Latest on the Reds

By popular demand, a Liverpool update... More to come as the season wraps up in continental Europe and the UK.

April 21
Liverpool 2 - Wigan 0
(Something interesting. Unlike the US, in European/English football the team listed first is the home team.)
This game against Wigan was an English Premier League game, and Liverpool is in the hunt for third place in the League this season. The season's almost over, so they won't get much higher than third this year. With the win, they didn't lose any ground. It also happened to be a game that they needed to win to qualify for next year's UEFA Champion's League tournament. Interestl, their next game was a semi-final in this year's tournament against Chelsea. You'd think that making it to the final four in the Champion's League tournament would qualify a team for next year, but apparently it doesn't.

Onto Chelsea vs. Liverpool. Chelsea are like the NY Yankees of UK football. They have in the last few years started buying loads of talent. Liverpool has history on their side here leading Chelsea in Champion's League play over the last two years. Chelsea hasn't even been able to score against Liverpool in these games. You know where this is going, don't you?

April 25
Chelsea 1-Liverpool 0

European and UK play is interesting in the way it's scored for tournaments, cups and such. In Champions League, once they get out of group play, they don't play "best of" series like we do here in the US in other sports. They actually only play two games. Obviously, the score itself has a lot to do with it, but teams also get points based on whether they are playing at home or away, and how many goals they score. For instance, an away goal is worth more than a home goal (not in the game itself, but in the amount of "points" a team gets in the tournament standings).

So, with Liverpool down a game by one goal, and then playing at home in this Tuesday's game, Liverpool need to win by at least two points. At least, I think this is the way it needs to happen. I believe that if the game ends with the standings tied, then it would go to overtime, then penalty kicks. I'm not positive about this, though. I'm trying to find the info online, but can't seem to find out exactly what Liverpool need to do on Tuesday. I can tell you that eveyone seems to think Chelsea's going to do it. It's pretty much Manchester United and Chelsea winning everything else right now, anyway.

April 28
Portsmouth 2-Liverpool 1
This was a Premier League game.

I don't understand everything about English and European football yet, but I'm learning.

English Premier League is called the "League". As I'm sure you can tell by its name, only teams in the EPL play to win this League. There's even a pretty interesting system for how teams come in and out of the EPL.

UEFA Champions League is called "Europe". These are the European club teams that qualify for the Champions League in the season prior.

The FA Cup is called "The Cup". I haven't quite figured out how this one works, yet.

There is at least one other championship that EPL teams play for. Like I said, still learning. OK, I'm done, now. This went on a lot longer than I planned, and I'm sure much longer than any of you care. But there it is. In the future, I'll just include scores and a little game summary.

Stuff and M*Space

Well, what's been going on. I'm still decompressing after passing my tax final on Monday night. I barely made it, but in a pass-fail class, barely is still good.

Work this week has been crazy. "What's new?" you may ask. Well, the big migration project is three weeks away, and finally all of our partners have started testing the new system. That means lots of work for Whitney that's outside of her normal job description. Luckily my boss gets it, and is giving me a bit of a pass on the regular work that is part of my job description. Not all of it, but some. Again, I will say that if it wasn't for my incredible understanding boss, I don't know how'd I'd be hanging on.

Tonight I'm making a Lyle Favorites CD for my mom and coworker who need to have some Lyle prep before the show on June 15. Did I mention we have a TABLE at Chastain for the show? I'm not even sure what to do with that information right now. I'm so so so excited. And K.D. Lang is opening. She's one of those singers (like Annie Lennox and the lead singer of Keane) whose voice is done no justice by current recording media. My parents and I went to see K.D. Lang in the late 80s at Center Stage (now Earthlink Live), and I still remember how amazing her voice was. I can't wait to hear her again.

Let's see, what else? Oh, thinking about adding a bit more to the M* Space profile. Right now, there's nothing - only an account so that I can look for other people. Can anyone give me a good reason why I should add to it?

So next week the retirement planning class begins. And work gets crazier. And the Lyle show gets one week closer.
And with that, I'll leave you a Lyle lyric (Alone at Sea's favorite) from the Favorites mix and a random picture ...

I walked on through the door and she just smiled
In a long pony tail and a pretty white dress
She said ,"Hi, bull riders do it best"
I said "Oh my God, what's your name
My name's Lyle"

Apalachicola, FL - 2004

The Reds

Liverpool 2, Middlesbrough nil

Gerrard scores both.

I can only hope that I would be this brave

But, honestly, I don't think I am.

This man is a hero in the VA Tech tragedy, and I'm sure we'll find out he wasn't the only one.

More of the same, sort of

What can I say? Not much changes around here. Busy as usual seemingly doing something every night after work. The last three weeks have been crazy with stuff. Next week will be different. There will be no after work plans, barring any emergency of course, because I absolutely cannot procrastinate until the weekend to study for my Tax final. I failed the midterm, badly, and I have to do much better on the final. So, every night next week will be spent creating note cards to remember the most asinine, convoluted, incomprehensible garbage that is the US tax code.


Work is stressful as ever. We have this huge project going on and about half the company are doing five people's jobs. I'm probably doing the jobs of three. Luckily, I have an amazing boss, and he's in town this week. I was able to sit down with him today and vent a little, and he never ceases to impress me with his ability to make me feel so much better. He doesn't change things or prove to me that it can all get done, but when I'm down on myself and my ability to do my job, he lets me know that it really will get better, that I can hang in there, and that he and plenty of other people think I'm doing a good job.


I guess it's time for another picture. Here's one of a moth that got into our house a while back. I've never seen one like this. It was beautiful, and probably about five inches wide at the wingtips.

Creepy is really the only word I can think of right now ...

but I'm sure more will come to me.

News from the BBC indicates that England's surveillance program is getting more and more surreal by the day. At first I thought this was a story leftover from April Fool's Day, but it doesn't seem to be.

As if cameras all over the place aren't bad enough. There is then the fact that some have operators monitoring them who yell at people when they see them doing something bad. Oh, but it gets so much better than that.

Competitions would also be held at schools in many of the areas for
children to become the voice of the cameras, [Home Secretary] Reid said...

There are an estimated 4.2 million CCTV cameras in Britain.

A recent study by the government's privacy watchdog, the Information
Commissioner, warned that Britain was becoming a "surveillance society".

I've got news for them. Britain has already become a surveillance society. And a creepy surveillance society with little British children serving as the voice of Big Brother.

Catching up

Boston was great. I got my baby fix, and was even able to see a friend while there. I was sad that I missed Bean, though. The weather was pretty nice, too.

There's not much going on right now besides the usual, so here's another picture...