Entries from July 2005 ↓

The pre-season rolls on, with the Gunners making their annual trip to Austria. I was in a meeting yesterday which caused me to miss listening to the match commentary. However, I got a word that a certain supporters group’s banner was featured quite prominently at midfield. Take a close look at the picture above. Doesn’t that banner look familiar?

Here are some still shots taken from the live stream on Arsenal.com yesterday:

Match report provided by Arsenal.com’s Richard Clarke:

Arsenal kicked-off the Austrian leg of their pre-season programme with a straightforward 5-0 victory at SC Weiz on Tuesday night…

…Thierry Henry set-up Mathieu Flamini for the first inside two minutes then added a truly spectacular second shortly afterwards. David Bentley and Henry again made it 4-0 at the break. A much-changed side after the interval could only add a single strike from Dennis Bergkamp…

For the whole report, click here

I recently got into a bit of a staring contest with Sprint PCS. You see, they have been charging me for 800 minutes, when I signed up for only 300. They claim that I agreed to the contract, and to change now would mean a $150 cancellation fee. I of course refused to pay that, or any other money I owed them, and my matter was referred to a supervisor. Well, that supervisor was useless, so they referred me to a second person. That person promised to investigate and get back.

Meanwhile, while I’m waiting, my phone service gets cut off!!!!!!

So, I call customer service, and no one’s heard of the girl I was working with. I refuse to give them a dime out of principal, so in the meantime, I have no phone service.

So, if you’d like to reach me, send an email to:

mike AT adventuresofmike DOT net

Thanks, and wish me luck as I fight corporate bureaucracy one idiot at a time!

UPDATE 7/22:

Good news,

Sometime last night, my phone was turned back on. I’ve not heard from anyone yet, but I checked my account, and the total due was reduced.

I still have some work to do, as they’ve still got me on the 800 minute plan, but I’m undaunted, and continue to fight the good fight.

At the very least, you can all reach me by telephone once more.

Thanks for your support,
Mike

Another fantastic achievement by Jo Rowling, “Half Blood Prince” is the Harry Potter series’ “Empire Strikes Back.” It ends on a major downer, but there’s still that ray of hope shining through.

Lots of people I know are still reading this book, so I’ll refrain from revealing any plot points or spoilers. Suffice it to say that it was an exhilirating read, and thoroughly satisfying.

For those of you who have finished “HBP”, there’s an amazing interview conducted by the editors of Mugglenet and The Leaky Cauldron, the two fan sites specifically chosen by Jo as her favorites.

Check it out here:
JK Rowling Interview 7/16/05

Received the following update from Uncle Joe regarding his progress on the live steam layout he’s been building.:

“Greetings all. It’s been a long time without a report on railroad progress. Now that I’ve got you all on one list, it should be easy to keep you up to date.

To bring everyone up to date, in June, Henry Groth and John Henchar spent more than a week here working on the railroad. We built one small bridge with abutments, laid 295 feet of track and rough ballasted most of it. Since then, the second cut has been dug, as well as much mainline laid through the future yard area.”

To see the latest photos, click on the image above.

The US Mens National Team continues to set the standard in the 2005 CONCACAF Gold Cup. By drawing 0-0 with Costa Rica on Tuesday, the US advanced to the quarter-finals of the tournament. The quarter-final match was held yesterday at Foxboro Stadium in Massachussets, where the US faced off against a talented Jamaican side.

The US was up to the task, scoring twice in the first half during an inspired first 45 minutes. The US was not as dominant in the second half, but DeMarcus Beasley did manage to score his second of the match, pacing the US to 3-1 win.

So, on the semis, and a matchup against Honduras at Giants Stadium. Kickoff is at 6 PM on Thursday the 21st. Still no English language coverage. In fact, the only coverage at all remains on the Spanish-language channel, Telefutura, which, again, is only available on satellite. GROAN.

It was announced during the telecast of the Yanks @ Red Sox game on FOX yesterday afternoon that Al Leiter was acquired from the Florida Marlins along with cash considerations in exchange for a player to be named later. Leiter, who was designated for assignment by Florida on Thursday, will take the mound for the Yanks on Sunday night in the series finale against the Red Sox. The game starts at 6:05 p.m, and it’s on ESPN.

This is a very interesting development. It makes sense, as the Yankees are in desperate need of pitching, but at the same time, Leiter was designated for assignment. Perhaps this will work out much like John Olerud did last season. One can only hope.