Finally entered the world of smartphones yesterday. I've been lusting the iPhone for a while, but because I'm on Verizon, I've held off from switching carriers. Recently started looking at Droids, but was advised by the Official Finkipedia Brother-In-Law, Futures Division to wait until the end of April, as the latest and greatest would be hitting the market.
Well worth the wait. The Droid Incredible (their name, not mine) launched yesterday, and I was the first person in town to get one. (Kind of neat to be a techno pioneer). Totally satisfied so far. Still much to learn, but the apps so far have been fun, and the look and feel of the phone are great. To steal a pun from one of the reviews I read online, this certainly is the Droid I was looking for.
Next to come- blog updates from the field, more photos on the blog, and a resurrection of the Finkipedia Twitter feed. Fun for both of us, to be sure.
Friday, April 30, 2010
Wednesday, April 28, 2010
Midweek tidbits
No scintillating commentary today, just a few random thoughts to keep the week going.
- Don't look now, but the Metropolitans are in first place. I realize we're not even 1/6 of the way into the season, but it's refreshing to be competitive again
- "Idol" is tightening up. Will be interesting to see who's in the bottom 3 tonight. Not a big Shania Twain fan, but some pretty solid performances last night
- Got a new putter for Christmas and picked up a new Cleveland 56 degree wedge a week or so ago. Road tested them both for the first time this past Saturday and shot 83, some of my best golf ever. Itching badly to get out again (or maybe that's some kind of rash).
- My favorite new kid quote: Somehow the topic of Roman numerals came up over dinner a few weeks ago, and I was quizzing the kids on what each letter represented. The boys went back and forth, but Molly of course was completely lost on the discussion. To bring the conversation back to her level, at a break in the quizzing she interjected apropos of nothing at all, "You know what's good? I like yarn." That's been my mantra since then.
Sunday, April 25, 2010
My Three Songs, Jan Brewer edition
It's been quite a while since we've played everyone's favorite game. You remember- it's the one where I give you three songs that have something in common, and you read the post but fail to even attempt a lame guess as to the connection between the three. I'm sure you know all three of these songs- perhaps singing them to yourself will help you discover today's theme. (While it would have been fun to include it just for Jan's sake, "Immigrant Song" by Led Zeppelin didn't make the cut.)
- The Beatles, "Get Back"
- Steve Miller Band, "Rock'n Me"
- The Eagles, "Take It Easy"
Wednesday, April 21, 2010
Hey, you never know
$252 Million jackpot Powerball tonight. Got my ticket yesterday already. I'm one of those people who usually gets a ticket when the jackpot crests $100M, and certainly when it approaches and passes $200M. I realize that many lottery winners talk about how their winnings corrupted their lives, but I think it would at least be interesting to be given that chance, right?
Several years ago, on one occasion when the jackpot was close to $200M, I had my ticket in hand and as usual, began the mental arithmetic of what the lump sum payment would be, and what the annual return would be if I invested that lump sum, and who I'd donate to and what I'd buy. For some reason, on that particular occasion, I had an especially "good feeling" about my chances. The morning after the drawing, I drove past a billboard showing that the jackpot was now $15M, meaning that someone had won. I was convinced it was me.
I spent the next hour in the car ruminating no longer about how I would spend the money, but what I would do in the immediate aftermath of my winning: how I'd break the news to Erin, what I'd do about work, who I'd call first (my attorney? my accountant?). I was consumed with the idea that I was now a jackpot winner.
I got home, went about my usual business in kind of a fog, then late that night got the daily paper to check my numbers. Not a single match on either of my tickets.
When I relayed the story to Erin, she said, "Well, was all that wondering worth your $2.00?". And that, in a nutshell, summed up my love of the Powerball. I realized then that I'm not really paying for the chance to win $200M (because the odds are so insane that that chance isn't even worth $2.00). I'm paying for the opportunity to fantasize for a few days about what that life would be like. That's certainly worth the price of a shamrock shake.
Several years ago, on one occasion when the jackpot was close to $200M, I had my ticket in hand and as usual, began the mental arithmetic of what the lump sum payment would be, and what the annual return would be if I invested that lump sum, and who I'd donate to and what I'd buy. For some reason, on that particular occasion, I had an especially "good feeling" about my chances. The morning after the drawing, I drove past a billboard showing that the jackpot was now $15M, meaning that someone had won. I was convinced it was me.
I spent the next hour in the car ruminating no longer about how I would spend the money, but what I would do in the immediate aftermath of my winning: how I'd break the news to Erin, what I'd do about work, who I'd call first (my attorney? my accountant?). I was consumed with the idea that I was now a jackpot winner.
I got home, went about my usual business in kind of a fog, then late that night got the daily paper to check my numbers. Not a single match on either of my tickets.
When I relayed the story to Erin, she said, "Well, was all that wondering worth your $2.00?". And that, in a nutshell, summed up my love of the Powerball. I realized then that I'm not really paying for the chance to win $200M (because the odds are so insane that that chance isn't even worth $2.00). I'm paying for the opportunity to fantasize for a few days about what that life would be like. That's certainly worth the price of a shamrock shake.
Friday, April 16, 2010
Idol-ized
It's true. I'm officially hooked on "American Idol".
My relationship with Idol goes back several years. Since about season 3 or 4, I watched about 30 minutes of one of the early audition shows every season- just enough to catch a few of the horrible or hilarious performances for that year. At the time, I had no appreciation for the good performances; in fact, they were far less appealing to me than the bad ones. I enjoyed that 30 minutes a season, and needed no more than that. Never watched another minute of it for the rest of the year.
This season, for some reason, I don't think I watched any of the audition shows (still haven't seen the "pants on the ground" guy). But at some point, the kids (led by Brendan, I believe) asked if we could watch Idol together as a family. The first episode we watched was the first episode of Hollywood Week, when all the contestants with the yellow tickets from the auditions get together for the first time to compete for the finals. I was intrigued. The talent was better than I expected, but most importantly, I felt drawn in to several of the contestants already after that first show.
We watched again together the next night, then set the DVR for a season pass to record it every week. By the second week, my fledgling attraction had become more like a passion. Now that the competition is in full swing, it truly is appointment television. Even though it's recorded, we're all in front of the TV every Tuesday and Wednesday night, and voting on Tuesdays along with 30 million others.
From what I read and hear, this year's cast of contestants is less interesting than some of the previous casts, but since it's all I know, I'm enjoying them quite a bit. I've already got favorites (Lee and Crystal) and ones I can't stand (Casey and Siobhan), and feel like the middle-aged hack that I am when I critique their performances and argue with the judges.
I'll be sad to see it go when it ends later this spring, mostly because watching it has become a fun family event but also because it's the first show in ages that I've watched on a weekly basis and I'll have a void that needs to be filled. By then, I think Molly will have rehearsed enough that she'll gladly stand in as the first contestant in our home game. Owen will be the witty schmoozing host, and Brendan of course will be the acerbic judge ready to groom his protege into a superstar.
My relationship with Idol goes back several years. Since about season 3 or 4, I watched about 30 minutes of one of the early audition shows every season- just enough to catch a few of the horrible or hilarious performances for that year. At the time, I had no appreciation for the good performances; in fact, they were far less appealing to me than the bad ones. I enjoyed that 30 minutes a season, and needed no more than that. Never watched another minute of it for the rest of the year.
This season, for some reason, I don't think I watched any of the audition shows (still haven't seen the "pants on the ground" guy). But at some point, the kids (led by Brendan, I believe) asked if we could watch Idol together as a family. The first episode we watched was the first episode of Hollywood Week, when all the contestants with the yellow tickets from the auditions get together for the first time to compete for the finals. I was intrigued. The talent was better than I expected, but most importantly, I felt drawn in to several of the contestants already after that first show.
We watched again together the next night, then set the DVR for a season pass to record it every week. By the second week, my fledgling attraction had become more like a passion. Now that the competition is in full swing, it truly is appointment television. Even though it's recorded, we're all in front of the TV every Tuesday and Wednesday night, and voting on Tuesdays along with 30 million others.
From what I read and hear, this year's cast of contestants is less interesting than some of the previous casts, but since it's all I know, I'm enjoying them quite a bit. I've already got favorites (Lee and Crystal) and ones I can't stand (Casey and Siobhan), and feel like the middle-aged hack that I am when I critique their performances and argue with the judges.
I'll be sad to see it go when it ends later this spring, mostly because watching it has become a fun family event but also because it's the first show in ages that I've watched on a weekly basis and I'll have a void that needs to be filled. By then, I think Molly will have rehearsed enough that she'll gladly stand in as the first contestant in our home game. Owen will be the witty schmoozing host, and Brendan of course will be the acerbic judge ready to groom his protege into a superstar.
Monday, April 12, 2010
Something's Rotten In Flushing (but you knew that)
As last season ended, I think most of us Met fans had the sense that it couldn't get worse, but it probably would. The tragic collapses of 2007 and 2008, followed by last year's miserable injury-ridden season gave some hope to the fact that better days must surely lie ahead. They still might, but if this first week is any example of what this season holds, better days are a bit further ahead than 2010.
The rough part of being a fan right now is that the team just isn't likeable. There are a few bright spots, like the ever ebullient David Wright, but as a whole the team just doesn't have character. One bright spot though is that if things continue as-is, tickets won't be hard to come by.
Over Easter dinner I posed a question to the official Finkipedia brother-in-law (law enforcement division), who happens to unfortunately be a fan of the other NY baseball team: higher number at the end of the season- Yankee wins or Met losses. The Vegas line at the beginning of the season for Yankee wins was 94.5, for Met losses was 81. By that metric, it would seem obvious that taking the Yankees in the bet would be the right move. But the AL East is tough this year, and the Mets have so far set their bar at winning only 1/3 of the games in their division and are on pace for 108 losses. At this point, it's still early, and since both numbers stand at 4, still fair to bet either side. I can't really bet on my team to lose and my hated rivals to win, can I?
The rough part of being a fan right now is that the team just isn't likeable. There are a few bright spots, like the ever ebullient David Wright, but as a whole the team just doesn't have character. One bright spot though is that if things continue as-is, tickets won't be hard to come by.
Over Easter dinner I posed a question to the official Finkipedia brother-in-law (law enforcement division), who happens to unfortunately be a fan of the other NY baseball team: higher number at the end of the season- Yankee wins or Met losses. The Vegas line at the beginning of the season for Yankee wins was 94.5, for Met losses was 81. By that metric, it would seem obvious that taking the Yankees in the bet would be the right move. But the AL East is tough this year, and the Mets have so far set their bar at winning only 1/3 of the games in their division and are on pace for 108 losses. At this point, it's still early, and since both numbers stand at 4, still fair to bet either side. I can't really bet on my team to lose and my hated rivals to win, can I?
Friday, April 9, 2010
Resurrection
I gave up Facebook and blog-surfing for Lent, as a way to direct my attention away from the interwebs and more toward other things. It worked, to some degree, but also led to an unintentional avoidance of this blog. Now that Easter has come and gone, it's time to get back on the blogwagon.
Six weeks off has provided me with lots of material for posting, so in the weeks ahead look for posts about a trip to the west coast, my new addiction to American Idol (no joke), the nascent baseball season, and the first formal golf instructions for Fink men in over 40 years.
Thanks for sticking with me, and spread the word- Finkipedia is risen! Alleluia!
Six weeks off has provided me with lots of material for posting, so in the weeks ahead look for posts about a trip to the west coast, my new addiction to American Idol (no joke), the nascent baseball season, and the first formal golf instructions for Fink men in over 40 years.
Thanks for sticking with me, and spread the word- Finkipedia is risen! Alleluia!
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