Sure its been raining in MI... but it could be worse.

This photo of a super cell seems impressive enough... but once you realize the scale of this monster its just downright impressive. That little dot to the bottom right is a huge tree. This image is work clicking on to enlarge.
Caught over the plains of Montana this monster dropped some torrential rains and heavy winds in July.
You may believe in global warning, or you may not but no matter what you opinion you have to respect the power of Mother nature.

Thanks to i09
Photo credit to Sean R Heavey

Good morning Ann Arbor

I took a quick practice flight in prep for my bi-annual review coming
up. Looking north up State St toward downtown Ann Arbor.

Tanner is super stoked

For the Michigan Ohio State Game.

MGOBLUE: Michigan vs. Ohio State

This Saturday the Wolverines are on the road to Columbus OH to take on the Buckeyes at the horseshoe. This will be the 107th meeting of these two teams.

Saying this game is important is the understatement of the year. Especially because we have not beat Ohio State since 2003. There is a reason Ohio is the last contest of the season, after all you don’t put a crescendo at the beginning.

Win this game and many sins of the past can be erased. I am not sure if it will be enough to save Rich Rod’s job but it will go a long way. Rumors are stronger than ever that this indeed will be Rodriguez’s last season but its more than that. In many ways Rich Rod was criticized somewhat unfairly at first. One thing that he did fail to grasp when we arrive was the importance of tradition. Michigan needs this win so bad they can taste it.

We might need some magic, as the Buckeyes are heavily favored by almost every measuring stick and yet… there is hope.

On the road is tough, don’t ever underestimate the home field advantage and Ohio hates us like no other and yet… there is hope.

Almost everyone expects Ohio to be on top, but rivalry games can defy all odds and sweet sweet victory would certainly taste good.

Tomorrow, on a crisp sunny November afternoon these two teams will meet for what will hopefully be a great contest and maybe just maybe a little magic.

GOBLUE

Thanksgiving:

Sure everything did not exactly go as planned.

In the end, It was a great Thanksgiving.

Everyone was fed (we had two huge meals actually).The food was really excellent. All in all I would have to say despite some timing issues with our meal, things went really really well.

We have a lot to be thankful for this year, and more than ever I am beginning to not sweat the small stuff and remember how good we have it.

Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving.

How I lost a day this week....

........and other signs I am not ready for the Holidays.

Honestly, I actually woke up this morning thinking it was Tuesday. I drove to work, listened to the radio thinking the announcer made a mistake when he said the Lions pay tomorrow.

Even though if I think really hard I can remember things from Tuesday... The dry cleaner, appointments I had. Honestly I have to concentrate on the fact or my mind reverts back Its really weird its like mind is just rejecting it.

Its all very groundhogs day-ish.

It must be that I am just not ready...

Remind me again...

Why others are allowed to have opinions?

Seriously if you cant understand what you are talking about perhaps its not the best time to have a strong opinion about it?

Just a thought super genius.

Sniff... Sniff.....

What is that?... I think I smell a new project brewing.

MGOBLUE: Michigan vs. Wisconson

Today the Wolverines host the Badgers at the Big House in Ann Arbor.

It is promising to be perfect football weather, sunny and low to mid 40’s conditions that are optimum for an upset here in A2.

This will be the 64th meeting between Michigan and

Wisconsin. The Wolverines hold a 49-13-1 lead in the all-time

series and have a 22-5 record in games played at

Michigan Stadium (27-6 all-time in Ann Arbor). U-M has

claimed victories in 17 of the last 22 games and 31 of the

last 37 matchups, including three straight home games.

With the season winding down Michigan can look back at a mixed bag. Looking at a 7-3 overall record and 3-3 in the Big Ten, will this be enough to assuage the fans uneasiness that has surrounded the Rodriguez program. Certainly another win would help ease everyone’s mind.

It will not be easy.

Wisconsin is good, and they are ranked #6 as a result. We have the home field advantage and we may need every advantage we can get today to pull out a win… and yet I think its possible.

I have said it before, and I will say it again: what makes college football so exciting it that anything can happen.

We will have to play almost flawless football, and get a few breaks that go our way but we have a better chance here the next week away at Ohio.

I really hope for a good contest, and today seems to be a good day for an underdog win!

GOBLUE

Communication:

Communication:

It seems to be something that I am simultaneously very adept at and extremely horrible at depending on how close it is to my personal life.

Thanks to Savage Chickens for simultaneously being on my topic and reminding me Threes Company was hilarious.

Best comment of the day:

(speaking of the photos of Tom Cruise on top of the worlds largest building)

"you can't catch me up here, gay thoughts"

Thanks to gizmodo and specifically commenter and racingmaniac

Speaking of Stupid...

From the "who knew" file...
According to Switched.com:

J-Pop Star (and 3-D Hologram) Hatsune Miku Sells Out Stadiums



Hatsune Miku has topped the pop charts in Japan, sold out stadium concerts and become a legitimate cultural phenomenon. The interesting thing is that Miku doesn't exist -- at least not in any traditional sense of the word. Miku is a computer-generated avatar that performs songs with the help of a live band. But unlike say, Gorillaz, a cartoon band that merely serves as the public face of an artistic collective, everything about Miku comes from a computer. She is the product of a company called Crypton Future Media, which synthesizes Miku's voice using Yamaha's Vocaloid software.

Seriously... isn't this taking that Anime-schoolgirl thing a little to far?

The good fight....

Fighting the good fight...

But its really getting tiresome.

Cool Gear: a good tool Box

I was looking for a larger tool box when I noticed this one just
sitting out right off the road.

A Pleasant Suprise... Shooting for stress relief.

Saturday, my brother broke out the AR-15 and we shot a few rounds through it. In the Dark , but hell it was fun.

The real story, though, was on Sunday where my good friend Jeff introduced me to a sporting clay range... 8 Min from our house.

We loaded up the shotguns and went out there and had a great time... for $16. That is what I call inexpensive therapy.

MGOBLUE: Michigan vs. Purdue

Today Michigan is on the road to meet the Purdue Boiler Makers.

MI holds a 41-14 lead in the all-time
series with Purdue.

Michigan, off its overtime win over Illinois last week will be looking for revenge as the last two contest went to to Boilermakers. I have friends in West Lafayette so in recent years this contest has been more significant.

Purdue would like nothing more than to upset the Wolverines aspirations needing two more wins to be bowl eligible. MI wants to advance its Big Ten record and needs the win to help build the momentum for the rest of the season.

It is college ball, so anything can happen.

Here is looking forward to a good contest.

GOBLUE

Facebook official

Whats funny about this is...

I used a photo/date stamp of a picture of someones blog to prove they were married the other day. It was a photo of them cutting the cake in wedding attire, and it was proof enough for what I needed.

Found in breakroom: Panda brand spicy mustard

In the break-room exists a general condiment basket, where people might leave or take a package of say mustard or soy or catchup. Kind of like a communal garden of spices. For the most part it works for our small office.

The thing is some things never get used and suffer the fate of this dried up shell of a former package of spicy mustard. Like the last kid to be picked for dodge-ball, it suffers the humiliating slow death of the unwanted. It actually ended up drying into a crunchy unnaturally colored crispy substance. Super yummy fun time huh?

Thus started the early morning condiment purge. Not exactly a fun job but a necessary one for sure.
Seeing this disgusting mess made me realize we will have to step up the rotation a little bit.

Happy Veterans Day Everone

The Onion

The Onion... Stole all my retirement ideas. www.theonion.com

Yesterday falling leaves...

Yesterday falling leaves...set off my back up sensor on the truck as I was backing out of the driveway. It scared the hell out of me and made sure I was wide awake all at once.

I might have been a little jumpy already as I had a weird fitful night of strange dreams.

Nothing today went like it was supposed to...

Nothing today went like it was supposed to... I need a do-over.

Hello Old Friend....

Its been a while.

Today we watched my neice and nephew...

Today we watched my niece and nephew for a few hours... and Mina took the camera and ran around taking a million photos. In the midst of all of them I found these two photos... one of Kitty and the other of the cake she and the Girl made in the easy bake oven.

There were some other gems also but I found these two were the best .

Maybe she has a photography career in her future.

Am I the only one...

Am I the only one who sees half of the "Transformer" symbol in the back of this Ann Arbor bus?

Maybe I have been watching to many movies.

For a breif moment in time...

Our lawn is leaf free in November... after mulching and a quick touch up with the blower there is a breif moment where there are no leaves... but because the two giant maples still have a ton of leaves to shed, it wont stay this way for long.

MGOBLUE: Michigan vs. Illinois

*update* -

The sun is out now!

Wow what a game! A shootout!

GOBLUE

Dark clouds have failed to roll out as promised this morning, as if they were metaphorically projecting the mood here in Ann Arbor as Michigan prepares to talk on Illinois here at the big house.

While Michigan holds a commanding lead in the overall series this years season has entered an undeniable down-turn that makes this game a must win for the Wolverines. The Illini would like nothing better than to put Michigan deeper into its hole.

Rich Rodriguez must also be feeling the pressure as the murmurs of discontent have flooded into the valley rolling in like the cold weather that has gripped the area, that I can only imagine is giving him an extra shiver and a sense of urgency to get this program back on track.

It does not help that Denard has been less explosive than in the beginning of the season and chance of injury follows him like a lost puppy with every snap they take. The defense has been outright called a joke (I heard someone say they should put jerseys on pylons and let them try the defense) and execution of the basics seem to be something we still struggle with from time to time.

Today at noon we will square off, and hopefully find a way to win, bringing a small measure of redemption back to the team. The morale boost will be much appreciated by everyone.

Good Luck, boys.

GOBLUE

I am pretty sure....

I am pretty sure by the end of the day I am not going to have any hair left.

Sometimes a Picture IS worth a thousand words.

Best quote of the day:

"Put your hand on a hot stove for a minute, and it seems like an hour. Sit with a pretty girl for an hour, and it seems like a minute. That's relativity." -- Albert Einstein

Quote re-found *here*

Your road will remain open for business ... and other lies I have been told lately

Everyone knows that road construction is aggravating, but when they tell you one thing then go ahead and do the complete opposite, well it just confirms one of two things. The whole show is being run by a bunch of drunken retarded monkeys -or- they think we are nothing but a bunch of idiots who do not know the difference between an open road an a construction zone nightmare.

This, my good friends, is a construction zone. You see I can tell by the loose gravel, the requisite despondent flagman and the fact THAT I AM NOT MOVING when I took this photo. Open for business my ass.

My dear inebriated simians in charge of the project, just a quick second of your time here, if I may.

Just a thought… Finish the first part of the road the you CLOSED OFF first, then tear up the rest of it. You know LIKE YOU SAID YOU WOULD DO. Or just do it this way, I mean no one is likely to need to get to work or even remember how this thing was supposed to go down anyway. again just a thought.

Never mind this was just one thing in a long list of lies that I uncovered today sliding nicely between “I don’t have anything on my driving record” and “ I sent you that check last week”. This does not help me be any less cynical guys, it was a perfect end to the day.

Thanks for nothing, you suck .

Frosted tips...

The grass this morning.... crunchy !