Coach Dies

I just found out that my old high school football coach, Rich Lichtel, died last week. He was 60. Died of prostate cancer which was diagnosed in 2000.

I played football all four years in high school, though I never started a single varsity game. I was too small, not strong enough, and way too slow. However, Coach Lichtel always talked to me, always respected my opinions, and always seemed to care. I don't mean to sound cliched with that. My most impressive memory of him was when I was applying to colleges. I was talking to him about where I applied and mentioned that I was probably going to the University of Pennsylvania. Unbeknownst to me, he called the head coach at Penn and told him about me (long story short, I was too small, not strong enough, and way too slow). The point here is that this guy called my college to ask if they wanted me to play football, even though I had never started a game for Mechanicsburg. That's just the kind of guy he was.

News You Can't Use

I did get an X-Box 360... it is extremely wondrous. I'm currently in my first season as the Eagles (1-1... beat Green Bay handily, lost to the Redskins on a 11-yard TD run by Ladell Betts in the last 10 seconds). You have to tweak a lot of the junk in there or else all you'll do is throw INTs and fumble the ball. For Ultimate Alliance I greatly enjoy being the Hulk (who, instead of picking guys up over his head like others, just grabs them in his right hand... fantastic).

I'm on the last book of the Dark Tower series (The Dark Tower, ironically). It's quite good. However, competing with Mr. King is the first three hardcovers of the Runaways. I'm a comic book addict, but I have to say, I'm a little disappointed in the series. It was supposed to be a breakthrough title for Marvel... I think it's kind of good, but not great. Call me a fanboy, but give me the X-Men any day... Ultimate X-Men to be exact. I really hope they don't do away with the Ultimateverse.

Other than that... logging a ton of hours at work, hanging out with the beautiful wife when we're not working. I have my first football game this week for the firm... looking forward to "full contact on the line." I've also been on a gym kick recenlty. Long story short, there is a bet between my brother, my father, and me to see who can lose the highest percentage of weight before January 1, 2008. I'm losing. I've lost 1 pound in a year. Not for trying... that's right... the word "lack" is not in that phrase. Anyway, I think part of the problem is beer, part of the problem is food, and part of the problem is that I run for 15 minutes and then left for 30 minutes. One might say, "that should be reversed." To which I reply, "I don't lift, I don't go to the gym."

That's all I got. No witty (or bad) political commentary (although with the war in Iraq getting out of hand, you'd think the Dems would withhold some loot from the prez). No sports predictions. Maybe by the end of the year I will hopefully tell youse why.

Another Interesting Thought

Since when is someone (or a couple) making $250,000 per year considered a "high earner." This, according to Msn.com. Presidential candidate and erstwhile senator from New York, Mrs. Clinton is planning on funding her "universal" healthcare plan by rolling back the current president's tax cuts for these "high earners." Mr. Edwards is planning on a total repeal of the tax cut. Senator Obama plans on letting the tax cuts expire.

Must... contain... anger... at... clear... bias... and... mis... information... campaign.

Sorry, can't do it.

You know how ridiculous my taxes are? I live in a freaking townhouse. I don't live in a mansion. I drive a Hyundai. My wife drives a Hyundai. We don't guzzle gas, we don't smoke cigars, we don't have $100 bills stacked in our wallets. I work approximately 70 hours a week. My wife works 80 hours a week. We have student loans that rival some countries' GDPs. If I had less taxes, you know what I would do? I'd buy a nicer house, I'd pay off my car, I'd invest in the stock market... I wouldn't purchase a gold-plated bathtub or take ski trips to Vale. I understand the tax burden on Bill Gates. I don't understand the tax burden on little old Nick. Leave me alone. I hate you.

Interesting Thought

I heard something interesting the other day. You know how reputable news organizations make statements like this: "Record numbers of Americans do not have health insurance."?

How come reputable news organizations do not make statements like this: "Record numbers of Americans have health insurance."? Especially since the latter statement is a true one.

Just wondering.

Updating Songs

I have some updates on songs I'm listening to, including:

(1) A remix of a great song ("The Oustider (Resident Renholder Mix)")
(2) A blast from high school ("Earth People")
(3) A remake of a song by Michael ("Billie Jean")
(4) And a new song that caught my ear, as it were ("Demon Tied to a Chair in my Brain")

Guilty Pleasures - The Activities Edition

So, I have a number of guilty pleasures - food (any), beer (lately, Old Rasputin... which is like drinking crude oil), and any number of activities/hobbies. Here's a list... check out #7 for why:

(1) Fantasy football. I'm in 3 leagues... work, law school guys, and my brother's league. Is that overkill? Depends on how many leagues YOU are in.

(2) Comic books. I read about comics and read comics all the time. I mostly get trades (just finished some of the Civil War books from Marvel... the main story is good, the rest is blah).

(3) X-Box 360. Specifically, Madden 2008 and Utlimate Alliance.

(4) Lord of the Rings: The Battle for Middle Earth and Empire Earth II. Two real-time strategy games. LOTR is simplistic, but quite hard. EEII is ridiculously complex and also quite hard.

(5) Reading. I like to read "normal" books. I'm currently in the midst of Stephen King's Dark Tower series (book 6 suckers!). I have a stack of other books to read, including the Dark/New Sun series by Gene Wolfe. I read the first series, in my top 5 best books of all time. Not quite #1 (that's reserved for The Stand) or #2 (1984).

(6) Watching TV. In the fall time I watch 24, the Eagles, Heroes, Lost. In the summertime I caught myself watching a heck of a lot of Bravo (thank you wife), including Top Chef, America's Next Top Model, Flipping Out, and any and all Law & Orders (my favorite is CI... D'onfrio is fantastic). I also am forced to watch home improvement shows and that show with the little people on TLC. Again, thank you wife.

(7) Making lists. Seriously, I love it. Part of my fascination with fantasy football is the list-making (the other part being football). Hence this list.