Well Done Comrades +Addendum

Red Power over at the UNC-CHeats Dean Dome. The Red Brigade wanted this one as much as the fan base. I'm so wired up, I probably won't get to sleep till well after midnight.

Anthony "Cat" Barber has been turning it on the last 3 games.

Up 16 in the second half - then UNCheats went on a 12 - 0 run to cut it to 4. Coach Gott calls 3 time outs in a row to try and get the kids back in the game - and we end up winning by 12.

Man, it's tough being a Wolfpacker.

Not only do we get the satisfaction of the win - it solidifies getting into the NCAAT and hopefully moving up in seeding so we won't have to play one of the 11-seed or 12-seed play in games.

OK kids - let's not have any post big game victory let downs against Clem's Son or BC.

Go Pack.

Snow

Ended up with about 3-inches of snow at the house.

The forecast for Wednesday night is looking more and more like a pretty good snow event. I hope not. On the other hand, I'd rather go ahead and have a big snow instead of another "do I drive or stay home?" wimpy snow.

NC State Basketball Addendum

Usually the team bus from Chapel Hill would take I-40 to Western Blvd. to Dail Basketball Center. But they Gott tweets and phone calls about the students celebrating on Hillsborough Street at the Bell Tower - so - a change of plans.



I dance about as bad as Coach Gott - lol.

This team is special. They play hard. They never quit. They play together - as a team.

They are so much fun to watch. I haven't had this much fun watching State basketball since Jim Valvano.

Random Photos

Virginia Tech at NC State Game Saturday

Start of the Game

Before the Game

Still Waiting

It's not the 1st Half - the scoreboard clock is counting down till tip off.

Night Sky

Moon and Venus

Also, Mars was right above Venus and very Red. I wish I could take decent photos. This one doesn't even come anywhere close to capturing how cool the Moon and 2 Planets looked. Jupiter was rising in the east at the same time - and just about as bright as Venus.

Snow Again - And More Forecast

Going to Work

This is US 1 Freeway around 7 AM. Once I got to the office I packed up my laptop and some work and brought it home - around 9:30 AM.

Coming Home

Only about a couple of inches. But it's so cold - it's instantly sticking to the roads. The freeways were better - but not by much.

The prediction is for a 'real' snow tomorrow night and into Thursday. Possibly 6-inches or more.

Just a couple weeks ago, the winter had been so warm I thought we might go the whole season without any winter weather.

Odds and Ends

This was my drive from my house to US 1 Freeway this morning. Solid packed ice. Did OK though. The key was to keep a steady speed and avoid acceleration or braking.

And this was my drive home - taken in about the same place as this morning.

Picked up some antifreeze on the way to work to top off the vehicles. Don't have a measuring device so I just filled up the radiators to the brim - drove them for a little bit to warm up and mix up the fluid. Forecast is for 11 F tonight and 3 F tomorrow night. Both vehicles have been maintenanced in the last couple of months including coolant change - but adding a little can't hurt. Both radiators were pretty full but I was able to add maybe a quart each.

Watched Edge of Tomorrow last weekend. It was much better than anticipated. In fact, I kind of figured it would be . . . . crappy. Science Fiction movies tend to be, well, awful. This one was surprisingly good. Not a great movie masterpiece - but well above average. They really did a good job of presenting the time travel manipulation and with humor even. I recommend it.

It's snowing like crazy right now as I write this post. Have a nice fire going in the fireplace. Picked up KFC Chiken Pot Pies on the way home - in the oven warming up for a bit later (very yummy). Will probably get in the hot tub soon - in the snow of course. And then tonight is the UNCheats at Dook game.

If the pipes don't burst it will be a good evening.

Sleet

Got a solid 3/4-inch of ice and sleet at the house. Surprisingly, the power did not go out.

This close up gives you a better idea of how pretty it is with ice over all the bare tree limbs.

Can not get out of the neighbourhood. The street is completely ice covered. Even my neighbours, whom almost all of them, have huge 4x4 trucks are not driving. Of course, where you can slush through snow - ice has a friction angle of almost zero. So we're just going to have to wait till it melts some before trying to venture out.

Naturally, just when I could use 4-wheel drive, my little 4x4 Escape is in the shop getting the alternator replaced.

I expect I'll be able to get out tomorrow. I will probably wait till about 9 or so before heading to work. Let the sun have some time to work on the ice and let other, more adventurous, folks break up the ice on the roads ahead of me.

In the meantime, the local teenagers are having a blast with their ATVs.

Basketball

Huge win on the road at Louisville. Back on the bubble. Actually, most bracketology web sites have us solidly 'in' the NCAAT. But - with 5 games left - anything can happen.

Of our 11 losses - 7 were by 5 points or less. And of those 7 close games - 3 were against ranked opponents - top 5 ranked UVA, top 10 ranked ND and UNCheats in the top 20.

This was supposed to have been a rebuilding year for State with basically an all freshman and sophomore team. Best case season would have been slipping into the NIT. And yet, turns out, we can play with anybody.

Who knew that Abu and the Martin twins were going to get so good so fast? Cat Barber has seemingly 'found' himself the last 5 games and is becoming the player we all hoped he'd be. Anya continues to block shots. Washington, Lee and Freeman are solid big guys in the middle. This team has so much (long term) potential - it's just amazing.

We consistently play hard and close games. If we can just get over the hurdle of losing close games to winning them - we could really do some damage in the NCAAT. The Louisville close win is a great start.

Weekend Update 2-8-2015

Dean Smith

I am saddened to hear legendary Coach Dean Smith has died. Coach Smith suffered from Alzheimer's / Dementia for a number of years. He's one of the greats.

Superbowl

Went to Chip and Erica's last Sunday for the Superbowl. I brought a veggie tray and dip (thank you Harris-Teeter). Chip fixed home made pizza. Erica made wings. Everybody else brought the beer.

We were all pulling for Seattle since most of us went to NC State and Seattle has 3 Wolfpackers on the team - especially Russell Wilson.

Had a good time. Well, except for the end of the game. Worst play call in Superbowl history.

Basketball

Watched Dook - ND and UNC - BC today. Dook blew out ND. So much for needing Suliamon. A little later will be the Louisville - Virginia game.

State lost to Wake Forest last week. We are now in solid NIT territory.

The StateFansNation.com comment forums are going nuts.

Yes, just a couple short weeks ago (after the Dook win) we looked like a team on the rise. Headed for national ranking and a good NCAA seed. And we should have kept going. But - instead we've regressed. I'm obviously not happy - but - it's a young team.

Frankly, I'm OK with going to the NIT. Hopefully we're a top 4 or 8 NIT seed so we'll get home court advantage. I'll enjoy going to the extra games.

Next game is Virginia at home on Wednesday. On paper, should be a loss. But with State - you never know. We could be up by 20 or down by 20. But don't ever change the TV channel or leave the game - you never know what the heck is going to happen. These kids still play hard to the very end of every game. I really appreciate their efforts.

Frankly NC State is pretty much right where it was predicted / expected to be. There was that false brief ray of sunshine that we might rise above ourselves - but reality bites. And bites hard.

Football is only 5 and a half short months away. And the regular season ending game score is still NC State 35 - UNCheaters 7.

Saturday

Did not even leave the house Saturday.

I did do some house cleaning chores and got out the slow cooker again.

Nuke liked the pot roast a couple weeks ago so much he's been hinting we should do it again. I looked for a good standing roast to cook in the oven for a true roast beef but nothing looked that appealing. Ended up getting a pork loin on sale. Three pounds which I cut in half and put 1/2 in the freezer.

I used this recipe - http://addapinch.com/cooking/balsamic-pork-tenderloin-recipe/

Didn't have any broth so I used plain water but pretty much everything else went by the book. I also put in some baby carrots and a half onion which turned out very good with the pork and the white rice I also made. I put the liquid in a small sauce pan at the end, added some more honey and reduced it down a bit. Made for a great juice to pour over the pork once it was on the platter and pulled apart for serving.

It was pretty good. Cutting it in half to 1 and 1/2 pound was just right. There were no left overs except for a small bit of pork which is about enough for maybe 2 sandwiches.

And the other half is in the freezer to be slow cooked a couple weeks from now.

Sunday

Just got in from running some errands. Nice day outside but nothing planned. Maybe I'll do a little garage sorting and cleaning. I've been meaning to get to that for a couple years.

Or maybe I'll do nothing.

Superbowl 2015 Weekend Update

OT win vs. Georgia Tech Saturday.

Watch Anthony "Cat" Barber (No. 12) come down the court - take up a side position - then give a Gladiator "Are You Not Entertained" pose as Trevor Lacy (No. 1) hits the 3 pointer to win. (At 12 and 37 seconds)

 

Cat Barber - NC State Point Guard

Two weeks ago we were playing for a single digit seed in the NCAAT. Since then, a losing spiral. Now, with yesterday's win, we are back on the bubble. Maybe.

Superbowl

Going over to Chip and Erica's to watch the Superbowl. Annual thing - so far. I wish the game would start earlier. It will be 11 PM by the time we get home after the game.

Ray

I have a brother, Ray, who died today. He would be 70 on Tuesday. I believe he suffered an aneurysm and stroke and was non-responsive. He was removed from the ventilator yesterday and died this morning.

I haven't had any contact with Ray in almost a decade. No falling out or anything - just never were close and with distance and time - you just sort of drift away.

His wife, Nancy, always seemed to be a real nice person. And his daughter, Cindy, is also a great person in my opinion / memory.

I wish the best for both Nancy and Cindy.