I’m with Kottke on this one; this is a load of crap big enough to fill the stadium at Nurnberg.
Why Diving Makes Soccer Great – In defense of soccer’s biggest villains. By Austin Kelley

73rd minute.. this game is a farce. A fist fight almost broke out on the pitch.
Where the hell is FIFA? The ref just carded the POR goaltender while a POR player WAS DOWN IN THE BOX. This is absolutely rediculous.

77th minute… 16 yellow cards.

What the hell? Cocu earned that card, not Deco

(sorry to anyone who actually reads via RSS.. this suddenly became a live blogging)

Holy SAVE by Ricardo!

85: In answer to a question asked by the TV commentators; why would you throw Ruud into a game where yellow is raining down like candy at a parade?

87: Kuyt must be pulled; there is no excuse to have such an inexperienced player in a key spot at this point.
I retract my initial response to the commentators; Ruud should appear..

89: About time Kuyt turned for a shot.

90: That was NED’s last, best chance, blown by Kuyt. Normally, not a great attempt like that is awesome to see. In the 90th, down by 1, it’s essential. Someone with 21 caps should make that.

90+5: And the cards continue to fly. 16 cards, ties the record for most in one game.

90+7:  NED lose; POR are thru to face England. A great match ruined by terrible, awful officiating.

I realize that NED may lose this match, but for both teams let me say this. This is, without a doubt, the most poorly officiated game bar none. There have been 9 yellows and 2 reds and it’s not even the 66th minute. The Russian referee Ivanov has completely lost control of the game and is missing key calls in both directions.

That said, the Dutch have lost this game on their own to this point. Ruud is warming up, so here’s hoping something happens soon. Kuyt should have been pulled at the 35th minute; van Der Sar  deserves a medal.

Make your own fake identity for all those pesky online registration/spam traps. Check me out.
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Can’t make this kind of stuff up.

A Comcast technician came to replace a faulty modem. After spending an hour on hold with Comcast’s central office, he fell asleep on my couch. I’ve been in my apartment for three weeks and my internet connection is still non-functional. This is my tribute to Comcast, their low quality technology and their poor customer service.

Link to YouTube video (as WordPress is giving me fits trying to embed the video)

“When a stupid man is doing something he is ashamed of, he always declares that it is his duty.”
– George Bernard Shaw

So, we went to Ikea. It is, as they say, quite the place. I’m not saying that I want to redo my entire house in Ikea-provided furniture or anything. But, I did find myself saying far too many times, “that would look good in $ROOM”. In fact, I was so taken with some of their furniture, I bought a desk. This one, in fact, with the T-legs. I haven’t been so happy with a desk in years, and that’s saying something. My taste in desks is so picky, I’ve burned through no less than 5 desks in the last 6 years.

I will say this about the store: it is designed with impulse buying of medium to high-range items in mind. The physical building is configured in such as way that you can’t easily move backward. The influence of movement is forward only, forcing you to work very hard to a) not pick something up (because you know you have to work hard to go back) and b) once you have picked something up, it very difficult to put it back (and there’s no where to just ‘drop it’, as J– is so fond of doing.

On the flip side, the store is actually very pleasant to walk through, sans the million and a half people. We spent, I’m embarrassed to say, almost 4 hours in the store, which I’m pretty sure is a land-based record for me. If they sold beer, we would be bankrupt.

So, it’s worth checking out, but give it a couple more weeks for the bum rush of people to die down. Oh, and check the status of Ford Rd. if you go; if it’s closed (as it was today), you’ll have a hellofa time getting there. Once you’re there, however, prepare to kiss your better judgment goodbye as you plunge into the depravity of oddly named Swedish-esque home decor. And the $0.99 breakfast is actually very good. Add coffee and an orange juice (for two) and it’s still less than $5.

Worth the trip? Yes. Worth the money? Surprisingly, yes. Worth the crowds. Not so much. Verdict; go early and during the week if you have to go now. Otherwise, wait three weeks. Bring lots of money; even if you don’t think you’ll need it, you will.

Edit: Fixed late-night typos

Name says it all

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In a bold move that will save the company hundreds of thousands of dollars, placate whiney customers, and provide a huge amount of free advertising, Whole Foods has announced that it will continue to pander to the lowest common denominator and ban the sales of live lobsters in its stores. In a statement released by the company, Whole Foods Vice President for Politically Correct Marketing said, “We feel its inhumane to point out to our customers the far-worse processes and conditions that result in many of our other products. By no longer offering live lobsters for sale in our stores, we can eliminate expensive storage systems and shipping process, as well as free up considerable space for our meat department.”

Whole Foods did not announce today that it would ban the sale of any product containing or substantively made of any of the following animals: chickens, cows, sheep or lambs, salmon, scallops, shrimp, mussels, or tuna. Widely regarded as a politically correct place to shop, Whole Foods has carved a large market for itself by offering organic and up-scale groceries in above-average-income communities. A favorite place to be seen in many areas, Whole Foods will continue to market itself to the pseudo-environmentalists and jogging-suit mafia. Calls from scientists pointing out that lobsters may not, in fact, experience pain were summarily ignored as bunk. Those ignoring these statements about lobsters then proceeded to quote scientific statistics about other causes that were more convenient for them.

A representative for the lobster community had no comment.
Inspired by this MSNBC article

Tesco, the largest retailer in Great Britain and Wal-Mart front, has seen a 47% increase in the sales of mangoes this past week in the run-up to the England vs Trinidad & Tobago match tomorrow. Apparently the Scots, who aren’t the biggest fans of their Southern Lords, are throwing rum-soaked calypso parties to cheer on Trinidad & Tobago. Ah, the World Cup; uniting nations once again.
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