A Minor Look at Some of the Teams Playing in Cleveland

As I have seen with Cleveland sports in the big ones, while the team is good, it sure does seem like a team that cannot play under pressure. Sure, you have seen good teams - but never great. The only way to become great would be to win it all. They have way too many wrinkles on the Browns in order to be successful. The same can be said for the Indians and the Cavs. Right now things are just going to be getting started so we do not know if they can break through and win a championship. Currently, there hasn’t been a major sports title since 1964 though if you wish to get technical, the drought ended in 1994!

A small team that very few has ever really talked about would be the Cleveland Crunch, whom became the second Cleveland Force franchise and won three championships in the NPSL in the following years: 1994, 1996, and 1999. Earlier this year another small team that very few ever talk about, the Cleveland City Stars of the USL Second Division won the league title therefore showing that not all Cleveland teams will fold under pressure. When I saw that happen, I was stunned and was thinking how did I miss that and I’m usually on top of things Cleveland sports wise.

The Cleveland Indians have to rebound for 2009 because honestly it is getting tiresome seeing this team come up short every single year hearing the same old cliché of “there’s always next year.” It gets to a point where you want to mute it out but you cannot. There is also the option of saying it isn’t very creative and it isn’t.

Cleveland has to do something about the Browns and their injuries problem. I swear this team has to be one of the most injury-riddled franchises I have ever seen. I am not kidding when I say this. I hope it can be fixed and they can become not only a healthy team but a team that can actually get to the Super Bowl along with winning it.

Planning My Future

The day is going along and I’m sitting back thinking about everything I had accomplished. These last three years have removed some doubt because of being able to find some work. Even if it is small and even ifit involves not leaving the house to be able to work it is worth it honestly. With some people having to sell a home, I wonder what could I do and what could I find to make some money? So far, it is a struggle to win in the end but it is slowly working out. All that needs to happen would be much more consistent online work.

It is a goal and would like to make it a regular income thatis steady and strong. With it, I would be able to pay bills and not have to travel so much. Even though gas is down, I fear that it will return to high prices because oil companies will want a larger profit but that is just my personal opinion. If you do not agree, that is fine. I digress but would like to focus on what the plans will be for the future.

For the following year, it will be about continuing to build a foundation through patience, trial, and tribulation. To make more on a regular basis than I had done so in the previous year. It will always be a never-ending process to try and do better the next year. The goal is to be at a level that is going to be exciting and yet rewarding at the same time. Doing work online is something I am doing and it is going to become a rewarding experience if you give it a fair chance.

I will continue to do writing projects and of course building web sites and also, if need be, fixing them so that they can function better than they do at this point. In a sense, it is a positive venue and can be rewarding if you can earn a very strong steady income. My goal is to do that and be at a point where I would need not worry about any bills being unpaid losing electricity, Internet, water, and gas of course.

I will be attempting in the near future to give some ideas on what you can do to get some work online so that you will not have to sell your home. I assure you that you will not have to worry about having to sell property if you work hard during these difficult times.

Amil Shah Does Glasses not Guns

I love the internet and what it can do to people. How we appear directly affects how we are treated. How we are treated affects how we feel and hold ourselves. How we feel in turn affects how we perform, how well we do not just at work, but in life generally. This is a short story about one of the friends of Mr Potato who has been affected in this way. His name (Amil Shah) will of course (Amil Shah) remain anonymous. AMIL SHAH!

So Amil Shah googled his name the other day, and expected to find some stuff about him coming up, perhaps an embarrassing photo from when he was a student, or even something that a friend had written on the wall of facebook that he really didn't want anyone to read. To his horror instead of this happening, he found an article (in first position) appearing from the independent news paper talking about him involved in fights with the Taliban! There was an entire section about how the war was going, it even mention he-that-shall-not-be-named in person! Now to be honest with you, probably no one is going to take this the wrong way. No one would mind, and certainly no one in this country would care. The thing is about how it made him feel.

Because of the nature of the article, it made Amil feel uncomfortable What if an important client, or potential customer read it? People can be really funny about these things. So for the rest of the day he wasn't as on form as he could have been – thus the effect became real. Due to the fact that he felt affected, he was affected by it. Ironically if Amil had just ignored it, he would have had a good day and never thought about it again.

So why am I writing this? Well, I've been told that if 10 people place a link to this webpage with the words "Amil Shah" in blue (like I have above to somewhere else), then when people google his name, instead of the article about the Taliban coming up, this article will come up instead! So if you want to help Mr Potato out, please give us a link to this page with the words "Amil Shah", and Mr Potato and Amil will both be grateful.

Now someone has already done this and emailed me, so to say thanks I would like to do a shout out to these guys who run corporate events in London. I know them because we went to one of their photography events and they were just great! So feel free to check them out! (and that is their website pluged!)

Grand Theft Auto IV is coming soon, and I'm really looking forward to it.
You play Niko Bellic, an Eastern European ex-military, who is lured to America by his cousin, with promises of mansions, fast cars, and wealth beyond compare.

The action takes place in the fictional Liberty City, a sprawling metropolis that game designers Rockstar North modelled closely on New York. For the graphical elements, the game utilises Rockstar's Advanced Game Engine (RAGE), an engine they introduced in their previous title Table Tennis, so now game characters look a little more realistic and don't suffer from the same problem skin conditions that plagued the previous games. NaturalMotion's advanced Euphoria system works as a physics engine, which is a welcome change to the tired ragdoll physics universally used in most other videogames, so game characters now have a skeletal structure making up their frame: From skulls to ribcages, and hips to toes!

Niko discovers, upon his arrival, that his cousin Roman has not been entirely truthful. The mansion, the fast cars, the riches - they're not quite there yet. To that end, unlike its predecessor GTA San Andreas, where the player could amass an empire built of cash, mansions, and even casinos, Rockstar have described this as not so much a rags to riches story, but more "rags to slightly better rags".

The level of immersion on offer seems deeper and richer than any other videogame experience.
Aside from the having the usual access to an entire city, and a range of vehicles to get around town in, players now have additional access to the games own version of the internet, replete with about one hundred different websites. It's not yet known how diverse these sites are, but I expect Niko would probably have more luck searching for online dating than he would if he were to search for something less obvious like consultant public relations, or maybe something on skin tag removal. Players can also visit comedy clubs, a funfair, and landmarks based on real locations in New York, like Middle Park (a take on Central Park), and Star Junction (based on Times Square).

And now you and up to 16 friends can all meet up online and go on a rampage through Liberty City, playing many different gametypes. Alternatively, if you just wanted to hang out and chat at a local coffeepoint, that is also an option. It would seem there's something for everyone, so why not pay a visit to Liberty City when it's released worldwide on the 29th April for the Xbox 360 and the PS3.

Mince Pies

Mince Pies

Christmas.  It does not feel Christmassy.  Maybe due to the fact that our household has not put up any decorations, yet.  Or maybe as I am feeling too cynical about the whole season known as Christmas.    But one thing that does get me in the Xmas mood are mince pies.  No matter how pre-packaged or how home made they come, everyone loves mince pies.  Generous relatives who can actually make them, shops that spit them from a factory or even a bakery that is in the festive spirit.

Of course today was the occasion of the first (two) mince pie(s) of the season and my, it tasted wonderful.

Ho, ho, yum!

The mince pie is a tradition that I absolutely love.  And I think anyone who has experienced the British climate in and around December would have to agree.  There is nothing more fulfilling that a gently warmed mince pie sinking to the bottom of your stomach topped with cream, caramel or custard.  Mmm.  Or how about all three for the cholesterol bursting finale of pure joy.


The tastes within the pie itself is a wonder to the palette.  Although not very sophisticated, the fact that they are only served once a year makes the mince pie such a sensual dish - an appropriate word for the tastes and textures that hits the tongue.

So enjoy your first mince pies of the Festive Season.  Remember that it is good to sin if you are on a diet or going to going to splash out on some Liposuction.  After all, with the winds picking up and the nights now filled with frost, that extra layer of ‘cuddle’ is not just comforting for the self but also a vital piece of survival.  Well, that’s the way I like to look at it.  Enjoy the little delicate pieces of ‘mincemeat’ that fall from the pies as you gobble them up on your way to work.  Remember that in a month's time it is back to boring old muffins and croissants.  And finally, enjoy the whole aura surrounding the mince pie.  For after all, Christmas comes but once a year...

The Pomegranate

The Pomegranate

The pomegranate.  A delicious fruit that now has hit the shelves as a fashionable drink with health benefits galore.  Now in the supermarkets, the pomegranate has become the elixir of youth, an expensive and exotic delicacy waiting to be desired.  Something as rare as the Lychee and with the miracles that can be associated with Papaya.

I love my pomegranates, but just how this fruit has achieved this status is beyond me.  The Pomegranate has had a long and history, even having a Tudor ship named after its deliciousness.  But over the ages, other fruits more exotic has surpassed it.  The Banana, the Orange and even the Avocado have seemingly become normal fare, although their origins are much further away than that of the humble pomegranate.  In fact, the pomegranate, despite its existence in British cuisine for far longer than these other fruits, is considered amongst the more unusual fruits to now grace our shelves.  The pomegranate is considered rare, and hence is now expensive.

Oh, how easily we are conned.  In fact, any regular visitor to a market stall or an ethnic food shop is quite acquainted with the pomegranate.  Usually selling at 20-25p each, it is a cheap fruit that can be nibbled with your apples and pears.  Personally, I love the pomegranate, but there is a lot of bemusement to be had when I see it being espoused for its miracle benefits.  Like all fruit, it is good for you, and like all fruit it is very tasty.

And remember, the pomegranate is grown in the Mediterranean, just like the Orange.  Other fruits such as Bananas come from much further afield and so should be the more expensive fruit.  As I crack open my pomegranate and nibble away at the juicy interior, a sticky grin comes to my lips as I think of how others view the difficulty of eating this wonderful fruit.

Through the eyes of a market trader

Through the eyes of a market trader

A market is often a place to watch the world go by and to go hunt for a bargain as well as being a setting where you could find many objects that you would not often get elsewhere.  Once beyond the confines of Portobello and Camden, there are bargains to be had and joys to behold.  However, as a part-time market trader, my views on the markets are very different from that of the customer.

Set up early in the morning, long before the sun rises in order to secure a spot.  Get out your stall and watch the mist condense on your goods.  One thing that often worries a trader are their neighbours.  It is the one thing that every trader is wary of early in the morning.  Let us take an ordinary market on the outskirts of West London.  I was joined by an elderly Sikh gentleman who has been trading for many years.  Everything on his stall for a pound and still, people badger him for bargains.  To my right, a quiet man with a scar who sold designer handbags at prices to make your eyes pop out.  

Opposite myself was where the life of the market place was unfolding.  There was a large stall selling men’s fashion, guarded and guided by two elderly Kashmiri gentlemen.  To the left of them was a stall selling Islamic literature and DVD’s.  To wideboys from ‘South of the River’ were selling rap-orientated clothing next to them.

At first, everyone was sizing each other up.  After all, these are potential competitors.  But as the day goes on, and everyone starts trading, we all realise one thing - the customer is fickle and it is them against us.  By the end of the day, as the stalls are packed up and we grumble about our losses, handshakes are exchanged, a few smiles are there on the faces of the lucky ones and everyone leaves as friends.

Until the next market day.