As I was taking the dog out this evening, I saw a falling star shoot through the sky. I'm pretty sure this is the first time I've ever seen this. So I cracked open World Book, Mac OS X Edition and found...

Meteor is a bright streak of light that appears briefly in the sky. Observers often call meteors shooting stars or falling stars because they look like stars falling from the sky. People sometimes call the brightest meteors fireballs. A meteor appears when a particle or chunk of metallic or stony matter called a meteoroid enters the earth's atmosphere from outer space. Air friction heats the meteoroid so that it glows and creates a shining trail of gases and melted meteoroid particles. The gases include vaporized meteoroid material and atmospheric gases that heat up when the meteoroid passes through the atmosphere. Most meteors glow for about a second.

Sounds right. It faded after falling for about a second.

By the way, iTunes Music Store produced the following search results:

• 38 songs titled Falling Star
• 53 songs titled Shooting Star
• 9 songs titled Meteor

Labels: research

The passing of summer fun got you down? Can't stand all this rain? Maybe a little cold has already caught up with you. Or maybe you're just suffering from a nasty old case of the blues. Well, follow these step-by-step instructions to get back on your feet.

1. Find your crate of 45s and dig out an old Michael Jackson record. "We've Got A Good Thing Going" (B-side to "I Wanna Be Where You Are") is recommended, but any pre-'74 MJ will do. If you don't have any Jackson, just look for a blue Motown label.
   
   
2. Affix your 45 plug on your turntable's spindle if necessary, and switch the record speed to 33 1/3.
   
   
3. Play the record.

With the crackling vinyl as a backdrop, sway to the leisurely tempo as a suddenly heavy-hearted Jackson delivers a surprisingly soulful ballad. Guaranteed to cure the blues every time.

Labels: music

Who knows what crazy stuff could happen on a weekend getaway to Deep Creek Lake? There's always something wild and wacky going on...


When not playing Word Yahtzee, check out these Deep Creek venues:
Smiley's Fun Zone & Pizzeria
Pine Lodge Steakhouse

Labels: road-trips

Coach Reid is now 7-0 in games played following the Eagles bye-week. The 7th wasn't easy...

The Birds snuck by the Chargers yesterday thanks to an improbable special teams play. So improbable in fact that it was the Eagles first blocked field goal to be returned for a touchdown in team history. That's 72 years worth of history.

My immediate reaction was to compare this play to the improbable punt return for a touchdown by Brian Westbrook against the Giants 2 seasons ago. That return came with the sputtering Eagles down 10-7 with under 1 minute remaining in the game. The unexpected early season twist turned the Eagles year around and led them to the NFC championship.

Let's hope this win, lucky number 7, has the same effect on the Birds.

Labels: Eagles '05

• Top 10 Science Photos of the Year
• PEZ MP3 - Easter baskets just got louder!
• Wie turns pro, the NBA considers a dress code
• If you listen to music on an iPod, what would it be for Halloween?
• Finally, I've come across... the statement!

Labels: weekend reading

First, Marcus Camby's thoughts on the prospects of an NBA dress code:

"I don't see it happening unless every NBA player is given a stipend to buy clothes."

Clutch. Now, my thoughts:

My past experiences say its a sham. When I was on the SG Jr. High team, we wore sweaters, slacks and dress shoes on away game days. We looked really suave (or dorky) as we walked from Jr. High school lobby to bus, and then bus to opponents Jr. High school locker room. What was the point? Who saw us? How differently would the four people who did see us think of us if we had on jeans and a sweatshirt?

My personal ambitions say its a "go". Commissioner Stern thinks it will improve the league's image and in time win over some of the alienated, conservative non-fans. Should this be the case and fan interest builds, more folks, let's say folks within the SusCom footprint, will crave more televised NBA action. You know where this is going... League Pass!

My objective reaction says its a toss-up. The NBA... it's a game, it's a business. A game, a business. Game, business. It's really both. But which is it first? And I mean from a fan's perspective, since they're the ones with the perception problem. If it's a game first, there's no reason to expect players to appear in "business casual" attire during the time between running around, playing with a ball for two and a half hours, then hopping into their souped up Escalade. If it's a business, I guess that's exactly what you would expect.

The bottom line is too few people love the game for the game and all of this stupid stuff that shouldn't matter matters. This world needs to wake up! Listen to the nuance of an impeccably inflated Spalding spring from a paved driveway. Feel the sweet sting of an elbow planted in despair. Witness the calculable brilliance of backboard and rim, whose geometrically sound relationship fosters unwavering dependability. Breathe Basketball.

Labels: NBA

I think I've finally rebounded enough to make a post.

Sunday's four o'clock hour was one of the most gut-wrenching sixty minutes ever. The Braves blew a five run lead in the eighth and ninth innings of what turned out to be the longest playoff game ever. They let a guy who barely hits more homeruns than Rafael Belliard tie the thing up with two outs in the bottom of the ninth. Then, after about nine innings of painful, non-clutch baseball, another Belliard-like Houston batsman ended the game with a solo shot.

While all of this nonsense was going on, the Eagles superb defense was getting torched by a couple of old Patriots, Drew Bledsoe and Terry Glenn. First of all, a sitting duck QB like Bledsoe is exactly the type of passer the Eagles defense usually preys on. And secondly, Glenn shouldn't have been a problem since coordinator Jim Johnson was focusing on him as the most likely threat on the Cowboys offense. Well, so much for all of that. Bledsoe had all day to throw the ball and the Eagles defensive back "Lockdown Lito" Sheppard struggled to keep up with Glenn early in man coverage. A blowout ensued.

The way I see it, the defense should be the constant with the Birds, so I pin this one entirely on them. The offense is going to go through peaks and valleys through the course of just about every game. #5's bunch ranks highly in both yards per game, as well as three and outs. The key is having the defense show up and provide routine stops to allow the offense to find its groove.

And the Aikman quote of the game (a paraphrase in my memory at this point)...

"The Eagles are really struggling on both sides of the ball and on defense."

I don't know, something like that. Everything sounded stupid during that four o'clock hour.

Labels: Eagles '05

Despite Troy Aikman's numerous replays of missed opportunities for "wide open" touchdowns, the Eagles were able to muster 24 consecutive points during an exciting comeback victory over the Chiefs. Seriously Aikman, I've never seen so many "if Donovan McNabb would've been looking down the field, the Eagles would have had a sure touchdown" replays in my life.

Anyway, the defense locked things down after a poor first quarter and gave the offense time to get into a groove. A few timely turnovers really helped the Birds comeback happen pretty easily. The Larry Johnson fumble was the biggest play of the game - it seemed like the Chiefs offense self-destructed following that letdown.

So here we are - 25% of the way through the season meaning the Eagles are on pace to win 12 games. They're going to have to pick it up a bit, because 12 victories doesn't guarantee you a division title. Since 1990, 10 teams have finished in 2nd place in their division with 12 wins. But did you know, the first team to win 12 games and not win their division was the 1980 Dallas Cowboys? They finished 2nd to the Super Bowl bound Eagles. That stat's for you, Aikman!

Labels: Eagles '05