Hollween

Tonight the weather was more like summer than fall, and the weather for tick-or-treating was great for the kids. With the temperature closer to 70 then it has been in a long time I came across this (maple?) tree that looked like a giant pumpkin. It was warm enough that Tanner was getting warm running around to the point it was tuckering her out.

Following what I can only say was another disappointing finish last week… tomorrow we are on the road facing Purdue.

I have no more bits of wisdom or insight; we are looking down the barrel of the first loosing season in my lifetime.

With the schedule we have left, the boilermakers may be our confidence win, allowing us to at least come close to a respectable season.

I will be on the road with them, come what may, pulling for them at Ross-Ade Stadium.

GoBlue

Day Trip

Excited to report I am planning a small trip this Sat. Just a quick flight to see some friends
and support our Wolverines. Shout out to Andrew for the invite and
ticket assistance and all his gracious help.

Shop Update- Mission Coat Tree 2

Not much went well in the sports arena this weekend but I did manage to knock the out the coat tree project. All set for staining, and finishing that is… ok that will take a while.

Inspired by a coat tree Barb and I saw at a very high end store months ago, I managed to reproduce it fairly well. Right down to the bent wood legs and the floating shelf. My design was slightly different in the end but it turned out well. She was happy with the results and that is what really matters. At a fraction of the cost I might add.

MGOBLUE

What can I say? We are a little beyond a must win situation.

We are walking into this game with a terrible record.

We are walking into this game as underdogs by many a yardstick.

We are walking into this game with lacking morale.

We must remember our tradition, we must remember our foe, and we must reach deep and pull together the type of effort we have shown briefly in other games. Our previous efforts have been valiant only to be blocked out by obvious immaturity and transition pains we all knew we would have.

It has been said before that one game can save a season. It may not have ever been more true. We now may be facing the game of this season. A new team with a new coach each learning how to mesh, in an unfamiliar position of being an underdog.

We are walking into this game with an opportunity so show our metal.

We are walking into this game with a chance to break the yardstick.

We are walking into this game with a chance to win, and show them what are made of.

GOBLUE

Holiday Shoping Season

With the holiday shopping season closing in fast, many will be looking for a "deal" on a TV. What good is it to spend your hard earned money on a TV that turns out to b a dud. Here is a great article from Gizmodo.com that every one about to by a set should look at:

Giz Explains: How to Buy an HDTV Like a Pro

The economy sucks. But like Warren Buffett, you should be greedy when everyone else is skurred. If you've got the extra scratch, this is probably the best holiday season ever to buy an HDTV, since retailers don't want a pile of them going obsolete in their warehouse. But what should you look for in an HDTV? HD Guru Gary Merson—a dude who's reviewed 125 TVs at once—uses sophisticated gear for his own studies, but told us the five most important things that all the rest of us Joe the Plumber types can look out for when buying an HDTV.

More »

Its Just To Freeking Complicated

You know what I am talking about. Seriously. Its not just my work either.

Everything is just way to overcomplicated.

(most likely) The policies at your work.
The Tax code.
The (insert any government) department.
The DMV
The court system
Programing your (cablebox/any house hold appliance)
Training your (dog/kids/parents)

Its all way to complicated. Most of its seems random. There really is no GOOD reason but here are some of the reasons for the mess:

1) Over legislation/regulation/over site.
2) Sheer stupidity.

I guess if you cant beat them join them.

Tihs is sutpdi.

See what I did there... I just randomly decided that for no apparent reason I should remove every third letter in a sentence to between the first and second letter and then repeated the pattern for the first. But only for words that are more than two charters.

So "this is stupid" becomes: Tihs is sutpdi.

Why? Just to over complicate issues and waste more time. Sure corporations can do it, why not you. And for kicks I may just change the rules as I go...because they are OPEN TO INTERPRETATION.

Shop Update- Mission Coat Tree

On the shop side of things, I started a mission inspired coat tree. Here is the top.

Honestly this has to go quick and might even be put on hold as a list of other things I want to get done for the holidays is growing in the back of my mind.

Perspective

Today I realized a simple trip to your local big box convenience store can be a totally different experience between men and woman.

What the Man Hears:

“ You can get this this HD home theater package includes a stunning 46" 1080p 120Hz LCD HDTV, 1080p Blu-ray player and powerful 5.1-channel home theater receiver. Our standard home theater service will get you up and running, hassle-free. Buy them all together and save a total of $800! You have to get it!"

What the Woman hears;

“Blah blah blah… nerdy nerdy… blah blah blah …. Bull shit, expensive non-sense. Techno nonsense double talk. He knows more about this crap then me…Will it fit with the decor? Over the fireplace? How much.? More than a frickin house payment. Don’t even think about it."

Fall

Gave way to a smattering of fall colors. View from 1500 agl.

Fall

Early morning frost on my tailgate.

MGOBLUE

Another Saturday another game, this will be Michigan biggest challenge yet as we get ready to face Penn State. Not only is this game away but our opponent is arguably one of the best in the Big Ten.

I would like nothing better than to put it to the Nittany Lions, in their stadium for their homecoming.... but we have our work cut out for us. Penn state has gotten off to a 7-0 start this season, can we prove to the world we can win and stop there march for an undefeated season? Its a long shot but I have lived to see crazier things.

Whatever the result, I will be watching the game.

GOBLUE

Our Economy in a Nutshell.

I found this article on another blog, and it was so awesome I just had to re-post. Thanks to Kevin Nguyen and The Bygone Bureau.

The Financial Crisis, as Explained to My Fourteen-Year-Old Sister

by Kevin Nguyen on October 1, 2008

Economist Kevin Nguyen explains the country’s economic woes to his younger sister, using Pokémon as an analogy. Seriously.

The following is an actual conversation I had with my younger sister, Olivia. She likes to draw, play World of Warcraft, and now, she’s the only fourteen-year-old girl who understands the U.S. economic crisis.

Kevin: Have you been following the news?

Olivia: Yeah, I don’t really get it.

Kevin: Imagine that I let you borrow $50, but in exchange for my generosity, you promise to pay me back the $50 with an extra $10 in interest. To make sure you pay me back, I take your Charizard Pokémon card as collateral.

Olivia: Kevin, I don’t play Pokémon anymore.

Kevin: I’m getting to that. Let’s say that the Charizard is worth $50, so in case you decide to not return my money, at least I’ll have something that’s worth what I loaned out.

Olivia: Okay.

Kevin: But one day, people realize that Pokémon is stupid and everyone decides that the cards are overvalued. That’s right—everybody turned twelve on the same day! Now your Charizard is only worth, say, $25.

Olivia: Uh-huh.

Kevin: At the same time, you’re having trouble paying back the $60 you owe me. So what would you rather do: try and pay me back the $60 or just default and give me your $25 Charizard?

Olivia: I’d give you the Charizard.

Kevin: Exactly. Who wouldn’t? Now, the bank—I mean me—has lost $25 when I expected to make $10. What’s the lesson here?

Olivia: Pokémon is dumb.

Kevin: True, but keep going.

*Click here to read the rest*

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Cool Gear - ecobee

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If true, I would pay for something like this, a “money neutral” effect on my budget is always welcome and one the fits my tech needs even better.

Happy Birthday Mina!

Sunday was my niece’s birthday party.

Even though it was 80 deg. plus on Sunday, Mina was enjoying her winter hat... just one present she received on her birthday.

3 is a good year....

Fall Geese

Tonight at dusk I caught a glimpse shot of these geese flying
formation practicing flying to go south. They were so close I could
hear the woosh of air from their wing vortices.

MGOBLUE

Today Michigan faces Toledo at the Big House. After a crushing defeat last week to Iowa, we can ill afford to loose today. The way we are playing we have to get in there early, score and stay on top. Normally we would expect to win, but today we need to win with a big old ass kicking show of power if we are to have any chance to salvage this year.

GOBLUE

Goog Hat

Has anyone seen the new resolution that Google Satellite view has? Well its only getting better and for privacy concerns that means its getting worse. I occurred to me that not everyone wants to be on display so to speak then it came to me….

We need a Goog Hat.

This hat will be really a thin display that you can use as s touch screen e-reader but when worn on the head will project an image similar to that of the ground you are walking on so the satellite will see only the ground and not you.

With cheaper displays and higher computing power, this is totally feasible. I mean come on… who wouldn’t want one.

Also picture a larger “luggage rack” version for your car…and with an integrated solar panel help charge your (soon to be) mandated electric car….nice.

This Weekend

This weekend, we worked on the county (rental) house, putting in a plug and draining the outside faucets.

We went flying and I finally fixed the front porch columns at the homestead. They had rotted out at the bottom and badly needed replacing.

Here is the end result.

MGOBLUE

After last weeks come from behind win Michigan has their work cut out for them as they face Illinois for homecoming today at the big house. Michigan who started to fire on all cylinders last week in the offense helped by their powerful defense must somehow stop the Illinois point making machine as they lead the Big Ten in total offense.

GO BLUE

Minimal Desktop

What you are looking at is my new computer desktop.

For a long time I had a desktop full of icons and folders. It was a organized mess. I had seen some minimal vista inspired desktops. So I decided to clean house and make my own ultra minimal desktop.

With a black and white background and carefully arranging all my shortcuts into folders, changing the folders to match the back ground image I got this.

Of course I “auto hid” the task bar and my wireless auto config….

Sweetness.

Funny now when you look at the computer you almost think it’s a screen saver…..

I like it so much I have a similar plan for the one at work.

*click on the above image to see it better*