I am sitting at my desk at work at 11:15 PM, writing and debugging my little programs while listening to Daft Punk's Homework.

Damn, I guess I really haven't come that far since 1997.

All Right! Another step closer to that first round draft pick next year.

Damn... I thought that we had made up some ground on the Texans, but now that I check the scores, they apparently managed to choke away that 21 point lead. Now that's followthrough. I think those guys really have a shot at it this year.

Reading some ESPN.com articles earlier this week, I was getting kind of upset. They were talking abouit the race for the #1 draft pick next year, and the only teams they mentioned were the Jets, San Francisco, the Texans and New Orleans. Now why can't Green Bay get some respect? We're in this race just as much as any of the others. Houston may have the lead right now, but I have faith that they can be caught.

The Texans still have Arizona, San Francisco and Tennessee on their schedule, while Green Bay only plays two teams with losing records for the rest of the season, Detroit at home and at Baltimore. Those are both loseable games. While all the other basement teams are beating each other up getting wins on each other, Green Bay will hold firm and lose out the season.

Maybe we can get a new punter with our #1 pick next year! That would be awesome!

I'm working right now, so I'm not watching the Packers lose another one. From watching the NFL.com Gamecenter it looks like I picked an OK one to miss... At one point Favre was 0 for 10, and he's just thrown his first interception after mounting the first decent drive they've had all game.

So here it is November 27th. We are currently under Tornado Watch.

By the way, The Ice Harvest was a pretty good movie.

The American Contract Bridge League has a somewhat embarrassing website for youth outreach. The site is called Bridge Is Cool, and it's, well, it's just kind of bad. Personally, I think that Bridge youth outreach should take one of two forms; Either reach out to nerds (like me) who may be interested in how much you really have to know to be good at the game, or reach out to degenerate gamblers who may not know that people often play bridge for money.

On this second note, I've been kicking around the idea of putting together a website called "Fuck Poker, Play Bridge". My website would detail all the ways in which Bridge is a more interesting game than poker. fuckpokerplaybridge.com is certainly available for registration. Of course I'm lazy (and it's a really bad idea), so I'll never do it.

The New York Times did publish an article today bemoaning the fact that Bridge hasn't made a bit of a comeback given all the attention Poker's been getting.

Also, my regular partner will be leaving town for a while after this Tuesday. If anybody in KC needs a Bridge partner, please email me at ryan@kcbridgestudio.com.

If I was a television executive, I would have a Pet Shop Boys Thanksgiving special every year, either before or after the football games.

How cool is my girlfriend?

She got me one of these.

The Gimpysoft Football Pick 'Em continues unabated. As pool admin, I've been taking advantage of the fact that I can make my picks late, but it has done me little good. I remain in last place with a correct pick percentage of 51.26%. It's a good thing I am not a sports gambler.

Marc has fallen from grace and is currently in third place with a pick percentage of 58.5%. He's only one pick behind Raj, who has picked 58.76% correctly.

Gerg is out ahead of the pack with 97 correct picks, for a correct percentage of 60.63%. You'll be hearing ads for Gerg's sports handicapping hotline on your local AM sports talk station next summer.

Don't forget about Thanksgiving games, and get your picks in today or tomorrow.

This has not been a good football season for me. The Packers sit at 2-8, which is one win more than I have in my favorite fantasy football league. I'm trying my best to play spoiler, but I can't even do that right. I'm in the middle of the pack in two other leagues, but one uses a website so bizarre I can't even find the standings. Seriously, check this out and just try to tell me that poor web design shouldn't be a capital crime. Also, if you manage to find the standings, let me know. I've found them twice before, but don't remember how I got there and haven't been able to find them on my last two attempts. My team is the Narmy of Darkness.

But as fat as real football goes, there is little to be happy about. The Packers are in a contest with the Texans for last place in the league. The Chiefs are mediocre, as usual. It's getting harder and harder to care about anything related to football. Like a sucker, I'll keep watching the Packers for the rest of the season. Are we at the point yet where I can actively root against them and hope for a good draft pick next year?

Week after week, I continue to watch these games. Why? Why do I do it? This team just is not very good. They're just not very good.

Well, if severian can continue to watch the Texans, the least I can do is tune in for Favre's last season or two...

But it's just so painful to watch.

Toby Keith's I Love This Bar & Grill - Harrah's Kansas City Location

A Checklist:

Winners: Yes. TKILTB&G is at a casino, so even if only the house, there were winners.
Losers: I was there, so Yes.
Chain Smokers: Yes. (I was not included among their ranks only due to the unfortunate location of the cigarette machine inside the casino grounds. I didn't have a Harrah's card.)
Boozers: Check.
Yuppies: Yes. Mainly, I would think.
Bikers: Not any obviously so.
Thirsty Hitchhikers: Probably not.
Girls Next Door Dressing Up Like Movie Stars: Absolutely not.

Cowboys: Yes, or at least their hats.
Truckers: I don't think so, but I could be wrong on this.
Broken Hearted Fools: None that I saw, but you never know.
Suckers: We're at a casino. Yes.
Hustlers: No pool tables. No.
Fighters: I did not see a fight. No.
Early Birds: We didn't make it out until about 10:30. Inconclusive.
All Nighters: Last call at 1:00AM for a Missouri Bar. Nope.
Veterans Talking About Their Battle Scars: None that I saw

Short Skirts: On the Whiskey Girls™, most definitely.
High Techs: Can I count myself here? Sure, why not.
Blue Collar Boys: Yup.
Rednecks: Yup.
Lovers: There was dancing to the slow songs, so I'd say so.
Lookers: Bex was there, so Yes.
Dancing Girls and Hookers: There was at least one woman that I'm certain fell into one of those two categories.
Drinking Our Beer From A Mason Jar: PBR in a quart-sized Mason Jar, baby. Check.

No Cover Charge: Check
Come As You Are: It did not seem a dress code was being enforced.

Divorcees: Simple demographics tell me that there must have been a few.
Big Bouncer Man: Not that I saw.
Old Jukebox: Nope. When the band wasn't playing, it was Toby Keith all the way.
Real Bad Band: Actually, I kind of liked them.
Waitresses: The Whiskey Girls™
Barflies: Eh, this is debatable. I'm going to say no.
A Dumb-ass: I fall into a third category. Yes.
A Wise-guy: Sure, there had to be one...
Getting Too Drunk and Sleeping In Your Car: I doubt casino security would be down with this plan.

Final Score: 21/36

I Love This Bar (& Grill)? Honestly, I didn't hate it. I would love to get Big Smith booked in there.

I don't remember anything in the song about a TV above the bar dedicated to Toby Keith videos, though.

Since the proper security code was provided, I suppose I have to update.

Work's been very busy, but I'm burning vacation by taking a half day tomorrow and then taking Friday and next Monday and Tuesday off. What am I going to do with a five day vacation? Probably play a lot of video games and get fatter.

The Bridge Studio is OK with the website, so I can now officially announce the launch of the new Kansas City Bridge Studio's website. We just need to get the directors posting their scores and things will be good. As an example, you can check out the score from Lew and I taking fourth (out of eight) in yesterday's tournament.

I'm heading out Friday night to see Atmosphere over in Lawrence. Atmosphere is not nerdcore, but they're still sort of alt-rap. I haven't heard anything by them, but they come highly recommended by Bex's sister and a coworker of mine, so I'll head out for a show.

Gurney sent this along a few days ago. I guess that about sums it up. Your team will not be going anywhere when you've lost two of your top receivers, your top three running backs, and your two best guards. Being tied for last place in the NFL is not a place I like to be, but I don't see things getting better.

The most frustrating thing about this season is that Green Bay has been in every single game they've played this year. I'm sure you've heard that they're the only team with a positive point differential on the season with a losing record. You really have to stretch to find good things to say when your team is sitting at 1-7. This is just not our year.

Does Favre come back for one more next year? Who knows. Things do seem flukey this year. We've been hit particularly hard by injuries, but still have good players on the team. Assuming they make it back next year, you throw some high draft picks into the mix, and maybe you've put together enough to convince Favre that they can make a run next season? Who knows. What I do know is that this season is over.

For some reason, I can't stop watching the train wreck, though. I've caught every game this season, and I don't intend on stopping now. Let's see this through and start looking ahead to Royals Baseball. (Oh Boy!)

Anybody out there looking for a Bridge partner? My partner heads south for the winter in a few weeks and I'll be looking again.