Michael & Liz are Bloggable

4 years in a row of resolutions, that's kinda awesome. It's time to make some pledges to accomplish some new resolutions. Here are the links from the previous years:

• 2010 New Year's Resolutions
• 2009 New Year's Resolutions
• 2008 New Year's Resolutions

Last year I went 2 for 3. Not too shabby. Here is a review of last year's resolutions:

1. No carbonated soda. This was pretty easy except for 2 occasions. During the Blue Ridge Relay, having to be awake in the middle of the night, it was tough not taking some soda to stay awake. The other time was during the cruise when I really wanted to stay awake and party. It was tempting to get some caffeine but I resisted. Liz succeeded on this too and was not as tempted. She really enjoys not having soda.
2. Learn everything I possibly can about staining and finishing wood. To be honest, I've thrown in the towel on wood projects for a while because I'm tired of building crap with just a jigsaw and circular saw. There are so many flaws in woodworking when you use such imprecise tools. It won't be until I get a table saw and miter saw that I'll be able to create some cool stuff, and those two things are just not high on our purchase list. 
3. Lose 26 pounds. I did it between January and June. It was pretty easy to lose, really tough to maintain. I maintained for about a month or two and then just let it slip away. 

So it's a new year and new resolutions for 2011. Here they are:

1. Operation Reese Cup. 
2. Complete 4 house projects on our list. Today Liz and I made a pretty long list of improvements we want to make to the house. That list is very bottom heavy. The top is pretty easy stuff and the bottom is extremely expensive stuff. Might as well get started now. The top of the list contains the following: 
• Sweet Room Makeover (new TV, rearrange furniture, new TV stand. this will be paid for in a pretty sweet way. I'll blog about that later. )
• Re-do landscaping (some new bushes and plants and stuff), finish deck (staining, deck post tops)
• Expand attic (lay more floorboard to make it bigger)
• Install hanging garage shelves to increase storage
• Wainscot and paint the second bedroom, make it livable.
From there the list of house improvements starts to get pretty expensive so we'll start with those.
3. No carbonated soda  with a very important Blue Ridge Relay addendum. It is OK to have soda if I plan to be awake between the hours of 2AM and 5AM. This is to make sure if I run the race again that I have the opportunity to stay awake. 

Well this year is special because Liz will be writing down some resolutions of her own. She'll be writing the next post.

Am I the only person that has trouble staying awake until midnight on New Year's Eve? Every year I dread having to do it. I have even been known to say "SCREW IT!" and go to bed anyway. I actually recall doing that during a party one year. Fortunately the party was where I was living. I don't care what people think, I tire easily when the sun goes down. I honestly think this Friday will be the 4th time all year that I stay awake until midnight.

The first time that I can remember this year was during the Blue Ridge Relay when I had to run at 2AM. One night on the cruise, Liz and I made it until midnight too. That was a huge accomplishment because around 9PM I was ready to go to sleep, but I trudged through it in order to see the comedian they had at 11PM. It was worth it, he was funny. And I say 4th because chances are I must have stayed up late at some point in the Spring or Summer, although I can't remember it.

Anyone who knows me, knows that I am much more of an early bird than I am a late night owl. I can wake up at 4AM on any morning without any problems. Although I can't do that on a consistent basis. If I had to do that every day then that would be a problem. But there is something about 9 or 10PM, every single day, that just makes me start to fall asleep. It's like my body shuts down and my eyes instantly start to close. Even on what should be the easiest day of the year, New Year's Eve, I still can't stick it out.

So tomorrow, I'll do my best to see that ball drop, but I'm not making any promises. If the sleepy bug hits, history shows, I have no problem hitting the light, walking up the stairs to bed, and once again saying "screw it".

So I've been a little MIA from responding to a few emails and from blogging, but there's a good reason. This month, Liz's brother and sister-in-law are celebrating their 10 year wedding anniversary and to help them celebrate, they invited everyone on a cruise through the Caribbean. It was just what the doctor ordered seeing as it's been the coldest December on record in Raleigh.

We flew down to Miami, FL, and since neither Liz nor I have been there, we spent 3 days hanging out and touring the city before the cruise. Then we boarded the NCL Epic for a 7 day cruise. We stopped in Costa Maya, Roatan Honduras, and Cozumel Mexico. I will go into more detail as the pictures are shown below. Liz will upload the rest to picasa soon.

Whenever you make a goal for yourself, you always need a reward. What's a goal if you aren't rewarded in the end? The reward for finishing a marathon is seriously the finish in itself. I will never get tired of the hair standing up/goosebumps feeling at the end of a marathon.

A week before my last marathon in November, Liz and I were browsing Target when we came across the most amazing package of Reese cups. No it wasn't your normal 100 calorie Reese Cup packet they have at the checkout counter. These were half pound Reese cups. Yes I said, HALF POUND! 1,140 calories of delicious chocolate and peanut butter... per cup! I picked it up and immediately knew what I would be eating that Sunday afternoon as all my muscles screamed in pain from the race.

It was really really good. Under normal circumstances, that amount of fat and candy is completely nasty, but after a marathon it was absolutely fabulous. It took the whole day to eat and I shared a bit with Liz. Yet we still had another half pound of deliciousness sitting there staring at us. What to do with it? I didn't want it at the time but I knew I'd want it later. It is now sitting in the freezer wrapped in a Ziplock bag. It's the perfect reward for accomplishing what I will call "Operation Reese Cup".

Typing this paragraph makes me sick, but I'll do it anyway. During the Spring and Summer, I lost a ton of weight. I went from 196 to 170ish. I say 170ish because 170 is where I hovered. By the time November rolled around and I was running the marathon, I was at about 177. Then in early December when we left for our cruise I was exactly 180. Sadly, I threw caution to the wind on the cruise and ate everything in sight. I may have even eaten some some chairs and handrails, they are still taking inventory. At this time, I am a not-so-wonderful 187.4.

The issue is when I went from 170 to 177. It's actually really hard to lose or maintain your weight when you are training for a race. That sounds ridiculous, I know, but there's a reason. You are running a good 20 to 40 miles a week and on the weekends you'll have runs anywhere from 6 to 20 miles. When you start to run that mileage, your body craves fuel ALL THE TIME. The only way to avoid gaining weight is by compensating with extra amounts of nutritious food. I decided to go the other direction and fulfill my craving with unhealthy food.

I lost weight to become a faster runner. I certainly accomplished that with the marathon, but I was dumb and  just throw away all that progress. I need to learn portion control and I think I am getting there. When you overindugle enough times, eating too much starts to sound disgusting. I think I finally learned that this past weekend when my sister's delicious meals started piling up.I left one night feeling ill from having eaten too much. I think that's the straw that broke the camels back. Thus begins Operation Reese Cup.

So here are the specs for Operation Reese Cup:

• Goal Weight: 160 lbs.
• Time Frame: 12/27/2010 until May 2011. 
• One problem I have is that I weigh myself way too much, so I'll only weigh in every Tuesday to keep me on my toes(since that corresponds with the Biggest Loser program). 
• I have a worksheet on the refrigerator to chart my progress to keep me accountable. I have to quote Liz here "It's like girls who put pictures of models in bikinis on the fridge to motivate themselves".
• This will be one of my New Year's Resolutions, and I take those very seriously. 
• Reward: A half or full marathon around that time (TBD), and the other Reese Cup in the freezer. 

 I realize it's a little hypocritical to complain about gaining weight and then set my reward as a MASSIVE amount of fat. It's really more for the irony than anything. You would never have a military operation named "Operation Feeble Warrior" or "Operation Limps Home With Crutches". Truth be told, when I do get to 160lbs, I'll probably only break off a small amount as a celebration and portion it out over a few weeks.

Step 2 to Operation Reese Cup will be to maintain my weight the rest of the year.

Well the regular season ends next week and I can't decide if I'm happy about it or bummed about it. Ever since the Bengals started imploding I have become disillusioned to the season. I held out hope until week 7 or 8 that all of a sudden they would catch fire and just start playing with the big boys like they did last season. Turns out, they are, and always have been, a big group of children.

I'm afraid of what the off season holds for them. I think a fire sale of people is coming. If it doesn't happen, you better believe that the people who hang around are going to have bad attitudes. I'm afraid that whatever the Bengals do, they are a few seasons away from correcting it. Even so, say they do exactly what they should, they still have little hope next season.

To be entirely honest, it has crossed my mind to change my loyalties to the Panthers. At least with them, you get the feeling they are trying to build a successful franchise and there is hope for continued success. UGH! I say these things but I don't really mean them... OK I take it back... I love you Bengals. You're the better cat.

On a brighter note, I am now beating all the ESPN analysts. The closest one to me Chris Mortensen with 141-83. I just need to survive two more weeks.

Expert Picks: ESPN Analysts

Week 14: 11-5
Week 15: 13-3

Carolina @ Pittsburgh:	Pittsburgh
Dallas @ Arizona:	Dallas
Tennessee @ Kansas City:	Kansas City
Baltimore @ Cleveland:	Baltimore
New England @ Buffalo:	New England
San Francisco @ St. Louis:	St. Louis
Detroit @ Miami:	Miami
Washington @ Jacksonville:	Jacksonville
NY Jets @ Chicago:	NY Jets
Houston @ Denver:	Houston
Indianapolis @ Oakland:	Indianapolis
San Diego @ Cincinnati:	San Diego
Seattle @ Tampa Bay:	Tampa Bay
NY Giants @ Green Bay:	NY Giants
Minnesota @ Philadelphia:	Philadelphia
New Orleans @ Atlanta:	Atlanta

Overall Record: 143-81

This year was the first year that Liz and I stayed home and cooked Thanksgiving ourselves. We figured we'd see all of our family in December so there was no sense in traveling anywhere.

I've typed two sentences and I've already lied to you. I'll be honest, I cooked squat. Liz cooked everything. Thanksgiving has always been that meal that was supposed to stress a cook out. That didn't really happen with her. She had everything prepared. She had every casserole with a stick-it note that said what time to put it in the oven, she popped them in when it was time, and enjoyed Thanksgiving with her feet up the rest of the time.




We actually started the day off with a new tradition. We ran the Ridgewood Turkey Trot 8K in Raleigh. What better way to get ready for a feast than to make that exercise down payment? The race was at 8AM, so we got up at our normal time, ran the race and were home by 11. That race (or any race, depending on where we are that year) is certainly going to be a tradition for us on Thanksgiving from now on.

You'd think with only two people we'd get the smallest turkey possible right? You are incorrect. Here's a rough outline of the turkey hunt:

Liz: "We're going to Harris Teeter, they have a sale on turkeys for 35 cents a pound."
Me: "sweet!"
...go to harris teeter...
Liz: "OK, so 12 pounds is the smallest they have, I figure that's more than enough for 2 of us."
Me: "Let's look at the largest they have, you can't get 35 cents a pound at the deli counter."
Liz: "That would be 19.7 pounds."
Me: "Looks good to me."
Liz: "We're going to be eating turkey for weeks."



We do have a little regret about not trying to find a turkey that's organically produced. My guess is the Harris Teeter turkeys are not made to be the most healthy animals on the planet and are probably injected with a whole bunch of growth hormones, so we really should have tried to find one. Call it laziness I guess.

I only had two jobs for the day, to say grace and to carve the turkey. I must admit that I did excellent with both tasks. Check out how perfectly carved this turkey breast is:

I gotta post two weeks of picks since I won't be able to next week. It's getting to the point where I think the games are more clear. For example, it would be dumb to pick Carolina over Atlanta or Minnesota over NY Giants. So most of my picks are obvious.

Expert Picks: ESPN Analysts

Last Week: 12-4

Week 14:

Indianapolis @ Tennessee:	Indianapolis
Tampa Bay @ Washington:	Tampa Bay
Cleveland @ Buffalo:	Cleveland
NY Giants @ Minnesota:	NY Giants
Green Bay @ Detroit:	Green Bay
Oakland @ Jacksonville:	Jacksonville
Cincinnati @ Pittsburgh:	Pittsburgh
Atlanta @ Carolina:	Atlanta
Seattle @ San Francisco:	San Francisco
St. Louis @ New Orleans:	New Orleans
New England @ New England:	New England
Denver @ Arizona:	Denver
Miami @ NY Jets:	NY Jets
Kansas City @ San Diego:	Kansas City
Philadelphia @ Dallas:	Philadelphia
Baltimore @ Houston:	Baltimore

Week 15:

San Francisco @ San Diego:	San Diego
Arizona @ Carolina:	Carolina
Jacksonville @ Indianapolis:	Indianapolis
Kansas City @ St. Louis	Kansas City
Washington @ Dallas:	Dallas
Buffalo @ Miami:	Miami
Cleveland @ Cincinnati:	Cincinnati
Detroit @ Tampa Bay:	Tampa Bay
Houston @ Tennessee:	Tennessee
Philadelphia @ NY Giants:	Philadelphia
New Orleans @ Baltimore:	Baltimore
Atlanta @ Seattle:	Atlanta
Denver @ Oakland:	Oakland
NY Jets @ Pittsburgh:	Pittsburgh
Green Bay @ New England:	New England
Chicago @ Minnesota:	Chicago

Overall Record: 119-73

I'm posting this after the game on Thursday but believe me, I wouldn't have picked Houston over Philadelphia at home. No way.

Expert Picks: ESPN Analysts

Last Week: 10-6

Houston @ Philadelphia:	Philadelphia
Cleveland @ Miami:	Miami
San Francisco @ Green Bay:	Green Bay
Denver @ Kansas City:	Kansas City
Buffalo @ Minnesota:	Minnesota
Chicago @ Detroit:	Chicago
Jacksonville @ Tennessee:	Jacksonville
Washington @ NY Giants:	NY Giants
New Orleans @ Cincinnati:	New Orleans
Oakland @ San Diego:	San Diego
Atlanta @ Tampa Bay:	Atlanta
Carolina @ Seattle:	Seattle
St. Louis @ Arizona:	St. Louis
Dallas @ Indianapolis:	Indianapolis
Pittsburgh @ Baltimore:	Baltimore
NY Jets @ New England:	New England

Overall Record: 107-69

I picked an awful lot of favored teams this week but I can't help but think all those teams will win. The Pitt/Balt game will be a tough one. I just don't think Pittsburgh is that good anymore. Baltimore should pull it out.

Liz and I don't drink coffee. I love coffee ice cream, I really enjoy the taste of mocha anything, but I've never gotten into coffee. Mainly because I'm pretty sure that if I did, I'd turn into an addict who needed it all the time. That's part of the reason why I make New Year's Resolutions to not drink soda, because otherwise I'd chug a few a day. Nothing is more delicious, day or night, than downing a quick can of the juice, commonly referred to as Mountain Dew. So I wanted to preface what I'm about to say with the fact that I understand the feeling.

People seemingly addicted to coffee drive me absolutely nuts. The prime example is this McDonald's commercial. Just watching it drives me up the wall:

Is everyone else seeing the same thing that I am? Is this dude's actions not exactly the same as Harold and Kumar's after they have gotten high and go on a munchie's scavenger hunt for White Castle?

Obviously the commercial is extreme, "don't talk to me until I've had my coffee." And I have to admit, I chuckle every time he says "no" to the dog. But I think this feeling is common for a lot of people and that is extremely sad to me. An addiction is an addiction whether it involves an illegal drug or not. There was a time where I would go into withdrawal after a day or two without having a soda. That isn't normal. That's not what our bodies are meant for. Caffeine may not be illegal but there's no reason you should need it in order to wake yourself up or function on a daily basis.

These days I am rolling out of bed at 6 on the weekdays and between 5 and 6 on the weekends and I'm already awake and ready to go by the time I turn off the hot water to the shower. I think people who rely on coffee to wake themselves up, day in and day out, need to realize that maybe coffee is a part of a cycle they have fallen into. It's not the solution to your problem of energy, but a contributor to it.


That's why the commercial drives me nuts. It's conveying the message that his addiction, regardless of what it is, is totally fine and acceptable. I'd love to see any other addiction advertised that way. Think of the most devastating addictions that can be inflicted on your life, like porn or crack, and it's probably not so funny anymore.


(please no comments regarding decaf, I purposefully ignored that topic).

11-5 might seem like a good week last week, but not compared to the experts. They all beat me. I am slowly going down in the rankings.  I'm excited for football tomorrow, I just wish it started earlier than 12:30!


Expert Picks: ESPN Analysts

Last Week: 11-5

New England @ Detroit:	New England
New Orleans @ Dallas:	New Orleans
Cincinnati @ NY Jets:	NY Jets
Green Bay @ Atlanta:	Green Bay
Tennessee @ Houston:	Houston
Minnesota @ Washington:	Washington
Jacksonville @ NY Giants:	NY Giants
Pittsburgh @ Buffalo:	Pittsburgh
Carolina @ Cleveland:	Cleveland
Kansas City @ Seattle:	Seattle
Miami @ Oakland:	Miami
Philadelphia @ Chicago:	Philadelphia
Tampa Bay @ Baltimore:	Baltimore
St. Louis @ Denver:	Denver
San Diego @ Indianapolis:	Indianapolis
San Francisco @ Arizona:	San Francisco

Overall Record: 97-63

No time for any quick thoughts.

Every year Liz and I have a tradition of watching our 4 favorite Christmas movies. I know Liz loves 2 of them (number 2 and 4 below), the other 2 she isn't crazy about. So I guess this is a list of my favorites for the Christmas season. I hope this tradition continues for many years to come because it's one thing about the holidays I look forward to the most. I love curling up with sweats on, a huge blanket, and the shades pulled up to enjoy the winter atmosphere and season. I'll take cold and bundled up over hot and no clothes any day of the week and twice on Sunday. Also, if anyone is wondering, all these movies have been given 5 stars in Netflix.

What's awesome is each movie is different in it's own way. We have hilairous, classic, childhood classic, and romantic. Here are the 4 movies.

1. Hilarious: Elf (2003)

You have to love Will Ferrell to enjoy this movie but man is it one of my favorites. The way he just delivers a line and then looks as if he's totally serious. It also gets me in the mood for the season because of his undying love for Christmas and the season. I also really enjoyed his romantic love interest, Zooey Deschanel. She did a great job with it. She doesn't have the greatest voice ever, but that was the point. It doesn't matter how good you sing if you're spreading Christmas cheer.  Quotes I love:

"Buddy the Elf, what's your favorite color?"


"You smell like beef and cheese, you don't smell like Santa" 

"Have you seen these toilets? They're GINORMOUS!"




2. Classic: It's a Wonderful Life (1946)


I have never watched this movie and not been emotionally moved by the ending. This is a classic in every sense of the word. I have often said that older movies are boring but this is one old movie that I'd put right at the top as one of my all time favorites. Wow, I can't believe I'm saying that about a 1946 movie. If you ever wanted an example of the kind of man you should aspire to be, George Bailey is it. He is a truly selfless person and does everything for everyone else, he just never realized all that he had given. It is a long movie, but well worth the time. Quotes I love:

"What is it you want, Mary? What do you want? You want the moon? Just say the word and I'll throw a lasso around it and pull it down. Hey. That's a pretty good idea. I'll give you the moon, Mary."


"Merry Christmas, movie house! Merry Christmas, Emporium! Merry Christmas, you wonderful old Building and Loan!"

"A toast to my big brother George: The richest man in town!"



3. Childhood Classic: Home Alone (1990)


This movie just brings me back to 1990. I remember the first time I saw it. My family wasn't a big movie going family, but we went to a sold out showing around Christmas. It was so sold out that we split the family up to find seats in the theater. Home Alone is every kid's dream of being given a moment of freedom and then tackling intruders with the wildest and most awesome traps. Every kid my age wanted that "Attack Plan" he created. Why do I still like it? You ever just listened to the music? They've got it all in there. And I love the story of the old man neighbor everyone was scared of. We all had one of those when growing up too. Quotes I love:

"No, for three reasons: A, I'm not that lucky. Two, we use smoke detectors and D, we live on the most boring street in the whole United States of America, where nothing even remotely dangerous will ever happen. Period."

"Guys, I'm eating junk and watching rubbish! You better come out and stop me!"

"I think we're getting scammed by a kindergartener."

 4. Romantic: Love Actually (2003)

Honestly, I think this could have been the greatest Christmas movie of all time except for the stupid nude scenes. Why did they include that garbage? It makes NO sense to me, have the two people working in the subway taking coins or something.. Take the nude scenes out and this movie is extraordinary. It's got everything in it.The point the movie is trying to make is that the most important part of the holiday season is spending time with the ones you love. This movie has love lost, love desired, love realized, and love achieved. My favorite parts are the Hugh Grant relationship and Aurelia relationship. Gotta love those two plots. Quotes I love:

"I will miss you. And your very slow typing... and your very bad driving."

"Thank you. That will be nice. Yes is being my answer. Easy question."

"I love that word 'relationship'. Covers all manner of sins, doesn't it? I fear that this has become a bad relationship; a relationship based on the President taking exactly what he wants and casually ignoring all those things that really matter to, erm... Britain. We may be a small country, but we're a great one, too. The country of Shakespeare, Churchill, the Beatles, Sean Connery, Harry Potter. David Beckham's right foot. David Beckham's left foot, come to that. And a friend who bullies us is no longer a friend. And since bullies only respond to strength, from now onward I will be prepared to be much stronger. And the President should be prepared for that."

 "Oooooo, would we call her chubby?"


I thought about including Charlie Brown Christmas, but we are not as consistent in watching that every year.  What movies are we missing here?

*NOTE* - I promise I will do everything I can to not spoil anything in the movie. I never feel like I am saying anything wrong but friends would say otherwise. Also to note, it's a little weird and creepy how much I love the Harry Potter series, just roll with it.

I really really enjoyed it despite some comments below that might suggest otherwise. After all, this is Harry Potter. If it has Harry, Ron, Hermione, and a bunch of magic, I'm going to love the movie. My comments below aren't as much a review as they are random thoughts on the movie. I think a true review SHOULD ruin a movie, and that's not what I want to accomplish. Now to the juiciness:

I can't imagine anyone seeing this movie and not immediately wanting to comment on the ending, or lack thereof. You go in knowing that it is only Part 1 of 2, but come on Harry Potter! Good movies need to have a climax and something that resembles a conclusion for the protagonist(s). Upon completion, what appeared to be the climax of the movie would have just been an interesting twist in other movies. They should have even included some subtitles at the bottom of the screen that said "FYI - This is the climax, you are supposed to be riveted right now". It wasn't until the movie was over that I realized what that scene was supposed to be.

So first and foremost, do not go into a movie labeled as "Part 1" expecting to be satisfied at the end of it. Just as you would expect, you won't be. If there was no Part 2, I'd be downright FURIOUS. Instead I am just annoyed I have to wait 8 more months.

Liz and I were both struck at how quickly the time just flew by while watching this movie. It's 2 hours and 27 minutes but it definitely didn't feel that way. The entire time we were engaged and interested. That's always my clue that the movie was good. If I don't have to check the time, you're doing pretty well.

I am totally fine with this, but they make absolutely no effort to clue new viewers in to what was happening. For example, in the wizarding world of Harry Potter, whenever they pitch a tent, the inside is enchanted to be larger than it appears to be on the outside. So I'm sure anyone who isn't aware of this was extremely confused as if the door to the tent was a portal to a fancy house somewhere else. There were a million other things (horcruxes, the green killing spell, Harry/Voldemort's wand connection, the 3 family histories, etc.) that new viewers would have been totally confused by if they hadn't seen any of the other movies. I bet that was a board meeting of important people when planning the movie. "OK people, do we care or not?" Clearly not.  But it's another reason I love Harry Potter, seeing a world with endless possibilities with little explanation.

I read the book but completely forgot what the "Deathly Hallows" were. They did a PHENOMENAL job explaining that to the viewer. I actually really liked how they did it too. It was creative and pretty slick. So at least with the things we aren't supposed to know they did a good job of clearing up any confusion.

I miss Hogwarts. It played absolutely no part in this movie. That's fine because that's the way it's supposed to be, but a Harry Potter movie without Hogwarts? That's like a Rocky movie without a training montage.

I just wrote a whole paragraph and deleted it for the sake of not ruining the movie for people. That's growth. But another thought I took away from the movie is, I freakin' LOVE Dobby the house-elf. You may remember him as the annoying character from the second book, another example in this movie of what they make no effort to explain. The Harry Potter series always seems to add some elements of humor into the movies and house-elves (and Ron's ineptness) were most of that humor. Dobby is a rock star in this movie and one of the redeeming qualities despite the cold "conclusion" to part 1.

Speaking of Dobby, how impressive is CGI these days? At one point Dobby was touching human people and it didn't even register as weird. I'd be willing to bet there is not 1 scene in the movie that didn't include CGI of some kind. If there was, you wouldn't know it. I'm thinking back to everything they must have added in, and holy cow it's unreal. If there is any showcase for CGI abilities, Avatar probably takes the cake, but this Harry Potter movie isn't far behind. It's phenomenal work by Warner Brothers. Amazing.

You can't help but make a connection between this movie and the first Lord of the Rings movie. Frodo had his entourage of Samwise, Merry and Pippin. They were trekking across the country-side with little to no knowledge of what it was they were after or what they may encounter. Anything could attack them and send their quest off course. This movie is based around Harry, Ron, and Hermione going on a quest of their own. Lucky for them, they don't have to battle an army of Orcs in the end, just some unreasonable death eaters.

The series has come a long way from the cupboard under the stairs. I think they make it obvious that they intend the target audience to grow one year at a time as the series goes along. Both elements of evil and sexuality continued to develop in this movie. PG-13 is definitely fitting for the movie as it's not for kids.

Take away the fact that it's part one out of two, and this movie is classic Harry Potter. In ranking my favorite Harry Potter movies, the current list would be 6, 4, 1, 3, 5, 2 (from best to worst) . 6, 4, and 1 are amazing, 3 is decent, while 5 and 2 are downright annoying.  I'll have to see it a few more times to tell but I think it'll land in my top 4 with the other great ones. Now I can't wait until July 15th.

Seems like this is all the blog has come to nowadays, hasn't it? Just football stuff... sooner or later I'm going to lose my 3 readers :).

YAY! No more bye weeks! Finally get to pick all the teams again!

Expert Picks: ESPN Analysts

Last Week: 7-7

Chicago @ Miami:	Chicago
Oakland @ Pittsburgh:	Oakland
Cleveland @ Jacksonville:	Cleveland
Washington @ Tennessee:	Washington
Houston @ NY Jets:	NY Jets
Baltimore @ Carolina:	Baltimore
Green Bay @ Minnesota:	Green Bay
Arizona @ Kansas City:	Kansas City
Detroit @ Dallas:	Dallas
Buffalo @ Cincinnati:	Cincinnati
Seattle @ New Orleans:	Seattle
Tampa Bay @ San Francisco:	Tampa Bay
Atlanta @ St. Louis:	Atlanta
Indianapolis @ New England:	New England
NY Giants @ Philadelphia:	Philadelphia
Denver @ San Diego:	Denver

Overall Record: 86-58

Quick Thoughts on the Games: 
If Miami beats Chicago with Tyler Thigpen, I might completely give up, holy crap.

I can't believe I'm taking Oakland over Pittsburgh... that might be dumb... but then again I would have called Dallas over NY dumb last week.

If the game were in Cleveland, I EASILY would have picked the Browns, but since it's in Jacksonville, I'm BARELY picking the Browns. This one's for you Jake. Now watch them lose cuz I picked them. Sorry.

I don't know how the Redskins got so lit up last week. But at least their offense looked really good. Tennessee is beatable, looks like they've lost 4 total so far.

Houston has got to be so close to throwing in the towel, lost 3 in a row... and all their losses are to sub-500 teams... ouch.

From stay-at-home Dad last week to starting QB this week... gotta love a cinderella stor... I can't do it, Brian St. Pierre is going to get LAMBASTED against Baltimore. My theory is they care so much about Tony Pike that they aren't willing to throw him to the wolves. This is the easiest pick of the week, without a doubt.

Wait, Green Bay is playing Minnesota this week and I haven't heard the name Favre yet... is the world imploding? There's no other explanation.

KC is 4-0 at home and Arizona is 1-4 on the road, what other choice is there?

I think Dallas has a fire under them... they'll finish 6-10 at least. Also, Dallas comes before Detroit alphabetically so...

OK Cincinnati, I know you want the #1 pick in the draft and all, but for the love of Pete, of all the teams to lose to, please let it not be Buffalo. Also the game is blacked out in the Cincinnati area, what does that tell you?!?! About time for some change.

Don't know why I'm picking Seattle, maybe cuz the Saints let the Browns come to town and ROMP them. Bush Smush, he won't make a difference. Have you ever broken your fibula? Neither have I, but it's GOTTA hurt.

For 1 week I believed in San Fran... I believe no longer.

Atlanta is starting to impress me. If they lose to the Rams, I'm no longer impressed. I bet they'd love to have another shot at Pittsburgh!

Indianapolis was +5 (5 to 0) in the turnover margin this past week against Cincinnati and they STILL were about to lose if Cincy could put 1 drive of 40 yards together at the end of the game. They are not as good as 6-3. I'm easily picking New England.

Philadelphia is a trendy pick this week I'm sure, but did you see their 59 points? That was literally like watching a 350 pound bouncer named Robert Rath slap a baby for his rattle. Baby just rolled over and cried really loud. I bet Vick gets a standing ovation in Philly.

Scott, what is going on in Denver?!? 14-59 and then 49-29. This might be dumb, but I'm picking Denver.

Boy did I miss the mark last week on the Seahawks over the Giants pick. The Seahawks got absolutely obliterated. I'm falling farther behind a few of the experts, I gotta pick it up.

Well, we have a Thursday night game this week so I gotta get my picks in.

Expert Picks: ESPN Analysts

Last Week: 8-5

Baltimore @ Atlanta:	Baltimore
Cincinnati @ Indianapolis:	Indianapolis
NY Jets @ Cleveland:	NY Jets
Minnesota @ Chicago:	Chicago
Tennessee @ Miami:	Tennessee
Houston @ Jacksonville:	Jacksonville
Detroit @ Buffalo:	Detroit
Carolina @ Tampa Bay:	Tampa Bay
Kansas City @ Denver:	Kansas City
St. Louis @ San Francisco:	St. Louis
Dallas @ NY Giants:	NY Giants
Seattle @ Arizona:	Arizona
New England @ Pittsburgh:	New England
Philadelphia @ Washington:	Washington

Overall Record: 79-51

Quick Thoughts on the Games: 
Apparently Matt Ryan is something crazy like 12-2 at home in Atlanta. It was tempting to pick Atlanta, I just don't think they are that good. They'll probably prove me wrong.

Cincinnati is going down faster than the Titanic. We're destined for last place. Indianapolis wins this easy.

Alright, I'll give Cleveland credit, they are playing really well, and that's impressive for a team with no big stars. But can they really keep that up? It's tough to beat the Patriots and Jets in back to back weeks.

Either last week was a fluke or the start of a momentum shift for Minnesota. But they are 0-4 on the road, I'll go with Chicago.

I have no idea anymore, Tenn. is 5-3 and Miami is 4-4. You can't do anything but guess. Tennessee got a new WR weapon, that should open up CJ's running lanes.

Which Jacksonville and Houston team will show up for this? Very inconsistent teams.

Buffalo's LAST chance to win a game this season... well, except Cincinnati next weekend.

If there are any SURE bets this week, I'd say it's Tampa Bay beating Carolina.

Very tempted to pick Denver over KC, but they're on a 4 game losing streak and playing so poorly.

I'm going with Bradford over Troy Smith. St. Louis in a squeaker.

I take back my previous comment about the Carolina game, the Giants are a sure bet this week over Dallas. I also take back what I said about Jon Kitna, he's awful.

Seattle played way too terribly last week for them to come out and beat Arizona.

I'm picking New England, partly because I said I wouldn't pick against them, and also because I despise everything Pittsburgh.

Washington beat Philly last time, and now they are at home.

This past weekend, my friend Matt and I ran the City of Oaks Marathon in Raleigh, NC. This was my fourth marathon and Matt's first but our two main goals were to finish together and to run it in under 4 hours. We accomplished both goals and finished the race in 3:46. My previous best was 4:20 so to finish 34 minutes faster is an amazing feeling.

I can't decide what I am more proud of though, the full marathon time or the half marathon time. My personal best half marathon time is 1:47 that I set back in 2004. It has been a long time since I went out to beat that time, but about 10 miles into the race this past weekend I turned to Matt and said "Dude, if we keep this pace up, we'll beat 1:47". And as it turns out, we did. We passed the half way point at 1:44. I cannot express how thrilled I am to beat that time too. It has hung over my head for 6 years now. To be honest, I haven't made a big effort to beat it. I have concentrated so hard on marathons that I have neglected the halves. I didn't think I'd ever beat it during a marathon race, but alas, it has been broken.You can see the results here.

This race just goes to show how hard works pays off. This is the most I've ever stuck to the training plan and even ran the longer runs farther than necessary. I ran 19 miles twice and 20 miles twice during training. We got to mile 20 no problem but it was miles 22 through 26 that proved to be difficult. My muscles were starting to cramp at mile 22 and then at 24 they started giving out completely. Despite 3 stints of standing and stretching that added about 7 or 8 minutes to our time, we still finished in 3:46. I really wish we didn't have to stop like that, but you really don't have any control over it at that point. Pain is pain.

I have read that cramping like that happens because of dehydration. I really need to do more research on it to see if I can fix that problem for future races.

Running with someone is infinitely better than running alone. I realize when you run by yourself that you don't have the burden of being bound to someone else's run, but for the good miles, that person really pulls you through. We had such a good time talking and pacing each other. Matt actually said the words, "I can't believe it has been 2 hours, it doesn't feel like it at all." It's amazing what conversation will do. It makes the miles fly by.

One other thing about this race is that it's so hilly. It goes through Umstead Park which is well known around here for being hilly. You can see the course map here. Also, check out the elevation chart, it is disgusting.

Here is a recap of the race through pictures.

This picture is called the "We're really cold" picture. It was 33 degrees at the start of the race at 7AM. Luckily it wasn't too terribly windy. Once the sun came up it really improved the situation. Also Meg (Matt's wife) got us hand warmers and those were a lifesaver:



Liz said we were acting like we were way too cold, so I loosened it up a bit. The next one is called "We're not cold at all". Matt (also known on the course as the "Redskins guy") stays the same in both hot and cold weather.



Liz was only able to see us at 2 points due to how the race was configured, this was the first time at mile 1.5. We're flexing as if arm muscles mean anything in a running race.



Liz's comment to the picture below: "You need to stop talking to me as you run by, or else you get pictures like this."



The second time was at mile 5.5. Matt was acting silly, so I joined in with the ridiculous running forms:



No more messing around, serious running time, 21 miles to go:



Liz said she could see us the second we came down the hill to the finish. She's right, my blingin orange shirt is soooo bright:



It's just all pain at this point. Every step I was just hoping for no more muscle spasms. Only 30 yards until the finish line:



Fist in the air, thumbs up, we are almost done:



20 yards for glory:



After finishing, we found out Papa Johns was handing out free pizza to runners. To someone super tired and hungry, that's the most amazing thing in the world. The only thing that stinks is that you are feeling pretty nauseous because all you've eaten and drank is sugar for the last 4 hours. So after devouring one piece, the second must wait a minute. This picture sums up everything you feel at the end of the race. Hungry (pizza). Victorious (medal). Tired (sleeping):



My face might not say it, but I can barely move at that point from having run for 4 hours and then laid on the ground for 20 minutes. You stiffen up soooo quickly:


All smiles, the race is over.

So where do I go from here? I am starting to think about my next race and game plan for beating 3:46. I'm not sure what the next big time goal or race goal of mine should be. For the longest time I just said my ultimate goal is to beat 4 hours. Done and done. I'll blog later on what I come up with.

Big thank you to my amazing wife Liz for dealing with the early wake up call, the long walking to catch a glimpse of us, and taking pictures to document the event. I keep telling her, none of my goals, races, or accomplishments mean anything without her. She's amazingly supportive. Thank you :).

It is no secret that I LOVE to donate blood. No, it's not some masochistic thing where I enjoy pain although with all the marathon training I've been doing maybe that's the hidden truth. Actually pain is part of the reason I like donating, because for me there is very little. You feel a sting for about 5 seconds and then you have two hours of not moving your arms. It's more inconvenient to not move than painful to have needles in your arm. Not only does it not hurt, but I love donating because it's really needed by those who need the most help, they let you watch a movie, and then give you Little Debby snacks at the end. Nothing says congratulations like Little Debby.

Very soon we are going on a cruise to some select places in the Caribbean. For anyone who donates blood, you know there are some places you can't go for fear that you might contract Malaria. I have looked our destinations up on the CDC Malaria Map and unfortunately they are labeled as being somewhat risky. Risky enough that if you go to those places you cannot donate blood for 1 year.

First Argument: 
It's not like we're going there for days on end staying with the locals. It's a cruise ship that stops in these touristy areas. We are only going to stay, at most, 12 hours at each stop. Is it really a Malaria risk to stop by places that are "somewhat risky"? From what I understand, symptoms for Malaria show up between 9 and 18 days of getting it. It's very rare for it to show up after that.


Second Argument: 
The Red Cross has rules for a reason and they can't make any exceptions. It's smarter to wait 1 year just in case. It's much better to wait a year than it is to risk infecting someone already sick with Malaria. Also, you'd be a liar.

What should I do? I really hate giving up donating blood for a year, but it seems like I may not have a choice. I've kind of already made up my mind about it, even though I don't like it. If it's one thing I really despise, it's lying.

100th Post for the year!! Crazy. I'm also sad October is over. The perfect weather is starting to fade away along with things made of pumpkin. So sad.

I decided to blog tonight about movies too, not just football.

OK, I thought our movie watching would go down this month. How did it go up? That's a little embarrassing, as if all we ever do is watch movies. I think this next month though, it will for sure go down. I told Liz that I felt a little overwhelmed with the number of movies we were watching and how quickly DVD's were being shipped back and forth from Netflix. Leave it to me to take a fun, enjoyable hobby and turn it into a challenge,  job, or required task. So we reduced our Netflix account to only 2 movies at a time instead of 3. That should certainly reduce the amount. Although this month was the most movies we have ever watched through their instant streaming, 9 total.

1. 30 Rock - Season 4 (2009) - 5 stars - We LOVE 30 Rock. It's so hilarious and almost every character is lovable in one way or another. Liz likes Liz Lemon the most and I like Tracy Jordan the most. Now we are all caught up and watching season 5 live. It's hard to wait a week each time.
2. Defiance (2008) - 4 stars - Really great action movie. I am starting to love everything Daniel Craig touches. I am a huge Bond fan and love him in the Bond role. He excels in this movie too. It looks like this movie is based on a true story. I can't imagine having to live through those circumstances.
3. Four Christmases (2008) - 3 stars - Liz didn't want to watch this because it wasn't Christmas yet. What's weird is that this movie gave me absolutely no warm-fuzzy-Christmas feelings. It might be the last time I watch it. It's good, but 2 times is enough.
4. The Delta Force (1986) - 2 stars - Netflix suggested I see this Chuck Norris movie, so I gave it a shot. Let me say, for movie quality it gets 1 star, but this movie had me cracking up it was so hilarious. You know how movies have theme songs? Like in Rocky you hear "Eye of the Tiger" once or twice throughout. Well whoever came up with this movie's theme song liked it WAY too much. This is no exaggeration, but every other scene played the same song. I could almost guess when it would come on. Once you notice it, that's all you hear. Awful movie, but almost worth seeing for how bad it was.
5. Love Happens (2009) - 3 stars - This movie was really promising. It had me engaged and interested in what was happening but just kind of let up halfway through and turned out to be a let down. It was still a decent chick flick.
6. Deep Blue Sea (1999) - 2 stars - Another movie that had me rolling laughing with how bad it was. Here's the premise: "Through DNA modification, scientists breed larger sharks with larger brains -- and near-human intelligence. Soon, the sharks grow resentful of their captivity." When you have sharks swimming down the halls of the lab, you can't do anything but laugh.
7. Observe and Report (2009) - 1 star - I LOVE Seth Rogen. Although he tends to be raunchy and obscene, his style of humor just gets me laughing so hard. He must have been desperate for movies when he took this one though. It had it's moments, but all the other moments were 1 star.
8. Invictus (2009) - 4 stars - Matt Damon and Morgan Freeman probably poop rainbows. I haven't seen for sure, but that's just my guess. There is nothing they don't knock out the park. We really enjoyed this movie. During the World Cup, I read all about South Africa's history and this movie held true to what I read. If you know nothing about South Africa, Invictus is worth seeing just for the knowledge factor. It's an awesome movie regardless though. I only gave it 4 stars though because it was a bit slow at times. It didn't need to be 133 minutes.
9. Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs (2009) - 2 stars - To be honest, I didn't pay a lot of attention during this movie but that's because it was below average from the start.
10. Planet 51 (2009) - 3 stars - This movie surprised me with how funny it was. I thought it would be stupid, but it wasn't.
11. Lock Up (1989) - 3 stars - I'm a sucker for Sylvester Stallone. The plot was absurd, but if what you're looking for is for Stallone to be an outlier, kick some butt, and be unwaveringly loyal like all his other movies, then it's worth seeing.
12. The International (2009) - 2 stars - We had much higher expectations for this movie. I really like Clive Owen, but it was really confusing, difficult to follow, and downright boring. It would have gotten 1 star, but Clive Owen is worth a second star.
13. Bolt (2008) - 3 stars - I didn't expect to like this as much either. You probably aren't watching this for the riveting plot, but the ending was actually really moving. I am a sap for dogs and dog movies, but I didn't think animation would get me the way it did. It was super cute.
14. G.I. Jane (1997) - 4 stars- Part of me has wanted to be in the military. There's just something appealing to me about being on an extremely regimented schedule and being expected to perform physically at the highest level. So I always enjoy military movies (A Few Good Men, Men of Honor, Saving Private Ryan, Black Hawk Down), but then you add Demi Moore defying the odds and you can't help but enjoy it.
15. G-Force (2009) - 2 stars - Not much to say, below average kids movie.
16. South Park Spook-Tacular (2001) - 1 star - I cannot express just how much I HATE South Park. I don't know why, just do. I put this movie in our instant queue thinking it would get me excited for Halloween and 10 minutes into the first episode I turned it off. I put the Simpsons Treehouse of Horror in our queue instead. Maybe that will be a redeemer.
17. Slap Shot (1977) - 1 star - If this is as close as a movie comes to being a realistic hockey movie, then I like hockey a little less. I've said it a few times, but old movies are boring. They contain more talking and less action. I'm sure that's due to technology issues, but I just did not enjoy this movie.
18. When In Rome (2010) - 3 stars - Kristen Bell is turning into one of those actresses in which I will enjoy anything she's in, much like Rachel McAdams and Amy Adams. She was awesome in Couples Retreat and Forgetting Sarah Marshall.  The plot is not a good reason to watch this movie, but it was a good chick flick.

Coming home today I thought, "I'm going to blog about either movies or football tonight." What an awesome choice to have.

Now Schlerth AND Mortensen are beating me in the weekly picks. ARG! I will make a comeback, they have some stupid picks this week. Like choosing Buffalo to win. Do they know something I don't know?? Funny thing about last week's picks, I ended up having the same exact choices are Merril Hoge.

Football seems so logical but then craziness happens. Like New Orleans beating the Steelers, Green Bay beating the Jets at home, Jacksonville beating Dallas at home, and Cincinnati losing... no wait... some things stay the same. I will be picking realistically for Cincinnati from here on out. No more homer picks.

I have been feeling guilty lately about picking only the teams that I feel are favored. So I looked it up. For this week I have 9 picks for the Favorite and 4 for the Underdog. Last week I picked 2 (out of 13) Underdogs, and in week 7 I picked 6 (out of 14) Underdogs. So I guess I'm not too bad about doing it. The favored teams are favored for a reason! I looked up what my record would be if I picked based just on favorites, for week 7 it would be 8-6 and week 8 it would be 9-4. So I guess it wouldn't help THAT much, seems like a wash.

Expert Picks: ESPN Analysts

Last Week: 7-6

San Diego @ Houston:	Houston
Arizona @ Minnesota:	Minnesota
New Orleans @ Carolina:	New Orleans
New England @ Cleveland:	New England
Tampa Bay @ Atlanta:	Tampa Bay
Chicago @ Buffalo:	Chicago
Miami @ Baltimore:	Baltimore
NY Jets @ Detroit:	NY Jets
NY Giants @ Seattle:	Seattle
Indianapolis @ Philadelphia:	Indianapolis
Kansas City @ Oakland:	Oakland
Dallas @ Green Bay:	Green Bay
Pittsburgh @ Cincinnati:	Pittsburgh

Overall Record: 71-46

Quick Thoughts on the Games: 
San Diego/Houston is the toughest game to pick for this week. I'm just going with the fact that San Diego is 0-4 on the road this year.

How did Arizona win 3 games? How has Minnesota lost 5?

In a 3 week span, you CANNOT lose to Cleveland, beat Pittsburgh, and lose to Carolina. You just can't. I'm picking New Orleans.

I think Cleveland will put up a fight, but New England will edge them out.

I'm starting to believe Tampa Bay may be decent. Did I just say that?

I really REALLY want to pick Buffalo, but somehow going against the momentum of an 0-7 team feels wrong.

Baltimore is NOT the powerhouse it used to be, but at home I think it can beat Miami. Also, how is Miami 4-3? That's the kind of team that has mostly awful players (except Marshall) and is winning still. Henne is your QB and you're winning??

The Jets have got to be furious about their 9-0 baseball score last week. I think Detroit is becoming a decent team, but the Jets have just got to be too angry right now.

Have you seen Seattle play at home?!? It's like they're good! Also NY has to go cross country, not easy.

So Vick is back playing for Philly. This is a tough choice, I just get the feeling Indy looks better with a 6-2 next to their name than they do with a 5-3 there.

Oakland is on FIRE. In the last two games combined they have scored 92 points and given up 17. There's something to be said for momentum, the train's rolling.

Dallas is done, Green Bay wins by default. I had to look it up, Green Bay is the most heavily favored team to win according to Vegas. The spread is -7.5.

It pains me to say this, but Cincinnati has no right being on Monday Night Football. Pittsburgh, and every Super Bowl player on their team, is used to primetime. I think Pittsburgh wins ... 30-17. Sounds about right.

Last week wasn't so hot for me. There were a ton of games though that could have gone either way. For example, San Francisco had NO right losing to Carolina, St. Louis had NO right losing to Tampa Bay, and how did Houston beat Kansas City? Three last minute victories that I thought I had in the bag. That was a CRAZY football weekend.

There are some really really tough picks this week. A lot of games that are just toss ups in my opinion.

Expert Picks: ESPN Analysts

Last Week: 8-6

Buffalo @ Kansas City:	Kansas City
Carolina @ St. Louis:	St. Louis
Denver @ San Francisco:	San Francisco
Washington @ Detroit:	Washington
Green Bay @ NY Jets:	NY Jets
Miami @ Cincinnati:	Cincinnati
Jacksonville @ Dallas:	Dallas
Tennessee @ San Diego:	San Diego
Tampa Bay @ Arizona:	Arizona
Minnesota @ New England:	New England
Seattle @ Oakland:	Oakland
Pittsburgh @ New Orleans:	Pittsburgh
Houston @ Indianapolis:	Indianapolis

Overall Record: 64-40

Quick Thoughts on the Games: 
Buffalo might have a really good shot at 0-16. The relatively easier teams on their schedule (Detroit, Cleveland) are playing better every week.

St. Louis has played really well at home, so I'll go with them.

Denver would be the easy pick if it weren't for the Oakland game, now I have no idea. The 49ers are so much better than 1-6. 4 of their losses were by 3 points or less. So I'm guessing this game will be close?

The Redskins are borderline playoffs right now, and you can't lose to Detroit in that position.

Why are the Jets good??! Running and stopping the run? Cuz they are awful at everything else. There's the formula.

This is the last time I pick Cincinnati if they lose, and I think they will. I just can't bring myself to do it.

Jon Kitna is one of those backups where you say "Oh man, thank goodness we have Kitna". He's not great enough to lead a team every week (see Detroit & Cincinnati), but he's a legitimate temporary fill-in. Interesting, I just found this article, I'm surprised Kitna's not mentioned. It's funny that article (from June) says the 5th worst is Michael Vick. That's obviously proved to be very wrong. Kitna threw 2 TD's in the 4th quarter to make the game close against the Giants. This game will show just how bad Dallas is though.

Tennessee will have to fight for this one, it will be close. Even New England had a tough time in San Diego last week.

Tampa Bay & Arizona, does anyone REALLY think these teams are worth anything? How are they a combined 7-5. Football doesn't make sense.

New England beat Baltimore at home, they better beat Minnesota too

The question for Oakland/Seattle is, which teams will show up? Both have been see-sawing from good to terrible. Is Oakland's 59 a fluke? Seattle has the 2nd best rush defense in the league so Oakland won't have it so easy this week.

If Cleveland comes to New Orleans and wins, you better believe Pittsburgh will too.

Indianapolis gets revenge on Houston. Houston, on the season, is about 3 minutes away from being 2-4. I just don't get the feeling they are that great.

We mentioned over the Summer that we got rid of DirecTV and installed an antenna on the roof and digital converter boxes in 2 places in the house. Lately we have been having trouble with the signal being blippy or choppy. It doesn't happen a lot but enough that it's annoying. Today I worked from home and had the Country Music Network on for a while to listen to music and after a while I just had to turn it off because the choppiness was OBNOXIOUS.

One thing we have given absolutely no care for is the direction we aim our antenna. Right now it's pointed due West because I figured if there are any channels we don't get, it's the ones coming in from Greensboro. But even the closer channels with a tower located 25 miles Southeast of here are choppy, so I think it's about time to run an experiment.

The experiment is to write down our current signal strengths, change the antenna to point directly to our local station's tower, and then check the signal strengths again.

This post may not appear to be interesting to other people, but it's something I've wanted to do for a while now. I may be ignorant about antennas and these channels are coming from the exact same transmitter and a signal for one is the same signal for them all, but it seems like some channels are always better than others.

So I just watched the signal strength for a 30 second period to see what the range was, then went out and changed the antenna from aiming West to aiming Southeast, and then checked the signal strengths after. I only checked the important channels because we really only watch those.

Here are the results:

Station	Before	After
CBS 5	81 - 90	93 - 96
ABC 11	83 - 85	93 - 95
NBC 17	78 - 85	96 - 98
CW 22-01	73 - 85	95 - 96
Country Music 22-02	76 - 88	93 - 95
Fox 50	81 - 88	93 - 95

So I would say this experiment was a huge success. I didn't think that'd make that big of a difference, but clearly it does! I can already tell the picture is smoother and after about a half hour of having the TV on, there hasn't been any evidence of choppiness. Only time will tell though.