Sunday, April 30, 2006

All Hail the New King!


The rebellion has been crushed, and peace returns to the kingdom.

Nanaka and I mock your inability to go farther than 12,000 meters.

Victory (and an animated gif to boot)

I finally found her! (no thanks to Sean, DevilZ, or the Canadian embassy)

Image Hosted by ImageShack.us
Jerri Byrne is operating the orbital belt sander and the 2-speed battery drill. Also, I've also discovered Natasha Mealey and Thekla Roth as having been in the video. No luck on the whole list of credits, but at least I can sleep easy tonight. (NSFW Links)

Oh wait, no I can't. I still have that damn Nanaca Crash high score to torment me. Grrr.

Saturday, April 29, 2006

Aidez-moi mon ami!

Apparently, I am not the only one looking for the name of that girl. Someone with the handle DevilZ is also on the hunt. I can't quite be sure if he is French or just Canadian, but I have contacted both embassies to be sure. With an international effort, perhaps we can find her name. Babel fish believes this is what my counterpart is trying to say:

"Mdr more chick C the small russet-red one with the 2-speed battery
seed-planting drill at the mdr beginning of mdr of holy shit of holy potato"



Yes. Holy shit of holy potato is right.

(Editor's note: I realize that I only have several hours left to complete this task on my own. Inevitably, once Sean logs on tonight and learns that I can't find something on the Internet, he will call upon his evil legions of nerds to find the information. Help me DevilZ, you're my only hope.)

No, Mama, he...The-The search continues.

Grumble, grumble. I've been trying to get one of the names of the tool girls from the Satisfaction video, but no luck yet. I did find out, however, that one of the girls is named Natasha Mealey (maybe the masonry drill or the belt sander).

When she's not busy working hard with power tools, apparently she...um...well, here:




...yeah. That's her, serving as target practice for parachuting babies in the Boogie Pimps video, Somebody to Love. While I'm sure there's some kind of symbolism at work here, I refuse to acknowledge it.

I am a little concerned with a lack of an IMDB-type website for music videos. I found two contenders, but both were rather lacking. The Music Video Database is slow and unresponsive (is that redundant?) despite a claim of over 48k videos. And when you do get something, it looks unfortunately like this:



Wow, the level of detail is truly mind boggling. I like being able to sort by director, editor, or cinematographer, and I can only imagine what exciting things they have in store for the trivia section. ("Which one of these girls has had babies parachuting into her crotch?")

Unfortunately, no credits on the actors/models in the video. The other contender was Bogodir, and I was excited when they promised that "we have director videographies, Director of Photograhy credits, Editors, VFX staff, actors and actresses and location info." Oh yes, girl operating the 2-speed battery drill was soon to be mine. But alas, Bogodir seems to be a front for Clipland.

Clipland actually emerged as a third contender, with a lot of the same information as the MVDB. It even has a story field -- "A few girls dressed in safety glasses operating two-speed power drills, Belt Sanders, Dual Actions Saws and Heavy Breakers." That description seems lacking, but I'm not sure I can elaborate any more than that. Hmm...maybe I'll buy the ring tone while I at Clipland.

Friday, April 28, 2006

Keira Knightly


No story. Just this plain, ordinary photo of Keira Knightly.

Thursday, April 27, 2006

I stand corrected. Mr. Benassi, will you accept my apology?



Wow, Benny Benassi's original video for "Satisfaction" gets me excited, but in a way that is very different than wanting to eat a hamburger or topple an African empire.

Burgers and Elephants

Speaking of the commerical, here it is, enjoy:


Is this guy pirating video in his own house? Can't he run a cable from his TV to his computer? "Hey honey, quiet! I'm filming TV for my website again!"

Maybe I should concede? Um, no.




Check out Four Second Fury (from I-am-bored.com) where each game only lasts 4 seconds, although it sounds like they stole the soundtrack from the Never Ending Story. What I find fascinating is how quickly most flash games get on your nerves. As much as I love Power Fox (I love that little guy...sniff) and fighting Zorro's ninja horse, the novelty wears off pretty fast.

Although, if you want to check out the theme song for the new Wendy's hamburger commercials, you heard it here first--fighting Hannibal and his elephant. (And yes, someone is likely to comment that song is actually made by an artist and has a title, but I don't care. Unless you're getting me pumped up to eat a sandwich or fight an elephant with only my solitary boxing glove, you sir, are irrelevant.)



Only Conqueror and Nanaka Crash have really entertained me for more than a day or two (although I can't deny that Sean is indeed getting on my nerves right now with his damn high scores).

Regular, Special, Super, NANACA!

I've seen high, but this is ridiculous.

I hardly think I need to express my disappointment at the 12-6 range, as it bumps Steve's 12-3 to 3rd, but let's put it out there anyway.


FUUUUUUUUUUUUUU............

(This was done with all kinds of CFF's)

Best..cosplay...ever


Jay Maynard is...Tron Guy!

Wednesday, April 26, 2006

It's a good thing I'm single again

I'd rather go on a date with the Touko (the red girl), but I'm just glad I can turn my obsession into something healthy now:




On a side note, check out this girl's website. She currently has 20 cosplay photos completed, 13 in progress, and 26 commissioned. I'm not exactly sure what the percentages mean on the in progress page, but I can't wait to see Gascan from bobobo-bo-bo-bobo (if you are not watching this show, start).

In fact, I had no idea there was such a thing as a cosplay lab. Some of this stuff is very impressive.

No, wait! Holy crap! These people are coming to Orlando?!? Sean, we have to go this weekend. But we either need to dress up or wear a tux. I think this event may be babysitter-worthy. Maybe I can dress up as the guy that goes "nggah!" in Nanaka Crash?

Oooh....how do you do this move?

Now that is what I call a special move (title link is NSFW).

The official Cross-Channel website has some neat information, although most of it makes no sense. The wallpaper is pretty cool, but I'm not sure what "Pine dragon you write and it is the wallpaper of lowering" actually means.

Oh, and it's official. The heroine of our bike riding adventure is Nanaka (with a 'k'):

Where it all began

NEW NANACA CRASH KING



Again, this was done without any CFF's. Am I proud of that? Not particularly. Was I hanging out at a beach house eating a sandwich when I did it? Apparently.

It's nice to blow 2 records out of the water at the same time. It's nicer to stop playing this game while Steve's productivity drops to -11.

Yes, that says 12889.58 distance and yes, that says 630.83 height. Height was actually 631.?? but I missed my perfect screenshot.

Tuesday, April 25, 2006

Monkeys on a Plane?



This monkey has something to tell you, and it's not "Get these motherfucking snakes off my plane!"







I, on the other hand, used to do productive things with my life. Alas, that is no more. Instead, I spend my time trying to reduce the intellectual quotient of this blog several points in a matter of days. Will we ever see a return to the witty days of Snakes on a Plain Bagel? Only time can tell...

Nanaca Crash Motivational Poster



Hey Sean, maybe you want to hang this up in your office? Maybe right next to that 5x5 Rubik's cube you haven't solved yet.

Monday, April 24, 2006

Nanaca Crash high score update - Part 2


My first official entry into the "blogosphere" can be none other than my top score for Nanaca Crash. Sean's quote below is priceless -- "This was done with NO CFF's..."

Kind of like someone losing constantly at Counter Strike and saying "at least I didn't get any headshots."

Saturday, April 22, 2006

G.W. Approval ratings

36% Approve
61% Disapprove

Interesting.

Nanca Crash high score update

Putting up some quality numbers, but still chasing Steve...thanks to his 12G+ performance yesterday.

This was done with NO CFF's...

Friday, April 21, 2006

Cube goodies

Useless? product of the day:

Thursday, April 20, 2006

Photos: Worst tech of 2006 (so far) | CNET News.com

"We're working on a top-secret project that will blow your mind, and we won't give details until next week. Except that it's bigger than a handheld and smaller than a notebook PC. Oh, and it has tablet functionality. And we're calling it the ultramobile PC. But that's all we're saying!" Ooh, mysterious.

Microsoft Origami!

Tuesday, April 18, 2006

Sunday, April 16, 2006

"Sometimes you're Better Off Dead"

That headline sounds insensitive, and that's why back in 1985 it was canned by the studio execs when reviewing the promotional materials for the film Better Off Dead. (It was changed to "Relax, you're never Better Off Dead." What wimps.)

This week's Stuck in the 80s podcast on Better Off Dead is now online! Download it now. And stop putting it off -- just subscribe to us via iTunes and your life will be complete.

.
.
.
One last unbelievable piece of trivia. The Camaro that Cusack and Franklin fix up in the movie is now owned by a rabid fan of the movie. It took years of phone calls and crawling through DMV records. Get the whole story at the website -- ta-dah! -- www.betteroffdeadcamaro.com.

Wednesday, April 12, 2006

Nanaca Crash screenshots

This game is in my head. Follow the link or go for a Google search to find a mirror. There's even a newer version out there.




Tuesday, April 11, 2006

Elephant Eyes


Elephant Eyes, originally uploaded by bilgoon.

Corn gets this high.

Flickr goodness.

This is ironic punishment...



I just packed away my World of Springfield interactive figures. Can I pass these up? Damn you Todd McFarlane and crew.

#1 Super Guy



This is highly cool. Thank you Todd McFarlane and crew.

Monday, April 10, 2006

local6.com - News - Baby Sitter Accused Of Molesting May Have AIDS

WTF?

Baby Sitter Accused Of Molesting May Have AIDS

A 38-year-old man in Edgewater, Fla., who is accused of molesting neighborhood children he was baby-sitting may have AIDS, Local 6 News has learned.

Brain Follmer was taken into custody Friday on suspicion he fondled an 8-year-old boy and girl in the neighborhood and showed them pornographic Web sites on a computer.
A charging affidavit said the children were able to describe in detail the pornographic Web sites Follmer allegedly showed them.
"And they explained to a social worker how Follmer allegedly touched them and made them touch him," Local 6 reporter Jessica D'Onofrio said.
In the same report, Follmer's wife told police that she is HIV positive and Follmer has AIDS.
Police said Follmer's wife was concerned he gave the disease to the children.
"The fact that he possibly has AIDS also is a death sentence for them if they were touched in that manner to were it could jeopardize them," neighbor Sophia Gismondi said.
Investigators said several parents with children who are possible victims are coming forward, Local 6 News reported.
Follmer is known to have been a baby sitter for about five children in the neighborhood.
"It is sickening," a resident said. "It is sickening. I mean there were a lot of kids in the area, including my three."
"Police are questioning a 5-year-old girl," D'Onofrio said. "I spoke with her family tonight who believes she was penetrated by the suspect, so unfortunately there may be more charges to come in this horrific case."
Follmer remained in jail early Saturday.
Watch Local 6 News for more on this story.

Wednesday, April 05, 2006

Who cares if you can read..409 millionaires in MLB!

Major league millionaires
Associated Press


NEW YORK -- The 2006 salaries for the 409 Major League Baseball players on Opening Day rosters and disabled lists earning $1 Million or more.

Figures were obtained by The Associated Press from management and player sources and include salaries and pro-rated shares of signing bonuses and other guaranteed income. For some players, parts of salareis deferred without interest are discounted to reflect present-day values.

Baseball Millionaires


NAME
TEAM
'06 SALARY


1. Alex Rodriguez
New York Yankees
$25,680,727

2. Derek Jeter
New York Yankees
$20,600,000

3. Jason Giambi
New York Yankees
$20,428,571

4. Barry Bonds
San Francisco Giants
$20,000,000

5. Jeff Bagwell
Houston Astros
$19,369,019

6. Mike Mussina
New York Yankees
$19,000,000

7. Manny Ramirez
Boston Red Sox
$18,279,238

8. Todd Helton
Colorado Rockies
$16,600,000

9. Andy Pettitte
Houston Astros
$16,428,416

10. Magglio Ordonez
Detroit Tigers
$16,200,000

11. Randy Johnson
New York Yankees
$15,661,427

12. Chan Ho Park
San Diego Padres
$15,333,679

13. Pedro Martinez
New York Mets
$14,875,000

14. Lance Berkman
Houston Astros
$14,500,000

15. Mike Hampton
Atlanta Braves
$14,475,185

16. Jim Thome
Chicago White Sox
$14,166,667

17. Bartolo Colon
Los Angeles Angels
$14,000,000

17. Albert Pujols
St. Louis Cardinals
$14,000,000

19. Chipper Jones
Atlanta Braves
$13,666,667

20. Bobby Abreu
Philadelphia Phillies
$13,600,000

21. Carlos Beltran, New York Mets $13,571,429

22. Carlos Delgado, New York Mets $13,500,000

(tie) Vladimir Guerrero, Los Angeles Angels $13,500,000

(tie) Andruw Jones, Atlanta Braves $13,500,000

25. Johnny Damon, New York Yankees $13,000,000

(tie) Hideki Matsui, New York Yankees $13,000,000

(tie) Curt Schilling, Boston Red Sox $13,000,000

(tie) Richie Sexson, Seattle Mariners $13,000,000

29. Adrian Beltre, Seattle Mariners $12,900,000

30. Roy Halladay, Toronto Blue Jays $12,750,000


31. Ichiro Suzuki, Seattle Mariners $12,530,000

32. Scott Rolen, St. Louis Cardinals $12,456,336

33. Paul Konerko, Chicago White Sox $12,000,000

(tie) Jorge Posada, New York Yankees $12,000,000

(tie) Javier Vazquez, Chicago White Sox $12,000,000

(tie) Kerry Wood, Chicago Cubs $12,000,000

37. Jim Edmonds, St. Louis Cardinals $11,979,548

38. Miguel Tejada, Baltimore Orioles $11,8$11,546

39. Jason Kendall, Oakland A's $11,571,429

40. J.D. Drew, Los Angeles Dodgers $11,400,000


41. Roy Oswalt, Hou $11,000,000

(tie) Aramis Ramirez, Chicago Cubs $11,000,000

(tie) John Smoltz, Atlanta Braves $11,000,000

(tie) Mike Sweeney, Kansas City Royals $11,000,000

45. Gary Sheffield, New York Yankees $10,756,171

46. Garret Anderson, Los Angeles Angels $10,750,000

(tie) Torii Hunter, Minnesota Twins $10,750,000

48. Luis Gonzalez, Arizona Diamondbacks $10,673,328

49. Ivan Rodriguez, Detroit Tigers $10,616,410

50. Tom Glavine, New York Mets $10,500,000


50 (tie). Mariano Rivera, New York Yankees $10,500,000

(tie) Jason Schmidt, San Francisco Giants $10,500,000

(tie) Billy Wagner, New York Mets $10,500,000

54. Jeff Kent, Los Angeles Dodgers $10,453,382

55. Phil Nevin, Texas Rangers $10,333,347

56. Shawn Green, Arizona Diamondbacks $10,2$13,898

57. Eric Gagne, Los Angeles Dodgers $10,000,000

(tie) Troy Glaus, Toronto Blue Jays $10,000,000

(tie) Edgar Renteria, Atlanta Braves $10,000,000

(tie) Alfonso Soriano, Washington Nationals $10,000,000


57 (tie). Jason Varitek, Boston Red Sox $10,000,000

62. Eric Milton, Cincinnati Reds $9,833,333

63. Matt Clement, Boston Red Sox $9,825,000

64. Pat Burrell, Philadelphia Phillies $9,750,000

65. Ben Sheets, Milwaukee Brewers $9,625,000

66. Eric Chavez, Oakland A's $9,500,000

(tie) Jose Contreras, Chicago White Sox $9,500,000

(tie) Derek Lowe, Los Angeles Dodgers $9,500,000

69. Derrek Lee, Chicago Cubs $9,416,667

70. Randy Wolf, Philadelphia Phillies $9,125,000


71. Ken Griffey Jr., Cincinnati Reds $9,044,182

72. Freddy Garcia, Chicago White Sox $9,000,000

(tie) Ryan Klesko, San Diego Padres $9,000,000

(tie) Javy Lopez, Baltimore Orioles $9,000,000

(tie) Mike Lowell, Boston Red Sox $9,000,000

(tie) Greg Maddux, Chicago Cubs $9,000,000

(tie) Brad Radke, Minnesota Twins $9,000,000

78. Darin Erstad, Los Angeles Angels $8,750,000

(tie) Jason Isringhausen, St. Louis Cardinals $8,750,000

(tie) Odalis Perez, Los Angeles Dodgers $8,750,000


78 (tie). Johan Santana, Minnesota Twins $8,750,000

82, Rafael Furcal, Los Angeles Dodgers $8,730,196

83, Sean Casey, Pittsburgh Pirates $8,500,000

(tie) Carlos Lee, Milwaukee Brewers $8,500,000

85, Kris Benson, Baltimore Orioles $8,333,333

86, Jeff Weaver, Los Angeles Angels $8,325,000

87, Kaz Matsui, New York Mets $8,058,333

88, Edgardo Alfonzo, Los Angeles Angels $8,000,000

(tie) Mark Buehrle, Chicago White Sox $8,000,000

(tie) Livan Hernandez, Washington Nationals $8,000,000


88 (tie). Carl Pavano, New York Yankees $8,000,000

(tie) Kenny Rogers, Detroit Tigers $8,000,000

(tie) Dmitri Young, Detroit Tigers $8,000,000

94. Barry Zito, Oakland A's $7,900,000

95. Russ Ortiz, Arizona Diamondbacks $7,875,000

96. Kevin Millwood, Texas Rangers $7,868,893

97. Geoff Jenkins, Milwaukee Brewers $7,833,333

98. Keith Foulke, Boston Red Sox $7,750,000

(tie) Mark Mulder, St. Louis Cardinals $7,750,000

100. Brian Giles, San Diego Padres $7,666,667


100 (tie). Jaret Wright, New York Yankees $7,666,667

102. Jon Lieber, Philadelphia Phillies $7,583,333

103. Orlando Cabrera, Los Angeles Angels $7,500,000

(tie) Adam Dunn, Cincinnati Reds $7,500,000

(tie) Mike Lieberthal, Philadelphia Phillies $7,500,000

(tie) Trot Nixon, Boston Red Sox $7,500,000

107. Moises Alou, San Francisco Giants $7,453,426

108. Jarrod Washburn, Seattle Mariners $7,450,000

109. Mike Cameron, San Diego Padres $7,333,333

110. C.C. Sabathia, Cleveland Indians $7,250,000


111. Paul Byrd, Cleveland Indians $7,000,000

(tie) Ray Durham, San Francisco Giants $7,000,000

(tie) Steve Finley, San Francisco Giants $7,000,000

(tie) Jon Garland, Chicago White Sox $7,000,000

(tie) Mark Kotsay, Oakland A's $7,000,000

(tie) Jose Vidro, Washington Nationals $7,000,000

117. Aubrey Huff, Tampa Bay Devil Rays $6,916,667

118. Joel Pineiro, Seattle Mariners $6,800,000

119. Kelvim Escobar, Los Angeles Angels $6,750,000

120. Paul Lo Duca, New York Mets $6,600,823


121. Cliff Floyd, New York Mets $6,500,000

(tie) Tim Hudson, Atlanta Braves $6,500,000

(tie) David Ortiz, Boston Red Sox $6,500,000

(tie) Shannon Stewart, Minnesota Twins $6,500,000

(tie) Carlos Zambrano, Chicago Cubs $6,500,000

126. Mark Teixeira, Texas Rangers $6,400,000

127. Armando Benitez, San Francisco Giants $6,266,220

128. Eddie Guardado, Seattle Mariners $6,250,000

(tie) Corey Koskie, Milwaukee Brewers $6,250,000

130. Jeromy Burnitz, Pittsburgh Pirates $6,000,000


130 (tie). Nomar Garciaparra, Los Angeles Dodgers $6,000,000

(tie) Esteban Loaiza, Oakland A's $6,000,000

(tie) Troy Percival, Detroit Tigers $6,000,000

134,. Todd Jones, Detroit Tigers $5,809,159

135. Shea Hillenbrand, Toronto Blue Jays $5,800,000

136. Juan Pierre, Chicago Cubs $5,750,000

137. Matt Morris, San Francisco Giants $5,537,284

138. Jamie Moyer, Seattle Mariners $5,500,000

(tie) Brad Penny, Los Angeles Dodgers $5,500,000

140. Luis Castillo, Minnesota Twins $5,485,548


141. Kenji Johjima, Seattle Mariners $5,433,333

142. Kyle Farnsworth, New York Yankees $5,416,667

143. Jason Marquis, St. Louis Cardinals $5,150,000

144. Chris Carpenter, St. Louis Cardinals $5,000,000

(tie) Jermaine Dye, Chicago White Sox $5,000,000

(tie) Carlos Guillen, Detroit Tigers $5,000,000

(tie) Jimmy Rollins, Philadelphia Phillies $5,000,000

(tie) Reggie Sanders, Kansas City Royals $5,000,000

(tie) Bob Wickman, Cleveland Indians $5,000,000

(tie) Woody Williams, San Diego Padres $5,000,000


144 (tie). Randy Winn, San Francisco Giants $5,000,000

152. Julio Lugo, Tampa Bay Devil Rays $4,950,000

153. Raul Ibanez, Seattle Mariners $4,916,667

154. Jack Wilson, Pittsburgh Pirates $4,900,000

155. Miguel Batista, Arizona Diamondbacks $4,750,000

(tie) John Thomson, Atlanta Braves $4,750,000

157. David Bell, Philadelphia Phillies $4,700,000

158. Adam Eaton, Texas Rangers $4,650,000

159. Orlando Hernandez, Arizona Diamondbacks $4,625,000

160. Placido Polanco, Detroit Tigers $4,600,000


161. Bill Mueller, Los Angeles Dodgers $4,576,451

162. Tomo Ohka, Milwaukee Brewers $4,530,000

163. Tom Gordon, Philadelphia Phillies $4,500,000

(tie) Trevor Hoffman, San Diego Padres $4,500,000

(tie) Jason Jennings, Colorado Rockies $4,500,000

(tie) Bengie Molina, Toronto Blue Jays $4,500,000

(tie) Mark Redman, Kansas City Royals $4,500,000

168. Vernon Wells, Toronto Blue Jays $4,470,000

169. Eric Hinske, Toronto Blue Jays $4,425,000

170. Vicente Padilla, Texas Rangers $4,4$10,000


171. LaTroy Hawkins, Baltimore Orioles $4,400,000

172. Dontrelle Willis, Florida Marlins $4,350,000

173. Michael Barrett, Chicago Cubs $4,333,333

(tie) Ryan Dempster, Chicago Cubs $4,333,333

(tie) Melvin Mora, Baltimore Orioles $4,333,333

176. Josh Beckett, Boston Red Sox $4,325,000

177. Jake Westbrook, Cleveland Indians $4,250,000

178. Jay Gibbons, Baltimore Orioles $4,200,000

(tie) Cristian Guzman, Washington Nationals $4,200,000

180. Kip Wells, Pittsburgh Pirates $4,150,000


181. Francisco Cordero, Texas Rangers $4,125,000

182. David Wells, Boston Red Sox $4,075,000

183. Jacque Jones, Chicago Cubs $4,033,333

184. Danys Baez, Los Angeles Dodgers $4,000,000

(tie) Ronnie Belliard, Cleveland Indians $4,000,000

(tie) Craig Biggio, Hou $4,000,000

(tie) Scott Elarton, Kansas City Royals $4,000,000

(tie) Pedro Feliz, San Francisco Giants $4,000,000

(tie) Mark Grudzielanek, Kansas City Royals $4,000,000

(tie) Jose Guillen, Washington Nationals $4,000,000


184 (tie) Ramon Hernandez, Baltimore Orioles $4,000,000

(tie) Ted Lilly, Toronto Blue Jays $4,000,000

(tie) Jay Payton, Oakland A's $4,000,000

(tie) A.J. Pierzynski, Chicago White Sox $4,000,000

(tie) Joe Randa, Pittsburgh Pirates $4,000,000

(tie) B.J. Ryan, Toronto Blue Jays $4,000,000

(tie) Jeff Suppan, St. Louis Cardinals $4,000,000

(tie) Tim Wakefield, Boston Red Sox $4,000,000

(tie) Preston Wilson, Hou $4,000,000

200. Brad Lidge, Hou $3,975,000


201. Kyle Lohse, Minnesota Twins $3,950,000

202. Jason LaRue, Cincinnati Reds $3,900,000

(tie) Brad Wilkerson, Texas Rangers $3,900,000

204. Brian Lawrence, Washington Nationals $3,875,000

205. Brad Ausmus, Hou $3,857,068

206. Marcus Giles, Atlanta Braves $3,850,000

207. Kenny Lofton, Los Angeles Dodgers $3,826,421

208. Bruce Chen, Baltimore Orioles $3,800,000

(tie) Morgan Ensberg, Hou $3,800,000

210. Francisco Rodriguez, Los Angeles Angels $3,775,000


211. Aaron Boone, Cleveland Indians $3,750,000

(tie) Rodrigo Lopez, Baltimore Orioles $3,750,000

(tie) Joe Nathan, Minnesota Twins $3,750,000

(tie) Paul Wilson, Cincinnati Reds $3,750,000

215. Gil Meche, Seattle Mariners $3,700,000

(tie) Arthur Rhodes, Philadelphia Phillies $3,700,000

217. Mark Prior, Chicago Cubs $3,650,000

218. Omar Vizquel, San Francisco Giants $3,640,044

219. Shawn Chacon, New York Yankees $3,600,000

(tie) Brett Tomko, Los Angeles Dodgers $3,600,000


221. Juan Encarnacion, St. Louis Cardinals $3,500,000

(tie) Jason Johnson, Cleveland Indians $3,500,000

(tie) Braden Looper, St. Louis Cardinals $3,500,000

224. Carl Everett, Seattle Mariners $3,400,000

225. Adam Kennedy, Los Angeles Angels $3,350,000

(tie) Mike Matheny, San Francisco Giants $3,350,000

(tie) Julian Tavarez, Boston Red Sox $3,350,000

228. John Lackey, Los Angeles Angels $3,343,333

229. David Eckstein, St. Louis Cardinals $3,333,333

230. Cory Lidle, Philadelphia Phillies $3,300,000


230 (tie) Brett Myers, Philadelphia Phillies $3,300,000

(tie) Craig Wilson, Pittsburgh Pirates $3,300,000

233. Mark Loretta, Boston Red Sox $3,250,000

(tie) Damian Miller, Milwaukee Brewers $3,250,000

(tie) Aaron Rowand, Philadelphia Phillies $3,250,000

236. Rod Barajas, Texas Rangers $3,200,000

(tie) Vinny Castilla, San Diego Padres $3,200,000

(tie) Doug Davis, Milwaukee Brewers $3,200,000

(tie) Scott Eyre, Chicago Cubs $3,200,000

(tie) Cesar Izturis, Los Angeles Dodgers $3,200,000


236 (tie). Nick Johnson, Washington Nationals $3,200,000

(tie) Carlos Silva, Minnesota Twins $3,200,000

243. Dustin Hermanson, Chicago White Sox $3,150,000

(tie) Juan Uribe, Chicago White Sox $3,150,000

245. Brady Clark, Milwaukee Brewers $3,100,000

246. Brian Roberts, Baltimore Orioles $3,075,000

(tie) Michael Young, Texas Rangers $3,075,000

248. Casey Blake, Cleveland Indians $3,050,000

(tie) Hank Blalock, Texas Rangers $3,050,000

250. Mike Timlin, Boston Red Sox $3,023,894


251. Bronson Arroyo, Cincinnati Reds $3,000,000

(tie) Milton Bradley, Oakland A's $3,000,000

(tie) Bob Howry, Chicago Cubs $3,000,000

(tie) Brandon Inge, Detroit Tigers $3,000,000

(tie) Steve Kline, San Francisco Giants $3,000,000

(tie) Guillermo Mota, Cleveland Indians $3,000,000

(tie) Victor Zambrano, New York Mets $3,000,000

258. Jose Cruz Jr., Los Angeles Dodgers $2,910,000

259. Kevin Mench, Texas Rangers $2,800,000

(tie) Craig Monroe, Detroit Tigers $2,800,000


259 (tie). Corey Patterson, Baltimore Orioles $2,800,000

262. Coco Crisp, Boston Red Sox $2,750,000

(tie) Roberto Hernandez, Pittsburgh Pirates $2,750,000

(tie) Chris Reitsma, Atlanta Braves $2,750,000

(tie) Glendon Rusch, Chicago Cubs $2,750,000

(tie) Scott Schoeneweis, Toronto Blue Jays $2,750,000

267. Frank Catalanotto, Toronto Blue Jays $2,700,000

(tie) Travis Hafner, Cleveland Indians $2,700,000

(tie) Felipe Lopez, Cincinnati Reds $2,700,000

(tie) Brian Schneider, Washington Nationals $2,700,000


271. Alex Gonzalez, Boston Red Sox $2,682,592

272. Joe Crede, Chicago White Sox $2,675,000

273. Carl Crawford, Tampa Bay Devil Rays $2,625,000

274. Hector Carrasco, Los Angeles Angels $2,600,000

(tie) Ryan Franklin, Philadelphia Phillies $2,600,000

276. Jorge Julio, New York Mets $2,525,000

(tie) Lyle Overbay, Toronto Blue Jays $2,525,000

278. Rheal Cormier, Philadelphia Phillies $2,500,000

(tie) Ray King, Colorado Rockies $2,500,000

(tie) Ramon Ortiz, Washington Nationals $2,500,000


278 (tie). Jake Peavy, San Diego Padres $2,500,000

(tie) Neifi Perez, Chicago Cubs $2,500,000

(tie) Steve Trachsel, New York Mets $2,500,000

(tie) Todd Walker, Chicago Cubs $2,500,000

(tie) Brandon Webb, Arizona Diamondbacks $2,500,000

(tie) Rondell White, Minnesota Twins $2,500,000

287. Ben Broussard, Cleveland Indians $2,487,500

288. Tadahito Iguchi, Chicago White Sox $2,475,000

289. Travis Lee, Tampa Bay Devil Rays $2,450,000

290. Joe Kennedy, Oakland A's $2,400,000


291. Gary Matthews Jr., Texas Rangers $2,387,500

292. Aaron Harang, Cincinnati Reds $2,350,000

293. Jeremy Bonderman, Detroit Tigers $2,300,000

(tie) Jerry Hairston Jr., Chicago Cubs $2,300,000

(tie) Orlando Hudson, Arizona Diamondbacks $2,300,000

(tie) Mike Maroth, Detroit Tigers $2,300,000

(tie) Josh Towers, Toronto Blue Jays $2,300,000

298. Eric Byrnes, Arizona Diamondbacks $2,250,000

(tie) Mark Ellis, Oakland A's $2,250,000

(tie) Chone Figgins, Los Angeles Angels $2,250,000


298 (tie) Toby Hall, Tampa Bay Devil Rays $2,250,000

(tie) Rob Mackowiak, Chicago White Sox $2,250,000

(tie) Damaso Marte, Pittsburgh Pirates $2,250,000

(tie) Dave Roberts, San Diego Padres $2,250,000

(tie) Justin Speier, Toronto Blue Jays $2,250,000

(tie) Ron Villone, New York Yankees $2,250,000

307. A.J. Burnett, Toronto Blue Jays $2,200,000

(tie) Horacio Ramirez, Atlanta Braves $2,200,000

(tie) J.C. Romero, Los Angeles Angels $2,200,000

(tie) Jorge Sosa, Atlanta Braves $2,200,000


311. Scott Podsednik, Chicago White Sox $2,125,000

312. Tony Armas Jr., Washington Nationals $2,100,000

(tie) Kevin Millar, Baltimore Orioles $2,100,000

(tie) Scot Shields, Los Angeles Angels $2,100,000

315. Tony Graffanino, Kansas City Royals $2,050,000

316. Casey Fossum, Tampa Bay Devil Rays $2,025,000

317. Rocco Baldelli, Tampa Bay Devil Rays $2,000,000

(tie) Angel Berroa, Kansas City Royals $2,000,000

(tie) Octavio Dotel, New York Yankees $2,000,000

(tie) Johnny Estrada, Arizona Diamondbacks $2,000,000


317 (tie) Brian Fuentes, Colorado Rockies $2,000,000

(tie) Dan Kolb, Milwaukee Brewers $2,000,000

(tie) Jose Mesa, Colorado Rockies $2,000,000

(tie) J.T. Snow, Boston Red Sox $2,000,000

(tie) Scott Williamson, Chicago Cubs $2,000,000

(tie) Tony Womack, Cincinnati Reds $2,000,000

327. Mark Hendrickson, Tampa Bay Devil Rays $1,950,000

328. Ryan Drese, Washington Nationals $1,900,000

(tie) Adam Everett, Houston Astros $1,900,000

(tie) Oliver Perez, Pittsburgh Pirates $1,900,000


328 (tie) Rudy Seanez, Boston Red Sox $1,900,000

332. Austin Kearns, Cincinnati Reds $1,850,000

(tie) Doug Mientkiewicz, Kansas City Royals $1,850,000

334. David Riske, Boston Red Sox $1,800,000

335. Emil Brown, Kansas City Royals $1,775,000

(tie) Luis Vizcaino, Arizona Diamondbacks $1,775,000

337. Craig Counsell, Arizona Diamondbacks $1,750,000

(tie) Akinori Otsuka, Texas Rangers $1,750,000

(tie) Eduardo A. Perez, Cleveland Indians $1,750,000

(tie) Tim Worrell, San Francisco Giants $1,750,000


341. Jeff Conine, Baltimore Orioles $1,700,000

(tie) Elmer Dessens, Kansas City Royals $1,700,000

(tie) Mike Lamb, Houston Astros $1,700,000

344. Luis Matos, Baltimore Orioles $1,625,000

345. Alex Cintron, Chicago White Sox $1,600,000

346. Kent Mercker, Cincinnati Reds $1,550,000

347. Salomon Torres, Pittsburgh Pirates $1,525,000

348. Henry Blanco, Chicago Cubs $1,500,000

(tie) Sean Burroughs, Tampa Bay Devil Rays $1,500,000

(tie) Ricky Ledee, Los Angeles Dodgers $1,500,000


348 (tie) Jason Michaels, Cleveland Indians $1,500,000

(tie) Doug Mirabelli, San Diego Padres $1,500,000

(tie) Brian Moehler, Florida Marlins $1,500,000

(tie) Tanyon Sturtze, New York Yankees $1,500,000

(tie) David Weathers, Cincinnati Reds $1,500,000

(tie) Bernie Williams, New York Yankees $1,500,000

357. Reed Johnson, Toronto Blue Jays $1,425,000

358. Erik Bedard, Baltimore Orioles $1,400,000

(tie) Chad Bradford, New York Mets $1,400,000

(tie) Alex Cora, Boston Red Sox $1,400,000


358 (tie) Dave Williams, Cincinnati Reds $1,400,000

362. Scott Linebrink, San Diego Padres $1,365,000

363. Matt Stairs, Kansas City Royals $1,350,000

364. Rich Aurilia, Cincinnati Reds $1,300,000

(tie) Michael Cuddyer, Minnesota Twins $1,300,000

(tie) Joey Eischen, Washington Nationals $1,300,000

(tie) Ryan Freel, Cincinnati Reds $1,300,000

(tie) Trever Miller, Hou $1,300,000

369. Claudio Vargas, Arizona Diamondbacks $1,275,000

370. Tony Batista, Minnesota Twins $1,250,000


370 (tie) Aaron Cook, Colorado Rockies $1,250,000

(tie) Rich Harden, Oakland A's $1,250,000

(tie) Byung-Hyun Kim, Colorado Rockies $1,250,000

(tie) Wily Mo Pena, Boston Red Sox $1,250,000

(tie) Mike Piazza, San Diego Padres $1,250,000

(tie) Juan Rivera, Los Angeles Angels $1,250,000

(tie) Jamie Walker, Detroit Tigers $1,250,000

(tie) Esteban Yan, Los Angeles Angels $1,250,000

379. Jose Vizcaino, San Francisco Giants $1,231,090

380. Rickie Weeks, Milwaukee Brewers $1,220,000


381. Aaron Fultz, Philadelphia Phillies $1,200,000

(tie) Cliff Politte, Chicago White Sox $1,200,000

(tie) Ricardo Rincon, St. Louis Cardinals $1,200,000

(tie) Scott Sauerbeck, Cleveland Indians $1,200,000

(tie) Aaron Small, New York Yankees $1,200,000

(tie) Junior Spivey, St. Louis Cardinals $1,200,000

387. Mike DeJean, Colorado Rockies $1,150,000

(tie) Mike Myers, New York Yankees $1,150,000

(tie) Javier Valentin, Cincinnati Reds $1,150,000

390. Abraham Nunez, Philadelphia Phillies $1,125,000


391, Shawn Estes, San Diego Padres $1,100,000

392, John Mabry, Chicago Cubs $1,075,000

393, Julio Franco, New York Mets $1,050,000

394, Tony Clark, Arizona Diamondbacks $1,034,000

395, Jeremy Affeldt, Kansas City Royals $1,000,000

(tie) Pedro Astacio, Washington Nationals $1,000,000

(tie) Jason Bay, Pittsburgh Pirates $1,000,000

(tie) Doug Brocail, San Diego Padres $1,000,000

(tie) Miguel Cairo, New York Yankees $1,000,000

(tie) Juan Castro, Minnesota Twins $1,000,000

(tie) Royce Clayton, Washington Nationals $1,000,000

(tie) Victor Martinez, Cleveland Indians $1,000,000

(tie) Joe Mays, Kansas City Royals $1,000,000

(tie) Wade Miller, Chicago Cubs $1,000,000

(tie) Sidney Ponson, St. Louis Cardinals $1,000,000

(tie) Olmedo Saenz, Los Angeles Dodgers $1,000,000

(tie) Mike Stanton, Washington Nationals $1,000,000

(tie) Jay Witasick, Oakland A's $1,000,000

(tie) Gregg Zaun, Toronto Blue Jays $1,000,000

Call Florida a basketball school after triumph - Orlando Sentinel : Florida Gators

Call Florida a basketball school after triumph - Orlando Sentinel : Florida Gators: "Build a statue for him. Name the court after him. The Donovan Dome. The Billy Bowl. Whatever. And give him a raise that makes him the highest paid coach on campus. Yes, he should make more than Urban Meyer because, by gosh, he's done more. In fact, when is some sports writer from New York or Boston going to ask Meyer how it feels to be coaching football at a basketball school?"

Monday, April 03, 2006

BREITBART.COM - Exxon Dethrones Wal-Mart on Fortune 500

BREITBART.COM - Exxon Dethrones Wal-Mart on Fortune 500: "Exxon Dethrones Wal-Mart on Fortune 500
Apr 03 8:52 AM US/Eastern
Email this story

By J.W. ELPHINSTONE
AP Business Writer

NEW YORK

Skyrocketing energy prices propelled Exxon Mobil Corp. to the top of the 2006 Fortune 500 list, and consigned Wal-Mart Stores Inc. to the No. 2 spot on the magazine's annual ranking of the nation's largest publicly traded companies.
Fortune compiled its list based on companies' 2005 revenues. Exxon Mobil raked in $340 billion in revenue, a 25.5 percent increase over and had $36.1 billion in profits, the most by any U.S. company in history.

Exxon Mobil last appeared at No. 1 in 2001. Only Wal-Mart, Exxon Mobil and General Motors Corp. have topped the list since its inception in 1954.
Wal-Mart had $315.654 billion in revenue, a 9.5 percent increase from last year. Because of its pervasive U.S. presence, the world's largest retailer has struggled to sustain profit growth in the high teens as it had in previous years.
Other oil producers also rose in the rankings, boosted by crude prices that topped $70 a barrel and gasoline prices that surpassed $3 a gallon after hurricanes battered the Gulf Coast.
Both ChevronTexaco Corp. and ConocoPhillips saw their revenues jump in increasing by 28 percent and 37 percent, respectively. Chevron climbed two spots to No. 4, while Conoco edged up to No. 6 from No. 7 last year.
The major U.S. automakers showed their vulnerability as they faced declining U.S. sales and increasing benefit costs.
GM barely retained its hold on the No. 3 spot, while Ford Motor Co. slipped to fifth place from No. 4. GM's revenues decreased nearly one- half percent to $192.604 billion, while Ford's rose less than 3 percent to $177.21 billion.

What the hell? I thought the increased gas prices were a direct result of increased costs? What can we do? It's not like we can make our own gas..or can we?