Where the Hell Do I Aim???

Oh the horror!

I recently stumbled upon a horrifying truth, quite by accident... 

I rarely buy new clothes. In fact, were I not married, I would probably have the same exact clothes in my closet as I had 10 years ago. As it is, one item that I get a lot of wear out of is khaki shorts. I wear them constantly from April through October. Like most guys, I have several pairs in the rotation. After a year of wear, they are perfectly broken in. After 2 years, they start to show their age. After 3, discoloration starts and fraying is close behind. For whatever reason, all my shorts fell apart at the end of last summer. So I searched the stores for a new style of go to khaki shorts.

After much searching (these gotta last for a while) I found the Men's Ultimate ROC Short by Columbia. They are cotton, not the crazy nylon crap a lot of similar shorts are these days. They have a nicely-fitting 9" inseam, and don't extend below the knee. They have useful pockets, but are not cargo style meaning I can dress them up a bit too. They even offer UPF 50 protection from the sun, although most non-nudists don't have too much trouble with butt burns!

However, it's one feature of these shorts that led me to my inadvertent discovery:

• Omni-Shield advanced repellency treatment wards off rain and stains

It's pretty self-explanatory. They are treated to be slightly water repellent. What actually happens is small amounts of water bead up on the fabric. Certainly not water proof. So imagine my surprise the first time I wore them and used a public urinal. I zipped up, walked over to the sink and noticed beads of water on the front of my shorts - urine! Thinking maybe it was an unusual occurrence (more water than usual in the urinal), I wiped them clean and moved on. However, I have come to realize this was not a one-time occurrence. Using a urinal splatters you with piss! 

So now questions are running through my head:

• Is the shorty urinal better than the the taller adult one?
• Is there a specific target I should be aiming for?
• Should I shit-can the whole urinal and use the toilet?
• What the hell happens if there aren't urinal dividers and someone is next to you?
• Can I ever piss in a trough-style latrine at a stadium again?

38 years of life, and only now have I realized this! Damn you Columbia! (But the shorts still totally rock!)

The Future is Here

If the industry hasn't already done so, I'll go ahead and do it for them. I have long been the biggest supporter of home video. I own literally hundreds of VHS, then DVD and now blu-rays. Today, I am waving the white flag and surrendering.

For a year, I have been using my blu-ray player in the basement to access online content through Amazon and Vudu. We used it sporadically, mostly to watch free Amazon Prime shows for the girls, or older free movies. I used Vudu a handful of times to rent a new release because it is one of the few that offered 1080p and 5.1 sound. Then, I discovered something cool. When you buy a movie, it usually has a "digital copy". I had been saving those in iTunes. Now, they have switched over to Ultraviolet. This is a service that verifies your movie, then allows you to access it from the cloud. At first I was ticked because I couldn't actually save the file on my computer, making iTunes useless. Then I realized I could link Vudu to Ultraviolet, and watch my movies anywhere online - including streaming them from my blu-ray player.

Suddenly, I started to use this streaming more and more. I soon realized how great it was, so I decided I had to be able to do the same upstairs. After reading nothing but amazing reviews on the new Roku 3, I made the $99 purchase and set it up. Do you remember the first time you used TiVo? It was just like that. I knew things would never be the same. Two days later, I bought a second unit for the basement.

Internet streaming media players are the future of viewing.

Blu-ray
Physical media for movies and television is an endangered species. A long series of formats has progressed since actual film reels were used in high end home movie theaters. Film gave way to VideoDiscs, gave way to LaserDiscs, gave way to Betamax, gave way to VHS, gave way to DIVX, gave way to DVD, gave way to HD-DVD, gave way to Blu-ray. Now, I think people will soon stop buying DVDs and blu-rays, because every movie is quickly available to rent or purchase through a number of online movie services. Amazon, iTunes, Vudu, Blockbuster and Netflix are but a few. The prices are actually comparable to buying a disc, which tells you something. If they charge the same price, but don't have to manufacture and ship the disc, the studios MAKE MORE MONEY! I have even seen quite a few big titles get released online BEFORE the blu-ray comes out. Prometheus is a recent example. Oh yeah, you can buy it and watch whenever you want.

Do you remember that painful day when you made the iTunes plunge? You decided that you were going to rip all your hundreds of CDs into iTunes and go all digital. It was a little scary, and took a long time painfully inserting disc after disc. But when you were done - glorious! That day is coming for me very soon with video. No, I'm not going to rip all my DVDs and Blus. That would take a year. For $1, you can load your disc into your computer, connect to Vudu, get it verified and have your own purchased copy to stream online. Yeah, sucks to have to pay, but it will be worth it. Literally hundreds of movies at your finger tips to watch from your phone, any computer or any TV.


Television
The other shoe will drop when cable providers, or channels themselves provide their content directly to streaming devices. Right now, services like Amazon and Hulu allow you to keep pace with your favorite shows. But Apple and Roku are negotiating right now with cable companies and trying to get internet streaming of regular TV. Then, you'll be able to watch live TV as well. When that happens, you'll hook up a tiny Roku to your TV by HDMI, and viola - instant home theater!!! No more blu-ray player, no more cable box. In fact, I'll bet someone even integrates Roku or Apple TV right into a TV in a year or 2. Plug in the TV, hang it on the wall, connect to your Wifi network, and NO CABLES at all!!!

Some other fun things the Roku allows you to do:

• Roku app: Push pictures and music from your iPhone.
• Plex: Link Roku to your home computer. Set up folders to stream ALL your movies, home movies, music, photos.
• Picasa/Shutterfly: Link Roku to your online albums.

Look, I'm not ready to cut the cords yet, but the writing is on the wall. I'm sure the Apple TV has similar features, but it certainly can't claim the volume of channels Roku has right now. For now, I can whole-heartedly recommend the Roku 3. Just go buy it and get started.

He's Still Got It!

Totally lost in the shuffle for me earlier this year was Arnold Schwarzenegger's return to feature films, The Last Stand. It was released in January amid Oscar season, and overlooked in lists of 2013 blockbusters. It didn't make a ton of money, but was favorably reviewed getting 60% at Rotten Tomatoes. 

So, it was released on video this past week, and being an Ah-nuld Aficionado, I thought I'd give it a shot. My one-word review:

AWESOME!

Perhaps I have devolved to the point where for me to truly enjoy a movie, I have to be surprised. Following movies too closely can spoil the plot, but it's easy to stay away from that. That's not what I'm talking about here. I am talking about expectations. If I go into a movie expecting to be blown away, and it is great but doesn't live up to the hype, it's still a disappointment.   

Prometheus is the perfect example here. A great movie, but it could never live up to 30+ years of Alien/Ridley Scott hype. The Last Stand is the opposite case. It came at me from the side, for the reasons above. Also, I didn't really hear much buzz about it. It seems everyone is waiting for the next Terminator/Predator/Conan Ah-nuld movie, and this little pic was just a small blip on the radar.

So am I ruining your movie experience simply by writing this? Probably! Look, Ah-nuld is older and will never be the physical star he once was. However, this movie acknowledges that, and plays to it. The action sequences were great, and there was a LOT of it. However, I have one thing for you to consider while you watch: flare gun. You'll know what I mean when you see it!!! Just see this one.

The Circle of Life

Never was Troy McClure so right... 

Two monkeys race a bear in a bicycle race. What's the worst thing that could happen? I have been laughing for two straight days watching this one! I'm only sorry I didn't post it sooner so Ian and Colin could watch it repeatedly on their drive home yesterday!

Ender's Game

The trailer is out:



Looks like the movie, which comes out November 1, 2013, is actually going to be pretty good. Although they seem to have given away a rather large surprise, but most people will probably not notice.  Can't wait to see this alone after Mia falls asleep.

Notre Dame Stadium Updates (Proposed)

Artist rendering of a future Notre Dame Stadium

I hate ESPN, but they sometimes have some good info.  This is the first I've heard about a proposed update to Notre Dame Stadium.  It's not much of a seating increase, only about 3,000 seats.  But it adds luxury boxes, a club-level, and some other high-end amenities that the Stadium doesn't have and would be lucrative to ND and appealing to future students and student-athletes.

Swarbrick is the biggest name quoted in the article, and everything is still undetermined, but ND usually doesn't release this type of info, and especially not with quotes by someone with Swarbrick's prestige, without having a fairly solid plan.  It'll be interesting to see how this develops in the next few years.

Oh, Molly!

So Ava had her first match with her new team, Cincinnati United, this past weekend. Ava and I got there first so she could warm up with her team, and Ali came a bit later for the start of the game with Molly and Piper. This photo is from kickoff. Note the linesman in the background...

Molly walks right up to the field, looks across and yells out for everyone on the sideline to hear:

"Is that a boy or a MIDGET?"

I don't think I can emphasize enough the stress placed by Molly on the word midget. I don't think he heard it on the opposite sideline, but everyone else did! I am still laughing!!!

PS: Of course, he did blow at least one offside call.

Reds 2013

So I've been devouring everything Reds related the past couple months in anticipation of the Reds run in 2013. For a couple of great reads, check out the ESPN Magazine cover article in the current baseball preview issue. Joey Votto shines as they declare him the best hitter in baseball. ESPN, by the way, predicts we lose the NLCS to the Nats. Another great read is the Redleg Nation Preview Wrap-Up. I'll get back to that in a bit.

I still believe 100% if Cueto doesn't pull an oblique in the NLDS last year, we are World Series Champs. This year, I am a bit concerned. I think we will do just fine in the NL Central. It would take a couple major injuries to hold us back from another division title. However, I think the playoffs will be tough. While we kept our team almost entirely intact (Choo notwithstanding), other contenders have significantly upgraded their rosters, and you can be sure Strasburg won't be shut down this season!

The biggest issue of spring clearly was what to do with Chapman. While it's great to have an exciting closer, Chapman is most valuable as a starter. What helps the team more?

• 200 innings as a starter, and in the rotation for the postseason
• 70 innings as a closer and perhaps a non-factor in the postseason (like 2012)

Clearly, he was signed (over $30 million) to be a starter. He was moved to closer when we had a closer break down last year (Madsen). We signed Broxton and Marshall to big contracts assuming both would be future closers, and now they are the most overpaid middle relievers in baseball. The only reason he is not starting this year is Dusty Baker. Chapman as a starter is the difference between a World Series title and another postseason flameout.

Anyway, I think Redleg Nation sums it up best in trying to predict the season. They analyzed every hitter and pitcher and predicted their WAR, comparing it to the actual WAR from 2012. That suggests an increase in team WAR at 8. That translates to 8 more wins than last year. He tempers that by guessing we'll lose 4 games to injuries. He also uses our record by run differential from 2012 as a baseline, feeling it more closely represents outcome. That ends up putting us at 95 wins this year. That sounds about right to me, and it should be plenty to win the Central.

The big question is the playoffs. Unless one of our pitchers makes a big leap this year, I just don't see us matching up against SF, LAD, WAS, DET or LAA. It should be a fun ride though!

Adios Google Reader

So Google Reader is going away, how sad.  I guess I am going to have to go all-in on twitter with all my feeds.  I am sure it will take some getting used to, but it beats losing all of my information sources.  I also uploaded our blog posts to twitter, so if you have the same problem as me, just follow me on twitter!

Cincinnati Subway

This blog post detailing a Cincinnati subway system that never was completed is relatively old, but still incredibly interesting.


Cincinnati could have been bigger than Chicago!