HOLY COW !

With a win over Cincinatti and the Brewers loss to the Padres, the heavens aligned last night as the Cubs clinched the NL Central Division.

Oh yeah - the Red Sox also clinched their Division last night. (Sorry Dan - I'm composing this one !)

Man this could turn into an interesting World Series ! A house divided we would be .....

Ballard Locks...

I've lived in Seattle for almost 10 years now and until today, had never been to the Hiram M. Chittenden Locks in Ballard. My mom and her boyfriend, Jerry, are visiting and I thought it would be a nice thing to see. And it was - not sure why it took me so long. We had perfect fall weather today too.

the peace and quiet ended today...

I understand that the UW students are a critical piece to my job security, but it is SO nice in the summer when they are gone. Campus was a peaceful place...




... until today. They're back. And I'm referring to them as "kids", so that's even more depressing. How times in one day can I be asked "Ma'am, can you tell me where blah blah is ?" I'm officially a "Ma'am" to them. Good god.

how Dan occupies his time on the ferry...

11 years ago today...

Happy Anniversary to us !

.

Luke's new Red Sox jersey...

Luke pays the ultimate price for Dan and I having no children to dress up. What a good dog.

Just to clarify - that is an actual dog garment. It's made with dog proportions in mind, so it seems to be quite comfortable for him. He loves wearing it.

the Petraeus performances just get better...

9/12/07 The Today Show

Thanks for the softball > Surge is working jam > lies > Bushshit > Anbar Rules > Withdrawl (first verse only)> Bushshit, Sitting Here in Limbo*

* Jimmy Cliff cover, with Will I stay or Will I go? teases

9/12/07 CBS Morning News

I OWN you Katie Couric > Thanks for the softball > Wink, Wink, Nudge, Nudge, Anbar Rules > Withdrawl (instrumental version) > bullshit > Blaming Iran > The Iraqis Are Dying too > bullshit, Oops, I did it again*

*Britney Spears cover, with We are the champions and Vietnam raps

The Bullshit sandwich during the CBS peformance was expected but that Bushshit sandwich on the Today show was off the hook! And the addition of ironic cover songs to the repertoire is a brilliant development.

Thanks to Ted for these !

great setlist...

09/10/07
General David Petraeus - Solo show
Capitol Hearing Room
Washington, DC

1: malfunctioning microphone, lies > bullshit> lies,Bush Fluffing > Maliki Scapegoating, Iraqi Police Don't Suck > Anbar Province Rules*, The Surge is Working*

2: Distorted Statistics* > Blaming Iran, Troop Withdrawal (teased)> Jam > Maintain Pre-Surge Troop Levels Through 2008, Ignore War Costs , more lies > more bullshit > more distorted statistics, ignore Iraqi Civilian Casualties.

E: Al Qaeda > Al Qaeda > Al Qaeda

* with Iraqi Ambassador Ryan Crocker on backup vocals [Protestors screamed "war criminal" and "GeneralBetray-us" during setbreak]



Thanks to my friend Leigh for sharing this !

a room with a view...

I moved my office last week in order to make way for my new boss. I'm just down the hall from my previous space, so I have a better view of the lake now. And the power plant.


Now it would be nice if they could clean the windows for my building. You'd think I would be able to do something about that !

Happy Friday everyone.

Brewers = Bad

As of today, the Cubs are tied with the Brewers for first place in the NL Central Division. Ugh.

A little Eddie always makes me feel better...

no labor today...

It's been a pretty quiet holiday weekend at the Dlubac homestead - just how we like them. Got out with Luke for a bit...

picked more tomatoes and made some kickass salsa...



wished I had been at Bumbershoot to catch Ed play with Crowded House...

and cheered as Ichiro Suzuki joined an exclusive hitter's club this afternoon, reaching the 200-hit mark for the seventh consecutive season. And we finally won a game !

7th inning stretch....

Today, the Cubs are 2.5 games up on the Brewers. I celebrate the moment with a little Harry...




Happpy Labor Day weekend everyone !

flora! flora! flora!

My co-worker, Gerri, and I were out photographing various buildings on campus the other day and were distracted by both colors and smells coming from the Biology department's greenhouse. Here's some of what we saw..



And just to prove our actual intentions for the walk, here's our Computer Science and Engineering building (thank you Paul Allen) ...

the tomato harvest begins...

They are so good.

still hoping for my island...

You've got to play to win. And since I didn't win on Tuesday, I bought a few more tickets. I estimate that jackpot would make for fine fun on my Blue Lagoon island.


Happy Friday everyone.

Go Cubs Go !

In celebration of the Cubs being tied for first place in the NL Central with the Milwaukee Brewers, I thought I should pay a small tribute to Steve Goodman, (July 25, 1948 – September 20, 1984) an American folk music singer-songwriter from Chicago. Goodman wrote and performed many humorous songs about Chicago, including two about the Chicago Cubs: "A Dying Cub Fan's Last Request" and "Go, Cubs, Go".

On September 20, 1984, Goodman died at University of Washington Hospital in Seattle, Washington, his life finally taken by the leukemia from which he had anointed himself with the tongue-in-cheek nickname “Cool Hand Leuk”. He was only 36. Eleven days later, the Chicago Cubs played their first post-season game since 1945; Goodman had been asked to sing "The Star-Spangled Banner" before it; Jimmy Buffett filled in, and dedicated the song to Goodman. Some of Goodman's ashes were scattered at Wrigley Field, the home of the Chicago Cubs. He is survived by his wife and three daughters. (from wiki)

Video for the 2007 season - "Go Cubs Go"


An audio clip and lyrics of "A Dying Cubs Fan's Last Wish" can be found here.

future property acquisition....

After I win mega millions tonight (estimated $171 million jackpot) I plan to buy the Blue Lagoon Island. Its present owners (Mr. and Mrs. Atkins diet) are selling it for a cool $25 million euro, or $33,703.968.54 USD. Leaves me a little left to furnish and stock the damn place and fly all my friends there.

is it October or August ???

I hate to complain about the weather because it is pretty much a waste of time. Until I become Mother Nature, there's not a damn thing I can do about it. But our lack of a summer is really depressing me. Thank god it was nice while my family was in town. It's supposed to take a turn later this week with temps in the mid-70s. Today is just a particularly chilly/rainy grey morning. I am grateful, however, not to be in the path of Hurricane Dean.

baby seal at alki beach

We went to Alki last night and saw a baby seal on the beach just north of the beach house. The area immediately around the seal was roped off by yellow police tape to keep people away. Seal mothers leave their babies on the beach as they fish for salmon - no mother in sight though. The baby watched everyone for a bit, then flopped back into the water and swam away. It was very fat and very cute.

Another pic here. Small bit on the westseattleblog page too.

family visit

My sister, brother-in-law and nephew were in from Illinois for a visit this week. We did a lot in five days...

...ate at the Athenian Room in the Market (Aaron is happy - just not thrilled with his mom taking his photo)...

...went to Colman Pool for an afternoon dip...

... Dan took them to see the Olympic Mountains at Hurricane Ridge...


...they waded in the Pacific at 3rd Beach...



... and we saw the Mariners get squashed by the Twins on Wednesday afternoon.


My nephew worked his way through his list of favorite places to eat - which included the previously mentioned Athenian Room, Mick Kellys Irish pub, Sunfish on Alki and the Mongolian Grill in Burien. He and my bro-in-law golfed Monday morning in West Seattle. All in all, it was a great visit. I miss them a lot and hope they'll come back soon !