Pistons

The nets will crumble in the playoffs w/o Kidd, the Pacers will be tough but the Pistons D will defeat them on their way to the finals.
But I could be biased.

In the West, the Lakers and Spurs look tough. The Kings are too soft and tend to choke. The Mavs can't hang.

Lakers vs. Pistons--Last time they were in the finals you know what happened and if you don't ask GM. It won't happen this time though.

don't forget the powerful salamander lobby

the bush people know that the switch from home-grown to imported earthworms hits mom and pop salamander right in the pocketbook. they won't risk offending this influential demographic in an election year. there was an article on CNN (I think) saying that the "blue-collar salamander" is this election's "soccer mom".

No, Molge

that was the Kerry campaign. The Bush agroeconomic plan *favors* use of offshore worms because they turn over American soil more efficiently than native worms, thus increasing farm conglomerate profits and US competitiveness. Besides, any jobs lost to foreign worms will be made up for by radical new tax cuts! The Bushies also favor prospecting for new worm sources in the Alaskan wilderness.

earthworms

also taking jobs away from hardworking american worms

the bush campaign will air a commercial next week attacking the outsourcing of worm-related activities to these "off shore" worms

Bad Bad Earthworms

I read an article yesterday that said earthworms in North America are almost all introduced species, they are taking over the continent, they are devouring our soil, and there is an inverse correlation between earthworm abundance and salamander abundance in most areas. Any comments?

What about the Spurs?

And I think Detroit will AT LEAST be in the Finals. They are better than NJ and Indiana.

The D.R.

Last year, 30% of all minor league baseball players were born in the Dominican Republic. That is AMAZING.

NBA Champion

My Pick for NBA Champion: (and you heard it here first)

Detroit Pistons

I am starting to like that team.

EFFL NBA teams

I used to root for the Celtics, then I rooted for the Bulls, now I root for the Sonics, the Nuggets, the Kings, the Warriors, the Clippers, and the (a little bit) for the Celtics still.

Assuming campus works best:

go to Wellman Hall, directly across the creek from VLSB... on the 2nd floor hallway (which looks like the 1st floor, but that's the basement) There are some mailboxes at the Southwest corner of the Hall. Mine says "Spagna" and always has a pile of old mail in it. Stick it in there.

Thx,
RTA

thanks Parham

you rock.

simey

right back at you

510 N. 41st St.
Seattle, WA 98103


I still have not received Simey's check, so if he wins the money will go to 2nd place!

Affirmative

2 tix.

PS
Hey Josh,
what's your address again? I gotta send you money. email me.

RTA

Freaky Friday

My elementary school (St. A's) got demolished by a tornado on Friday May 13, 1980. It was after all the kid's had gone home so no one was injured. I think I was in first or second grade. We had to go to school at our sister school instead, but it was only once a week. This explains a few holes in my education. And I didn't think it was that funny at the time, but our teacher gave us these t-shirts that said, "My school got hit by a tornado and all I got was this lousy t-shirt"

great link

thanks Parham. I've been stuck at home for 2 days (knee surgery again) and been watching way too much tv. This should make things more efficient. Tells me what channels to avoid--figure skating, LPGA.

Has anyone else noticed how much play time Ashton Kutcher gets? There was an hour last night where he was on three different channels.
MTV sucks nowadays. I realize these are revelations that the rest of the world made a long time ago, but I don't get to watch tv often.

Words

good: "grillinox"

bad: "snaps at the crotch"

I can't guarantee

the same level of hammeredness as the epic that was last fall, however, the prospect of tailgating brings the marginal unit cost of beer down considerably for the upcoming -grillinox- which is one of the most excellent words i've heard lately.

A "onesie" is a single piece body suit, usually shortsleeved with no leg coverage, that pulls over over a baby's head and snaps at the crotch below the diaper. Serves either as an undergarment or whole outfit for a baby depending on the weather and the material it's made of.

I have some pictures of my kid watching the Superbowl in a Kurt Warner jersey-onesie that I will try to post. Before mocking, realize that Grandma lives in St. Louis and shops the bargain racks. Apparently, nobody's paying retail for the league's most overpaid injured backup quarterback's gear this year. Praise The Lord and call a radio show.

RTA

Zito pitching for the Red Sox

No, Dude, I wish it was a rumor. But it is only a pipe dream. It would be AWESOME, though.

My 2 cents

I think it would be AWESOME if Barry Zito pitched for the Red Sox. Imagine that rotation: Schilling, Martinez, Lowe, Zito, and then Wakefield. That would be AWESOME.

I really want to go to the A's game, too

Right now flights are around $250 from SEA to OAK round trip. But it seems like every other weekend or so there are web specials on Alaska Airlines for $150 round trip. If there is a $150 web special for that weekend, I will come down and at least be able to hang out at the BBQ in the parking lot before the game, then buy scalped tickets (and lose the savings from the cheap flight).

Zito-rific

please include tix for me and 'da wife in that final order, got confirmation today that she wants to go. Am super-psyched...

back on the grid

i took a 2-day vacation. no computers. Anyhow, as for
Dream Job, it's an interesting show, but there's really no such thing as objective "expert" opinion on what makes a good sportscast-- obviously, the wannabes can't stutter thru their parts, but then each of the judges has to make a subjective judgment of each contestant's performance. On balance, their judgments are similar to mine, if harsher for stuff that annoys them particularly. Interestingly, the "crazy guy" with long curly hair is close friends with somebody in Brent Mishler's lab.

A's game on the 6th, I wanna go, I may be able to rally my whole family, and bring the 5-month-old in an Oakland onesie-and-ballcap outfit, all together now, awwwwwwwwww.......
I will let you know within 24 jp.

I said read

not watch. that's too painful. I can be a distance fan, kind of like my sudden love for the Detroit Shock after they won the WNBA. I like being a fair weather fan for those type things. After they start to lose I'll drop em like a hot potato. It's my way of saying hey I don't really enjoy your game but as long as your winning I'll pad my sports CV with you.

Does anyone out there watch Dream Job?
For some reason its the only reality show I've really been interested in. I haven't watched it regularly but it's had my attention lately. I like watching the judges break it down.

MBs

Neither of the message boards are going at all.
After the disaster NCAA weekend, I definitely don't have any comments on the tourney.
Plus TC and Meredith are in some stupid back and forth that doesn't make any sense, except to point out that TC is way out of MB practice.
It's a board stopper.

Hey but what about the Red Wings and the Pistons at least they don't suck.

I guess I also can tried to read up on my Stanford Women's Basketball which currently doesn't suck.

Yahoo Pick 'Em

is taking its toll on this message board. tough to keep two boards going at full tilt at the same time.

yeah, yeah, yeah

let me be bitter for a while
Stanford has ruined the tourney for me again.
I knew that they hadn't played as many ranked opponents but you'd think the PAC 10 was at least some competition.

huh?

Who are the Rams?
Is that a college team?

sports suck

I'm done with the tourney.

a.k.a

Abraham Lincoln, at least when he had that chin-strap beard.

I was gonna post earlier but felt the thread was over, I guess not.

Anyway the guy definitely leaves an impression. The other first years talk about him incessantly.

other board is pretty quiet and hat thread continues

we can talk about b-ball here too. parham can post his picks for discussion purposes if he'd like.

my thoughts on the tam hat were that it seems to be much more puffy (or pillowy, if you will) than one would predict based on the small amount of hair Chris actually has. hence, my thought on imaginary dreads being in there.

Dread-like, pillowy hat?

that's a new one, I think. Earlier in the year he consistently wore a smaller cap, light colored, weird, sort of commie/sort of art-studenty, but not as flamboyant as the dreadholder you describe.

Must just be a conneoisiiur des les fine chapeaus.

I respond to this thread because there is not much happening on this board. Other than the St. Paddy's cop-effler interaction, which was cool, but hard to follow up. I haven't been yelled at by a cop in awhile.

Is it the March Madness that has overtaken our collective consciousness?

big ol' floppy beret/tam

I've often wondered if he wants to give the impression that he might be hiding dreadlocks up in there.

Hat

Maybe, like Nicolas Cage's snakeskin jacket in Wild at Heart, the wannabe-Mao-cap-thing symbolizes his individuality and belief in personal freedom.

Pillowhead-- tee hee!

that was my guess

but I was thinking he left before I did.

it is a good name. why in the world does he wear those hats?

sorry I didn't see you last night, I was wiped out and had to go home.

who

is pillowhead?

Great Story!

I wish I could have been there. Simey was yelling at the cops? This was in Sproul? That's awesome. Fuck I miss Berkeley. Did Simey tell you about the night all of us had in Chico? Ask him to tell you that story.

And it's not too late to sign up. You can still do it right now.

Parham

ARen't you gonna join Yahoo pick 'em pool?

Maybe I shouldn't mock...

I never got to be 1st author on a SysBio paper when I was a lab tech. Or grad school for that matter (yet, there's still time). Good for him.

Ants and Bacteria

It is supposed to be part of a Sys Bio special on cospeciation. This was his first paper that he ever wrote, and he just put everything he could think of into the manuscript, including all references under the sun. I thought it was pretty boring. Oh, well. Who am I to say?

50 pages

for 16 ant species and their parasites? It's not a gd systematic monograph. Your buddy must have felt like he had a real story to tell.

Oh yeah, Washington stopped sucking in time for the tourney... Arizona is going nowhere. See, I told you I gots homework to do.

3 Pac 10 teams in the bracket

Washington, Arizona, and Stanford

I saw the paper. I read multiple drafts last year, one of which was, I kid you not, 50+ pages.

Yes

I will make my f*cking picks before Thursday. It's Tuesday. That means there are two more morning papers, two more days of 24hour analysis from the ESPN family of networks, two days to do something that takes about 20 minutes. Given that my current knowledge of college hoops consists of: 1. there are no undefeated teams left. 2. Stanford got gypped by being thrown in the bracket with UConn, possibly related to 3. The Pac-10 sucked major ass this year and only got 2 representatives, I'm gonna try to learn something before bracketing up.

btw JH, did you see your buddy Patrick's paper in Sys Bio? You were acknowledged.

March Madness

Parham, Spagna, Feldman, Quilmes, the deadline for making your Yahoo picks is before the games on Thursday...are you gonna join or not?

in the olympic spirit

I like it

http://www.trojangames.co.uk/

SS will like it

March Madness

did everyone get the invite? do i have to give you the league ID# or not?

Why is everybody putting asterisks in their swear words?

So are we gonna get an Evolution March Madness thing going on Yahoo?

Absurd quote

from Q's link. To paraphrase, the second, younger guy, said something like, "science is just people trying to find out what's actually going on in the world around them." True, as far as it goes.

But then he makes the absurd conclusion of (paraphrasing again), "... in this way, anyone going into a pub and having a pint of Guinness is a scientist."

Conclusion does not follow logically from definition... you'd have to include an additional premise that everybody going into a pub is there to find out about the world. I'd posit a good number of them just want a beer buzz, and could give a flying f*ck about the world outside the swingin' door, or their own head.

If this guy is right, I usually stop being a scientist when I have tall, cold ones.

I hate everybody-can-be-a-scientist kum-by-ya crap. No they can't, mostly because they don't want to be. If it were so, there'd be no astrology or reflexology or homeopathy or other stupid bad ideas that so many people hold dear.

I am glad they figured out why Guinness looks like that when it settles though. That was cool.

cool link Quilmes

I too feel that it is crucial for scientists to highlight the importance of their contributions in everyday matters.

a toast to SCIENCE!

One reason not to hate Stanford

http://news-service.stanford.edu/news/2004/march17/beer-video-317.html

I love scientists

Smoking Joe

I just had to look at the title of that post and I knew it was posted by Smoking Joe Tkach.

Tigers' hot sauce

goes with lentils and rice.

mm-mmm-mmmmmm. . . Parhamtastic

or

were you just being sarcastic?

Bertuzzi

was apparently getting back at Moore for a hit Moore laid on Bertuzzi's team captain back in February. The feb. hit resulted in a concussion for the recipient (and 3 missed games) but I think it came more in the course of a game, not a total blind side sucker punch.

and Bertuzzi was playing at home (how could the fans incite him to hit another player). the hit was deliberate and he plainly intended to hurt Moore.

the injuries

include a broken bone in the neck, but no spinal damage, concussion, and you never really know how serious those are until you can't see straight for 6 months, plus lacerations, as I remember them.

The hit

I've seen it about 1,000 times on various news shows. The hit itself is a cheapshot from behind, no worse than many others I've seen, but the head-ice collision is just stomach-turning. Basically, it would have been bad enough to be cold-cocked from behind, but to have a 240 pound guy kinda bulldog ya from behind so your head hits the ice that much harder following the hit is just grotesque. The only thing they don't show is the blood (30 second rule) word is there was a lot.

bertuzzi

has anyone seen that hit?

I'm not sure I want to.

Broken neck man.

this seems worthy of comment

but I can't decide which way to go with it...

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The U.S. House of Representatives overwhelmingly approved a bill Wednesday to ban lawsuits by obese customers who say they became overweight by eating at fast-food restaurants.

http://www.cnn.com/2004/LAW/03/10/fat.lawsuits/index.html

So????

I'm on the edge of my seat here, waiting eagerly for the URI score update!!! I can't get any work done!!! Come on, Parham, you got to keep the updates coming!

Where can I get one for my kid?

Toys of mass destruction program related activity:

http://www.lachschon.de/screens/200401/Rattlesnake-1074547842.jpg

I like it

http://www.mnftiu.cc/mnftiu.cc/war31.html

SS won't like it

what about

ultramarathoners? I'm guessing you wouldn't like them either if your rule of thumb is to not like insane over-athleto-achievers.

there was an article in the NY Times Sunday about an ultramarathoner who ran in a 48 hour race of over two hundred miles and then died 24 hours after the end of the race because he had a massive case of pneumonia. he'd been sick through the race but ran anyway. other runners thought he was struggling during the race, but they assumed it was because of all the (insane) running.

A Few Things that Jumbos Doesn't Like

triathletes
endurance swimmers
gonzo uber-climbers
super outdoorsmen
cal forestry grad students who wear their steeltoe redwing boots to class
pretty much all individual sports
(except for skiing, snowboarding, skateboarding and surfing)
gearheads

Program

10 PRINT "Dude that was funny ";
20 GOTO 10

RUN

Ever try to program a computer

while baked? It sucks... a project so necessarily linear, and you're forgetting what subroutine you wrote 5, 10, or 20 minutes ago, or possibly all 3. 'cause when you keep typing, the words keep going off the top of the screen...

Another question... in no other situation have I ever had a "pot flashback," at least not that I remember. Is this a specific property of eating it instead of smoking it? Y'all are biologists, maybe you can explain it scientifically. Is it like LSD, fat soluble, and prone to flashing back when you burn fat reserves? Or is it more likely somebody loaded my magic brownies with extra, non-cannabinoid magic?

Drugs'r bad, mmmm kay?

Respect for Herbeck's Boyz

I meant no disrespect... It was a *heck* of a story. Having kept mine intact I shared a tale of being high-as-balls instead.

To those of you who got bored, there was also a challenge to provide a better story.

Maybe the bike crash stories won't be equalled, but I'm sure y'all have got something. After whatever respectful silence you feel like observing.

RTA's sh*t

he's a dad now. he needs to start practicing a little restraint.

and it's not like we can't figure out what he meant.

A re-interpretation of "humor-buster" comment

I didn't so much interpret RTA's comment as directed at you, P. More so, I thought he was just saying that the news you reported which was relevant to our discussion was such a bummer that no one wanted to continue posting on the thread. It became a little rough for even this bunch.

As for the RTA pot brownies story, I must agree, it was too damn long with too few funnies. The sack story was too much to follow anyway, there should have been a period of silence out of respect for Journey's downed soldiers.

Spagna is quite proper

He says, "If a little friendly sh*t-talk was not part of the implicit, unwritten"

I say, "Dude it is OK to type out SHIT on this message board. I don't think the FBI is monitoring this."

Thread killer

Because you bummed me out and killed the thread, and the Herbeck Whom I Don't Know resurrected it, that's why.

If a little friendly sh*t-talk was not part of the implicit, unwritten MISSION STATEMENT of the group, I wouldn't spend nearly as much time here, going back to the days of the FFL boards.

Sorry you have a short attention span. Here are the Cliff Notes:

ate brownies
got high
played football, got high during game, fucked things up for entire offense
moral: don't eat pot brownies before a football game

see? It's not as interesting that way. The symbolism and character development are lacking.

Love,
RTA

more on the MISSION STATEMENT

I note that we are not talking enough about salamanders.

Where is Simison?

little girl on bike

sure the post was appropriate given the thread and our MISSION STATEMENT (tm Parhammer), but still it was a bit of a buzz kill. (i.e. "how can I continue to joke about getting hit by cars and/or bikes when little girls - not very far from my office - are actually getting hit by cars?").

man

how do you manage to not tell us that in the thread starter?

Your nut sack was ripped, shredded, sliced and you just calmly throw out "anybody got a good bike story?"

Send the boys my best.

That's one scar that should definitely get you some attention.

(Best) Worst Organized Sports Story

Hey Y'all,

A challenge: story about your worst organized sports mishap, as companion piece to Journey's thread on bike-bungles.

My entry... and I guess this means I won't be running for President... no wait, I didn't inhale, I'm cool... here goes

One time, when I was the center for the mighty Stags of Claremont McKenna and Harvey Mudd colleges, I celebrated the end of training camp by chowing some magical brownies provided by my less-competitive friends. It was a great Wednesday night, we listened to music, did some other shit I don't remember, visited In-N-Out burgers, laughed at a dog, and I slept from whenever a.m. until Helmet-no-pads run thru at 4 the next day. No problems. Good stuff.

Saturday rolls around and it's 110 degrees in the shade at our stadium. 1 pm kickoff, and I'm sweating like crazy. Things are ok until about 1/2 way into the first quarter when the action around me starts slowing down and I start getting these real mellow shiney visuals that look like triangles dancing about 8 inches in front of the ol' facemask. Now, you might argue that pot does not provide the LSD-like "flashback" experience, but, having been impaired more than a few times, I don't think there was any question this was chemical in nature and not due to a physical trauma, such as a concussion. Those are not nearly as fun as this was.

Anyhow, what to do? You can't really run to the sideline and say, "Coach, I need a break, I'm high." Our coach had already been coaching 15 years when the 60's happened, there wouldn't be any level of understanding there. So, I kept playing. Remarkably, you *can* play O-line at the D-III level while being in a state. Unfortunately, I was the center, and I had to remember the bleeding snap count between the huddle and the line. If I were playing guard, or tackle, I would have resulted in a few 5 yarders, bad, but not disastrous.

However, if you snap the ball on the wrong count, it is not pretty. There are 2 things that can happen.

Too late: everybody jumps, and you sit there like a retard while the ref throws the flag and you get your ass canned by a DT.

Too early: the qb is not ready, and the ball does not enter is hands cleanly. 2 possibilities here: the ball squirts out behind C's ass and spins around on the ground until some DT jumps on it. Worst case, QB is at C's rump but his hands are not unfolded, so you jam or break one or more of his fingers, before ball hits ground. This happened at least twice (fingers jammed, not broken). The QB was not happy with me that day.

To sum up, I jacked about 5 possessions personally with poorly timed snaps. I actually handled my guys just fine, they had no feet and I could dominate him just by being in the correct position quickly. Unfortunately this was contingent on me remembering/guessing the snap count correctly. We lost, as we always did, and you couldn't really argue that it was "my fault" because there was a tremendous amount of incompetence and poor athleticism on my team, but I sure as hell didn't help.

Aesop says:
Don't chow multiple pot brownies 3 days before the big game.

Yours,
RTA

Journey has overcome

what I thought was the "ultimate thread killer" by Parham, the one where the little girl got smashed on the bike on Bancroft. Don't feel bad for resurrecting the thread that you started, dude, be proud that you overcame P's terrible humor-buster.

RTA

Journey's Bloody Sack Story

He left out the part where he cycled 8 miles back to the house, then drove to the emergency room. With a bloody sack.

UW Huskies

Yeah!

guilty as charged

http://www.cnn.com/2004/LAW/03/05/stewart.main/index.html

TO traded for

2nd round draft pick.

what I like best is that the screw up by TO's (former) agent probably cost him millions in signing bonus etc he would have gotten as a free agent.

the evolution of Johnny Damon

from Neanderthal to Jesus

TO to Baltimore

As P aptly described them long ago on the FFL list, Owens' "paddles-for-hands" will be even more useless when Boller tries to throw to him, because Boller throws a hell of a lot harder than Garcia.

Good one, good one.

I'm here laughing at my own expense, thanks to Parham-tastic.

Johnny Damon, before and after

UW vs Stanford

That should be a good game. I am soooo rooting for the Huskies. I was rooting for Cal last night, but after Cal suuuuuuucked so bad in the first half, I started feeling OK about the Huskies beating Cal. Because the Huskies are a fun team to root for, at least right now, with the way they are playing. Cal just sucked. I wasn't exactly rooting for UW last night, i.e. I never cheered when they scored and I didn't get all giddy when they started to blow Cal away, but I started to not root against them. And tomorrow I am definitely rooting for UW. But the game has been sold out for about 6 weeks so I guess I'll only be watching in a bar.

incredible

another buzzer beater. I caught the last couple minutes of the Stanford vs WSU game. Wow. they've pulled some close ones out and that one looked like a sure defeat.

UW on Saturday will be good.

didn't notice I was bleeding...

good point on the lag time 'til bleeding commences. I have also noticed that wounds don't always hurt until you look at them and see that they are bleeding.

case in point: the tanks we store large specimens in have sharp metal flanges on them (used to lock the lids down). I tend to cut my knuckles on these flanges when I open the tanks up, but don't usually notice I've cut myself until I've been splashing around in the tank for a while. then I suddenly notice my knuckle is bleeding rather freely (either it runs more in the ethanol, or it looks like more because it's diluted in the ethanol) and only then do I realize that it hurts. a lot. mostly because it is soaked in ethanol.

"Didn't know I was bleeding"

seems to be a developing theme here...

If you've made unintended violent contact with concrete, dirt, chainlink, car mirror, lightpost, BMX bike crossbar, broken pint glass, facemask, screen door, fat dirty guy with unclipped fingernails, barrel cactus, closed window or patio door, hot barbecue, asphalt, windshield, manila envelope, et cetera as often as I have, and I sincerely hope that you have not, you would know that, as part the mandatory self-check, ya gotta wait 30 seconds for the blood to start to ooze, as it may take a while or be difficult to locate, before proceeding on your way.

It may not help your health or your pride, but you may save some of your clothes or the manuscript you are carrying.

If you start to spurt right away, you may have problems well beyond your outfit or your chapter. Call 911.

Drunken biking

Oh yeah, that was great.

After indoor soccer games Josh and I used to go to Bear's Lair periodically, especially when they had those dollar beers. And one time it worked out that I hadn't had anything to eat before the game--I think that's my typical lead in to an "I got wasted" story. Anyway, the beers there are pretty strong and Josh and I just kept going for a while but all in the same bar stool. Once we got up to take off it definitely sank in. But I had to get home and I had my bike at school so off I went. I was biking down Fulton (poorly lit street east of Shattuck). At the last minute I see this rock, which was probably not that big, but at the time I thought it would be the end of me, so I swerved to the right to miss it and only too late saw this parked car, which just happened to be parked where it should be on the right side of the road. I fortunately avoid most of the car but hit the side mirror. No damage was done to the mirror but in my herky jerky attempt to minimize contact between the front of the bike and the mirror I totally lost control and came crashing down on my chin. It definitely woke me out of my drunken state but not enough to notice that I was bleeding down my chin. I preceded to dust myself off, get home, and climb into bed. Not until the next morning did I notice that I was covered in blood. I had a nice little raspberry as a reminder of my stupidity.

But fortunately those stupid ways are in my past. I walk to school now.

NYC bike story

I was hit by a kid riding a bike in New York, near the AMNH. I was waiting on the corner of 81st to cross and these two kids come tearing across Columbus Ave towards the corner, hollering etc. It seemed like they were going to come up onto the sidewalk, but I couldn't figure out which way to go to get out of the way, plus there was the inevitable scaffolding on the building blocking the sidewalk, making flight that much more difficult. The kids do come up on the sidewalk, one slowing down but the other going into a slide and plowing into me, knocking me down. It turns out he had no brakes (!!) and knowing this still chose to go biking on the streets of NYC and speeding through intersections. Lucky he didn't get hit by a car or something. I totally yelled at him, but didn't realize until I got back to my office that I was bleeding on my leg where his bike had scratched me.

Funny Bike Story

Journey, I think you should ask Greg about funny bike stories from Berkeley. Specifically, ask him how well he rides from campus to his house while he is drunk. I bet he might have some good stories like that.

Funny Berkeley Biking Story / Critical Mass

I have never actually ridden a bike in Berkeley... though I have been hit by a car while on foot.

A story though: a friend was riding her bike with a green light across an intersection, when a driver made a left and ran into her, injuring her knee, fucking up her bike, and making her understandably pissed off. That was not funny, keep reading. While waiting for BPd to come take a report, the woman admitted to not having insurance, but offered something MUCH better, to "lay hands on" the jacked knee in an impromptu New Age healing. Offer refused. Only in fucking Berkeley...

Critical Mass do more to hurt their cause than help it. They antagonize police, drivers, and local officials so that nobody wants to do anything to make the Bay Area more bike friendly.

tix

I've been busting my ass on this chapter to really no avail, so why not blog a bit.

I bet you I've spent somewhere in the neighborhood of $2000 on tickets since I've had a car in Berkeley. What an amazing amount of money for being a lazy ass.

I just recently got a $210 ticket for going 35 in a 25 on Sacra-fucking-mento--a four lane boulevard. That is the most ridiculous thing in the world. I can remember in high school I once got caught going 75 in a 50 and it was a $75 ticket, which I thought was amazing. But 35 mph, that's insane. And it was too damn early in the morning for me to have any sort of excuse prepared when the officer came up to the car. All I could say is "isn't the speed limit 30 around here?" He said "either way you were speeding". . . yeah by five fucking miles per hour.

McDonalds is reducing the number of supersized items

no longer will you be able to order "supersize" fries or drinks. They say it's to simplify the menu. I thought that's what the numbers and pictures were for.

One final thought from me (I'll quit, honest) on the whole meat thread. When I lived in Baltimore, MD there were several delicatessens that would sell you a hotdog. If you did not request otherwise, your default hotdog order would come wrapped not just in a bun, but in a slice of (drumroll please)

*fried bologna*,

then placed in a bun.

Take that, Joe's wife: all the sat fat, 1/5th the price.

I'm sorry I have little to offer on parking tix or being towed except that, they suck ass, and I've experienced my share of both.

RTA

nice to see some substantial posts from RTA and Tkach after all these months. funny stuff. why did parham's car get towed? my car got towed once in berkeley, because i had some outstanding parking tickets. i read yesterday that seattle was giving a one-week long amnesty period to all people with unpaid municipal tickets, including parking tickets. all you have to do is pay the original fee, not the late fees. i wish they had that in berkeley, before my car got towed.

Great Analysis P

And it works in analogous ways for others. For me, it's that I need to eat the bacon cheeseburgers to make me content enough to go back to work to maintain the productivity level to buy the drugs that keep me in cheeseburgers. We're all just rats in cages of our own choosing...

Rage on,

A little diplomacy is in order...

one caveat-- as is true with all the really good drugs, these aren't free, or even cheap. The best reasons not to be rude are social, not cardiac. If one were to go around treating everyone who "wastes their time" like sh*t, particularly self-important boss-types, one might end up unemployed and without health insurance, which would make the $300+/month full price for these magic bullets pretty prohibitive.

Just wasting time,
RTA

As a Jewish friend of mine once said...

"I'm pretty observant of my faith... I'd even be kosher, but then somebody went and invented the bacon cheeseburger."

Type A's-- statins are the key

Jim et al,
Seriously, if you think you're going to die due to massive cardiovascular accident, even in 20-30 years, take Lipitor or another Statin (pravachol, Lorvastatin), starting now. Temporary narrowing of your arteries due to rage or a fit of assholism can't kill you if the insides of said vessels are smooth as a baby's rear 'cause you took your meds.

A couple of my friends who are MDs told me that many doctors prescribe themselves Lipitor as a preventative against heart disease, even if they have no or few risk factors, or are in their 20's/30's. My MD put me on it because my Dad died early (47) of a heart attack. The minimum dosage dropped my cholesterol 25%-- from borderline-bad to way-below-average.

Burger time,
RTA

The Bush plan for job creation?

http://www.house.gov/dingell/Manufacturing_letter_02-23-04.pdf

dino story

http://www.cnn.com/2004/TECH/science/03/02/coolsc.dinosaurs.extinction/index.html

I don't want to point fingers at anyone on this blog, but ...

ANGER LINKED TO STROKE RISK IN MEN - Hotheaded men who explode with anger seem to be at greater risk of having a stroke or dying, new research shows. Their risk is even greater than men who are simply stressed-out Type A personalities.

Angry women, on the other hand, don't run as high a risk of having a stroke or heart problems, according to a study released Monday in the American Heart Association (news - web sites) journal Circulation.

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=1894&e=1&u=/ap/20040301/ap_on_he_me/angry_hearts

UW

I root for Cal, but yes, I am starting to root for UW. And I bet that UW will go to the NCAA, not the NIT. Have you been following them? They are 15-10 overall and 9-6 in the Pac-10. They are 2nd in the Pac-10, they beat Arizona (#17 in the nation) twice this year, including in Tucson, and they gave NC State (#14 in the nation) a very close game in North Carolina. They are getting some attention, which might translate into a bid. I think it will hinge on how they play against Cal and Stanford this coming weekend, when Cal and Stanford come to Seattle. I'm gonna go to the Cal game.

On the Art of Being Prophetic

Parham says: "They have been saying for weeks that Boone was going to be released and it happened!"

I say: Exactly my point. They have been saying FOR WEEKS that Boone was going to be released. I happen to post about the fact that he is going to be released, and WHAMMO, that SAME DAY he is released. If that is not prophetic, I don't know what is.