Thoughts

I am now up to five (5) invites left for Gmail. If you happen to live under a rock and are unfamiliar, Gmail is the new browser based e-mail solution from the good people at Google. Gmail is targeted towards the e-mail user who appreciates convenience; the service comes with a 1 GB, or 1000MB, inbox that is designed to be digital picture friendly. Gmail is still by invitation only as they are in beta stages of the product's infancy. If you are interested in being one of the few, one of the proud let me know. Just leave a comment to the post and I'll fork 'em over.

Unlike week 2, I was able to sit at home with nothing better to do than numb my brain with football on TV. What this did was offer me the ability to see why there was no offense last week and also in a few games this week, too. The explanation was simple: Peyton Manning was hording all of the offense. He must have created some type of wormhole to the other players and sucked out all of their offensive ability and then fused it with himself. Indianapolis v. Green Bay was an offensive showdown...for awhile at least. Peyton just threw too many touchdowns in the first half for Green Bay to be able to come back in the end.

There were a few games that actually came down to the final play(s) which is always nice. These games entertain anyone, not just fans of the teams playing.

I think it's safe to assume that Seattle was glad to have Shaun Alexander healthy. The nice thing was that he didn't feel the need to score all of the touchdowns himself and spread the offense around a little.

I hope Kansas City doesn't win a game all season. They get more press out of offensive comments made by the coaching staff to the players than they ever did about winning games. Who believes "KC wins again" is more entertaining than "Coach says to take the diapers off?" Gimme a break.

No one should be surprised that the Dolphins are yet to win a game. I would like to see them scrape one victory out though. Future highlight films will be boring when they have to talk about the year Miami went 0-16 after showing clips of the 16-0 season.

Next week's post will not be enjoyable. It will merely contain my rants about how I would actually stand a chance in my fantasy league if Minnesota didn't have a bye week as I go head to head with the league's point leader.

Was the biggest NFL news this week Tony Siragusa's comments about Joey Harrington? That's too bad. I hope Fox's lawyers had their way with him. Nice to see Mitch Albom fight back.

Quick disclaimer about the now 2-1 Lions. No one got ahead of themself and actually expected an NFC championship out of this team after beating the Bears and the Texans, so suffering a big loss to the Birds wasn't a sobering event. Our feet have been firmly planted on the ground, we're not celebrating....yet. You'll know when we are, trust me.

First off I would like to begin this post with a very sincere congratulations to both Katie and Wil. It is a congratulations to you both for now being married, but more so than that, congratulations for finding each other. You make each other so happy...don't think it goes unnoticed by the rest of us...that we can't help but be happy for you.

The wedding on Saturday was beautiful. Despite my attempts to capture the animal within Wil on digital film, things went wonderfully. I can only imagine what the photographer was thinking as she was having you pose outside prior to Katie's arrival and behind her is some clown with a camera saying things like, "Show me naughty," and "Ok, now you're a tiger." Whoever thinks a solo shot of Wil in his tux posing as he's about to pounce doesn't scream "Christmas card" is out of their mind.

Katie looked incredible in her gown, which reinforced the question in my mind of, "How did Wil land himself a girl like her?" I'll even be kind enough to leave out the part about the flower girl stealing the show...

Wil stayed both conscious and standing throughout the entire ceremony and only managed to burn his finger(s) one time before we left the church. I don't know where you come from, but in my neighborhood that is a successful wedding.

I feel like I'm skimping on the details, but I must move on to the reception. For anyone soon to be married, my first piece of advice to you is not to seat anyone next to the gift table who would tell you afterwards that there might...or might not be a fork in the envelope/card box. The bride and groom were serenaded with love ballads all night so we could see a little action. If the lucky couple thought they'd be kissing less by enforcing the rule that we had to sing instead of clinking glasses, I hope they realize now how wrong they were. Today I go on record stating that for generations to come, the story of DJ Playboy's Eye of the Tiger (Morris remix) will live on in infamy.

Watching Wil and Katie dance together for the first time as husband and wife was very touching, though not as much so as Katie dancing with her Dad. Next to that, dancing highlights do include Josh's mom doing the sprinkler and Dan using his aunt's scarf to swoon both family and friends alike.

The day was an incredible amount of fun. So a hearty thank you to you both for letting me be a part of this special occasion. You have set the bar high. You are the perfect example and I hope to find the happiness you bring to each other.

Click HERE for more pictures from the wedding...

I watched this show last night basically as an assignment for work. My boss watches it and loves the show. She tells me that there is not an episode that passes where she isn't able to learn something, no matter how small. She told me that apparently business schools around the country are beginning to assign the show was homework. I guess some people think they're doing things the right way. So I checked it out, and I did find she is correct about being able to learn from The Apprentice.

Last night the two teams were competing to create the biggest hype surrounding a new toothpaste product extension for Crest. Two executives from Procter & Gamble were to judge the contest.

Off topic this is a fantastic venue for marketing your product if you can coordinate with "The Donald" so that the two teams will compete to peddle your goods. Well done, P&G.

I generally have no desire to ever watch reality TV. I think the idea behind reality TV is quite stupid, though this show was pretty interesting. Watching Survivor you can sit on your couch and guess who's getting kicked off due to who didn't play well in the sand box, who didn't join the alliance. In The Apprentice you can actually learn from one of the most successful businessmen in the world as to why people don't cut it.

My only question is simply, do all participants get as defensive as the women in the boardroom last night? If yes, then maybe they should work on improving their contestants. I obviously cannot guarantee that if I were across that table from Donald Trump having just gone over budget on my project I would be calm and collected. It seemed to me that there wasn't a single person who accepted the responsibility for any aspect of a project not going as planned. I guess I would have to see a show were things go well and then see how people defend themselves against harsh criticism where Trump tells people they're lousy.

My only problem remains that I watch so little TV that I will have a hard time dropping whatever I'm doing and making sure I'm home and sitting in front of a television every Thursday at 9pm (except next week when the show's moved to Wednesday).

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This will be a much shorter post about week 2 than I made about week 1. I was able to sit down and watch the majority of the goings-on in week 1. I missed the majority of week 2. My thoughts are primarily from highlights...

Ugliest Jersies in the NFL - Cincinnati Bengals

I <3 Roy Williams...in that strictly platonic fan and to-be superstar type fashion.

Lions are in first place? I wish someday that will no longer be a surprise.

Were defenses that good in week 2? Where was all of the scoring? Or was it due to the crazy amount of TURNOVERS!!! Perhaps it was the injuries to every key player in the league. The NFL could be headed for a rough season if players keep getting hurt at the pace they are currently through two games.

Jerry Rice's 20 year record has come to an end. He had gone 274 games in a row with at least one reception. Week 2 Rice caught zero passes. Sure this is his new role as Tim Brown moved on, but no one wanted it to really happen, I'm sure especially J.Rice.

The trash talk is at an early peak as there were some surprise performers this weekend.

First, let's congratulate our Detroit Lions for their first road win in 25 tries. December of 2000 was the last time they won a game that was not at home. Mitch Albom says that, "You know you're a Lions fans if you think "the road" is some place the team must go in between victories." But that is all behind us now with the 20-16 win over the Chicago Bears.

The next big news would have to be happening a mile high. The Denver Broncos were under such scrutiny for their offseason trade sending 1,000 yard rusher Clinton Portis to the Washington Redskins for Champ Bailey (Defensive Back). Critics were silenced last night as rookie running back Quentin Griffin outshined even Priest Holmes as Denver wins 34-24. Champ Bailey appears to be quieting anyone who thought he was not worth Portis in a trade and displayed the fact that he is truly a playmaker. Another note is the excitement in getting to see Donte Hall in pads again. This guy is incredible. Hall is the WR-KR-PR-RB for the Chiefs who can set the field ablaze once he gets his tiny legs pumping.

Terrell Owens caught 8 passes yesterday afternoon against the New York Giants, and 3 of them were for touchdowns. If anyone was wondering whether or not he would make an impact making his nest in Philadelphia, yesterday began to shed some light on the issue. Perhaps having a showcase receiver will be the lift the Eagles need to advance beyond the NFC Championship game.

Donovan McNabb did set a career high with the 4 touchdown passes yesterday (3 to T. Owens), though this was not the best of the day. Vikings QB Daunte Culpepper set the bar with his career best 5 TD passes yesterday at home in Minnesota against the Cowboys.

Carolina and Green Bay pair off tonight in Monday Night Football.

I am ashamed to admit I'll miss week 2 for a business trip to Atlanta...

What a great weekend I had to which to look forward. So many good games scheduled. How could this college football weekend possibly let me down? Well, I'll tell you.

Miami/Florida State was played Friday night (rescheduled. hurricane.) in a game nearly completely devoid of offense. This age old rivalry due to being nearly cross-town rivals turned conference showdown was given the billing of a heavyweight match up. The game did not live up to expectations.
Miami 16 - Florida State 10.

Saturday brought renewed hope as Michigan visited Notre Dame, the team they toyed with last season 38-0. The Wolverines have not won in South Bend in the last 3-4 meetings so there was more pressure on this rival match up. Let's call Saturday's loss to the Fighting Irish a learning experience (euphemisms are beautiful). Let's highlight what the boys in blue learned.

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*Disclaimer* I do not mean to offend anyone with this post. *Disclaimer*

Everyone loves payday. This is a fact. I would even go so far as to say there are few treats that compare to someone handing you a check when you didn't even know it was payday.

What I cannot understand is: Why do people tear up their envelopes as soon as they get it as though it is restricting their check? Will the dollar figure swell given room to breathe? You worked 80 hours this pay period. You worked 80 hours the previous pay period. Guess what, you worked 80 hours the pay period before that. You know how much money you make. You know how much that check is made out for. So WHY, I ask you, do you feel compelled to open it as soon as you get it? You've worked for at least a few years now. This is not the first pay check you've received. Yes it is real. I do not need to open each one for you to tell you the check is legitimate.

I just don't get it.

After months of nothing on SportsCenter but baseball highlights (and I use the term "highlights" losely) The NFL kicked off it's regular season last night and it did so in style.

A rematch of last season's AFC Championship pitted the Indianapolis Colts against the defending Super Bowl Champion New England Patriots.

The game, for all intents and purposes, was on par with a Super Bowl as it featured many musical acts (spanning different genres) as a precurser to the game. This was not the first game of the year. This was truly an event. This was breaking ground on yet another year of professional football. The world's fantasy football obsessed sat down to their televisions and set their beverage next to their laptop computer which coincedentally displayed their fantasy teams. To those of you who can relate to this, you know Christmas comes early every year the Thursday prior to Week 1.

Business as usual was halted yesterday afternoon as preseason predictions needed to be prophecized to coworkers young and old. Tales of fantasy seasons gone by echoed through the halls. Friendly wagers may have been placed by the fans and fanatics alike.

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Yesterday it became official that Blizzard has extended the Stress Test for World of Warcraft. What was originally scheduled to close on Friday, the Stress Test now ends on Sunday. This means two things.

1) I get to play more before my beautiful Night Elf Hunter is deleted as though he means nothing to anyone.
2) All of those things that I had planned on doing last weekend that didn't get done and were rescheduled for this coming weekend will now be pushed back yet another weekend.

We are extending the stress test beta to this Sunday and adding thousands of additional testers from the group of gamers that are currently on the closed-beta waiting list. Invitation emails have started going out to the new testers already. The stress test beta contest will continue on until the end of the stress test beta, at which time all stress test accounts will expire. -WorldofWarcraft.com

That explains why I got a second e-mail saying I can sign up since they never cross-referenced their list of those closed-beta wait listed and current stress testers.

Agassi v. Federer

I anxiously await the dramatic conclusion to this match (rain delay). Talk about two giants in the sport of tennis.

The match started out with the two of them hitting the ball as though they had something to prove. Neither player was going to be out hit in this match. Neither player was going to be pushed around in this match. On serve until 2-2 in the first set when all of a sudden Roger Federer rattles off three games in a row. Agassi tries to hang on, but cannot. 6-3 Federer. This apparently did not sit well with Andre as he started the second set as a man possessed.
6-2 Agassi. The way Federer was playing was simply not enough in this second set.

That, however is why Roger Federer is so good. I hate to admit it, since I am not a fan of his, but he is an incredible player. What makes him SO good is his ability to do what so few other players can do, and that is adapt his game to his opponent. He can hit so many shots. He can play so many styles. He is so quick on the court. He is a champion. 7-5 Federer.

R. Federer  6 2 7
A. Agassi   3 6 5

So here we are. The fourth set had just begun when the rain that had almost prevented this match from happening last night returned.

Andre Agassi is, as he has always been, poetry in motion on the court. Roger Federer is the new school player who is already being talked about as one of the best players to ever hold a racket. This match up is fantastic. Unfortunately I will not be able to watch the end of this match as it takes place this afternoon and I will not be near a television until 9pm or so.

I guess I can fill you in on the rest of the scores in case you've not seen them. Lindsay Davenport made quick work of Shinobu Asagoe (6-1 6-1). Svetlana Kuznetsova topped Nadia Petrova (7-6(4) 6-3). The other men's quarterfinal match being played last night was Britain's Tim Henman and Dominik Hrbaty which also had play stopped due to rain as Henman leads
(6-1 7-5 4-5).

Matches tonight are Tommy Haas v. Lleyton Hewitt and Andy Roddick v. Joachim Johansson. The women's semis start Friday when Lindsay Davenport faces Svetlana Kuznetsova and Jennifer Capriati plays Russian Elena Dementieva.

I didn't have too hard of a time getting out of bed this morning. Not nearly as bad I as I had imagined at least. The first morning back after vacation, no matter how short, is always a difficult one.

Hope everyone had an exciting holiday weekend. Though I was completely unable to get any of the things done that I had planned on getting done with the weekend, I still had a great time. Is it against some code of ethics not to bbq on Labor Day weekend?

And for the record: no, the irony was not lost on me this morning as I ironed my new wrinkle-free shirt.

As of 3pm EDT yesterday Blizzard was allowing account creation for those accepted to their Stress Test Beta. The stress test is designed to open the flood gates of angsty nerds who cannot wait to wrap their virtual hands around a taste of World of Warcraft. Blizzard's aim is to have tens of thousands of users attempt to create accounts all at once to see if their servers can handle the volume.

From 3pm yesterday until 7 days later, we stress testers are able to try to lag out their servers. Again, Blizzard wants to know if their servers can handle high traffic.

I created my account as soon as I got home from work yesterday as I couldn't wait to get started. This is my first MMORPG (Massive Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game) experience so I am extremely curious. I've shyed away from them in the past as they do not hold much interest for me. The idea of spending more time running from one place to the next than actually doing anything once you're there does not appeal to me. Also, characters get tired over the course of play and need to be rested for days at a time. This means that I have to work my gaming time around when it's convenient for a made up creature. Sounds like fun, doesn't it?

Now, as I stated above, this is my first MMORPG, so there is a learning curve to deal with. I ran around a bit and did some questing, no problems. No problems that is, until I died. I had started in one city, then died in another. My ghost spawned in a third city, one I'd not seen before. I had no idea how to get back to my corpse. Eventually I figured it out and was able to move on, so that is not a complaint with the game, it was user-error by a newbie.

So how was it, you ask? WoW is a great game. Blizzard just refuses to let me down. I latched on to their work with Diablo II and progressed into Warcraft III.

I have been anxiously anticipating World of Warcraft and Blizzard delivers!

6 more days...

Ladies and Gentlemen....the MX1000!

Mere days after I post about my love affair with my MX510, I see Logitech has struck again. What, you may ask is so special about the 1000? The answer is one simple word...LASER. No more optical. Definitely no more mouseball. In the world of mice, Logitech is king and they are setting the bar another notch higher at "laser." The new Logitech MX Laser Engine provides 20x times the tracking accuracy of standard optical systems.

Aside from being the hottest looking mouse I have ever seen, it is also slated to outperform any mouse on the market. I don't have one...yet.

Buy it from Amazon.

So 10 months after I move out of Philadelphia it appears that they are researching a $10 million dollar project that would make the entire 135 square mile city the world's largest wireless hotspot.

Yet another reason why it was so much cooler living there than here. Though imagine all of the cheese whiz that would get into my keyboard when I would be making my blog posts from Pat's...

Ok, ya got me, I just really really want a keychain that detects wifi hotspots.

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