Project Insomnia

Project Insomnia is many things, but in this context it is simply a "braindump" of whatever I happen to be thinking/reading/watching/doing at the moment. Parental guidance suggested.

Tuesday, February 28, 2006

Photo... available, unfortunately

Why Barry Bonds dressed like Paula Abdul:
The single-season home run king turned drag queen as the Giants staged their version of Fox's ``American Idol.'' Bonds emerged from the clubhouse in the guise of ``Idol'' judge Paula Abdul, wearing a caramel-colored shoulder-length wig and fake breasts confined by athletic tape.

``I'll never tell my wife to hurry up anymore. Because it took me forever to get dressed,'' Bonds said. ``I'll never do that again, man. That tape was killing me.''
The accompanying photos are emotionally scarring.
|| Andrew, 9:23 PM || || link ||

Wednesday, February 22, 2006

Rupert needs another Ferrari

DirecTV are raising their rates effective March 1. Our subscription to Total Choice Plus with Locals will go from $45.99 to 48.99, and DVR service (DirecTiVo) will go up a dollar. I'm not exactly happy that my subscription fees are going to FOX, but my innate dislike of cable companies (plus the fact that the cable equivalent is still $20 more per month) keeps me set on DirecTV.
|| Andrew, 1:06 PM || || link ||

Tuesday, February 21, 2006

Programming Note

I've been sick for the last week and am only now slowly recovering, which is why I haven't posted. Been watching Olympics and sleeping, mostly.
|| Andrew, 11:37 AM || || link ||

Wednesday, February 15, 2006

The Top Ten Sci-Fi Films That Never Existed

The Top Ten Sci-Fi Films That Never Existed.

Too sick to actually comment on this, but you should read it.
|| Andrew, 11:09 AM || || link ||

Monday, February 13, 2006

Kuiper, Krukow get five-year extensions

More baseball news today from Steve Kroner. Kuiper, Krukow get five-year extensions:
Duane Kuiper and Mike Krukow have signed five-year extensions to remain Giants broadcasters. The negotiations for their contracts apparently were about as smooth as Kuiper and Krukow's on-air conversations.
While I'd like Krukow to tone down some of his over-the-top weirdness on occasion, I'm grateful to read that they will be staying on with the Giants.
|| Andrew, 2:02 PM || || link ||

A's are better, Giants are older

In a pair of articles (from yesterday's Chronicle), Susan Slusser and Henry Schulman analyze this year's A's and Giants teams. While the outlook for the A's is promising:
After a rare offseason in which they lost no major components and added three interesting ingredients, the A's have emerged as a solid all-around contender, a team some are calling the division or even league favorite.

Their pitching, especially the starting rotation, is excellent. Their defense should be strong. And their lineup is improved.
The Giants look to have a difficult season unless their aging cadre can stay off the disabled list:
The urgency in Felipe Alou's voice is palpable. The Giants' manager has had a winter to stew over a 75-87 season that he cares not to repeat, that he dare not repeat for the sake of the faithful.

With pitchers and catchers set to report to spring training Wednesday in Scottsdale, Ariz., Alou sounds like a man running toward a set of doors that are rapidly closing. He desperately wants to get there before they slam shut, on him, on his son Moises, on Barry Bonds, on a franchise that would have to dig into its Eisenhower-era files to find the lineup for its last October victory parade.
Either way I'm looking forward to a better season than last (could it be worse?) for both teams.
|| Andrew, 10:09 AM || || link ||

Friday, February 10, 2006

/invite $you #happyburrito

irc.irchighway.net

That is all.
|| Andrew, 4:06 PM || || link ||

Monday, February 06, 2006

A's radio broadcasts to be on KYCY/KNTS

Steve Kroner of the Chronicle reports:
Two sources close to the negotiations have confirmed the A's radio broadcasts will air on KYCY (1550 AM) and KNTS (1220 AM) in 2006.

KYCY will be the flagship station, but its signal does not cover the South Bay well. KNTS is a South Bay station, but apparently it will not carry weekday broadcasts until 6 p.m. So, the plan is for KNTS to skip weekday afternoon games, and to join in progress games that begin between 4 p.m. and 5:30 p.m. Pacific time.
I haven't yet gone out to check reception on KYCY here in Palo Alto. Does any other MLB team have such a ridiculous scheme for broadcasting their games? And way to cater to the South Bay audience, guys, that'll sure help your quest to relocate to San Jose.

I have XM, which carries all MLB games, in the Infiniti. Unfortunately, XM runs the home team's broadcast for each game, so if the A's (or Giants) are on the road that means I will hear the other team's broadcast.
|| Andrew, 2:19 PM || || link ||

Restaurant Reviews updated

I've added three posts to Project Insomnia Restaurant Reviews: Bennigan's, Santa Clara; Pasta?, Palo Alto; and Rancho del Zocalo, Anaheim (Disneyland Resort).
|| Andrew, 10:44 AM || || link ||

Wednesday, February 01, 2006

I eat one in that time... but I *enjoy* it

Woman Downs 26 Grilled Cheese Sandwiches:
A 100-pound woman ate 26 grilled cheese sandwiches in 10 minutes Wednesday at a New York restaurant, winning the World Grilled Cheese Eating Championship.

Sonya Thomas won $8,000 for the contest at the Planet Hollywood restaurant in Times Square but said she was disappointed in her performance.

'I could have done better,' she said, adding that she was aiming for 30 sandwiches.
I love grilled cheese sandwiches. The thought of debasing them with water to shove them down my throat is repugnant. Jen got me a panini press two years ago and makes fantastic sandwiches with whatever kind of cheese we have at the time.
|| Andrew, 9:41 PM || || link ||

January 2006 books

Rita J. does it, James (not his real name) Polk does it, I'm sure many of my other friends and/or relations do it. So I'm giving it a try.

Unlike Restaurant Reviews, where it's pretty easy for me to describe what we had, how we liked it and whether the service was any good, reviewing books is not and has never been easy for me. Don't expect much more than a "recommended" or "don't bother".

  1. Freakonomics -- Steven D. Levitt & Stephen J. Dubner, HarperCollins Publishers, 2005.

  2. The Weapon -- Michael Z. Williamson, Baen Books, 2005.

  3. Danger: Construction Zone - Your Guided Tour To A Successful Remodeling Project -- Steven Katkowsky, (self-published), 2005.

  4. The Areas of My Expertise -- John Hodgeman, Penguin Group, 2005.

  5. Company -- Max Barry, Doubleday, 2006

  6. The Forever War (Author's Preferred Edition) -- Joe Haldeman, HarperCollins, 2003

|| Andrew, 2:36 PM || || link ||

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