Its a slow week at work...

With all the stuff going on lately - ticket changes, Bowden leaving/Paterno legacy, BB trending etc - I've been wondering what exactly I expect from my beloved university and what they should expect from me.  Maybe something like a two way mission statement that doesn't come out all PC & douchebaggy.  Success with honor, but more specific and defined.

Here's what I've come up with so far -

Penn State should expect me to:

• Support the academic, arts and athletic programs with investments of both time and money
• Actively demonstrate university pride while being a good ambassador
• Critically evaluate university actions to maintain and advance high standards

I should expect Penn State to:

• Provide the tools and opportunities for every student to excel in their chosen endeavors from football to physics
  
• Insist on high ethical standards for staff and students
• React swiftly and fairly to correct outliers in performance and perception throughout the university community

Comments?

I readily admit that I'm not as up on basketball as I should be, but I try and catch the games when they show up on TV - especially the WWL.  Last night seemed to be exactly like every single game I watched last year... Struggle - Blow up for big points - Brick fest & Questionable clock management down the stretch to just about wring defeat from the jaws of victory.

Besides the tradition, etc... what exactly is that spark that separates the middle of the road squads (which is a status I'm glad to have achieved, sort of) from the consistently good teams?  We have facilities.  We have money.  We lack an urban location that might be an issue, but I wouldn't really consider the Research Triangle an urban jungle either. 

Is it simply a matter of coaching/recruiting?  Don't get me wrong - I'm not bashing the current crew, lord knows its been a slow steady improvement the last few years.  But if you could drop a half bajillion dollars on the second coming of Dean Smith, would it help?

Just trying to edumacate myself here - what do you guys think?

The casual fans are gone, the Big Ten season's done...

Nothing left to do but wait till January 1.

This year left us all wanting a little more

But its far better than 2003 or 2004.

So raise your glasses BSD'ers, enjoy the holidays

Saint Joe and the boys will be back soon to make the bad guys pay.

Merry Thanksgiving... I like my turkey deep fried and stuffed with bacon!

via lh6.ggpht.com

Time to put the power of the interwebs to work... I have a pretty decent collection of Penn State stuff I've acquired through various sundry means through the years but I just missed a poster on Ebay this weekend that is now driving me insane.

I think its from an 80's Playboy college girls issue or maybe just something local that got released - who knows.  I'm trying to figure out where to look to find another copy.  Picture from the listing after the jump.

On a related note, there was a poster in the old Pizza Hut on College Ave that I'm looking for too.  It was a group of players (probably oline or dline) but they were all muddied up and you couldn't even see the numbers.  Very cool.  I was able to find a poster that looks like it came from the same series that just shows one player but I've never been able find the full shot.

Thanks for all the help I'm sure to get...

Continue reading this post »

A few weeks ago I posted some questions about the bourbon trail and got some good feedback so I thought it would be appropriate to update on the trip... since there's still too many days till Zug begins his ascension to complete trancendence.

We only had a day and a half in KY and one of those days was Monday.  Apparently KY closes on Monday.  3 distilleries weren't open, half of downtown Bardstown was closed but we went to Makers Mark, and got in a quick 9 holes at My Old KY Home State Park.

MM was beautiful - like somebody painted a picture and then plopped it in the middle of a tiny valley.  The tour was cool but not very in depth.  Tasting after included some white dog (distilled and pre barrell) as well as the real stuff.  Definitely picturesque and the wifester really enjoyed it.  The staff was extra friendly and went out of their way to make us an anniversary presentation bottle on the spot.  And of course dipping your own bottle in wax was cool too.  My ambassador barrel will be ready next spring so I can't wait to get back.

Tuesday we made reservations at Woodford reserve for the Corn to Cork tour.  Absolutely fabulous.  Just us and one other couple with a tour guide for 2.5 hrs (compared to about 45 mins at MM).  We saw everything.  EVERYTHING.  Coolest part was pulling a pitcher out of the fermentation vat and then distilling it in their lab.  We tasted at every stage in the process and even got to hammer the bung into a barrell.  SUPER HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.

Well I've gone on way too long, but thanks to everybody who offered suggestions for the trip and I'll have some cool pictures to post tomorrow - including a ride through SEC country and a scouting report on the Tuscaloosa area we went through on the way home.

I tried searching through the archives but couldn't find what I was looking for...

Does anybody have a link to the PSU soundset for last years NCAA 09 game?  Basically the audio file and when to insert it to make the perfect Beaver Stadium Experience...  I've already wasted too much time at work making playable rosters for the 73 and 86 teams along with a bunch of alternate jerseys and stuff and was hoping I could find a shortcut to glory on the sound setup.

Also, I know there was talk last year of an 09 league on xbox live - not sure how it turned out - would anybody be interested in a PS3 dynasty for NCAA 10 this year?  I'll voluneer to set it up if people are interested...

Well kiddies, thanks for all your help.  My design, Stand with the Colonel, won second place (no word on which loser beat me yet) in the KFC Chari-T shirt contest.

I appreciate all the support and votes and hope that you remember poor little Beer League Designs for your next graphic design or logo project.  We're now award winning... sort of.

I am now celebrating my years worth of chicken - which I hope comes in a giant truck - and our #1 party school ranking with a syrupy sweet bottle of Jeremiah Weed Sweet Tea Vodka with Bourbon.  Half a 1/5th down, half to go...  I'm not sure I like it yet, but what goes better with vodka than bourbon?

I have a fledgling graphics design company and one of my designs was just named a national semifinalist for a KFC charity shirt.

The voting will be open from today till July 26th at KFC CHARITY SHIRT

I'm entry #6 - Stand with the Colonel

If I win I promise to convert a significant portion of my winnings into bacon for distribution to the BSD masses.

Plus I'd get free KFC for a year so anybody who runs into me gets free chicken and more importantly delicious chicken skin... its the best part.

Came home from work yesterday and lo and behold my fancy WAPS was waiting for me in the mailbox.

I only had a chance to glance through it but it looks AWESOME... tons of pictures & graphs and the articles look really good and the few I read were really well put together.  I've never been a big preseason mag guy because they always tended to disappoint.  But this might just change my outlook and give me something to look forward to every summer.

I hesitate to offer my first born but maybe I can sacrifice a slab of bacon to the monster in my tummy in honor of the BSD crew and the other folks who put this thing together... no since angering the football gods this early...

Congrats and I hope it sells enough copies to seriously upgrade the grotto