Curling Software

Click here to launch Curling Works Software in a new window

With curling all the rage down at the pizzeria, I went down there and installed the  demo version that lasts for 7 days, onto the house laptop.  It’s a tremendous program and it plays very realistically.  It even accounts for the wear on the pebble of the ice.

If you want to learn about curling so that you can play along at home, then download this and get into it.  Curling is a LOT like billiards believe it or not.  The advanced shots are billiards in reality.  Enjoy. –Fog

How will the GW crowd make this The West’s fault?

Curling Sweeps Nation

June 6, 1944 D-Day

Click here to watch an actual high school video project on D-Day (who said video games are a waste of time?)

Today was the day that a lot of people got all shot up so that others could be free.  Amazingly, as time goes on, many young people today do not know much about it.  Is that an indictment of our current education system?  Perhaps.  

The guys who did this are the guys from my dad’s generation.  Every one of my uncles and my dad’s friends, it seemed, were in this fight.  Some Europe, either France or Italy.  Some the Pacific.  Some in India in the CBI theatre.  But they were all in it.  This generation is rapidly passing into history every day now and we owe it to them not to forget these deeds.

Oh, and the rumor is not true that CNN has demanded a posthumous apology from Dwight D. Eisenhower and an admission that, “mistakes were made” on D-Day.

To quote a popular song of 1944: “Praise the Lord and pass the amunition and we’ll all stay free…”

–fog 

It’s a Yankee-Hatin’ Xmas in June

The Boss is angry. The GM is “on a big hook”. Firing the conditioning coach after just about everyone pops a hammy. Hour long, closed-door meetings that cut into BP and regular strategy meetings. 14.5 games back and in last place on 5-game losing streak that last night, featured a straight steal of home off Andy Pettite! And they’re all waiting around breathlessly for ****n Roger Clemens to give them 5 innings of stiff, 45 year old, 20 million dollar, high-80′s hurling every 5th day! hahaha.

Cheny is Evil. The Taliban? Misunderstood.

I got to talking politics a little with the woman next to me at work. Somehow it came up where she repeated the oft-chanted, Democratic/Liberal-talking-point, “Cheney is evil”. Now this woman is older (50′s) and is pretty darned smart, so when I heard the talking point come out of her, verbatim, I was fascinated. I asked her if she was joking. “No”, she said she was serious, and kept repeating that “he is just evil”. I said, “well, what has he done that is evil? Can you give me some examples?”

There is a season

This is the time of year that people will start yammering away at you for little reason about who they’ve picked in the NCAA office pool. Memo to all those guys: I don’t CARE who you “have” in the tournament.

Monty Hall Not Suing Deal Or No Deal

And as long as we’re calling out “American Idol”, let’s not stop there. The new hit show, “Deal or No Deal”, is really just a rehash of the Monty Hall classic, “Let’s Make A Deal”. They offer a chance at an unknown prize and then try to buy you out of it for some cash. Been there, done that. And re: Howie Mandel, may I paraphrase Sen Lloyd Benston (D): “Howie, you are no Monty Hall…”

Monty Hall was from Winnipeg, Manitoba (Canada for you USA-educated folks). I did not know that. Monty AND Shatner…Canadians…wow.

Let’s Make a Deal was a quintessential 1970′s game show. I was always amazed at the stuff that the people could produce, on the spot, for Monty’s hundred dollar bills. I mean, there was no predicting it: hairdryers, radishes, crescent wrenches, pickles, lug nuts…these people, dressed in costumes would come up with it.

Remember the “zonks”? The bad prizes? Jay on a donkey? Who was Jay, anyway? And remember Carol Marol? She would sweep her arm in the air, just so, over the TV Set or Dishwasher…oooh.

Other 1970′s game shows? Well, Monty’s “other” show, “Split-Second” was pretty big. Match Game with Gene Rayburn (why would you NOT pick Richard Dawson to answer? Ever?), Joker’s wild, Concentration, Family Feud, Price is Right, Newlywed Game, Hollywood Squares.

And right now, everyone is humming the bass line to the Matchgame: boom, boom…bu-bu-bu– bu-bu-bu— bu-boom [repeat] and there was a wah-wah guitar in there somewhere. I can still taste the peanur butter and jelley sandwiches after school while watching that. –fog

Here’s the cheesey-looking set of Let’s Make A Deal. There they are: Those sevetnties icons, Door number one, Door number two and Door number three…As a kid, I always picked 3 in my mind.

Click: Here’s a related website that details a mathematical problem based on the 3-door, Monty Hall setup. I looked at it and with my sketchy, 12th grade + 1 yr of business calc ( no trig-whew!) mathematical education, I don’t get it. It should be a 50-50 deal after the first zonk is revealed. [JRV? You're my math idol--what gives with this?]

“America’s Sweetheart” was Canadian!

About five years ago, I saw a piece on the History Channel on Mary Pickford. In it, they said that she was the first woman in the world to make a million dollars a year.