Hair cut options

So using the power of social media, I’m trying to input on what to do with my hair.

Options:

OFF. Summer is on the way. No muss, no fuss.

Trim. Keep the length but just get it tidied up a bit.

Get the same haircut as my mancrush, Denis Leary.

Become Liam USA. Two options, short and long.

Go for a little George Michael.































So vote on the right. I plan to post pics next week.

FIFA World Cup 2010 Predictions

50 Days until the World Cup!!

I found a World Cup predictor on the internet and took a couple of minutes to fill it out. Just picked games based on my first instincts and the info I had at the time.

Here is what my groups would look like:

	Group A			Group E
1	France		1	Holland
2	Uruguay		2	Cameroon
	Group B			Group F
1	Argentina		1	Paraguay
2	Nigeria		2	Italy
	Group C			Group G
1	England		1	Brazil
2	USA		2	Portugal
	Group D			Group H
1	Serbia		1	Spain
2	Germany		2	Chile

The above results produce the following bracket and predictions.

France
Nigeria		France
			England
England		England
Germany
				Brazil
Holland
Italy		Holland
			Brazil
Brazil		Brazil
Chile
					Spain
Uruguay
Argentina		Argentina
			Argentina
USA		Serbia
Serbia
				Spain
Cameroon
Paraguay		Paraguay
			Spain
Portugal		Spain
Spain

Since I did my first draft, Torres will be in race for fitness for Spain and Essien has been ruled out for rest of the club season with Chelsea and is questionable for Ghana.

I plan to do it again after the club season is over and one more time a couple of days before the kick off of the first game.

If you would like a copy of the predictor, I can email it to you. Let me know.

Pets

So we welcomed a new member into our family about 2 months ago. Her name is Dimples and she is a Chihuahua. A friend from church went into the hospital and someone needed to watch her pets. Her daughter took the cat; we took the dog.

Of course this violates my very harsh anti-pet stance, but we are helping a church member in a time of need. But how can you not like pets? They’re adorable, playful, loyal and . . . And what? Time consuming, money sucking, annoying little things that I really don’t care about. NEWSFLASH: I am very selfish. I am not going to spend a moment or a penny on anything but myself, so I’m not going “pony up” for food and vet bills and accessories for something that isn’t, well, me.

But what about Larry? Won’t he miss out on the joys of running the cat ragged with a laser pen or creating an interesting aquarium for a fish or talking the dog for a walk? Yes. I didn’t grow up with pets and I turned out fine. As for Larry, he can have any pet any time he wants. When he’s 18 and out of the house.

So Dimples is with us for the foreseeable future. She went in for a hernia surgery last night (ouch) but should be back tonight. Two weeks ago she went in for an abscessed tooth and 8 more teeth fell out. So if she croaks on our watch, then we have to deal with Larry and how to tell him about death and how he should feel and all that. Again, no pets, no problem. But people die and then you would have to explain it to him. Point for you. I have to go now.

Update: Dimples has moved to another house. Another care giver presented themselves, so that’s that. We now have to air out the house to get rid of the dog smell, including urine and crap. The cycle of life moves on.

Champions League recap and thoughts on Manchester United

If the group stages of the Champions League have become tedious, then the knockout stage this year more than made up for it.

United’s thrashing of Milan. Chelsea crashing out against Inter and their former manager. Lyon stunning Galacticos 2.0. Barcelona destroying Stuttgart in the 2^nd leg. Arsenal overcoming a nightmare 1^st leg with a classy effort at the Emirates. Bordeaux seeing off Olympiakos. CSKA Moscow upsetting Sevilla in Spain. Bayern progressing over Fiorentina thanks to an offside goal and Robben’s missile. And that was just the round of 16.

The Quarterfinals left me speechless. Lyon heaped more misery on Bordeaux, as they stumble towards the end of the season. After a decade of domestic dominance, it may be their time to shine in a continental competition. Inter did the business over Moscow. The first leg was tedious to say the least, and once Sneijder’s free kick went in, it was game over. Messi had an unbelievlabe second leg as he tore apart a weakened Arsenal side with 4 goals, 3 of them coming in 20 minutes. The third goal (breakaway and chip of the GK) was amazing.

And then there was Manchester United v Bayern Munich. I don’t know where to start, but here we go. For starters, United did not do enough in the first leg. After Rooney’s opening goal and his chance to make it 2-0, they lost possession far too easily and let Bayern run the game. Fergie’s substitutions were suspect and then Neville and Evra made horrible mistakes that cost them goals. In essence the tireless work of Olic set the stage for Robben. His goal at the end of the first leg put United behind heading back to Old Trafford, and his effort just before half took the gloss of an amazing first half by the Red Devils. Rafael’s red allowed Bayern to dominate, eventually leading to Robben’s exquisite finish. It was a disappointing exit but a thrilling ride.

Before the season began, I felt that this would be a transitional year for Manchester United. They sold Cristiano, would start phasing out the older members of the team and would begin shaping the team for the future. Results: Rooney has become the focal point of the team, and he has teamed up with Nani, Valencia is providing service and the team is supported by Fletcher, Carrick and Gibson. There is real promise in this team. The defense needs to be reinforced for sure, and that’s Fergie’s challenge this summer. Surely Chris Smalling can’t be the answer.

United have had a solid season. Top 3 finish, League Cup victory and Champions League Quarter-Final. They hung in there in the league to the end but the defeat against Chelsea was the result of too many injuries, ok one injury to Rooney, and too many big matches. The defeat against Bayern was gut wrenching but laudable. They took Bayern apart but a costly mistake took everything away. I would rather have United’s future than Chelsea’s. Arsenal is young and has taken great strides, and it may be that the United/Arsenal dynamic of the late 90’s and early 2000’s will return. Fergie may not see the culmination of his fourth team, but the foundation is definitely there for his successor.