RC Index Week 9

Sorry for missing Week 8. We went on a camping trip and I was waaaaaay too busy at work to bother with my rankings. Here's what I've got this week:

1	Ohio State	9	0	1.000	0.906
2	Boston College	8	0	1.000	0.896
3	Arizona State	8	0	1.000	0.889
4	Kansas	8	0	1.000	0.870
5	Hawaii	8	0	1.000	0.832
6	LSU	7	1	0.875	0.937
7	Oregon	7	1	0.875	0.904
8	West Virginia	7	1	0.875	0.898
9	Missouri	7	1	0.875	0.884
10	Oklahoma	7	1	0.875	0.876
11	Boise State	7	1	0.875	0.860
12	Connecticut	7	1	0.875	0.859
13	Georgia	6	2	0.750	0.918
14	Alabama	6	2	0.750	0.904
15	Michigan	7	2	0.778	0.880
16	South Florida	6	2	0.750	0.871
17	Virginia Tech	6	2	0.750	0.865
18	Virginia	7	2	0.778	0.856
19	Wake Forest	6	2	0.750	0.850
20	Clemson	6	2	0.750	0.850
21	Purdue	7	2	0.778	0.848
22	Texas	6	2	0.750	0.845
23	Cincinnati	6	2	0.750	0.844
24	Wisconsin	7	2	0.778	0.833
25	USC	6	2	0.750	0.813

Only five unbeatens remaining as we head into this week's action. Last week didn't see much movement in the AP Top 10 since each team except Va Tech either won or had a bye. Let's run down the Top 5.

1. Ohio State
This team gets the job done. It's not flashy, but you don't need that with a stout defense.
Possible losses are Michigan and BCS Bowl.

2. Boston College
Granted, that was an ugly game. But they were at Lane Stadium on a wet turf that gave the advantage to Va Tech for three quarters. But Heismans find a way to win, and that's just what Matt Ryan did with those two 2-minute drills in the last five minutes.
Possible losses are at Clemson, ACC Championship Game and BCS Bowl.

3. Arizona State
Every year you get one of those plucky teams that found a rhythm, strung together a few W's and all the sudden they think they can play with any team. ASU showed some grit in handing the Fighting Jeff Tedfords their third straight L. They obviously know how to come from behind. Let's see how well they do that this weekend against Oregon at Autzen Stadium. And you thought the Cal & USC games were loud.
Possible losses are Oregon, USC, BCS Bowl.

4. Kansas
The Manginos are doing it with D this year. Sure, the offense ain't too shabby, but it's that run D that's putting this team in position to win.
Possible losses are Mizzou, Big XII Title Game & BCS Bowl.

5. Hawaii
Colt Brennan can't stop throwing interceptions. That's gonna bite them sometime this year. They're on the verge of being in that sacred BCS Top 12, but they'll get easily leap-frogged by the teams behind them if they win an ugly game or two.
Possible losses are Fresno, Boise, Washington & Hawaii Bowl.

Jesse Jackson Hall of Fame

The Class of 2007 proudly presents our newest member, C. Vivian Stringer.
Giving her introduction is co-founder and curator Reverend Al Sharpton.

Sensing her 15 minutes was almost up, Ms. Stringer took it upon herself to chastise Isiah Thomas for his deposition in his nasty suit brought on by Ms. Anucha Browne Sanders in the media. Of course, Thomas flagged Ms. Stringer 15 yards for piling on by firing back at her. So she issued an apology.

Memo to Ms. Stringer: be quiet and focus on basketball. Your integrity was lost when you used Don Imus' racial epithet to put yourself in the national spotlight instead of letting your women's program do the talking. Even one of your players got lawsuit happy and finally, smartly, dropped her suit, which should not have been filed in the first place.

Life as we knew it...

...has ceased to exist.

S has learned to crawl in the last two weeks and, according to C, is getting quite fast. At first it was the cute giant motion of bring the hand up over her head and then slamming back down to the ground. She scooches pretty quick-like nowadays.

As you can imagine, M is rather non-plussed about this development. She still thinks that, even if she's not playing with something at that instant, it is still hers and it is in fact her turn. Since S can now crawl to the things she's used to leaving strewn about our floors, M has been very quick to say, or rather, shout, "No S! That's miiiiine," grabbing it out of S's little hands, which then leads to her crying and M getting a time-out. This happened quite a bit this past weekend as I was taking care of them while C was at a baby shower.

So that's what's going on around our house.

That and the gorgeous weather our Creator has blessed us with these past few weeks.

Sex in Middle School

We all know it happens. It's rather unfortunate that preteens are doing it and other things close to it.

Now comes this story about the Portland (Maine) ISD, which is offering the pill and the patch to their middle school students. The Portland School Committee voted 7-2 for the proposal. They've apparently been offering condoms since 2000. For both, of course, there is a parental consent form that needs to be signed. But let's be honest, if a kid wants something bad enough, they'll do whatever it takes to get it. Take me for instance. In middle school we had to keep a practice log in sixth grade to ensure that we practiced between 30-45 minutes each night. I hated practice then. I still hate it. So what did I do? I learned to forge my mom's signature on the practice log. Sorry mom. And you can guess how many times I got caught. Zero.

This continues a long trend of local, state and federal governments taking the decision away from the parents. Parents need to be able to teach their kids about the birds and the bees by themselves. Since the school board has taken these two steps to undermine parental authority. I doubt all parents want this option available to their preteens. "Chairman John Coyne voted against it, saying he felt providing the birth control was a parental responsibility."

"A supporter, Richard Verrier, said it’s not enough to depend on parents to protect their children because there may be students who can’t discuss things with their parents." Why can't they discuss things with their parents? I recognize that there are homes in America where this is a taboo subject at best, with physical, emotional or sexual abuse being the worst case. That's why churches exist. That's why there are next-door neighbors to talk to.

An opponent of this decision said that it was against religion, against God. There is some truth in that opinion, but the Name has been invoked too often to have that much sway on things these days. People claim to be Christians and don't live a life worthy of that label. I know I fail to do so at times. The fact is that this decision will allow the opportunity for young people to make mistakes they wouldn't be able to make if it weren't for this free birth control. The question, though, is where the funding is coming from. Is it coming from the parents who've signed a consent form? Or is it coming from the Maine taxpayers? I know I would be against having to pay for some kid to fornicate without consequences. That's what this is really about. No immediate consequences--pregnancy--for playing the harlot. That's just what these young kids need, isn't it? To be told that they don't have to take responsibility for their actions. I fear for this generation.

My Gals

Lately when I've been reading to M, she'll sit in my lap and hold my arms as I hold the book.

Me and S has some good snuggle time this morning. Near the tail end we just stared into each others' eyes.

S is starting to learn how to crawl. She isn't there yet, but she's making progress. She does a bridge and flops her knees forward, inching along.

S is also into biting my nose. I'll sit on the couch and she'll stand in my lap and try to gnaw my nose off. I can remember M doing that when she was little.

M likes to kick all of her shoes off lately. Tonight she accidentally kicked me and said "Sorry Daddy. I didn't mean to bump you."

M is the singin'est thing lately. It was my birthday last Wednesday, and the week before and all the rest of this week she's been singing Happy Birthday to me. C got it on the camera. She blew her party kazoo thing all by herself.



Thanks for the memories little ladies.

RC Index Week 7

Another crazy week in college football. No unbeaten is safe. We lost five from last week: LSU, Cal, Mizzou, Cincy & UConn. The last three weren't unexpected, but LSU faced a very talented Kentucky squad and Cal just had a HUGE letdown, maybe looking forward to ASU.

Illinois, Wisconsin & Florida State were the other Top 25 teams that lost this week, with USC barely escaping against a severely underachieving Arizona team.

Here's what my computer says after the carnage of Week 7.

1	Ohio State	7	0	0.921
2	South Florida	6	0	0.917
3	Arizona State	7	0	0.890
4	Kansas	6	0	0.879
5	Boston College	7	0	0.871
6	Hawaii	7	0	0.838
7	LSU	6	1	0.951
8	Kentucky	6	1	0.919
9	Missouri	5	1	0.907
10	South Carolina	6	1	0.899
11	West Virginia	5	1	0.895
12	Oklahoma	6	1	0.885
13	Oregon	5	1	0.883
14	Indiana	5	1	0.877
15	Virginia Tech	6	1	0.870
16	Cincinnati	6	1	0.863
17	Texas Tech	6	1	0.861
18	Connecticut	5	1	0.856
19	Boise State	4	1	0.852
20	Virginia	6	1	0.842
21	California	5	1	0.840
22	USC	5	1	0.834
23	Auburn	5	2	0.929
24	Florida	4	2	0.917
25	Georgia	5	2	0.914

Can you believe that Ohio State is back in the national title picture? Whither USF? The Bulls are making a strong case for the Big East. It's a good thing that BC won. The ACC hasn't finished very well in the BCS standings and could see it's auto bid taken away if the highest ranking member averages lower than 13th.

It'll be interesting to see what the polls and BCS rankings look like.

RC Index Week 6

Here is a quick hit of the rankings. I'll update the post later when I have time.

1	LSU	6	0	0.968
2	Missouri	5	0	0.954
3	South Florida	5	0	0.931
4	Ohio State	6	0	0.921
5	Arizona State	6	0	0.914
6	Connecticut	5	0	0.903
7	Cincinnati	6	0	0.898
8	Kansas	5	0	0.892
9	California	6	0	0.879
10	Boston College	6	0	0.866
11	Hawaii	6	0	0.841
12	Texas A&M	5	1	0.929
13	Kentucky	5	1	0.914
14	West Virginia	5	1	0.900
15	South Carolina	5	1	0.898
16	Oregon	5	1	0.885
17	Illinois	5	1	0.884
18	Oklahoma	5	1	0.881
19	Texas Tech	5	1	0.872
20	Indiana	5	1	0.861
21	Virginia Tech	5	1	0.853
21	Wisconsin	5	1	0.853
23	Purdue	5	1	0.846
24	Virginia	5	1	0.830
25	Boise State	4	1	0.853
25	Florida State	4	1	0.853

So we're down to only 11 unbeatens, and many teams still have 7 games to go. Four of the remaining unbeatens will not stay unbeaten with the Big East losing two and the Big XII and the Pac-10 losing one each. That leaves seven teams with seven games to prove their worth.

Let's take a look at each team and where their losses might come from, with the opponent's rankings courtesy of the AP poll.

1. LSU
Sked: @ #17 Kentucky, #22 Auburn, @ 'Bama, La Tech, @ Ole Miss, Arkansas
Potential loss(es): Rematch w/ Florida in SEC title game

2. Missouri
Sked: @ #6 Oklahoma, Texas Tech, Iowa St, @ Colorado, A&M, K-State, @ #20 Kansas
Potential loss(es): Oklahoma, Kansas, Big XII title game

3. USF
Sked: Central Florida, @ Rutgers, @ UConn, #15 Cincy, @ Syracuse, Louisville, Pitt
Potential loss(es): Rutgers, UConn, Cincy

4. Ohio State
Sked: Kent St, Michigan St, @ Penn St, #19 Wisconsin, #18 Illinois, @ Michigan
Potential loss(es): Illinois (they actually have an offense), Michigan

5. Arizona State
Sked: Washington, #2 Cal, @#9 Oregon, @ UCLA, USC, Arizona
Potential loss(es): Cal, Oregon, USC

6. Connecticut
Sked: @ Virginia, Louisville, #5 South Florida, Rutgers, @ #15 Cincy, Syracuse, @ #8 WVU
Potential loss(es): Virginia, USF, Rutgers, Cincy, WVU

7. Cincinnati
Sked: Louisville, @ Pitt, @ #5 South Florida, UConn, #8 West Virginia, @ Syracuse
Potential loss(es): USF, WVU

8. Kansas
Sked: Baylor, @ Colorado, @ A&M, Nebraska, @ Oklahoma St, Iowa St, #11 Missouri
Potential loss(es): A&M, Mizzou, Big XII Title game

9. California
Sked: Oregon St, @ UCLA, @ #14 Arizona St, Wash St, #10 USC, @Washington, @ Stanford
Potential loss(es): ASU, USC

10. Boston College
Sked: @ Notre Dame, @ #12 Va Tech, #21 Florida St, @ Maryland, @ Clemson, Miami
Potential loss(es): Va Tech, Clemson (the annual Save-Tommy-Bowden game)

11. Hawaii
Sked: @ SJSU, NMSU, Fresno St, @ Nevada, Boise St, Washington
Potential loss(es): Fresno St, Boise St, Washington

So, upon further review, it looks like it's a three-team race between LSU, OSU & Cal.

An Artist's Challenge

A while back I was flipping through the channels and wodered what was on PBS. It actually happened to be a biography on Ansel Adams. One of the things that struck me was how he talked about his father. He apparently was a very spirited child and was in and out of regular school. Here is an excerpt from his autobiography, the paragraph that ends the chapter on his childhood.

"I often wonder at the strength and courage my father had in taking me out of the traditional school situation and providing me with these extraordinary learning experiences. I am certain he established the positive direction of my life that otherwise, given my native hyperactivity, could have been confused and catastrophic. I trace who I am and the direction of my development to those years of growing up in our house on the dunes, propelled especially by an internal spark tenderly kept alive and glowing by my father."

The book is a great read and his sense of humor mirrors mine quite well. But this is the thing that hit me the hardest, both listening to it on TV and reading it from his book. If you know our family, you know that, like Ansel, M is a very active child. We understand that a lot of her behavior is due to the fact that she's 2-and-a-half years old, but she has been an extremely energetic, physical girl from the outset.

To me, the challenge is to find what purpose God made her for and how He has gifted her and to nurture whatever that may be and give her the outlets for her seemingly boundless energy. I need to be open to answers that God lays before me and not quash her spirit just because it's something that I simply don't like. If that's the case, I pray that I would come to like and enjoy those things. And if I'm reluctant because the price is "too much", then I need to trust that God will provide the means for those things, because it is in His will for her to do it.

Texas - OU

We're having a shindig at our place tomorrow with most of my Bible study guys from college.

Our fearless leader Tap sent an email today asking for our predictions, so I figured I need to weigh in on what I think will happen in the game.

Texas
1. Turnovers by game: 2 INT, 2 INT (1 Ret TD), 1 INT & 2 FUM, 1 FUM, 4 INT (1 Ret TD)
2. Special Teams: PK is good. Punter avg 38.1. Return teams burnt twice by K-State.
3. Defense: Not too shabby. Only gave up 20 points to K-State, which would've won us the game. Shown susceptibility to run.
4. Offense: Still in a funk. Average per carry is only 4.6. Yard per pass attempt a paltry 6.74. 44.2% on third down ain't bad. McCoy 8 TDs, 9INTs.
5. Coaching: Still Mack & Greg.

Oklahoma
1. Turnovers by game: 2 FUM, 2 FUM, 1 FUM & 1 INT, 1 INT, 1 FUM & 2 INT
2. Special Teams: Garrett Hartley is still in college? He's good. Punter avg 41.6. No return TDs.
3. Defense: Gives up 8 fewer ppg. 9 INTs in 5 games. Gives us 1.9 ypc.
4. Offense: Avg per carry is 5.6. Yard per attempt is 10.25. 45.6% on third. Bradford 15 TDs, 4 INTs.
5. Coaching: Bob Stoops

What to Expect:
1. Texas throws 2 INTs, OU gives up a FUM and an INT.
2. Texas loses 5-10 yards per posession exchange and will give up at least one return to midfield. Both PK miss a figgie, and perhaps Hartley shanks a PAT.
3. Texas gets burned by a reverse pass by Manuel Johnson. OU holds Jammal Charles in check.
4. OU pounds the rock to set up play-action game, with the 1-2 punch of Patrick & Murray combines for 175 yards rushing. Texas marches down the field on its first possession, then hits the skids after.
5. One or more Texas players arrested/disciplined for puffing the magic dragon tonight.

I think the game ends up with OU winning 31-21. I hope that doesn't happen, but anything can happen on "Gut Check Saturday" (thanks ESPN).

Dude...Sweet!

And on the Eighth Day, God created ESPN360.

C was out shopping tonight, and, after taking care of some chores, I was ready to check out the MLB playoff scores as well as seeing how Kentucky was doing against South Carolina.

Flashback to last Saturday when I was keeping updated on the scores during the day. I saw on some of the games that there was this ESPN360 icon on many of the games. I clicked on it and it said that AT&T is a carrier. All I had to do was download some plug-in and I'd be on my way to watching any of a dozen or more games. I didn't really feel like messing with it since there was more football to be watched on TV.

Fast forward to tonight and I'm kinda crushed when I don't see it on the UK-USC game. But upon further inspection, there was a link that told me that I could watch it live on 360. A click here, a restart there and boom, I'm watching ESPN Thursday night football on my computer.

C has a gals night next Thursday. You can guess what I'll be doing.

Mwah ha haaaaa

Adventures in Blood-Letting

During my last physical, the bloodwork came back with a high hematocrit, which was a repeat of the previous levels. My doc was only slightly concerned, but he wanted to make sure that there wasn't an underlying cause. He sent me to a blood specialist who wanted me to get a plasma volume/RBC mass screen.

Now, I've given blood many times before. In fact, in the last four months I've donated blood once and had blood drawn at least four other times, so it's no big deal.

Except today it was.

Luis had told me what the procedure was like and so he started taking 20cc of blood from my right arm. He did it from a different vein than normal, but I wasn't worried. And even when my lips got a little tingly, I still wasn't that worried. Just my spidey senses. But I started to feel light-headed and told him "I think I'm going to pass out." He called somebody in from the hallway and the next thing I know there's a nurse asking me how I feel and I'm looking up into a bright ceiling light.

She said I was out for two minutes. I mean OUT out. Gone. She said I wasn't even talking. I woke up in a sweat on a stretcher. Over the course of a minute I could feel my color returning and getting back to normal. Luis said this is fairly normal for guys. I got some yummy apple juice to spruce me back up.

They kept me on the stretcher until the procedure was finished. All the while I kept watching the clock.

10:45
11:00
11:20
Twenty-ish minutes to go.
11:35

Luis does the last thing he needs to do and asks me if I want some more juice. I say yes initially, but since it's 11:40, I tell him no on second thought.

He tells me he'll get a wheel-chair. I ask him if I can try to walk. With the okay, I swing my legs off the stretcher and onto the floor. Not too wobbly. I tell him I think I can walk and so we take off slowly around the corner and a few paces when he reaches for a chair. I tell him I'm fine. All I can think about is that I have a spades game at noon and I'm probably going to be late as it is. I don't need one of the volunteers (all those under 65 need not apply) to wheel me out to the car. He asks me where my car is parked. Near the South Entrance. He tells me that's a long way away. I know, but I'm fine. I'm screaming inside my head "I'VE GOT A SPADES GAME TO GET TO!!!"

I make it out fine and get to work at five after. D$ still hasn't made it yet.

So thankfully I was able to cram 8 hours of work into 5.5 hours.

I told my boss and mentioned that it was a little scary and that I need to get my will taken care of. He groused that he hadn't gotten his will taken care of either. He retold a story of his boss that dropped dead at 44 of a heart attack. He was on his way out to the car to meet his family that was already at their vacation destination. I made a pact with him that we'll get those things taken care of by the end of October.

If you haven't gotten your death stuff taken care of, there's no time like the present.

I'm just glad I didn't have to go the barbershop and let them use leeches. Can you believe they used to do that?

Mommy Scorecard

I've been dragging my heels for over a year on this project, but I have some time tonight to put it together.
For all you full-time mothers out there, I would like you to have a healthy view of what being "successful" and "productive" really is.

Please note this is not an indictment on my lovely bride. She is the best and I have no complaints whatsoever with regard to her efforts.

Without further ado, the Stay-at-home-Mom Scorecard.

Each load of laundry done	+1
Each load of laundry folded	+1
Each load of laundry not done	-1
I'll fold it tomorrow	-1
Do you need that tomorrow?	-3
Each item ironed	+2
Each item sent to the dry cleaners	+1
I don't like to iron	0
It's been two weeks already?	-2
Dishwasher ran	+1
Dishes put away	+1
Dishes stacked on the counter	-1
...for two days	-2
...for more than two days	-5
Vacuumed	+1
Dusted	+1
Mopped	+2
Picked up the toys	+1
Why try? It won't last 5 minutes.	-5
Dinner ready when hubby gets home	+2
Dinner ready after hubby gets home	0
Leftovers	0
Takeout	-1
Hubby's favorite meal	+5
60 minutes of yardwork done	+2
30 minutes of yardwork done	+1
The kids helped	0
What happened here?	-2
Trip to the emergency room	-5
Getting a nap in	+10
You're alive	+10,000
Each child alive	+10,000

Score

-23 to -10:
You're no Susie Homemaker are you? With a little work, you can make your man proud.

-9 to 0:
Having kids is brutal when it comes to keeping your home maintained, ain't it?

+1 to +10:
Hello Mrs. Cleaver.

+100 and above:
You are a great mom and wife. Don't worry about the things that didn't get done. If your husband is any kind of man he'll help you out.

Thanks Babe for all you do for me and the girls.

R