GAME05

i enjoy fishing, but i have no skill in it. i've seriously been outfished by a 3-year-old before. not sure what i'm doing wrong, but i want to get better. where i live in Texas, i'm only about an hour away from the Gulf, so i enjoy going to the pier and throwing my line out. though i catch very little, i still enjoy it. i feel like i'm doing something wrong, but am not sure what it is. i am using a two-hook jig and am putting my weight basically right on one of the hooks. should i be tying it to the line ahead of the jig? artificial lures haven't been working even in the slightest, so i've been using shrimp, which everyone else on the pier uses. can't figure out why artificial lures don't work at all, but that's the way it's been. i've been using a weight to get my line to the bottom because i'd like to be catching flounder (tasty!). however, it's just now getting to be Red Snapper season. they aren't bottom feeders, but are the tastiest fish of all (excluding Walleye of course). what should i be doing to catch those things? i saw someone using some sort of bobber with a bell attached to it, so should i be using that? it feels like the only bites i've been getting have been from those stupid blue crabs at the bottom eating my bait. i'm not really sure where to begin with the question apart from rambling some, but if anyone has some experience fishing, especially fishing in the ocean, it would be much appreciated. if it was some specific equipment, i would easily be able to walk into the fishing shop and ask for that specifically. i've also been using straight hooks only because it's been a little easier to get the shrimp on there, but should i be using something else? i'm just now getting into fishing because it's a cheap sport and it's what everyone does around here. and even if i don't catch anything, relaxing on the pier and looking at the cranes and egrets is good fun. but if there's anything i could know that would make my fishing experience a little better, it would be much appreciated. just one time i'd really like to catch a legal fish and eat it. there's something seriously wrong with fishing for eight hours but needing to bring a steak along so that i'll have some dinner.

it's been maybe five years since Michael Redd was exciting. we've got an exciting guy again in Jennings and now we're maybe going to trade him?? my level of Bucks fandom is such that i know most of the roster and will watch if the Bucks are in the playoffs. i don't understand a possible trade in terms of "better for the team," and so i'm only thinking that this is a young, exciting player on the team and a reason to go to a game, though i know he's not a superstar (yet?). still, i'd only imagine a lot of people in Milwaukee feel the same way. i can't imagine how Hammonds would possibly spin a Jennings trade to make it sound like we've improved, and i think no matter what the outcome of a trade would be, i would be very upset.

i would think there'd be a huge difference batting 2nd and 8th (i hope i'm not getting too far off topic). at the #2, i'd figure you'd see a ton of fastballs and the pitcher being a lot more direct with the hitter so as not to walk you with two monsters in Braun and Fielder coming up. but at 8, seeing a lot more breaking stuff with the usually-automatic pitcher's spot coming up next (Greinke and his 1HR/16AB being the exception, of course). seems to me that you'd want to move Hart and Lucroy around in the batting order is if one of the two isn't hitting very well for a while (which obviously isn't happening right now). moving them now seems knee-jerk.

What is it you do again? (Just trying to give you a "work related" reason to post. http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/smile.gif)what bugs me is i have all this money that i'd like to spend on products and/or services, but i sure won't trust anyone who isn't a Brewer fan.

i hope she ends up like Vera from Cheers and is never seen. she becomes something of the Loch Ness Monster.

starts with a V. why you'd name a kid that, i don't know. and not just one person in St. Louis with that name, but TWO!

Bob's Burgers is one of the best shows on tv. hilarious. not really sure it's getting great ratings, though.

my brother-in-law has met two separate people in St. Louis with first names matching that of a uniquely female body part. (think basic, not Mulva). and "Player" is apparently a girl's name.

in a way i can see the value to interviewing a bunch of different characters to then observe the chatter and see what sort of personality fans liked the best. but my gut says that The Office is going to bring in a new manager who never even appeared in this season finale. William Shatner would be awesome as the new manager!

for me, the two big trades mark a shift in DM's philosophy. i think he's recognized the trouble it is to attract big-name FAs to the media black hole that is Milwaukee, or that he'd have to overpay to bring unknown players in here. now, we're suddenly serious contenders to extend one or both of Marcum and Greinke. i didn't see that Melvin just traded for two great pitchers, but that Marcum was already eager for an extension in Toronto and Greinke's mental makeup makes Milwaukee an ideal city. DM traded for two players who have a real good chance at sticking past their two years. they'll eventually get the money they deserve, but i think having a serious shot at extending at least one of them is worth at least an ok prospect in itself. nevermind that signing one of them if they were a FA would probably cost us a 1st rounder, anyway.

It's just my way of saying to my fantastic daughter, 'love.' then why not name her "Love"?

i'm a little late to the conversation, but i like Gomez, too. granted, i like a healthy Morgan more. his OBP isn't anything better than last year, but his K rate is up and his average is down. i think if he just learns to make better contact with the ball he'd at least be a decent 7 or 8 hitter in the order. i also think he should be given a little extra credit on his OBP statistics for his 9 SBs with only 1 CS. maybe he doesn't get to 1st enough, but his ability to steal second gives him a lot more value than basic OBP would otherwise say. and considering his plus-plus defense, he makes average defenders in Hart and Braun look all that much better, which Morgan or Kotsay can't do. i'd like to see a couple more years out of Gomez to see if he develops more. i don't think he's all that much as he is, but there seems to be a lot of promise there. it's hard for me to say that a guy's peaked when he's only been given part-time roles every season.

i made my first successful sushi last night, avacado and crawfish (way cheaper than lobster or crab). i enjoy it in restaurants but rarely buy it because i have to go through three rolls to get remotely full and that's too expensive. turns out it's dirt cheap to make yourself.

i'd rather give any money to extending a pitcher. Gamel at 1st is much less of a drop in performance as losing one of Marcum or Greinke.

whew. i feel like i should be posting my reviews of a wine after my first glass but not my fourth.

in an odd way, i am hoping that another team in the NL Central really starts to hate us more than any other team. i want to be #1 on another team's "can't stand" list. does anybody really hate the Pirates? no, because they stink. i want the Brewers to be recognized. maybe in part because nobody hates another team that they can beat consistently.

i've been curious about just this sort of thing lately and am very happy you posted this; thank you. i was very happy with the Marcum trade when it happened and still am. not in a "we won the trade" way, because it was fair on both sides. i think half of why Melvin made these two trades isn't for the "win now" philosophy, but as a way of acquiring very good, signable pitchers for the roster. if we extend just one of them at market value it's a win for us because of the difficulties of finding these types of players in free agency. a hitter with the ability of Lawrie is tough to lose, but having an ace pitcher for two years at a relatively cheap price is invaluable. out of everyone, it was hardest to see Odorizzi go. i know he was still just an A-ball pitcher at the time, but it's a very rare pitcher even in the minor leagues who looks like a legit ace. someone that good can't just be replaced by a 1st round draft pick. i expect Greinke to quickly get to his dominant ways, as i think everyone does. and even without Fielder next year, that makes us a tough team to beat for this season and next. i think of the Reds and how long it took them to get this good, so it's hard to argue that the two moves weren't the right thing to do. i'll miss Jeffress, though. even though many people don't think so, i think he'll soon be a pretty decent #3 starting pitcher. i guess he reminds me a lot of Negebauer.

thanks for the advice. i didn't know you could get USB speakers. that all will probably work, then.

unless i missed a week somehow, Hulu has two episodes of Parks and Rec on today. it's like Christmas but with two Parks and Rec episodes!! yay!!!!!

i don't want to start a whole new thread for a simple question so i'll ask it here. i'm kinda considering buying a projection tv to watch movies on or maybe just use the computer. i like the idea of a bigger screen more than the high definition that a regular tv would get me. plus projection tvs are a lot cheaper. but a small plastic piece on my laptop broke off of my audio output jack, so then would i be able to use the tv but only have my laptop speaker available for sound?

i wasn't all too impressed with Sweetwater 420. Funketown, i just remembered that Magic Hat is another good beer down there (maybe around Atlanta, too, but i'm not sure). the Magic Hat #9 is their most popular and worth a try. i don't know where it's out of, but Three Philosophers is one of my favourites. i like high-gravity beers, and a big favourite of mine is Rigwelter. it has an interesting flavour as if it's something of a wine-beer hybrid; interesting and very good. it's a great choice for people who tend to like wine better and are working their way into beer.

that would have been a good Google Won't Save You if we hadn't needed that answer in a hurry.

finally, Southern Texas is getting some rain. first time in about four months. ran into a farmer the other day who's been farming for almost 50 years and said this was the first year where he'd completely lost his crop. the lake i work at is 14" down, but most around the area are around 3' low. unfortunately, i wonder if most crops around here are already done for even if it's raining today.

i just think it's amazing Roenicke has gone from Godsent to Idiot in a matter of only a month. i don't think a human being exists where we'd say he's doing ok as manager.

interesting that if this happened to Morales just three months earlier that we'd have a completely different team right now. i guess it's one more team that will want Fielder come July, but i sure hope we're not in a position to trade him.