A word, if I may

Well, it seems that technology isn't perfect. Who knew? The few photos that were taken are all posted on my mobile phone photo blog. You can find a link to it on the right. I've deleted the garbled posts and errors. I will post a recap ... uh ... soon. I'm still a little out of it.

Our new friend.

Vegas Update

Let it be known I'm drunk.

Time stamp

Thus ends day one

This is ONLY a reenactment. No mmmarkieps were hurt in the making of this photo.

Rusty and Killer fight over who gets to be the hockey player. Killer loses.

I'm a little tartted up for this early in the morning don't you think?

Clockstuffers

Well, I guess there won't be any audio posts. I tried sending e-mails to the two listed addresses at audioblogger.com . Both addresses result in an immediately returned e-mail with the address being no good. Well. Fine. Clockstuffers. There will be pictures and text. The rebellion will not be denied! Viva la rebelión del chones!

Heheh. I said chones.

Let the countdown begin ...

Well, as usual lately, I couldn't sleep. So, I'm almost all packed. I got the laundry done. Oh, yeah, and the Astros ripped the heart right out of me. No, that's not entirely true. When Astacio gave up the go ahead home run, it's more like ... it's more like my heart just ripped itself right out of my chest. Kind of like that scene in Alien where the alien baby comes charging out of that guy's stomach. Yeah, like that. So, anyway, now I've got some cleaning to do. I need to get my hair cut. Run some final errands. Get over to the office and get my time card turned in for the week. Wash some dishes. Make a double batch of salsa. Volleyball is at 6:30 tonight. Crap! I've got to go!

But, before I do, let's see ... by this time tomorrow ... doing the math ... carry the one ... square root of pi ... conjugate the 7 ... count the decimal places ... it'll be a little before 11 am Las Vegas time. Yeah, I'll probably be sitting on the patio at the Bellagio having drinks. Judging from past years, that means we'll have so much fun I'll need to ... uh .. need a ... "nap" around 3 pm or so. Ok, I gotta run.

JUST like the movie Alien. Honest.

Time management - mmmarkiep style

We leave early Thursday morning. Like, military early. I'll probably leave the house around 0500. That's 5 in the freakin' morning for you non military non math types. I could be packing. I could be cleaning up some. I could be doing laundry. Instead, I'm sitting here hoping against hope that the Astros don't break my heart again tonight. If I wasn't so invested in the Astros from way back when I was a kid, I could objectively say this has been a great World Series so far. Two close games complete with late innings drama. Instead, my stomach hurts because the Sox have a 2-0 lead. I could be packing.

The thing about the Boxer Rebellion is that, like some real rebellions, there are often a few loose plans but they often get forgotten when the mind numbing cheese of Las Vegas hits. (Not that I'm suggesting there's ever been a rebellion in Las Vegas, but you know what I mean.) I think the military should investigate using the sounds of a casino for psyops. Maybe fly some planes over the mountainous border region between Pakistan and Afghanistan with loud speakers blaring the chink chink chink of a slot machine paying out. And not the higher pitched chink chink chink of a quarters machine, but that lower pitched dull thud type chink chink chink of dollar tokens. Ol' Osama would just wander out of his hiding place looking for a cocktail waitress and an ATM.

I could be packing.

Dammit

Well, I don't know if the audio posts are going to happen. I've been testing by changing settings around and calling the audioblogger.com number but nothing's ever posted. I suppose I could break down and send them an e-mail. But then, that would require, you know, effort. Although, I suppose with all the effort I've put into it thus far, you know, call, cuss, post, check, repeat. Well, what's an e-mail?

I think my internal clock is already on Boxer Rebellion time. I'm having trouble getting to sleep before 5 am and I'm sleeping until noon or so. Perfect. Hopefully, this year there won't be any inflatable roommates making the rounds. However, I'd be perfectly content to repeat my 7am drunk dialing performance if I can repeat the same phrase... "I won a thousand f***ing dollars!" and have it be true. I'd really rather not have a repeat my routine for taking off my shoes that morning, though. The one where I put my feet in the air and push the shoes offof my feet. I bet, that's really how Sir Isaac Newton discovered gravity. He was tanked, went to take off his shoes that way, and when they crashed down on his head, smacking him square between the eyes, he had a eureka! moment. Apple tree, my ass.

Yep. I bet that's really how it happened.

The DSM IV and middle relievers

I was having a discussion about the role of passion\fire\chemistry vs. talent in team sports. Specifically, baseball. The comment preceding the following was, "Alright then, you discuss the performance of a team by using the DSM IV, I'll use the statistics almanac." I'm posting my reply for your enjoyment.

Well, the schizophrenics are generally switch hitters and utility infielders. The paranoids are your pitchers. Catchers usually are antisocial what with the mask and pads to avoid personal contact and all. Closers are the OCD, always pitching that one inning, you see. The middle relievers are the low self esteem types. And the narcissists? I'd guess the DH. I could be wrong.

Now, perhaps I wasn't clear. I'm not discounting talent. Certainly, a team has to have guys that can play ball. I'm saying that a team that has talent AND chemistry, passion, fire, sass, whatever, is certainly at an advantage. The hindsight thing is easy. You gather a collection of individual talent, put them together and see how they get along. You can make predictions but until the cake's out of the oven you don't know if it's going to fall flat or not.

So, for example, let's take, oh .. the Lakers. Were they successful? Sure, when they were getting along. Did the talent change? No, not really. Some would argue that Patyon and Malone made them even more talented. However, they didn't get along. The chemistry sucked. So, consequently, they didn't fare so well. All I'm saying is that stats are telling but it's still a team sport. And, to me, there's no way you can leave the chemistry\passion factor out.

Well, this is awkward

See, I ... uh ... didn't know I'd have to post something right away. But here I am, typing out ... well ... nothing.

Stay tuned, though. There will, hopefully, be some posts from Las Vegas. Yes, the Boxer Rebellion lives on. This is the 5th year. Not in a row, mind you. There's been a few years since we rattled off the first 4 years in a row. I believe the hiatus had something to do with the statute of limitations. Or statutory rape. Or something obscene involving a statue. Or all three, I don't know, I get confused. Looking forward, there may be audio and perhaps even photos from the trip. No video because, let's face it, you can't get a goat to sign a video release.

I know. You can't wait, can you?