After playing the way i feared we’d play in the first half (sloppy, uninspired, careless), Butler returned to winning form. Not to a winning form they’ve seen this year, but the second half was more reminiscent of Bulldogs past. Limiting turnovers, hitting 3’s, and forcing UTEP to turn the ball over. A first round record setting 3-point shooting made up for Nored’s poor performance taking care of the ball and abhorrent free throw shooting (1-7). Another surprising statistic was Hayward going 0-6 from 3-point land! At the end of the game, they were practically giving him the 3 like he was Nored.
After the game i went to the IndyStar Web site and saw this headline…i thought it was going to be about Butler’s hot shooting, but was saddened to learn some dogs had actually been set on fire.
For the first time since a long time ago, i will not be able to make the first round of the NCAA tournament. Yes, that does induce a mild bout of depression. Butler will have to win the first two rounds without me. Butler plays Thursday at around 4:45 pm which fortunately should allow me to watch the game before going to work. If it wasn't already a shortened week for me, i would still try and get Thursday night covered and spend the $600 to get to San Jose plus hotel and such.
Let's review why missing the post season stings so much for me. The following list shows the year and locations i've traveled to watch Butler basketball over the years in the post-season.
'01-02 - Syracuse - Sitting in a sea of orange, the Bulldogs are defeated by Syracuse in the most exciting overtime game i've seen Butler lose. God-willing, revenging that NIT loss to Syracuse this year will send Butler to the Elite Eight for the first time.
'02-03 - Birmingham/Albany - Quite possibly the trip that cemented my devotion for Butler basketball. As a 12 seed, Butler beat the 5 seed Mississippi State on a runner in the lane by Brandon Miller then went on to beat the 4 seed Louisville to make the sweet 16. Then we took a trip to Albany to watch the Bulldogs fall short against Oklahoma.
'03-05 - off years for Butler
'05-06 - Florida State - Starting to get back on track, Butler makes the NIT making it down to play Florida State in a game they could've won.
'06-07 - Buffalo - Butler again wins two games (over Old Dominion and Maryland) to get to the Sweet 16. Followed them to St. Louis in a great game against an NBA-bound Florida that eventually won their 2nd straight NCAA tourney. Butler lead with under 4 minutes to go.
'07-08 - Birmingham - Back to Birmingham where Butler easily advanced over South Alabama only to fall to Tennessee in overtime. Butler had their chance to win this game, but just could not convert.
'08-09 - Greensboro - The selection committee was generous in having Butler play just up the road from Charlotte. Unfortunately, they looked too young and just did not have the usual Butler way about them and loss to LSU in the opening round.
'09-10 - SAN JOSE - Quite possibly the farthest possible desination from Charlotte other than maybe Spokane. The second strike is that the game is on Thursday when i have to work Thursday night. Strike 3 comes when i am already returning from a trip so it's tough to request more time off. Damn the man.
The good news is the final four will be in Indianapolis and fortunately i am already off the April 3rd weekend.
One hundred thousand years ago, a caveman was out hunting on the frozen wastes when he slipped and fell into a crevasse. In 2006, he was discovered by some scientists and thawed out. He then went to Notre Dame and became... Unfrozen Caveman Luke Harangody.
Seriously, he always reminds me of a cave man every time i see him.
After watching last night's Butler/Wright State game in Indy, there was a huge sigh of relief from college teams on the bubble of the NCAA tournament. An even louder sigh of relief came from me. i was truly scared to attend a Butler game against a Horizon League opponent after they had gone all year without a loss. It would have been added fuel to the fire of my belief that something i do during the course of a game or season is going to impact the outcome of Butler games. Fortunately, i did just what i needed to do and we won without a problem.
Made it to Chesterton. Never did figure out what brought me home this week aside from poorly planned Indiana trip with Megan and a few events that seemed like good timing had their been a major reason for the visit. We'll see what we can do.
This is the current basics of what make up the current Sampstar's App Essentials.
Yelp - has always been my favorite place for writing/reading reviews and in the past month or so they totally revamped their app to make it much, much better. i'm still not sure about the buzz around the "Check in" feature on these apps. It may just be that i don't know many people out and about to care who is where. One thing that just looks cool is the monocle feature where you hold up the iPhone in whatever direction and it shows you what is that direction and how far.
ScoreCenter - It was months before i realized it was actually Score and not Sportscenter. Anywho, when i first got this app, i don't believe it did all alerts (maybe) but now you can set alerts for game start, each quarter and final or just final. You can also arrange the sports or scores you want to see first and select your favorite teams that will be displayed on top.
TripIt - This little guy just makes it easier to find your travel information. Rather than looking through the email to find what airline you are flying this time, you simply email your flight itinerary to the tripit address and it recognizes your email and puts it in an easy to read format by trip.
RunKeeper - Started with TrailGuru, ended up with this one. Uses the GPS to track your runs outside, keeping time/pace and such. Sometimes has miscalculations in running routes, but usually seems pretty good. Now allows you to manually enter workouts you missed or did on the treadmill. If only i could remember to log all runs, it would be even better.
Dropbox - A nice little program that gives you up to 2GB free to store music, pics or whatever online. It automatically syncs with other computers you have and your iPhone. You can also share with others. Join Dropbox via this link and they might give me some extra storage.
Animoto - This app makes a 30-second video montage with the photos of your choosing.
An example: our cats
PhoneFlicks - Manage your Netflix que via your phone
myWireless (AT&T app) - easily allows you to view and pay your bill as well as check your minutes
U-verse TV - allows me to program my DVR from afar
Flixster - simple way to find movie times and watch previews
TweetDeck - when i do use Twitter, this is nice. it also allows me to view and update facebook status as well.
RedLaser - One of two apps i think i have actually paid something for, this is just fun when i'm at Target scoping out the clearance end caps. It checks the price on Google and locally supposedly.
Mint.com - if you're in to budget tracking, this works nicely.
Cardstar - allows you to put all your annoying loyalty cards from the wallet or key chain into your iPhone. It only works at places with a hand held scanner device from what i can tell. It works at CVS, but doesn't work at our gym unfortunately.
iheartradio - picks up 106.5 in Charlotte and 94.7 from Indy. Allows me to listen to Bob and Tom without the static of the radio at work.
So a few days ago on the road leading to our subdivision i first noticed a dead deer on the side of the road. Every time i drove by there was a swarm of vultures or whatever birds circling around and picking at the deer. Yesterday morning i even saw a wolf having a snack. This morning when i came home from work, i saw what was left of the deer and had to take a picture. To the left was the regular pic and below is just a cropped pic taken and edited with the iPhone. Yummy!
For all those MLS fans out there, there is a pretty good sale going on here for various jerseys, shorts, shirts, etc. i wish there was a local or even a regional MLS team near the Carolinas, so i could claim some allegiance, but instead i have to resort to Chicago as my go-to team as i was taught growing up.
So who wants to come to Charlotte to watch some futbol? The Mexico-Iceland international soccer exhibition at Bank of America Stadium will be held on March 24. i kind of want to go, but kind of don’t care. Who knew Iceland even had a soccer team? However, based on my desire to someday be a true US soccer fan, i could go just to root against Mexico. We’ll see.
i had my sorta-annual eye exam the other month and during that visit received the usual reminders that i should change my contacts out more often and what not. Upon corneal evaluation, the eye doc was concerned about some minor problems in the eye caused by overuse and wanted me to follow up in a few weeks to see if there was any improvement.
When the time came for my follow-up, i called and told them i didn't really think i needed a followup appointment. They said they could reschedule and were insistent that i come in and told me it should just be a $30 copay. Fine, i went in and the eyes looked fine. Then a few weeks later in the mail i get a bill for $184 featuring two corneal photographic evaluations and an office visit fee. "You Bastards!" i probably said out loud.
After contemplating just paying it, i decided i would go in and complain about the unnecessary procedure and wasting my money. What else am i going to do on my off week?
So i go in and when i tell them why i am there, she goes in back and tells the office manager. As i sit there prepared to just pay the stupid bill not knowing what i'm expecting them to do, she comes out five minutes later and tells me, "Oh you weren't supposed to get a bill. Usually the insurance covers these things and if they don't, we just write it off." Shocked and satisfied, i leave. i'm no expert, but is that not some sort of insurance fraud? Send some high bill to the insurance, take what they give and just ignore the rest of the jacked up cost?
Either way, i'm $184 less poor than i would've been.
Today is a big day. Two big addresses to the nation:
Barack Obama vs. Steve Jobs
For a successful state of the union, Obama should just address Jobs. get it? jobs. Forget it.
So which will have a greater impact on my future? My money is on the leader of Electronics in the Free World. Sorry Mr. President of the USA. While i don't see my need for something like the iTablet or whatever the big announcement is, lets just say i didn't see my need for an iPhone. i'm sure Obama will promise jobs and a health care plan we can all agree on, but really everyone will still be wondering how the Apple announcement is going to change the future or just wishing Obama wouldn't be interrupting their regularly schedule programs.
After a small string of good movies seen at the theater (Blind Side, Avatar), "Legion" was just off the mark. It was actually pretty good up to a point, but then i felt they kind of gave up. It's hard to imagine the world can be saved by the child of a white trash girl who got knocked up and having a hero character with a southern accent just doesn't work.
Megan's need for Dexter has caused us to increase our Netflix from one to three disc at a time. Weeds Season 5 to follow.
If you are looking for a good instant Netflix movie, try "Milk."
Random notes:
With Megan working the night/morning shift this week (approximately 2am to 10am), my wake-up times the past few days have ranged from 2am to 4am. Of course when you go to bed between 6 and 8 every night, it's not so bad.
When someone comes to your door advertising a security system, how do you answer when they ask, "Do you have a security system?" It made me nervous and makes me want to get our security system a little quicker. They're clever.
Millie had her foot re-splinted yesterday and so far, it is still on.
Here's a little video of Millie gimping around after jumping/falling off from the loft. She looks so pathetic when she walks using just 3 legs. Ironically, before we got Millie, someone from work offered me a 3-legged cat but when i asked Megan if she wanted another cat, she turned it down. i guess it was just meant to be.
Turns out she has a "mid shaft complete fracture of her fourth metacarpal bone in her front left paw" and she'll be splinted for the next 4 weeks. She must have known she was going to get spade and de-clawed this week.
Evernote has essentially replaced my need to carry a notebook in my back pocket. Not only does that preclude me from a literal pain in the ass or spiral ass indentations after being seated for extended periods of time, it allows me to access thoughts more easily via the Evernote Web site. i just need to remember to tag things more often so i can find them once i accumulate more clutter than i want to visually sort through. However, the search feature is great at searching within notes.
With this app, you can record notes via text, voice or picture. It also tracks where you make the note in case you have a location-based important reminder.
In honor of this recommendation, here's one of my beer reminders made in the past 6 months.
Hopefully, i'll remember not to buy this particular Starr Hill beer again...our initial reactions:
"first drink taste like urine or what I imagine urine taste like - megan "hmm. taste like urine mixed with twigs and leaves." -sam
Ever since i learned the humor/entertainment that can be derived from the simplest activities when caught on a time lapse video, i've been a fan. So if you weren't present this year when Megan and i opened presents and you weren't (except you Megan), here's a time-lapse recap:
One more night of work this week which was actually a shortened week due to a 2-night vacation to Snowshoe, West Virginia for some skiing...actually snowboarding. For the second time in my life i got on a snowboard. This time went much better and i actually never traded it in for skies. i even successfully made it down a Blue.
The first night may have been the coldest weather i've ever been in. Unofficially, the windchill was in the negative 20 range while we were out there!! Fortunately the next day was slightly warmer and a newly-purchased face cover helped. i don't know that i'll ever do skies again.
Fortunately for me, we had Michelle with us who specializes in lacing up snowboots and snowboarding lessons. This is a video of Megan when she was self-teaching herself on the snowboard last year. i love her excitement when she comes to a stop. It was too damn cold to take pictures this time around, so i have no proof that i was able to snowboard.
Not something we would pay for (a full year cost $79) , but sweet if you want something small at Amazon and don’t want to pad your order to $25. Features unlimited Free Two-day Shipping.
Follow the steps below. Be sure to do the last one to so it doesn’t automatically renew at the end of March. Thanks be to Slickdeals.
Add the book to cart using the "Add to cart with free 2-day shipping" button on the right of the page (if visible)
If the button is not visible, simply add the book to cart
Login to your account, and sign up for free 3-month trial of Amazon Prime when prompted
If the button was not visible in (2), in cart switch to "FREE Two-Day Shipping with a free trial of Amazon Prime" shipping
Sign up for trial as prompted
Once sign up is completed, remove the book from your cart
Click here, log in if prompted and turn off your prime membership from automatic upgrade by clicking "Do Not Upgrade" button, and confirm your selection
As much as i may complain about work, after working two nights at two different 24-hour stores, it seems that my store is probably the best fit. i can't guarantee it isn't simply the fact that i know what my role is and where everything is and what exactly is expected of me. i know for certain i prefer my drive to the others. i feel sorry for anyone who has to drive over 25 minutes each way for work. What a waste of time..no offense...and not that i do anything with that extra time.
How can an NBA team lose so many games? It seems so statistically near impossible. The Nets are bad; winning just 3 out of 32 games. i feel like i could put together a team with people i know that don't play basketball and somehow win that many. Can you imagine jrife and clapy at the guard positions, greg and david at forward and artanisknarf at center with megan, martha and i coming off the bench? On second thought, we probably wouldn't win any games.
Another wonderful Christmas this year. Apparently my whining about my old desktop paid off as Megan replaced it with a new one including a pimping new monitor. Also, during my next week off i'll get to begin the beer brewing experience with my new micro-brew kit as i read "The Butler Way."
When i describe Megan's Christmas gifts, i compare it to that of a 12-year old boy's Christmas. All of her gifts were probably found on letters to Santa across the country aside from the ladies workout outfits. A new set of drums for Guitar Hero and three games. We love playing Left 4 Dead 2 for the 360. My only complaint is having to play most everything online aside from the campaign. It makes me not want to play any more after being voted off by those damn puberty-awaiting punks in my very first game. Luckily, i didn't let it get me down and found a more suitable game and was victorious.
Regretfully, i picked up two shifts this week to help out and to compensate for the two vacation days i took to start off the New Year. Why do i do that every year? Oh well, it worked out in 2009.
So I've already mentioned my confusion of why there are buckets lining the highways of America, now I want to point out another fun game to play on the streets of North Carolina. It's called 'Find the Most Asinine License Plate'. It's sort of like playing that board game (Mad Gab) where you have to say a random sequence of words and try to figure out what it is supposed to translate into English. i don't have the best examples here, but these are some standard dumb license plates around here.
Simple, yet stupid.
Why would you pay money to tell people you are off to work?
This is the first non-mini size Christmas tree i've had in years. There are 3 big presents under the tree for me and when i accidentally moved them around they are all heavy. i'm guessing Megan has either tired of my lack of muscle and bought me a new weight set or each gift is hidden inside a lead box she wrapped from her nuclear pharmacy.
Next visitor arrives next Saturday. i'm pretty excited to have my mom see our house. As always, wherever i live has the standard Open Invitation policy.
