10 Things List Revisited

It's been months since I've posted a 10 things list. I don't have anything significant to post about, but have thought about a lot of little things.

1. Lana and I will be coaching a 3rd and 4th grade women's basketball team this winter. Practices start in December and games are played until March. It is a league based out of the church called Upward basketball. All players get equal playing time and everybody is considered a winner, regardless of their skills. No full-court press or zone defense. They also aren't sure if we'll be keeping score and regardless of that decision, standings are not kept. They don't want kids to have the pressure of having to win games. I have some problems with some of these philosophies, but am also excited to coach the kids.

2. When Lana and I were out to dinner today, I told her I was a steak purist. I don't like anything on my steak except salt. No sauces or creams or onions or anything. Also, former Iowa State 4-time All-American wrestler Cael Sanderson was at the restaurant, I challenged him to a wrestling match. I told him I beat Ross Cram a couple of times and he backed down.

3. I worked today for the first time in about a month. I painted some bleachers at a new basketball facility in Ames. It was gravy train stuff on my first day back. Former Iowa State all-conference player Jake Sullivan showed up and I challenged him to a free-throw shooting contest. I told him I once made 0 of 25 in the Elk's National Free Throw Shooting contest. He backed down.

4. I'm reading 1421 right now, a book that puts forth evidence that China may have actually "discovered" the New World and much of the earth, including Australia, Antarctica, and South America. I was really interested in the book, until I checked it out on Wikipedia and found out that a lot of the evidence is not very solid, but it may be refuted by historians who don't want to be proved wrong. It seems like even if this book were true, it would never get accepted as truth. We already believe that Columbus "discovered" the Americas and Magellen was the first around the world. This whole thing reminds me of some Rage lyrics "The present curriculums? I put my fist in 'em. Eurocentric every last one of them. See right through the red, white, and blue disguise. Through lecture I punture the structure of lies."

5. Thinking of those Rage lyrics made me think of the concerts I've been too. That made me think of the bands I wish I had seen live. Coldplay and Sigur Ros would have been great. That's about it. I was able to see Phish, Radiohead, The Shins, and MC Hammer, so I'm doing good.

6. I won $700 at the casino the other day. That is much different than the $100 or so I usually lose when I go.

7. I found out that Anchorage, Alaska needs police officers and are having testing done in April. They pay exceptionally well, although the standard of living costs in Alaska are much higher than they are here. Base pay starts at $60K and after 10 years, the average salary nears $100K. I could be a traffic cop, write a few parking tickets, and take home a lot of money.

8. Have you noticed how dads are portrayed as complete idiots in television commercials? Watch for it, it's true.

9. Patriots are going undefeated. Their division is not tough, but they have some hard games on their schedule. They have been the only team to beat the Colts and the Cowboys and both those games were on the road, well I forgot Indy lost again yesterday. They crushed San Diego, Washington, and Cleveland, all potential playoff teams. When they beat the Steelers and the Giants, they will have beaten all of the best teams in the NFL except Green Bay, who they don't play this year, but would surely pick apart. I'm not necessarily a fan of their team, but I'd like to see them go undefeated.

10. I've had a cough now for about two weeks. It wakes me up multiple times during the night and is generally annoying during the day. My family practice doctor doesn't really have a clue about anything, so I'm still coughing.