The Free-Range Monkey

Blogging at halftime of the Orlando-LA game. More on that later, but in the meantime a few thoughts.

1) Working in Rockville isn't a bad thing, in part because of Ann's family. They not only know the best Chinese places but also provide a nice place to stop on days where the traffic is a disaster. On Tuesday it was raining and traffic lights were out, so instead of just going home I called John and Ruby and stopped by. They fed me while the kids kept me entertained. That was a lifesaver.

2) I finished my Chiang Kai-shek book last night. It was really fascinating book (though long). One thing that strikes me is that it's hard to evaluate someone from a time period as brutal as early 20th century China. For someone who grew up in peace and prosperity it seems horrible, but on the other hand Chiang' s actions were probably much less horrific than the preceding Qing dynasty, the Japanese invaders, or the later cultural revolution. It definitely gives a better picture of some of the things Ann's grandparents lived through.

3) Also on the book front, I saw this at Borders and think it's an interesting idea. I sat there in the store for 20 minutes reading the Texas and Virginia sections.

4) It seems every time I blink someone I know is getting married or having a baby. Now I'm not an etiquette expert, but it seems like there's got to be a better way to break this sort of news than just an indefinite reference in your facebook status. Not all of us have time to check facebook every day. Maybe my wife & I are old fashioned, but if you can't call or say so in person, at least put us on a mass email or something. (note -- if you've done this, please don't take this personally, it isn't aimed at anyone who would read this blog).

5) I really hope Orlando wins this series. Kobe was annoying enough when he wasn't making phony faces and starring in Nike commercials as a puppet. I don't think I can take hearing how he's the "greatest closer in the game" much longer.

Since the playoffs started, I've paid more attention to the NBA than I have in years. I usually watch the Mavs when I can and pretty much ignore the rest of the league, but this year the Orlando Magic have me intrigued. Their victory over Cleveland was a testament to balanced, team basketball beating the stand-around-and-watch-the-superstar approach. I love that the Magic's best player is a dominant rebounder and defensive player. I love that any one of about 4 guys could lead the Magic in scoring on a given night. I really love that the NBA's dream matchup of Kobe and Lebron has been broken up.  A few observations:

1) As much as the league at times seems rigged, if it actually were I don't think there's any way the Magic would have beat the Cavs.

2) Much has been made of Lebron not shaking the Magic's hands. That's definitely unsportsmanlike, but it happens. What puts it over the top is that he tried to defend it by saying he's a competitor and a winner. Guess what, so are the Miami Hawks but that didn't stop them from shaking your hand.

3) Oddly, since Lebron got beat we're now allowed to point out that Michael Jordan had really good teammates. When Jordan retired the first time, the Bulls won 55 games, had 3 all-stars, and got beat in a tightly contested, controversial series against a very good Knicks team. I bring this up because to me, one of the most annoying things about the NBA is that so many stars are expected to play just like Jordan and considered failures if they don't. In reality, I'm not even sure Jordan was the NBA's greatest player (if forced to pick, I'd probably say Magic Johnson) and very rarely does the winning team have a player that much resembles Jordan. 

4) This series: I think the Magic can win it. It should be a really close one. The Lakers are a much more balanced team than people give them credit for, and even their end-of-the-bench guys like Farmar and Walton are pretty good players. Having said that, they've been horribly inconsistent and seem to occasionally take games off. I think that habit comes back to bite them. Magic in 6.

I'm at home today because the project I'm on got delayed due to technical problems...nature of the business I guess, but it gives me some time to catch up on the blog.

Well summer road trip #1 is completed. We went with Jeff and Ashley to Chatham, Virginia for Joan and Brian's wedding. The reception was at Joan's Grandparents' house. They have a beautiful plantation home on a farm down there. What with the home and the farm and the Southern accents, I almost felt like I was visiting friends in East Texas, only without the oppressive heat and humidity that render East Texas virtually uninhabitable this time of year. The trip down along the foothills of the Blue Ridge also makes for a nice drive, and Charlottesville is a perfect mid-point to stop and take a break. Ann got her Sonic and Bodo's Bagels and a good time was had by all.

Next up, 4th of July in Alabama.

What a weekend. From Friday-Monday I was up by 6:30 and not in bed till after well after midnight every day. I did get back on my running schedule and did some riding and swimming, BBQ'd twice, and saw lots of friends and family, so it was worth it. I'm also getting better at ribs (though I have do most of the cooking ahead of time in the oven). I'm thinking of trying chile rellenos next, though I'll be just smoking them rather than smoking-then-frying. It should be a fun experiment. If you've ever tried it I'm all ears.

I loved Star Trek but I'm just not excited about any of the other summer blockbusters. There's just very little that looks remotely original, just consider the previews I saw at Star Trek : X-men (4), Terminator (4), Harry Potter (6), Angels & Demons (Da Vinci sequel), Transformers (2nd movie, came from a cartoon), GI Joe (cartoon -- and they've apparentely a bunch of awesome marines into weenie U.N. peacekeepers). Meanwhile there's Night at the Museum 2 (why?), a couple formulaic horror movies and a couple of the bromance comedies that are so popular, and Denzel Washington in yet another hostage situation. Oddly, to me the most interesting major movie of the summer seems like the Adam Sandler-Seth Rogan thing about the comedians. Maybe I'll go find the indie-theatres and see what they've got.

On the sports front the Magic just beat Cleveland, taking a 3-1 lead. I think it'd be pretty funny if neither the Cavs nor the Lakers made the finals after all the hype about the made-up rivalry between Lebron and Kobe.

Alright, so I'm back from that little hiatus. When your activities are mostly job-search related there's not a whole lot you want to put online for the world to see. I will say this though. I am/have been doing some temporary legal work with a firm in Rockville (355 & Gude). It's probably not a long term solution but it's been enjoyable and I'm meeting other attorneys and making contacts, so I could definitely do this for a while until the right full time opportunity comes up.

In other news:

I never in my life thought I'd say this, but I really want to go see the new Star Trek movie.

I guess we needed the rain, but man am I glad it's done with. Yesterday I went out for a leisurely bike ride and ended up doing 30+ miles. I'd like to try and play some tennis if it stays nice this weekend...anybody up for it?

This is starting to look like it's going to be the summer of the South. Looking at our schedule so far we've already got weddings to go to in Southern Virginia and South Carolina, a family get-together in Alabama, and possibly another trip to the Carolinas NORTH Carolina (just for Matt).

I've been filling the time by watching the NBA and NHL playoffs, but last night the Caps and the Mavs were each unceremoniously dismissed. However, the Texas Rangers are in first place and should be able to keep me entertained until their annual mid-July collapse. By the time that's done the NFL will be about ready to start up again.

Also on the sports front, we had some friends from Texas in town recently and had a great time watching the Rangers play the O's. It's been a while since we'd been out to Camden, but I'm thinking I'd rather watch a so-so team at Camden than an awful team in DC. We'll be headed back next month.

Well, that's all the news that's fit to print. Till next time.

Well, I've finally got last weeks pics uploaded. With this run down I need to find something new to train for. As I've mentioned before, I stick with things much better when there's a defined goal out there, because if nothing else the fear of a lousy performance will keep me going.

There are several options out there. My running pals have been lobbying to get me to sign up for the Marine Corps Marathon with them. There's a certain appeal to that because of the importance many runners place on marathons and the fact that it's a big popular race that's close by and would give me a good story. On the other hand, 3+ hour long runs and $100 entry fees aren't that appealing, and I'm not sure I could race the marathon so much as I'd be just running till I'm done.

Another option would be to do some shorter distances and pick up speed. I'll probably do this regardless of what I decide on the marathon front. For instance there's a 5k next month that a friend is helping to promote, and there's plenty of good summer and fall races to do around here.

The other option would be to try a Triathalon. With the 10 miler done and with the nice weather I've been doing a little cycling. I've also been swimming quite a bit at the gym as a cooldown/cross-training workout with my running. I was watching the Ironman today, and I've got to say a triathalon looks like it'd be a fun challenge. Obviously I'd do much shorter distances, but it could be fun.

I'm still sore from the Cherry Blossom 10-miler yesterday. I was shooting for 1:30 and finished in 1:27:43, so I'm happy with the results. The last couple miles were definitely tough, but I take that as a sign I'm running a good race (I don't subscribe to the theory that you should have negative splits). It was a beautiful day and I think Ann got some picks. I'll post some once I have a chance to look at them.

The NCAA championship is tonight. My bracket is shot but I can take solace in the fact that I don't know anyone else who picked Michigan St. to make the finals. As for the game itself, I think North Carolina has to be the favorite because they have the most balanced and efficient offense of any team in the tourney, and cliches aside, that's usually the type of team that wins. Also, unlike Pittsburgh and UConn, Carolina's top players are for the most part very good free throw shooters, which helps negate Michigan State's depth and physical play. I don't think an upset is out of the question though. I really like Michigan State this time of year because they are always prepared, they always play hard, and they almost always do an excellent job of executing their game plan. They also do an extremely good job of getting second & third chance points, so they can score even if they aren't shooting particularly well, and they have a lot of depth so they can wear opponents out.

Ultimately, I think this game comes down to Carolina's ball movement and shooting. If they are able to kick it out and hit the jumpers, Michigan State won't be able to help out as much in the post and won't be able to keep up with Carolina's offense.

Just a quick note, I'm getting up early tomorrow so I'll probably be in bed in an hour. Since I last posted I've gotten a new job and am much much busier than before, so I may not be posting as much for a while, but there were a couple things I found funny/interesting this weekend.

One is the things that motivate us guys. I've been running every Sunday, early in the morning. There's a group of us that get together. Most of the group is pretty slow, and since I'm more interested in just enjoying it than anything, else, I've mostly stayed with them and lazed along at a 10 min/mile pace or thereabouts. Anyway, this week most of the group was at a race in Virginia Beach, and only me and one girl showed up. We got going and decided we could handle a quicker pace than normal. Anyway, about halfway through I was getting a little winded, and by the last couple miles I was running on empty, but managed to push myself in to the finish, where I found out I'd been running by far the fastest I'd run since undergrad (granted it's still slow, but it's really fast compared to what I've been doing). The reason? I couldn't stand the idea of getting smoked by a girl. Make of that what you will.


Our church has been doing this survey that's supposed to identify your strengths from a selection of 30 some-odd categories. I'm not normally one who likes personality or compatibility tests and whatnot, but this does seem to be more interesting than most. I absolutely love the results. My top 3 "strengths" in order are 1) Strategic, 2) Self Assured, 3) Commanding. So what that tells me is that I'm Napolean reincarnate. I need to go find some undeveloped country that could use a dictator and set up shop. They also gave us these sheets that were supposed to help us identify what ministries could use what "strengths." My "strengths" were almost absent from the sheet, with the most notable exception being that Strategic was #1 in the category of "facilitating--running the church." So basically, it sounds to me like this survey is telling me I should takeover the church and appoint myself dictator. What a fantastic survey!

Other than that it's March Madness time, which is always great. I'm stinking up my pool mostly because I went a little crazy with the upsets. Usually I finsh up decently, but I almost never win. At least all of my Elite 8 teams are still alive. The other thing is that my bracket is (almost) entirely independent of who I cheer for, so I'm all about Cleveland State even though I had them losing in the first round.

I'm out.

Just maybe you have heard that "The Player" was cut by the Cowboys this week. Well, some think it's a big deal so here goes:

I'm not shedding any tears for him. Owens has been around long enough to know that talking about teamates and coaches can be hazardous to his employment situation. Even a player's guy like Jerry eventually gets fed up with this sort of thing. Owens brought this on himself.

HOWEVA (think Stephen A. Smith), I'm not exactly cheering the move either. Side issues notwithstanding, nobody has ever questioned Owen's production, work ethic, or willingness to help younger players improve. Those are all characteristics that the Cowboys are desparately lacking right now. I don't think this move makes the Cowboys a better team next year, though it may expose other players who blamed T.O. for their problems.

Start on the field. He's put up almost 3600 yards and 38 touchdowns in three years. Those are very good numbers, especially in the TD's department. Now it's true last year he only put up 1000 yards and 10 TDs, but he was also drawing double teams on virtually every play. With Jason Witten also getting a lot of attention, Patrick Crayton or Roy Williams should have had a monster season. For some reason though we couldn't get blocking, couldn't get other receivers open, and couldn't get our QB's to throw it to them when they were open -- but T.O. has taken most of the blame for this.

Now we're looking at going into next season with Roy Williams and Patrick Crayton as the starters, backed up by probably Miles Austin and Sam Hurd. There has been speculation about Marvin Harrison, Tory Holt, Plaxico Burris or most of all Anquan Boldin, but it seems pretty unlikely we'll get any of those guys. We could draft someone but they'll be no higher than a mid second rounder (we traded our first round pick for Roy Williams). Start with Williams: he's one of these guys that supposedly has tons of talent, but has been just so-so in the pros. Yeah, he's played for the Lions, but that didn't stop Calvin Johnson from performing last season. Crayton was great as a 3rd receiver but got replaced last season as the second guy. He doesn't exaclty inspire confidence. Miles Austin made a couple of huge plays last year but was hurt for much of the season. I think he'd be a great deep threat if he were across from a star (a la Eddie Royal across from Brandon Marshall), but I'm not sure he can consistently produce if the defense focuses on him. Hurd is about right for a 4th receiver. Flozell Adams definitely seemed to have lost a step at Left Tackle, leaving Romo making a lot of rushed throws. Without a major unexpected personell move, I don't see any way our passing game gets better next year.

The saving grace is that we've got a big line, 3 outstanding running backs, and excellent tight ends. We could successfully run a Giants-style, 3 back running game that keeps us from throwing to WR's that much (though I'll note the Giants struggled after Burris went out).

Now off the field: obviously Owens said a lot of things here shouldn't have and was a distration, but the Cowboys problems were a lot bigger. It wasn't his fault players (and coaches) didn't take practices and team meetings seriously. It wasn't his fault the defense and special teams were poorly coached for much of the season. It wasn't his fault the offensive coordinator simply didn't call a lot of plays that were very succesful last year. If those sorts of things happen this year, nobody will have T.O. to blame. In that sense maybe getting rid of Owens was a good thing because with him there a lot of other problems could go unadressed because everyone could just blame Owens. Now they'll have to either address these problems, or find a new scapegoat.

Prince of Darkness Denies Own Existence

It's actually just a rather mundane political article, but it kind of reminds me of a clever line from The Usual Suspects.