Click images for desktop size: "Water Covers Tracks" by Unknown Yesterday I got another Christmas gift! And I had pancakes for dinner!
You would have to consider that a good day.
The present was a guitar!!!!!
Yeah. Its an interesting Gretsch Guitar. Made with a sense of humor. Its a 3/4 thing, which takes some getting used to but it sounds pretty okay. There's no fret wire burrs, neck is straight (even has a neck torque adjustment!). The box says its made of REAL wood and makes REAL guitar sounds. It even holds its tuning no matter how much I pound on it. Good deal.
I've had Gibsons and Ovations that weren't this solid. Okay, they did sound better but cost about six times what this little guy cost.
The face of the guitar is green and painted. The picture is of some terrified cowboys running away as two UFO's levitate cows into their holds!
Click images for desktop size: "Interior" by Unknown
Considering how much I dislike cows I think this is pretty funny. My friend, who gave me the guitar, claims that this is the sort of instrument Jack White would play. There's four in this "series" and the guy at the guitar shop said, "Yeah. He's probably got the whole collection!"
I played around with it all day. Both my hands are killing me. I can barely type. Its neuropathic cramping. So bad I don't even notice the hurt from my callouses reforming.
My fingers are weak. This is an acoustic with .12's. I can only bend about 1 1.2 steps!
I also have no speed at all. I can only remember a few riffs and runs . . . well, that's pretty normal. I've always had to drill everything and then forgotten it the next day.
I like the little guitar. Its worth the hand cramps.

Click images for desktop size: "Wide Open Spaces" by NFL Films I've run out of ibuprofen! Surprised me. Trying to make do with aspirin right now. Not working.
The pain is in the left side of my face, as usual. So bad that it goes numb and throbs from my fore head down to my chin. This makes my teeth hurt some, so that they feel like they belong in someone else's mouth. I've bitten my tongue a lot and have put about five holes on the inside of my cheeks.
Then its just the usual stuff in my joints and deep inside my bones. I didn't really relate to how much the ibuprofen cut through the pain. I'm going to wait for four hours after taking the aspirin and try some Tylenol to see if that cuts through it.
I'd walk to the store but that seems daunting. Its snowing and raining here. (Nice damp dogs . . . and wet footprints all over everything) Not the nicest weather to take that 3 mile walk in. I might have to do it anyway.

Last week I went 11-3 in my NFL guesses. I won't discuss my friend's picks. What's the sense in pointing out her sporty deficiencies. So she was 12-2. Why pick on her for getting the two easiest games wrong. Just stare at her in bemused affection.
The good news is that she's not into betting. I used to have a couple of friends and we bet all the time, not money but we bet penalties, like "Loser has to walk everywhere with a strut all day," or "You have to end every sentence by saying 'As you wish all wise and beneficent one.'"
She'd probably want to bet something like chores or washing dishes. I'm to clever to fall for that one!
As usual my picks are in bold.

New York Jets at New England - I took the Patriots. They lost. I'd take them again over the Jets. I can never pick a team that lost to the Raiders. Still, the game of the week.

Detroit at Carolina - Any game the 0-9 Lions are in deserves consideration for cruddy game of the week. The Panthers are leading the NFC South. That surprises me. There's not much of interest for me in this game. Well, it will be interesting to see if the Lions can lose them all, but that's about it.


Click images for desktop size: "Fight Of the Century" by Ray and Peese Denver at Atlanta - When the Broncos aren't on the receiving end of some of the worst officiating in NFL history they're a pretty wretched team with a sparkling QB. The Falcon's D is solid and won't give Cutler the chance for 4th quarter heroics. The Falcons and Matt Ryan are looking confident and good. I'd take the Falcons and give the points.

Philadelphia at Cincinnati - The Bengals are still half hoping that Carson Palmer gets healthy. They haven't looked good all year, but at times they haven't looked bad. The Eagles are seeing their season slip away from them. They know they can't take anything for granted and must win out or miss the playoffs. I think they've got enough heart to do it. as to enough talent . . .

Minnesota at Tampa Bay - The Vikings can't rely on Adrien Petersen to get 200 yards against the Buccaneers. That doesn't mean he won't or can't do it but you can't count on it. Jeff Garcia should be able to mount a better Offense than the banged up Rodgers (Green Bay) did last week. Added to the fact that the Vikings don't do real well outside of domes got to go with the Buc's.

Baltimore at New York Giants - My brain says the Giants, Giants, Giants. There is no reason in the world to think the Ravens have a chance in this game. Stats, mutual opponents everything says the Giants win this pretty handily. So what. I'm taking the Ravens. I believe in Joe Flacco's heart and clear vision. I believe in Ray Lewis' spirit and desire. The Game of the Day.

Oakland at Miami - Cruddy game of the week. Not the Dolphins' fault. What Al Davis is doing to the
Click images for desktop size: "Bullrider" by Jesus Helguera Raiders is freaky scary. They're not even goody fun to watch like the Lions. They're just poor. The Dolphins should be able to run the Wing T and do pretty much anything else they want.

New Orleans at Kansas City - This years two heart break teams. Thigpen is starting to look genuine for the Chiefs but Dru Brees keeps showing he may be the best QB in the NFL, except everybody around him is dropping like flies. He shouldn't have a chance but he never quits. This one could be pretty wild. I'm taking the Saints for my heart and not because they should win.

Tennessee at Jacksonville - My friend, who last week was an excellent 12-2 in her picks thinks the Jaguars might win this one. I don't think her instincts are wrong. Jack Del Rio is a better coach than his team. To protect his job he might get them fired up to wreck the Titans shot at a perfect season. I'm taking the Titans on the old theory that you don't bet against an undefeated team. Besides I like Kerry Collins and Lendale White enough to not mind if they lose one.

Houston at Indianapolis - Last week I'd written the Colts season off, so Manning has pretty much willed the Colts into a position of not being mathematically eliminated from the play offs. He's done it with a lot of heart. The Texans stink.

Chicago at Green Bay - This is a miserable game to pick. No one knows how healed up Aaron Rodgers is. Who knows which Bears team will show up. And both teams are capable of either playing pure drek football or stunning football. Orton should be playing QB for the Bears this week. That might give the defense some confidence to bring their A game. The Packers' D is too banged up to consistently stop anybody, at least last week and probably this week too.

Arizona at Seattle - The Seahawks might have Matt Hassleback ready to go. A rusty QB going against the division leaders isn't a whole lot of hope to me. It might fire them up. The Cardinals O is looking secure and comfortable. That's all it should take to win this one pretty easily. I love seeing Bolden play for the Cardinals especially as gutsy as he has since his serious injury. He deserves to shine in the play-offs.

St Louis at San Francisco - Last week I was shocked to see that Mike Singletary has in one game and one bye week recreated the 49er's. He has cruddy personnel to work with but he's got them playing hard edged smash mouth football. This is amazing. And they looked pretty good doing it. This should be the week that Singletary's coaching pays off. The Rams are disheveled and confused. The 9er's should be starting to trust Singletary. He's turned them from a laughing stock into a team. I expect even better play this week.

San Diego at Pittsburgh - The Steelers D will decide this one. The Chargers keep looking woeful.
Click images for desktop size: "Condonatio" by Lukas Walker They're not out of it only because the AFC West is such a bad joke. The Steelers on Offense are bruised and abused but should still manage to get by the confused, lethargic Chargers.

Cleveland at Buffalo - There was a time I was really looking forward to this game. Once upon a time in a land far away. The Bills have really blown it in the last month. Trent Edwards has gone from phenom to glum. The Bills D has gone from "bend - don't break" to "HEY he was your man!" The Browns are having to deny that they just up and quit against Denver. They're insisting that Brady Quinn, who didn't look that bad two weeks ago, is their QB of the future. This are two teams looking to lose it all. Cruddy game of the week contender.

Dallas at Washington - Two teams trying to rebound. The Cowboys are hoping that a rusty Tony Romo can do better than a vacant lot at QB. The Redskins saw their dream pretty well dismantled by the Steelers. Since the Redskins destroyed Romo and the Cowboys in Dallas earlier there's no reason to give the Cowboys that much of a chance on the road.

And there you have the future of my embarrassment. These picks are for the purposes of mocking only . . . my friend won't tell you hers. She's afraid you'll steal them and make tons of money or something, like win a prize that he'd even share if he got a few good tips or something . . .