football football football!!!
it's football season

A while back, ESPN.com Page 2's superb columnist Bill Simmons wrote about the 13 levels of losing. I was trying to decide where the UW's loss to Michigan this morning fit into that.

It's one thing to lose on a last-second field goal. It's another thing to lose on a last-second field goal when that team has already missed three in the game already, including one just a few minutes prior, and you got the ball back with a chance to run the clock out and win the game. It's yet another thing to have your opponent out of field goal range (unless you can hit a 59-yarder!), having just stopped them on 3rd down, with 6 seconds left, but be flagged for 12 men on the field, giving them a 15-yard penalty, moving them into field goal range.

Ouch!

But, hey, them's the breaks. The Huskies have been the beneficieries of numerous last second "miraculous," "somehow they pulled it out of their ass" -type wins over the last couple season, and the Universe has a strange-- yet undeniably effective -- way of equilizing itself. Beyond that, to console potentially distraught Huskies fans, if you think this loss somehow takes the beloved Dawgs "out of the hunt" then think again. The minds and silicon that run the rankings in college football are notoriously forgiving of early-season losses, on the road, to powerhouse programs like Michigan.

Also, the snarlin' Pussy-Cats from the Palouse had one of their finer moments, playing before a "sold out" (or very nearly so) Seahawks stadium and beating up the, uh, Sisters of the Poor.. no wait, it was the Nevada Wolfpack (interestingly enough coached by a former UW assistant). From what I've read, The Kitties didn't look all that great, but who cares, it was their first game, which is why you don't schedule a team like Michigan.

I just cracked one of new the Getherdrunk V. 3.0 ciders, and much to my chagrin, it is as flat as a pancake, just like v. 2.0. I'm not sure what I'm doing wrong, but something obviously isn't working, and I'm a little discouraged. Maybe it just needs more time, but that's exactly what I said about v. 2.0, and it never happened.

I was a bit sore this moring after lasts night's indoor soccer doubleheader. I have to say that people who have never played soccer just have no idea about how much it takes out of you. It is a much more physical game than most people give it credit for. It also occurred to me just how fine the line can be between being "hot" and "cold." Up until last night, I felt like my shots were just off, and I was in a bit of a slump in that regard, even though I was still scoring a few goals. All of a sudden, I lit up for 4 goals in the first game, and all I was doing was taking the same sorts of shots I had been taking all along. It was beautiful, and I just felt invincible. In the second game, I shanked a few, but I'm blaming fatigue, and I still got a goal and an assist.

It looks like I'm almost done building that waterfall at my aunt's house in Gig Harbor. I'm waiting for the pipe to come in, which should be tomorrow, and I can finish the plumbing, fill it up with water, and give it a test run. I am fully anticipating having to make some modifications once I get it going, so I'll probably shut it back down and spend at least a day doing that... but I'm getting close.

Well, I wonder if there will be baseball tomorow? I was watching the Seahawks final preseason game against Denver tonight, and I'm having trouble feeling optimistic about the season. From what I saw, which was the entire first half and part of the third quarter, the Hacks looked absolutely terrible. Hasselbeck looked utterly imcompetent, and when Rypien came in, the offense was only marginally better. I know this is the NFL, where "worst-to-first" happens all the time, teams that seem like also-rans early in the season are contenders by the end, and the last three Super Bowl winners have come from out of nowhere, AND there is every reason to believe that when Dilfer gets back (which should be by week 2, from what I've heard) things will get a lot better, but the Hacks have just SUCKED in the two games I've seen (tonight and two weeks ago vs. San Diego).

It's funny, because I keep hearing people talk about how this is a "baseball town," and interest in the Hawks just isn't there. Doesn't anybody remember the 80's when the Hawks were THE thing and the Mariners were practically an afterthought. I remember at that time, when I was a kid, the Mariners may as well have not even existed. Seattle is still recovering from the Berhing era, in many ways, and the NFL's ridiculous blackout rule isn't helping things, to be sure. It makes me sad, in a way, because around 95-96 the Seahawks became an afterthought, and had even moved to Anaheim, before Paul Allen stepped in and "saved" things. The Erickson/Mueller era didn't quite work out, and despite an 8-2 start, the Holmgren era has been a disappointment so far. But we Did save the team, build a great new stadium, and we just need a team we can cheer for. Let's hope they have a good season... I'm not sure about the Mariners, or baseball in general, right now.

your words of wisdom for the day:
the antithesis of Love is not Hate , it is Apathy

I got up very early this morning to play 18 holes at Kayak Point Golf Course. I shot a 54 on the front 9, then a... not very good on the back nine. Yes, that is a very high score, but I made some good shots, believe it or not. Inconsistency is what kills me, that and I have pathetic distance on my shots, but if I can hit it straight and stay "clean" I can usually do okay. But then I completely collapse on a hole, or 4-putt a green, or screw up a relatively easy chip shot...

I had another doubleheader (back-to-back) for indoor soccer tonight. The first game was a 9-9 tie against a pretty good team, but one we had defeated previously. We gave up a 9-7 lead in the last couple minutes, and the scored the tying goal with about 4 seconds left. I had 4 goals, but didn't feel all that good about it... the cruelty of sports, I guess. The second game we pulled out an ugly 8-5 win. My game was marred by the temper tantrum I threw, but I do feel like I was fouled rather harshly on the play. Anyway, I more or less blew my wad in the first game, and wasn't all that pretty in the second, but then again neither was anyone else.

Well, I could carry on, but I am tired and need to go to bed.

I should really tell y'all more about the fun-time cabin trip, but pictures tell a thousand words, and anyone who has been up there before more or less knows what the deal is. And every time I'm there, I wonder why I don't go more often

So today I finally updated the beer page, and although it isn;t all that spectacualar looking, I HAVE decided I need to actauuly update the BeerMaker's Blog on at least a semi-regular basis.

Other than that, I pissed away a beautiful late-summer day, giving myself a complex because I'm realizing there aren't too many of those left. In fact, lately I've been feeling anxious because I haven't really had that great adventure this summer. except for the Shasta climb -- that was a fantastic experience in it's own right, but seem So Long ago -- I haven't really done Anything. Only day hikes, and I haven't slpet in a tent since then! Damn, i need to get out.

But that's the problem with unemployment. you may have the time, but you don't really have the means. Traveling, even the "cheap" kind of travelling I enjoy, is still an expense that is difficult to justify. So I've pissed away the summer, something I am already regretting, and it's not even over yet!

Well, tomorrow I'm getting up way too early to go golfing -- talk about unjustifiable expenses, but it turns out the place I'm heading, Kayak Point, is a great deal -- and the weather should be nice, and it Will get me Out. But it's no Adventure... and I'm running out of time!

Well, I spent the weekend up at the cabin on Useless Bay, Whidbey Island. Had a good time. You can see the pics here...