Web Phenomenon Mix Tape

The uber-famous OkGO video remixed with the excellent Ben Folds song "army". It's uncanny how well it works.

Finish the Thought

Now THIS is an interesting blog meme. Tagged by Toast, I answer the bell.

I Never... say no when one of my kids asks me to read. leave an empty shopping cart in the middle of a parking lot. seem to catch up on my laundry. want my kids to be disappointed by me. expected to be where I am today.

I Rarely... let someone pass me in the breakdown lane. mean to come across like a dick when I do. think I'm not the smartest person in the room. am on time for work. Go to bed before I fall asleep on the couch. can get my daughter to agree to the first outfit I've chosen for her that day. know what the right thing to say is when a woman is upset

I Cry... when I think about my kids being hurt. when I look at the wreckage of my marriage. only when no one is around and even then for at most 30 seconds - I'm not a pussy.

I Am Not Always... as nurturing with my children as I should be. fair to my daughter, of whom I expect more because she is so capable. the smartest person in the room. as sure of what I'm saying as I sound.

I Lose... bluetooth headsets. on purpose most of the time when I play games with my kids. Pens and Pencils. my hair, very slowly

I'm Confused... when smart people watch CSI. by my wife. by smart people who are conservative.

I Miss... living above my pub. lunch-time setback with Toast et. al. at AMS. having a foosball table at work. Intimacy. My free time.

I Need... a vacation. Someone to go on vacation with me. new floors for my house. to deal with the fact that the time may be soon for my old dog to leave us. to know my kids will be fine. to drag my project at work to the fucking finish line. to eventually be my own boss.

I Should... go fold some laundry. get a dumpster brought here so I can toss half of the stuff in my house in it. push my son as hard as I push my daughter. push my daughter less than I do. give myself a bit more credit.

I Love... my children more than I thought was possible for me. reminiscing with my fraternity brothers. beer and buffalo wings. being the guy that everyone comes to for help at work.

I tag Manuel, who is the only one I could tag and my brother in the comments.

Rampant Steroid Speculation

I have long been bored with the never ending "steroids in baseball" story. However, at this point I'm ecstatic to talk about something other than where Johan Santana will end up.

Tomorrow, the Mitchell report will be released. The report will reportedly (heheh) name 60-80 former and current major league ball players. So now it's time for some wanton and reckless speculation - something of a specialty of mine. Here's the official Fridge Report of Steroid Speculation. The players are grouped into 3 categories - mortal locks, suspicious, shocking. There's also an implied 4th category - everyone else.

Let's go!

MORTAL LOCKS :
Jose Canseco
Barry Bonds
Rafael Palmeiro
David Segui (see how he got out in front of the report?)
Brett Boone
Brady Anderson
Jason Giambi
Jeremy Giambi
Mark McGwire
Sammy Sosa
Gary Sheffield
Jason Grimsley
Jeff Bagwell

Review: Not much here new. Most of these names have either already admitted doing it or no one thinks they DIDN'T do Steroids

SUSPICIOUS: (here's where it gets interesting)
Pudge Rodriguez - I feel pretty good given his somewhat anomalous power explosion during his time as a teammate with Palmeiro
Juan Gonzalez - see above
Todd Hundley - rarely named, but done deal, IMO.
Jason Varitek - Sudden spike in power followed by precipitous drop in power right around testing change. Just saying.
Big Papi - Cut by Minnesota to perennial MVP caliber hitter?
Cal Ripken - I know, I know, but at this point we need to scrutinize statistical outliers.
Roger Clemens - See Ripken, Cal.
Pedro Martinez - It's not unheard of for a little frail dude to throw a ball 97, but it's also pretty damn uncommon.
Paul O'Neill - He was a different hitter after after the trade to NY. Why? Was it Don Mattingly's influence? or the Juice?
Jeff Kent
Matt Williams
Miguel Tejada
David Wells - fat drunk who can throw forever? Or juicing?

Review:
These are the guys that I find suspicious. Actually, I don't think Paulie was doping at all, but I had to throw Sox fans a bone, since I named three Sox players.

SHOCKING: (Seeing these guys named would freak me out)

Derek Jeter - That would be unreal.
Mariano Rivera
Greg Maddux
Tom Glavine

Review:
Those guys would shock the living crap out of me. Especially Jeter. That would rock my world and baseball as well. He's so hallowed, not just by Yankee fans, but by baseball and the media in general. That would be truly mind bending.

That's my list. What do you think? Anyone I missed? Anyone I'm dead wrong about?

Hip Hop Charted.

and another one:


All of them here. Having trouble reading? Click to embiggen.

The official Christmas Tree of BuzzingFridge

Credits -
Tree Selection - Fridge's kids
Lights and Star - Fridge
Decorations - Fridge's daughter
Sweet Thomas the Tank Engine train track around tree - Fridge and son

Can I get a ruling?

Just Bad? or So Bad it's awesome?



And, Holy Crap those guys have not aged well. They were amongst the ugliest bands ever when they were young. Now, they're old, bald, fat and ugly. Yikes. Luckily, they still rock.

Damn, I missed out on this bubble, too.

Celebratory Beer Blogging

In honor of the Giants amazing comeback road win against the Chicago Bears, I decided to blog the beer I am using to celebrate. The beer? Sam Adams Holiday Porter - 5.8% ABV.

The Bouquet: A deep whiff of the aroma of the poured beer reveals a chocolatey smell with hints of dark roast coffee.

The Pour: The beer sits dark and opaque in the glass. A deep brown nearing black. The head is a solid 3/4" tan foam. (Note: I forgot to take the picture BEFORE I drank a bit. But I was celebrating the Giants, after all)

The First Sip: My first reaction of the beer was a bit of surprise over how buttery the chocolate malts tasted, the first sip is smooth with a full-bodied warmth that coats the mouth. The finish is surprisingly peppery. In fact, it provides a very pleasant offset to the initial buttery chocolate favor and leaves the drinker with a clean, refreshed palate.

The Result: An impressive beer. While I was relatively unmoved by the previous two beers I drank from the Sam Adams Winter Sample Pack - Brown Ale and Old Fezziwig Ale - this is a very different porter than most I've tasted. The warm start and peppery finish is the perfect compliment to a cold winter day, a warm fire and a Giants comeback. Unlike other excellent Porters I've had (Otter Creek's very good Stovepipe Porter, for example) that are more aggressive with a sharper hoppy edge to counter the natural chocolate flavor of a porter, Sam Adams Holiday Porter takes a different approach. They make mellow the chocolate with a buttery evenness and therefore can be more subtle and offset it with the peppery finish. All in all, an excellent beer with high-re-drinkability. In fact, I'll be hitting my favorite package store to see if I can find this beer by the six pack or even a 12. Recommended.

Rating: 4.0 out of 5


Go Giants!

Jorge Posada Resigns With Yanks - Punches ticket for the Hall Of Fame

The Yankees finally got around to announcing the signing of Jorge Posada today. 4 years and 52 Million is significantly more than most teams would like to spend for a 36 year old catcher. Catchers typically just don't stay productive into their late thirties and early 40s. Here's the thing, though: Posada is not a typical catcher. He's exceptional.

That's where the Posada haters out there will simply have to deal with it. Jorge Posada will be voted to the Hall of Fame. Frankly, it shocked me when I learned that there actually were Posada haters, but they're out there and this will get their panties in a bunch. Yankee fans look at Jorge Posada and say, how could you hate the guy? All he does is play hard every season and You know who you are, haters. The average Posada hater falls into two categories: 1) Members of Jason Varitek's backwards hat wearing boy band, who are jealous of the clearly superior and far less self-aggrandizing Yankee and 2) Met fans who see Posada as a whiny, undeserving rider of the Yankee captain's coattails. Collectively, they spend lots of time dismissing the acheivements of the second best catcher of the last ten years.

Posada is one of only eight catchers in Major League history to record at least 20 home runs in seven or more seasons, joining Mike Piazza (11), Johnny Bench (11), Yogi Berra (10), Gary Carter (9), Carlton Fisk (8), Lance Parrish (7) and Roy Campanella (7). He and Ivan Rodriguez are the only two catchers in Major League history to record two seasons of 40 or more doubles.

Damn right! And all he needs is one more and that list drops to an impressive Piazza, Bench, Berra, Carter, Fisk. Wow. That's like the Mount Rushmore of catchers.

Well, he's just a .277 lifetime hitter! That sucks! Not so fast, haters. Jorge Posada has incredible patience at the plate. His active OBP of .3806 ranks 21st overall and leads all catchers, including the amazing Mike Piazza.

Let's assume that Jorge retires at the end of his Yankee contract, when he is 40 years old. He's averaged 68 runs, 21 HRs and 82 RBIs over the last three years. Were he to match that production for 4 more seasons and do it all as a catcher, his career totals would be

302 HR, 1189 RBI

Those are first ballot hall of fame numbers. Those numbers are right behind Yogi (358 and 1430)and Fisk (376 and 1330) in 17 seasons, rather than 19 and 24 seasons, respectively. They aren't that far behind Bench's (389 and 1376) in the same number of seasons. They are significantly behind Piazza's (427 and 1335 and counting - albeit as a DH now). In short, those numbers are very impressive. They'll get him in.

The obvious question is, is it realistic to expect him to do that? Probably not. You'd have to expect a decline from Jorge as he gets older, despite the fact that he's a very durable player and diligent worker. I do expect him to stay at catcher for the rest of his Yankee career, at least primarily. I don't expect him to move to DH full time like Piazza did, although he's a good enough hitter to warrant it. What I expect is for him to play two more years as the full time catcher before working in a young catcher that is currently in the Yankees system - someone like teenage offensive force Jesus Montero is the main plan for Jorge's successor, but it could be Frankie Cervelli (the yanks most advanced catching prospect - reminds me of LoDuca, hopefully without the crazies), Chase Weems (kind of a lefty Biggio) or Austin Romine (compared to pudge in arm strength and build). At the point that they work those guys in, he'll spend some time at DH or possibly even 1B. He probably will experience a decline in numbers because of age and this potential change in role, so let's discount those numbers 25%. That would make Jorge's final line roughly:

280 homers, 1100 RBI

That, with his championships and being an integral point of the most recent Yankee Dynasty, will be enough. Those numbers may seem a little unremarkable in the "steroid era", but not when you consider the day in, day out wear and tear that 13-17 seasons at catcher puts you through. And don't forget the five all-star appearances. Jorge's durability and production show he's an exceptional player. They count. And when you consider everything he will have achieved when he hangs it up, he'll deserve the honor.

So some day in July of 2016 or so, I'll drag my family to Cooperstown so they can watch Jorge Posada be inducted to the Baseball Hall of Fame. And I'll stand and cheer a great Yankee and Hall of Famer.


P.S. And as preparation for the event, Toast and I will have to hit the local Ommegang brewery.

Friend Request Ettiquette

Ok, so I'm new to this whole facebook thing. I recently joined facebook only because I had to in order to see someone else's facebook page and they spammed me with an email asking me to look check it out. Shortly after that, a couple of my actual friends who I didn't know used facebook "friended" me (stupid pseudo-verb, by the way) and voila! I was sucked in and I'm now one of the nine bajillion people who have a facebook page with an entertaining assortment of useless crap on it.

Soon after that, I was choosing musical artists I like, taking movie trivia quizzes, basically wasting a lot of time. I even apparently breached facebook ettiquette (or at least actual friend etiquette) by "poke"-ing Toast's wife, inadvertently thinking this was how you made her a friend so she could see the pointless crap on my particular facebook page. Toast and I dueled with swords and seconds at dawn and moved on with our lives. By the way, I later looked up the real meaning of "poke" and it turns out it doesn't have one - you cheeky facebook bastards...

Anyway, this brings me to friend requests. I recently got one from a woman whom I have never met. She is apparently a "facebook friend" of one of my actual friends. What's the ettiquette here? I've learned that I probably shouldn't "poke" her. She's a married woman. But, I don't know her. Am I obligated to accept such a request? My instincts say I should tell her to piss off. Is that a gross facebook violation? Is the point of this exercise racing to have the most friends? If so, maybe I'm not cut out for this facebook thing after all. What say you?

If I wasn't me meme

Hmmm... I've been tagged by Toast. On a nice short meme created by konagod. Personally, I prefer ten questions or less memes. The 25+ memes are tedious.

What would Fridge be if Fridge weren't Fridge? I'm actually pretty happy with my career now. I mostly really enjoy what I do and more importantly, I'm good at it and I am very well suited for what I do. It fits me in many ways.

1) GM of a Major League baseball team - I would absolutely love this. I am the greatest fantasy baseball player of all time and would love nothing better than to have the opportunity to run a team. I'd also be excellent at it. Wouldn't matter which team, really. I'd enjoy running any one of them.

2) Movie/TV Producer - When I was in college, I balked at the sheer nerdiness of my chosen profession, wrote some goofy screenplays and applied to NYU film school and was rejected. I certainly didn't deserve admission by any stretch. But, had I been, I think I would have been pretty good for it and enjoyed it. I really think I have excellent movie and TV taste. In a true geeks dream, I always wanted to make a movie of the Elric Saga by Michael Moorcock.

3) Standup Comedian - First, I'm a funny bastard. Second, I enjoy speaking in front of people. And lastly, I've been best man twice and each time I gave a toast that had people laughing and DJ's saying I should rent myself out as a best man. I loved it. I've also liked the construction of a good joke. I'm still looking for an open-mic comedy night so that I could really try it out. Not that I'd actually do it. The life of all but the most famous comedians is kinda crappy. But, I'd like writing jokes.

4) Governor of Connecticut - I think being Governor is the sweet spot of American Politics. Being president is too much of a pain in the ass and the republicans would be all over my ass for inhaling many times, etc. Being a congressman is a pain because you're in a constant election cycle and only have one vote once you're in there. Nope, Governor is where it's at. You can affect real change and I could help the people of the state I love. I could bring them health care, better roads and probably higher taxes. But, my state would kick even more ass and then maybe I could get tapped as a Vice Presidential candidate (the other sweet spot of politics).

5) Gadget geek - I love gadgets. And the only thing better than having lots of gadgets is getting rid of them and getting new ones. I'd love to have a David Pogue type gig, or work for C|Net or Gizmodo. Traveling to those shows, having manufacturers send you all that stuff? Constantly trying new gadgets and then giving them the thumbs up or down? Heaven.

There you go! That's what Fridge would do if Fridge weren't already Fridge (and therefore already pretty kick-ass).

I tag Manny and my brother in the comments.

Don't you do it!!!!

Don't cancel Journeyman, NBC. By my reckoning, it's the only good new show of the season. What are you gonna do, make the office into an hour and a half? Clearly the network of brilliant ideas.



Watch that clip. Please excuse the stupid use of Evanesence. Then set your TiVos. It's on at 10pm tonight.

Thus ends another pathetic blogger plea for their favorite new show. You may now resume your regularly scheduled programming (now that it includes Journeyman).

See? It's not just me

Yes, Google is trying to take over the world.

Google's truest and most formidable foes are much older and more powerful. Today we call them Verizon and AT&T, but their real name is the Bell system. Their ideology, which today governs the cell phone world, is called "Vailism," and it can be traced back to 1907 and the origins of AT&T's domination of American telephony. The Bells' philosophy, as promulgated by AT&T's greatest president, Theodore Vail, is based on closed systems, centralized power, and as much control as possible over every part of the network. Vailism is the antithesis, in short, of everything Google stands for. It is this—conquering the business culture of the telephone, as opposed to the computer—that is Google's great challenge.

Great article. Please read it and then stop shaking your head dismissively at my paranoia. Thanks.

Long live my iPod!

Well, my iPod is back. Welcome back my little black shiny friend. As it happens, the problem seemed to be an incompatibility between the version of iTunes I had on the PC that has my library and the new iPod software update that Apple just published. My iPod will sync just fine with iTunes version 7.5, but I was kicking it old school at 7.3.2. So, if your iPod seems to sync but doesn't show any songs listed when you spin the wheel, that's likely the problem. I updated my iTunes version, synced and all was right with the world again. On that note, a here goes a shuffle!

1) Ryan Adams - "New York, New York" Gold
Can't you just picture A-Rod strolling down the street bopping his head to this peppy tune, his pockets filled with million-dollar bills? Yep, I can. Welcome back A-Rod.

2) Radiohead - "Street Spirit (Fade Out)" The Bends
This would be a kick-ass song for my funeral. You hear that, people? Play this tune, get your sobbing and weeping over with chop-like and then tap the keg!

3) Stereophonics - "Lying In The Sun" Just Enough Education To Perform
Kelly Jones has a fantastic voice. That is all. This shuffle is going very well, if I do say so. Three quality cuts. Time for an iPod curveball, I'd think. We'll see.

4) Evanesence - "My Immortal" Fallen
I know, I know. They suck, right? They're the Hootie and the Blowfish of goth crap music. That's what I keep hearing. Still, another amazing voice. Frankly, I'll forgive lackluster songwriting and general lameness if an exceptional voice is in play and this girl has one. And this lyric truly fits my current situation.

And if you have to leave
I wish that you would just leave
'Cause your presence still lingers here
And it won't leave me alone

5) Black Rebel Motorcycle Club - "Shuffle Your Feet" Howl
One of the best albums you're probably not listening to. I think they have a new one. I'll have to find out.

6) Queens Of The Stone Age - "Broken Box" Lullabies to Paralyze

In my head you're all brand new
I guess you're really all the same
In my head you're all brand new
Tell your new boy where i came
In my head you're all brand new
Take that broken pussy elsewhere
In my head you're all brand new
Save it baby, i don't care

Excellent eff-you break up song!

7) Haven - "Beautiful Thing" Between the Senses

learn to live, you're not alone
take your time, and it will come and die
don't know when

These guys are ok. An able example of the whiny Britpop genre, but not a distinguished one. That lyric is a perfect example.

8) Ash - "There's a Star" Free All Angels
This is a song that starts out sounding like a Bond theme and then slips into muddled lameness. This band had an outstanding single in Burn Baby Burn (see video below). But the rest of the album is merely ok.


9) AC\DC - "Shake A Leg" Back In Black

Idle juvenile on the street, on the street
Who is kicking everything with his feet, with his feet
Fighting on the wrong side of the law, of the law
Don't kick, don't fight, don't sleep at night

10) Weezer - "Simple Pages" Weezer
Rivers Cuomo is probably the greatest living Connecticut Rocker. That is, until I finish Guitar Hero III.

No iPod curveball. Glad to have you back in my life, my little buddy. I had forgotten how much radio sucked without you. Now that I've remembered, I can go back to forgetting again.

QuickHits

Item #1 - A Fan's website buys an English Soccer team. Apparently they're gonna let people vote to approve roster moves and lineup changes. Sounds just crazy enough to work. I am now going to GoDaddy.com to see if I can register a good URL so I can do the same to my poor ridiculous Knicks.

Item #2 - A pictorial Album Review/Analogy.

Devil Without a Cause by Kid Rock is to 1985 Kelly LeBrock
















as Kid Rock's new Album Rock And Roll Jesus is to 2007 Kelly LeBrock.


Meaning, you can see how they came from the same place, but it's just not at all the same.









Item #3 - Tom Morello, I'm gunning for you this weekend. I will Rock You Like a Hurricane.


Item #4 - Yankee Update:
- Welcome Back Jorge.
- Welcome Back (after much unnecessary nonsense) A-Rod
- Mo, Please sober up and sign.
- Dear Andy Pettitte. Couldn't you use another 15 million dollars? Please?
- Dear Hank Steinbrenner. You sir, are the new "Big Stein". Glad to have you aboard.

Item #5 - Don't be this Bluetooth guy. Larry David will school you.

Paranoid Android

I once wrote that Google frightened me. But they also do some wicked cool stuff as well. Like the demo above, which is for a development platform that Google has created for phones called Android. They've engaged loads of handset makers and will let them battle it out for making the phones Not exactly Motorola Razr type phones, but combo devices like the iPhone or a smart phone. Check it out and see what they've done in the prototype phase. It's pretty impressive. Additionally, the tools are free for developer nerds like me and will eventually be open source. As an open platform, I can develop apps for my phone for free.

It's completely the opposite model of the super-closed, super-controlled iPhone Apple model. There have been lots of rumors about an gPhone to compete in the cell phone market. But clearly this is not that. Instead, Google couldn't give a crap about which phone you're running. They just want you to be using their software and by extension, viewing data that they send to your handset. And they will give away LOTS of free functionality to do that.

So, I'm in a weird position. I'm still a little dubious of the ever increasing control that Google seems to like to have over information. While they are probably benevolent now, that could change. On the other hand, the phone looks sweet. As a gadget lover, I want one (especially if I can trade if for my windows mobile phone - what a POS) and it would be tons of fun to write an app for one. Anyway, I find the whole notion truly fascinating. I'm gonna download it and try it out.

Noooooooo!!!!!!

First, the Giants get their collective asses handed to them by the Cowboys. Now, my iPod has died. I tried the "reset" sequence. I tried "restore". My poor little ipod doesn't show any songs...

Hold me.

Updated:
I decided to try and sync it to a different machine (my vista laptop) and that appeared to wake my little black buddy up. It now accepts and plays songs. So, it's apparently not a hardware problem as I feared, but more likely a software bug. In my panic, I had forgotten that the problem began on first use after my last sync, which included a software update. Phew.

Updated 2:
I checked and, unfortunately, the Giants still lost.

Goin to the game!

Won't be around the couch on Sunday. Due to the kindness of a long time friend who got a ticket for me, I will be tailgating at Giants Stadium with 70+ thousand other Giant fans as we ready for the Showdown at the Swamp.

I'm unbelievably pumped for the game, despite the fact that I have to drive to the off site parking, take the shuttle and then find my friends in the vast parking lot before I can get down to some serious pre-game drinking.

The Cowgirls are a very good team, but this is the healthiest the Giants have been at this point in the season in a long time. It should be a great matchup.

I'd say Go Big Blue! at this point, but we're wearing red. Go Red!

Can't wait!

South Park does Guitar Hero

Imagine my surprise when my TiVo listed the title of the latest South Park episode as "Guitar Queero". I took a deep breath and readied myself to be mocked by Parker and Stone. It's hysterical. Along the way, they also spoof the stereotypical musician movie, where the talented young artist is scooped up by the music business, corrupted, hits bottom only to find redemption by going back to his roots. Great stuff.

BTW, my imaginary band, "The Fridges" is steadily climbing through the set list, and absolutely I picked the Gene Simmons character as my avatar. Screw you, South Park, Guitar Hero is totally awesome. And I rock because Guitar Hero says I do.

Quick Hits

Sorry to anyone that might have come to this blog hoping to find anything of interest to read. Things have been crazy in Fridge's world and thus blogging opportunities have been few.

In lieu of some engrossing long diatribe, here are a few quick thoughts:

1) This is hysterical: Jerry Seinfeld tooling on Larry King.

2) Halloween with the mini-Fridges was a lot of fun. It also prompted this exchange with my 4 year old son.
Me: Okay, don't forget to wash your hands after you go potty.
Him: Uh, dad. Batman doesn't wash his hands.
Me: Sure he does.
Him: No, he has gloves.
Me: You don't have gloves.
Him: But I am Batman.
Me: Ok, listen. Even Batman has a Dad. Wash your hands.
Him: Oh, alright...

3) How egotistical do you have to be to think that God helped you win the World Series? Why would God give a crap? But, hey many thanks to Curt for taking himself out of the running for Yanks 5th starter. The Yankees had of course centered their offseason plans around signing this bloated ego-maniacal asshole. Oh well, back to the drawing board.

4) P-Krug has a book. I'm reading it now. You should, too.

5) Guitar Hero III for the Wii could be one of the coolest things I've ever owned. I have mastered Foghat and Pat Benatar (yes, Pat Benatar. I was initially confused, too).

6) Because you didn't ask for it, here it is. The history of LOLCats.


http://view.break.com/392548 - Watch more free videos