BLOGALICIOUS COLLEGE FOOTBALL TOP TEN-PLUS

1. Missouri
2. West Virginia

As much as I dislike the BCS, I'll agree with their rating here and hope for the best.

3. Kansas
4. Ohio State

My theory: Kansas lost a virtual road game to the team that's now number 1. Ohio State lost at home to a team that has never been in the top 10. It's probably too much to ask that Kansas jump Ohio State should either of the top two teams lose this week.

5. Hawaii

They win this weekend, they should get to play in a BCS game. Going undefeated should mean something, even with all the strength of schedule talk.

6. Oklahoma
7. Georgia

I've not really seen Georgia play this season, and I have seen Oklahoma play, so I'm going with them here.

8. USC
9. LSU
10. Arizona State

Not much to say here, other than I'm duly unimpressed with the ACC and am giving up on putting either of their finalists in here.

109. The Mid-American Conference

Their championship game features teams that are 7-5 (Central Michigan) and 6-6 (Miami). Bowling Green, at 8-4, is not in the title game thanks to a loss to Miami, even though they apparently played an extra conference game. Remember when there was a little buzz about the MAC?

We have a consultant working in the office due to a staffing shortage, and she sits in the cubicle right in front of mine. For the most part this isn't an issue; we don't interact more than to say hi, and in fact I'm not even sure of her name (which seems bad, but from past experience the consultants don't get particularly chummy with anyone).

But this morning took an interesting turn, as all of us in the back were serenaded with this album. I'd admit surprise that Hall and Oates had made a Christmas album, but that would indicate I've considered their career since, say, 1990.

And while I'm not as positive about the album as the reviewer, I do think it could have been worse. Still, it wasn't something I was looking to hear, and it leads me to consider what I could play in return. Outside of looping "Christmas in Hollis" or the dogs barking "Jingle Bells" for an hour, I'm open to suggestion.

Book Log 2007 #52: The Soul of a Chef by Michael Ruhlman

In this follow-up to The Making of a Chef, Ruhlman sets out to figure out what it is that makes great food. The first section looks at the 10 day Certified Master Chef exam at the CIA, an ordeal whose low pass rate and focus on traditional cuisine makes it virtually meaningless to many in the trade.

From the objective and technical, we then move to a more passionate and creative quest for perfection in a leading modern American restaurant. And while the food here is excellent, there's a lack of tradition and technique that Ruhlman finds a little discomforting.

The two parts find synthesis in the last part, which details the French Laundry and its chef, Thomas Keller. It's not only a great profile of a top chef and an incredibly inventive dining experience, but it demonstrates the link between the chef, the physical act of cooking, and an interest in and love for the actual ingredients.

At this point I'm just going to recommend the entire trilogy of books, though I'll save The Reach of a Chef for its own entry.

Book Log 2007 #51: The Grid by Phillip Schewe

I had high hopes for this book, as I knew little about the history or the technology behind the electrical grid, and given our growing dependence on it I figured it made sense to get some background.

My hopes weren't quite met, and while I'm writing this up way too late to point to specifics in the text, I did feel that the book didn't go quite deep enough into some of the history, and really didn't go deep enough into the technology. A basic chapter on how electricity gets from the plant to your house would have been helpful, as I know of much of the technology, but not in any sort of detail.

All that being said, I'm in favor of anything that gets us thinking about where our power comes from and the challenges to keeping the juice flowing, so I'd say this is worth a look.

For the first time since Wednesday, I'm home. What happened in between?

Finger - I spent part of Wednesday morning having the final couple of stitches removed, as things had closed up well enough to allow the job to finish. Much less painful than the first destitching, though I still have to keep things covered as there's still some closing up that needs to happen.

This is expected to happen over the next couple of weeks, which will be just in time to have the finger cut open again to fix the nerve. Surgery is scheduled for December 7, and I'm a little concerned because it appears I'll be knocked out in some fashion for it. Seems like overkill for working on a finger.

Turkey - went down to my sister in law's and stuffed myself with the requisite amount of holiday food (a quick plug here for Spinelli's, a function hall and baker in East Boston and Lynnfield, from whom we got a blueberry pie, a pumpkin pie, and a Black Forest cake). I also watched about 30 hours of football, although none in person, which was too bad given the nice weather (another quick plug here for the high school alma mater, who won their conference with a Turkey Day win over dreaded rival Georgetown, and will play Brighton High School in the first round of the playoffs on Tuesday).

Gotham - Yesterday we drove down to NYC to attend the BU-Cornell hockey game at Madison Square Garden. Traffic was awful (everyone in Connecticut was on Route 95 at some point yesterday afternoon), so we got to the hotel later than hoped.

We wound up staying at the Millenium Hilton, which is most notable for overlooking Ground Zero. We got a very good look into the construction site from our room on the 29th floor, but didn't have much of a chance to walk around the site (to the extent that one can).

We took the subway uptown and got off so we could walk over to Rockefeller Center. The tree wasn't lit, but there was skating and at least half of the people who were on Route 95 in Connecticut earlier in the day were there doing the same thing that we were doing.

After extricating ourselves we walked back down to MSG, met up with Chris (i.e. the Grim Reaper of occasional comment fame) and got to our seats... eventually. It's a odd system they use, as there are four "towers" with escalators, which you get off of when you get a floor with your "gate" number on it. It actually didn't work too badly going up (initial confusion notwithstanding), but going down there was a bit of congestion.

MSG bills itself as the World's Most Famous Arena, which is about the best thing you can say for it. It is on the old side, has a very interesting odor (left over from the years of circuses and boxing, I'd imagine), and the seating is done up in a very unappealing purple and teal upholstery which is made out of some sort of rubberized burlap. The sound works very well, at least in terms of volume, though I think at one point someone from JFK called and complained that they couldn't hear the jets take off.

The game went surprisingly well, as the Icedogs scored three in the first en route to a 6-3 win in front of a partisan Cornell crowd. Out of the 18,200 there for the game, I'd say about 16,500 of them were rooting for Cornell. We also heard the Cornell alma mater about 40 times, which is more than I've heard the BU song in 20 years (which is fine, as I'm not a big "Clarissima" fan). They even had Cornell folks locking arms and swaying while singing the song, which I don't think you'd see BU folks do without getting paid.

Not much else to tell of our time, as we went back to the hotel after the game. We did nose around the neighborhood a little in search of a convenience store, and saw St. Paul's Church, which looked interesting, but didn't think that sightseeing at midnight was such a good idea. I'd have liked to have had an extra day, but between the holiday, work for the wife, and the expense of staying down there it wasn't going to happen.

Book Log 2007 #51: The Railway Bazaar by Paul Theroux

I first read this book my sophomore year in college when it was assigned as reading for an introductory geography class. I don't know that it taught me much beyond the idea that Asia was the place to be in the '70s if you wanted to have sex with prostitutes of indeterminate age and/or gender. But I did enjoy the book, and many years later decided to give it a re-read.

This time around I still enjoyed it, and probably appreciated some of the more unique combinations of time and place better than I did the first time (most notable here was a visit to Vietnam between the Paris Peace Accords and the eventual fall of South Vietnam). Though I was slightly more off-put than usual by Theroux's depiction of his fellow travelers, which was odd given that they're not that different from the depictions in all of his train books.

So I'd still recommend it, but with the added suggestion of finding the version with the original cover. The collage-style front is superior to the one used now, and there is a period photo of the author on the back that would be fantastic if it were in color. I'm sure it's nowhere to be seen in the new printing.

While the three flakes I saw would argue for yesterday, I'm calling today as the first day with snow for the season as there's been steady snowfall for the last hour or so. It's fairly light and not sticking, which is just the way I like it. Not that it would stay long if it was sticking, as it's going to be in the 50s the next couple of days (nearing 60 for Thanksgiving; we could go to the beach!).

I'm pretty much unmoved by the Barry Bonds indictment. I tend to feel the one thing he's clearly guilty of is being a jackass, which for better or worse isn't against the law. It'll be interesting to see how the feds put their case together, as given the past leaks you think we'd have heard if they had something new and juicy to use against him.

At the least it means we've seen the last of Bonds as a player - until the lawyers drain him enough so that he has to team up with Jose Canseco for the Long Beach Armada - so it was semi-fitting that A Rod was in the news as well for closing in on a return to the Bronx. I'm less surprised about him going back to the Yanks than I am about Scott Boras getting cut out of the equation. I don't suppose many players have the sort of clout to do that sort of thing, but I'm sure owners will be happy to see this as the start of a trend. I also have no problem with him going back it it means another decade of him being craptastic in the playoffs. That would be just fine, thank you.

BLOGALICIOUS COLLEGE FOOTBALL TOP TEN-PLUS

1. Kansas(def. Oklahoma State 43-28) - I'd call this week a trap game if it weren't the Cyclones. Still, you have to think that some minds are on Kansas City.

Next opponent: Iowa State

2. LSU (def. Louisiana Tech 58-10) - expect a similar score this week, even on the road.

Next opponent: at Mississippi

3. Oregon (Idle) - Dixon's out, the Ducks are down 20, and the Ducks' backup is Ryan Leaf's brother. On top of it all, Erin Andrews is wearing something frumpy. It's all going to hell.

Next opponent: at Arizona (11/15)

4.5. Missourahoma (def. Texas A&M 40-26 and Baylor 52-21) - no, it's not an AT&T ad, though I'd accept renumeration for furthering their ad concept. I know the Sooners beat the Tigers and thus should be billed ahead of them, but Missouri did beat Colorado, something Oklahoma couldn't do. So I'm calling it even for now, illogical or not. If nothing else, next week will break the tie.

Next opponents: at Kansas State [Missouri] and at Texas Tech [Oklahoma]

6. West Virginia (Idle) - still on track for a big conference title game against UConn, assuming they can do what the Huskies couldn't do and top the Bearcats on their field. UConn better not screw things up by losing to Syracuse.

Next opponent: at Cincinnati

7. Ohio State (lost to Illinois 21-28) - there are worse things than a loss to the Zookers. Losing this week at home, for example, and giving Lloyd Carr the retirement gift he'd most want.

Next opponent: Michigan

8. Arizona State (def. UCLA 24-20) - they get some time off to contemplate a game thick with Rose Bowl implications, should this Oregon-Arizona game keep going the way it is. This could be the only time all season that Sun Devils fans are rooting for the in-state rival.

Next opponent: Idle

9. Georgia (def. Auburn 45-20) - is there still a possibility that the SEC East could end in a four way tie? Because that would be awesome. Of course, things have to go south for the Bulldogs this week for that to happen, but Andre Woodson has a track record for that sort of thing.

Next opponent: Kentucky

10. Mississippi State (def. Alabama 17-12) - Sylvester Croom finally gets his team to break through, putting their second straight win over the Tide on the mantle with wins over Kentucky and Auburn. And they're bowl eligible, to boot. Congrats to one and all.

Next opponent: at Arkansas

109. Miami(lost to Virginia 0-48) - OK, you're 5-5, but you get blown out in the last game ever at the Orange Bowl? What the hell happened to you? I hated you at the height of your thuggery, but you guys are just sad now. Who'd have thought that the dud team in the ACC expansion would be you lot?

Next opponent: at Virginia Tech

Book Log 2007 #50: The Making of a Chef by Michael Ruhlman

When we watch cooking shows at home, the wife will occasionally comment that I could cook like the folks on TV (this being before my recent demonstration of horrifically inadequate knife skills). I never had the same faith in my cooking ability, and after reading The Making of a Chef I'd say my skeptcism was justified.

In this book, author Michael Ruhlman enters the chef's training program at the Culinary Institute of America, and works his way from learning how to chop an onion to manning a station at the school's highest-profile restaurant. Along the way, we see not only the work that goes into passing this progrsm, but get insights as to why people go through this in the first place from his fellow students, instructors, and the CIA's president.

And that's where the major difference lies. I think I could, with the sort of practice gained by the repetition in the program, learn to properly make food. But it's the conversion to the chef's worldview that I would find difficult, the drive to work every day regardless of all the internal and external factors that slow down the rest of us - blizzards, illness, or even a self-inflicted gash.

The one thing the book clearly demonstrates is that what makes a chef isn't just learning the ingredients and techniques, but making the jump from someone who cooks to someone whose life is dedicated to the production of high quality food. Both are demonstrated in fine fashion in this book, which is a must-read for anyone who is into food.

For all you New Yorkers feeling a little blue given the way your little brother to the north is pushing you around in athletic pursuits, chin up. You at least get a visit from the Pope. And at 81, he still has a better arm than Damon.

BLOGALICIOUS COLLEGE FOOTBALL TOP TEN-PLUS

1. Kansas(def. Nebraska 76-39) - You'd be excused if you thought this was an early season basketball score. I know Nebraska 2007 isn't like Nebraska 1997, but 76 is still a pretty impressive number to hang on the Cornhuskers. Giving up 39 is worrisome, though, especially in light of this week's opponent, who have proven that they can score.

Next opponent: at Oklahoma State

2. Ohio State (def. Wisconsin 38-17) - Kansas beat Toledo worse than Ohio State beat Akron, and Toldeo has one more win than Akron. That's my story and I'm sticking to it. Not that it'll change the Buckeyes' death march to the BCS title game.

Next opponent: Illinois

3. LSU (def. Alabama 41-34) - nice road win, though the grumbles about all the close calls are starting to pick up. Expect that to be the cover when Ohio State and Kansas play for the national title while LSU guts some unlucky team in the Sugar Bowl.

Next opponent: Louisiana Tech

4. Oregon (def. Arizona State 35-23) - change of plans, Kansas plays Ohio State in the BCS title game while everyone gets the matchup they want when Oregon and LSU play in the Rose Bowl. Look for the Ducks to keep their end up this week.

Next opponent: at Arizona

5. Oklahoma (def. Texas A&M 42-14) - good win this week, now a bit of a breather against the Temple of the Big XII.

Next opponent: Baylor

6. West Virginia (Idle) - so much for a must-see match-up, though there's still ample room for the Mountaineers to slip up and miss their conference title game against UConn in a couple of weeks.

Next opponent: Louisville (10/8)

7. Missouri (def. Colorado 55-10) - Oklahoma loses to Colorado, Kansas squeaks by them, and Missouri blows them out. Remind me why I have them down here?

Next opponent: Texas A&M

8. Arizona State (lost to Oregon 35-23) - as predicted last week, UCLA lost to Arizona, so expect the Sun Devils to lose this game 55-12.

Next opponent: at UCLA

9. Navy (def. Notre Dame 46-44) - congrats on snapping the 43 game losing streak. If you didn't beat ND this year, you may never have beaten them again. Does this mean that Delaware could beat the Irish?

Next opponent: at North Texas

10. Florida State (def. Newton Klown Kollege 27-17) - Thank you.

Next opponent: at Virginia Tech

109. UTEP(lost to Rice 48-56) - I think the only way you give up 56 points to the Owls is to play defense with 9 guys. Awfully sporting of the Miners to do that, though it doesn't do much for your bowl eligibility.

Next opponent: at Tulane

So the good news is that I'm now up to 1.5 hands, as I've had the splint off since Sunday and I've been able to reincorporate my non-filleted fingers into day to day tasks.

The bad news is that, at some point in the not too distant future, I'll be back down to one hand for at least a couple of weeks. This isn't too unexpected given the nature of the surgery, but what I didn't expect is that for those weeks, the repaired finger will have to be immobilized in a bent position so as not to place undue tension on the nerve, which could stretch it.

(I won't go into the details of the procedure, which at one point used terms like "zig zag stitch" and things that I'd rather not consider happening to my corpus.)

And after that I get to wait 6 to 8 months for the nerve to fully regrow. At which point the doctor I saw estimated I'd have 50 to 60 percent recovery of sensation. Which is enough for the important things, but not enough to get fine sensations. That's better than the ongoing numbness I have going on now, at least.

I'll find out my surgery date in the next couple of days. I'm hoping it'll land when we're closed for the holidays, as that would cause the least amount of disruption with work and other plans. It'd also give me an excuse to lay on the couch and watch bowl games. Not that I need one per se, but if I have one I'll take it.

BLOGALICIOUS COLLEGE FOOTBALL TOP TEN-PLUS

1. Ohio State (def. Penn State 37-17) - I should just accept that they'll be undefeated going into the Michigan game.

Next opponent: Wisconsin

2. LSU (Idle) - a win this week pretty much puts them in the SEC title game.

Next opponent: at Alabama

3. Oregon (def. USC 24-17) - now if only Dennis Dixon could get some more national air time for his Heisman campaign.

Next opponent: Arizona State

4. West Virginia (def. Rutgers 31-3) - a week off to ponder what we thought would be the game for the Big East title.

Next opponent: Idle

5. Kansas (def. Colorado 19-14) - I tried to come up with a US history related joke for this week's game. Be happy I didn't.

Next opponent: Nebraska

6. Arizona State (def. Cal 31-20) - assuming ASU's QB can throw, this should be fun to watch. Unless you live outside of the Pacific time zone; then you won't be able to see the game at all.

Next opponent: at Oregon

7. Oklahoma (Idle) - Lots of deep reds in Norman this Saturday. That's all I've got.

Texas A&M

8. Trinity University (Texas) (def. Millsaps College 28-24) - if you've not seen the winning score, watch this.

Next opponent: Centre College

9. Missouri (def. Iowa State 48-28) - I should probably have them higher, but their win last week didn't involve 15 laterals.

Next opponent: at Colorado

10. Connecticut (def. South Florida 22-15) - I couldn't bring myself to go to the 2 loss teams just yet. Of course, these guys may be one after this week.

Next opponent: Rutgers

109. UCLA(lost to Washington State 7-27) - OK, you're 5-3, but your losses? Unexplainable. I fully expect you to lose this week and then beat ASU by 40.

Next opponent: at Arizona

Book Log 2007 #49: The Edict by Bob Cupp

The year is 1457. A new game is sweeping Scotland: golf. The annual tournament is afoot, and a young shepherd is looking to finally take his place among the immortals who have previously taken the title. But can he survive a plot that seeks to keep him from winning at all costs? That's the premise of this historical novel (really a novella) by Cupp, who is a well-known course designer.

I can't say I was overly taken with the book. There's not as much suspense as you might expect from the set up, and the vast majority of the action takes place before the titular edict is enacted. The way the story unfolds is also a bit odd, as it shifts more than once into regular third person to a viewpoint that's more like narration.

All that being said, it may be worth a gander for golf fans.