Ups and Downs of the Week

Formula One – Yas Marina circuit in Abu Dhabi this weekend. Great racetrack.

Penn State Debacle – How many ways can you screw up? We’re not talking about a couple of players taking money or selling trinkets. This was (allegedly) child rape. And it took this many years for it to come to light despite the entire chain of command knowing about it?

Patriots – Don’t count on post-season play. If they lose to the Jets this weekend, it’s all over.

Sunsets – Another nice one tonight.

Ups and Downs of the Week

Weather – Continued clear skies have given us some great sunsets, as can be seen in this week’s pics.

Patriots – Are we seeing the real team now? The defense is useless and the offense has little time on the field. Not a good sign.

NFL – Talk about a ridiculous system of fines and penalties. This is from The Boston Globe:

Pittsburgh S Troy Polamalu – who tackled Wes Welker to the ground by his head and twisted his helmet nearly 90 degrees and injured Welker’s neck to the point where he missed one day of practice this week and was limited for the other two – was not fined.Nor was Polamalu flagged on the play during the game.

Yet two weeks ago the NFL fined Polamalu $10,000 for calling his wife from the sidelines to inform her that he was okay after suffering a concussion during a game.

Ups and Downs of the Week

St. Louis Cardinals – 2011 World Series Champs. Well done. They fought at every at bat and it paid off when their backs were against the wall. The entire World Series was great (except for the bozos at Faux Sports). I watched much of the games with the mute on.

Racing World Tragedies – Two top-tier professional racers lost this month. Dan Wheldon was killed in an IndyCar Race in Las Vegas and Marco Simoncelli from the MotoGP motorcycle series died in a crash in Sepang. Racing is immeasurably safer than it was just a couple of decades ago, and perhaps that makes losses like this all the more shocking.

Weather – Alright, it’s cold and you can feel winter coming. But this morning there was sunshine and a cold fog rising off the fields. Made for some nice pictures.

Ups and Downs of the Week

Sarah’s Birthday – We both took the day off and had a nice dinner out tonight. Good times.

Illinois State Legislature – Instead of doing things to save this state from bankruptcy, they waste time coming up with ridiculous bills like the one limiting a household to six “companion” animals. How the hell do they expect to even begin enforcing that? And why are they wasting the time and resources needed to introduce such stupidity?

Patriots – Barely squeaked a win against the Cowboys, who should have been pushovers. Still, a win is a win.

Red Sox – The finger pointing continues. Epstein is gone (at least I think he is). But that is most likely a good thing.

Karma – Khadafy, like Saddam Hussein, was found hiding like a rat in a sewer pipe. Shame he didn’t get to stand trial and meet his much deserved fate at the hands of the people he brutalized. He got off easy.

Ups and Downs of the Week

Steve Jobs dies – We need someone with his vision and intellect to discover a cure for the disease that killed him.

MLB Playoffs – The small, low payroll teams are showing that high priced talent will be trumped by desire every time. Red Sox, Yankees, and Phillies are all done for the year.

Patriots – Better. Not great, but better.

Weather – Spectacular autumn weather this week and it’s supposed to continue into next week. I love it.

Ups and Downs of the Week

Red Sox – Sad end to a season. Now the truth is coming out. Egos, excuses, finger pointing, and now the axe has fallen on Francona. Or he’s had enough and chose to leave. Believe whichever story sits with you better.

Unified Communications – Microsoft’s UC system is pretty slick. I can use the Bluetooth system in my car to call into the system and it will read my email to me or tell me what’s coming up on my calendar. Very cool.

Patriots – The offense is still scoring points hand over fist. The defense can’t seem to live up to the same standards.

The Red Sox season started low, built up in the middle, and ended low. Just like a bell curve. As bad as they were to start the season, they were worse closing it out. By the time they got denied entry to the Post-Season Club last night, Red Sox Nation was neither surprised nor shattered. It was a slow death that many saw coming. That it ended last night and avoided an embarrassing loss tonight at the Tramp…er, I mean Trop, was a blessing. Although the way last night and this whole month had been going, I would have bet my bottom dollar that the final blow would have come tonight. Happily we were spared that nightmare scenario. Looks like we’re back to “Oh well, wait ’til next year.”

Ups and Downs of the Week

Red Sox – The only reason they’re 2-1/2 games up on the Rays is because their game with the Yankees got rained out. They didn’t play so they didn’t lose and the Rays did. Pretty sad when getting rained out is a good thing.

Weather – It’s been cool and foggy in the mornings, but the light has been great for grabbing some interesting pictures on the way to work.

Patriots – Still early, but so far, so good. Still racking up 30+ points per game.

Ups and Downs of the Week

Fall Weather – I love the warm days, but the foreboding skies and cold, rainy days can be an ominous sign of the coming winter.

Red Sox – They won tonight to keep their heads above water, but they’re dangerously close to playing golf in October instead of baseball.

Clumsiness Part II – So it turns out my sprained ankle is really an avulsion fracture where the tendon pulled a piece of bone out of place. No wonder my ankle and foot are still swollen and turning ugly colors.

Fall Weather – Warmish days and gloriously cool nights. I love it.

Red Sox – They’re still losing. They’ve lost the last 3 series and aren’t looking too sharp against the TB Rays in this series. And the Rays are closing fast in the Wild Card standings. If the Sox don’t turn this around soon, they could rival the 2007 Mets for the biggest September collapse in recent memory.

Clumsiness – I was walking out to my car on Tuesday and didn’t see a depression in the parking lot. I twisted my ankle severely and went down hard. The next day my ankle was the size of a football and turning purple. Nothing is broken or torn, but I won’t be running a marathon anytime soon.

New Toys – Besides my new flash, I picked up a remote flash kit so I can put my flash unit somewhere else and trigger it from the camera. That allows me to shoot from one side of the subject while the flash lights the other.