Random thoughts, questions, and comments Vol. II - Dump Free

[rant]Unemployment sucks. I don't think I've had such knots in my stomach since dead week in college. I have to look for hours just to find a posted opening in my experience and training to apply for, because I have to be qualified but it still needs to be able to pay the bills. Apply for something I'm not qualified for, or overqualified for and suddenly I'm searching in bad faith, not to mention putting myself in a position of having to turn down an interview, which will certainly cost me one unemployment check, and possibly all my benefits. Add to that, I can't find my password to the kansasworks site, which surprisingly does actually appear to be a pretty good site, from the outside looking in anyway.

Now I find out that Kansas unemployment has screwed up somehow (probably a database error, or a website glitch or something) and they think I'm making my initial application. I was unable to use the "file a weekly claim" option last week, and it tried to take me through the initial process AGAIN. You can't reach the Contact Center on Mondays or Tuesdays, they just disconnect you due to high call volume, but when I finally got through last week, their rep admitted there was some kind of error there, and nothing she could see that would trigger a second interview, and that furthermore I was not the first person to report this glitch to her that day. So she sent me out a paper questionnaire to return, and emailed the help desk to fix the issue on my account. Received the questionnaire by mail this weekend, and noticed there is NO INSTRUCTION ON WHAT ADDRESS TO MAIL IT BACK TO. Website says nothing about filing by mail, apparently they do not acknowledge that such a thing is possible. And now, I get a notice in the mail that I have ANOTHER phone interview for my initial claim, scheduled for Dec 30, despite the fact that my initial claim was already approved back in October.

And all I want to do is find something to apply for today, so I can get something done, you know, in my life. I swear, I'm under more pressure and stress without a job than I was in my job.[/rant]

I have a Bus Admin degree, for what that's worth. I fear it's not much anymore. I've got customer service experience, non-sales marketing experience, some supervisory experience. If anybody knows of anyone who's hiring someone like that, I can't tell you how much I would appreciate a heads up. Thanks for letting me rant there. Feel better. Sort of.

Is it just me or has anyone realized that if smart people didn't have to take time to re-explain things to idiots or idiot-proof things that we'd probably already have a cure for cancer, flying cars and discovered how to power our entire planet with pure human energy?

Yes, think something similar every day at work.

Sometimes I wish I had a desk at work just for this reason. *headair* just looks like headbanging to good tunes.

Nothing says Christmas quite like SKC player cookies:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/15197182@N07/6561300955/

Dakar Rally is underway, coverage on NBC Sports Channel (formerly Versus) at 4:00 and 4:30pm daily. I noticed Cal is a fan, nice to see. I'm not going to go into anything now, because it's early on yet, but I just wanted to note something that got to me today. Jonah Street, the American privateer running his 4th Dakar on his self-modified bike, was forced to retire in the second stage due to electrical problems. In 2011, electrical issues cost him about 20 minutes - enough to end his hopes of victory, if not his race entire. Yesterday, once again stranded with no spark, he simply couldn't get the thing restarted. Lamentably, today he announced that he was retiring from motorsport, and the moto division will forever be the less for it. I can only hope he made the decision rashly and will reverse himself once the sting of working so long and so hard for so little has had time to salve.

Ya know, I love watching the big tennis tournaments, but damn, why can't somebody get Rafa Nadal an underwear deal so that the "wedgie pick" gets left out of his service motion? Tebow and Beckham have panty deals...can we get Rafa in on it? Please? Thx.....

I've been a KU fan for about 30 years, and it's been a rewarding experience.

But the way my fellow "fans" have to find scapegoats for every single loss really turns my stomach. WTF have these people done in their life that is even 5% as magnified as putting on a basketball uniform for a top 10 program??

I suppose it's just endemic to being a fan. Maybe I'm just getting too old for this shit.

fyp.

Heh. Get around the internet enough, and you'll see that fans of all the "elite" programs do the same damn thing. Pathetic, really. We're spoiled. (I can find ManU-fans-come-lately who are the same way.)

I'm old enough to remember some truly crappy KU hoops the last two years before Larry Brown, so I guess I have that tiny little bit of perspective going for me.

oh, i know. i actually had a different response all typed up about how it's a natural side effect of chronic dominance in your sport/league. after looking at it, i decided that it was unbecoming of me to have a post about ku that read with an almost positive tone about the program... so i went for the easy jab instead.

Speaking of easy jabs . . . YIKES.

http://youtu.be/-vMfqosdDbY

yikes is right.

I agree completely. Some fans (maybe most fans), when they get used to winning, simply have to find that reason they lost. It's like that UNI game in the tournament a couple of years ago. They just stone cold took it to us in that game - they had a good game plan, they hit timely shots, they refused to be intimidated, and all you should do is tip your hat to them. Instead, too many KU fans went on the innerwebs saying that if only KU had been motivated, if only this, if only that, they would have wiped the floor with UNI. Three words: "But. We. Didn't." Note to them: when someone outplays us and sends us home, please do me and the school a favor and don't dishonor yourself and us all with the whining and excuses. It takes a hell of a lot of guts and sweat and nerves to beat a Bill Self coached Kansas team and they just climbed that mountain. Acknowledge that, congratulate them, and gear up for the next one. That is all.

What are you referring too specifically about the Iowa State loss? I have had the flu all weekend so I didnt even watch the game or been online at all until now.

I dont think that is something that only applies to elite programs. Sports fans of all teams look for scapegoats. It's human nature to find blame in everything. It always has to be someone's fault when something bad happens.

Now that Tyshawn Taylor has reigned in his turnovers, the mob has turned on Conner Teahan as the source of all wrong. I suspect that Teahan himself would say he shouldn't be playing that many minutes, but there are two facts that cannot be ignored:

1. You can't play defense like Self demands for 40 minutes without a break.
2. All the other backcourt options are worse.

I should probably just stay away from Phog.net. That place makes USMNT N&A look sane sometimes.

Considering this is the least talented team that Bill Self has ever had and we have no depth at all and we are still ranked 5th in the country, no one should be bitching about anything. There were analysts saying we would be unranked by now and possibly missing the tournament. So, I am pleased with what is happening right now. We werent going to sweep the conference and Ames might be the most difficult road game in the Big 12 outside of Allen Fieldhouse.

Hear, hear.

Btw I am a little mystified by 810 today saying the Big 12 is now considered the #2 conference by RPI. This, to me, illustrates the peril of using RPI as the ultimate litmus test of conference strength. Common sense says that a) this Kansas team is the weakest, in terms of talent, in recent memory (probably) and b) they are in control of the Big 12, ergo c) the conference cannot be one of the best in the country.

The doping probe by the feds has been dropped against Lance Armstrong. It seems that they have been unable to find anything. If he did dope, he did a fantastic job covering his tracks. I am really glad that this might be going away. It is also good for SKC. I never thought the fallout would be too much if anything but it is nice that the team and stadium wont have to deal with the controversy.

http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/46257529/ns/sports-cycling/

http://msn.foxsports.com/golf/story/Golfers-groin-impaled-by-club-during-fight-020612

Who thought golf was such a dangerous sport....another OOOOOF moment. Not sure what to say about this type of behavior, other than it can kill you if you let it.

Anyone notice a massive upgrade in the banner selecton for this website. Last night I was on the Greyhound website and I come back to BS and there is a banner up top for Greyhound. I was on the Bonnaroo website and I come back here and there is a banner for buying tickets to Bonnaroo. There were a couple of other ones too in the last day or so. I've never noticed it being that spot on before. It's almost scary.

I use AdBlock on Firefox, so no.

I browse on an iPad, so I get mostly iPad related ads. Such as the banner for the digital version of Soccer America magazine, and an ad for a case that has a built in keyboard.

i forgot to ask this last week when i first noticed it... what's with rob stone now on fsc? did he get canned at espn?