One of the [many] abandoned homes in my neighborhood just had a buyer. It's the townhouse next to me that has been unoccupied for about six months. It's an investment property for the new owner, and he is just doing repairs in an attempt to rent it out. I have befriended the owner. In an act of pity, he lent me his pressure washer. I cleaned the back of the hosue, and was going to do the front on Saturday, but the guy came back to collect his pressure washer on Friday night. That was just the first of my plans to be thwarted this weekend.

Saturday night we were supposed to attend a drive in movie with Martha & Eric. We arrived at the prescribed location (we were even on time) to find that most of the viewing area was roped off and cars were not permitted to park there. Most people brought lawn chairs and set them up in the parking lot. We did not have anything like this, as we were planning to watch the movie from our car. We basically just walked around for ten minutes and left. Stephen walked very far without ever putting his hands down or stopping to rest. Maybe 1/8 of a mile to the snow cone stand and the same distance back to the car. We instead came home and watched Frost Gaint, which was everything we'd hoped.

Yesterday was the Men's final for the Legg Mason Tennis Classic in DC. I had two tickets that I got for my birthday from S&S, and the tickets said 12 noon. We didn't bother to check the details until yesterday morning, when we found out that the doubles final was at noon, and the singles final was "no earlier than 3pm," depending on how long the doubles match went. So we changed our babysitting plans and planned to get to the stadium at 3pm. After the world's longest drive-though line at McDonald's, we ended up getting to our seats about about 3:20pm, but the match started ten minutes late so we only missed the first two games. Turned out to be a complete trouncing, with the no-name, often-injured underdog winning in straight sets.

It was hotter than hell and there we no clouds. Being up in those bleachers makes you feel like you're right next to the sun. There are some aspects that are more impressive when you watch live, but I think I'm done with witnessing live sports. It's too much of a gamble regarding the weather, traffic, and the players. This year, two nobodies made it to the finals; there was no way to predict that when the tickets were purchased more than three months ago.

We did manage to go grocery shopping on Saturday.

Tonight is the first of our "band practices." If all goes well, Fat Man After Dark is going to do an audio interview with my band on Thursday. More on that later, hopefully.

Sports media is the worst.

Roger Federer lost in the quarterfinals at both the French Open and Wimbledon this year. There has literally been hours and hours of talk about the "decline" of Roger Federer. He'll never reach number 1 ranking again, blah blah.

Look... he'll be 29 years old this August, and he already holds virtually every major Tennis record. In the three major tournaments so far this year, he a) won the Australian Open b) got to Quarterfinals at French Open, and c) got to Quarterfinals at Wimbledon.

He is having a great year--probably the second-best season among all male tennis players this year--but since it is not perfection, it is the biggest story in Tennis. I think it's partially due to the fact that there are a bunch of nobodies left in the tournament, particularly on the women's side. They (like me) having nothing else to talk about.

Give it a rest, guys.

Tennis is back but I don't really care this time around. I think I'm sick of all the weather delays and timezone difference issues. I got two tickets to the final match of the Legg Mason Tennis Classic coming this August. I had a good time at last year's matches even though the heat was quite bad in early August. I'm excited to be going again. Going to the Men's finals ensures that you'll see at least one "famous" player in person.

In many ways, babies and dogs go hand-in-hand. For instance, I gave Stephen about ¼ of a leftover biscuit in his highchair this morning. He just mashed it up and made a huge mess. I'm not sure how much he even ate. With one swipe of a clean cloth, a hundred little crumbs fell to the floor. The floor was clean within ten seconds.

I think I have the new/old laptop set up pretty well by now. Didn't take long, once I received my replacement CD drive.

WordPress is now seven years old, and it is growing faster than ever. This tiny blog post is a good recap of the accomplishments of WordPress, most of them happening in recent times. This free software now manages over 20 million of the world's websites.

WordPress (the software used to manage this blog) has changed the way I think about computers and software. The more I learned about WordPress, the more I couldn't believe it was free. That prompted me to try a version of linux (a free alternative to Microsoft Windows), and has eventually landed me here, where I only use free or legally purchased software on all my computers. To be honest, once you learn your way around linux, it takes less effort to operate free software than it does to steal commercially-available software for Windows through means of warez.

I just took the dogs out literally minutes before it started raining out of nowhere. Gotta love it.

Since I began this post this morning (when I said I didn't care about Tennis), Robin Soderling has ended Roger Federer's streak of 23 consecutive appearances in the semifinals of major tournaments. One of the greatest streaks alive in sports, and I saw it end on live tv. To put the streak in perspective, it's like Tiger Woods finishing in the top 4 of every Major Golf Tournament for six straight years. It's equivalent to the same team making it to the "final four" of the NCAA basketball tournament for 23 years in a row. Robin Soderling is now the only player in history to have beaten both Nadal and Federer at the French Open.

Well, Tennis is back. The Australian Open is good because it ends an annual dry spell of tennis, but overall it's my least favorite of the major tournaments, mostly because the Australian fans are rubes. It's not rugby, just shut your pieholes already. Yesterday's controversy was not caused by native Australians, though.

One good thing about the Australian Open this year is that it marks the return of Justine Henin, my favorite player on either the men's or women's side. In May of 2008 (right before the French Open, her best tournament), Henin retired after 62 straight weeks at being ranked #1 in the world. No one has ever retired at #1 before. Since she left, there has been no clear-cut #1 player on the women's side (though Serena Williams might disagree with that statement). There have been five number ones in the past nineteen months, none for more than a few months at a time. Henin has already been called the best player of her generation, despite being 5'6" and under 130 pounds. The feeling is that she wants to win Wimbledon to solidify her legacy. She seems in excellent form thus far, like she never left.

Stephen seems a bit ill. His nose has been running a little for two days or so, and today when I got him up from his afternoon nap, his whole head was just radiating heat. I gave him some baby Tylenol and his temperature is currently 99.1°F and he seems to be feeling slightly better. He has been short on naps today, so I am hoping he takes a third nap soon... actually that may have just happened, though he keeps startling and waking himself up.

I have a breakfast smoothie that I have been perfecting. I have cut out the added sugar with my newest version. A banana, a strawberry/banana yogurt, milk, frozen strawberries, a few ice cubes, and a touch of vanilla extract (approximate nutrition information). It's quite a hearty meal and I can prepare and eat it in less than five minutes.

I have been in a bit of a slump with making/recording songs lately. I have started several songs in buzz, but they are going nowhere. It has actually been long enough that I am somewhat worried, though I have thought several times before that I was "finished," and it naturally worked its way back into my life. I just can't force it.. there is no point in doing it if it is not fun.

On the night of September 12, 2009, a women's Semifinal match was being played at the U.S. Open. Serena Williams was down match point to Kim Clijsters when she (S. Williams) was called for a foot fault. She retaliated with a tirade and threatened bodily harm to the lines person responsible for making the call. She was penalized one point for the outburst, which cost her the match since it was match point. She was immediately fined $10,000. The incident can be seen here. Her post-match interview was unapologetic and flippant. I do not feel the need to go into the details of the actual events, because they were heavily reported at the time.

The ITF recently handed down an additional fine of $82,500 for the incident. She has not been suspended. Two days ago, she gave a somewhat official response, with a blog post hosted on globalgrind.com. Here are a few excerpts from the post:

Also for all those that don't know, I felt incredibly bad, and miserable for losing my cool, and most importantly not representing the person I really am spiritually and the role model I want to be to my young fans. [...] The fact is every professional athlete gets wronged in one way or another. And every athlete gets upset. We have been working, sacrificing, missing out on numerous things, things we will never get back or experience for the sake of our careers. [...] Well this is what happened to me, and to be honest I believe I reached my boiling point. After yet ANOTHER wrong call I began to wonder- Was I being "overlooked" or wrongly judged on purpose!??? [...] Answer this: Why is it another player who also lost HIS cool not to a line judge - like I did - but to the main officiating judge- using the same "f word" why was HE only fined 10 thousand dollars. Was what I did 10 times worse than what he did?! [...] What about the famous HE who made arguing with officials "cool". Cool for "MEN" I guess. Is it because they are all HE's and not a SHE like me?

First of all, Serena acts like this is her only transgression. She seems completely oblivious to the fact that her reputation is that of a petty, self-centered athlete who can not relate to others. When she was dismissed by Justine Henin in the quarterfinals of the 2007 U.S. Open, she pouted in the post-match press interview. "I really don’t feel like talking about it [the loss], to be honest. It’s like I don’t want to get fined. That’s the only reason I came [to the post-match interview]. I can’t afford to pay the fines because I keep losing." She also refused to admit she was outplayed by the number one player in the world, citing her own mistakes as the reason for the loss. "I think that’s usually the case with me... that it’s for me to win or lose." Face it, Serena, you got smoked by Justine Henin. She was far-and-away the best player in the world at the time. (Since Justine Henin has left the sport, there has been no clear number-one ranked tennis player on the women's side. The title of "number one player" seems to change every month).

It seems that Serena is often involved in disgraceful behavior. Smashing racquets, showing contempt for the press, and openly mocking the ratings system (and people ranked above her in this system)... none of this is uncommon. Her blog post makes it sound like she is the victim.

She brings up John McEnroe (among others) without mentioning his name. In 1987, John McEnroe was fined $17,500 and suspended for two months for misconduct and verbal abuse. Taking inflation into account (usinflationcalculator.com), this fine amounts to over $33,000 by today's standards. Saying her fine was "ten times worse" is quite a stretch. Additionaly, McEnroe was suspended for two months, while Serena received no suspension for her actions. Why isn't John McEnroe crying sexism that SHE received no suspension? How is she comparing herself to infractions that are over 20 years old? Things have changed. We don't have anyone to compare her to in recent times (except maybe Marat Safin, who never threatened anyone), so how is she able to label these punishments "sexist?"

Serena Williams seems to miss the point: While John McEnroe taunted, cursed at, and argued with officials, she threatened bodily harm to a lines person. This was more than "losing your cool." Tennis is supposed to be above this sort of thing. These aren't football players who celebrate Super Bowl wins by going out to a club and stabbing someone. There was no argument in her on-court statements. She was not trying to get the call reversed, and she was not debating any points. She was simply intimidating and threatening someone for doing their job and adhering to the rules.

A foot fault is a very cut-and-dry call. It is a very easy call to make. There are no camera angles that show for certain if there was actually a foot fault, but I believe the lines person. Her entire job during a serve is to watch the line to see if the server's foot touches the line. Unless there really is a conspiracy involved, I have to believe the call was correct. There is also the point of view that you should not let officiating determine the outcome of a sporting event. Basketball referees should not call minor fouls late in the game if the game is tied; football referees should not make calls for minor interference infractions on 4th down late in a game. I agree with this philosophy. I think the lines person was taking her job too seriously--calling a foot fault on match point. Though I believe the line judge should have "let it go," I also realize that a badly-timed call does not deserve the reaction that Serena dished out. Threatening an official in any sport is an unforgivable no-no.

She is quick to point out that $92,500 is a large amount of money ("92 thousand dollars! This is more than most people make in a year."), but nowhere does she say that 92 thousand dollars is a drop in the bucket for her. Over the course of her career, she has earned over $28million in prize money alone. That does not count her endorsements and the countless commercials she has done. I do not see her complaining about the amount of money she is making compared to the average citizen. Because of inflation (among other things), she has earned more than double the prize money that John McEnroe earned in his entire career. Look at it this way: as prize money increases, so does the amount for fines. Tennis has been good to her. You have to take the good with the bad, particularly when you brought the bad stuff on yourself.

I think the fine should have been more. I think she should have been suspended. And I assure you that my opinion has nothing to do with gender.

In an ongoing effort to trim the fat from our spending habits, I just called COMCAST to cancel HBO and turn in one of our DVRs. This should save us about $32/month. We still have four ENCORE channels, so we get a lot of uncensored movies, just no HBO original programming (I'll miss the documentaries and the boxing). OnDemand still works, but with no access to the HBO OnDemand, it's next to worthless.

Poop watch continues on to Day Ten.

Busy weekend. Got Jaime's old car running again, cleaned out all the junk. Now we just have to vacuum, scrub, wash, wax, etc. and we can [finally] get rid of the thing. Finished mounting lights at LP's house, went grocery shopping, and spent a good four hours at the Mulligans' yesterday. I plan to walk Stephen down to the bank with me today to deposit some checks.

My wife wanted me to help her with her fantasy football draft this year. She has played the previous two seasons without knowing anything, and she has done very well. This season, probably not so much. Blame me. First round pick was more than likely a complete waste, and Kurt Warner may be starting to show his age. We shall see. This week, Zach took us down to Chinatown, as promised.

Tennis was also good this weekend. Weird things happened, and Kim Clijsters won the U.S. Open after taking off almost two years to have a child.

It was hotter on Saturday than it was Friday, but at least we got to the metro station without one wrong turn. Thunderstorms were predicted, so I left my camera in the car. Since we had wised up to the prices of food in the Tennis complex, we all ate at Potbelly's on Connecticut Ave., then rode the shuttle down together with no issues. We watched a good men's doubles match (with some serves in the 145mph range) and then sought shelter. The humidity was rising while we were there. Krystle, being almost 8months pregnant, was not feeling well in the heat and the sun. Jaime and I went back up to our seats for the Del Potro/Gonzalez match, which was very good, while Krystle and Gavin went to airconditioned areas. Being there live definitely gives you a different appreciation. To be able to see just how far they are leaning inbounds when they strike a serve, or to really see the difference in speed between a backhand slice and a flat forehand. I had a great time and didn't even get a [lasting] sunburn.

August 08, 2009

As I said, I left my camera in the car due to an incorrect weather forecast, so I just took a few pictures with Jaime's cell phone camera. This shot was taken after a tough rally where Gonzalez slid and fell (and lost the point because of it). No one cheered the point because Gonzalez was staying down on the ground. In fact, there was silence and concern. Del Potro walked over to check on him and Gonzalez stretched out his hand, as if to say "you caused me to fall, now help me back up!" Del Potro hopped the net and helped him up and everyone cheered. Gonzalez was the crowd favorite, but was outmatched from the start.

I would just like to thank S&S for buying us the tickets and watching Stephen all day for two days. I had a good time.

The GPS that is built in to our new car is possibly the most inept navigation system I've ever come across. Due to that fact (among many other things), it took us a long time to find the parking garage. We were a little late, but not a big deal. We watched Tommy Haas get annihilated, then ate lunch. During lunch, we saw a message on the jumbotron that Soderling was withdrawing due to an elbow injury. Well, there goes the second match. We spent more time driving around and arguing than we did at tennis. Luckily there is another day for redemption. I believe we are slated for both men's semifinals (which will be live, either on espn or espn2 at 1pm EST). Looking forward to it.