The Daily Bongo

August 2007


Friday, August 31, 2007 -- Late Evening

Zack nominated Jessica and Jameka for eviction on Big Brother 8. What I think is funny is that Zack admitted that others needed to break up the Dick and Daniele pairing because that was stronger than any other relationship in the house. However, Zack did the same thing as everyone else. Supposedly, Zack wants to see Jameka go. Eric says that if he wins the POV, he will use it to take Jessica off the block.

Thursday, August 30, 2007 -- Very Late Evening

Finally at almost 11 p.m., Zack won the HOH. He seemed to have the fewest problems with the slick flooring. This is really going to spice things up in the BB house.

Thursday, August 30, 2007 -- Later Evening

Finally! The live feeds came on. It is an endurance competition of a sort. Dick, Daniele, Eric, and Zack are running back and forth between a huge container of water and a large fish bowl, carrying colored water in small cups. The floor of the platform with the container and fish bowl is slick and wet, making it difficult for them to run without slipping. It seems that the first person to fill the bowl becomes HOH. Right now, it looks like Zack and Daniele are in the lead. Eric is slipping around--probably because he doesn't want to win HOH. It's probably going to be around two hours before the competition is over.

Thursday, August 30, 2007 -- Evening

I am feeling very irritated this evening. Since I've started classes this week, I have been feeling a smidge overwhelmed by the work load. i was looking forward to letting my hair down and watching Big Brother 8. My plans were foiled, however! The Steelers are playing a pre-season game this evening. I really think the pre-season games suck because they are really boring, and they are totally meaningless in the scheme of things. The BB show will be on around 2 a.m. I'll be sleeping then, but I will watch the show tomorrow, and check out Joker's Updates. I hope that Amber is going to get voted out, but you can never tell. I just checked Jokers, and Amber was sent home. I can only imagine the amount of crying she did when it was announced. Geeze, God must not have heard Amber's prayers to have her sent to the jury. Now I am just refreshing the page continuously to see who is the new HOH. From looking at some other sites, there aren't updates for HOH. I wonder if an endurance competition is in progress. All I see on the live feeds is trivia. When I get more information on what is happening, I'll post it.

Tuesday, August 28, 2007 -- Evening

The fun with Big Brother 8 started at 8 p.m. this evening when Amber and Daniele were on Power of Ten. Power of Ten is a new game show where the contestant tries to guess what percentage of people would have answered a question a certain way. Amber got the three preliminary questions right, and then went on to try for $10,000,000. She got the $1000 and $10,000 questions right, but then missed the $100,000 question. So in the en, Amber won only $1000. When the BB8 show started, the houseguests got to see the results. The dilemma that arose between Jessica and Eric was whether Eric should use the POV to take someone off so Jessica could put up Dick or Daniele. Jessica thought that Dick or Daniele should be put up. However, Eric said that they had a deal with father and duaghter, and didn't use the POV. Was it a mistake? It's possible because Dick and Daniele have a tie more powerful than any of the other houseguests. We also got to see Eric and Jessica make out several times. Right before Eric would have a kissing session, he would gargle with mouthwash. It was funny to watch the poor kid. It's a toss up on who will be voted out on Thursday. I'm betting on Amber. So far this season, we haven't seen any sequester video. i wonder why?

Monday, August 27, 2007 -- Evening

Things were heating up last night between Eric and Jess on Big Brother 8. The task for Eric after last night's show was to pick a houseguest for him to kiss. Obviously the producers are either trying to heat things up between Eric and Jess, or trying to cause problems by wishing America would choose someone else. On the show last night, we got to see the luxury competition which had the houseguests strip off their clothes in a bubble pool and use the letters on the clothes to spell out words. The teams were split into men and women. The women were determined to win the clothes shopping spree, and they did win. One of the saddest moments in the show was when Amber was talking to Jameka. Amber, for some reason, thinks that she is extremely attractive and model quality. As we saw from the stripping for the luxury competition, Amber ain't all that. In fact, one glimpse of her body, had me screetching in horror and averting my eyes. Amber is really psycho.

Saturday, August 25, 2007 -- Evening

Street Sense was the favorite in today's Travers Stakes at Saratoga. As befits a champion, Street Sense showed his grit by coming on to challenge Grasshopper, and then to finally pass him to win by half a length.. Time for the mile and a quarter was 2:02.69. Ten and 1/2 lengths further back was third place finisher, Helsinki.

Finally, Eric got to compete in a POV competition in the Big Brother 8 house, and guess what? He won. Now the question is whether the producers will make this an America's Player question.

Saturday, August 25, 2007 -- Morning

It wasn't a surprise when Jessica nomincated Zack and Amber for eviction in the Big Brother 8 house yesterday. Zack really hasn't been doing much in the game, and at this point, people who might have votes in sequester have to go. With that point in mind--who has votes in the sequester house--it might be a good idea to keep Zack. What you need to do is keep someone who isn't liked, or who hasn't done much in the game. Zack fits both. Jameka hasn't done much in the game, but she is liked. Amber is annoying, but she has Dustin's vote. It will be interesting to see who wins the POV.

Sidney Crosby has entered into a new line of business. Crosby has a clothing line deal with Reebok. The clothing line will just be available through three retail outlets in Canada. However, Reebok hopes to have distribution plans with some retail outlets in the US by 2008.

Friday, August 24, 2007 -- Afternoon

I am watching House Calls from the Big Brother CBS page. Jen is on the show, as most evicted houseguests are on Fridays. The girl really exudes giddy stupidity. Yet we are supposed to believe that this girl somehow has a bachelor's degree. Jen is really bitter about her treatment from Daniele and Dick, and says that her mistake was in not voting out Dick last week.

Thursday, August 23, 2007 -- Late Evening

On tonight's Big Brother 8 episode, we got to see Jen's breakdown. Jen was upset because of the backdoor nomination, and took it out on Dick's cigarettes. It seems that Jen had been bothered by Dick smoking cigarettes, and gathered them all up and destroyed them. Dick took her clothes hostage because he didn't know that his cigarettes were gone. Then Jen cooked food and ate turkey burgers and apples. Since she was supposed to be on slop, BB punished Jen with a penalty vote against her in tonight's eviction vote. Everyone seemed to be feeling ill-at-ease at the whole thing. When Jen and Dick got into a physical shoving match when Dick blew smoke in Jen's face, and burned her with his cigarette as she tried to grab it, Jameka was the only one who stepped between them, and took Jen away. Jameka tried to calm Jen down--as Jen was obviously suffering a breakdown over being backdoored. I felt sorry for Jen, and I felt alot of admiration for Jameka. I thought it was a class move to come between Dick and Jen, and try to calm Jen down. When it was time for the vote, Jen started out with one vote against her. The live vote started. America's Player, Eric, had to pick Jen for eviction, and fortunately that was the case--because everyone voted to evict Jen. Jen and the remaining houseguests showed their dislike for each other as Jen left the house. The HOH competition was based on answers that the exiting houseguests gave. If the houseguests got it wrong, Jen would push on a huge button that would dunk them in a tub of water. Eric was the first out (because he has to throw the HOH competitions since he is America's Player. Then Amber and Zack were out. It came down to Dick and Jessica, and Jessica won. Now the question is who will be nominated this week?

Thursday, August 23, 2007 -- Evening

Google has a new offering. This time it is Google Sky. Anyone who downloads and installs Google Earth, can now scan the heavens. Google Sky can take you on tours of distant galaxies and stellar objects. Of course, the thing to keep in mind while viewing the images is that some of them are representations of what astronomers believe are out there. Still, it's fascinating to know that I can visit Alpha Centuri, even if it is just an animated journey.

Wednesday, August 22, 2007 -- Afternoon

I've been very busy this week prepping for my return to school. I start the Master's program in Professional Writing at CMU next week. Yesterday, I had an orientation that introduced all the students getting Master's degrees in the English department. Tomorrow, we will have a program specific orientation.

I did watch last night's episode of Big Brother 8, and I have to admit that Amber really got on my nerves. The girl was going on and on about how God had sent her a message in a dream that she was going to win the POV. Amber was telling Jameka that they were going to be okay because God told Amber that she would win the POV and that they would both be there the next week. Imagine Amber's shock then when she lost the POV to Daniele! I guess that God got the message screwed up, or Amber's reception wasn't all that clear. Amber started shaking with fear and really tried to screw up her eyes and force out some tears. I don't think that the girl's crying spells can be legit. There's no way anyone could cry that much over nothing without being committed to a psych ward. Hmm--maybe that's where Amber should be instead of the BB house. So at that point, Amber told Jameka that Amber would approach Daniele to work out a deal. Jameka told Amber not to give up that much--just maybe not put up Daniele next week. What got me about the whole dialog was not that Amber was concerned about Jameka--Amber was just trying to save her own ass from the chopping block. So Amber goes to meet with Daniele, and gives away everything. Everything that Jameka told Amber not to do, Amber did. Amber promised to not put Daniele up on the block whenever Amber got HOH. Amber swore this on her daughter's life, and Amber said that if Daniele wanted Amber to vote out Jameka, she would. I really hate Amber. She's the type of person that really gets under my skin. She's stupid, disloyal, and self-centered. Also her emotional stability would make her such a high maintenance friend. As the top two finalists in the POV competition, Daniele and Amber were sent to NY to compete in the Power of Ten show that's on right before BB on Tuesdays. We should know more of how that goes later. I'm really disappointed that Amber is off the block, because that's one girl that I would love to see sent to the jury house. Instead, Jen is probably going to be sent home tomorrow. Shame!

Monday, August 20, 2007 -- Evening

Sidney Crosby was in town today to instruct some kids attending the Pens Summer Hockey School. Crosby spent the time showing the kids various moves and signing autographs. I really admire Crosby because he genuinely seems to be a nice person. As Crosby said, he knew what it was like when he was a kid and got an autograph from a player. Crosby is just returning the favor. As I was watching the bit on the local sports station, I was struck by one comment that Crosby made. Crosby was asked how it felt to coach Mario Lemieux's son, Austin, at the camp. Crosby replied that he talks to him all the time at "home" so Crosby isn't intimidated. It's very obvious that Crosby does see Lemieux's home as his own, and the Lemieux family as an extension of Crosby's own.

Monday, August 20, 2007 -- Afternoon

Interesting developments in the Big Brother 8 house. Daniele used the veto to save Amber, and put Jen up on the block in her place. As Daniele was saying in the show yesterday, her target was Jen. Daniele just wanted to make sure to get her out, and Jameka and Amber were good bluffs. Half of the season is gone now, and the smaller table is now in the dining area.

Astronomers have found a rare isolated neutron star between 250 to 1,000 light years from Earth. A neutron star is one that was much larger than our Sun which used up all its nuclear fuel and blew itself apart in a supernova. The interesting thing about the new neutron start, Calvera, is that it doesn't have a supernova remnant, isn't part of a binary pair, and doesn't give off any radio pulses. There are only seven other neutron stars that fit this scenario, and they are known as the Magnificent Seven. The name Calvera, is a villain in the Magnificent Seven movie, so the name is appropriate.

Michael Vick ended the talk about whether or not he is guilty of dog fighting by entering a guilty plea today. The rumor was that the grand jury was going to meet to add more charges against him. It was in his best interest to take the plea for the charges he currently faces. It didn't help his case that the others charged with Vick already plead guilty. The only question that remains is what sentence will Vick have, and will he be allowed to play in the NFL after serving his time.

Sunday, August 19, 2007 -- Evening

I just finished watching tonight's episode of Big Brother 8. It was entertaining because we got to see how stupid Amber is. As Dick said at one point, he doesn't think her vocabulary is larger than her eight-year-old daughter. We see Amber asking people what "outed," "backdoor," and a slew of other words mean. It's sad because the girl really seems to have fried her brains with the drugs that she says that she took. You really have to feel sorry for Amber's daughter. With a mother like that, what sort of future could you have? We also got to see more of Amber and Eric flirting. I think that they make a cute couple, and I hope that they get to date outside of the house. They are one of those couples who actually just seem to get along. I hope that Jessica isn't upset when she finds out that Eric was America's Player and because of that, kept somethings secret. Amber and Jameka end the show on the block, but Daniele admits that Jen is the real target. The question is will Daniele carry through with that belief now that Daniele has the POV?

The Steelers played the Washington Redskins last night in their third pre-season game. The Steelers barely managed to get by with a win last night. I suppose that we shouldn't be too concerned because it is just the pre-season. The first stringers aren't playing the whole game. In a way that might be a good thing because the players who are fighting for a position are the ones who are making the plays. The final score last night was 12-10.

Friday, August 17, 2007 -- Evening

I decided to sample the local Trader Joe's. It opened awhile ago, but I haven't had a chance to stop by until today. I had heard about about Trader Joe's--how it has unusual, fresh, good products at a cheap price. I was really looking forward to checking the place out, and I have to admit that I was very disappointed. The place was incredibly small. That means there wasn't a very large selection, and what was there was not very enticing. I was very disappointed in the meat selection. Most of the fish, meat, and chicken did not look fresh or like it was the best cut. The fruit was also bruised looking and skimpy. It only took perhaps 20 minutes for me to make it through the entire store. Perhaps the only interesting item that I got from the store was some Mochi ice cream. I've had a fascination with Japanese culture since I started to read the manga, and they really caught my eye. The mochi was very tasty with the six balls in the package costing $2.99. Not bad. We got both the mango and chocolate flavors. All in all, though, it was a very disappointing experience. I don't know if I will go back.

Thursday, August 16, 2007 -- Evening

Very interesting episode of Big Brother 8. It seems that everyone was out to get Dustin, and he didn't realize it. Although Dick has been abusive and obnoxious to everyone, he made a deal with Eric and Jessica to stay in the house. Eric had to vote against Dustin because he was required to do so as America's Player. Dustin left the house to become the first member of the jury. The vote against Dustin as 4-2 with only Amber and Jameka voting for Dick. It was so funny to see Dustin's reaction to the vote because his mouth just dropped to the ground. Amber looked like she was going to cry, but she didn't. There was alot of silence and tension in the house as soon as Dustin left. The HOH cmopetition was based a midget dressed in an Alice in Wonderland theme. The midget said a a few lines while he wandered around. A barbershop quartet was singing outside and a pirate was walking around on stilts. When the houseguests went back into the house, there were three rabbits in cages with cards on their necks (an Ace, Five, and a Nine card.) Then there was a guy who was dressed to look like a statue. All that tied into the HOH competition. Jessica and Jameka had to sit out the competition (Jameka because she gave up her rights to compete in last week's POV competition.) It came down to Daniele and Amber as HOH, and Daniele pulled it out.

I went to a matinee of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix today. It's been awhile since I read the book, and my memories of it as the most depressing book in the series was validated by the tone of the movie. The actress who played Dolores Umbridge, Imelda Staunton, did a great job as someone who seemed so sweet and pink on the outside while truly evil inside. The movie started out with Harry and Dudley Dursley being attacked by Dementors. Harry was expelled from Hogwarts by the Ministry of Magic, but was reinstated at a hearing that was Dumbledore attended in Harry's favor. At Hogwarts, things weren't pleasnt. Dolores Umbridge was the Professor of the Defense against the Dark Arts class. Her tactic was to do all that she could to prevent the teaching of defensive magic in the class. Harry, Hermionie, and Ron form Dumbledore's army. Concerned students in the school, like Neville Longbottom and Luna Lovegood, join the Army. Practice begins in the newly discovered Room of Requirement. The movie builds toward the showdown between Harry and Voldemort, with quite a few tense moments. Although the movie was two hours and 18 minutes long, the time flew by. The movie was very well done, and the development of the characters has been progressing nicely. If you haven't seen the Order of the Phoenix yet, I would suggest that you get out there and see in on the big screen.

Wednesday, August 15, 2007 -- Evening

I just finished reading the new Daniel Silva book, Secret Servant. The book just came out in July, and I got it from the local library. Gabriel Allon makes his latest appearance when Elizabeth Halton, the daughter of the American Ambassador to Great Britain, is kidnapped. The guard that was jogging with her in Hyde Park, and Allon arrives only in time to kill a few of the terrorists. Allon and the Israeli contingent join forces with the American and British secret services to hunt down the Sword of Allah and rescue Elizabeth Halton. The book is the usual thrill ride that is expected from a Silva book. Allon doesn't come out of things cleanly in this book, and I was wondering if Allon and Elizabeth Halton would make it. It isn't necessary to have read the earlier books to get wrapped up in the action in this book. I highly recommend the series to any lover of action and intrique. If you are like me, you will have difficulty putting down the book as you get wrapped up in the plot.

Tuesday, August 14, 2007 -- Evening

I just finished watching Big Brother 8 this evening, and I have to admit that Dick's obnoxious act is really tiring and disgusting. My friend who is my BB buddy says that he is not interested in watching the show anymore becaue Dick's acts have really turned him off. We got to see Daniele carry through with her act that she wasn't able to control her father's acts when in truth she is in agreement with them. The producers showed the live feed segments were Daniele understood that her father was going to do things to turn people against him. We didn't see the segments where she plotted with him on what would be done. Then we do see her run crying to the houseguests about how she doesn't approve of her father, but has no control. I really don't understand how anyone can be a friend of Dick. He is an abusive bully towards the women, denigrates homosexuals, and terrorizes everyone. Dick deserves to go home. Will America vote to have Eric send Dick home? Probably not, but I can only hope they will.

Monday, August 13, 2007 -- Evening

I have to admit that I'm really feeling for Eric from Big Brother 8 this evening. It seems that Jessica went ahead with the plot to put up Dustin in Daniele's place. The thing that no one can know is that Dustin might be marked by the folks in America. That means that if Zack, Jen, Daniele, and Eric vote for Dustin, then Dick will still be in the house. That what has sucked with this whole America's Player. It seems that at the beginning, people were voting with the ones they wanted to get out of the house. Now, from what I have been reading online, people are just voting to cause drama in the house. The only hope for Dustin is that Zack and Jen don't vote for him to leave.

Sunday, August 12, 2007 -- Evening

I just finished watching this evening's episode of Big Brother 8. I have to admit that Dick has really been going overboard with his vitriol. The only person that I feel sorry for it Eric. The poor guy is always being screwed over with his America's Player tasks. In the show we found out that Eric was supposed to convince Jessica to put up Dustin. Well, fortunately, Dustin made a comment about going up against Dick to really rub in that Dick has no friends. So that worked out. The question for tonight is to whom Eric should give the silent treatment. I can just see fans of Dick voting for it to be Jessica or something like that. I went online to vote for Dick receiving the silent treatment. I think that this America's player bit is really screwing things up because poor Eric really can't play his game. The show ended with Jessica nominating Dick and Daniele. I wonder who will go up in Daniele's place because Dick is going to use the POV that he won on Daniele.

Sunday, August 12, 2007 -- Late Morning

The Steelers lost their pre-season game last night against the Green Bay Packers. They were leading at half time, but the third and fourth stringers didn't hold together too well in the end. Final score was 13-9.

Saturday, August 11, 2007 -- Evening

There has been alot of drama in the Big Brother house. Dick has been going around acting like a real a**hole. For example this morning, he woke up the houseguests by banging pots above their heads while they were sleeping. Eric was just complaning about it on the live feeds with Jessica. It also seems that Jameka freaked out this morning because Dick and Daniele might have put a spider in her stuff. Dick and Daniele are up on the block, but it appears that Dick may have won the veto from hearing the houseguests. The thought is that Dick will use the veto to take Daniele off the block. It will be interesting to see the show tomorrow. Jessica has just made an offer to the other houseguests for them to sleep in the HOH room because of Dick's weird behavior.

Friday, August 10, 2007 -- Late Morning

There was a violent thunderstorm with tornado warnings yesterday afternoon. Unfortunately, because of the storm, the power to my apartment went out at 3 pm. We didn't get power back until after 11 pm. So that means that I missed the eviction episode of Big Brother. Fortunately, a friend was in an area with power, and he texted the results to me. Eric was saved. Kail went out with a vote of 4-3 meaning that only Dick, Jen, and Zack voted for her. Then, Jessica won the HOH competition. I am watching the show now on Innertube. Amber went totally psycho, as Dustin even said. It seems that Amber told Eric that she lied to her boyfriend twice about being pregnant in order to keep him with her. Now why someone would tell another person (a stranger) something so awful, shows how stupid Amber is. Dick tells Amber that Eric threatened Amber to him. It is true that Eric told Dick that he knew something about Amber that he would use against her if he needed to. So the big blowup was Amber yelling at Eric in front of all the other houseguests calling Eric "evil" and a "piece of shit." Obviously they weren't going to show the other anti-semetic remarks that she made against him. I really dislike Amber, but I really dislike Dick for the negativity that he brings to the house. The guy is a jerk. The other part of the show was a clip of the people who know Dick. Dick has been claiming that he knows rock bands, and he appears to know some people who play the Hollywood scene. To me that doesn't make Dick any less of an a**hole. The voting order was Dick, Jen, Jessica, Zack, Jameka, Dustin, and Amber. I have to admit that I loved the expression that was on Dick's face when Kail was voted out. Dick instantly started on his vitriol as soon as Kail left. The HOH competition was a Wild West face off between two contestants, and Jessica won by quickly answering the question that had Carol as the answer. Boy, that was an exciting competition. I'm sure that things are going to heat up in the house today. As the show was ending, Dick was spewing vitriol against Jameka and Dustin. From reading Joker's Updates (since I didn't have a power last night, I couldn't watch the live feeds), Daniele was encouraging Dick to pee on Eric in the shower. I think that's all that needs to be said. The fruit doesn't fall far from the tree. Fortunately, Dick didn't agree to do it.

Wednesday, August 8, 2007 -- Evening

I watched the Big Brother show last night, and I have to admit that I hate Dick. The guy is such a bully. Dick's agenda is to target a person, berate that person loudly with abusive language, and then claim some sort of ethical superiority over that person. Meanwhile Dick is the lowest of the low. For example, he proclaims that Eric is in cahoots with Jen and Kail while it is Dick who is in cahoots. Meanwhile, he and Daniele--because she doesn't fall far from the tree--continue with this negativity towards others. The thing that I don't get is that Jen lies to Jessica about a supposed alliance with Eric. As you look at Jen, you can see that she has a smirky lying look on her face. Unfortunately, Jessica chooses to believe Jen. Dustin and Jameka weren't so easily taken in because they realize that they all (LNC--Late Night Crew) are vulnerable to attack from Dick, Daniele, Jen, Kail, and Zack as a group. The question is whether the LNC will be as stupid as the group who listened to the Maggots in season 6. Then Howie put up his own alliance, and they voted out someone who was supportive (Sarah). If Howie had instead put up Maggie and someone else, the Maggots (my name for them--Nerd Heard was the official name) would not have been so successful. The other problem I have is with Amber who has been spewing anti-Semetic remarks on the live feeds. (Eric is Jewish, and Amber has a problem with Jewish people.) After Jameka warned her about the comments, Amber claimed it was due to a drug addled brain. Where Eric was screwed over was in being America's Player. The things that he was forced to do--including the lame acts like putting mustard on Jen's shirt--have really screwed him over. As of today, no one is talking to Eric in the house except for Dick who hurls abuse at Eric. I wonder if those things will make the show tomorrow. Eric seems really depressed when I watch the live feeds because he is teary eyed and telling Daniele that he doesn't feel that he can even can even stay in the house or even enjoy his last 24 hours because of everyone's hatred for him. Dick and company are going to feel like such dicks over their treatment of Eric when they find out that he was just being America's Player.

The Steelers have finally released the name of their lame-o mascot. It's Steely McBeam. Yep. As I said Lame-o.

Jordan Staal and Eric Staal are being given a plea deal. The charge is petty misdemeanor and will result in no jail charge.

Monday, August 6, 2007 -- Evening

The Big Brother show from last night was interesting. Dick, of course, was being his usual obnoxious self. The thing that gets to me about him is that he goes around yelling at everyone one, and practicing his intimidation act all of them. They just let him get away with it. Eric, in a defensive move, tried to call Dick on his actions. Dick spends alot of time pointing the finger of blame at others while not taking responsibility for his own acts. Last week, Dick was the first to proclaim that Nick voted for Kail. This week, he just as quickly jumped to the conclusion that Eric did it. The thing is that Eric did do it, but not for the reasons that Dick thinks. The show started with the endurance competition, and the plane flying overhead with the banner saying "We Love Nick. Eric and Amber lie. LNC is the Nerd Herd." LNC stands for the Late Night Crew, and it's made up of Dustin, Amber, Eric, Jessica, and Jameka. Nerd Herd they aren't. The show ended with Kail and Jen being nominated. However, from watching the live feeds, Jen is now off the block and Eric is on in her place.

The Steelers won the pre-season game yesterday. The final score was 20-7, but the team played well, and the score wasn't as descriptive of how well, the Steelers played. Ben Roethlisberger took the opportunity to take another swipe at Bill Cowher. It seems that the coach and his quarterback didn't get along, at least on Roethlisberger's part. After the game, Roethlisberger commented that he felt more at ease and seemed to click better with this year's offense than last year's. In the past, when asked about he felt about MIke Tomlin, Roethlisberger said that he got along alot better with Tomlin. I know that in the past, Roethlisberger would claim an injury while Cowher would say that Roethlsberger was overreacting. It will be interesting to see how the team will do in the actual season.

Sunday, August 5, 2007 -- Evening

It's definitely not looking good for Eric in the Big Brother 8 house. It seems that sometime during the endurance competition on Thursday night, a banner plane flew over the BB house saying that Eric and Amber lie. Well, that started all the others on a "let's back-door Eric" plot. Kail and Jen were nominated for eviction, and Jen won the POV. Of course, she is going to take herself off. Then Eric is going up in her place. The question is whether there will be enough votes to get him out. I've liked watching Eric as the America's Player, but that's the thing that got him into trouble. Because he was voting as American wanted, he wound up going against his alliance members. He wasn't able to admit what he did, and it just meant more trouble for him. Meanwhile, practically everytime I watch the live feeds there is some behind the scenes conversation going on about Eric being a schemer. My question is whether the producers will let the others know that Eric was playing for America when he is voted out. Tonight's show won't be on KDKA at its normal time because a Steelers pre-season game will be on. Instead the show will be on at midnight. That means that I'll watch the show tomorrow morning before I go to work.

The Steelers are playing a pre-season game in Canton, Ohio tonight for the Hall of Fame weekend. They are playing the New Orleans Saints. The game was supposed to start at 8 p.m., but they are showing the Hall of Fame inductees. I should have more comments about the game tomorrow.

Saturday, August 4, 2007 -- Early Afternoon

The Phoenix Mars Lander launched from Cape Canaveral this morning, starting a nine month voyage to Mars. NASA is to land the Phoenix in Mars' Artic Circle area. This area has always been of high interest to scientists because it continues the search for organic compounds in the Martian surface. The landing is scheduled for May 25, 2008, and is not without risk. So only one landing was attemped at one of the Martian poles (the South one in 1999). That attempt was a failure. The Phoenix carries some written works in its database. The works of Carl Sagan, Voltaire, Ray Bradbury, Isaac Asimov, and Percival Lowell will be onboard. Now we just have nine months of nail-biting as we wonder if the landing will be successful.

Friday, August 3, 2007 -- Late Morning

I was finally able to watch last night's episode of Big Brother 8. I watched it this morning before I came to work. That was one of the best episodes so far. My favorite scene was when Daniele started asking Jen while Jen says rude things to Daniele. Daniele said that she knows it is because Jen likes Nick and is jealous of Daniele's relationship with her. Everyone comes in to listen, and Dick gets so frustrated with Jen that he pours his glass of ice tea on her head. Great drama! Then Nick tells Jen to stop talking about Daniele when she isn't around. He really does seem to care for Daniele, and says it is up to her if they have any relationship outside of the house. The thing is that BB relationships rarely continue outside of the house. Amber was also annoying yesterday. Boy, that girl cries at the slightest provocation. She was sobbing and bawling because Nick was nominated. Amber kept on telling Nick she had no clue he was being nominated. The BB producers then cut to a scene of her telling Dustin that they should backdoor Nick. Then Amber kept on saying that she loves Nick so much. It was nauseating! Then we had the competition. Everyone was still hanging on at the end of the show, but last night, Daniele won HOH. Now we will see what she does with that power!

Thursday, August 2, 2007 -- Late Evening

I didn't get a chance to see the Big Brother 8 eviction episode last night, but I am watching the live feeds right now. Nick was voted out, and the HOH competition is one of those endurance competitions. The feed just went to the blue whirlpool because Eric and Dick were commenting that Kail just violated one of the rules of the endurance competition. It appears that Big Brother isn't listening though. It is down to Kail and Daniele. Since the two are hanging upside down from a swinging crossbar, I'm not sure how much longer either can hold out. I think that Kail realizes she has to win. Daniele obviously realizes that Kail as HOH would be bad news. The feeds are really pixalated and freezing. I think that it is because everyone who has them is watching to see who gets HOH. I should have a report on it tomorrow.

Thursday, August 2, 2007 -- Early Afternoon

The Pens have announced their plan to provide tickets to those on the waiting lists. Starting next Monday, people on the waiting list can start to buy six and 12 game plans. If you aren't on the waiting list, you have to wait until Wednesday. Individual tickets are going on sale September 15. I'm not looking forward to a packed arena. Why you ask? Because that means that a tall person with a big head will more than likely be sitting in front of me. That always ruins my view of our goal--especially with the prarie dogs--the people who leap up out of the seats whenever someone gets close to the goal. When I take pictures during the game, I have to throw out quite a few because it's the back of a head or someone's huge broad back.