Month: December 2005

Fantasy Football Fluke

Diversions, Sports

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I have participated in football pools for years. I’ve long been a football fan, but only by participating in a pool am I able to stay interested in what happens with every game each weekend. The friendly competition with others in the pool, and the random chance that the right picks could put some extra bucks in my pocket, greatly increases my enjoyment of football season.

I have never previously participated in a fantasy football leagues, but this year I found myself invited to join two different ones, and so I gave it a shot. In each case, my approach was based on my own cluelessness and an inactive approach towards trades and managing my bench. Rookie mistakes such as leaving players in my lineup during a ‘bye’ week reflected my ineptitude as a fantasy owner/coach.

I named my teams Old Guys Rule and the Montclair Mopes. I made a few good picks in the draft. I had #1 ranked Quarterback Carson Palmer leading the Old Guys, and Peyton Manning for the Mopes. But my key player was one I had on each of my teams, Kansas City running back Larry Johnson.

The Mopes went 7-6, and I made the playoffs as a wild card team. After two playoff victories, I found myself in the big game. And I made my fatal mistake in trying to coach. I benched some players in favor of some other newly acquired replacements, thinking I could improve my score. But my replacements choked, leaving me in second place where I would have won it all if I had stuck with my original starters. But the Old Guys did indeed Rule! With a 10-4 record on the season, the Old Guys rolled over most challengers, and we won the big game against the boss last week.

I was a bit surprised how much I enjoyed these leagues. Where my regular pool peaks my interest in how each team does each week, the fantasy league created new interest in the performance of individual players. It got tricky sometimes. You might find yourself looking for a good performance from your Quarterback, but not wanting his receivers to do well. Regardless, it was fun and the fact that I did as well as I did my first time out was probably enough to hook me for seasons to come.

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Bored by Wicked

Books

My reading comes and goes in spurts. Sometimes I’ll tear through books quickly, and sometimes life’s distractions just won’t allow me the time that I rather be spending reading. My pile of books ‘on deck’ is growing higher.

And because I don’t get as much reading time as I’d like, I really don’t like it when I’ve wasted any of it. If I start a book, I’m gonna finish the book. But not this time.

I wanted to read the book Wicked in anticipation of seeing the musical while it’s in Washington. But the musical is sold out, and the book has bored me to tears. I got a little more than halfway through it before admitting defeat. I wanted to like this book, and the idea of a prequel to give background to The Wizard of OZ had real appeal to me. But it just never grabbed me. So I’m setting this one aside to move onto other volumes.

To the person who bought the book by following the Amazon link on my site, well, I hope you like it better than I did. And thanks for the 51 cents referral fee.

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Return of the Capitol Tree Cam

Diversions

Last year, I wrote about the demise of the U.S. Capitol Treecam. It was a sad event for me to see the Treecam not come back for Christmas 2004, as it was a tradition that I was personally involved in starting.

But there’s good news this year, the Treecam is back. The picture isn’t so great. It’s too far back and very unclear. You can see reflections from within the Senate Chaplain’s office on the glass (that always has interesting possibilities). Still, I’m glad to see it back. Obviously, I wasn’t the only one who missed it. And someone with enough authority told someone else, “Bring back the Treecam!”

And just so I’m clear about my position on this vital Washington issue. Compared to the Capitol Tree, the White House Tree just doesn’t measure up. It looks like something done by an interior designer. The Capitol Tree is bigger, and looks like it belongs in a family room, a very large family room. And I’m glad it is once again being called what it is, a Christmas Tree.

for further reading: Three Trees, but Only One Star?
The Washington Post, 11/30/05

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Destroy the County to Defend It

News, Politics

Last Friday the New York Times broke the story that the Bush Administration has been eavesdropping on Americans without a warrant since shortly after 9/11/2001.

The Times had delayed reporting the story for a year, at the request of the Administration which claimed that disclosure of the news would be harmful to national security. More likely, such disclosure would have been harmful to President Bush’s re-election prospects. In early December of 2005, Bush summoned the editor and published of the Times to the Oval Office, to again attempt to halt the story

Has Bush’s arrogance and disregard for the Constitution finally gone too far? Calls for an immediate investigation of Bush’s warrant-less wiretapping are coming from Democrats and Republicans alike in Congress.

9/11 was a tragic day. But to George Bush and Dick Cheney, it was their golden ticket to justify any action, defend any failure, and disregard any law. The horrible losses of that day have been amplified to incalculable levels in further loss of life and the tearing down of America by these men who claim to be defending it.

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Our Sleeping Watchmen

News

My Congressman, at least willing to state the obvious…

In an interview last week, Rep. Thomas M. Davis III (R-Va.), chairman of the House Government Reform Committee, said “it’s a fair comment” that the GOP-controlled Congress has done insufficient oversight and “ought to be” doing more.

“Republican Congresses tend to overinvestigate Democratic administrations and underinvestigate their own,” said Davis, who added that he has tried to pick up some of the slack with his committee. “I get concerned we lose our separation of powers when one party controls both branches.”

Democrats on the committee said the panel issued 1,052 subpoenas to probe alleged misconduct by the Clinton administration and the Democratic Party between 1997 and 2002, at a cost of more than $35 million. By contrast, the committee under Davis has issued three subpoenas to the Bush administration, two to the Energy Department over nuclear waste disposal at Yucca Mountain, and one last week to the Defense Department over Katrina documents.

read more:

Bush’s Fumbles Spur New Talk of Oversight on Hill
The Washington Post, 12/18/05

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Christmas Tree, All Grown Up

Guide to Life, Home
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We are the third owners of a house that was built in 1982. You can tell by the cool date brick. Earlier this year, while I was out doing some yard work, a man that looked to be in his 20s approached and told me that this had been his childhood home. He was about to head on an extended trip to central America, and since he was in the area he thought he’d come by and pay the place a visit. As one that has been know to make pilgrimiges to previous homes myself, I appreciated his desire to drop by and was glad to show him around.

I learned something very special about the large pine tree in our yard from our visitor. It has been a wonderful climbing tree for our kids, and a place to hang our bird feeder. The family we bought the home from told us they used to decorate it with Christmas lights until it grew too large.

But what I learned was that during their first Christmas in our house, they had a live Christmas tree, and following the holiday they planted that tree in the yard of their new home. I love the fact that their 1982 Christmas tree became a gift to this house, and now it’s grown so large, our house almost looks like a gift beneath it.

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