Stone Cold Lead Pipe Locks - Week 2

The group lost a little ground, but is still profitable. No thanks to certain people.

Just a little hand-eye coordination

This is nuts, playing a GH3 guitar part (expert level) on a drum kit. Definitely worth the time to watch it.



Which reminds me, I never posted about the Three Dorks Down reunion.

Plaxico

I guess he really is out with a leg injury.

Freakin' dumbass.

I like to pour it, pour it

Four-and-a-half years ago, Bill and I started homebrewing.

Three years ago, I was talking to my uncle about how I wanted to start kegging beer, but the supplies were so expensive. Soda kegs, a CO2 can, a regulator, etc.

Tony: What do you mean, soda kegs?
Angelos: You know, soda. The kegs soda syrup comes in, then you run them through the soda gun with water and CO2 and you have soda at the bar. (He's been in the food business most of his life).
Tony: That's what I thought you meant. Jesus Christ, I have 15 of those fucking things in my basement [of the restaurant he just bought], I keep calling Pepsi to fucking pick them up, but they don't want them anymore because they use the fucking bags now, so they're just fucking sitting there collecting dust.
Angelos: {jaw hits floor} I'll be down next weekend.

So yeah, I got 15 free kegs (retail: $40 used to $75 fully refurbished), and a CO2 canister. All I needed was a regulator and I was off and running. That wasn't cheap, but it was still a fraction of the overall initial cost of kegging.

The kegs were disgusting, all of them containing remnants of whatever syrup they carried. A lot of mold, a lot of sticky disgusting shitiness, but nothing some elbow grease and a few gallons of hot water and bleach didn't cure.

After a little googling, I found a good supply store online and ordered replacement parts (the difference between a used and a refurbished keg). Gaskets and poppets, primarily. While I was at it, I bought 3 taps and plenty of hose and tubing and hose clamps and lions and tigers and bears. I didn't have a fridge, mind you, but I could dream a little.

Where to find a fridge? For a couple years I'd browse Craigslist and local circulars looking for a cheap used fridge, but nothing appealing came up, and even the most basic cheap fridge was $400+ new. Because of this, I've been limited to kegging from October through March when the garage was cool-to-cold, and I would brew my keg beers based on the expected garage temperature.

Finally, in summer of '07, we redid the kitchen, including new appliances.

I have a fridge!!!!

Then we decide we're going to sell the house and move to an apartment. Fuck. We won't have room for a keg fridge in an apartment. Once again, I put the project off because I'd be better off selling the fridge used. Here it is, though, late November, and we got no action on the house, so we're committed to being here through the winter and trying again in the spring.

Damn it all, I said to myself a few weeks ago, I'm making a keg fridge. When I stop working 60-70 hours a week.

Today was the day. And here we go:






This thing will hold a CO2 canister and three kegs, and I can still get a couple of the door shelves and regular shelves in there for bottled beer.

I am a happy boy.

Stone Cold Lead Pipe Locks - Week 1

Here are the results:


Get your picks in tomorrow, if you plan on including any of the Thursday games.

Here are the spreads for Mike and TJ:

Tennessee	@	Detroit	11.0
Dallas	vs	Seattle	12.5
Philadelphia	vs	Arizona	3.0
Buffalo	vs	San Francisco	7.0
Baltimore	@	Cincinnati	7.0
Indianapolis	@	Cleveland	4.5
Green Bay	vs	Carolina	3.0
St. Louis	vs	Miami	Off (0)
Tampa Bay	vs	New Orleans	3.5
New York (NYG)	@	Washington	3.5
San Diego	vs	Atlanta	5.0
Oakland	vs	Kansas City	3.0
New England	vs	Pittsburgh	1.0
New York (NYJ)	vs	Denver	7.5
Minnesota	vs	Chicago	3.0
Houston	vs	Jacksonville	3.0

Sex is like pizza...

The Bad Sex Writing awards are out, and there are some doozies.

I kissed his mouth ravenously, devouring his neck, earlobes, chest. He broke free with muscular ease, unhooked my bra with composed expertise, found my nipple and flicked his tongue back and forth until it went hard. His towel fell away. Sebastian's erect member was so big I mistook it for some sort of monument in the centre of a town. I almost started directing traffic around it.

---

'Open your thighs,' he urged as he parted the folds of her vulva. 'You are so moist down there.'

---

'Perhaps you'd like to take off your shorts.'
'Do I have to?'
'I think you do.'

Hott!

The Name Game - Erica Edition

1. Witness Protection Program Name (mother’s & father’s middle names): "Greta Augustin"

2. NASCAR Name (first name of your mother’s dad, father’s dad): "Herman Fernando" (That's a winner)
   

3. Star Wars Name (the first 2 letters of your last name, first 4 letters of your first name): "Tzeric"

4. Detective Name (favorite color, favorite animal): "Red Persian"
   

5. Soap Opera Name (middle name, city where you live): "Ilse Wilton"

6. Superhero Name (2nd favorite color, favorite alcoholic drink, optionally add "THE" to the beginning): "The Pink Swizzle"

7. Fly (?) Name (first 2 letters of 1st name, last 2 letters of your last name): "Eris"
   

8. Gangsta Name (favorite ice cream flavor, favorite cookie): "Mint Chocolate Chip Chocolate Chip"

9. Rock Star Name (current pet’s name, current street name): "Shatzi Joseph"
   

10. Porn Name (1st pet, street you grew up on): "Fifi Spur"

Fifi and Fudgy. Awesome.

Erica thinks "Fly Name" means your fly-boy name, like your pilot handle. Think Top Gun. That's sounds like a good explanation.

The Name Game

1. Witness Protection Program Name (mother’s & father’s middle names): "Alexy Angelos"

2. NASCAR Name (first name of your mother’s dad, father’s dad): "Richard (Dick) Angelos"

3. Star Wars Name (the first 2 letters of your last name, first 4 letters of your first name): "Tzange"

4. Detective Name (favorite color, favorite animal): "Purple Leonburger"
   

5. Soap Opera Name (middle name, city where you live): "George Wilton"

6. Superhero Name (2nd favorite color, favorite alcoholic drink, optionally add "THE" to the beginning): "The Blue Mojito"

7. Fly (?) Name (first 2 letters of 1st name, last 2 letters of your last name): "Anis" Shut up.
   

8. Gangsta Name (favorite ice cream flavor, favorite cookie): "Rocky Road Chocolate Chip"

9. Rock Star Name (current pet’s name, current street name): "Jake Joseph" (Jake is dead now, so we're petless)
   

10. Porn Name (1st pet, street you grew up on): "Duke Locust"

I have to add, my friend Dave's porn name is Fudgy Warren, which still gets me giggling every time I think of it. I just want to know if he's a top or a bottom. That's probably my all-time favorite. Then again, I have two female friends, Jane and Randee, that have classic porn names as is. I won't write their last names here, but just trust me.

If you haven't already done this, you're tagged.

Also see Toast, Tart, Kona, Phydeaux, Wilde, Tracy.

By the way, since everyone's asking, my guess is that "fly name" should mean the abbreviated 1st initial/1st syllable thing, like A-Rod. In which case, the instructions are wrong. Just my two cents.

A-Tze sucks, but I can see Tracy being a T-San. Tart only has a one-syllable last name, so she's fucked. J-San is kinda lame for Toast, E-Wil is OK, but I'd cheat a bit and make it E-Wild.

How to drive your cat crazy

Step 1. Measure the circumference of your toilet bowl base.

Step 2. Put a leash on your cat about 8 inches shorter than the number you got in step 1.

Was this covered on Mad Men?

Criminy, these ads are awful.

Some are "understandable" in the context of their time, but some are just awful period.

SNL Blogging

Last night's episode was kind of meh. Tim McGraw was decent in a couple skits, Ludacris and T-Pain were awful.

What I want to know is, why was this one not aired?



That was pretty good.

中國民主 Part 2

And here's the best negative review that I've found. Just for balance.

I highlight this one because it's obvious this guy really listened to the album. He's quite specific in his criticisms. I may disagree on some points, but I respect the effort. I've seen a couple reviews that are nothing more that "this took 15 years," etc.; no specifics, just general snark.

Presented without comment

I bet that cameraman got a bonus, though.

中國民主

Chuck Klosterman penned one of the best album reviews I've read in a long time.

Reviewing Chinese Democracy is not like reviewing music. It's more like reviewing a unicorn. Should I primarily be blown away that it exists at all? Am I supposed to compare it to conventional horses? To a rhinoceros? Does its pre-existing mythology impact its actual value, or must it be examined inside a cultural vacuum, as if this creature is no more (or less) special than the remainder of the animal kingdom? I've been thinking about this record for 15 years; during that span, I've thought about this record more than I've thought about China, and maybe as much as I've thought about the principles of democracy. This is a little like when that grizzly bear finally ate Timothy Treadwell: Intellectually, he always knew it was coming. He had to. His very existence was built around that conclusion. But you still can't psychologically prepare for the bear who eats you alive, particularly if the bear wears cornrows.

I haven't gotten through the whole album yet, so I'll withhold comment for a little while. But I can agree that the guitar solos are nuts.

This album is surrounded by so much strange, it's been a punchline for almost 15 years. Will it sound dated? Overworked/overproduced? Just plain irrelevant?

Klosterman asks those and many other questions, and provides some answers. Check it out.

The ring

It's actually worse than this.

Raise your hand if you know how to wipe your ass

You now, I'll fucking talk about anything. I don't care. We're all human, we're all idiots. But a shit roundtable? On videotape? No.

Lu-hoo. Hoo-zer.

This is fucking BEAUTIFUL.



Buh-bye now.

The Toaster League Pick-'ems Challenge

Last week, I stated (and Toast agreed) that it was ridiculous that Arizona was only favored by 3 over Seattle. Nightshift disagreed, basing his argument on the fact that Vegas isn't predicting margins, they're just trying to balance the money.

This is, of course, true. But it didn't change the fact that that was a ridiculously easy spread to bet on. That the line didn't move to 6-7 by game-time surprised me.

When I celebrated my "win" on that pick, Shift had to point out my middling place in the Pick-'em standings. "Would that be the "angelos is in the bottom half of the game pickers" truth or the "even blind squirrels will find a nut now and then" truth?" Yeah, well fuck you too. I wasn't claiming I had a foolproof system (though I'll gladly create one if you subscribe for only $19.99 a month), I would say that there are always a couple spreads each week that are out of whack. In both my picks leagues, I pick all the games, and of course there are games I have no idea — and I would never touch them in Vegas. But I can always find two or three games I feel very good about.

So, for the gang in our Toasters pick league, and TJ and my brother if they want to participate based on the spreads in Ken's pool, here's the challenge for the final 6 games of the year.

After you make your picks, let me know by e-mail, or in the Couch™ thread, one to three "most confident" picks. Six picks to eighteen picks for the rest of the season. This is about making money. Assume a $100 bet with a 10% vig. Can you beat 52.4%, and make money?

I'll post results every Tuesday.

It's on.

Roomba Cat

This is nuts.



That's a great cat.

Most of the cats I've had have been tough, scrappy rescues. Excellent hunters, always wanted to be outside, etc. Turn on the vacuum however, and they were gone.

Boooooo! Yaaaaaaaay!

Unfortunately, Fire Joe Morgan is gone.

But, in a fantastic development, Rob Neyer is finally free! No more of that Insider bullshit. He's one of my favorite SABR guys. I have almost all his books—solo and collaborative—and find him entertaining and informative. Good times.