Whine

I was browsing the news last night – wow!  How fun!  This new computer Darc got is pretty awesome.  Even though we don’t yet have our own Internet connection, we’re getting decent speeds from the connection we’re able to get.  We’ve gone from “very low” on the old boat anchor, all the way up to “fair” on this one.  I’m dizzy from it!  Plus the screen … oh my gosh I can SEE! 

Re-establishing our own Internet connection has been a big topic of conversation here in the Darc House, and we’re excited at the probability of that happening in the near future.  One bite at a time.  We’ve decided that when we do, we’re going to go with an Internet only package, no TV.  There were several reasons for it, but one of the major ones is family time.  We like spending time together as a family and sitting down to watch the latest episode of some show while the kids go off into their room to play because they’re not interested in “grown-up shows” is not how we want to be.  Plus, we’re really not excited at the prospect of them being glued to Nick Jr or Noggin or whatever the current kids TV station is. 

We do love watching movies however. 

Getting movies from the library has been a boon.  You can’t beat free!  But, it’s also kind of discouraging knowing you’re not going to find anything more recent than maybe 2-3 years old, IF you’re lucky.  So, when we found out that once we have an Internet connection we can stream movies through the Wii, we were all over that.  Netflix was on our list of future additions to the electronic family here.  Plus, we really love being able to watch DVD’s.  We LOVE our pause button while we dissect and talk about the movie we’re watching. 

Then I read this article: Netflix Is Abandoning DVDs, Customers Who Prefer DVDs. 

Can I just say I’m REALLY not happy about this?  I don’t want to stream all my movies, as much as I love the idea of being able to do so.  What if my connection goes down for some reason while we’re in the middle of a movie?  I want the hard copy!  I like the idea of options and I’m not pleased that Netflix wants to remove those options. 

I had Netflix several years ago when they first came out and I loved the service.  Bonus points too because I hated Blockbuster.  Do you know how hard it is to get decent customer service at Blockbuster? 

Now I find myself thinking I’ll go with Blockbuster for my movie rentals when I’m finally able to utilize a service like that.  They do DVD’s AND streaming – although I don’t yet know if they’ll stream through a Wii – but it kind of bites to have to go back to them.  The one I liked is letting me down, before I even had the chance to re-join them!  Back to the freaking drawing board, and here I thought my research was all done.  *sigh*

/whine

©DarcsFalcon All rights reserved

Get your copy of my husband’s books!

Buy J Dane Tyler’s Fiction now!

Wednesday Whine

Power outages, lost connections, sore necks, oh my!  Seems like life is conspiring against me lately, but never fear, I shall prevail! 

I don’t know what causes it, but periodically I will sleep wrong – how does one do that exactly? – and woke up with a sore neck.  Read “barely moveable.”  I feel like a whiplash patient without one of those neck pillow thingies, but I really want one.  I figured I’d be better by the 2nd day, but no such luck.  Maybe the 3rd?  We’ll see.

All day today the connection has gone back to what it was pre-strainer days.  Can you say slower than dial-up?  You think I’m kidding, doncha?  Yeah, you try waiting for a page to scroll for 3 mins after you press the “down” arrow! 

Our power went out too, right in the middle of one of my i-searches for some information.  At least my son didn’t scream bloody murder this time!  LOL  Fortunately, the power wasn’t out terribly long, but it was enough that I decided to do other things, like make something for dinner. 

Have you noticed that things seem slower in the Internet lately?  Or is it just me?  Many of my “blogger buds” don’t seem to be blogging as much anymore, if at all.  I see fewer and fewer comments around town too.  I expect that during the Summer, when people are out and about doing … stuff.  But when Summer ends, I expect to see more of you guys, just so you know!  I don’t like missing people. 

Okay, < /whine >, you may return to your normally scheduled programming. 

Check out my husband’s latest book, available for download!

A Fine Cast of Characters on Amazon US (Kindle version) A Fine Cast of Characters on Amazon UK (Kindle version) A Fine Cast of Characters on Smashwords (non-Kindle versions)

©DarcsFalcon All rights reserved

Just suck it up

“You really should vacuum Babe, there’s a Wookie growing on the carpet.”

So says my husband.

Have I mentioned how much I hate to vacuum?  Everyone has a household chore they hate above all others and that one’s mine.  It wouldn’t be so bad but I’m still on my lifelong quest to find the perfect vacuum.  And the money to buy it.  Can you say lottery?  I knew you could!    I’m sure, knowing me like I do, that my dream vacuum will cost tons of money.  I look at it this way though – it’ll be the last vacuum I’ll ever buy. 

My daughter still hates the vacuum.  Even when I simply open the coat closet door she runs into her room, and if I pull out the vacuum she runs screaming.  Oh yeah, that’ll make the chore more fun.  My son used to chase me around the place, shooting the vacuum with his toy machine gun.  Other times he’d play “snake” with the cord behind my back and I wouldn’t know what he was doing until he’d unplugged the doggone thing. 

I have never found a vacuum that does what I want it to do.  It seems like it should be so easy, right?  Just suck up the dirt.  But no, I have to make life difficult.  It has to be a certain kind, with certain “perks” like a retractable cord.  Trust me, I have a long list of vacuum wants.  I’ve been through a lot of vacuums.  I used to know someone who brought me old discarded vacuums and insisted I use them instead of buying a new one.  I’ve seen all types and models and at this stage in my life, I think I know my vacuum wants. 

It’s called a maid. 

A Man On Fire

We were watching the pre-game show on ESPN last night.  (What’s happened to Jacked-up anyway?)  The hosts were talking about some guy from the Redskins who’d made hostile remarks about the way the Patriots had won the game.  Most of his blather included words like, "Disrespect," and "Classless."  We’ve heard this rhetoric before, from every other team who’s lost to the Pats.  My husband, trying to take the high road, commented that he was worried about other teams taking that attitude with us (I say ‘us’ like we’re on the team, lol!).  "It’s demoralizing," he said, "when a team runs up the score like that on you."  Now, knowing that my husband played for a very well respected high school team that has sent many players on to the NFL and had more than 1 winning steak of 70+ games, and recalling a few of the things he’d told me about his coach, I couldn’t remain silent.  "Is that what your coach taught you?  To take a knee when you get too far ahead?  To just stop playing the game because it might hurt the other teams’ players’ feelings if you score too many points?  They get paid to win, not worry about the other teams’ feelings!"  I was pissed.  Still am, I guess.  (Not at my husband!  At the Redskins player who was complaining.)  They remind me of a bunch of whiny babies.  Poor widdle pwayers might cwy if you score too many points!  Waaahh!

I knew the point my husband was getting at.  I knew he was trying to remain non-committal, fair, not wanting to appear as a "the Patriots can do no wrong!" kind of fan.  He knows they’re just men; human, fallible, prone to mistakes.  Plus, I think he has a fear of some player willing to take the punishment for taking Brady out with some kind of devastating injury.  His fear’s not unfounded, it’s happened before – as any Bears fan will remember happening to Jim McMahon by Charles Martin.  I know there are other such incidents as well.  There are even rumors of coaches bribing some of their players to "take out" players from opposing teams.  "Hit lists" are not unheard of in the NFL.

Then Keyshawn Johnson and Bill Parcels spoke, and pretty much said the same thing I had.  Tom Jackson "mostly" agreed as well.  I smiled, feeling vindicated.  Then Steve Young opened his mouth.  I was speechless listening to him talk about how wrong it was for teams to run up the score on other teams.  Steve Young?  From the powerhouse era of the 49ers?  The same Steve Young who made many passes to the greatest wide receiver in history, Jerry Rice?  Jerry Rice didn’t get nearly 200 touchdowns just for the hell of it!  If he caught the ball, he was heading toward the end zone, period.  Points, baby, rack ‘em up!

My husband, who is far more eloquent than I, was not speechless.  He’d been a fan of those 49ers, he’d done the Snoopy happy dance on more than one occasion when those same 49ers had run up the score on countless teams.  And to hear one of the QB’s from that team talk about how wrong it was for the Pats to run up the score made his blood boil.  That did it.  He ranted and raved, angry about the hypocrisy coming out of Young’s mouth.  Still boiling, he decided to vent about it on his blogs.  You can read his eloquence here and here.  (same post, different sites.)

So tell me, fans of the other 31 teams, that you never want to see your team run up the score on an opponent, or celebrate a victory.  If you do, I’ll know you’re lying.  I lived in Chicagoland during the era of the ’85 Bears, and every fan knew the Superbowl shuffle – it was played endlessly on the radio, they sold countless records and videos, fans were learning the "Shuffle."  I saw the fans celebrate the Superbowl defeat of the Patriots by the widest margin in Superbowl history at that time.  How many fans mimicked the "Dirty Bird" dance of the Superbowl bound Atlanta Falcons?  How many copied the Chargers’ "Light’s Out!" dance whenever Merriman made a sack?  There are so many celebratory dances and jigs that it’s impossible to count – EVERY team has had one at one time or another, but if the Patriots do it, why then it’s classless.  If your team runs up the score, you stomp and cheer.  If the Patriots do it, they’re disrespectful and classless.  No one called the ’72 Dolphins disrespectful and classless.  No one called the 15-1 ’85 Bears disrespectful and classless.  No one called the ’04 15-1 Steelers disrespectful and classless.  Yet the Pats haven’t even gone 9-0 and people are calling them disrespectful and classless.

Tell Tony Romo he can’t have a banner year.  Tell Brett Favre he can’t break any more records.  Tell Peyton Manning he can’t break any more records either.  No more touchdowns for T.O.!  Whoops!  No more touchdown for L.T.!  No more sacks for Trent Cole!  No more interceptions for Sean Taylor!  No one in their right mind would think of saying such things.  But somehow, it’s okay for people to say the Pats shouldn’t win any more games, or score any more points, that Brady can’t have a banner year.

I remember the days when losers took it like a man, and "to the victor goes the spoils."

Now, the winners aren’t allowed to feel pride in their accomplishment or celebrate their victories.  And the losers whine and cry about how disrespectful, classless, and unfair the winners are.  And you think this is better somehow?  What is this, "outcome-based" football?

Hmm.  I remember a different tune when the shoe was on your foot.