Another 0.92 inches in the rain gauge this morning. More probably on the way. With 40 mph gusts. Every hour I can see further and further into the woods as the leaves are getting battered to the ground. There's still color on the hillsides, but it's rapidly disappearing.
Oh, and the temperature dropped to 40 degrees last night. Thanks a lot Canada!
******
I watched a young deer apparently traveling alone as it fed just on the other side of the powerline yesterday afternoon. In the pouring rain. I felt sorry for the poor thing as I could see the water running off its fur. It walked slowly down hill plucking an occasional leaf from the low growth unaware of my presence on the deck since the wind was rattling the leaves and blowing towards me. Finally, however, a swirl of air must have carried my scent in that direction as its head came up and it bounded off downhill and into the protection of the thicket. Or, maybe, it was a straggling youngster who's ma had already passed beyond my sight and she (ma) gave a snort telling it to get a move on. It was too noisy for me to hear from my vantage point, but that young deer's ears are far better than mine.
******
I think I'll bake some chocolate chip cookies today. The heat from the oven will be welcome.
Two problems with baking 5 dozen cookies:
1) Clean up. I hate washing the tools needed to produce the cookies.
2) Baking cookies leads to eating cookies. And with plenty of football on the tube over the next three days, probably ALL of the cookies will be eaten. (Which is why I picked up more milk this morning.)
******
Speaking of football.... My Scarlet Knights of Rutgers are currently 4-1 and 2-0 in the Big East and facing Navy at Rutgers today with a good chance to be 5-1. (They could be undefeated IF 1) they had kicked a field goal at North Carolina instead of trying to score from the one--twice, and 2) the replay official had bothered to look at either of those one-yard scoring attempts as some say the runner was over the goal line BOTH times.)
Last year they were 4-2 (1-0) after this weekend, having just beaten Army. It would be the last game they won all season. They lost Eric LeGrand in that game. Paralyzed from the neck down while making a tackle on a kick return. Eric was a star defensive player and the heart and soul of that RU team. His current attitude toward his injury may well be what has RU playing so well this year. He believes he will one day be able to return to the Meadowlands, where he was injured, lay down on the field and be able to get up and walk off under his own power. He is working hard to make that happen and who is to say he won't do it someday. Believe!
******
BCS rankings are out now as well as the other polls. ESPN will make a big thing of them tomorrow (Sunday) night. In the meantime, here are the BCS Top Ten:
1. Alabama
2. LSU
3. Oklahoma
4. Oklahoma State
5. Boise State
6. Wisconsin
7. Clemson
8. Stanford
9. Michigan
10. Georgia Tech
Every single one of these teams is currently undefeated, but that won't last. Down the line, during the course of their regular season, Alabama faces LSU, Oklahoma goes against Oklahoma State, and Georgia Tech must play Clemson. Should Wisconsin and Michigan make it through their regular season unbeaten, they would face each other in the Big Ten Championship game. Stanford has Washington, USC, Oregon, and Notre Dame yet to play. Only Boise State has what appears to be an easy road to an undefeated season.
Saturday, October 15, 2011
Friday, October 14, 2011
Wet. Wetter. Wettest.
I took advantage of a break in the rain this morning at 9 AM when I went out to get the mail and emptied the rain gauge of 1.42 inches of water. It looks as though we will have another above average month--the third consecutive month of above average precipitation. Let's hope this does not continue through the snow months ahead! (I'm not much for skiing or snowboarding, sorry.)
It was actually quite nice when I went out. There were even a few breaks in the clouds allowing sunlight to stream down and illuminate the fields in the valley to the northwest. It was a promise--fleeting and ephemeral, perhaps, but a promise just the same--of better weather ahead. Just not immediately. The clouds have closed ranks and thickened, and it looks like there might be more shower activity to come. *sigh*
[UPDATE: 12:40 PM Well that promise didn't last long. By noon it was pouring cats and dogs. It has now settled down to a drenching rain that the weather.com hourly report says will continue all afternoon and into the night.]
It was actually quite nice when I went out. There were even a few breaks in the clouds allowing sunlight to stream down and illuminate the fields in the valley to the northwest. It was a promise--fleeting and ephemeral, perhaps, but a promise just the same--of better weather ahead. Just not immediately. The clouds have closed ranks and thickened, and it looks like there might be more shower activity to come. *sigh*
[UPDATE: 12:40 PM Well that promise didn't last long. By noon it was pouring cats and dogs. It has now settled down to a drenching rain that the weather.com hourly report says will continue all afternoon and into the night.]
BELIEVE!
CBSSports.com has a heartwarming and beautiful story about Rutgers' ex-football player Eric LeGrand.
Eric was paralyzed from the shoulders down. He hasn't let that stop his spirit, however.
This is an amazing young man who speaks of when (never IF) he walks again. As Coach Schiano and Rutgers keep preaching he just keeps chopping. Doing what he has to do so someday he will be able to do what he wants to do: Get up and walk off the field under his own power.
I've heard Eric on the pregame, half time and post game shows of the Rutgers' football radio broadcasts. (Saturday's Home Coming Game against Navy is set to kickoff at 2 PM. You can hear Eric and the rest of the broadcast staff on WCTC if you tune in about an hour before that.) He has a wonderful radio personality and is very knowledgeable of the game. Go on over to read the entire story.
One thing missing is a link to the Eric LeGrand Believe Fund. If you can help in any way please do so.
On Sunday, Oct. 16, it will be one year since the 21-year-old LeGrand played his last football game, made his last tackle. Rutgers had just scored, and kicked off to Army late in a game at the new Meadowlands Stadium in New Jersey. LeGrand, then a 270-pound defensive lineman for the Scarlet Knights, made a hit on Army kick returner Malcolm Brown and fractured his C3 and C4 vertebrae. LeGrand remembers going down and being dazed, but didn't understand at the time how severely he was hurt.
Eric was paralyzed from the shoulders down. He hasn't let that stop his spirit, however.
The amazing thing now is, for a guy who still can't scratch his nose, LeGrand will tell you with a smile -- always with a smile -- why he has so many reasons to be grateful.
He survived an injury that not everyone survives.
He's breathing without a ventilator, something doctors had told his mother would be unlikely.
He spent five months as a patient at Kessler Institute in West Orange, N.J., where he saw people with spinal cord injuries who could not even eat. Now he's an outpatient there, rehabbing three days a week.
After missing most of his junior year, he's back to working on his degree at Rutgers. He takes classes three nights a week, using an online video conference to watch the lectures from home.
He greets his former teammates in the locker room before each Rutgers home game, then he goes to his new job.
Like most athletes do when they are done playing, LeGrand is now a sportscaster. He does analysis during pregame, postgame and halftime of Rutgers radio broadcasts. He's already done his first TV spot, too.
This is an amazing young man who speaks of when (never IF) he walks again. As Coach Schiano and Rutgers keep preaching he just keeps chopping. Doing what he has to do so someday he will be able to do what he wants to do: Get up and walk off the field under his own power.
I've heard Eric on the pregame, half time and post game shows of the Rutgers' football radio broadcasts. (Saturday's Home Coming Game against Navy is set to kickoff at 2 PM. You can hear Eric and the rest of the broadcast staff on WCTC if you tune in about an hour before that.) He has a wonderful radio personality and is very knowledgeable of the game. Go on over to read the entire story.
One thing missing is a link to the Eric LeGrand Believe Fund. If you can help in any way please do so.
Wednesday, October 12, 2011
Aerie Report, October 12, 2011
Bleh! We're back to the wet, dreary days. Weather.com is saying there's a good chance of showers during six of the next eight days. Looks like mushroom season is back.
Today was a showery day. That's pretty disappointing as we were just getting to peak color in the fall foliage. Now a lot of leaves have been knocked down by the rain and the colors are all subdued by the darkening overcast skies.
The hills had been bathed in various yellow hues from birch, beech, poplar, sugar maple, and ash; multiple shades of brown from the different oaks and even greens from the locusts (which are always well behind in color and spring leaving) and different fir trees. Now, some of the early bird color bearers have lost many of their leaves. I don't doubt that those early trees were in some way stressed by insect damage and disease (particularly the ash trees) or the copious amounts of water accumulating around their root systems from the heavy, heavy rains we had in August and September.
I'm glad I got the yard work done on Monday and Tuesday while we still had somewhat dry conditions. It will be a week or more before I could cut the grass again. And now that it's under cover, there's at least a chance for the wood to dry a bit more before I have to start burning it. I was a bit upset to see quite a few of the split pieces already sprouting fungus from sitting in the rain. Upset, but not surprised. This wood was from trees felled in the summer of '09. It had already been on the forest floor for two winters before I cut it for firewood. I had hoped by leaving it in full length logs it would have been a bit more protected from the various forms of fungus that are out there, but that may not have been the case. That or my leaving it in a loose heap for two months in the rain after I split it didn't do it any favors. Oh well, even punky wood will burn and give off some heat. And the price was good: nothing but a little fuel and sweat equity, baby!
I spent the day relaxing and reading. I've two novels underway (Monster Hunter International by Larry Correia and Changes by Jim Butcher) that I need to finish as I pre-ordered Terry Pratchett's latest Snuff and Amazon says it's been shipped so I've got to get cracking!
Today was a showery day. That's pretty disappointing as we were just getting to peak color in the fall foliage. Now a lot of leaves have been knocked down by the rain and the colors are all subdued by the darkening overcast skies.
The hills had been bathed in various yellow hues from birch, beech, poplar, sugar maple, and ash; multiple shades of brown from the different oaks and even greens from the locusts (which are always well behind in color and spring leaving) and different fir trees. Now, some of the early bird color bearers have lost many of their leaves. I don't doubt that those early trees were in some way stressed by insect damage and disease (particularly the ash trees) or the copious amounts of water accumulating around their root systems from the heavy, heavy rains we had in August and September.
I'm glad I got the yard work done on Monday and Tuesday while we still had somewhat dry conditions. It will be a week or more before I could cut the grass again. And now that it's under cover, there's at least a chance for the wood to dry a bit more before I have to start burning it. I was a bit upset to see quite a few of the split pieces already sprouting fungus from sitting in the rain. Upset, but not surprised. This wood was from trees felled in the summer of '09. It had already been on the forest floor for two winters before I cut it for firewood. I had hoped by leaving it in full length logs it would have been a bit more protected from the various forms of fungus that are out there, but that may not have been the case. That or my leaving it in a loose heap for two months in the rain after I split it didn't do it any favors. Oh well, even punky wood will burn and give off some heat. And the price was good: nothing but a little fuel and sweat equity, baby!
I spent the day relaxing and reading. I've two novels underway (Monster Hunter International by Larry Correia and Changes by Jim Butcher) that I need to finish as I pre-ordered Terry Pratchett's latest Snuff and Amazon says it's been shipped so I've got to get cracking!
College Football 2011, Preweek 7
Week 7: The number of undefeated teams is slowly swindling as the season progresses. This week, there are 13 such teams in the AP Top 25. None of them are playing one another, however, so it’s possible that all will maintain their unblemished record. (#25 Houston is guaranteed to remain unbeaten at 6-0 since they do not play.)
All the ranked teams playing this week are playing on Saturday. Four of the Top 25--five if you count Notre Dame--are not playing at all. There are games of unranked teams scheduled for Thursday (San Diego State at Air Force at 8 PM EDT and USC at Cal at 9 PM EDT) and Friday (Hawaii at San Jose State at 9 PM EDT). Four games pit ranked teams against one another: #6 Oklahoma State (5-0) vs #22 Texas Longhorns (4-1), #9 Oregon (4-1) vs #18 Arizona State Sun Devils (5-1), #11 Michigan (6-0) vs #23 Michigan State Spartans (4-1), and #20 Baylor (4-1) vs #21 Texas A&M Aggies (3-2). The lower ranked team (and even #21 Baylor) may see themselves off the list should they lose.
(Polls are AP, Coaches’ and the CBSSports120. NR = not ranked)
1/2/4 LSU (6-0) The Tigers will be on the road this weekend facing the Volunteers of Tennessee (3-2).
2/3/1 Alabama (6-0) The Tide will be playing at the home of the Mississippi Rebels (2-3).
3/1/3 Oklahoma (5-0) The Sooners pay a visit to the home of the Kansas Jayhawks (2-3).
4/4/13 Wisconsin (5-0) The Badgers host the Indiana Hoosiers (1-5).
5/6/2 Boise State (5-0) The Broncos go on the road to play the Rams of Colorado State (3-2).
6/7/5 Oklahoma State (5-0) The Cowboys are hitting the road to play the #22 Texas Longhorns (4-1).
7/5/7 Stanford (5-0) The Cardinal will head north to face the Washington State Cougars (3-2).
8/8/8 Clemson (6-0) The Tigers hit the road to play the Maryland Terrapins. (2-3).
9/9/20 Oregon (4-1) The Ducks are at home to face the #18 Arizona State Sun Devils (5-1).
10/11/18 Arkansas (5-1) The Razorbacks will have the week of.
11/10/6 Michigan (6-0) The Wolverines will play at the home of the #23 Michigan State Spartans (4-1).
12/12/11 Georgia Tech (6-0) The Yellow Jackets will play on the road against the Virginia Cavaliers (3-2).
13/16/25 West Virginia (5-1) The Mountaineers will be idle this weekend.
14/14/21 Nebraska (5-1) The Cornhuskers will have the weekend off.
15/13/15 South Carolina (5-1) The Gamecocks are on the road facing the Bulldogs of Mississippi State (3-3).
16/15/9 Illinois (6-0) The Fighting Illini will host the Buckeyes of Ohio State (3-3).
17/18/14 Kansas State (5-0) The Wildcats are on the road against the Red Raiders of Texas Tech (4-1).
18/20/17 Arizona State (5-1) The Sun Devils will be traveling north to face the #9 Oregon Ducks (4-1)
19/17/NR Virginia Tech (5-1) The Hokies are hitting the road to face the Demon Deacons of Wake Forest (4-1).
20/24/22 Baylor (4-1) The Bears will play at the home of the #21 Aggies of Texas A&M (3-2).
21/23/NR Texas A&M (3-2) The Aggies will host the #20 Baylor Bears (4-1).
22/21/10 Texas (4-1) The Longhorns will host the # 6 Cowboys of Oklahoma State (5-0).
23/19/NR Michigan State (4-1) The Spartans host the #11 Wolverines of Michigan (6-0).
24/NR/NR Auburn (4-2) The Tigers host the Florida Gators (4-2).
25/22/12 Houston (6-0) The Cougars have the weekend off.
NR/25/23 Penn State (5-1) The Nittany Lions will host the Purdue Boilermakers (3-2).
NR/NR/16 Notre Dame (4-2) The Irish are idle this weekend.
NR/NR/24 Rutgers (4-1) The Scarlet Knights will host the Midshipmen of Navy (2-3).
All the ranked teams playing this week are playing on Saturday. Four of the Top 25--five if you count Notre Dame--are not playing at all. There are games of unranked teams scheduled for Thursday (San Diego State at Air Force at 8 PM EDT and USC at Cal at 9 PM EDT) and Friday (Hawaii at San Jose State at 9 PM EDT). Four games pit ranked teams against one another: #6 Oklahoma State (5-0) vs #22 Texas Longhorns (4-1), #9 Oregon (4-1) vs #18 Arizona State Sun Devils (5-1), #11 Michigan (6-0) vs #23 Michigan State Spartans (4-1), and #20 Baylor (4-1) vs #21 Texas A&M Aggies (3-2). The lower ranked team (and even #21 Baylor) may see themselves off the list should they lose.
(Polls are AP, Coaches’ and the CBSSports120. NR = not ranked)
1/2/4 LSU (6-0) The Tigers will be on the road this weekend facing the Volunteers of Tennessee (3-2).
2/3/1 Alabama (6-0) The Tide will be playing at the home of the Mississippi Rebels (2-3).
3/1/3 Oklahoma (5-0) The Sooners pay a visit to the home of the Kansas Jayhawks (2-3).
4/4/13 Wisconsin (5-0) The Badgers host the Indiana Hoosiers (1-5).
5/6/2 Boise State (5-0) The Broncos go on the road to play the Rams of Colorado State (3-2).
6/7/5 Oklahoma State (5-0) The Cowboys are hitting the road to play the #22 Texas Longhorns (4-1).
7/5/7 Stanford (5-0) The Cardinal will head north to face the Washington State Cougars (3-2).
8/8/8 Clemson (6-0) The Tigers hit the road to play the Maryland Terrapins. (2-3).
9/9/20 Oregon (4-1) The Ducks are at home to face the #18 Arizona State Sun Devils (5-1).
10/11/18 Arkansas (5-1) The Razorbacks will have the week of.
11/10/6 Michigan (6-0) The Wolverines will play at the home of the #23 Michigan State Spartans (4-1).
12/12/11 Georgia Tech (6-0) The Yellow Jackets will play on the road against the Virginia Cavaliers (3-2).
13/16/25 West Virginia (5-1) The Mountaineers will be idle this weekend.
14/14/21 Nebraska (5-1) The Cornhuskers will have the weekend off.
15/13/15 South Carolina (5-1) The Gamecocks are on the road facing the Bulldogs of Mississippi State (3-3).
16/15/9 Illinois (6-0) The Fighting Illini will host the Buckeyes of Ohio State (3-3).
17/18/14 Kansas State (5-0) The Wildcats are on the road against the Red Raiders of Texas Tech (4-1).
18/20/17 Arizona State (5-1) The Sun Devils will be traveling north to face the #9 Oregon Ducks (4-1)
19/17/NR Virginia Tech (5-1) The Hokies are hitting the road to face the Demon Deacons of Wake Forest (4-1).
20/24/22 Baylor (4-1) The Bears will play at the home of the #21 Aggies of Texas A&M (3-2).
21/23/NR Texas A&M (3-2) The Aggies will host the #20 Baylor Bears (4-1).
22/21/10 Texas (4-1) The Longhorns will host the # 6 Cowboys of Oklahoma State (5-0).
23/19/NR Michigan State (4-1) The Spartans host the #11 Wolverines of Michigan (6-0).
24/NR/NR Auburn (4-2) The Tigers host the Florida Gators (4-2).
25/22/12 Houston (6-0) The Cougars have the weekend off.
NR/25/23 Penn State (5-1) The Nittany Lions will host the Purdue Boilermakers (3-2).
NR/NR/16 Notre Dame (4-2) The Irish are idle this weekend.
NR/NR/24 Rutgers (4-1) The Scarlet Knights will host the Midshipmen of Navy (2-3).
Tuesday, October 11, 2011
Aerie Report, October 11, 2011
I woke up before 6 AM this morning and saw the full moon about to set. A beautiful, bright orange jack-o-lantern moon. The adage about red sky in the morning is meant to apply to the sun rising, but the moon setting may be just as good an indicator. Clouds moved in during the day and we are supposed to get showers late tonight an much of Wednesday. Wednesday's showers may be heavy at times, too. At least the clouds kept the temperature below 70 degrees today. ideal temperature for working outdoors.
******
I spent three hours in the dentist's chair this morning getting fitted for a temporary bridge. It took her an hour just to get the old bridge off so she could get to the teeth beneath that were 1) anchoring the 6 tooth bridge and 2) in need of work because of decay. Luckily(?) she didn't see a need for a root canal ("at this time") on the one really bad tooth. Impressions were taken for the final product, the temp was installed and everything else went swimmingly. I practiced lots of meditation while sitting there. So much, in fact, that I nearly fell asleep while she was working!
She kept telling me to relax my lips so she could put those little cotton pillows in to keep the flesh away from where she was using the cutter/drill. I had to laugh because my upper lip was so numb from the shots she administered that I couldn't get it much more relaxed than it was. As for the little cotton pillows, I'm sure I've seen chipmunks with less in their cheek pouches. I think there were six of those things in there at one time.
******
When I got done with the dentist, I sauntered over to Yorkholo Brewery for a glass of Pine Creek Lager and a meal of fish and chips. I'm sure it was quite good but I was concerned I might dribble all over the place since my upper lip was still very, very numb.
I did complain that they post their meal specials on Facebook too late for them to be useful for either lunch or dinner planning. Every day they seem to post their specials just one hour before that meal's time. They put the lunch special up around 11 AM and the dinner between 4 and 5 PM. By then Terry's already got meal prep pretty much underway and it's usually too late to alter our plans. The bartender listened, nodded his head and told me that they were just talking about that at a meeting on Monday. They know it's a problem and they are working with the folks in the kitchen for a little more lead time.
******
Back home I stacked all the firewood and covered it with tarps. That little job took me two-and-a-half hours to complete by which time by lip was no longer numb but I was wishing my knees were. Both of them were complaining something awful. I'll be taking some pain killers after a light dinner and will skip the photography club meeting over in Wellsboro. Maybe I'll make it all the way through NCIS and NCIS: Los Angeles before I turn into a pumpkin.
******
I spent three hours in the dentist's chair this morning getting fitted for a temporary bridge. It took her an hour just to get the old bridge off so she could get to the teeth beneath that were 1) anchoring the 6 tooth bridge and 2) in need of work because of decay. Luckily(?) she didn't see a need for a root canal ("at this time") on the one really bad tooth. Impressions were taken for the final product, the temp was installed and everything else went swimmingly. I practiced lots of meditation while sitting there. So much, in fact, that I nearly fell asleep while she was working!
She kept telling me to relax my lips so she could put those little cotton pillows in to keep the flesh away from where she was using the cutter/drill. I had to laugh because my upper lip was so numb from the shots she administered that I couldn't get it much more relaxed than it was. As for the little cotton pillows, I'm sure I've seen chipmunks with less in their cheek pouches. I think there were six of those things in there at one time.
******
When I got done with the dentist, I sauntered over to Yorkholo Brewery for a glass of Pine Creek Lager and a meal of fish and chips. I'm sure it was quite good but I was concerned I might dribble all over the place since my upper lip was still very, very numb.
I did complain that they post their meal specials on Facebook too late for them to be useful for either lunch or dinner planning. Every day they seem to post their specials just one hour before that meal's time. They put the lunch special up around 11 AM and the dinner between 4 and 5 PM. By then Terry's already got meal prep pretty much underway and it's usually too late to alter our plans. The bartender listened, nodded his head and told me that they were just talking about that at a meeting on Monday. They know it's a problem and they are working with the folks in the kitchen for a little more lead time.
******
Back home I stacked all the firewood and covered it with tarps. That little job took me two-and-a-half hours to complete by which time by lip was no longer numb but I was wishing my knees were. Both of them were complaining something awful. I'll be taking some pain killers after a light dinner and will skip the photography club meeting over in Wellsboro. Maybe I'll make it all the way through NCIS and NCIS: Los Angeles before I turn into a pumpkin.
Monday, October 10, 2011
Aerie Report, October 10, 2011
I trust you had a nice Columbus Day. Mine was very relaxing, thank you.
One more beautiful day at the Aerie. It never got below 50 degrees overnight and rose to just about 80 this afternoon. Some cloud cover did roll in after the 2 o'clock hour and provided some welcome shade from the very bright sun. That cloud cover broke up as we approached sunset however and the result was a lovely orange-to-pink-to-purple-to-blue pastel work framed in dark gray of the remaining clouds off in the western direction.
******
I got the grass cut today using the rear catcher and did it in pretty good time--just under 2 hours despite having to stop frequently to empty the bag. The knees didn't complain at all and that allowed me to mow without moaning--or slowing down much.
I also got some of the black locust sprouts that threaten to cover the propane tank and prick the deliveryman to death clipped back. I was a little concerned that the thorns on the branches might actually puncture the gas line if they fell in that direction. As a result, I got hit in the head, shoulders and, of course, the arms and hands. Dang thorns are nearly 3/4 on an inch long and sharp!
When I get back from the dentist's tomorrow, I'll start stacking firewood.
******
Terry made it to Anaheim without a hitch yesterday. She did have to show the TSA agent what her pleater was all about, though, apparently they hadn't seen one before. (It's a little hand cranked thing that scrunches up material and sews it at the same time so you can smock upon the multi-folded results. Looks something like this or this. I think Terry's is more like the second one.)
Terry's only complaint about the flight was that it left at around 8 AM, took 5-6 hours and did not include a meal or snack. Beverage was included but any food was pay-as-you-go unless you were in first class. I guess it's one way they can keep the price down as fuel cost are bouncing all over the place.
Anyway, she's there with her friends and fellow enthusiasts and having a good time.
One more beautiful day at the Aerie. It never got below 50 degrees overnight and rose to just about 80 this afternoon. Some cloud cover did roll in after the 2 o'clock hour and provided some welcome shade from the very bright sun. That cloud cover broke up as we approached sunset however and the result was a lovely orange-to-pink-to-purple-to-blue pastel work framed in dark gray of the remaining clouds off in the western direction.
******
I got the grass cut today using the rear catcher and did it in pretty good time--just under 2 hours despite having to stop frequently to empty the bag. The knees didn't complain at all and that allowed me to mow without moaning--or slowing down much.
I also got some of the black locust sprouts that threaten to cover the propane tank and prick the deliveryman to death clipped back. I was a little concerned that the thorns on the branches might actually puncture the gas line if they fell in that direction. As a result, I got hit in the head, shoulders and, of course, the arms and hands. Dang thorns are nearly 3/4 on an inch long and sharp!
When I get back from the dentist's tomorrow, I'll start stacking firewood.
******
Terry made it to Anaheim without a hitch yesterday. She did have to show the TSA agent what her pleater was all about, though, apparently they hadn't seen one before. (It's a little hand cranked thing that scrunches up material and sews it at the same time so you can smock upon the multi-folded results. Looks something like this or this. I think Terry's is more like the second one.)
Terry's only complaint about the flight was that it left at around 8 AM, took 5-6 hours and did not include a meal or snack. Beverage was included but any food was pay-as-you-go unless you were in first class. I guess it's one way they can keep the price down as fuel cost are bouncing all over the place.
Anyway, she's there with her friends and fellow enthusiasts and having a good time.
College Football 2011, Week 6 results
Week 6 is over and the results are in. Only one ranked team lost to a lower/unranked team this week. As a result, there shouldn’t be many changes at the top of the polls when they come out prior to week 7. Only the margin in some of the games was surprising.
(Polls are the AP, Coaches’ and CBSSports. NR= Not Ranked)
1/2/6 LSU (6-0) The Tigers trounced the #17 Florida Gators (4-2) 41-11. LSU scored on its second play from scrimmage and went up 24-0 before Florida finally got on the board.
2/3/1 Alabama (6-0) The Crimson Tide shut out the Vanderbilt Commodores (3-2). Tide keeps rollin’ 34-0.
3/1/7 Oklahoma (5-0) The Sooners romped over the #11 Texas Longhorns (4-1) 55-17. Landry Jones completed 31 of 50 passes for 367 yards and 3 TDs for the Sooners but it the defense scored just as many points with an interception return (55 yards by Demontre Hurst) and two fumble returns (19 yards by David King and 56 yards by Jamell Fleming) as seven different Sooners scored TDs.
4/5/12 Wisconsin (5-0) The Badgers have the week off.
5/6/3 Boise State (5-0) The Broncos were on the road to play the Fresno State Bulldogs (2-4) on Friday night. Home, away, these are meaningless terms to the Broncos. Kellen Moore had a so-so evening as he was “just” 23 of 31 for 254 yards and 3 TDs. Geraldo Boldewijn, in his first game back from suspension caught two of those. Just what the Broncos need: another big play maker.
6/7/2 Oklahoma State (5-0) The Cowboys demolished the Kansas Jayhawks (2-3) 70-28. Cowboys scored 35 in the first and another 21 in the second quarter for a 56-7 half time lead helped along by 4 turnovers. Brandon Weeden threw for 288 yards and five touchdowns before being removed—in the second quarter. Back-up Clint Chelf completed 14 of 21 for 206 yards and two TDs.
7/4/8 Stanford (5-0) The Cardinal feasted on the Colorado Buffaloes (1-5). Max Bergen blocked a field goal and returned it 75 yards for the first Cardinal score and Andrew Luck completed 26 of 33 attempts for a season high 370 yards and three TDs.
8/8/9 Clemson (6-0) The Tigers rolled over the Boston College Eagles (1-5) 36-14. The Tigers are now 3-0 in the ACC. Tajh Boyd completed 16 of 26 attempts for 283 yards and a TD. He also ran for a TD from 14 yards out before a hard hit to his hop ended his day early. Clemson’s Chandler Catanzaro had five field goals or 38, 42, 18, 20 and 47 yards in addition to three extra points for a total of 18 points.
9/9/NR Oregon (4-1) The Ducks beat the California Bruins (3-2) badly on Thursday night. Trailing 15-14 at the half, the Ducks proceeded to shut out the Golden Bears in the second half while scoring 22 points in the third and another 7 in the fourth. Star running back LaMichael James suffered a dislocated elbow, however and that could prove costly.
10/12/NR Arkansas (5-1) The Razorbacks beat the #15 Auburn Tigers (4-2) 38-14. The Tigers lead 14-7 after one quarter but that was all the Razorbacks would allow.
11/10/5 Texas (4-1) The Longhorns got dominated 55-17 by the #3 Oklahoma Sooners (5-0). See above for details.
12/11/4 Michigan (6-0) The Wolverines came back in the second half to defeat the Northwestern Wildcats (2-3). With Denard Robinsons throwing three interceptions in the first half and the Wildcats ahead 24-14 at that point, you might be excused to think there was an upset in the making. But the Michigan defense shut down the Wildcats and the offense scored 28 unanswered points in the second half. Robinson finished with 14 completions (to his teammates) on 23 attempts for 290 yards and 2 TDs. He also ran for two.
13/13/10 Georgia Tech (6-0) The Yellow Jackets jumped out to a 21-3 lead at the end of three quarters and then had to hold off the surging Maryland Terps (2-3) to earn a 21-16 victory.
14/15/17 Nebraska (5-1) The Cornhuskers host the Buckeyes of Ohio State (3-3). Trailing 27-6 in the third quarter, Nebraska was in danger of losing its second Big 10 game on national TV. That’s when they steeled themselves. The defense shut down the Buckeyes and the offense finally got untracked as the ‘Huskers scored 28 unanswered points on their way to a 34-27 victory.
15/23/16 Auburn (4-2) The Tigers fell to the #10Arkansas Razorbacks (5-1) 38-14.
16/19/25 West Virginia (5-1) The Mountaineers scored 23 points in the third quarter on their way to routing the Connecticut Huskies (2-4) 43-16. The Mountaineers held a slim one-point lead at the half, 10-9 but that swiftly ended when WVA scored 23 points in a 7: 35 span in the third. Geno Smith threw for 450 yards and four touchdowns. Paul Millard replaced Smith in the fourth quarter and promptly threw an interception that the Huskies’ Ty-Meer Brown returned 48 yards for a score. It was the only TD UConn scored.
17/18/21 Florida (4-2) The Gators got ripped by the #1 LSU Tigers (6-0) 41-11.
18/14/14 South Carolina (5-1) The Gamecocks routed the Kentucky Wildcats (2-4) Saturday. Craig McIntosh kicked a 28 yard field goal in the first period to give Kentucky a 3-0 lead over the Gamecocks. Those would be the only points scored by Kentucky, however, as South Carolina had 639 yards in net offense and scored 51 unanswered points to win 51-3. USC will try a new QB this week. He should have an easy time against Kentucky. Conner Shaw got the start over a somewhat erratic fifth-year senior Stephen Garcia. Shaw tossed four touchdowns, going 26 of 39 for 311 yards.
19/16/11 Illinois (6-0) The Fighting Illini beat the Indiana Hoosiers (1-5) 41-20 in a game rife with big plays. Indiana’s true freshman Shane Wynn returned the opening kickoff 99 yards for a TD. Nathan Scheelhaase hooked up with A.J. Jenkins on TD passes of 77 yards and 67 yards and Tavon Wilson returned a fumble 66 yards for the Illini.
20/21/15 Kansas State (5-0) The Wildcats remain undefeated with a win over the Missouri Tigers (2-3) 24-17.
21/17/24 Virginia Tech (5-1) The Hokies eked out a victory over the Hurricane of Miami (Fla.) (2-3) 38-35. Miami scored three times in the fourth quarter and even took the lead 35-31. Logan Thomas would have none of it, however. Having already scored one TD on the ground and thrown for three more, Thomas would lead the Hokies on a final drive that would culminate in his 19 yard TD run putting VT up at the end.
22/24/NR Arizona State (5-1) The Sun Devils beat the Utah Utes (2-3) 35-14. It was close until the turnovers finally caught up to the Utes. (Utah committed five of them for the second consecutive week.)
23/22/NR Florida State (2-3) The Seminoles suffered the only real upset of the week as they lost to the Wake Forest Demon Deacons (4-1) 35-30. Wake Forest is now 3-0 in the ACC.
24/25/NR Texas A&M (3-2) The Aggies held on in the fourth quarter to defeat the Texas Tech Red Raiders (4-1) 45-40.
25/NR/NR Baylor (4-1) The Bears beat the Iowa State Cyclones (3-2) 49-26 despite trailing 7-0 after the first quarter. Terrance Ganaway rushed 23 times gaining 200 yards and three TDs for the Bears.
NR/NR/13 Houston (6-0) the Cougars trounced the East Carolina Pirates (1-4) 56-3. Case Keenum completed 30 of 37 attempts for 304 yards and three TDs. With 15,895 yards he is now second on the all time list for passing yards. And his 124 TD tosses are third. Man is slipping though. His incompletes this year now outnumber his TD passes.
NR/NR/18 Notre Dame (3-3) The Fighting Irish beat up the Falcons of Air Force (3-2) 59-33. Tommy Rees completed 23 of 32 for 261 yards and four TDs to four different receivers. All together 7 different Irish found the end zone. The Falcons had 565 yards in net offense to ND’s 560.
NR/NR/19 North Carolina (5-1) The Tarheels edged the Louisville Cardinals (2-3) 14-7. Nothing terrible exciting about his one.
NR/NR/22 South Florida (4-1) The Bulls have the week off.
NR/NR/23 Washington (4-1) The Huskies have the weekend off.
(Polls are the AP, Coaches’ and CBSSports. NR= Not Ranked)
1/2/6 LSU (6-0) The Tigers trounced the #17 Florida Gators (4-2) 41-11. LSU scored on its second play from scrimmage and went up 24-0 before Florida finally got on the board.
2/3/1 Alabama (6-0) The Crimson Tide shut out the Vanderbilt Commodores (3-2). Tide keeps rollin’ 34-0.
3/1/7 Oklahoma (5-0) The Sooners romped over the #11 Texas Longhorns (4-1) 55-17. Landry Jones completed 31 of 50 passes for 367 yards and 3 TDs for the Sooners but it the defense scored just as many points with an interception return (55 yards by Demontre Hurst) and two fumble returns (19 yards by David King and 56 yards by Jamell Fleming) as seven different Sooners scored TDs.
4/5/12 Wisconsin (5-0) The Badgers have the week off.
5/6/3 Boise State (5-0) The Broncos were on the road to play the Fresno State Bulldogs (2-4) on Friday night. Home, away, these are meaningless terms to the Broncos. Kellen Moore had a so-so evening as he was “just” 23 of 31 for 254 yards and 3 TDs. Geraldo Boldewijn, in his first game back from suspension caught two of those. Just what the Broncos need: another big play maker.
6/7/2 Oklahoma State (5-0) The Cowboys demolished the Kansas Jayhawks (2-3) 70-28. Cowboys scored 35 in the first and another 21 in the second quarter for a 56-7 half time lead helped along by 4 turnovers. Brandon Weeden threw for 288 yards and five touchdowns before being removed—in the second quarter. Back-up Clint Chelf completed 14 of 21 for 206 yards and two TDs.
7/4/8 Stanford (5-0) The Cardinal feasted on the Colorado Buffaloes (1-5). Max Bergen blocked a field goal and returned it 75 yards for the first Cardinal score and Andrew Luck completed 26 of 33 attempts for a season high 370 yards and three TDs.
8/8/9 Clemson (6-0) The Tigers rolled over the Boston College Eagles (1-5) 36-14. The Tigers are now 3-0 in the ACC. Tajh Boyd completed 16 of 26 attempts for 283 yards and a TD. He also ran for a TD from 14 yards out before a hard hit to his hop ended his day early. Clemson’s Chandler Catanzaro had five field goals or 38, 42, 18, 20 and 47 yards in addition to three extra points for a total of 18 points.
9/9/NR Oregon (4-1) The Ducks beat the California Bruins (3-2) badly on Thursday night. Trailing 15-14 at the half, the Ducks proceeded to shut out the Golden Bears in the second half while scoring 22 points in the third and another 7 in the fourth. Star running back LaMichael James suffered a dislocated elbow, however and that could prove costly.
10/12/NR Arkansas (5-1) The Razorbacks beat the #15 Auburn Tigers (4-2) 38-14. The Tigers lead 14-7 after one quarter but that was all the Razorbacks would allow.
11/10/5 Texas (4-1) The Longhorns got dominated 55-17 by the #3 Oklahoma Sooners (5-0). See above for details.
12/11/4 Michigan (6-0) The Wolverines came back in the second half to defeat the Northwestern Wildcats (2-3). With Denard Robinsons throwing three interceptions in the first half and the Wildcats ahead 24-14 at that point, you might be excused to think there was an upset in the making. But the Michigan defense shut down the Wildcats and the offense scored 28 unanswered points in the second half. Robinson finished with 14 completions (to his teammates) on 23 attempts for 290 yards and 2 TDs. He also ran for two.
13/13/10 Georgia Tech (6-0) The Yellow Jackets jumped out to a 21-3 lead at the end of three quarters and then had to hold off the surging Maryland Terps (2-3) to earn a 21-16 victory.
14/15/17 Nebraska (5-1) The Cornhuskers host the Buckeyes of Ohio State (3-3). Trailing 27-6 in the third quarter, Nebraska was in danger of losing its second Big 10 game on national TV. That’s when they steeled themselves. The defense shut down the Buckeyes and the offense finally got untracked as the ‘Huskers scored 28 unanswered points on their way to a 34-27 victory.
15/23/16 Auburn (4-2) The Tigers fell to the #10Arkansas Razorbacks (5-1) 38-14.
16/19/25 West Virginia (5-1) The Mountaineers scored 23 points in the third quarter on their way to routing the Connecticut Huskies (2-4) 43-16. The Mountaineers held a slim one-point lead at the half, 10-9 but that swiftly ended when WVA scored 23 points in a 7: 35 span in the third. Geno Smith threw for 450 yards and four touchdowns. Paul Millard replaced Smith in the fourth quarter and promptly threw an interception that the Huskies’ Ty-Meer Brown returned 48 yards for a score. It was the only TD UConn scored.
17/18/21 Florida (4-2) The Gators got ripped by the #1 LSU Tigers (6-0) 41-11.
18/14/14 South Carolina (5-1) The Gamecocks routed the Kentucky Wildcats (2-4) Saturday. Craig McIntosh kicked a 28 yard field goal in the first period to give Kentucky a 3-0 lead over the Gamecocks. Those would be the only points scored by Kentucky, however, as South Carolina had 639 yards in net offense and scored 51 unanswered points to win 51-3. USC will try a new QB this week. He should have an easy time against Kentucky. Conner Shaw got the start over a somewhat erratic fifth-year senior Stephen Garcia. Shaw tossed four touchdowns, going 26 of 39 for 311 yards.
19/16/11 Illinois (6-0) The Fighting Illini beat the Indiana Hoosiers (1-5) 41-20 in a game rife with big plays. Indiana’s true freshman Shane Wynn returned the opening kickoff 99 yards for a TD. Nathan Scheelhaase hooked up with A.J. Jenkins on TD passes of 77 yards and 67 yards and Tavon Wilson returned a fumble 66 yards for the Illini.
20/21/15 Kansas State (5-0) The Wildcats remain undefeated with a win over the Missouri Tigers (2-3) 24-17.
21/17/24 Virginia Tech (5-1) The Hokies eked out a victory over the Hurricane of Miami (Fla.) (2-3) 38-35. Miami scored three times in the fourth quarter and even took the lead 35-31. Logan Thomas would have none of it, however. Having already scored one TD on the ground and thrown for three more, Thomas would lead the Hokies on a final drive that would culminate in his 19 yard TD run putting VT up at the end.
22/24/NR Arizona State (5-1) The Sun Devils beat the Utah Utes (2-3) 35-14. It was close until the turnovers finally caught up to the Utes. (Utah committed five of them for the second consecutive week.)
23/22/NR Florida State (2-3) The Seminoles suffered the only real upset of the week as they lost to the Wake Forest Demon Deacons (4-1) 35-30. Wake Forest is now 3-0 in the ACC.
24/25/NR Texas A&M (3-2) The Aggies held on in the fourth quarter to defeat the Texas Tech Red Raiders (4-1) 45-40.
25/NR/NR Baylor (4-1) The Bears beat the Iowa State Cyclones (3-2) 49-26 despite trailing 7-0 after the first quarter. Terrance Ganaway rushed 23 times gaining 200 yards and three TDs for the Bears.
NR/NR/13 Houston (6-0) the Cougars trounced the East Carolina Pirates (1-4) 56-3. Case Keenum completed 30 of 37 attempts for 304 yards and three TDs. With 15,895 yards he is now second on the all time list for passing yards. And his 124 TD tosses are third. Man is slipping though. His incompletes this year now outnumber his TD passes.
NR/NR/18 Notre Dame (3-3) The Fighting Irish beat up the Falcons of Air Force (3-2) 59-33. Tommy Rees completed 23 of 32 for 261 yards and four TDs to four different receivers. All together 7 different Irish found the end zone. The Falcons had 565 yards in net offense to ND’s 560.
NR/NR/19 North Carolina (5-1) The Tarheels edged the Louisville Cardinals (2-3) 14-7. Nothing terrible exciting about his one.
NR/NR/22 South Florida (4-1) The Bulls have the week off.
NR/NR/23 Washington (4-1) The Huskies have the weekend off.
Sunday, October 09, 2011
Aerie Report, October 9, 2011
I haven't had much to say over the last few days. I'm just enjoying the dry weather with the days going up to the 80 degree mark and the nights dropping down in tho the 30s and 40s. That and football. Lots of football. (Some of which I'm enjoying: Go Rutgers! Booooo! Giants! Common Jets! Get it going, already.
There's no rain in the forecast until very late Wednesday and Thursday...maybe..when a cool front moves in with lower daytime temps.
******
Terry left yesterday to stop over at her Mom's before catching a flight out of Newark heading to Anaheim for her Smocking Arts Guild Convention. She'll be out west until next weekend before flying back east and home on Sunday the 16th. Until then it's just me, the cats and the sun.
******
Monday will be spent outside doing yard work. The lawn needs cutting again. Some more plants need pulling from the garden. And there are a few locust saplings that need cutting down.
Tuesday I've a dentist appointment. The Grand Canyon Photography Club will meet that evening.
I'll probably spend the rest of the week in the workshop doing some scrollsawing.
There's no rain in the forecast until very late Wednesday and Thursday...maybe..when a cool front moves in with lower daytime temps.
******
Terry left yesterday to stop over at her Mom's before catching a flight out of Newark heading to Anaheim for her Smocking Arts Guild Convention. She'll be out west until next weekend before flying back east and home on Sunday the 16th. Until then it's just me, the cats and the sun.
******
Monday will be spent outside doing yard work. The lawn needs cutting again. Some more plants need pulling from the garden. And there are a few locust saplings that need cutting down.
Tuesday I've a dentist appointment. The Grand Canyon Photography Club will meet that evening.
I'll probably spend the rest of the week in the workshop doing some scrollsawing.
Thursday, October 06, 2011
Say what?
Scrap metal is at a premium right now. The price is high and people who are out of work are willing to do some crazy things to cash in. Copper wires and pipes have been stolen from buildings under construction. Manhole covers have been taken off sewers in the road. Farm equipment has been take from around fields and even barnyards. LIVE electric wires have been stolen--or at least attempts have been made to steal them.
But an entire bridge? And not a little one either. Twenty feet wide by 50 feet long.
Bold thieves steal bridge in North Beaver
North Beaver is in western PA near the Ohio border between Pittsburgh and Youngstown.
So if you're out there in western PA or eastern OH and someone says he's got a bridge to sell you...He just might!
But an entire bridge? And not a little one either. Twenty feet wide by 50 feet long.
Bold thieves steal bridge in North Beaver
But one group of thieves might have set the standard last week by stealing a 50-foot-long bridge. State police said the bridge was stolen between Sept. 27 and Wednesday in North Beaver Township. The theft was discovered shortly after 9 a.m. Wednesday.
North Beaver is in western PA near the Ohio border between Pittsburgh and Youngstown.
So if you're out there in western PA or eastern OH and someone says he's got a bridge to sell you...He just might!
One more winterization chore complete
So, I made the run up to the Bolt Hole and back yesterday. Some 220 miles one way, 440 round trip. I purposely made no stops in either direction and, as a result, was in the Tundra, driving, for 4+ hours steadily--each way. Upon arriving at my destinations, the only complaint came from having been sitting in one position so long. My legs sorta buckled upon emerging from the cab of the truck. No pain in the knees at all! YAHOO!
Draining the pipes took a little longer than expected. I would run the water from the lowest point--the bottom of the hot water heater--into a 5 gallon bucket buried in the basement floor and then use a submersible pump to get it outside via a hose. I'd fill the bucket slightly over half full and turn on the pump. The pump would suck the water up and heave it out in less than a minute. This would have to be repeated--often. The tank holds upwards of 50 gallons of water and drains fairly slowly if I want to keep it under control.
Once the pipes and hot water tank were emptied, I poured antifreeze in all the traps and the toilet. The cabin is now prepped for anything Ma Nature can throw at it in the way of subfreezing temperatures. Last year it got as low as minus 20 degrees. With no heat it was nearly as cold inside as out. Did you know beer in the can will freeze at minus 20 degrees?
The entire round trip and duties performed took from 8:30 AM until 6:30 PM. Heh, what can I say. It was a nice day for a ride.
******
It's that time of year. Although the daytime highs are forecast to be in the 60s, night time lows are int he freezing range. Frost/freeze warnings were posted for both the environs of the Bolt Hole and the Aerie for last night and tonight. Terry found here little yellow Aveo's windshield covered with frost as she went out this morning. The deck railing at the Aerie also had a thin film of frost on it. The zucchini and beans look like they were just touched but they are going to get pulled out today or tomorrow anyway.
Looks like there will be plenty of sunshine for a few days as this Canadian high with it's cold nighttime temperatures settles in for a week or so.
Draining the pipes took a little longer than expected. I would run the water from the lowest point--the bottom of the hot water heater--into a 5 gallon bucket buried in the basement floor and then use a submersible pump to get it outside via a hose. I'd fill the bucket slightly over half full and turn on the pump. The pump would suck the water up and heave it out in less than a minute. This would have to be repeated--often. The tank holds upwards of 50 gallons of water and drains fairly slowly if I want to keep it under control.
Once the pipes and hot water tank were emptied, I poured antifreeze in all the traps and the toilet. The cabin is now prepped for anything Ma Nature can throw at it in the way of subfreezing temperatures. Last year it got as low as minus 20 degrees. With no heat it was nearly as cold inside as out. Did you know beer in the can will freeze at minus 20 degrees?
The entire round trip and duties performed took from 8:30 AM until 6:30 PM. Heh, what can I say. It was a nice day for a ride.
******
It's that time of year. Although the daytime highs are forecast to be in the 60s, night time lows are int he freezing range. Frost/freeze warnings were posted for both the environs of the Bolt Hole and the Aerie for last night and tonight. Terry found here little yellow Aveo's windshield covered with frost as she went out this morning. The deck railing at the Aerie also had a thin film of frost on it. The zucchini and beans look like they were just touched but they are going to get pulled out today or tomorrow anyway.
Looks like there will be plenty of sunshine for a few days as this Canadian high with it's cold nighttime temperatures settles in for a week or so.
Wednesday, October 05, 2011
King of the road--for the day.
Heading out in just a few minutes to go to the Bolt Hole. The pipes need draining and the place needs buttoning up. No hunting there this year.
It will be 220 miles up--call it 4+ hours--and, if my knee allows, the same back. Maybe 1-1/2 hours to get the few chores done that need doing.
It will be 220 miles up--call it 4+ hours--and, if my knee allows, the same back. Maybe 1-1/2 hours to get the few chores done that need doing.
Tuesday, October 04, 2011
College Football 2011, Preweek 6
Week 6 begins on Thursday night and this week we have three polls to consider as CBSSports has decided to enter the fray. They’re selections and placements are, well, curious. CBSSports’ list has five teams neither the AP nor Coaches have put in the Top 25. And the top of the list is strange. Now, some differences are to be expected, but this is sort of weird.
Three games pit two Top 25 teams against one another: 1 LSU (5-0) vs #17 Florida (4-1), 3 Oklahoma (4-0) vs #11 Texas (4-0), and 10 Arkansas (4-1) vs #15 Auburn (4-1). Only the #4 Wisconsin Badgers have the week off among those listed by the AP and/or Coaches.
Here are the polls (AP/Coaches/CBSSports) and the Week 6 match-ups.
1/2/6 LSU (5-0) The Tigers host the #17 Florida Gators (4-1). The Tigers will remain undefeated.
2/3/1 Alabama (5-0) The Crimson Tide host the Vanderbilt Commodores (3-1). Tide keeps rollin’.
3/1/7 Oklahoma (4-0) The Sooners are on the road to play the #11 Texas Longhorns (4-0). Someone loses this week, probably from Texas.
4/5/12 Wisconsin (5-0) The Badgers have the week off.
5/6/3 Boise State (4-0) The Broncos go on the road to play the Fresno State Bulldogs (2-3) on Friday night. The Broncos should enjoy their trip to California.
6/7/2 Oklahoma State (4-0) The Cowboys will host the Kansas Jayhawks (2-2). Cowboys win by 14.
7/4/8 Stanford (4-0) The Cardinal play host to Colorado Buffaloes (1-4). The Luck is with the Cardinal.
8/8/9 Clemson (5-0) The Tigers play host to the Boston College Eagles (1-4). The Tigers solidify their position in the ACC with a big win.
9/9/NR Oregon (3-1) The Ducks host the California Bruins (3-1) on Thursday night. The Ducks will score big.
10/12/NR Arkansas (4-1) The Razorbacks host the #15 Auburn Tigers (4-1). Close game with the Razorbacks winning.
11/10/5 Texas (4-0) The Longhorns host the #3 Oklahoma Sooners (4-0). Sooners come away with the win.
12/11/4 Michigan (5-0) The Wolverines play at the home of the Northwestern Wildcats (2-2). Michigan will win by 10.
13/13/10 Georgia Tech (5-0) The Yellow Jackets play host to the Maryland Terps (2-2). Maryland’s got fancy uniforms, but they won’t help against the Jackets high powered offense.
14/15/17 Nebraska (4-1) The Cornhuskers host the Buckeyes of Ohio State (3-2). Nebraska got punished last week on national TV. They are angry. OSU is confused. Nebraska by a bunch.
15/23/16 Auburn (4-1) The Tigers play on the road against the #10Arkansas Razorbacks (4-1). Home field advantage gives the Razorbacks the edge.
16/19/25 West Virginia (4-1) The Mountaineers play host to the Connecticut Huskies (2-3). The Mountaineers will tame the pooches.
17/18/21 Florida (4-1) The Gators hit the road to play the #1 LSU Tigers (5-0) and will take it on the chin.
18/14/14 South Carolina (4-1) The Gamecocks will host the Kentucky Wildcats (2-3). USC will try a new QB this week. He should have an easy time against Kentucky.
19/16/11 Illinois (5-0) The Fighting Illini will play on the road against the Indiana Hoosiers (1-4). Illini win big.
20/21/15 Kansas State (4-0) The Wildcats host the Missouri Tigers (2-2). Wildcats win.
21/17/24 Virginia Tech (4-1) The Hokies host the Hurricane of Miami (Fla.) (2-2). The Hokies will rebound after last week’s loss.
22/24/NR Arizona State (4-1) The Sun Devils will play on the road against the Utah Utes (2-2) and will come home with a win.
23/22/NR Florida State (2-2) The Seminoles head north to play at Wake Forest Demon Deacons (3-1). The Seminoles are battered and beaten up, but they will still handle Wake.
24/25/NR Texas A&M (2-2) The Aggies are playing on the road against unbeaten Texas Tech Red Raiders (4-0). This one could be a close one.
25/NR/NR Baylor (3-1) The Bears host the Iowa State Cyclones (3-1). Another possible close one. Cyclones have been playing well and the Bears have a hell of an offense.
NR/NR/13 Houston (5-0) the Cougars host the East Carolina Pirates (1-3). Cougars will maul the Pirates.
NR/NR/18 Notre Dame (2-3) The Fighting Irish host the Falcons of Air Force (3-1). Could be close, but Rees been doing well as leader of the Irish and, at home, the Irish should pull it out.
NR/NR/19 North Carolina (4-1) The Tarheels host the Louisville Cardinals (2-2). NC has been lucky. Fairly good but lucky. Against Louisville, they will be more than good enough.
NR/NR/22 South Florida (4-1) The Bulls have the week off.
NR/NR/23 Washington (4-1) The Huskies have the weekend off.
Three games pit two Top 25 teams against one another: 1 LSU (5-0) vs #17 Florida (4-1), 3 Oklahoma (4-0) vs #11 Texas (4-0), and 10 Arkansas (4-1) vs #15 Auburn (4-1). Only the #4 Wisconsin Badgers have the week off among those listed by the AP and/or Coaches.
Here are the polls (AP/Coaches/CBSSports) and the Week 6 match-ups.
1/2/6 LSU (5-0) The Tigers host the #17 Florida Gators (4-1). The Tigers will remain undefeated.
2/3/1 Alabama (5-0) The Crimson Tide host the Vanderbilt Commodores (3-1). Tide keeps rollin’.
3/1/7 Oklahoma (4-0) The Sooners are on the road to play the #11 Texas Longhorns (4-0). Someone loses this week, probably from Texas.
4/5/12 Wisconsin (5-0) The Badgers have the week off.
5/6/3 Boise State (4-0) The Broncos go on the road to play the Fresno State Bulldogs (2-3) on Friday night. The Broncos should enjoy their trip to California.
6/7/2 Oklahoma State (4-0) The Cowboys will host the Kansas Jayhawks (2-2). Cowboys win by 14.
7/4/8 Stanford (4-0) The Cardinal play host to Colorado Buffaloes (1-4). The Luck is with the Cardinal.
8/8/9 Clemson (5-0) The Tigers play host to the Boston College Eagles (1-4). The Tigers solidify their position in the ACC with a big win.
9/9/NR Oregon (3-1) The Ducks host the California Bruins (3-1) on Thursday night. The Ducks will score big.
10/12/NR Arkansas (4-1) The Razorbacks host the #15 Auburn Tigers (4-1). Close game with the Razorbacks winning.
11/10/5 Texas (4-0) The Longhorns host the #3 Oklahoma Sooners (4-0). Sooners come away with the win.
12/11/4 Michigan (5-0) The Wolverines play at the home of the Northwestern Wildcats (2-2). Michigan will win by 10.
13/13/10 Georgia Tech (5-0) The Yellow Jackets play host to the Maryland Terps (2-2). Maryland’s got fancy uniforms, but they won’t help against the Jackets high powered offense.
14/15/17 Nebraska (4-1) The Cornhuskers host the Buckeyes of Ohio State (3-2). Nebraska got punished last week on national TV. They are angry. OSU is confused. Nebraska by a bunch.
15/23/16 Auburn (4-1) The Tigers play on the road against the #10Arkansas Razorbacks (4-1). Home field advantage gives the Razorbacks the edge.
16/19/25 West Virginia (4-1) The Mountaineers play host to the Connecticut Huskies (2-3). The Mountaineers will tame the pooches.
17/18/21 Florida (4-1) The Gators hit the road to play the #1 LSU Tigers (5-0) and will take it on the chin.
18/14/14 South Carolina (4-1) The Gamecocks will host the Kentucky Wildcats (2-3). USC will try a new QB this week. He should have an easy time against Kentucky.
19/16/11 Illinois (5-0) The Fighting Illini will play on the road against the Indiana Hoosiers (1-4). Illini win big.
20/21/15 Kansas State (4-0) The Wildcats host the Missouri Tigers (2-2). Wildcats win.
21/17/24 Virginia Tech (4-1) The Hokies host the Hurricane of Miami (Fla.) (2-2). The Hokies will rebound after last week’s loss.
22/24/NR Arizona State (4-1) The Sun Devils will play on the road against the Utah Utes (2-2) and will come home with a win.
23/22/NR Florida State (2-2) The Seminoles head north to play at Wake Forest Demon Deacons (3-1). The Seminoles are battered and beaten up, but they will still handle Wake.
24/25/NR Texas A&M (2-2) The Aggies are playing on the road against unbeaten Texas Tech Red Raiders (4-0). This one could be a close one.
25/NR/NR Baylor (3-1) The Bears host the Iowa State Cyclones (3-1). Another possible close one. Cyclones have been playing well and the Bears have a hell of an offense.
NR/NR/13 Houston (5-0) the Cougars host the East Carolina Pirates (1-3). Cougars will maul the Pirates.
NR/NR/18 Notre Dame (2-3) The Fighting Irish host the Falcons of Air Force (3-1). Could be close, but Rees been doing well as leader of the Irish and, at home, the Irish should pull it out.
NR/NR/19 North Carolina (4-1) The Tarheels host the Louisville Cardinals (2-2). NC has been lucky. Fairly good but lucky. Against Louisville, they will be more than good enough.
NR/NR/22 South Florida (4-1) The Bulls have the week off.
NR/NR/23 Washington (4-1) The Huskies have the weekend off.
How the Internet began
Sent to Terry via email. Enjoy.
This has been carefully thought out by someone with waaaayy too much time on their hands.
This has been carefully thought out by someone with waaaayy too much time on their hands.
How the Internet began
In ancient Israel , it came to pass that a trader by the name of Abraham Com did take unto himself a young wife by the name of Dot.
And Dot Com was a comely woman, broad of shoulder and long of leg. Indeed, she was often called Amazon Dot Com.
And she said unto Abraham, her husband: "Why dost thou travel so far from town to town with thy goods when thou can trade without ever leaving thy tent?"
And Abraham did look at her as though she were several saddle bags short of a camel load, but simply said: "How, dear?"
And Dot replied: "I will place drums in all the towns and drums in between to send messages saying what you have for sale, and they will reply telling you who hath the best price. And the sale can be made on the drums and delivery made by Uriah's Pony Stable (UPS)"
Abraham thought long and decided he would let Dot have her way with the drums. And the drums bang out and were an immediate success. Abraham sold all the goods he had at the top price, without ever having to move from his tent.
To prevent neighbouring countries from overhearing what the drums were saying, Dot devised a system that only she and the drummers knew.
It was called Must Send Drum Over Sound (MSDOS), and she also developed a language to transmit ideas and pictures - Hebrew To The People (HTTP)
But this success did arouse envy. A man named Maccabia did secrete himself inside Abraham's drum and began to siphon off some of Abraham's business. But he was soon discovered, arrested and prosecuted - for insider trading.
And the young men did take to Dot Com's trading as doth the greedy horsefly take to camel dung.
They were called Nomadic Ecclesiastical Rich Dominican Sybarites, or NERDS.
And lo! The land was so feverish with joy at the new riches and the deafening sound of drums that no one noticed that the real riches were going to that enterprising drum dealer, Brother William of Gates, who bought off every drum maker in the land.
And indeed did insist on drums to be made that would work only with Brother Gates' drumheads and drumsticks.
And Dot did say: "Oh, Abraham, what we have started is being taken over by others."
And Abraham looked out over thee Bay of Ezekiel , or eBay as it came to be known. He said: "We need a name that reflects what we are."
And Dot replied: "Young Ambitious Hebrew Owner Operators."
"YAHOO," said Abraham. And because it was Dot's idea, they named it YAHOO Dot Com.
Abraham's cousin, Joshua, being the young Gregarious Energetic Educated Kid (GEEK) that he was, soon started using Dot's drums to locate things around the countryside.
It soon became known as God's Own Official Guide to Locating Everything (GOOGLE).
And that is how it all began!
Aerie Report, Morning, October 4, 2011
I was awakened at 5 AM by the sound of heavy rain again this morning--again--so it was no surprise to find the Aerie engulfed by heavy fog at 7 AM when I came downstairs. The rain gauge recorded another 0.17 inches over the past 24 hours. Some spritzes are still in the forecast for today and this evening, but both weather.com and AccuWeather are promising this will be the last rain we'll see in the foreseeable future. That's 10 days at least of nothing but sunshine and more normal temperatures. We shall see.
It did remain cold enough long enough that I gave in and turned on the heat. The thermostats are all set at 64 degrees though, so, while comfortable, any little bit of sunshine will be enough to warm the house without having the heat kick on or having to build a fire.
As soon as we get a couple of days of sunny weather, I'll be able to go out ans stack the firewood that I cut and split. It's been uncovered and is pretty wet right now. Luckily, there are two stacks that have been covered and a smaller stack int he garage that are relatively dry and ready to be burned.
******
I'll be heading up to the Bolt Hole to check things out tomorrow. Mark says he's got no pictures on the game cameras for the last two weeks so it's a good thing I didn't drop a couple hundred on a NYS hunting license this year. The lack of game and personal mobility would have made any foray into the woods a futile effort. There just isn't any food available for deer in our neck of the woods. The beech trees haven't produced a mast crop in several years. The cherries didn't do well either. Only the apples seem to have fared well but they just aren't more than a single midnight snack for the few bears and does that are in the area.
He (Mark) also reports that it's actually been warmer around the camp than down here at the Aerie. Dryer, too. Even so, the pipes need to be drained before freezing weather sets in, hence my need to get up there.
******
Bow season started here in PA last Saturday. It's not nearly the big deal it was in New Jersey or that the gun season that starts after Thanksgiving is. The gun season is like a state holiday with schools closed and everything pretty much grinding to a halt on that Opening Day Monday.
My aching and still recovering knee makes climbing into a tree stand out of the question right now so my bow season is on hold. I've got a portable ground blind I could use but the rainy weather would have made it a difficult choice anyway. Following a blood trail of an arrowed deer is tough enough when the darn stuff isn't washed away by the rain.
******
Terry departs for Anaheim, CA and her Smocking Arts Guild convention later this week. She's pretty psyched about getting out there and meeting up with some friends from around the country as well as taking classes.
I'll be staying home with the cats. I'll spend much of my time in the wood shop with the scroll saw. I've quite a few different projects I want to work on. The only problem I have there is a bunch of very rusty skills and plans that call for difficult to find thicknesses of wood.
Why is it that plans from Scroller and Winfield typically call for 3/8 inch thick stock but neither company sells that dimension of lumber? Even Lowe's hardwoods come in 1/4 and 1/2 thicknesses. There are other sources on the web that provide 3/8 inch thick hardwoods, but I've never ordered from them and have little idea of what to expect if I do.
Unlike Terry's projects, where if she goofs up she can rip out the threads and start over, if I goof, make an error, or have something snap, I can't just reuse the piece of (expensive) wood. Except as a fire starter.
It did remain cold enough long enough that I gave in and turned on the heat. The thermostats are all set at 64 degrees though, so, while comfortable, any little bit of sunshine will be enough to warm the house without having the heat kick on or having to build a fire.
As soon as we get a couple of days of sunny weather, I'll be able to go out ans stack the firewood that I cut and split. It's been uncovered and is pretty wet right now. Luckily, there are two stacks that have been covered and a smaller stack int he garage that are relatively dry and ready to be burned.
******
I'll be heading up to the Bolt Hole to check things out tomorrow. Mark says he's got no pictures on the game cameras for the last two weeks so it's a good thing I didn't drop a couple hundred on a NYS hunting license this year. The lack of game and personal mobility would have made any foray into the woods a futile effort. There just isn't any food available for deer in our neck of the woods. The beech trees haven't produced a mast crop in several years. The cherries didn't do well either. Only the apples seem to have fared well but they just aren't more than a single midnight snack for the few bears and does that are in the area.
He (Mark) also reports that it's actually been warmer around the camp than down here at the Aerie. Dryer, too. Even so, the pipes need to be drained before freezing weather sets in, hence my need to get up there.
******
Bow season started here in PA last Saturday. It's not nearly the big deal it was in New Jersey or that the gun season that starts after Thanksgiving is. The gun season is like a state holiday with schools closed and everything pretty much grinding to a halt on that Opening Day Monday.
My aching and still recovering knee makes climbing into a tree stand out of the question right now so my bow season is on hold. I've got a portable ground blind I could use but the rainy weather would have made it a difficult choice anyway. Following a blood trail of an arrowed deer is tough enough when the darn stuff isn't washed away by the rain.
******
Terry departs for Anaheim, CA and her Smocking Arts Guild convention later this week. She's pretty psyched about getting out there and meeting up with some friends from around the country as well as taking classes.
I'll be staying home with the cats. I'll spend much of my time in the wood shop with the scroll saw. I've quite a few different projects I want to work on. The only problem I have there is a bunch of very rusty skills and plans that call for difficult to find thicknesses of wood.
Why is it that plans from Scroller and Winfield typically call for 3/8 inch thick stock but neither company sells that dimension of lumber? Even Lowe's hardwoods come in 1/4 and 1/2 thicknesses. There are other sources on the web that provide 3/8 inch thick hardwoods, but I've never ordered from them and have little idea of what to expect if I do.
Unlike Terry's projects, where if she goofs up she can rip out the threads and start over, if I goof, make an error, or have something snap, I can't just reuse the piece of (expensive) wood. Except as a fire starter.
Monday, October 03, 2011
Monday morning
Went to bed last night after the second defensive TD by the Baltimore Ravens against the NY Jets just five minutes into the second quarter, so I missed the THIRD defensive TD. Could any defense look so good? Or offense look so bad? What a great defensive game by the Ravens. What a terrible offensive game by the Jets.
Whatever happened to the Jets' running attack? Minus yards in the second half and a grand total of 38 yards for the game? That's no way to win a football game. No way at all.
The Jets defense actually played pretty well. They, too, got a TD on a 35-yard interception return by David Harris. And special teams produced a 107-yard kickoff return for a TD in the opening minutes. But the offense was, well, offensive. It stunk.
At least I got to go to bed earlier than expected. Would have fallen asleep too except...
******
Soon after going to bed, the skies over the Aerie opened up and rain beat down in torrents-again. Checking the rain gauge this morning there was 1.0 inches of water. That's from Saturday morning until Monday morning, 10/1 - 10/3. Seems like October started just as August and September ended: WET.
It's still overcast and we may get a bit of a spritz at any time during the day but the temperatures have risen slightly into the 50s. AccuHunch promises things will get better later this week with the sun actually making a prolonged appearance and daytime temps getting back toward the 70 degree area. We shall see.
******
About the only things that are doing well under these weather conditions are waterfowl (too chilly for frogs), algae, moss, and mushrooms. I've a pretty good crop of the latter popping up around the yard. If I was 100% sure of the species, I could probably harvest enough for some soup or side dish fried in butter. The risk, however, of being wrong is too high.
I'm pretty sure these are edible...but not 100%. Shaggy manes? They are all over the place right now.
Emerging in clusters beneath some shrubs. Note the old stalks
in the background. They belong to a different species.
Solitary individuals in the lawn. Approximately 4-5" tall.
Enmass where I've disturbed the earth on the side of the driveway.
The big one on the right is 8-9" tall. Those on the left are about 6".
I've seen others on neighbors' lawns, in the woods and in the pastures round about. Excellent conditions for mushrooms, indeed.
Whatever happened to the Jets' running attack? Minus yards in the second half and a grand total of 38 yards for the game? That's no way to win a football game. No way at all.
The Jets defense actually played pretty well. They, too, got a TD on a 35-yard interception return by David Harris. And special teams produced a 107-yard kickoff return for a TD in the opening minutes. But the offense was, well, offensive. It stunk.
At least I got to go to bed earlier than expected. Would have fallen asleep too except...
******
Soon after going to bed, the skies over the Aerie opened up and rain beat down in torrents-again. Checking the rain gauge this morning there was 1.0 inches of water. That's from Saturday morning until Monday morning, 10/1 - 10/3. Seems like October started just as August and September ended: WET.
It's still overcast and we may get a bit of a spritz at any time during the day but the temperatures have risen slightly into the 50s. AccuHunch promises things will get better later this week with the sun actually making a prolonged appearance and daytime temps getting back toward the 70 degree area. We shall see.
******
About the only things that are doing well under these weather conditions are waterfowl (too chilly for frogs), algae, moss, and mushrooms. I've a pretty good crop of the latter popping up around the yard. If I was 100% sure of the species, I could probably harvest enough for some soup or side dish fried in butter. The risk, however, of being wrong is too high.
I'm pretty sure these are edible...but not 100%. Shaggy manes? They are all over the place right now.
Emerging in clusters beneath some shrubs. Note the old stalksin the background. They belong to a different species.
Solitary individuals in the lawn. Approximately 4-5" tall.
Enmass where I've disturbed the earth on the side of the driveway.The big one on the right is 8-9" tall. Those on the left are about 6".
I've seen others on neighbors' lawns, in the woods and in the pastures round about. Excellent conditions for mushrooms, indeed.
College Football 2011, Week 5 results
Week 5 saw quite a few of the Top 25 teams losing. No too unexpected considering four games pitted Top 25 teams against each other. #3 Alabama (5-0) beat #12 Florida (4-1), #7 Wisconsin (5-0) beat #8 Nebraska (4-1),# 11 Virginia Tech (4-1) lost to #13 Clemson (5-0) and #14 Texas A&M (2-2) lost to #18 Arkansas (4-1).
Additionally, #15 Baylor (3-1) fell to Kansas State (4-0), #16 South Florida (4-1) lost to the Pittsburgh (2-2), and #20 TCU (3-2) was beaten by SMU (4-1)
With seven (7) of the Top 25 losing, there will be plenty of shuffling around in the polls prior to week 6.
Three teams had the week off: # 5 Oklahoma State (4-0), #9 Oregon (3-1), and #23 Florida State (2-2).
Here are results of week 5’s match-ups for all the Top 25 college teams. The two rankings are the AP/Coaches' Polls.
1/2T LSU (5-0) The Tigers raked the Kentucky Wildcats (2-3) 35-7 at home Saturday afternoon. In his first game back after suspension, LSU’s Jordan Jefferson took his first snap as quarterback for the Tigers—and scored on a 1-yard sneak. Jarrett Lee, however, remains the starter and why not. LSU’s 5-0 under his command.
2/1 Oklahoma (4-0) The Sooners had their way against the Ball State Cardinals (3-2) Saturday night. Up 10-6 in the second quarter, Tony Jefferson made three (3) interceptions on consecutive series to spark a scoring spree that led Oklahoma to a 38-6 lead at the half. It didn’t stop there, however, as the Sooners got 21 more points in the third quarter on their way to a 62-6 rout. Landry Jones completed 23 of 33 attempts for 425 yards and 5 TDs.
3/2T Alabama (5-0) The Tide rolled over the #12 Florida Gators (4-1) 38-10 Saturday. Florida got its 10 points in the first quarter. After that, they couldn’t do much at all. ‘Bama’s defense held the Gators to just two first downs in the second half. The Tide’s Trent Richardson carried the ball 29 times for 181 yards and scored two TDs.
4/5 Boise State (4-0) The Broncos built a 30-0 lead during the first three quarters on two TD passes by Kellen Moore (just 19 of 33 for 142 yards -- a career low) and two TD runs by Doug Martin (21 carries for 126 yards). The Nevada Wolf Pack (1-3) came into the game 15th in the nation in total offense, averaging 483 yards per game, but they discovered the Broncos can play defense, too. Nevada managed just 182 yards net offense, 59 on the ground.
5/6 Oklahoma State (4-0) The Cowboys had the week off.
6/4 Stanford (4-0) The Cardinal defeated the UCLA Bruins (2-3) Saturday night. Andrew Luck completed 23 of 27 attempts for 227 yards and 3 TDs.
7/7 Wisconsin (5-0) The Badgers spanked the #8 Nebraska Cornhuskers (4-1) Saturday night 48-17. Wisconsin quarterback Russell Wilson completed 14 of 20 for 255 yards and three TDs. He also ran for one from 10 yards out. Montee Ball carried the ball for the Badgers 30 times for 151 yards and scored 4 TDs.
8/8 Nebraska (4-1) The Cornhuskers traveled north to face the #7 Wisconsin Badgers (5-0). Badgers whipped ‘em 48-17.
9/11 Oregon (3-1) The Ducks have off until Thursday, October 6.
10/9 South Carolina (4-1) The Gamecocks lost to the Auburn Tigers (3-2) on Saturday. The defense was the name of the game as each team had four turnovers. Michael Dyer carried the ball 41 times for the Tigers gaining 141 yards and scoring one TD.
11/10 Virginia Tech (4-1) The Hokies hosted the whirlwind known as the #13 Clemson Tigers (5-0) Saturday evening and got manhandled 23-3. Clemson beat a ranked team for the third consecutive week.
12/12 Florida (4-1) The Gators lost to the #3 Crimson Tide of Alabama (5-0) 38-10 Saturday. Tide continues to roll. See above for more details.
13/15 Clemson (5-0) The Tigers hit the road to beat the #11 Hokies of Virginia Tech (4-1) Saturday evening 23-3.
14/13 Texas A&M (2-2) The Aggies led 35-17 at the half against the #18 Arkansas Razorbacks (4-1) Saturday but they couldn’t seal the deal. The Razorbacks outscored the Aggies 25-3 in the second half to win 42-38. Arkansas’ Tyler Wilson threw for a school-record 510 yards on a 30 for 51 afternoon and teammate Jarius Wright caught 13 passes for a school-record 281 yards while scoring 2 TDs. The Aggies Christine Michael carried the ball 32 times for 230 yards and 3 TDs in a losing cause.
15/16 Baylor (3-1) The Bears led the Kansas State Wildcats (4-0) 35-26 after three quarters Saturday but saw The Wildcats comeback with 10 unanswered points in the fourth to earn a 36-35 victory. Collin Klein was 13 of 28 for 146 yards and 2 TDs but added 113 yards and another TD rushing on 25 carries. Baylor’s Robert Griffin completed 23 of 31 passes for 346 and 5 TDs—three of them to Kendall Wright (43, 34, and 35 yards) in a losing cause.
16/14 South Florida (4-1) The Bulls lost to the Pittsburgh Panthers (2-2) Thursday night 44-17. Pitt’s Ray Graham ran and ran and ran some more gaining 226 yards on 26 carries while scoring 2 TDs.
17/17 Texas (4-0) The Longhorns went to Ames to play the Iowa State Cyclones (3-1) and came away with a 37-14 victory. And it wasn’t that close. It was 34-0 at the half and after three quarters. Texas used both Case McCoy (7 of 12 for 110 yards) and freshman David Ash (7 of 12 for 145 yards and 2 TDs) under center.
18/18 Arkansas (4-1) The Razorbacks headed west to play the #14 Texas A&M (2-2) Saturday. They fell behind, but came back in the fourth quarter to earn a 42-38 victory. See above for more details.
19/19 Michigan (5-0) The Wolverines routed the Golden Gophers of Minnesota (1-4) 58-0 Saturday afteroon. Minnesota’s Coach Hill was back on the sidelines but probably wished he wasn’t. The Wolverines’ Denard Robinson completed 15 of 19 passes for 169 yards and 2 TDs while running for a third.
20/20 TCU (3-2) The Horned Frogs outscored the Mustangs of SMU (4-1) 23-6 in the fourth quarter to tie the game33 all in regulation. SMU prevailed in overtime, however to win 40-33. TCU’s Casey Pachall was an impressive 30 of 42 for 304 yards and 3 TDs but SMU’s J.J. McDermott was just as good completing 23 of 45 for 349 yards and 4 TDs.
21/21 Georgia Tech (5-0) The Yellow Jackets remained undefeated as they beat the North Carolina State Wolfpack (2-3) 45-35 Saturday afternoon. Orwin Smith scored 3 TDs on just 9 carries for the Jackets.
22/23 West Virginia (3-1) The Mountaineers host the Falcons of Bowling Green (3-1) Saturday afternoon. WVU is looking to bounce back after losing to LSU. And they should. Look for the Mountaineers to win by 14.
23/24 Florida State (2-2) The Seminoles had the weekend off.
24/22 Illinois (5-0) The Fighting Illini needed a fourth quarter comeback against the Northwestern Wildcats (2-2) Saturday at noon to salvage a 38-35 win. The Illini’s Nathan Scheelhaase completed 21 of 32 for 391 and 3 TDs—all to A.J. Jenkins who had 268 yards on 12 catches—and scored a fourth on the ground. Northwestern’s Dan Persa was 10 if 14 for 123 yards and 4 TDs—three of them to Jeremy Ebert—in the losing cause.
25/NR Arizona State (4-1) The Sun Devils feasted on the Oregon State Beavers (0-4) 35-20 late Saturday night. The Devils had to overcome 4 turnovers or it would have been worse. As it was, the Beavers were almost as giving, committing 5 turnovers of their own.
NR/25 Michigan State (4-1) The Spartans played the Buckeyes at Ohio State (3-2) Saturday afternoon. Only a last second TD pass making it 10-7 kept the Spartans from shutting out the Buckeyes.
Additionally, #15 Baylor (3-1) fell to Kansas State (4-0), #16 South Florida (4-1) lost to the Pittsburgh (2-2), and #20 TCU (3-2) was beaten by SMU (4-1)
With seven (7) of the Top 25 losing, there will be plenty of shuffling around in the polls prior to week 6.
Three teams had the week off: # 5 Oklahoma State (4-0), #9 Oregon (3-1), and #23 Florida State (2-2).
Here are results of week 5’s match-ups for all the Top 25 college teams. The two rankings are the AP/Coaches' Polls.
1/2T LSU (5-0) The Tigers raked the Kentucky Wildcats (2-3) 35-7 at home Saturday afternoon. In his first game back after suspension, LSU’s Jordan Jefferson took his first snap as quarterback for the Tigers—and scored on a 1-yard sneak. Jarrett Lee, however, remains the starter and why not. LSU’s 5-0 under his command.
2/1 Oklahoma (4-0) The Sooners had their way against the Ball State Cardinals (3-2) Saturday night. Up 10-6 in the second quarter, Tony Jefferson made three (3) interceptions on consecutive series to spark a scoring spree that led Oklahoma to a 38-6 lead at the half. It didn’t stop there, however, as the Sooners got 21 more points in the third quarter on their way to a 62-6 rout. Landry Jones completed 23 of 33 attempts for 425 yards and 5 TDs.
3/2T Alabama (5-0) The Tide rolled over the #12 Florida Gators (4-1) 38-10 Saturday. Florida got its 10 points in the first quarter. After that, they couldn’t do much at all. ‘Bama’s defense held the Gators to just two first downs in the second half. The Tide’s Trent Richardson carried the ball 29 times for 181 yards and scored two TDs.
4/5 Boise State (4-0) The Broncos built a 30-0 lead during the first three quarters on two TD passes by Kellen Moore (just 19 of 33 for 142 yards -- a career low) and two TD runs by Doug Martin (21 carries for 126 yards). The Nevada Wolf Pack (1-3) came into the game 15th in the nation in total offense, averaging 483 yards per game, but they discovered the Broncos can play defense, too. Nevada managed just 182 yards net offense, 59 on the ground.
5/6 Oklahoma State (4-0) The Cowboys had the week off.
6/4 Stanford (4-0) The Cardinal defeated the UCLA Bruins (2-3) Saturday night. Andrew Luck completed 23 of 27 attempts for 227 yards and 3 TDs.
7/7 Wisconsin (5-0) The Badgers spanked the #8 Nebraska Cornhuskers (4-1) Saturday night 48-17. Wisconsin quarterback Russell Wilson completed 14 of 20 for 255 yards and three TDs. He also ran for one from 10 yards out. Montee Ball carried the ball for the Badgers 30 times for 151 yards and scored 4 TDs.
8/8 Nebraska (4-1) The Cornhuskers traveled north to face the #7 Wisconsin Badgers (5-0). Badgers whipped ‘em 48-17.
9/11 Oregon (3-1) The Ducks have off until Thursday, October 6.
10/9 South Carolina (4-1) The Gamecocks lost to the Auburn Tigers (3-2) on Saturday. The defense was the name of the game as each team had four turnovers. Michael Dyer carried the ball 41 times for the Tigers gaining 141 yards and scoring one TD.
11/10 Virginia Tech (4-1) The Hokies hosted the whirlwind known as the #13 Clemson Tigers (5-0) Saturday evening and got manhandled 23-3. Clemson beat a ranked team for the third consecutive week.
12/12 Florida (4-1) The Gators lost to the #3 Crimson Tide of Alabama (5-0) 38-10 Saturday. Tide continues to roll. See above for more details.
13/15 Clemson (5-0) The Tigers hit the road to beat the #11 Hokies of Virginia Tech (4-1) Saturday evening 23-3.
14/13 Texas A&M (2-2) The Aggies led 35-17 at the half against the #18 Arkansas Razorbacks (4-1) Saturday but they couldn’t seal the deal. The Razorbacks outscored the Aggies 25-3 in the second half to win 42-38. Arkansas’ Tyler Wilson threw for a school-record 510 yards on a 30 for 51 afternoon and teammate Jarius Wright caught 13 passes for a school-record 281 yards while scoring 2 TDs. The Aggies Christine Michael carried the ball 32 times for 230 yards and 3 TDs in a losing cause.
15/16 Baylor (3-1) The Bears led the Kansas State Wildcats (4-0) 35-26 after three quarters Saturday but saw The Wildcats comeback with 10 unanswered points in the fourth to earn a 36-35 victory. Collin Klein was 13 of 28 for 146 yards and 2 TDs but added 113 yards and another TD rushing on 25 carries. Baylor’s Robert Griffin completed 23 of 31 passes for 346 and 5 TDs—three of them to Kendall Wright (43, 34, and 35 yards) in a losing cause.
16/14 South Florida (4-1) The Bulls lost to the Pittsburgh Panthers (2-2) Thursday night 44-17. Pitt’s Ray Graham ran and ran and ran some more gaining 226 yards on 26 carries while scoring 2 TDs.
17/17 Texas (4-0) The Longhorns went to Ames to play the Iowa State Cyclones (3-1) and came away with a 37-14 victory. And it wasn’t that close. It was 34-0 at the half and after three quarters. Texas used both Case McCoy (7 of 12 for 110 yards) and freshman David Ash (7 of 12 for 145 yards and 2 TDs) under center.
18/18 Arkansas (4-1) The Razorbacks headed west to play the #14 Texas A&M (2-2) Saturday. They fell behind, but came back in the fourth quarter to earn a 42-38 victory. See above for more details.
19/19 Michigan (5-0) The Wolverines routed the Golden Gophers of Minnesota (1-4) 58-0 Saturday afteroon. Minnesota’s Coach Hill was back on the sidelines but probably wished he wasn’t. The Wolverines’ Denard Robinson completed 15 of 19 passes for 169 yards and 2 TDs while running for a third.
20/20 TCU (3-2) The Horned Frogs outscored the Mustangs of SMU (4-1) 23-6 in the fourth quarter to tie the game33 all in regulation. SMU prevailed in overtime, however to win 40-33. TCU’s Casey Pachall was an impressive 30 of 42 for 304 yards and 3 TDs but SMU’s J.J. McDermott was just as good completing 23 of 45 for 349 yards and 4 TDs.
21/21 Georgia Tech (5-0) The Yellow Jackets remained undefeated as they beat the North Carolina State Wolfpack (2-3) 45-35 Saturday afternoon. Orwin Smith scored 3 TDs on just 9 carries for the Jackets.
22/23 West Virginia (3-1) The Mountaineers host the Falcons of Bowling Green (3-1) Saturday afternoon. WVU is looking to bounce back after losing to LSU. And they should. Look for the Mountaineers to win by 14.
23/24 Florida State (2-2) The Seminoles had the weekend off.
24/22 Illinois (5-0) The Fighting Illini needed a fourth quarter comeback against the Northwestern Wildcats (2-2) Saturday at noon to salvage a 38-35 win. The Illini’s Nathan Scheelhaase completed 21 of 32 for 391 and 3 TDs—all to A.J. Jenkins who had 268 yards on 12 catches—and scored a fourth on the ground. Northwestern’s Dan Persa was 10 if 14 for 123 yards and 4 TDs—three of them to Jeremy Ebert—in the losing cause.
25/NR Arizona State (4-1) The Sun Devils feasted on the Oregon State Beavers (0-4) 35-20 late Saturday night. The Devils had to overcome 4 turnovers or it would have been worse. As it was, the Beavers were almost as giving, committing 5 turnovers of their own.
NR/25 Michigan State (4-1) The Spartans played the Buckeyes at Ohio State (3-2) Saturday afternoon. Only a last second TD pass making it 10-7 kept the Spartans from shutting out the Buckeyes.
Sunday, October 02, 2011
Colder, still wet, though.
It rained a goodly portion of the night. The sound of the water dripping in the metal downspout just outside the bedroom window woke me up at 4 AM and kept me awake. The cats, sensing my tossing and turning started yowling at 4:40 AM so I gave up and got up. They were happy. Me? Not so much.
After feeding the beasts, I checked the temperature and saw it was just 42 degrees outside on the deck. That meant it was probably around 37 degrees. Stepping out on the deck, it sure felt like it was in the 30s.
Later, as I went of the papers at 8:30 AM the Tundra's thermometer read 39 degrees. And it was still raining and kept on raining through noon. It did slow after that, however.
Well, at least it wasn't West Virginia cold. They got 4 inches of snow down in WVA. Of course, that was above 3500 feet and the Aerie is at a mere 2100 feet.
There was some snow down in the southwest part of Pennsylvania. Even State College--home of AccuWEather--got some large flakes.
Of course I built a fire.
After feeding the beasts, I checked the temperature and saw it was just 42 degrees outside on the deck. That meant it was probably around 37 degrees. Stepping out on the deck, it sure felt like it was in the 30s.
Later, as I went of the papers at 8:30 AM the Tundra's thermometer read 39 degrees. And it was still raining and kept on raining through noon. It did slow after that, however.
Well, at least it wasn't West Virginia cold. They got 4 inches of snow down in WVA. Of course, that was above 3500 feet and the Aerie is at a mere 2100 feet.
There was some snow down in the southwest part of Pennsylvania. Even State College--home of AccuWEather--got some large flakes.
Of course I built a fire.
Saturday, October 01, 2011
Fast and Furious = one big cluster F***
A big story that has been running under the Big Media radar for months may finally be getting some legs. I'm talking about Fast and Furious.
If you haven't heard of it, Fast and Furious was a program run by ATF that allowed thousands of guns to be purchased by folks who should not have been allowed to purchase a single weapon--some convicted felons--who then smuggled them into Mexico to sell to a drug cartel. Hundreds of Mexicans were killed using those weapons and at least one US border security officer was slain.
Now CBS is reporting that late Friday night, the White House released numerous documents (not all that were asked for, BTW), some of which seem to implicate the White House in this debacle. Friday night is the time when such documents/statement are made, hoping that they will be ignored/down played in the news. Hopefully, that will not be the case this time.
New Fast and Furious docs released by White House
I've seen T-shirts that say "Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms should be a convenience store, not a federal bureau." Who knew just how accurate that comment would be IF you were a member of a Mexican drug cartel?
Right! The guy just happens to be in Iraq.
And "...nobody in White House knew about the investigative tactics being used in the operation, let alone any decision to let guns walk." LOL. If true, than we certainly have a number of rogue--and very, very stupid--operatives in the White House. And they aren't all working to kill our energy programs and the economy.
Here's hoping a special prosecutor is soon appointed to investigate what's gone on here. Someone needs to get jail time or, should the trail lead to the president, impeached.
As others have said: Watergate had no fatalities. Fast and Furious has killed hundreds of Mexicans and at least one American.
If you haven't heard of it, Fast and Furious was a program run by ATF that allowed thousands of guns to be purchased by folks who should not have been allowed to purchase a single weapon--some convicted felons--who then smuggled them into Mexico to sell to a drug cartel. Hundreds of Mexicans were killed using those weapons and at least one US border security officer was slain.
Now CBS is reporting that late Friday night, the White House released numerous documents (not all that were asked for, BTW), some of which seem to implicate the White House in this debacle. Friday night is the time when such documents/statement are made, hoping that they will be ignored/down played in the news. Hopefully, that will not be the case this time.
New Fast and Furious docs released by White House
Late Friday, the White House turned over new documents in the Congressional investigation into the ATF "Fast and Furious" gunwalking scandal.
The documents show extensive communications between then-ATF Special Agent in Charge of the Phoenix office Bill Newell - who led Fast and Furious - and then-White House National Security Staffer Kevin O'Reilly. Emails indicate the two also spoke on the phone. Such detailed, direct communications between a local ATF manager in Phoenix and a White House national security staffer has raised interest among Congressional investigators looking into Fast and Furious. Newell has said he and O'Reilly are long time friends.
I've seen T-shirts that say "Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms should be a convenience store, not a federal bureau." Who knew just how accurate that comment would be IF you were a member of a Mexican drug cartel?
Congressional investigators for Republicans Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA) and Sen. Charles Grassley (R-Iowa) have asked to interview O'Reilly by September 30. But the Administration informed them that O'Reilly is on assignment for the State Department in Iraq and unavailable.
One administration source says White House national security staffers were "briefed on the toplines of ongoing federal efforts, but nobody in White House knew about the investigative tactics being used in the operation, let alone any decision to let guns walk."
Right! The guy just happens to be in Iraq.
And "...nobody in White House knew about the investigative tactics being used in the operation, let alone any decision to let guns walk." LOL. If true, than we certainly have a number of rogue--and very, very stupid--operatives in the White House. And they aren't all working to kill our energy programs and the economy.
Here's hoping a special prosecutor is soon appointed to investigate what's gone on here. Someone needs to get jail time or, should the trail lead to the president, impeached.
As others have said: Watergate had no fatalities. Fast and Furious has killed hundreds of Mexicans and at least one American.
Jobs, Spending, Government
If you're a regular viewer of TV news, you've probably seen tape of the President saying he wants action on his jobs bill now. There's only a couple of problems with that...
Durbin says Democrats don’t currently have the votes for Obama jobs bill
That's Senator Dick Durbin (D) Majority Whip in the Senate. He says he needs Republican votes despite the fact that the Democrats have a majority in the Senate. Seems some of them (Senate Dems) do not like the plan.
Senate delays jobs bill to take on China
That's Senator Harry Reid (D) the Senate Majority Leader who sets the agenda.
Then there's this from Hot Air:
Just a reminder: Obama’s jobs bill still has no cosponsors
Only two folks seem to even recognize there is a bill: Senator Harry Reid (D-Nev) and Representative John B. Larson (D-Conn). Not one other member of either Senate or House has lent his/her name to this piece of...legislation.
In the House things don't look any better as few Democrat Representatives want to put their name on a bill that will, by best estimates, create jobs at a cost of $200K per job.
$200K Per Job? Timothy Geithner Says White House Jobs Plan Is Still a Bargain
That's Timothy Geithner, tax cheat and TUrbo Tax challenged Secretary of the Treasury.
There are things the government could do: 1-Cut spending 2-Cut regulation 3-Get the heck out of the way
Then there's this problem on the deficit:
Exclusive: Democrats push tax hikes first in deficit talks
Yeah, new taxes. Just remember that the new taxes were tried back in Herbert Hoover's day. How'd that work out? And the Democrats once promised that they would consider spending cuts once before with the first President Bush. They agreed to make cuts after new taxes were passed. They didn't live up to that promise. They won't live up to this one. Democrats never agree to meaningful cuts.
Durbin says Democrats don’t currently have the votes for Obama jobs bill
The jobs plan is made up of a combination of tax increases on the wealthy, new infrastructure spending, an extension of the employee payroll-tax cut and additional funding for unemployment insurance benefits.
Republicans have voiced opposition to the plan, albeit less than with other pieces of legislation Democrats have proposed recently.
Durbin added that the president’s bill would need bipartisan support because there are senators both on the left and the right opposed to aspects of it.
That's Senator Dick Durbin (D) Majority Whip in the Senate. He says he needs Republican votes despite the fact that the Democrats have a majority in the Senate. Seems some of them (Senate Dems) do not like the plan.
Senate delays jobs bill to take on China
The president’s plan would combine $447 billion in temporary tax cuts and infrastructure spending over the next several years, which would be offset with permanent tax cuts that would raise $467 billion over the next decade.
While the tax cuts and spending have some support, there is bipartisan opposition to his tax increases, making that bill a tough sell in either chamber.
“We’ll get to that, but let’s get some of these things done that we have to get done first,” Mr. Reid said.
The office of Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, Kentucky Republican, declined to comment on the schedule.
The legislation Mr. Reid has placed ahead of the jobs bill is a bipartisan bill that combines the efforts of two other bipartisan bills to try to force China to increase the value of its currency, the yuan, compared with the U.S. dollar.
That's Senator Harry Reid (D) the Senate Majority Leader who sets the agenda.
Then there's this from Hot Air:
Just a reminder: Obama’s jobs bill still has no cosponsors
No co-sponsors have added their names to either the Senate or the House version even after more than a week, although readers have to dig a ways into the Washington Post report to find that out....
Only two folks seem to even recognize there is a bill: Senator Harry Reid (D-Nev) and Representative John B. Larson (D-Conn). Not one other member of either Senate or House has lent his/her name to this piece of...legislation.
In the House things don't look any better as few Democrat Representatives want to put their name on a bill that will, by best estimates, create jobs at a cost of $200K per job.
$200K Per Job? Timothy Geithner Says White House Jobs Plan Is Still a Bargain
"You've got to think about the costs of the alternatives," Geithner said when asked about Harvard economist Martin Feldstein's calculation that each job created by President Obama's American Jobs Act would cost taxpayers about $200,000.
"If government does nothing, it does nothing now because they're scared by politics or they want to debate what's perfect, then there will be fewer Americans back to work, the economy will be weaker," he said.
That's Timothy Geithner, tax cheat and TUrbo Tax challenged Secretary of the Treasury.
There are things the government could do: 1-Cut spending 2-Cut regulation 3-Get the heck out of the way
Then there's this problem on the deficit:
Exclusive: Democrats push tax hikes first in deficit talks
Yeah, new taxes. Just remember that the new taxes were tried back in Herbert Hoover's day. How'd that work out? And the Democrats once promised that they would consider spending cuts once before with the first President Bush. They agreed to make cuts after new taxes were passed. They didn't live up to that promise. They won't live up to this one. Democrats never agree to meaningful cuts.
Rain and Football
Got pretty cold last night. Down to the upper 40s. It would have been colder but there was a blanket of clouds after midnight that prevented further heat loss. The winds switched to come out of the north as a storm swirled around a center somewhere near the tri-state corner of NJ-PA-NY. Rain started around 9:30 AM and has continued all day into this evening. Talk about raw! The day's high was only around 50 degrees outside. Got down to 60 degrees inside before I built a fire. That rose the temperatures to 68 inside and the cats were most appreciative.
Terry says they had a good time at my niece's surprise bridal shower in NJ today. Kristen had no clue that it was happening. I guess that's good, although it means she doesn't read my blog because I accidentally posted about it the other day. (I did remove the reference to it after Terry alerted me that it was supposed to be a surprise, but still....Common girls! Read what your old uncle is doing...please?)
******
I "watched" the Rutgers-Syracuse game on the computer/radio today. RU pulled out a sloppy victory in double overtime, 19-16, up in the Carrier Dome. I had it on WOR out of NYC but their computer radio kept going to commercials while play was still underway...including during the final seconds of regulation when RU had a chance to win the game. I switched to the Rutgers page where there was a link to WCTU 1250 AM and managed to listen to the game without those annoying interruptions.
Following the game on the ESPN GameCast, I noticed they had a weather statement "Overcast; 74 degrees." Hello! The game was played in the dome. The overcast skies , and the rain/wind outside had absolutely no affect on the outcome.
I actually started to follow it on CBSSports using their GameTracker but the operator was either 1-asleep or 2-overwhelmed with the other games going on. There would be times the GameTracker would pretty much freeze up and leave you wondering what was going on while the WOR broadcast was carrying commercials but the game was proceeding.
Speaking of playing an overtime game...so far there have been lots of them today. Rutgers-Syracuse, Navy-Air Force, TCU-SMU, and Idaho-Virginia. (AF, SMU, and Virginia all won their games.) Additionally, the number of games where the difference was 4 points or less has been pretty amazing.
Football is still being played, after all, it's just 8:30 PM EDT.
And the pros will be playing tomorrow.
Terry says they had a good time at my niece's surprise bridal shower in NJ today. Kristen had no clue that it was happening. I guess that's good, although it means she doesn't read my blog because I accidentally posted about it the other day. (I did remove the reference to it after Terry alerted me that it was supposed to be a surprise, but still....Common girls! Read what your old uncle is doing...please?)
******
I "watched" the Rutgers-Syracuse game on the computer/radio today. RU pulled out a sloppy victory in double overtime, 19-16, up in the Carrier Dome. I had it on WOR out of NYC but their computer radio kept going to commercials while play was still underway...including during the final seconds of regulation when RU had a chance to win the game. I switched to the Rutgers page where there was a link to WCTU 1250 AM and managed to listen to the game without those annoying interruptions.
Following the game on the ESPN GameCast, I noticed they had a weather statement "Overcast; 74 degrees." Hello! The game was played in the dome. The overcast skies , and the rain/wind outside had absolutely no affect on the outcome.
I actually started to follow it on CBSSports using their GameTracker but the operator was either 1-asleep or 2-overwhelmed with the other games going on. There would be times the GameTracker would pretty much freeze up and leave you wondering what was going on while the WOR broadcast was carrying commercials but the game was proceeding.
Speaking of playing an overtime game...so far there have been lots of them today. Rutgers-Syracuse, Navy-Air Force, TCU-SMU, and Idaho-Virginia. (AF, SMU, and Virginia all won their games.) Additionally, the number of games where the difference was 4 points or less has been pretty amazing.
Football is still being played, after all, it's just 8:30 PM EDT.
And the pros will be playing tomorrow.
Friday, September 30, 2011
Great googaly moogaly!!
Terry just emailed to tell me to check out the AccuHunch news and look at this story By Alex Sosnowski, Expert Senior Meteorologist:
Cold Winds, Chilly Showers, Hold the Snow Shovels
I am so not ready for this. 8-(
The wind is whipping out there tonight. And the temperatures will most definitely be dropping into the 40s tonight. But snow over the weekend? Sheesh!
Cold Winds, Chilly Showers, Hold the Snow Shovels
The strongest winds will be from the eastern Ohio Valley states to the central and southern Appalachians, where gusts may reach 40 mph at times through Saturday. Some of this wind will spill into the coastal mid-Atlantic Saturday night and Sunday.
If looking for snowflakes this weekend, your best bet will be to head high into the mountains of West Virginia, easternmost Tennessee, westernmost North Carolina and over the highest ridges in Pennsylvania and New York.[Emphasis mine.]
I am so not ready for this. 8-(
The wind is whipping out there tonight. And the temperatures will most definitely be dropping into the 40s tonight. But snow over the weekend? Sheesh!
Wife vs. Husband, Part 2
Another email over the transom today contained these bits:
WOMAN'S PERFECT BREAKFAST
She's sitting at the table with her gourmet coffee.
Her son is on the cover of the Wheaties box.
Her daughter is on the cover of Business Week.
Her boyfriend is on the cover of Playgirl.
And her husband is on the back of the milk carton.
WOMEN'S REVENGE
'Cash, check or charge?' I asked, after folding items the woman wished to purchase.
As she fumbled for her wallet, I noticed a remote control for a television set in her purse.
'So, do you always carry your TV remote?' I asked.
'No,' she replied, 'but my husband refused to come shopping with me, and I figured this was the most evil thing I could do to him legally.'
UNDERSTANDING WOMEN (A MAN'S PERSPECTIVE)
I know I'm not going to understand women.
I'll never understand how you can take boiling hot wax, pour it onto your upper thigh, rip the hair out by the root, and still be afraid of a spider.
WOMAN'S PERFECT BREAKFAST
She's sitting at the table with her gourmet coffee.
Her son is on the cover of the Wheaties box.
Her daughter is on the cover of Business Week.
Her boyfriend is on the cover of Playgirl.
And her husband is on the back of the milk carton.
WOMEN'S REVENGE
'Cash, check or charge?' I asked, after folding items the woman wished to purchase.
As she fumbled for her wallet, I noticed a remote control for a television set in her purse.
'So, do you always carry your TV remote?' I asked.
'No,' she replied, 'but my husband refused to come shopping with me, and I figured this was the most evil thing I could do to him legally.'
UNDERSTANDING WOMEN (A MAN'S PERSPECTIVE)
I know I'm not going to understand women.
I'll never understand how you can take boiling hot wax, pour it onto your upper thigh, rip the hair out by the root, and still be afraid of a spider.
Meh. More rain.
We only got 0.15 inches of rain in the last 24 hours. Makes it seem like a sunny day at the beach. We've now had about 13.45 inches of rain since the beginning of September without once being hit by a real hurricane...just two tropical storms (Irene and Lee). In truth, the sun DID come out...for about an hour yesterday afternoon and the same this morning. Not to worry, however, the forecasters at AccuHunch say we might get another 1/2 inch or so later this evening into tomorrow morning.
The temperatures did take a nose dive over night. Instead of being stuck on near 70 degrees night and day, the thermometer fell outside overnight to around 55 degrees. With a fairly strong breeze blowing it felt much, much cooler when I stepped out on the deck.
Blogspheric friend Marianne of Northview Dairy up on a hill overlooking the Mohawk River near Fonda, NY, reports her barnyard has become 1-a quagmire and 2-a raging torrent. The former is true of every flat surface while the latter describes any slope slightly greater than 10 degrees.
Oh, she also reports that the river is rising...again.
Hell of an end to summer.
The temperatures did take a nose dive over night. Instead of being stuck on near 70 degrees night and day, the thermometer fell outside overnight to around 55 degrees. With a fairly strong breeze blowing it felt much, much cooler when I stepped out on the deck.
Blogspheric friend Marianne of Northview Dairy up on a hill overlooking the Mohawk River near Fonda, NY, reports her barnyard has become 1-a quagmire and 2-a raging torrent. The former is true of every flat surface while the latter describes any slope slightly greater than 10 degrees.
Oh, she also reports that the river is rising...again.
Hell of an end to summer.
Thursday, September 29, 2011
Glub.... Glub.... Glub....
Terry emptied the rain gauge this morning about 10:30 AM. It held 0.95 inches of water. That's from around 4 PM Wednesday (yesterday). Seems like it should have been more because it really came down at times.
Oh, and it's still raining. This has been one of the wettest Septembers in memory.
Cooler though. About 62 degrees overnight and just a wee bit higher (64) at 11 AM. Wind has shifted so it's coming out of the west so it should be getting cooler in the coming days.
******
Terry's heading into New Jersey this afternoon to visit her Mom and our daughter. She'll be gone until Sunday afternoon.
Oh, and it's still raining. This has been one of the wettest Septembers in memory.
Cooler though. About 62 degrees overnight and just a wee bit higher (64) at 11 AM. Wind has shifted so it's coming out of the west so it should be getting cooler in the coming days.
******
Terry's heading into New Jersey this afternoon to visit her Mom and our daughter. She'll be gone until Sunday afternoon.
Wednesday, September 28, 2011
Egads! That's a lot of water!
I emptied the rain gauge back on September 8 just before our abortive attempt to go to New Jersey. Abortive because we had just finished visits from two hurricanes/tropical storms (Irene and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tropical_Storm_Lee_%282011%29) that resulted in massive flooding in eastern Pennsylvania effectively blocking our path. The rain gauge had yielded 6" and 3.1" respectively from those two storms.
Since then I've been a bit lax in checking the amount of rain that has fallen. I know it rained. Terry took me to Corning three times after that (pre-op, op and post-op) and it rained each time. So I wasn't surprised when Terry emptied the rain gauge Tuesday morning and found 1.5" of water there. That was BEFORE the heavy rains fell Tuesday afternoon and much of the night. This morning I dumped 1.75" out of the gauge. it hasn't rained since, but the sky is threatening.
So let's tally it up, hey? Six, 3.1, 1.5, and 1.75 equals 12.35 inches. Over a foot. Yikes! And we didn't get hit the hardest by Irene or Lee. Those storms were worse to the east of here.
Meanwhile, the thermometer must be broken. Every time I've looked at it over the last two days it says it's 70 degrees outside and 70 degrees inside. (Or at least close enough so as not to matter.) Beats the 85 degrees we had on the sunny afternoon when I cut the grass Monday.
[UPDATE: Just 5 minutes after I posted the above at 4:15 PM: It's raining again/still. And there's another flood warning out. *sigh*]
Since then I've been a bit lax in checking the amount of rain that has fallen. I know it rained. Terry took me to Corning three times after that (pre-op, op and post-op) and it rained each time. So I wasn't surprised when Terry emptied the rain gauge Tuesday morning and found 1.5" of water there. That was BEFORE the heavy rains fell Tuesday afternoon and much of the night. This morning I dumped 1.75" out of the gauge. it hasn't rained since, but the sky is threatening.
So let's tally it up, hey? Six, 3.1, 1.5, and 1.75 equals 12.35 inches. Over a foot. Yikes! And we didn't get hit the hardest by Irene or Lee. Those storms were worse to the east of here.
Meanwhile, the thermometer must be broken. Every time I've looked at it over the last two days it says it's 70 degrees outside and 70 degrees inside. (Or at least close enough so as not to matter.) Beats the 85 degrees we had on the sunny afternoon when I cut the grass Monday.
[UPDATE: Just 5 minutes after I posted the above at 4:15 PM: It's raining again/still. And there's another flood warning out. *sigh*]
College Football 2011, Preweek 5
Week 5 approaches with four games pitting Top 25 teams against each other. We’ll see #3 Alabama (4-0) vs #12 Florida (4-0), #7 Wisconsin (4-0) vs #8 Nebraska (4-0),# 11 Virginia Tech (4-0) vs #13 Clemson (4-0) and #14 Texas A&M (2-1) vs #18 Arkansas (3-1). Only the Clemson team seems ready to jump up the ranks by beating a higher ranked team—again. The others will be good games, but the higher ranked team should win.
Three teams have the week off: # 5 Oklahoma State (4-0), #9 Oregon (3-1), and #23 Florida State (2-2). Everyone else is playing. It starts Thursday night with #16 South Florida against Pittsburgh.
Here are this week’s match-ups for all the Top 25 college teams. The two rankings are the AP/Coaches' Polls.
1/2T LSU (4-0) The Tigers take on the Kentucky Wildcats (2-2) at home Saturday afternoon. The Tigers should easily win this one.
2/1 Oklahoma (3-0) The Sooners will be hosting the Ball State Cardinals (3-1) Saturday night. After struggling with Missouri last week, the Sooners should find the Cardinals a much easier opponent.
3/2T Alabama (4-0) The Tide rolls into Florida to play the #12 Gators (4-0) Saturday. ‘Bama has too strong a defense and more than enough on offense to prove victorious.
4/5 Boise State (3-0) The Broncos host the Nevada Wolf Pack (1-2) Saturday afternoon. This is not the Nevada team of a couple of years ago. Boise should win by a large margin. Especially on the blue carpet.
5/6 Oklahoma State (4-0) The Cowboys have the week off.
6/4 Stanford (3-0) The Cardinal host the UCLA Bruins (2-2) Saturday night. Luck is with the Cardinal. And he should have a big day against the Bruins.
7/7 Wisconsin (4-0) The Badgers will host the #8 Nebraska Cornhuskers (4-0) Saturday night. This too could be an interesting game, but the Badgers are too strong.
8/8 Nebraska (4-0) The Cornhuskers travel north to face the #7 Wisconsin Badgers (4-0). Badgers remain undefeated. Nebraska doesn’t.
9/11 Oregon (3-1) The Ducks have off until Thursday, October 6.
10/9 South Carolina (4-0) The Gamecocks will host the Auburn Tigers (3-1) on Saturday. South Carolina played sloppy offense last week. They shouldn’t do so this week.
11/10 Virginia Tech (4-0) The Hokies will host the #13 Clemson Tigers (4-0) Saturday evening. Clemson plays a ranked team for the third consecutive week. This one is on the road. It will be close, but I like the Tigers to pull it out.
12/12 Florida (4-0) The Gators host the #3 Crimson Tide of Alabama (4-0) Saturday. Tide continues to roll.
13/15 Clemson (4-0) The Tigers hit the road to play the #11 Hokies of Virginia Tech (4-0) Saturday evening. Tigers edge the Hokies.
14/13 Texas A&M (2-1) The Aggies host the #18 Arkansas Razorbacks (3-1) Saturday. With home field advantage on their side, look for the Aggies to corral the Razorbacks.
15/16 Baylor (3-0) The Bears head north to play Kansas State Wildcats (3-0) Saturday. Baylor highly potent offense should defeat the Wildcats.
16/14 South Florida (4-0) The Bulls will play at Pittsburgh against the Panthers (2-2) Thursday night. They may be on the road, but the Bulls can score any where any why.
17/17 Texas (3-0) The Longhorns go to Ames to play the Iowa State Cyclones (3-0). Two more undefeated teams. Only the Longhorns will continue to be so after the game.
18/18 Arkansas (3-1) The Razorbacks head west to play the #14 Texas A&M (2-1) Saturday. Aggies win.
19/19 Michigan (4-0) The Wolverines host the Golden Gophers of Minnesota (1-3) Saturday at noon. Minnesota’s Coach Hill had another seizure last weekend. Here’s wishing him a rapid recovery. Unfortunately his team will not fare well this weekend. Wolverines by two TDs or more.
20/20 TCU (3-1) The Horned Frogs host the Mustangs of SMU (3-1) Saturday afternoon. Frogs bead Mustangs by 10.
21/21 Georgia Tech (4-0) The Yellow Jackets head up the coast to play the North Carolina State Wolfpack (2-2) Saturday afternoon. NCS gets stung but as its at home, it will be close. GT by 3.
22/23 West Virginia (3-1) The Mountaineers host the Falcons of Bowling Green (3-1) Saturday afternoon. WVU is looking to bounce back after losing to LSU. And they should. Look for the Mountaineers to win by 14.
23/24 Florida State (2-2) The Seminoles have the weekend off.
24/22 Illinois (4-0) The Fighting Illini host the Northwestern Wildcats (2-1) Saturday at noon. The Illini were barely able to win last weekend. They should win in another close one.
25/NR Arizona State (3-1) The Sun Devils host the Oregon State Beavers (0-3) late Saturday night. The Devils will beat the heck out of the Beavers.
NR/25 Michigan State (3-1) The Spartans play the Buckeyes at Ohio State (3-1) Saturday afternoon. The Buckeyes are disorganized despite their record. MSU knocks them down another peg. Spartans by 10.
Three teams have the week off: # 5 Oklahoma State (4-0), #9 Oregon (3-1), and #23 Florida State (2-2). Everyone else is playing. It starts Thursday night with #16 South Florida against Pittsburgh.
Here are this week’s match-ups for all the Top 25 college teams. The two rankings are the AP/Coaches' Polls.
1/2T LSU (4-0) The Tigers take on the Kentucky Wildcats (2-2) at home Saturday afternoon. The Tigers should easily win this one.
2/1 Oklahoma (3-0) The Sooners will be hosting the Ball State Cardinals (3-1) Saturday night. After struggling with Missouri last week, the Sooners should find the Cardinals a much easier opponent.
3/2T Alabama (4-0) The Tide rolls into Florida to play the #12 Gators (4-0) Saturday. ‘Bama has too strong a defense and more than enough on offense to prove victorious.
4/5 Boise State (3-0) The Broncos host the Nevada Wolf Pack (1-2) Saturday afternoon. This is not the Nevada team of a couple of years ago. Boise should win by a large margin. Especially on the blue carpet.
5/6 Oklahoma State (4-0) The Cowboys have the week off.
6/4 Stanford (3-0) The Cardinal host the UCLA Bruins (2-2) Saturday night. Luck is with the Cardinal. And he should have a big day against the Bruins.
7/7 Wisconsin (4-0) The Badgers will host the #8 Nebraska Cornhuskers (4-0) Saturday night. This too could be an interesting game, but the Badgers are too strong.
8/8 Nebraska (4-0) The Cornhuskers travel north to face the #7 Wisconsin Badgers (4-0). Badgers remain undefeated. Nebraska doesn’t.
9/11 Oregon (3-1) The Ducks have off until Thursday, October 6.
10/9 South Carolina (4-0) The Gamecocks will host the Auburn Tigers (3-1) on Saturday. South Carolina played sloppy offense last week. They shouldn’t do so this week.
11/10 Virginia Tech (4-0) The Hokies will host the #13 Clemson Tigers (4-0) Saturday evening. Clemson plays a ranked team for the third consecutive week. This one is on the road. It will be close, but I like the Tigers to pull it out.
12/12 Florida (4-0) The Gators host the #3 Crimson Tide of Alabama (4-0) Saturday. Tide continues to roll.
13/15 Clemson (4-0) The Tigers hit the road to play the #11 Hokies of Virginia Tech (4-0) Saturday evening. Tigers edge the Hokies.
14/13 Texas A&M (2-1) The Aggies host the #18 Arkansas Razorbacks (3-1) Saturday. With home field advantage on their side, look for the Aggies to corral the Razorbacks.
15/16 Baylor (3-0) The Bears head north to play Kansas State Wildcats (3-0) Saturday. Baylor highly potent offense should defeat the Wildcats.
16/14 South Florida (4-0) The Bulls will play at Pittsburgh against the Panthers (2-2) Thursday night. They may be on the road, but the Bulls can score any where any why.
17/17 Texas (3-0) The Longhorns go to Ames to play the Iowa State Cyclones (3-0). Two more undefeated teams. Only the Longhorns will continue to be so after the game.
18/18 Arkansas (3-1) The Razorbacks head west to play the #14 Texas A&M (2-1) Saturday. Aggies win.
19/19 Michigan (4-0) The Wolverines host the Golden Gophers of Minnesota (1-3) Saturday at noon. Minnesota’s Coach Hill had another seizure last weekend. Here’s wishing him a rapid recovery. Unfortunately his team will not fare well this weekend. Wolverines by two TDs or more.
20/20 TCU (3-1) The Horned Frogs host the Mustangs of SMU (3-1) Saturday afternoon. Frogs bead Mustangs by 10.
21/21 Georgia Tech (4-0) The Yellow Jackets head up the coast to play the North Carolina State Wolfpack (2-2) Saturday afternoon. NCS gets stung but as its at home, it will be close. GT by 3.
22/23 West Virginia (3-1) The Mountaineers host the Falcons of Bowling Green (3-1) Saturday afternoon. WVU is looking to bounce back after losing to LSU. And they should. Look for the Mountaineers to win by 14.
23/24 Florida State (2-2) The Seminoles have the weekend off.
24/22 Illinois (4-0) The Fighting Illini host the Northwestern Wildcats (2-1) Saturday at noon. The Illini were barely able to win last weekend. They should win in another close one.
25/NR Arizona State (3-1) The Sun Devils host the Oregon State Beavers (0-3) late Saturday night. The Devils will beat the heck out of the Beavers.
NR/25 Michigan State (3-1) The Spartans play the Buckeyes at Ohio State (3-1) Saturday afternoon. The Buckeyes are disorganized despite their record. MSU knocks them down another peg. Spartans by 10.
Monday, September 26, 2011
Aerie afternoon chore: Grass cutting
I went out this afternoon to cut the grass. I put the discharge chute in place knowing that if I tried to mulch the too tall grass it would clog the blade and cause the engine to stall. Similarly, putting the bag on the mower to catch the grass would have resulted in having to stop every 40-50 feet to empty the bag. Even with the side discharge chute in place, the mower clogged frequently necessitating lots of jiggling and even stopping to clear the portal. Then, of course, there was sufficient grass accumulation to warrant raking--which Terry did as I finished cutting behind the house (thinner grass, more moss) and the driveway. Together it took us just over two hours to get the job done.
The sun was shining brightly while we worked an the temperature rose to the mid 80s. Needless to say, this left me a little fatigued and limp.
Speaking of limp, the warmth softened up the garden hoses so I drained and coiled both hoses and put them away for the winter. Figure there's no need to water the garden any more.
******
The knees (plural) did not take kindly to the exercise. Something about working on a slope and for so dang long. They were sore when I finished so after I showered they both got ice treatments until I feared frost bite. At least they didn't signal their displeasure with any really sharp pains. Mostly it was just aches and some grinding. They are feeling better now but are still somewhat stiff.
Now, if you'll excuse me, the TV is calling. I hear there's another football game on tonight.
The sun was shining brightly while we worked an the temperature rose to the mid 80s. Needless to say, this left me a little fatigued and limp.
Speaking of limp, the warmth softened up the garden hoses so I drained and coiled both hoses and put them away for the winter. Figure there's no need to water the garden any more.
******
The knees (plural) did not take kindly to the exercise. Something about working on a slope and for so dang long. They were sore when I finished so after I showered they both got ice treatments until I feared frost bite. At least they didn't signal their displeasure with any really sharp pains. Mostly it was just aches and some grinding. They are feeling better now but are still somewhat stiff.
Now, if you'll excuse me, the TV is calling. I hear there's another football game on tonight.
College Football 2011, Week 4 results
Week 4 is in the books.
#21 Clemson upset #11 Florida State, unranked Arizona State dominated #23 USC and everything else went pretty much as expected: #2 LSU beat another ranked team (#16 West Virginia), Kellen Moore threw for TDs, as did Baylor’s QB Robert Griffin III, and Oregon’s LaMichael James ran and ran and ran and….
Here are the results of this week’s match-ups for all the Top 25 college teams. The two rankings are the AP/Coaches' Polls.
1/1 Oklahoma (3-0) The Sooners fell behind 14-10 in the first quarter and then held off a late rally by the Missouri Tigers (2-2) 38-28 to remain undefeated. The Sooners’ Landry Jones threw for 448 yards and 3 TDs while scoring one on the ground.
2/3 LSU (4-0) The Tigers went on the road to face #16 West Virginia Mountaineers (3-1) Saturday. The Tiger defense proved to be too much for the Mountaineers and the offense was unstoppable as the Tigers mauled the Mountaineers 47-21. Playing from behind and forced to throw, WVA’s Geno Smith completed 38 of 65 attempts for 463 yards and 2 TDs. LSU’s Jarrett Lee was a more modest 16 of 28 for 180 yards but had 3 TDs. LSU also scored on a 99 yard kick return by Morris Claiborne.
3/2 Alabama (4-0) The Crimson Tide rolled over the #14 Arkansas Razorbacks (3-1) on Saturday 38-14. Tide’s Trent Richardson ran for 120 yards and caught a 61 yard TD pass but it was defense and special teams that highlighted the night. Marquis Mize returned a punt 83 yards for a score, DeQuan Menzie returned an interception 25 yards for another, and AJ McCarron (quarterback and holder on the kicking squad) tossed a TD pass off a fake field goal.
4/4 Boise State (3-0) Kellen Moore threw for “only” four TDs and “just” 279 yards as he led the Broncos over the Tulsa Golden Hurricane (1-3) 41-21 on the Blue Carpet Saturday night. He also came out after tossing a 10 yard TD on the Broncos first possession of the second half, a score that resulted in a 34-0 lead. Oh, my.
5/5 Stanford (3-0) The Cardinal had this weekend off.
6/7 Wisconsin (4-0) The Badgers scored early and often in routing the South Dakota Coyotes (2-2) Saturday afternoon by a score of 59-10.
7/6 Oklahoma State (4-0) The Cowboys, traveling to Texas A&M to play the #8 Aggies (2-1) Saturday night, fell behind 20-3 at the half. They woke up in the second half to pull out the win 30-29.
8/8 Texas A& M (2-1) The Aggies jumped out to a 20-3 lead at the half over the #7 Oklahoma State Cowboys (4-0) Saturday night. The Aggies couldn’t hold on, however as the Cowboys rallied for a 30-29 victory.
9/9 Nebraska (4-0) The Cornhuskers were on the road to play the Wyoming Cowboys (3-1) Saturday night. Nebraska headed home with a 38-14 win.
10/13 Oregon (3-1) The Ducks cruised to a 56-31 win over the Arizona Wildcats (1-3). LaMichael James had a bunch of rushing yards (288 to be exact, a school record) and 2 TDs for the Ducks. He now has 43 career TDs, also a school record.
11/14 Florida State (2-2) The Seminoles moved up the coast to play the #21 Clemson Tigers (4-0) Saturday. Tal Boyd threw for 344 yards and 3 TDs for the Tigers while the Seminoles’ Clint Trickett, subbing for starting quarterback EJ Manuel, had a nearly identical performance with 336 yards and 3 TDs. But the Tigers came away with the 35-30 win.
12/10 South Carolina (4-0) The Gamecocks let the Vanderbilt Commodores (3-1) take a 3-0 lead into the second quarter Saturday night. Then the defense shut Vandy down for good. The D allowed Vandy just 77 yards in total offense and just 5 first downs. They also had six sacks and recovered two fumbles as the Gamecocks came away with a 21-3 win despite some sloppy offense.
13/11 Virginia Tech (4-0) The Hokies managed to corral the Thundering Herd of Marshall (1-3) 30-10 Saturday. The Hokies had a balanced attack amassing 444 net yards of offense; 215 on the ground, 229 through the air.
14/12 Arkansas (3-1) The Razorbacks played at #3 Alabama (4-0) Saturday. It was 'Bama big: 38-14 (See above for more.)
15/15 Florida (4-0) The Gators played the Kentucky Wildcats (2-2) on the road Saturday evening. It was Gators early and often in a 48-10 thrashing. It was the Gators’ 25th consecutive win in the series. Florida scored on a pass of 45 yards (John Brantley to Gerald Christian), runs of 84 yards (Jeff Demps) and 60 yards (Mike Gillislee) and a 20 yard fumble return (Jaye Howard). As I said, early and often…and quickly.
16/16 West Virginia (3-1) The Mountaineers got whipped by the #2 LSU Tigers (4-0) Saturday 47-21. See above for more detail.
17/19 Baylor (3-0) The Bears routed the Rice Owls (1-2) Saturday night 56-31. After three games, Baylor QB Robert Griffin III has more TD passes than incompletions. No. Really. He’s got 13 TD passes and 12 incompletions. He was 29 of 33 for 338 yards and 5 TDs in this one. Ran for 51 yards and a TD and even had a 39 yard punt on a quick kick (Baylor’s only punt of the game). And Griffin didn’t even play in the fourth quarter.
18/17 South Florida (4-0) The Bulls demolished the UTEP Miners (2-2) 52-24 in a Saturday night game. The Bulls’ B.J. Daniels threw for 202 yards and 2 TDs. He also ran for 130 more including a 71 yard TD run on the team’s second offensive play. Later in the second quarter, Victor Marc had a 67 yard run for a TD.
19/18 Texas (3-0) The Longhorns had the weekend free.
20/20 TCU (3-1) The Horned Frogs, like a good host, spotted the Portland State Vikings (2-1) a 3-0 lead after one quarter Saturday afternoon, then they hopped all over the Vikings. A 24-3 half time lead became a 55-13 victory for TCU. A 66 yard TD pass (Casey Pachall to Josh Boyce), a 26 yard Interception return for a TD (Tank Carder) and a 44 yard punt return by Skye Dawson setting up a 10 yard TD pass (Pachall to Dawson), a 65 yard Waymon James TD run, a Waymon James 82 yard kick return…. Well, you get the picture. The only scoring play missed was a safety.
21/22 Clemson (4-0) The Tigers hosted the #11 Florida State Seminoles (2-2) Saturday. Tigers carried the day in a 35-30 upset over injured FSU. See above for details.
22/21 Michigan (4-0) The Wolverines entertained the San Diego State Aztecs (3-1) in Ann Arbor Saturday at noon. The Wolverines treated the Aztecs…poorly. QB Denard Robinson ran for three TDs in the first half as he led Michigan to a 28-7 victory.
23/NR Southern California (3-1) The Trojans got whipped by the Sun Devils at Arizona State (3-1) Saturday night. Cameron Marshall for 141 yards and 3 TDs as Arizona State ended an 11-game losing streak to USC with a 43-22 win. The Trojans trailed 21-9 at the half but took an early second half lead of 22-21 before the Sun Devils shut them down and responded with two of Marshall’s TDs and a 41 yard INT return for a TD by Shelly Lyons.
24/NR Illinois (4-0) The Fighting Illini trailed the Western Michigan Broncos (2-2)13-10 at the half, scored 10 unanswered points in the third to lead 20-13, saw WM tie it up at 20 all, and finally pulled it out 23-20 on a Derek Dimke 21 yard FG with 8:14 remaining. The Illini held on in those closing minutes. Alex Carder was 30 of 48 for 306 and 2 TDs for the Broncos in the loss.
25/24 Georgia Tech (4-0) The Yellow Jackets knocked the North Carolina Tar Heels (3-1) out of the ranks of the undefeated Saturday, but it wasn’t easy. Sure, the Yellow jackets jumped out to a 17-7 halftime lead and a 28-14 third quarter advantage, but NC scored twice to knot the game in the fourth. GT’s Tevin Washington ran the ball in with 5:20 left to put the Jackets up for good 35-28.
NR/23 Michigan State (3-1) The Spartans routed the Central Michigan Chippewas (1-3) Saturday at noon 45-7. Le'Veon Bell ran for 81 yards and 3 TDs…in the first half and Isaiah Lewis had a 37 yard interception return for a TD to lead the Spartans to a 31-0 half time lead from which Central Michigan never recovered.
NR/25 North Carolina The Tar Heels (3-1) lost a tough one to #25 Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets (4-0) Saturday. See above for details.
#21 Clemson upset #11 Florida State, unranked Arizona State dominated #23 USC and everything else went pretty much as expected: #2 LSU beat another ranked team (#16 West Virginia), Kellen Moore threw for TDs, as did Baylor’s QB Robert Griffin III, and Oregon’s LaMichael James ran and ran and ran and….
Here are the results of this week’s match-ups for all the Top 25 college teams. The two rankings are the AP/Coaches' Polls.
1/1 Oklahoma (3-0) The Sooners fell behind 14-10 in the first quarter and then held off a late rally by the Missouri Tigers (2-2) 38-28 to remain undefeated. The Sooners’ Landry Jones threw for 448 yards and 3 TDs while scoring one on the ground.
2/3 LSU (4-0) The Tigers went on the road to face #16 West Virginia Mountaineers (3-1) Saturday. The Tiger defense proved to be too much for the Mountaineers and the offense was unstoppable as the Tigers mauled the Mountaineers 47-21. Playing from behind and forced to throw, WVA’s Geno Smith completed 38 of 65 attempts for 463 yards and 2 TDs. LSU’s Jarrett Lee was a more modest 16 of 28 for 180 yards but had 3 TDs. LSU also scored on a 99 yard kick return by Morris Claiborne.
3/2 Alabama (4-0) The Crimson Tide rolled over the #14 Arkansas Razorbacks (3-1) on Saturday 38-14. Tide’s Trent Richardson ran for 120 yards and caught a 61 yard TD pass but it was defense and special teams that highlighted the night. Marquis Mize returned a punt 83 yards for a score, DeQuan Menzie returned an interception 25 yards for another, and AJ McCarron (quarterback and holder on the kicking squad) tossed a TD pass off a fake field goal.
4/4 Boise State (3-0) Kellen Moore threw for “only” four TDs and “just” 279 yards as he led the Broncos over the Tulsa Golden Hurricane (1-3) 41-21 on the Blue Carpet Saturday night. He also came out after tossing a 10 yard TD on the Broncos first possession of the second half, a score that resulted in a 34-0 lead. Oh, my.
5/5 Stanford (3-0) The Cardinal had this weekend off.
6/7 Wisconsin (4-0) The Badgers scored early and often in routing the South Dakota Coyotes (2-2) Saturday afternoon by a score of 59-10.
7/6 Oklahoma State (4-0) The Cowboys, traveling to Texas A&M to play the #8 Aggies (2-1) Saturday night, fell behind 20-3 at the half. They woke up in the second half to pull out the win 30-29.
8/8 Texas A& M (2-1) The Aggies jumped out to a 20-3 lead at the half over the #7 Oklahoma State Cowboys (4-0) Saturday night. The Aggies couldn’t hold on, however as the Cowboys rallied for a 30-29 victory.
9/9 Nebraska (4-0) The Cornhuskers were on the road to play the Wyoming Cowboys (3-1) Saturday night. Nebraska headed home with a 38-14 win.
10/13 Oregon (3-1) The Ducks cruised to a 56-31 win over the Arizona Wildcats (1-3). LaMichael James had a bunch of rushing yards (288 to be exact, a school record) and 2 TDs for the Ducks. He now has 43 career TDs, also a school record.
11/14 Florida State (2-2) The Seminoles moved up the coast to play the #21 Clemson Tigers (4-0) Saturday. Tal Boyd threw for 344 yards and 3 TDs for the Tigers while the Seminoles’ Clint Trickett, subbing for starting quarterback EJ Manuel, had a nearly identical performance with 336 yards and 3 TDs. But the Tigers came away with the 35-30 win.
12/10 South Carolina (4-0) The Gamecocks let the Vanderbilt Commodores (3-1) take a 3-0 lead into the second quarter Saturday night. Then the defense shut Vandy down for good. The D allowed Vandy just 77 yards in total offense and just 5 first downs. They also had six sacks and recovered two fumbles as the Gamecocks came away with a 21-3 win despite some sloppy offense.
13/11 Virginia Tech (4-0) The Hokies managed to corral the Thundering Herd of Marshall (1-3) 30-10 Saturday. The Hokies had a balanced attack amassing 444 net yards of offense; 215 on the ground, 229 through the air.
14/12 Arkansas (3-1) The Razorbacks played at #3 Alabama (4-0) Saturday. It was 'Bama big: 38-14 (See above for more.)
15/15 Florida (4-0) The Gators played the Kentucky Wildcats (2-2) on the road Saturday evening. It was Gators early and often in a 48-10 thrashing. It was the Gators’ 25th consecutive win in the series. Florida scored on a pass of 45 yards (John Brantley to Gerald Christian), runs of 84 yards (Jeff Demps) and 60 yards (Mike Gillislee) and a 20 yard fumble return (Jaye Howard). As I said, early and often…and quickly.
16/16 West Virginia (3-1) The Mountaineers got whipped by the #2 LSU Tigers (4-0) Saturday 47-21. See above for more detail.
17/19 Baylor (3-0) The Bears routed the Rice Owls (1-2) Saturday night 56-31. After three games, Baylor QB Robert Griffin III has more TD passes than incompletions. No. Really. He’s got 13 TD passes and 12 incompletions. He was 29 of 33 for 338 yards and 5 TDs in this one. Ran for 51 yards and a TD and even had a 39 yard punt on a quick kick (Baylor’s only punt of the game). And Griffin didn’t even play in the fourth quarter.
18/17 South Florida (4-0) The Bulls demolished the UTEP Miners (2-2) 52-24 in a Saturday night game. The Bulls’ B.J. Daniels threw for 202 yards and 2 TDs. He also ran for 130 more including a 71 yard TD run on the team’s second offensive play. Later in the second quarter, Victor Marc had a 67 yard run for a TD.
19/18 Texas (3-0) The Longhorns had the weekend free.
20/20 TCU (3-1) The Horned Frogs, like a good host, spotted the Portland State Vikings (2-1) a 3-0 lead after one quarter Saturday afternoon, then they hopped all over the Vikings. A 24-3 half time lead became a 55-13 victory for TCU. A 66 yard TD pass (Casey Pachall to Josh Boyce), a 26 yard Interception return for a TD (Tank Carder) and a 44 yard punt return by Skye Dawson setting up a 10 yard TD pass (Pachall to Dawson), a 65 yard Waymon James TD run, a Waymon James 82 yard kick return…. Well, you get the picture. The only scoring play missed was a safety.
21/22 Clemson (4-0) The Tigers hosted the #11 Florida State Seminoles (2-2) Saturday. Tigers carried the day in a 35-30 upset over injured FSU. See above for details.
22/21 Michigan (4-0) The Wolverines entertained the San Diego State Aztecs (3-1) in Ann Arbor Saturday at noon. The Wolverines treated the Aztecs…poorly. QB Denard Robinson ran for three TDs in the first half as he led Michigan to a 28-7 victory.
23/NR Southern California (3-1) The Trojans got whipped by the Sun Devils at Arizona State (3-1) Saturday night. Cameron Marshall for 141 yards and 3 TDs as Arizona State ended an 11-game losing streak to USC with a 43-22 win. The Trojans trailed 21-9 at the half but took an early second half lead of 22-21 before the Sun Devils shut them down and responded with two of Marshall’s TDs and a 41 yard INT return for a TD by Shelly Lyons.
24/NR Illinois (4-0) The Fighting Illini trailed the Western Michigan Broncos (2-2)13-10 at the half, scored 10 unanswered points in the third to lead 20-13, saw WM tie it up at 20 all, and finally pulled it out 23-20 on a Derek Dimke 21 yard FG with 8:14 remaining. The Illini held on in those closing minutes. Alex Carder was 30 of 48 for 306 and 2 TDs for the Broncos in the loss.
25/24 Georgia Tech (4-0) The Yellow Jackets knocked the North Carolina Tar Heels (3-1) out of the ranks of the undefeated Saturday, but it wasn’t easy. Sure, the Yellow jackets jumped out to a 17-7 halftime lead and a 28-14 third quarter advantage, but NC scored twice to knot the game in the fourth. GT’s Tevin Washington ran the ball in with 5:20 left to put the Jackets up for good 35-28.
NR/23 Michigan State (3-1) The Spartans routed the Central Michigan Chippewas (1-3) Saturday at noon 45-7. Le'Veon Bell ran for 81 yards and 3 TDs…in the first half and Isaiah Lewis had a 37 yard interception return for a TD to lead the Spartans to a 31-0 half time lead from which Central Michigan never recovered.
NR/25 North Carolina The Tar Heels (3-1) lost a tough one to #25 Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets (4-0) Saturday. See above for details.
Random thoughts from the Aerie, September 26, 2011
I think I'm beginning to OD on football. Seriously. I've taken this couch potato thing too far. Thursday and Friday nights, Saturday noon to 11 (I just can't stay up long enough to watch the west coast game, sorry), Sunday from 1 until 11, Monday night.... Doesn't mean I'll stop watching/listening, however.
******
The knee is getting there. The right knee, the one subjected to surgery, is still swollen a bit and tight but I've been stretching the muscles and working on strengthening them by lifting weights attached to the ankle and going up and down stairs. If/when I can get out to cut the grass, the walking about the lawn will certainly help.
******
The folks who staged the Fabulous 1890s Weekend in Mansfield lucked out. After the showers on Friday, things cleared up pretty nicely. Both Saturday and Sunday mornings were foggy as heck, but that soon burned off to produce two beautiful days. Even the wind cooperated for the hot air balloons they had as part of the activities. Most of those were tethered flights but there were a few early morning free flights that went up.
The Mansfield U. sprint football team managed to whoop the Princeton team 40-2. They set a few team records along the way. (Not hard for a relatively young squad, but still impressive.) Full story here.
We can see the fireworks from the Aerie when they have them down in town, but it's a wee bit disjointed to see the burst of color and then hear the muffled "BOOM" a few seconds later. Still looks pretty.
******
Speaking of the weather...It's been pretty boring the last three days. The low at night has been between 67 and 70 degrees and the high has been around 80 when the afternoon sun comes out. There's been little breeze over night and barely enough to rattle the leaves during the day. Most of that has been due to convection currents on the hill side: "cold" air sinking during the evening/night and "warm" air rising during the sunny parts of the day. There's so much fog and dew in the early morning that the grass never really dries out. If the breeze would only blow a wee bit harder....
******
Regardless of what happens weatherwise today, I will get out there this afternoon to cut at least part of the lawn. It's more than ankle deep now and really, really needs to be cut. Besides, I need the exercise.
The plants in the garden need to be pulled too. Terry did pick a bunch of string beans yesterday, but the zucchini and cucumbers are done. I'll pull them all and add the greens to the compost pile. The only plants we're waiting on are the carrots and they should/could be pulled any day now.
******
The knee is getting there. The right knee, the one subjected to surgery, is still swollen a bit and tight but I've been stretching the muscles and working on strengthening them by lifting weights attached to the ankle and going up and down stairs. If/when I can get out to cut the grass, the walking about the lawn will certainly help.
******
The folks who staged the Fabulous 1890s Weekend in Mansfield lucked out. After the showers on Friday, things cleared up pretty nicely. Both Saturday and Sunday mornings were foggy as heck, but that soon burned off to produce two beautiful days. Even the wind cooperated for the hot air balloons they had as part of the activities. Most of those were tethered flights but there were a few early morning free flights that went up.
The Mansfield U. sprint football team managed to whoop the Princeton team 40-2. They set a few team records along the way. (Not hard for a relatively young squad, but still impressive.) Full story here.
We can see the fireworks from the Aerie when they have them down in town, but it's a wee bit disjointed to see the burst of color and then hear the muffled "BOOM" a few seconds later. Still looks pretty.
******
Speaking of the weather...It's been pretty boring the last three days. The low at night has been between 67 and 70 degrees and the high has been around 80 when the afternoon sun comes out. There's been little breeze over night and barely enough to rattle the leaves during the day. Most of that has been due to convection currents on the hill side: "cold" air sinking during the evening/night and "warm" air rising during the sunny parts of the day. There's so much fog and dew in the early morning that the grass never really dries out. If the breeze would only blow a wee bit harder....
******
Regardless of what happens weatherwise today, I will get out there this afternoon to cut at least part of the lawn. It's more than ankle deep now and really, really needs to be cut. Besides, I need the exercise.
The plants in the garden need to be pulled too. Terry did pick a bunch of string beans yesterday, but the zucchini and cucumbers are done. I'll pull them all and add the greens to the compost pile. The only plants we're waiting on are the carrots and they should/could be pulled any day now.
Friday, September 23, 2011
Random thoughts from the Aerie, September 23, 2011
Let's see now...
First day of fall.
Rain is falling in the northeast...again. (Or perhaps continually?)
Oh yeah, almost forgot, a huge satellite is falling to earth sometime tonight.
The Autumnal Equinox has occurred and the Northern Hemisphere has officially swung into the season known as Fall because it is a time for deciduous trees to drop their leaves and the thermometer to begin falling from the Summer warmth.
We had a brief harbinger of Fall a week or so ago. The overnight lows flirted with the 30s and the daytime temps didn't break 60 for a stretch. If it hadn't been for the rain that was falling at the time, those days would have been crisp and invigorating. Instead they were sorta soggy.
******
Today's temperatures are a bit more moderate, the winds having been coming up from the south for several days, but the air is still water logged. Scattered clouds and showers moved in yesterday as we drove up to Corning and then Elmira. We got hit by a few of those showers but also drove in some sunshine through areas where the roads were dry or, in some cases, recently rained upon. I've a feeling that with radar mounted on the Jeep and more roads to choose from, we might have been able to avoid any rain at all. (Terry commented, "Of course it's raining, we were going to the doctor's." And, as I recall, I've now made four trips up there--initial visit, pre-op, op, and post-op--and it has indeed rained Every. Single. Time. All were on Thursdays, too. Go figure.)
Until night fall. That's when the clouds gathered together and it suddenly poured down in buckets. Since then it's continued to be overcast and misting, or overcast and showering, or overcast and...well...overcast. Temp's around 70 though so the weather's got that going for it.
I'm happy it's not too cool yet. I'd prefer not to be forced to turn the heat on in the Aerie until mid October or later. No desire or need to burn propane or firewood...yet, and the longer we delay the inevitable, the better. See, we'll need a delivery of propane soon if the heat goes on and the checkbook is a wee bit depleted right now. But the Tundra's last payment is due in November and that will free up some $$$ to pay for the heat.
More rain is not what folks in the process of recovering from two tropical storms and the attendant flooding need. This is also a bad weekend for rain from the standpoint of the folks down in Mansfield. This is The Fabulous 1890s Weekend celebrating the first night college football game ever played. There are all sorts of activities going on from craft fair, MU soccer game, reenactment of that first game, and a sprint football game pitting MU against Princeton. (Sprint football is like regular football but with a weight limit of 172 pounds.) Folks will have a good time anyway. They usually do.
******
As for the satellite, the forecast is for it to fall sometime between 10 PM and 2 AM Friday night/Saturday morning in the South Pacific ... or maybe not. They aren't quite sure when or where. Six and a half tons of space junk is currently on it's way down, down, down. Most of it will break up and burn in the atmosphere but several largish chunks adding up to about half a ton of metal will make it to the surface. Don't sweat it though the odds of any one person being struck are astronomical. (Just don't call it a million-to-one shot, cause those always seem to happen!)
[UPDATE: It's down. "...somewhere over the vast Pacific Ocean....between 11:23 p.m. EDT and 1:09 a.m. EDT. NASA said it didn't know the precise time or location yet."]
First day of fall.
Rain is falling in the northeast...again. (Or perhaps continually?)
Oh yeah, almost forgot, a huge satellite is falling to earth sometime tonight.
The Autumnal Equinox has occurred and the Northern Hemisphere has officially swung into the season known as Fall because it is a time for deciduous trees to drop their leaves and the thermometer to begin falling from the Summer warmth.
We had a brief harbinger of Fall a week or so ago. The overnight lows flirted with the 30s and the daytime temps didn't break 60 for a stretch. If it hadn't been for the rain that was falling at the time, those days would have been crisp and invigorating. Instead they were sorta soggy.
******
Today's temperatures are a bit more moderate, the winds having been coming up from the south for several days, but the air is still water logged. Scattered clouds and showers moved in yesterday as we drove up to Corning and then Elmira. We got hit by a few of those showers but also drove in some sunshine through areas where the roads were dry or, in some cases, recently rained upon. I've a feeling that with radar mounted on the Jeep and more roads to choose from, we might have been able to avoid any rain at all. (Terry commented, "Of course it's raining, we were going to the doctor's." And, as I recall, I've now made four trips up there--initial visit, pre-op, op, and post-op--and it has indeed rained Every. Single. Time. All were on Thursdays, too. Go figure.)
Until night fall. That's when the clouds gathered together and it suddenly poured down in buckets. Since then it's continued to be overcast and misting, or overcast and showering, or overcast and...well...overcast. Temp's around 70 though so the weather's got that going for it.
I'm happy it's not too cool yet. I'd prefer not to be forced to turn the heat on in the Aerie until mid October or later. No desire or need to burn propane or firewood...yet, and the longer we delay the inevitable, the better. See, we'll need a delivery of propane soon if the heat goes on and the checkbook is a wee bit depleted right now. But the Tundra's last payment is due in November and that will free up some $$$ to pay for the heat.
More rain is not what folks in the process of recovering from two tropical storms and the attendant flooding need. This is also a bad weekend for rain from the standpoint of the folks down in Mansfield. This is The Fabulous 1890s Weekend celebrating the first night college football game ever played. There are all sorts of activities going on from craft fair, MU soccer game, reenactment of that first game, and a sprint football game pitting MU against Princeton. (Sprint football is like regular football but with a weight limit of 172 pounds.) Folks will have a good time anyway. They usually do.
******
As for the satellite, the forecast is for it to fall sometime between 10 PM and 2 AM Friday night/Saturday morning in the South Pacific ... or maybe not. They aren't quite sure when or where. Six and a half tons of space junk is currently on it's way down, down, down. Most of it will break up and burn in the atmosphere but several largish chunks adding up to about half a ton of metal will make it to the surface. Don't sweat it though the odds of any one person being struck are astronomical. (Just don't call it a million-to-one shot, cause those always seem to happen!)
[UPDATE: It's down. "...somewhere over the vast Pacific Ocean....between 11:23 p.m. EDT and 1:09 a.m. EDT. NASA said it didn't know the precise time or location yet."]
Thursday, September 22, 2011
A little humor
Terry passed this one off to me by forwarding an email from one of her friends.
A lonely widow, age 70, decided that it was time to get married again.
She put an ad in the local paper that read:
HUSBAND WANTED: MUST BE IN MY AGE GROUP (70's), MUST NOT BEAT ME, RUN AROUND ON ME, AND MUST STILL BE GOOD IN BED! ALL APPLICANTS PLEASE APPLY IN PERSON.
On the second day, she heard the doorbell. Much to her dismay, she opened the door to see a grey-haired gentleman sitting in a wheelchair. He had no arms or legs.
The old woman said, 'You're not really asking me to consider you, are you? Just look at you...you have no legs!
The old man smiled, 'Therefore, I cannot run around on you!'
She snorted. 'You don't have any arms either!'
Again, the old man smiled, 'Therefore, I can never beat you!'
She raised an eyebrow and asked intently, 'Are you still good in bed???'
The old man leaned back, beamed a big smile and said, 'I rang the doorbell, didn't I?'
Aerie Report, September 22, 2011
Terry drove me up to the Guthrie Medical Group in Corning to have my staples pulled out and the healing process examined.
BP 172/72 and pulse rate of 49. Not bad for an old fart.
The staples came out easily enough and the surgical wound didn't gape open and spout any blood or gore so that's good. Actually, the amount of healing that's taken place in a week is amazing. The Doc said I could start using my leg normally any time I desired. The only precaution she gave me was to not go swimming or laze around in the tub for a week or so until the wound is completely sealed up. Showers are okay but try to remember to pat the area dry and not rub down with a coarse towel. No problemo!
She told me that the object the surgeon took out of my thigh was disc shaped, about 5 cm (that's 2 inches in English) across and 1 to 1.5 cm thick in the middle. (Think of the shape of a flying saucer.) The THING was merely a calcified lump of stuff that was between my quad muscles. It was not a cyst or a tumor just a calcified BLOB. It should not return.
On the negative side, the Doc said that while the surgeon was poking around in my knee joint removing debris and whatnot, he noticed there was no cartilage in the rear portion of the joint and pretty little in the front. He scores joint arthritic conditions on a sliding scale from 1 to 4; with 1 being plenty of cartilage and no arthritis and 4 being bone-on-bone and knee replacement right around the corner. My right knee is a 3 in front and 4 in the back. Should I experience pain in a month or so (after full healing has taken place) then shots may be required. After that, should I not find relief from the shots, the surgeon recommends knee replacement. So it looks like titanium and plastic knees may be in my future. *sigh*
******
After our visit to the Medical Group, Terry and I drove over to Horseheads and had lunch at Chili's. As part of their 2 for $20 promotion, we split a half order of Texas Cheese Fries as a appetizer before Terry had a Quesadilla Explosion Salad (half of which came home for her dinner) and I had the Margarita Grilled Chicken on beans and rice. Tall mugs of iced tea helped wash the food down.
Then it was off to Barnes and Noble to walk a little and browse the shelves. Terry picked out a romance novel. (I was surprised she could find one she hadn't read yet, but those things seem to propagate when they turn the store lights off.) I found a Jim Butcher Dresden Files book in paperback that I hadn't read yet (Changes), the newest Larry Correia (Monster Hunter Alpha) also in paperback and a Neil Gaimen I hadn't read (American Gods). Guess I'm set for a couple of weeks...well, maybe one week if I stop doing crosswords and surfing the net 8 hours a day.
Still, there's a new Terry Pratchett Disc World novel (Snuff) coming out soon (October 23rd?) so I better get reading.
On the way back to the Aerie, we stopped at Kuntry Kruller in Elmira. THis is the closest thing to a real bakery we have around here. It's not large but it's got some delectable goodies in the form of scones, fritters, danish, turnovers, real bagels and, yes, even "krullers"--but they only have those on Friday. We stocked up for the weekend anyway and headed on down the road. There we stopped at Bohlayer’s Orchards in Troy to purchase a half bushel of Cortland apples. Guess I'll be making some apple sauce over the weekend.
******
Tonight I'll be kicking back in the recliner and watching some college football on ESPN. The Cincinnati Bearcats (2-1) got beat up by Tennessee (3-0) a couple of weeks ago by a score of 45-23. That loss was sandwiched between routs of Austin Peay 72-10 and a fairly decent Akron team 59-14. Tonight they host North Carolina State (2-1).
The Wolfpack have wins over Liberty (43-21) and South Alabama (35-13) and a loss to Wake Forest (27-34) on their record. This will be a good test of each teams ability and an indication of their prospects for the year.
As a little added incentive, Cincinnati is celebrating Homecoming this weekend and just saw the Big East get dissed by Pitt and Syracuse moving to the ACC. NC State is part of that ACC. Could be some harsh feelings here.
BP 172/72 and pulse rate of 49. Not bad for an old fart.
The staples came out easily enough and the surgical wound didn't gape open and spout any blood or gore so that's good. Actually, the amount of healing that's taken place in a week is amazing. The Doc said I could start using my leg normally any time I desired. The only precaution she gave me was to not go swimming or laze around in the tub for a week or so until the wound is completely sealed up. Showers are okay but try to remember to pat the area dry and not rub down with a coarse towel. No problemo!
She told me that the object the surgeon took out of my thigh was disc shaped, about 5 cm (that's 2 inches in English) across and 1 to 1.5 cm thick in the middle. (Think of the shape of a flying saucer.) The THING was merely a calcified lump of stuff that was between my quad muscles. It was not a cyst or a tumor just a calcified BLOB. It should not return.
On the negative side, the Doc said that while the surgeon was poking around in my knee joint removing debris and whatnot, he noticed there was no cartilage in the rear portion of the joint and pretty little in the front. He scores joint arthritic conditions on a sliding scale from 1 to 4; with 1 being plenty of cartilage and no arthritis and 4 being bone-on-bone and knee replacement right around the corner. My right knee is a 3 in front and 4 in the back. Should I experience pain in a month or so (after full healing has taken place) then shots may be required. After that, should I not find relief from the shots, the surgeon recommends knee replacement. So it looks like titanium and plastic knees may be in my future. *sigh*
******
After our visit to the Medical Group, Terry and I drove over to Horseheads and had lunch at Chili's. As part of their 2 for $20 promotion, we split a half order of Texas Cheese Fries as a appetizer before Terry had a Quesadilla Explosion Salad (half of which came home for her dinner) and I had the Margarita Grilled Chicken on beans and rice. Tall mugs of iced tea helped wash the food down.
Then it was off to Barnes and Noble to walk a little and browse the shelves. Terry picked out a romance novel. (I was surprised she could find one she hadn't read yet, but those things seem to propagate when they turn the store lights off.) I found a Jim Butcher Dresden Files book in paperback that I hadn't read yet (Changes), the newest Larry Correia (Monster Hunter Alpha) also in paperback and a Neil Gaimen I hadn't read (American Gods). Guess I'm set for a couple of weeks...well, maybe one week if I stop doing crosswords and surfing the net 8 hours a day.
Still, there's a new Terry Pratchett Disc World novel (Snuff) coming out soon (October 23rd?) so I better get reading.
On the way back to the Aerie, we stopped at Kuntry Kruller in Elmira. THis is the closest thing to a real bakery we have around here. It's not large but it's got some delectable goodies in the form of scones, fritters, danish, turnovers, real bagels and, yes, even "krullers"--but they only have those on Friday. We stocked up for the weekend anyway and headed on down the road. There we stopped at Bohlayer’s Orchards in Troy to purchase a half bushel of Cortland apples. Guess I'll be making some apple sauce over the weekend.
******
Tonight I'll be kicking back in the recliner and watching some college football on ESPN. The Cincinnati Bearcats (2-1) got beat up by Tennessee (3-0) a couple of weeks ago by a score of 45-23. That loss was sandwiched between routs of Austin Peay 72-10 and a fairly decent Akron team 59-14. Tonight they host North Carolina State (2-1).
The Wolfpack have wins over Liberty (43-21) and South Alabama (35-13) and a loss to Wake Forest (27-34) on their record. This will be a good test of each teams ability and an indication of their prospects for the year.
As a little added incentive, Cincinnati is celebrating Homecoming this weekend and just saw the Big East get dissed by Pitt and Syracuse moving to the ACC. NC State is part of that ACC. Could be some harsh feelings here.
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