New Project

So I haven't blogged in a long time. Originally I had planned to update this thing pretty much every day. But unfortunately, after having sat at my computer all day at work, I don't always want to sit at the computer at home. And I don't always get to blog at work, because I am relatively (75%) sure that they don't pay me to blog.

But I took a couple minutes out of my work day to jot down some stuff because I am going to be embarking on a new project soon, hopefully, and it will likely be my nerdiest endeavor to date. Right now, my only hobbies are pretty much video games and on occasion reading. I have a tendency to over-read though and get burnt out on it for months at a time. I have been in the market for a new and real hobby for quite some time. There was the nitromethane R/C car debacle - it's an awesome hobby but requires more open space than I can currently provide, and without a track nearby, it was just impractical.

So now, I am ready for my next project (and likely its failure). I'm going to try to grow a bonsai tree. I have several reasons for this. First, I don't have a window in my office, and I don't have any office plants or anything of that nature, and quite frankly, it can get a little lonely in my office, especially in the winter months. Of course, I could always get just a regular old fern or something standard like that, but that just seems so ... plain. Sure, it's easy to maintain and all that stuff, I just think a bonsai would be much more interesting and perhaps fulfulling.

The second reason is that I have always have an appreciation for plants. I have never been a hardcore "green thumb" or anything, but I always enjoyed learning about plants and such in school, and I'd always learned toward science fair projects involving plants and the like. This appreciation was strengthened during my time working for the public works department, where much of my job was related to the flowers and trees scattered about the lovely village of Cary. I've always thought it was rewarding to see the development of some of the trees we had planted as I returned back for another summer's work. There is just something cool about watching plants develop over time.

Bonsai might also be a nice way to relax for me. I've been too high strung lately and I need something that will allow me to take a step back. As much as I hole myself up in my apartment like a hermit to play video games, I really do enjoy being outside. Of course a miniature tree on my desk is not the same to taking a hike through the woods, I still think it'd be a nice way to get some nature in my life, especially when I'm sitting here in my computer wonderland at work all day.

I think perhaps bonsai would be a nice way to liven up my office and give me some satisfaction in regards to cultivating a plant from seed through mini tree. I think Dave and Bryan might also be interested in cultivating a bonsai tree with me, and it might be kind of fun for the three of us to work on it as a remote group project. It'd be a lot of fun to compare how our trees develop (if we can get them to develop) differently as we each exert our influence over them. I think the three of us would be able to come up with some really cool stuff. The real X factor in this project is whether or not it will hold out interest long enough to actually see results. Bonsai trees can take years or even decades to reach the state that most people think of when they think of bonsai trees. My attention span is usually limited to hours, if not minutes, so perhaps undertaking a project on this time scale could be considered a mistake. But who knows, maybe I'll have finally found a hobby that I can really get into.

This really is probably the nerdiest idea I have ever had, and that is a pretty bold claim.

Welcome Back, Pac (Man)

Well, I haven't blogged in a while, for various reasons. Mostly, I have been trying to focus my efforts on Team Hamster Hat - www.teamhamsterhat.com - and I was busy all weekend with family stuff. Thankfully, Adam "Pacman" Jones has managed to get himself BACK in the news this week, which has inspired me to write.

For those who don't know, Adam "Pacman" Jones is a professional football player, who started his career with the Tennessee Titans. He is back (or, WAS back now) for this season, playing for the Cowboys, after having been suspended for the entire 2007 season. Now, you may be wondering what he could have done to deserve an entire season's worth of suspension, because after all, using steroids only gets you 4 games (and you can still make the Pro Bowl that year, ask Shawn Merriman).

I cannot go through the entirety of Pacman's legal troubles because I don't know the full history and it would be much too long to detail here anyways. But, there are definitely some fun highlights in Pacman's string of poor decision. He has been connected to a shooting in Las Vegas (the NFL has had 3 players shot in recent memory, 2 of whom were killed and the other is left paralyzed, so this is a MAJOR problem for the NFL). He also was the man who so famously decided to "make it rain" on some strippers, allegedly throwing over $80,000 in cash around a strip club. Also, the story goes that the night before the Pacman was to meet with the NFL commissioner to speak about his reinstatement from suspension, he was out patronizing the strip clubs 'til the wee hours of the night.

Finally, this past week, Jones was involved in an incident in a hotel, apparently a fight between himself and his bodyguard (hired by the Cowboys to keep him out of trouble, in what experts are calling "Ironic, dude. Super ironic."), where hotel employees had to call the police. He was not disciplined by the team, but has been suspended for at least 4 weeks by the NFL. There is potential that this could be his final straw and he will no longer be allowed in the NFL, but I would be surprised if that is the case.

Now, there don't seem to be many details about this altercation available, though there is speculation that it was alcohol-fueled. Now, there were no arrests made, and no charges pressed, which may lead you to think that this is "no big deal". And, taken as an isolated incident, I would agree 100% - everyone has been involved in a shouting match before and this could have just been a matter of simple overreaction on the part of those who phoned the police. However, when you consider the history of the Pacman, you can see that there are definite trends here that point to some serious problems. Everyone can make a bad decision or two and wind up in hot water. But this is a pattern of behavior for this guy, and many other athletes, that points to something much more serious than a single poor decision.

This can lead to all sorts of discussions about whether or not athletes are role models, and I will probably hold off on that discussion for another time. Specifically, I want to focus on the 2 primary things that I see plaguing sports on this front.

1) Talent > Character. I know, you're thinking right now that they are disciplining the Pacman, and that they are showing that character counts. And I agree, it's a step in the right direction. But the fact remains that if you have the talent, no matter your character, you will be able to get more than your fair share of chances. That is not to say that I do not believe in 2nd and even 3rd chances. I simply do not believe in infinite chances. Let's also keep in mind that many of these players have a history of such indescretions long before they even make it to the NFL. Many have been arrested multiple times in college, or multiple times with other teams. The Bengals alone had something like 15 arrests in a year or something like that. Think about it, 15 arrests for a 55 man roster? That's over 1/4 of your team! What percentage of the average populace do you think gets arrested in a year? Of course, this again speaks to other things, such as athlete's behavior based on social status, etc., which again may have to wait until another time. The bottom line is, if you can run a 4.4 40-yard dash and catch a football, no matter how much of a derelict you are, you will likely have more than enough chances to make an NFL roster.

2) An NFL career is less important than booze/pot/strippers. I know that this may seem like an oversimplification, but in the end, the message these athletes send is that they are willing to risk their NFL career so that they can continue to go to the strip clubs and get high and get drunk. Now, I am not trying to say that they should not be allowed to go take in some exotic entertainment and partake in a few cocktails. I do, however, think that if you KNOW your NFL career depends on you not doing those things, then you should not do them. When you know that getting busted will wind up costing you your NFL career and you still take the risk anyways, to me that is a statement that your career does not mean that much to you. These guys are not being asked to do anything unreasonable - just stay out of the police blotter! - and yet they still cannot manage to comply. And we're not talking about losing your $6.50/hour job flipping burgers and making shakes here. We're talking millions or even tens of millions of dollars. I realize how much hard work these guys put into their jobs, so it's not like their only task is to stay out of the blotter. But seriously, if someone offered you $12,000,000 to not go get wasted at a strip club, don't you think you'd have the willpower to resist?

Overall, it's just really sad what losers some of these professional athletes turn out to be. I am not saying that I am a perfect person by any stretch of the imagination, but I cannot fathom how powerful stupid or arrogant (or both) these athletes truly are.

"Team Building" At Work

So, I apologize for not having blogged in a while, I have been busy at work, and busy playing PS3, and then busy being a groomsman at a wedding this weekend. But, it's still been over 2 weeks since my last blog and I feel like I have disappointed my loyal reader (intentionally singular).

Last night was a rather interesting experience - the CEO of my company is in CVG for the week, so we went out to dinner as a company and then after that we decided to hit up a tavern for a while. We wound up staying at the bar until about 10:30, so I didn't get home until about 11, which is about when I am usually headed to bed. It wasn't interesting because I have never been out to a bar past 8 PM, contrary to popular belief. It was interesting because the youngest person out beside me was 40. That's been one of the weirdest parts about this job, I am the youngest in my office by 15 years, the youngest in the entire company by 5, and the only person without kids.

I get along with older people very well - sometimes better than I get along with people my own age. It's just a completely different experience to be at a bar with a bunch of 40+ people when you are typically there with people in the 21-25 range. The other interesting part is trying to balance talking about work with talking about things that are not work. This is especially difficult in our company because the CEO and President were both there, and their lives pretty much revolve around PARTsolutions. Obviously, as the owners, they are going to be extremely involved, and I think that's probably a good thing. Especially as so many other people are watching their companies crash and burn while giving themselves raises, but that's for another time.

The problem is, my life does not revolve around work. I really like my job, but I'm simply not as invested in it as the others might be. So, you have to find that balance between work and other stuff when you're around. If you're not careful, the 5 hours you spend at dinner and "team building" will wind up feeling just like 5 more hours at work. I had that experience a lot in Germany - wake up, get to the office at 8, leave the office at 6, go to dinner to talk about work for 4 more hours, then get back to the hotel so you can go to bed and put in another 14 hours the next day.

Last night we managed to strike a pretty good balance - I got some time to chat mano-a-mano with the CEO about both work and not-work. My only real regret is that I had driven for the night, and since I am not down with drinking and driving, I managed to put down all of 2 beers in the 5 hour time span. I'm not by any means a big drinker, but when the President is buying...

I apologize for the incoherence of this post - I am distracted with www.teamhamsterhat.com right now.

Free Trip To Vegas!

So, as I listen to the radio here at work, I am getting bombarded today with radio ads for a "free trip to Vegas" promotion. All you have to do is answer a trivia question. Yesterday's question was...

How many dwarves does Snow White hang out with?
A) 19
B) 13
C) 7

Today's brain-bender is...

You might listen to songs on your iPod or MP3 player, but back in the day you listened to songs on big black discs. What were these made out of?
A) Copper
B) Sterling Silver
C) Vinyl

Wow - that is a tough one...what could a big BLACK disc be made of? Silver maybe? Or is it Copper?

I'm wondering just how stupid people have to be to actually fall for these things - I mean, somebody has to, right?

I'm half-tempted to just call in and give the obviously wrong answer - just to see what happens. I am sure it's automated, which might kind of kill the fun. Imagine arguing with an operator because you are absolutely positive that old records were made of sterling silver...

SPORE!

I bought Spore. It's been very fun so far. There are a few shortcomings, which I may detail in another post, but on the whole I have found the game to be an enjoyable play. I will try to get a review of it up on GameSpot soon, and cross-post it here.

Spore Temptations

So, for those not "in the know", Spore came out on Sunday. The game is basically a simplified RTS game that plays out in 5 stages, where you control the evolution of your creature from single celled organism through space exploration. Each stage plays out separately, but I believe there is some tie-in between the stages. You get to customize not only your creature, but also your vehicles and buildings as well. The customization runs very deep, as can be seen just from the free version of the creature creator.

This game has had a TON of hype surrounding it for quite some time now, but it was always on the back-burner for me, if on any burner at all. But finally last week I took the plunge and downloaded the free creature creator. While I didn't spend DAYS on the thing like many people have, I still found it wildly entertaining and have put together at least half a dozen crazy creatures. I am far from the best creature-creator, as my creations tend to be slightly derivative, but it's still a fun venture. Even with the limited options of the free version, I've managed to sink a couple hours into it.

Now I am starting to wonder if I should go for it and buy the game. I am not an RTS fan by any stretch of the imagination, but the way this game is presented as a simplified version of an RTS game appeals to me. My OCD doesn't focus on games like a true RTS fan's does, but I have been mildly amused in the past by games such as SimCity. The smaller (yet at the same time much larger) scope of Spore feels like it might offer me the best of both worlds. It won't require the meticulous attention that a full time RTS does, but it will give a similar feel, while offering limitless creative options. Also, I feel like it might be a fun adventure to control the evolution of your creature from single-cell organism to space explorer. I am just not sure I feel like it'd be $50 worth of fun.

So, to Spore or not the Spore? That is the question!

It's Football Season, You Know What That Means...

...bring on the impotence drug commercials! That's right, it's time for the new season of those delightful erectile dysfunction commercials. I know that nothing says "Sunday afternoon" to me like a couple dozen commercials about how a new pill can keep you ready for when the moment is right! Of course, the right moment might cause headaches, nausea, or explosive diarrhea, but that's a small detail!

I expect a big season out of the impotence drugs this year. I mean, it's been a while since Viagra was released, so maybe they are starting to lose a little bit of steam now. But I think this could be a big year for the dong drugs - hopefully they can get back to form, because who can forget that particularly romantic commercials featuring the guy in his back yard continuously firing a football through the tire swing. And who can forgot that charming couple sitting in their bathtubs along the sea? I mean, who doesn't take baths outside by the sea all the time? I know I do.

I think that what this really speaks to is the link between the growth of popularity of Fantasy Football and the apparently epidemic level of erectile dysfunction in this country. It seems like the only commercials on during football games now are for Fantasy Football and for ED drugs. Is this a coincidence? I think surely not. Based on the number of ED commercials I see during your average football game, I am estimating that roughly 80% of men in the US suffer from ED. Which means I feel sorry for my 4 closest friends. But don't worry guys, you'll be rifling that football through the tire again soon, you just have to consult your doctor and be healthy enough for sexual activity!

The King of Sweden...

...is trying to poison me!

Every once in a while, I will notice that there is an odd and bitter taste on my lips. For a while, I thought it might be somehow related to my abuse of the Dust Destroyer Compressed Gas Duster in my office. You know, slowly poisoning myself because I like to turn the can upside down to freeze stuff.

But, it turns out that the bitterness is coming from my water mug (coffee mug full o' water). My "By Appointment of His Majesty The King of Sweden" mug. Of course, when I explained this to my co-workers, they suggested it is likely just the glaze on the mug, but I know better.

Of course, Bryan suggested that maybe the King is just trying to build up my immunity so he can send me on a secret mission. So, maybe I'll get a silenced pistol and an Aston Martin now.

So, do I keep risking poison hoping it turns me into a spy?

iPod Troubles

So, those that know me probably already know my feeling on Macs. I won't get into that right now. The only Apple product(s) I own are iPod(s). I use parentheses because I actually own two, but one of them is currently being used by Leesa after hers crapped out. For Christmas, PARTsolutions was nice enough to gift me with an 8 GB iPod Touch. So far, it has been really handy in its limited use.

The reason it gets limited use is that as cool as the touch screen is, it is impractical for most of what I use an iPod for. Mostly, I use my iPod at the gym, and I don't want to listen to every song on there, but I don't really make many playlists. So my general procedure is to put it on shuffle, and every time a song comes on I don't want to listen to, I just hit the skip button until I come to a song I want.

The problem with the touch screen, then, is that I have to look at the iPod to use the skip. Of course, I usually have to slide the little bar to unlock it too. With the Nano, I just reach down, press the button, and voila, next song. It's so much quicker and easier WITHOUT the touch screen to me. The Touch is really great, but only when I am in a static state. On a plane ride, for example, it is exquisite. The best feature of the Touch is that it has a large screen for watching movie and TV. Definitely a lifesaver.

The other beautiful feature of the iPod is that it works. Simply. Bring your music into iTunes, plug in your iPod, and magically all your music is there for you to enjoy. However, this morning, for whatever reason, my iPod Touch did not want to work. Now, it might have been something else I was doing, but it was a definite breakdown in the ease of use. When I plug in the pod, I want it to sync to whatever is in my current iTunes library. This morning, I had roughly 4.6 GB of videos and 2.6 GB of music in my iTunes. For you math majors, that's 7.2 GB worth of stuff for an 8 GB iPod. Should have plenty of room for everything, right? Wrong. It kept telling me that I didn't have enough space.

Surely this was just a mistake, and easily fixed, right? Well, I unplugged it, plugged it back in (my IT solution for everything), same message. Now, I had some videos on the iPod already that I had deleted from my iTunes, because I was done with them and wanted them gone. But for whatever reason, it didn't want to get rid of them and put the new ones on there. It was simply fixed by just deleting them from the iPod. But I seem to remember in the past that it would all be done automagically.

The other breakdown I have seen with the iPod, and again I do not know that it is really the fault of the iPod, is that it is a huge pain to get videos onto it. All the videos I have are in AVI format, and they have to be converted to mpeg4 to work on my iPod. This is actually a very time-consuming and frustrating process, especially as most programs to do it are not free, and the two I have found that are do not always work as I want. One of them will frequently tell me my AVI files are NOT video streams and cannot be converted. The other one is a massive resource hog. They both convert at about 1:1 speed, so it takes a long time to convert a lot of things. Generally I queue it up before bed, so no real problem there. But yesterday I had to watch whatever was on TV at the gym b/c we didn't want to wait for Transformers to finish converting.

In the end, these are not end of the world issues - just a slight disappointment to find something that always simply worked decided to let me down this morning.

Salary Discrepancy

So, as it's now the 2nd of the month, I got paid yesterday (yes, I get paid monthly and it eats loads), and I was thinking, it would be much more accurate for them to tell me how much money I will make AFTER taxes. Now, I won't get into specific dollar amounts, you nosey bastards, nor will I get political because I know nobody gives a shit what I have to say about Elections '08 on my blog. I just want to point out that so far this year, 26.5% of the money I make has been taken out in taxes.

So, we're not talking about a few percent here, this is some significant cheddar. Now, I am not here to complain about this, necessarily, because I still have it pretty good, and I realize taxes are important for a lot of reasons. It just depresses me every month to know that I make $X, but in the end, I only see about 3/4 of that amount. You just wonder how much of a difference it would make to see a 5% decrease in taxes, or 5% increase. 5% seems like so little, it's a nickel on a dollar, but it would actually amount to hundreds of dollars a month. More (or less) money to pay off student loans or invest into a 401k.

At any rate, this has been a boring semi-political post, and quite frankly not very insightful about anything. Perhaps later I'll get something up here about Hamlet 2, which I took in this weekend.

I Can't Hide It Any Longer...

...I really like Darius Rucker's new song, "Don't Think I Don't Think About It".

Now, I do not like country music. I don't really dislike it either, though. I don't listen to it, but it does not really bother me when it's on. Usually when we go somewhere, I let Leesa control the radio and she likes country. There's a few songs that I really dislike, usually because they feature someone with such an over the top southern accent that it just sounds awful.

I also think country stations are the guiltiest of all when it comes to overplaying songs. While there isn't any country song out there that has reached the overplay proportions that Don't Speak (No Doubt) hit, there are still a few that seem to be played way too often.

That being said, I really do like the new Darius Rucker country song. It is definitely a country song, but it's not overly twangy, and he certainly does not have some ridiculous accent. Quite frankly, I've always liked his voice, back to when he was fronting Hootie and the Blowfish. It seems like it is actually very well suited to this style of music.

So, if you're brave, give it a listen because you might actually like it...



Apologies for the quality, best version I could find on the fly.

Things I Wish I Was Good At

In general, I think I am pretty good at most things. I've always been good in sports, school, work, etc. But the two things I absolutely suck at that I wish I was good at are dancing and singing. Most of my good friends are very musically inclined people, so even if they're not good at dancing, they're good singers, or at the very least they are very good musicians. I am absolutely horrible at all of those things.

I remember friends once tried to convince me to learn to the play the bass because they needed a bass player for their band. It never materialized and I think in the end, we are all much better for it. Thankfully, I don't think it has ever even occurred to anyone to ask me to sing.

Of course, give me enough free booze and I somehow believe that I turn into the guys shown here. Not as bad as those douche bags who insist that they are fluent in Spanish when they're drunk, despite the fact that they speak little to no Spanish when sober. I'm pretty sure that drunkenly stumbling into the La Bamba's and hollering slurred gibberish at the poor guy taking orders does not qualify you as "fluent". I think it just makes you a patronizing asshole.

Doctor Disappointments

So, to start out with, I should point out that it's a very bad idea to scratch insect bites. I normally don't, but I got one right in the crook of my elbow and it drove me nuts, so I scratched the bejesus out of it. And of course, it got infected. Normally not too big a deal, a little Neosporin and on your way, right? Well, by yesterday afternoon, it was pretty swollen, there was a red spot around 4" in diameter surrounding it, and, most concerning, a 1/2" wide red streak extending about 4" up my arm from it. Needless to say, I decided I should go see the doctor.

I had to go to the Urgent Care center, as it was after 5 (side note: doctor's office hours blow), which means I had to pay extra, but whatever. I sat in a waiting room for about 45 minutes, then after that, I sat in an exam room for another 30 minutes. In the end, it was diagnosed as an infection, the very conclusion I came to myself, and I was prescribed some anti-biotics, as I anticipated. I'm not saying I can do a doctor's job, but it's always frustrating to go to the doctor to get a diagnosis you already made, just because you can't prescribe your own medicine. I suppose in the end, it's ALWAYS a good idea to go to the doctor just to be on the safe side, especially with things like infections. I trust the internet for a lot of things - advice on video games, directions to places, movie reviews, etc. But I don't trust it for my health.

However, the biggest disappointment wasn't the $65 I had to dish out because I am a dumbass and couldn't not scratch a bug bite. The disappointment was Doctor Bhatt.

Now, Doctor Bhatt was a fine doctor - she was friendly, competent, informative, etc. However, when they told me I would be seeing "Doctor Bhatt", I heard it as "Doctor Bot". So, I immediately began thinking to myself how awesome it would be if my doctor was, in fact, a Transformer. This of course led me to the question, what is the better name for said Transformer doctor? I boiled it down to Optimus Doc, or Doctormus Prime. Right now, I am leaning toward Doctormus Prime, but I am always open to input.

I guess maybe it is a bit arrogant of me to automatically assume that I would be getting the Autobot leader as my doctor. I mean, if Optimus Prime was a doctor, you know he'd be some sort of super neuro-surgeon or something like that. Not someone moonlighting at an urgent care center to look at bug bites. But really, I would have even settled for this:


This could also be the nerdiest thing I have ever written.

Workout Underoos

I'm a boxer guy, but I've found that boxers just don't work well for working out in. Especially if they don't have a button on the fly. There's nothing worse than being on a cardio machine trying to inconspicuously adjust your drawers.

So yesterday I went to Kohl's to check out some boxer alternatives, and what I found has astounded me. I wound up buying some Hanes boxer-briefs, which isn't anything revolutionary, but they're made of a new "wicking" material that breathes but wicks away moisture. Basically, it's like those fancy expensive workout shirts, but instead it's underwear.

I guess I had never really thought there was anywhere else that underwear was really going to go. I mean, underwear had been underwear for as long as I can remember. I guess it's only logical to assume that clothing developments outside of the underwear field would eventually find their way into the underoo department, but I just had never thought of it before.

Long story short, I now own workout underwear.

The BCS - It Works

So, I wanted to go ahead and get this out of the way right now, before the college football season starts, so that we can all finish this discussion now and move on: I think the BCS works. Or, to put it more accurately, I think that a playoff system isn't a better solution.

In practice, the playoff system is glorious - it puts the outcome solely on the results of direct competition. I am not against this system, per se, but it seems to me like the implementation of a legit playoff system is virtually impossible.

Some people argue that it extends the season too long, etc. I don't buy that excuse in any way, because I think anyone who still believes in the misguided pretense that college football players at big-time universities are "student athletes" is simply being naive. Now, if you are adding 4 or 5 games, I can see it as a problem. But 1 or 2 is not a big deal.

I think there are simply TWO prohibitive problems with the playoff system.

1) The current system already puts teams in a "win or go home" mentality. For this upcoming season, the Ohio State v. USC game is already being hailed as the game that will decide 1 of the 2 teams that will play for the national championship. The fact that there was a 2-loss national champion last year was an aberration - and even then, their destiny was out of their hands.

The only reason LSU made the title game was that other teams choked. So, while having one loss will not completely ruin your chances, it will make the outcome dependent on other teams. If you go through your regular season undefeated, you will get to play for the national title. If you lose even a single game, you may lose your shot. The exceptions are teams like undefeated Utah/Hawaii/Boise State, who played nobody, and undefeated Auburn, who lost their shot to 2 other undefeated teams. But in reality, that is not the normal case - there are very rarely 3 worthy teams that have all run the table until the last game of the season. (More on the small-time undefeateds in another post).

If you move to a playoff, it immediately removes the imperative nature of winning EVERY game. I'm not suggesting that teams will thus not try to win every game, but it will take the pressure off. This coming season, with a playoff, it wouldn't matter who won the USC-Ohio State game because in the end, both schools will make the playoff. So, right away, what could potentially be the best and most important game of the season has lost 90% of its importance.

As it stands right now, every week matters. A playoff system would create a ton of excitement at the end of the season, but do we want to trade a full season of nail-biting excitement for 2 or 3 weeks of it? I certainly don't.

2) There is simply no good way to lay out the playoff system that will not, in some way, snub somebody somewhere. It is as simple at that. The logical numbers for a playoff are 4 or 8 teams (potentially 6 - the top 2 get byes, or 16). With the 4 team playoffs, teams 5-8 will complain of snubs. With the 8 team playoff, teams 9-12 will complain of snubs. And with a 16 team playoff, not only will it KILL The regular season, but it will place potential 3 or even 4 loss teams with a shot at the title against un-and-one-defeateds.

Last season, the 4 team playoff would have been: Ohio State, LSU, Virginia Tech, and Oklahoma - or maybe swap VT for Georgia, depending on what poll you use. Which leads us back to polls. The polls can't agree on the Top 4, so which poll do you use?

Also notice this would have excluded: Georgia, USC, Missouri and Kansas (again VT-GA swap). That's right, Georgia, who many claimed was the best team in the country at the end of the season, would not be there. And USC, who most others claimed was the best team in the country at the end of the season, would not be there.

Even with a 6-team playoff, giving OSU and LSU byes, we're still missing USC or Mizzou (depending on polls, AGAIN).

However, if we decide to up it again to 16 teams, not only do we add 4 games, we include 3 and 4 loss teams. So, if Tennessee wins the title, they're a FOUR loss national champion. In the end, where is the motivation to be anywhere but 16th or better in this system? Why wouldn't Ohio State mail it in against Penn State in the last game of the season? Where does this leave 3 loss Texas (or Wisconsin), who is actually ranked below 4 loss Tennessee?

If you take fewer teams, you snub too many. If you take more teams, you give some a shot that don't deserve it. People will say, "Pick a number and stick with it. Tell the other teams to deal with it." A grand solution - and EXACTLY what we do now!

The whole reason people want to get rid of the BCS is because they will argue that it doesn't match up the best teams, but neither does a playoff. The best solution we have is to create the problem another way?

In the end, I simply don't see any logical way to put together a playoff that actually satisfies the dependency on polls without just giving everyone a shot that can still provide the week-in week-out urgency of college football. It's not a perfect system, but it works better than anything else I have seen anyone suggest.

Go Away, Danica

I should first point out that I am not done with Danica Patrick, because I never started with her. I will put it succinctly right here: Danica Patrick is the most overrated "athlete" on the planet. I might previously have reserved this title for Michael Vick, but seeing as we won't be seeing him for a while, the torch is passed. Now, I say she is an "athlete" because I've never believed that drivers were athletes in the traditional sense. That might be a rant for another time, because right now, I want to focus on Danica.

Many people remember that Danica led some laps at the Indianapolis 500 a few years back, the first woman to ever do so. What most of those people don't seem to remember is that she did not win, and in fact, the eventual winner, Dan Wheldon, could have passed her any time he so desired. Regardless, it was still a good story, and she was a very intriguing figure - young, pretty, and doing well in a "man's sports". That is what unleashed Danica Mania (Danimania) on the world. At the time, it seemed harmless enough, it was a nice side story, and let's be honest, the Indy Car series was not exactly enthralling. So I understand why they pumped her up at every opportunity and tried to make her the face for the series.

Here is the problem(s): she's not that good, and she's a whiny little brat. In her Indy career, Danica has compiled a grand total of ONE win. Yes, infinitely times more Indy Car wins than I will ever have, but that's not the point. She is the ONLY driver to get any attention from the media, and she just isn't that good. Even her one win came at Twin Ring Motegi, which for those who don't know is a track in Japan. She was even racing against a smaller field that didn't have many of the best drivers in the series in it. So, to sum up, she won ONE race in a series that nobody cares about, against a weakened group of competition, in a country that is halfway around the world, in front of a TV audience of approximately 9 people (7 of whom were likely asleep on their couch anyway). Yet, I have heard people declare this the greatest accomplishment for women in sports in history.

Yes, that's right, a woman winning an essentially meaningless race in a meaningless series when nobody is watching is apparently the thing that will finally level the athletic playing field between men and women. Does that sound a little bit ridiculous to you too? Don't get me wrong, it's a nice accomplishment, it makes for a flashy headline, and it certainly doesn't really hurt female athletes (more on this in another post), but to declare it their greatest accomplishment ever? I think maybe we're going a tad overboard here.

The real problem here is that the ONLY reason anyone gives half a crap about Danica Patrick is because she's pretty. Make no doubt about it, there are many, many, many women out there who are much better at what they do than she is. But because she is young and pretty, she is the one who gets all the attention. Laurena Ochoa, for example, is likely going to wind up being the best female golfer ever, as she is essentially the Tiger of the women's tour, and she does not get nearly the exposure that Danica does, despite being so much better at her sport. Why? It's not because people care so much more about Indy Car, because they just don't. The only reason I can think of is that Danica is better looking. What does that really say about the state of women's athletics?

But even that isn't my biggest beef with Danica. What I dislike about her most is that she behaves like a whiny little baby all the time. She seems to think she is entitled to what she wants when she wants it, because she is the "darling" of the Indy Car Series (which I repeat - nobody cares about). And this usually lands with the men of the series being put between a rock and a hard place. People may not remember the race in Milwaukee, when after the race she approached a male driver and proceeded to start yelling at him and shoving him.

At that point, what can he do? He is basically forced to sit there and take it, because he surely couldn't shove her back. If he so much as raised a hand to her, even if it was just to keep her from shoving him more, he would be absolutely crucified by everyone, even though she was the aggressor. Basically, he has to stand there and take her crap for as long as she decides to give it, just because she is a woman and she is the only thing Indy Car seems to have going for it. I understand emotions run high and sports and tempers flare and occasionally a scuffle is bound to break out. But it's simply not fair to the male drivers that she has this sort of immunity just because she's a woman. If you're supposed to be this strong confident representative for the women's sports world, you can't be out there throwing temper tantrums like a 4 year old every time things don't go your way. And this is not an isolated incident - she has exhibited this behavior many times over her career and seems to be showing no sign of changing.

However, with all of that, I still managed to pretty much not care less. It was watching the most recent ESPYs that really pushed me over the edge on Danica. She was nominated for a couple awards, best female athlete and best moment (her win @ Motegi). She did not win best female athlete, as that went to Candace Parker, who will wind up being the face of the WNBA for a decade and the best woman basketball player ever. The look on Danica's face when Parker was declared the winner, you would have thought she had just eaten six lemons. I understand that you want to win the award, but isn't it generally expected that if you don't, you carry yourself with a little bit of dignity? Look, I've seen people be disappointed when they don't win awards and I understand that, but they've always at least tried to show a little bit of class. But oh no, not Danica. She apparently doesn't have to.

But what really pushed me over the edge was her similar reaction to not winning the Best Moment award. Now, as mentioned previously, her win at Motegi was no doubt a nice moment. However, it wasn't even close to the moment that won (the two softball players carrying an opponent around the bases), and everyone knew it. There wasn't a person there (except her, apparently) that didn't know the softball players would win. There was a never a single shred of doubt there. But even knowing that she wasn't going to win, she still had the same sour puss look on her face when she wasn't given the award. Even giving some leeway on the previous award, where she may have had some chance (because she is overrated, remember), this was just inexcusable.

So, to make a long story short, Danica Patrick is the most overrated "athlete" in the world, and quite frankly I think she is the exact opposite of what we want the champion of women's sports to be.

Come Back, Barry!

I have to say, to anyone who is half as big a baseball fan as me, this is going to sound really weird: I want Barry Bonds to play this year. I know, you think I am crazy, but quite frankly, I just don't hate Barry Bonds the way everyone else in the world seems to.

Don't get me wrong - I DO think Barry Bonds was a juicer and I DO believe that he is probably a first class asshole. That doesn't change the fact that he is, by leaps and bounds, the greatest baseball player that I have ever seen. I can honestly say that I believe he is the best baseball player to have ever lived.

Now, at this point, I think it's pretty obvious to everyone that Bonds was using steroids. But my real question is: why shouldn't he have been using them? We can all get on our moral high horse and talk about the "sanctity of the game" and all of that garbage. But for all our blustering about that, we don't really seem to care that there were literally hundreds of other ballplayers using the juice. When Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa were bringing baseball back by chasing down Roger Marris' record, we all knew they were juiced - but nobody really seemed to care. In fact, I remember many people acknowledging that they were juicers with a smile on their face. Now, all of the sudden, Barry Bonds comes along and breaks the record and we're all outraged by his steroid use? It doesn't add up.

I don't believe it's a race issue, because people adored Sammy Sosa and he was not only a non-white, he was from another country and could barely speak English. I think the main reason is that people have a personal problem with Bonds. But that isn't the point. The comparison of baseball players should be done independently of whether or not you like them. We can act like we're all made of such strong moral fiber with how we condemn him for steroid use, but isn't that quite hypocritical of us when we consider all the other users we have let off the hook? Morality isn't meant to be applied selectively.

Many people will argue that it matters because he has broken records. They're wrong. That makes him no better or worse than any other player who used steroids. In a league that was filled to bursting with cheaters, we have placed all of our focus on that one guy.

Oh, sure, there were the guys in the Mitchell report who had to take some flak for their behavior, but it was nothing compared to what Bonds was subjected to. Perhaps the exception to that is Roger Clemens, but really, who can say that he didn't bring that all upon himself. Take a look at Andy Pettitte - he admitted to using steroids and not only is his pitching for the Yankees today, it is extraordinarily rare for him to even be brought up in a steroids conversation. Jason Giambi offered a clumsy fumbling apology for using without explicitly acknowledging what it was that he was actually apologizing for. Where is he now? Playing first base for the Yankees in a stadium full of people wearing fake mustaches in his honor. Even Eric Gagne, who set an incredible mark of converting 84 straight save opportunities (besting the 2nd longest streak by THIRTY saves), was outed as a user. Now, the man couldn't strike out a tee-baller, and nobody seems to care. Obviously, consecutive saves is not the same as the homerun record, but it's still an incredible record achieved through the wrong means, so why are we not outraged about it?

Now, I am not trying to condone steroid use. I wish the steroid era never would have happened. I'm sick to death of hearing about it. But I just don't see how we can lay the blame on one man, just because he happened to be the best player of the era. Quite frankly, I think Major League Baseball should point the finger squarely in the mirror when it comes to placing blame. The steroid movement began to gain momentum back in the 1980s. And it was widely recognized by people at every level of MLB. But, it isn't until more than 20 years later that they really decided to crack down on it. I think if you knowingly let the situation develop for decades, it is at least a large part your own fault when it blows up. But instead, we let MLB play the victim.

I like to think that in that situation, I would not have used, but the fact is, I would have. And 99% of the people in the world would have. People say he was good enough that he didn't need them, and that's true - he was a Hall of Fame caliber player long before he was a juicer. But why should he sit idly by while everyone around him gains an unfair competitive advantage? Why would he sit around and watch as pitchers bring it at 101 mph because they're juiced like crazy? Would you sit around watching as everyone around you closed the gap using illicit means? I like to think I would, but I know that in the long run, I probably wouldn't.

He may be a jerk, but he is still the most dominant hitter that I (or anyone else on the planet for that matter) have ever seen at the Major League level. That's why I want to see him come back. And aren't people at least a little bit curious to see what he can do now that he has no chance to juice?

Off The Wagon / On The Trolley

Well, courtesy of a little "shove" from Basillisk (Dave), I am either back Off The Wagon of NOT playing Final Fantasy XI, or back On The Trolley of playing Final Fantasy XI. I suppose it is more than likely a little bit of both. This is a somewhat slippery slope, however.

I want to keep this casual as best I can. But I also know that it can be very difficult to play this game in a casual manner. Looking back, I am forced to admit that at one time I was absolutely addicted to this game. I mean, it could always have been worse, I could have been addicted to crack, but, I cannot afford to get addicted to this game again.

Simply put, I am not at a point in my life where I can dedicate 20+ hours a week to a video game. I'm not in college anymore, I can't stay up until 3 AM playing because I can sleep 'til noon and still make my first class. I am also pretty sure that Leesa would be far from OK with me spending 6 nights a week deeply rooted in Vana'Diel.

To add even more interest to this story, yesterday evening Leesa and I signed up for gym memberships at the Ideal Fitness down the street from our apartment. If a gym membership and a Final Fantasy XI membership aren't a conflict of interest, I don't know what is.

If this winds up destroying my life, I blame Dave entirely, and I plan on bringing him down with me.

Re-Installing XP - Shoot Me In The Face

So, finally, roughly 2.5 years after his birth, I decided it was time for Megaman to get a clean install of Windows XP. The malignant applications and such had been slowly building and I figured that I might as well get it over with.

So, I dug out the old Windows XP Professional SP2 disc, snagged my backup drive from work, backed up all my music/movies/TV shows and documents, and started fresh. Of course, the SP2 disc that I have wouldn't boot properly - no big deal, I had prepared for this by bringing home my XP disc from work. I figured I would just install using the other disc and then use the activation code from my old installation.

Well, apparently, it doesn't work that way, or at least it doesn't work that way for me. Everything ran and installed fine, but then when it came time to activate, the original code I had used when I built the CPU the first time didn't work. I figured I would give the other activation code from the disc I used a try - no dice.

Not the end of the world, right? I called the number on the activation splash and was promptly given a series of 54 numbers as an ID. After reading all 9 6-number groups to an automated system, I was told they couldn't validate it, and they would put me on with customer service. After speaking with the first guy from customer service, he told me he would transfer me to someone who could give me a new activation code. After speaking with that woman for about 10 minutes (about 8 of which were on hold), I was given a new Activation code for my XP. All set, right?

Wrong! Naturally, this code didn't work either. When I informed her of this, she told me that she would have to put me on with technical support. So she transferred me to them, but naturally, their hours don't start until 6 AM Pacific - so I will be at work at that time, which isn't the end of the world, but means I have to call after work, when call volume is the highest. In their defense, every person I talked to was very pleasant and friendly, so even though they didn't solve my problem, at least they weren't jerks.

I am pretty sure I have a valid installation of XP - I mean, I have used it before, why wouldn't I be able to reinstall with it? But I am really worried I am going to go through this run around on the phone only to finally be told, "Sorry, you have to go buy a new copy of XP." I really hope this isn't the case. Wish me luck.

I'm Sorry, Chipper and Josh

I'm sorry, Chipper and Josh. You're both playing very well, but it's not going to happen.

Chipper Jones will NOT hit .400 this season. He just won't. Many people can tell you that the last man to hit .400 for a season was Ted Williams. Ted hit .406 in 1941. In the 60+ years since, nobody has equaled the accomplishment, though many guys have come close. Tony Gwynn was hitting .393 when the strike hit in '94. In 1980, George Brett hit .389. Currently, Chipper Jones is sitting at the .394 mark, having spent the vast majority of the season over the .400 plateau.

But it's not going to happen. Right now, Chipper has every possible advantage going for him. He has a potent hitter behind him (Mark Teixeira), and he is injured (hang with me on this one). He is currently likely headed to the Disabled List to re-hab this ailing thigh. Normally, I don't think an injury seems an advantage, but for a guy who is historically injury prone, it offers Chipper a break right in the middle of the season. He will be better rested for a second-half push, and it is likely not so serious an injury that he will miss enough time to not qualify (by having the minimum number of at-bats to win a batting title). Also, it lends Chipper a perfect excuse to take it easy when he isn't 'feeling it', and this can help him avoid longer slumps. His team is 4 games out of first place, and 3 games under .500, and with their injuries, they can't win the division and have no shot at the wild-card. So, why not try to go for personal accomplishments? There will be no better time than now.

That being said, with those things going his way, it's simply not going to happen. Chipper is a career .310 hitter - a fantastic career number for a man who is a lock for the Hall of Fame. But before this season, his highest BA for a season has been .337, in 2007. Tony Gywnn, on the other hand, posted SEVEN seasons hitting .350 or better (counting his .394 season), and hit over .370 for a season thrice. If Tony Gwynn couldn't do it, then Chipper won't either. Chipper has 254 ABs on the year, so it is still easy enough for him to raise his average (a 3 for 3 game would put him back to .400), but as the season goes on, it will become more and more difficult for him to catch up the .400 mark once he is below it. In the long run, as much as it seems like he is impossible to get out this season, Chipper still won't hit .400.

And Josh Hamilton, I'm sorry, but you're not going to win the Triple Crown. The last man to win a triple crown in either league was Carl Yastrzemski, for the Boston Red Sox in 1967. So, that's over 40 years since we have last seen a Triple Crown winner. That year, he hit .326, with 44 HRs and 121 RBIs. Last year, in the AL, the Triple Crown leaders hit .360 (Magglio Ordonez), with 54 HRs (A-Rod) and 156 RBIs (A-Rod). In the National League, it was .340 (Matt Holliday), 50 (Prince Fielder), and 137 (Matt Holliday).

It would seem that with 2 of the 3 categories being won by the same guy last year, a Triple Crown isn't so unrealistic. But, A-Rod finished 49 points behind Magglio in BA, and Holliday hit 14 fewer Homeruns than Prince. Simply put, it is too difficult to be the best at all three of those things. In this day and age in baseball, there are just too many guys good at too many different things for one man to take the crown in all of them. The real dividing line is homeruns and batting average. It is just too difficult to lead the league in both of those, because there is either going to be a Magglio who hit .360, or a Ryan Howard or Prince Fielder who has 50+ jacks.

Currently, there are only 2 guys in all of MLB that I consider legitimate Triple Crown contenders. Alex Rodriguez and Albert Pujols. Both are capable of putting up monster HR and RBI numbers, and are such great hitters, they can go through a season hitting .340. Of course, that still means there can't be that guy having a career year to hit .355, or the one guy who plays great and hits 55 homeruns. Plus, to lead the league in RBIs, you have to play on a solid team and get a lot of at-bats in RBI situations. Both A-Rod and Pujols have been injured this year, and while A-Rod is in striking distance on BA and HRs, he is too far out of the RBI race for this year. And Pujols is too hurt and also too far out of the RBI race for the season (plus, Lance Berkman is on fire this season).

So, this adds up to another season without a .400 batting average and without a Triple Crown winner. I hesitate to say these feats will NEVER be accomplished, because you never know what to expect with baseball. But you can mark is guaranteed that this is not the year.

I am sorry for the overly sports-nature of this post. Also, it required so much number reference it took too long to write. Next time, I'll try to keep it shorter, simpler, sweeter.

Undershirts for tall people

I really wish someone made undershirts that were better suited to tall people. I'm not really THAT tall, but I'm tall enough that it's difficult for me to find the proper sizes alot. Nowhere is this more apparent than when trying to find quality undershirts. Obviously, an undershirt should fit pretty close, because you don't want to be wearing a sail under another shirt, which causes bunching and is really uncomfortable. So, the only way to generally get things long enough for me is to buy XLs, and even that usually doesn't work. I am a size L at best through the chest and the rest of my torso, but Ls tend to be too short. And I feel like even XL focuses more on width than height, so that often leaves it too short AND way too wide. I think this has to be symptomatic of the morbid obesity everywhere. Obviously, everyone in the country is fat so we don't need to make clothes for thin people.

For a while, Polo made some really nice undershirts that were 3 for $15 at TJMaxx, and they were great because they were VERY long. I could buy Mediums and they would be the perfect length, and fit really snug, which I like in an undershirt. But the last pack of those that I bought has departed from that formula, and while I like how they fit through the shoulders/chest/torso, they now barely make my belt line, and thus fail miserably as an undershirt because if I bend in any way, even sitting down, it's like I'm wearing a shirt to show off my (less than inspiring) midriff. I could look for undershirts in tall sizes, but apparel that is offered in tall sizes seems like it tends to be more expensive than regular, and I don't even know if they really make many undershirts in tall sizes. I don't really want to shell out more than a few bucks each for undershirts.

I guess I start trying out some new stuff, as my well-fitting Polos are pretty worn down. I know I am not the only guy with this problem, someone should do something about it.