TMI Thursday: Ziggy Broke My Computer

When we first brought Ziggy into our family last November, I’m sure that some of you were concerned that this blog would turn into post after post about the energetic kitten. Fortunately, the Steelers’ Super Bowl victory and Penguins’ march to the Stanley Cup prevented that from happening. Unfortunately (for some of you), the Steelers used their first-round draft pick on a defensive lineman named Ziggy (Hood), so this gave me more opportunities to write about our kitten, now cat, in the context of the Steelers. A win-win for everyone!

Up until today, all of my posts about Ziggy have been positive as I shared cute pictures of him and stories about my life as a pet owner. However, Ziggy seems to be attracted to wires lately. Specifically, he discovered the power cord to our home computer. Now I may or may not have shared that this 5+ year-old laptop is terrible. It’s extremely slow and is pretty much useless except for allowing me to type and publish blog posts (which could also be useless if you’re not a fan of my blog). Anyway, Ziggy managed to chew partially through the power cord so that it no longer works. This is especially a problem since the computer battery literally lasts about 90 seconds without the power cord.

Please excuse me for a brief tangent. As part of TMI Thursday a few months ago, I shared that I am not handy and that Home Depot scares me. I also know very little about computers or how to repair computer software or hardware. I was told that I could fix the cord destroyed by Ziggy by cutting off the damaged portion, splicing the wire together, and then covering it with electrical tape. As you can probably guess, I’m not exactly comfortable doing this as I envision the cord and computer catching on fire due to my handywork. Therefore, I went to Best Buy today to see if the Geek Squad could help. They told me that they won’t touch the cord, but that I can replace it for the low cost of $105. My next stop was Radio Shack who offered to sell me the materials to splice and tape the wire but not to repair it themselves. The cost for a brand new cord at The Shack is $100.

While I’m not sure what I’m going to do (my current goal is to try to find a used cord that no one is using anymore), Ziggy must be punished for the destruction he caused. Therefore, I am sad to report that Ziggy has been banished into the wilderness. Don’t feel bad for Ziggy as the sweet kitten may actually be an evil cat as evidenced by this picture.



We wish Ziggy well in his future endeavors!

For more TMI Thursdays, please visit LiLu and you can click here to see all of my TMI Thursday archives.

John Allen Muhammad & The Death Penalty

If you stopped by today looking for trivia, funny Steelers stories or more pictures of my mustache, I apologize as I'm going to be a little serious. I'm guessing that this post's title might have been a tip off! Anyway, John Allen Muhammad was executed Tuesday evening by lethal injection. I'm conflicted over this. I am generally against the death penalty as I find the practice barbaric and it does not represent a deterrent. At the same time, I feel like Muhammad deserved the death penalty. For those of you not familiar with Muhammad, he and Lee Boyd Malvo, who was a teenager at the time, killed 10 innocent and random people in October 2002 and wounded several others. They killed someone at a Home Depot parking lot and another at a gas station. They shot and wounded a child near a school. There really was no
rhyme or reason to their killings.

The entire DC area lived in fear over a three-week period. There was no outdoor recess at schools and many sporting events across the region were cancelled. People walked in a zig-zag fashion on the street and ran from their cars into stores and homes. Gas stations put up tarps around the pumps. Everyone listened to the radio or watched local news to hear about another shooting. Every white van was looked at suspiciously. It truly was a scary time to live here.

Muhammad's death doesn't end a chapter, close a book or whatever metaphor you want to use. I doubt the families and friends of those he killed feel closure. How can there be when a loved one's life ends tragically, much earlier than it should, and for no reason?

Thoughts?



There's more about this in The Washington Post and Yahoo/AP.

Trivia Tuesday: Name the Movie Band

Happy Tuesday everyone! If the Steelers lost last night, I would not have started this post with this phrase, but a Steelers win equals a Happy Tuesday! Anyway, your challenge this week is to name the movie based on the famous fictional band. The quiz begins (dramatic pause), NOW!

1. Citizen Dick
2. The Thamesmen
3. The Good Old Boys
4. The Soggy Bottom Boys
5. The Wonders
6. Stillwater
7. Steel Dragon
8. Randy Watson and Sexual Chocolate
9. The Lone Rangers
10. Wyld Stallyns

For trivia night, we were presented with a list of movies, so the challenge was to match the band with the movie. I'm not going to include the movie titles, for now, but if you're struggling (and ask nicely), we can play the match game later.

As usual, please leave your responses in the comments section below and please don't search the internet for answers. Good luck!

This quiz is courtesy of the fine folks at Stump Trivia.

Steelers-Broncos Live Blog

Join me and the guys from White Nerdy Wonks for a live blog of tonight's Pittsburgh Steelers-Denver Bronocs game. I'm sure that we'll weigh in on the performance of Ziggy Hood, how Ryan "Steely" McBean managed to wind up as a starter in Denver, Ryan Clark's spleen, my mustache, fantasy football implications, and the current health care legislation. Well, maybe we won't touch on all of these topics, but we will discuss the game!

Great Mustaches in History: Movember Continues

George Clooney


Dr. Phil


Brooke Shields


Rollie Fingers (perhaps the greatest of the great)


Sean


This picture comes from Sunday or day eight of Movember. Scroll down to last week's post to see the difference between now and four days ago. I think the mustache is making some excellent progress.

As I mentioned earlier, I am growing this mustache as part of Movember to raise funds for the Prostate Cancer Foundation and the Lance Armstrong Foundation (LIVESTRONG). Please contribute by clicking on this link. Seeing me with a mustache is certainly worth $2, $5 or more, right? Plus, all donations are tax deductible.

Thank you!

h/t Captain Easychord for the Rollie Fingers pic

For Your Sunday Viewing Pleasure

I don't have much to share today, but these links are definitely worth your time:

Cotter has the biggest Meeting People Is Easy ever! [One for the Other Thumb]

Your opinion of Nickelback may change. Well, probably not. [Carissa Jaded]

I don't understand the Ithaca College football team this year. They had three loses and were blown out against Springfield last week. This week, they crush previously undefeated Alfred 31-10 to keep their slim playoff hopes alive. [Ithaca College Bombers]

In honor of Ohio State defeating the overrated Penn State (that amazing non-conference schedule is really paying dividends), enjoy Script Ohio by The Best Damn Band in the Land.



h/t Nichole

Lyric of the Day

Baby are you down, down, down, down, down. - Jay Sean

Note that Mr. Sean doesn’t just ask "baby" if she's down or even down, down. He wants to make sure that baby clearly understands what he is asking by using the word five times. He also isn’t playing confusing pattern games asking if baby is down, up, down, up, down.

Totally unrelated, have you noticed how many people in the music business have the name Sean? Besides Jay Sean, there is Sean Paul, Sean Carter (Jay-Z), and Sean Combs (Puff Daddy/P Diddy). Coincidence?

Great Mustaches in History

Tom Selleck


University of Pittsburgh coach Dave Wannstedt


Tennessee Titans coach Jeff Fisher


Sean


After four days, I clearly have not joined the pinnacle of the all-time great mustaches. However, we’ll see how it looks in a few weeks. As I mentioned last week, I am growing this mustache as part of Movember to raise funds for the Prostate Cancer Foundation and the Lance Armstrong Foundation (LIVESTRONG). Please contribute by clicking on this link. Seeing me with a mustache is certainly worth $2, $5 or more. Plus, all donations are tax deductible to the extent permitted by law.

Thank you!

(And yes, I will definitely continue to post photos of my mustache throughout Movember)

Santonio Holmes' Hyperbaric Chamber*

The big discussion surrounding the Pittsburgh Steelers this week is whether or not Ryan Clark will play in Denver against the Broncos. Without going into the entire story here (since many of you probably already know about this), Clark nearly died from a reaction in his blood to the sickle cell caused by playing in the high elevation. The Post-Gazette's Ed Bouchette asked WR Santonio Holmes about this since he also has the sickle-cell trait. While Holmes said that he'll be fine, this quote stood out for me:

"I have an oxygen chamber at home, a hyperbaric chamber at home, so I'll definitely, probably spend the rest of this week sleeping in it to get a feel for how it will be."

We'll skip the definitely, probably portion of the quote to focus on the hyperbaric chamber. Where does someone get one of these? If I installed a hyperbaric chamber in my condo and had it convey, could I significantly increase the asking price?



This doesn't look very comfortable, but perhaps Holmes has the best hyperbaric chamber on the market. He probably has a king-size version of the hyperbaric chamber with a built-in speaker system. I know that I would!


* This title could make for an excellent blog name.

Trivia Tuesday: Alcohol Edition

OK alcoholics out there. Today's Trivia Tuesday tests your knowledge of mixed drinks. Your challenge is to name the type of generic alcohol that's the MAIN ingredient in the following cocktails:

1. Margarita

2. Singapore Sling

3. Daiquiri

4. Mimosa

5. Harvey Wallbanger

6. Fuzzy Navel

7. Grasshopper

8. Rusty Nail

9. Toasted Almond

10. Mint Julep


In case you're wondering, we scored an 8 out of 10 (I think). How will you do? As usual, please leave your responses in the comments section below and please don't search the internet for answers. Good luck!

This quiz is courtesy of the fine folks at Stump Trivia.

More Random Thoughts

* Is it a turn-on or turn-off to see someone with Lucky Charms in their grocery store cart?

* I did not hear the Monster Mash once this year and am a little sad about it.

* Can someone at Fox replace the stupid dancing robot with stats of other games during their NFL telecasts?

* By making a last-minute decision to bench Carolina RB Jonathan Stewart and start Chicago WR Johnny Knox in one of my fantasy leagues yesterday, I lost to a team that started two players (Mario Manningham & Brian Westbrook) that were inactive. I followed an 0-4 fantasy week by going 1-3 this week. I suck!

* The Humane Society of North Central Iowa is looking for someone to adopt cats Jerome, Willie and Parker among the 50 cats who need permanent homes. [The Messenger]

* Finally, with the Steelers off this week, Jim Shearer created the first Yinz Luv 'Da Guins of the 2009-2010 season.

Random Thoughts and Links

Our local Chinese restaurant always puts soy sauce packets with the to-go order. Am I expected to put soy sauce on orange chicken? Does anyone actually do this?

What is the proper way to spell moustache/mustache?

Roddy Piper had a guest appearance (not as himself) on It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia last night. After seeing him for countless hours on TV when I watched wrestling, it's sad to admit that I didn't recognize him.

To the links...

* Nichole got a tattoo! [Long and Winding Road]

* Vote for three of my favorite blogs, PSAMP (Pittsburgh Sports & Mini Ponies); WHYGAVS (Where Have You Gone, Andy Van Slyke?) and The Pensblog (The Pensblog), in the Bloguin Awards. [Bloguin]

* Lawrence Halprin, the architect of one my favorite places to visit in DC, the FDR Memorial, passed away. [DCist]

* PensBurgh announced the Penguins all-decade team [PensBurgh]

TMI Thursday: Movember

Just yesterday, Lemmonex asked if there are any male bloggers left. My reply was yes, though we mostly write about sports. I realize that some of my female readers probably skip right over my sports posts, so that's part of the reason why I enjoy writing these TMI Thursdays as a change of pace. It's Tim Wakefield pitching the day after Doug Drabek! Anyway, I have a topic today that will appeal to both sexes: facial hair!

Inspired by the retired blogger formerly known as Arjewtino and the guys at Hugging Harold Reynolds, both former participants, I am proud to announce that I am growing a moustache for November, er, Movember. Actually, my real inspiration may be my dad, who has had a moustache (or beard) for nearly my entire life. Starting this Sunday, Movember 1st, I will grow a moustache for a full month to raise awareness and funds for the fight against prostate cancer. The funds benefit the Prostate Cancer Foundation and Lance Armstrong Foundation. Here's more about Movember in a fancy video:



I realize that there really isn't too much here to qualify for a TMI Thursday. I think the fact that I am going to share pictures of myself as the moustache progresses is somewhat of a TMI in itself. Plus, I will only be a few days into the moustache growing process when a big work conference begins. That could be interesting.

If you'd like to contribute to Movember, click here, though I would completely understand if you want to see the moustache before you do so.

For more TMI Thursdays, please visit LiLu and you can click here to see all of my TMI Thursday archives.

Yinz Luv California Tortilla

I didn’t want to write two separate posts, so I’m combining two of my favorite things into one: Jim Shearer’s Yinz Luv videos and California Tortilla.

Here is your latest Yinz Luv Da Stillers video featuring a very funny Brett Favre feature:



Plus, if you go to a California Tortilla today (Wednesday, October 28) and whisper the secret password “Yee-Ha” to the cashier, you’ll receive a small burrito, pop (some - not me - may say soda) and chips & salsa for $5. What a bargain! (Yes, I am going there for dinner tonight.)

Barack Obama > Lou Holtz

The Virginia Gubernatorial election is, thank goodness, only six days away. All of advertisements have been negative, so I'm looking forward to not seeing them on television after next Tuesday. Although I like to consider myself as generally politically aware, I honestly have no idea where Republican candidate Bob McDonnell and Democratic candidate Creigh Deeds stand on most issues. (Please let me know when someone has a good transportation plan and is able follow through with the plan.) In all honesty, it doesn't matter much. The Virginia Governor can only serve one term, so they are essentially a lame-duck immediately after being elected. Virginia is run by the legislature. (Meaning a transportation plan in Northern Virginia never gets incorporated.) Anyway, that's not the point of this post.

Deeds, trailing McDonnell by double-digits in various polls, enlisted the support of President Obama yesterday at a Norfolk rally with nearly 5,700 people in attendance. Meanwhile, "about 200 people sipped wine and munched on cheese and crackers at the Willow Oaks Country Club" in Richmond on Monday night as McDonnell brought out his own secret weapon: Lou Holtz.



Wait, what? I guess the connection is that McDonnell graduated from Notre Dame in 1976 and Holtz coached the Notre Dame football team from 1986-1996. Were Knute Rockne and Tyrone Willingham unavailable?

So what does Lou Holtz have to do with Virginia and with encouraging people to vote for McDonnell? Well, I'm sure that Virginia voters fondly remember Holtz as the head football coach at William & Mary from 1969-1971. You do remember William & Mary as a huge national college football power during that time, right? During his speech Monday, Holtz was asked what was the most important thing he learned while coaching at William & Mary. His response: "We had too many Marys and not enough Williams." Apparently, Holtz didn't want to wait 25 years to have the opportunity to coach current Steelers coach (and former W&M WR) Mike Tomlin.

While it seems like I'm giving Holtz a bit of a hard time, that's not really the case. Holtz is from my mom's hometown, is likely the most successful person ever to hail from there, and has given back to that community even though he hasn't lived there for years. I guess that I don't understand the logic of McDonnell bringing Holtz to an event in Richmond. Were McDonnell supporters really enthused to pay significant money to attend an event featuring Lou Holtz? When you think of Holtz, you think college football. Wouldn't it be more appropriate to have him campaign for McDonnell in Blacksburg or even Charlottesville?

With all of this written, I will give credit to Holtz for knowing his current events as he said, "What do you call a former Redskins player with a Super Bowl ring? Senior citizens."


Finally, boo (and not in the good Halloween way) to WJLA, Washington's ABC affiliate, for having a Battleground Virginia special on Tuesday night instead of airing It's The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown. Yes, I've seen the Great Pumpkin dozens of times, but I was hoping to watch it again on Tuesday evening.

Trivia Tuesday

These are the last group of questions from the trivia night that shall not be named. Your challenge is to answer the ten questions below with no theme whatsoever.

1. What 2005 film about a high school for superheroes-in-training starred former "Wonder Woman" Lynda Carter in the role of Principal Powers and Kurt Russell as The Commander Steve Stronghold?

2. What famous "5 & 10 cent" chain was founded in Utica, New York in 1879? (Sean's note: I always thought they were called five and dime stores.)

3. What derisive nickname for British people originated from a component of the British Navy's diet attempting to fend off scurvy?

4. Of what controversial organization were the following notable Americans admitted or alleged members: Supreme Court Justice Hugo Black, Senator Robert Byrd, President Harry Truman, President Warren Harding, and Chief Justice Edward Douglass White?

5. What technology company produces the Photoshop, PageMaker and Acrobat products?

6. What name did Tom Hanks call his companion - the volleyball - in the 2004 film Cast Away?

7. What sports figure was married to Jeff Gillooly who gained infamy in 1994?

8. What children's book was banned because it contained a tiny picture of a topless woman on a beach?

9. What country singer is known in those circles as "The Redheaded Stranger," the title of his breakthrough album in 1975 and is still touring today?

10. This famous sitcom originally ran on NBC from 1986 to 1990 and featured a wacky alien who crashes on earth and stays with an American family. (If you need another clue, he was back in Pog form in a Simpsons episode.)


As always, please leave your answers in the comments section and don’t use the internet to search for answers. In case you're wondering, we scored 9 out of 10.

I'm not giving the source for these questions since I'm advocating not going to the venue for trivia. (Sorry for the double negative.)

Good luck!

Steelers-Vikings Random Thoughts

You can find a full recap on Sunday's Pittsburgh Steelers-Minnesota Vikings football game anywhere on the internet. However, I'm here to provide my thoughts on items you probably won't find elsewhere. (Please note that I made some of these observations on Twitter yesterday.) I apologize if this looks like a Peter King or Larry King column.

* Who made a worse attempt at a tackle: Jeff Reed on Percy Harvin’s kick-off return or Brett Favre on Keyaron Fox’s interception return?


(Favre's tackle attempt looked worse live and on video than in this picture.)

* The Steelers are not going to win many games where David Johnson has more receiving yards than Hines Ward.

* I miss the Alcoa fantastic finishes commercials.

* How was Casey Hampton offsides twice? Isn't the ball directly in front of him?

* I was really impressed with Vikings’ WR Sidney Rice.

* Miller Lite asks what greatness tastes like. I think it probably tastes like chicken.

* Did Ziggy Hood play?

* I was surprised that Mewelde Moore played instead of Willie Parker after Mendenhall’s fumble.

* Watching the Packers-Vikings game a few weeks ago, DE Jared Allen was the most dominant player on the field with 4.5 sacks and a forced fumble. Against the Steelers, he had only 1.5 tackles and no sacks.


Finally, congratulations to Lara M. on winning the Sean's Ramblings First Contest. Lara's prediction that Ben Roethlisberger would throw for 210 yards was the closest of any other entry, though in actuality, not very close as he threw for only 175 yards. I'm sure that she is happy that we were not playing with Price Is Right rules.

Thanks again to the orientalwatchsite, a website of affordable Men's Watches by Orient Japan, for providing this great prize. (Please visit their website.)


Photo by Peter Diana / Post-Gazette

Last Call: Sean's Ramblings Contest

This is your final reminder to submit your prediction of the number of passing yards Ben Roethlisberger will have against the Minnesota Vikings today. To enter the first ever contest at Sean's Ramblings where you can win an amazing watch, click on this link or scroll down the page to Wednesday's post.

Thanks again to the orientalwatchsite, a website of affordable Men's Watches by Orient Japan, for providing this incredible prize.

Friday Links & Videos

* Think back to last week. I know it's hard to do, so I'll refresh your memory. I interviewed the one and only Jim Shearer. Take a look at his latest Yinz Luv 'Da Stillers:



* Fascinating interview with Bronson Pinchot [A.V. Club] h/t Gobo

* Is November 1, 2009 the greatest day in sports history? Even though there are games in the NFL, NBA, NHL and MLB for the first time in history, I say no since there are no Pittsburgh teams playing. [Inhistoric] h/t JQ

* You must watch the week seven Vikings Music video. There are no words to describe it, but Green Day should sue. [OFTOT]

* I'm not going to link to the New York Daily News article itself, but I'm going to put a positive spin on the Steve Phillips affair. The woman in the center of the story is a 2008 Ithaca College graduate, and has already interned at ABC, including on the Jimmy Kimmel Show, worked for NBC during the Beijing Olympics and is employed at ESPN. That's an impressive resume; partly due to an Ithaca College education.

* Wegmans is the greatest grocery store of all time, but I've never experienced this while shopping there:



h/t Arjewtino

* Guess the final score of the Pitt-South Florida game and you can win a T-shirt [Pitt Blather]

Would you rather win a T-shirt or a really nice watch? Don't forget to enter the first ever contest at Sean's Ramblings just for predicting Ben Roethlisberger's passing yards.

Have a great weekend!

Top Five Comedies On Television

This is something that I have thought about a lot lately and just feel like sharing. In no particular order, here are the top five comedies currently on television:

Big Bang Theory
30 Rock
How I Met Your Mother
Modern Family
It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia
Curb Your Enthusiasm

I cheated and added a sixth since I don't get HBO, and therefore, watch Curb infrequently. According to Jim would have made this list, but sadly, the show has been cancelled. (Can you notice the sarcasm?)

So what shows make up your top five (or six)?



P.S. Don't forget to enter Sean's Ramblings First Contest to win a very nice watch.