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The company I work for, has a rather large campus.  Our campus resides within 3 different ZIP codes.  The ZIP code I normally use (which is on our division’s stationary) is the only used by one building on campus (mine).  Go figure.  Usually, it’s 50/50 on whether or not UPS will screw up the delivery (they give up rather easily, and just note it as an exception).  Looks like I have to wait til next week to get my iPhone 3Gs.

Do you think the US Postal system could work with the ZIP codes and maybe get the entire campus under one ZIP Code?

I would have figured with the NHL expansion into the Southern States that their balls wouldn’t be as shriveled up since moving into warmer climates… but no, they’re still non-existant, as Gary Bettman has bent the league over to kowtow to NBC’s whims… boo-hoo, NBC doesn’t want hockey to interfere with their weekday prime time summer (worthless revenue) schedule.  Hey, you bid on the broadcasting rights assholes… put up or get out.

Not that I already hate the [original] Big Three Networks… but I do (FOX ain’t nearly as bad). I find the excessive amount of ‘reality’-based programming annoying as locking yourself outside in your skivvies on a mid-winter day in Alberta (as in Alberta Clipper).  At least two of them (NBC and CBS) have canceled shows that I like… normally in favor of the shows that would entertain a cat (yes, I don’t like reality shows or cats).  NBC has, over the past several years, drawn my ire.  Now they’ve started messing around with all that is sacred, the NHL.

I realize that Gary Bettman (commissioner of the NHL) has been trying to grow the league both in revenue, geography and popularity, and has had a pretty good record of success (though I don’t agree with everything he’s done).  Over the past few years, the NHL has been broadcast on NBC.  The 2008-2009 season, thankfully marks the end of the contract term and it will be up for negotiation/bidding between all the major networks [here in the US anyway... wow I miss the CBC].

Throughout the year, NBC typically only carried a Saturday or Sunday afternoon game.  I can’t think of a single instance where I caught an evening game on NBC (though this may be because I rarely watch NBC at night).  Given that 95% of the NHL regular season (and maybe the first playoff round) occurs during the normal TV-season, I doubt NBC is going to bump their damn reality shows in favor of the NHL.  I realize the NHL is not as big as the other three major North American sports… but there was a time in the past 10 years it had better ratings than the NBA… but I digress.  So, NBC can show the weekend games, that’s fine.  Here’s my problem.  I’ve watched several of them all year… their cameramen suck ass.  They’re not used to shooting a white background (the ice), consequently resulting in a white-wash or over exposure/burn.  Their is so much over exposure, you can’t see the puck… you might be able to make out the blue and red lines on the ice if you’re lucky.  I’d almost rather watch the games on FOX with FoxTraxx (another peev).

Now comes the Stanley Cup Finals… and what does NBC request of the NHL since the Eastern and Western Conference Finals were over in 5 games or less?  Move up the start date of the Cup Finals.  So as would normally happen, for each round in the playoffs, there’s minimum 14 days allotted, every other day, maybe two days if moving to the other team’s arena that is more than 500+miles away.  NBC is a bunch of assholes who should shut the fuck up and deal.  NHL Teams play 82 games a season (6 months, or 3.15 games/week a bit less during Olympic years)… that’s a helluvalot more than those sissies in the NFL playing 16 games in 17 weeks.  All playoff series’ start dates should be determined and adhered to before the start of the playoffs, no alterations, except in extenuating circumstances.

Next year, I just need to get the NHL Channel and/or NHL Center Ice (nearly every game).

I recently did a bit of reading up on English accents, particularly accents and dialects of American English.  Being here in Texas, some of my native-Texan friends have noticed my Northeastern accent.  This particularly applies to the awe or ah sound of my “o”’s, e.g. off, coffee… so I tell them to fuck awff.

After reading some wikipedia (not the most reliable source, but look at the table at the bottom of the page for the various accents of the US), I found this article linked from the Hudson Valley accent page.  The author seems to know a lot about what doughnuts are called in various parts of the country.  http://www.geocities.com/yvain.geo/dialects.html

Doughnut:

• New England: cymbals, simballs, and boil cakes
• Hudson Valley: crullers and olycooks
• Inland Northern: friedcakes
• Upper Midwestern and Rocky Mountain: bismarks
• Chicago (any sweet roll is): doughnut
• North Midland: belly sinkers, doorknobs, dunkers, and fatcakes
• Pennsylvania German-English: fasnacht
• Southern Costal: cookies

I really don’t watch much TV these days.  With the exception of a few good series (that make it past the chopping block), there’s not much there except B.S. Reality TV, game shows, singing/dancing shows, shopping networks, etc.

The one thing TV has too much of are these damn blowhards on any station you turn on, particularly when it comes to the news channels.

Talk format news is not news… in fact, it’s really annoying
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For a paltry $28k… I’m sure Detroit could do it en mass for less, but that would require them to refit, retool, etc. their assembly lines (mega bucks)… something they are really hesitant to do so with carbon-fiber (hence why they aren’t tripping over themselves to do it).

http://www.fastcompany.com/magazine/120/motorhead-messiah.html