J Larsen

Dan, my next story was going to be about the two bats that took up residence in my dorm room at Princeton.

I'll relate my bug stories at the risk of no one believing me. The hardest for most people to believe: I was working with some other physicists late one night in an office with a window opening on to a marshy area. It was a very hot, humid night, and for some reason there was no A/C, so we left a window open. At about midnight a dragonfly with a body about the size of a churchill cigar and a wingspan of maybe ten inches flew in to the office. It immediately settled near a ceiling light. Its body was so big you could literally see it breathing. We stared up at it awestruck for a moment, then we decided it was pretty gross, and then decided we needed to leave the room. We attempted to find some sort of net or large box to capture the insect with and show it to a biologist (they shared a building with the physicists), but by the time we returned to the office the monstrous dragonfly was gone. We later looked it up and founf that no dragonfly should be even half that size. Fortunately I have reliable witnesses to back me up on this sighting! While I was in college in Portland, OR I rented a house near the Willamette River with a roommate. Our back yard had ladybugs capable of changing color. I picked one up once that was tranluscent. My roommate watched as it turned orange in my hand. We were not doing drugs. More later, maybe.

I will not listen to reason! Joe Montana was the man! (Of course, so were Roger Craig, Jerry Rice, Ronnie Lott, Charles Haley, Dwight Clark, Tom Rathman, John Taylor, Bill Romanowski etc. etc., and don't go saying "See, that's what I'm talking about", Mnytime! )

Rooster, did you catch the short article in the New Yorker a few weeks back on the fellow in Brooklyn who plays in the Orchestra of Excited Strings and Paul Simon's band (what a combination!) and manufactures all of his own instruments? I can't remember his name off the top of my head.

Ouch!

I guess I'm a bit too young to understand why Namath is considered to have been such a great quarterback. His career stats are very mediocre. From the numbers, it looks to me like he had one great game at just the right time. Anyone care to set me straight?

Bradshaw was a tough dude.

I'd go with Tristano/Konitz/Marshe, as it seems like more of a "special occassion" purchase. You can pick up a select anytime you have $40 or so to spend on cds.

I grew up in SF, mostly in the 1980s. The Niners started winning just after I started caring about the local teams. You'll never get me to be objective about this. Montana was the man.

Damn, Mny - you have a Rockport?? Does it live up to the hype? Is it a high-maintenance machine?

My discovery of cambazola cheese several years ago probably cost me about another ten pounds. I'm off the stuff now.

A couple weeks ago my girlfriend brought home Kraft Crackerbarrel cheese from the supermarket. I almost barfed upon my first taste. It's like they tried to make aged American cheese. I still shudder everytime I think about it. And I'm serious about that.

I wouldn't know. Being an NSF fellow, tax dollars have paid for all the research-grade computers I've used.

How about that Lee Morgan solo on The Morning After? I haven't listened to this disc for a while, but every time I do I'm struck by that solo.

Sorry man, they paid me off real well, and made threats on my cd collection if I said anything...

Chris, is there an interesting story behind how you acquired that record? I've read that there's only one copy known to exist in the world.

THAT's what you were dreaming about as a teenage boy?!?!?

I know what you mean. Part of that may be that Bank One is also now picking up the bill for the Bears charity efforts, and part of it may be the team's recent struggles.

No one had Craig's high stepping running style. Terrell Davis came closest, I think. That style took a little speed away from Roger, but it made him really hard to tackle.

Mny, what I heard on the radio is that the Bears wanted to sell naming rights to their stadium but couldn't for some reason. There was some problem with the contract they had with the City of Chicago. So they opted to sell (actually, to lease) the team name for 12 years.

The one thing this will be good for is a few sports bar laughs. "Hey, who's number 31 on Bears Football, Presented by Bank One?" Of course, as the phenominon spreads the laughs will wear thin.

When I was a teenager I would have said Roger Craig. But of course, I was a born and raised San Franciscan who saw everything in red and gold. Based on legend, video footage and stats, it's got to be Payton or Brown, but I can't figure a way to give a half vote to each...

Have you guys heard about this? I can't decide whether this should get a barfing guy or laughing guy icon! I guess I'll go with the barfing guy, as I'm sure my teams will be soon to follow... http://www.wisinfo.com/northwestern/sports..._10949587.shtml

Mny, three of his nine bodyguards were arrested. Two were wanted for crimes, and one was a parole violator. The other six bodyguards were detained and released. Snoop Dogg is now facing prosecution, as it is evidently a crime for a felon to have armed bodyguards.

This reminds me of a story from when I was growing up in San Francisco. There were known to be two out-of-town fugitives in the Bay Area. Two Oakland cops spotted men matching the description driving around in a car. They asked the suspects where they were from. When they replied "Frisco", they were immediately arrested on the grounds that no one from the Bay Area says "Frisco". I know, it sounds like a Bay Area legend, but I read in in the Chronicle in about 1986.