Realm of the Wombat

The best aspect of this book is that it doesn’t profile the most successful (rich) people in the world as most books concerning the subject would. We all know that Bill Gates dropped out of college and became filthy rich; that doesn’t help me figure out how to live my life. Po’s approach is more focused on how people found what really makes them happy in life. The people, journeys, and destinations are quite diverse. While there likely isn’t one person that the reader will identify with, there are so many stories that the reader is likely to see similarities in many of those profiled. If nothing else, it made me feel more confident about my path, so in that sense, I’m glad I read it.

107.7 The Bone is the classic rock station in San Francisco. It has certain positive attributes, e.g they only play a particular song once per day and generally have a good playlist. However, they ruin it by playing stuff like Hoobastank. The Bone’s morning show is Lamont and Tonelli. In addition to incessant promos throughout the day on the radio, the station places these ads on public transit to advertise. Look, there’s a reason these guys are on radio and not TV.

Back when I had a phone in my room at home, I used to get strange messages on my answering machine. People started asking for Mr. Zupp, or Shawn Zupp. Then I got quite a few messages inquiring about the availability of Shawn the Magician. One woman even gave a whole list of dates and how much money she was willing to spend. I considered taking her up on the offer. Anyway, it was always an exciting event when that little red light was flashing.

I hadn’t thought about Shawn the Magician for a while, but I had three messages on my voice mail for Paco to call them.

I just thought you should know.

Melissa loves cooking shows, which means she loves Food Network. These shows can be interesting, and you learn a fair amount, but one thing drives me crazy. I hate when they’re preparing a dish, then say you have to wait for 45 minutes, but magically pull a plate out of the fridge or oven, and it’s ready for the next step. There is one shining example of a cooking program devoid of this insidious behavior: 30 Minute Meals. It’s taped in real time, so you get the full start to finish on the meal. I have noticed that the host, Rachael Ray, is pretty much running all over the set, and obviously she’s pretty experienced, so it might be more like a 60 minute meal for a normal person. But this is still my favorite because there’s none of that “Here’s a plate of veal saffron that I prepared earlier. Doesn’t it look delicious?!” stuff.

ND is a pretty good team. Washington is a pretty bad team. These are the type of games that we have little to gain and a lot to lose. But if we would have lost this one, I might have lost my mind. The amount of “Ty was wronged” propaganda would have done me serious mental harm. But as Nessler said at the end of the telecast, this game is no longer the “Ty Bowl,” but reverts to the “Washington game” on the schedule.

The Good:

The Bad:

The Ugly:

With losses by Michigan, Louisville, Georgia Tech, and Purdue, ND should be approaching the top 10 again.

In other news, Cal can run the football, and those four great Big Ten teams (OSU, UM, Purdue, Iowa) have 6 losses this season.

I kept telling people that I thought we’d be in some shootouts this year. It wasn’t until the third game that it materialized, but once it did, we saw a doozy.

The Good:

The Bad:

The Ugly:

There were two coaching decisions that I questioned after the game. With 7:03 left in the 4th, down by a touchdown, ND went for it on fourth and inches at the 21. They didn’t get it. If they kick the field goal, then they’re only down by 4. Whether they kick the FG or get the first down, they need at least one more defensive stop in the game and score to win the game. But if they don’t get the first down, then they still need two scores to win, which means two defensive stops as well. Obviously scoring the TD is a priority to tie the game, but the way we were playing at that point, I think it would have been reasonable to take the points and go from there. It’s a tough call.

Secondly, I didn’t like the play calling in overtime. They basically took three shots into the end zone and kicked a field goal. Andy argues that this was what was working at the time, and I agree, so I can’t be too upset about it. Also, our defense had stopped them for the previous five drives. I feel like maybe they should have made some attempt to get the first down.

I think as a scientist, I have taken evolution for granted. Yes, we share ~99% of our genetic code with monkeys. Yes, we have remains of Homo erectus and neanderthals and whatnot. But I’m starting to think that maybe we’re not really evolving.

What’s made me think this way?

Has anyone seen that there’s a new version of The Apprentice coming out on NBC this fall? They made a sequel to The Transporter? The A’s used Juan Cruz in a tie game in the tenth inning at Boston? These are not signs of evolution. But are they signs of intelligent design?

Certainly not . . . unless you consider the designer not to be a benevolent one, but one hell bent on having a good laugh about it. I think what happened was God created a perfect race of beings. One that treated each other with respect, treated their planet as an irreplaceable gift, understood what was really entertaining, and how to handle a bullpen. That race is not ours. They’re having a grand ol’ time somewhere else in the universe, and God is awfully proud of itself. We’re the jesters. Throwing explosive things at each other, procrastinating in the face of natural disasters, continually putting out derivative junk into the media, and torturing baseball fans all over with questionable managerial moves. Not an intelligent design, but maybe a hillarious one. For an omnipotent deity at least.

Built on Squares is an interesting little CD I picked up at Rasputin on an indecisive New Music Friday. Starlight Mints were listed in the computer as a “similar artist” to the Eels, and and the album’s used price was right. Like the Eels, there are a variety of instruments, including strings, trumpet, and a strong infusion of electronic sounds. Starlight Mints is what you’d get if you took the personal component out of the Eels and replaced it with full time playfulness.

The Arcade Fire and their debut album have some unique aspects. First, I don’t know of many husband/wife teams in bands. Second, there are four songs named ‘Neighborhood’ on Funeral. Third, the liner notes are packaged as a funeral program. The Arcade Fire is why you listen to indie rock. It feels experimental. There are accordions and xylophones and weird effects on top of the normal stuff. You might have heard ‘Rebellion (Lies)’ on the radio or the chanting ‘Wake Up’ at the Byrne/Gielow wedding of 2005, which are good ones, but I think the opener ‘Neighborhood #1 (Tunnels)’ is my favorite track. The key to enjoying this album is to just be patient and listen.

All people could talk about after ND’s 17-10 victory was Knute Rockne and Ty Willingham (2002 version). Maybe we could talk about how the Irish have gone from receiving 13 votes to a top 10 ranking instead. Maybe we should talk about next week’s contest against Michigan State. Thankfully, that’s Charlie’s opinion. I’m thrilled that we beat Michigan, I-stuck-my-hand-in-a-ceiling-fan-and-didn’t-notice thrilled. But I don’t want one win or one good season. I want a program.

The Good:

The Bad:

The Ugly:

In other news, it was a battle of good coaching vs. poor coaching in Seattle. Cal’s QB Joe Ayoob rebounded from an 0/10 performance last week to hang 4 TD’s on Washington. With the amount of talent that graduated from Cal last year (Rodgers, Arrington, MacArthur, Lyman), this season will tell us if Tedford really is devine.

It’s only one game, but we got the win against a pretty decent team on the road and looked good doing it. I was predicting a final score of 35-28, which wasn’t too far off the mark. Obviously next week’s contest at Michigan will be a tougher test for Charlie and co.

The Good:

The Bad:

The Ugly:

It’s only one game, but in the Andy Malec philosophy of football, the first game sets the tone for the season.

In other news, Cal steamrolled Sacto St., but lost their QB to a broken leg. Ouch.