entombed in the shrine of zeroes and ones

This year has been one of big changes in things that i liked doing, mainly because i found that i didn't like doing them anymore (like when i retired from soccer, except without the injuries):

• Back in February, i skipped going to DunDraCon for the first time.  I just didn't feel like going.  Not sure if i'll go back.
• I decided not to do fantasy football this year and am not missing it.  Funny how ESPN's fantasy football coverage is now suddenly irritating.
• I dropped all my comic book subscriptions after getting a notice from the shop that it had been eight months since my last visit.  Pretty clear i had stopped caring, there.

One grandson just turned 1.  In a month, my other grandson and my granddaughter turn 3 and 7 8, respectively.  Soon, they'll all be old enough for me to tell them to get off my lawn.

In case you've never seen a mere mortal try to catch a knuckleball, Jim Caple dons the tools of ignorance to try to catch R. A. Dickey's pitches.  Dickey was a curiosity when he hit the majors a few years ago because his pitching arm does not have an ulnar collateral ligament (what's replaced in Tommy John surgery); he was either born without one, or it disintegrated early in his life.

That's right, babies; it'll be spring this weekend, and baseball starts the week after that.  I'm in two fantasy baseball leagues, one with jwgh and another with a bunch of dorks from PROTRADE.  WHEE FUN

World-famous neophrenologist ikkyu2 has started a league on ESPN.  The draft will be held on Wed Aug 29 at 21:15 PDT; yes, that's the day after tomorrow, and probably really close to your bedtime if you're on the East Coast, but it shouldn't take longer than an hour (i think; it's been a while since i've done this), and if you simply can't make it to the draft, just set your rankings and the best available player will be automatically selected.  Comments are screened; please leave your e-mail address so we may invite you to join.  Don't let your lack of expertise scare you; it'll be fun.  One word of advice: don't draft Michael Vick.

schwa242 brings us this bit of Flash-based deranged work that, he claims, is someone's school project.

One of Lynne Cheney's publishers has decided to not reissue her book Sisters after all, because she doesn't consider it "her best work". I'm sure that the whoring and the hot girl-on-girl action have nothing to do with her opinion of her work (which plot she claimed to have forgotten in 2001... do writers forget what their own books are about?).

This is the first year, since i started playing in `98, that i'll not be playing fantasy baseball. It feels weird, but i'm glad that i'll have the extra time to do anything else. I wasn't planning on playing last year, but i was given a free team by ESPN.com (which is normally given to league winners, except that i didn't win in `02, but who am i to turn down a free team?).

Wal-Mart has decided to circumvent Inglewood's city council by sponsoring a ballot initiative that will let them set up shop in a huge stretch of concrete by effectively declaring it its own fief, separate in almost every way from the city in which it exists. Can this be the first step to corporate sovereignty?

UPDATE: The initiative was voted down by almost 2-to-1.

Kim and i spent the last few days in Vegas, visiting her father after he'd just had pacemaker/defibrillator battery replacement surgery. Kim's dad spoiled us at mealtime, and i returned the favor by doing serious tech support on his computer (the damned thing has been trying to run Win2K on 64MB since it was purchased 2.5 years ago), which involved a few trips to Fry's, trying to find RAM that worked with his Dell POS. The Las Vegas Fry's is huge even by Fry's standards, and it has a slot machine theme; it contains a café, and i found they had a gold panning kit for sale.

I also managed to catch the MLS opener while there; the `Quakes lost and looked lost on the field half the time, but, hey, Freddy Adu came in in the second half and flashed a bit of his skill (i hope he makes it to the Germany `06 USA team... he'll be about as young as Pelé was when he debuted in Sweden `58). It rained (REALLY rained) while we were there, but we did manage to get out and take a short hike in Red Rock Canyon. We missed out on the Valley of Fire, but we'll try to get to it next time.

As far as the more obvious Vegas pasttimes, we went to see Penn & Teller, who'd just come back from vacation; their show was good fun, although i felt the show could've been a little tighter. Also, i blew $50 at blackjack; there is no scientific evidence that shows that a new dealer will bust your ass out, but in my experience, every damn time (and i am not exaggerating) the dealer has changed, my money goes south at an alarming rate. This particular dealer was turning difficult hands into money by beating me by one (i'd have an 18 to his 14, and he'd draw a 5... stuff like that). It's one thing to lose, and it's another to get your ass beat like a dog.

After leading my fantasy baseball league for almost every day this season, i slipped to second place on the final day. Curses.

On the bright side, it looks like i'm going to win my first game this week in my fantasy football league...

I wasn't planning on doing fantasy baseball this year, so i could spend that time and money doing something else that wasn't quite as nerdy. However, ESPN.com, under the delusion that i won one of my leagues last year (best finish was 3rd, but i won two years ago), handed me a free team, and, well, it was free, so, um, here i am again. Not a bad draft, if i say so myself. I might be a bit short in SB, but i'll be sure to address that.