www.harbatkin.com is up...

... and *so* not running yet.

But visit the site and let me know what you think of the general template I created. It seems to be moody in Firefox but consistent in Internet Explorer. Let me know how it looks in whichever one you use.

None of the content is there and only one link only sort of works so far. So, yeah -- I've got a lot of content to add and apparently some bugs to iron out. And when I actually get the site going I'll get rid of the ad up top, but I figure there's no point in paying for hosting a inchoate site (hooray for using a GRE word!) that no one meaningful (besides you, of course) is gonna be looking at yet.

Let me know if it takes forever to load. And if the RSS styles registered in all the links (in other words, if the links look out of place from the rest of the text, that's bad).

So, anyway, the idea is to get some of my stuff online in a neatly formatted site. Then when I apply for jobs again I can pass along the URL and not have to print out all my clips.

I'm totally open to feedback and suggestions, especially from people named Sara. I have no delusions of grandeur here...

Oh, and sorry Daniel and Lisa -- I, like, *totally* beat you to harbatkin.com.

Apparently I'm the only one to ever turn them down...

So the mass exodus of sportswriters from big-name newspapers and Sports Illustrated to ESPN only recently started making news (probably because of the departure of Rick Reilly). In any case a New York Times business section story does a pretty good job of putting it into perspective.

Apparently ESPN is signing writers at $150,000 to $350,000 a year (not to mention Reilly's $3 million).

Quote from the story:

“My counteroffer usually comes down to asking them what kind of cake they want at their goodbye party,” said Emilio Garcia-Ruiz, assistant managing editor for sports at The Washington Post, which has lost three writers to ESPN in the last year and a half.

ESPN has hired at least 15 sports reporters and editors from major newspapers and magazines in the last 18 months, according to the story.

Sad.

Apparently I've walked under too many ladders

You people might remember that after being pulled over in Highland Park for an expired registration, I ended up having to pay about $3,000 in impound fees, car rental fees, new registration, etc., just to get my car back after everything that could possibly go wrong went wrong.

Well my friend and now-former coworker Dave was pulled over for driving with a license that had been expired for more than a year. His registration had also been expired that long. Well, instead of screwing Dave into the ground with a high-powered electric screwdriver, the cop gave him a ticket, and allowed him to drive away in his unregistered car with his expired license. Dave went to court this morning and had the driving-without-a-license ticket reduced to "not having your driver's license card with you," a charge that carries a TEN DOLLAR fine.

From Dave's e-mail: "Well, $20 after court costs."

Meanwhile, Highland Park put out a warrant for my arrest and somehow decided that my license is suspended (I've called the DMV, and they've assured me it's not), so if I'm ever pulled over again in Highland Park they'll take me straight to the drunk tank.

Now I don't believe in superstition or karma or anything, but I may stop walking under ladders anyway.

Puerto Rico pics

As I mentioned before, this wasn't an educational experience, wrought with culture and such. It was a drunk-lying-on-the-beach trip. That said...

Me, Nicole and Liza, before going out drinking in Condado. This was the night of the birthday party bar.

Why "night portrait" mode never works.

Me and Sanjay, presumably drunk.

Me and Nicole (with Dave's creepy head on far left) drinking pina coladas at the site where the first-ever pina colada was made (in Old San Juan).

Nicole at Liza, same place.

Me and Liza, under a cool-looking tree in Old San Juan.

Nicole and Dave, by the beach in Old San Juan.

Creepy Santa at the bank in Old San Juan. They have some strange taste as far as decorations go. Note the creepy dog with elf feet. Another office building has a bunch of sculptures of heads on stakes lined up next to their Christmas decorations.

Cumin (left) and Pokey, Nicole and Dave's cats.

Pokey likes to drink out of the sink.

Cumin.

The poop that wouldn't go away

A Scranton woman who was cited for cursing loudly at her overflowing toilet was acquitted on a disorderly conduct charge Thursday, according to the Associated Press.

Dawn Herb, 33, rattled off "a string of profanities," according to the AP, when her toilet began overflowing Oct. 11. Her neighbor, an off-duty police officer, went outside and told Herb to "watch her mouth," and she started cursing at him. So he called the police.

The judge ruled that Herb's cursing was protected under the First Amendment.

Puerto Rico

Well I'm not drunk for once and the hangover is almost gone, so I figured I'd post at least once from Puerto Rico...

Basically, we got here Thursday around noon, went straight to the beach, starting drinking pina coladas and never really stopped. I passed out by 7 p.m. Thursday, although that was as much because of my lack of sleep the night before as it was because of the too-much-alcohol. We woke up Friday morning, went straight to the beach, started drinking strawberry daquiris and never really stopped. Then we went out to various bars in Condado til about 4 a.m. The first bar we tried was creepy, with people just sitting there in chairs lined up from the door to the bar, facing towards the door and allowing all the creepies to stare as we walked in. It turned out to be a birthday party (seriously, with balloons, a "Happy Birthday" sign, the whole shebang), even though the waiter guy *insisted* it wasn't really a birthday party and we should stay.

Me: So that foil birthday sign is a permanent fixture here?
Him: Yes?
Me: No.
Him: Ooooookaaaay. No. We meant to take it down... there *was* a birthday party but all these other people crashed it and now it's not a birthday party anymore.

Yeah... no.

So we went across the street and drank a lot of sangria. Come to think of it, I think we drank a lot of sangria the night before, too. And with lunch.

We met up with my friend Sanjay on Saturday, stayed out til 5 a.m. this time and we're all kind of still recovering.

So that's Puerto Rico. Much less cultured than my trip to Thailand. But I've been told I started ranting about Romney one of the nights so I'm gonna go ahead and count that as culture.

I didn't bring the connector to transfer pictures onto the computer, but prepare for many pictures of Nicole's cats. They're quite sexy.

FIVER!!!!!!!

It's Fiver!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

With his new mom, Anne. She thinks his name is Jimmy, but other than that she's pretty good.

On top of a climby tree I've been assured is very big and expensive.

He likes pumpkins.

Sexy Man!!!!!

Hooray!

She says he likes to sit in the dryer when it's still warm.

With Anne and a giant dog with bloodshot eyes. Fiver looks like he's the one in charge here, though.

Cat survives peanut butter jar attack

A feral cat in Tennessee survived 19 days with her head stuck in a peanut butter jar, according to the Associated Press.

A 25-year-old woman had been feeding the cat regularly, and named her Wild Oats. Then one day she saw Wild Oats walking around with a jar on her head. She couldn't catch her because the cat was too quick (and probably also in that panicked state that cats get into when something foreign is stuck to them, like A.M. with dingleberries). And it went on 19 days like that.

But on Wednesday, the cat hadn't eaten for 19 days and was too weak to flee, so the woman was able to catch her and use some oil to get the jar off her head.

Story here

Poopy panty pockets?

My colleague Gene actually had a source use the phrase, "my little dolly doo-doo" -- and didn't use the quote.

'Tis the season...

...to appropriate from your friends, apparently. And since it's been nearly a week since I posted an e-mail from Nicole on this thing, verbatim, I thought I'd appropriate something from Brian as well.

Because he apparently has as much free time on his hands as I do...