Middletree

Now that the last NFL season of the first decade of the new century has completed, a look back is warranted, and such a look reveals the theme: This was the decade for the triumph of the perpetual losers. Before this decade began, the Patriots, Buccaneers, Saints, and Ravens/Browns were known for their losing ways. The Pats had been to the Big Game a couple of times, but fallen short. The Bucs had actually started out by losing their first 22(!) games as a franchise. The Browns had not won a Super Bowl, but had been the victim of The Drive and other heartbreaking defeats. And the Saints, well....it's simply enough to point out that their nickname was "The Aints", and their fans were famous for wearing paper bags over their heads. But in this decade, all of these franchises broke through their past failures and won it all. If you wanted to end decades of frustration, this was the decade to do it. It started with the 2000 season, in which the Ravens (the original Cle...

Here are a few things that come out of the mouths of well-meaning people, but which drive me nuts: Time Clock: I work on salary, but many of my co-workers get paid hourly, and must punch in and out. The device they use to clock in is usually referred to as a "time clock". Why is this? Every clock is a time clock! Literally : I once heard a news reporter say "people here in this small town are literally bursting with pride that this young man from their hometown has won a Gold Medal..." Wait! Did you say that people are literally bursting? Like a whole town is full of exploding people? Shouldn't this be front page news? Awesome: I also once heard a waitress say that the tortilla soup is "awesome." No, it's not. It might be really good. But save the word "awesome" for God, or a volcano, or the Grand Canyon, or a cure for cancer. Your soup is not awesome. It can't be. Redundancy phrases: ATM Machine (because the M stands fo...