Comic-Con 2007

Okay I didn't go to San Diego but I did stay at a holiday inn express (like 80 times...but that is another story). I have often wanted to go but just haven't gotten around to it. I think it might make my head hurt. Way too much too see...anyway since I didn't go, I did go onto flickr and try to catch what happened. No one really seems to give a good synopis of what transpired so this is what I learned by looking...

Karen Allen is going to be in Indiana Jones IV! Old school...best Indy girlfriend of them all.

The comic-con is really no longer about comics :-(

Lego is coming out with Indiana Jones sets...just like Johnny Adventure

Indiana Jones will have a lego video game just like Star Wars

Blade Runner Deluxe Director's "I'm Finally Done Editing" Version is due to hit stores December 18 with a 5 DVD set! Like 5 versions....oh and Sean Young looks old

Watchman movie appears to be happening from the director of 300.

Dressing up as a stormtrooper appears to be the thing to do...other costumes not so much

Colorado Rockies - Week 17

A 4-2 week against our division rivals. A good week for the Roxs who are still hanging around. Still comfortably in 4th place, 3.5 out of first and 3.5 out of the wild card race. The Roxs currently stand at 53 - 51. Currently 30-21 at home and 23-30 on the road, the Roxs have finally moved to outscoring its opponents 509-500 (expected wins is 53 versus historical wins at 48). On pace for 83 wins. A winning July! Exactly what the Roxs needed to keep in that pennant chase. A good couple of series wins against SD and LA certainly helped too. Plus those pesky D-Backs just don't seem to be going away. A real race to the finish with 58 games to go. Tough East coast swing for the Roxs this week. Still no word on any trade rumors. At least we're buyers this go around. Big game of the week was Cookie's masterful 10 - 2 win against SD. Took only 74 pitches (vs 91 pitches for that game against Seattle with Fogg pitching 6/30/06). Here is the inning by inning pitch count:

1st - 13
2nd - 7
3rd - 9
4th - 10
5th - 6
6th - 7
7th - 9
8th - 5
9th - 8

Was trying to determine some history on this. The stat I thought would mean something was James Game Score which is defined as:

Start with 50 points.
Add 1 point for each out recorded, so 3 points for every complete inning pitched.
Add 2 points for each inning completed after the 4th.
Add 1 point for each strikeout.
Subtract 2 points for each hit allowed.
Subtract 4 points for each earned run allowed.
Subtract 2 points for each unearned run allowed.
Subtract 1 point for each walk.

The highest game score for a nine inning game in the history of baseball was Kerry Wood's one-hit, no walk, 20-strikeout shutout performance for the Chicago Cubs against the Houston Astros on May 6, 1998. His game score was 105 (50 + 27 + 10 + 20 - 2). So Cook's masterful game was...67 (?). Well nothing spectacular there but it was the lowest pitch count this season. So what about game score? Here is Cookie's game scores for this season.













He actually pitched three "better" games earlier in the season. His average is 48.8. What about the other Rox's starters?





Francis has the best average and Cook has the highest game score this year at 77.0 (against the Padres again, but he lost this game on April 8, 2007). The Fogg has the lowest at 7.0!

Roxs graphical wins (home in Purple, away in grey)


Weekly WPA Leaders:

Guitar Heroes Encore

Long live 80s rock! Had to buy this cheesy version just because I'm a product of 80s music. Great fun rocking out to this. Trying to move to the medium level...can't get the pinkie going. Must try harder...need to be a hero...

This Week in Comics

Captain America 28
Another good story line. Had to go to wikipedia to figure out what exactly is the story behind all of this and I quote, "the Red Skull was assassinated by the Winter Soldier under the orders of Aleksander Lukin, and one of the Skull's henchmen, Crossbones, broke into the facility and kidnapped Synthia (Skull's daughter). Crossbones tortured Synthia to break S.H.I.E.L.D's conditioning. After he succeeded, she entered into a relationship with him, and - with Synthia now calling herself simply Sin - the two went on a killing spree. They later reunited with the Skull, now living inside the mind of General Lukin (However, before he died, the Skull used the Cube to transfer his mind into Lukin's body, leaving the two men stuck together "like rats in a cage." Well there you have!






Ultimate Spider-Man 111

Filler issue...although we do get a sneak peak of Stuart Immonen's pencils starting in issue 112.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer 5

Must be filler issue month. Joss does a one shot. Not really my thing...enjoy continuity. Vaughan starts his mini next month.

New X-men 40
I want to love this book...but the characters are too diverse and the art makes it difficult to determine who is who. Have to hand it to Claremont...he was lengthy but he always tried to write a book as if this was someone's first. A fine line for most comic book writers but they need to remember that every issue could be someone's first so ensure you give a little background so we don't get lost. Anyway love the characters but there are so many it is difficult to figure it all out. And this is my 4th issue...aghhhh

Haiku Wednesday

Haiku Entry - Heat

Hot blistering sun
The blacktop hot to the touch
Want to fry an egg?

J.K. Rowling - Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

Well it's the end...no more to read...the saga complete. Heck of a last book...great conclusion to a very good series. Where does Harry rank? I have to admit I wasn't all that impress with Harry to begin with. The first couple of books were good but nothing really memorable. As things become darker for our wizard the stories get a bit edgier. Book 5 is where things really started for me and then ending of Book 6 cemented things for me. I normally don't run out and buy a book but for this one I wanted to discover the ending before I heard about it. This book has closure in a big way. The story is nicely wrapped and as the last page unfolds it is very satisfying how J.K. wraps things up. Did she cop out with the ending? I don't think so...she certainly could have gone darker but the wrap up twist is satisfying. More than Harry though, I think Rowling did a wonderful job with Snape. The character you love to hate gets the treatment he deserves. I found it interesting that Ron and Hermione don't get a final triumph that you would expect. I somehow wished the book ended about 60 pages earlier then it did. At this point with Harry seeing his loved ones (a tear welled up inside me) and his final confrontation I really thought it was a good place. I wonder how hard Rowling thought about continuing? Are there two endings...one for Rowling and one for the rest of us? I wonder....anyway great book. I am glad Harry is done. His character will go down as a magical one up there with Strider, Garet Jax, and Belgarion...for me at least.

Colorado Rockies - Week 16

A 4-3 week and a 5-5 roadtrip for the Roxs as they prepare to do battle against their division rivals. Still comfortably in 4th place, 5.5 out of first and 3.5 out of the wild card race. The Roxs currently stand at 49 - 49. Currently 26-19 at home and 23-30 on the road, the Roxs have been outscored 470-475 (expected wins is 49 versus historical wins at 45). On pace for 81 wins. Well they didn't bury themselves which is good. A good sweep in Pittsburgh but then lose 3 in DC? Come on and to get goose eggs on two of those loses. Did we forget that runs are needed to win? Well if the Roxs look back at this season and they miss out on a few games then they will look back at their 8-8 record against the Reds, Nats, D-Rays, and Royals and say there is at least 4 wins they gave away. For the Roxs to start looking like a playoff contender then they have got to win series against the worst teams. Someone once said, every team wins and loses 60 games it is what they do with those 42 that count. Right now the Roxs aren't winning those 42! Some other interesting items...since O'Dowd became GM every team in the NL West has been to the playoffs twice...hmmmmmm except for us. And we signed him for an extension why? Let's see his magic this week...Farnsworth ain't the answer...how bout another bat.

Roxs graphical wins (home in Purple, away in grey)


Weekly WPA leaders:














Seasonal WPA leaders:

Harry Potter - The End

Stopped by a bookstore tonight and wow...pandemonium. It is like a concert or a movie opening. I mean it was still 2 1/2 hours away from the release and there were people all over milling about...it was crazy! So how does it all end? What is the "hook"? Does Harry survive...I think he does. I think Ron and Hermione also survive. My guess is that Harry has to make some decision...like save his friends but lose his wizardry...or something about his parents. Supposedly there have been clues in the previous 6 books...we shall see! Will there be a cry of "Save Harry" or "Bring Back Harry"

Hard to believe it has been 10 years. Quite a span of time. Think that there are 9 - 10 year olds who first read Sorcerer's Stone and now they are freshman in college reading the fate of Harry. Heck my oldest is almost 10...yikes!

Malcolm Gladwell - Blink

Gladwell's second book was a must after reading his first (see my posting!). This book is much like the first. Couple of studies, ante dotes, and a general review (outline) of what Gladwell is trying to get across. The basis behind this book is that we have two decision making tools in our brain. One is the conscious thinking part and the quiet unassuming unconscious one. Blink is the theory that the unconscious one can be a useful tool if you learn to listen to it occasionally.

Things I found interesting:

page 56: Priming - A professor performed a test asking one group to think about smart people or teachers and the other asked a group to think about hooligans. The professor then asked the groups trivia and the ones thinking about the smart people answered 55.6% of the questions while the other group only 42.6%! By preparing the mind or priming it you can make it work for you. While a more mortifying result of this priming is that if African Americans are asked to put their race down on the GRE vs another group that is not asked then the group having to choose a race were shown to not perform as well on the test due to stereotyping. Wow!

Gary Klein Sources of Power

Page 111: A quote, "Conducting a thoroughly rational and rigorous analysis that covered every conceivable contingency yet that analysis somehow missed a truth that should have been picked up instinctively" When I read this I thought of baseball managers. Especially that argument between playing the numbers vs. playing a gut feel. Are managers who do the gut thing better off? Are the statheads so concerned with numbers they lose sight of that unconscious thought? How would one test this? Gut vs Stats - is their some way to look at games and determine when a manager used a stat matchup vs a gut matchup?

Page 141: Successful decision making relies on a balance between deliberate and intuitive thinking. In good decision making, frugality matters (i.e. not too much data!)

Page 218: Interesting talk on autistics and the fact they can't read faces...wonder why sometimes I have trouble looking at people when I talk?

Page 264: Quote of the book..."Have we come to confuse information with understanding?"

Page 268: Freud had it right...minor decisions should have the pros and cons looked at but for the vital stuff we should go with our unconscious gut feel.

Haiku Wednesday

Haiku Entry - Swimming

Suddenly sweaty
Simmering summer sunshine
Splish Splash, Ahhh smile!