Monthly Archives: December 2007

You are browsing the site archives by month.

2007 NFL Playoffs

December 31, 2007 10:37 pm / Leave a Comment /

So now that the regular season is over the playoff picture is starting to shape up. Every year I put together a small breakdown of how I think the playoffs will play out. This year, I have decided to share that with you.

Let’s start with the final seedings for both conferences:
AFC
1. New England Patriots
2. Indianapolis Colts
3. San Diego Chargers
4. Pittsburgh Steelers
5. Jacksonville Jaguars
6. Tennessee Titans

NFC
1. Dallas Cowboys
2. Green Bay Packers
3. Seattle Seahawks
4. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
5. New York Giants
6. Washington Redskins

Looking at the teams and where they are playing (seeds 1 and 2 get byes in week 1 while the 3 seed hosts the 6 seed and the 4 seed hosts the 5 seed) I have some pretty interesting ideas of what could happen. Here is how I think things might shape up. Commentaries are for week 1 only.

Wildcard Round – Week 1
Tennessee at San Diego
This should be a no-brainer. San Diego is coming in to the playoffs with a strong showing in the regular season. They probably should have won a few more games than they did, but they are nowhere near the “limping into the playoffs” status of the Titans.
My pick: San Diego 31, Tennessee 10

Jacksonville at Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh will be looking to avenge their home loss to the Jags a few weeks ago. They will fail. The Jags are the team no one wants to face in the playoffs right now.
My pick: Jacksonville 24, Pittsburgh 17

Washington at Seattle
Seattle, period. They are playing better than Washington. And they are at home, where things seem to go their way. Emotions are high for the Redskins, but not high enough.
My pick: Seattle 23, Washington 13

New York at Tampa Bay
New York could win the Super Bowl today… if the game only lasted 35 minutes. Few teams know how to not finish a game like the Giants and that will be the difference in Tampa.
My pick: Tampa Bay 28, New York 23

Divisional Round – Week 2
Indianapolis 34, San Diego 17
New England 38, Jacksonville 21
Green Bay 27, Seattle 20
Dallas 24, Tampa Bay 20

Conference Championships – Week 3
New England 28, Indianapolis 24
Green Bay 24, Dallas 20

Super Bowl XLII – Week 5
New England 31, Green Bay 28

So what do you think? Am I crazy? Silly? Totally nuts? Yeah, probably. But this is my blog, so I can pretty much get away with it.

See you Super Bowl Sunday.

Posted in: General

I never thought I’d see it

December 30, 2007 9:20 am / Leave a Comment /

I got to see something last night that I never thought I would get to see in my lifetime. A professional football team went undefeated for an entire season. 16 wins against 0 losses. Utterly amazing.

The last team to go undefeated for an entire season was the 1972 Miami Dolphins. And though the Dolphins were not the first to go undefeated, they were the first to go undefeated and win the championship.

So, adding to the ranks of perfect regular seasons is… the 2007 New England Patriots. I seriously was not sure that I would ever see that.

Try to understand that I am not a Patriots fan. I only point out their achievement because it is so significant. I mean, it hasn’t happened in 35 years, and has only happened four times in the history of the NFL. So this season was a history making season. And I got to see it. How cool is that?

Anyway, I need to go start thinking about what the playoffs are going to look like. The good thing about this seasons is that the playoffs will not be determined until tomorrow night, when Tennessee takes on Indianapolis, who will more than likely not play their starters but for a short time.

Until tomorrow, soak it all in. Something as cool as an undefeated season doesn’t come around all that often.

Posted in: General, Personal Messages

I like food

December 29, 2007 8:06 pm / Leave a Comment /

And I hate the stomach flu. So naturally the last few days have been a bit difficult for me.

But today I was able to actually eat something. Man, I feel so much better.

It was not much. A couple of pieces of toast, a little pasta, yadda yadda. But it was food. So I am getting better.

Now if I could just keep my kids from getting sick I might be getting somewhere. Sarah, Alaynah and Aaron have all mentioned that their stomachs hurt. Keep your fingers crossed for us.

Posted in: Funnies, Rants

Being a slacker

December 28, 2007 1:57 pm / Leave a Comment /

I haven’t called in sick to work in a long time. A really long time. Yesterday was the first time in that long time. Today is the second.

I am not much for being sick. I am also not much for using being sick as an excuse to not work. If you are well enough to pick up a phone and call in then you could feasibly be well enough to due your duties and not have to spend the day your household sick at the same time. But I have to admit, this little bugger that is in my belly is making a wimp out of me.

I seriously do not feel like I can go to work. Not just the 45 minute drives each way. I mean the actual action of sitting at my desk and coding. I could easily work from home. But I do not feel that I can even pick up my computer (no, this post is being made from the future… at the actual time of this post, I was sicker than carp and sitting on the couch not even thinking of my computer). I quite literally feel like I can only sit here and be sick.

And that makes me feel like a slacker. Two days in a row of not going to work. Two days of no productivity when productivity should have been attained. This is unreal. I mean, how…. wait, I have to go to the bathroom.

Posted in: General, Personal Messages, Rants

Stomach madness

December 27, 2007 8:45 pm / Leave a Comment /

I am writing this a few days from the future. I apologize for my uncontrollable use of my time travel powers, but circumstances being what they are, it is for the better.

Yesterday night, at about 6:30, I started to feel a little queasy. I thought that it could be the fact that I had eaten a couple of McDonald’s breakfast sandwiches, three Cokes, a handful of Jelly Bellies and three sticks of come nasty beef jerky. But about an hour later I realized this was not something that came from food. I had a stomach problem.

Usually I can live with small sicknesses like the stomach flu. Sure, it is uncomfortable, but it is manageable. A little cramping, some discomfort, staying away from heavy foods for a little while and BAM! You are better.

Not this time. No no, this little guy took me to task. By about 8:00 I was in the bathroom. And I practically lived there all night. Given my loss of fluids you can imagine that I was pretty dehydrated. Which resulted in a significant headache and next soreness. Not your run of the mill headache. No sir, I am talking about your garden variety five day bender type of hangover headache. The kind of headache that feels like two drills are punching through your temples meeting in the middle. It was terrible.

Needless to say, I am a big baby. I am not fond of pain, especially to my head. So after spending most of the day in bed, I called the doctor to ask what I could take for the headache. After a long appointment I was prescribed a stomach relaxer and Ibuprofen. And was told not to eat for two days.

TWO DAYS!?!?!?!

Well, at least I have my Gatorade.

Posted in: General, Personal Messages

Happy Boxing day!

December 26, 2007 1:07 pm / Leave a Comment /

So the magic and thrill and angst and stress and credit card charges and parking and *!&@$% of Christmas are over now. And the Christmas junkies are already starting to get the shakes and chills. So what is a Christmas season lover supposed to do now?

Become Canadian, eh! Well, Canadian, or British or some other nationality that celebrates Boxing Day. Boxing day is a great holiday in my opinion because it the day that you get to box up all of the carp from Christmas and put it all away. The Santas have a box, the lights have a box, the tree has a box (well at least mine does), the ornaments have a box. It all has a box. Box it.

I mean else is Boxing day for but for boxing up Christmas and putting it away? Now that is something to celebrate.

Don’t get me wrong
I love Christmas. I love when someone takes the time of their life to think of me enough to remember something I may have said throughout the year that merited a remembrance on their part. Or even better, when someone is observant enough to know exactly what I want/need without me having to even say anything about it (I myself am working on this still, so I understand if that is too much to ask).

And I love it when someone gives me something because it really blesses them to give it to me. Or because they absolutely know that I will be touched by it. That is a part of Christmas I love.

I also like the part of Christmas where people stop being a bunch of buttknocking, cursewording, noseturning, selfworshipping, carphoarding couldn’tcarelessers and actually start thinking of others first. In a positive light. When giving and caring become the focus of Christmas it just makes the season that much better for me.

Take, for example, a few of the gifts my kids got me this year. Sarah, my oldest daughter, got a sweet Blue and Chrome Cross ATX rollerball pen. She knows that I love pens. She knew that I really wanted a quality rollerball pen because I don’t have one at the moment. Did I put this on a Christmas list? Did I really ever spend a lot of time talking about how bad I wanted on of these? No. She listened, and cared, and it brought her great joy to give me something she knew I would like.

And Rebekah, my second oldest daughter, gave me probably one of the coolest gifts I have gotten ever. An authentic Super Bowl XXXIV (34 for those that don’t speak Latin) game ball autographed by MVP Kurt Warner. This really has never been on any Christmas list of mine ever. But Bekah knows that I love football, that I totally love the Super Bowl and that I am one of Kurt Warner’s greatest fans. She put two and two together and got me a very extravagant gift that really touched me (yes, I peaked inside the box again this morning just to make sure it was real and still there ;) ).

These are gifts that mean a lot to me. Not because of any financial value attached to them. But because my kids thought enough about me to get me something from their hearts. That is Christmas. That is giving. That is what I love about Christmas.

The other stuff… well, that is what Boxing Day is for. So enjoy Boxing day. I will be. And remember, there are only 365 shopping days left until Christmas. Better get cracking.

Posted in: General

Merry Christmas

December 25, 2007 4:59 am / Leave a Comment /

Merry Christmas to all. I pray that you would spend enormous amounts of time with your families and/or friends and that you would not let the commercial side of Christmas grip but instead give from a cheerful, generous heart and enjoy the spirit of Christmas.

Luke 2:8-14
8 Now there were in the same country shepherds living out in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night.
9 And behold, an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were greatly afraid.
10 Then the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people.
11 For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.
12 And this will be the sign to you: You will find a Babe wrapped in swaddling cloths, lying in a manger.”
13 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying:
14 “Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace, goodwill toward men!”

Why do we have a Christmas?

For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.
John 3:16

God bless you. Have a wonderful Christmas.

Posted in: General, Personal Messages

What was I thinking?

December 24, 2007 2:17 pm / Leave a Comment /

Ok, so I knew that there would be a period of time when I would have to either get up early or stay up late in order to get wrapped the things I bought for me missus. I had no idea it would turn out like it did last night.

My wife has not gone to sleep at a regular time for about five years. With her current condition being as dramatic as it is, getting to bed by 2:00 AM is a luxury. So I told her that I would go lock myself in the room and take care of what I needed to take care of. She decided that she would take her computer with her to the room and watch some streaming Netflix while I took command of the living room.

So I fetched the stuff from my car at about 11:15 last night. After all was said and done, it was about 2:30 this morning. And for some unknown reason, I was not at all ready for bed.

In fact, I wasn’t even ready for bed when I finally made myself go to bed at 4:00 this morning. But you know what? I was sure as hell ready for bed when I was woken up at 7:00 this morning by my son opening and closing my door.

Ah, the thought of early mornings. I wonder what tomorrow morning will be like?

Posted in: General, Rants

More thanks

December 23, 2007 11:53 pm / Leave a Comment /

Looking back on the last week to two weeks I am reminded that I am blessed beyond imagination. My friend and family are awesome and they deserve some thanks.

Thanks to those that have prepared meals for my family:

  • Debbie Amato
  • Sandra Fagetti
  • Amy Genthner
  • Grace Maltsby
  • Bonnie Millet
  • Peggy Rose
  • Hiroko Yamakami
  • Sherri Youngquists

To those that have watched my kids:

  • Sandra Fagetti
  • Michael and Jo Gonzalez
  • Debra Hardin
  • Katie Millet
  • Kelly Sotelo
  • Andrea Sue
  • Debra Velasquez

To those that have helped get my kids from one place to another:

  • Debbie Amato
  • Jay Lim
  • Ruth Scott
  • Cindy White
Posted in: General

My day today

December 22, 2007 9:11 pm / Leave a Comment /

In the interest of keeping certain holiday festivities and products therein concealed from my offspring I decided that this particular entry will be in code. Enjoy, those of you that can understand.

<?php
$day = new Explain_Day();
$day->setDate('December 22, 2007');
$day->prepare = null;
$day->start = 'Freaking early';
$day->action('Send kids with friends for the day', '09:00');
$day->action('Go to breakfast with Sandi', '10:30');
$day->action('Attempt shopping', '11:15');
$day->error('Shopping could not be instantiated due to physical ailments');
$day->returnHome('12:00');
$day->privateAction(unpack('d', $day->getHiddenGoodies()), '12:45');
$day->privateAction($day->wrap($day->getUnpackedHiddenGoodies()), '13:15');
while (! $day->isOver()) {
  $day->action('#$^^&#$ where is the tape?!?!?!?', $day->repeat());
  $day->action('Eat tacos', $day->repeat());
  $day->action('Crikey, who is at the door?', $day->repeat());
  $day->action('Mmm... Heinekin', $day->repeat());
}
$day->action('Quiet the screaming of kids being home', '17:30')
$day->action('Kill some chicken enchilada soup', '18:00');
$day->action('Do some evening chores', '18:45');
$day->action('Blog about stuff', '19:30');
$day->action('Try to hide from potential young eyes what was actually done while they were out of the house today', '20:00');
$day->action(die('I am exhausted'), '20:01');
?>
Posted in: Funnies, Geek Stuff, General