N C State, NCState

Yesterday I went down to Raleigh to watch my second favorite football team (the Wolfpack of North Carolina State) play Wake Forest. My good buddy from NC, Bill S of Moncure, NC, asked me down to watch the game with some of his friends. Bill has 4 season tickets and normally shares them with good friends, I am happy to be included in that group.

When I was a very young CPT (ages ago . . . . 1991 or 1992, when I was stationed at FT Benning, GA for a year), I had the opportunity to meet the head coach of NC State, Dick Sheridan. He was a very down to earth man, and a football genius. He managed to get the Wolfpack to a few bowl games and had a few great teams. I got to meet some of the players, they were all gentlemen. We watched them play at Georgia Tech, Dick Sheridan invited us to meet the players, watch practice and everything. The Georgia Tech coach on the other hand, literally chased us away from the practice when we stopped to watch a few snaps. Of course we were wearing red shirts, but still, the head coach himself came over.

Fast forward several years, I met up with Bill, an engineer for the state of NC and we talked a ton of football. He ended up inviting me to a few games, about one a year. Most of the games I went to the Pack was into the game and either won the game or it was very close. The stadium is a nice one, the fans are football fans and the band is pretty good. All in all, a very entertaining college football experience. When I look at college football, I always respect programs that keep it all in perspective: Fans respect and cheer for both teams, there isn't a weekly demand for a National Championship, the team plays hard. NC State is like that, very loyal fans, nice stadium, just a good college football experience.

The Pack will never replace the Huskers, but I like em. Yesterday was senior day, the NC State seniors stepped it up and shut down Wake Forest. Wake Forest is having an off year, but are normally well coached, fast and play a very interesting mis-direction offense. Yesterday was not their day, they played well, mostly mistake free, but they got beat, 38-3.

I figured out how to attach pictures using Picasa, much easier than before, there are some pics from the day posted on the right.

Other notes:

Riding is getting kinda cold, but bearable in the mornings. The afternoon rides last week were spectacular, very good weather for riding. With daylight savings time, it is actually light towards the end of my morning rides. Of course, on the other end, unless I leave work early, I am riding in the dark. I have put more lights on my bike, so I think it is OK. I am going to stick with riding until the weather says "no more riding" (snow, ice or cold rain).

Fantasy Football:

This season will be interesting, I have moved from dead last to top 10. Wade is only 20 or so points ahead of me. Once again, if I could pick a wide receiver, I would be doing really well. I will keep you posted as the season goes along, but, I could squeak by Wade this year, unless he uses his last two trades.

Movies:

I am now a Netflix fan. Not only can you watch movies by disc, but you can watch them online. A friend of mine set up a computer with my big screen TV and I can watch anything that is online (Netflix, Hulu, CBS, ESPN3.com) on my TV. I have watched a few movies that stand out.

The Cove: Documents the Japanese systematic slaughter of dolphins in one of their coastal towns. Great flick, it provides another reason for me to lose respect for the Japanese fishing industry. Not only were they mostly responsible for the near-extinction of whales in the 70's, but they have continued to whale, fish other species to near extinction (tuna) and now systematically kill dolphins.

Note: I stopped eating all seafood two years ago as a response to the over-fishing of species done worldwide. After diving for several years, I can't imagine a world without fish. I know that folks want to eat fish and some societies rely on fishing for their sustenance, but the rampant over-fishing will not be a good planetary thing. I figure not eating fish will help one or two fish stay in the ocean.

The King of Kong: I thought this was fiction at first, the characters in the movie were so stereotypical that I didn't think they were real. The movie talks about the record holders for classic arcade video games and how they are documented internationally. I couldn't believe it. If you grew up in the 80s, check it out.

180 Degrees South: A much happier movie, but still with an environmental twist. In the 60s, three friends drove from CA down to Patagonia, stopping to surf along the way. A modern filmmaker traced their route, and wanted to do the same thing. The three kids from the 60s turned out to be the founders of North Face, Patagonia and Royal Robbins clothing and outdoors equipment companies. They have since spent a lot of their money buying land in Patagonia and turning it into nature preserves. Good flick.

Dogtown and Z boys: Documentary about the group of surfers that revolutionized skate boarding in the 70s. Very good flick, I enjoyed the interviews and film from the early days of skateboarding and surfing near Venice Beach.