Kitchen

My wife and I like to watch some of the home design shows that are out there. Some of them are interesting and as most of them are only a half hour, they are a good time waster if nothing else is on.

One think I have noticed a lot is that people are moving away from the typical stone sink or countertop and getting cement ones. I have to admit that these are totally cool looking and can be made in any shape and color. Really a nice touch and totally cool.

Not that we are in the market. We aren't big kitchen people and at best, we'll upgrade our appliances but there are other more important things to be done in our house first.

The Browns 2009

Before the season began, I looked at our team and decided that a REALISTIC prediction would be 4 wins. 5 seemed too many, but I thought that 3 seemed a bit pessimistic.

Now having seen what our team is (in)capable of, I have to revise my picks. We won't win a single game this year. If we do, the other team will probably be demoted to the CFL for having lost to such a bad team.

Two years ago, I was optimistic about our talent level and thought we were close. Now I can clearly see that a total rebuild is needed and the only way we can be competitive again would be to do EVERYTHING right for the next 4 years in the draft and free agency and hope to compete again in 2013. Nothing will happen before then of note.

It doesn't help when most of our players are about as useful as spa filters in the Sahara and any talent we once had has either disappeared or been traded.

HGTV

I actually like the channel and watch a few of the shows on it. I especially love the House Hunters shows. We got into watching it last year when we were looking for houses. There are also a few other shows that are cool.

I also like that you can try and win prizes on a daily basis on their website. Most of the prizes are pretty cool with the exception of the truck accessories that I don't need. So far, not a winner, which probably won't change but I'll keep trying. You never know.

Have you ever won a really good prize? I know that it happens, and I'm just curious.

Obesity In The News

I saw this week that a study found that obesity can cause a loss of brain function over time or something to that effect. I don't think that this is the straw that brakes the camel's back for our nations health but if you haven't already started to get a handle on yours, it definitely adds another reason to an ever increasing stack of reasons why you should.

I am still of the opinion that the best weight loss pill you can buy is a gym membership along with some fruits and vegetables. Maybe that won't work for everyone buy I'm guessing it will work for 99% who give it a real shot. Obviously your doctor should have the final say on that.

Average Height

Do you ever sit around and wonder who decided what the standard height for things like door frames, shower heads, and basketball rims was? I'm sure Shaq would have something to say about these things, but of course he can afford to have a custom shower built with the shower head at 9 feet high, or even one of those custom walk in tubs if he wants it. But what about the guy who, as Adam Sandler put it, is "7 feet tall, and doesn't play basketball"? How do these people get a bed long enough for their feet to actually be on it. I mean, I'm 6'2" and I have trouble with that.

Just makes you wonder a little bit why these things aren't more customizable.

Router

I have a pretty old wireless router. I don't even remember the brand name of it. A friend of mine found it at the bottom of his closet, and while warning me that it probably wouldn't work, gave it to me for free. Not only has it worked perfectly for several years, but I have had nearly no complaints. Even online gaming with the Wii was smooth.

Not that I haven't window shopped. I'd love one of the newer more powerful ones like a Linksys router. The extended range and bandwidth would be nice. Especially if we ever get another laptop. But for now I'm happy with what I have. Not bad for a former door stop.

Lines!

I'm a total nerd. There is no question about that, but unfortunately I'm a nerd with a bad memory. I will routinely spend the time to learn something really cool, only to forget it and then not be able to recall it the one time in my life that that particular piece of knowledge would have been useful.

Frankly, it's quite annoying. One time I even turned myself into a human barcode scanner when I learned how to manually read what all those lines and spaces mean. Could I do it now if I needed to? What do you think?