Ohio State bowl plans this year include milk, cereal

Before the Sugar Bowl in 1992, Lou Holtz was dining out in New Orleans when a smart-assed waiter asked him the question: "What's the difference between Notre Dame and Cheerios?

"The answer was the famous "Cheerios belong in a bowl," referencing the opinion of many that Notre Dame had no place being in the game with Florida after a less than stellar season (by Irish standards, of course).

The REAL answer was Notre Dame's thrashing of the third-ranked Gators in a game with three touchdown runs by Jerome Bettis and a defense that had Gators QB Shane Matthews seeing stars.

Well, Ohio State apparently plans to avoid this question being asked this year by putting themselves into a bowl early on. An actual cereal bowl.

That's right, there's an Ohio State cereal. So when you add the fruits and nuts to the bowl, it'll be just like being in Ohio Stadium on game day.

Fatherhood Boot Camp

Think you're ready to be a father? Actually, let me rephrase that. Think you're ready to be a dad? You may think the two are the same thing, but you can father a child without being a good dad. Plenty of people do it every day. Here are some things to prepare you for being a good dad, from an email newsletter I get:

Fatherhood is not a "walk in the park." To do it right you've got to be always on your toes, always thinking, spy/counter-spy stuff, always outwitting your child at every turn. Oh sure it's easy when they are infants but as they get older, say 2 to 3 years old you've got to stay on the cutting edge. Ever wondered if you were cut out for parenthood? Well try a few of these on for size:

1. Can you stand the mess children make? To find out, smear peanut butter onto the sofa and jam onto the curtains. Hide a fish stick behind the stereo and leave it there all summer. Stick your fingers in the flower beds then rub them on the clean walls. Cover the stains with crayons. How does that look?

2. Dressing small children is not as easy as it seems: first buy an octopus and a string bag. Attempt to put the octopus into the string bag so that none of the arms hang out. Time allowed for this - all morning.

3. Take an egg carton. Using a pair of scissors and a can of paint, turn it into an
alligator. Now take a toilet paper tube. Using only scotch tape and a piece of foil, turn it into a Christmas tree. Last, take a milk container, a ping pong ball, and an empty packet of CoCoPuffs and make an exact replica of the Eiffel Tower. Congratulations, you have just qualified for a place on the play group committee.

4. Forget the Miata and buy the mini-van. And don't think you can leave it out in the driveway spotless and shining. Family cars don't look like that. Buy a chocolate ice cream bar and put it in the glove compartment. Leave it there. Get a quarter. Stick it in the cassette player. Take a family-size bag of chocolate cookies. Mash them down the back seats. Run a garden rake along both sides of the car. There! Perfect!

5. Get ready to go out. Wait outside the toilet for half an hour. Go out the front door. Come in again. Go out. Come back in. Go out again. Walk down the front path. Walk back up it again. Walk down it again. Walk very slowly down the road for 5 minutes.
Stop to inspect minutely every cigarette butt, piece of used chewing gum, dirty tissue, and dead insect along the way. Retrace your steps. Scream that you've had as much as you can stand until all of the neighbors come out and stare at you. Give up and go back in the house. You are now just about ready to try taking a small child for a walk.

Eulogy for a Beer

I don't often weep openly... but this did it to me.

Why Banks Don't Get Robbed In Ireland

BRILLIANT!

Virginians (and All Americans): Take Notice

Your senator (who is apparently getting ready to run for President) is a bigot.

A Little Cartoon Biology For You

I'm not a huge fan of people who waste their time, mostly. I've wasted enough time in my life and it pains me to see other people do it.

That being said, here is a project that SEEMS like a huge waste of time, until you think about how much critical thinking this project probably required! It's probably a great mental exercise for someone in this field.

Enjoy!

Weis is Around for the Long Haul

Great interview snippet from Fox Sports, of all places, and brought to us by the footballistas at Blue-Gray Sky:

Chris Myers: I think it was a few months into the job, you got this ten-year contract. I ask this because no matter what the contract says, you'll hear rumors that this [NFL] team might be looking at him, or that team might be looking at him.

Charlie Weis: Well, that's what we were trying to do. We were trying to end that...because by doing it the way we did it, it showed a commitment by both parties. It showed a commitment from ND to Charlie Weis, but it also showed a commitment from the Weis family to ND, saying, "We're not looking to jump ship the first time a better offer comes along."

Myers: There won't be that burning desire after all those years in the NFL, with the Giants, and--

Weis: I'm at Notre Dame...the head coach at Notre Dame. I mean, why would you have a burning desire to go anywhere else?

Myers: Well, there's the college versus the pro grame--

Weis: (sounding it out) No-tre-Dame...the University of No-tre-Dame...

Myers: (laughing) I feel like I'm being recruited here. Where do I sign, coach?

Weis: Well, I mean...it is something different.

Beer Saves the Planet and Curry is Good for the Noggin

This is great news for those of us who appreciate a pint every once in a while. And the curry news is interesting, too...

Marco Has Concerns About Notre Dame's Upcoming Season

Some legitimate concerns, here... I'm a bit worried. Glad I'm not on campus anymore to see the backlash.

Robin Williams on Golf

For those who wanted to know about the invention of golf.... here's Robin Williams to explain.

(Warning - F*** and a S*** or two in this one. And he's yelling like a drunk Scotsman).

GOP Aids Green Candidate Carl Romanelli

And this is why I hate party politics so much. Instead of candidates standing on their own two feet and advancing their issues and their stances on those issues, they figure out all sorts of manipulative techniques to split the votes of their rivals. And all because they have an "R" or a "D" after their name on the ballot.

The answer, to me, is to remove all private campaign contributions, period. Take television and radio ads out of the picture as ways to woo the public. Put everyone on a level playing field. Then candidates wouldn't be forced to acquiesce to a political party to get the support they need to run.

The other trick, after that, would be to figure out how to remove PAC and special interest ads from the media as well...

Great Podcast from National Geographic

In my never-ending search for "interesting stuff," I came across this podcast from National Geographic World Talk (URL is: http://podcast.nationalgeographic.com/world-talk/). The 7/28/2006 episode is an interview with Anthropologist Wade Davis who has some really cool things to say about culture and the use of the term around the world. Davis is the author of The Serpent and the Rainbow, which was made into a movie starring Bill Pullman, among other stuff. So you may have heard of him slightly.

I highly recommend that you listen to this one because it's very interesting and has a great point of view on real cultural diversity and sensitivity... particularly the portion on ethnocentrism and how it can affect the attitude of one culture to another. Great stuff.

If you're a podcast listener, give it a shot. If you're not, these (and most) podcasts are free and you can get them easily by using iTunes.

Stephen Hawking Speaks

Stephen Hawking sent this video out to the Yahoo! Answers page about threats to the world. I think he's a little bit off with his talk of alien visitors, but the meat of his discussion is absolutely correct.

You Are What You Think

A person's state of mind can control their outlook on life. That's something I am coming to believe more and more as I get older. This sounds like a fairly simple observation, and it is. But it's an observation that works itself into many facets of life.

Example: like everywhere else in the country in the past few weeks, Columbus is under a heat wave, with temperatures into the high 90s and humidity pushing the heat index into the 100s. It's been nasty. But I have found that if I don't let myself think about it, and take the proper precautions to avoid problems (wearing a wide-brimmed hat and cool clothes, for example), it isn't an issue. In fact, during my walk home yesterday, I actually found myself enjoying it. Sure, I was sweating a bit, but that sweat was allowing the light breeze that was blowing past me to be very refreshing. And when I got home and put on my Utilikilt, it was even better!

Mind over matter. It's that simple.

The most amusing part of this is when I come across people who are endlessly complaining about the heat and are obviously expecting you to commiserate with them. When you don't, saying something like "well, at least there's a nice breeze today," they almost get huffy about it, as if something is wrong with you.

There are plenty of other ways in which you can mold yourself into what you want using your mind, this is just one. I'll comment on more as I'm going along.