More videos

First there was YouTube. Which is so stupid only a moron would buy it. Then there was me-too Google Video. And last but not least there is Stage6 by DixX. I visited Stage6 and I can't figure out why anyone will pay attention. The draws appear to be the higher quality supplied by the DivX encoder, a direct posting ability from the DivX player, and the ability to download videos. But the weird assortment of videos and the lack of a coherent classification scheme are big drawbacks.

I'd never heard of a mud volcano till I bumped across this item. Apparently due to their less generally destructive nature and underwater locations, the press is limited to scientific journals. But this recent not-totally-natural mud volcano is on land and hugely destructive.

Roughly half of the 700 known land-based mud volcanos are in Azerbaijan.

What I'll watch today - the games may suck, but the coaching....

Northwestern at Penn State. The line is Penn State by 19, and to be honest that seems stingy. The Wildcats have not scored more than 21 points in a game yet, and, they gave up 31 points to Nevada. So I'd expect Penn State to roll up a lot of points, and unless the NU offense can both throw the ball and protect it (5 turnovers against Nevada) the game will turn into a rout. Conversely, Penn State has looked very poor at times this year, so if Coach Pat has a good game plan, the team is fired up, and the hamstrung Kafka can get it going, an upset is an outside chance. On the sidelines, watch the nearly mummified Joe Pa versus just-out-of-diapers Pat Fitzgerald.

Purdue at Notre Dame. Excellent intra-state rivalry led by ND 50-25-2. The line is Irish by 14. ND started the season highly ranked, but has been inconsistent especially on offense. The fans in West Laff are making noise about greatness, but to be honest the Boilermakers have beaten three creampuffs and Minnesota. The best part of this game may turn out to be Tiller versus Weis.

I need one of these at the office

I'd like to give some of my co-workers a shot from this:

The Lowest

Ever know one of those sleazy, smarmy, scam artist types who are always looking to make or save a buck at some one else's expense? There are all types of them. Card cheats, bunko artists, till tappers, mortgage swindlers, shysters. But the lowest of the low is the type who tries to stiff the waitress at the bar. No wonder that waitresses get all nasty and bitchy....

Newly discovered cave

If I weren't both nyctophobic and claustrophobic, I'd love to explore this.

NCAA Football comments

Big Ten summary:

• Iowa snuck by Illinois. Let's be honest, if you can't beat Illinois by a zillion you must stink.
• Indiana gained zero rushing yards and lost to UConn. They play football at UConn?
• Michigan beat Wiscy. If you stop Wiscy's run game, its all over.
• Michigan State lost to the Irish in a heartbreaker. Can you say Choke?
• Purdue beat the Golden Gophers. They don't look too good but they keep winning and maybe they will put on a good show at South Bend next week.
• Northwestern is dead to me.
• Ohio State beat Penn State but not convincingly. I am suspicious of how good they aren't.

Other interesting action:

• Outlandish Surprise of the week: Rutgers is ranked!
• Flame-out of the week: BC loses in the closing seconds.
• Blow-out of the week: Nebraska over Troy 56 to zip. No word on whether Nebraska used any trick plays like the trojan horse.
• WTF??: Stabbed punter comes back from the dead.
• Something is not right here: There are four 1-AA schools in the Illinois public school system. All four won this week; Eastern, Western, Southern, and State. Maybe we should ditch the two 1-A schools.

Sunday paper

With the rise of the Internet, podcasting on Ipods, Mobitv, blogging, and other 21st century mediums, the common newspaper is being derided as old fashioned and doomed to extinction. Personally, I don't give a damn and I still love my morning Trib, especially on Sunday's. For me, the newspaper is like the egg - its the perfect vehicle for the delivery of the news.

Today's Trib had two excellent articles. One talked about whether or not Obama is ready, and the other was about a special mapping project which illuminates critical demographic facts using cartograms. This one illuminates a sad fact which rarely makes the press today, despite its vital importance to the world's future.

And I haven't even gotten to the sports section yet. Go Bears, a big win would help us forget that other Chicago team!

Next up ....

For the Cats is the Penn State Nittany Lions. In case you are wondering what a Nittany Lion is, and why its in Happy Valley, its a good thing you're here at Fish Head, cause no-one else knows these super-important things.

Founded in 1855 as an agricultural college, today its a fine university about which I can't think of anything to say. But you can peek for yourself by looking at the LionCam.

The Lions have sandwich breaded two W's over creampuffs Akron and Youngstown State with the spam of a crushing loss to the over-rated Fighting Irish in between. While it appears that Penn State is a bit of a weakling this year, the only hope for the Wild Cats is if the OSU Buckeyes literally stomp them to death in their game today. Alternatively, perhaps the Buckeye fans, who are known for their violent rampages, could take care of business for us.

It was a heinous barf fest, a comedy of errors, a mucking of the bottom of the swamp of bad college football. 3 INT's, 2 fumbles, and for Christ's sake NU even screwed up the Nevada turnovers. This was so horrifying I am donating my season tickets to Darfur. That might not be relief for the Sudanese, but it'll be a relief for me.

Said Coach Fitzgerald, "Obviously I'm very proud of my players, we came back, battled back in the second half to get the game right there in reach. Obviously the self-inflicted wounds that we had upon ourselves were very difficult to overcome today."

The self-inflicted wounds that we had upon ourselves? We're so dopey that the head coach can't even speak english!

After having my soul stained by this abomination, I plan to refrain from any further blogging on the Wildcats.

The Line

Nevada is favored to win tonite and is giving 6 1/2 points. Over-under is 47. Personally I'm taking those 6 1/2 points and you can Paypal me your bet...

Genocide

I've been reading "The Looming Tower" by Lawrence Wright. Its an excellent book, and best read with a laptop handy to Google for details on the many historical events which are referenced in passing in the text. Today I read the brief paragraphs describing the massacre of ethnic Hazaras at Mazar-I-Sharif in Afghanistan by the Taliban.

According to Wright, the Saudis provided trucks, military equipment, and cash to the Taliban as a down payment on a deal for the Taliban to hand over Bin Laden, who was at the time in Afghanistan as a "guest" of the Taliban. The Taliban in turn used this booty to attack and over-run the city of Mazar, slaughtering thousands of Hazara civilians over a period of several days.

While Wright reports this matter of factly and in the context of the Bin Laden story, the horrific nature of the slaughter serves as a stark reminder of the importance of current events in Afghanistan.

I want to make more money

A friend sent me a post recently which really got me spinning. Titled "Alcohol use helps boost income", it was quite an eye opener. My first thought was, Holy Shit, I should be making way more money than I am. But then I had a second thought, that I'd be making even less than I am if not for my prodigious intake. I would've had a third thought, but that was one too many and I decided I needed another drink more than another thought.

Where did the NU offense go?

I think this giant snake ate it.

Next up....

for the Wildcats is the Nevada Wolf Pack, Friday,9/22, at 7 PM CST. The game will be played at Mackay Stadium in Reno, and televised nationally on ESPN2. Nevada improved to 1-2 last week after beating the Colorado State Rams 28-10. Picked to finish 7-5 this season, Nevada will be a tough test for the Cats. WAC teams typically have strong aerial attacks and are known for innovative coaching and unusual schemes.

The University of Nevada is located in Reno and no connection to the TV show, Reno 911. Founded in 1874, the University currently has an enrollment of over 16,000 students on two campuses.

Watch for senior quarterback Jeff Rowe. The Wildcat rush has not been impressive, and the secondary was riddled by Ricky Santos, the last strong QB they faced. A very strong defensive effort will be required to compensate for the weak offense.

Are they or Aren't they?

My friend logic101 posted with some opinions on the debate and concerns about the current quality of intelligence on Iran's nuclear capabilities and installations. Personally, I am somewhat alarmed by the general hawkishness of the Bush administration, and my perception that they are too quick to pull the trigger. The McClatchy link in logic101's article provided an eerie reminder of my concerns about the "ease" with which some administrations believe air power can work the military equivalent of diplomatic miracles. I would be concerned that "updating plans" is code-speak for "warm up the engines". An encouraging counter-opinion from UPI makes me want to know who the mysterious "sources" are; Charles Krauthammer must have different sources as he interprets Bush's words.

Quote of the Day

"The foot does not play any role in the game. Instead, each player attempts to take the ball in his hands, run with it or throw it to the goal, while the players on the other team hinder him by any means, including kicking in the stomach, or violently breaking his arms or legs...Meantime, the fans cry out, 'Break his neck! Crack his head!'" - Sayyid Qutb, 1949, describing American football

Mildcats

NU routed oops I mean snuck by a powerful oops I mean anemic EMU squad today, 14-6. The offense managed exactly two good drives, one the first drive of the game, the other the first drive of the second half. Each resulted in a TD; other than these two drives, the offense was AWOL.

Mike Kafka started but was replaced at the half by Andrew Brewer. Neither QB was effective, and we may have a QB controversy brewing. Similar to the UNH loss, the O line and running game did not seem up to pre-season expectations.

The most effective offensive play for EMU was the punt. The EMU punter averaged 42.7 yards on 10 punts, and routinely gained 10-20 yards of field position with each punt. He outplayed his NU counterpart, Slade Larscheid, who had a spectacular shank. The teams combined for 19 punts and 751 yards of...punting, if there is such a word and stat.

Now on to the positive news. The defense played well, albeit against a weak EMU offense. While the official Impact Play of the Game was Brewer's sneak for a TD, Deante Battle and Cory Wootton were the real impact players. Battle stopped an EMU drive with a crushing hit to break up a third-down pass, and later intercepted a pass to end EMU's last drive. Wootton had several tackles and a key interception.

The win leaves the Cats 2-1 and now they head on to the road for three weeks to play Nevada, Penn State, and Wisconsin. This latest win gives cause for concern, especially around the offense. EMU had given up over 1000 yards of total offense in its previous two losses...so things could get ugly on the road.

No wonder people like Chicago-style hotdogs better

I scream, you scream, we all scream for Bill Gates' head

If today is Tuesday, then its not Prince Spaghetti day, its Black Tuesday. At least on this one day a month, every IT manager wishes for desktop linux.

Next up....

..for the Wildcats is the Eastern Michigan University Eagles. Located in Ypsilanti, EMU is in the MAC West and was founded in 1849. Saturday's game will be the first ever between the teams, but will be EMU's second Big 10 game of the year, having been routed by MSU last week.

The Eagles will have plenty of time to prepare for the NU game, given that teaching staff at the school are on strike. The Eagles do not get much respect this year and are picked to finish dead last in the MAC West. Don't believe in pre-season predictions? The Eagles are on track so far, living up to the predicted thumpings by Ball State and MSU.

Need more? Well, there doesn't seem to be anymore. Nobody has ever heard of this university, and to be honest, I haven't any idea where Ypsilanti is, other than its somewhere near Ann Arbor. Big hook for the game? Apparently the head coach and 5 of his assistants are either NU grads or ex-NU coaches. Maybe they couldn't find jobs at a famous school. Will I regret dissing EMU? You'll need to find out Sunday in the papers because its not on TV.

Why I hate politics (and politicians)

I've always felt that politicians in Washington are greasy liars. At least here in Chicago, its very clear that all the politicians are crooks - they barely attempt to conceal it. But in Washington, the level of prevarication and mendacity generates a murky fog in which the politicians attempt to hide their true nature. But now two university reasearchers have at least partially swept aside the fog and outed the liars in Washington. We should pay these guys to do this full-time. Can you say report card?

Quote of the Day

"This happens on big games, so we were prepared for it,'' Howson said.

Who is Howson and what is he talking about? Howson is a sargeant in the Columbus, Ohio police department, and he was discussing the violence that erupted after OSU's big win over Texas this past Saturday. Very depressing that a Big Ten school is so regularly plagued by rampages after games that the police consider it routine.

Perhaps the OSU administration should re-convene the task force on celebratory riots since it was apparently so successful. Look at the table starting on page 21 of the task force report and check for your favorite school's involvement in Columbus madness!

Ouchie Poo

NU got steam rollered by I-AA UNH 34-17. I can't decide exactly why. UNH is ranked #2 in 1-AA - are they really better than NU or was NU flat and un-prepared to play?

In the actual game, NU lost because they played poor defense (no rush, and the secondary was riddled by the UNH QB, Ricky Santos) and made key mistakes (especially fumbles). Also give credit to UNH whose defense played well, and I suspect to the UNH coaching staff who appeared to have out-coached rookie Pat Fitzgerald.

Comparing some other facts, I think NU was flat, but may be even weaker than the pre-season predictions thought. We had previously beaten Miami (Ohio) 21-3. This week, Miami took Purdue (a well-known 1-A power school) into OT before losing. How could NU beat Miami but lose to UNH? Flat, maybe so. However, Mike Kokal the Miami QB, played poorly against NU, but scorched Purdue for 4 TDs and a crapload of yards. So NU might have caught Miami on a flat week. On the other hand, UNH might be stronger than I thought before the game. In addition to their #2 1-AA ranking, this UNH squad beat Rutgers last year. And what did Rutgers do this weekend? They smoked the Illini 33-0. Lastly...read the box score and notice NU had no penalties. That tells me the team was not playing aggressively.

Conclusion? Beats me, but I think it could be a long year.

Despite the thrashing, there were some positive signs. True freshman QB Mike Kafka showed some signs of excellence, especially when the coaching staff opened it up a little and let him throw downfield. Remember the success the team had with Sean Herbert last year....if Kafka gets that going, NU can generate some offense. Ginormous defensive end Corey Wootton had several tackles and could grow (no pun intended) into a force on the line. Lastly, the weather was decent and we had a great tailgate in the West lot!

Tomahawk'd

A big kudo to the Florida State Seminoles. There are few feelings in life better than watching the Hurricanes wander off the field after a huge loss. Even though the game was a total bore, I went to sleep a happy man!

Beta Central

I'm currently beta testing new releases of three programs. Many people avoid beta programs due to the inherent instability that is experienced, but I enjoy them for the sneak preview and early access to new features. My current tests:

• PC-Cillin 2007 by Trend Micro. I have been using the 2006 version, and it is an effective security program. The beta version has a slicker GUI, improved firewall, and anti-phishing protection.
• Firefox version 2. This beta offers an enhanced search box, better tabbed browsing, and a refreshed visual appearance.
• Windows Media Player 11. This beta contains a new media sharing feature, an improved GUI, and improved support for ripping and burning CDs.

Try them....you'll like them unless the beta code blows up your PC!

Meet the new continent

I read an interesting but brief article today in Discover magazine, titled "Meet the New Continent". The article discusses (and illustrates with excellent photographs) a 25 foot wide, 1/3 mile long crack in the earth which suddenly appeared in northern Ethiopia last September. Tim Wright, a geophysicist, explains that the rift is caused by the Arabian and African tectonic plates drifting apart. Dr. Wright calculates that in about one million years, the rift will expand sufficiently for the Red Sea to rush in, isolating the Horn from the rest of the African continent, thus forming a new continent. Click here and here for information.

I need one of these...

Well, actually I don't and I'm pretty baffled by the whole thing. But my kids really want one and its a good thing I have self-actualized the ability to say No and feel good about it. One can only imagine some 1984-ish nightmare scenario where network connected rabbits remind us all to take our soma. There is a whole infrastructure growing up around the Nabaztag, click here for a Yahoo! widget, for example. Google for yourself, the Nabaztag are coming and you better be ready, or be consigned to the fuddy-duddy dustbin like me :-)

Quote of the day

"The whole aim of practical politics is to keep the populace alarmed." - H.L. Mencken

Scouting Report

Click here for information on the team that will help NU go 2-0. UNH is currently picked as the #1 I-AA team in the country, beating out the perennial powerhouse Appalachian State. After running the table (11-0) in 2005, I can say only two things for sure : the Wildcats will win this game...I'm just not sure which University they will be from; and, the UNH cheerleaders have cute uniforms. Click here for background on this school, from which the most famous graduate appears to be Jerry Azumah, ex-Bear.

BCS here we come....

Big and emotional win for the Wildcats last nite, 21-3 over Miami of Ohio. I was busy doing something more fun and important than college football (hard to believe!) so I didn't listen to the game. Yes, I said didn't listen, because, my cable provider does not carry ESPNU which televised the game. I sent a message to whitehouse.gov giving them the tasking coordinates for Comcast headquarters and asked them to pretty please free up one GBU-28.

My take on the game:

Miami was predicted to finish 6-6 this year. The team is not up to its usual quality.
NU defense played well, with a big help from the Miami QB.
NU offense did not play well in the first half.
NU offense, especially the true freshman QB, improved in the second half.
Where oh where was the vaunted running game which is operating behind an experienced O line?

Overall a good win, and next up is the New Hampshire Wildcats. I have no familiarity with this team which plays in the Atlantic 10, not a traditional football power conference. They did apparently win the conference title last year, so we'll make a point of getting especially pasted during the tailgate in case the game heads south.

Interesting game footnotes:

John Pont was in attendance.
Jared Parseghian, great-grandnephew of Ara Parseghian, is the Miami place kicker.
NU's total offense of 299 yards did not compare well to last year's per game average of 504.

Squeaky chair

My office chair has become noticeably squeakier recently. Today its so loud it sounds like creepy sound effects from a bad B movie. So I wandered into the garage to get the WD-40. Imagine my surprise to find....no WD-40. However, I did find it on Wikipedia, and if you like useless information, the product has an interesting history.