Brendan Gates

On Tuesday I had a car accident. I was rear-ended while waiting to make a left turn on my street. My headache from the accident is gone now, but close to $3000 in damage lingers on the back end of my Prius. The other insurance company is picking up the tab, so that’s good, but it was certainly a startling way to end a lunch break.

On Wednesday Liverpool beat higher-ranked Tottenham 2-0 to move up one spot to 6th in the EPL standings. It was a badly needed win for a team racked by injuries and struggling to meet high pre-season expectations.

Thursday morning the Supreme Court overturned limits on political spending by corporations, essentially declaring that spending to be a form of protected free speech. I don’t think this ruling will massively transform campaign finance, since we’re pretty firmly entrenched already in the cash fueled orgy that is corporate political influence. But it certainly won’t help things, and it’s just another nail in the coffin of the average American’s ability to determine the direction of their own country.
(I was a little surprised, actually, at how I found myself almost sad when I read the news of the ruling. And since nobody I know has any interest in reading about or discussing this sort of thing, on the blog it goes!)

Friday was a major milestone at work. I delivered the first of several working mockups for a website re-design we’re doing. I only really started learning this line of work a few months ago, and what I produced for Friday was the culmination of two online classes, three reference books, and many, many hours of trial and error. It is only the beginning; I have much more to do. But this small accomplishment went a long way to boosting my confidence, and it feels good.

This weekend is when my mother and her sisters will move Grandma into a home. My Grandma doesn’t want to go, expectedly, and the daughters aren’t all on the same page about the best way to proceed. It’s been a source of conflict for the last six months. I only hope that this weekend is a step in the right direction, after which healing can begin for everybody.

And today, the Colts won. Time to start planning a super bowl party.

It’s official. I’m a Kopite.

Well, I don’t know if I’ve earned that title yet. But I am throwing my support behind Liverpool FC. I tried to follow Frank’s advice and pick a player first, that player being Fernando Torres – whom I watched score the winning goal in the Euro 2008 final. Frank also mentioned Steven Gerrard, Liverpool’s goal scoring captain, who seems like he’d be fun to watch. Then there’s Dirk Kuyt, the other pale blond guy that Gerrard passes the ball to. Between those three I think I’ll have plenty to cheer about when the season starts Sunday versus Spurs.

Arsenal was my EPL runner-up, mostly because of a tech writer that compared Arsenal to Google. It was an article that I decided to ignore, obviously, as he compared Liverpool to Apple – a company whose products I respect, but whose tactics I loathe. And AC Milan was my international runner-up, because they have the always enjoyable Ronaldinho.

Soccer! Or football, if you want to get technical about it. Some call it the beautiful game, and others call it really boring. I’ve decided to become a fan. So what lucky club gets my support?

That’s a tough one. I can’t cheer for Manchester United, since one of my co-workers has claimed them already, and really, that kinda seems like cheering for the Yankees. Another co-worker has Chelsea already too (the two of them like to argue about it during the season). So I’m not going to be a Blue or a Red Devil, but that still leaves a lot of clubs.

Premier League (England): Arsenal and Liverpool. Both are great teams. Liverpool has Fernando Torres, but Arsenal’s majority stakeholder is Missourian Stan Kroenke (though the club is literally racked with debt).

La Liga (Spain): If I put down Man U for being the Yankees, then I can’t very well go with Real Madrid. FC Barcelona is probably my best bet here. Plus, they have a young winger named Lionel Messi that’s scoring goals like crazy.

Bundesliga (Germany): Only one choice here, Bayern Munich. Their stadium may look like somebody stepped on Epcot Center, but it’s still cool.

Serie A (Italy): AC Milan or Juventus are my choices here. I’m leaning towards Juventus because I like the uniforms better. Yes, that’s a totally legit way to make a decision.

I think this is going to take some more research. Suggestions are welcome.