"United Breaks Guitars"
Whilst I was surfing the interwebs today, I came across this story about an unlucky musician and how United broke his guitar. Canadian musician Dave Carrol was on his way from where ever, possibly Canada, to Nebraska to play a gig there where he stopped through good ol' Chicago O'Hare (I have so many fond memories of racing through that airport) when he noticed that some United employees were tossing around his guitar outside. Upon reaching Nebraska he found out that his guitar was indeed broken. Sadly, this tale takes a sad turn as United wouldn't give him a claim. That is until he posted that music video found in the link. He got an apology and was asked if that video could be used to help train new employees (how I'm not sure).
I found this more than a little comical as that is what airlines will do to you, that is not be in a helping mood if you're not quick enough. I've had my luggage not join me many a time when coming from Chicago. Denver and Washington seem to do a better job at keeping track of my luggage for some odd reason. Must be that northern climate or something.
Maybe I should write a song about my past troubles...
I found this more than a little comical as that is what airlines will do to you, that is not be in a helping mood if you're not quick enough. I've had my luggage not join me many a time when coming from Chicago. Denver and Washington seem to do a better job at keeping track of my luggage for some odd reason. Must be that northern climate or something.
Maybe I should write a song about my past troubles...
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Digg thisThe Wimbledon Championships
The grass courts of the All England Club are the most prestigious Grand Slam of the tennis season. Wimbledon brings forth the fastest playing speed and often requires the best of the best to win it. Just today, Roger Federer lifted the trophy for the sixth time in his career after taking down Andy Roddick in five sets: 5-7; 7-6; 7-6; 3-6; 16-14. No that last set isn't a typo. It was indeed 16-14 culminating in the only break of serve for Federer to capitalize on. Federer now has 15 career slam titles and surpassed Pete Sampras for the most in the men's game. He trails Chris Evert and Margaret Court for third all-time. Yet as much as this is a story for the record books for Federer, it is similarly a story about Andy Roddick.
Roddick, having won only one slam, that being the 2003 US Open, was thought to have been on the decline in the past two years, well past his prime. He had reached three other slam finals, twice at Wimbledon before and once more at the US Open, only to face Federer each time and lose all but one match in straight sets. Entering this year, Roddick found a new coach and got into tremendous shape, losing 15 pounds and hitting that practice court to improve his game. The result has been unbelievable for someone once thought to be in a downward spiral. Roddick reached the semis of the Aussie Open earlier this year, where he also lost to Federer, and made it to the fourth round of the French Open, a personal best, before entering the final of Wimbledon. But this story doesn't have a happy ending. Roddick played near perfect tennis. He had chances to win the second and third sets, but came up short. He was broken only once the entire match, that being for the championship point for Federer. He gave it his all, and you can believe that if Roddick can mentally come back from this shattering loss, he can win another slam. He has that fire, that zeal that made him so good early in his career that he's been missing ever since winning his only slam. Look for him to be back in the running in August.
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Just the previous day, Serena Williams defeated her older sister Venus 7-6; 6-2 to win her 11th career slam and her third Wimbledon title. This marked the eleventh time the sisters have faced each other in a final of a slam. Serena is now 7-4 when facing her sister in the final, and 11-10 overall.
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Wimbledon isn't just all about the winners but is about the stories that form around surprise players.
The men's draw saw a couple of old faces make surprise entrances to the quarters and semis. Former champion Lleyton Hewitt made it to the quarters and showed flashed of his 2002 form when he won the tournament. Hewitt is coming off a terrible hip injury this year and has had to fight through tough matches in each and every tournament. Juan Carlos Ferrero, a French Open champion made it to the quarters as well. Ferrero hasn't had a result like that since 2003 when he reached the finals of both the French and US Open, losing to Roddick in New York. Then there's Tommy Haas, an old vet who has been plagued with injuries throughout his career who made a spirited run to the semis before being swatted away by Federer (really, who doesn't he swat away who's name isn't Nadal?).
On the women's side a young American Michelle Oudin made her debut by reaching the fourth round and knocked off Jelena Jankovic who was none too happy about losing to a young upstart. Oudin was the only other American other than Roddick and the Williams sisters to make it to the second week of the tournament. Jesse Levine was the only other American to make it to the third round in the men's draw.
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The grass court season is over, and now it's time for the heat of the North American US Open hard court series and the final slam of the year in the end of August. Hopefully I can get a chance to catch a few tournaments. If only I can get time off that is.
Roddick, having won only one slam, that being the 2003 US Open, was thought to have been on the decline in the past two years, well past his prime. He had reached three other slam finals, twice at Wimbledon before and once more at the US Open, only to face Federer each time and lose all but one match in straight sets. Entering this year, Roddick found a new coach and got into tremendous shape, losing 15 pounds and hitting that practice court to improve his game. The result has been unbelievable for someone once thought to be in a downward spiral. Roddick reached the semis of the Aussie Open earlier this year, where he also lost to Federer, and made it to the fourth round of the French Open, a personal best, before entering the final of Wimbledon. But this story doesn't have a happy ending. Roddick played near perfect tennis. He had chances to win the second and third sets, but came up short. He was broken only once the entire match, that being for the championship point for Federer. He gave it his all, and you can believe that if Roddick can mentally come back from this shattering loss, he can win another slam. He has that fire, that zeal that made him so good early in his career that he's been missing ever since winning his only slam. Look for him to be back in the running in August.
------------------------------------
Just the previous day, Serena Williams defeated her older sister Venus 7-6; 6-2 to win her 11th career slam and her third Wimbledon title. This marked the eleventh time the sisters have faced each other in a final of a slam. Serena is now 7-4 when facing her sister in the final, and 11-10 overall.
------------------------------------
Wimbledon isn't just all about the winners but is about the stories that form around surprise players.
The men's draw saw a couple of old faces make surprise entrances to the quarters and semis. Former champion Lleyton Hewitt made it to the quarters and showed flashed of his 2002 form when he won the tournament. Hewitt is coming off a terrible hip injury this year and has had to fight through tough matches in each and every tournament. Juan Carlos Ferrero, a French Open champion made it to the quarters as well. Ferrero hasn't had a result like that since 2003 when he reached the finals of both the French and US Open, losing to Roddick in New York. Then there's Tommy Haas, an old vet who has been plagued with injuries throughout his career who made a spirited run to the semis before being swatted away by Federer (really, who doesn't he swat away who's name isn't Nadal?).
On the women's side a young American Michelle Oudin made her debut by reaching the fourth round and knocked off Jelena Jankovic who was none too happy about losing to a young upstart. Oudin was the only other American other than Roddick and the Williams sisters to make it to the second week of the tournament. Jesse Levine was the only other American to make it to the third round in the men's draw.
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The grass court season is over, and now it's time for the heat of the North American US Open hard court series and the final slam of the year in the end of August. Hopefully I can get a chance to catch a few tournaments. If only I can get time off that is.
4th of July
It's the 4th of July and I nearly forgot to wake up in time for work. Don't worry I did. Started at noon.
It was thankfully a slow day, which ended up in me going home early, but there were still people ordering stuff. It's the ****ing 4th of July! Go help relatives in cooking or call up your sons/daughters or do something other than order clothes that aren't in stock anyway! This job does not make you appreciate old people at all. Even more perplexing is my luck with the girls at work. I'll talk about that in a later blog. Although you have to admit it is darkly humorous to hear people say they would never pay $3 for a 1000 page catalog, or pay an extra $5 for a clothing item. It's even worse when people think they're being self important when they mention they're never going to shop JC Penney again. Oh well, not my fault you didn't check your billing statement until it's too late.
In other news, I'll be gearing up to take the GRE, the test needed to get in grad school. Still no luck with jobs, so hopefully grad school will help me out in that market.
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Now my tummy is full of cookie dough and dinner has yet to be made. Ah well. It's a happy fulfillment.
There are apparently going to be fireworks right outside my house. That should be fun.
So again Happy 4th of July!
It was thankfully a slow day, which ended up in me going home early, but there were still people ordering stuff. It's the ****ing 4th of July! Go help relatives in cooking or call up your sons/daughters or do something other than order clothes that aren't in stock anyway! This job does not make you appreciate old people at all. Even more perplexing is my luck with the girls at work. I'll talk about that in a later blog. Although you have to admit it is darkly humorous to hear people say they would never pay $3 for a 1000 page catalog, or pay an extra $5 for a clothing item. It's even worse when people think they're being self important when they mention they're never going to shop JC Penney again. Oh well, not my fault you didn't check your billing statement until it's too late.
In other news, I'll be gearing up to take the GRE, the test needed to get in grad school. Still no luck with jobs, so hopefully grad school will help me out in that market.
----------------------------------------
Now my tummy is full of cookie dough and dinner has yet to be made. Ah well. It's a happy fulfillment.
There are apparently going to be fireworks right outside my house. That should be fun.
So again Happy 4th of July!
The Confederations Cup
The final just ended a few minutes ago, and I just have to congratulate both the United States and Brazil for a great tournament.
For those just tuning in, yes the United States made a final of a FIFA tournament. First time ever for them after getting rather lucky to survive their group by defeating Egypt 3-0 and having Brazil knock off Italy by the same score, giving the US the go ahead based on total goals scored, of which they edged Italy by 4-3. Somewhat ironic that Brazil, the team the US just played in the final, helped them get that far.
For the semis, the US took on reigning world number 1 Spain and outplayed the Spanish for a 2-0 win shocking the world. Really, did anyone give the US a reasonable chance against the Spanish, who hadn't lost a game in what, 35 games? US has now beaten two #1 ranked teams, the other being Brazil back in 2002 or 2001, and they also tied Argentina back in 2006 when they were ranked 1 as well.
The final today began with the US running full steam ahead and scoring two goals at the 10th and 27th minutes. The goal at the 27th minute was a thing of beauty. Up 2-0 at the half, the US needed to keep up the energy to shock the world again. But Brazil wasn't about to let that happen. With only a minute gone by in the second half, Brazil struck and cut the lead to 2-1 completely changing the complexion of the match. The tide was turned and Brazil dominated the second half and tacked on two more goals at the 74th and 84th minutes to go ahead 3-2. Brazil turned it on and never took their foot off the gas pedal. Granted the US looked fatigued near the end of the match, but what Brazil did was amazing.
I don't look at this as a bad loss for the US. We made it to the finals, and that in itself is an accomplishment, and we had a lead over Brazil winning the first half. Right now we need to look at what we did wrong in the second half and try to learn. Plus some more conditioning wouldn't hurt either.
And of course, congratulations to Brazil for winning their third Confederations Cup and second in a row.
For those just tuning in, yes the United States made a final of a FIFA tournament. First time ever for them after getting rather lucky to survive their group by defeating Egypt 3-0 and having Brazil knock off Italy by the same score, giving the US the go ahead based on total goals scored, of which they edged Italy by 4-3. Somewhat ironic that Brazil, the team the US just played in the final, helped them get that far.
For the semis, the US took on reigning world number 1 Spain and outplayed the Spanish for a 2-0 win shocking the world. Really, did anyone give the US a reasonable chance against the Spanish, who hadn't lost a game in what, 35 games? US has now beaten two #1 ranked teams, the other being Brazil back in 2002 or 2001, and they also tied Argentina back in 2006 when they were ranked 1 as well.
The final today began with the US running full steam ahead and scoring two goals at the 10th and 27th minutes. The goal at the 27th minute was a thing of beauty. Up 2-0 at the half, the US needed to keep up the energy to shock the world again. But Brazil wasn't about to let that happen. With only a minute gone by in the second half, Brazil struck and cut the lead to 2-1 completely changing the complexion of the match. The tide was turned and Brazil dominated the second half and tacked on two more goals at the 74th and 84th minutes to go ahead 3-2. Brazil turned it on and never took their foot off the gas pedal. Granted the US looked fatigued near the end of the match, but what Brazil did was amazing.
I don't look at this as a bad loss for the US. We made it to the finals, and that in itself is an accomplishment, and we had a lead over Brazil winning the first half. Right now we need to look at what we did wrong in the second half and try to learn. Plus some more conditioning wouldn't hurt either.
And of course, congratulations to Brazil for winning their third Confederations Cup and second in a row.
The Real Life Buck Bumble
If you were reading this blog in case it had something to do with the fun N64 title Buck Bumble:
Then I'm sorry to say, you're out of luck.
Just the other day, while I was busy being innocent and surfing the interwebs, my dad looked out the window and exclaimed "WTF?" I looked over and saw my dad open the windows to show a swarm of bees flying around our house. Upon closer inspection, there were a couple hundreds bees, the largest concentration of them right up against the house. Yep, they decided to make our house their new home.
There be the bees flying in formation, if you can see them that is.
A number of bees were flying around in a formation of some kind all at a certain distance from the queen, who was busy making herself at home. I consider these bees, pictured above, to be the first line of defense, considering they kept crashing into the side of the house. Not the best fliers there.
As for there queen. Well she was here:
Along with a couple hundred more bees.
They found a small opening in the wall and took shelter, just in time since the heavens opened up a few minutes later.
If only Buck Bumble were a real insect. He could come in and destroy all the bees with his lasers and missiles. Ah well.
They're gone now. The exterminator came out and whacked the queen. He was also kind enough to let us know that this was the end of bee season, and we'd be entering wasp season next, followed by bumble bee season (yes there is a difference between bees and bumble bees).
All I know is that wasps don't send over hordes when deciding on a home, or at least paper wasps don't. Only a couple tried to make a hive right above our door back in Illinois. Raid took them down.
Then I'm sorry to say, you're out of luck.
Just the other day, while I was busy being innocent and surfing the interwebs, my dad looked out the window and exclaimed "WTF?" I looked over and saw my dad open the windows to show a swarm of bees flying around our house. Upon closer inspection, there were a couple hundreds bees, the largest concentration of them right up against the house. Yep, they decided to make our house their new home.
There be the bees flying in formation, if you can see them that is.
A number of bees were flying around in a formation of some kind all at a certain distance from the queen, who was busy making herself at home. I consider these bees, pictured above, to be the first line of defense, considering they kept crashing into the side of the house. Not the best fliers there.
As for there queen. Well she was here:
Along with a couple hundred more bees.
They found a small opening in the wall and took shelter, just in time since the heavens opened up a few minutes later.
If only Buck Bumble were a real insect. He could come in and destroy all the bees with his lasers and missiles. Ah well.
They're gone now. The exterminator came out and whacked the queen. He was also kind enough to let us know that this was the end of bee season, and we'd be entering wasp season next, followed by bumble bee season (yes there is a difference between bees and bumble bees).
All I know is that wasps don't send over hordes when deciding on a home, or at least paper wasps don't. Only a couple tried to make a hive right above our door back in Illinois. Raid took them down.
