Brilliance

The entire area of southeastern Texas smells absolutely terrible. This is thanks, no doubt, to the square miles of oil refineries and natural gas plants that are the hallmark of Beaumont, Port Arthur, and Sabine Pass. It is the lifeblood of the area; every day, I see dozens of pickup trucks marked with the logos of various oil companies. I just wish it didn't smell so damned bad.

Next Monday is the start of the 2008 Jimmy Carter Work Project. Run by Habitat for Humanity and sponsored by Jimmy Carter, this is a week-long period of intensive home-building by Habitat and countless volunteers. Unfortunately, this year it is based in the Ninth Ward of New Orleans...where we just left. Nonetheless, even here in Beaumont we will be working with a number of different community organizations under the eye of local media. With any luck, we will be participating in a so-called 'blitz' build. These involve dedicated, well-practiced teams of volunteers who build around the clock for the length of the Carter project, taking a house from foundation and floor system to total completion in the space of a week. Fucking cool.

I was thrilled to see the New York Rangers fall to the absolutely dominant Penguins in five games. See ya Jagr, Avery. Next comes the Battle of Pennsylvania; a series with the Philadelphia Flyers. Pittsburgh will once again prove that it is by far the best city in the state.

Holy shit. This is the 2008 regular season schedule for the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Sunday, Sept. 7
vs Texans

Sunday, Sept 14
at Browns

Sunday, Sept 21
at Eagles

Monday, Sept 29
vs Ravens

Sunday, Oct 5
at Jaguars

Sunday, Oct 12
BYE WEEK

Sunday, Oct 19
at Bengals

Sunday, Oct 26
vs Giants

Monday, Nov 3
at Redskins

Sunday, Nov 9
vs Colts

Sunday, Nov 16
vs Chargers

Thursday, Nov 20
vs Bengals

Sunday, Nov 30
at Patriots

Sunday, Dec 7
vs Cowboys

Sunday, Dec 14
at Ravens

Sunday, Dec 21
at Titans

Sunday, Dec 28
vs Browns

(Thanks to the Steelers' official website for this schedule)

We have the toughest schedule in the NFL, by far. We go to Jacksonville, New England, and Tennessee, and play the Giants, Colts, Chargers, and Cowboys at Heinz Field. This is apart from our regular divisional games, that, thanks to the unfortunate and hopefully short-lived resurgence of the Browns, might not be the easy wins of years previous. Naturally, the easiest schedule in the league goes to...New England. Go figure. Are they trying to give the Patriots a perfect season?