Take Your Child To Work Day

Yesterday was Take Your Child To Work Day. Here at the office, there was a large contingent of youngsters parading through halls enjoying what amounted to a day off from school more than a learning experience. So what, exactly, is the point of this event? I'd like to know who came up with the idea because, as far as I can tell, most people either (A) have an incredibly boring job that would interest the average attention-span-impaired child for about 5 seconds, or (B) have an interesting and/or exciting job, meaning they are probably far too busy working and/or risking their lives to actually make it a worthwhile experience for their children. I'm pretty sure children that age have no interest in accounting, nor can they join their fireman father on a call to extinguish a five-alarm fire.

-Mark

Spamtastic

So I opened up my e-mail today and, by reflex, went to go clear my spam folder. In the 5 seconds it took to do that I happened to notice that a large portion of the junk mail was composed entirely in either Japanese, Chinese, or Korean. My question is, which is less effective: Japanese Kanji spam or English erectile dysfunction and penny stock pump-and-dump spam? The fact that both are profitable enough to keep spammers in business is pretty disheartening—that's a lot of suckers born in a lot of minutes.

-Mark

An interesting question to ponder for us guys

What would I spend my free time doing if there were no sports or I didn't follow them? Would I be more sane not having the Cubs to drive my blood pressure up afternoon after summer afternoon? What would I do with that extra time every week?

Just curious.

-Mark

This little piggie got verbally abused by her dad

Hello, just thought I'd poke my head out and say hi. It's lunchtime here in the office, only three more hours until I can head home to enjoy what should be a fantastic weekend weather-wise. After several weeks of Decemberish weather and an unseasonably cool trip to Los Angeles last weekend, you'd better believe I'm looking forward to that.

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I'm not one to dabble in the asinine world of celebrity news and gossip, but even I am amazed by Alec Baldwin's rant directed toward his 12-year-old daughter. (For those of you who haven't heard it, I'd recomend searching for an audio clip of the message on Google.) You know, I'm in favor of parental discipline when needed, and I'm not one to criticize how others handle there kids, but I think it's safe to say that calling your elementary school aged daughter a "thoughtless little pig" and threatening to head to California to "straighten [her] ass out" goes a tad bit over the edge. Seeing as Baldwin is currently engaged in a protracted custody battle with his ex-wife Kim Basinger over the girl, I'd have to say that this was a brain fart if I've ever seen one. Yikes...

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Number 1 question engaged couples are asked by friends whom they are hanging out with because they are trying to take a break from planning their wedding: "How's the wedding planning going?"

Number 1 question an engaged guy is asked by friends who are trying to be funny, ignoring the fact that he has been living with his girlfriend for almost a year: "So, how many days do you have left until your life sentence begins?"

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Hot Fuzz opens today. I plan to see it soon, and I recommend that you do the same. It's by the people responsible for Shaun of the Dead, a movie which, as you may know, I am extremely fond of. It's currently getting an 88% Fresh rating over at Rotten Tomatoes, in case you need any more motivation.

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Fantasy baseball season has started, and I'm in the same two leagues this year. I'm doing pretty well so far, with a few nice surprise players and a few duds so far. Maybe sometime soon I'll thrill you with a new edition of my fantasy studs and duds—I know you've just been salivating for that over the last several months.

Speaking of baseball, I was thankfully dead wrong when I predicted last June that Dusty Baker, Neifi Perez, and Glendon Rusch would return to the Cubs this season. Unfortunately, their spirits seem to have possessed the bodies of the current team which, aside from Rich Hill and a few batters, has yet to show me anything positive, at least not on a consistent basis. Alas, that's the life of a Cubs fan. Sigh...

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Well, that's it for now. Back to work I go.

-Mark

Currently Reading: The Camel Club, by David Baldacci

Two years later

Nothing has changed.

-Mark

Gators chomp up the Buckeyes

As I did when North Carolina's basketball team won the national championship in 2005, I'm making an appearance to congratulate my favorite non-NIU college football team, the Florida Gators, on their highly impressive 41-14 demolition of Ohio State. Many questioned whether they should have even been given the chance to play in that game, but I think they answered all critics with their play on the field.

I've been following Florida for about 12 or 13 years now, and this is every bit as satisfying as their 1996 championship. (Although, as far as blowouts go, I think I enjoyed their '96 thrashing of Florida State more due to the opponent, but I digress.) I'm not going to go out and make bold proclamations about how they are one of the best teams ever, but I've rarely seen such a dominating performance in any single game, football or otherwise. Florida was aggressive, played with energy, executed to perfection, and basically just took the opportunity they'd been given and ran with it. After pulling to within 7 points on their only offensive touchdown of the night, Ohio State was never a threat again. Bravo to the coaches and players for working hard and coming in prepared and ready to play.

Back in 2004, I hailed the signing of Urban Meyer as great step toward getting the Florida football program back on track. I'm not one to pat myself on the back—and it certainly wasn't a bold prediction, based on Meyer's superb track record—but my opinion hasn't changed at all in two years. Meyer is a great coach and a fantastic recruiter, and he has returned the program to where it was during Steve Spurrier's time there. Major kudos to him.

By the way, how much is USC kicking itself right now for blowing it against UCLA? I have to believe they would have crushed Ohio State as well. (Not that I would ever shed a tear for Trojans, of course.)

In a somewhat related note, watching the game last night brought back fond memories of how the Bears were playing around the time they beat their upcoming playoff opponent, Seattle, earlier this season. They haven't looked that good lately, but I'm hoping that all of the Gators on the team—Rex Grossman, Alex Brown, Ian Scott, and Todd Johnson—watched and were inspired by their college team's play. Since everybody seems to be doubting them lately, perhaps they, too, can play up the lack-of-respect role and use it to their advantage. Grossman, like his successor at Florida, Chris Leak, needs to play smart. He needs to make plays when they're there, and not do anything stupid when they aren't—Leak did a marvelous job of this against Ohio State. Additionally, both QBs have faced an outcry from fans to be replaced by their backups, but both have remained starters in the face of adversity. Let's hope Rex takes a similar path as Leak. (And, while we're at it, let's hope those three previously mentioned Bears defenders—Brown, Johnson, and Scott—do some imitations of the current Gators defensive squad's relentless attack.)

Of course, no matter what happens on Sunday, seeing the picture of Chad Hutchinson in that post from 2004—along with several paragraphs of hope and excitement over that incarnation of the team—reminds me just how far the Bears have come since then. At the time, I was excited just to beat the Minnesota Vikings; now, we expect excellence and won't be satisfied with anything less than a Super Bowl appearance. I may have been wrong about that 2004 team and Hutchinson as a quarterback, but my excitement about the potential of the 2005 team (and future incarnations, of course) was definitely well-placed. (There I go patting myself on the back again... let's hope this doesn't become a habit!)

Alright, enough blathering for now. Take care everybody, and Go Gators! (And Go Bears!)

-Mark

P.S. The aforementioned North Carolina's Tar Heels are currently the top-ranked basketball team in the country—just ahead of defending champion Florida, ironically enough. I'm hoping that they make it another exciting finish to a college sports season—wouldn't it be something if two schools that have combined to win 3 of the last 4 college basketball and football championships met to decide the winner of another crown?

Do you think this would work in Chicago?

European Cities Do Away with Traffic Signs

-Mark

Time to Bear Down

After a relatively smooth first 5 weeks, the Bears have struggled in 2 of their last 3 games. While an inoordinate number of turnovers played a major role in the near-loss to Arizona and actual loss to Miami, the Bears' struggles to overcome that adversity was a definite eye-opener. When they are healthy and playing up to their abilities, the Bears can beat any team in the NFL. When they turn the ball over and get taken out of their game, however, they lose to bottom-feeders.

The next three weeks are going to tell us a lot about the Bears' chances come January. Without Mike Brown and Bernard Berrian, and with Brian Urlacher less than 100%, they will head on the road for three tough games in hostile stadiums. If they can play well and win 2 of those games, I think they'll be alright. If they struggle, however, it might be time to start canceling those South Florida hotel reservations for early February.

Of course, all the Bears can do right now is focus on the task at hand, the New York Giants. It should be a hard-fought game featuring two teams that could meet again in January. The Bears should be focused and come ready to play, and they'd better—lose this game and New York gains a leg up on home field advantage. Let's just say I'm slightly relieved that we won't see Michael Strahan on the field—although I'm not sure what the status of his fellow starting defensive end, whose name I dare not attempt to spell, will be.

With all that said, GO BEARS!

My name is Mark, and I approved this blog post.

Is it November already?

Have you ever had a strong desire to blog (or write anything, for that matter) only to lack anything that you really want to say? Such is the dilemma I'm faced with at the moment. Fortunately, I'm a trooper and I shall continue on...

Since I last wrote, I have gotten engaged. Okay, so that's old news to you, I'm sure—I really need to blog more often—but I figure I should mention it here as a matter of public record. The wedding planning has been cruising along, so much so that there are a scant few items left to be addressed. Thanks to Stacey for making that happen, because if it were up to me nothing would be done I'm sure. :-)

Let's see, what else is going on? Well, the sneak preview of the upcoming season of 24 came out a few weeks ago, and I'm intrigued, as usual. Too bad there are two and a half months until it begins! Speaking of TV shows, the new season of The Office has begun and I have to say I've been underwhelmed so far. Season 3 has had it's moments, yet the writing hasn't been as sharp as previous seasons. I think the problem is Jim's absence from the Scranton branch, which has created a void that has yet to be filled. We all know that he will eventually return to Scranton, so it's just a matter of when—hopefully sooner rather than later!

Stacey bought a new laptop from Dell last week, thanks to a generous 30% off deal they were running. Her new computer is decked out with the latest and the greatest, and now that she's finally managed to snatch it from my clutches she is able to enjoy it. :-)

After getting blown out of the gym last week, my rec league basketball team came on strong yesterday and won big. It was a lot of fun and I think I played well for the most part, but man I am out of shape. By the time I got out of the game after playing my longest stretch I think I could have been beaten down the court by a peg-legged pirate minus the peg leg.

That's all for now. Sorry to disappoint those of you expecting an interesting and/or well-written post! Take care.

-Mark

Remember me?

I'm the guy who used to blog here! Sorry about the little drought these last couple of weeks—it's been truly hectic times. I've started at a new client and moved into a new house, so there's been plenty of things to occupy my time. Rest assured I haven't given up on this blog—far from it, in fact. I just now have some time to actually sit down and write, and it's wonderful.

Before I mention the move, let me first talk about my new client. There's really not much to say about the actual company, which is a pretty nice place to work. It's located in Deerfield, which is pretty far to the northeast. I'm actually right across the street from the Berto Center, where the Bulls practice. I'm hoping to spot some players before I leave. As for the drive, it's not horrible, although I leave very early in the morning to avoid having to deal with the worst of rush hour traffic. It's a far cry from my 3 minute walk to work in Phoenix, but then again I'm thrilled to be back here so I won't bitch!

The day before I moved I went to my last Cubs game of the year. This time they played the Cardinals, a team I saw them play in the first week of the season. Then, as now, I went with Bill, a good friend (and roommate) from college. He's a big Cardinals fan, so he was disappointed to see them lose to the Cubs once again. I, on the other hand, was thrilled to see my personal winning streak reach double digits! The game itself was pretty good, with the Cubs falling behind but coming back to win in glorious fashion with a six-run 4th inning. As with my previous outing, rookie Carlos Marmol scared the hell out of me by walking every other batter it seemed, but he did well enough to secure the win. As for the bus ride, it was without incident this time (although we did have to switch buses before leaving for Wrigley, which made me slightly nervous).

Finally, the move. There's not much to say other than (a) I hate packing, and (b) I'm glad it's all over with. We're still working on little things around the house, but 95% of our work is done. Stacey and I are hoping to have our LA-Z-BOY couch delivered this week, which will be nice for veging out after work. :-) I'm starting to get used to not only the new house but also living with Stacey and away from home. It's different, but I'm making the adjustment pretty well. It definitely helps to have lived away from home for 5 years while in college.

Well, I need to go clean up around here and get to bed. Have a great week and I'll be back soon with more to say.

-Mark