UConn James

He obviously hasn't seen this month's Playmate, Alison Waite. NSFW (ta-tas). I love brunettes. Too bad her turn-offs include the traits of most anyone who posts on PPP. (One of my buddies signed me up for a subscription as a practical joke.)

I graduated 2 years ago, and have also been in a specialized construction job (stone walls, which I learned over summers), self-employed, where the pay is all right and it's rewarding work... but times are tough. Gas prices are soaring. I work w/o health insurance --- just can't afford it, so if I blow out a knee or drop a stone... I. Am. Screwed. I could try to go legitimate and get a job with them but in a lot of companies that do this, it's the dirty little secret that they hire illegals who will work for a lot less. Not many people want to pick up and stack 100 pound stones for a living. I've been looking hither and yon for a job that will use my education more (my major is pretty unmarketable here at the present, and I've grown to hate it anyway), and on paper I'm underskilled and overeducated. I'm at a very real crossroads in my life. The Dem platform is one that makes little sense to me. On one hand, they want to protect the American worker with unions, penalizing companies who move offshore, etc. Look specifically at who voted for NAFTA; it was Bill Clinton splitting from his party and Republicans. How successful it's been for businesses, who knows, but it surely hasn't been successful for the people who cross the border. On the other hand, they live or die with the minority vote, so they have to pander on issues such as this. So they end up trying to be all things to all people, just as Kerry came across in '04. If they just took a harder stand combined with the mindset that you have to earn your way, I would have less of a problem when I'm in the voting booth. But they don't so I'm forced to pick and choose. And as much an **** Darin is , I am a little dubious of their education stance, but the Libertarians are the ones who are making the most sense. I just think we're conditioned to expect too much, and that we don't have to work hard to get it.

Adjustment to the service-industry (what is it, 85% now?) that the U.S. has become. When a country doesn't make tangible products, expect this to happen b/c competition for said services rises. Our main export is ideas, magazine articles and movies.... and no-talent American Idol contestants who are "pursuing their dreams" rather than doing something productive. It is a plasticized circle-jerk. We left a balanced economy behind a while ago. It's a mitigating factor, I think, that these people cross the border to work, usually in hard, physical jobs. How can you entirely blame someone for wanting to improve their lot in life? Note: I'm not saying this excuses breaking the law, nor am I saying I want illegals here to take our jobs. The legislation was written with this in mind, but the issue is how 'compassionate' should we be? I lean toward "Not very." But it's a problem with a lot of causes, some of it the immigration itself leaving fewer people in Mexico and other countries. Their governments are not doing enough and don't have effective solutions, i.e. take all the land from the rich people and give it to the poor people. Try providing quality education. Grow food. Build roads. Produce fresh water. Build homes. But it's a problem of, 'Everything is f--ked up, so where the hell do we start? B/c in order to do this we need to have that, and before we have that we need to do the other...'

My soon-to-be sister-in-law's mother was here from the West Coast and we all went to dinner tonight, so I only caught the last 15 minutes. But, this is a teevee show, and I'd rather have something of a life that's not scheduled around Wednesdays at 9.... And no, don't have tivo, don't even have cable. Came in at the point where Rose was at the healer Isaac (Was it just me, the accent, or do all Aussies look the same, but that wasn't the guy who turned Kate in, was it?). He said that there was something in the ground --- geological, magnetic, who knows --- there that could heal people. Didn't work for Rose. Do the link, the island has these things. And she knew that Locke had been in a wheelchair..... Question for people here --- how many of you would stay on the island if it meant you were healed? Is that why the Others stay? Is that why they Michael is back. Says the Others are relatively unarmed and that they can be beaten. Cue on Sawyer to get the guns..... Question: Is this CrazyBizarroMichael who's brokered a deal to get Walt back, ala Rousseau?

Go! Go! Go! Ole, Ole, Ole!!! ... Oh....

Forgive me if I don't feel moved by a throng of illegal immigrants demanding that they be allowed to break the law. The purpose of marches is to show political power behind some cause. Which, I guess is an improvement from Medieval times, when such marches included swords, bow and arrow, d--k-in-mouth atrocity, etc. And to the congresscritters voting on this, it might behoove them to remember that illegal immigrants don't (well.... in theory) have a vote in how our country is run. What exactly is their political power? The 'social contract' lawmakers operate under should apply to citizens, rather than giving away jobs and transfer payments to people who don't belong here.

Yeah, I noticed that it went to about 10:10. Looked at the clock and was wondering whether it was a 2-hour ep. Oh, well. I won't complain.

Which leaves one fewer team in the CFL not named the Roughriders.

Good friggin' luck on this score. Easier to find out where Martin Borman and Howard Hughes were hiding. No kidding. The guy who writes the uniform column for ESPN tried to find names, email address, a mailing address for Tags and the front office. Nothing. As for the whole idea, you can spend your time, resources and money to do it, but just be aware that it will have ZERO effect when the league and owners want something, and the CBA made it clear that they don't want (or at least want to make it really tough for) small-market teams. Fans tried the same thing in Hartford for the Whalers....

According to VA, "4 x 4 = 56." Newsflash! The Bible is history put through a synthesizer of parable, and with a background beat of moralists and political leaders claiming divine right to justify their words or actions. Discussing these things is a lot like a discussion of whether Huck Finn floated down the Mississippi in a wood or a metal raft.

Dude, I think $250 would buy the place. (And, yes, I have been there.)

W -- Sep 10 @New England L -- Sep 17 @Miami W -- Sep 24 N.Y. Jets L -- Oct 1 Minnesota L -- Oct 8 @Chicago W -- Oct 15 @Detroit L -- Oct 22 New England W -- Nov 5 Green Bay L -- Nov 12 @Indianapolis W -- Nov 19 @Houston L -- Nov 26 Jacksonville L -- Dec 3 San Diego W -- Dec 10 @N.Y. Jets L -- Dec 17 Miami W -- Dec 24 Tennessee L -- Dec 31 @Baltimore 7-9

Well, it is a decision in the Hamlet sense....

I get a stick and a paper bag. The stick is for hunting big game, the bag is for boiling tea. And if you lose either of them, they charge you for it.

Is that a play-calling chart sticking out of your pants or are you just happy to see the offense?

Hmm. They give all of the freshman laptops, but do they ALSO give them Soap on a Rope®?

Yep, it was a gem of a show. My batch of DVDs arrived a little fubar'ed. Heard that there's a new company that released all 3/4 seasons for cheap. CBS yanked it around very unfairly (at one time, it was the highest-rated show on its night) which caused its straits. A certain vindication that the creator of it has now won the Oscar for best screenplay two years in a row. As Harold Perrineau said in the DVD Extras, we find out in Season 2 that Michael really works for SD-6. Seriously, tho, they need to address what's happening to him. As the previews show that Jack will attempt a trade of Henry for Walt, I think it might happen next week. 1. I think Locke wants to check it out closely for himself before he tells anyone. I'd also speculate that he experiments with the countdown sequence. He's in a bit of a situation with his leg, tho. 2. Sawyer's got all the guns, don't you know. He headed off the formation of the army, b/c he (warily) accepts the Others' offer of a truce as long as the Lostaways stay on their side of the island. 3. Well, it's not exactly an organized, centralized govt that everyone who's going to do something needs to tell everyone else what they're doing. I'm flashing on the Seinfeld bit about telling the airplane pilot, "I'm gonna have the peanuts now!" Live Together/Die Alone has its limits. And, Kate did tell Jack about the journey to the medical hatch. Largely, these people are on their own; then again it's not all that different than our lives in 'civilization.'

The number I read in an article on it yesterday was ~$30B. Which, when you think about it in how finances are bandied about by our govt, isn't all that much. But, removed from the abstract that is Washington DC, it's a lot of effin' money. And then, it's done every year. All for sh-- like a teapot museum, $1M for research into weaponizing mosquitos, etc.

No need to apologize, the snarking was deserved. The St. Pauli Girl said so too. In the clearness of sobriety, I'll agree that the changing of the gametimes do create quite a burden on fans from out of town. If it's originally a 1 p.m. game and gets changed to 8:15 p.m., that puts the kibosh on someone being able to get to work on Monday morning, not to mention lodging and plane tickets --- 12 days is kind of short notice for either changing accomodations or selling the tickets. Another case of the NFL getting more and more geared toward the white-collar fan and not thinking about people who actually have to budget their time and money. An extension of the ethos behind the CBA. I guess they rationalize that the plebians are just watching on teevee anyway --- but, for those of us who do, it will be good.

This was something I was wonderin g about too. Has received ZERO attention from the media, even in the dolrums. How hard is it to ask Russ Brandon (I would assume it's he who's handling this, as Marv is all football) what's going on? Teams have to inform the league of a change a year in advance. I wonder whether the previous admin did that (TD wanted to use them the rest of the season after week 1, which may make it too late to do a switch this season). The yoke jerseys are TD's era, and I think we all want to just put that behind us. The throwbacks are sharp and harken back to some of the better days of Bills football. For those of us who have taken to "rooting for the laundry" rather than players that come and go in FA, it'd be nice to have good-looking laundry.

That'll teach me not to post while drinking.... Mea culpa.

Maybe they'll hire George Costanza as Assistant to the Traveling Secretary. I'm sure they have people who take care of that, and many teams charter their flights and book hotels. Might be a logistical problem but it's the NFL and I'd think they'll come up with some kind of strategem. Not exactly a 'Bob and Sons' enterprise, don't you know....

You know, why does everyone have this defeatist thing with him being gone? Are we only going to be allowed to field 10 players on offense next season? He took less money to play for a team that has just as many questions as the Bills. The stink of it, tho, is how Moulds said during his visit that he was looking forward to working out with the QB and WRs in the offseason.... Maybe if he'd done that last year, he wouldn't have been on a different page as Losman and Evans who really did connect. You only get out what you put in. Many of his recent problems have been of his own making. So, blue skies and green lights, Eric! All the more reason to simply "root for the laundry." Lastly, I refuse to take seriously the opinions of people who actually call him 'EMO.' Greg Johnson, is that you?

Yes, lots to chew on is right.... So, in another show I used to watch, called "due South" a ghost character was introduced, more or less to provide a surrogate to the main character's internal thoughts. Not sure what role Dave played (did anyone catch the Cheech and Chong "Dave's not here, man" reference early in? The actor (he's a comedian, right?) played that really well. Line of the night: "Way to go for the high-percentage shot!" when the guy placed the ball on the floor. ) . But it did allow us to see that Hurley internalized his problem through eating more food. This played out in the island/Dharma dropping more food when Hurley went destructo on his Dharma stash. And it follows a logical string that the (sub?)concious Hurley might be expected to follow. The island is composed of a bunch of stuff from the hospital, most notably the numbers. Therefore, Hurley's subconsiou is saying, 'If I kill myself, it'll all reset.' It's kind of a last refuge of someone who's got psychological problems and yet is cognizant of the possibility that all that's around him is a delusion/dream. So, while Dave is imaginary and it is evidence that Hurley was/is a little nutso, it can also be viewed as a reaction to the stuff happening around him. The ending was a Whoa moment, but had been hinted at when Hurley said he thought he remembered her from somewhere.. So.... is Libby pretending to be a psychologist on the island?... Did she get out of the ward and become one (I have heard of this happening, tho the timeframe is rather short, I believe, from when Hurley was in the hospital to when the plane crashed --- maybe 2 years?). Is she stalking Hurley? Was the hospital run by the Hanso or Dharma people? How's that for 'You better not screw with Hurley.' Did Sawyer not look very pathetic when faced with the prospect that he couldn't control everything? As for the 5 minutes they devoted to the Henry Gale story.... What I suspected from the start was true. Said that Mr. Friendly/Zeke was a virtual nobody in the Other's group. And that the code is a pschological experiment joke just to see how long someone will push the buttons. The map on the door last week seemed to suggest that (specifically the part about CVIII being inoperative) Wonder if we'll see Desmond again to get any more input.