Tuesday, December 31, 2013

2013 Sean's Ramblings Year In Review

Welcome to my 9th annual year in review, where I take the first few lines of the first entry of each month in order to produce a random and (hopefully) interesting summary of 2013.

January - Have you ever wondered who visits Sean's Ramblings and how they found this blog? No? Really, it's just me?

February - With the Super Bowl over, it's time to turn our attention to hockey, college basketball and even baseball's Spring Training. Dan, who formally announced his retirement from blogging and one of the people who inspired me to start Sean's Ramblings, passed on this story from last week.

March - We're going all the way to Kuwait for the first video.

April - Today's post comes from Ya Jagoff! ,and is part of a special day of shenanigans from other Pittsburgh Bloggers. Enjoy (and make sure to read all the way to the bottom to see where you can find my guest post)!

May - Although I'm not in the market for a new home, it never hurts to look, right? I've lived in Northern Virginia for almost 12 years, so staying in the Washington DC area makes sense. Obviously, I would want something bigger than where I currently live.

June - The Pittsburgh Penguins are in the Eastern Conference Finals and the Pittsburgh Pirates are tied for the second best record in the majors. Therefore I'm writing about, um, the Pittsburgh Steelers today. I recently received an e-mail from NFLShop.com selling Steelers swimwear.

July - Although this video is a month old, how often have you seen Thomas Dolby perform "She Blinded Me With Science" with astronaut Buzz Aldrin?

August - Although I've followed the Pittsburgh Pirates as closely as ever, I've avoided writing this blog post for many weeks. After collapses in both 2011 and 2012, my fear is that the Pirates will collapse again as soon as I write about the team's success.

September - My son starts his first day of preschool today. It's a brand new place for him with teachers and other kids he has never met. Plus, instead of sleeping in a crib or pack-and-play, he's going to sleep on a mat for the first time.

October - Today should be a happy day as the Pittsburgh Pirates are playing in their first playoff game since 1992. After 20 straight losing seasons, it has been an extraordinary year watching Andrew McCutchen stake his claim as the National League MVP, Pedro Alvarez tie for the league title in home runs, and the pitching staff seemingly always getting key outs. Unfortunately, one of the biggest Pirates fans I know, my cousin Bob, passed away Friday night.

November - You may have noticed that I don't update Sean's Ramblings nearly as often as I used to. I could share a variety of excuses, but really, it's President Obama's fault.

December - You've seen matryoshka dolls (I looked up the name), or Russian nesting dolls, where there are dolls of decreasing size placed inside other dolls. Personally, I think these are really cool. I have no idea where my aunt found this but she gave me one of former Pittsburgh Penguin great Jaromir Jagr.

I hope that you enjoyed Sean's Ramblings in 2013! Thanks for your support, and I'll "see" you here in 2014. Have a Happy New Year!

Monday, December 30, 2013

Steelers-Browns-Chiefs-Chargers Recap

It's time to put the Terrible Towels away until next season. Start the season 0-4 and lose to an awful Oakland Raiders team and you really don't deserve to make the playoffs. Sure, the Steelers should have reached the playoffs based on the mediocre San Diego Chargers' performance against the replacement Kansas City Chiefs (more on this below), but that obviously didn't happen. Here are some of my thoughts about the Steelers-Browns game:

- Steelers RB Le'Veon Bell ran for 90 yards and a TD. He finished the season with 1163 total yards in 13 games. I'm excited to see how Bell progresses in the future.

- While drunk driving is extremely dangerous and drunk drivers certainly deserve the appropriate punishment, you would think that Robocop would do more than catch drunk drivers.



- After Troy Polamalu made a tackle CBS announcer Steve Beuerlein said "You see the way he throws his body around & just gives it up." That sounds a little dirty.

- J.J. Watt should enjoy being in all of these commercials now. On a 2-14 team, he won't be in many (or any) next year.

- At 3:34, Ziggy started knocking things off of the dining room table to get my attention since he wanted food. Doesn't he understand that the Steelers game was on (and that it was too early to eat)?

- Antonio Brown had another solid game (9 catches, 87 yards) as part of an incredible season where he became the first player in NFL history to have at least 5 receptions and 50 yards in all 16 regular season games. While I'm not going to compare Brown with Calvin Johnson, the best WR in the NFL, I do see some potential similarities in the other wide receivers around them. Johnson has never had a really good #2 receiver, though that hasn't stopped him. Meanwhile, with Emmanuel Sanders a free agent, Jerricho Cotchery a year older and Markus Wheaton unimpressive as a rookie, it will be interesting to see how the Steelers surround Brown next year.


I really don't have much more to write about the Steelers game. Jarvis Jones and Lawrence Timmons both played well. The offense played good enough to win, the special teams didn't make any mistakes and the defense played a solid game.

This brings us to the post game. With the Dolphins and Jets both losing, if the Chargers defeated Kansas City, they would be the #6 seed. If they lost to Kansas City, the Steelers would be in the playoffs. It would have been nice if Heinz Field stayed open to show the game on the scoreboard.

What would have been more fun was if the NFL had cameras in the Steelers locker room showing them watching the Chiefs-Chargers game. Better yet, maybe the team could have watched the game at Mike Tomlin's house. Imagine seeing Brett Keisel's reaction when one of Tomlin's kids stands in front of the TV!

- In the NBA, injured or inactive players tend to wear suits or at least dress nicely on the bench. In the NHL, scratched players dress nicely in the booth. Kansas City players such as Alex Smith and Jamaal Charles sure looked professional...wearing Chiefs T-shirts and shorts.


- KC running back Knile Davis is by far my favorite person named Knile.

- Ryan Succop missed a field goal at the end of regulation that would have put the Steelers in the playoffs. That sucked.

- The Chargers ran perhaps one of the dumbest plays in NFL history by doing a fake punt from their own 28 yard-line. If they were unsuccessful, the Chiefs would be in field goal range to try to win the game (again). Instead, the determination that the runner's forward progress was stopped even though there was no whistle or indication by a referee as to where to spot the ball. Oh, and the play couldn't be reviewed. Behind the Steel Curtain has more on this.

- There was also the penalty that should have been called that wasn't called during the final Succop field goal. For all of the complaints about this though, I didn't see anyone mention this during the broadcast or on Twitter when this happened.

Remember my first paragraph about the Steelers not deserving to make the playoffs? San Diego is not much better. They lost to Houston and Washington, the two worst teams in the NFL. Miami & Baltimore don't have any rightful claims to the final AFC Wild Card spot either. Oh well. Big off-season for the Steelers, but I'm optimistic about the team's future.

Friday, December 27, 2013

2013 News Bloopers (Friday Video)

This is an enjoyable and funny video of the best news bloopers of 2013. Please note that it may be NSFW due to some bad words here and there from newscasters. There's also an ad around the 7:15 mark that is fairly annoying. I get ads at the beginning of videos, but why put one in the middle? Anyway, have fun, and I dare you not to laugh.



h/t Deadspin

Thursday, December 26, 2013

Random Ramblings

- Over the past few days, my son successfully used the potty three times. This is a huge accomplishment, and one that I felt needed to be shared on Twitter.



Yes, I really did read The Washington Post Magazine's Date Lab to him on the potty. While I think he is headed in the right direction in becoming potty trained, I learned last night that there is still a long way to go. After sitting on the potty for 10-15 minutes without going while I read him books (and part of Date Lab), as soon as he got off the potty, he urinated on the towel on the floor.



- My car hit 100,000 miles near the Virginia-North Carolina border in March 2012 as part of my annual hockey road trip . My car just reached 110,000 miles a few days ago. Only 10,000 miles in 21 months is fairly impressive.

- Why is orange juice sold in a refrigerated section of grocery stores while apple juice is not?

- In the Yiddish language, the number three is dray. Yes, now every time you hear a Dr. Dre song, you'll think about him as Dr. Three.

- I planned on dedicating an entire blog post to the new online soccer referee recertification exam, but part of the annual recertification class involved a session on social media. We are not to discuss confidential information, so I cannot write that I'm going to work several matches in Brazil next year as part of a tournament that rhymes with Morld Pup.

- There are radio stations that play on Christmas songs in December, but why not a station that plays only love songs around Valentine's Day? How about stations that play summer songs in July (they could play Summertime by DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince on a loop!) or Halloween songs in October (all Monster Mash, all the time)?

- Finally, I just learned that I know the person who coined the phrase Thanksgivukkah. Go Pittsburgh people!

Tuesday, December 24, 2013

Crazy Fantasy Football Championship Finish

I'm in 6 fantasy football leagues this year. In hindsight, this is too many leagues. Actually, I realized that this is too many leagues by week 3. Anyway, perhaps due to being in too many leagues, I had a terrible fantasy football season. I only made the playoffs in 2 of the 6 leagues and was eliminated in the first round of the playoffs in one of those leagues. However, I reached the championship in the Pittsburgh Bloggers fantasy football league only to see one of the weirdest and wildest endings in fantasy history. Well, at least my extensive football history.

Going into Monday night, Sean's Team (yes, that's my actual team name) led Shrimp Shack Shooters ("SSS") by 4 points. I had the 49ers defense while SSS had Tony Gonzalez starting. Here's your fantastic finish:

With 2 minutes and 10 seconds remaining, I had a 5 point lead.

2:09 - Tony Gonzalez with a TD catch, but there are two flags on the play...both on SF. The TD catch gave SSS 6 points while causing my DEF to lose points. Instantly, SSS took a 4 point lead.

Atlanta recovers an onside kick. Tony Gonzalez makes another catch or two increasing SSS' receiving yards (& fantasy points).

1:10 - NaVorro Bowman of the SF intercepts a Matt Ryan pass and returns it 89 yards for a TD. The 8 points (6 for the TD & 2 for the INT) gives me a 2 point lead. Woo!

:21 - Gonzalez with an 11 yard catch reduces my lead to 1.

:05 - Gonzalez with a 9 yard catch. While I believe that we're tied, all of a sudden, I'm down 2. I get very confused. (I later discover that Gonzalez's catch gives Atlanta 402 total yards. In the league you get -1 points if your defense allows 350-399 yards but -3 when your defense gives up 400-449 yards. We need to change this next year.)

Last play of the game - SF intercepts the Hail Mary pass. We're tied!

Go to the league rules for tie-breakers, but there are none. Who is the Commissioner of this league? (It's me. Crap.) Well, I'm blaming Alex since he created the league and the rules last year.

So we have a tie and no tie-breaker. I can't say that I'm a fan of a co-champions. Am I the Miami Hurricanes while SSS is the Washington Huskies? One possible solution is to use bench points as a tie-breaker. In this scenario, SSS would win. While I'm fine with giving SSS the title, but we can't really make a new rule on Christmas Eve, right? Christmas spirit or fantasy integrity or something?

Regardless, this was an exciting ending!


Update: For some reason, ESPN determined that SSS won the league. Maybe because he had a better regular season record than me?

Monday, December 23, 2013

Holiday Videos

There's a good chance that you have already seen these holiday videos, but if not, enjoy the Pittsburgh Penguins and the Holderness family videos.



Of all of the song titles, my favorite is "Do Jussi What I See?"

Sunday, December 22, 2013

Pittsburgh, Virginia?

Are you a Pittsburgher living in Virginia and looking for a last minute Christmas gift? Here's your chance to show your Pittsburgh spirit by, um, wearing a T-shirt with the word Pittsburgh over the map of Virginia.


While I don't get it, I'll let Teespring, the company designing these shirts, explain:

There are many Pittsburgh fans in the state of Virginia, but unique Penguins fan gear is hard to find. (Sean's note: It is even more unique to find Penguins fan gear that doesn't include anything about the Penguins on it.) Be one of a kind with this Virginia for Pittsburgh limited edition shirt. (You certainly will be one of a kind.)

Each shirt is printed on super soft premium material and remember we always offer a money back guarantee! (Not just soft, super soft!)

This shirt would be perfect...if you lived in Pittsburgh, Virginia. According to Google maps, although there are several Pittsburgh Paints stores in Virginia and a Pittsburgh Tank & Tower Corporation in Virginia Beach, there is no such place as Pittsburgh, Virginia.

Anyway, an ad for Virginia for Pittsburgh T-Shirts appeared on my Facebook feed. In looking at the reactions, plenty of other folks were confused, or worse (several NSFW comments), about these T-shirts. Ah the holiday spirit!

Friday, December 20, 2013

Friday Video: Recovery by Frank Turner

Have you ever thought that you discovered a new artist and/or new song way before everyone else only to learn that the YouTube video for the song has 1.8 million views? I know that I'm not alone on this one (right?). In this case, I'm describing Frank Turner, who apparently is no relation to Ike Turner or Frank Thomas, and his song Recovery.

Enjoy!

Thursday, December 19, 2013

Where The Jews At

I love maps. I also love seeing maps with various colors representing, well, anything. In this case, Joshua Comenetz created this map of the U.S. Jewish population by the 113th Congressional districts.



This is fascinating. Here are some notes on the project:

- The estimate of the Jewish population in all Congressional Districts is 6,735,830, approximately 2.18% of the total U.S. population.

- Not surprisingly, there are more Jews in New York City and the greater NYC area than anywhere else. Boston, Philadelphia, Chicago, Atlanta, Los Angeles, Miami, Baltimore, Washington, and San Francisco/San Jose also have Congressional districts with at least 50,000 Jews.

- Conversely, there are virtually no Jews anywhere in North Dakota or South Dakota. The least Jewish district is Oklahoma's 2nd district with 0.004% of the population or 30 people. That's less than the number of people in the Pittsburgh Pirates dugout during a regular season game!

- There are over 10,000 Jews in the southeastern Arizona Congressional district? Even if Tucson is part of this district, that number seems high.

- Want more? The Berman Jewish Databank at the Jewish Federations of North America has a summary of the results including multiple downloads. My favorite is the Excel chart showing the estimated Jewish population of every Congressional district. Apparently, the district where I live has 22,000 Jews or 3.02% of the population

- Comenetz's 10-page PDF summary is available here.

- The Yeshiva World News has information too.

Wednesday, December 18, 2013

Before Guy Cool, After Guy Sad

We have all seen plenty of advertisements that feature before and after pictures. There's the bald guy in the before picture that thanks to some magical product has a full head of hair in the after picture. Sometimes you see Mike Ditka doing, um, something with his teeth. Easily the most common before-after advertisements show miraculous weight loss among the pictured individual(s). I often find that the pictures are so unclear that you're not even sure that the person is the same. Regardless, the person in the after picture always looks better. Right?

Welcome to this ad by Clarendon Fitness published in a recent Express.


While I believe that Clarendon Fitness wants to show that the guy lost weight due to his use of their gym, you're not quite sure based on the pictures. Does he really look thinner in the after picture? Besides, the guy looks happy, humorous and funny in the before picture and dejected and miserable in the after picture. Did anyone from Clarendon Fitness notice this while proofing the ad? Maybe they were just looking at the woman in the bikini.

The guy is not really the best endorsement for the gym. Of course, maybe everyone is just looking at the woman.

Update: It's always fun when I hear from the company that was the subject of my blog post. Take it away, Clarendon Fitness.

Tuesday, December 17, 2013

The Secret Life of Derek Anderson

You may remember Derek Anderson as probably the greatest Cleveland Browns quarterback of the 21st century. Yes, that's not really high praise. In 2007, Anderson threw for 29 touchdowns (and 19 interceptions) while leading the Browns to a 10-6 record and earning a spot in the Pro Bowl. Of course, Anderson never matched that success going 8-17 as a starter over the next three seasons including a 2-7 record as a member of the Arizona Cardinals. While you may know that Anderson is still in the league as a member of the Carolina Panthers, you may not know that he is an illustrator of one of my son's favorite books: The Potty Train.


While my son really does love this book written by David Hochman & Ruth Kennision and illustrated by Anderson, it really hasn't helped with potty training. We read the book while he is on the toilet, but it's not like he has actually gone potty. Getting back to Anderson, who knew that the former Oregon State quarterback had the time and the ability to illustrate children's books?

Of course, perhaps I have the wrong Derek Anderson. Maybe the illustrator is actually the Derek Anderson who won an NCAA basketball championship with Kentucky and an NBA Championship with the Miami Heat as part of his 12-year NBA career.

Monday, December 16, 2013

Razor Review

I hate shaving. If it were up to me, I'd look like Brett Keisel or one of those Duck Dynasty guys.


Of course, that type of beard may not go over well with some members of family and colleagues. Plus, there would likely be a little gray in my beard these days. Therefore, I generally shave about 6 days per week. It takes way too much time to shave, and despite shaving for about 25 years, I still manage to cut myself more often than I should. Yes, razors can be expensive, but I do what I have to do to look this good!

Enter the MicroTouch One razor.


I jumped at the opportunity to get this razor for free just for reviewing this product. According to the product description, MicroTouch One is the modern version of the timeless classic safety razor. A substantial and precision-crafted tool, MicroTouch One is made of solid brass and chrome plated to a beautiful, polished shine. The razor and the case certainly look cool.


Plus, Rick Harrison of Pawn Stars calls the MicroTouch One razor "the best shave of your life." Although I enjoyed watching Pawn Stars several years ago, I have to disagree with Harrison. Using the MircoTouch One, I had one of the worst shaves of my life, and I've had a lot of bad shaves. After shaving with the MicroTouch One, I actually had to use my regular razor to even the shave. To be fair to MicroTouch One, there's a very good chance there was user error. The product was heavier than I was used to, and I wasn't exactly sure that I put the razor in properly. It never felt right though I could certainly feel a razor against my skin. While I could (and probably should) try the razor again, I just don't have time in the morning to mess around with this again.

For $19.99, the case, the razor and the 12 blades seems like a good deal. It just wasn't for me.

Despite this not-so-glowing review, I'm certainly happy to continue to review other products companies want to send me for free! Operators are standing by!

Thursday, December 12, 2013

Random Quotes

- Although we've already discussed Selena Gomez singing about Mr. T in her song Slow Down, there's another line that I wanted to bring to your attention.

You know I'm good with mouth to mouth resuscitation.

Does that mean that Selena Gomez has her CPR license? Has she actually saved someone from drowning in her previous job as a lifeguard? Is there a rating system of mouth to mouth resuscitation and how do we know that Selena is on the good side?

- I recently completed Billy Crystal's book Still Foolin' 'Em: Where I've Been, Where I'm Going, and Where the Hell Are My Keys? I found the book entertaining and found many of his stories, including any interaction with Muhammad Ali, fascinating. Of course, I needed to share his experience playing in a Spring Training game as a member of the New York Yankees against the Pittsburgh Pirates.

"The Pirates pitcher was Paul Maholm: six foot two, 220 pounds, from Mississippi. Never been to a Seder."

"The windup, the pitch. It's a cutter. The nastiest cutter I've seen since my bris."

Ha!

- A few weeks ago, Bob Smizik of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette wrote a blog post about how aggressive the St. Louis Cardinals had been in upgrading their roster. Commentor Bill Maloni wrote my favorite reply.

Um, because he's a prospect for the Pirates?

They don't have the money to sign Byrd; they don't have the money to sign Peralta; they bailed at giving AJ an offer sheet; and they missed out on Jack Johnson.


How could the Pirates miss out on Jack Johnson? Clearly, the team needed to get the laid-back, Hawaiian musician on their roster!

- Unlike Lady Gaga in her new song with R Kelly, I have never told anyone that they can do what they want with my body. Have you?

Tuesday, December 10, 2013

My Grammar Battle with a Newspaper Editor

Let me preface this post by stating that grammar, spelling and vocabulary are not my strong suits. My SAT verbal score was below average. It's actually amazing that I've written this blog for so long.

I also understand that grammar and spelling are seemingly non-existent on Twitter. People type quickly or post Tweets from their phones which can make it difficult for editing. Plus, many people mistake your for you're way too often. Maybe it is wrong of me, but I tend to hold journalists and editors to a higher standards on Twitter than your typical high school student. That's why I am irked by this with correspondence Jerry Micco, the Assistant Managing Editor/Sports at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.





Take a look at the first Tweet. By my count, Jerry only used 110 of the 140 characters allotted by Twitter. Seems like there are more than enough characters to add an extra "L" and "W" particularly when there are two spaces between Mike and Tomlin.

To Jerry's reply to me, is there a spelling police? Maybe this is some kind of NSA force that Edward Snowden exposed. Jerry might know this through his newspaper access.

Oh, it's always nice to be called dude by a guy in his mid to late 50s.

Monday, December 09, 2013

Steelers-Dolphins Recap

The Steelers season is over. I mean, they're still going to play three more games, but the team has virtually no chance of making the playoffs. The Steelers have had moments this season where they looked amazing, but there have been more times when they have not looked good. Too many offensive turnovers early in the season. The inability for the defense to make big stops. Injuries. Questions about coaching and personnel. There's going to be a lot of talk in the next few days, weeks and months about where the team goes from here, but, as the title suggests, I want to share my thoughts about Sunday's game. As always, my recaps are different than any other Steelers recap you'll read.

- Let's start with the final play of the game. Here's what I think the Dolphins players were thinking during this play.

Oh, this is cute. The Steelers are going to try to lateral all over the field. Oh, an offensive lineman has the ball. Hilarious. Isn't this where they started at the beginning of the play? Back to Big Ben. Wait, is he allowed to throw it down the field again? Let's just tackle him anyway. He just flipped the ball to Antonio Brown. Was that a forward lateral? Hold on. Antonio Brown has the ball. Holy crap! Not Antonio Brown. He's really, really fast and really, really good. Uh oh. Uh oh. Ref called him out of bounds. He was out, right? Okay. Whew. That was close. Let's get out of the cold and get some Smiley Cookies.

- I'm always amazed at the number of players who do not wear long-sleeve shirts underneath their jerseys on cold games. What you usually don't see is the same players putting on heavy jackets on the sidelines. I think NFL players are sending the wrong message here. Basically, their actions are showing that it is okay to expose your arms in freezing temperatures. This could increase the number of potential frostbite cases among people trying to emulate their favorite players. WOULD SOMEONE PLEASE THINK OF THE CHILDREN!


- For the Steelers, you can't expect to win while giving up 181 rushing yards, especially when Daniel Thomas (!) runs for over 100 yards.

- Cameron Heyward has really played well this season. He had 10 tackles on Sunday, including a sack, and a batted-down pass. Heyward just needs to be careful to not go all Hulk Hogan and slam his opponents down on the turf.

- The Dolphins have an offensive lineman named John Jerry. I bet you didn't know this, but John Jerry Jingleheimer Schmidt; his name is my name too!

- This is the only truly serious part of the recap, so feel free to skip this section if you'd like to read my usual humorous banter. During the Thanksgiving game against the Ravens, Steelers running back Le'Veon Bell appeared to get knocked unconscious late in the game and was later diagnosed with a concussion. As the witty announcer Dan Fouts said, he got his Bell rung. Cute. Anyway, with all we have learned about concussions and brain injuries over the past few years, it seems, questionable, at best that Bell returned to the field only 10 days after his injury. I guess that the doctors cleared him to play, but his head injury has to be concerning.

- It seems like nearly every Steelers-Dolphins game is played in bad weather. There was the 3-0 Steelers win in a 2007 Monday Night game which started late due to a major thunderstorm. I also seem to remember a game in Miami where there was tropical storm rain.

- Grudge Match with Robert De Niro and Sylvester Stallone looks like a terrible movie. I hope that Alan Arkin is getting paid well to appear in this film.


- I was surprised that Troy Polamalu's interception return for a touchdown was only his 3rd pick-6 of his career. I thought he had more.

- Miami's Charles Clay is arguably the most successful Clay since former Congressman Henry Clay. You didn't expect to see a reference to the former Whig Party Presidential candidate as well the Speaker of the House and Senator from Kentucky in the Dolphins-Steelers recap, did you?

I'm guessing a live blog of next week's Sunday night game against the Bengals is unlikely.

Thursday, December 05, 2013

The Curse Of Taylor Swift

Take a look at this picture:


From left to right, you have Max Talbot, Jordan Staal, Taylor Swift, Alex Goligoski & Tyler Kennedy. I'm not sure when this picture took place, but it was at a time when the four guys pictured all played for the Pittsburgh Penguins while Taylor Swift wasn't feeling 22 yet. Anyway, all four of the players are no longer part of the Penguins organization, and while they have each done well financially, they have not achieved the level of professional success they did as members of the Penguins. So is there a Taylor Swift curse?

From yesterday's Pittsburgh Post-Gazette interview with Tyler Kennedy:

It’s pretty crazy, but that’s hockey. Not too many guys stay with the same team their whole career. Maybe it was that Taylor Swift [jinx] thing. I don’t think I’ll be going to any concerts in San Jose with Taylor Swift, that’s for sure. But I thought we really came together as a line, and I think we had a great two, three years. We really became close as friends. Maybe that’s why we did so well on the ice. The biggest thing was, we just played well together.

(emphasis added)

Did they know she was trouble when she walked in? I wonder if there are teardrops on guitars somewhere.

Tuesday, December 03, 2013

What Is The Worst Excuse You Ever Used?

My trip to the dentist on Monday reminded me of a visit to my pediatric dentist as a kid. During the cleaning many years ago, my dentist asked me if I knew there was a piece of bread or cereal in my mouth. My reply was no and that I thought it was a tooth. I don't think that reply went over very well with him.

Possibly because of this incident, I make sure to brush my teeth and not eat anything else after brushing before my appointment. I also learned not to provide excuses to dentists. I currently have a great relationship with my dentist, and she even got us an electric toothbrush as a wedding gift. I think that one of the reasons is that we have an honest and open teeth relationship. Early on, she asked me if I floss, and I said no. She hasn't asked me since, and my teeth have always looked good. I've had other dentists tell me that I should floss, and for some reason, I resent this. It's like the dentists went to some type of school that teaches them to guilt patients into buying floss. I bet Oral-B is behind this!

So what's the worst excuse that you ever used? Did it work?

On a completely different subject, why is there still no updated technology for x-raying teeth so that you don't have to wear the heavy vest?

Monday, December 02, 2013

Found In My Basement: European Penguins

You've seen matryoshka dolls (I looked up the name), or Russian nesting dolls, where there are dolls of decreasing size placed inside other dolls. Personally, I think these are really cool. I have no idea where my aunt found this but she gave me one of former Pittsburgh Penguin great Jaromir Jagr.


Inside Jagr are a collection of Penguins from the late 1990s all from the USSR (Darius Kasparaitis, Alex Kovalev, Aleksey Morozov) or Czechoslovakia (Jagr & Martin Straka)



I feel like Robert Lang or Jan Hrdina were probably upset that they weren't included. Oh, this doll is out of my basement and into the living room.


Please make sure to see other items found in my basement.