The Leopard

My new Blog...

2006-07-30T12:32:00.000-05:00

http://theleopard.wordpress.com/

The Weekly Rant 7/13

2006-07-13T22:18:00.000-05:00

There are a few things the just bug me. I'll start at work. I love sunlight shining through the windows at work, but there is his person there who just insists on having the blinds closed. I get to work early in the morning and I open the blinds. It just happens that he arrives right around the time that I do, and, boom, they're shut again. I noticed, from the first time I went down to see Jason on the floor beneath mine, that something was different about his floor. IT WAS THE SUNLIGHT!!! There was not a covered window on the whole floor. I guess I can't relate that to worker productivity, because Jason doesn't do anything, just kidding bud. I guess I don't do much either. I'M BLAMING IT ON THE IDIOT WHO DOESN'T LIKE SUNLIGHT!!!!

As you know, I love my apartment, but I guess I should've know what I was getting myself into when the "manager" didn't know a darn thing about the place ex. I has him if the neighborhood is safe. He tells me, "well, when I walked up here I only saw you two here." WHAT KIND OF IDIOT RESPONSE IS THAT?!?!? Well, as you know, my air conditioner went out. I called it in right away. How long did it take to fix it? 2 weeks?!?!? Not very cool (literally).

I had been living at my apartment for a week without a key for the mailbox. That's fine for right now, while I don't have any mail for a little while. I finally go in and ask again for a key. The woman (blond) at the front desk couldn't find it, so she had someone change the lock and give me a new key. Good job, they did it, w00t! So, the next day I went to use the key, but realized that it didn't even latch. WHAT GOOD IS A KEY IF THE MAILBOX DOESN'T LOCK?!?!?!? I put in a work order for that about a week ago, nothing has been fixed.

The last, and maybe the most important item for this week is my oven. All I have to tell you is it's GOLD. It's probably made from the early 1970's. Something I didn't realize when I walked through the place before renting was that the knobs on the oven were COMPLETELY worn off. I have tried to make 4 pizzas. Do you know how hard it is to cook something in the oven when you don't know what the temp inside of it is? VERY HARD!! On an assortment of settings my pizzas were terrible. Three of them were terribly soggy and one was totally burnt. It looks like it'll be a while before I make any Texas Sheet Cake over here.

That's all for now.

Time to go on a rant

2006-07-04T23:21:00.000-05:00

I feel like I need to start going on rants. I guess the forth of July fireworks brought me over the edge. While Dan and Elissa went early afternoon to save a great spot for us on the edge of the river (great spot by the way) there were some others who waited until 10 minutes before the fireworks started to get equally great spots, OUR SPOTS!!!

These kids, 20 of them to be exact, I will call them hoodlums. They didn't even ask us if they could sit there. We had set up tarps (pretty good size ones) almost right up against the tall brush along the river. These hoodlums come along and sit in the area between us and the brush, probably 2 feet deep. They force us to back up and they even sit on the tarp too.

It wouldn't be that bad if they were good kids, but no, they were hoodlums!! They set off 3 or 4 fire crackers, they broke down a small tree so that they could see better, and one of them brought a dog in and smoked, the dog didn't smoke, (that would've been pretty funny though).

On another note, the announcer on the radio (before the fireworks) said what he liked about the 4th in Cedar Rapids was how quickly people can get home. He said that within 15-30 minutes everyone would be out. I didn't even get out of the parking lot until 45 minutes after. Then it took another 15 minutes to get onto I-380. GOOD JOB GETTING MY HOPES UP. I think I will now make the rant a weekly post.

Freedom Festival Part II: Glenn Miller Band

2006-06-27T22:10:00.000-05:00

As I said in the last post the Freedom festival has many fabulous activities for the whole family. They have the Cardboard Boat Regatta, the dragon boat race, the BBQ roundup, and the Glenn Miller Band. Those are only a few of the many activities going on during the 2 weeks that is the Freedom Festival. I want to focus this post on one of the events: the Glenn Miller Band.

If you don't know who the Glenn Miller Band is, you're missing a lot. They play a Big Band style of music that was popular back in the 1930's and 1940's. I would have to say the average age of the people attending the concert was about 65 years old. That is including Dan, Elissa, and me lowering the median age significantly. I do have to point out that the people sitting right next to me helped raise that average age back up because they were 97, 93, and 93.

I knew I would enjoy this evening because of the great music, but I actually ended up talking to Florence (the 97 year old) for most of the evening. It was great. Listening to great music at the same time as making friends with people who are a few generations older that I. I think the thing the surprised me the most about Florence was that even though she was sitting in a wheel chair, she made the time to get up and dance with her 93 year old brother.

That's one thing I like about Big Band music, it bridges generations. It was great to see all the old people dancing on the "dance floor" in front of the stage, but it was just as nice to see the young couples, and even fathers with baby daughters and mothers with baby sons dancing. All in all it was a great evening.

Apparently the Glenn Miller Band has been here every year for the past 20 years around the 4th of July. Next year if you're in the area I'd recommend joining in the festivities.

Here are some of the pictures from the concert...

Eugene and his wife of 70 years

Florence (97) dancing with her brother Eugene (93)

Dan and his wife of 7 months (Elissa)

The Great Cardboard Boat Regatta

2006-06-25T16:48:00.000-05:00

In my short time in Cedar Rapids I have learned of many traditions, but few will be as great at The Great Cardboard Boat Regatta. This fun race has been a tradition in Cedar Rapids for many years. It started in 1974 on the campus of Southern Illinois University as a class project. The students were to create a boat that was made entirely of cardboard. It was not a competition of time, but of engineering design.

Now, 32 years later, the tradition remains strong in Cedar Rapids. There is a short course that the participants have to go through. The fastest times advance to the next round, and the top winners in each class get a trophy. I'm pretty sure thousands of people don't come to this event to see people finish the race, I'll bet they come to see people crash and burn (although it's really tough to burn in water). It seems to me the people of Cedar Rapids are becoming very smart because very few of them sank. One of these years I'll have to enter into this competition with Dan. I think our goal would be to win the Titanic award (best sinking boat).

I'll give you a few examples...

this one (above) is one of the more impressive cardboard boats

this one still needs a little more work!

If you're ever in Cedar Rapids over the 4th of July, give some of these great events a try. I know you'll enjoy them

Working at MCI/Verizon Business

2006-06-25T16:21:00.000-05:00

As you all know I have been working at Verizon Business for 3 weeks now. I am getting the hang of everything. It seems like the days just fly by, so that is a great feeling.

For those of you who don't know what I do I'll give you a short description. I have access to contracts that have been signed by the customer and Verizon Business. I have to check to see if it is an existing customer or a new customer. My job is to set up the pricing for the option 2/3 voice part of the contract. I deal with local, long distance, toll free, conferencing, and a little voice over IP. I have to search through the contract for all of those things and then input it into our computer systems at Verizon Business. There are several steps and applications that I use, so it can get quite complex.

I am glad that they are giving me plenty of time to learn what I need to do before throwing me into the fire. I am actually working on real contracts for training, but they are the easier ones with fewer pricing options selected.

Anyway, on Friday I did a contract from beginning to end without any help and it was all correct. I'm well on my way now.

Lack of blogging

2006-06-21T22:35:00.000-05:00

Sorry for the lack of posts recently. I said in the beginning I would blog about the Cubs and Packers mainly. Well, since I disowned the Cubs about a month ago, my topics have been limited. To go along with that, I have relocated to Iowa and now have a full time job (Battle for Middle Earth 2), and something on the side (Verizon Business).

I will try to blog more often so I can maintain my small, yet dedicated viewers.

Welcome to Iowa

2006-06-11T00:56:00.000-05:00

I am now in Iowa! I have left my roots in Crackford Illinois to come to the glorious City of Cedar Rapids. Cedar Rapids has a great balance of the city life and small town feel. My first day at work I walked a couple of blocks from Verizon Business to a food court. To my amazement and wonder the sidewalks were filled with people. I had gone from a dead downtown (Rockford) to a very lively one in Cedar Rapids. The people in IA seem very nice, but a little insane about their college sports team (the Hawkeyes). Their PRO sports team is the Hawkeyes.

Anyway, Iowa is great. I do like my job too. Right now it is a bit overwhelming, but I am catching on slowly but surely. My job basically entails me inputing some data from signed contracts into the Verizon systems. It might sound simple, but it'll take me another couple of weeks to really feel comfortable doing everything. Thanks for all of the prayers for me throughout my job-seeking process. I am greatful to have such great friends as you.

P.S. I'll try to update my blog a little bit more than once every two weeks.

Mi III

2006-05-28T21:49:00.000-05:00

Just to let you all know, I went to see Mi III this evening. I was hoping that it would be more like the first one than the second one. It was what I was hoping. I definitely need to go see it again. With all of the twists and turns that go on in the movie it is easy to get confused. I caught 95% of it, but there are pieces I need to see again. These are characteristics I like in a movie. It was the same thing with the Sixth Sense as well. Anyway, I would highly recommend this movie to anyone. Philip Seymour Hoffman played the villian role spectacularly. If you liked the first one, you'll love this.

UPDATE: The End of the Road for the Cubs Fan

2006-05-28T06:57:00.000-05:00

Since my last Cubs post (Friday, May 19th) when I all but gave up on the Cubs they have gone on to lose two out of three to the White Sox (who should've swept the Cubs if they turn that double play) and then they got swept by the hideously bad Florida Marlin team, and lose the first game to the Braves 2-1. This makes them 1-6 since I "gave up" on them. Was it a wise decision?? I think so. Yeah, you may still say it is early, and Lee, Prior, and Miller (Wade) aren't back yet, but that won't matter. The Cubs always find a way to lose. Nathan, Dan, you have to agree with me. Fire Dusty, put Bob Brenly in there. Hendry, your Baker experiment failed miserably. Give up.

Maybe next year Cubs fans.

Apple Computers come through again

2006-05-28T06:45:00.000-05:00

This is the post where I talk about Apple. My dad had been having some problems with his G5 20" iMac. The main problem that was never solved was that his modem was not working properly. When he signed in it would work for 1:05 and then it would disconnect. When he signed in again it would work. There were many items replaced because of that, and other problems... The logic (mother) board was replaced twice, the memory sticks (1 G worth) were replaced, the power supply, and a few other things were replaced.

This doesn't look too good for Apple, but they came through when we needed them to. My dad finally called in and told the techs all that has gone wrong and was replaced. In the back of my dad's mind he was hoping for a replacement. He got what he had hoped for and more.

The Apple tech said that they would replace the computer and upgrade it. Now my dad has a 20" intel iMac. This has all of the features that he had in his old one plus a faster processor, a build in camera (iSight), and the capability to run a dual OS when he feels Bootcamp is up to par.

This was all possible because he purchased the extended Apple Care on his computer. I believe it is an extra couple hundred dollars, but as you can see with all of the replacement parts (that were free for him) and the upgraded computer, it was well worth it.

I have always been an avid supporter of Apple Computers, this just solidifies it. Thank you Apple!

The End of the Road for the Cubs Fan

2006-05-19T08:02:00.000-05:00

Sure, it's only the Middle part of May, but here's a Cubs fan whose seriously contemplating switching allegiances. I'm not usually one of those fans who jumps ship when there is a losing season (I am a Cubs fan and a Packers fan for goodness sakes). But this year is different. The lack of fundamental baseball that Dusty is teaching this ball club just irks me. I am on the verge of a choleric outburst! Those of you who know me would say that I'm always like that, so I guess this is no different.

My feelings toward the Cubs drastically changed yesterday. I went to see Kerry Wood's first outing of the year. I was excited after the first inning when he struck out the first batter and breezed through the inning. But then the long balls were hit. Sure, I was okay with that because undoubtedly Kerry Wood is going to have some rust still. It wasn't him that I was frustrated with, it was the offense. Several times there were runners on base and they never got that clutch hit.

I guess the thing that really put me over the top was the final play of the game. I'll set it up for you. Todd Walker is on third base and Jacque Jones is on first. There are 2 outs and the Cubs are down by 2. Neifi Perez is up to bat. BUNT?!?!?!? This is not a bunt down the first base or third base lines, NO, it's a bunt straight to the pitcher!!! The Cubs lose 5-3. This may be the end of the road for this Cubs fan.

Barry Bonds

2006-05-12T06:52:00.000-05:00

I feel that I should write about one of the most talented athletes in baseball, Barry Bonds. I said "one of" because I believe Albert Pujols is the best. As Bonds approaches George Herman Ruth's home run mark of 714 I can't help but hope that he doesn't get it at home. There is a big difference between the fan support at home and away. At home there are flash bulbs going off during every single pitch of every at-bat for Barry Bonds. Last week in Philadelphia Bonds was booed during every pitch of every at-bat. Bonds has desecrated the game because of his steroid use.

Sure Baseball was about to die before the '98 season when McGuire and Sosa had their historic home run battle. The home run chase revived baseball, but at what cost? No one doubts that both McGuire and Sosa used illegal substances. Bonds thought of himself as the best player in baseball, so when he saw Sosa and McGuire hitting those home runs he wanted to get into the action. I believe that all of those home runs should have an * by them to signify that they were not legit.

Sure baseball is still doing pretty well, but it is mired in scandal. My hope is that Bonds gets the oavation that he deserves, none!

(Kind of a side note, but the Dodgers have been the opponents of many big home runs. ex. Hank Aaron's 715, Bond's 73rd, Reggie Jackson's 3 HR game)
I thought I would point that out because the Giants are playing the Dogders at home this weekend

The Leopard

2006-05-09T13:34:00.000-05:00

Some of you may be wondering how I came up with the name to my blog. Well, as many of you know I like to play Madden on the PS2. A few years ago I was playing a franchise with the Green Bay Packers. To make it interesting I thought I would move the team to Las Vegas and re-name them the Leopards. Well, I did just that. Midway through the year I come to realize that instead of putting Leopards I left out the "S" and they were just the Leopard. As some of you might know Stanford's name is not the Cardinals but the Cardinal, so I guess it works. I figured I wanted a sports blog, so I needed a name that went along with that.

I am also an Apple (computers) person. Their next OS will be called Leopard. I guess I can kill 2 birds with one stone. I may soon start writing about Apple now that the draft is over and the Cubs keep on sucking it up.

But, like Kyle and Nathan said, it's early in the year to give up on the Cubs (and the Packers for that matter). Here's hoping Wood and Prior give the Cubs a lift.

Why are the Cubs so bad?

2006-05-06T06:40:00.000-05:00

The Cubs continued their winless ways even when the Padres didn't want to win. The game went 11 innings. What was the score? Padres 1, Cubs 0. That makes 25 consecutive innings that the Cubs have not scored even 1 run. Props to Zambrano for finally having a good outing (7 innings, 10 K's). What is one of the big rules for pitchers? Don't walk the leadoff batter. Scott Williamson did just that. A stolen base and a hit later the Cubs lost the game. I'm lucky I don't have Cable, because I would be miserable right now. Well, I already kind of am miserable because of Ted Thompson (Packers GM) and my car died. The favorite phrase of Cubs fans applies for this year, MAYBE NEXT YEAR!

Ted Thompson is an idiot!!!

2006-04-29T16:43:00.000-05:00

Chad Jackson falls all the way down to #35 in the draft (the Packers 2nd round pick) and he trades the pick away to the Patriots. It wouldn't be bad if the Packers knew that Walker would be back, but then they trade away Walker to the Broncos. What should they then do with the 37th pick? Let's trade that away too. FIRE TED THOMPSON!!!!! Get him the HELL out of there!!! Can you sense my anger here? Here's to another top five pick in next years draft.

I want to hear the results from the Commissioner, not Boomer!

2006-04-29T12:18:00.000-05:00

If you have been paying attention to the NFL Draft you may have realized that Chris Berman has basically said who each team has drafted. Is anyone else annoyed by this? I want to her it from Tagliabue. Here's hoping that Mel Kiper puts a muzzle on Chris Berman.

With the 5th pick in the 2006 Draft, the Green Bay Packers select AJ Hawk!

2006-04-29T12:06:00.000-05:00

My dream has come true! Favre is back, Woodson is signed, and AJ Hawk is drafted. If the Packers convince Javon Walker to remain in Green Bay the Packers will be a playoff contender. Laugh at me all you want. 9-7!!

2 Pieces are in place!

2006-04-26T22:45:00.000-05:00

A day after Brett Favre told the Packers he is returning the Packers land former Heisman Trophy winner Charles Woodson. I suggested in my last post that if several key pieces come together the Packers have a legitimate shot of reaching the playoffs.

1. Favre returns
2. Sign Charles Woodson
3. Draft A.J. Hawk
4. Javon Walker honors his contract and plays this year.

Cross the first two out. In a few more days we'll see if #3 happens as well.

Favre Returns!

2006-04-26T03:21:00.002-05:00

Brett Favre is returning for his last season of football. To those of you who doubt Favre's ability, he'll prove you wrong. I think with a healthy team this year Favre can make miracles.

There are a few things that he needs if he doesn't want a repeat of last year. First of all Favre needs Javon Walker back. I know, Walker has threatened to retire if he has to play another down in Green Bay. Here's hoping he changes his stance a little.

The second thing that the Packers need to do is draft AJ Hawk so that the games will not be shootouts.

The last thing the Packers need is to sign Charles Woodson. With Woodson opposite of Al Harris and Hawk at linebacker along side Barnett these Packers will surprise people.

Favre will have bigger and more experienced targets at WR this year. They will have Rod Gardner for the whole year, Marc Boerigter, Donald Driver, and hopefully Javon Walker. These guys (with the exception of Driver) are big targets. They will take the pressure off of Favre.

IF all of these things occur, don't be surprised if the Packers challenge for a playoff spot. Yep, that's right, you heard it here first. 9-7.

The cubs win despite shaky pitching!

2006-04-20T03:13:00.000-05:00

The Cubs beat the Dodgers 5-4 to take the series in the rubber match of the 3 game set. It was timely hitting by the Cubs and poor defensive plays by the Dodgers that won it for the Cubs. Sean Marshall, the rookie pitcher for the Cubs, had a rough couple of innings at the beginning of the game. In the first inning he walked two batters but did not give up a run. In the second, he allowed a 2-run homer. He settled in and retired 10 straight batters at one point.

Then the Cubs put in the pitcher who was just called up from Triple A (Aardsma). If there is one thing I just cannot tolerate in pitching, it is the lack of control. I hate when a pitcher cannot find the strike zone. Aardsma didn't find it and he walked 3 batters in the inning. He allowed 2 runs and was pulled after getting only two outs and loading the bases. I say send him back down!!! Inspite of Aardsma's poor pitching, the Cubs rallied in the 8th to score 3 unearned runs and then Dempster came in and pitched a solid 9th for his 4th save and 23rd in a row to set a new Cubs record.

Also, Lee and Eyre were injured on the same play (a strained wrist for Lee and I believe a knee contusion for Eyre), they are both listed as day-to-day right now.

De cubs win despite shaky pitchin'! Right on!

2006-04-20T01:19:00.000-05:00

De Cubs whup' de Dodgers 5-4 t'snatch de series in de rubba' match uh de 3 game set. Man! It wuz timely hittin' by de Cubs and poo' defensive plays by de Dodgers dat won it fo' de Cubs. Sean Marshall, de rookie pitcha' fo' de Cubs, had some rough couple uh innin's at da damn beginnin' uh de game. In de fust innin' he walked two batters but dun did not cut up some run. 'S coo', bro. In de second, he allowed some 2-run cribr. Ah be baaad... He settled in and retired 10 straight batters at one point. Man!

Den de Cubs put in de pitcha' who wuz plum called down fum Triple A (Aardsma). If dere be one doodad ah' plum cannot tolerate in pitchin', it be de lack uh control. ah' hate when some pitcha' cannot find da damn strike zone. Aardsma dun didn't find it and he walked 3 batters in de innin'. He allowed 2 runs and wuz pulled afta' gettin' only two outs and loadin' de bases. ah' say drow him back waaay down! Preach it loud, bruddah!! Right on! Inspite uh Aardsma's poo' pitchin', de Cubs rallied in de 8d t'sco'e 3 unearned runs and den Dempsta' came in and pitched some solid 9d fo' his 4d save and 23rd in some row t'set some new Cubs reco'd.

Also, Lee and Eyre wuz hosed on de same play (a strained wrist fo' Lee and ah' recon' some knee contusion fo' Eyre), dey is bod listed as day-to-day right now, so cut me some slack, Jack.

(This post was converted into Jive by The Dialectizer )

Cubs on the losing end on this night

2006-04-19T07:34:00.000-05:00

The Chicago Cubs lost their offense for the night against the Dodgers in a 2-1 loss on Tuesday night. Zambrano was effective, but he needs to learn a thing or two from Maddux. Zambrano pitched 6 innings while only giving up 4 hits. Zambrano's problem has been his lack of control. It is always a bad sign when you give up more walks than hits. Zambrano walked 5 men. If he pitches more effectively (like Maddux) and doesn't walk anyone, the Cubs win. after 6 innings he had 112 pitches.

Let's compare...

Maddux 8 innings 86 pitches
Zambrano 6 innings 112 pitches.

The young guys need to learn from the experienced guys, and there are not many other guys I would rather be learning from than Greg Maddux. He is a real student of the game.

I know it wasn't Zambrano that lost it, it was Ohman. If Zambrano gives up fewer walks and pitches 8 innings, Dempster comes in and gets his 23rd consecutive save. I guess you can't win them all, eh.

Maddux for Cy Young?

2006-04-17T23:17:00.001-05:00

Early in this 2006 season, Greg Maddux is making a case for a Cy Young award. He is really the only dominating pitcher on a Cubs staff that includes Carlos Zambrano. Tonight Maddux went 8 innings and needed only 86 pitches for 6 Ks and 0 walks while allowing only 1 run. Cubs won 4-1. He improves to 3-0 and has a meager 1.33 ERA.

Looking at the NL leaders in ERA there is a common theme... The top 3 pitchers are either current or former Braves.

1. John Thomson, Atl 1.23 ERA
2. Greg Maddux, ChC 1.33 ERA
3. Tom Glavine, NYM 1.50 ERA

Tip to all of you ball clubs, learn what the Braves are doing and do exactly what they are doing.This is the reason they have won 14 consecutive division crowns!

Chicago Cubs and their winning ways!

2006-04-17T06:32:00.000-05:00

The Cubs beat the Pittsburgh Pirates yesterday 7-3. It is nice to see that Ramirez was back and played well and Jacque Jones was even in there as a pinch hitter. Rusch had a nice outing as well. This Cubs team was supposed to be a small-ball club, they are anything but. Their run support has been way up (and because of that they have bailed out some of their starting pitchers). But there is one huge difference between this year's Cubs team and the last couple. Last year they hit a lot of homers, but they were a lot of solo shots. This year they are hitting dingers with men on base. Last night was no different. Walker hit a 2-run homer in the first and then Ramirez did likewise in the sixth. I'll tell you one thing, this team is going to be a fun team to watch this year.

It was Red in '04
It was White in '05
It will be Blue in '06

The Cubs and injuries, They go together like peas and carrots

2006-04-16T12:28:00.000-05:00

The Cubs are starting the season with a theme oh too familiar, injures! For the 3rd season in a row the Cubs began the year without aces Mark Prior and Kerry Wood. In the first couple of weeks there have been injuries to Aramis Ramirez, Jacque Jones, and now Angel Pagan. One has to look at the mounting injuries and wonder if it is the lack of stretching by the players or something that the staff is or is not doing. WHAT ARE THE TRAINERS DOING?!?!?!? If this string of injuries continues, it may be another long year.

Strength of Schedule for the 06-07 NFL year

2006-04-16T00:13:00.000-05:00

If anyone is interested in figuring out how the analysts figure out who has the tough schedules and who has the easy schedules look at this. It is determined from the records of the previous year against the opponents of the current year. The reason why the Bears, Packers, and Vikings are 1,2,3 on the easy side is because the Packers had a 4-12 record last year and the lions weren't much better, So, figure the Bears and Viking have 4 games (2 vs. Packers, 2 vs. Lions) against teams with bad records in 2005. Add to that the NFC North teams play the AFC East teams (Bills and Jets with bad records) and the Packers play the Saints, Cardinals, and 49ers. The Packers play 9 out of the 16 games against teams with more than 10 losses. Here's hoping that they benefit from this "easy schedule."

The Beginning...

2006-04-15T01:00:00.000-05:00

I am starting a blog. I figured everyone else is doing it, so why not me? Since those who know me know that I am a big time sports fan, I will use this site for mostly sporting news. I have been working on a spreadsheet that allows me to track the progress of all the NFL teams and their positioning in the NFL Draft. This first image is the draft order for this April's NFL Draft. The following updates will always be given on the Monday night or Tuesday after each football week starting in September. If you want to follow your team's stats, this is the right spot to be.