The art of the trailer My wife sent me a link to this off of NPR: Not Coming to a Theater Near You: Satire Trailers. Basically, a trailer for a movie can be spun many ways. Some students have been resplicing trailers to suggest a new theme.
In case the link goes away, try: Brokeback to the Future. You ought to be able to find more satire from there.
Also, Google's Video search for trailer spoofs will help.
Spring soccer is here The first coaches meeting is Saturday. We belong to the Union Soccer Club in Tulsa. I'm also on the Board of Directors for Tulsa Little League Baseball (TLLB).
All of this is volunteer and I try to let my experience as a volunteer shape my response as a parent. Some people think we are paid or are there just for them. Last season, I couldn't get the parents to help mow the practice fields. Good money was paid for registration and they are busy working. And my time is free as well.
I get mad about things with both leagues as well, but I mainly bite my tounge. Perhaps I'll vent here during the season.
Anyway, we will have two weeks until the first game on March 4th and I am out of town the second week. Connectathon is a business trip I'm never very flexible on.
Once the season starts, I'll basically have practices and games every week until the middle of November. That includes summer baseball and fall soccer. There is a 1 week gap between spring and summer leagues. There is also about a 1-2 week gap before the fall league starts.
Style wise, I'm big on technique and kids learning to love the sport. I'm not big on winning. I've had 8-2 teams and also 0-10 teams. That doesn't mean I'm not competitive. With the Generals, 8U machine pitch, we went from last place up to a respectable middle of the table. We surprised several teams which thought we would be a cake walk. We did get a rematch against the first team we played and you could clearly see my kids had improved.
I'm also big on letting the kids just play the game. It is harder for me to let go in soccer than in baseball - which surprises most people. I'd say more fathers are hands-on coaches at a baseball game. I've asked parents to basically be quiet. A couple thought my lack of shouting meant that I didn't know what to do. Even though the kids are just 8U, they still get to have fun, right? You coach at practice and not during a game.
With soccer, I don't know. I can't get my kids to spread out and work as a team. It frustrates me and sometimes works its way out. With baseball, it is easy to focus on technique and there is always something positive you can say to a kid. With soccer, it is hard to focus on a single event and the next time you get to talk to them is at the end of the quarter. And yes, I can't wait until we get full halves and get to rotate the kids in and out of the game.
I also got 4-5 kids last fall who played spring baseball. That means there is a lack of continuity in their training and also that I basically will have a brand new team this season. My bet is that I'm going to get the kids who played tackle football. There is no slight intended at the kids, but when you play against teams whose kids live for soccer, the gap shows.
My son would love to quit baseball, this will probably be his last season. If we could find a summer soccer league in Tulsa, I'd go ahead and sign up today. I'd have to drop off the board of TLLB, but I'd be okay with that. I'm hoping he finds his own love for baseball, but it seems to be totally heads over heels for soccer.
Until the Fall '05 season, he was a better baseball player than a soccer player. He decided he didn't like me saying that and changed his attitude towards soccer - he takes pride in his defensive skills. I've since told him he is a better soccer player than baseball player. My admission of that prompted him to play one more year of baseball.
Snaps of my home office I've telecommuted for over 4 years and none of my co-workers have ever seen my office. In general, when at HQ, I borrow an office and might have a few knick-knacks. At the end of the week, I have to clean things up. Well, here are some quick, and dirty, pictures of my home office. Note, it needs organizing, again.
Speaking of toys, here are some on a book shelf:
Amoung other things, you can see an old uniform from FC Kaiserslautern hanging from the bottom most shelf (No, it didn't shrink in the wash. It fits on a small hanger and goes in your car window.). I spent 4 years there in junior and high school. I never went to a game. The rest speaks for itself.
And yes, the walls are mustard - more of a sand, but a deep yellow-orange. And, you might have guessed it from the door frame, the accent is a deep purple, including the ceiling. It is my office after all and I'm the one who gets to enjoy it.
Next on our tour is the wire rack:
The baseball glove is from Kindergarten/First grade in Illisheim, Germany. It was the last organized sports for me until I was a sophmore in K-town. I've pulled down at least half of the cables normally up there.
My Fujitsu Lifebook P7010D is next:
The glare, well, I'm new to taking pictures. Hmm, you can see the CoolThreads (tm) bracelet I got last week. You can see my desk. I got it right after college for $45. And Roger, if you are reading this, I really did throw away that turkey leg (claw and all) which I found inside. Sorry. My wife added the effect on the drawers - but this is really one of your old government style desks. I've got a dorm one ($20) in the back.
The bracelet gets a close-up:
and
In the second one, you can see 3 of the 4 mice currently on my desk. The USB/DVI KVM is $230. I borrowed the screwdriver from my dad about 15 years ago. He stopped waiting to get it back about 14 years ago. The mouse wrist rest was a Xmas present from my son. You really can't see the imprint on the bracelet.
In the P7010D picture, you got a glimpse of my telco rack. So called because all of external facing network gear is there. Well, here is a close look:
The topmost box is the cable modem - the entire house, including phones and TV, come through that one box. You can see the old Netscreen 10 underneath the big ape. He would be from the Big Jim era of my life. He is the only thing to survive from it. His arms still windmill if you ratchet his back. You can kinda see an 8 port Netgear next to the new Linksys gateway. Underneath it, next to the picture of my son and myself on the beach, you can see the Belkin. Sniff, it needs to be reconnected somewhere.
Speaking of the Linksys, here it is:
And between my desk and the rack, well, I have some computers and wires. Something needs to be done about the wires.
The one with the angry monkey, well, that is wont, as in won't work. It is still having some nVidia nForce problems in connecting to the SATA drives. You can see my Sun w2100z workstation. And in the background, you can see a dead Shuttle S51G. Don't ask me why I have it out. I don't know.
But this doesn't give you the full effect of the wires. For that, we go to:
You really don't get justice to the problem until you want back there. Hmm, now you can see an APC backup and the top of my HP OfficeJet 7210. It really needs a longer phone cable (to FAX) and to be placed back on the dorm desk. The bottom of the telco rack used to hold PC towers on their sides.
Oh, and the floor is bamboo.
Well, that is it.
