ESPN NBA trade machine

I worked out a scenario w/ the Charlotte Bobcats trading for Kobe Bryant. W/ the big disparity in salaries it's possible b/c the Bobcats have like $10 million in cap space. I don't think it's likely, but the Bobcats could keep some good players, give up 3 players w/ potential (and maybe a draft pick?) and still get Kobe. The Lakers aren't really going to trade him b/c their best bet is to get rid of some of those other contracts (Kwame $8 mil? Odom $12 mil? Radmanovic $5 mil for another 5 years?) and build around one of the best players in the league. Still, I think the Bobcats might get a little more love from Charlotte and beyond if they got Kobe.

Naming Rights

I was encouraging my cousin this weekend to follow his dream and form a Bob Seger cover band called Turn The Page, and I started to wonder what are the ultimate names for cover bands devoted to a single artist? I know Saturday Night Special is synonymous w/ my long standing Skynryd project, but I think my blinders are preventing me from seeing all the possibilities. I was only able to come up w/ HOT STUFF as the Donna Summer entry (oh yeah, all caps). Please feel free to add your own big or small candidates (I'm looking at you Otto).

Great Moments in Recent History

We took the kids to the GYC carnival. The 60 minutes we spent there cost me $53 even though I didn't have to pay the $10 admission and we didn't buy any food. Everybody had a good time so I guess it was worth it. When I told my brother that spending money like that made me think it was like the strip club for kids he said "Dude, it's been a long time since you've been to the strip club if you think you can get by on $50 bucks an hour."

For the first time ever we managed to stay at a baseball game for all nine innings. I took the day off on Wednesday to go to the Grasshoppers day game. We walked in as they we playing the Star Spangled Banner, and when everyone was ready to go in the 9th inning I told them about the sense of accomplishment we would all feel if we stayed and watch the Grasshoppers officially lose. They didn't buy it, but I refused to leave until the game was over anyway. Still I feel like it was a new era in baseball games. Mainly b/c we didn't spend the whole time on the playground.

Finally, I bought my new lawnmower today. I haven't used it yet or even set it up, but just having it makes me feel important. And frankly, it's too hot to mow. I noticed the grass is starting to turn brown so if I cut it I'll only be hastening its death. Maybe I should go ahead and cut it then so the mower will last forever.

Old Car vs New Car

My thinking is anybody should be able to change the air filter on their car. It's usually on top of the engine and isn't held in by more than some latches or screws. I bought air filters for my 89 Cavalier and my 02 Windstar today. The Windstar looks easy b/c it has a single latch that you unfasten. Unfortunately you can't move the pieces the latch connects far enough apart to change the filter. I ended up needing to undo some clamps to change the filter. Still it only took about 10 minutes. The Cavalier on the other hand had 3 latches. After I undid those and took of the piece that holds it in place on top, I had to decide which way the filter went. Ultimately, I decided it didn't matter. This whole process took about 2 minutes. The van may be twice as reliable as the Z24 but it is 5 times harder to work on. That seems pretty reasonable.

Amen Break

Since it has half a million views, you might have seen this. Still I'm always ready to use public domain works to make a profit for myself.

Something gained, something lost

I recently got Pete's old lawnmower b/c it was the exact same kind I had. I figured I could use it for parts even if the engine was shot. I loaned my lawnmower to my brother-in-law and he told me it broke on him. He thought he broke the engine block b/c it was totally out of oil. I hoped b/w the two lawnmowers I could salvage one working mower, but 2 broken engines are beyond my capacity to fix things. However, after putting more oil in it my mower acted like the spark plug wasn't firing when I tried to start it. I took apart Pete's mower and took out the piece that connects the spark plug wire to the electrical system in the mower (it has a plastic clip to connect the two sets of wires) and put it in my mower. When I started it up, it ran like a champ. The only problem is when I was taking Pete's mower apart I found that my mower has a whole bunch of broken pieces on it. This could be the summer of small engine repair. I'll have to check my astrological calendar.

I was cleaning under the cushions of the couch today and I found the last of my 1984 Glenn Hubbard baseball cards (although this link looks like the 84 Fleer card was the one to have). I discovered 3 of them in the 90's and started using them as bookmarks until they slowly disappeared. I thought I had one back until I picked it up and it was soaking wet. I had to throw it away b/c the comic book guy's mint condition guide graded it "suitable for honeycomb".

You know that saying

You know, opinions are like assholes. The Virginia Tech tragedy has given me a new phrasing, people expressing their opinions are assholes. There's plenty of room for journalists to rehash the events, profile the victims, analyze the killer, or look at school shootings in general. The thing that irks me is opinion pieces that promote the author's opinion and use the tragedy as justification of that opinion. Ted Nugent blamed it on gun free zones while at the same time on CNN.com Tom Plate blamed it on guns. I think most people in this country would agree w/ either the point or the counterpoint, but other than friends and families of the victims few people formed that opinion b/c of what happened at Virginia Tech. These guys are just pushing their agenda when the opportunity arises, and if that opportunity happens to be 30+ dead people on a college campus so what. What a bunch of assholes.