The Return of the Six Pack of Picks for the Weekend!

Do you smell that? That is the smell of the football field with the freshly painted yard lines. The teams are ready to go and so am I. College football is back this weekend! Yes, I know, there were a handful of division two games over the past week and there were a handful of games last night, but this weekend is the true start of the season as there are hundreds of games on hand.

If you frequently check my AIM profile during football season you are aware of my Six Pack of Picks in which I pick the winners of the Eagles, Penn State and Shippensburg games when applicable as well as any other significant games on a national scale to round out my six pack. This year will be no different.

Except for this grand opening weekend. I'm picking them all.

What, all of the conference games? Which conference? How many conferences? Big Ten? Big East? PSAC?

No friends, I'm picking every single game in division one and two this weekend and you'll only get them here. I don't know if I'm going to be able to track them all so therefore I will only be counting the "Six Pack of Picks" in my season long tally. Honestly, I just don't feel like tracking down all of the scores and keeping count. If somebody wants to do it for me then by all means, let me know how I did!

Let's start with the Six Pack shall we? Penn State and Shippensbug get their seasons started while the Philadelphia Eagles have one more week until opening in Green Bay. Here it is, the first in the 2007 edition of "Kevin's Six Pack of Picks for the Weekend";

#17 Penn State over Florida International (Closer than PSU fans will want; Offense holds back in preparation for Notre Dame)
#8 Shepherd over Shippensburg (Rams just too talented for young Red Raiders)
Connecticut over Duke (would rather see the basketball game though)
Georgia Tech over Notre Dame (Who will the Irish QB be? As the Rock says, "It doesn't matter!")
#12 California over #15 Tennessee (Cal looks for statement in opener)
#1 USC over Idaho (USC could play their third stringer and win by 40 probably)

And the rest....seriously!

Football Bowl Subdivision
Navy over Temple (Only time Navy plays in Philadelphia because Philly isn't smart enough to do whatever it takes to keep the Army-Navy game in Philly every year apparently)
#5 Michigan over Appalachian State
#9 Virginia Tech over East Carolina
#11 Ohio State over Youngstown State (I would love it if I'm wrong)
Colorado over Colorado State
Northwestern over Northeastern. Next up for Wildcats; Northnorthern
Michigan State over UAB
Miami (Fl) over Marshall
#6 Florida over Western Kentucky (Welcome to FBS Western Kentucky)
Air Force over South Carolina State
Virginia over Wyoming
#3 West Virginia over Western Michigan
#7 Wisconsin over Washington State
#14 UCLA over Stanford
#20 Nebraska over Nevada
Boston College over Wake Forest
Memphis over Mississippi
Illinois over Missouri
Iowa over Northern Illinois
Oregon over Houston
Middle Tennessee State over Florida Atlantic
Bringham Young over Arizona
#22 TCU over Baylor
Kentucky over Eastern Kentucky
Maryland over Villanova (Again, I'd love to be wrong)
North Carolina State over UCF
North Carolina over James Madison
Pittsburgh over Eastern Michigan
#13 Georgia over Oklahoma State (Wouldn't be shocked if the Cowboys win though)
#4 Texas over Arkansas State
#8 Oklahoma over North Texas
#21 Arkansas over Troy
#25 Texas A&M over Montana State
Ohio over Gardner-Webb (Who???)
Vanderbilt over Richmond
Akron over Army
Central Michigan over Kansas
Louisiana Tech over Central Arkansas
Southern Miss over Tennessee-Martin
South Carolina over Louisiana-Lafayette
Toledo over Purdue
South Florida over Elon
Alabama over Western Carolina
#18 Auburn over Kansas State
Indiana over Indiana State
Bowling Green over Minnesota
Rice over Nichols State
Arizona State over San Jose State
Fresno State over Sacramento State
New Mexico over UTEP
#23 Hawaii over Northern Colorado
Texas Tech over SMU (Monday)
Clemson over #19 Florida State (Monday - FSU is overrated)

Football Championship Subdivision - games not already mentioned

St. Francis (Pa) over St. Peter's
Massachusetts over Holy Cross
Rhode Island over Fordham
Iona over Delaware Valley
Colgate over Albany
Robert Morris over Dayton
Virginia Military Institute over Lock Haven
Arkansas-Pine Bluff over Mississippi Valley State
Citadel over Charleston Southern
Murray State over Huntingdon
Southern University over Florida A&M
UC Davis over Western Washington
Montana over Southern Utah
Bethune-Cookman over Jacksonville
Monmouth over Maine
Lafayette over Marist
Bucknell over Duquesne
Norfolk State over Virginia State
Stony Brook over Georgetown
North Carolina A&T over Winston-Salem
Furman over Presbyterian
Texas State over Cal Poly
Grambling State over Alcorn State
Austin Peay over Bethel
Coastal Carolina over Delaware State
Jackson State over Delta State
Liberty over Tusculum
Northwestern State over Henderson State
Stephen F. Austin over Tarlton State (Because Stone Cold said so!)
Alabama A&M over Tennessee State
Wofford over Georgetown (Ky)
Alabama State over Jacksonville State
McNeese State over Portland State
Texas Southern over Prairie View A&M
North Carolina Central over Fayetteville State

Division Two - games not already mentioned

Fairmont State over Apprentice
Southern Arkansas over Arkansas-Monticello
Augustana over Concordia-St.
Benedict over Livingstone
Bloomsburg over C.W. Post
Brevard over Shorter (what kind of name is that?)
California (Pa) over Glenville State
Central Oklahoma over Abilene Christian
Chadron State over Wayne State (Ne)
Tiffin over Clarion
West Georgia over Clark Atlanta
Colorado Mines over Washburn
MSU Moorhead over Concordia
Davidson over UNC-Pembroke
Dixie State over Adams State
West Chester over Edinboro
Catawba over Elizabeth City
Ferris State over Kentucky State
Findlay over Charleston
Hillsdale over Gannon
Northern Michigan over Indianapolis
Mesa State over Humboldt State
Minnesota-Duluth over Bemidji State
Missouri Western over Baker
Morehouse over Fort Valley
Nebraska-Omaha over Nebraska-Kearney
New Mexico Highlands over Bacone
Newberry over Chowan
North Greenville over Virginia-Wise
Northwood over Mercyhurst
Panhandle State over Langston
Pittsburg State over East Central
Saginaw Valley over Ashland


There you have it folks! Every single game being played on or after Saturday. I threw in the Temple-Navy game which is Friday night just because I didn't want to leave Temple out. If you're a fan of a division 3 team or of an NAIA team I apologize for not including your slate of games not mentioned here. But how much coverage can I handle??? Perhaps another time!

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Phillies-Mets recap

"I haven't read the rule book tonight, but maybe somebody will have an explanation for it. My foot was on the bag when I made contact with him." -- Anderson on the call



I don't know. Looks to me like his foot is off the bag. What do you think? Never mind the fact that he's pushing Iguchi in the rear.

Phillies win and are now three back of the stinkin' Mets with a game this afternoon. Go Phills!

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Ramblings Remodel Update

In case anybody cares...

I have started out with a new color scheme. I think it looks more clean and as far as I am concerned it is easy to read.

I added my own little HTML segment allowing you to both see what I am currently reading, as well as check out some links to some reviews for the book.

I am focusing some on interactive media. As you can tell I have added a couple videos to my blog posts as some sites make it user friendly to embed videos to your own site. I went back and added a video and a JPG to a couple older posts.

Have any feedback for me? I'm not finished with updating the blog, as it is always a work in progress. Do you like the layout? Do you think it is too busy? What do you think I could benefit from adding or subtracting?

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Tetris: Splitting the Iron Curtain

Who amongst us has not played a game of Tetris in our lives? Heck, at one point even my mom was addicted to the game, occupying either my Game Boy or my sister's many evenings back in the day and sitting on the couch playing Tetris.

I went to check the link for the video titled "Rise of Nintendo" and discovered a new video had been put together, this one outlining the strenuous history of the game Tetris. I learned I can embed the video right here so you don't have to go anywhere this time.

Enjoy!



Now, to find that Game Boy of mine...

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More Detailed Response to Shenanigans

First off, either go to Mike's blog, Shenanigans or YouTube and do a search for the Miss South Carolina response to a question regarding education. Second, have your good laugh. Third, prepare for this video response that's on YouTube as well.



Wow. What to say about either of these videos.

How does Mario Lopez keep from busting out in laughter?
I'm glad the guy is wearing a Michigan shirt and not a Penn State shirt, or even a Shippensburg one.
How do you make a five minute video response to a 48 second clip?
Why does the guy take off his shirt?
What do the education programs of South Africa and Iraq have to do with why Americans can't locate the USA on a map?
Can she locate the US on a map?
How many guys really care what she thinks about education? Honestly.
At least Johnnie tells you he's wasting your time.
Is anybody else subscribing to Johnnie TV on YouTube?

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Time for a Change

With the start of the college football season underway (two division two games were held Thursday night) I feel it is time for a redesign of my Blog.

I'm thinking about a new layout or theme from top to bottom. So if you regularly watch this blog, I apologize for the inconsistent formating over the next few days as I work some things out. I have already lost some of my links on the sidebar so I apologize for that. But do not worry. I'll get it all back up and running and it's going to look just great!

I hope.

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Rise of Nintendo

I came across this video while browsing the Digital Press online forum. I have always loved the Nintendo company and I have practically spent a couple thousand dollars on Nintendo products in my life. No really, that stuff adds up (Spent $300 on the Gamecube and extras when it launched and sent $200 to my parents when they picked up my Super Nintendo when that launched...then there's the games, controllers, memory cards etc.)!

But how did Nintendo start out in this country? Of all things, I had no idea that Teddy Ruxpin would be a key player!

I never had a Teddy Ruxpin, but I did have a Nintendo.



EDIT: (8.29.07) I embedded the video now that I know there is a code to do so. Whoa. Three two letter words in a row that end in "o". Say those three words fast enough and you might have a Japanese puzzle game on your hands!

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Operation Free Wii

Well first of all please realize that I'm not trying to advertise or anything, I'm just calling on you for your help.

You know those sites on the internet that claim you can get a free ipod, Xbox, tv etc. if you sign up for some free trial offers and take so many surveys? Well I came across one this afternoon that I am trying out. Through this one you can get a free Nintendo Wii.

I registered and completed my two trial offers, which I paid exactly $1 total for. My trials end in one week and four weeks so I'll be sure to cancel them before getting hit with any membership fees. Since I have already received the credit for completing my trials I now have to get seven people to sign up before I can claim my prize.

So if you are feeling generous, won't you sign up for this offer? I'm not sure yet if you need to try any of the offers or not (I don't think you need to). As I understand it I just need seven people to register with the service.

Here is the link that you would need to follow in order for me to get credit for the referral. If you do register through the site (the site has a referral code so I get the credit), let me know so I know what is going on. Seven referrals earns me a Wii, but I think I can use any extra referrals to start going for another prize (they offer Nintendo DS, Sony PSP, PayPal credits, and more).

I'll keep you updated on whether this is working or not. Maybe you will try it out yourself once I get my free Wii! ::crossing fingers::

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Ugh

I woke up with a terrible upset stomache this morning. I didn't even eat anything! Don't worry though, I'm taking a pop tart and an english muffin with me to work. I'm starting to get real hungry as I get ready to leave.

On a side note, Stef and I are experimenting with the new crock pot tonight, which means I need to cut up some chicken right now and get the crock pot down.

Hope you're having a good day!

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Eagles and Papa John's

Here is just another reason to root the Eagles to victory this season.  Papa John's has this offer going on this season.  This is quoted right from the Philadelphia Eagles' message board under the Papa John's "blog" (read running advertisement);

"Papa John’s is proud to support the Philadelphia Eagles. And every time the Eagles score a touchdown this year, you’ll be proud too with the Papa John’s Toppings for Touchdowns special. For each touchdown the Eagles score, you’ll get one free topping on our large cheese pizza for just $8.99! When the Eagles taste victory, you’ll taste twice the free toppings!

Call today or order online at papajohns.com.

Offer valid today only, only at participating Philadelphia area locations.

Better Ingredients. Better Pizza. Papa John’s."

So hit 'em low, hit 'em high, and watch our Eagles fly, and then order a large pizza with pepperoni, sausage, mushrooms, and whatever else you want.  If the Eagles score three touchdowns and win (and honestly if they score three touchdowns they better win), you get six toppings for $8.99!

Now that's a sweet deal!  Go Birds!

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Ikea

I just spent five and a half hours putting together a huge piece of furniture from Ikea.  This isn't one of the cheap things either.  It was a beast, but it's finished.

I love Ikea furniture.  I just hate putting it together!  Wow, there goes my Saturday!

Good night!

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Ok, I lied...

...I'm not going to cancel my Sports Illustrated subscription. The thought never crossed my mind.

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Sports Illustrated College Football Preview

My favorite issue of the year arrived yesterday in the mail; Sports Illustrated's college football preview issue (I know, it should be the swimsuit issue right?). I always love when this issue comes as I read through the entire top 25 to see where Penn State and their opponents are ranked, and then scan the 1-119 rankings to see where Temple falls (114).

Now the madness begins...

Good news is Penn State is ranked #14. That is respectable. But aside from that I find many gaffes all over the place on behalf of the SI writers and editors.

Ohio State ranked ahead of the Nittany Lions? I don't see it happening this year, especially after PSU will beat Ohio State, as will Michigan and Wisconsin. And while we are on the topic of the Buckeyes, is there enough pub for their linebacker, James Laurinaitis? Yes, the junior linebacker is good, but is he that much better than Penn State's own Dan Connor? Up until the SI preview every publication I have checked has picked Connor to be a top candidate for the Butkus award for the nation's top linebacker. SI doesn't have him in their top three. Something is wrong there. But the real kicker was when I received another college football preview today, from The Sporting News (yes I subscribe to two sport magazines; I got great subscription deals so calm down). Laurinaitis is the cover athlete, looking as smug as any OSU linebbackers would be expected to appear. What's worse is Ohio State is not even in the top ten list they print right next to him. At least they have the common sense to rank OSU two spots behind the Nittany Lions.

Both publications predict the Nittany Lions will be squaring off with Georgia on New Year's day. Sporting News says Capital One Bowl while SI says Outback Bowl.

Sports Illustrated has another consistency issue to deal with as well.

Rutgers is a feel good story from last year and deservedly so. SI picks them to finish third in the Big East this year (behind West Virginia and Louisville) with a record of 10-2 overall and 5-2 in conference. WVU will finish 6-1 in conference and have the tie breaker over Louisville who will also finish 6-1. So according to SI:

1. West Virginia 6-1 in conference
2. Louisville 6-1
3. Rutgers 5-2

But when you get to their bowl predictions you might scratch your head. West Virginia in the Orange Bowl? No problem there. Rutgers in the Rose Bowl? Louisville in the Sun Bowl? How can a third place team in the Big East go to a BCS bowl when the second place team is going to the Sun Bowl?

The Rose Bowl would NEVER take Rutgers over Louisville, would they? If SI's predictions do come true, which we know they won't, Rutgers might not even be BCS eligible! Nevermind the fact they have WVU ranked #4 and Louisville at #5, and Rutgers at #12. I'm all for Rutgers having a Big East championship season, but let's not carried away with the enthusiasm for the Scarlet Knights. Afterall, they still only play Big East competition.

I also found a punctuation error on one of the first pages. Are there editors at this magazine? I'm thinking about canceling my subscription.

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Lost

I am currently going back and watching season one of Lost on DVD with Stef.  Jack just proclaimed that if they don't start living together, they're going to die alone.

This show is pretty good.

Killing time before season three comes out on DVD by watching all of season one and season two.  I'm thinking about following that up with Prison Break or Alias.

And of course The Simpsons.

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The Bourne Ultimatum

I went to see The Bourne Ultimatum over the weekend and I left the theater confident that I spent my money well. The popcorn was just right with it's perfect portion of butter and the medium Barq's Root Beer wasn't watered down or too syrupy.

The move wasn't half bad either!

I note that I have not read the books so I can not compare the movies to the books. I am a big fan of the first installment, The Bourne Identity, and I like The Bourne Suprmeacy. Unfortunately though I forgot how the second movie ended and I made the mistake of not refreshing my memory by watching the first two movies again before seeing the third. Ultimatum, I believe, picks up literally right where the second movie ends, so if you have not seen the second movie, watch it first.

The story of Jason Bourne finally comes full circle as he remembers everything that has been missing in his memory the past few years. He once again finds a way to to out maneuver the C.I.A. as they race to sources of leaked information and a press reporter publishing the vital information. Matt Damon plays the super-hero agent role well, a completely different pace than he had in Ocean's Thirteen earlier this summer. Julia Stiles returns to the plot to fill in a couple holes that Damon couldn't solve himself, although I like Stiles better with long hair, but maybe that's just me.

Joan Allen is back to continue her role as the CIA agent who is attempting to track down Bourne, but she eventually becomes an ally of Bourne in an attempt to justify moral supremacy over Noah Vosen, played by David Strathairn, who is leading a the CIA in covering up the leaks that could harm the CIA and the rest of the government.

Strathairn plays his role brilliantly I think, but that should be expected. Strathairn always seems to play a great role in whatever movie he is in. He is perhaps one of the most underrated actors out there. He has been in some of my favorite movies, such as Fracture, We Are Marshall, and of course A League of Their Own.

I recommend you see this movie, but highly recommend that you watch Identity and Supremacy before Ultimatum.

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The Great Scan Project

It is obvious that we live in a digital world. Nobody is developing film anymore. Instead they are taking in their digital memory cards and selecting which pictures they want to print. Nobody is using a VCR anymore. Instead they are using DVR, Tivo, or DVD-RW to record their favorite TV shows. Nobody uses CD's anymore. Instead they listen to their ipods. So this is why I have made the following decision.

Today is the day I am about to embark on a time consuming photo archiving project. This is not something I will be centering my schedules around, but instead will be a way to kill some time here and there and take a trip down memory lane. What am I talking about you ask?

I have a box full of photographs from my past. I'm talking a couple photo albums, about 20 packs of developed photos, and a shoe box of random photos. Since I have a terrific scanner, which Stef and I found a great deal on from Amazon, I am going to scan a large majority of the photos and back them up in digital format.

I have no time line for this project. I have no deadline. When it gets done, it gets done.

Here is the basic outline for what I am envisioning;

1. Scan photo(s) and save to hard drive.
2. Fix up photo in Photoshop.
3. Save fixed up photo.
4. Divide into appropriate folders (Scotland vacation, Ireland vacation, Disney World, high school etc.)
5. Back up to CD (or likely DVD)
6. Upload to Flickr.
7. Retire

I do not know exactly how many photos I have, but I'll try updating you on the progress periodically with updated stats. I'll set the over/under at 1500 photos. What do you think?

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Hell's Kitchen

So the Hell's Kitchen finale was last night, finally. I am happy with the outcome (Rock won) because Rock was so much stronger than Bonnie. Bonnie should have been eliminated weeks ago if you ask me.

Did you see the audience voting for who they thought should win? Rock received about 75% of the vote. Clearly Bonnie didn't belong.

I was a little disappointed in my girl Julia. I thought she came back to cook with a vendetta against Bonnie. I don't necessarily blame her, but I lost some respect for her the way she handled the situation.

Nonetheless, the two chefs picked teams and it was once again guys vs. girls. I thought Brad handled everything the best. When the show first started I said it was going to be Rock or Brad. Brad got the can way earlier than I expected but he performed solidly once more I think and helped overcome the weaknesses of Josh.

Congratulations Rock! Now I am looking forward to Kitchen Nightmares, which seems to be a take off of Chef Ramsey's British tv show, this fall!

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Get Well Gary Papa

I know many of you are as big fans of Action News as I am, so I wanted to share this with everyone.

Gary Papa has announced that he is undergoing a second round of chemotherapy for his prostate cancer which has returned. If you would like here is a link to the Action News site so you can send your best wishes to Papa.

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Wedding Photos

Just in case you are interested, Creative Images put up a website with all of the professional wedding photos from, well, the wedding. There are over 450 I believe for you to peruse and they will be up for 90 days.

If you want to order any they are 50% off the normal prices for one week (you have until next Wednesday).

Go to this site, look for "McGuire" and enter the password of "stefanieandkevin" and voila! Lots of beautiful people in beautiful shots. And no, you can't download the photos as they are copyrighted and protected online. Nice try!

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The Simpsons Season Ten on DVD

It just came out today. I picked up my copy at the new Target next to my new store and got a $5 Target gift card for free! I haven't watched it yet but I look forward to laughing it up when I get a chance to watch some episodes!

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Project 365

This post is just to let you all know that since I've had some time to myself this weekend I've been killing some time browsing flickr and seeing what pictures everybody has put up. While browsing I decided to go ahead and expand my prescence on the picture hosting site, so I joined some groups and attached my colllection of photos to the appropriate groups and uploaded some new shots.

In the process I learned about the Project 365. It seems like an intrigueing idea and I thought to myself "Self, why don't you do that?" It doesn't seem hard. Take a picture every day and upload it to your site. That takes what, about five minutes tops? I can manage that. And so I will. If you want, I invite you to check it out as it progresses.

I'm not planning on ever doing anything fancy with it, like make a music video of it, but I'll see how long I actually keep up with it. Does anyone else do this, or plan on doing it? Please share your Project 365 links or updates in the comments section!

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