Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Scion No. 1 in Reliability!
Per Consumer Reports, and apparently over the last two years, at least! I knew I made a good decision =P. Click the pic to make it legible:
Saturday, October 24, 2009
Florida Survives... Again
When will the bleeding stop?
Just when I was thinking to myself, "Ha ha at all the media douches that put Alabama ahead of us in the AP poll - Alabama had to block a last second field goal just to beat Tennessee 12-10!", I found my Gators making bonehead play after bonehead play as we escaped Starkville with a victory for the first time since 1985.
Sure, we've stomped the Mississippi State Bulldogs several times in Gainesville, but something magically evil seems to happen in the state of Mississippi.
It probably didn't help much that Mississippi State's head coach is none other than former Gators offensive coordinator Dan Mullen, who is said to have been the aggressive part of Urban Meyer's offensive playcalling in all their years together. But I'm not sure you had to be all that familiar with our offense to have been able to guess what we we were going to do on most of our plays tonight.
At one point the commentators even mentioned that we only run 2 plays out of a certain formation. We have no creativity at all, calling pointless dive runs with our 180-lb running backs and relegating our 210-lb power back to outside runs. Tebow ran more than 20 times, yet again. We are predictable as all hell, our offense is worthless in the red zone, and Tebow can't throw downfield to save a Filipino baby's life - as shown by not one, but two INTs returned for touchdowns.
It's a miracle we made it out 29-19 - good thing we have such a good defense (not to mention the BS call that allowed us to keep Dustin Doe's pick-6 that he decided to showboat too early on)! And next week, we get to play a well-rested Georgia Bulldog team, who should be very, very upset about what the Gators did to them last year...
Just when I was thinking to myself, "Ha ha at all the media douches that put Alabama ahead of us in the AP poll - Alabama had to block a last second field goal just to beat Tennessee 12-10!", I found my Gators making bonehead play after bonehead play as we escaped Starkville with a victory for the first time since 1985.
Sure, we've stomped the Mississippi State Bulldogs several times in Gainesville, but something magically evil seems to happen in the state of Mississippi.
It probably didn't help much that Mississippi State's head coach is none other than former Gators offensive coordinator Dan Mullen, who is said to have been the aggressive part of Urban Meyer's offensive playcalling in all their years together. But I'm not sure you had to be all that familiar with our offense to have been able to guess what we we were going to do on most of our plays tonight.
At one point the commentators even mentioned that we only run 2 plays out of a certain formation. We have no creativity at all, calling pointless dive runs with our 180-lb running backs and relegating our 210-lb power back to outside runs. Tebow ran more than 20 times, yet again. We are predictable as all hell, our offense is worthless in the red zone, and Tebow can't throw downfield to save a Filipino baby's life - as shown by not one, but two INTs returned for touchdowns.
It's a miracle we made it out 29-19 - good thing we have such a good defense (not to mention the BS call that allowed us to keep Dustin Doe's pick-6 that he decided to showboat too early on)! And next week, we get to play a well-rested Georgia Bulldog team, who should be very, very upset about what the Gators did to them last year...
Sunday, October 18, 2009
UF 23 - Arkansas 20
The day started perfectly for a game that should have been a blowout, with the Gators being favored by over 20 points over visiting Arkansas, who came in with the last-ranked defense in the SEC. The weather was a crisp 65 degrees, and the defense was stout, quickly getting their first three-and-out and forcing Arkansas to punt.
However, for the next three quarters, the sick feeling that we all had last year when one Ole' Miss came to town dominated our guts. Tebow dropped back to pass, held the ball too long, and lost a fumble. Fortunately, the defense was there to save the day, and soon the ball was back in Florida's hand again. Enter a fumble from Brandon James. Then one more by all-around badass Aaron Hernandez. It was a miracle we were only down 10-3 at the half.
In the second half, things started looking mildly better when we quickly marched down the field, but then sputtered and had to settle with another field goal (which was a bit of a miracle in its own right, being from 51 yards). Then, enter the final fumble of the day from "Crazy Legs" Chris Rainey, who somehow managed to get the ball kicked out of his hands on a screen pass that looked destined to be a touchdown. But yet again, the Defense held and on the next drive, Tim Tebow completed the longest touchdown pass of his career - 77 yards to Deonte Thompson, finally giving Florida their first lead of the night. This touchdown pass also gave Tim Tebow the SEC record for TD responsibility, breaking Danny Wuerffel's former mark of 122 TDs.
At this point, the defense must have decided that they had done their part for the night, as Arkansas came roaring back with huge runs and pass plays, gashing what had at that point been a very solid showing from our defense. However, we were finally able to prevail that cold night on a last second field goal, earning Urban Meyer's 50th win at Florida.
The next day, Florida had dropped to second in the AP poll, but came out on top in the first BCS poll of the 2009 season. There was no "Promise" speech from Tebow after this game, but something needs to happen soon if we plan to get out of this season unscathed!
However, for the next three quarters, the sick feeling that we all had last year when one Ole' Miss came to town dominated our guts. Tebow dropped back to pass, held the ball too long, and lost a fumble. Fortunately, the defense was there to save the day, and soon the ball was back in Florida's hand again. Enter a fumble from Brandon James. Then one more by all-around badass Aaron Hernandez. It was a miracle we were only down 10-3 at the half.
In the second half, things started looking mildly better when we quickly marched down the field, but then sputtered and had to settle with another field goal (which was a bit of a miracle in its own right, being from 51 yards). Then, enter the final fumble of the day from "Crazy Legs" Chris Rainey, who somehow managed to get the ball kicked out of his hands on a screen pass that looked destined to be a touchdown. But yet again, the Defense held and on the next drive, Tim Tebow completed the longest touchdown pass of his career - 77 yards to Deonte Thompson, finally giving Florida their first lead of the night. This touchdown pass also gave Tim Tebow the SEC record for TD responsibility, breaking Danny Wuerffel's former mark of 122 TDs.
At this point, the defense must have decided that they had done their part for the night, as Arkansas came roaring back with huge runs and pass plays, gashing what had at that point been a very solid showing from our defense. However, we were finally able to prevail that cold night on a last second field goal, earning Urban Meyer's 50th win at Florida.
The next day, Florida had dropped to second in the AP poll, but came out on top in the first BCS poll of the 2009 season. There was no "Promise" speech from Tebow after this game, but something needs to happen soon if we plan to get out of this season unscathed!
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
Streaming ESPN on 50 inches? Yes Please!
Many of you may remember me getting my awesome new 50" plasma HDTV a few weeks back for a ridiculously good deal. Well, I added to my list of toys last night during the incredibly exciting Monday Night Football game last night between the Wildcat-crazy Dolphins and their hated rivals, the New York Jets.
You see, I'm among the barbarians that don't have cable because it didn't make much sense to me to pay 50 bucks a month when I could get great shows on all the major networks, in HD, for free using a plain ol' rabbit ears antenna. However, one channel I can't watch over-the-air is ESPN. Ordinarily, this wouldn't be a problem since most Gator games are on CBS (or I go to them). But for some inexplicable reason, Monday Night Football was moved to ESPN from ABC a few years ago, rendering it very difficult for me to watch MNF ever since.
I recently learned about JustinTV. JustinTV is sort of like YouTube, except instead of uploading videos to share, users upload direct digital streams of actual TV broadcasts. So, for the past few weeks, I've been able to find and watch the MNF game on JustinTV from my computer!
Herein lies the problem. I have a 50" TV in the living room. However, since I can only watch MNF on the internet, I've been relegated to watching on my 13" laptop monitor or my 19" PC monitor, in my home office. Until last night. Thanks to Amazon.com, I was able to purchase a 6' HDMI cable for just 3.99, shipped! With HDMI cable in hand, I was able to stream the game to my laptop, then route my display and audio to my 50" TV!
"What about the quality?" you inevitably ask. True, it's not 1080p or anything. However, most broadcasts on JustinTV are at least 360p, and many are actually 480p, which is actually pretty similar to DVD resolution. There was also no lag to speak of, although I understand there is a bit of delay by nature of the stream itself. But it is still very, very awesome, and once again I find myself with very little need for cable!
You see, I'm among the barbarians that don't have cable because it didn't make much sense to me to pay 50 bucks a month when I could get great shows on all the major networks, in HD, for free using a plain ol' rabbit ears antenna. However, one channel I can't watch over-the-air is ESPN. Ordinarily, this wouldn't be a problem since most Gator games are on CBS (or I go to them). But for some inexplicable reason, Monday Night Football was moved to ESPN from ABC a few years ago, rendering it very difficult for me to watch MNF ever since.
I recently learned about JustinTV. JustinTV is sort of like YouTube, except instead of uploading videos to share, users upload direct digital streams of actual TV broadcasts. So, for the past few weeks, I've been able to find and watch the MNF game on JustinTV from my computer!
Herein lies the problem. I have a 50" TV in the living room. However, since I can only watch MNF on the internet, I've been relegated to watching on my 13" laptop monitor or my 19" PC monitor, in my home office. Until last night. Thanks to Amazon.com, I was able to purchase a 6' HDMI cable for just 3.99, shipped! With HDMI cable in hand, I was able to stream the game to my laptop, then route my display and audio to my 50" TV!
"What about the quality?" you inevitably ask. True, it's not 1080p or anything. However, most broadcasts on JustinTV are at least 360p, and many are actually 480p, which is actually pretty similar to DVD resolution. There was also no lag to speak of, although I understand there is a bit of delay by nature of the stream itself. But it is still very, very awesome, and once again I find myself with very little need for cable!
Monday, October 12, 2009
Florida 13, LSU 3
The score may not be sexy, but the W sure is!
Since it was an away game, Cherry and I had to watch the game on TV. However, my classmate Ryan was much more fortunate than we - due to his standout performance at work, his boss took him out to Baton Rouge to watch the UF-LSU game in row 14!
We started Saturday morning not knowing whether or not Superman, er, Tim Tebow, was going to play in the much anticipated showdown with #4 LSU in Tiger Stadium, where they had not lost a Saturday night game since the dawn of time. However, at around noon, the announcement came that Tebow was medically cleared (from his concussion two weeks ago at Kentucky) and would in fact start at LSU.
Not only did he start, he played the whole game, and even lowered his shoulder a couple of times, looking more or less like the Tebow of old. The game seemed to go by really fast, no doubt aided by our clock-controlling game plan. The Tigers were getting crushed up front by our offensive line, and they could not stop our simple dive-up-the-middle runs by Jeff Demps, Emmanuel Moody, Chris Rainey, and, of course, Tim Tebow himself. Throughout the course of the game, the Gators amassed nearly 200 yards rushing, to LSU's 162 total offensive yards, as Florida's defense swarmed and suffocated the Tiger offense.
The passing game left a little to be desired, with just two wide receivers catching passes. Tight end Aaron Hernandez was his usual stud self, collecting the most receptions for the Gators that night and also adding 18 yards on an option pitch. Tebow ended the game with just 138 passing yards, 1 TD, and 1 INT, but to get out of Death Valley on Saturday night with a victory is good enough to keep us at number 1!
Can't wait for Arkansas to visit Gainesville this Saturday!
Since it was an away game, Cherry and I had to watch the game on TV. However, my classmate Ryan was much more fortunate than we - due to his standout performance at work, his boss took him out to Baton Rouge to watch the UF-LSU game in row 14!
We started Saturday morning not knowing whether or not Superman, er, Tim Tebow, was going to play in the much anticipated showdown with #4 LSU in Tiger Stadium, where they had not lost a Saturday night game since the dawn of time. However, at around noon, the announcement came that Tebow was medically cleared (from his concussion two weeks ago at Kentucky) and would in fact start at LSU.
Not only did he start, he played the whole game, and even lowered his shoulder a couple of times, looking more or less like the Tebow of old. The game seemed to go by really fast, no doubt aided by our clock-controlling game plan. The Tigers were getting crushed up front by our offensive line, and they could not stop our simple dive-up-the-middle runs by Jeff Demps, Emmanuel Moody, Chris Rainey, and, of course, Tim Tebow himself. Throughout the course of the game, the Gators amassed nearly 200 yards rushing, to LSU's 162 total offensive yards, as Florida's defense swarmed and suffocated the Tiger offense.
The passing game left a little to be desired, with just two wide receivers catching passes. Tight end Aaron Hernandez was his usual stud self, collecting the most receptions for the Gators that night and also adding 18 yards on an option pitch. Tebow ended the game with just 138 passing yards, 1 TD, and 1 INT, but to get out of Death Valley on Saturday night with a victory is good enough to keep us at number 1!
Can't wait for Arkansas to visit Gainesville this Saturday!
Tuesday, October 06, 2009
Smoky Mountains 2009 - Part VII: Cades Cove
Saturday would be our last full day in Tennessee, so we had to go out with a bang. What better way to start off the day with yet another fantastic pancake breakfast!
After breakfast, we set out to Cades Cove, a famous valley in the Smoky Mountains where a community thrived in the late 1800s and early 1900s. This part of the park was an 11-mile loop and is well known for the remnants of the aforementioned community and also for its wildlife and good hiking spots, such as the 4 mile roundtrip hike to Abrams Falls (which we were too tired to go to, having already hiked over 6 miles the previous day).
Right away, we saw some wildlife. Turkeys, to be exact. Not very glamorous, but it was a good start, right?
But turkeys would not be the end of our wildlife encounters, no. On our very next stop, we headed up a short path to Oliver's Cabin, about a mile off the driving loop. On the way, Cherry jokingly complained a bit about the lack of wildlife and said that she had better see some more animals. Almost at that very moment, I spotted some deer near the cabin!
Next, we visited a slew of little cabins and early churches used by the Tennesseans of several generations ago. Perhaps the most striking parts to me were actually the graveyards, where you could see the names of all of the people that were buried there. You saw many repeated surnames in the different cemeteries, an indicator of how close the community was and the sizes of the families at the time. But the part that really struck a chord was how many infant and child deaths there were. Often, we'd find a tombstone with the birth and death dates on the same day, many to the same parents! So sad... but it puts our living standards in a certain perspective.
At just about the middle of the 11-mile loop,we reached the Cable Mill, sort of the "downtown" of Cades Cove. Here was a collection of several common use buildings, such as a house that an old lady affectionately known as Aunt Becky had converted into a general store. The main landmark of this area, though, was of course the mill itself, which was still operational - you could purchase bags of corn meal that they made here every day. To us, however, we were more interested in getting our National Park Passport cancellation stamp at the Gift Shop, where we also picked up our second National Park-themed Memory Card Game!
As we headed down the second half of the loop, we stopped at some more cabins. At this point, we were pretty tired, and despite seeing yet some more deer, we were actually a little disappointed that we didn't get to see any of the great Smoky Mountains' famous black bears...
So, we headed on back to our hotel, about ready to eat again. This time, we hit up another of our hotel desk clerk's recommendations, the famous Old Mill restaurant right here in Pigeon Forge. This was a popular series of shops actually - they had two restaurants, a pottery shop, a general store (read: gift store), a homemade toy store, ice cream parlor, confectionery - you name the stereotypical "country" small business, they had it!
The Old Mill turned out to be a fantastic choice. Cherry and I had a 12-oz seasoned ribeye steak that even outdid our fresh cut steak from the Peddler the previous night. In addition, we had some fried catfish, salads, Tennessee corn soup, creamed spinach, french fries, mouth watering bread with honey butter, AND pecan pie - all for just $30 for the two of us! If there's one thing I came to appreciate about Tennessee (other than their breathtaking landscapes, of course!), it is their fantastic eats for very reasonable prices!
With that, our Smoky Mountains adventure comes to an end. The next morning, we flew back to Florida where we waited for about 40 minutes for Alex to pick us up because he thought we were getting in at 10 o'clock... at night. But it's all good! Hope you enjoyed this latest travelogue!
After breakfast, we set out to Cades Cove, a famous valley in the Smoky Mountains where a community thrived in the late 1800s and early 1900s. This part of the park was an 11-mile loop and is well known for the remnants of the aforementioned community and also for its wildlife and good hiking spots, such as the 4 mile roundtrip hike to Abrams Falls (which we were too tired to go to, having already hiked over 6 miles the previous day).
Right away, we saw some wildlife. Turkeys, to be exact. Not very glamorous, but it was a good start, right?
But turkeys would not be the end of our wildlife encounters, no. On our very next stop, we headed up a short path to Oliver's Cabin, about a mile off the driving loop. On the way, Cherry jokingly complained a bit about the lack of wildlife and said that she had better see some more animals. Almost at that very moment, I spotted some deer near the cabin!
Next, we visited a slew of little cabins and early churches used by the Tennesseans of several generations ago. Perhaps the most striking parts to me were actually the graveyards, where you could see the names of all of the people that were buried there. You saw many repeated surnames in the different cemeteries, an indicator of how close the community was and the sizes of the families at the time. But the part that really struck a chord was how many infant and child deaths there were. Often, we'd find a tombstone with the birth and death dates on the same day, many to the same parents! So sad... but it puts our living standards in a certain perspective.
At just about the middle of the 11-mile loop,we reached the Cable Mill, sort of the "downtown" of Cades Cove. Here was a collection of several common use buildings, such as a house that an old lady affectionately known as Aunt Becky had converted into a general store. The main landmark of this area, though, was of course the mill itself, which was still operational - you could purchase bags of corn meal that they made here every day. To us, however, we were more interested in getting our National Park Passport cancellation stamp at the Gift Shop, where we also picked up our second National Park-themed Memory Card Game!
As we headed down the second half of the loop, we stopped at some more cabins. At this point, we were pretty tired, and despite seeing yet some more deer, we were actually a little disappointed that we didn't get to see any of the great Smoky Mountains' famous black bears...
So, we headed on back to our hotel, about ready to eat again. This time, we hit up another of our hotel desk clerk's recommendations, the famous Old Mill restaurant right here in Pigeon Forge. This was a popular series of shops actually - they had two restaurants, a pottery shop, a general store (read: gift store), a homemade toy store, ice cream parlor, confectionery - you name the stereotypical "country" small business, they had it!
The Old Mill turned out to be a fantastic choice. Cherry and I had a 12-oz seasoned ribeye steak that even outdid our fresh cut steak from the Peddler the previous night. In addition, we had some fried catfish, salads, Tennessee corn soup, creamed spinach, french fries, mouth watering bread with honey butter, AND pecan pie - all for just $30 for the two of us! If there's one thing I came to appreciate about Tennessee (other than their breathtaking landscapes, of course!), it is their fantastic eats for very reasonable prices!
With that, our Smoky Mountains adventure comes to an end. The next morning, we flew back to Florida where we waited for about 40 minutes for Alex to pick us up because he thought we were getting in at 10 o'clock... at night. But it's all good! Hope you enjoyed this latest travelogue!
Monday, October 05, 2009
Vote for this Potsticker recipe!
Potstickers are one of my favorite foods ever.
Karn and Jessica posted their interpetation of this popular Asian food up on French's (the mustard) website. I've not tried it yet, but it does look pretty tasty! Vote for them here!
Karn and Jessica posted their interpetation of this popular Asian food up on French's (the mustard) website. I've not tried it yet, but it does look pretty tasty! Vote for them here!
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