The Daily Bongo -- August 2005

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Wednesday, August 31, 2005 -- Evening The matches at the US Open are on rain delay right now, but at 10 pm, the courts are almost dry enough for the matches to resume. Last night, Andy Roddick lost. The game was a close one actually with a final score of 7-6 (7/4), 7-6 (10/8), 7-6 (7-1). Roddick lost to Gilles Muller. Meanwhile Serena Williams easily won her match, and so did Leyton Hewitt. Wednesday, August 31, 2005 -- Afternoon Tomorrow is live eviction night and the voting will be taking place on the show, so there really isn't alot going on in the Big Brother house today. April and Beau were running around taking pictures with the HOH camera. The pictures get posted after the new HOH's reign starts. Ivette seems to be in a miserable mood which is common for her. She really hates Janelle. I think that the main problem for Ivette is that James will be leaving tomorrow. Ivette has some issues and it comes across in the way that she deals with people. Ivette would really get on my nerves, and I would never be able to be a friend of hers unless she is 100% different than she is in the house. It seems that Janelle took a questionable picture, and April is going to leave it on the camera. I'll have to check out April's HOH pictures to see what the Janelle porn picture is about. Nothing very exciting is going on with the houseguests--all we have is non stop angry from Ivette about anything and everything that Janelle does. Ivette is talking to James now and explaining that the Maggots took Janelle off and put James up for strategic reasons, not because they like Janelle. People were gathering around Kensington Palace today to mark the eigth anniversary of the death of Princess Diana. They also did some Camilla bashing. They should really get over the Camilla thing. After all, I think that Diana herself got over it. It was hurtful at the time to know that Charles married her while in love with Camilla, but I'm sure that Diana realized that it was not worth her energy to fixate on it. Life does go on. I have been hearing from alot of folks that I must be bored because I have been off of work for awhile and at home alone during the day. Wednesday, August 31, 2005 -- Morning The big news today is the devastation of New Orleans. The majority of damage at this point is being caused by the levees that are giving way. Basically the city of New Orleans is 20 feet below sea level, and is right on the shores of Lake Pontchartrain. So with the levees breaking 80% of New Orleans wound up underwater. The problem now is for the levees to be plugged up to stop the damage, and no one seems to know what to do. Everyone has been told to evacuate New Orleans and they might not be able to get back for some time. All this devastation hasn't stopped the looters. The people are acting like animals breaking into stores and grabbing as many things as they can. People are wading through the flood waters to break into stores and grabbing everything that they can. Meanwhile the police are there and totally unable to control them. The people are really acting like animals, and a state of martial law has been declared in New Orleans. Personally, I think that it is a shame that people are doing things like this so that instead of putting resources towards helping people who are trapped, collecting the dead, and trying to rebuild, they are forced to police the streets. The military and police forces in the area need to be armed and the word needs to be put out that if you are going to act like an animal, you will be treated like an animal. Somehow they have to get control of the situation. The other concern with Katrina is with oil production. Initially I was hearing on the news that the offshore oil refineries had minimal damage. Well, now there is a big concern because we get a good portion of our oil from the gulf, and with those refineries closed, oil prices are skyrocketing. Do we know for sure that the refineries are not able to continue? From what is reported from Venezuela's largest oil company that has a refinery in the Gulf with Exxon/Mobile is that the refinery is fine and they are just waiting for the government to lift the storm warning that is preventing them from resuming work. I really hate to say this, but I don't trust the government OR the oil companies. I really hate to say that I am thinking that the oil companies will take advantage of the situation to raise oil prices to make money. Is that cynical of me? It does make you wonder when you hear that the offshore sites are fine and just not pumping because they don't have the go ahead. Apple is has a big news release scheduled for next week, but someone has managed to find out what the announcement will be. It appears that Apple in coordination with Motorola will be releasing a cell phone that also plays iTunes. The service provider will be Cingular. The phone should be like the iPod Shuffle and should be able to store 512 MB to 1 GB of songs. Negotiations are still ongoing between Ryan Malone and the Pittsburgh Penguins. At this point, Ryan Malone doesn't know what is going to happen. Will he be signed by the Pens, will he be traded? Malone would just like to know what is going to happen so he can decide where to buy the home that he and his fiancee hope to purchase. Even though the Steelers offense really needs some work, the starters won't be playing more than a quarter of the game tomorrow. The rationale is that the coaches don't want the starters to get injured. Considering the injuries that we already have with running bacsk, it does make sense. However, this really does make you wonder what is the point behind the preseason games. If you don't use the preseason games to get your starters syncing with each other, why have so many? One sports announcer here in Pittsburgh said that we should only have two games since that might be all that the players can handle, and maybe extend the regular season to 18 games instead of 16. Tuesday, August 30, 2005 -- Evening We had another episode of Big Brother this evening. On Thursday, the local station here in Pittsburgh is carrying the Steelers game, and will be broadcasting the Big Brother episode late at night. We got a recap of the week before last Thursday. Janelle said that it was difficult to say good-bye to Rachel, but she is happy to still have Howie. Beau said that it is exciting to be the last pair in the house and no one is looking at them as a target. Howie said that Rachel is strong and it was a good strategic move. Howie wants to win BB6 for Ray-Ray. Ivette says it's sad to see someone go, but it's not one of her people. April wins HOH and feels like she has been crowned Miss America. James said that it is the summer of hell because he can't win an HOH. Janelle said the force wasn't with her this week. Maggie said that it was like winning herself to have April win. April says that her prayers have been answered by getting HOH because she can stay in the house. April thinks that winning HOH proves that you gave something to the house. They talk about how no one has won HOH twice, and Janelle says not really because the week that Howie won, Maggie talked Howie into putting his own side up and really had HOH twice. As Janelle says in the diary room, she just had to call it like it is, and the girl is right! We then see video of Maggie working Howie. Maggie acts like she is confused and really doesn't know what is going on. I hate that stupidity act of Maggie's. She says to Janelle "I don't get it". I get it and so does everyone else. Meanwhile later, James and Ivette are playing chess and he tells her that he appreciates everything she has done for him. Maggie tells Beau that James is going to be working Ivette, and Beau says that she knows that she has to stick with the Maggots. Maggie sees it as a problem with the Ivette. April and Maggie run into the gold room with Howie and Janelle and say that they want to backdoor James, but to keep quiet. Basically they want to make certain that James doesn't play Power of Veto. Janelle says that she remembers the last time the Maggots said they needed Janelle's help it led to Kaysar going out. April says to trust her and that she is going to get James out. Howie says that it's been a get rid of James thing every week. Janelle says that she's scared about the plan, and Howie says they have nothing to lose. Now it is time to see April's HOH room. She has a picture of her dog and husband. Meanwhile Beau is shreeking like a girl. Then her husband made sure to send her a robe and slippers. Howie says am I kissing Busto's butt right now? Yes because she is HOH. The four Maggots are talking in the bedroom. Ivette says that she sees Janelle as a better player. Ivette says that she is really afraid of Janelle. April says that Ivette wants James because it is a guaranteed vote. April believes that James is working both sides and the only person safe with James is Ivette. April says that she wants to get James out this week. April tells Ivette not to tell James. Ivette gets innocent buy eyes and says that she doesn't want to lie. Maggie then asked if it was considering lying if you keep a secret. Maggie thinks Ivette would choose a Maggot over James, but she doesn't want to give Ivette a chance to choose. After the break, we see Janelle go up to April's room. Howie is there. Janelle is scared because she doesn't want to be used as a pawn. Janelle asks what will happen if Ivette wins the Power of Veto and will not use it to take Howie or Janelle off. April says to just trust her because if Ivette does not use it, the Maggots will go after Ivette. April says that she has to break up something in the Beau, Ivette, James group. Howie and Janelle are obviously nervous. Janelle says that the whole house sees James as a threat. April is preparing her nominations. April admits in the diary room that you can have plans and plans can always go wrong. April also admits that she likes to have people like her. It is the nomination ceremony. April says that when you lose a partner that's when you start playing it as a game, and she never wants to hear herself called weak again. The first key out of the box is Maggie's, then Beau's, then Ivette's, and finally James'. April says that she knows Howie and Janelle have a strong bond and relationship and that's why she nominated them. April said that her goal is to backdoor James, but didn't say that in the ceremony. Janelle jokes that buxom mixed with brains is a dangerous combination and must be done away with. James asks April if she wants him for the veto competition. April says that she is going to use Maggie because they are friends. In the diary room James says that he knows the fix is in to backdoor him. April says that she knows if James wins HOH he is nominating April and Maggie. April then asks Ivette and Maggie that if they win the veto, they will use it. Of course Ivette sees him as a safety line. Maggie says that Ivette is under alot of stress right now because she wants James to stay in the game. Ivette admits that the Maggots want to get rid of James because he is after Maggie and April. we then see Ivette trying to talk Maggie into letting James stay in the house. Maggie admits in the DR that Ivette's constant petitioning to keep James does not look good in her eyes because she knows that Ivette knows that James will be targeting Maggie. Maggie tells Ivette that supporting James would be seen as going against the Maggots. Another break. It is time for the veto competition. Maggie says that everyone has to make sure not to pick James as a competitor. April picks Maggie. Janelle picked Ivette, and Howie picked Beau. Howie says that he couldn't pick James because he couldn't beat him. James is the host (and he admits that he knew he was being backdoored). Out in the yard is a giant platform with vetos locked up on one end and a 6 lanes of mud pits. The goal is to find the key under the mud, and unlock the four vetos one by one and drop them into the frame. The one who gets all four first wins the veto. There is a bonus. Whoever unlocks the silver veto on their frame and puts it in the frame wins the combo to the second safe. Beau says he is going all for it. Basically you have to go, find the key, try it on all four veto locks, then run the unlocked veto across the mud and put it in the frame. Janelle's plan was to get all her keys in one corner and then try all the keys. Maggie couldn't get any of her keys to work. Ivette was trying to not get dirty and still win the veto. Howie says that he doesn't trust the Maggots. Beau is the first to get two. By the time April got one, everyone had one or two already. Janelle was the first one to get the silver veto and won the bonus. Beau calls Janelle a bitch. April is the first one to get four veto symbols and wins the veto. Maggie is very excited that April won the veto. In one week, April has been doing well. April says it makes her sick that Janelle is the luckiest person. Now the houseguests run to the second safe. Janelle and Beau rush in, and Janelle won a trip. Beau hugged her. She got a trip to Paradise Island in the Bahamas. Only James, Beau, and Ivette were there, and then Howie, April and Maggie showed up. Janelle also got a lucky gnome. Ivette says that Janelle doesn't need a lucky gnome, she has one already. Janelle says that she is going to take her mother with her. Janelle admits that everyone in the house is jealous of her. April and Maggie are talking and says that Janelle has to go home next week. meanwhile in the HOH room, Ivette is pulling her big eye act saying what are we going to do with Janelle, and goes through everything that Janelle won. Maggie says that everyone is looking at how lucky and skilled Janelle is. Jealous! It is now time for America's Choice. Maggie says that everyone wants Ivette to win because she is the only one not to get anything. Ivette says that Janelle would win the phone call. Ivette says that her stomach is in knots and thinks today is a good day. The phone goes off and everyone runs over. Janelle picks it up and it is a phone calls from Michael for Janelle. Janelle admits in the DR that she was so excited, and Michael admits that he will be there when she comes out and he is really proud of her and she is doing great. Maggie asks how's the world outside. Janelle asked if Brittany Spears had her baby. Maggie said that the conversation was not very intellectual. April says that it hurts her feelings to think that America likes Janelle. She can't believe that anyone would think that Janelle of anyone in the house would deserve to win a phone call, and whoever would vote for Janelle, April questions the character of that person. Michael tells Janelle to keep her chin up and to be strong. Janelle thanks America. Janelle says sorry to Ivette. Then Ivette goes off to sob out her racist heart. Maggie goes and tells Ivette that she's sorry. Surprisingly Ivette was crying, but her face was dry. Maggie said that Ivette can't understand why America would give such a thing to Janelle. Meanwhile Janelle is very happy and saying that she knew that Michael loved her. Meanwhile Maggie and April are disgusted that Janelle wanted a call from Michael. I think that Ivette's tears were crocodile tears because her face was so dry. April doesn't think that there's anyway that America voted to give Janelle a call from Michael. April starts her crocodile tears that it should have been a call for someone who really misses someone. James quotes the Bible and says that the righetous get screwed while the wicked win everything. Then they show April (thank you BB for doing it) saying that if America did vote for Janelle to get a call from Michael that they are all pieces of shit. James said there was no way in hell that Janelle should have gotten it. As he said later in the DR, he saw a chance to bash Janelle to keep himself safe. April says that there's no way that America could love Janelle. Maggie replies that everyone loves a villain. Excuse me, but what has Janelle done that makes her a villain other than inspire jealousy in the Maggots! Ivette then makes a comment about evil prevailing. Maggie says "no not yet". April then says that she feels they got alot of evil out of this house. Not as long as all those Maggots are in there. Janelle then realizes that no one is around, and starts to wonder where everyone is and if they are mad at her for getting the call. (yes) Janelle said that she felt bad because everyone went up to the HOH and she felt bad. Janelle asks if they are mad at her. Ivette says that it's not Janelle's vote and she didn't do anything. Janelle said that maybe everyone felt sorry for her because she was just developing a relationship with Michael, and wanted to see what was going on with them. Maggie, the head Maggot, said that if she had gotten a call it wouldn't have been from Eric. Sanctimonious bitch! Janelle said that Michael and I had a relationship. April says that it was supposed to be from loved ones. Janelle replies that she did love Michael. Maggie gives a classic eye roll. Gosh the Maggots just sicken me! Janelle says in the DR that maybe they didn't know that she and Michael made out 24/7 in the house. As she said, Janelle and Michael were in the gold room. April thinks that Janelle is disgusting. Janelle says sorry. She then says that they are happy for her but they are upset. Ivette says that they can't compete with Janelle and she wants Janelle gone and out of the house. April says that folks have a right to be upset and that they are changing their minds about voting her out this week. April doesn't know if she wants to save Janelle or not. As April says, Janelle has a target on her back. The more I see of the sanctimonious, petty, and jealous behavior of the Maggots just makes me want to puke! After the last break, it is time for the veto ceremony. April says that the pros of using the veto is to backdoor James. She would like to get Janelle and Howie. April does not believe that either of them deserve to be in the game. I hate this bunch deciding who is deserving and who is not. April calls everyone into the living room. April gives Janelle and Howie a chance to talk. Janelle says that she respects April's nomination and said that she would like April to use it on Howie. Howie said that he would ask for the veto to be used on Janelle. Both say that they respect April's decision, whatever it is. April decides to use it. Ivette looks shocked. April takes Janelle off the block. April says that she has to nominate someone else and is going to put up James. Ivette looks unhappy. April says that it is not personal and it is strictly strategic. Janelle feels fortunate to be off the block. Janelle says that everyone is jealous of her luck, but it is strategy. James hopes that he gets Ivette and Beau and then can swing Janelle to his side. As James says, he has two days and it ain't over till it's over. Tuesday, August 30, 2005 -- Afternoon Four inexperienced players were released by the Steelers today to get the team down to 71 players for the final week of the preseason. None of the names sounds familiar to me, and three of the players are rookies. The US Open started yesterday. So far, all the big names are still playing. I have many fond memories of watching the US Open. When I was younger, I would spend as much time as possible watching the matches, especially throughout Labor Day weekend. I would love the tennis, but I would be so sad every year when the tournament started because it would mean that school was starting again and summer was over for the year. I hated going to school so all the things that come at the end of August even today give me twinges of sadness. So the US Open and the song of the crickets bring on the same sad feeling. I have to admit that this year the crickets seemed to be vocal earlier than usual. It sort of put a damper on the whole summer because it was a reminder that it was going to be over soon. Back to the US Open. There is a new twist to the proceedings on the court. After the match, the winner signs three tennis balls and lobs them into the stands. As the announcer said after the Roger Federer match, why not make it four balls because there are folks on all four sides of the court? As the announcer said (I think it might have been John McEnroe), the cost of balls is cheap. Tuesday, August 30, 2005 -- Late Morning Hines ward still hasn't gotten very far in his contract proceedings with the Steelers. The regular season starts on September 11, and everyone is hoping that the matter is settled by then. Meanwhile Ward responded to some comments that Plaxico Burress made about the Steelers fans. Burress claims that the fans had a downer on him because he was black and had cornrows. Ward said that the only thing Steelers fans have a downer on is poor performance. I agree with that statement 100%. The reason that I didn't like Burress is because he could be counted on in moments of pressure to drop the damn ball. It's all fine and dandy that you are tall, but if you can't come down with the ball, it means diddly squat. Burress is one of those people who is inconsistent and arrogant about his ability. Another point that Ward makes is that he saw alot of fans out there wearing Burress shirts. Burress was a loser, and his comments just illustrate that. The only comment Burress made that made sense was that the fans wouldn't let him forget the dropped three yard touchdown pass that probably cost us the AFC Championship. All I have to say is that if you are a highly paid wide receiver, and you drop a simple pass like that one, you deserve the wrath of the fans! Leave it to the Japanese! Sometime in mid September, a personal robot is going to go on sale in Japan. The robot will alert you if someone breaks into your house and can act like a personal secretary by taking down notes and appointments and reminding you of your appointments. Not bad. However, I would rather that the robot alerted the police to a burglar OR pulled some sort of Home Alone move and took on the burglar. Scientists have gotten pictures of two galaxies colliding. Basically what happens when galaxies collide the shape of the galaxies is distorted, and new stars can be formed from the effects of the collision. The scientists said that it would give them a good picture of what will happen to the Milky Way galaxy in 5 billions years when we merge with the Andromeda galaxy. I wonder which will come first--the death of our Sun which supposedly has another 5 billion years left or this event. The one scientist said that he is just glad that he won't be around for the big event. I think that is the one thing that annoys me. I wish that I could be around for it. Not that I would want to die that way, but geeze, wouldn't it be interesting to see what happens and to know what the fate of the universe will be? I am one of those who would like to believe that we live in a closed universe. I think that might make the most sense if you really give it thought. A closed is one where the universe expands only so far and then collapses in again. The collapse would lead to a Big Bang. In my mind, we believe that our universe started from a Big Bang. To me, that means that there was something before--a closed universe that came back together in a bang. Why not continue that pattern? Of course, we could believe that there might have been multiple Big Bangs before, and this time things (matter and other unknown conditions) were just right to change the universe to a flat or open universe. Both would mean a universe that continued to expand. I don't think we know enough about the whole matter to make any determination (although you know that doesn't stop scientists!) Physics tells us that absent of any external force things like to continue doing what they are doing. So the reason a ball stops rolling is the friction of the ground acting on the ball and slowing it down till it stops. So if things like to change state, then why not a continuing volley of Big Bangs? Monday, August 29, 2005 -- Mid Afternoon It seems that April took Janelle off, and put James up in her place. Right now, Ivette is campaigning for James with Maggie. Ivette said that she would rather lose to James than to lose Howie or Janelle. Maggie is sayind that sometimes you have to do these things. Maggie wants to get rid of James because he is a good player. Ivette says that she can't stand the way that Howie and Janelle act to which Maggie replies that you can't control the way that Howie and Janelle act--that they have tried and failed. So I wonder who Ivette will vote for, and if she can get her partner, Beau to go along with it. I think that Ivette realizes that Maggie is the one that she has to convince about James. April just talked to Janelle about cleaning up and doing dishes, etc. If Janelle is anything like me, I don't like to do things that I'm told to do. It's one thing to do something because you want to, and another to do it because someone else is being bitchy and telling you to do it. So it will be interesting to see if James does go out AND who wins HOH. Come on Janie, win HOH! Monday, August 29, 2005 -- Afternoon The Penguins have decided to keep Dick Tarnstrom. Tarnstrom was saying that he wanted to stay in the city, and I suppose that he was able to convince the Penguins management that he should stay. With Tarnstrom, we would have four offensive defense players. The Steelers cut ten players today. Eight of them were rookies and two were veterans. They were Matt Cushing and Chris Doering. The Steelers will have to cut four more people by tomorrow at 4 pm. Right now the roster is at 75. The question is what will they do with the quarterbacks that they have. We have four now. How many will we have tomorrow at 4:01 pm? It's hard to tell what the Maggots have in mind with the veto. Tomorrow will be the veto ceremony. The petty, pitiful, wenches really hate Janelle. I've never seen such petty jealousy since I was in grade school. Right now, April, Maggie and Beau are outside, and it is questionable whether they will use the veto to take someone off and put James up. Howie is the only person that I would think would be safe because he is not hated as Janelle is. It doesn't seem that Beau is as much on James' side as Ivette is. It's amazing how the Beau and April are now talking about America hating them for getting of Kaysar. April claims they were only dishonest once. Okay--maybe they can't count. Anyway, April sees it as such a revelation that America must hate the "Friendship"--or as I call them the Maggots. Well, I know that I do. It's not because of Kaysar but because the over-all demeanor and character of the people who make up the Maggots. It's going to be a sad day when the final two are both Maggots--and it will be even worse if Ivette and Beau are the final two. Monday, August 29, 2005 -- Morning It seems that Jerome Bettis will be out for two weeks. The injury to his calf isn't thought to be serious, and the MRI was inconclusive. So at this point, Bettis will be missing the season opener, but hopes are good that he will be back after that. It seems that Willie Parker might not play in Thursday game, but the last thing that Bill Cowher will want to do is risk the only other first line running back that he has. There is also a nice article on one of my favorite players, Troy Polamalu. Polamalu is someone who plays whatever position is needed on the defense, and he always does the best that he can. Polamalu is a dervish on the field with his hair flapping freely from under his helmet and a perpetual smile on his face. Some folks call Polamalu the Tasmanian Devil after the whirling Looney Tunes character. The Steeler defense is really something to get excited about. Too bad the offense sucks--or at least appears to be sucky at this point. Hurricane Katrina is now lashing the Mississippi area. Originally, it was thought that Katrina would really hit New Orleans, but it moved further east. New Orleans is getting hit though. Katrina is listed as a category 4 hurricane and that means that the speed of winds associated with the hurricane is between 131 to 155 miles per hour. It seems that the eye of the Hurricane is two hours from landfall (at 9 am EDT), and is 40 miles southeast of New Orleans. Of course, you can never tell how the winds will go. I have been watching FOXNews and I have to admit that I really wonder at how foolhardy the newscasters are because they are out in the storm! They have this one guy (Steve Harrigan) in Mississippi, and he can barely stand and pieces of roof are flying past him, and the bozo is still out there giving his broadcast. Fortunately the weather guy just called him in because it is extremely dangerous. Meanwhile in New Orleans, they were evacuating folks who could not leave the city into the Superdome. Well, it seems that the Superdome is leaking and they are not sure about the in tegrity of the roof. Also, the building is without electricity and has been on generator power which is not able to power the air conditioner. We should be seeing rain from Katrina on Wednesday here in Pittsburgh, but we are very lucky to be so far inland to not experience the brunt of the storm. The global warming folks are blaring their horns again. This time the story is that global warming is the cause behind the mass extinction that happened 250 million years ago. Of course, it wasn't a huge meteor from space that caused a cloud of dirt to rise up into the atmosphere that lead to this extinction. It was global warming. How do they know this now? Well, they "Claim" to have developed software models that are better able to duplicate "lethal super-greenhouse climates". I always take this stuff with a grain of salt, but unfortunately most don't. They always assume that scientists are telling the truth. It's not that they are lying, but they will let bias distort their vision and allow it to unconsciously influence the results of their tests. The other thing that they don't let the general non-scientific population know is that this is an interpretation by one group of individuals and there are others who may dispute the findings or the way the research was done. We as readers of scientific material that is released to the public should realize that we should still question the findings and educate ourselves by reading more about it. Also, the media will sometimes give you only a portion of the whole report because the media sometimes has a bias. Always be aware of the fact that there is bias in the way that information is presented and released. Sunday, August 28, 2005 -- Evening It's the thirteenth episode of the second season of Endurance. The episode is titled Final Mission. It is down to the final two teams--Brown and Green. Brown has three pyramid pieces and Green has one. The eight pieces that Orange had are now up for grabs and will be the basis of the final endurance mission. Mike is excited to be back to play some more. Keetin thought that the Temple was cool because they weren't there before, but it was scary. Max told the Green team to go with their first intuition. So Keetin thought since there was all that water to pick water first. Then looking around, they saw fire all around so they decided to do fire next. They won. Mike said that he was pretty sad to see Orange go because Michelle was so upset. Max said that Michelle wanted to win to get the trip so she could spend time with her mom and that made him really sad. Mike agreed that if anyone deserved to win it was Michelle. Keetin was sorry to see Orange leave, but they were glad to be back. Mike was glad to say that he went to the Temple and came back. Max said that he really wants to win, but is glad that they made it this far. Jenna and Max are talking and Jenna said that they made it so far, and it would be a bumper to not win. Jenna said that she is glad that they got an extra chance. She's also glad to be against the Green team because it is the only alliance to last. Keetin said they based it on friendship and it shows how strong a friendship can be. Mike says that he really likes the Brown team and thinks they are cool, and he is glad that they got the chance to come back. Mike is concerned that the final mission will be physical because Max and Jenna are strong. Max says that he is going to play for Purple, Yellow and Orange because they should have been where he was. Keetin is nervous, but is trying to enjoy her last day there. The four go to take their final swim in the ocean. Everyone ran in except Keetin, but they ran her down and took her into the ocean. Mike says that his favorite thing about the beach is the ocean (DAH!). He says that the water is so blue and you can see the fishes in the ocean. Jenna says that the thing she loved and will miss the most are the animals--the scorpions, jelly fishes, lizards and goats. She also loves the stars and loves laying out on the beach to watch the stars. As she said, you don't get that in Chicago. Jenna says that she misses the Yellow team the most. Mike said that the first Shep-less day was really weird because they were always hanging out. Max said that he missed Jeff because he was quiet and awesome and his fellow Californian, and always say "that was crazy man". Mike also misses Annie because she was alot of fun to be around. Mike said that Jeff was fun too. Max admits to really missing Maryelle, and thought Wayne was funny. Mike said that he missed the entertainment aspect of Tyler and Michelle. Tyler was intentionally funny while Michelle was unintentional. Mike says that the beach seems empty. Jenna then says to everyone who already left that she missed everybody and that people will be disappointed and that everything happens for a reason and the friendships are what matter. Mike says if they don't win today, Green will go to the Temple with one piece while Brown has 11 so it is important to win. The final mission is set to begin. The game? It's going to be chase on the water. on the water is a square with two buckets, one each on opposite sides in the middle of the square. Four foam pyramids are in each bucket to represent the eight total pieces. The goal of the game is to run around on the planks that form the sides. As you try to avoid getting caught, you can grab pieces from your opponents bucket and put it in yours. You are out of the game when the flag tied around the waist is pulled off, or you fall into the water. The colored poles that held the pyramid pieces of the teams that have left the island were used to make up the bobbing square. The game starts with one person is each corner. Mike took a piece from Brown. Max gets a piece from Green. Max is crawling on the beam. Mike is quick and grabs another from Brown. Max eliminates Keetin. Then because Max is so slow, Mike gets Jenna's flag. Jenna as to jump off. Mike gets Jenna's piece and another. Mike has four pieces and Max ties it, and falls while getting it in. The game is tied. So the final mission will have five pieces for Green and seven for Brown. JD also tells them he has a surprise for them, and Jenna replies that she loves surprises. The gang recap the fun that they had on the last mission. Mike likes how the guys beat the girls because two guys were left at the end. Mike says that the hardest part was that the beams between the platform were thin and long and the waves were rocking the whole thing. Max said that the hardest thing was the balance because he has none. Max said that he tried to run and jump and hope for the best, and that's when he fell. Keetin thinks Green did well because Mike was last man standing, but the pieces were split evenly. Mike says that he hopes they get to pick their four pieces and don't just get something assigned. The four now get to met with JD Roth at the campsite. They each to grab four pieces. Brown wanted Heart the most because it was one they had last time on Endurance 1. Green wanted Courage. Keetin said because she thinks the lion looks cool, but Mike says it's because Courage is an important characteristic to have to play the game. Brown has seven pieces: Heart, Commitment, Strength, Perserverance, Luck, Trust and Knowledge. Green has five: Courage, Teamwork, Ingenuity, Leadership and Discipline. Brown has an edge but it is whoever has all 12. Each team is given miniatures of all their pieces that they will play with. Now it is time for the surprise. They are given a bag each. It is a necklace of stones that held together with twine and is three sided to represent the Temple. One side is Green, one is Brown, and the other side has the colors of all the other teams in the order in which they left the game. They are the only four that will have this necklace and they all put theirs on. At sunset they leave the beach for the last time and canoe to the Temple of Fate and will become Endurance champs. The fourteenth episode is the last for the season. It is titled The Finale. We get a recap on how both teams got there. We see the kids from the first Endurance season voting to send Max and Jenna back for a second try. Then we get to see the audition tapes of Mike and Keetin. Mike is a big dork, and shows us his room. He says he does his homework and sleep-more homework than sleeping. Keetin meanwhile prides herself on her athletic ability and says "look at these guns" while flexing her arms to show us her non-bulging biceps. She doesn't look like she has any muscle actually. Keetin likes basketball, softball, track, swimming. Mike has a weight in his room and uses it sometimes, but not much. Keetin gives an example of her kickboxing. Mike shows us his Teeki Man from New Zealand who is going to get him into the Endurance show. Keetin doesn't want to go home, and Jenna says that it will be weird not being there. As Jenna says, it's like you go on vacation and then you miss being there. Jenna said that was completely different from a vacation because it was a long one and because of the things that went on during the time. Keetin says that when she goes home, she is going to miss being on the beach and watching the sun rise and set. Max says that he is going to miss the whole thing in general--playing missions and not being at home. Jenna says that Max and she did not think they could make it to the final two and thought that they would just make it to the final five. Jenna comments on how JD said they would battle it out at Temple and she wonders what that means (like they didn't watch the first season). Keetin says that if it has anything to do with chicken fighting she and Mike are gone. Keetin said that she and Mike knew they wouldn't be the strongest or smartest team. They were just going to work together as a team. Mike says that he wouldn't have gotten that far if it wasn't for Keetin and that she wouldn't be there without him. Jenna sais that she wouldn't have made it without Max and he agrees. They depended on each other alot. Max let Jenna make decisions which she liked. Mike was happy to make it past the first day. He says that you just have to believe in yourself, but it's not how smart or strong you are. Max says that friendship is better than any strategy or backstabbing. Max says that he made that mistake with the Blue team and hopes they will forgive him. Mike doesn't seem to know what go on at the Temple, and says whatever happens up there that they will do the best. Jenna said that she should be nervous because she doesn't know what goes on at the Temple, but she just feels confident. They may not have actually seen the first season of the show from the comments that they make. Max got farther than he had hoped so he will feel disappointed if he loses, but not that upset. So Max says he isn't nervous so much as he is excited to see the outcome of the game. The four of them canoe to the Temple. It looks like Mike has his Teeki Man as a good luck charm. The game is the same as the first season. There are three silver pyramids on the counter in front of them. Under one is a gold pyramid. The teams wager their pieces by placing them in front of the silver pyramids on the counter. The team can put down as many as they like as long as they leave one space empty. The team who has the piece in front of the gold pyramid wins all the pieces on the table. The team with the fewest pieces goes first. With each game another pyramid is added to the table, and the game continues until one team has all the pyramid pieces. Green goes first. They put down two and take the two closest to JD. Brown puts down one. Green wins. Each has six pieces. They now have 6 each. Since Green had the fewest last time and they are now tied, they get to go first. Now there are four pyramids. They put down two pieces. Brown has to put down two. Green has the gold pyramid. They have 8 pieces to Brown's four. There are five pyramids and Brown gets to go first. Max is feeling the last two. Green has to put down three. Green won. They have 10 pieces to Brown's 2. Six pyramids are on the table. Brown only puts down one. Green has to put down five pieces. They start flipping the pieces two at a time until they get to the final two. Max says "we have it. I feel it, I feel it." Jenna replies, "I don't". A commercial break comes before the flip. When we return, we find out that Brown has it. They now have 7 pieces and Green has 5. Back to square one. Another piece is added, and that means seven pyramids. Green puts down two. Brown has to put down five. Brown wins. (You knew they would because they flipped the pyramids in such a way that two that weren't close to each other weren't flipped as the final two. That meant to me that Brown had to have it because they had a pieced closer to Green's piece that was flipped first.) Brown has 9 and Green has 3. Max pats Mike's shoulder. Mike tells Keetin to put down the pieces because he isn't feeling it. She puts two pieces. Brown covers the blanks. Green is only holding on to Teamwork as their final piece. Green has the pyramid. They now have 9 pieces and Brown has 3. There are now nine pyramids on the table. Brown puts down one, and Green has to put down eight. Again, Green has only Teamwork in their hands. They flip the pieces, and Brown wins. Brown now has 11 pieces and Green has 1. There are now ten pyramids. Green puts down their one piece and Brown covers the rest. They flip the pieces. Keetin looks close to tears. Only the Teamwork and Luck pieces aren't flipped. Brown wins! Keetin and Mike hug, and then Brown and Green hug. Brown will be spending a week in the Bahamas at Paradise Island. As JD says Brown won against all odds. Jenna is amazed that they got that far. Max says it was the best experience of their life. Jenna said that the people they met were incredible and they will keep in touch. Max said that Jenna was the best partner you could have in any game. And so the season ends. Sunday, August 28, 2005 -- Early Evening April and Maggie are exercising and Beau is talking to them. Beau is telling them how James just told Janelle that everyone was saying that she didn't deserve the phone call, and Janelle approached James about it. Well, it seems that caused James to seal his fate. It seems that April is really angry now and thinks that Big Brother want them to get rid of Janelle, and that's why Big Brother gave Janelle the phone call, because everyone, including Janelle, doesn't think that Janelle deserves the call. Meanhwile it seems that Janelle was telling Beau that James told them all sorts of things that the Maggots were saying, so now April says that James needs to go. April just had Beau bring in Howie and Janelle, and April started her talk about how Big Brother plotted the call. So Janelle is telling them what happened that Beau came and talked to her about where James was, and then James yelled at Janelle. Then James comes into the exercise room and tries to set the story straight. James says that he thought Ivette was most deserving of a phone call because she has nothing. James says that they should be bringing it out into the open and that he should have done that in the beginning because everyone thinks that the shit talk comes from James. As James says, consider the source of the shit talk, and where it is coming from. Janelle and Howie leave, followed closely by James. After James leaves though, April, Maggie and Beau continue to rag, only this time it is Janelle. So Janelle comes back and asks if James was talking shit about her upstairs, and April says that James was just talking shit about Janelle a few minutes ago. As Janelle says though, the only person who goes to the Maggots is James. Janelle and Howie don't buddy up with the Maggots. James comes back into the exercise room, and says "well obviously you have more to talk about". James is trying to push the fact that they are trying to backdoor him and doing it secretly. James is really being persuasive saying that he is not on the side of Howie and Janelle, and hasn't been since he went up on the block. This is the most excitement in days! I wonder if James will be able to persuade the Maggots. James says that he doesn't care if he goes home now, and as he said, he can't win the game on his own, and he's not this evil person that everyone makes him out to be. James said that he wasn't shit talking Janelle upstairs, he was consoling Ivette. Janelle then asks him why he made comments to Howie about Janelle having a target on her back. It seems that Janelle also won a trip yesterday too. Janelle got called to the diary room, but James continues that he is by himself, so just send him home. James tells April that the reason people tell her things is not because they like April but because they are trying to save themselves. Maggie agrees that Howie and Janelle have no reason to make James look good. The group is breaking up and James follows Maggie and April to the kitchen to continue the conversation. James just keeps on about being there all by himself because he has no one on his side. He is doing a good job because we know from his diary room conversations that he wants to win the game, but he is trying to lead them to believe that he doesn't. If he really didn't care, why would he mind if they talked trash about him and he was evicted? Sunday, August 28, 2005 -- Late afternoon There was some controversy in the Big Brother house today. It seems that Janelle won the America's choice and got the phone call. This lead to great anger and animosity in the house. According to April, the viewers of Big Brother are pieces of shit for voting for Janelle to get the call. Ivette was crying hysterically because I think that Ivette thinks that people like rude, bitchy, racists and though that she stood a chance of getting people to vote for her to get a call. Meanwhile everyone just seems angry about Janelle getting the call, and that it was rigged or that Janelle was somehow undeserving. Well, maybe I think that Ivette was undeserving of a phone call. This is not good for Janelle because she will probably get voted off the show because of everyone's case of envy. They envy Janelle her looks, her talents and her luck. I think that the rest of the houseguests are sad pitiful people who should get over themselves. After all, I wouldn't be proud to be a Maggot. Maybe they don't realize how they come across to others, but envious, petty, rude bitches isn't the way to do it. (and in Ivette's case, you can add racist to the list--the racist remark is based on comments like calling Kaysar a camel jockey and Bin Laden, making stereotypical comments about Jews). I am glad that Janelle won. I know that I gave her a couple of votes just because she was the only one that didn't annoy me, and because she wanted to talk to Michael. Hurrah for Janelle! What a sick bunch of people to blame Janelle! It's not like she did anything to get the phone call, it was because the "pieces of shit", as April and Maggie continued to call the viewers, voted for her to have it. Sunday, August 28, 2005 -- Afternoon It's gotten abit boring in the Big Brother house. We aren't getting the conflict and drama as we did with more people in the house. It's especially boring since four of them are Maggots and therefore really aren't scheming. These houseguests are incredibly boring with the current lack of scheming. I can only hope that a non-Maggot gets HOH next week so we can stir some things up. Right now, it's 10:30 am in the Big Brother house, and the only person who is up is James who's sitting outside looking bored. Although the fans are nervous about the Steelers offensive line, and the fact that the first string offense hasn't scored a goal, the players themselves are confident and optimistic. They would have to be. We have another preseason game this coming Thursday at 8 pm. and we can only hope that the first string offense will final score some points. Dick Tarnstrom was awarded a 1 year $1.6 million contract by arbitrators yesterday. Because of the cost, it's probable that the Penguins won't sign him, and Tarnstrom will become an unrestricted free agent. Tarnstrom would like to stay with the Pens. The Pens have 48 hours to sign or trade him before Tarnstrom can be a free agent and approached by other teams. Saturday, August 27, 2005 -- Evening I was out at a retirement party for a good part of the afternoon and evening, but I did some checking to see who won the Power of Veto competition today, and it appears that April won the veto. Ivette is now compaigning to get Janelle evicted. The Maggots are such hypocrites. Supposedly they have been out to backdoor James for weeks and yet they keep on passing on opportunities to do it. Personally I am fine with them not backdooring James because I am rooting him on to win. The guy is the only one who has really played the game and done a good job of it without being as much of a jerk and liar as the others in the house. You have to respect him for doing that, especially since he hasn't been anyone's big favorite. This afternoon before I left for the retirement party, I watched the original Mystery Woman movie that lead to the series that is now playing on the Hallmark Channel. The movie was on Thursday, but I recorded it. The show was an interesting one, and I think that I liked some of the characters in this version. Philby in the pilot movie is played by an older white man--JE Freeman. In the series it is played by Clarence Williams III who was the black man from Mod Squad. The plot in the pilot movie was that Samantha Kinsey, played by Kellie Martin, was a photographer who was recently divorced from her husband. Her uncle, who was the person responsible for her love of mystery books, died and left her his mystery book shop in his will. That's the Mystery Woman of the title. It is the name of the bookstore. Samantha goes there with her best friend, assistant DA, Cassie. The place is a state of disrepair and houses Philby, the mystery character who could be a burned out spy who is in retirement, or just a reader of spy books if we believe Philby. Samantha gets invited to her former writing teacher's party (Jack Stenning) to announce his new book. Robert Wagner plays the author/writing teacher and winds up hanging himself. But did he commit suicide or was it murder? Samantha thinks it was murder, and with resistance from the police and help from Philby and Cassie, starts an investigation. Someone breaks into Samantha's apartment and cuts her brake lines and she knows then that she is on the right track. The reason for the murder might be tied to the true crime book that Jack Stenning is currently working on about a murder that occurred nine years earlier. Samantha is on the case and eventually does figure it all out. I liked the movie. I also like the series. Kellie Martin does a nice job of protraying someone who really doesn't have a clue, and is great at getting herself into scapes. She's the sort of average person that you can imagine bumping into on the street. Granted, she really does alot of stupid things, but this is candy for the brain. It's a fun way to pass a dreary afternoon. I have to admit that I didn't figure out whodunit, and it was a nice twist. Saturday, August 27, 2005 -- Morning As was to be expected, April nominated Howie and Janelle last night. Now the question is who will be playing for the Power of Veto. If I were Janelle, I would be trying to team up with James and have him play the veto. If James wins, then he can take Janelle off and it would have to be Howie against a Maggot. Depending on the Maggot, the vote could be tied and broken by April. I think that if James won and took Janelle off that April would put up Ivette. The reason for the is because I don't think that April really likes Ivette, and James won't vote against Ivette. Anyway, the Maggots are always talking about sharing their winnings with the other Maggots. The thing is that they all signed contracts saying that they can't give money to each other because then it is like you are buying someone's vote. Well, it seems that the Maggots are trying to find ways around it--like giving each other gift certificates. The Maggots just throughly disgust me. Ivette and Maggie are higher on the list of annoyance with Ivette as number one. Ivette is such a mean-spirited, rude, racist person. She is always making derogatory remarks about everyone, either behind their back or to their face. If she is one of the final two, I will just have to puke. As for Maggie, she is always acting holier than thou while dipping herself in the mud. This season is really getting to be a disappointment for me because it is just disgusting to see how the Maggots act, and to think that their behavior might be rewarded. For the other local reality series Bound for Glory, Montour had its first football game last night, and lost to Chartiers Valley. The final score was 14-7. The Montour team's only score was an interception that was run in for a touchdown. The offense seemed to be stinking up the field, and really wasn't contributing much to the game. Something that the sportscasters noted who were at the game, was that Dick Butkus really didn't seem to be the head coach during the game. He pretty much just stood on the sidelines and did his routine either encouraging the team or looking disappointed and upset. Lou Cerro had the headset on and called the plays. Butkus claims that what he does it give direction on non-game days, and leaves the game day calls to Lou Cerro. It will be interesting to see how this plays out of television. The show will be on ESPN starting on September 20 at 10 pm. The Steelers played another preseason game last night and it was a disappointment offensively. The touchdown that the Steelers made last night was an interception by Troy Polamalu and run in for a touchdown. The final score was 17-10. The most disappointing moment was when Ben Roethlisberger got the team down into the red zone and couldn't convert because he couldn't see open players. The announcers for the show (from FOX even showed the clip when Roethlisberger had open players to his right, but he was staring steadily to his left, and never say the guys on the right, and then finally after several wasted precioius seconds had to scramble because he was under attack from the offense. Bill Cowher said that the offense just didn't seem to be synced. That's true. The throws seem to be too short or too long. The other bad news of the evening was the Jerome Bettis strained his right calf and was pulled from the game because of the injury. Hopefully it won't be that bad, and Bettis will be back. I am not going to expect much for the Steelers this year. Of course, the preseason doesn't mean anything because it is a practice and lots of other teams are stinking up the place. The thing that I think is of concern is the lack of rhythm with the offense. As John Steigerwald said in the nightly sports call-in show last night, if Roethlisberger did not play last year, and you saw his performance so far in the preseason, you wouldn't be very excited or thrilled thinking that he would be your starter. That's the thing that I think is happening here. We are thinking that in the regular season, Roethlisberger will step up and start winning. He has a double whammy on him. Expectations are high for him to perform on one hand and on the other hand is the group just waiting to jump on every mistake. His performance so far, in my opinion, has been lackluster. I'm not saying that the guy doesn't have the potential to be really good, but to expect two winning seasons in a row from this young quarterback is expecting too much. I am expecting an average season, and no post season for us. We'll have to see if I am right. I would love to be proved wrong, but I am afraid that won't be the case. Friday, August 26, 2005 -- Afternoon The houseguests are just sitting around the dining room table talking. It looks like there will be no food competition today. I'm trying to remember from past seasons if they stop having the food competitions as the group gets smaller. One interesting thing is that Janelle dreamed last night that her house was hit by a hurricane, and that it was flooded. This is absolutely eerie because she would have no way of knowing that Katrina did indeed hit the Miami, Florida yesterday where Janelle lives. The interview with Rachel was a good one. She has no clue why Ivette made the comments that she made during the good-bye message. As Rachel said, Ivette was angry all week about something, and basically Rachel was the person of the week that Ivette lashed out at. I really don't like Ivette. I hope that April is smart enough to put up some of the Maggots. It probably won't happen, but I am hoping. The House Calls show today was good. I especially liked the rants that Gretchen and Marcellas had about Howie and Beau respectively. Fortunately CBS lets them rant on and express their opinions and that's what makes the show so entertaining to watch. Friday, August 26, 2005 -- Late Morning It is not looking good for Howie or Janelle this coming week. The Maggots are going to take one of them out this week, and then chances are good that another Maggot will win HOH next week just because there are four of them. When I think of how different the game would be today if Howie didn't turn on his own alliance, and put up Maggie and Ivette a few weeks back...there's no crying over spilt milk though. I am trying to resign myself to a Maggot winning. I think that of all the players, James is most deserving of the win. He has been playing strategically and actually winning competitions that are those stupid number games. I am cheering him on, but it's not looking good if they backdoor him this week. I'm hoping that they don't because none of the houseguests really has the smarts to compete with James when it comes to a veto competition. So he might be able to keep himself safe. The thing is that since the sequester house will be loaded with Maggots, if it comes down to James and a Maggot, they will choose a Maggot. As my boyfriend was saying yesterday, you would think that the Maggots would wise up and realize that in order to win, they would want a James or Janelle beside them. The Maggots are smart though, and will win up giving the game to either Beau or Ivette. At this point, since they are the only pair left, you know that they have the strength of numbers to go all the way unless they get broken up this week! April should bond with James and Janelle and gun down the rest of them. She won't have the smarts or the courage to do it though. Right now, it is 8 am in the Big Brother house and everyone is sleeping. Rachel was one of the last early risers on the show. It just really freaks me out to see how the Maggots all sleep in the HOH room. I'd rather have a bed than sleep on a floor, but that's me. Also, I don't like folks hanging around me all the time. So I would want some alone time if I won HOH. Whoever in the Maggots came up with this idea is smart though because it doesn't allow a weak link time alone to think about getting rid of a fellow Maggot. Evgeni Malkin will not be playing for the Penguins this season. It seems that the team will have to give up on bringing Malkin over for this season, and will concentrate on having here for the next season 2006/2007. The word has come from Malkin's agent who says that Malkin is going to have to play in Russia for the upcoming season. The agent, Pat Brisson, thinks that Malkin could work out a deal with the Russian team for a release next year if he gives them one more season. At this point, there is nothing in Malkin's Russian contract that would allow for this deal, but Brisson thinks that it will happen. The general manager of the Russian team, Gennady Velichkin, said that he thinks that Malkin will benefit from another year in Russia. Malkin played a hand in the decision, and hopes that the Penguins will respect his decision. It seems that Malkin thinks the Russian team is a strong one and that will be good for him. Also Malkin wants to go to the Olympics and thinks he stands a better chance of doing that if he does not work for the NHL. It seems that Tommy Maddox wants to be a starter again. He claims that he will not ask to be traded, but that when he watches some teams competing who really don't have a strong lead quarterback, he wishes that he had the opportunity to play for them. Maddox says that he loves playing for the Steelers though, and it is nothing against the team, management organization, or the fans. It's just something that he wants to do. I can understand that. If you have the ability, you want to do something with it. I just don't think that Maddox had the ability, and that's why Roethlisberger was able to keep the number one spot. Yeah, Maddox is capable of throwing the ball and handing it off to a back. The problem comes when he can't stand like a statue to do it. The guy has no manuvering ability and just looks like a garden gnome waiting for the dog to pee on it. As you can tell, I'm not a big Maddox fan. I don't think that he is the pits, but he's definitely not the heights either. A study to be released in Science today states that the core of the Earth is spinning faster than the crust. This was first proposed in 1996 by two of the authors of the study out today. After analyzing earthquake data, the scientists have decided that the core spins one quarter to one half degree faster than the crust. The analysis was done by taking readings from stations in Alaska for earthquakes that happened in the south Atlantic and comparing the time and wave shape. Doing the analysis from those locations would mean that the wave had to pass through the Earth's core. The theory is that the core spinning at a different speed is what produces the Earth's magnetic field. The scientists involved in the study think that the speed of the core could fluctuate and at times be slower than the crust. The results that they currently have are only indicitive of current conditions. Thursday, August 25, 2005 -- Evening Tonight is live eviction night on Big Brother. The show started with the usual weekly recap with Beau winning HOH, the nomination of Howie and Rachel, and James winning the veto. Julie announces that it is day 54 in the Big Brother house. It's funny hearing Beau referred to as the "personal shopper". Julie looks nice in a flowing black sundress with big white beads for a necklace. Rachel said that the last thing she wanted was to be on the block with Howie. She says whoever is left behind is on a search and destroy. Howie admits that the mission is to break up Beau and Ivette. Howie, Rachel, and Janelle are sitting outside talking. Howie thinks that he is being evicted, and Rachel just wishes that she would know. We see the repeat performance of the Howie "Busto" act. Rachel wanted to see Howie succeed more in this than she does. As she tells Howie, she would love to remain in the game, but she won't hate leaving. Rachel thinks that the strategic move would be to get rid of her. If it is for vindictive reasons, they will vote Howie out. We then see Howie exercising outside while Ivette and Beau sit and watch. Beau asks how pale Howie's ass is, and Howie shows him. Beau wants Howie to streak. Howie said that he would do it if Ivette swears on the Bible that she will vote Rachel out. Maggie said that she would never swear on the Bible. In the DR, Howie comments that she wouldn't swear on the Bible because she is a lying sack of garbage and knows that she wouldn't keep to her word. Maggie looks all prim in her beach chair as she says it too. Howie admits that the consensus in the house is that they are voting out Rachel. Maggie is acting like she is a thinker and says that since Howie just referred to Maggie as the deciding vote that he must know how James was going to vote. Howie says that he doesn't know how James is going to vote, and he is just going on what people tell him. Howie says that James has been the most mysterious about his votes. Maggie tries to act intelligent and coy and says "I don't know anything about him". Howie says that he thinks that he is going to vote off Rachel, but he doesn't know. Maggie said that she thinks there are bigger things in the house than splitting up a pair. She thinks they should have concentrated on taking out the biggest threat in the game. Maggie is in the pool with Ivette and April and says that she thinks if James got HOH, he would put up Howie and Janelle so he could stay longer. But then she says that he can't. She realizes that for James safety, he has to play with them in order to last longer and not get voted off. She acts like that is a revelation. I am just amazed at the level of stupidity of these houseguests. It is James only chance. April says that as much as James loves Ivette, he would go against the Maggots. Maggie acts totally shocked at this revelation. Julie asks April about Jennifer's eviction and life without her. April said that it's weird because they felt like a pair and there's a piece of April missing. It seems that Jennifer brought April into the game. Julie asked Maggie what the shrinking table meant to her. She said that everyone discussed it and that it is huge milestone for them, and they are proud to still be there. Julie had questions for the houseguests from the Internet questionnaire. The first question is for Ivette. If they were casting Big Brother 6 the movie, who should play Ivette. Everyone says Selma Hayka, but Ivette thinks Julie DeMato. Question for Janelle. If she could leave the house for a day, what would she do? Go to Minnesota to visit friends and families. After the commercial break, we go to the HOH room and Beau. Gosh, I don't like him. Julie brings up the partner thing and putting up Howie and Rachel. She said that there is tension with Janelle so what was the point behind it. Beau had trouble getting out the word strategic which he claims that it was. Beau says that he and Janelle made up and are on talking terms. Julie brings to his attention that they are the only pair. Beau says that the plan is to stay neutral and not bring the radar on them. Julie asks where James stands. Beau says he's on the right, then changes it to he's on the Maggot side in a positive sense. I think Beau wanted to say that as of now James is on the "right" side. Now we take a look at James. What keeps him in the game and how will he make it to the end? We first see James playing Ivette in chess. James said that he's lost weight, got grey hair, can't sleep, and is losing muscle tone. Howie thinks that James is the most dominate player in Big Brother history. Rachel replies that she's going to laugh her ass off if he is with two Maggots and wins. Howie said that he would vote for James. Howie said that the veto should be called the golden power of James. James says that April disgusts him and that she talks too much. James thinks that Maggie should go out first. James talks to the Sovereign and the Girl Scout group. James job as he says is to continue the hate against each other. We then hear him trashing both sides to the other. James said that the first one he would get out is Maggie and April if he gets HOH. They think that he is joking, but he says in the DR that is the truth. James says to Janelle that he sees them as the final two. James realizes that the Maggots have the numbers in the sequester house so going up against a Maggot as the final two would be bad because the fellow Maggots would vote for the Maggot. If he went up against Janelle, he stands the best chance of winning because the Maggots hate Janelle. Janelle rolls her eyes. James says that the Girl Scout troup would have a collective anurism if James and Janelle made it to the final two. James tells Janelle they have to cut it short before the Maggots get suspicious. I like James' term for the Maggots--Girl Scouts. Janelle thanks James for his honesty. After the break. We hear from folks who know Howie and Rachel. Could they be more than just friends? Howie's dad says that he's known Howie all his life and that Howie is outrageous. Rachel's mom says that Rachel is the more serious one and Howie is the party person. Howie's friend, Mike, said that he's known Howie for over 30 years and used to date Rachel 10 years ago for 6-7 months, and Howie still maintained a close friendship with her. Mike says that he thinks Howie's feelings for Rachel have evolved. He also said that Howie has been obsessed with boobies since his early teens. Howie's sister, Ashley, said that they have had alot of conversations about respect for women. It seems that Howie does alot of cute things for his sister. Rachel's mom does not like how Howie talks about women, but she thinks that is just Howie's personality, and that Rachel is attracted to that. Howie's mom does not think that it is a love connection with Rachel although Howie's mom loves Rachel. Howie's mom thinks that Janelle is Howie's type. Mike said that Howie did try to make the moves on Rachel when Mike broke up with her. Rachel's mom says that she would accept Howie if Rachel brought him home as the guy she was going to marry, but she thinks Rachel needs someone more stable. Ashley wants Howie to stay. Howie's dad is so proud of everything Howie has done. Howie's mom said she would not be happy if April were her daughter with the Busto talk. We hear from the voters in the DR. April says that Howie is the most immature person. April thinks Rachel acts her age. James thinks Rachel is a good competitor. Ivette could give three co-hoots about her. Janelle is closer to Howie. Maggie thinks that Howie should go because he is close to Janelle. Ivette thinks Howie has issues because he thinks he is the star of the show. April said that last week she really wanted Howie out. Janelle thinks she stands a better chance of winning against Howie even though she doesn't think she could win against either. Ivette says the less we have of the other side the better for me. Break is done, and it is time to vote. Julie asks Howie and Rachel to plead their case. Rachel is first and says that this has been an amazing summer and she has had alot of fun. She said they had their ups and downs, but she loves all of them and is glad to have met them. She then thanks and kisses Howie. Now Howie. Howie wants to thank family and friends and the houseguests for putting up with him, especially April. Howie said that Rachel made a big commitment for him giving up her summer. He kisses her. Howie rambles and finally says don't feel bad if I leave. It is now time to vote. Maggie is first and she votes to evict Rachel. Then it is Janelle's turn. Janelle is in a short, skintight green dress and looks like sex personified. She votes to evict Rachel. Then is it April's turn. She votes to evict Rachel. Then comes Ivette and she votes to evict Rachel. Finally it is James. He also votes for Rachel. All votes go against Rachel. Julie announces the voting results to the houseguest. Rachel smiles broadly when she is told the news. No pouty baby like Eric. Everyone gives her a hug, and Howie waits till last and gives her a huge kiss and hug and says bye Ray-Ray. Now Rachel is heading over to talk to Julie. The houseguests all gathered to see Rachel's picture change. Julie says at one point her alliance dominated. Rachel thinks it is because of nominating James and it changed the whole game. Blame it on Howie. Rachel says she can't explain Howie's behavior last week, but said that Howie was so upset personally and just needed to get it out. Rachel thinks that it was truly a strategic move to get rid of her. Julie says that folks see her and Howie as a great couple. Rachel says that they have grown closer and she has found out how truly caring and giving Howie is. Now for the good-bye messages. Howie said that she was really good this season and blows her kisses. Janelle said that Rachel helped alot in the game. April said that she was a great competitor. Maggie said that she had a great maturity and self respect. Beau said nothing because like Ivette, he is a whore. James said that it was a noble move to sacrifice herself for Howie. Then evil Ivette comes on to talk crap. She claims that Rachel's behavior is out of control and has left her speechless and with her mouth dropped. Ivette claims that she has never seen such poor sportsmanship ever before. Ivette is a whore. Rachel was crying at the other comments, and says that she has no comments to make about Ivette. She is not baffled by Ivette, and thinks that she will be seeing Ivette soon. America's Choice is nothing exciting. It's a vote for a phone call from home. Call 22788 (CBSTV) and text 1 for Beau, 2 for James to talk to Sarah. 3 for April to talk to her husband. 4 for Janelle so she can talk to Michael. 5 for Ivette to talk to her mom. 6 for Maggie to talk to her boyfriend. 7 for Howie to talk to his mom. Or go to cbs.com to vote. I'm voting for James or Janelle. I can't stand the Maggots. It's now time for the HOH competition. All the houseguests are blinkered. It's another question thing that I think is so stupid. A question will be asked and the answer will be higher or lower. If the houseguest is correct they stay in, wrong, they are out. Last person wins. Of the 14 houseguests, how many are taller than 6 ft? Higher or lower than 3? Correct is higher. Maggie, Ivette and Howie are out. Of the current houseguests, how many have never won HOH. Is it higher or lower than four? Lower. All got it right. How many veto competions have been played so far this season? Higher or lower than 9? Lower. All got it right. How many night have you spent in the BB house. Higher or lower than 50. Higher. James is out. Janelle and April. How many houseguest went for HOH to tossed out. Higher or lower than 4? Lower. Janelle and April still in. Tie breaker question. The answer is a number. The person closest without going over wins. If both go over the person closest wins. In the Veto competition, Goal for it, how many hockey pucks were in the red bin. Answer: April has 100, Janelle has 85. Answer is 155 pucks. April is HOH. Damn. That is very disappointing. Damn those Maggots. We find out that there is no Big Brother this Saturday. On Tuesday we will have the nominations and veto and find out who gets a phone call from home. Thursday, August 25, 2005 -- Afternoon The houseguests have been busy getting the house ready for the live eviction show tonight. votes will be taken on the show to evict the houseguest so we'll find out how each person votes. If you have any question that you would like to ask a departing houseguest, you now have the chance. I don't think that some of my questions would make it on the air. I would want to know why Howie was so stupid to nominate an alliance partner. I would ask Ivette if she knew that she was an annoying racist. I would ask April if she knows that she is a lying, troublemaker. I would ask Maggie why she thinks so many people dislike her and Eric. Those are incendiary questions though, so I know they won't make it. It's what I want to know though. The Lance Armstrong drug problem has been consuming me today, and I have to ask where are our heroes? Thursday, August 25, 2005 -- Late Morning Janelle from Big Brother was in Playboy a few months ago. The pictures are not bad looking, and do have frontal nudity, so be forwarned when clicking on the link. I guess this means that she won't be in the magazine after leaving the house. I don't know if any other Big Brother houseguests have posed for Playboy. Of course, come to think of it, I'm not sure who else might be good looking enough to be photographed. Maybe Amy from last season. It does seem that Big Brother is doing well ratings wise. In fact, it appears that it has been doing well the entire summer so far. In July, there was a report that viewership for the show was down 10% from last year. I would say that you would have to look at the overall statistics for the entire season and competition on other channels to give a true picture. After all, the show had only been on for a few weeks when the USA Today reported the comparison with last year's season. I haven't been able to find a show by show ratings comparison, just the pronouncement of the 10% difference. Also, I've heard from word of mouth--nothing that I actually saw in print--that ratings have dropped when Kaysar has left the show (he left twice), but I haven't been able to find any verification of that either. It seems that this past Tuesday's show won its time slot, so I imagine that Kaysar leaving has not affected things that much. I still watch the show just because I wonder what's going to happen next. Tonight is live eviction night on Big Brother, and it looks like the Maggots are going to vote Rachel off because they are worried about the fact that she would be a stronger competitor than Howie. Thursday, August 25, 2005 -- Morning I was watching the nightly sports call-in show last night, and the guys brought up an interesting story that I can't find on the Internet. It seems that there have been rumors that Ben Roethlisberger isn't very well liked by his teammates. John Steigerwald and Bob Smizik were talking about someone who brought the rumor up yesterday. It seems that Roethlisberger does have a problem (if you want to call it that) with arrogance, and he does not get along well with the media. Leaving before meeting with the media after last Saturday's game did not go over well. The question is if Roethlisberger can handle having people asking him the hard questions when his performance isn't up to par. It doesn't seem at this point that he can, and he better start learning. I hate to tell Roethlisberger this, but he's going to have some crappy games. No one is great in all of their games, and since the end of last season he has been on the borderline between good and bad. Officially, Roethlisberger is saying that he feels confident this year because he is starting the season as the starter, and has had some good practice sessions with the other players. Roethlisberger says that he doesn't screw up the huddle calls as much as he used to last year. That's good to know. In France, the director of the Tour de France would like an explanation from Lance Armstrong about the EPO that was found in his sample B blood sample from 1999. Rumors have always swirled around Armstrong in the cycling world, especially in France, that his amazing stamina and overall performance were attributable to performance enhancing drugs. Armstrong's answer to the claims at this point is that the blood sample was mishandled, and he questioned the ethics of the lab that tested the sample last year and released the results publicly this year. Armstrong even says that the folks at the Tour de France are involved in floating the story and that this is no truth to it. His claim is that this is just a bid to smear his reputation. Armstrong mentioned the possibility of legal action, but probably won't because of the cost and the time that it would take from his schedule. Hmm! Shades of Rafael Palmeiro who said that he was going to sue Jose Canseco for saying that Canseco gave Palmeiro steroids. My boyfriend has been saying for the longest time that he believed that Armstrong had to be doing something because he couldn't believe that someone of Armstrong's age was able to be so consistently good over seven years. Of course, bicycling is a team sport, and the Armstrong team may be the reason the individual won. However, where there's smoke, there's fire. The European Space Agency is planning another Mars mission. The ESA are the folks responsible for the Beagle mission. This time, they have been formulating a plan to send up a single rover and a stationary unit that would burrow deeper into the ground. It's possible that we may need to get deeper into the soil to find some evidence of life either present or past. Right now, only discussions are taking place because some in the program feel that the ESA should send up a twin rover mission as opposed to the single and stationary. Hopefully the ESA will have more luck than they did with Beagle which was lost on landing almost two years ago. Now this story really gets to me. There is a woman who is upset that her doctor, Dr. Terry Bennett, told her that she was obese and needed to go on a diet in order to ensure a longer life and better health. Why was the woman offended? How dare the doctor call her obese just because she is! Why it hurt her fragile little feelings to be called fat! Yep. It's not that the woman wasn't fat, and was being told that she was. She was fat, and the doctor--who is supposed to tell you what your health problems are and how to deal with them--told her that she had a weight problem and needed to lose weight. Maybe he could have sugar coated it, and been more considerate of her fragile feelings. The thing is that sometimes unless you are blunt, people don't take you seriously. The doctor's goal was to get the woman to wake up and lose weight. When the doctor found out that the woman was offended, he wrote a letter of apology, but that was not good enough. The woman filed a complaint with the New Hampshire Board of Medicine. The Board then forwarded the matter to the Attorney General's office. The doctor was told to attend a medical education course and to say that he made a mistake in telling the woman she was obese and needed to lose weight. The doctor refused because the woman is obese and should lose weight. Now the doctor could lose his license to practice medicine in the state. This woman may not like being called obese. She may think that she is not obese. However that won't change the fact that medically she is obese. I don't think that the Attorney General of New Hampshire should be castigating a doctor from doing what should be his job. Word to the wise: if you don't like what your doctor has to say--even if it's true, turn him into the state medical board and Attorney General. Wednesday, August 24, 2005 -- Late Afternoon The World Anti-Doping Agency head wants Lance Armstrong investigated for drug abuse. It seems that there is controversy over blood that was taken from Armstrong after his 1999 Tour De France win. It seems that two blood samples were taken. Sample A was tested for illegal substances that were known at that time. Sample B was frozen and tested for new substances only last year. It appears that the report is that the Armstrong's blood tested positive for EPO which is an endurance boosting drug that works by allowing the blood to carry more oxygen. Tests weren't available for EPO in 1999, and didn't become available until 2001. Armstrong denies that he ever took any performance enhancing drugs at any time. The question is how can this latest bit of information be resolved. There is an eight year statue of limitations, but the only way to sanction an athlete is if both Sample A and B are found to have drugs. In this case, Armstrong lucked out that Sample A was thrown out and that there wasn't a test for EPO. This isn't the first time that Armstrong tested positive for illegal substances. Also in 1999, he tested positive for steroids, but the amount in his blood was not that large, and he claimed it was from a steroid cream that he was taking for saddle sores. Some don't think this news will have much of an impact on Armstrong because he is now retired, and is very popular. It does put a question in my mind though. Are there any athletes out there who excel and don't do drugs? I am really becoming disillusioned. Wednesday, August 24, 2005 -- Afternoon There is not much of interest going on in the Big Brother house. The Maggots and Rachel are playing poker, and Howie is giving Janelle a backrub while James watches. Today should be a boring day for the houseguests because there is really no need for scheming because there are no competitions until tomorrow. There is also no voting today. The only thing that the houseguests did today was to record a good-bye message for the exiting houseguest. What they do is record a message for both nominees, but we only see the one for the exiting guest. We can only hope that someone entertaining, IE a non Maggot, gets HOH tomorrow, and that the America's Choice lets us get rid of a houseguest. I think that I would get rid of either Ivette or Beau. I think that I would go for Ivette because she has the tie to James, and I think is liked better by the Maggots than Beau is. Both Ivette and Beau have to go. Maggie too. I think that I could tolerate April for a longer period, but not Ivette, Beau and Maggie. I want to see what level of poor sportsmanship they show--like not going to see Janelle's HOH room last week. Google is expanding its horizons. Today Google released Google Talk. Finally, Google is joining the IM (instant messenger) group. The softwware is in beta form, and doesn't have all the bells and whistles that one gets with MSN Messenger, Yahoo! Messenger and AIM. Google like the Yahoo! Messenger offers a voice call option too. Currently, only folks who have gmail accounts can use Google Talk, and the contacts list is populated by all the contacts that show up in your gmail addressbook. Some of those contacts may have gmail, some may not. Those who don't appear in Google Talk, but you won't be able to instant message that person until he/she creates a gmail account. The things that I don't like about Google Talk is that everyone in your gmail contacts shows up and anyone that you emailed, even once, is in your gmail contacts. The other thing that I don't like is that anyone can talk to you who has Google Talk. You can block the person, but I like the way MSN works where you can selectively add people to your contacts list. Right now, Google Talk isn't quite there for those of us who have been using a variety of instant messengers for years. The folks at Google do have a grander scheme though. They have been creating a suite of tools to someday make an Internet operating system. The question is will they succeed before the mammoth that is Microsoft cuts off Google's air supply? Not to be outdone, Yahoo! has joined with verizon to offer high speed Internet via dialup access. For $14.95 a month, the user will be able to download at 768 kb/sec while uploading at 128 kb/sec. You have to commit to a one year contract, however. Wednesday, August 24, 2005 -- Late morning It looks like Aleksey Morozov will not be playing for the Pens any more. There really isn't a slot for him on the team. Also, it's not sure if he will be picked up by any other NHL team. Morozov is a restricted free agent, so the only option for the Pens will be to see if they can trade him elsewhere. It is not looking good for Morozov. It's a good thing that at least for now he does have an agreement with the Russian league, so he may still be playing, just not in the US. The Steelers are doing some thinking about the third quarterback situation. It seems that they may decide not to fill the position, and may utilize Randle El. Randle El is one of those slash folks. So he plays the wide receiver/special teams role and now it seems that he may add quarterback. It seems that in his college years he did get some quarterback experience. It will be interesting to see what decision the Steelers make. I'm sure that money will be a factor because they will probably need to get rid of someone to make up for signing Hines Ward. This wouldn't be the first time that the Steelers went with two quarterbacks. They did the same thing in 2004. Roethlisberger and Tommy Maddox were the one and two with Charlie Batch on the injury list. Brian St. Pierre was brought on at the last minute when Maddox got hurt. Tuesday, August 23, 2005 -- Evening There was another Big Brother show on this evening. It started with the usual recap. We see Jennifer being evicted. Ivette says that you are happy that you are staying, but you feel sorry for the other person. James said that strategically she was a very sneaky person so he's glad to see her go. It basically frees up a cot. April said that it was very hard to hug goodbye to Jennifer, but it gives her a reason to play. You see the Maggots hugging and Howie, Rachel and Janelle hugging and James walking around. As Rachel said that was for Kaysar. April says that she is playing fro herself and Jennifer, and it sucks that the $1 million is off the table. Beau was very happy to be HOH. Ivette said that it was the best scenario. As Ivette says, when one wins HOH on their side, they all win. James talks that he has to walk the fine line between the two teams and watch them take each other out. Rachel feels that she and Howie are the most vulnerable because they are a pair. Janelle feels that she is a big target because she has let America know that Beau is a raging alcohol and a male prostitute posing as a personal shopper. Howie said he was very upset and wanted to keep the team rolling and get rid of one of the Nerd Herd. The Maggots meet in the storage room and Beau tells them that he wants to put up Howie and Rachel. As he said they gave him stress and made him break out into pimples. Maggie doesn't want to take the target off of James, but said that she wanted to break up Howie and Rachel. Rachel said that they have made critical errors. It started with the HOH when Maggie walked all over Howie and got Howie to put up two his own alliance. If that hadn't happened, the game would be so different now. Rachel said that she's not a quitter and is going to keep on fighting. Neither Rachel or Janelle wants one of them to win the final. Beau got his HOH room and everyone went up to see his room. Beau got a rock with love because the foundation of his life is love--the rock of his life. Beau says that when he wins, he wins for his team and invited everyone up. Ivette brought Eric's picture up. They made a shrine to Eric with a cap on his picture. Geeze! It makes you want to puke. A shrine to a midget with no integrity! Beau says that good vibes are going around the house. Howie says that he is going to suck it up and be nice to April. Ivette claims that the Maggots have always been nice to everyone and hung out with everyone. What a bunch of crock and revisionist history! Howie apologized for what he said about April's husband and her dog, Pepperoni. April brought up the Busto thing, and Howie said that he was joking. April said that Howie screwed himself out of $1 million. Howie says that Hurricane Howie might have to bust down Busto again if she goes back to her old ways After the commercial break, it is nominations day. Maggie asks Beau if he sees them all equally and who is the threat. Maggie said that James is a huge threat and will go after her. Beau sees it as first Rachel, Janelle, then Howie. Beau is holding James till later. Maggie says, why not earlier? Beau doesn't get it, and Maggie says that it is because James is capable of winning. Maggie says that James won't quit. April tells Beau that you have to think about the end and who you want to be up against at the end. April tells Beau that they will vote for James because he has played the game. Beau thinks that it will be more tense lately. Howie sees that it is the four of them who are possible targets, and he doesn't know what the other side is thinking. Maggie thinks . James is the biggest target because she knows he is after her. James doesn't trust anyone and will never feel safe in the house again. Beau says that he knows he will be a target next week, but he is taking it serioiusly. Janelle says that she knows they hate her and sees herself as a target. Beau brings up God and hopes that God guides him. Time for the nomination ceremony. Beau says that everyone knows what has gone in the past weeks and it is 75% strategic and 25% personal. The first key out is Ivette, then April, then Maggie, then James, then Janelle. Janelle says "thanks I guess". Beau says that Howie showed a side that scared him and that Howie is a fierce competitor. Beau claims that in the Eric days, Rachel played both sides and was a shady grey color. But now he feels that she is pitch black and pitch white. Rachel asked if it was strategic or personal. Ivette calls Rachel a sore loser and makes fun of the way Rachel looks. She calls Rachel awful, awful, awful. Rachel and Beau hugged. Ivette gets really ticked because Rachel thanks and hugs Beau after the competition. It really ticks Ivette off and she calls Rachel an old sarcastic hag, and how awful Rachel is, and how Ivette can't stand her and hates her. What did Ivette want Rachel to do? Yell at Beau. Ivette would have hated that. Ivette is one of the biggest hypocrites and deep down dispicable people. Anything Rachel did would have met with Ivette's hatred. After the break, the Maggots run after Beau and Ivette calls Rachel a bitch over and over. Ivette admits that Rachel crawls under her skin and that she is a miserable aging woman. I really find Ivette disgusting. Rachel and Howie really can't stand the other side. She calls them the Nerd Herd. Rachel said that she is the 75%. James said that he doesn't think that's how it is, and Rachel said that she is sarcastic. James said that Rachel is hated by the girl scout troup. They see Rachel as the bigger competitor. Ivette is appalled by Rachel's behavior and just keeps on calling it poor sportsmanship and says that Rachel did not handle it well. Maggie claims that Beau was perfect because it was strategic and personal. She thinks that Beau let them know how they felt about her. The Maggots are poor winners. The other side is not the poor loser. Rachel said that she better now see Howie, James and Janelle come to the sequester after her. Janelle thinks that James will go after the Maggots before the others. James tells them that if he wins, he doesn't want a hug from Howie and Janelle. James is hoping to make it to the end because he will make fewer dumb mistakes. The dining room table has shrunk. It now has eight spots. Janelle said that she never thought she would make it this far. She says that she's the luckest girl. Janelle gives Ivette a hug, and Janelle says in the DR that she is proud of herself. Rachel says that it makes you realize how far you got. Rachel said that she really wants to win the veto and really doesn't want to leave. Break is over. It's time for the veto competition. Beau picks James as his partner because James is on his side. Howie choose Janelle because he thinks that Janelle is the best. Rachel chose April because she thought that she had a better chance of beating her. They changed into swimming suits and were called out individually to play. The houseguests faces were floating in the pool. They had to dive down into the pool and unhook the face. Then the face had to be put in a container with 2 parts and paired up with the houseguest's partner in the house. Only one face at a time could be moved. The person with the best time wins. Howie was first. He was huffing and puffing and had asthma. Howie had 6:20. James said that he had to win so he doesn't wind up on the block. James went for the one that was closest. He got Michael and Ashlea first. His time was 5:47. April was next. April had an issue with drowning and was having problems with being underwater. I can understand. I have the same feeling. April also tripped on the stand on land, and was really screwing up because she was panicking. Also she said when you are skinny you don't think you need to work out and she is really out of shape. Her time was 9:53. Beau was next. His strategy was to get the ones furtherest from him, and he was getting tangled in the ropes. His time was 6:37. Rachel also went for the ones closest and matched got one of the pairs and then later got the others. Rachel said it was hard because of running and holding your breath. Janelle really wanted to win the veto. She also started with the ones closest to her. Beau was the stupidest in strategy. Beau's was stuck and that was the final one. We didn't see Ashlea's or Rachel's times. Ivette was the MC. April had 9:53. James thought April was crawling or incompetent. Howie was 6:20, Beau was 6:37, James was 5:47. Janelle was 5:51. Rachel was 8:52. James won the veto. Rachel said that she knows they want to split up her and Howie and Rachel would be the smartest choice. Janelle thinks she could have done better and won the veto. She was only 4 seconds off. Janelle is a very good competitor. I hope that she wins HOH next week and that Howie or James follows her. The break is over. Ivette comments on James have five vetos. Then she says fourth. James admits he is the champion. Ivette says that you have to keep James on your side because he wins vetos. James said he had to because if Janelle won, she would have taken off Rachel or Howie. Rachel said that she would sacrifice herself because it's Howie's game. Janelle said that she is worried that she might go up. Rachel said that she is happy to go. She thinks there is some kind of deal with Beau and Ivette. Rachel doesn't want to be trapped in the house with those people if they don't send her home. James comments on how he has no allies and no friends in the game whatsoever. Although in the feeds he was doing some scheming with Janelle. James said that he doesn't give a rat's ass about anyone. James would love to put a larger target on someone else, and would love that person to be Janelle. Howie takes the pictures of him and Rachel to the chairs with them. Howie asks Rachel why he should veto her. Rachel said that to do well in this game, you have to win competitions. She respects Beau for his decision. She tells James that he is the best at the veto game, and she respects his decision. Howie echos Rachel and says that James won and it is his decision. James said that because it will be difficult to decide who to save of the two and to respect Beau's decision, he does not use the veto. James didn't use the veto because the girl scout troup would go nuts. Maggie said that of the two, she prefers Rachel. Rachel said that it would make sense to take her out, but they may see Howie and Janelle as a stronger alliance. Howie says that if he stays, Hurricane Howie may knock some people off their pedestals. Tuesday, August 23, 2005 -- Mid Afternoon An announcement was made today about an America's Choice vote on Big Brother that will be announced this Thursday on the live show. CBS and GoldPocket Wireless will be teaming up to combine wireless voting and the live show. Supposedly the vote will start on Thursday and the results will be announced on the Tuesday, August 30th show. Supposedly the vote will alter the outcome of the show according to the announcement. Now I wonder if it will be that either the viewers will get to vote someone off the show OR get to vote in the person who will be HOH. I'm leaning towards it being a vote someone off the show competition. I love twists. I wish that the producers of the show put more in than they do because it makes it more entertaining for the viewers. Tuesday, August 23, 2005 -- Afternoon There is not alot going on in the Big Brother house today. Tuesdays are notorious for being slow days where the houseguests just gossip about each other. I was watching the House Calls show this afternoon and alot of the callers questioned the lack of strategizing that goes on in the house. As Marcellas said, the calls were thinking about the game more than the contestants are. That's sad, but true. All the houseguests have to do is to sit in the house and think of the game all day. Yet all they seem to do is to fall into conversations that are nothing other than petty jealousy and griping. As Marcellas said, one of the reason they want to get rid of Rachel is that she eats too many eggs. My gosh, what a stupid reason! Nobody likes Janelle either, and based on the Maggots conversation, Marcellas has correctly identified the problem as jealous. April keeps on commenting to the others that she wonders if her husband will find Janelle more attractive. What a bunch of losers! James and Ivette are sitting outside talking and Ivette is saying that Howie and Rachel are poor sports. James tells Ivette that Maggie showed alot of poor sportsmanship by not letting Sarah sit at a chair outside when Maggie was nominated, and Ivette gets testy defending Maggie. Obviously Ivette can't see how petty and hypocritical her side is even though James is giving her examples. I read something about how women aren't faring well in the sciences. I had to put my two-cents into the discussion. Tuesday, August 23, 2005 -- Late morning Casey Hampton signed a new contract with the Steelers. He got a $6.975 signing bonus which is the third highest in team history, and a total salary of $22.775 million through 2009. The Steelers have always made sure to take care of their defensive players. Hampton was in the same situation as Hines Ward because his current contract was up next year. we are still waiting on word about Ward's contract. Tuesday, August 23, 2005 -- Morning Bo Bice is off the American Idol summer tour. Last Friday, Bo underwent emergency surgery in a Las Vegas hospital for a kink in his intestines. It's not really clear what the diagnosis or prognosis is at this point because of the lack of official word either from the hospital or the American Idol folks. It seems that Garry Kasparov is having problems entering Russia. It seems that there is some problem with his passport according to Russian authorities. However, the real problem is that Kasparov has taken on a more political role in the country and has been openly criticising Vladmir Putin. It seems that Madden Football 06 don't think much of Ben Roethlisberger this year. Roethlisberger was given ranking of 12th best quarterback in the game and is referred to a slight above average quarterback. I don't think that folks should get too upset about this ranking because for one its a game. For another, I don't think that having one good year makes someone a great quarterback. Roethlisberger is going to have to prove himself over time. The one thing that the producers of Madden Football say is that usually it takes a few years for a quarterback to gain awareness of his surroundings and considering the fact that Roethlisberger has thrown a few interceptions and incompletions towards the end of the season and in the pre-season games gives some support to the lack of awareness through lack of experience. That should improve with time--hopefully. Last night as I was watching the local sports call-in show, Bob Smizik was talking about Roethlisberger's attitude, and it seems that it leaves something to be desired. Roethlisberger is gaining a reputation as a bit of a jerk especially when it comes to dealing with the media. It appears that after the Miami game on Saturday, Roethlisberger left and did not make himself available for the usual post-game interview. Speculation is that he may not have wanted to be around for questions about his less than stellar performance. As Smizik said Cordell Stewart used to stay around for the interviews even when Stewart did a bad job. There was a rumor that Dick Tarnstrom would be coming to the Pittsburgh Penguins, but it doesn't seem that will be likely. It seems that the talks between the Pens and Tarnstrom's agent got abit contentious yesterday so the talks might be off. Tarnstrom is an offensive defensemen which means he's someone who can actually score which alot of defensemen don't do. Amazon has a plan to make short stories from well known authors available for download for $.49. The plan is to get the works of the authors out to a mass audience, and since digital downloads are relatively inexpensive for Amazon, it's an opportunity to make money while giving the consumer a low price. Look for your favorite author at Amazon Shorts. Monday, August 22, 2005 -- Late afternoon It appears that James did not use the power of veto today. So that means that the nominations will stand as they are and either Rachel or Howie is going home. Right now on the live feeds, Rachel and April seem to be having a nice conversation talking about the game and the things that have happened in the past few weeks. April is keen on bashing James and saying that he will be spreading stories about her that just aren't true. Even Howie seems to have gotten into the act and is being nice to April, aka Busto. I think that Howie would be lost without Rachel's guidance, and the others seem to see her as the mastermind so it is probably pretty definite that Rachel will be the one going home on Thursday. At this point, I am cheering on James and Janelle, but goodness knows how far they will get it. It really does depend on the HOH competitions. Howie, James and Janelle need to win a couple to really throw a kink into the Maggots plan. The Maggots call themselves the "Friendship" which is really annoying, and some people call them the "Fiendship". I prefer Maggots because of the tie to Maggie and the fact that alot of their behvavior is equivalent to maggot behavior. Jennifer called in to the House Calls show because she is in sequester now. Marcellas said afterwards that he tried very hard not to let Jennifer know what he really thought of her because the goal is to not influence the person who is in sequester. Monday, August 22, 2005 -- Early afternoon Hines Ward is saying that he and the Steelers are close to making a deal. Other sources are not able to confirm this information, but that's what Ward says that his agent is telling him. Ward wants a guaranteed sum somewhere between $16 and 18 million. Folks are concerned about Ben Roethlisberger's performance in the past two pre-season games, but the team isn't as concerned as the fans are. The claim is that the problem is just timing issues between Roethlisberger and his receivers. Hopefully by the time the season starts the timing issues will be resolved. The Mars Rover Spirit is approaching the peak of Husband Hill and should reach it sometime this week. The total distance yet to be covered is 70 meters. Spirit has been climbing the hill since late last year and we should get a wonderful view of the surrounding area when Spirit reaches the top. Once it is there, a determination will be made on where Spirit should go next. The crew will be looking for layered rocks because that might be the best location to look for prior existence of water. The reason is because the layering can be the result of water. It is amazing what the rovers have accomplished in the year and a half that they have been on Mars. That's what I would call bang for our buck. There is a local controversy with the police and an anti-war protest group. The group of protesters were walking down Forbes Avenue in Oakland and were gathering to protest outside of a recruiting office. According to some of the news accounts that I saw yesterday, one of the protesters wanted to shut down the recruiting office because it is "preying" on young people. Well, in answer to that, the last that I heard, the military is a volunteer one so I'm not sure how the recruiting office is preying on people. It's not like they grab people on the street and force them into the office and make them sign up. Anyway, the police were called to the scene when one of the protesters grabbed the video camera of a news crew that was covering the protest. The protest group now wants the police investigated for excessive force because the police used pepper spray and Tasers to control the crowd. The police were trying to arrest the person responsible for assaulting the camera person when others in the group tried to stop the arrest. One woman was also bitten by a police dog on the scene, and that was actually on the news last night. The woman was standing close to the barking police dog, and the dog just lunged forward abit and nipped the woman in the back of her left leg. From what I saw of the film, it wasn't that the dog was turned on the woman. She was just standing too close to the dog, and an accident happened. The anti-war protesters don't want to hear accident though. They are sure that they were in the right in all of their actions. We all have a right to peaceful assembly, but what irks me about some of these groups is when they try to prevent others from going about their business. This particular protest group did not stay on the sidewalk, but also went into the street causing a traffic obstruction. In order to obstruct traffic, you have to have a permit. The group did not have this permit and did not want to move out of the street. As you might be able to tell from the tone of my comments, I'm really against these protesters. For one, I'm not "anti-war" and think that the military serves a purpose in our lives outside of war. It helps young men and women who may not be college material at this particular point in their life get some life and work experience. Once out of the military, they would be able to attend college with veteran's benefits. It even ticks me off that people are still referring to the Iraq situation as a war. It was a war at one point. Right now it is a peace keeping/government building mission. We can't just remove all of our troups out of Iraq right now because there is no structure there to keep the country stablized. Even with the help of outside forces, there are still terrorist attacks that no one seems able to control. The other issue that I have with the anti-war group is the fact that they go around with black bandanas covering their faces. Either they are ashamed of their position and don't want others to know who they are, or they want to perpetrate acts of violence and get away with because of their disguise. Those are the only two options that I can think of and neither is an honorable one. I have no respect for these types of groups. That doesn't mean that they should not be allowed the right to a peaceful protest. It just seems that these folks didn't want a peaceful protest and resorted to acting like the hooligans that they are. Sunday, August 21, 2005 -- Late evening April and Maggie are talking in the exercise room. It seems that James won the power of veto. Gosh, that guy is the king of the veto! Maggie is telling April that they don't know what James will do with the veto, and they don't know who will be leaving this week. Maggie is telling April that the only way they can get James out is if either Maggie or April wins HOH. Maggie is talking of the final four being Beau, Ivette, April and Maggie and that over the next couple of weeks they will take out James, Howie, Rachel and Janelle. Maggie doesn't think that anyone will try to split up Ivette and Beau because anyone would feel that they can take on Beau and Ivette as a team. Maggie also thinks that Ivette stands a great chance of making it as the sole pair. I don't know. If they are smart, they have to take out the team. April is rightly upset because her chances of getting the $1 million or $500,000 second place are gone, and she really doesn't want Ivette to get it either. April thinks that the other side will and should target Ivette and Beau first because you want to get rid of the pairs. Sunday, August 21, 2005 -- Early evening I am still seeing nothing but fish on the Big Brother feed today. I hear that there was a span when there weren't fish, but I missed that span of time. It does make you wonder why you are paying for something to look at the Big Brother fish tank. However, in the past there were some good things on the feeds. It's only been the past three days that have sucked. I understand from looking a