Week 4

Ok, so I busy last week and completely missed doing week 3.  Time to make up for it..

Bills @ Ain'ts (via Antonio) - Ain'ts have a chip on their shoulder but the Bills have a strong D.  What Choo Talkin Bout McGahee starting to put up the yards.  Would give it to the home team but it's not really their home.  Bills take it.

 

Bronx @ Jags - Nice to see the Bronx provide the league a workshop on how to demoralize an opponent.  Jags won't roll over like the Chiefs did.  Plummer rollout is money.  Taking the visiting team

 

Lions @ Bucs - Harrington's days are numbered.  Bucs are on a roll with the caddy.  Griese gets another win.

 

Texan @ Bungles - Might have to change their name. They are no longer the bungles.  Palmer getting things done, Johnson finally showing the world the kind of receiver he needs to be.  Bungles take this one easy.

 

Colts @ Thumbtacks - Colts D is providing the wins.  Titans D providing to many yards.  Colts take it.

 

Bolts @ Patsies - Patsies are the little team that could.  You could plug in some pee-wee players and Belichick would make them into pro bowlers.  Bolts go down and all of a sudden their season is over.

 

Seaducks @ Potato Skins - Brilliant idea on the scheduling commitee. Have the skins play Dallas and then give them a bye so they have 2 weeks to celebrate.  The only problem with a vacation is coming back to work.  Seaducks roast the skins. mmmm...roasted potatoes...

 

Rams @ Giants - Giants were embarrased last week. Rams got away with one. Gonna be tight.  Field goal in the end for the home team.

 

Jets @ Ravens - Jets have crashed and burned.  Down to their # 3 QB.  Only saving grace for the jets is that he's to young to know when to stay on the ground.  Ray Lewis licking his chops.  Ravens in a easy win.

 

Boys  @ Raiders - I took a risk, fantasy wise, on Bledsoe and it's paying huge dividends.  Raiders still have a week o-line.  Boys d comes though.  Boys take it.

 

Vikes @ Falcs - Atlanta did really well when they told Vick to rein it in.  Culpepper finally getting his groove.  Shootout.  Vikes in the surprise.

 

Phili @ KC - KC was embarrased and they are looking to take it out.  McNabb has a sports hernia (abdominal strain).  Probably won't make it though the 1st half but it's a  valient effort.  KC with an easy W.

 

9ers @ Zona via Mexico city - (Take me down to mexico city where the grass is green and so is the water).  Toilet bowl of the week.  Only reason to watch is to see signs of John 3:16 and ESPN in spanish.  I guess I have to pick someone.  I'll take the 9ers.

 

Pack @ Panthers - Pack still have yet to get the engine going.  Doubt things will change against the panthers.  Panthers for a big win.

 

 

Well, maybe Theisman isn't so bad

So as I was going through my workday, enjoying at how I've let people know my disdane for Theisman and how commentators screw up calling games, I all of a sudden remembered my first year of college.

During my first year, in the spring semester, my close personal friend Cris and I decide that we are going to call a football game. I had that year's super bowl taped, so we were just going to strip out the audio and put in our own. We got headphones with mics hopped on an editing deck (I was working at the video lab) and began.

Now you would think that 2 football savvy people would be able to ace calling a game that they had already seen. I had seen it multiple times (Broncos over Packers). Cris was play by play and I was color.

We were horrible. I didn't really say anything dumb..I just didn't say anything. It's difficult to fill dead air...especially when the play by play man is quick. The best part of the whole thing is when I adjusted my mic and it sounds like I had a..ahem..flatulence problem. So we spent a whole drive talking about how much it stank in the broadcast booth.

So here's to you Joe Theisman. You're a real man of genius (real man of geeeeniuuus). You don't talk about farting..but it probably would be better if you did.

PS: Anyone watching the broncos/chiefs MNF game, did you notice how on the broncos first drive they actually ran a reverse but Al Michaels called it an end around? Did you say Shut Up Al? I'm proud of you, I did too. :-)

You are now warned

Dave mentioned how much he enjoyed Grow Cube. If you like that sort of stuff (click the things in the right order to solve the puzzle) then this will be right up your ally.

Hapland

and after you've torn your hair out you can try the sequel Hapland2

Shut up Theisman

Whenever I watch a football game, especially if it's on ESPN, I always find myself telling the commentators (common tators?) to shut up. The things they say aggrivate me. The play by play man is usually cool. Down and Distance. Easy stuff. The color man though..aargh. I realize it's his job to fill dead air. But at least fill it with something that isn't stupid. Here are some examples:

During the Patsies - Stillers game Brady had about 6 seconds to find the receiver and throw the ball. 4 stillers rushing. Color man gives tons of praise to the Patriots offensive line for picking up the blitz. But there wasn't a blitz. 4 rushers vs. 5 blockers. Pittsburgh is known as a "blitz" defense, but it really doesn't blitz that much. The way they work is that you don't know which 4 will rush and that's how they generate pressure. It could be 3 linebackers and a lineman rushing but if everyone else is dropping back, it's not a blitz. Don't get me wrong, they do blitz and when they do it's effective. But when it's just 4 people rushing, don't call it a blitz.

Second most irritating thing (and I promise I won't go any further after this one) is when they falsly call reverse. Typically you'll see the QB fake a hand off to a RB (although this part is completely optional) and then hand the ball off to a WR running behind the line. 95% of the time the commentators will say Team X runs the reverse. This is incorrect. It's actually an end around. A reverse would be if they actually handed the ball off one direction and then handed it off running the reverse direction. By definition you need 2 handoffs to have a reverse. I'll let you figure out double reverse and triple reverse.

You don't see the reverse run a lot in the NFL because defenses are so fast and the time to get the second hand off takes so long that it would fail.

That's all the gripes I'm going to share, but next time your watching football (especially if it's ESPN) join me...Shut Up Theisman.

Carl's Blog: Now with more link action

What Wouldn't Jesus Do?

Want to go smaller than the Nano? Try the iPod flea

It's about time we see innovation in the Pizza Fork world.

Nintendo Revolution controller trailer. Looks...interesting.

Grow Cube. Put the items in order to win.

A game as innocently named as "Ball Bounce" is bound to be maddening

Something to do before I die. View the Aurora Borealis(sp?)

Week 2

The picks the picks what what the picks.

Ravens @ Titans - Both got beat bad last week. Ravens have Wright and Stewart heading the offense. Toilet bowl of the week. Home boys by 3.

Bills @ Bucs - Cadillac "Beep Beep" Williams rumbled for 150 yards vs. the vikes last week. Bills D should be a bit more solid. Griese keeps the wheels turning. Bucs by 7.

Lions @ Da Bears - Harrington still has to prove he's the leader. Bears have to prove that they can score more than a freak TD. Lions roll to a win.

Jags @ Colts - Manning on a good start, just not as good as last year. Colts win.

Vikes @ Bungles - Anyone else find it interesting how last year's vikings offensive coordinator is now in Miami. Now the Vikes can't do anything and the dolphins can? Future head coach in the making down there. As to this game, everyone chants RUDI RUDI..and so it shall be. Rudi with the go ahead TD. Bengals by 14.

Patsies @ Panthers - Panthers lost on a last second field goal to the feel good team of the season. I warned last week of the conspiracy. My brother in law has a conspiracy with the patriots. Since 9/11 the patsies have been surprisingly good despite all the losses to personnel. War on terror is still happening so I guess it's the patsies with the win.

9ers @ Beagles - McNabb is all sore after the chest injury. Not going to be the same all season. Taking the upset special. 9ers going 2-0.

Falcons @ Seaducks - Close game. Coin toss says heads. Don't know what that means. Take the home boys..its safer.

Rams @ Cards - Warner back to the dome where it all began. The Fitz had a big week last week. Think he'll have a big one again. Cards will try to run up the score, but the rams play ball control. Last play of the game it's a screen pass to holt who drop kicks for the winning 3.

Browns @ Pack - Favre has run out of magic. Human mind can only take some many woes before you have to stop working. Browns stink though so the pack get off easy. Pack by 3.

Fish @ Jet Blue - Pennington had 6 fumbles. He needs to use some stickem in pregame. Just don't let him toss the coin. Fish have an O-coordinator who knows how to get things done. Jets outlook grim. Fishies swim to the win.

Bolts @ Bronx - Bronx had a horrific game last week. Don't know if the season is over already. Good news is that they have one top 10 pick from the skins next draft. They might make it 2. If the Bronx lose, the season is over. Bronx by 7...I hope.

Chiefs @ Haters - Haters O-Line looked surprisingly week last week. Chiefs D is either for real or the jets just stink. I'm going with the real deal. Chiefs by 17.

Giants @ Saints but really it's @ Giants - Giants get a huge break with an additional home game. They make the most of it. Win by 7.

Skins @ boys - Boys own the skins. Field goals won't cut it. Easy game, no one watches. Boys by 21.

Webmail wars

This is a tech blog entry in case you couldn't tell by the title. If technology bores you, move on..

A little while ago, Google started offering their own email application called Gmail. Gmail was revolutionary in that they offered 2 GB of mail space. Every other free webmail offered at most 5 MB. All of a sudden the fight for webmail was on. In addition to the added space, they also had a different way of organizing email. No longer did you have individual message but conversations with people.

I have never been a big fan of yahoo, but they seem to have taken webmail to the next level. The beta version of the program shows it completely redesigned. It looks a lot like outlook. You'll be able to preview messages, have multiple messages open (by use of tabs) and a couple other bells and whistles. For screen shots of the beta version you can visit this blog.

Hotmail has been falling behind in this race. It makes me wonder what billy boy has up his sleeve..

Random Mumblings

Hard to believe it's been almost a week since my last post. Lots of random things to write..

Broncos - Well, I think this could be the first time in about 15 years the broncos will have a top 15 draft pick. They looked really bad. I don't want to write off the season just yet, but last season only one team who lost the opening game made it to the playoffs. That was the colts who got beat by the patriots.

Slovakian food - Shayna, Dave, and myself went to a Slovak festival. They had potato pancakes, kielbasa (with kraut), perogies, and something that has meet and rice wrapped in a cabbage leaf with tomato sauce on top. It was all delicious. I ate myself stupid on Sunday.

9/11 - Most of the country don't really feel 9/11 I think. Places out west remember it but it didn't impact their lives. Being in DC is different (just like I'm sure it's different to people from NYC). I remember walking to class when Shayna stopped me and told me what was happening. I don't think people here even thought of this being a target for attack. Sure, it was a threat, but I don't think people really took it seriously. Shayna and I saw The Flight that Fought Back last night. Tivo it. Don't know when it comes on again, but it's inspiring. Also check out Dave's blog. He has some thoughts posted..

That's all for now I think.

[more thoughts after the original posting]

Shayna - I don't really talk about how great my wife is. Shayna writes these posts about me that make me wish I actually knew the person she was talking about. It's hard for me to express my feelings. Maybe it's because I'm a guy. Maybe I'm just emotionally retarded. The only way I can really put it is that I don't need anyone else in my life (exception of Jesus of course). I enjoy being with my friends but I don't need them. She's the only one I need.

Banana Bread - Shayna made banana bread for me last night because I asked her to. Even though she was butt tired. What a woman. Fresh Banana bread for breakfast is so money.

Peter Pan Buffet - best thing since sliced banana bread.

Week 1..in a nutshell

Since my freshman year of college my dad and I have a tradition of calling who is going to win the games. I thought I'd share my picks. If you want to share as well..feel free:

Raiders @ Patsies - Going for the upset. Collins -> Moss = Easy Money. Raiders by 7
Da Bears @ Da Skins - Still not a believer in Ramsey. Really not a believer in the tomato can the bears have sitting back there. D wins it. Skins by 10.
Bungles @ Brownies - Brownies are sweet but bungles are better. Chad Johnson in the back of the endzone for the winner winner chicken dinner.
Bronx @ Fish - Denver D looks to be a bit more solid. We'll see after this week. Easy win for the boys in blue.
Texans @ Bills - JP Losman gets the start. Not as much experience as Carr. Bills are at home..going with them. Bills by 10
Ain'ts @ Panthers - Ain'ts have a lot on their mind. Conspiracy theory says they win the superbowl. I don't like conspiracys. Panthers with the win.
Jets @ Chiefs - Chiefs still have tons of O and no D. Jets don't really have the O to keep up with the Chiefs. Chiefs roll to the win off the good Priest.
Seaducks @ Jags - Seattle coming off the tough playoff loss. That wish doesn't kill you, hurts a heck of a lot. Close one..take the duckies
Bucs @ Vikes - Bucs starting Griese. Good enough to keep it close and then fold at the end. Maybe I'm still bitter from all the heartbreaks. Have a cold one Griese. Your a real man of genius. Vikes win.
Flaming Thumbtacks @ Stillers - (shout out to Greg Easterbrook for the thumbtack reference) Hoping dad takes the thumbtacks because I'm taking the steelers (he always has problems with the old AFC central)
Zona @ Tall Peeps - Master vs. Protege. Warner vs Manning. will be good. Will be close. Cards fall short on a long field goal. Giants with the win.
Boys @ Bolts - If Gates plays chargers. If not, Boys.
Pack @ Lions - Favre loves to tear into the lions. Harrington really has to prove he's the man. Don't think he's got it in him. Pack wins
Rams @ 9ers - 9ers in disarray. Long time before the glory years return. Rams with the win.
Colts @ Ravens - Freight Train vs. Boulder. Freight Train wins (it's a really fast train with lots of options)
Beagles @ falcons - TO is talking to McNabb? Not good for Vick. Lots of highlights but in the end the Beagles win.

I've come to a conclusion..it's probably wrong

Some thoughts on this whole New Orleans thing. Usually when there is a natural disaster, or any disaster really, the first fingers point to God. This is difficult because it comes back to the age old question, why do bad things happen to people, Why does God allow bad things happen to people?, or Why does God allow bad things to innocent/good people? Pick one any one they are all the same really.

I don't have an answer. I suspect there will be comments offering answers, but really to a person who has just lost someone and doesn't know God, I doubt those answers will be of any value. Timing is very critical when dealing with a person who has just lost someone. I read and responded to earlier blogs on this which probably wasn't a very good idea on my part. I need lots of time to process things and determine how I feel about them. For me to express feelings right after an event will usually result in me expressing incorrect feelings. Can't really explain it..just know that I'm emotionally handicapped. :-)

So...did God cause the whole New Orleans debacle? Was it modern day Sodom and Gemorrah? That's difficult to answer. I guess it all depends on how you think God interacts in our lives. If God is a hands off kind of fellow and just makes subtle touches in our lives, then I think the answer would be no. People who live in the mid-west are at higher risk for tornadoes, people in California are at higher risk for earthquakes, and people in the gulf are at higher risk for hurricanes. That's just the way it is. Everyone has risk of something. I live 15 miles from, for all intensive purposes, the capital of the world. I'm at higher risk of terrorist attack than people in Boise Idaho. But I choose to live here and that's the way it is.

Now lets suppose that God is a micromanager of sorts. He is very active but we may not actively see it (so no hand coming out of the clouds and other such things). If this is how you feel, then yes I suppose God did cause/allow the hurricane and had a purpose for it hitting the spot it did. Did he do it to punish because he was angry at New Orleans for having a bad football team year after year (I kid, I kid)? No, I don't think so. If this is your view though, all disasters are caused/allowed by God. This includes things like 9/11 (Israelites were captured many times by other invading countries. Assyrians, Babylonians, etc. )

The tragedy of New Orleans is not in the hurricane. There are 'canes every year. Just as their are tornadoes every year. The tragedy of New Orleans is that the levy broke. If the levy didn't break this wouldn't have been a big deal. The ironic thing is that the part of the levy that broke first (and thus making it the weakest part) was the part that they had just "fixed". Because of this, New Orleans isn't a natural disaster. This was a man-made one. A structural engineer made a mistake by underestimating the stress, or politicians made a mistake by cutting back on the project to save money. It doesn't matter who's fault it was, it cost human lives. It stinks, but it's true..and it happens. People screw up all the time.

No matter which way you fall on how God interacts with us the outcome is the same. People give time, money, and convenience to help people they don't know. God blesses those who mourn (Matt 5). People go the second, third and even fourth mile to show Jesus.

I honestly don't know which way is the correct way to think of God. At times I like to think he actively put me in a specific spot at a specific time. I also have trouble with that though because of free will. If he puts me in a spot, how do I have free will to do my own thoughts and actions?

A man goes swimming in a river. He gets his leg caught in a tree branch and drowns. Did God cause the storm and the rain to have the branch fall, float down the water and wait for the man? Or was the man just not careful enough and got his leg caught? I don't think it matters. Either way the man is missed by his friends and family. They turn to God for answers/comfort and find his Son waiting for them with open arms.

Stats

My brother took stats class last semester and didn't get into it.  Stats for me was difficult but I find it very interesting..especially when it deals with this blog.  Here is some info regarding my blog that you might find interesting as well..

 

• Most people visit on a weekday between 6 am - 2 pm.
• Everyone who visits is from the US
• 87% use Internet Explorer, 7% use firefox, 5% use Safari
• 70% of my visitors have their monitor resolution set to 1024x768
• 18% have it set to 800x600
• 1 person has their monitor set to 1400 x 1050.  You have some wicked good eyesite..and probably a widescreen flat panel monitor.
• Some places that visit me are: knowledgekiosk.com, usaid.gov, senate.gov (pass some laws on that alcohol car thing...and give me royalties),
• Most people who visit me are on the east coast.  There are a couple in central time, and 1 or 2 people on the west coast.  Nobody from Mountain time though..still need to get market penetration in the Denver area..

 

 

Giving technology a whirl

One of the pains about having a blog is actually updating it.  Last night I found a setting that allowed you to post to your blog by (get this) emailing it in.  Now I no longer have to deal with the pain of having to open a web browser, going to blogger.com, logging in, create a new post, and then write out what I want to say.  I instead can just email an address and it goes to where it is supposed to go.

 

On to other things:

 

It's been tough looking at images of New Orleans.  I heard on the radio this morning that a man was sleeping on the roof of his house and he was attacked by an alligator.  As if those people don't have enough to worry about.

 

The president urged people to conserve energy (particularly gasoline) because of this.  Some refineries were located out that way and now they aern't.  I think now is a good time to start having people evaluate gasoline consumption. 

 

1st) SUV's are fun.  They really are especially when you go off roading.  But if the biggest incline you have is 7 degrees and that's from the parking deck at work, you shouldn't have one.  They don't help in the ice (we hardly have snow here). Honestly, most major US cities don't need them. I saw tons of them in LA.  LA is a desert!  Why do they need them?   There should be a minimum requirement that cars in general get a minimum of 20 mpg..and that's low.  If you drive some lincoln town car that get 17 mpg highway, you need to get a different car.  There is no reason for you to be in that thing.  You are probably some old person in a hat driving 20 mph to slow anyway.  Don't get me wrong. I like SUVs.  I don't want to preach. If you like spending $100 each time at the pump, fine you do that.  But honestly, there is no need for it.  You people in the hybrid SUVs, good for you, you get the same fuel economy as my Escort, but I still have a smaller tank than you AND I get around fine in the ice/snow.

2nd) Brazil has a great idea and I have no idea why this hasn't taken off.  They have cars that run on alcohol/gasoline.  You can put either in the tank.  The alcohol gets half the fuel economy but costs half the price (if that).  We could use corn (they use sugercane), soy, or any other crop really to produce the fuel.  That would send a big "Up Yours" (shout out to Cris) to OPEC.  All the big motor companies make engines for these cars.  They have been wary of doing it here because at the moment, you can't fill up anywhere and they don't know how the US market will react.  It burns clean which is nice and all but really I'm not concerned with that.  I just want to take the hit off my wallet.

 

I don't know if this is true or not (it probably isn't), but I remember hearing once that if we were to put all our farming resources to full use our country alone would be able to feed most of the world's hungry.  Let's for the moment assume this is true.  Let's put them to full use and create our own fuel supply.  If we have a famine or dought (or even a hurricane) we can switch to gas (because remember the cars can take either one). 

 

I really hope this email thing worked. I really don't want to type this stuff out again.