And in Other News....
So, besides finishing AMC, I have been doing (a few) other things.
Friday night, we went to the hockey game with my father-in-law. I've never been to a hockey game before, although I don't mind watching it on TV (but I prefer football). It was fun, even though the Hapless Capitals got smacked 7-3 by the Atlanta Thrashers. Oh, well. They wouldn't be Hapless if they won.
Of course, it hasn't rained for like a month in Maryland. So, since we had to walk around in downtown DC on Friday, it poured buckets. I can't bring myself to be annoyed with this, though, as we really needed the rain. (It is still miserable and gray outside, now, in Ellicott City.) We went for supper at Potbellies, easily the best sandwich place I've ever been to, and it drizzled while we were in the restaurant. Of course, as soon as we stepped outside, it poured.
But it was fun, nonetheless. Father-in-law bought Alexander Ovechkin T-shirts for Bobby and I, so I can look all spiffy the next time I go to the game.
Saturday, I rolled out of bed, turned on the comp, and hunkered down for some intensive AMC writing. I took an hour break to go to the library, although taking a break from writing generally isn't much of a break if it's spent at the library. We returned, I went back to writing. Bobby made supper, so I took a break for that. Back to writing. I wrote until 11 p.m. so, breaks considered, spent about ten hours of constant work on AMC.
Today...the Ravens.... *shakes head*
I was writing, of course. I refused to watch the game after there were two Baltimore turn-overs in the offenses' first two drives.
But, as it turns out, that was not the worst bit of it. The NFL needs to do something about the officiation in this league. Bobby, Potter, and I were discussing it, and it isn't even fun to watch games anymore because we go through this every year where we have a game that is more or less decided by stupid calls by the referees.
Okay, I am a statistician, and I become suspect when--all teams more or less equal--one team has 20 penalties and the other has 3. There are two explanations for that:
First, that one team is particularly angelic. Or the other is particularly evil.
Second, that there is a bias in the assignment of penalties.
Now, in any other game, we do not have this problem with penalties. Today we do? Today we need to have offensive holding called on four plays in a row?? No, that is ridiculous. You can call holding on any play in football; you call it when it is egregious or affects the outcome of the play. You do not call it four times in a row because Todd Heap puts his arm on the outside of a defender.
And if you are going to mess up the game-flow for one team, then you are consistent and call it on every play for the other team to.
Today, I saw a referee call unsportsmanlike conduct on a player with his back turned to the player. He called the penalty based on the boos of the crowd giving him indication that an infraction had occurred.
And a controversial touchdown was decided by a guy standing twenty feet away. On the replays, you couldn't tell for sure that the running back broke the plane, so how did a guy standing twenty feet away know?
Of course, because you couldn't see, that was not enough to overturn the call.
And so the Ravens are 1-3, and our season is more or less over. And we actually looked really good at times today--but whenever progress was made, one or another b***s**t penalties was called.
Finally, we just turned it off. Bobby was upset, and I was very happy not to have watched it because I was writing. (Although I got up to check out the major plays.)
In positive news, I am still in second place in the fantasy league, and I have a little wager with my friend Jeff, who is in first: If I retake first place from him, then he will rename his team "Dawn's Bitches" for three weeks. Fantasy football has proven to be quite fun, though more for the opportunity to trash talk than anything!
It was my trash talking, incidentally, that inspired this rather stupid wager, which really isn't a wager, since I don't lose anything if I lose.
My dad gave me a new RamBo to replace the one that died a few weeks back. After happily dubbing him "Fingolfin" and even giving him a cute little nametage, I plugged him in, only to discover that he already had files on him, including the coverart that I drew for the emergency preparedness plan that my dad had to make for his office. I hope I don't have to give him back, as I'm kind of attached to him.
And, in other news: AMC is finished!!!
That is the last time I say it, promise!
*crosses fingers behind back*
Edit: In honor of finishing AMC, I will be drinking not one but two Guinesses tonight. Because that is just how dorky I am: Two whole beers seems really rebellious and celebratory to me.
Oh well. {{{{embraces dorkiness!}}}}
Friday night, we went to the hockey game with my father-in-law. I've never been to a hockey game before, although I don't mind watching it on TV (but I prefer football). It was fun, even though the Hapless Capitals got smacked 7-3 by the Atlanta Thrashers. Oh, well. They wouldn't be Hapless if they won.
Of course, it hasn't rained for like a month in Maryland. So, since we had to walk around in downtown DC on Friday, it poured buckets. I can't bring myself to be annoyed with this, though, as we really needed the rain. (It is still miserable and gray outside, now, in Ellicott City.) We went for supper at Potbellies, easily the best sandwich place I've ever been to, and it drizzled while we were in the restaurant. Of course, as soon as we stepped outside, it poured.
But it was fun, nonetheless. Father-in-law bought Alexander Ovechkin T-shirts for Bobby and I, so I can look all spiffy the next time I go to the game.
Saturday, I rolled out of bed, turned on the comp, and hunkered down for some intensive AMC writing. I took an hour break to go to the library, although taking a break from writing generally isn't much of a break if it's spent at the library. We returned, I went back to writing. Bobby made supper, so I took a break for that. Back to writing. I wrote until 11 p.m. so, breaks considered, spent about ten hours of constant work on AMC.
Today...the Ravens.... *shakes head*
I was writing, of course. I refused to watch the game after there were two Baltimore turn-overs in the offenses' first two drives.
But, as it turns out, that was not the worst bit of it. The NFL needs to do something about the officiation in this league. Bobby, Potter, and I were discussing it, and it isn't even fun to watch games anymore because we go through this every year where we have a game that is more or less decided by stupid calls by the referees.
Okay, I am a statistician, and I become suspect when--all teams more or less equal--one team has 20 penalties and the other has 3. There are two explanations for that:
First, that one team is particularly angelic. Or the other is particularly evil.
Second, that there is a bias in the assignment of penalties.
Now, in any other game, we do not have this problem with penalties. Today we do? Today we need to have offensive holding called on four plays in a row?? No, that is ridiculous. You can call holding on any play in football; you call it when it is egregious or affects the outcome of the play. You do not call it four times in a row because Todd Heap puts his arm on the outside of a defender.
And if you are going to mess up the game-flow for one team, then you are consistent and call it on every play for the other team to.
Today, I saw a referee call unsportsmanlike conduct on a player with his back turned to the player. He called the penalty based on the boos of the crowd giving him indication that an infraction had occurred.
And a controversial touchdown was decided by a guy standing twenty feet away. On the replays, you couldn't tell for sure that the running back broke the plane, so how did a guy standing twenty feet away know?
Of course, because you couldn't see, that was not enough to overturn the call.
And so the Ravens are 1-3, and our season is more or less over. And we actually looked really good at times today--but whenever progress was made, one or another b***s**t penalties was called.
Finally, we just turned it off. Bobby was upset, and I was very happy not to have watched it because I was writing. (Although I got up to check out the major plays.)
In positive news, I am still in second place in the fantasy league, and I have a little wager with my friend Jeff, who is in first: If I retake first place from him, then he will rename his team "Dawn's Bitches" for three weeks. Fantasy football has proven to be quite fun, though more for the opportunity to trash talk than anything!
It was my trash talking, incidentally, that inspired this rather stupid wager, which really isn't a wager, since I don't lose anything if I lose.
My dad gave me a new RamBo to replace the one that died a few weeks back. After happily dubbing him "Fingolfin" and even giving him a cute little nametage, I plugged him in, only to discover that he already had files on him, including the coverart that I drew for the emergency preparedness plan that my dad had to make for his office. I hope I don't have to give him back, as I'm kind of attached to him.
And, in other news: AMC is finished!!!
That is the last time I say it, promise!
*crosses fingers behind back*
Edit: In honor of finishing AMC, I will be drinking not one but two Guinesses tonight. Because that is just how dorky I am: Two whole beers seems really rebellious and celebratory to me.
Oh well. {{{{embraces dorkiness!}}}}