ironSoap

I guess I’m doing the bachelor thing this week since Nik is out of town until Thursday on a business trip. Normally I’d sort of welcome the opportunity to have the place to myself and shake things up a bit, but I’ve been working this lunatic shift of mine for a couple of months now in which I get home in the middle of the day and have the place to myself for hours, plus my weekends are skewed as well which means my “alone time” is maxed out at the moment so there is no novelty here.

On the bright side the end of the graveyard shifts seems nigh (as soon as next week, if all goes well) so hopefully that will make things a bit easier.

The weirdest thing about the solo living thing is not having anyone to tell my hideously boring this-is-my-life stories to. I know I used to get on ironSoap and write it down; you know, the old “I had Cap’n Crunch for breakfast and then I scratched this little itchy spot on my back” posts. I decided eventually that those were as boring to write as they were to read (ha! I’m joking of course. Put the knife down), but there is still a desire to discuss sometimes mundane things with another human. I think in retrospect it may have been appropriate to include in the wedding vows something about “in sickness and in health and through a bunch of really boring stories about work.”

When I told a guy at work about this week he immediately asked, “What are you doing?” I realize that it may be common for other guys to sort of feel like having the wife out of the house for a week is kind of like “freedom” or “party time” but it never occurred to me that I should “take advantage” of this in any way. I suppose that means I’m not feeling like my style is cramped when she’s around and come to think of it, whatever I end up doing outside of my usual around-the-house stuff like playing video games, messing around online, painting miniatures or reading and watching TV is typically initiated by Nik herself. Or at least facilitated by her. It’s kind of a running joke between HB, Gin, Nik and myself that if you want to know what’s going on, ask HB or Nik because Gin and I are always just along for the ride.

In any case I have no schemes of any sort except that I plan to get all of my boring chores and commitments out of the way today so that starting tomorrow when I get off of work I can sit on the couch and play video games/watch TV uninterrupted for like 48 hours straight. Also, I may order a pizza. Maybe chinese. It depends what I’m in the mood for.

Big plans, big plans.

I know I talk about Heroes a lot. Too much, probably. But Monday’s episode was so fantastic, I cannot help myself.

Note: I make no effort to avoid spoilers either from the episode, online speculation or the previews for upcoming episodes. Stop reading now if you don’t want to know.

• I love how this show can walk the line between comic book cheese and straight TV drama so effectively. Case in point, the sinister exchange between Dale and Sylar culminating in the line, “What’s that sound in your heart?”

  “Murder.”

  It could have been devastatingly cornball since it was such a comic book moment, but it worked flawlessly here.

• At this point I think it is fair to say that we have three main candidates for possible causes of the explosion in NYC: Peter, Sylar and Ted. Despite the constant impression we’re being given that it is Peter, I have a hard time accepting that as reasonable. I still think it will come down to Sylar and my theory gained a little support in this episode when Sylar showed that he may figure out how to acquire other people’s powers, but that doesn’t necessarily ensure that he knows how to control them right away.
• People pointed to the exchange between Sylar and Mohinder outside the hotel as evidence that Mohinder may have some sort of hero-tracking power that Sylar wants. I completely disagree; the scene was there solely to plant the seeds of doubt into Mohinder as to Sylar’s mental health.
• I honestly thought for most of the episode that Ando would be the one to die. They seemed to telegraph it from the exchange with the gaming commission guy saying, “You only end up with [a partner's] blood on your hands.” I doubt we’ve seen the last of him (as someone on a forum said, he has the show’s key product placement in his possession, so he has to be back soon) but in any case I’m glad the side-trip for Hiro is over. It feels like they have been putting a few too many artificial obstacles in front of him lately and I’m anxious for him to get back on track.
• Speaking of back on track: Parkman’s merry gang of house-crashers was the kind of definitive plot advancement moment that makes this show 200 times better than Lost. In many ways I feel like the writers are using Parkman as an avatar for the audience: When he’s all confused about what the heck is happening, so are we. When he gets frustrated with his inability to make progress, we are too. Now he’s finally had enough and he’s going to get answers one way or the other and we can do nothing but cheer him on. And the pacing for this confrontation is masterful because we just came off of a good episode that followed two ho-hum hours fresh off a break that ended with a slew of developments. We’re ready for this scene now, and Parkman’s our guy.
• One thing about the exchange between Isaac and HRG that was actually featured in the previews but didn’t sit well with me: Isaac suggests that he’s been painting Peter all along but he’s invisible and HRG immediately calls out Claude. Wait, why would he automatically assume that someone he “thought was dead” was not? Isn’t that the absolute last conclusion you’d draw? My first instinct would be: Hey, there’s someone else out there who can turn invisible now. Occam’s Razor and all, you know? Instead HRG shows a super-power of his own: He seems to know as much as the writers do most of the time.
• I was very happy that right after they finally started getting somewhere with Niki/Jessica/Micah/DL they gave the storyline a break. I think this might be the first time that plot thread has missed an episode, too. It worked because now I know what is going on with some of the other characters and I’m—gasp!—sort of curious as to what happens next with Niki/Jessica. Well played.
• Simone’s death was handled perfectly. I didn’t exactly see it coming but it wasn’t like some major story-rending kick in the pants. Which is actually good because as much of an advocate of disposable main characters as I am, it’s too early to knock any of the heroes off just yet. But killing someone who has as much influence on two of the main characters, and in that particular manner, introduces a fantastic dynamic to an already impressively dramatic situation. More kudos.
• Claire’s confrontation with HRG was equally stunning. Good acting by Hayden Panettiere showing how frustrated she’s gotten that even though she suspects she may not be able to stop the memory loss this time, she has to at least try to make Bennett see reason. And they did a good job of making her sound like an actual teenager who has a legitimate beef with a parent. Usually when kids are shown in TV and movies confronting their parents they come across as more mature than the parent, but here she maintained the child role in the relationship while still making her points crystal clear.
• I like Hana/Wireless. Interesting power and something that hasn’t been done to death in comic books. Her vendetta against HRG is only explained in the online graphic novels which is a shame because it seems a bit arbitrary that she would show up and know all this stuff without the backstory. Still, let’s hope they keep her around for a bit since there aren’t that many non-dude heroes in the show (especially since we still can’t be sure what to expect from Niki/Jessica at this point).
• One note to NBC: Work on the marketing of the show a little. The insane level of hyperbole and the apparent need to constantly have some sort of catchphrase is going to get old really, really quick. As in, it was old about halfway through the “Save the Cheerleader, Save the World” campaign. The show is good, you can just advertise it normally and people are going to watch.

I’ve only been a subscriber to satellite radio for about six months, and the first several were for Nik, I only experienced the service peripherally. But, that level of exposure was sufficient to entice me and I now have my own receiver and subscription.

(As an aside, the linked article also has a follow-up that is very down on the Stiletto. To an extent I can’t argue with the complaints: As a portable Sirius player it requires a very bulky and ugly set of special headphones and even then the reception isn’t that great. But on the other hand, the portability factor probably shouldn’t have been pushed as a big selling factor to begin with since satellite radio, in my experience, is a limited use product. By that I mean that the beauty of it isn’t necessarily in just having it on, but in having the entirety of it available. Specifically, the 100% commercial-free music is fine but I find that, as with AM/FM radio, one is rarely stuck on a single channel for music anyway since inevitably they will play something you don’t like sooner or later. But having dozens of channels each with the possibility of playing something good and not having any of them hampered by being “on commercial” when you tune in gives a pleasant, seamless experience that is ideal in a car where switching channels is pretty much second nature by now. Outdoorsy people hoping the Stiletto would approximate that will be disappointed in the same way they would find trying to listen to terrestrial radio disappointing, because channel-surfing on a portable device is rarely as simple as all that. In a home or car, satellite radio shines: Elsewhere it was only ever destined to be a novelty.)

Ever since satellite radio came onto my radar, people have been talking about the two major providers, XM and Sirius, merging. Now the talks have surfaced again, this time with more veracity. Personally, I don’t really care either way. I’ve experienced both services and I vastly prefer Sirius (hence the choice) but I doubt much would really change with a merger since the focal points would be the premium content channels (mostly stuff like Howard Stern, Oprah Winfrey, major league sports and so on) which has, to this point, been spread between the two.

But were a merge to take place, the things I would want to see happen are as follows:

• Leave the music programming to the Sirius guys. The XM channels—especially in my primary genres of choice such as Alternative, Rock and Indie—pale to the point of albanism compared to Sirius. The new 90s Alternative station on Sirius is a prime example of how well that company understands what actual people want to listen to.
• I wouldn’t mind seeing some “talent” shake-up, however. One thing that XM seems to have over Sirius is less offensive DJs (or Stream Jockeys—SJs—as the forum lurkers call them). I could certainly live the rest of my days without ever hearing Jason Ellis, Madison or Bam Margera blather on in a lame attempt to connect with listeners. In my opinion, for a service that bills itself as a smart choice for savvy consumers over the alternative (FM), they seem to have carried over the worst parts of it in some cases.
• Anything that could be done to improve overall reception would be most welcome.
• Do not, under any circumstances, even think about making the sports content require an additional monthly fee. Should a merge happen I’d finally get all the major sports on one service (right now MLB is only on XM) and I would be happy. If they try to charge me for hockey games, I’ll cancel my subscription, sell my Stiletto on eBay and write as many nasty things about the executives and their heritage as I can think of.
• Now get off my lawn.

On the Random Tip

Because you never demanded any such thing, I offer… more bullet points.

• I hereby decree the end of the trend on the following phrase and all its variants: “…because that’s the way we roll.” It was funny for a while, but it isn’t anymore.
• You know what I think the XBox 360 controller should have? A jog wheel. Think about it: The D-pad is only ever used in modern games for inventory or issuing orders to squad members or that kind of secondary input. Wouldn’t a jog wheel be easier to use than a clunky eight-point pad? Plus if they did that they could replace that atrocity with a real D-pad akin to the one on the DS. As it is that thing is almost unusable, even for games that need it like the old arcade classics ported over to XBox Live Arcade. It’s a shame, too, because other than that D-pad, the 360 controller is one of the best ever.
• Why do french fries go so well with dessert? My favorite food from McDonald’s (the word “favorite” is being loosely applied here): French fries and apple pie.
• I’m sorta learning to play piano after acquiring a very nice keyboard (free!) from HB. Currently, I know four chords: C Major, F Major, G Major and A Minor. That’s not a lot of musical variety… but I can at least play them with over 100 different sound effects! They sound really cool with swooshy 70s-style synth sounds.
• I guess Norv Turner is going to the Chargers. I think it’s dumb that they had such a great record in the regular season and because they lost a playoff game the coach gets the axe. By that logic they should fire/trade LaDanian Tomlinson, too, right? Anyway, it’s kind of weak for the 49ers because Alex Smith seemed to be doing much better under Turner than he had before, so it will be interesting to see what happens now with Mr. First Round Pick.
• Rhetorical Question of the Day: Why is it that when you have no use for change, it’s everywhere, as if it were multiplying like Tribbles all over the house, car, couch, etc. But the instant you need a few coins, you can barely find two pennies to rub together? Also, it seems like the more paper cash you have on hand (ie, the larger the denominations of your bills), the less change you can actually find.
• They’re showing that professional fisherman (*snort*) on ESPN tonight who gets all “extreme” when he does his thing and, like, yells at the fish he catches. He literally taunts them as though they were some kind of crafty opponent instead of near-mindless beings so far down on the food chain from us that we’re like a dot to them (metaphorically speaking, of course). It seems like he may as well be talking smack to his Wonder bread, you know?
• “I totally pwned that whole loaf, man! Did you see that? It was like 24 slices vs. just me and I ruled over it like a malevolent dictator! Woo!”
• This just in: Professional athletes take themselves too seriously. Film at eleven.
• You know what I don’t understand? TV shows of radio shows. Like, Getty and Armstrong or Mike and Mike. They literally just put a camera in the radio booth and show the people talking into a microphone. Even that tweaker Jim Cramer basically has the same “format” except he acts like a raving lunatic in the studio. What’s up with that guy?
• It was slow at work last night so I was fiddling with the TV that is supposed to show CNN and I ran across TNT showing a 24 hour marathon of Law & Order. Turns out I can stand about five episodes in a row before that incessant “bah-BONG!” sound goes from semi-cool to completely grating. Also I decided that the show was best when it had Chris Noth and Jerry Orbach on as the detectives. Carey Lowell was the best ADA, even though she never overlapped with the Noth/Orbach pairing.
• Here’s what I don’t get: When you order a hamburger with no mayonnaise at a restaurant, you get the driest slab of shoe leather stuffed between two Sahara-like buns. When did mayo become the de facto moisture apparatus on a burger? Mayo, to me, is like raw eggs: It has its uses but as an ingredient in and of itself? No thanks. Let’s try to work with something that actually tastes good on its own, hm? Ketchup: Think about it.
• Also? I hereby decree the official end of the idiotic spelling “catsup.” Whatever the origin of that term is, it no longer applies to anything. From here on, it is “ketchup” only.
• Although, “ketchup” is kind of a random term anyway. It ought to be something more descriptive like “tomato goo.” Either way, it turns out “catsup” is not in Firefox’s spell checker so maybe someone beat me to the punch in declaring that spelling invalid.
• Way to go, Firefox spellchecker guy.

A few nights ago I wandered out to my truck to collect a case of drinks that I’d left in there. I had to park a bit further from our apartment than usual so I was sort of shuffling along, paying attention primarily to my thoughts and the dim concrete for fear of tripping over a curb or something. Suddenly I heard a terrific boom, which echoed noticeably across the field adjacent to our apartment complex. My initial thought was that a car had just hit a building, somewhere up ahead. With our apartment behind me, I didn’t have much concern other than the generic thought that I hadn’t noticed any squealing tires so whomever had just hit something didn’t seem to have bothered to brake.

I wandered back to the apartment and Nik greeted me with information that the sound had actually shook our apartment. That didn’t sound like the result of a car hitting a building some ways off. Then the sirens began. They seemed to be coming right to us, but they then trailed off as they passed, presumably somewhere down the street toward downtown. Having been up at that point for almost 30 hours in a row, I decided it was my cue to retire for the evening.

Nik, on the other hand, could not contain her curiosity and went to investigate. Upon doing so she quickly discovered that a building in our complex had caught fire following an explosion that was tentatively being attributed to a gas leak. The papers would later report that the explosion caused a three alarm fire that spread to a second unit and took over an hour and a half to contain.

The man whose apartment the explosion had originated from has, in the following days, been the topic of much speculation in the rumor mill of our apartment community. Some say he was trying to commit suicide, others say he was just the unlucky guy with the gas leak who flipped on a light switch. However, his luck may not be that bad since he suffered only relatively minor injuries (burns, mostly) despite being reported as having been tossed over his balcony by the force of the blast. Another woman was treated for smoke inhalation and released and a dog was the only casualty of the incident.

Having very little information other than that I can only say that I’m thankful to be unaffected by any of it despite its uncomfortably close proximity. My personal wild speculation is that I wouldn’t be surprised to find it had something to do with a meth lab since that is the kind of thing that goes on in this area quite a bit and the nature of the wounds reported on the primary victim seem suspect. However, other apartment dwellers have suggested that they smelled gas for hours prior to the explosion and even reported it to maintenance who told them they were crazy but called PG&E anyway. PG&E came out and gave the all-clear, saying their equipment could not find any indication of a problem.

Again, I don’t know exactly what is true or not, but the PG&E angle has been reported by actual news outlets so it at least smacks of truthiness. Other residents claim that another neighbor smelled gas the next day and called PG&E who arrived to find a leak in the stove and told them they were lucky to have caught it in time. That story is not reliable in any way, but underscores the point here.

I think it’s pretty clear that regardless of what the investigation turns up, this is a pretty tragic incident despite having the potential to have been much, much worse. It has, understandably, shaken up a lot of the people who live in the complex, Nikki included. In the days following the incident I have seen no fewer than five units being vacated: Whether they are fleeing as a result of the explosion/fire or if it is merely coincidental I again don’t know but I imagine at least one of those families is thinking they might be safer elsewhere.

Here’s my problem with the whole thing: Accidents happen. We all know that. But what we also know (which helps us sleep at night) is that accidents are, in many cases, entirely preventable. This one wasn’t prevented byut it got peopel edgy. Now if I’m the owner or manager of the apartment complex, here’s what I would do:

1. Release a notice to all residents stating the facts and only the facts known as of printing time. There was an explosion in building whatever at such and such a time, two people were injured but no one was killed, etc. Then I would state clearly that the early indications suggest that it may have been a gas leak which caused the problem and then list some reminders for hazard response procedures if you smell gas. Note that nowhere in here is a statement of responsibility or blame assignment, it’s just a indication that the office knows what happened and they don’t want it to happen to anyone else. Acknowledgment and reassurance first.
2. A day or two later I would coordinate and set up a series of in-unit safety inspections focusing on the gas lines. I would announce this as a voluntary procedure to anyone who was interested and offer it free of charge within the next two weeks. I would also state that residents who wished to opt-out would still get the peace of mind that the gas system would be inspected in less than a week without entry to each unit for leaks or safety defects. In this note I would also suggest that when the official cause of the explosion was known it would be made public, regardless of liability.
3. I would follow through by releasing the results of the fire inspection and safety inspections to all residents. Full disclosure.

It seems reasonable to me and would work to show residents (essentially the customers for the business) that you are proactive, open in your communication and willing to work to ensure the safety of those customers.

Instead, the office sent out a notice to all residents… reminding them to update their parking permits or else they would face possible tows at owner’s expense.

Oh, that I were making that up.

I Don’t Know… Stuff?

• Here’s a pretty funny video of a guy trying to use Vista’s voice recognition system to write a three-line perl script. Note, he starts cursing briefly about halfway through, but the video itself is really way too long anyway so you may have shut it off by then. I mean, it’s funny but it ain’t ten minutes funny, you know?
• We stopped by the President’s Day game convention briefly on Saturday. We played a couple of good games and picked up a few more in the dealer’s room. Unfortunately I had to work and Nik wasn’t feeling all that well so we didn’t stay as long as I might have liked. It was the first kind of half-hearted con in some time, although with Lister’s imminent departure for his great European adventure looming, at least we got to get in a small last hurrah.
• Was that out loud?
• We’re supposed to have CNN on one of the monitors at work. Here’s why I hate CNN: They just interrupted a breaking story about a bombing in Iraq for—so not making this up—tips on how to shovel snow. I understand that not every part of the country is experiencing weather like we are (sunny and warm in the mid-70s, thanks for asking) but snow shoveling? Pretty self explanatory. Their biggest tip? Don’t climb onto the roof to shovel off snow… especially if you live in a multi-story home. Genius.

I finally finished my photo essay which chronicles in a poignant way just exactly how bizarre my workplace can be. Each photo has been documented and annotated so you don’t have to scratch your head wondering why Pepsi is weird. I should apologize for the quality of the pictures: Most of them are pretty bad, photography-wise. Also I realized that I have my camera settings way too dark which applies to both indoor and outdoor shots so I need to a) color correct my photos and b) break out the camera manual and figure out what I’m doing wrong. I think you’ll at least get the idea.

Also, while I’m linking stuff, I’ve been working my way through the new-in-2006 albums I acquired last year and doing mini-reviews of them in my Last.fm journal. I still have a half dozen or so more to go, but parts one and two are all set to go right now.

Other than that I don’t have too much to report. Heroes was really good last night (it’s amazing how in two episodes they managed to undo a lot of the tedium of the Niki storyline and make it exciting, although DL’s non-role last night was a bit odd) and I thought last week’s Lost return was pretty solid as well. Work is still occasionally throwing me for a loop especially when people try to helpfully schedule events around my on-duty hours. I genuinely appreciate the courtesy but in all honesty I don’t have much gumption after a night of work: Ten hour days make for a nice brief week but they have their downsides. I, of course, realize that not everything can happen on Thursdays and Fridays and it makes logical sense to have appointments at noon or one in the afternoon; but the way I have tried to set up my sleep patterns makes that sort of plan stressful since I seem to feel like I’m constantly checking the clock and doing mental calculations for how much sleep I’m losing.

I guess that’s really kind of dumb anyway since no matter what I do I end up getting behind in sleep by the end of my week. Tonight, for example, will be a long one. But at least I have nice lengthy weekends to recover. At any rate all of this is likely to change in the fairly near future anyway since there are some changes a-comin’ within the team and actually in the company as a whole. Mostly these are good changes, so it is—as far as I know—nothing but positive.

Steve Jobs, it seems, would like to have iTunes Music Store sell music that is unencumbered by DRM. Meanwhile, the RIAA thinks you’re getting a sweetheart deal when you buy a CD and has decided that no infraction is too small to trot out the slavering law-dogs.

The whole thing is starting to really bore me. Jobs is absolutely right when he points out that the RIAA companies themselves are the primary suppliers of non-DRM music (although they’ve certainly stooped to some impressive lows to try and change that). Look, I know that sharing digital music anonymously online especially in a coordinated peer-to-peer effort (like Kazaa or Limewire) is a questionable interpretation of Fair Use. Back in the day, there was no other recourse and I can honestly say that at this point any music I may have acquired in that way has either been deleted or, probably more likely, replaced by a legitimate copy. Which is what we were saying all along: “We don’t mind paying for it, but you charge too much, are behind the times and you release too much crap for us to experiment so we’ll do it our own way, thanks.”

Turns out we were right and once someone caught up with the consumers and offered legitimate alternatives many of us supported those efforts and we appreciate most of what has been done to try and make experimentation more palatable. Which doesn’t mean that all my music is strictly legal by the RIAA’s definition. I share some music on non-public networks with close friends because, well, that’s what I’ve always done way back to when my buddies and I would make mix tapes and copies of albums on cassette for each other. Music is a wonderfully dynamic thing that has both individual/personal aspects as well as social/community aspects. Mostly I think the RIAA wants to squelch the social aspects of enjoying recorded music because it isn’t profitable for them. Not that it couldn’t be, if they put some creative energy into it, but they’re too busy fighting a losing war to keep their old models and paradigms in place (and spreading an immeasurable amount of ill-will in the process) to be bothered trying to roll with the punches.

I’m tired of hoping the RIAA will wake up one day and realize that abusing their customers is a brain-dead business model. But at least it sounds like someone with half an ounce of clout gets it, so even while my hope wanes there is always the chance that I could be pleasantly shocked one day.

That’s the great thing about being cynical: When you’re right, you expected it all along. When you’re wrong, it’s like the best gift ever.

An unanticipated side effect of night shift working has been the speed at which time passes. Considering that from about 10:40 on Saturday night until noon on Wednesday my life is a blur of late-night news programming, unix systems administration, complicated charts monitoring various nigh-unintelligible technologies like ‘telephony’ and ‘database replication’, driving and poor sleep patterns it’s maybe not all that remarkable. That doesn’t mean I expected it though.

My weekends, such that they are, therefore involve a lot of chores and sleep catch-up plus a smattering of social activity and other recreational pursuits where they fit in. The end result is that I stand up and by the time I sit down several weeks have passed, usually without me updating the site.

I vowed awhile back not to waste a lot of time writing about not writing or making lengthy posts trying to excuse my absences. If I update, I update; if I can’t or don’t that’s the way it goes. No one cares one way or the other so it’s just alternating self flagellation and excuse-making which is boring and pointless.

If it’s cool with you I’ll pretend that isn’t par for the course around here.

Anyway, I have a smattering of thoughts and commentary now, which is at least something.

• So the Colts won the Super Bowl. Good for them, and good for Peyton Manning. I know lots of folks are down on him for various reasons but I’ve liked watching the guy play ever since he orchestrated a marvelous comeback on Monday Night Football several years ago. Usually I don’t really admire non-Bay Area teams’ players, even if they’re really good. But unlike Peter Forsberg or Tom Brady or Alex Rodriguez who are good but often also surrounded by other really good players, I can honestly tell that the Colts—despite having good players aside from Manning—would be a shadow of their championship selves without Mr. Laser-Rocket Arm back there draining the play clock and reading defenses and generally quarterbacking as opposed to just being a guy who can read his progression well and throw a tight spiral. I think what impresses me is that he’s certainly an athletic guy but he seems to play the game mostly with his head and I really only admire two things in professional athletes (whom I tend to think ought to have an extraordinary level of athleticism and talent merely as qualifications for being a professional) and that is hard work and a critical mind for the game.
• Unless said athlete plays for a Bay Area team in which case I only admire one thing and that is the ability to win. By and large, I don’t admire Bay Area professional athletes very often.
• Speaking of, I thought I should make a quick note of the Sharks, especially in light of their atrocious two game stand against Dallas. Sure, they were coming off a win streak but they looked really sad against a team that they have no reason not to beat. I mean, if they lose to Anaheim I’m certainly not happy but San Jose and the Ducks are supposed to be the teams to beat this year so games between them ought to be completely up for grabs. But Dallas is behind the Sharks in the standings which means, to me, they should be better than the Stars. They certainly didn’t look like it. A few very brief pointers for the boys in teal: 1) Shoot the puck. 2) Anyone on D who can’t hold the line (in any offensive situation but specifically on the Power Play) ought to get punched in the lips. I’m looking at you, Erhoff. 3) Stop trying to clear the zone with that little backhand bank pass. Here’s a clue: When it doesn’t work twenty-six times in a row, it might be time to try a different approach.
• I finally felt like Heroes got back on track last night. I think the “revelation” of the identity of Claire’s birth father was kind of telegraphed but it wasn’t unwelcome. The actor who plays Sylar did a really good job in the episode, too, successfully playing the charmer and then making a chilling transition back into total lunatic. I can’t say I was too thrilled that HRG made it just in time to save the day since the wife/mom character annoys the heck out of me, but I guess it wouldn’t work to have Claire completely grief-stricken at this point in the game. I’m also really liking Claude, the invisible dude. His rationale for tossing Peter off the roof was somehow hilarious to me. Nice shout out to Star Trek with the license plate on Sulu Hiro’s dad’s limo, too. In fact the relatively serious plot thread with Hiro was a pleasant change of pace for him as well. And while I’m still no fan of Niki, for once I felt like they were actually doing something with her this week so I didn’t have that familiar urge to hit the fast forward button quite as much whenever she came onscreen.
• On a different subject altogether, if you happen to have a hundred and fifty grand lying around, why not put it to good use?
• While I’m linking stuff, this dude has some ideas to improve the NHL. He thinks having more USians in the league, widening the net, adding expansion teams and going to permanent 4-on-4 would do the trick, in a nutshell. The problem is that he’s demonstrably wrong. The MLS was designed to get Americans into futbol by having local players they could identify with but that certainly hasn’t seemed to matter. He says that bigger nets would mean more scoring and more “crowd reactions” which makes games more exciting and more attractive as entertainment options. But then he goes on to spit out a bunch of numbers about goals per season and TV viewership which seem to directly contradict this theory. Also, while we’re trying to get more Americans playing the game we should add two more Canadian teams? That does not compute. And as for 4-on-4, I agree that making the shootout more rare would be good so I’m down with the ten minute 4-on-4 overtime, but playing the whole game 4-on-4? Sure, it’s exciting but it also would basically eliminate the pure defenseman since everybody would have to score well. You’d end up with guys like Patrick Marleau being listed as a D-man. No thanks.
• I was working on this sweet photo essay of the total weirdness of my workplace but my stupid camera ran out of batteries. In this whole building full of technological whizbangs I couldn’t find a single pair of AA batteries that would so much as power on my battery-devouring digital camera, much less allow me to snap off the last few shots I had in mind. Stupid electricity. I’ll have to try again tomorrow.