Darth Drabek

For once, you're wrong. I'm 5'6" and a terrible swimmer. :D I struggled like hell for that swimming merit badge in my Scouting days. My wife used to be a lifeguard and she loves poking fun at my aquatic shortcomings. Good luck getting back into lifting. I have to say, nothing is harder than starting weightlifting again after a few years off. It's embarrassing to realize how much strength you've lost. And then the soreness sets in on that second day and you think, "good Lord, why am I doing this to myself?"

Yeah, I thought so too. I mean, Dark Water????

I usually run for 20 minutes. I was never really good at any of the sports I played, but I did work really hard in the weight room - which was the reason I could even hold my own at those other sports. I won my weight class (156-165 lbs.) at a few powerlifting meets back in high school. I'd stay with the leaders in the bench press and deadlift, and then I'd kill them in the squat. I was able to bench 100 pounds over my body weight and I could squat 400 pounds! But alas, I couldn't bench press OPG (OverPoweredGodzilla). That guy was a pimp.

I actually downloaded Fallout 2, probably two years ago. Before you call the feds, here's the context. I really liked KOTOR, and TSL wasn't out yet. I did a lot of reading about story-driven RPGs (which I'd never played before KOTOR), and the Fallout series and the BG games kept coming up. I found a demo of BG2 at fileplanet or somewhere, and I found a huge EXE file claiming to be Fallout 2 on whatever file-sharing service I was using at the time. I tried them both, but I couldn't stand the turn-based style of Fallout - I deleted them both and purchased the BG2 collection, which happened to be collecting dust on the "Old PC Games" shelf of the local Gamestop.

If the Bears are in zone coverage and he runs a deep pattern, I can see him making some big gains. Peyton can find the seams, and any safety will have trouble bringing down Clark. Of course, I don't know how often they play a zone, but I'm just saying. Bears 'backers can cover receivers quite well, man. I saw Urlacher shut down Colston on several occasions the other day.

Graduating from college and getting a job is great, but I put on about 15 pounds in the last year and a half thanks to working a desk job. I used to ride a stationary bike and lift weights at the college rec, and I bet I walked at least two miles a day all over our hilly campus. When I was younger, I used to get all my exercise from sports. I played American football, baseball and basketball. Even in college I played several intramural sports to counteract all the beer and pizza. Now I've been running four or five times a week on a treadmill since December. It's tough to motivate myself to run, but having a TV by the treadmill helps a lot. Several co-workers and I have started playing 3-on-3 basketball once a week now, though. Hopefully it will help me lose weight, although so far it's just made my calves and ankles really, really sore.

Truly, you have italicized the most successful comedic bits. I "laughed out loud." I think the Bears need to get ahead and stay ahead to win. I don't think they can match Indy offensively, and if they're forced to do so they will be way out of their game plan. If they establish the run and force a few turnovers and three-and-outs, they've got a good chance of becoming champs. Still, I think the Colts will win and TE Dallas Clark will make some big catches on that backup safety. Switching topics, the Tuna just called it quits. So the 'Boys need a new coach. Edit: Ah, I took too long and Kum scooped me.

Cactus Pears - Superhero Ehh... I'm not too impressed with this (original) version of this song. The band was much better once they enlisted a better backup singer. This guy's voice bugs the hell out of me.

Grossman really looked lost during the Bears last possession before halftime... what was the story with that? I was doing other things around the apartment while watching, so I wasn't listening to the announcers (they generally don't add anything worthwhile anyway). It looked like he had no clue what coach Smith wanted him to do with the remaining time in the first half. There was no way the Saints could win with four turnovers to the Bears' zero. Add that to an inability to stop the run, and the media darlings were toast. Although they exceeded everyone's expectations by even getting this far, it's too bad their season had to end in a rout.

Tackle-eligible!!! The Colts get bonus points for using the ol' tackle-eligible play at the goal line. Three linemen scored touchdowns in that game. Crazy!

Looks like the Bears are going to pull away in this one. I could not believe that drive before the half when Thomas Jones ran the ball each down for about seven yards a carry. That'll take it out of a defense for sure.

All right, it's football time! This thread needs to be back on page one!

Minibosses yeah! And that other guy's probably good, too.

I've got "Sick Day" by Fountains of Wayne on repeat here, as I'm sipping Seagram's 7 and coke. It's been a very "chill" night.

No problem... music blogs llike that one are just another reason to love the internet. Jets to Brazil - Conrad

Last three songs: Wilco - Theologians Cat Stevens - The Wind Paul Gilbert - 2 Become 1 (Spice Girls cover... Oh yeah)

Take that, gluttons for punishment! Enjoy your hardcore mode and the lowered vitality and mood that comes with it - I'll play on normal difficulty, thank you very much!

Ha... too bad about the girl. I was listening to some Stones outtakes from Exile on Main Street on that blog when I saw you post "Ripcord." The Rolling Stones - Sweet Virginia

You might be interested in a nice Radiohead BBC recording from 2001. Edit: almost forgot... Lucero - San Francisco

You can probably get it cheap. It wasn't very well-received critically or commercially.

Oh man, I forgot about that one. It's an unheralded classic! "I'm Rainbow ****ing Randolph!"

Oh I most assuredly know that Michael Vick's season is over - the Falcons are definitely not a playoff team right now. If he wants to smoke a Super Bowl or two while he watches the Super Bowl, good for him. I'm sure that's not breaking any team rules, right? Anyway, I posted it because Vick is an NFL player, and because the Aquafina bottle/safe was cool. I even went to the website to see what other cool gadgets they had. I think the book safe was my favorite. If only it came in "The Audacity of Hope" by Barack Obama...

Classic. I don't think I'm ever going to play Oblivion. I'm still regretting those five hours or so I sunk into Morrowind before tossing that crap.

Hey, a Vick brother is in the news again! Michael Vick smuggles pot in secret compartment of Aquafina bottle Regardless of the drug suspicions, I think we can all agree that buying swag from spy shops is hella cool. )

I don't watch much TV that's actually on TV, if you know what I mean. Now that I've made it through the entire Buffy series on DVD (completely missed it while it was on TV), I'm mostly watching Family Guy and South Park on DVD. I watch college and pro football on the weekends and catch SportsCenter in the morning to see how my fantasy b-ballers are doing. Oddly enough, I don't care much for pro basketball; I just like the managerial aspect of running a fantasy team. If I get a chance I watch great outdoorsy-type shows on Animal Planet or Discovery Channel. Survivor is my only reality show vice; I watched the first few seasons, fell off the bandwagon, and started watching again this last year. My wife tapes All My Children every day, and watches it on the treadmill after she gets home from work. She was trying to explain some of the convoluted plotlines to me, and I have to admit it is pretty ridiculous. Writing for a soap must be one of the greatest jobs in the world.