As for LOSTthis week, i loved the episode. thought it was so well written and so well done. i still cant believe that they are buried alive…that is too freaky. but the subtle things in that episode were great. even how close “paolo lies” sounds like “paralyzed”. the fact that they had dr. artz introduce the spiders and how that tied in. it was a great episode for sure. a couple of things that are interesting that i’ve found on different sites around the internets:

-Locke said “nothing stays buried on this island”. does that mean that nikki and paolo arent dead? will their bodies dissapear like other dead folk (Christian Shephard, Eko’s brother)? will the diamonds be dug up?

-what about Hurley’s comment when reading the Expose script “No way, Mr Lashade was the Cobra? He’s this big bad guy, his identity has been shrouded in mystery for 4 seasons…” do you think that has some connection to LOST. will we find out someone’s identity in Season 5? Will it be one of the LOSTIES who turns out to be “the cobra” or this Jacob that is running the show.

-when Nikki said “Promise me we won’t end up like them” was that foreshadowing? In the end, Nikki and Paolo did end up like them. dead.

-Paolo knew that Ben and Juliet were planning on kidnapping Jack and didnt say anything…strange.

-How about when Vincent took the blanket off of Nikki and Paolo’s bodies? It was a sign that they werent dead…i missed that one.

-remember that lit cigarette in the Pearl? was that left by Paolo? Maybe he went back to the Pearl between the time that he found it and bit it.

-the walkie talkie was introduced but not really expounded upon. i bet that definitely comes into play in future episodes.

-was mikhail really dead from the sonic fence? perhaps he had a poison pill he could take that would make it look like he was dead (similar to what the spider did to nikki and paolo). he did say that the fence no longer worked. (but then again there was blood comign out of his ears)

-apparently the TV show Locke was watching in the last episode when he’s in his house was “Expose” there were references to Crystal and the Cobra.

-what if vincent digs out nikki and paolo? imagine if they did a whole episode from vincent’s point of view?

-at the beginning of the episode nikki’s director tells her that he can bring her back from the dead (like with a bulletproof vest). is that the writer’s way of telling us that she isnt dead yet?

i just spent 2 hours and 47 minutes on the phone. why would i do that? Fantasy Baseball Draft in my Keeper League. I inherited a bad team last year and finished in last place. This year, I’m hoping to finish in the money.

that was a long phone call…i’m drained. As much fun as that is, I’m glad it’s only once a year.

i’ll post my team at some point later because i know you all care so much.

b

I am annoyed at Roseville Pediatrics and i need to vent. The whole family is sick. I am recovering from a terrible sore throat (probably strep), erica has the sore throat, kylie got diagnosed with strep yesterday, and parker is now sick. that is annoying in and of itself. but here’s what has me ticked.

Yesterday Erica brings Kylie in to the pediatrician with a high fever and sore throat. Doctor takes one look into her throat and declares it as strep. doesnt take a test or anything. that’s fine with me. Puts her on amoxicillin. wonderful. Erica gets home and Parker says that his throat hurts. He is not the type to make up sicknesses. This kid has had over twenty ear infections and usually he never says a word about feeling sick. I call up the doctor to see if they will write him a prescription since strep is in the house. They say they won’t do it without seeing him. I’m annoyed, but i understand why that policy exists.

So this morning Parker has a fever and is acting very sick. Erica makes the appointment and takes him in. The doctor apparently is curt and rude from the getgo, which really ticks me off. She looks in his throat and notes that it is red and gives the rapid strep test. The test comes back negative for Strep, and that is that. Erica insists that he never acts like this unless something is really wrong and the doctor rudely suggests its probably just a cold, as if she knows how our son acts better than my wife. Here’s the thing though: (from webmd) “Up to one-third of negative rapid strep test results are false. This means that in up to one-third of the cases when a rapid strep test is negative, the person actually has a strep throat infection. Negative rapid strep tests should be followed by a throat culture.”

Did the doctor follow up the negative rapid strep test with a throat culture? No. If everyone else in the family was healthy, i would still question the lack of thoroughness in not giving the throat culture. But considering that his sister got diagnosed with Strep the day before, how could you NOT administer a throat culture? It’s ridiculous.

Not to mention that you have two doctors in the same office, one of whom writes up antibiotic presciptions based on a fever and red throat, and another who won’t write up an antibiotic prescription with the same symptoms and a sibling with Strep.

I told Erica to call them up this afternoon and throw some hay. In my opinion they need to let us bring Parker back in and give him a throat culture without us having to pay another co-pay. If she doesn’t do it then i am going to. Meanwhile poor Parker is running a fever and is miserable. Maybe he doesn’t have strep and it is just a cold. But maybe he does have strep.

For his sake, I wish i knew. Hopefully I’ll find out. In the meantime, i need to go take my amoxicillin.

There were some great games over the past 4 days in the NCAA Tournament. Lots of clutch performances, down-to-the-wire games, and bad officiating. All in all it made for riveting TV.

When the brackets were announced 8 days ago I was asked by Burnside to give my predictions for the Sweet Sixteen of the tourney. I had to put them together in a few days, and today they are posted over at BWC as a part of a multi-contributor piece on Final Four Prognositcations.

If you’re feeling too lazy to go over there and check it out, I’ll repost them here as well

Year after year I scribble the names of our country’s finest universities on a symmetrical collection of right angles in hopes of channeling Nostradamus or Pat Robertson.

Year after year, I fail.

This year I decided to seek out help. After much soul searching (and channel surfing), I decided to go to the only man who could help me in a situation like this. A man who I respect as much as my pastor, love as much as my favorite t-shirt, and fear as much as being audited.

I went to Jack Bauer.

He was a bit preoccupied with saving the world to sit down and help me solve the 5 versus 12 puzzle, so I just followed him around for a day hoping to glean some solid “intel” from him while he made frantic phone calls and tortured his relatives. Here’s how it went down:

09:30 - We’re headed South on the 415, following an unmarked Cadillac. Jack is on the phone with CTU, and apparently they want him to end his pursuit and come back in. Jack’s having none of it, screaming about how he hasn’t volunteered for this mission, how it’s his job to uphold the law, to protect the people. Suddenly it hits me. He’s not just talking to his boss, he’s talking to me. He’s dropping clues about the tournament. I glance down at the South Region of my bracket and it all makes sense. I write in the Tennessee VOLUNTEERS over Ohio St. and Acie LAW IV’s Texas A&M team over Memphis. Since no one is above the Law, I’ll take the Aggies to advance to the Final Four.

10:13am - Jack’s daughter just called and said she is out in the woods stuck in a cougar trap again. What are the odds of that happening twice to the same person? Jack dispatches half of CTU’s resources to go rescue her.

11:32am - We’re running full speed from men who are trying to kill us, covered in the blood of slain terrorists, but all I can think about is the Midwest region. I have Florida, Wisconsin, and Maryland advancing to the Sweet 16 from this bracket. I ask Jack who my fourth team should be as gunshots ring out from behind us. “DUCK!” he yells. “Good choice, but no need to yell,” I say as I pencil in the Oregon Ducks to face Wisconsin. When I stand up to ask him if Oregon can beat Wisconsin, he screams, “I said DUCK!” A bit unnerved, I write in Oregon to move on and face Maryland in the Elite Eight. Not wanting Jack to scold me again, I decide to end Oregon’s run in the tournament and send Maryland to the Final Four.

11:59am - Why is it that every time I look down at my watch to see what time it is, there’s this loud echoing clock noise reverberating in my ears?

12:10am - Jack and I just met with President Wayne Palmer. I was completely unimpressed. 120,000 members in the screen actor’s guild and this is the best we can do? Thankfully, electing a president works out better in real life. Based on Palmer’s completely uninspiring presence, I immediately mark George Washington down for a first-round loss in their East Regional game. Moving on to the Sweet Sixteen from this bracket I have North Carolina, Texas, Vanderbilt, and Georgetown. As I waffle back and forth on whom to bring to the Final Four from this bunch, Jack breaks the nose of a Secret Service worker who was reaching into his pants pocket for an altoid. Wait a second. Didn’t UNC’s center Tyler Hansbrough just suffer a broken nose in a game? I’m sure it’s a sign from Jack. The Tar Heels will beat Georgetown to advance to the Final Four.

2:45pm - I just realized why you never see Jack Bauer go to the bathroom on TV. He just goes in his pants. It’s disgusting.

3:11pm - Jack takes me to the Region West Shopping Mall where terrorists have gunned down a handful of civilians. As we walk by the chalk outlines of the innocent victims, I realize why he’s brought me here. He wants me to take the favorites, or “go with the chalk” as they say, in the West Region. I pencil in Kansas to beat Southern Illinois and UCLA to beat Pittsburgh in the Sweet Sixteen games. I’m about to write Kansas down as my Final Four team when Jack takes off running. Racing to catch him, I ask him where he’s going. His answer, “to save Los Angeles”, clearly has a double meaning. He wants UCLA in the Final Four. Fearing some intense torture if I don’t comply, I write UCLA in as my last Final Four team. I’ve got what I came here for. Time to go home.

Epilogue - Jack Bauer helped me decide my Final Four, but I knew I had to pick the last 3 games on my own. As I thought about what I had learned with Jack, the choices became clear. I saw Jack do things today that a man could get consecutive life terms for. The law can take you far, but sometimes you have to move past it to get things done. For that reason I have North Carolina beating Acie Law and his Texas A&M squad to move on to the Finals.

Unfortunately for the Tarheels, that’s as far as I’ll have them advance. If I learned only one thing with Jack today, it’s that everything he does is in the best interest of the people of Los Angeles. My bracket shall be no different. UCLA will beat North Carolina to claim the National Title. I hope CTU can download the game to his phone so he can watch it from his holding cell at the Russian Consulate.

Now I just have to figure out how to get these blood stains off of my bracket sheet.

Incidentally, I’m in 3rd place right now in my work bracket pool…never won one of those things. I’m also beating Erica, which is good since we have a little side bet going that i’ll divulge later on.

How are you doing in your bracket?

-bryan