Though I don't drink coffee, I would have to have a chalk mug if I found myself in the workplace again. This would have come in so handy to send subliminal messages to certain former co-workers...

Our softball league's spring season began today. Most of the old crew was back, with a couple of new faces. We faced a new opponent for this first game, as one of the town's Methodist churches is fielding a second unit this year. I was on third, as usual, playing four of the five innings. (With one extra man, we had a three-way rotation going.) From a fielding perspective, I'm out of practice. My throws to first were a wee bit short each time. At the plate, I was much happier with my performance, going 2-4 with a walk. No RBIs this game, but I did advance runners each time I got on base. Final score was 18-7, and we're 1-0 to kick off the season. It was a good start, working a lot of the kinks out after being off for four months. My time off was much longer, due to the injury I sustained at the end of last year's summer season, and it showed. Time to hit the cages, and get to throwing around more with the guys in the neighborhood. One of our ladies took a shot to the head in the second inning. She was on third, and the batter at the plate, another lady, tattooed the ball right down the third-base line and beaned her before she could get out of the way. She was very woozy, but never passed out. One of the guys on our team is the assistant fire chief for the town, and has some EMS training, and we kept her under observation on the bench the rest of the game. We all encouraged, asked, and begged her to go to the hospital to get checked out, just to be assured there was nothing critically wrong. We'll be checking up on her in the coming days.

This week is the week of site birthdays, I suppose. Lee's Second Initial turns one today. Congratulations, compadre!

No, I'm not kidding. As if we needed another reason to lobby for copyright law overhaul.

So while ripping CDs and loading up my wife's Shuffle, I decided to listen to a few tunes on it. I am still amazed that music comes out of this little chunk of plastic. One of the tunes I came across was Depeche Mode's "Just Can't Get Enough". I remember it was used in a commercial, but the commercial made such an impression on me that I cannot recall what or whom the commercial was for. Anyone?

No, not a shotgun as in firearm (though those do rule, especially when it comes to room-to-room clearing), but as in calling "Shotgun!" when you're about to take a ride. Yes, official rules for calling shotgun. Larry's good for something now and again. ;-)

So today I picked up the pair of Harley-Davidsons I ordered. To see a picture of these beauties, click below.

You didn't actually think I was talking about motorcycles, did you? Being unemployed does not lend itself well to hog purchases, and I'm still young for a mid-life crisis. Besides, I've always been more of a rice rocket rider than a hog driver. Jon, feel free to flame away.

So I've been thinking about Daniel Pink's article, "Revenge of the Right Brain", over the past couple of days, and it's amazing how much my own feelings toward a future career mirror his piece. One would have to consult my parents as to when I may have first exhibited artistic sensibilities, but as I grew up, I was very fond of writing, drawing, and music. I was always doodling, tracing, sketching. Making up stories, or just bits of stories. In seventh grade, I started playing the clarinet in band, was quickly moved to the bass clarinet by Mr. Dawson, our fantastic teacher-director, and continued all the way through high school. I did not attempt to gain a music scholarship to LSU; I had a partial academic scholarship, and the Air Force wanted to pay the rest of my way, so long as I was willing to be an electrical engineer. By the end of my freshman year, my Air Force scholarship was gone. My grades tanked, and they yanked it. I was not a party animal, I did not go hog-wild upon becoming a college student. I simply goofed off. Looking back, maybe there was a subconscious effort on my part to sabotage my academic and future professional careers. I was a right-brain person, suddenly thrust in to a left-brain world. No longer burdened with studies related to engineering, I remained in Air Force ROTC, and switched majors: criminal justice. When LSU's Criminal Justice department was terminated as a separate division the following year, swallowed by the larger Sociology department, I was forced to change majors again. Not particularly interested in a sociology degree, I opted instead for political science, a decidedly more right-brained course of study. I minored in history. I excelled in English classes, testing out of Freshman English 101, or whatever it's technically called. The large part of my professional career since college, however, once again led me in to left-brain land. I have been involved with computer technology, troubleshooting, and support, for over a dozen years. When I was laid off in October of 2003, I was both devastated and optimistic. My son was only two months old, and I was looking forward to spending a lot of time with him, which has been great. Perhaps this was the opportunity to move in to a new field as well. I have not kept completely out of the right-brain sphere these past twelve years, however. I began volunteering as a copy editor with ATPM in the summer of 1998, and began writing the occasional review or opinion piece shorly thereafter. Today, I'm the Managing Editor, and quite happy to work with the fine staff of our little publication, all of whom do what they do because we enjoy the Macintosh platform. I also believe a goodly number of the staffers are like myself, and enjoy having this right-brain outlet, compared with the left-brain professions they may be involved with. This blog, like its predecessor, is nothing more than an outlet for those right-brain skills yearning for exercise. Which brings us back to Pink's article, in which he hypothesizes that the coming "age" will be devoted to more right-brain activities, as opposed to where we currently are now, and have been, where more left-brain occupations have reigned supreme. I'm all for it. I feel as though I have a couple of books in me, and I love the editing thing. Just ask some of my online friends and acquaintances how many times I've annoyed them over misspellings and other grammatical gaffes on their blogs. Likewise, they are quick to point out my own brain burps, in large part because they know I care about such things. (Though with Lawson, I suspect it's just out of spite.) There is a part of me which has enjoyed my past dozen years in the tech field, and I would heartily welcome another job in that arena. Yet another part of me yearns for something different, something more right-brained, and this is reflected in some of my Monster search agents. In the mean time, I'll concentrate on editing, writing, digital photography, and most of all, being a dad.

Pot, that is. Over the past year, we have rediscovered the joys of cooking with a Crock-Pot. Today, I made a Weight Watchers Chili Mac recipe in ours, and it was really good. (A little on the tomato-ey side, but I think I can cut that taste down a bit next time by not draining the red beans as much.) I highly recommend the use of a Crock-Pot, especially for the cooking disadvantaged. In the morning, throw in your ingredients, set your time (4, 6, 8, or 10 hours), and when you get home later in the day, voila!, dinner is served. We've also been making a mean chicken chili dish, though I seriously doubt it's on the new Weight Watcher-friendly menus we're looking through. (Missus Phisch is back on the program, which means I'm back on the program, too, and could use the weight loss myself.) The Crock-Pot is extraordinarily versatile. My sister-in-law has cooked spare ribs in hers, and says the meat is so tender, you can pick it cleanly from the bones with your fingers. As someone who really doesn't like having to tear the meat from the bones with my teeth, this is something I'm going to have to try.

Based on this photo, should I ever get Down Under, I'm making a mental note to not go swimming in the Bondi Icebergs pool...

If this doesn't prove that the original, interchangeable bubble-gum pop didn't come from the UK, I'm not sure what will. [Via Eric Case, QuickTime required.]

Yes, really. I can see this will entail some practice. [Via The Sneeze.]

The little phisch is at school. The dog is at the cleaners. The cats are off napping some where, since that's what cats do, when they're not sitting on the magazine you're reading, leaving hair in your keyboard as they walk across the desk, or cheating death by racing under the dog's chin. In other words, it's very quiet around the house right now. I am getting an amazing amount of online reading done at the moment. God, I need a job.

Lee blogging from the phisch bowl.

So Lee was in town for an annual conference, and spent Saturday afternoon hanging out with me, the missus, and the little phisch. A great time was had by all chewing on cow at Outback. We may be phisch, but we hail from the piranha side of the species. ;-) It is very, very cool that I have gotten to meet my best friend from the online world in person. Looking forward to the next visit!

If you absolutely must know the week of your Mac's manufacture, or where the factory is it came from, you can use Chipmunk International's handy Mac serial number dissector. For systems passing the dozen-year mark, use the pickle's serial number decoder. (With a wave of the flipper to MDJ.)

So, yeah, I've been playing with GarageBand.

Yes, it is inspired by the southern rock, classic rock, rockabilly, and country music I grew up with. Yes, it's all done using GarageBand loops. Yes, you can leave a comment and tell me how much it sucks, but I kind of like it. Heck, even Lawson told me the composition wasn't bad at all, and I can always count on him to be brutally honest. Flame on!

MacCentral interviewed Bill Amend, creator of the comic FoxTrot, last month. My favorite quote:

Amend previously worked on a Blue & White Power Mac G3, but a few months ago he treated himself to a 2 GHz Dual Processor Power Mac G5, complete with a Cinema HD display.

"I can finally play Warcraft III!" Amend said. "Oh, and it helps with work, too, in case the IRS reads this." (Thanks, MDJ)

Poll running right now on ESPN's College Football page: which team least deserves to play for the national championship? Oklahoma leads by a wide margin, with over 7,700 total voters thus far. The team with the fewest votes--meaning they most deserve to play for the title? My alma mater, of course.

I've said it before, I'll say it again: the BCS is a bunch of hooey. It happens to be the best the NCAA can do right now, even if their best isn't good enough. I find it hard to believe that LSU and USC aren't playing in the Sugar Bowl. I thought that my reasons for LSU being #2 sort of hinted at why Oklahoma shouldn't be going to the Sugar Bowl. Over twelve thousand voters on an ESPN.com poll agreed; they all wanted to see a USC-LSU match-up, one I believe would have favored LSU greatly. Granted, I think OU-LSU will be much more entertaining football game, and that Michigan is going to crush USC. So all you Trojan fans can just get those thoughts of a split championship out of your pretty little heads.

GEAUX TIGERS!!

LSU should play in the national championship game as the #2, maybe even the #1 team in the country. Here's why: 1. Oklahoma lost to Kansas State tonight, and lost quite convincingly. They lose to an opponent ranked 14 spots below them, and do not emerge as the Big 12 Conference champs. 2. LSU has beaten more Top 25 teams than OU or USC. With the win tonight over Georgia in the SEC Championship, the Tigers have now beaten a ranked team four times, versus only two wins each over ranked opponents by the Sooners and Trojans. Sure, LSU beat Georgia twice, but if you want to use the BCS's own rankings against it, the Bulldogs were a better team the second time around and the Tigers crushed them. 3. LSU and OU had to play one more game this year than USC. Both the SEC and the Big 12 have a championship game, while the PAC 10 does not. OU lost its championship game; LSU won theirs--over a Top 5 opponent. USC annihilated an unranked team in yet another gimme game. Both LSU and OU will end up with one more win than USC. Hello, BCS geniuses...having to win more games counts for something. 4. You can take USC's "strength of schedule" and go bury it in the backyard. Going back to winning against ranked teams, LSU has a 2-0 lead over the Trojans. Not to mention that Syracuse helped LSU out today with a win over the Fighting Irish (who lost to USC), and at the time of this posting, Boise State was winning against Hawaii (who lost to USC). Suddenly, USC's schedule isn't looking too impressive. UPDATE, 9:45 AM: Boise State crushed Hawaii, 45-28. Of course, it's all left up the subjectivity of the pollsters, since the NCAA refuses to institute a playoff system in college football to determine the national champion. With the way the Tigers have been playing since the Auburn game and that convincing win, I'd put them up against anyone in the country right now.

GEAUX TIGERS!!

I think most people would agree, with the possible exceptions of decade birthdays (30, 40, 50), that year-to-year, they really don't feel that much different on their birthday. It's only when you compare, say, your thirty-third birthday to your twenty-third birthday that you "feel old." Likewise for yours truly. This birthday is a bit different, however, and that is completely due to my four month-old son. Maybe it's just psychosomatic, but being a new dad does bring with it certain feelings of getting older. Not that that's a bad thing. No, not in the least. Becoming a dad is one of the greatest things that's ever happened to me, and if that brings with it feelings of growing older, then that's fine by me. In the mean time, if you're so inclined, I'm always open to the receiving of presents and swag. ;-)

Happy Thanksgiving to all of my family and friends! Major Thanksgiving wishes are extended to the forward-deployed men and women of our armed forces, who sacrifice time from their own loved ones to defend our nation. We thank you for your service, and you are continually in our thoughts and prayers.

Have you seen the latest Subway commerical with the Airborne Ranger type talking about pulling the ripcord and nothing happening? I've seen this one about four times now, and it cracks me up every time.

What a difference a week, and losses by perennial "contenders," makes. As Miami fell to Tennessee, Virginia Tech lost to Pittsburgh, and unranked Clemson knocked off Florida State in a stunning upset, upward goes the stock of the Fighting Tigers in the BCS rankings. Both the ESPN/USA Today Coaches' Poll and the AP poll have LSU ranked at #3 this week. (The Tigers did not play this weekend.) The BCS ranking system has the Tigers at #4, behind Ohio State, flip-flopping positions with the Buckeyes from the other major polls. I can live with that. The Big 10 is a powerhouse conference, and Ohio State is the defending national champion, not a pretender like the Hurricanes or Seminoles. Now the Tigers have a tough, SEC-only schedule for the rest of the season. This Saturday will be the Crimson Tide, in Alabama, on national television, courtesy of ESPN. Alabama has been pretty weak this season, but you can never discount a SEC opponent. I confess to being a bit worried; the last time the Tigers came off a bye week, they suffered their only loss of the season to Florida, the difference between #4 in the BCS and #2. Should LSU prevail, the game of their season to date would be the following week, at Ole Miss. After this past weekend, the Rebels are undefeated in the SEC, 6-0, and currently sit atop the SEC West. Looking at the Ole Miss schedule, the only thing I see stopping them from going to the SEC Championship is LSU. Not that all three remaining games aren't must-wins for the Tigers, but this will be the game, should LSU ride in to Oxford at 9-1. (Something that could work to the Tigers' favor: while LSU plays Alabama this coming weekend, Ole Miss is off.) And should LSU enter their last regular season game at 10-1, the Razorbacks of Arkansas are always looking to spoil the Tigers' chances in the postseason. As far as the SEC championship is concerned, the Tigers control their own destiny; win all three remaining games, and they're headed to Atlanta on December 6th. Win the SEC championship, and there is the slim chance they could actually play for the national title. Unfortunately, I don't see that happening; like I said, it's a slim chance. Oklahoma is going to finish the season undefeated, with the Big 12 championship. USC has Arizona (2-8) and UCLA (6-4) left in its season; the Trojans will roll over the Wildcats, leaving the Bruins as the only potential spoiler. It could happen, but again, the chances are slim. Ohio State does have its work cut out for it, however. The Buckeyes, like LSU, have a tough schedule to finish on, first taking on Purdue, then arch-rival Michigan. Should Ohio State cap off their season with wins in these two games, I believe you'll see them in New Orleans defending their title against Oklahoma, no matter what USC does. I'm sorry, BCS, but you can't compare the Pac-10 to the Big 10 when it comes to schedule strength. So, here's hoping that the Bruins down the Trojans, and I'll be rooting for the Boilermakers and the Wolverines. Should LSU wrap up all three of its remaining games, and any of the above happens, they would end the season as the only one-loss team. (The TCU Horned Frogs notwithstanding; I like TCU--they're a hometown favorite--but they're not in the same league.) Which means the Tigers would head to New Orleans to be promptly crushed by the Sooners. Hey, I love my Tigers, but I'm a realist. Unless there's a football miracle out there that none of us can see, Bob Stoops will win his third national championship this season, no matter who Oklahoma faces in the Big Easy.

That's City Creator. Currently there are three different styles to choose from: Blankton, a modern metropolis, Snoland, your typical snowy village, and what I know will be Rick's favorite, Medieville, which should need no explanation.