Another 4-2 week (seriously, what's up with Cal?) pushed me to 48-17 on the season with my Pac-12 picks.
Couple big warmup games this week for Stanford and Oregon, both going on the road before their matchup next week in Palo Alto. I believe the Beavers will play the Cardinal tougher than many expect and they will play much better than they did against Utah.
As for the Ducks, a few in the media seem to be picking the Dawgs for an upset. True, the Ducks didn't look great last week, but Darren Thomas and LaMichael James are healthy (or so they say). I don't think it will be close.
The best game of the week may be Utah and Arizona. Utah looked fantastic against the Beavers last week and the Wildcats have been very productive since firing Mike Stoops. If the same Utah team shows up this week that beat BYU, Pitt, and dominated Oregon State on both sides of the line, the Cats will have problems.
Oh, and I bet ESPN thought that SC-Colorado game would be a little more interesting when they scheduled it. Whoops.
And with that, on to this week's picks! Rankings in parentheses (AP, ESPN). All times Pacific.
(Time - Matchup - Network - Pick)
FRIDAY
6pm - USC (21, NR) at Colorado - ESPN - USC
SATURDAY
12:30pm - Stanford (4, 3) at Oregon State - ABC - STANFORD
3:30pm - Washington State at California - ROOT Sports - WASHINGTON STATE
4pm - Utah at Arizona - Fox College Sports Central - UTAH
4:30pm - Arizona State (20, 18) at UCLA - Versus - ARIZONA STATE
7:30pm - Oregon (6, 6) at Washington (28, 28) - ROOT Sports - OREGON
Stanford, Washington, Arizona State and Oregon are bowl-eligible with six wins. USC earned their sixth win, but is not eligible for the postseason. California, UCLA and Utah each have four wins.
Who do you pick?
11/03/2011
10/29/2011
Have My Cats Sprouted Thumbs?
Earlier this week I came out of the bedroom just after six in the morning, as I do every workday, following Misaki who bursts out of the bedroom in a whirl of fur. (I'm actually not kidding about fur - she's blowing her coat right now, which means fur everywhere.)
For some reason she ran over to the corner of the coffee table (the picture below is a weak re-enactment), sniffing at something. Thinking maybe one of the cats had been sick during the night and not wanting Misaki to "clean up," I followed her over to check it out.
She was sniffing the base of one of the table legs (in this pic it would be the one furthest from the camera). There was something small there, so I picked it up and found this.
It took me a minute to figure out what it was: a nut that holds the frame of the table to the legs. Both the frame and the legs are steel and each leg is attached to the frame with four bolts and nuts (the below picture is an upside down look at each corner). That may sound like overkill, but the top of the table simply lays on the frame and is made from a solid piece of slate; it's freakin' heavy.
But now that I knew what the item in my hand was, I was confused. How did it come unscrewed from the bolt? Each of the other fifteen nuts were screwed on tight. The table hadn't moved in a couple years and in that time no one has ever messed with the nuts and bolts. Misaki will sometimes curl up under that table, but not at the corner that was unscrewed (in the picture above it's the corner to the left side of the image). Plus, she doesn't sit and paw at random things.
Oh, and I forgot to mention one other tidbit. See, I didn't even find this nut under where it came unscrewed. No, instead it was nestled at the base of the another leg three feet away.
In the absence of any other explanation, that only leaves these fiendishly clever little felines.
Did my cats really do this? Did they figure out how to unscrew a nut that at one time was tightened with a wrench? And how long have they been working on this? Was it just one of them, or a team effort? And what were they trying to accomplish?
So many questions, so few answers. Maybe, perhaps, the biggest questions of all are these: Should I be worried? What are they going to unscrew next?
If you don't hear from me for a while, it might be because the cats unscrewed my office chair and I collapsed. They are pretty sneaky...
For some reason she ran over to the corner of the coffee table (the picture below is a weak re-enactment), sniffing at something. Thinking maybe one of the cats had been sick during the night and not wanting Misaki to "clean up," I followed her over to check it out.
She was sniffing the base of one of the table legs (in this pic it would be the one furthest from the camera). There was something small there, so I picked it up and found this.
It took me a minute to figure out what it was: a nut that holds the frame of the table to the legs. Both the frame and the legs are steel and each leg is attached to the frame with four bolts and nuts (the below picture is an upside down look at each corner). That may sound like overkill, but the top of the table simply lays on the frame and is made from a solid piece of slate; it's freakin' heavy.
But now that I knew what the item in my hand was, I was confused. How did it come unscrewed from the bolt? Each of the other fifteen nuts were screwed on tight. The table hadn't moved in a couple years and in that time no one has ever messed with the nuts and bolts. Misaki will sometimes curl up under that table, but not at the corner that was unscrewed (in the picture above it's the corner to the left side of the image). Plus, she doesn't sit and paw at random things.
Oh, and I forgot to mention one other tidbit. See, I didn't even find this nut under where it came unscrewed. No, instead it was nestled at the base of the another leg three feet away.
In the absence of any other explanation, that only leaves these fiendishly clever little felines.
Sera and Moochie: "What do you want?"
Did my cats really do this? Did they figure out how to unscrew a nut that at one time was tightened with a wrench? And how long have they been working on this? Was it just one of them, or a team effort? And what were they trying to accomplish?
So many questions, so few answers. Maybe, perhaps, the biggest questions of all are these: Should I be worried? What are they going to unscrew next?
If you don't hear from me for a while, it might be because the cats unscrewed my office chair and I collapsed. They are pretty sneaky...
10/28/2011
Hail to the King, the Pumking
I had sworn off fruity and flavored beers completely.
There had been some bad experiences - and zero good ones - most notably the Black & Blue by Dogfish Head tasting of rancid blueberries and raspberries. Ugh.
I was not going to bother with ales brewed with pumpkin, figuring it was just another shtick I would end up regretting spending my money on. But then friends started going on and on about how good their pumpkin brews were, and it eventually broke down my defenses. Everyone else was enjoying them and I wanted in.
So I started with Stingy Jack, a pumpkin brew from the local Laurelwood Brewery. I could smell the pumpkin a little bit when I popped the cap off the bottle, but I only barely tasted it. The flavors were very well balanced though, with not too much pumpkin pie spices or hops. I enjoyed it, so I decided I was willing to try more.
Next came Punkin Ale from Dogfish Head.
As I mentioned above, I'd had a bad experience with Dogfish, even though many craft brew fans love them. Another one of theirs I tried, the Festina Peche (peach flavored), was just odd and I wouldn't recommend it. But still, Punkin was one of the top-rated pumpkin brews nationally and also one of the more inexpensive bottles, so I said what the heck.
And I liked this one too. It had slightly more spice than the Stingy Jack, but was still well balanced. I'm not a big hops fan, something Dogfish Head is known for, but this brew shows a lot of restraint in that regard.
At this point I deemed myself a pumpkin ale convert.
Friends on the east coast sang the praises of Southern Tier's Pumking all this time, so I had to have it. The problem was Southern Tier hadn't sent any to Portland yet. Most of the local places I pick up beer - Whole Foods or New Seasons, or specialty shops like Belmont Station and John's Marketplace - all carry Southern Tier and I swore I had seen it in previous years, but the middle of October came and still no one had any in stock.
I had just about resigned myself to not getting any Pumking, when Belmont Station - about 18 miles away from me across Portland - posted this:
I bought two bottles and opened up one that night with dinner. Just opening this bottle is tasty, because it smells exactly like pumpkin pie. Exactly. You don't get the alcohol in the nose at all. It pours a nice orange-amber with little head.
And it tastes as good as it smells. Maybe better. I would recommend this to the entire world if I could, since I stocked up with a couple more bottles the next day.
I'm saving these a little bit...it'll be nice to crack one open in March or April, to get a little bit of a fall flashback.
Then, after all of that pining and looking, I stopped at New Seasons to get some milk on the way home from work the other day and what do I see? Cases of Pumking. So buy them now, while you can, because they sure won't last long.
Well, that, and it's one of the best beers I've ever had. Believe the hype and bow down before the Pumking.
There had been some bad experiences - and zero good ones - most notably the Black & Blue by Dogfish Head tasting of rancid blueberries and raspberries. Ugh.
I was not going to bother with ales brewed with pumpkin, figuring it was just another shtick I would end up regretting spending my money on. But then friends started going on and on about how good their pumpkin brews were, and it eventually broke down my defenses. Everyone else was enjoying them and I wanted in.
So I started with Stingy Jack, a pumpkin brew from the local Laurelwood Brewery. I could smell the pumpkin a little bit when I popped the cap off the bottle, but I only barely tasted it. The flavors were very well balanced though, with not too much pumpkin pie spices or hops. I enjoyed it, so I decided I was willing to try more.
Next came Punkin Ale from Dogfish Head.
As I mentioned above, I'd had a bad experience with Dogfish, even though many craft brew fans love them. Another one of theirs I tried, the Festina Peche (peach flavored), was just odd and I wouldn't recommend it. But still, Punkin was one of the top-rated pumpkin brews nationally and also one of the more inexpensive bottles, so I said what the heck.
And I liked this one too. It had slightly more spice than the Stingy Jack, but was still well balanced. I'm not a big hops fan, something Dogfish Head is known for, but this brew shows a lot of restraint in that regard.
At this point I deemed myself a pumpkin ale convert.
Friends on the east coast sang the praises of Southern Tier's Pumking all this time, so I had to have it. The problem was Southern Tier hadn't sent any to Portland yet. Most of the local places I pick up beer - Whole Foods or New Seasons, or specialty shops like Belmont Station and John's Marketplace - all carry Southern Tier and I swore I had seen it in previous years, but the middle of October came and still no one had any in stock.
I had just about resigned myself to not getting any Pumking, when Belmont Station - about 18 miles away from me across Portland - posted this:
Here it is. After literally hundreds of phone calls over the last few weeks, the Southern Tier Pumking is finally here. Despite us receiving 40 cases it's sure to go quick, so don't delay if you're hoping to stock up.Belmont Station is a great place for craft brew aficionados and they maintain their website very well with twice-weekly updates of bottles they get. Needless to say, I was there when they opened the next day. (I have no idea how far 40 cases - 480 bottles - goes, and since they had hundreds of calls I didn't want to miss out.
I bought two bottles and opened up one that night with dinner. Just opening this bottle is tasty, because it smells exactly like pumpkin pie. Exactly. You don't get the alcohol in the nose at all. It pours a nice orange-amber with little head.
And it tastes as good as it smells. Maybe better. I would recommend this to the entire world if I could, since I stocked up with a couple more bottles the next day.
I'm saving these a little bit...it'll be nice to crack one open in March or April, to get a little bit of a fall flashback.
Then, after all of that pining and looking, I stopped at New Seasons to get some milk on the way home from work the other day and what do I see? Cases of Pumking. So buy them now, while you can, because they sure won't last long.
Well, that, and it's one of the best beers I've ever had. Believe the hype and bow down before the Pumking.
10/27/2011
2011 Pacific-12 Football: Week 9
Last week I managed a 4-2 to push me to 44-15 on the season. To be honest, I need to pick it up. A 6-0 week here or there would be nice.
Of course, when Utah and California seem to trot out completely different teams every game, it makes picking winners difficult. And what about those Oregon State Beavers? The quality of those freshmen they play...they may be two years away from a Rose Bowl berth. Laugh at your own risk.
The Oregon and Arizona State games should be over before halftime this week, but the rest of the games have a chance to go down to the wire. Don't discount the Wildcats in Seattle - an upset would not be a total shock. And I picked Stanford over USC, but I am willing to bet their streak of eight straight wins of 25 points or more comes to an end.
And with that, on to this week's picks! Rankings in parentheses (AP, ESPN). All times Pacific.
(Time - Matchup - Network - Pick)
Saturday
12:00pm - Washington State at Oregon (7, 7) - ROOT Sports - OREGON
3:30pm - Colorado at Arizona State (23, 20) - Fox College Sports Pacific - ARIZONA STATE
4pm - Cal at UCLA - No TV - CAL
4pm - Oregon State at Utah - ROOT Sports - OREGON STATE
5pm - Stanford (4, 3) at USC (20, NR) - ABC - STANFORD
7:30pm - Arizona at Washington (29, 31) - ROOT Sports - WASHINGTON
Stanford and Oregon are bowl-eligible with six wins. Washington and Arizona State should become bowl-eligible this week with wins. USC earned their sixth win, but is not eligible for the postseason.
The Pac-12 has contracts with seven bowl games. Look at the current standings - I'm not convinced they can fill even five of them... Cal? Maybe. UCLA? Wazzu? Oregon State? Utah? They all need quite a bit of help to get to six wins.
Who do you pick?
Of course, when Utah and California seem to trot out completely different teams every game, it makes picking winners difficult. And what about those Oregon State Beavers? The quality of those freshmen they play...they may be two years away from a Rose Bowl berth. Laugh at your own risk.
The Oregon and Arizona State games should be over before halftime this week, but the rest of the games have a chance to go down to the wire. Don't discount the Wildcats in Seattle - an upset would not be a total shock. And I picked Stanford over USC, but I am willing to bet their streak of eight straight wins of 25 points or more comes to an end.
And with that, on to this week's picks! Rankings in parentheses (AP, ESPN). All times Pacific.
(Time - Matchup - Network - Pick)
Saturday
12:00pm - Washington State at Oregon (7, 7) - ROOT Sports - OREGON
3:30pm - Colorado at Arizona State (23, 20) - Fox College Sports Pacific - ARIZONA STATE
4pm - Cal at UCLA - No TV - CAL
4pm - Oregon State at Utah - ROOT Sports - OREGON STATE
5pm - Stanford (4, 3) at USC (20, NR) - ABC - STANFORD
7:30pm - Arizona at Washington (29, 31) - ROOT Sports - WASHINGTON
Stanford and Oregon are bowl-eligible with six wins. Washington and Arizona State should become bowl-eligible this week with wins. USC earned their sixth win, but is not eligible for the postseason.
The Pac-12 has contracts with seven bowl games. Look at the current standings - I'm not convinced they can fill even five of them... Cal? Maybe. UCLA? Wazzu? Oregon State? Utah? They all need quite a bit of help to get to six wins.
Who do you pick?
10/24/2011
Dear Netflix: Thank You
Dear Netflix:
I changed my plan on the website today, downgrading to a cheaper option. It was something I've been meaning to do for awhile, I just hadn't got around to it. Then, not more than a couple hours later, I read this article on CNN about how you lost 800,000 subscribers this past summer and I felt I needed to explain a bit.
See, the fact of the matter is I changed my plan because of that initial decision by your company to split apart the Instant streaming option from the disc options, but it's not out of anger or annoyance. No, it's because I'm glad they are now two different things and I don't want to pay for streaming.
See, streaming just doesn't do anything for me. I understand the point, but I don't use it. I don't watch video on my computer, my phone, or my iPad, nor do I have any intention of beginning anytime soon. I own a 46-inch television which I like very much, but it's not a streaming device. Sure, I can use my PlayStation3 (and have), but every time I go to stream something I have to re-synch the device to my account or download some kind of update. After I finally get that done, then I have to wait for the movie to download and most of the time there are still hiccups.
On top of that, it doesn't download in the same quality of video as a Blu-Ray disc. It's a hassle, and whether or not it's my setup (I doubt it) or my ISP (maybe), the fact of the matter is it just doesn't work for me.
And that's fine, I'm sure. I understand Netflix's plan all along has been the discs were only a bridge until they could go all streaming. Unfortunately infrastructure just doesn't support that yet, nor are people ready for that. And then there are people like me, who sit in front of a computer all day long and really want to relax on the couch and enjoy that wide screen Sony they bought. Maybe if my computer monitor was nicer, or my office chair more comfortable, I'd change my mind. But they aren't. Add in the fact I watch a movie at most once a week (usually less) and it's not like I'm going to run out of first-run movies (that aren't available for streaming anyway) to watch.
So all of this is just to say when a dollar amount was finally attached to streaming and the opportunity there to choose to not include streaming and pay less, I was very pleased.
Yes, there were hiccups for Netflix, PR-wise, but I get it. I totally understand the thought process behind coming up with Qwikster, even if you aren't sticking with it. It makes sense because that's not your core business, that's not what is going to carry Netflix forward. The price changes make sense too, since I have read about how the studios, some of whom gave you a sweetheart distribution deal in the beginning, are now squeezing you. I know your costs are about to skyrocket, and you know what? Even with raising the price, your service is still cheaper for me than any other service.
Netflix, I get it. And yes, I did change my plan, and as a single number in a spreadsheet which says I downgraded and am now paying you less money per month, it will look like I made the decision because I'm unhappy, but I wanted to make it clear that's the furthest from the truth. I am, in fact, very happy with Netflix's service and made the change because of that.
Thank you for finally giving me exactly what I want. I appreciate that.
Sincerely,
The MyNWX Family
I changed my plan on the website today, downgrading to a cheaper option. It was something I've been meaning to do for awhile, I just hadn't got around to it. Then, not more than a couple hours later, I read this article on CNN about how you lost 800,000 subscribers this past summer and I felt I needed to explain a bit.
See, the fact of the matter is I changed my plan because of that initial decision by your company to split apart the Instant streaming option from the disc options, but it's not out of anger or annoyance. No, it's because I'm glad they are now two different things and I don't want to pay for streaming.
See, streaming just doesn't do anything for me. I understand the point, but I don't use it. I don't watch video on my computer, my phone, or my iPad, nor do I have any intention of beginning anytime soon. I own a 46-inch television which I like very much, but it's not a streaming device. Sure, I can use my PlayStation3 (and have), but every time I go to stream something I have to re-synch the device to my account or download some kind of update. After I finally get that done, then I have to wait for the movie to download and most of the time there are still hiccups.
On top of that, it doesn't download in the same quality of video as a Blu-Ray disc. It's a hassle, and whether or not it's my setup (I doubt it) or my ISP (maybe), the fact of the matter is it just doesn't work for me.
And that's fine, I'm sure. I understand Netflix's plan all along has been the discs were only a bridge until they could go all streaming. Unfortunately infrastructure just doesn't support that yet, nor are people ready for that. And then there are people like me, who sit in front of a computer all day long and really want to relax on the couch and enjoy that wide screen Sony they bought. Maybe if my computer monitor was nicer, or my office chair more comfortable, I'd change my mind. But they aren't. Add in the fact I watch a movie at most once a week (usually less) and it's not like I'm going to run out of first-run movies (that aren't available for streaming anyway) to watch.
So all of this is just to say when a dollar amount was finally attached to streaming and the opportunity there to choose to not include streaming and pay less, I was very pleased.
Yes, there were hiccups for Netflix, PR-wise, but I get it. I totally understand the thought process behind coming up with Qwikster, even if you aren't sticking with it. It makes sense because that's not your core business, that's not what is going to carry Netflix forward. The price changes make sense too, since I have read about how the studios, some of whom gave you a sweetheart distribution deal in the beginning, are now squeezing you. I know your costs are about to skyrocket, and you know what? Even with raising the price, your service is still cheaper for me than any other service.
Netflix, I get it. And yes, I did change my plan, and as a single number in a spreadsheet which says I downgraded and am now paying you less money per month, it will look like I made the decision because I'm unhappy, but I wanted to make it clear that's the furthest from the truth. I am, in fact, very happy with Netflix's service and made the change because of that.
Thank you for finally giving me exactly what I want. I appreciate that.
Sincerely,
The MyNWX Family
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