the NFC side.
I probably jinxed the Chiefs. I'm not a Chiefs hater. And whenever I get on their bandwagon a bit, they seem to doink it away. But it would be nice to see them beat the Patriots.
I bought a Samsung Gear VR virtual reality headset for myself for Christmas. Just wanted to comment on it, and give it a review. The above video is what it looks like, and how to install a phone. The video itself is not a review.
So I paid $99 for it from Amazon. To use it, you need a Samsung Note 4 or 5 (I think). I have a Samsung Galaxy S6 (it doesn't work on the S5 or lower). It has external jacks so you can charge while watching, or hook up a headset/ear buds. You can also adjust the focus and adjust the volume, on two other exterior "buttons".
I've never really used a VR setup before. And simply put, it is awesome. It is amazing how quick the response is, as you turn your head, and look around at stuff.
So what does it do? I'm not a gamer, but you can download games, and use a remote controller to play games. Haven't done that yet, but I imagine it is pretty cool, if that is what you are into, based on how other stuff works. Though it probably isn't a focus of the unit, where I got the most wows, when passing it around at a Christmas party, was the VR theatre, where you can watch your own videos on the phone. It plays your video (and I put some GoPro action videos on), and makes it as if you are sitting in a theatre watching your video on a big screen. Chairs are all around you, the carpet, and the whole theatre scene. Hard to describe, but basically it is like watching your movies in a theatre. You can also change from the theatre mode, to a home theatre, or if you were an ant watching on a smart phone, or if you were sitting on the moon, watching a video on a screen.
Of course they have the usual VR movies you can watch. I haven't watched a whole movie, but I've done the flying on a ship in a Star Wars short, and just their promotional videos. It is like putting you right where the camera is, as you have a 360 degree field of vision.
There are also apps to be able to watch YouTube videos, so that is kinda cool too. It is like watching a YouTube video in a theatre, if there is something you want to watch in that mode.
The headset has a foam "seal" that really cuts out outside light. It doesn't weigh very much. The phone itself is the heavy part. Generally speaking, it doesn't affect my eyes much. I watched some videos with a bunch of bounce, and that did give me a little headache. It has a headstrap to secure to your head, and there is enough room to watch with glasses, if that is how you roll.
All in all a fun gift to myself. I'm guessing gamers would absolutely love this. I'm not a big movie watcher, but I'm going to watch some on this. As content becomes even more available, I can see this catching on more than the 3D TV thing. I have a 3D TV, and it kinda cool, but this immerses you in what you are watching.
So if you have a compatable phone, and $99 to spend on fun, I endorse picking one up.