Tag: Anti complaint

A little anniversary

I don’t remember exactly when I started this blog, but tomorrow is the second anniversary of the earliest post still in existence. That’s a long time. I wrote a lot more about stuff in the news when I started. Maybe I should go back to that. I had more time at work to find things to write about then. Now I actually have to do work when I’m at work. It’s really tough to find time for my hobbies during the day. So, here’s to another two years. Or more.

Nats beat the rain, not the Angels.

imgp1165Another game, another loss. Lackey was highly effective if not impressive to watch. Jay Bergmann, a nice example of why record is a crummy indicator of pitching success, matched him most of the game. Unfortunately for the Nats, Willie Harris provided the entirety of their offense, and the defense deserted them in the top of the eighth. Our new seats were okay. I don’t really like having to walk indoors through the air conditioning to get to our seats. It just seems wrong. And there was a really obnoxious guy sitting just behind us. He appears to have season tickets, since my boss recognized my description of the guy. But they’re comfortable (Padded seats! At a baseball game!) and it’s a good view. So I guess I can’t complain. And they played the game this time. Two straight rainouts would have been tough to take.

Pregnant wife bonus

One of the nice things about having a pregnant wife is that, when a recipe calls for white wine, she can’t help you finish the bottle. Just kidding. We have a bottle of white wine, a 2006 Primaterra pinot grigio. So, now we can calculate the Complaint Hub Wine Score.

  1. Alcohol Review gives it 3.25 stars. We’ll convert that to a 100 point scale, multiplying by 20 to get 65. They say it costs $7, and it was on sale at Whole Foods, so we’ll give it a PPD of 9.29. That’s a pretty decent score.
  2. It’s Italian, so no California Penalty.
  3. Again, no Australia or New Zealand Bonus.
  4. It’s got a pretty solid label. It’s a cheap wine, so I don’t expect much, and the label is different, but it’s not doofy. Plus 10.
  5. Multiply by Planck’s Constant.
  6. Planck’s Constant is really small. No one wants a wine score in scientific notation. So let’s open up Open Office Spreadsheet and do some formula magic. First, let’s take the arc cotangent, which gives us 1.57. You can quibble about significant digits in the comments.
  7. That’s still not a good number. So we divide one by the natural log of that, which gives us 2.21.
  8. I’m not a huge fan of white wine, so let’s multiply by 50 and subtract a 25 point White Wine Penalty.
    Then we round down, because the digits after the decimal were never really significant anyway. And we’re left with 63. So you see, this is clearly a good wine rating system, since it’s right in line with the score from another website! The wine tastes fine. Not too sweet, not too dry. It pairs well with a seitan picatta from Veggie Times. It probably has some flavor notes of something. Maybe fruit? White’s usually have fruit notes, right? In conclusion, it’s a nice value at $7.

Hooray for placenta migration!

Just got back from our final sonogram appointment. The wife’s placenta, which was too close to the cervix at the last appointment, has migrated into a perfectly normal spot. Had it not moved, we would have had to schedule a C-section, which we really didn’t want. I mean, sure, if it’s the choice between C-section and serious danger to mother or child, we’ll take the C-section. Anyway, we’re both quite pleased. Her more than me, I imagine, since she’s the one who would have had her stomach cut open.

Wow.

I thought the Celtics were going to win Game 6. I didn’t think the Lakers had any chance of sweeping two in Boston. But I have to admit that I did not anticipate watching the Celtics absolutely blow the Lakers off the floor. That was incredible. The second half was like watching a #1 seed crush the winner of the play-in game. I hope this settles the argument once and for all – Kobe Bryant is not Michael Jordan. Aside from the first four minutes of this game, when he was spectacular, he might as well have been on the bench. My two major complaints: 1) ABC didn’t manage to get the HD feed working until the second quarter. Nice job, ABC. 2) The NBA took their really great “Where [whatever] happens” ad campaign and turned it into a really cheesy championship merchandise ad. Way to blow it at the last minute, NBA. Other than that, what a friggin’ night.

Back from Boston

imgp1119 So we’re back from Boston. The trip home sucked – I was tired and hungover after being out until 3, and our train was late, dumping us at Union Station just after midnight. Other than that, the trip was fantastic. The Game, if you didn’t watch it or read about it, was a good one for a Boston fan, so long as you ignore that little 31-9 run by the Lakers in the fourth. The company was fantastic as usual. I finally made it to Beer Works. And the experience of watching a Finals game at the Garden was incredible. The video I posted to Flickr doesn’t do it justice – my crappy little point-and-shoot didn’t pick up most of the crowd noise. But I think you get the idea. We left the game hoarse from yelling, and the wife has a little bruise on her wrist where her bracelet kept hitting when she clapped. There were some L.A. fans at the game, but not too many. It was funny listening to Celtics fans give them a hard time. It was mostly pretty good-natured. One kid walking behind us as we headed towards our seats was yelling at any Lakers fans he saw, until two big guys passed by. He shut up pretty quickly then. I turned around and laughed at him, and he sort of shrugged. I guess he hadn’t yet drank away his survival instinct. And now it’s almost time for Game 3.

More music from Nine Inch Nails

More free music from Nine Inch Nails. Well, sort of. Free download of DRM-free MP3s of one Nine Inch Nails song from the most recent album, The Slip, and four songs from bands touring with Nine Inch Nails. Just downloaded and haven’t listened yet because the Celtics are on, but I recommend that everyone download this stuff. If you like it, consider buying a cd or going to a show or something.

My wife is the good kind of crazy

So it looks like I’m going to Boston this weekend. The wife has orchestrated a huge family-and-friends get-together at Game 2 of the NBA Finals on Sunday. All the details aren’t yet in, but it looks like my father-in-law and at least two brothers-in-law will be there, plus some other friends. We’re taking the train up on Sunday, in part because we have a wedding in Annapolis on Saturday. Then back home on the train on Monday to go back to work Tuesday, since we’re missing the following Monday for our Vegas trip. I thought Paris was our babymoon, but I guess I was wrong. Games at the Garden when the wife was living in Connecticut have achieved legendary status, so I’m looking forward to this. I’ve never been to a pro sports playoff game. I guess Celtics-Lakers is a good way to start. Of course, we’re busy at work right now. So I’m going to be working on the train, which should be interesting. But at least I have that option.

Best Buy electronics recycling comes to Columbia Heights!

Via Gizmodo, our new local Best Buy in Columbia Heights is part of the free electronics recycling test.

Starting June 1, 117 stores in the Baltimore, San Francisco, and Minnesota markets are inviting customers to bring in no more than two (2) units per day, per household, for recycling at no charge. Customers can bring items such as televisions and monitors up to 32”, computers, phones, cameras, and other electronics devices and peripherals in for recycling.

This is really great for DC residents, because while the dump does take electronics to be recycled, my one experience there ended with a never-ending line that I soon abandoned. And now the old and busted computer sitting in the trunk of my car can finally have a new home!