Ye Olde World According to Buchs

This is The Old World According to Buchs. Kept for archival purposes, but not longer being updated.

Please check my “new” site at http://www.bryanbuchs.com for new content, or see any of the links to the right for my public pages at Facebook, Twitter, etc.

Anyone see this on 60 Minutes last weekend? I haven’t seen a beat-down in the water like that since Buchs Weekend back in the summer of aught-five.

I can’t say for certain – there’s nothing posted at the building – but it appears that Pepe’s Rockin’ Taco Shack has shut down. The last time I recall them being open was probably last week. This Monday was the first day I realized there were definitely not open. That’s at least four consecutive days closed, with two of them being far and away the best weather we’ve had this year. Considering what they went through to get that patio up and running, I just don’t see them taking a week off at this point.

I wouldn’t be surprised if somewhere they’re cursing the fact that we asked the city to enforce limited hours for that patio, and blaming the slow economy for the lack of business. The fact is that the food was mediocre at best, the décor was pretty hideous, and people just didn’t like the place.

Hopefully someone can swoop in and clean that place up. I’d really like to have another neighborhood restaurant where I’m welcome and would actually like to go.

Amazon.com: Products tagged with wtf

My favorites: Uranium Ore and Tuscan Whole Milk. Be sure to read the Customer Reviews.

Put on your robot head and go check this out.

Oh, I am so getting this. I’ve got way too many games on my phone already, but this looks awesome for a mobile game.

We hosted our Chili Cookoff yesterday. It was a modest crowd – 5 entries, 9 attendees. I was very happy with the variety of chili made – one vegetarian, one beef, one pork-mole, and two chicken. Each and every dish was unique, which is exactly what I was hoping for. And they were all delicious. Mine just happened to be more delicious than the rest.

Judy created a ballot for our tasters to fill out, which was broken up into four categories: Best Overall, Spiciest, Most Original, and Best Use of Noodles in a Supporting Role.

Unfortunately, none of our entries had noodles, although Jen K *had* noodles, but removed them before the contest.

Most Original was Jen C’s White Bean Chicken Chili, which was very mild and made with a cheese & cream sauce.

Spiciest wasn’t really a contest, Craig’s Pork Mole was full of chipotle peppers. An initial smokey flavor slowly burned into a hot fire.

Our entry (Judy was the one who initially found the recipe, and she did some of the chopping) was a Chicken Chili Verde. The original recipe follows, with my modifications after:

* 3 pounds skinless boneless chicken thighs, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
* 5 tablespoons all purpose flour
* 7 tablespoons olive oil
* 3 cups chopped onions
* 3 tablespoons chopped garlic
* 1 1/2 cups chopped fresh Anaheim chilies* (about 4)
* 2 green bell peppers, cut lengthwise into 1/4-inch-thick strips
* 5 cups frozen corn kernels, thawed
* 6 cups canned low-salt chicken broth
* 12 tomatillos, husked, coarsely chopped
* 2 tablespoons chopped fresh oregano or 1 tablespoon dried
* 2 tablespoons chili powder
* 1 tablespoon ground cumin
* 1 teaspoon paprika
* 2 cinnamon sticks

Sprinkle chicken with salt and pepper. Coat with flour. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in heavy large skillet over medium-high heat. Add half of chicken to skillet and sauté until golden brown, about 10 minutes. Transfer to large pot. Repeat with 1 tablespoon oil and remaining chicken.

Heat 2 tablespoons oil in same skillet over medium-high heat. Add onions and garlic; sauté until onions are tender, about 5 minutes. Transfer to pot with chicken. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in same skillet over medium-high heat. Add Anaheim chilies and green bell peppers. Sauté until tender, about 4 minutes. Transfer to pot with chicken. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in same skillet. Sauté half of corn until tender, about 2 minutes. Transfer to pot with chicken. Repeat with remaining 1 tablespoon oil and corn.

Add chicken broth, tomatillos, oregano, chili powder, cumin, paprika and cinnamon sticks to pot. Bring liquid to boil. Reduce heat and simmer until mixture thickens and flavors blend, stirring occasionally, about 2 hours. (Can be prepared 1 day ahead. Refrigerate until cool. Cover and keep refrigerated. Rewarm over medium heat before continuing.)

Mix cilantro into chili. Transfer to large serving bowl. Garnish with tortilla chips and serve.

For our batch, we used slightly less chicken – maybe 2 to 2-1/2 pounds. I don’t like to cut up the chicken, and instead prefer to add the thighs whole to the broth and let them break apart.

We substituted a poblano and two jalapeno peppers for the green bell peppers, and they were also roasted first. [1]: light grill, get hot; [2] place peppers on grill; [3] play new golf game on your iphone for 40 minutes; [3] remove charred remains of peppers from grill, send wife out for more; [4] repeat, but reduce time to 5 minutes

A minor change was that we only used 1 tablespoon of a traditional chili powder and added 1 tablespoon of chipotle powder.

Finally, instead of a chicken broth, I used a homemade duck stock. And I let the whole thing go for a good 3-1/2 hours.

Duke over Villanova? Michigan State over Kansas? Hell, Kansas over West Virginia?

I can’t believe I voted for this guy. Clearly doesn’t know a lick about college basketball.

Stewart vs. Cramer last night on The Daily Show. For once, Jon Stewart actually went after someone! He’s been way to often apologetic and genial when interviewing people who deserve to get grilled. I know it’s “fake news”, but if none of the other networks are going to do it, I’m glad he stepped up.

I’ve only seen this Cramer fella on commercials and clip shows, but he generally looked like a doofus. After last night, I respect the fact that he came on the show and took his medicine, but I still don’t think he gets it.

The full, unedited interview (~21 minutes) is available at http://www.thedailyshow.com

I know I’ve gone on (and on) about how baseball is dead to me. But dammit if this isn’t my favorite commercial on the air right now.

I can only assume that this “James Rollins” fellow is some sort of professional baseball player, what with the Phillies uniform and all.

I didn’t watch all of the Oscars last weekend, but I did catch this segment. I love the part where he just wanders off to watch the video screen behind the podium.

I received a nice Amazon.com gift certificate as a Christmas gift last December. I really don’t need anything at the moment, so it’s just been sitting in my account. Yesterday I was browsing the iTunes store looking at new iPhone apps. Unlike my Amazon balance, I used up an iTunes Store gift card from Christmas within a few weeks. On a whim, I thought I’d see if I could get an iTunes card with my Amazon $$.

What do you know, I could! Not only that, someone was selling them super-cheap. So I picked up a $50 card for $22. Then I thought about it and ordered a second one right away. That’s like getting $56 for free. I was a little apprehensive about making the buy, but Amazon seems to have a decent customer protection policy (unlike those frauds at eBay). Within a few hours, the seller had emailed me the codes to enter into the iTunes Store. [I did get charged $5 "shipping" on each item, which seems stupid, but I still come out way ahead in the deal - $44.] If you’re someone who makes the occasional (or frequent ) purchase from iTunes, save some money and pick one of these up!

Apple $50 iTunes Gift Card

The Chuck has returned to the internets with a vengance and a new URL:

http://www.thelifeofleisure.net

It’s the usual drivel about things he considers “leisurely”. When he’s not bashing east-side restaurants, it’s readable. Also, if you ever DVR one of your favourite shows and watch later in the week, I’d be careful – The Chuck likes to spoil things for you. Also, he watches EVERY show that’s on TV (especially anything reality-based), so you know he’s already seen what you want to watch on Wednesday.

Late Show – Where’s Joaquin Phoenix? – 2/11/09
YouTube – Late Show – Where’s Joaquin Phoenix? – 2/11/09

Does anybody know what time it is? My watch says “5:00″. My second watch, that is. The one I have for being 2008 ILS Man Of The Year. Yeah.

I don’t know when it happened, but at some point I became a “shoe guy”. I think it started with the moccasins (R.I.P.) Next was probably my orange Cole Haan/Nike slipons. That led to a few pairs of Florsheims, and the next thing you know, I’m ordering up multiple pairs of Converse All-Stars on eBay. Last summer I picked up a pair of driving shoes from Bananna Republic,  and at the time I declared them the Most Comfortable Shoes I Have Ever Owned.

Well, scratch that. My venerable Timberland hiking boots, bought before my northern sabbatical in 1994, finally gave out at the end of last winter. They literally gave out – the soles were disintegrating. Seeing that I need to hike into the office each morning, I began the winter of Aught-Eight looking for replacements.

Last week, I took a shopping trip and ended up at the DSW on Mayfair Road. I had a pretty good picture in my head of what I was looking for, but when my eyes fell upon these beauties, I had to try them on. I instantly made the decision to get them – never even bothered looking at the price tag.

Basically, it’s like wearing a pair of warm, comfy slippers as I trudge through sub-zero temperatures each morning. Except that those warm, comfy slippers extend up past your ankles. My feet are bathed in a wash of soft, fluffy
Thinsulate.

I could not be happier with these.

I learned something new about my car last night. Apparently the Volvos with automatic transmission come with something called “Geartronic“, or as Les called it “Fake-Stick”:

While driving

• If you select the M position while driving, the gear that was being used in the Drive position will also initially be selected in the M position.
• Move the gear selector forward (toward “+”) to shift to a higher gear or rearward (toward “-”) to shift to a lower gear.
• If you hold the gear selector toward “-”, the transmission will downshift one gear at a time and will utilize the braking power of the engine. If the current speed is too high for using a lower gear, the downshift will not occur until the speed has decreased enough to allow the lower gear to be used.
• If you slow to a very low speed, the transmission will automatically shift down.

Is this a shifter car? I cannot drive a shifter car, alright, so we got a little situation here. I can’t drive these kinda cars! What the fuck is goin’ on! You think that’s funny? Would you like to know, smartass? Would you like to know why I can’t drive this kinda car? I’ll tell you why, I’m used to *luxury* cars. Have you ever heard of a luxury car? You know what luxury means? Ever heard of Cadillac, Cadillac Eldorado? That’s what I drive. I drive cars that *shift* themselves.

So, my old Saturn was pretty much done for after I killed that bear. It’s been gradually sliding downhill for 2+ years now, and the latest repair estimate just wasn’t worth it. Also, it had a certain… stench. We had planned on riding out the winter with the old one, but it was not meant to be.

Last night we made the trek out to Brookfield and I rode home in a nice used Volvo. More car than I need, but hey – I’m a bigshot.

I’m sure I’m not the first one to come to that conclusion.

This summer, I paid for a round of golf using funds on my PayPal debit card. When I checked my account, I saw that I was double-billed for everything. I actually got to talk to someone, and was told I had to fill out a form and mail it in. I did that. Then they lost it, or couldn’t find it, or whatever. When they finally tracked it down, I was told it would be 45 days before they were done “investigating” it. Still waiting…

A few weeks ago, I sold a used Wii game. Received payment, dropped it in the mail. Apparently, the buyer never got it and opened up a dispute. Well, Paypal grabbed those funds out of my account and put a hold on them. Then I’m presented with a form that has 3 options: (1) I can provide proof that the item was shipped; (2) I have not shipped the item and I will refund the payment; (3) I can provide proof that I refunded the payment for this transaction. Well, none of those apply, but there’s no “other” option. So I’m screwed.

I’m done with you PayPal. Bullshit. This isn’t the first time I’ve been jerked around by you, but it’s the last.

It’s a tight race, but my all-time favourite sporting events are the first day of the NFL season and the first 2 days of the NCAA Men’s Basketball tournament. There are many reasons I love those two things, and one of them is that it’s a wide-open field. Anyone can win. Sure, you’ve got favourite and powerhouses that have a better-than-average shot, but there’s nothing precluding any team from winning it all.

And then there’s college football.

This summer, I stated that there were several events in the Olympics that I didn’t consider to be “sports”. My #1 criteria for what defines a sport was that there had to be a definitive winner and loser. Anything that involved the opinion of a judge or judges – no matter how impartial they may be – is still just an opinion. While I have a great amount of respect for the athletic ability and skill it takes to pull off a Triple Lindy, diving is not a sport. Nor gymnastics and a dozen other events.

So while each game played in the NCAA “Bowl” division counts as a sporting event, the season as a whole does not. Right from the get-go, if your team isn’t (a) ranked in the pre-season top-10 and (b) part of a major conference, you can forget all about a shot at the Mythical National Championship. And even if your team is in, oh, say The Big East – going undefeated might not be enough to give you a shot, because your “strength of schedule” wasn’t good enough.

Why is there no playoff system? Every other major sport, college and pro, all use one. College football is clinging to the antiquated “bowl” system that does nothing but generate money. It’s about the money, pure and simple.

One of the arguments I hear against a playoff from the talking sports heads is “but every week is like a playoff”. Another is that having a playoff bracket would take away from the importance of regular-season games. And my favourite, that extending the season by two weeks for a playoff would put too much pressure on the kids and affect their studies.

Bullshit on all counts.

Let’s say that we start slow, with just a 4-team bracket. You could use two of the existing bowls as semi-finals, and extend the season by one week. They’re already playing the Mythical National Championship game almost a week after the other bowls, and the bowl season is spread out over a month.

How anyone can say with a straight face that a regular-season matchup between two conference rivals would lose some of its luster and intensity IF those teams were both eligible for a “playoff” is beyond me. Michigan/Ohio State, Texas/Oklahoma… those games are going to be the same whether or not there’s a playoff. Oh, by the way, every major conference besides the Big Ten ALREADY uses a one-game playoff to determine their championships.

I realize that there has to be a limit on the number of teams involved in whatever playoff system there might be – we’re never going to see a “March Maddness” type tournament because of the logistics of football. But an 8- or 16-team tournament isn’t out of the question. And there’s no reason that the current bowls can’t be repurposed and used as quarter- and semi-finals. The BCS already rotates the Mythical National Championship game among the top-tier bowls, and it could continue to do so.

The coaches like the current system because they can say that they “won their bowl game” when they’re out recruiting the new class. The schools like the system because they get paid big, big bucks to play in the bowls. The fans… well, sorry.

College football isn’t a sport – it’s a sad, sad joke.

Final Totals: (1) Buchs: -30.4, (2)This Guy: -27, (3) [field] n/a

Judy & I took a trip down to Chicago last weekend. If you’re not familiar with it already, I cannot recommend Priceline.com enough – especially if you’re doing a quick more-or-less unplanned getaway. We were able to score a nice room at the Hilton on Michigan Ave., across from Grant Park for cheap, cheap, cheap. Which left us with more money to spend on food…

The Gage
24 S Michigan Ave
Chicago, IL 60603
(312) 372-4243

After walking through the parks and searching for a lunch spot, we settled on a friend’s recommendation to try this place. Didn’t see much of the interior outside of the bar – we ate at a table out front on the sidewalk. Great beer selection. I had a Scotch Egg for a snack, and followed that up with the Beef Brisket Sandwich. The egg was, well, a Scotch Egg – served over greens with a dollop of dijon mustard and a generous amount of a mild stone ground mustard on the side. The sandwich was served open-face, topped with a swiss cheese – and could have served both of us with some to spare. Judy had a cup of their Lobster Bisque and a Whitefish Sandwich. Bill was a bit on the high side, but the portions were ridiculously large.

Mercat a la Planxa
638 Michagan Ave.
Chicago, IL 60605
(312) 765-0524

We were completely exhausted come Saturday evening, and didn’t feel like venturing out too far for dinner. Luckily, this newish Tapas-style restaurant was literally across the street from the hotel. I had planned on having a light dinner – maybe a salad or something – but changed my mind when we got the menus. Again, we sat outside on the sidewalk. Partially because it was busy inside and we had no reservations, and partially because the reviews I read mentioned that the place gets kind of clubby and loud at night. We never made it upstairs to the dining room, so I can’t say if that was the case or not. We ordered 6 dishes to share: Croquettas de Jamon, Truita de Patata con Espinica, Arroz con Cangerjo, Colcots, and Grilled Scallops a la planxa. Everything was delicious, and I would absolutely give it another try.

Orange
3231 N Clark St
Chicago, IL 60657
(773) 549-4400

The fellas and I had brunch at this place twice while we were in town for Lollapalooza this summer, and I was anxious to go back. The Orange Coffee is a nice twist, and there are probably 10 things on the menu that I would try, given the chance. I had planned on revisiting the Chai Tea French Toast, but decided upon the Caprese Benedict. Judy had the Omelette #11.5 – for the life of me, I can’t remember what was in it. Washed it all down with some fresh-squeezed grapefruit/lemon juice, which was a great improvement over my last attempt at tomato-celery-ginger juice. Already looking forward to my next trip back.

Don’t make any trades in your fantasy football league until – at the very least – the first week of the season is over. Go through the first two weeks, see how things play out, and then think about making a move.

Matt Hasselbeck & Larry Johnson for Tom Brady & Cadillac Williams

This was basically a two-for-one deal, as Williams was going to be dropped from my team as soon as I could. What was my motivation for this one? First, after reflecting on my draft, I came to the realization that Johnson wasn’t going to be the LJ from two years ago. Secondly, after several years of playing with second- or third-tier quarterbacks on my roster, the game had really gotten to the point where you need consistent QB play to win a championship. I’ve already covered how this one turned out for me.

Donovan McNabb & Anquan Boldin for Drew Brees & Kyle Brady

One of the owners in “The Other League” was bidding hard on McNabb, and I didn’t want to let him get the player – at least not for cheap. So I was bidding against him, but planning on him beating me out. Unfortunately he let me win. I had McNabb two years ago, and he destroyed my team – now he’s on my List. Avoid at all costs. And I was stuck with him.

Going into the auction I was very high on Brees. Still am. I had him as the #3 QB overall – behind Manning, ahead of Romo. Plus, I already had Marques Colston, and having that combo was looking pretty appealing. I was deep at the WR position and decided that I could live without Boldin, who had been complaining all through training camp and demanded to be traded. I didn’t think he was going to have a great season, so I made the move. Brees is playing well, but McNabb & Boldin are playing just as well if not better.

Jay Cutler for Kevin Smith

This is a trade I wouldn’t have made if not for the injury to Colston (or trading away Boldin). After week one, I was thin, thin, thin… and needed a flex player. Cutler had a good first game, and after consulting with my arch nemisis, agreed with his assesment that I should “sell high”. Had I waited another week or two, I could have gotten much more for Cutler, who looks like The Second Coming in Denver.

If John McCain is going to continue to run that ridiculous “Obama: celebrity” commercial, why aren’t the Dems just running clips of McCain on SNL or the Daily Show? The man hosted freakin’ Saturday Night Live – typically reserved for dignitaries like Dane Cook or Shia LaBeouf.

“Schadenfreude”

n.

Pleasure derived from the misfortunes of others.

[German : Schaden, damage (from Middle High German schade, from Old High German scado) + Freude, joy (from Middle High German vreude, from Old High German frewida, from fr?, happy).]

On a side note:

• Phils sweep Brewers to grab share of wild-card lead
• Brewers fire Yost

2 weeks, 2 chickens, 2 Packer wins.

Do I need to say anything more?

I put up a mediocre round (at best) last weekend, but somehow found myself atop the standings in the Buchs Cup Championship Series. See, it all comes down to improvement – and I happened to play that round slightly less worse than this guy.

So it all comes down to this. If the weather holds out Saturday, we’ll be playing. If not, given the personal schedules of the various participants (2), and the looming deadline of season’s end… it may already be over.

I’m clearing out space on the mantle for the trophy today.

The 2008 NFL season is 4 days, 16 hours old – and my fantasy season is already over.

After making a blockbuster trade with this guy, sending a hobbling Matt Hasselbeck and Larry Johnson in exchange for reigning MVP Tom Brady, I had to restrain myself from sending the “I just won the league” email to my friends.

After Brady went down with a season-ending injury in the first quarter Sunday, I’m done. I’ll have a shot at picking up Kurt Warner or Matt Cassel (no relation to Sam) to replace him, but I’m effectively done.

I’m reminded of the 2005 season where I made a blockbuster trade for Jamal “The Curse” Lewis, who was just coming off a 2,000 yard rushing season, then proceeded to stink it up for the rest of the year. Tom Brady now inherits the title of “The Curse”.

Congratulations, Tom.

Short version: Kettle Hills Golf Course kicked my ass.

Worst round of my life, period. I’ve completely regressed. My swing has gone haywire, I haven’t hit a decent tee shot in a month. My iron shots are tentative. I’ve lost all the confidence I had built up after an off-season of lessons.

And I’ve lost the lead. We’ve got a few weeks left in the Buchs Cup Championship Series, and I have some ground to make up. What once looked like an insurmountable lead has been chipped away at by this guy, and now he’s taken back the top spot.

Don’t read this as a concession speech. An hour at the range sometime this week and I’ll be back to my old self.

Hi everyone,

Sorry I won’t be around – we planned our camping trip a while ago, and it just happens to be the this weekend. It should be good weather. Have a good time at your party, and say “hi” to Bruce for me!

Oh, and be gone when I get back. And maybe clean up after yourselves this time.

- Bryan

I’m watching a little DNC coverage on MSNBC, and I just heard this gem from Chris Matthews:

Obama has become the first African-American ever nominated by a major political party in just about any major country.

In what other country would an African-American – or any American – be nominated?

I realize it’s live tv, and everyone is a little excited, but maybe thinking about the words that come out of your mouth before they actually come out isn’t a bad idea.

Posted to OnMilwaukee.com this morning, a story about Steve Glynn’s “Spreenkler” initiative.

In the August edition of Milwaukee Magazine, a sidebar profile on Michael Zirbel’s work with Habitat for Humanity and the Habitat HomeStore in Waukesha.

Also in Milwaukee Magazine, Chris Chuzzles’ band Disguised As Birds gets a photo+shoutout in an article on the rock scene in town. Their new CD is available now.

Senator Cody’s website was hit with a deluge of traffic when he was linked to from a “national liberal blog”.

Finally, if this guy keeps losing weight, there will be nothing left – which means he defaults in our ongoing battle for supremacy on the greens.

Judy & I were watching “Deal or No Deal” last night. The recent commercials had implied that someone was finally going to win the $1,000,000. As the show went on, last night’s contestant revealed that her dream was to star on Broadway, and if she won the money, she would lose some weight (???). She also went on and on about how she hates it when people take the deal – they should go all the way!

So, as the game moves along to the big finish, she’s got a choice to make. There are two unopened cases left. One has $5,000, the other $1,000,000.

She’s been offered $350,000 to walk away.

She declines.

She gets an opportunity to exchange her case for the last unopened one, which she declines.

Howie reveals that her case contains… $5,000.

I nearly fall off the couch laughing.

Judy thinks I’m a horrible, horrible person.

Did Michael Phelps get a gold medal for a race he lost? – By William Saletan – Slate Magazine.

Technically, the question of who touched first doesn’t matter. FINA and the Olympics honchos agreed beforehand to use the touch pads; the touch pads require pressure; all swimmers and their coaches should know this. But that technical argument leaves two ugly, unresolved problems. One is that FINA, the timekeeper, the referee, and the media keep telling us, falsely, that Phelps “touched,” “arrived,” and “got his hand on the wall” first. “In our sport, it’s who touches first,” Marculescu told the AP on Saturday. Bull. It’s not who touches first. It’s who triggers the sensor first.

Did he get to the wall first? Nobody can really say. Did he punch in first? Absolutely, and that’s what counts. Competitive swimmers are taught very early to hit the wall, not touch it. I remember getting lectured on that subject before my first meet. It doesn’t matter who gets to the wall first, it’s who’s touch gets registered first.

The other problem is that even FINA isn’t sure how much pressure the touch pads require. On Saturday, Marculescu told the New York Times that the threshold was 3 kilograms per square centimeter. But in the same article, a FINA vice president said the threshold was 1.5 kilograms. If FINA’s executives don’t know the correct number, is it reasonable to expect Cavic to know it?

Really? Is it reasonable to expect that every VP or executive of a company know the exact technical specs of their product? And is it reasonable to think that anyone can manually notice the difference between 1.5 and 3 kg/sq inch? Much less at the end of an Olympic race?

Just a shitty article on many counts.

i took a blueberry scone with me to work this morning. We bought them on Saturday night at Trader Joe’s. The first few bites i dipped into my coffee, which was good – they’re a bit on the dry side. Then i tried one straight, and noticed it was slightly tart & bitter.

It took me another two bites to place what the taste was… mold.

Which reminds me of a quick story. When I was a young’n, I remember waking up early one weekend morning and scrounging around in the pantry for something to eat before my parents woke up. I found a tray of leftover blueberry coffee cake. I cut myself a big ol’ slice with the most blueberries and went to town on it.

I think that Mom & Dad were up by the time I went for another slice, and they let me know that those weren’t blueberries.

During my morning reading here at home, I saw a link to an article at espn.com:

Umps currently cool on replay, boycott conference call with MLB

Here’s the gist of it: the umpires don’t want to be replaced by machines. So they decided that they won’t talk to the league office about implementing instant replay. Does David Stern stand for this? No. Roger Goodell? Not in a heartbeat. There are a million things wrong with baseball – see my previous comments on that – but “gutless leadership” just jumped into the top 5.

Baseball actually has a chance to get something right*, and yet again the league is going to roll over for a strong union looking out for their best interests at the expense of the game.

Congratulations baseball, you’re irrelevant.

*  On an aside… I don’t think that changing the rules in the middle of the season is a good idea, but giving umps the ability to review certain situations will help the game storm into the 1990′s.

I have long maintained that the single greatest athletic feat I’ve ever seen was Michael Johnson destroying the world record in the 200m at the 1996 Olympics. Usain “Lightning” Bolt did quite a number on the 100m a few days ago, but he says his best event is the 200.

This morning, I stumbled across this chart. Rather than link to it and help kill his bandwitch, I’ve pasted it in here.

This chart shows the twenty fastest 200m marks of all time. Each row represents a hundredth of a second. Eyeballing the chart would suggest that the cutting edge of human achievement in the 200m is anything sub-19.7. A 19.59 at Beijing would be phenomenal. Then you scroll down—way down—and you hit Johnson’s 19.32. Usain Bolt has his work cut out for him.

That really puts things in perspective. Again, this is a sport where victories are measured in hundreths of a second. Nobody has come closer than three tenths of a second in more than ten years.

Man, if I had been born 15 years later…

I shudder to think how fast I could have gone if I had access to this and this in my prime. Plus, they’ve changed some of the rules since my day – the front-flip backstroke turn? Would have gotten me DQd in a heartbeat. Same with dropping your head under the waterline in the breaststroke.

Seriously. You’d all be watching a kid from Bay View shock the world right now.

Oh well, things still turned out pretty good.

Call it a downturn, slow, recession, hard times, whatever you want to.

Consistently shitty service and workmanship. Cause or Effect?

If I pay you to do something, and you screw it up and have to do it again (and again…) – you’re not making a profit off me. I’m talking to you, Lenscrafters. I’m done with you. You too, Fazio’s.

I may have waffled slightly on that iPhone recently (by the way – SO FREAKIN’ AWESOME!).

This time, I’m literally flip-flopping.

I don’t think I’ve owned a legitimate pair of sandals since 1993, unless you count those Adidas shower flops I had a few years ago. I’ve been torn on the concept of the sandal. I love the unconstricted feeling of being practically barefoot. But I have been afraid of that wedge of fabric sticking between my toes. I finally broke down and ordered a pair.

It’s been less than 24 hours, and so far so good. The soles have a layer of cork, which is very comfortable and had already begun to mold itself to the shape of my feet. There’s a slight bit of arch support, so they seem to be OK for walking.

They’ll get the big test this weekend. I’ll bring along a pair of shoes to be on the safe side, but I’m feeling pretty good about this.

I was something of a fan for the first few seasons of the X-Files, and a very large fan of Millennium, also developed by Chris Carter. I gave up on X-Files, but would check in from time to time to see what was going on with that Fox dude.

I passed on the last movie. I’m passing on the new movie. However, I’m mildly curious what the story is about. Am I going to shell out $12 to find out? Hells no. Enter, Moviepooper. I’ve written about it before – find a movie, read a short synopsis that gives the ending away. Save yourself 2 hours and the $12.

So here you go:

Movie Pooper for the film – The X-Files: I Want to Believe.

July is birthday month around here. This guy was the 4th, she was the 1st, he was the 14th, and today is Craig’s half-birthday.

What? You don’t celebrate your half-birthday? That’s OK, he does it for all of us. Every day.

Rough weekend on the course. Good friend Mr. Andy Eberhardy was in town, so we scheduled a round with our Celebrity Fourth at Currie Park for Saturday AM. Unfortunately, the weather didn’t cooperate. What began as a mist on the 2nd hole turned into a drizzle by the 5th, and between the start and end of the 9th a steady down pour.

Had I not been in the middle of the Greatest Round Of My Life, I wouldn’t have been too upset about it. At the end of 9, Mr. Buchs Chump and I were tied at +12 (although I was playing bogey golf after the first six – the last three did me in). There was no chance of getting back out there, so we took our rain checks and went home.

Saturday night, we debated about what to do. The consesus was that we would head back out on Sunday morning and try to finish the round. If, on the chance that the starter could fit us in for a full round, we would play that and ignore the previous day’s results. At one point I suggested both – playing the back 9 to finish that round, and THEN moving on to play a full 18 afterwards. As the temperature and dew point were steadily climbing, we abandoned that idea, as well as my sterling side from Saturday.

Teeing off on #10, I immediately backed myself into a corner with a 7-7-9 start, but came back to play the last 6 holes in at +5 for a 50. The the heat, humidity, dehydration, and fatigue all joined forces to take revenge upon me as I shot a 59 on the back.

The good news: I have rediscovered my putting stroke. Over the course of both days, I hit a couple of 12-footers and was generally steady from within 5-6 feet – highlighted by a 10-foot-off-the-fringe-par-save on the final hole Sunday.

The bad news: my driving on Saturday was spectacular. Sunday, not so much. I haven’t sliced all season, but stared spraying shots to the right. I’m going to write that off to getting tired and lazy.

In other news: this guy put up some pretty good numbers yesterday. Too little, too late, I’m afraid – the engraver has already stenciled my name in on the trophy.

Those of you who know me personally have likely already heard this story, but now that it’s officially a closed matter, I’ll recap.

We live next to/above what was once upon a time the restaurant Sol Fire. In January of 2007, they shut down. In the spring of 2007, the space was taken over by new proprietors, who intended on opening “Pepe’s Pink Taco”. We were a little concerned about what type of business was going in, so we met with the owners. At that point, we learned that in addition to taking over the existing space, they planned on replacing the existing parking lot with a new patio for outdoor seating. Again – we were a little concerned about hours and noise, since our bedroom is next to (and four floors up) from the patio. At their initial licence hearing, the owners agreed to limit the hours of operation to 9pm weeknights, 10pm weekends.

Construction ran a little long, and the restaurant/bar didn’t open until either late August or September of 2007 (renamed “Pepe’s Rockin’ Taco Shack”). It wasn’t a particularly balmy fall last year, so the outdoor seating/noise issue really didn’t come into play at all. This spring, however, we were upset that once the weather warmed up, the restaurant was seating and serving people beyond the previously-agreed-upon hours. We made a few calls (and a visit to) the owners/managers, and were not exactly recevied warmly.

In June of this year, Pepe’s was scheduled for a license renewal hearing, and we decided to appear and speak in front of the committee. Unfortunately, the license holder didn’t show up: he sent his brother/business partner in his place – instead of his attorney, as he had been instructed to do. We were still allowed to make our comments for the record, and the brother/partner responded to and was was questioned by the committee. If you’ve got the time you can watch the proceedings in this 200mb QuickTime Movie clip or the entire meeting in Real Video format (jump to the 5:03:00 point). Let’s just say that things went pretty, pretty good for us. Plus, it’s pure entertainment. Honestly. Watch the video, if for no other reasons than (a) you get to see me in a nice blazer and (b) as someone just reminded me, there was an “ass-whoopin” delivered.

Yesterday, the license holder/other brother appeared before the committee (5:59:30 point). Not nearly as entertaining (or lengthly) as the first meeting… but in the end the business has officially, on-the-record, agreed to operate within the hours they had agreed to.

I will say that as of the day after the first meeting, they had been closing up show promptly and quietly. But now that it’s official-official it’s something we really don’t have to be concerned about anymore.

I nearly missed out on one of my annual traditions here at The World According to Buchs!

Happy birthday to Tha’ Chuck, who turns 25 again today.

I pulled into the Bayshore parking lot at about 6:15 this morning. When I got over to the Apple Store at 6:25, there were about 50-60 people in line. Dan met me closer to 7:00, and Jen closer to 8:00.

The Apple Store server is getting crushed with activation requests, so people who tried to activate the phone from the store were sitting there for 20, 30, 40 minutes. The actual purchase & account setup process took me about 10 minutes (thanks, Elijah). After getting walked over to an iMac and trying the A.S. Activation 10 or 15 times, I asked if that step had to be done at an Apple store – the answer was no. Since I was already an hour late for work at the time, I opted to leave.

So, I have a physical iPhone in my possession. But until the traffic to the iTunes Apple Store dies down a bit, I won’t be able to get or make calls. Read the rest of this entry »

Anyone who keeps tabs on my infrequent Twittering already knows that I have a new favourite soap. For the rest of you, I present…

Get Real Mint Soap! Man, this stuff is great. A few weeks ago, I picked up a few bars of Method Bloq Mint soap, and was frankly a little disappointed. I was looking for a clear-your-sinuses mint experience, and it just did not deliver. A decent soap – lathered up quite nicely, but it is not as intense as I was hoping for.

Last week I finally got around to replacing the missing cap on my Sigg bottle, and the place I ordered from also had this soap on sale. So I thought I’d give it a shot. So glad I did.

First of all, it’s a big block of soap. It’s about 1-1/2 X the size of your standard Irish Spring or whatever you use. It’s dense – I felt a little frivoulous about shelling out $3 for a bar of soap, but I think one will last me a while. Also, if you’re confronted in the shower, you could probably clonk your attacker over the head with this and do some damage. Finally, it’s gritty. It’s not like a pumice stone or anything, but it’s got a slightly rough surface – good for scrubbing. Best of all, it’s super minty.

The manufacturer has a few other products I might be interested in – the licorice candy sounds tasty.