While the folks at Motorola obviously want me to pronounce the name of their ROKR phone to go along with its iTunes capability, every time I see the name I can only think of one thing:



(With thanks to the folks at Gizmodo for coming up with a picture better than anything I could have cobbled together.)

The trivia bullies got their comeuppance last night, as we missed the final question and came in second. Worst part is, we were pretty close to coming up with the right answer. Oh well, better to come in second this week than next, which is the Tournament of Champions.

Anyway, your sample of questions:

In what movie does Leslie Nielsen play the President of the United States? - Scary Movie 3 (Jack) - We had no idea, and guessed Hot Shots. Turns out he's not even in that movie. I don't think any of us had seen Scary Movie 3. Heck, I've not even seen 1 or 2. There was a definite presidential theme, as the third quarter of the game had four out of five questions related to that office.

What Gulf coast state has "You Are My Sunshine" as an official state song? Louisiana (Paul) - Given a previous question asked about Florida's state song, and knowing that it wasn't Texas, we had a one in three chance. That turned to none in two pretty quickly, as we figured Louisiana, with its musical history, could have come up with something better. We went with Alabama. Whoops.

This has been your Minimally Ironic Question of the Week.

In 1988, Bill Clinton appeared on what TV show where he played "Summertime" on the saxophone? The Tonight Show (James) - Yup, we made the Arsenio mistake. Most teams did. I'm a little irritated at myself for not catching this, as I remember the whole thing about that lousy keynote speech. Damn.

What are the end points of Boston's Freedom Trail? The Boston Common and the Charlestown Navy Yard/USS Constitution (Ted) - We got the Common, but went with the Bunker Hill Monument instead, as it's farther away from downtown Boston than the Navy Yard. Still not sure why you go past the Navy Yard only to come back to it, though I assume it's due to the stature of Old Ironsides and not the preponderance of one way streets (which shouldn't matter if you're walking the trail, though that's not the easiest part of the trail to walk, based on the one time I walked that part).

What TV show featured the first inter-racial kiss in prime time? Star Trek (Greg) - Uhura and Kirk lock lips while under some sort of alien mind control in the episode "Plato's Stepchildren." This was half of a mini-theme in the game, as we were also asked what show had the first inter-racial married couple (more extra credit - The Jeffersons (Greg) - the wife, of course, was played by Roxie Roker, who is Lenny Kravitz's mom.).

What book ends, "Don't ever tell anybody anything. If you do, you start missing everybody." The Catcher in the Rye (Greg) - The wife knew this, which was good. None of the rest of us did. The musical clue was "Instant Karma" by John Lennon.

What country is home to the world's oldest university, founded in 1088? (Extra credit for naming the school.) Italy, University of Bologna (Ted) - We were stuck between Italy, Germany, and France. We went with France, which wasn't too bad of a guess given that the University of Paris is second-oldest. It's just 150 or so years younger than Bologna. Looking at the list of oldest continuously running universities, Germany's oldest is younger than schools in Britain, Spain, Portugal, Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, and Austria. So at least we didn't go with them.

FWIW, the University of Bologna is now known as "Alma mater studorium," or "fostering mother of studies" to reflect its status as the oldest university.

Our mis-step her dropped us from first to second, as the second place team got the question right. Better luck next week.

Let me say this now, just in case I never get the chance to do so again this season:

The BU men's ice hockey team is alone atop the Hockey East standings.

Of course, they've won the only league game played in this young season. Odd to start the season with a league game, but I suppose the addition of Vermont to Hockey East is forcing some scheduling quirks. Though it now gives me an opportunity to go back to Burlington and actually spend a night in Vermont.

Given the reliance on youth, the Terriers had some good team play going on Saturday, moreso than in the recent past. I think I also saw more nifty skating and puck-handling that in that recent past, which is a welcome return to the days of the 1990s when we were awash with gifted players.

So there's room for optimism on Comm. Ave., and the pride in knowing that most of the teams picked above us in the pre-season coaches poll lost this past weekend (Maine had to show us up, beating Denver twice).

In vaguely related news, I was a captive audience for a chunk of the ND-USC game this past Saturday, in violation of my personal probation. Not sure of the best way to put myself on probation for this violation, but I'm sure it involves game tape from the Gerry Faust era. There was one TV in my location that had Michigan - Penn State, so I tried to focus on that. Sadly, I missed the ends of both games.

I also missed the end of the Pats-Broncos game, but that was by choice. I've seen enough trips to Denver that ended in a loss, I didn't need one more. Especially when the Pats mounted a reasonably good comeback from a horrific second quarter. The secondary needs help. Badly. Even with the likely return of Tedy Bruschi, which I find both amazing and foolhardy. Look what medical clearance did for Reggie Lewis.

While it doesn't quite live up to the moose that was wandering around MetroWest when we were at Babson, there was an article on Boston.com today noting that a wild turkey that had been snarling traffic in my new hometown of Beverly had finally been captured by animal control. I'd link to the story but, really, that sums it up.

Apparently, the turkey liked to hang out in the middle of one of the larger roads in town (one that I used to drive a bit when I was subbing, but rarely go down now), causing both tie-ups and potential accidents. The most recent incident involved a school bus that nearly went off the road trying to avoid the bird. I know dead fowl isn't the most pleasant thing for school-aged kids to see, but given the choice I'd have not risked the accident and given Tom what was coming to him.

In any event, he's caged up now, and will be released back into the wild in the near future. There is no need to panic.

While the media around here is more hot and bothered about the "will he or won't he?" of Mitt Romney and his political future, there is something interesting about the Boston mayoral race.

Tom Menino, the incumbent, is seeking a fourth term. Maura Hennigan, a city councilor, is trying to unseat him. As part of the process, the two have been participating in various fora and town hall-type meetings.

What's they've not been doing is debating.

Hennigan, like any good challenger, is spoiling for a fight. Menino, like any incumbent whose nickname is "Mumbles," isn't even using the word 'debate' in casual conversation. This sets up some unusual scenarios, such as last night's event at BU where Hennigan and Menino answered questions from the crowd - but wouldn't appear on stage together or directly interact.

This seems pretty gutless on Menino's part, if perhaps not a bad strategy for someone who isn't the most polished public speaker. It'll be interesting to see if this hurts him at all, but given the general lack of interest in the race I'd think not. Still, it'd be nice if he got taken to task for being a chicken.

Working off of the various posts about the ABA (mostly from Dinan), I was curious to see if Chattanooga would be home during TrashMasters weekend. Only one think kept me from finding out.

There's no schedule.

Neither the team's website nor the ABA website has a schedule for this season. Going off of last year's schedule, the season should start in about a month.

Is it me, or are they cutting things a little close? I mean, given the status of the current ABA, I can see teams not getting game dates because a junior high dance booked the space beforehand.

Maybe they're going to run the season like America's Next Top Model, with games announced by cryptic notes left by the commissioner. "Do you have what it takes to end the reign of knights? Be ready to get on the team bus at 7 am." If they only had a meeting every week where one losing team was eliminated from the league...

I'd never been called a trivia bully before last night. But, with another win posted by the team back to calling itself No Onions, that's what the emcee deemed us. Fair enough; I'll take the name-calling if it means I have a $7 tab at the end of the night.

(Though, to be fair, I should have been at the inaugural BU women's varsity ice hockey game - a 2-2 tie with Quinnipiac - but passed given back pain that made sitting in a cold rink for 3 hours seem like a bad idea. Not that sitting in a pub for three hours is much better, but I could at least delude myself.)

It wasn't as easy as last week, as we had to come from behind to win on the final question, and even then I had to go back and clarify my answer. But a win's a win.

Anyway, for those who like to play along:

Prior to Ottawa, what four cities served as capital of Canada? Kingston (Ontario), Toronto, Montreal, Quebec City (Paul) - I didn't figure Quebec would have any given the British versus French thing, but our lack of knowledge has us go with Toronto and Montreal by default. We guessed Halifax, which seemed like a good idea at the time. Guessing St. John was less of a good idea. Had we thought about it perhaps we'd have gone with Quebec City. Kingston... no.

To what land east of Eden did Cain go to after killing Abel? Nod (Greg) - We had no idea. Guessed Babylon because we heard another team say it. We're going to hell.

Tachophobia is the fear of what? Speed (Scott) - we got this one, so I will not be haunted by the Ghost of Classics Professors Past

What are the top four wine-producing countries in the world? US, Italy, France (Greg); Spain - We got the first three, and did as Greg did in going with Australia. Not a bad idea; they're apparently fifth. I had suggested Spain, but Australia seemed just as likely. Not that I didn't lord it over my team briefly when Spain turned out right.

Who was the first actress depicted on a US postage stamp? Grace Kelly, aka Princess Grace of Monaco (Greg) - I was a little surprised that an early actress didn't get the stamp treatment previously, but I suppose there was a time when getting a stamp was reserved for those who made Serious Accomplishments. We went with the Princess, thankfully.

What rock group formed in the 1960s had a first album called England's Newest Hitmakers? The Rolling Stones (Jack) - There seemed to be some thematic elements to last night's game, including two questions involving these guys.

Louis Washkansky was involved in what scientific first in 1967? First recipient of a human heart transplant (James) - this was the final question of the night, where I had to clarify things a bit regarding the nature of the operation. It probably helped that I realized I needed to do this on my own rather than having the guys running the game ask (or, more likely, judge us wrong). As with so many epiphanies, it came when I was in the bathroom.

I've been thinking about this whole Supreme Court thing. Clearly, W feels the pressure to replace a woman with a woman (though I don't know if it was as urgent of nominating the first female lawyer that came to mind). He's also feeling pressure to put a Latino on the Court, given the growing demographic power of that ethnic group.

Putting this all together, if he needs a Latina (with helpful bench experience), there's really only one candidate.

Hail and welcome to the newest blogger added at left, Laura De Veau. She should do much better than her husband, whose New Year's resolution to blog more ran out of steam before 2005 was a week old.

Not much to report from a rainy Columbus Day off - spent most of the time doing errands and watching TV. My trip to the mall led me to discover that Zales has made October "Diamond Right Hand Ring Month" or some crap like that.

I have an idea what finger I'd put that ring on, but right now it's extended in Zales' general direction.

I should be more, I don't know, upset, sad, dismayed, something about the Red Sox getting swept out of the playoffs. But when I think about it, 95 wins seems like the absolute maximum for this year's edition of the team.

You should go to Cooch's page and read his story about the end of the season (too lazy to put up the link, but it's on the Bruce's page, too). I really don't have to add anything else, other than to say I should start preparing now for all the new names.

I suppose I now have the "we got beat by the best" impetus to root for the White Sox, and I'm marginally interested in having back to back seasons where long-cursed teams finally win the big one. I could also support a Houston win, but they're a bit too trendy for my taste.

Unrelated to anything baseball, had a pretty entertaining day today. Started out by going to the Topsfield Fair, which bills itself as the country's oldest agricultural fair. We did see the New England's largest pumpkin, and some summer squash arranged and painted to look like KISS (had I only brought the camera), but we really went to see the dogs. There was an agility session, followed by a border collie demo, followed by the state police K9 unit (note that, to the best of my knowlede, no dogs participated in more than one session).

The agility was interesting, clearly not what you see during the Great Outdoor Games and such. Many of the dogs were beginners, and showed it. They'd clear the first obstacle, kind of half-complete the second, stop, scratch, sniff some interesting patch of ground, do another obstacle in reverse, etc. Still fun to watch, and we got to see several types of dogs try agility, not just the Jack Russells and border collie/ Aussie sheepdog types. This ran on both sides of the spectrum, as there were some bigger dogs (labs, retrievers, even a Tervuren that was the size of a small horse) and smaller ones (corgis and a Scottie dog).

We did see some other displays, got to pet a goat, and ate the usual fair fare. The rain cut things a little short (we never did see the K9 unit), but it was a good time.

Tonight we did something a little less bucolic and went back in to Agganis Arena (after being their last night for the hockey team's 4-0 exhibition win over the University of Toronto) to see the David Gray show. If you're a fan, I would recommend getting tickets. He puts on a solid show, nice mix of new stuff and old, and gives you your money's worth. Doesn't chat much with the audience, which was interesting but not particularly problematic.

I don't have Craig's gift (or note-taking materials) for putting together a set list, but I can give you the first five songs:

1. "Nos Da Cariad" (Life in Slow Motion)
2. "Please Forgive Me" (White Ladder)
3. "The One I Love" (Life in Slow Motion - if you've heard a new song by him on the radio lately, it was probably this one.)
4. "Lately" (Life In Slow Motion)
5. "Slow Motion" (do you need me to tell you?)

I can't place the sixth song, but he did follow it up with "Sail Away" and "This Year's Love" (both White Ladder). Then followed mostly stuff from the new album. He did a 4 or 5 song encore, ending with "Babylon." Sadly for the wife (and for me, as I also like it), he did not do "Say Hello, Wave Goodbye," perhaps not surprising as it's 9 minutes long and thus hard to work into the set. I'd have liked him to play a longer set and end with an encore of this and "Babylon," but what do I know?

I know I'm missing about a million details, but it strikes me that there's a connection to be made between our agricultural policy that pays farmers to grow marginal crops or nothing at all, the economic/security/whatever benefits to using less oil, and the growing market and acceptance of biodiesel as a motor vehicle fuel.

It's probably too much to ask that someone seeking office to connect the dots that I haven't and make a cogent policy out of this, but I know I'd be more inclined to vote for someone who does.

(Of course, I left out the whole part where the auto companies would have to get on board. If they don't make the vehicles, there's not much point to making the fuel. Feel free to suggest the appropriate subsidy, tax credit, or blackmail that would make that happen. Or to say that I'm out of my tree.)

A Conspiracy of Dunces

Game 1: Matt Clement gets shelled, leading to a 14-2 White Sox victory. Clement spent several seasons toiling for the Cubs, so he's well aware of the lack of playoff success for Chicago baseball teams. And while he can't help the Cubs as they didn't make the playoffs, he can bring some joy to his former city in another way...

Game 2: Tony Graffanino, a solid player for the Red Sox since being rescued from Kansas City, lets a routine grounder get through the wickets. This will eventually allow Chicago to put five runs on the board, enough to best Boston's four. Graffanino spent four seasons playing for... the Chicago White Sox.

Game 3: Keep your eye on reliever Mike Meyers, who was born in... Arlington Heights, Illinois. North of Chicago.

Yeah, well, Matt Clement. Huh.

Bar trivia started late last night because of the game (which, after about the sixth inning, seemed a little pointless), but the members of Stupid Sexy Zinc persevered and put a White Sox-like hammering down upon the rest of the field. Going into the final question, we had 101 points while the second place team hadn't even broached 80. Given that you can bid up to 20 points (in even increments) on the final question and only lose half if you're wrong, we could have put anything down and still won.

But, of course, we got that question right, too. In fact, we only missed two questions all night, which are among these:

From what sport do we get the idea of winning "hands down?" Horse racing (Boggie) - as noted in the comments, it comes from the jockey's ability to finish without lifting his hands to work the reins. Which makes a lot more sense than any suggestions we had about the connection, which were few and mostly related to horses being measured in hands.

We wound up going with wrestling, based on the ref's hitting of the mat during a count. Made sense at the time, moreso than anything else we came up with.

At the start of Lord of the Rings, Bilbo Baggins is celebrating what birthday? Eleventy-first, or 111th (Greg) - We put down both a number and a word, which was actually not quite right but we got credit for putting 111. It was a good time to have our resident Tolkein expert around.

The meerkat is a close relative of what other animal whose name starts with the same letter? Mongoose - Pure guess, but a decent one based on the similarities that come to mind when you compare Riki Tiki Tavi and Timon (or is it the other one?).

What controversial 20th century author was married to a relative of the Red Baron? D. H. Lawrence - He came to mind in the most fleeting of moments, and went through again because I didn't realize he was 20th century. I think at least one other person on the team had the same thing happen. We went with William Golding, thinking that The Lord of the Flies may have dredged up some controversey, what with all the rampaging. I also thought that the song, "Superfly," may have been a clue.

It still might have been, depending on what Lady Chatterly's lover was using.

What US state is the flattest (in this case meaning having the smallest difference between its highest and lowest elevations)? Florida (Shawn) - We started out with the plains states, thinking about Kansas and that study that proved the Sunflower State is actually flatter than a pancake. Then the guy running the game noted that the answer was based on smallest difference in highest and lowest elevations, and we thought some more.

I remembered something from John McPhee's book Oranges about how the higest elevation in Florida is only something like 400 feet (close - it's apparently 345 feet). We talked about a few other states, but eventually stuck with Florida - not that it mattered, this being the last question of the game. Bow before our trivial prowess!

Let's see... two years ago right now I was standing on an altar, exchanging vows and having a priest make fun of a large, gold object that I now wear regularly. I can't say I remember many of the details, but I thank those of you who were there (as well as many who were not) for your support, prayers, and best wishes.

To celebrate, the missus and I will make our regular bar trivia game and watch the Carmine Hose hopefully down the Pale Hose. Those that know us should not be surprised.

The Good: The Sox made the playoffs, the first time they've done so three years in a row (with thanks to Cooch, as the first time noted that they'd never done this was the first time I'd been made aware of it). They even did so by taking 2 of 3 from the Yankees, and not relying on the Indians inability to get the job done at home.

Which, by extension, is problematic as it gives the White Sox some momentum going into their playoff series with the Red Sox. This is less problematic than not actually making the playoffs at all, of course.

The Bad: The alma mater lost what is at least their 15th straight football game on Friday. I've not looked at their 2003 schedule, but I'm pretty sure the streak starts with a loss to Martha's Vineyard in that year's Divison VI Super Bowl.

Tough times for Manchester-Essex, certainly the toughest in my memory. Hopefully they'll get things righted soon.

The Ugly was today's Patriots game, which I theoretically had tickets to but passed on to go visit the in-laws in Maine (as the tickets were to be had through the wife's work, they were very much only in theory). So, if I had to find a silver lining here, it's that I was saved the hassle of traffic and seeing an even worse loss than my lone Patriots outing.

We were listening to the Sox game in the car coming home during the worst of this - I'd seen the first half, which ended 17-17. I've not gotten any information on how the wheels came off the cart, but the score indicates another problematic day on defense.

Maine, on the other hand, would also qualify in the good category. Played another round of golf, this time at the Hampden Country Club, which unlike many country clubs has a public course and is only 9 holes. But it will always have a special place in my golfing memory for one reason.

I shot an honest to God par on the second hole.

If I were Cooch I'd have what happened down in precise detail. Instead, I can tell you I hit an iron off the tee, clipped the top of a tree but landed about 10 yards from the green. Used some sort of pitchy-putter looking club to get on the green, and rolled in an 8 footer for a par 3.

Note that the next time through I shot an 8.

For most of the day I had no consistent feel for any of my clubs. I'd have a good shot here and there, but it wasn't like Hilton Head where I was driving consistently. It also didn't help that, at one point, I was hitting at the wrong green (the 7th and 9th greens are very close).

But it was still fun, and a day golfing where it wasn't sub-tropical, which is always nice. The rest of the weekend was quiet, no complaints. Except for that work thing tomorrow, but I suppose that can't be helped.

A couple of months ago I went on new insurance. For the first time ever, I was asked to get prior authorization from a doctor to get a prescription. It was a hassle, especially for something I've been on for a while, but I worked through the morass and got it done.

Fast forward to earlier this week. I've changed insurance again, and wouldn't you know it, the folks at Blue Cross Blue Shield want another prior authorization. Remember this is for:

* The same medication
* At the same dosage
* And the same instructions
* From the same doctor
* On the same prescription
* At the same pharmacy
* For the same condition
* (Which is chronic, by the way)

When the revolution comes, you can bet that BCBS will be among the first against the wall.

Playing as The D.J. Schepker Experience, we managed to bag our second win at bar trivia last night (we named ourselves after a friend who plays on another team, who finished third last night but are also in the Tournament of Champions). Nice to have a $20 tab for four people.

We only missed two questions, so I've thrown in three of the more challenging ones to round things out:

Who won an Oscar for her 1990 portrayal of Annie Wilkes? Kathy Bates (Greg) - for some reason I focused on the first name and came up with Susan Sarandon, who of course played Annie Savoy in Bull Durham, not the psychotic fan in Misery. This was actually part of a bonus where we got the other three actors for their Oscar-winning roles (Randle McMurphy, Ben Sanderson, and Leticia Musgrove for those who want to play along in the comments).

Who was the first female hip-hop artist to earn a gold record? MC Lyte - apparently it was that song about rocking your body and/or the party.

Name the five US states that border only two other states. Delaware, Florida, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Washington (OTC) - The question was originally the four US states, as they'd forgotten about Washington. Thankfully, they remembered, as we included the Evergreen State over South Carolina. You'd think having been there recently I'd have gotten it; my argument is that we were on the coast and not up in the part that we thought might touch Tennessee.

The lead-in to the question noted the only US state to only border one other state. I'll put that out there for extra credit. Maine (Scott) - Bordering only New Hampshire, of course. Sorry to say that the wife wasn't there for the home state shout-out.

Calamine is an ore of what element? Zinc (Scott) - we had no idea on this one, though we tried to concentrate on what might be "soothing" elements. Which is a category they never really cover in high school chemistry. One of our team had the idea that because calamine lotion is pink, and Pepto Bismol is pink, the likely candidate was bismuth. His logic trumped our wild-ass guessing, even if it didn't lead to the correct answer. As it was, we never even wild-ass guessed zinc.

I won't even try to explain Allyson's comment regarding zinc, as you had to be there. Though I'm sure fans of The Simpsons will understand the reference, as far as that goes.

Who became the youngest winner of the Australian Open women's singles title when she won at age 19 in 1991? Monica Seles (Greg) - OK, this wasn't particularly more challenging - the person who came up with her did so pretty quickly - but there was a lot of geography and I wanted to mix things up. It did confirm that my base of tennis knowledge has eroded badly.

Sign that your fantasy football team is going to lose: in between rushing for three TDs, an oppenent's running back finds the time to throw for a TD.

After a triumphant start, the Chapman St. Ghettoz are 1-2. Fantastic.

I have similarly sanguine feelings about today's doubleheader between the Sox and the Jays. While it has the propensity of being a momentum-giver, losing both could suck all the air right out of the city. I know, a happy thought for a Tuesday morning.

Thought this was an interesting statement, made by a current Harvard undergraduate regarding content on The Facebook:

"You can't be responsible for what you're saying at all times in your life."

If this isn't a future President of the United States speaking, I'll eat my hat.

(For those of you unclear on The Facebook: back in the day, most schools put out a facebook, where they printed a picture of yourself that you sent them and listed where you were from and your interests, usually deep things like "people" and "travel." The Facebook is a website which more or less does the same thing on a nation-wide basis, giving students the ability to post a variety of information, which sometimes gets the student in trouble.)

I will say that I agree with this student to the extent that, as what's posted there can be ephemeral, it may not truly represent who the student is. However, I do not agree that I shouldn't hold someone responsible for what they put in print. If you bother to put something on-line in your name, it's yours, even if you were joking. Problem is that, in cyberspace, no one can hear you be sarcastic.

The student was also concerned about university officials using the site for informational purposes, which I'd counter with the idea that if you don't want to get pinched for doing something, it's probably in your best interest not to post pictures or a blow-by-blow account where anyone who knows about the site or Google or something can get at it.

I recently finished Brave New World, a book that I'd picked up once or twice in high school but never read. I can safely say that I didn't miss much. The world A.F. seemed much too much like a caricature, and I don't think the ending could have been more heavy-handed.

And while it doesn't strike me as a book commonly assigned in high school, it did make me wonder what books that are commonly read in high school that I missed. For example, two books that everyone in my high school seemed to read other than the classes I was in were The Red Pony and The Yearling. I'm told by the wife I didn't miss anything with the former, the merest thought of which sends her into paroxysms of disgust.

In any event, I'm giving you all the chance to shape my reading list.

Simply comment with the name of the best book you were assigned to read in high school. By "book" I include books, plays, and poetry (collections, epic, and otherwise), and by "assigned" I mean either what you think it means or a book you chose but got credit for reading (my sophomore year we got to choose books, but had to run them by our teacher first).

To help narrow things down, these were among the works I read in high school:

The Odyssey, The Iliad, Macbeth, Romeo and Juliet, Julius Caesar, Pride and Prejudice, Oliver Twist, Great Expectations, Babbitt, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, Crime and Punishment, A Tale of Two Cities, The Old Man and the Sea, The Chosen, The Sound and the Fury, Treasure Island, The Scarlet Letter, Catcher in the Rye, The Sun Also Rises, Dandelion Wine.

Since then, I've read The Great Gatsby, some other Sinclair Lewis stuff, and a whole raftload of Greek drama and other classical bits.

So, based on that, recommend away!