- Signed: Matthew Hartman
- Filed under biking , Chicago Cubs , fantasy sports , friends , lifestyles , outdoors , sports , work .
Hello there fellow readers...
Checking back in, to let you all know I finally got the route entered in at USATF's site tonight from my bike-ride on Saturday the 13th. The ride on Saturday wasn't anywhere near the trek I took on Sunday, but it was another long ride. I wasn't gone on the ride for over 3 hours on Saturday, so I knew the distance wasn't as great. If I hadn't been messaged about going down to the Art-Fest that was going on downtown, I probably would have ridden much more. Ultimately, I wanted to get on the bike trails out on the south end of town, south of 32nd Avenue!
That would have been another very long ride - just as, or perhaps, longer than the ride was on Sunday!
As you can see, the trek on Saturday went a grand total of 9.08 miles!
http://www.usatf.org/routes/view.asp?rID=299513
So, my grand total for the weekend was a whopping 27.64 miles! Impressive, I'd have to say - especially, given I haven't ridden my bike much at all over the past couple of years I've had it up here.
In other news, our first couple of days after that beautiful weekend we had, have been slightly gloomy. Cooler and much cloudier, for sure. But, not too bad, really. We had some rain this evening, but it wasn't anything that caused too many problems. I was over at Victor's place tonight for a little grilling and hanging out with friends. The rain pushed back the scheduled grilling a bit, but it was still sufficient so that most of us were able to get something to snack on.
Unfortunately, due to some recent lifestyle changes, I had to resist the urge for anything grilled. As some, perhaps, many of you know already, I've made the decision to cut back on the meat intake. It's something I've thought about before in the past and if anything, it's mostly just something I want to see if I can do, at all. I could see some people looking at this as me succumbing to peer-pressure (3 of the 4 people I'm gardening with ARE vegetarians!), and it may be to some extent, but really it's more of just a little kick in the pants to something I've actually wanted to try for a couple of years.
If you asked my family, they could probably tell you that I grew up eating a lot of veggies and fruit. I remember eating strawberries when I was younger until I'd get stomach-aches and would eat radishes until I stunk everyone out of the house! Hah! Actually, when I put it that way, it isn't all that much different today. Tee-hee...
Anyhow, so yes, it's a big commitment and a major lifestyle change, but it is something I am going to try. I began a few weeks ago and have slowly cut back the intake. I was down to maybe 3-4 meals that had meat in it a couple of weeks ago, last week, I may have splurged on a couple of meals, but so far, this week, I haven't ate a thing with meat in it. I've consulted with Tim, Kalli, and Justin and they've helped me quite a bit... On things I can try, what to get, what not to get, and they all have helped me find vegetarian recipes that are well-balanced. I'm not sure exactly if vegetarianism is really what I'm after... I guess that is something I'm really going to have to think about. I've found out that people that do decide to go that route that decide later to go back to meat after years and years, their bodies can reject the meat, and can actually cause problems. So, I'm not exactly sure what I want to accomplish quite yet. Right now, I just want to see how long I can go. From there, I'll see what happens. Either way, I'll keep you all updated. ;)
Other rumblings, since the last time I really updated all of you? Not much else, really... The new position at work is going fairly well. We haven't had a lot to do up until recently. The traveling between Grand Forks and Crookston has slowed down considerably over the past few weeks and actually, with the Minnesota contract now shut down for the summer, I will mainly be working on developing training modules for the MDSS application. This week, I'm hoping to get many of them done.
My fantasy sports teams are both performing poorly... Much like my Chicago Cubbies. They have disappointed me this year - and I'll just leave it at that. Maybe sometime in the near future, I can elaborate a little further - I just don't feel like it tonight. ;) In fact, I don't really feel like writing much more, anyway.
It's getting late and I want to get a little snack before I hit the sack.
Anyway, so there's a little bit of an update on my life the past couple of months. I'll have a couple of chase reports to post to the Chase/Wx-Blog here soon, so stay tuned there, as well.
Take care, folks! Have a great week!
Checking back in, to let you all know I finally got the route entered in at USATF's site tonight from my bike-ride on Saturday the 13th. The ride on Saturday wasn't anywhere near the trek I took on Sunday, but it was another long ride. I wasn't gone on the ride for over 3 hours on Saturday, so I knew the distance wasn't as great. If I hadn't been messaged about going down to the Art-Fest that was going on downtown, I probably would have ridden much more. Ultimately, I wanted to get on the bike trails out on the south end of town, south of 32nd Avenue!
That would have been another very long ride - just as, or perhaps, longer than the ride was on Sunday!
As you can see, the trek on Saturday went a grand total of 9.08 miles!
http://www.usatf.org/routes/view.asp?rID=299513
So, my grand total for the weekend was a whopping 27.64 miles! Impressive, I'd have to say - especially, given I haven't ridden my bike much at all over the past couple of years I've had it up here.
In other news, our first couple of days after that beautiful weekend we had, have been slightly gloomy. Cooler and much cloudier, for sure. But, not too bad, really. We had some rain this evening, but it wasn't anything that caused too many problems. I was over at Victor's place tonight for a little grilling and hanging out with friends. The rain pushed back the scheduled grilling a bit, but it was still sufficient so that most of us were able to get something to snack on.
Unfortunately, due to some recent lifestyle changes, I had to resist the urge for anything grilled. As some, perhaps, many of you know already, I've made the decision to cut back on the meat intake. It's something I've thought about before in the past and if anything, it's mostly just something I want to see if I can do, at all. I could see some people looking at this as me succumbing to peer-pressure (3 of the 4 people I'm gardening with ARE vegetarians!), and it may be to some extent, but really it's more of just a little kick in the pants to something I've actually wanted to try for a couple of years.
If you asked my family, they could probably tell you that I grew up eating a lot of veggies and fruit. I remember eating strawberries when I was younger until I'd get stomach-aches and would eat radishes until I stunk everyone out of the house! Hah! Actually, when I put it that way, it isn't all that much different today. Tee-hee...
Anyhow, so yes, it's a big commitment and a major lifestyle change, but it is something I am going to try. I began a few weeks ago and have slowly cut back the intake. I was down to maybe 3-4 meals that had meat in it a couple of weeks ago, last week, I may have splurged on a couple of meals, but so far, this week, I haven't ate a thing with meat in it. I've consulted with Tim, Kalli, and Justin and they've helped me quite a bit... On things I can try, what to get, what not to get, and they all have helped me find vegetarian recipes that are well-balanced. I'm not sure exactly if vegetarianism is really what I'm after... I guess that is something I'm really going to have to think about. I've found out that people that do decide to go that route that decide later to go back to meat after years and years, their bodies can reject the meat, and can actually cause problems. So, I'm not exactly sure what I want to accomplish quite yet. Right now, I just want to see how long I can go. From there, I'll see what happens. Either way, I'll keep you all updated. ;)
Other rumblings, since the last time I really updated all of you? Not much else, really... The new position at work is going fairly well. We haven't had a lot to do up until recently. The traveling between Grand Forks and Crookston has slowed down considerably over the past few weeks and actually, with the Minnesota contract now shut down for the summer, I will mainly be working on developing training modules for the MDSS application. This week, I'm hoping to get many of them done.
My fantasy sports teams are both performing poorly... Much like my Chicago Cubbies. They have disappointed me this year - and I'll just leave it at that. Maybe sometime in the near future, I can elaborate a little further - I just don't feel like it tonight. ;) In fact, I don't really feel like writing much more, anyway.
It's getting late and I want to get a little snack before I hit the sack.
Anyway, so there's a little bit of an update on my life the past couple of months. I'll have a couple of chase reports to post to the Chase/Wx-Blog here soon, so stay tuned there, as well.
Take care, folks! Have a great week!
0 conundrum(s) | Have one of your own?
- Signed: Matthew Hartman
- Filed under Chicago Cubs , dating , fantasy sports , movies , photography , weather , work .
Well, I told myself and my readers that I'd try to refrain from posting too much weather-related content in here, rather than in the WeatherBlog but I just had to share here, as well, how wonderful the weather has been up here over the past week. Mild temperatures have been contributing to the snow-melt and the flooding up here over the past few weeks, but on the other hand, it's also been great to experience, personally. I'm loving this mild weather. Over the past couple of days, I've actually been able to open up the windows in my apartment and allow some fresh air into this place.
Since I'm back on mid-shifts (midnight to 8:00am) this week, I'll unfortunately be sleeping through much of the day, but I should be able to still experience the afternoons and early-evenings. Today, I managed to get my ass out of bed around 3:00pm and after a shower, I grabbed the basketball and made my way to Prime Steel Park to shoot some hoops. It felt good to be outside for once. And it was even warm enough to wear shorts today! We did hit 69° F this afternoon! Very near 70 degrees! Isn't that just sweet?
We'll have to see what's in store for the overnight... we have some weak thunderstorms out there developing over north-central portions of the state, ahead of an upper-level disturbance... and as it drifts eastward, we could see some of that action. Probably nothing spectacular, but we could see some flashes of lightning or hear some thunder later on tonight. I'm taking the camera and tripod to work just in case anything appears photogenic enough.
Not much new has been going on, otherwise. I went out with Amanda Sunday night for dinner and a movie. We decided to see Ice Age 2: The Meltdown... I'd recommend anyone to go see this movie, if they haven't yet. It's a really great movie and is just as good (and funny) as the first one. I just can't get enough of "Scrat," the little squirrely dude with the acorn! He's just too cute and funny! I hear that Wal-Mart has a little stuffed "Scrat" that you can buy that makes all the funny little noises and everything. I'm gonna have to drop by there sometime this week to see if they have any left. That'd be great...
I've been trying to catch the Cubbies on TV, as well, this past week. Yep, the baseball season has officially started. And thus far, the Cubs have been playing pretty well. Their starting pitching hasn't been the greatest, but well, I don't think many teams are having great luck with their starting pitching quite yet, either. The bullpen has been doing awesome though, and their power has really shown up this spring. Derrek Lee already has 3 homers and Michael Barrett also has a couple. Both of Barrett's dingers came on consecutive days, the first tying the game on Saturday against the Cardinals (Lee hit his third of the season (a solo shot) to win that game), and the second, a grand salami on Sunday to take the lead over St. Louis. It's been an exciting season already and hopefully, they can carry over this great play through the rest of the season. I'd love to see them make the playoffs this year, and of course, would really love to see them make the World Series! If we can get Mark Prior and Kerry Wood back and they could just stay healthy the rest of the year... you never know. Anything is possible - as long as we keep that damn Bartman kid out of Wrigley Field!! heheh
Anywho - I'll try to keep this thing more updated... I realize I haven't been doing a very good job of that over the past few weeks.
More later!
Since I'm back on mid-shifts (midnight to 8:00am) this week, I'll unfortunately be sleeping through much of the day, but I should be able to still experience the afternoons and early-evenings. Today, I managed to get my ass out of bed around 3:00pm and after a shower, I grabbed the basketball and made my way to Prime Steel Park to shoot some hoops. It felt good to be outside for once. And it was even warm enough to wear shorts today! We did hit 69° F this afternoon! Very near 70 degrees! Isn't that just sweet?
We'll have to see what's in store for the overnight... we have some weak thunderstorms out there developing over north-central portions of the state, ahead of an upper-level disturbance... and as it drifts eastward, we could see some of that action. Probably nothing spectacular, but we could see some flashes of lightning or hear some thunder later on tonight. I'm taking the camera and tripod to work just in case anything appears photogenic enough.
Not much new has been going on, otherwise. I went out with Amanda Sunday night for dinner and a movie. We decided to see Ice Age 2: The Meltdown... I'd recommend anyone to go see this movie, if they haven't yet. It's a really great movie and is just as good (and funny) as the first one. I just can't get enough of "Scrat," the little squirrely dude with the acorn! He's just too cute and funny! I hear that Wal-Mart has a little stuffed "Scrat" that you can buy that makes all the funny little noises and everything. I'm gonna have to drop by there sometime this week to see if they have any left. That'd be great...
I've been trying to catch the Cubbies on TV, as well, this past week. Yep, the baseball season has officially started. And thus far, the Cubs have been playing pretty well. Their starting pitching hasn't been the greatest, but well, I don't think many teams are having great luck with their starting pitching quite yet, either. The bullpen has been doing awesome though, and their power has really shown up this spring. Derrek Lee already has 3 homers and Michael Barrett also has a couple. Both of Barrett's dingers came on consecutive days, the first tying the game on Saturday against the Cardinals (Lee hit his third of the season (a solo shot) to win that game), and the second, a grand salami on Sunday to take the lead over St. Louis. It's been an exciting season already and hopefully, they can carry over this great play through the rest of the season. I'd love to see them make the playoffs this year, and of course, would really love to see them make the World Series! If we can get Mark Prior and Kerry Wood back and they could just stay healthy the rest of the year... you never know. Anything is possible - as long as we keep that damn Bartman kid out of Wrigley Field!! heheh
Anywho - I'll try to keep this thing more updated... I realize I haven't been doing a very good job of that over the past few weeks.
More later!
2 conundrum(s) | Have one of your own?
- Signed: Matthew Hartman
- Filed under activities , fantasy sports , photography , pictures , sports , weather .
Whats up, everyone? Not much has been going on up here. It's been pretty nice up here over the past week. Temperatures have been up some (into the 30's) so we're finally starting to melt away some of the snow-cover we've had since early February. Of course, it looks like we have another system approaching for tomorrow that may drop another 3-6" of snow. The Grand Forks NWSFO has a snow advisory up through tomorrow evening... So, I'm not exactly looking forward to that.
Yesterday we even had a whole day of sunshine. It felt so nice outside, I finally went and got my car washed. It's probably the first time it's been washed since last fall. Washing your car in the dead of winter up here is pointless. That sand crap they put down on the roads up here makes your car dirty again, by the next day. I'm always afraid too, that if I wash the thing when it's cold out that the doors will freeze shut. Supposedly it shouldn't happen, but I'm always paranoid about it happening. Today, it felt even warmer, but I haven't checked to see what our high was.
I ended up going to Fargo with a friend of mine to go to the Fargo Air Museum. Even though they insanely overcharged for entry, it was still pretty cool. They had a lot of military aircraft there and a lot of memorabilia from WW-II and WW-III. It was pretty interesting to look at it all. The place wasn't very big at all... it was practically a small airplane hangar with several planes inside. Plus, they had a crap-load of motorcycles in there - which I didn't understand. This was the "Air" Museum, right? ;)
Anyhow, it was nice to get out and do something a little different. Lately, all I've been doing is going out to eat or going to see movies when I go out. Next time, maybe I'll check out some of the other historic places around here. I enjoy things like that...
I also went to Wal-Mart yesterday to process 6 rolls of film I've had sitting around since last fall. I had pictures from when I moved into my apartment on one of the rolls! So, I have several new pictures in the Photo Gallery for your viewing pleasure... I don't have too many, but most of them have been posted in the photo-scapes albums. I added a few photos in my chasing albums, as well... It's kind of cool in one aspect, because thinking about it, this will probably be the last film I'll ever pay to have processed. Or that I will ever own! Since I have the XT now, it'll be likely that I won't use my film cameras much anymore. We'll see...
I'm also still in the middle of our fantasy baseball draft. So far, I think I'm doing pretty well. If your curious, here's my team, thus far:
Well, folks, I'm gonna go flip on ESPN and see how the Hoosiers did tonight in the Big Ten Tournament. I totally forgot to tape the game tonight. I've tried to avoid checking the scores online tonight - cause I'd rather see them on TV and on ESPN or ESPNews, where I can also get some highlights. I saw that Illinois was upset by Michigan State, though. That's just crazy! I'm getting anxious for March Madness to start! Which reminds me, I need to sign up for the WPTA (the NBC-affiliate in Ft. Wayne) March Madness brackets. My dad fills those out every year just for fun and, hey, why not have some friendly competition between my dad and I? ;) The overall winner actually wins a TV or something like that... I doubt I'd win the thing, but if I did - there would be some problems. I think you have to be an Indiana resident to receive the prize and as far as I know, no relatives can accept the prize for you, either. I dunno, if I did happen to win the thing, maybe I can talk them into having my dad accept it somehow. Heheh... Anyway, I seriously doubt that would happen anyway.
Well, I guess this sums up my last few days here. Hope you all are doing well.
Take care!
Yesterday we even had a whole day of sunshine. It felt so nice outside, I finally went and got my car washed. It's probably the first time it's been washed since last fall. Washing your car in the dead of winter up here is pointless. That sand crap they put down on the roads up here makes your car dirty again, by the next day. I'm always afraid too, that if I wash the thing when it's cold out that the doors will freeze shut. Supposedly it shouldn't happen, but I'm always paranoid about it happening. Today, it felt even warmer, but I haven't checked to see what our high was.
I ended up going to Fargo with a friend of mine to go to the Fargo Air Museum. Even though they insanely overcharged for entry, it was still pretty cool. They had a lot of military aircraft there and a lot of memorabilia from WW-II and WW-III. It was pretty interesting to look at it all. The place wasn't very big at all... it was practically a small airplane hangar with several planes inside. Plus, they had a crap-load of motorcycles in there - which I didn't understand. This was the "Air" Museum, right? ;)
Anyhow, it was nice to get out and do something a little different. Lately, all I've been doing is going out to eat or going to see movies when I go out. Next time, maybe I'll check out some of the other historic places around here. I enjoy things like that...
I also went to Wal-Mart yesterday to process 6 rolls of film I've had sitting around since last fall. I had pictures from when I moved into my apartment on one of the rolls! So, I have several new pictures in the Photo Gallery for your viewing pleasure... I don't have too many, but most of them have been posted in the photo-scapes albums. I added a few photos in my chasing albums, as well... It's kind of cool in one aspect, because thinking about it, this will probably be the last film I'll ever pay to have processed. Or that I will ever own! Since I have the XT now, it'll be likely that I won't use my film cameras much anymore. We'll see...
I'm also still in the middle of our fantasy baseball draft. So far, I think I'm doing pretty well. If your curious, here's my team, thus far:
Position Players:We'll see how this season goes... but I'm hoping for a better result than last year. I finished near the bottom of my league. I can't remember exactly where, but it may have indeed been second to last. In other news, I'm still leading in the Fantasy Hockey League I'm in. Luck, is really the only way I'm leading that league. I'm serious when I say I don't know shit about hockey. I really don't...
Ca_ V. Martinez (Cle)
1B_ D. Lee (ChC)
2B_ M. Ellis (Oak)
3B_ M. Ensberg (Hou)
SS_ J. Rollins (Phi)
OF_ B. Abreu (Phi)
OF_ J. Pierre (ChC)
OF_ J. Francoeur (Atl)
UT_
Be_
Be_
Be_
Be_
Pitchers:
SP_ C. Carpenter (StL)
SP_ B. Colon (LAA)
RP_ T. Hoffman (SD)
RP_ S. Shields (LAA)
P_ B. Webb (Ari - SP)
P_ J. Garland (CWS - SP)
P_ B. Howry (ChC - RP)
P_
P_
P_
Well, folks, I'm gonna go flip on ESPN and see how the Hoosiers did tonight in the Big Ten Tournament. I totally forgot to tape the game tonight. I've tried to avoid checking the scores online tonight - cause I'd rather see them on TV and on ESPN or ESPNews, where I can also get some highlights. I saw that Illinois was upset by Michigan State, though. That's just crazy! I'm getting anxious for March Madness to start! Which reminds me, I need to sign up for the WPTA (the NBC-affiliate in Ft. Wayne) March Madness brackets. My dad fills those out every year just for fun and, hey, why not have some friendly competition between my dad and I? ;) The overall winner actually wins a TV or something like that... I doubt I'd win the thing, but if I did - there would be some problems. I think you have to be an Indiana resident to receive the prize and as far as I know, no relatives can accept the prize for you, either. I dunno, if I did happen to win the thing, maybe I can talk them into having my dad accept it somehow. Heheh... Anyway, I seriously doubt that would happen anyway.
Well, I guess this sums up my last few days here. Hope you all are doing well.
Take care!
0 conundrum(s) | Have one of your own?
- Signed: Matthew Hartman
- Filed under computer , fantasy sports , rant .
By the way, I don't know if I've said so, but this laptop is a piece of shit. For the past year or so, I've been experiencing some problems with this thing shutting off on its own. When it first began, I had serious concerns, because it wasn't long after I had reloaded it (new OS install). However, I quickly found out it wasn't related to the reload at all. The thing was overheating and would shut down. It didn't matter if I had it setting on the floor or in my lap, the thing would shut down! Damn, has it been a major pain in my ass.
Well, since moving up here to Grand Forks, I've had continuing problems. However, since purchasing a computer desk a couple months ago, it had stopped occurring. Tonight, while "battling" with my brother-in-law in WarCraft III the friggin' thing starting doing it again! Three god-damned times...! What an F'in piece of shit!
While I was hoping to save up some of my own money and some christmas money for a digital camera, I may decide to spend that on a new laptop! While I would absolutely love to get my hands on the new Canon Digital Rebel XT, a new laptop may be a more sensible purchase. Sitting here and typing this out and checking my eMail since my last reboot, it hasn't shut down once. I don't know, maybe it has something to do with that game running. I guess, looking back at it, most of the times the frickin' thing has shutoff on me, I've been playing WarCraft III. Maybe it has something to do with the graphics card or the CD-ROM. I am required to have the CD in to play, so that would make sense. Either way, it's annoying as hell...
Besides that, my weekend off has gone fairly well. I went out and bought Season 10 of Friends and the DVD from the Final Episode, Friday night after work. The Season 10 DVDs were released near the beginning of the month and I've been aiming to get it to complete the set. I haven't watched them yet, but that may just change here soon!
Anyhow, I suppose I should get to bed! I've gotta be up for some NFL action tomorrow afternoon! The Colts don't play until Monday night, but of course, I gotta follow my fantasy players! Speaking of which, I've lost 3 weeks in a row now... Blah! I'm in desperate need of a win this week, if I want to remain in a playoff run in the league. I'm tied for 3rd place with 4 other teams with a 6-5 head-to-head record thus far. My hockey fantasy team is still sitting in first place, though! How so, I have no idea. Especially given the fact I hardly know a thing about the sport. The top spot actually has been teetering back and forth between me and another guy in the league, but so far, I think I've remained atop most of the time. Simon Gagne is having a great season for me so far... and I've got 4 players on my team with 12 or more goals and 9 players with 12 or more assists. I just hope they can keep the stats up throughout the season!
Take care and goodnight, folks...
Well, since moving up here to Grand Forks, I've had continuing problems. However, since purchasing a computer desk a couple months ago, it had stopped occurring. Tonight, while "battling" with my brother-in-law in WarCraft III the friggin' thing starting doing it again! Three god-damned times...! What an F'in piece of shit!
While I was hoping to save up some of my own money and some christmas money for a digital camera, I may decide to spend that on a new laptop! While I would absolutely love to get my hands on the new Canon Digital Rebel XT, a new laptop may be a more sensible purchase. Sitting here and typing this out and checking my eMail since my last reboot, it hasn't shut down once. I don't know, maybe it has something to do with that game running. I guess, looking back at it, most of the times the frickin' thing has shutoff on me, I've been playing WarCraft III. Maybe it has something to do with the graphics card or the CD-ROM. I am required to have the CD in to play, so that would make sense. Either way, it's annoying as hell...
Besides that, my weekend off has gone fairly well. I went out and bought Season 10 of Friends and the DVD from the Final Episode, Friday night after work. The Season 10 DVDs were released near the beginning of the month and I've been aiming to get it to complete the set. I haven't watched them yet, but that may just change here soon!
Anyhow, I suppose I should get to bed! I've gotta be up for some NFL action tomorrow afternoon! The Colts don't play until Monday night, but of course, I gotta follow my fantasy players! Speaking of which, I've lost 3 weeks in a row now... Blah! I'm in desperate need of a win this week, if I want to remain in a playoff run in the league. I'm tied for 3rd place with 4 other teams with a 6-5 head-to-head record thus far. My hockey fantasy team is still sitting in first place, though! How so, I have no idea. Especially given the fact I hardly know a thing about the sport. The top spot actually has been teetering back and forth between me and another guy in the league, but so far, I think I've remained atop most of the time. Simon Gagne is having a great season for me so far... and I've got 4 players on my team with 12 or more goals and 9 players with 12 or more assists. I just hope they can keep the stats up throughout the season!
Take care and goodnight, folks...
0 conundrum(s) | Have one of your own?
- Signed: Matthew Hartman
- Filed under fantasy sports , snow , sports , weather .
"DUE TO WARMER TEMPERATURES THIS EVENING...TOTAL SNOWFALL AMOUNTS FROM THIS STORM WILL BE LESS THAN EARLIER EXPECTED...RANGING FROM 1 TO 3 INCHES IN SOUTHEAST NORTH DAKOTA AND WEST CENTRAL MINNESOTA...TO 2 TO 4 INCHES IN GRAND FORKS AREA...TO AROUND 6 INCHES ALONG THE CANADIAN BORDER."
I posted this earlier, didn't I? That's the latest Winter Weather product from the Grand Forks NWSFO (concerning the Winter Storm Warning). For some reason or another, they're keeping it valid through Wednesday afternoon due to high winds expected tomorrow and with snowfall for reduced visibilities. I suppose I can understand that, but I don't see why a Winter Storm Warning would remain valid. If I were an NWS employee I'd probably degrade the Warning to a Winter Weather Advisory to at least the southern half of the Warning area. Probably to the counties south of Hwy 2, where much lighter accumulations will be. Anyhow, I guess the point is, I am not a NWS employee and I can't change the Warning. ;)
On a related note, no accumulation has as of yet fallen here in the Grand Cities. We've had on and off light rain-showers here in town with a few flakes mixed in here and there, but besides that - nothing, nada, niente!
In other words, no snow pictures to share with you yet, folks!
Maybe tomorrow afternoon...
Ah, and what a game that Cowboy's/Eagles game was, eh? I thought my picks this week would suffer with that Cowboy's loss! Way to come back and win, guys! Major "ups" to Terry Glenn who finally made a TD reception for me. I really needed that for my team, Terry! Now we just need to see how the numbers come out. Points wise, my matchup opponent is currently leading me by some 13 points (excluding points from Donovan McNabb and Keyshawn Johnson - for him). As long as their numbers suck and my numbers for Terry Glenn and L.J. Smith are good, I may have a slight chance to pull out a close win. It's a long shot, but it's possible.
Later!
I posted this earlier, didn't I? That's the latest Winter Weather product from the Grand Forks NWSFO (concerning the Winter Storm Warning). For some reason or another, they're keeping it valid through Wednesday afternoon due to high winds expected tomorrow and with snowfall for reduced visibilities. I suppose I can understand that, but I don't see why a Winter Storm Warning would remain valid. If I were an NWS employee I'd probably degrade the Warning to a Winter Weather Advisory to at least the southern half of the Warning area. Probably to the counties south of Hwy 2, where much lighter accumulations will be. Anyhow, I guess the point is, I am not a NWS employee and I can't change the Warning. ;)
On a related note, no accumulation has as of yet fallen here in the Grand Cities. We've had on and off light rain-showers here in town with a few flakes mixed in here and there, but besides that - nothing, nada, niente!
In other words, no snow pictures to share with you yet, folks!
Maybe tomorrow afternoon...
Ah, and what a game that Cowboy's/Eagles game was, eh? I thought my picks this week would suffer with that Cowboy's loss! Way to come back and win, guys! Major "ups" to Terry Glenn who finally made a TD reception for me. I really needed that for my team, Terry! Now we just need to see how the numbers come out. Points wise, my matchup opponent is currently leading me by some 13 points (excluding points from Donovan McNabb and Keyshawn Johnson - for him). As long as their numbers suck and my numbers for Terry Glenn and L.J. Smith are good, I may have a slight chance to pull out a close win. It's a long shot, but it's possible.
Later!
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- Signed: Matthew Hartman
- Filed under fantasy sports , Indianapolis Colts , sports .
Updating a previous post... The Colts have continued their undefeated 2005/2006 campaign, defeating the Houston Texans 31-17. Peyton Manning and Marvin Harrison hooked up to complete their 10,000th career yard as a QB/WR tandem. The first QB/WR duo to do so in NFL history. They have also now hooked up for 755 completions, 10,034 yards and 90 TD's; all of which are NFL records. Edgerin James ran for 122 yards including a 5-yard touchdown early in the second quarter. Peyton Manning had a big game as well, hooking up on 26 of his 35 passes while racking up 297 yards and 3 TD's. My fantasy man, Brandon Stokley ended up with 73 yards and a touchdown; obviously helping my fantasy team this week.
Congrats to the Colts on their Week 10 win and their 9-0 record. You guys rule!
So far, my team is doing well this week, with Kevan Barlow of the 49er's ending up with 63 yards on 25 carries and Rod Smith of the Bronco's already with 33 yards and a touchdown, I think I have a pretty good chance of winning my fantasy matchup this week. We'll have to see how the fantasy points add up later tonight.
Welp, gonna go catch the rest of this afternoon's games.
Congrats to the Colts on their Week 10 win and their 9-0 record. You guys rule!
So far, my team is doing well this week, with Kevan Barlow of the 49er's ending up with 63 yards on 25 carries and Rod Smith of the Bronco's already with 33 yards and a touchdown, I think I have a pretty good chance of winning my fantasy matchup this week. We'll have to see how the fantasy points add up later tonight.
Welp, gonna go catch the rest of this afternoon's games.
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- Signed: Matthew Hartman
- Filed under fantasy sports , Indianapolis Colts , sports .
This will be a quick post, since the second half on many games is starting... However, in celebratory fashion, the Colts are rolling once again this week! They've led the entire game and now hold the lead at 21-7 at the half. My fantasy man, Mr. Stokley has 38 yards and a TD, which is very good news for me! I need as much support as I can get this week with both my fantasy studs [Chargers RB] LaDainian Tomlinson and [Bengals WR] Chad Johnson on bye weeks this week.
More later!
Update: Commercial break here, but last look, it appears that both the Colts and the Texans have scored here in the 3rd quarter, with Houston just scoring on an additional field goal. The score as of now, 28-17... Go Colts!!! (2:19pm CST)
More later!
Update: Commercial break here, but last look, it appears that both the Colts and the Texans have scored here in the 3rd quarter, with Houston just scoring on an additional field goal. The score as of now, 28-17... Go Colts!!! (2:19pm CST)
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- Signed: Matthew Hartman
- Filed under fantasy sports , friends , Indianapolis Colts , music , sports .
Not much to write home about today folks; but... since I have the laptop up and running. I didn't end up getting up out of bed today until 3:30pm, so there went half my day. Got showered up and lounged around for a couple of hours, then started doing some laundry. I've come to the conclusion that I hate doing laundry. It's not the fact of actually doing it as much as having to pay for it. I'll tell you what, if I ever get another apartment, it's going to have its own washer and dryer. The washer/dryer units in my apartment complex are located on each floor at the end of the hall... and I suppose the one positive is that I live very near the utility room they're located in. The negative is paying... can you believe this, washing a load of laundry costs 75 cents, while drying is 60 cents. Friggin' dumb as shit, I think, but well, what can you do?
While I had the laundry going, I took advantage of some free time and called my best friend, Justin back home in Indiana. This guy, I'll tell you what, can make me laugh no matter what. He could take the most mundane, dry conversation and crack a joke and make you laugh. It's amazing, really, how he does it - but its also something I miss dearly. I tried to convince him to move up here with me, and really, I could see him doing so if it weren't for financial concerns. Unfortunately, he's living with his grandmother and to put it in his words, "blows fucking ass." He hates it and he gets sooo frustrated with her. He needs to get out on own and I'm hoping before long he does... He's one cool dude, and I just miss hanging out with him and laughing non-stop for hours on end.
I also went out to Best Buy today and bought Martina McBride's new CD, "Timeless." Her first new studio album in a couple years was released on the 14th and being the Martina-nut I am, had to go buy it. I haven't listened completely through it, but so far, I've found it pretty good. She's redone a lot of the older country hits, adding a little modern touch to them, and of course, her beautiful voice. If you're a fan of Martina or of any of the older country music, you'll love this CD.
Well, it appears the MNF game between the Falcons and Jets has approached half-time with Atlanta leading 20-7. I have a feeling trading away Warrick Dunn on my fantasy football team is gonna come back and bite me in the ass. One of the guys in the league needed a marquee running-back and even though I really didn't want to trade Dunn, I did get L.J. Smith and Tatum Bell to cover a weak TE spot in my lineup and a fairly decent running-back in Bell, to help fill in what I'm losing in Dunn. The first week after the trade (Week 6), it actually worked to my advantage, as Tatum Bell had a pretty good game. This week - well, it's been the worst one yet. I had a total of 58 fantasy points. Yes, you heard me, TOTAL. I suppose that's what will happen when LT only runs for 7 yards and your starting QB only throws 130 yards for 1 touchdown.
The one upside... my hometown Colts pulled it out in Houston to become 7-0! The best start for them in franchise history. These guys are playing more as a team than they ever have, so they deserve it...
Well, hey the 2nd half is underway - and I'm missing it! So, I'm hopping off here for now. Take care and have a good evening!
Regards -
While I had the laundry going, I took advantage of some free time and called my best friend, Justin back home in Indiana. This guy, I'll tell you what, can make me laugh no matter what. He could take the most mundane, dry conversation and crack a joke and make you laugh. It's amazing, really, how he does it - but its also something I miss dearly. I tried to convince him to move up here with me, and really, I could see him doing so if it weren't for financial concerns. Unfortunately, he's living with his grandmother and to put it in his words, "blows fucking ass." He hates it and he gets sooo frustrated with her. He needs to get out on own and I'm hoping before long he does... He's one cool dude, and I just miss hanging out with him and laughing non-stop for hours on end.
I also went out to Best Buy today and bought Martina McBride's new CD, "Timeless." Her first new studio album in a couple years was released on the 14th and being the Martina-nut I am, had to go buy it. I haven't listened completely through it, but so far, I've found it pretty good. She's redone a lot of the older country hits, adding a little modern touch to them, and of course, her beautiful voice. If you're a fan of Martina or of any of the older country music, you'll love this CD.Well, it appears the MNF game between the Falcons and Jets has approached half-time with Atlanta leading 20-7. I have a feeling trading away Warrick Dunn on my fantasy football team is gonna come back and bite me in the ass. One of the guys in the league needed a marquee running-back and even though I really didn't want to trade Dunn, I did get L.J. Smith and Tatum Bell to cover a weak TE spot in my lineup and a fairly decent running-back in Bell, to help fill in what I'm losing in Dunn. The first week after the trade (Week 6), it actually worked to my advantage, as Tatum Bell had a pretty good game. This week - well, it's been the worst one yet. I had a total of 58 fantasy points. Yes, you heard me, TOTAL. I suppose that's what will happen when LT only runs for 7 yards and your starting QB only throws 130 yards for 1 touchdown.
The one upside... my hometown Colts pulled it out in Houston to become 7-0! The best start for them in franchise history. These guys are playing more as a team than they ever have, so they deserve it...Well, hey the 2nd half is underway - and I'm missing it! So, I'm hopping off here for now. Take care and have a good evening!
Regards -
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- Signed: Matthew Hartman
- Filed under fantasy sports , tropical storms , weather , work .
I'm just sitting here at work, with not all that much to do. Since I'm responsible mostly for our 511 states (Kansas, Nebraska, and Montana) and there's not much going on, I'm letting Mpower (our new forecasting system) ride in most of these areas. I already have my ND Districts done with the exception of my temperature forecasts and am just about ready here to start on my SD Districts and state forecast. Should be a simple night.
I just went through my Pro Football Pick'em stats and it appears through tonight's Chiefs / Dolphins game, that I am 58-31 out of a total of 89 games played so far this season; resulting in a 65% correct percentage. Not bad at all... In fact, I'm better than all ESPN experts except one! Check this out:
http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/features/talent
I'm hoping for big numbers from my fantasy team this week. The team I'm up against this week has a fairly strong lineup, so hopefully Chad Johnson, LT and Bledsoe will have good weeks. Yep, that's right, I picked up LaDainian Tomlinson as my first round pick. I had the #2 pick overall and since the guy ahead of me took Peyton Manning, I had the next dibs, so I took the touchdown/yardage machine. ;)
Anyhow, think I'll hop off here, since I have my districts to finish up yet. As an aside, Wilma is now at 930mb with surface winds at 140-145 mph and made landfall along the northern banks of Cozumel Island during the early evening Friday. I haven't heard of any damage, myself, but I'm sure it's extensive given she made landfall as a strong Cat-4 system.
More later...
I just went through my Pro Football Pick'em stats and it appears through tonight's Chiefs / Dolphins game, that I am 58-31 out of a total of 89 games played so far this season; resulting in a 65% correct percentage. Not bad at all... In fact, I'm better than all ESPN experts except one! Check this out:
http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/features/talent
I'm hoping for big numbers from my fantasy team this week. The team I'm up against this week has a fairly strong lineup, so hopefully Chad Johnson, LT and Bledsoe will have good weeks. Yep, that's right, I picked up LaDainian Tomlinson as my first round pick. I had the #2 pick overall and since the guy ahead of me took Peyton Manning, I had the next dibs, so I took the touchdown/yardage machine. ;)
Anyhow, think I'll hop off here, since I have my districts to finish up yet. As an aside, Wilma is now at 930mb with surface winds at 140-145 mph and made landfall along the northern banks of Cozumel Island during the early evening Friday. I haven't heard of any damage, myself, but I'm sure it's extensive given she made landfall as a strong Cat-4 system.
More later...
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- Signed: Matthew Hartman
- Filed under fantasy sports , friends , relationships , work .
Hey folks,
I realize its been since, what, June that I last posted in here? I suppose there really isn't any particular excuse, except pure laziness. Anyhow, I hope everyone out there is doing well.
Things here in Grand Forks are pretty much the same. Work has been going "relatively" well. Our new forecasting system went live about 2-3 weeks ago and us forecasters are continuing to get use to it. It has taken time, and even though some of us don't particularly like portions of it, we're pretty much stuck with it. We're still doing pretty much the same thing - making forecasts for DOTs and 511 services - however, are now using new software for our grid editing and site-specific forecasts. A lot of it is now automated and, among other things, it makes certain aspects out of our control as forecasters. So, while it makes some of our forecasting slightly easier, there are other aspects that make it more difficult. Anyhow, I won't go into too much detail as I'm sure you are really not that interested. But, just to make a long story short, while everything has been going relatively smooth, it just makes the job more stressful. At least, for me...
So, other than the job - not much else is new. Life is pretty much the same. I met a woman in early August and even though we would talk on the phone now and then and even went out a few times, things didn't work out. She was a very intelligent, classy, and wonderful woman, but for some reason or another, after coming back to Grand Forks after being home in Indiana, she decided to not return my phone calls. I was frankly, surprised she would do that, but considering I'm sick of those games, I stopped talking to her altogether. So, I'm back to being alone, again! ;) I suppose Christen and I were only "friends," but it was still nice to have someone outside of work to go out and do things with.
I try to stay busy, though... I'm in a hockey and football fantasy league now, with the guys at work! I don't know all that much about either, especially hockey, but it's fun to watch and participate. So far, my football team is 4th in a league of 10 and my hockey team is 5th in a league of 9 others. The hockey season just started last week and the football season is only in Week 5, so hopefully my rankings won't go anywhere but up! We'll see...
Well, since I'm here at work, I suppose I should go. I had some free time here and felt like making a post here since I haven't in so long. Again, hope everyone is doing well!
Take care!
I realize its been since, what, June that I last posted in here? I suppose there really isn't any particular excuse, except pure laziness. Anyhow, I hope everyone out there is doing well.
Things here in Grand Forks are pretty much the same. Work has been going "relatively" well. Our new forecasting system went live about 2-3 weeks ago and us forecasters are continuing to get use to it. It has taken time, and even though some of us don't particularly like portions of it, we're pretty much stuck with it. We're still doing pretty much the same thing - making forecasts for DOTs and 511 services - however, are now using new software for our grid editing and site-specific forecasts. A lot of it is now automated and, among other things, it makes certain aspects out of our control as forecasters. So, while it makes some of our forecasting slightly easier, there are other aspects that make it more difficult. Anyhow, I won't go into too much detail as I'm sure you are really not that interested. But, just to make a long story short, while everything has been going relatively smooth, it just makes the job more stressful. At least, for me...
So, other than the job - not much else is new. Life is pretty much the same. I met a woman in early August and even though we would talk on the phone now and then and even went out a few times, things didn't work out. She was a very intelligent, classy, and wonderful woman, but for some reason or another, after coming back to Grand Forks after being home in Indiana, she decided to not return my phone calls. I was frankly, surprised she would do that, but considering I'm sick of those games, I stopped talking to her altogether. So, I'm back to being alone, again! ;) I suppose Christen and I were only "friends," but it was still nice to have someone outside of work to go out and do things with.
I try to stay busy, though... I'm in a hockey and football fantasy league now, with the guys at work! I don't know all that much about either, especially hockey, but it's fun to watch and participate. So far, my football team is 4th in a league of 10 and my hockey team is 5th in a league of 9 others. The hockey season just started last week and the football season is only in Week 5, so hopefully my rankings won't go anywhere but up! We'll see...
Well, since I'm here at work, I suppose I should go. I had some free time here and felt like making a post here since I haven't in so long. Again, hope everyone is doing well!
Take care!
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- Signed: Matthew Hartman
- Filed under fantasy sports , photography , sports .
Hi folks,
Yeah, I realize it's late, but well, I have the day off tomorrow and besides sitting here watching a movie, I don't have much better to do. Just got done checking the standings in the Fantasy Baseball league I'm in with the guys at work. I pulled it out today, finally! I reached the top of the standings mostly behind my pitching. Carlos Zambrano, Ben Sheets, and Josh Beckett all are in double figures in strikeouts for me, so currently I'm atop the league in that category by a fairly large margin. We'll see how it pans out the next couple days, since none of my pitchers start. Hopefully, some of my relief pitchers will make some appearances. I'm not sure how my Fantasy NASCAR team did, since CBS Sportsline hasn't updated yet. But, I did have three of my five drivers finish in the top 10. Rusty Wallace, Sterling Marlin and my man, Joe Nemechek all did rather well today. Greg Biffle and Ken Schrader didn't fare as well, finishing under 20th position.
So, other than that... Not much new around here. I ordered a window mount for my camera the other day, so I'm anxious to get that in the mail. It should help tremendously for lightning photography and will provide a safety net for when it's raining or CG is a bit too close for comfort. Here's what it's gonna look like:
It's coming all the way from Florida, so I'm expecting it to take at least 5 days to get here. It takes 3 days for anything to get here from Indiana. This makes the most I've purchased in the off-season in quite a while. I'm getting equipped for my upcoming trip to the plains; which is sneaking up on me. Its only about a month and a half away, now!
Anyhow, it's even later now and I think I'm gonna hit the sack. Take care and talk to you soon.
Cheers! -- Matthew
Yeah, I realize it's late, but well, I have the day off tomorrow and besides sitting here watching a movie, I don't have much better to do. Just got done checking the standings in the Fantasy Baseball league I'm in with the guys at work. I pulled it out today, finally! I reached the top of the standings mostly behind my pitching. Carlos Zambrano, Ben Sheets, and Josh Beckett all are in double figures in strikeouts for me, so currently I'm atop the league in that category by a fairly large margin. We'll see how it pans out the next couple days, since none of my pitchers start. Hopefully, some of my relief pitchers will make some appearances. I'm not sure how my Fantasy NASCAR team did, since CBS Sportsline hasn't updated yet. But, I did have three of my five drivers finish in the top 10. Rusty Wallace, Sterling Marlin and my man, Joe Nemechek all did rather well today. Greg Biffle and Ken Schrader didn't fare as well, finishing under 20th position.
So, other than that... Not much new around here. I ordered a window mount for my camera the other day, so I'm anxious to get that in the mail. It should help tremendously for lightning photography and will provide a safety net for when it's raining or CG is a bit too close for comfort. Here's what it's gonna look like:
It's coming all the way from Florida, so I'm expecting it to take at least 5 days to get here. It takes 3 days for anything to get here from Indiana. This makes the most I've purchased in the off-season in quite a while. I'm getting equipped for my upcoming trip to the plains; which is sneaking up on me. Its only about a month and a half away, now!
Anyhow, it's even later now and I think I'm gonna hit the sack. Take care and talk to you soon.
Cheers! -- Matthew
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