The View From Here

Summary of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish loss to Georgia Tech, 33-3.  The 5th-ranked Michigan Wolverines lost to 1-AA Appalachian State, 34-32, at home.

Update : We didn’t fare any better against PSU – NO O, NO D, so no W.  Michigan lost again as well, but THIS week sports fans, THIS WEEK is the battle of the 0 and 2s !  I’m sure it will be a Game for the Ages as these two storied programs fight for that ever-so-elusive first victory of the season…

ND preview by JTI

August 18th, 2007 by dfm · No Comments

JTI finally got sick of my badgering and submitted a few words about the coming train wreck of a season the Irish are going to have.  So here it is…

I honestly have NO idea what to put down.  I have been way too busy to even know what is going on with ND other than Jimmy Clausen got cited for underage transportation of alcohol, and he has a bum throwing elbow.  Oh, and Charlie isn’t letting on who his starting QB is until game time v. GA Tech.  TE John Carlson should be a bright spot with Jeff Smardjia gone. Travis Thomas had better perform in the backfield MUCH better that he did as a linebacker. Safety Tom Zbikowski needs to get back to the way he played as a Sophmore, and Maurice Crum needs to shore-up the Linebacking corp for Corwin Brown’s new 3-4 Defense.  Without an aggressive, stingy, play-making D it could be a long year for us Domers – I don’t expect much production from the Offense.  Surprise us, Charlie…

2007 Notre Dame Football Schedule
Sept. 1     GEORGIA TECH – W
Sept. 8     at Penn State – W
Sept. 15     at Michigan – L
Sept. 22     MICHIGAN STATE – W
Sept. 29     at Purdue – L
Oct. 6     at UCLA – L
Oct. 13     BOSTON COLLEGE – W
Oct. 20     USC – W (kidding)
Nov. 3     NAVY – W
Nov. 10     AIR FORCE – W (sorry Trav)
Nov. 17     DUKE – W (Duke ?)
Nov. 24     at Stanford – W

8 – 4 may be acceptable to most, but not the Irish Nation – probably more like 7-5 and a Poinsettia Bowl berth. Laces OUT, Dan…

Dan says:  I think you are too optimistic here, JTI.  I think that the Irish will be 6-6 at best, possibly 5-7.  There is no way they beat BC and they may, in fact, lose to the Midshipmen.  Penn State is questionable too – they will be good.

Tons going on here at 1470. It’s been a rollercoaster ride this Summer (beginning in May & still going) – here’s the latest :

GrammaPalooza 2007 – huge success, roasted my first hog (something you don’t see everyday in the city), 60+ at our modest bungalow with the postage stamp size yard.  Family in from FLA, MD, GA (you know who you are !) and OH.  First time this many of Slim’s fam have been together since the mid-80’s…

Work Situation – finally looks like they have found a replacement for me (they should make someone an offer this week).  I start training with my new bossman late this week or next.  He goes on a month-long vacation during September so we need to get a lot done in a short period of time since I’m his fill in, AND we’re in the midst of a huge expansion project.  BTW – ever since they made me this offer to stay my work attitude has done a complete 180 – obviously for the better !  Lisa likes her new job down the street as well…

Sprituality - been very introspective lately – OK, a bit more than normal.  There is a whole bunch going on in this crazy world and I’m just trying to hold my ground.  I’ve been bothered (as is the norm) by a lot of the senseless crimes, natural disasters, man’s inhumanity to man and the Godlessness that I observe in the headlines, and also in my personal observations as I journey through life.  I’m still trying to find how I fit in, and what my role is.  It’s a journey that has taken me from my Catholic upbringing to Non-Denominational Protestantism to where I am now – just praying, reading, contemplating and philosophizing.  I have been this way since I was a very young child regardless of what “label” you put on it – I’ve pretty much always been like this even before I “understood” God and faith .  Just remember – it’s where you’re at not where you’ve been…

Biking & Fitness – Not mountain or road biking as much as I’d like (who does ?), but with most of the Summer activities behind us that should change.  I also put up an 80-pound “heavy bag” to mix my workouts up between  the trainer (basically a stationary bike), my free-weights and the “home gym” machine.  Not trying to build much, just trying to stay toned – I AM 43 after all…

Kitchen & Food - Lately been seeing what I can do with inexpensive cuts of meat (Chuck steak, Pork “Western-Style” Ribs, et al) and trust me – if you know what you’re doing you can do a lot with a little.  Trying to do more with Rice, veggies and “peasant” foods also.  Rice is a staple for 1/3 of the world’s population – good enough for me – 2 billion+ can’t be wrong !  Also, 1/5 of the world gets by on less than a $1.00 a day – now there’s a challenge.  Crops aren’t what I thought they’d be (need some Miracle-Gro(tm)), but I’m working on it.  If only the squirrels & chipmunks would leave us alone !  It seems every time a tomato ripens enough to eat I find them half-eaten (but I DID land a couple 18-inch zuccini the other day…) !  Now, if only I can keep the dogs away from the cukes and squash…

NCAA College Football 2007 - Can’t wait !  The Tank is up and running (nice job guys) and The Irish aren’t in the Top 25 – no pressure, just play football.  And as we ALL know : it’s not football, it’s NOTRE DAME football !!!  Goooooooo IRISH !!!  See ya soon, and my best to you and your’s…

If you look under my blogroll to the right you’ll see that I have added a new site – it’s called The Shark Tank.  For those of you unfamiliar with The Tank, be forewarned – it’s not for the faint of heart or the easily offended.  It’s mostly for those that were displaced during “The Great Astronomicon Debacle of 2007″” .

 The Tank evolved (devolved ?) at The Astronomicon, which is also on my “Roll of Fame”.  The height of it’s renown & glory – at least what I experienced - was during the NCAACF Bowl Games of this past season.  Words cannot describe the climate in The Tank – you truly had to be a part of it.  I posted on the subject a couple times, but if you weren’t there you just have no idea.  Astro finally had too much, and went on hiatus.

Jump forward about a month & a half and what do we have ?  The Shark Tank having it’s own site – how cool is that ?  DFM from “Life in the Great Midwest” started the blog a few days ago – nice job, Dan !  Now all the “ex-pats” can reside peaceably in our shark infested little domain.  And what could be more perfect than Australia – CRIKIES !!!

 So, mates, if you’re in the neighborhood – especially during the college football season – please do drop in.  I guarantee that none who dare open their keyboard will leave unscathed, so dive in if you dare.  On the flip side, you may just want to become a regular.  Either way, enter at your own risk – you were warned.  Oh, and don’t forget the vegemite…

Let me start by commending everyone that submitted  jerky for “The Skaterat Memorial First Annual Jerk-Off” – you guys all did a fantastic job !  However, sometimes you’re the Rawlings and sometimes you’re the Louisville Slugger.  Actually, it wasn’t that “cut and dried” – very close results.

The conditions were as follows : 72 degrees (inside), 650 feet above sea level, and all jerky at room temp.  The palate cleanser for my wife and I was Gordon Biersch Blonde Bock, which was a brewery I went to several times while visiting San Jose a few years back.  Imagine my surprise when it showed up on the menu at the restaurant a block away.  Point scale was 1 to 5 with half points included, sampled twice in alphabetical order, based on points for taste & texture.

  My results (taste / texture = total) : Astro (4 / 3.5 = 7.5), Sk8 (3.5 / 4 = 7.5), Snake (3.5 / 3 = 6.5) & DFM (3.5 / 3 = 6.5)

Slim’s (taste / texture = total) : Astro (3.5 / 3.5 = 7.0), Sk8 (2 / 3 = 5.0), Snake (2.5 / 2.5 = 5.0) & DFM (3 / 2.5 = 5.5)

Comments : Astro – great flavor, DFM – finished well & spiciest, Sk8 – smokiness & good balance, Snake – finished well & nice flavor diversity.

 After a 7.0% Blonde Bock on an empty (mostly) stomach, Slim stated “mmm…Astro – he’s my man…”.  I guess that says it all…

Update : It has been decided by Astro that our results cannot be used since we did not have a Jerk-Off entry – fair enough.  Maybe I’ll submit for “The Skaterat Memorial Second Annual Jerk-Off” because as Bears fans will see, there’s always next year…

Whilst checking some threads on Snake’s and Astro’s sites (which has become part of my normal surfing habit) I see that I have been added to the distinguished list of judges for “The Skaterat Memorial First Annual Jerk-Off” – the Shark Tank’s jerky competition.  Appears the players are Astro, Snakeye, Skaterat, Dan from Madison and maybe JohnnyJ – sorry if I missed anyone.

I don’t know too much about it other than each entrant will judge everyone else’s submission, and a few of us will opine as well.  The Super Bowl may figure into this somehow but I’m not sure how.  I received my samples via FedEx today, kindly sent by Snakeye.  He spent about $4,000 to get the jerky to me in two days from Savannah, even though UPS Ground would have done the same for around $1.50 – oh well.

Good luck to all of you, and I promise to be totally impartial.  My wife, the lovely and talented “Slim”,  may also assist in the process.  I’ll probably post the results here because I need the traffic.  Travis knows I’m serious about MY food, so rest assured I’ll certainly be serious about everyone else’s…

After an invite from Trav’s buddy Astro, I decided to jump in on his College Football thread – yikes – one tough room !  The guys all seem pretty cool, and probably were fairly easy on me (at first) since I was new.  Things quickly went downhill with the jabs, name-calling and sexual refs, but I think I held my own. 

I got sucked in for a couple hours, and Lisa was a real trooper about it.  I’ll jump in the Shark Tank again, because where else can you be referred to as a ”pedophile”, a ”perv” and a ”necropheliac/incestuous/catholic/irish/myspace fag dude” (thanks Dan) and feel OK about yourself ?  Snake, thanks for having my back buddy. But hey – I never said I was Catholic…

Update : I think it was sk8 that called me an “emo myspace cutter” – that one still cracks me up…