Sometimes when I have a busy week -- as this week has been -- I get to a point on late Thursday afternoon when my brain just shuts down altogether. Usually with a night's sleep I can cajole it into some useful tasks on Friday: some indexing, sorting out contracts & invoices, maybe a bit of project estimation or planning.
This happened to me again today, though I did manage to at least bump through a few e-mails with the rest of my day. But I rather suspect the high-class thinkin' is done for the week for me. This may be why Thursday is such a popular TV night, both for me and the nation as a whole. I may not be the only one out there who suffers this problem, and nothing sez "tired brain" more strongly than turning on the tube and vegging out for the night.
What's that you say? This is hardly the cleverest or most insightful Patio Boat post you've ever read. Um, I refer you again to the title.
Thursday, April 30, 2009
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
Two Daily Haiku
John's Daily Haiku
Another long day:
Meetings, e-mails, indexing.
So nice to be home.
Katie the Beagle's Daily Haiku
Another long day:
Naps, sniffing, more naps, and treats.
So nice to sleep more.
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
The Hobbits Among Us
My friend Jon "Hoppy" Hopwood sent along an interesting story from today's New York Times: A Tiny Hominid With No Place on the Family Tree. The story regards the anthropology mystery of a tiny fossil found in Indonesia back in 2003 that was the subject of a recent symposium at Stony Brook University:
Six years after their discovery, the extinct little people nicknamed hobbits who once occupied the Indonesian island of Flores remain mystifying anomalies in human evolution, out of place in time and geography, their ancestry unknown. Recent research has only widened their challenge to conventional thinking about the origins, transformations and migrations of the early human family....
For those who know Hoppy, his interest in the subject is entirely understandable:
Hobbit: Short and rotund.
Hoppy: Short and rotund.
Hobbit: Renowned love of beer.
Hoppy: Renowned love of beer.
Hobbit: Fond of Buckland poetry.
Hoppy: Fond of Bukowski poetry.
Hobbit: Lives in luxurious hole in ground.
Hoppy: Lives in luxurious '87 Caddy with holes in side.
Hobbit: Surprisingly stalwart in a tight corner.
Hoppy: Surprisingly tight in a corner store.
Hobbit: Hairy feet.
Hoppy: Hairy toes.
Do hobbits live among us even now? I don't want to jump to conclusions, but I do expect to hear from a certain committee from Stockholm, Sweden, shortly after I put Hoppy in a bag and drag him down to Stony Brook for a closer examination.
Six years after their discovery, the extinct little people nicknamed hobbits who once occupied the Indonesian island of Flores remain mystifying anomalies in human evolution, out of place in time and geography, their ancestry unknown. Recent research has only widened their challenge to conventional thinking about the origins, transformations and migrations of the early human family....
For those who know Hoppy, his interest in the subject is entirely understandable:
Hobbit: Short and rotund.
Hoppy: Short and rotund.
Hobbit: Renowned love of beer.
Hoppy: Renowned love of beer.
Hobbit: Fond of Buckland poetry.
Hoppy: Fond of Bukowski poetry.
Hobbit: Lives in luxurious hole in ground.
Hoppy: Lives in luxurious '87 Caddy with holes in side.
Hobbit: Surprisingly stalwart in a tight corner.
Hoppy: Surprisingly tight in a corner store.
Hobbit: Hairy feet.
Hoppy: Hairy toes.
Do hobbits live among us even now? I don't want to jump to conclusions, but I do expect to hear from a certain committee from Stockholm, Sweden, shortly after I put Hoppy in a bag and drag him down to Stony Brook for a closer examination.
Monday, April 27, 2009
Nuthin' Fancy, Just Faux Summer
Inside, the beagle snoozes loudly in her chair.
But we have both the big sliding glass doors on the lake side open on this warm April evening, and through the screens I can hear summertime approaching: the frogs chirping away in high, ringing trills; the lake lapping at out dock; and our recently repaired wind chime clanging every now and then with the first breezes of tonight's approaching storms.
They're all calling out on this hot, humid night.
Feels like a summer evening, even if it is still April.
But we have both the big sliding glass doors on the lake side open on this warm April evening, and through the screens I can hear summertime approaching: the frogs chirping away in high, ringing trills; the lake lapping at out dock; and our recently repaired wind chime clanging every now and then with the first breezes of tonight's approaching storms.
They're all calling out on this hot, humid night.
Feels like a summer evening, even if it is still April.
Sunday, April 26, 2009
Bonus Beagle Haiku
Oh heck, have a haiku about Katie the Beagle anyway:
Katie the Beagle
Hiding in a beach towel.
The trauma? A bath!
Katie the Beagle
Hiding in a beach towel.
The trauma? A bath!
This Week's Extremely Local News
Haven't heard any comments pro or con on this format in a bit. How's it working for you all? Is it useful here on the blog? Would you all rather just have a haiku about Katie the Beagle?
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John Magee It's been almost twenty years since I worked there, but I am proud as can be that a writer from my hometown newspaper, The Glens Falls Post-Star, won a Pulitzer Prize today: http://www.poststar.com/articles/2009/04/20/news/local/doc49ecc8d82b0ad970284738.txt. April 20 at 11:11pm
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John Magee is lunchin' in the cube. (Hey, it can't all be glamour and drama.) April 22 at 1:18pm
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John Magee loves how adamant fans get about NFL Draft choices before the draft, since their knowledge is usually based on third-hand observations made by some draft pundit. My own two cents on the Lions taking Matt Stafford? Um, he's not going to make the Lions any *worse*, that's for sure! Fri 12:55pm
Scott Pollack at 1:09pm April 24
Good comment, I no longer listen to the draft pundits. I have my own rating system which is similiar to the system that I use to crown my own college football national champion. Utah was my champion last year, Boise State a couple of years ago, and Penn State in 1994.
Steve Mace at 1:15pm April 24
Football... HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Lame!
John Magee at 5:54pm April 24
At least a few of the pundits have watched some film or attended the combine. But most of the yappers work off somebody's interpretation of somebody else's opinion. And then the guys who call in to radio shows work off those fourth-hand opinions.
And yet I love the NFL Draft, nonetheless. Oh, sweet contradiction.
Steve Mace at 5:56pm April 24
Are you still talking about football? Please hand in your rugby boots, IMMEDIATELY!
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John Magee sez, "Warm Friday afternoon, meet cold beer. Cold beer, meet warm Friday afternoon." Fri 5:55pm
Matt Thompson, Roger Franklin, Ray Abruzzi, Nicole Artanowicz, Andrew Mutch, Larry Trudeau, Susan Riordan, and Jay Lowman like this.
Jeffrey Kofsky at 7:32pm April 24
Guinness #1 down; #2 on the way.
John Magee at 9:36am April 25
And then we introduced the happy couple to our neighbor's pontoon boat and cruised the evening away.
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John Magee really enjoyed the first pontoon cruise of the year last night. Now it's time for some general yard cleanup to the dulcet tones on the radio of fans calling in to complain about Lions draft picks. Saturday at 12:35pm
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John Magee and Monique were extremely impressed by the organization of the NO HAZ day at Walled Lake Northern High School for dropping off hazardous materials. Both we and our now toxic-free garage thank everybody involved! Saturday at 3:14pm
Catherine Dufresne-Magee and Sheila Nason like this.
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John Magee loves the NFL Draft and the panic-stricken voices of Detroit radio announcers and callers whenever the Lions make a pick. I'm also amazed by the continued durability of Mel Kiper, Jr.'s hair. Saturday at 7:17pm
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John Magee has been watchin' more NFL Draft coverage. The Lions are off the clock for a couple of rounds now, so perhaps it's time to do a few productive things with the remnants of my day. In general I like the Lions draft and think they probably got a few good players, a vast improvement over the Millen era. Sunday, 1:45pm
Ryan Claytor at 2:03pm April 26
Boy-howdy, how long does this draft process take? I've been seeing your draft updates for a few days now. I have no clue about what's going on in football, but here's hoping for some good picks. :)
Eric Blosch at 2:03pm April 26
No offense, but a 41-year old Scott Mitchell would have been a vast improvement over the Millen days.
Ronald Wong at 2:51pm April 26
No where to go but up! You listen to Millen, and he's intelligent, but it didn't translate into building a program.
John Magee at 4:15pm April 26
Still two more rounds and three Lion picks to go, Ryan. All the coverage hereabouts is because when a team's as bad as the Lions, the draft is considerably more fun than the actual games.
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John Magee Congratulations to Mr. Irrelevant, kicker Ryan Succop (U of S.Carolina) the 256th and final pick of the NFL Draft, who will be rewarded with a trip to "Irrelevant Week" in Newport Beach, CA.
Condolences to "Mr. Almost Irrelevant", TE Dan Gronkowski of Maryland, who was picked #255 and will be punished by having to play for the Detroit Lions this year. Sunday, 7:50 pm.
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John Magee It's been almost twenty years since I worked there, but I am proud as can be that a writer from my hometown newspaper, The Glens Falls Post-Star, won a Pulitzer Prize today: http://www.poststar.com/articles/2009/04/20/news/local/doc49ecc8d82b0ad970284738.txt. April 20 at 11:11pm
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John Magee is lunchin' in the cube. (Hey, it can't all be glamour and drama.) April 22 at 1:18pm
-------------
John Magee loves how adamant fans get about NFL Draft choices before the draft, since their knowledge is usually based on third-hand observations made by some draft pundit. My own two cents on the Lions taking Matt Stafford? Um, he's not going to make the Lions any *worse*, that's for sure! Fri 12:55pm
Scott Pollack at 1:09pm April 24
Good comment, I no longer listen to the draft pundits. I have my own rating system which is similiar to the system that I use to crown my own college football national champion. Utah was my champion last year, Boise State a couple of years ago, and Penn State in 1994.
Steve Mace at 1:15pm April 24
Football... HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Lame!
John Magee at 5:54pm April 24
At least a few of the pundits have watched some film or attended the combine. But most of the yappers work off somebody's interpretation of somebody else's opinion. And then the guys who call in to radio shows work off those fourth-hand opinions.
And yet I love the NFL Draft, nonetheless. Oh, sweet contradiction.
Steve Mace at 5:56pm April 24
Are you still talking about football? Please hand in your rugby boots, IMMEDIATELY!
-------------
John Magee sez, "Warm Friday afternoon, meet cold beer. Cold beer, meet warm Friday afternoon." Fri 5:55pm
Matt Thompson, Roger Franklin, Ray Abruzzi, Nicole Artanowicz, Andrew Mutch, Larry Trudeau, Susan Riordan, and Jay Lowman like this.
Jeffrey Kofsky at 7:32pm April 24
Guinness #1 down; #2 on the way.
John Magee at 9:36am April 25
And then we introduced the happy couple to our neighbor's pontoon boat and cruised the evening away.
-------------
John Magee really enjoyed the first pontoon cruise of the year last night. Now it's time for some general yard cleanup to the dulcet tones on the radio of fans calling in to complain about Lions draft picks. Saturday at 12:35pm
-------------
John Magee and Monique were extremely impressed by the organization of the NO HAZ day at Walled Lake Northern High School for dropping off hazardous materials. Both we and our now toxic-free garage thank everybody involved! Saturday at 3:14pm
Catherine Dufresne-Magee and Sheila Nason like this.
-------------
John Magee loves the NFL Draft and the panic-stricken voices of Detroit radio announcers and callers whenever the Lions make a pick. I'm also amazed by the continued durability of Mel Kiper, Jr.'s hair. Saturday at 7:17pm
-------------
John Magee has been watchin' more NFL Draft coverage. The Lions are off the clock for a couple of rounds now, so perhaps it's time to do a few productive things with the remnants of my day. In general I like the Lions draft and think they probably got a few good players, a vast improvement over the Millen era. Sunday, 1:45pm
Ryan Claytor at 2:03pm April 26
Boy-howdy, how long does this draft process take? I've been seeing your draft updates for a few days now. I have no clue about what's going on in football, but here's hoping for some good picks. :)
Eric Blosch at 2:03pm April 26
No offense, but a 41-year old Scott Mitchell would have been a vast improvement over the Millen days.
Ronald Wong at 2:51pm April 26
No where to go but up! You listen to Millen, and he's intelligent, but it didn't translate into building a program.
John Magee at 4:15pm April 26
Still two more rounds and three Lion picks to go, Ryan. All the coverage hereabouts is because when a team's as bad as the Lions, the draft is considerably more fun than the actual games.
-------------
John Magee Congratulations to Mr. Irrelevant, kicker Ryan Succop (U of S.Carolina) the 256th and final pick of the NFL Draft, who will be rewarded with a trip to "Irrelevant Week" in Newport Beach, CA.
Condolences to "Mr. Almost Irrelevant", TE Dan Gronkowski of Maryland, who was picked #255 and will be punished by having to play for the Detroit Lions this year. Sunday, 7:50 pm.
Human Nature? Ain't Nothin' Natural 'bout This Reality TV
I'm not necessarily proud of it, but I love the NFL Draft. No, no, I don't just love the NFL Draft. I loooooooove the NFL Draft. But I'm not quite sure why, and I know that I can't quite justify it. So let me list out a few of the things that I really like about it:
1) Tradition -- For nearly 30 years now I've been watching Mel Kiper, Jr., saying, "I don't like the pick. I think it was a major stretch." To me, this is one of the rites of Spring, up there with ice out on the lake, migrating waterfowl, crocuses and tulips, baseball Opening Day, and the sweet smell of blooming lilacs. I'm not sure if Mel Kiper's hair is blooming, but I am sure that it's non-migratory.
2) Hope -- Frankly, I've rooted for some bad teams over the years. Some really bad teams. Plus the 0-16 2008 Detroit Lions, who were in a class of badness all their own. But I will never forget that burst of optimism that I felt when I was 13 years old, a terrible Giants team drafted this linebacker from North Carolina named Lawrence Taylor with the second overall pick, and the highlight reel rolled. Finally! Finally! Look at this guy. Who cares if UNC is a basketball school. He's a bad-ass. Ten years later, the Giants had won two Super Bowls.
3) Hopeless -- So if Lawrence Taylor was the second pick of the 1981 draft, who was the first pick? Running back George Rogers, who went to the New Orleans Saints. Ten years later, the Giants had won two Super Bowl titles, while the Saints were ten years older. Disaster creates drama and few things are littered with more disasters than the NFL draft. For every Payton Manning, there is a Ryan Leaf. (In fairness to George Rogers, he went on to have a decent career. He even won a Super Bowl of his own, though it was with the Washington Redskins just before he retired.)
4) Suprises -- Mike Ditka once traded the New Orleans Saints' entire draft to move up and select running back Ricky Williams. Crazy people do crazy things on draft day, and I'm not just talking about the Jets fans lining the balcony of Radio City Music Hall. There's a certain joy that builds as each Oakland Raider pick approaches and we all know that Al Davis will do something spectacularly unexpected. (Then, to recall tradition, Mel Kiper will say, "This is another bad reach by the Raiders. That player would have been there four rounds later.")
As I type this, the Lions just traded their 3rd-round pick for a later 3rd-rounder and a 4th-rounder. SURPRISE!
5) Decision-Making -- I just really enjoy watching all of the decision-making that goes on. Every pick involves a decision tree: Trade-up? Trade-down? Who's the best player? What positions do we need to fill? And there's a vast quantity of analytical minutia clogging the decision-making tree. So eventually a guy like middle linebacker Zach Thomas -- who tackled everybody in sight in college -- drops to the 5th round because teams think he's an inch too short and ran the 40-yard-dash one-tenth of a second too slow. What does he do in the NFL? Tackle everybody in sight for the next ten years.
6) Armchair Drafters -- Everybody who follows a team has an opinion about who they should draft. And the best thing is that none of us really know anything about how these players will turn out. I watched 1/2 of one game that Matt Stafford quarterbacked this year. The Lions front office has watched every throw he has made in a game going back to his junior year in high school. And yet I feel perfectly entitled to judge their pick.
And whereas passionate opinions with no basis in fact are one of the most annoying aspects of politics, in spectator sports there are an absolute boon. Talk radio and the Internet have really helped ramp up this aspect of the draft. Right now on MLive.com, there are hundreds of Lions fans live blogging about the Lions draft. And most of them are pissed. They have no idea whether any of the picks will actually work out. But given the Lions' history so far this century, they do know that they should be pissed at the front office on draft day.
7) Faux Hype -- Despite all that I love about the draft, it really is a non-event. So I just love watching the PR machine that cranks up around the whole thing.
And now, the Detroit Lions are back on the clock. So I'm going to stop typing and start getting pissed about whomever it is that they'll pick. It's my duty as a Lions fan.
1) Tradition -- For nearly 30 years now I've been watching Mel Kiper, Jr., saying, "I don't like the pick. I think it was a major stretch." To me, this is one of the rites of Spring, up there with ice out on the lake, migrating waterfowl, crocuses and tulips, baseball Opening Day, and the sweet smell of blooming lilacs. I'm not sure if Mel Kiper's hair is blooming, but I am sure that it's non-migratory.
2) Hope -- Frankly, I've rooted for some bad teams over the years. Some really bad teams. Plus the 0-16 2008 Detroit Lions, who were in a class of badness all their own. But I will never forget that burst of optimism that I felt when I was 13 years old, a terrible Giants team drafted this linebacker from North Carolina named Lawrence Taylor with the second overall pick, and the highlight reel rolled. Finally! Finally! Look at this guy. Who cares if UNC is a basketball school. He's a bad-ass. Ten years later, the Giants had won two Super Bowls.
3) Hopeless -- So if Lawrence Taylor was the second pick of the 1981 draft, who was the first pick? Running back George Rogers, who went to the New Orleans Saints. Ten years later, the Giants had won two Super Bowl titles, while the Saints were ten years older. Disaster creates drama and few things are littered with more disasters than the NFL draft. For every Payton Manning, there is a Ryan Leaf. (In fairness to George Rogers, he went on to have a decent career. He even won a Super Bowl of his own, though it was with the Washington Redskins just before he retired.)
4) Suprises -- Mike Ditka once traded the New Orleans Saints' entire draft to move up and select running back Ricky Williams. Crazy people do crazy things on draft day, and I'm not just talking about the Jets fans lining the balcony of Radio City Music Hall. There's a certain joy that builds as each Oakland Raider pick approaches and we all know that Al Davis will do something spectacularly unexpected. (Then, to recall tradition, Mel Kiper will say, "This is another bad reach by the Raiders. That player would have been there four rounds later.")
As I type this, the Lions just traded their 3rd-round pick for a later 3rd-rounder and a 4th-rounder. SURPRISE!
5) Decision-Making -- I just really enjoy watching all of the decision-making that goes on. Every pick involves a decision tree: Trade-up? Trade-down? Who's the best player? What positions do we need to fill? And there's a vast quantity of analytical minutia clogging the decision-making tree. So eventually a guy like middle linebacker Zach Thomas -- who tackled everybody in sight in college -- drops to the 5th round because teams think he's an inch too short and ran the 40-yard-dash one-tenth of a second too slow. What does he do in the NFL? Tackle everybody in sight for the next ten years.
6) Armchair Drafters -- Everybody who follows a team has an opinion about who they should draft. And the best thing is that none of us really know anything about how these players will turn out. I watched 1/2 of one game that Matt Stafford quarterbacked this year. The Lions front office has watched every throw he has made in a game going back to his junior year in high school. And yet I feel perfectly entitled to judge their pick.
And whereas passionate opinions with no basis in fact are one of the most annoying aspects of politics, in spectator sports there are an absolute boon. Talk radio and the Internet have really helped ramp up this aspect of the draft. Right now on MLive.com, there are hundreds of Lions fans live blogging about the Lions draft. And most of them are pissed. They have no idea whether any of the picks will actually work out. But given the Lions' history so far this century, they do know that they should be pissed at the front office on draft day.
7) Faux Hype -- Despite all that I love about the draft, it really is a non-event. So I just love watching the PR machine that cranks up around the whole thing.
And now, the Detroit Lions are back on the clock. So I'm going to stop typing and start getting pissed about whomever it is that they'll pick. It's my duty as a Lions fan.
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