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tomdo98@aol.com |
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Archives
Picture Portfolios
Random Pictures
Longhorns are National Champs!! Longhorns are National Champs! (1/4/2006)
Go Horns! The start of the Horn's disappointing season (10/31/2006)
Watch your back BJ Penn, I got my blue belt in Brazilian Jujitsu!
Everyone should try to quit smoking. Smoke free 2.5 years. (pictured in 2002)
Really gay over the shoulder pose. (pictured in 2003)
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January 2008 Archives |
movie reviews updated 11/28/2007
Painting and Drawing updated 2/21
Jujitsu/MMA commentary updated 12/04/07 The cast and crew of my life: Click on head for pics ordered by updates
Repeat Topics
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01/30/2008 Getting Ready For The Hater Bowl
After watching Tony Romo and Jessica Simpson get on stage and sing with some cover band (shown on the You Tube Below), I'm so over the Cowboys losing to the Giants. Now don't get me wrong, I still love my Cowboys, but now I can put behind that loss and focus on how to make myself interested in this year's Superbowl.
Right off the bat, I'm going to place $100 dollars on the <bleeeeeep>. I actually can't say because my completely legal bookie in Las Vegas my might move the line on me.
Secondly, I just conjure up more hate for the New England Patriots. I remember when a Brady led team won their first Superbowl in 2002. They were actually 14 points underdogs (according to Wiki) to the St Louis Rams. And now they're just another evil empire. I feel like they are far more evil than the New York Yankees ever were. At least the Yankees had a teddy bear coach in Joe Torre that made them seem a lot softer.
How can you not hate Bill Belichick? Did anyone see that big huge red blister on his lip he's had lately while granting interviews? That guy is completely joyless. Some of the players say they've never even seen him eat a real meal. They'll just see him going to the cafeteria and stuffing his mouth with a handful of potato chips. I saw him give a soulless giggle on ESPN the other day. It was so forced.
And what about pretty boy, butt chinned Brady? That dude's a sleaze. Someone told him Plexico Burress said the score was going to be 21-17 and he busted a stitch/gut laughing so hard. What the hell is so funny? You've covered like 1 out of 5 lines lately. What makes me hate them more is that I've actually wagered against the New England Patriots once this year (against the Pittsburg Steelers) and then for them (against Jacksonville) and I've come up on the short end of that stick twice. When you bet on the devil and still lose, it makes you feel dirty. What's also sort of funny was during media day, there was this reporter wearing a wedding dress and ask him to marry her (I think she asked Eli too) and Brady said, "I'm a one woman man." You're a what?? Didn't you leave you're beautiful pregnant girlfriend to be with Giselle Bunchen? Sounds like you'll take the next best offer to me.
The Patriots used to be this noble team where all the players had no egos, didn't care about money, and just wanted to win championships. Now they all talk like their shit don't stink. I hate watching the smug faces of Seau, Bruschi, and Harrison. I have to admit, I kind of like Wes Welker. That guy is so small and quick! But it sucks when he's catching first downs and you're rooting against the Pats.
So now I've worked up enough hate to watch the Superbowl. I'm going to watch the Superbowl, and then just hate on Brady and those jagoffs and hope I win $100.
C'mon, Eli! You can do it! |
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01/30/2008 Bowling Week 3
I had a horrible night at the bowling alley during my league week 3. To the lay person, bowling just looks like the same ole ball thrown at the same ole pins down the same ole alley. If you bowl with a spin, lane conditions mean everything and require you to make adjustments. You may then say, well why bowl with a spin then if things are going to get so confusing? Well the answer to that is a great straight bowler will never ever be as good as a great spin bowler. That's why there aren't any straight bowling professional bowlers. A straight roll just can't hit the pocket as hard and as consistently as a spin bowler.
So Monday the lanes were way too oily for my tastes. When the lanes are oily that ball cuts to the left less. I was missing everything to the right that night because of this. I can sort of add extra hook to the ball by dropping my shoulder more or cupping my wrist more, but since that's not my regular way of throwing the ball, doing that consistently out of nowhere is very difficult.
I prefer to just use different equipment so I may shop around for another ball.
Check out the carnage. After 6 games I averaged 190. My last three games, I averaged 129. Woof.
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01/28/2008 Frank's Birthday
This time, I thought I would do the corniest, stupidest, and jokiest captions possible. Succeeded? You be the judge.
"Howdy, it's almost my birfday."
"Always on that damn phone," says Brooke.
Making googly eyes at something.
Always keep a pinky extended.
Break in the conversation. Phone time again!
Our tummies are full of heavy cream.
"HA HA HA!" So funny!
"Need more phone time..." says Frank. "This is going to be a great shot!" says Brooke.
I give this meal one thumb up.
I'm posing.
I'm smiling.
I just told Frank I didn't get him a present.
"33 bitches!"
"And I quote..."
"Batter UP!"
Making our tequila vows.
I love tequila and birfdays! |
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01/28/2008 Auditing P90X (The X is for Extreme!)
So my friend Wardro has been so jazzed about p90x I decided to try it out to see what it's all about.
Here are some of the videos available: 1. Chest and Back 2. Plyometrics 3. Shoulders and Arms 4. Yoga 5. Legs and Back 6. Kenpo 7. x Stretch 8. Core Synergistics 9. Chest Shoulders Triceps 10. Back Biceps
This is the normal workout I do in my apartment. 1. Push ups for warmups 2. 4 Sets of Bench Press 3. 4 Sets of Overhand Chin ups and 4 sets of Underhand Chinups 4. 4 Sets of standing dumbell curls 5. 4 sets of triceps lifts 6. 2 sets of back extensions
That's pretty much it. My home routine takes me more or less about 1.5 hours depending on how long I'm stalling while watching tv or playing video games. It's really just a maintenance workout for the current shape I'm in. It's not designed to make me bigger or more anything. I also use it to try and fight the beer calories.
Since Wardro is really into his p90x I thought I'd give it a shot for the sake of sheer curiosity. P90X is pretty much an every day kind of thing and I was sure that I wouldn't ever keep up that kind of schedule but I wanted to see if it was still a worthwhile thing to do casually.
Mandy said she'd give it a try too so I bought her some resistance bands (which can be used instead of chin ups or dumbells.) We decided to break our p90X cherries on Saturday afternoon.
The first routine for day one is exclusively Chest and Back. I moved my coffee table out of the way and we were good to go. The P90X Chest and Back routine is sort of like a long continuous routine with many different rotation of exercises. It has a lot of variations of pushups, chin ups, and dumbbell routines. Mandy got really bored with all the pushups but liked the dumbbell routines and didn't mind the back work with the rubber bands. I kind of liked the focus of the video with the 1 hour clock counting down. I found that it helped my focus and I could turn up the intensity as I made it towards the halfway mark and towards the end. It's certainly a harder workout then my own upper body workout since the P90x is working only two muscle groups at a time in the same hour that I do my entire upper body. About 20 minutes of that p90x hour is dedicated to warm up and cool down stretching and calisthenics.
I enjoyed the day one routine and I was looking forward to day 2 until I found out it was exclusively plyometrics and exactly what plyometrics was. The guy on the video described it as jump training. Since it was about 11:00 pm at night and I was working out on the second floor I decided not to do plyometrics and head right towards shoulder and arms. The Shoulders and Arms routine is pretty much set up exactly like the Chest and Back routine but with just a large set of routines designed just for shoulders, biceps, and triceps. This too was a nice workout because it's focused and can be very intense depending on what you put into it.
I'm pretty sure you can't call me a p90x'er because I'm not doing the entire p90X routine in the suggested scheduled format. I'm pretty much never going to do the plyometrics one because I gave up on high impact plyometrics when I quit http://www.bruceskoboxing.com/. That boxing class had tons of jumping roping, bouncing, sprinting, and starbursts. My knees started getting kind of delicate after a year of that high impact workout so I decided I would save my knees for my 30s and up.
I may just pull all the muscle videos out of p90X and skip things like the plyometrics, yoga, and X stretch. I might try out that kenpo and see if it's a good cardio workout but chances are I'd prefer to go back to the weight lifting.
Another good thing about doing the p90x weightlifting videos as opposed to my normal workout is that there is very little rest. This will help keep my rate at a higher level during the entire workout which is always a good thing.
I'll review the other videos if I ever get to them... |
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01/24/2008 Egg on Yo Car
Right before Christmas, I hung out with Mandy's parents in Beaumont for a couple of days. One night after we had just finished watching "I Am Legend" with Will Smith (which is a much better movie than I expected), we approached a car that was in the median that looked like it was just waiting to turn. Just as we were about to pass this vehicle, Mandy's dad's car gets pelted with what looked to be six to a dozen eggs. It scared the shit out of all of us.
It's not like we could chase the perps if were we so inclined because they made sure to nail us right at a spot where we couldn't u-turn for at least several blocks. These eggs were a perfect direct hit right over the driver's side windshield.
Mandy's dad was a cool cat even though he was agitated as hell as he peeked under the egg mess to find the next available car wash but what if these cretins terrorized some 80 year old woman who ends up crashing in a ditch?
I couldn't even wrap my mind around it as it was happening. Who pelts moving cars with eggs? I did have my very own car pelted with eggs at a party at Trina's house once and didn't find out until the end of the night. But that's just dirty and stupid.
Stupid whippersnappers. |
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01/24/2008 Baby Miley Dog
Mandy Byrd met Miley the dog right out of the womb.
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01/23/2008 The Long Awaited Sequel to Lucy
Wardro's hand is at it again.
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01/22/2008 Team TommyBear Crushes the Phams In Bowling Week 2
For some strange reason, Highland lanes can't find my previous Monday night league average which is about 163. Because of this and my great week 1 start, I am holding an average of 183 instead so that means I get less handicap points. This has also affected Trina Fischer because she averaged 153 last week and her normal average is about 131. We are currently trying to have them find our old averages but in the meantime, we are stuck with a lower handicap than normal.
In week 2, we play my former teammate James Pham, his brother Mark, and my old friend Thang Pham (no relation to the other Phams.) Thang has always been a hell of a lot better than me. We watched him almost get a 300 once but he was foiled in the final frame when there was just one little pin standing on a seemingly perfect hit. He also throws with 2 fingers instead of a professional 3 but he just can't figure out how to bowl with 3 fingers. Thang must have the highest rev rate in a ball I've ever seen utilizing his 2 finger heave.
James is also a very smooth bowler. He only averaged about 170 the last time I played with him but he has a very good looking stroke. I don't think Mark Pham did very well last week but the Phams also have another teammate that averaged a 191 last week.
Needless to say team Tommybear was a little intimidated when by the 6th frame, team Pham's scoreboard was lit up like a Christmas tree decorated in X's. There must have been something in the air or perhaps team Tommybear (which is actually named "Your Mom Bowls") is a team of destiny because the Phams started missing and team Tommybear started making. We ended up winning game 1 by 12 points.
In game 2 the Phams were completely annihilated by a whopping 127 points. Unfortunately, Team Tommybear got edged in game 3 by only 10 points so the score for that night was 5-2.
I once again do AWESOME with a MONSTER average of 197. My average last week was 183! This is going to hurt me in the long run because I can't maintain such a torrid pace. When I first started bowling last year, my very first week I averaged a 200 but ended up averaging a 163 by the end of the season. I'm actually improving now but I'm sure I'll come back to earth soon enough.
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01/21/2008 G & S Lounge Is Smokey And Bright
Last Saturday, gf Mandy Byrd, Wardro,Trina Fischer, and I went to Jovitas to see the Eggmen. We had 105 dollars (our bowling league prize money) burning a hole in our pockets so we decided to spend it all on food and drinks there.
Unfortunately there was an 8 dollar cover charge so that burned up about 22% of our funds right off the bat.
The Eggmen are a Beatles cover band. I wish they played all mainstream stuff but they mixed up some popular stuff with some not so common stuff. I really enjoyed their rendition of Come Together (that's probably not the title), Twist and Shout, and Hey Jude. Their third set was "European Invasion" and it made me want to poke my ears out. Another annoying habit they had is they kept telling us to vote for them as "Best Cover Band" in the Austin Chronicle poll. Thanks but the Spazzmatics have my vote.
When the Eggmen were done we left and went to G & S lounge. Being an ex-smoker I found the thick smoke in the place disgusting, repulsive, and probably quite toxic. After spending 3 or 4 hours there I felt as if I were the one who had smoked two packs that night and by the next morning, my coughs felt like they were seasoned with tar. Where the hell is the smoking ban police when you need them? Other than that, the place was kind of festive with their pool and air hockey tables.
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01/21/2008 Giants Win Eases The Pain of Cowboys' Loss
I cheered when Lawrence Tyne kicked a 47 yard field goal to beat the Green Bay Packers. Why did I care? Because when you get beat, you want to get beat by someone good. When Texas made the final four and then got knocked out by Carmelo Anthony and Syracuse it sucked. But then, when we find out Syracuse wins the whole thing and Carmelo is a superstar in the NBA it eases the pain. Why? Because Texas was beat by a more than worthy competitor and coming second to the best isn't half bad.
Maybe that's just a loser's mentality but one of the reasons it stung when Eli Manning and the New York Football Giants beat the Cowboys is because Eli is widely considered to be a very inconsistent, mediocre quarterback. He's always thought to be the inferior little brother of the Super Bowl ring wearing, record holding, commercial making Peyton Manning.
Just the other day, Bobby said Eli should have picked another position and should have never been a quarterback because he would always have to live in the shadow of his brother. I'm pretty sure Eli can't run, jump, kick, or tackle so it was probably either quarterback or nothing.
Another reason I was happy the Giants lost is because misery loves company. A very true cliché. I know a lot of rabid Green Bay/Favre fans and now Packers fans know the pain Cowboys fans feel. So what you won one more game than the Cowboys did? If you don't win the Superbowl, nothing matters, nothing counts. Off the top of my head, I can't really remember who the Colts beat in last year's Superbowl.
It's worse that the Colts got beat by a team like the Chargers who promptly gets dismissed in the next round. That just means you choked and didn't play up to your potential.
Now getting beat by a team that holds the record for consecutive road wins is a real feat. |
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01/18/2008 Dennis Dombrow Wins The 140 Pound Belt
As many of you tommybear readers know, I've been going to Jujitsu for about 2 years at http://www.austinbjj.com/.
I remember hearing this guy in my class say one time that he was interested in becoming a fighter. He's a real young looking guy so I assume he meant like some day after years and years of training. You know, like a lot of people say, someday I'm going to be a movie star. Or some day I'm going to be a CEO. Or some day I'm going to be a professional basketball player. I figured he just meant it like a distant dream.
Well, just the other day, my instructor announces to the class that this student, Dennis, just had his first professional MMA fight and he didn't know until he was in his dressing room getting ready, that it was for a title. I don't know what league or federation the belt is for but it's pretty cool.
Here's his fight on Youtube.
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01/17/2008 Renaldo From American Idol
This almost makes my entire my season of American Idol. And it's only day 2!
I love how everyone started to learn and sing the catchy tune. And then at the end, Renaldo gets misty talking about his experience and Simon.
So this copy cat videos just came out today! I kind of want to do one myself. There's only one other one so far of someone lip syncing. I should do one too!
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01/16/2008 Bowling Scores From Monday
A new season of bowling started this past Monday and I bowled better this week then I bowled all last season. Last season, I didn't break 200 once and averaged a 141. As you can see here, I broke 200 in game 2 and ended up averaging 184.
We haven't gotten our old handicaps posted but if we do, we might have beaten the opposing team on all 3 games.
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01/16/2008 How ATT Made the Refund on My Rebate Really Annoying
Back in the beginning of November, I bought a new Treo 680 phone. The phone's regular price is $300 but they like to say it's $150 if you start a new contract because you get a $150 rebate. I pay my $300 in the store for my phone and turn in the material to get my rebate.
After about a week, I get a text message saying that my rebate request has been received and I should get my rebate in about 10 weeks. 10 weeks!!! Well the holidays come and go and a couple of weeks ago I get another text message that says my rebate has been processed and I'll get my refund in about 3 weeks.
I've mailed in plenty of rebates in my time and I've always gotten back a check. I know that most vendors are banking on the fact that most people buy the product because they see the price after the rebate and yet will fail to turn in the rebate in time. The most annoying rebates are the ones where you have to saw the barcode off a big, thick cardboard box. Of course for most stores, once you saw off the barcode, you are no longer allowed to return the item to the store so they're hoping you wait just long enough to miss the short deadline.
The ATT store was kind enough to saw off my rebate and get everything together so all I would need to do is mail it in. For $150 I was sure to mail it in right away.
Yesterday I got my rebate back and it came in the form of two separate envelopes with debit cards of $75 a piece. This is obviously strategic on ATT's part to really screw you over. Getting two debit cards that expire in 4 months instead of cash means that there are still ways for me to not get my $150 dollars worth.
First off, I could just not spend it in time. Second, since it's split into two cards I could have $6 dollars left on one card and $11 dollars left on the other and since it's such a low amount, I just might let it expire instead of trying to charge a gallon of milk.
Rebate ripoff! The best thing I can do is activate my card and try to spend every last penny. |
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01/15/2008 Don't Forget to Set Your DVRs to Tape the TWO HOUR Premiere of American IDOL!!!!
Since there are no writers this season, you better soak up the good reality TV because American Gladiators succcckkkksss. |
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01/15/2008 Which Cowboy's Loss Hurts More?
I get physically depressed when the Cowboys lose. Especially during playoff times. Unlike basketball or baseball, there are no second chances in the NFL playoffs. In a single elimination game, you only get one chance. If you're going to make any adjustments, make them at half time or else you're going home.
Last year, Cowboy fans were excited when Tony Romo went on a roll after replacing Drew Bledsoe. The roll hit a rut some time in December but they were still able to comfortably make it into the playoffs. The game was exciting and competitive and the Cowboys were inches away from making a game ending first down. They didn't get that first down but they were in position to make an easy chip shot of a field goal to put themselves in a position to win. Instead of giving little Martin Grammatica a chance to kick the field goal, Tony Romo bobbled the snap and got tackled from behind as he tried to scramble for the end zone. Game over.
Fast forward and rewind to last Saturday. Cowboys come off one of the best seasons in Cowboy's history at 13-3. It was more impressive at 12-1 but it was still fantastic season. The big problem with it becoming 13-3 was that two more losses occurred right before the playoffs. Cowboys out gain the New York Giants in almost every offensive category and yet were still trailing by 4 points in the 4th quarter. Cowboys get the ball two more times and fail miserably to get two field goals or one touchdown.
So which loss sucks more? A bobbled snap to miss a chip shot field goal on an improbable season of highs and lows? Or a game of complete futility staffed by an NFL record 12 pro bowlers with a 13-3 record? |
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01/14/2008 My Version of Ward's Birthday Through Pictures
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01/10/2008 Wardro's Ferret Video and The Slow Moving Hand
I told Wardro that I thought his video of his pet Lucy looked like a molester video. You be the judge.
He said he might do a whole series with the hand.
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01/08/2008 Pictures From Simon's Birthday at Outback Steakhouse
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01/08/2008 Dropping a 239 in Practice As I Get Ready For Another Season Of Bowling
Yesterday, Mandy Byrd, Trina Fischer, and I went to the bowling alley to shake the rust off of our bowling arms. We've been off for the past two weeks.
A few weekends in a row, I've been watching bowling on television. I think it comes on like Sunday morning or something. Any professional makes the sport their playing look so easy, bowling is no exception. Every week I try to watch them and see if I can pick up any of their techniques.
I'm trying to do two things. One is bring my arm back further and straighter. I had some stranger tell me that but I blew him off. Now I think I need the speed that bringing the arm back generates. Two is this one bowler cups his wrist on the backswing. I've been trying to figure out how to get more spin too so I was going to see if this helps.
It might have just been luck but I dropped a sweet 239 in a practice game. That's my second highest game of all time (second only to a 257 I got in my first bowling league season.)
Of course throwing the ball around in practice is much different than a league game. We'll see what happens next week. |
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01/08/2008 Don't Go to The Crawfish Shack on Wells Branch (because I don't want to wait for my crawdaddies)
I don't think you would say crawfish season is officially back when they are going for $6.99 a pound, but if you're a crawfish lover like me, you can't wait.
One night, after driving home from pool, I noticed a small place in a strip mall that's called "Crawfish Shack." This intrigued me. It was the middle of winter and there seemed to be a place dedicated to the serving of crawfish. For those of you that don't know, crawfish season begins around January, peaks in April and May and ends in late June. If you try to get crawfish really early or late in the season, they're typically small and expensive.
Mandy Byrd (gf) and I decided to check the place out because it got some decent ratings on a random web search. Turns out there were live crawfish available at the aforementioned $6.99 a pound. It was expensive but it was worth it. We got about 5 lbs of crawfish, a dozen oysters, and 5 Coronas and got out of there for about $70 bucks not including tip.
The crawfish shack is a very small cozy place. It's decked out with cheesy nets and plastic fish The service was a little slow at first because there was a big party there and it really isn't equipped for a lot more business. I prefer when I find a delicious hole in the hole in the wall that it not only stays delicious, but small. That's probably selfish of me but I need the attention. |
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01/02/2008 Tommy Do-NUTS!
No one really calls me Tommy Donuts anymore but an ex-coworker of mine found this donut shop in California that he thought I might like.
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01/02/2008 When Your Sliding Into First and Your Pants Are About To Burst,..
So my GF had a wicked gastro intestinal ailment on Saturday that she caught from work. She was puking and pooping up a storm. It's funny but when you're healthy, you don't really worry about getting sick. You figure if you're healthy and everyone else around you is getting sick, then perhaps you have some sort superior resistance.
She thought that since those people she works with are old, their immune system must be weak and I thought cause my GF is a bit of an admitted hypochondriac, that I'd also be ok.
Neither of us were ok and unfortunately I got the extreme water butt right on New Year's Eve. It was pretty depressing considering I was at full strength by the next night. I tried going to a dinner party but I had to hurry home when everyone told me that I looked green/pasty and I felt nauseous as hell. It would pretty rude to spray infectious matter all over some friend's toilets.
I'm just acting for the camera but I really did feel like that. |
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