My Valentines
Today I went out with Brian. We saw Book of Eli (don't see it). That's all I'm going to say about that movie. But it was nice to go out.
What was funny is we left for the movie shortly after the Daytona 500 started. I returned home nearly 4 hours later and the race was still on. And it ended great as well.
Do I think Dale Jr. has a chance at the championship this year? No. But I think he'll do better. Bonus would be him winning it though. I just don't get my hopes up.
The baby is beating me up from the inside. She's especially active at night which to me means she'll have to be trained at birth to sleep at night, not be awake.
Tomorrow we're doing a Toddler Chef cooking thing. Hopefully the kids enjoy it. Then I'm babysitting for a friend, much to the pleasure of my mother. LOL! But it shouldn't be long.
I was going to write an interesting post, but nope I have nothing interesting to write at the moment.
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Give me a logical reason…
So someone said she hated Jr. I said why, because he has a lot of fans? She said, yes.
Wait? What? You hate his popularity? How does this even make sense.
Some say that he doesn't deserve his popularity. I wonder who dictates who deserves popularity and who doesn't? Who are these people to say that someone shouldn't have fans, while others should?
The reasoning is, well Jr. just doesn't do well. Well you know a lot of drivers don't do well but still have fans.
Hate drivers for good reasons, like he spun someone out, or he drives like a complete moron (like JPM), but to hate Jr. because of how many fans he has, makes no sense at all.
In the end, it really comes down to jealousy. Their drivers aren't as popular, don't get as much screen time, so they get mad. And for people to say that Jr. doesn't deserve his fans cause he doesn't do well enough, frankly sure he's had a few off seasons, but if he can run up front for most of the race, and looks to be getting better, then perhaps he does deserve his fans?
Eh, whatever. I can handle logical reasons for hating a driver, but to say you hate a driver over how many fans he has, and how loyal the fans are, that just doesn't fly with me.
NASCAR and Obama
I didn't watch this originally, but I did right now and well it was well worth watching.
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You can change your hair, you can change your clothes…
So what to write about? Not sure really today. I should write about something thoughtful but frankly there's nothing thoughtful to write about. LOL!
Have I mentioned that I will be taking a photography course at Moorpark College starting in the fall. I think I need to reapply to join, hopefully that's not too much of a process. I don't think it takes much to apply in general so I can't imagine that reapplying would be too much. I'll go on August 10th to register and since obviously it's at the Registrar Office I should be able to determine my eligibility.
Hopefully the classes will be fun. I imagine it will be interesting at the very least.
Kaylee's potty training camp has been going pretty well. She has accidents but it's part of the learning process so I'm not worried. She's only using diapers at nap and at night and they're not diapers but rather pull-ups. She stayed dry her entire nap so that's good. I'm not expecting dryness through the night because she takes a diuretic anyhow so expecting that is more than she can do. I won't worry about night-time potty training until later on in life. Right now it's not important. I just need her doing it on her own through the day and we have six weeks to get it perfect.
Luckily too I know her school isn't insanely strict about it. They help them with their clothes and the woman I talked to when I registered Kaylee said that for the first few weeks kids come to school with two or three pairs of undies and clothes and go through them all in a day and over time they get used to school and going to the bathroom at school.
So I think it's going pretty well.
Tuesday is yet another doctor's appointment and we'll see if anything changes after that. Other than that the only big thing coming up is Dianne and Jeremy's Wedding.
I do have to officially say that if you read their engagement story that I was there when they finally decided to be boyfriend and girlfriend. I remember it quite well as a matter of fact and frankly would love to go back there and go camping again cause I think we had tons of fun! Actually their official date of being a couple is the same day that Dale Earnhardt Jr. won the Pepsi 400 in 2001. Good day me thinks all around. LOL! Anyhow I like to say that my sister and I were instrumental in them deciding to be a couple! =-P
Mexico NASCAR driver dies…
So over the weekend a driver in the Mexico NASCAR series died in a horrific crash on the final lap. If you want to see the video just hit up YouTube, it's all over the place. None of it's translated though. But the accident is just beyond what you'd think you would see in NASCAR in general.
The questions I have about this whole situation are, 1. Are the cars the same? 2. Do they have the same safety standards as NASCAR here in the states? 3. Who the hell designed that track that way? 4. Was the guy who spun out the dude who died being a bastard?
1. By looking at the video I don't think these are the same cars we see driven here. The way the car fell apart, I doubt they're designed anywhere near as good as the cars here.
2. I don't know about the safety standards. The crash was so horrific that I think anyone even in the COT would have been severely injured if not killed. But like I said above the car just broke apart and that to me leads me to believe that it didn't work like it should have.
3. Some idiot must have designed the track there and that's who I place blame on. You do not leave openings on the track like that. NASCAR here in the states seems to have learned that lesson over the years with similar but less serious accidents. I just don't get why that opening was there and obviously the outcome of this crash shows why it shouldn't have been there.
4. The guy who spun him out, well it was a punk ass move but it's NASCAR and that's part of racing. They say the leader threw a block, I don't know whether that's true or not but spinning out the lead car to gain a win has been a method of winning for quite some time. I'm sure the guy feels horrible for what's happened, but I place blame on the track and the owner of the track for letting that design go ahead.
Hopefully they make some changes so this doesn't happen anymore.
It’s about damn time…
Eury Jr. is out as Crew Chief for Dale Earnhardt Jr. and the number 88 team. Finally. Although this may not fix the issues that team is having I've been of the belief that neither Jr. or Eury understand how to work together in a rational logical manner. They are too catty with each other. The team needs someone who can reign Jr. in and make him communicate effectively. Someone who won't take his crap but also won't "fight" back and get catty back when Jr. does get angry. This is a two part issue in my mind. The lack of ability of Jr. to communicate with his Crew Chief and the lack of wanting to listen to Jr. by Eury Jr. because of some belief that he knows better.
So they're bringing in a guy who's worked with the best of the best. He won't be brought in until after Dover so at Dover they'll have Team Manager Brian Whitesell do the running of things for Dover. Then after Dover they'll bring in Lance McGrew and hopefully he'll be able to whip those boys into shape. The pitting has been shit. Jr.'s driving hasn't been any better and the cars are just crap so something needs to change. Although I doubt there will be some miracle and suddenly Jr. will be doing well, this was a long time coming and hopefully will lead to Jr. actually, you know, doing well in a race.
"We're going to put our full resources toward improving the situation and winning races," Hendrick said. "It's going to be a collective effort that includes all of our drivers, all of our crew chiefs and all of our engineers. Everyone in our company will be involved on some level."
As a crew chief, McGrew has posted victories in all three of NASCAR's major touring series. He has won races with drivers Brian Vickers, Jeff Gordon, Ricky Hendrick, Kyle Busch, Mark Martin and Tony Stewart.
So here's hoping this is a turn in the right direction for Jr. and his team. Something needed to be done and lets see if this works!
Who Cares?
I have to write a post about some things going on around the nation that I think are being blown way out of proportion.
1. Miss California apparently believes that marriage is between a man and a woman only. Although I don't agree it's not something that is surprising. People believe that and it's more than fine to do so. I understand that it's angering to hear, but she's one person with a personal belief system and you know what they sometimes differ from others. She can believe what she does all she wants, but that doesn't mean the fight to over turn Prop 8 is some how worthless. There are constitutional issues to be dealt with whether or not she has those personal beliefs. So in the long run why is one person's belief on marriage such a big deal? Who cares!
2. Apparently Jr. and Mears got into a tiff and neither were fined and the conspiracy theorist come out and say that NASCAR is treating Jr. special. Who cares?! First off penalties are rarely handed out this early in the week (typically Tuesday) so unless I'm missing something, and I looked on yahoo and Nascar.com, there is nothing there that says they won't be penalized. And if they aren't, in the grand scheme of things happening in this nation, who cares? Seriously.
3. The Burger King/Spongebob issue is still going strong. It's a commercial people, who cares?! Don't want your kid to see it, turn the TV off.
I'm sure there is more but I can't remember right now because I obviously don't care. LOL!
Death of NASCAR
So I've come to the conclusion that it's the fans that have officially ruined the sport of NASCAR.
The constant complaining that things are done and things are said and penalties not given or penalties given has forced NASCAR to go from being a sport of fun racing to a sport of crap racing full of people who are so PC they are afraid to say antying or do anything and in a lot of cases afraid to even race properly.
Oddly enough this isn't something that is limited to NASCAR. Last night on the Amazing Race Luke and Jen got into a tiff and you would be surprised how many thought both teams should be panalized or kicked off for the incident! I don't get it. It was a little tiff between two teams nothing remotely worth penalties. People these days are so punish happy especially when it comes to people they don't like. If it was them though they'd be all angry.
So here's my suggestion. Take care of yourself and quit trying to get everyone else in trouble or penalized!
The Sprint to Nationwide…
Yesterday the discussion over Nascar Sprint Cup drivers racing in the Nationwide series was brought up. I thought I'd tackle the issue as to whether or not Sprint Cup drivers should be allowed to race in the Nationwide Series.
First lets explain what the difference between Sprint Cup and Nationwide. Sprint Cup is like the major league of NASCAR. The Nationwide series is the minor league for up and coming drivers looking to make a name for themselves and find a Cup team to be in.
One big difference between NASCAR and Baseball is that NASCAR allows their big league (Cup drivers) race in the minor league (Nationwide) for fun or even for a title in that series. This isn't allowed in Baseball at all. You don't see the Major League guys down in the Minor League practicing their hitting skills and so forth. It just isn't allowed. But NASCAR allows it.
For a while it wasn't a big deal. There weren't that many Cup drivers in the field. Maybe a driver or two who could manage to do both races for the weekend or just weren't doing wel in the Cup series so they switched over their focus to the Nationwide. But it was just a handful. Now nearly half the field is Cup drivers who are running for the title in the series and also running for the title in the Cup series.
Frankly I think it sould be done away with. The Nationwide Series should be dedicated to only up and coming drivers who maybe race one or two Cup races (because that's needed before you go full time in the Cup). If a Cup driver wants to race they should be limited to first not being in the top 15 of the Cup series and also limited to 5 races total for the season. Would NASCAR do this? No, especially in this ecomony.
The Sprint Cup drivers bring in not only sponsors to the Nationwide Series but also fans to the series and that's just hard to give up because it brings in much needed money to not only NASCAR but the teams as well. I think though if NASCAR marketed it right, the Nationwide series could be just as popular. I think what happens now is people aren't into watching the Cup drivers race slower cars basically. So you don't get as much viewship. Of course even though it's smaller it's still bigger than it's been in the past.
Someone had mentioned yesterday that allowing Cup drivers into the Nationwide series grooms drivers who aren't in the Cup series to compete with the Cup drivers. I agree it does but I don't agree that it should be done in the Nationwide series. I think that if a Nationwide driver wants to learn how to race with the big league they should then race a few times in the Cup series. It shouldn't be the other way around because the Cup drivers dominate the races, so much so that it becomes so boring it's not worth watching. When your top ten at a Nationwide consists of Cup drivers and the announcers act like finishing 11th was great because you finished first after the Cup guys you know something is wrong with the whole situation.
Also what bothers me is some of the Cup drivers dabble in three different series. I don't agree with this at all. In NASCAR if you get injured it's most likely that either you'll not do well due to your injury the next week or you won't even be racing in your car at all for a while. With the Cup drivers, the driver is a lot of the image and a lot of the reason fans show up to a race and if you're not in a car driving people won't buy tickets to see you and they won't but your merchandise. So I find dabbling in three different series to be nothing but dangerous and bad business.
For instance when Dale Jr. got seriously burned in that accident with the IROC car. Although he started the race in the car the next week he was in it maybe one lap and then they switched out to a new driver. As a fan I'm not there to see Jr. watch the race from the sidelines. And since then Jr. hasn't done a lot of side racing like that. He does dabble in the Nationwide series (at restrictor plate races mainly) but he doesn't make a career of it. And I think that's how it should be.
Now if a Cup driver retires from Cup and goes down to race in the Nationwide series instead that's more than appropriate. Jr. has always said that's what he is going to do when he retires and it makes sense. If you can no longer compete on the Cup side then you might as well move down and compete with the Nationwide guys. Many drivers have done that and they're known for their Nationwide series racing, not their Cup racing now.
Overall I believe Cup drivers should stay in the Cup series and Nationwide should be allowed for the development of drivers so that they can one day race with the Cup series.
Here are some additional thoughts on the subject from around the NASCAR blogsphere:
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A Post about Nascar…
This post is going to feature some pictures so I'm going to use the break feature so the front page isn't taken up by all the pictures. Pictures provided by FOX Sports.
