Week Fifteen of NHL 2006-07

Posted on January 20, 2007 by Steve

The All-Star break will soon be upon us and the Flyers are on track to delivering their worst season in franchise history; they’ve never finished with less than 58 points. At least they’re currently up five points over the most pathetic season in the NHL’s history which is unsurprisingly held by Washington, 21 points in their first season. Flyers beat reporter Tim Panaccio thinks they’re on track to ending with 48. My guess is it’s a formula based on the average number of wins, losses and shootout losses. On the upside, Richards and Sanderson have returned from their injuries. There were rumors going on about Esche being traded since Coach Stevens wants to keep losing with Niitymaki in goal, the worst of the pair in my opinion. Sure Esche was the number one guy at the beginning and he got pelted in the Sabres loss that led to Hitchcock’s firing. I highly doubt Niitymaki would’ve done better because the fault also lies in a sluggish group of defensemen. Anyway, the leading suitor for Esche was the Kings since both of their goalies are injured and the Japanese fellow isn’t ready for the big time. Not anymore, they grabbed his buddy Sean Burke off waivers from the Lightning. I thought Burke, known as Big Bird, had retired. Well, I do hope Simon Gagne has a good time in Dallas and I’ll know how things are going to shake out when the trade deadline on February 27 passes.

The Coyotes are faring better despite the 1-4 record after their awesome winning streak on the road. They’re already on “vacation” for the All-Star break. Then their next game is against the Kings should get them rolling again. The season may be half over but they are in 11th place in the Western Conference and the four teams ahead of them are vulnerable. So there’s a good chance they will make the playoffs. I did some research on my favorite player Jeremy Roenick for his birthday too. He’s only 12 goals away from tying Joey Mullen’s record. Mike Modano is closer at seven but he’s indefinitely injured. I think I’m going to write him a letter in a belated birthday card asking him to not give up, don’t retire yet since he can make it and break one NHL record to end on a high note.

As for the rest of the NHL. Marty Brodeur continues to amaze me. His climb to the top to beat Roy and Sawchuk’s records are no longer matters of “if” but “when.” I also hope the new uniforms we’ll see next week on Versus don’t turn out as ugly or silly as those White Sox ones I remember from the Seventies.

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1999: Eight years ago…

Posted on January 18, 2007 by Steve

I met this woman online earlier and then joined her for dinner at the Chili’s off 183, back when Apple was near there.

I did look forward to meeting Somara since a couple other women I had met through match.com (yes, we met on the Internet) were disappointing, but that’s how dating works, it just took me a while to get accustomed to such an ugly fact. We talked so much and ended up staying until closing time (around four hours). We planned on meeting again. We did and we’ve been meeting ever since.

Tonight, we’ll be celebrating yet we don’t want to drive all the way to 183 from Pflugerville. The one closer to my house between Howard and Parmer Lane will be an adequate surrogate.

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Happy 37th Birthday to Jeremy Roenick

Posted on January 17, 2007 by Steve

Today is JR’s 37th birthday and hopefully Gretz will let him play tonight against the ‘Lanche. I know I like to take the day off from work on my birthday but if I were pro athlete, doing what I loved the most, I’d do it, even if I were a minor league player toughing it out for the Icebats.

I do hope this isn’t his last season since I think he’s improving with the Coyotes as they’re climbing up the ladder in the Western Conference. They’re in 11th place and he has 13 points, six of them goals which puts him at 490 total. A mere five goals behind Modano and within 12 of tying Joe Mullen. I think he can do it. Anyway, since he has mentioned the R-word, I am making tentative plans to see what may be his last game in Dallas this March.

If he does retire though. I’ll keep my fingers crossed for his new career as a commentator on Versus and/or NBC.

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Iced in today

Posted on January 16, 2007 by Steve

I guess I got my wish for a Snow Day from work, really more of an Ice Day but we did have something resembling snow happening briefly this morning before it changed back to sleet or frozen rain. The last time I remember it snowing in Austin was a decade ago. It worked for the best, I needed to do some serious housecleaning of my apartment because I had guests in from Minneapolis; Cindy and her roommatte Kama. Quite a great time even if I’m no longer speaking to Cindy anymore (don’t really want to discuss it).

This time, the Ice Day was spent sleeping, staying warm and chipping off over an inch of ice from the right side of my car, blech! I had to prep my car since there was originally a delayed opening of 10 AM for work until they decided to shut down instead at 850 AM. I needed to put gas in my VW anyway so I did get a little practice on the nasty, slick roads of Pflugerville.

I was more of the torturer though. I made Somara suffer watching this show I’ve discovered on Nickeldeon called The Wonder Pets. Yes, it’s in the same vein as Dora the Explorer, a little kid show with an excessive amount of singing. However, the musical numbers and CG effects on the pictures of real animals were too amusing to ignore.

Let’s see if the weather does or doesn’t follow the forecast; more freezing rain tonight and in the morning. At least I’m not out of DVDs to watch.

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Return of the Toilet Paper Gobblers of 2007!

Posted on January 15, 2007 by Steve

Once again, Austin and the surrounding area is experiencing freezing rain and icy conditions. This climate then leads to the general panic, poor driving, fender benders and a mad rush to HEB as people stock up on bottled water, bread and toilet paper. It’s like that episode of King of the Hill when Hank started barking orders to everyone during a mere flurry like it were a tsunami coming. This situational weather will remain only for a day or two, thank you warm air from the Gulf Coast.

Being a Yankee from the Midwest, I’m always glad it’s temporary because this is standard fare with no recovery around October where I lived. Of course, like the Texans, I’d prefer to stay put too. I can handle the climate, I can drive slower and carefully (never caused an accident and I’ve only whale-tailed into a snowbank once) but Texans have lead feet on the accelarator, even when it’s risky. Why take a chance going to work when you may get hit by one of the many uninsured drivers around here and the deductible will cost you more than throwing away a vacation day.

Yeah I know with you guys up in the East and Midwest, “boo hoo for Central Texas!” Oh well, fingers crossed that the powers that be (my job’s upper management) decide to close the site tomorrow since I do have some laundry to finish and a PS2 game to play.

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The Austin Club, the city’s oldest private club

Posted on January 14, 2007 by Steve

Last night, our friends the Lowrys invited us to dinner at The Austin Club. They’re members of this exclusive place in downtown Austin; it’s on 9th Street, a block from Congress Avenue and near the Texas State Capitol, for obvious reasons I’ll explain later. As the link shows, it used to be the Millet Opera House until they took it over in 1981. The meal and experience was most impressive. The place is like something out of those movies on TCM when the characters (crime bosses, politicians, rich people, etc.) would meet at the Stork Club to have dinner and they’d be waited on by Black servants. The Lowrys told us, not long ago, elderly Black gentlemen used to be the primary staff members so it gave the place a very antebellum atmosphere; it definitely contradicted Austin’s more Liberal reputation.

The meal was an excellent, multi-course affair with an emphasis on presentation and the proper portioning. This was real fine dining contrary to the standard American stuff-yourself-until-you-burst kind. Somara also learned how to prepare this type of cuisine at culinary school too so I’m sure she was taking mental notes. The service matched the nature of the food and club. Overall, a fun indulgent evening everyone should have a chance to experience.

Other than the main dining room, the building contains numerous private dining rooms, private party rooms, one huge ballroom upstairs (we could hear the band playing during our meal but it wasn’t intrusive) and lastly, private meeting rooms. For better or for worse (usually worse with Texas politics), the legislature’s actual business takes place here with the lobbyists. To give you an idea which camp the Austin Club is in, you’ll see a huge portrait of the current Bush in the lobby (good thing I ate before I saw it). Despite that eyesore, I am glad the Lowrys invited us to share this meal, time and opportunity with them. In closing though, I must give a quick disclaimer to you readers, visitors and friends to let you know that the Lowrys are super generous, nice people (they’re my friend Ethan’s parents) who are not Republicans, Busheviks or friends of the status quo.

Posted in Austintatious | 1 Comment

First Japanese player participates in the NHL, NBA is next!

Posted on January 13, 2007 by Steve

Today, Yutaka Fukufuji became the first Japanese player to participate in an NHL game. His team, the Kings, still lost but he was brought in after the previous guy gave up five goals. Japan hosted the Winter Olympics in 1998 so I was hoping their interest in hockey would grow and maybe this will help. I’m waiting to see more players come in from other countries that have participated in the World Cup and Olympics: Germany, Latvia, Austria, Switzerland and Italy. Makes me wonder why I haven’t been able to find a Norwegian player.

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Tuscany Market closed for good

Posted on January 12, 2007 by Steve

As much as I enjoyed going to this restaurant near my job, it didn’t merit being in the Austintatious section because it wasn’t that unique nor did it scream “Austin.” However I’m still bummed over it going away. I hadn’t been there for lunch in a while and when I went by during the holiday break, I figured they were taking the week off. It seemed logical because all those other places in the nearby office parks would be shut down too. Then I tried again another time with no luck. I peeked through the door and it didn’t look hopeful so I had lunch at the neighboring Riata Bar & Grill. I overheard a waitress say her place was picking up all the business left behind by Tuscany for three weeks and the rumor going around was that the place folded because the rent became too much.

Such a bummer. The people usually knew me by name and it was the last place around Apple to get a brick-oven-cooked pizza for lunch. Sadly, the other nearby choices for lunch are unhealthier: Whataburger, Chipotle and Schlotsky’s.

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Week Fourteen of NHL 2006-07

Posted on January 10, 2007 by Steve

The three-game winning streak ended and the Flyers returned to their losing ways as the road campaign ended painfully by granting the Caps their first ever, four-game sweep in their history. There was a time that playing Washington’s rather lame franchise was an easy three victories for Philly. They’re still disorganized, terrible and pathetic. I’ve decided not to waste the money and vacation time seeing them play in Dallas this March. I’m saddened because this would be their first appearance at the AA in over three years but it isn’t worth the energy, distance and cash to see them if they’re not going to even try to play well against the Stars. I’m not saying the Flyers have to win, they didn’t when I saw them in 2003 yet they should play well enough to make it close.

Meanwhile, the Coyotes were on a roll! Last night they completed a five-game road sweep, first one in the NHL since Detroit in 2002. This bumped them up to 11th place in the conference and fourth in their division. If they can keep that momentum, they may actually make the playoffs which is the goal for this season. I think the comeback victory in OT after being down 4-1 in Carolina was one of the better games NHL Center Ice aired. I still wanted to see the 8-0 beating they gave the Sharks. The victories did move CuJo up the list of successful goalies; he’s now ahead of Jacques Plante. Sadly, two players were traded in the process. Mike Comrie was sent to Ottawa for some AWOL Russian. I find it funny that he was their second pick after Petr Nedved was grabbed by Edmonton first. Should’ve been the other way around. Comrie is a good player but I think his career will pan out the same way as Adam Oates’ in that by the time he retires, he’ll have no Stanley Cup but he played for more than half of the League. Defenseman Seidenberg, one of the few Germans in the NHL, was sent to Carolina for forward Adams.

Around the remainder of the NHL. Marty Brodeur keeps winning with the Devils and landed yet another shutout. Hopefully Terry Sawchuk won’t burst from the grave to stop it, unless zombies can be distracted by a corner bar. The US Juniors team took third place in Sweden which is still better than the US at the Olympics. Their loss to Canada was at least a good struggle as they took it to overtime.

Lastly, Kansas City showed the Pens their plan to land the team with good ol’ corporate welfare. After their failures with other sports franchises in that ghost town, subsidies would be the only way to succeed. I don’t think the NHL is really that interested in keeping the team in Pittsburgh since money talks and Atlanta wouldn’t have to change conferences in the possible re-alignment. Houston would be nice but I wouldn’t change my loyalties to Phoenix and Philly as long as they have Sid “the big baby kid” Crosby. They’d also have to change their name to the Aeroes to honor Gordie Howe’s time in Houston.

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iPhone finally a reality

Posted on January 10, 2007 by Steve

I’m just glad it’s official and out of the way. Now all the fanatics can focus their attention elsewhere with the rumor sites.

I don’t have any opinion of the new iPhone. I’ll see when it ships but right now, I like the phone I have and my iPod Mini still has much more mileage remaining.

Maybe it’s my age but I’m not keen on having Internet access, music, etc. around so often. For years the cell phone providers have been pushing us to rack up the bill by playing online games, text messaging and browsing the Internet on these devices. It’s nice to have a phone when you’re using public transportation or at the laundromat, but if you have so much downtime, I think it would be better to read a book.

Posted in Apple, Science & Technology | 2 Comments

How underwater broadband cables are fixed

Posted on January 9, 2007 by Steve

Over the holidays, I remember hearing about the earthquake that disrupted all the Internet access in the Orient. I think it affected my friend Bryant’s job since we discussed it over lunch last week. I’m definitely sure it kept my other friend, co-worker and fellow hockey buff, Brian awake since he works in the telecom field.

Anyway, I always wondered, “how the heck do they fix these things?” I know the Western nations laid down communication cables across the oceans way back in the 19th century with the expansion of the telegraph so there must be a plan.

Not only does this explain how it’s repaired, but how the break is pinpointed. That was the part I didn’t contemplate.

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RIP Iwao Takamoto

Posted on January 9, 2007 by Steve

This was mentioned during the bumpers on NPR today but I got better details on his obit here. Even as a kid, his name always stood out during the ending credits of so many Hanna-Barbera productions. I didn’t know he was responsible for Scooby Doo’s design or name. I figured it was the usual concept artists Hanna-Barbera hired like Alex Toth or Jack Kirby.

Today I’m not too keen on Scooby Doo unless it’s a parody of him and the Mystery, Inc. gang; see The Venture Brothers, Johnny Bravo and Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law. But when I was a little kid, Mr. Takamoto’s creation and style had me glued to the TV every Saturday morning in the Seventies. I think the new Justice League cartoon owes him much for his streamlined look on The Superfriends too.

P.S. I know Joe Barbera died last month. It happened while I was too ill to write so I never got around to posting and when I was functional again, it was “ancient” history.

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Happy 60th Birthday to David Bowie

Posted on January 8, 2007 by Steve

Music critics and writers throw the word “genius” around too much on such medicore or unproven talents (Beck, Madonna and Eric Clapton especially) that it renders the word practically meaningless. Overuse aside, it is an appropriate moniker for The Thin White Duke since he has never stood still and continued to experiment musically. Unlike his contemporaries in age, when he releases a new record it’s actually pretty good and not an excuse to gouge everyone with the more lucrative tour, aka The Rolling Stones or Paul McCartney with nothing very memorable since the mid Eighties. I also feel he changes his look, music, etc., because he sincerely is working in a direction that leads to these differences. I don’t think he “reinvents” himself to keep drawing attention as Madonna has always had to do.

Ten years ago, he performed a concert in NYC in celebration of his 50th birthday (it took place the day after). I wish that it would be made into an album and/or DVD. He chose the bands to perform with him too. The label who was distributing him then (Virgin) requested him to invite the tried and true artists the average person would recognize, Tina Turner and Mick Jagger for example. It was really their way of saying, we want you to cater to the aging Boomer crowd that stopped buying new music. He refused and went with contemporary artists he liked and probably influenced: Frank Black, Billy Corgan, Lou Reed, Robert Smith, Foo Fighters, Placebo and Sonic Youth (I didn’t say it was a perfect line up). Good move. After 10 years, all of them are still working and haven’t been forgotten.

I wasn’t always a fan of Bowie’s work. My initial opinion of him was colored by my parents’ huge dislike of him when I was a little kid. The first time I had ever seen him was on that Bing Crosby Christmas special which spawned the famous duet you hear on the radio every year. (Somara researched it last month and it’s considered to be one of the first and most famous mash ups in history, all because Bowie told the producers how much he hated “Little Drummer Boy.”) I just remember the dread coming out of my parents’ mouth when Bing greeted him in the skit preceeding their song. The words “fruit, freak and queer” were used by my mother. Unfortunately, children (including myself) are impressionable so their prejudice got embedded into my opinions from 1977 until 1987. Between those years, we had moved to Houston where I learned about his larger body of work on KLOL and he then released Let’s Dance which became his most “accessible” album for the American masses. When I got to college, my musical tastes widened thanks to friends, adversaries and WMUR. By the end of my freshman year, he had released one of his least favorite albums, Never Let Me Down yet I was impressed enough to finally purge the last remnants of my parents’ bad mouthing. Then a guy from paint crew loaned me the incredible Sound + Vision CD boxed set. I have been hooked on his stuff ever since. I can only hope my friends with children try to be more open minded with contemporary performers that have as promising futures. All those shallow female singers made with cookie cutters like Jessica Simpson or Hillary Duff remain fair game for ridicule.

This year promises to be pretty interesting for him. He will be appearing as a character in an upcoming episode of Spongebob Squarepants, he’s the voice of the villain in Jean-Luc Besson’s Arthur and the Invisibles currently being advertised to death and the ten-year bonds on his first 25 albums will expire, thus he will now collect the royalties from all his (older) music again. I am more optimistic about him releasing one more album since I think he’ll probably do something silly such as retire.

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Great, Austin’s first homicide for 2007 was near my house

Posted on January 7, 2007 by Steve

I had no idea this happened on my way to open Kenny’s this morning. At this time of year, it’s always dark and I don’t pay attention to the Exit 247 underpass, unless it’s raining because the north lane floods. When Somara arrived at the shop, two hours after me, she told me about the police surrounding the area with that yellow tape.

Don’t worry for us though. Our neighborhood is safer than East Austin or the bulk of Houston. Homeless people and roving groups of modern Gypsies are frequently seen around major intersections near I-35 or MoPac. I’ve just never known them to murder each other and leave the corpse under bridges.

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Casino Royale puts Bond back on track, Must See

Posted on January 6, 2007 by Steve

casinoroyale

This review took a while because I finally got to see this movie over the recent holiday break. This may be just more effective at advising anyone who hasn’t seen it and plans on renting it on DVD, I’m sure the campaign to sell it will be happening right before Easter.

Lately, numerous movie franchises have been damaged by really awful sequels so Hollywood in its infinite wisdom has decided to salvage them by making prequels (Star Wars and Alien v. Predator: those sucked) or “origin” stories (Batman Begins and the rumors surrounding the next Star Trek movie). I was rather skeptical with the latest James Bond movie taking the “origin” route by remaking Casino Royale. Remake? Yes, for some odd reason MGM tried to make a comedy or spoof of their cash cow in 1967. It’s truly awful in so many ways. Thankfully the ongoing caretakers of Bond (producers Broccoli and Wilson) take Fleming’s first novel and rejuvenate the franchise after two rather dull outings from Pierce Brosnan.

Daniel Craig is better suited for the role of an MI6 operative who investigates and assassinates for the Crown. He’s suave while rough looking but more importantly, he’s inconspicuous. I liked Brosnan yet there’s no way he could’ve been effective as 007 since his features were too noticeable, memorable and the villains remember who turns the heads of their girlfriends. Besides, Craig’s portrayal of Bond brings back the tension and edge the movies began to lose as Connery’s stint was ending. This is a Bond who will kill SMERSH, SPECTRE and PDNK operatives brutally, clumsily (he’s not perfect) and remorselessly. And unlike Moore, there won’t be some witty pun afterwards. Craig’s Bond is also more impulsive, takes bigger yet believable risks and deals with the consequences later. Pretty similar to Connery’s Bond I enjoyed in Goldfinger. Sadly, the rejuvenation means there’s no Q department and no appearance of John Cleese. I don’t mind it being stripped down on the gadgets. They were amusing but they were getting used more often to cover up a weak plot. Judi Densch remains as the adversarial M and Jeffery Wright is now Bond’s CIA ally Felix.

The plot? Almost forgot. It’s still loosely based upon the novel. Changes were made to bring the Cold War-era story to 2006. It’s still essentially the same though. Le Chiffre is the main adversary with a penchant for gambling. He is wanted by the West for being an investment banker to various terrorist organizations around the world. As Bond kills and defeats Le Chiffre’s allies or clients do they become aware of each other. This leads to Bond taking on Le Chiffre in the Balkans at a high-stakes tournament of poker…Texas hold ‘em which is one of the modifications I despised. Baccarat is Bond’s game, not poker for morons. I kept expecting play-by-play commentary from Dave Foley or Le Chiffre having to out bluff Michael Ian Black or Penn Jillette. Then again, I can forgive this change since it’s an easier card game to follow than baccarat. The poker tournament is the dramatic climax to the film. If Le Chiffre wins, his clients continue their violent ways and the British government helped pay for it.

Overall, I highly recommend this movie. It’s worth seeing in a theater with a great sound system. Bond movies are in the Event Movies categories. They’re just not as enjoyable on television unless you have a fantastic home theater system. The action is solid. The acting is credible. Chris (Soundgarden, Audioslave) Cornell’s theme song is the best one in 20 years. It does run a little too long, ruining part of the story; you’ll know when you see it. I was also surprised by the change in the opening credits of the silhouettes of nude women jumping around are gone. That was a trademark of Bond movies I always remembered since The Spy Who Loved Me. With the franchise back on track through this movie, I am looking forward to what Mr. Bond’s 22nd adventure will be and hoping that it won’t be followed by another tepid Die Another Day-like episode.

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