Random Thoughts On A Sunday Morning Updated To 7-28

[Hoop27]

- Heading out of town for the day

- My only question for the day is... Do you really let a GM who will not be back after this season make a trade that will affect your team for the next decade? (Riccardi and Halladay)

- Booze really helps keeping your energy up for recording thousands of names ;)

[Mathew]

- There is a little bit of hope in me that this maybe happen. (duke)

-If I could get MVPSavReader to run correctly it would be the best tool mod of all time.

- I told my wife she has a mullet after she cut her hair she has been down stairs ever since. (perhaps I should say these things more often )

- Wish the Halladay nonsense would stop already. It's so back and fourth.

- The fact that the cards got Matt Holiday makes me cringe in our division.

[Guest JWClubbie]

-Cannot wait to see Motörhead in St. Louis on Sept. 23 at the Pageant.

-My team is tied for first place right now, making the playoffs this year would make all the hours spent int he clubhouse well worth it, and a ring would be icing on the cake.

-Who moves to Montana?

-If I have to look at a gas grill anytime in the next 5 days I am going to lose it.

[Yankee4Life]

Updated to 8-2

...Man was this a tough week! Worrying about the trade deadline and wondering if the Yankees were going to pull off another blockbuster trade by acquiring someone they didn't really need while mortgaging their farm system again. Thank the Lord this didn't happen this year.

...But at the same time, why Jerry Hairston, Jr? Where the hell did that come from?

...And the Yankees are playing bad once again. At least I know where the hell that came from. This team is a bunch of pretenders.

...Hey DJ, it's past the trading deadline. Who's your team now? Don't pick the Yankees, they'll drive you nuts.

...How about those Pirates? Too bad for them the trade deadline didn't extend another day or so. Then they would have had time to trade the rest of their farm system.

...Yesterday, Andrew McCutchen of Pittsburgh hit three home runs in a 11-6 victory over Washington. Watch for this guy to be traded in the off season.

...Every GM in baseball was greedy during this trading period except of course when dealing with Theo Epstien of the Red Sox. Then they gave him what he wanted without a fight.

...Yeah Indians, I'm talking about you.

...Whatever happened to Ben Sheets?

...Still waiting for Matt Garza to be suspended for admitting he hit Mark Teixeira of the Yankees in a game last week.

...David Ortiz made news back in February saying that if a player gets caught doing steroids he should be banned for a year. Now, he should eat his own words and ask for an indefinite leave of absence.

...The smartest thing pitchers can do right now when facing Matt Holliday of St. Louis is to walk him.

...Thirty years today for Thurman Munson. :(

[CircleChange11]

...How about those Pirates? Too bad for them the trade deadline didn't extend another day or so. Then they would have had time to trade the rest of their farm system.

You tend to exagerrate. *grin*

They did trade away pretty much every 'veteran'. Strange thing about PIT ... they're 28-19 at home.

...Yesterday, Andrew McCutchen of Pittsburgh hit three home runs in a 11-6 victory over Washington. Watch for this guy to be traded in the off season.

... or test positive. j/k If it were any other franchise, I'd say "these guys might be worth watching in 2-3 years" ... but they're the Pirates they'll come up with a new way to screw it up and extend their streak of "losing seasons" to 17-18, whtever it will be by then.

...Yeah Indians, I'm talking about you.

The Tribe essentially doubled the number of top 100 prospects in their farm system with the trades they made. I guess that's what you do when you're rebuilding. The A's did the same thing last year, acumulating 11 of the top 100.

IMO, the 'Fall of Carmona' and Hafner's decreased production via injury started this whole process. If Carmona and Lee are a solid 1-2 and Hafner is hitting like he did, Cleveland is right back near the top of the division.

...Whatever happened to Ben Sheets?

Season ending surgery. The doctor supervising his surgery/recovery is the team doctor for the Texas Rangers, causing some to think that he'll sign with Texas whe he's ready to pitch.

...Still waiting for Matt Garza to be suspended for admitting he hit Mark Teixeira of the Yankees in a game last week.

He was fined. I don't agree with the suspension for retaliation, while nothing happens to the guy that started it. IMO, that's a way to develop horseshit tactics, where one team gets a free shot and the other get in trouble when they return the favor.

Don't want your guys thrown at? Don't throw at the other teams players. 'Baseball sense' ... players generally have a decent idea of when a player is intentionally drilled.

...David Ortiz made news back in February saying that if a player gets caught doing steroids he should be banned for a year. Now, he should eat his own words and ask for an indefinite leave of absence.

Naw, he'll be like the Olympic track star a while back that said it must have been "something in his toothpaste".

...The smartest thing pitchers can do right now when facing Matt Holliday of St. Louis is to walk him.

It is nice not to have a 1-man offense anymore. MH is playing for a contract and I hope StL is the one that gives it to him.

In 2000, StL got Will Clark and he had the same effect ... and then retired.

51 games, .345-12-42.

Stupid New York 'Meths' ruined a World Series showdown between the the two franchises with the most titles (NYY-StL). I was looking forward to that, Subway Series ... not so much.

[Hoop27]

- Sunday or Monday whatever, I was drinking from Friday to Sunday as it was my wife's birthday.

- I'll give the Jays credit. They didn't get the offer they wanted and they stuck to their guns.

- We made some progress with the graphics engine! still a long way from showing that off but I was excited to see the recent updates!

- Wife and son are out of town till Thursday. Man the house is quiet. good for recording!

- My wife got the country add on disc for Rock Band 2. At least she didn't make me sing Shania Twain.

- I really have to give Sony credit. The Show 09 for the PS2 is a very solid game. I've enjoyed Road to the Show mode, as for me it's a different way to play the game. I'm hoping we can have something like that in our game.

- NHL 10 showed off a new feature... Be a GM mode... Wow really? that's the best you could come up with? At least they are working off a very good game this time around rather than adding a useless mode to a bad game.

- I could be the single worst player at Gears of War on the planet. 3rd person shooters and Hoop is a terrible combination.

- Patsen is on a much deserved vacation. The upside to that is the rest of us can focus on some of the little things we need to do as opposed to waiting to see the next innovation he comes up with.

- 3 days of recording ahead of me (sounds like fun )

[Yankee4Life]

Updated to 8-9

...The movie Funny People is one of the top movies across the country right now and I'm amazed as to why that is. It wasn't that good of a movie and it really wasn't that funny at all. Not even my wife, who is a huge Adam Sandler fan, thought it was that great.

...Why the secrecy of who claimed Alex Rios?

...Yankee fans should be very happy about how this current series with you-know-who is going, but it's still just a series in early August and there are a lot of games to be played.

...Former Blue Jay Josh Towers didn't have a long stay with the Yankees yesterday. He took a taxi to the ballpark and he should have told the driver to wait. He's already gone.

...The Red Sox had their "Futures at Fenway" game at their ballpark yesterday. It's a game where one of their minor league affiliates play at Fenway Park for a day and there are reduced ticket prices to attend the game. The Red Sox have been doing this for a few years now and it is probably one of the best ideas in all of baseball.

...Did David Ortiz do steroids or not? What do I know and most importantly, what does it matter? All I care about with this guy is that the Yankees get him out.

...One thing you do have to realize about Ortiz is that he is going to have a lot of people on his side for this just because of the kind of person he is. He does not have a Barry Bonds personality, that is to say he's not a jerk. He doesn't have the attitude of Roger Clemens, who wasn't that well liked even before his steroid problems. Like him or hate him, this guy is well liked by his fanbase because of the kind of person he is off the field.

...Women and beer. Bad combination. Just ask these two female Cardinal fans. They had too much Budweiser and then they pushed an old Busch Stadium usher out of his wheelchair. Maybe the Cardinals should stop beer sales after the second inning from now on or just ban these two from the ballpark for the next 50 or 60 years.

...Went to my first baseball game of the year one week ago today. Saw the AAA team of the Philadelphia Phillies play, the Lehigh Valley Iron Pigs. Former Blue Jay Gustavo Chacin pitched for them and did pretty well. The Red Wings won it on the Iron Pigs bullpen in the bottom of the ninth.

...For some reason, the National Anthem sounds better in person when you are at a ballgame. And of course, the hot dogs taste better too. I'll vouch for that. Twice. :lol:

[Hoop27]

- Slow week in the Sandbox Games world. Got some recording done which is a good thing.

- I can't get enough of the Phoenix Coyotes saga.

- I have never gotten a good answer to this question it's hockey related but it bugs me. Why would the city of Winnipeg build a beautiful new arena with the back thought of getting an NHL team back, and only have the capacity max out at 15,000, when you need at least 18,000?

- My boy is developing an arm which makes daddy proud. Last night we had a friend over for dinner, and mommy flung a pea at daddy (perhaps daddy made a smart **** comment) of course my son thought that was funny, and hucked some bread at our guest catching him right between the eyes! Left handed with accuracy daddy is thinking he's a pitcher

- Got an original xbox the other day by trading in one game. Hopefully my boy leaves daddy's 360 alone now

- Fight Night Round 4 is very well done. A little more sim than the old ones but I think it is solid.

[MarkB]

I didn't get out of bed until 4pm, so it's still Sunday to me. Not done this in a while.

Very glad to see a sweep of the Red Sox this weekend. On Thursday night, I said I'd be happy with a 2-game split, so a 4-game sweep is very good territory to be in - 6.5 ahead of the Sox in the East when only a few weeks ago people were starting to say "The Yanks are a cinch for the playoffs - in the wildcard", a demoralised Red Sox squad leaving New York, A-Rod seeming to have his power stroke back again after a 66-game drought, and the starters coming around very well. The fifth spot is still a huge question mark, but if we can win 4 of every 5 games we play for the rest of the season, I'm sure any Yankees fan will take that.

I never realised at the time what a blessing getting made redundant from Dell would be. I offered to take it before it was even offered as I wasn't happy in the job any more and was looking for new things anyway, but since I finished on June 18th, almost everything has went to plan, and I'm happier on a daily basis than I have ben in years. I've moved into my own flat, gained quite a lot of independence, started working out again, going for runs in the mornings when I'm up late for no reason, spending more free time with friends and getting things done, been on a last-minute-arranged holiday, made more money in a month and a half than I have in a year fixing PCs, and can live to my own schedule again. If I want to stay up until 7am to watch the Yankees game, I can. No more 2 inning games, then catching up at work the next day. I might even start playing ball again.

...speaking of which, I pitched again for the first time in at least a year or so yesterday, and it went very well, considering the conditions. Just really a mess-around in the park with a few friends and some kids (which meant it was baseball one minute, then slow-pitch softball with a tennis ball and tennis racquet the next), but I got in about 60 real pitches on flat ground. Not only that, but the shoulder is feeling great, as it had started hurting last week while playing catch for some reason. Just regular "day-after-throwing" pain today. Played the outfield for the first time in years too. Toward the end, we ended up with 6 fielders and a pitcher on each team, a set of chairs or me, regardless of the team batting, as the catcher, and 5 bases. No idea what happened there.

Did get plunked once in the back of the calf while taking some BP, though. 3rd pitch from a guy who's never played before. Could be a lot worse, no pain at all due to the location.

Yep, those lines are the marks from the stitching on the ball.

For the record, the BIOS on Gateway systems sucks. No way to change the HDD mode to ATA or AHCI, thus, when attempting to install XP, if your CD doesn't have the drivers on it and it's a new laptop, hence, no floppy drive, you're SOL. "Setup did not find any hard disk installed in your computer". Thank you once again, Bill Gates. I hope you die a slow, painful death.

Found this site yesterday - it's a site you can go on to and type in seemingly anything for the world to see, sort of like a huge, ASCII-based shoutbox like we have here, but with no names. I started an MVPMods one yesterday, located here.

Also mentioned in the "Cool links" thread, Youtuberepeat.com is pretty cool.

Still cannot find a copy disk 1 of 100 Years of the New York Yankees. Got disk 2, which is great, but would be nice to complete the collection.

For the record, Glasgow City Council and its employees, as well as, to a slightly, but only very slightly, lesser extent, Glasgow City Council's Housing Benefit department, are all *****. Pure, unadulterated, "we sent you the right form with the wrong information and you filled it out wrongly because you ticked an option that's no longer available because we sent out an old form that needs updated but hasn't been updated yet and we didn't let you know that, so you messed up", "give us a reason why you require your benefits to be back-dated because moving across the city with no car, a house full of stuff and no access to non-public transportation isn't good enough", "we don't have a telephone number that you can call without paying exorbitant call charges and getting a terrible attitude from the socially retarded more-like-an-ape-but-passes-for-human-because-calling-them-an-ape-would-be-insulting-to-primates" *****. Hmm. Yes.

The more I look around, the more I wonder how in the hell I managed to fit all this stuff that I have in one room in my old house. It's crazy.

I love the fact that when I first moved in, I was barely getting 4Mb, but now that the line is being trained, it goes up every time the link is activating, so I'm now just over 6Mb, and my upstream is twice what it was at my old house, which is very nice for seeding.

One of my customers sent me a text today, asking which was better - his Toshiba Equim laptop, or his Acer laptop. No specs, no model numbers, nothing. Just as well I've used them both in the past, otherwise I'd have no idea.

Still can't find a way to get Paint Shop Pro 8 working on XP 64-bit. Pain in the ***.

And finally, the sun is starting to change the black over the hills to a shady blue, so sunrise approaches at 5:23am in Glasgow. With that said, I'll wrap it up.

Have a good week, gents.

[wrigleyville33]

School starts tomorrow.

That is all. :(

[RaptorQuiz]

...Women and beer. Bad combination. Just ask these two female Cardinal fans. They had too much Budweiser and then they pushed an old Busch Stadium usher out of his wheelchair. Maybe the Cardinals should stop beer sales after the second inning from now on or just ban these two from the ballpark for the next 50 or 60 years.

At least one of them is from Fenton.

Don't judge St. Louisans on people from one of our most White Trashy areas. It's so far down there it barely counts as a suburb of STL at all.

[Yankee4Life]

At least one of them is from Fenton.

Don't judge St. Louisans on people from one of our most White Trashy areas. It's so far down there it barely counts as a suburb of STL at all.

Never heard of Fenton before and I don't even know where it is.

But I didn't judge the entire city on the actions of two drunken pigs.

[Hoop27]

8-16

- Watching my 2 year old trying to play classics like pac-man, dig dug, and excitebike is just awesome.

- My best man from my wedding moved back to town Thursday. He is also a graphics animator

- Short one today as my child is a little hyper. I'm guessing thats what Pac-man does to you.

[JoeyMcM93]

has anyone ever had to or chosen to read any books by john steinbeck?

over the summer we had to read East of Eden and now today as part of the assignment we have to go over to the steinbeck museum over in salinas. should be....interesting...

[Yankee4Life]

Updated to 8-30

...I did not mean to let this go for a few weeks and not post anything in here, but I think I have a good excuse as to why. I've been in the hospital for a week and now I have been home for a week recovering.

...A hernia combined with a small bowel obstruction equals severe abdominal pain. It will make you (reluctantly) go to the emergency room and then be told hours later that you need surgery. Not what I was expecting.

...So, as a result, on the 18th I had surgery and had to spend the rest of that week in the hospital.

...It's true you don't get rest in a hospital but you can't blame the nurses. If you have a semi-private room, there's your biggest problem. The visitors for my different roommates while I was there talked and carried on like they were at a picnic. LOUD.

...The people that come in and take blood from you try to fool you when they say "this won't hurt a bit." Oh yes it does. Every time.

...But I do have to say right here that the people that work in a hospital are special. They do a great job and they really helped me a lot. I'm especially thinking about my time in the surgical ICU with those nurses there who helped me walk around the day after the surgery.

...I had to go five straight days without drinking, which was just as hard as the operation itself.

...The time where it is really slow in a hospital is the early morning hours. Many times you can't sleep and all you can do is listen to the sounds around you.

...Remember that Friday night game in Boston between the Yankees and Red Sox? The game the Yankees won 20-11? Well, I watched it until the game started to actually hurt me. Back when the Yankees were winning 15-5, the Red Sox were threatening. They had the bases loaded off of Pettitte and all I could think of was "grand slam and the game is going to be 15-9 and that's close enough for a comeback." I was moving around so much in bed then that I popped off my heart monitors and the nurses had to come in and put them back on. They wanted to know what was causing the problem and I told them it was Andy Pettitte. They asked me to change the channel so I could calm down. So, I did. I put it on USA and watched the latest episode of Monk and then everything was back to normal.

...I got released on the 22nd in the afternoon and I have been home ever since. Still can't be here on a regular basis as before because I'm always tired and I have a hard time moving around right now and getting up. I have this binder on me right now that really limits mobility.

...I had to catch up on a lot of pages when I first came back here. It's amazing what you miss.

...Now I will go back and lay down since it is still only 5:30 am and I need more rest. I can't sleep through the night yet.

[fenway389]

Was wondering why you haven't been around. Hope you're feeling better soon.

[laroquece]

You´re here now, that´s the important thing, hope you have a full recovery :clapping:

[Kccitystar]

...I kind of miss playing MVP Baseball and always think about installing it from time to time, but I never act on the urge, especially when right next to it is MLB 09: The Show. Speaking of the show, in the game I am a 23 year old rookie (it's 2011 in MLB 09) in the Orioles system, playing for the AAA Tides. I've been in AAA for a season or two, but it's a dramatic change from AA ball. This game will make you hate your minor league teammates. I'm on an absolute tear and hopefully I'll get the call next season or in a few weeks.

...I have a serious backlog of games to play such as Devil May Cry 4, Resident Evil 5, and Resistance 2. There are more games in my backlog but these are the ones that stand out to me. Since then I have not purchased any new titles until I can complete all of those games. While I'm discussing games, the PS3 redesign is a beauty in person. I think that if they just stick to Nintendo's strategy of ONE system, they can really boost sales up this holiday season. Their new marketing campaign is pretty funny too, as the guy who Dustin Pedroia was talking to in the MLB 09 ads this year is once again featured in these new ads holding new positions within Sony. Funny stuff.

...School begins in the winter for me, but for everyone else it is in the fall. My girlfriend included. I've spent much of my college experience working at my own pace, as there have been circumstances beyond my control that have put my college work on hold a few times, but this year things are slowly changing so I don't have to put college on the backburner to handle personal issues within my family.

...I am slowly planting the seeds to make a big life change in the near future. Once I graduate from college here in New York, I will be heading out to UC Berkeley and continue my education out there, along with my GF who is going to be heading there with me to continue her degree in chemistry. Saying these things are not enough, so I've been doing my research on the area and the courses, as well as the surrounding points of interest.

...Yes, my GF is a chemist. We've been together for several months now and she feels it is time I get to meet the parents. She's waited until the time was right to do so, and I guess now is that time. I mean I've always told her I would have no problem meeting them but now I'm kind of nervous. My friends have suggested that I get along with the father moreso than the mom because the father is the one who is more protective of their daughters. I'm going to try. I mean, I kind of get along with everyone, and her younger sisters love having me around, so I'm sure things are going to go well.

[JoeyMcM93]

...With school having begun, my Sundays are now good for one thing only: recovering. Giants looking for the wild card today against Colorado. My day will consist of nothing but the Little League World Series, Giants baseball, and a good BBQ dinner before heading back to the books tomorrow morning.

[DJEagles]

What is wrong with Roy Halladay?

[kraken613]

^

Seems like the same thing that is wrong with Beckett....

[Yankee4Life]

Updated to 9-6

...The recovery part after the surgery is really taking a toll on me. I've never been so tired in my life. I'm up for a few hours and then I start to feel exhausted, and that means it's time to sleep some more. I think with all the sleep that I have missed over the past six months, I'm probably all caught up by now.

...I have a pain pill called Hydrocodone (Vicotin) that I try not to take because you can get hooked on it.

...It's my hope that I never have to go through this again. Now I know what it means to be on the receiving end of a blindside tackle.

...I know a lot of you love college football, but for me it's going to be another season of ignoring it completely.

...The only football team I worry about is the Raiders and that's fine by me.

...I'll admit that I was very puzzled by the trade for Jerry Hairston, Jr but I'm not anymore. I'm impressed with the versatility that this guy brings to the Yankees. And he is a huge upgrade from last year's versatile guy Wilson Betemit, who excelled at nothing during his Yankee tenure.

...Derek Jeter is very close to breaking the all time hit record for a Yankee player. He should pass Lou Gehrig sometime this week. I just hope he realizes that Gehrig would have had a lot more hits had he not been struck ill in 1939.

...Nice to see good guy Jason Giambi hook up with the Rockies and be productive for them.

...Another example of the huge difference between the two leagues. Jose Contreras, the Cuban pitcher who couldn't get anyone out, gets traded to Colorado and in his first start goes 6 2/3 innings and gives up 8 hits for the win. I never understood with all the good stuff that guy has he is not a winner.

...Thank you Mark Kotsay.

[Yankee4Life]

Updated to 9-13 (actually 9-16, but what's a couple of days between friends?)

...I'm back once again. If you notice the previous post in this thread that I made back on September 6th, that post is also the last one I made in here since that time. I went back into the hospital on the 6th and remained there until yesterday afternoon when I was released. That's a long time.

...I won't go into detail about everything since some of you wouldn't understand it, some of you aren't interested and some of you don't care, but to sum it up I had some complications due to the surgery and I am on antibiotics every day now, at least until they decide to stop it.

...I did come home yesterday and popped in here for a bit but I couldn't stay because I was so tired. You do not sleep in a hospital and I can vouch for that. You try to sleep when you are always getting your blood pressure checked, temperature taken, shot given to you, etc, etc. If you can, you got me beat.

...Listen, I'm hoping that none of you guys in here ever have to go to a hospital for anything but if you do I strongly recommend a private room. Because along with all the noise that the hospital staff causes, you got the guy in the same room as you making just as much. God forbid you get a roommate like I had. The guy complained about everything. He drove the nursing staff and myself crazy.

...After being admitted via the emergency room twice, I got to say that the people that work there are very special and they do a wonderful job.

...As soon as they tell you that you are not allowed to eat or drink anything, that's when you immediately crave a glass of water.

...Because I am a charter member of the Sniveling Cowards Association of Upstate New York, having an IV put into me hurt like hell. It even hurt when they told me they were going to put one in.

...Finally, I just have to say a prayer that I never have to go there again.

Now, on to sports...

...Thank you Serena Williams for showing the entire world why I have hated you and your sister for years now. After threatening to kill a tennis official because a call didn't go her way, she's been spinning around her story and making excuses since this happened. I have no respect for you and I am glad you finally showed your true colors.

...Question for Yankee fans: Doesn't watching Robinson Cano play drive you nuts? I can not help but thinking this guy is a lazy S.O.B. Not in the Soriano class of course, but this guy is as close as you'd want to get. I may yell at Posada a lot, but Cano is the guy I hate the most.

...The only good thing about yesterday's loss to Toronto was that Sergio Mitre played himself off the playoff roster. Thank God for that.

...Isn't it funny that every series that the Yankees play with Toronto they never miss facing Roy Halladay? Of course, it's not the same when the Blue Jays face Boston. The Blue Jays are this year's team that lays down when they face the Red Sox and go all out when they face the Yankees.

...If the Raiders keep playing like they did on Monday, they'll surprise people this year. I was able to watch the entire game on Monday since I was still laid up in the hospital and I had nothing to do anyways. It was a very tough loss.

...$%&* Tom Brady.

...I'm watching Sportscenter the other day and I see that they just launched a new website called ESPN.Boston.com. I almost threw the remote at the TV but then I remembered the hospital owned it and not myself. How do you like this? ESPN finally comes out and admits to the entire world they they favor Boston and they give them their own private website that concentrates on Boston sports. BULL FU**ING SH**. The MLB Network grovels to that city. ESPN grovels to them. Tell me why?

...Oh yeah, and so do the schedule makers. How right is it that the Yankees have to open up the 2010 season in Boston and close the 2010 season in Boston? Why is it that they make the Yankees do this but don't even consider making Boston do this. It must be nice having the commissioner in your back pocket.

[TheSabathiaEra]

Why do we suck against the Blue Jays?

[CircleChange11]

...I'm watching Sportscenter the other day and I see that they just launched a new website called ESPN.Boston.com. I almost threw the remote at the TV but then I remembered the hospital owned it and not myself. How do you like this? ESPN finally comes out and admits to the entire world they they favor Boston and they give them their own private website that concentrates on Boston sports. BULL FU**ING SH**. The MLB Network grovels to that city. ESPN grovels to them. Tell me why?

Chicago also has their own ESPN channel. It's called "Disappointment TV".

Hope you recover well from your surgery. None of that sounds very pleasant.