And there are More Green Pigs, too!

I looked for new pictures, but didn't find any, alas. The Year of Pig (in Chinese Horoscope) seems to have begun early this year- Charlotte's Web, now this!

Pig Races as Religious Protest?

Come on...seriously, there has to be a better way to do this.

KATY, Texas (AP) -- A man unhappy with an Islamic association's plans to build a mosque next to his property has staged pig races as a protest during afternoon prayers.

Craig Baker, 46, sold merchandise and grilled sausages Friday for about 100 people who showed up in heavy rain. He insisted he wasn't trying to offend anyone with the pigs, which are forbidden from the Muslim diet.

Does anyone else see the irony in having an event celebrating the athletic prowess of these magnificent animals while serving them between a bun right beside the event? "Gee, number 2 on the right there looks fast- I bet he'd be good with some mustard and a cold beer."

Belated Christmas Joke

My Dad shared one he had heard this year and I thought it was kind of funny-

The role of Christmas as you go through life has many stages:

1) You believe in Santa Claus.
2) You don't believe in Santa Claus.
3) You are Santa Claus.
4) You look like Santa Claus.

Hope everyone had a wonderful holiday!

Hockey Update #2

Remember last time, when I thought we needed some direction. Well, the Blue Jackets are not the only hockey team in Columbus making a coaching change. Our captain has asked me to serve as sort of a player/captain to help us with positioning and moving the puck out of our own zone. Hopefully, I can do as well as Ken Hitchcock has done with the Jackets. We held a practice back before Christmas and while we sucked in the breakout drill, we did show some improvement suring the scrimmage with another team. So, I think we can get there.

Our next season starts next week, and we get the undefeated champions again- just played them 2 weeks ago. Hopefully, we can build throughout the season and go in strong for the playoffs.

For all you Squirrel Lovers Out There...

How do they know which nuts to keep and store versus which to eat now? How do they decide where to go, where to hide? How do they live. If these questions about our backyard friends sound fascinating to you, read on.

One sad note about these furry guys, according to one researcher- 80% of them die under a car or truck's tires. So watch out on the roads...

Hockey Update

So we lost our playoff game tonight 3-1. We struggled, and I do mean struggled again offensively. The whole first half (yes, we play halves and not periods) it seemed like the puck was in our zone the whole time. We really never entered their end with any kind of control. The second half we scored on a power play to make it briefly 2-1, but they scored and an odd-man break and that was all she wrote. Next session we are going to have to try different things- change up our lines or something, because all season we have had problems generating chances. We get outshot almost every game, and it gets both tiring and frustrating to play defense all game.

Our passing sucks, so we are hardly able to break out of our own zone cleanly. The forwards do not get open, the defense sometimes does not look up for passing lanes, and so we end up dumping it all the way down and chasing it. This is especially difficult because: 1) it's 4-on-4 so their is a lot of open space, 2) it's a no-checking leguae so the first man in cannot just crunch the other team's defenseman, 3) we would have to hustle! We do play hard, but we get lazy and do not always have the effort we should. It's too bad, it's a good group of people to play with so I want us to work together and be successful as a team. At least we get to enjoy a week off!

Speaking of enjoyment, I did come home and have an Old Fezziwig Ale from the Samuel Adams Christmas Collection. So the evening wasn't a total loss.

For that Hard-to-Shop For Person on Your List this Year...

Who doesn't need a George W. Bush action figure?


Why, I feel more confident in our Iraq policy already! Gosh, he's so heroic. Although I do miss the "Mission Accomplished" banner.

Is it reassuring that he's been marked down? Does the price vary with his approval rating? If so, by 2009 they might pay you 5 bucks to take it out of the store.

Comic genius from "The Onion"

Detailing Barney (George W. bush's dog) and his trip overseas to visit our troops in Iraq. How many times to you read the sentence, "The First Dog also received a tummy rub courtesy of the 100th Infantry Battalion." That is perfect, I could not stop laughing. Reading to my friends in the office, I could not even make it through it. It's just absolutely brilliant writing. The pictures are great too.