Yesterday was a Pretty Good Day

Over all, yesterday was a good day in the world of sports. What happened? Well, first of all, the Washington State Cougars lost to the Eastern Washington Eagles. And the Eagles are an FCS team (i.e., not FBS because the school is too small to be FBS, which is the top college football division). The score was 45 - 42 with the Cougars making a touchdown in the final seconds but it was too little, too late.

One of my least favorite teams, USC, lost big time to Alabama. Of course, Alabama is ranked #1 in the AP poll and USC #20. UCLA also lost.

And the Mariners lost to the Anaheim Angels, a team that has a .444 record (after that win). The Mariners have pretty much been eliminated from any chance for a while card slot. Their 4-game losses to Texas show they aren't playoff contenders.

The only downside to the day was that the Nike Ducks won their football game. But they were playing a FCS team and didn't "Coug" it.

But the best part of the day was that the University of Washington Huskies (Go Dawgs!) won their season opener against Rutgers, a FBS team (admittedly, not a very good one). The Husky defense held Rutgers to 3 points in the first half of the game. But the fourth quarter the Huskies were playing second and third string players, which allowed Rutgers to score some points.  The final score was 13-48.

The Huskies looked really good. Sophomore quarterback Jake Browning is improved even over the end of last season. And John Ross III is back and showed his strengths by making touchdowns from long passes. The first half was a thing of beauty. When the Huskies started playing second string players in the second half, it sort of turned into a boring preseason-like game in the NFL.

Next week the Huskies take on the Idaho Vandals, another not-very-good FBS team. In fact, the Vandals are going to switch to the FCS in 2018. I'll have to watch that on DVR probably on Sunday or late Saturday because I have a family function all day Saturday. And we'll have to see if the Huskies move up in the AP Poll and how far down USC and UCLA drop.

The difference between FBS and FCS is explained here.

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The Speculative Fiction Cantina with Leon Margie and Margy Millet

Today and the Speculative Fiction Cantina we are pleased to welcome writers Leon Margie and Margy Millet.

Leon Margie

Leon Margie

Born in Perth Western Australia, Leon comes from a family rich in mining history. With having worked in the resource sector for the last 15 years as a manager in all the major industry sectors, from gold to oil, Leon has developed a very good knowledge of how the industry functions.

Leon's Book:

Profit of Death

Leon's Link:

Facebook


Margy Millet

I was born Margarita L. Millet in Arecibo, Puerto Rico in 1958, the second child of Antonio and Blanca.  My family moved to Worcester Massachusetts in 1973.  In 1980 I married David Perez. Together we have raised three children, Leticia, Sofia and David.  I’m the proud grandmother of five grandsons Ricardo, Evan, Alejandro, Fernando and Emmitt.  My passions include writing, Latin music, dancing, reading and sports.  I’m an avid Boston Red Sox fan.

I studied Business Management at Quinsigamond Community College where I earned an Associates Degree.  I began my career as a Premium Collection Specialist at Paul Revere Companies in 1981 and have held several positions in the company, my last was an Underwriting Specialist in IDI Business Operations that ended in July 2013.  I began writing seriously on a part time basis in 2008 and then as of July 2013 I began writing full time.

Margy's Books:

Daughter’s Revenge 

My Vampire, My King 

Way to a Stranger’s Heart

Margy's Links:

Website/Blog
Faceebook
Twitter
Instagram
LinkedIn
Pinterest
Goodreads

From today's Show: Jupiter's Moon Io has a Collapsible Atmosphere.

Tune in to today's show at 6:00 PM ET / 3:00 PM PT or in archive here.

My Brain

Back to the 30-day blogging challenge that I'm doing in 30 or so weeks.

Today's prompt is: "Something you miss."

As you get older, you end up missing a lot of things. I mostly miss my young brain. My brain used to be able to hold facts and figures like a steel trap. I rarely had to study in school because I remembered everything. Or I'd simply read through my notes again and that would refresh my memory enough to ace the test (this assumes the test wasn't one of those awful engineering tests with lots of calculations).

Even in my early 30s, when I took engineering classes in college, my brain worked pretty well. Not as well as in the my 20s, but a lot better than it does now. I was always amazed at people who had to write down test dates and due dates as I could just carry all that in my head with perfect accuracy. As I got into my 40s, I still tried to do that but I would forget things or forget dates. I started using a calendar, first on paper, then on the computer.

Now in my mid-50s, my brain still works pretty well. But I'm not nearly as able to remember things as I could in my 20s and 30s.

When I lived in Seattle in my 20s, and I would drive the busy freeways, I would have a mental picture in my mind of where ever car around me was. And I'd update it ever few seconds by checking my mirrors, So I'd know if I car had sneaked into my blind spots. I can still do that, but only in low-traffic situations. And it annoys me.

So I miss my young brain.

The Speculative Fiction Cantina with Kristan Cannon and Andi Katsina

Today on the Speculative Fiction Cantina we are pleased to welcome Kristan Cannon and Andi Katsina.

Kristan Cannon

Kristan Cannon

Kristan Cannon was born in Kirkland Lake, Ontario and educated in North Bay and Toronto.  She is a staunch supporter of literacy, reading, and young writer's programs. She also holds a current membership with The Indie Writer's Network and is a member of the NaNoWriMo Ambassador's program.  When not researching or writing, Kristan exists for sailing with friends and family... or for video games and books when snow and ice have the boat locked in its slip and she can't get away.

Kristan's Books:

After Oil (Kingdom of Walden Book One)

The Last Iron Horse (Kingdom of Walden Book Two)

Kristan's Links:

Website
Blog
Facebook
Twitter
Pinterest
Google+
YouTube
Goodreads

Andi Katsina

Hello my friends. My name is Andi Katsina. I'm English, of rich Irish, African descent. Born in London, as an orphan I grew up in Manchester, England.

I‘m a vegetarian and an environmentalist.

Throughout my school years I was a champion athlete and swimmer, going on to become an athletics coach, swimming teacher and youth leader. After which time I was trained as a Chartered Accountant. Interrupting my training, I branched out, working freelance as a trouble shooter in the field of accountancy. Six years of adding and subtracting, was followed by two years of trading as an international commodities broker. This led me to the sedentary position of ‘trader in antique, oriental carpets’.

It was at this juncture that I became completely inspired to become an Indie Author.

As a ‘school kid’ I very much enjoyed writing plays in English, Latin and French. Fortunately, for me, writing came naturally. I so enjoy writing stories that give people, especially young people and people young at heart, the chance to exercise their own imagination.

I love taking my readers on fantastic journeys. The enjoyment and taste of adventure my stories give to my readers, warms me greatly.

Andi's Books:

Mr. Fire

The Equinox Sequence; Fur

Phat Girl & The Sankara Parasite

Andi's Links:

Website
Facebook
Twitter
Fundraising

From Today's Show: Private Company Given Permission for Moon Landing

Listen to today's program at 6:00 PM ET / 3:00 PM PT or in archive here.

Some Cousins Have Issues

Back to the 30-day Blogging Challenge that I'm doing in 30-odd weeks.

Today's prompt is: "A family member you dislike."

I have these cousins, you see, and they are so set in their ways (some have even unfriended me on Facebook), that I have trouble liking them. I don't know how my family turned out these people. Apparently their parents didn't raise them right. But what are you going to do, they're family?

So, that was short.

Huskies are Ranked in AP Poll

The Associated Press (AP) poll of college football teams (I believe they poll sports writers where the USA Today Poll is coaches, I think) came out today. The AP poll is the older are more prestigious of the polls. It's also the one used to determine which teams go to the BCS playoffs.

And in the AP poll, the University of Washington Huskies are ranked #14. They are the second highest Pac-12 team ranked, after Stanford (8). They are ranked higher than UCLA (16), USC (20), and Huskies' rival in the Pac-12 North, the Oregon (Nike) Ducks (24).

The Washington State Cougars aren't ranked in the top 25. They did receive enough votes to be #29 if the poll went that far. Also Utah would be #28.

So obviously Stanford is the team to beat this year.

The season starts September 3rd with a home game against Rutgers. I'm really looking forward to the start of college football.

It's been along slog since the early 2000s when the Huskies were dominate and won a national championship. We've gone through horrible coaches and the Pac-12's only 0-12 season. But now, with Coach Chris Petersen in his third year, it's coming together. We might even beat the hated Ducks, which we haven't since 2004.

Go Dawgs!

UPDATE: Huskies haven't been ranked this high pre-season since 2003 (which is also the last year they beat the Oregon Ducks).