C.S. Lewis, 1898-1963

Today’s American Minute over at WND honors an Englishman, whose works, including Mere Christianity, The Screwtape Letters, and The Chronicles of Narnia are considered seminal volumes in not only Christian, but all English, literature. Not bad for a former agnostic. One of Lewis’s contemporaries was another famous English author, who was also a professor at Oxford, and wrote what is considered the standard for all fantasy fiction: J.R.R. Tolkien.

Thanksgiving wishes

Happy Thanksgiving to all of my family and friends!
Major Thanksgiving wishes are extended to the forward-deployed men and women of our armed forces, who sacrifice time from their own loved ones to defend our nation. We thank you for your service, and you are continually in our thoughts and prayers.

Skin that Pod

When I pick up a new 40 GB iPod, it will get sheathed in one of these.

Subway funny

Have you seen the latest Subway commerical with the Airborne Ranger type talking about pulling the ripcord and nothing happening?
I’ve seen this one about four times now, and it cracks me up every time.

CubeQuarium

Joe Leblanc rescues a dead G4 Cube and builds Gil a new home.

R-E-S-P-E-C-T for LSU

What a difference a week, and losses by perennial “contenders,” makes.
As Miami fell to Tennessee, Virginia Tech lost to Pittsburgh, and unranked Clemson knocked off Florida State in a stunning upset, upward goes the stock of the Fighting Tigers in the BCS rankings.
Both the ESPN/USA Today Coaches’ Poll and the AP poll have LSU ranked at #3 this week. (The Tigers did not play this weekend.) The BCS ranking system has the Tigers at #4, behind Ohio State, flip-flopping positions with the Buckeyes from the other major polls. I can live with that. The Big 10 is a powerhouse conference, and Ohio State is the defending national champion, not a pretender like the Hurricanes or Seminoles.
Now the Tigers have a tough, SEC-only schedule for the rest of the season. This Saturday will be the Crimson Tide, in Alabama, on national television, courtesy of ESPN. Alabama has been pretty weak this season, but you can never discount a SEC opponent. I confess to being a bit worried; the last time the Tigers came off a bye week, they suffered their only loss of the season to Florida, the difference between #4 in the BCS and #2.
Should LSU prevail, the game of their season to date would be the following week, at Ole Miss. After this past weekend, the Rebels are undefeated in the SEC, 6-0, and currently sit atop the SEC West. Looking at the Ole Miss schedule, the only thing I see stopping them from going to the SEC Championship is LSU. Not that all three remaining games aren’t must-wins for the Tigers, but this will be the game, should LSU ride in to Oxford at 9-1. (Something that could work to the Tigers’ favor: while LSU plays Alabama this coming weekend, Ole Miss is off.)
And should LSU enter their last regular season game at 10-1, the Razorbacks of Arkansas are always looking to spoil the Tigers’ chances in the postseason. As far as the SEC championship is concerned, the Tigers control their own destiny; win all three remaining games, and they’re headed to Atlanta on December 6th. Win the SEC championship, and there is the slim chance they could actually play for the national title.
Unfortunately, I don’t see that happening; like I said, it’s a slim chance. Oklahoma is going to finish the season undefeated, with the Big 12 championship. USC has Arizona (2-8) and UCLA (6-4) left in its season; the Trojans will roll over the Wildcats, leaving the Bruins as the only potential spoiler. It could happen, but again, the chances are slim. Ohio State does have its work cut out for it, however. The Buckeyes, like LSU, have a tough schedule to finish on, first taking on Purdue, then arch-rival Michigan. Should Ohio State cap off their season with wins in these two games, I believe you’ll see them in New Orleans defending their title against Oklahoma, no matter what USC does. I’m sorry, BCS, but you can’t compare the Pac-10 to the Big 10 when it comes to schedule strength.
So, here’s hoping that the Bruins down the Trojans, and I’ll be rooting for the Boilermakers and the Wolverines. Should LSU wrap up all three of its remaining games, and any of the above happens, they would end the season as the only one-loss team. (The TCU Horned Frogs notwithstanding; I like TCU–they’re a hometown favorite–but they’re not in the same league.)
Which means the Tigers would head to New Orleans to be promptly crushed by the Sooners. Hey, I love my Tigers, but I’m a realist. Unless there’s a football miracle out there that none of us can see, Bob Stoops will win his third national championship this season, no matter who Oklahoma faces in the Big Easy.

Sim City without the pressure

That’s City Creator. Currently there are three different styles to choose from: Blankton, a modern metropolis, Snoland, your typical snowy village, and what I know will be Rick’s favorite, Medieville, which should need no explanation.

Something Wicked Cool on MacDesktops

Earlier this year, yours truly used an Apple PR hi-res product photo of the third-generation iPods to create a desktop picture. That picture was subsequently submitted to MacDesktops.com, and has finally been posted.
Due to the vagaries of life, I missed the email notification sent to me a couple of weeks ago that it was posted until checking through earlier this evening. It can be found on the iPod page, and is “Something Wicked Cool.” Enjoy, and please leave feedback on the desktop picture.

Ranked 4th, but no respect from the BCS

Both the ESPN/USA Today Coaches’ Poll, and the AP sportswriters’ poll have LSU at number 4, yet because of the “computer averages” used in their determination, the BCS still has them at number 7.
At least the Tigers have finally vaulted past Georgia, something they should have done after the Bulldogs barely scraped by a second-tier team like UAB. LSU, by contrast, had no trouble with their second-tier-team gimme game of the year. Both Georgia and LSU have had their troubles with those pesky Gators, though, haven’t they?

I dare anyone to show me how Virginia Tech, Florida State, and Miami have tougher schedules than LSU. (This is one of the things the BCS computers use to determine rankings.) The toughest teams these three face each year is each other! Miami owns the Big East, and VT and FSU own the ACC. Next year, all three can happily beat up on everyone else and one another in the ACC. Again, by contrast, SEC teams have to beat up on one another week after week, with the occasional gimme game. For Miami, practically every game, week after week, is a gimme game, and I was happy to watch VT stuff them in to the ground.
Granted, LSU has traditionally had a problem winning the “big one,” or blowing their chances at getting to the “big one.” With a #4 ranking, and the rest of their games all televised (not always a variable that plays to the Tigers’ favor), the strength and resolve of Nick Saban’s team will be tested like never before since he assumed the head coach’s mantle.

GEAUX TIGERS!