This sinus thing continues to kick my ass. I’m not happy about this at all. I go to work and deal with everything as though it were normal to have a headache 24 hours a day. I hate it. And I think I’m dangerously close to whining. I hate that too.

I had a heart to heart conversation with the Dish Network People. We decided that I didn’t really watch Showtime and HBO so we would cancel those. We also decided that I deserved a better HD package. Of course, I’d need a new receiver box, for $100.

No deal, says I.
You can get a get a $100 rebate if you commit to 18 months, they counter.
Sold, say I.
Or you could get the really nifty dual tuner box that will let you get true picture in a picture…
Mmmm…
And DVR….
DVR?
For $150…
I’m not so sure.
And you still get $100 back.
Sold.

Sometimes I love being upsold. Isn’t that odd?

To replace the HBO, we’re gonna get Netflix. The only bummer is that they do not have HD for my local channels. But I’m set up for it. If it becomes available… I’ll get it.

And let’s not think about how much money, I’m spending here. This is about the Football. Mostly.

Ravens Camp started this week. Which fills us with thoughts of FOOTBALL. The only good thing about the end of summer is the beginning of football season. I can’t wait.

Super Bowl predictions anyone? (Just off the cuff, I have the Patriots beating the Saints… but I think the Ravens have a good shot at going deep in to the playoffs)

I lost a post. Temporarily. I found it again. (It was the time stamp thing. It’s fucking with me.) For the brief time it was gone, I though I had lost what was left of my fragile mind.

Also, Thank you Utopia!

Thanks, for not killing me. Cause we all have a healthy fear respect of your mad scientist skills. Also thanks for the pledge. YOU ARE A WINNER!

I saw that one of Mike Vick’s co-defendants is going to cop a plea. This doesn’t look good for Vick. To add insult to injury it looks like Nike is going to severe their ties with him. They didn’t do that to Kobe. This is going to get ugly. Which is good, cause I was out of Paris Hilton news.

The Ravens report to training camp in just over 24 hours. I can’t wait.

I can’t believe it is after 3:00 PM. I seem to be unable to keep track of what’s going on. I’ll blame Mango for no discernible reason.

This just in… this post sucks. Hell, this blog sucks.

And that’s OK, I didn’t really want suggestions for Shitty Blog Survivor tasks… (Yes I did. That was sarcasm.)

At least the Red Bull was tasty.

I think I need to find my happy place.

Yes. I am going to say Brian Billick should be coach of the year. He won’t be. But he should be.

You should understand that I don’t say this simply because I’m a Ravens fan. Honestly, I was one of the ones who last year was calling for Billick to be fired. The team was a disaster. Ray Lewis was injured and not speaking to anyone. Jamal Lewis was mad at the terms of his new deal. The Defense was openly criticizing the Offense for not be able to stay in games. There was no discipline. And Billick instead of addressing it, made excuses for it.

By the end of the season, most people felt that he would (and should) be fired. But Biscotti did something rarely seen in pro sports. He held a press conference, with Billick in attendance, and announced to the media that Billick would not be fired, but he expected changes. He went on to list them. Billick would stop being so arrogant. He would stop condescending to the media. He would be more connected to the team. He would listen to players. He would stop being soft in practices and at training camp.

I think all of us have probably had, at some point or another, a conversation with a boss where that boss outlined how we could be a better employee. It’s not fun, especially, the points that we know are right. I cannot image how it would feel to have that conversation happen in front of the entire world, should they be inclined to watch.

By the time you read this, Sean Payton of the Saints will have won the Coach of the Year honors. And what he has done as a rookie coach has been impressive. But he’s had some help. The other new arrivals in the Big Easy (Drew Brees, Reggie Bush, Marques Colston and Mark Simoneau) had a lot to do with the turn around season for the Saints.

The Ravens on the other hand haven’t changed much in the way of personnel. As a matter of fact the most significant change has been the addition of Steve McNair. But you have to understand that before signing McNair, Billick had to first admit he was wrong about Boller. Something he had been unwilling to do in the past.

Billick has done something most of could not have. He decided that he wanted to stay and he wanted to win, so he swallowed his pride (and in Billick’s case that is no small task) and made the changes demanded by Biscotti.

And the changes have paid off. The Ravens are the number two seed in the AFC and on top of the tough AFC North. They have an impressive 13-3 record, the best in team history. They swept the arch-rival Steelers and are favorites to make it to the AFC Championship Game.

Billick took a 6-10 team full of locker room divisions and sloppy play and turned them into a team that has every right to believe that they belong in the Super Bowl. He did it by putting his ego aside and doing what needed to be done. And for that he deserves Coach of the Year.

I’m in a shitty mood this morning. Of course, it is almost afternoon. This isn’t helping my mood out at all. But none of that matters.

From inside my skull:

I’ve been looking a bit at the new Vista OS. It’s pretty good, of course it ought to be after 5 years or so of development. I have been planning to make some changes to my ’supercomputer.’ Initially, I was thinking of putting some flavor of Ubuntu on it, but now I’m considering Vista. Linux or Vista? There are good reasons for both. I love the whole Open Source thing and the implied geekiness that goes with Linux, but Vista is new and shiny. Plus, sooner or later I’ll be supporting Vista at work, the more familiar I am with the better off I’ll be. At the moment, I’m totally undecided.

I can’t help thinking that we haven’t seen the worst of this Iraqi sitiuation yet.

There are all kinds of playoff implications in todays games. Not only in the NFL but in my Fantasy Football League. So in addition to the Ravens, I’ll be rooting for LT, Jerricho Cotchery and Eli Manning.

Monday Night Football presents me with a unique dilemma Assuming the Ravens win today. If Indy wins, the Ravens clinch the AFC North. If Cincy wins we clinch the Playoffs but not the AFCN. However we will move into Second Place in the overall standings in the AFC. I think I’ll just go with my gut here and root against Cincinattica.

I really need to go backpacking. This mild weather has only made this fact more obvious to me. Spring cannot get here fast enough.

The middle of next week will mark the shortest day of the year. I look forward to it, only so I can start seeing the days get longer again. All this darkness puts a hurting on my psyche.

I hurt my foot while running the other week. Nothing serious, but it does hurt when i put my weight on it. I kept running each day, hoping that it would work itself out. It did not. I believe that my sneakers were the culprit. So I switched shoes, but the pain is still there. And there is nothing more pathetic than seeing a middle aged guy hobbling along in a half run-half limp on the treadmill. I bought some new running shoes this weekend, which in the long run should help. My problem is what to do about the short term. I don’t run on the weekends, so it has had a chance to heal some, but if it still hurts tomorrow, I’ll have to make some choices. Either I just take a week off, I use the Elliptical Machines for a week (which will put less strain on my foot, but causes my knees problems,) or I just keep running. None of those are great options.

Every time I hear about Hilary Clinton getting ready to run for President, it makes me happy. Not for any particular reason, it just feels like a good thing.

I am sick of work. Luckily I’ll get the last week of the year off. Hopefully, I can come back re-charged.

No I haven’t taken break yet…
I’m holding out for pizza!

The Ravens have reported to Training Camp.
Apparently Ray Lewis likes the team again and Billick claims he is control.

Of course.

I guess the same thing plays out all over the country this time of year.
Nearly every team is ready to make the playoffs. All the problems of last season have been addressed. The acquisitions during the off season have filled the teams needs.

Fans everywhere believe that their team can do it this time.

By week 3, we will have a better sense of reality.
But right now.
Right now, Our Team is going to go all the way!

It’s a great time of year.

If Could write a post with out going on and on about whatever it is that I think I have to say, this would be easier.

Luckily, this post has no point.

I think I just got a pledge for 5 pounds.
British Pounds.

Thanks.

I have no idea how much money that is. But that’s ok. I could go look it up, but like I have time for that.

Ravens Camp is going on right now. I could be there. But I’m here blogging. Dammit. I’ll just have to skip work one day next week to head over there.

I’m curios to see Steve McNair in action. We haven’t had a real quarter back in Baltimore since the Colts were here.
I’d love to be very optimistic about the Ravens this year, but first of all that’s not me and secondly, the AFC North is going to be very tough this year.

Are you listening to Mango Radio?

We (the DJs) will be on the air all day.

You can hear us here. Or not.

I want some lunch. I’ll be back. Of course.

The Steelers won the Superbowl. I hate the Steelers. If you’ve been listening to SBRadio you know all about it.

A Steelers victory could not make happy under any circumstances, bet the horrendous officiating in that game made it even worse. The Seahawks were in that game until halfway through he Fourth Quarter, but every time they had a chance to make something of it, something went wrong. In one case it was a bad call. A touchdown pass negated due to an Offensive Pass Interference Call. Please. That almost never gets called. Ask any DB, they’ll tell you. And what happened on that play may have broke the letter of rule, the contact certainly looked incidental to me.

The Officials have been blowing it all year and they did it again tonight. Maybe the Steelers would have beat the ‘Hawks no matter what. I don’t know. What I do know is that the Zebras put themselves in the middle of the game to many times. A well officiated game is one that you don’t give the refs much thought. Not the case here.

Don’t tell me about Sour Grapes. I don’t want to hear it.

The only silver lining to this whole fiasco is that Jerome Bettis is retiring. I like him better already. The longer he is no longer a Steeler, the more I like him.

Now I have to endure months of shit from Squeelers Fans. There were too many of them around here as it was, and it seems that the band wagon is town, cause I’ve never seen so much yellow and black as I did today.

At least Spring Training will start soon and I can trade my footballs woes for baseball ones.

Yes, it is Super Bowl Sunday. One of the grandest of American Traditions. A day when folks who don’t know the difference between a Tight End Slant and a Safety Blitz sit down to watch the Big Game.

I have this sneaking suspicion that most of my few readers aren’t football fans, but I am. So today is huge for us. We are making Chili and Wings, have friends and family coming over and will watch the game in all of its big screen glory.

Ok the last part is not quite true. And I’m more than a little upset about. We bought a 65″ Widescreen High Definition TV this summer. And we bought it for one reason only, FOOTBALL. Sure, Jimmy Neutron is most impressive on the big screen, but who cares. Yes, that’s what my TV plays most of the time: Nickelodeon and Disney. But when I’m watching it, it plays football. Well in those other months when there is no football, its been known to play basketball, baseball, hockey (but not this year), and arena football. Oh wait that is football too. The point is I shelled out more money than I really should have spent to watch Football In HD. And my stupid cable company doesn’t offer FOX in HD. As a matter fact, FOX doesn’t come in that well at all. So the Game will be BIG, but it won’t look that good. I considered switching to the Dish, but I’m not sure that I don’t just end up spending more money and then end up with the same problem if it rains during a game I want to see.

I’ve called my stupid cable company several times, just to rant about this. But it doesn’t seem to make any difference. And those customer service people are so polite about the whole thing, it ends up making me feel guilty.

Anyway, if you somehow don’t know, The New England Patriots play the Philadelphia Eagles tonight. My Dad grew up in Philly, we lived there last time the Eagles actually made it to the Super Bowl, so he will be rooting for the Iggles. I, of course, root for the Ravens. They won’t be there, but one loud mouthed wide receiver will be. (OK Freddy Mitchell will be there too, but no one takes him seriously.) I was upset when Terrell Owens whined his way out of being traded to the Ravens, and he only offended more by bad mouthing our star player (Ok everyone has something to say about Ray) and our General Manager, who is by all reports a great guy and one of the best GM’s in the league. So I don’t want to see TO get a ring tonight. Besides Pittsburg was the best team in the NFL this season and New England dismantled them. I get a little tired about all this talk about Belichick being a genieus, but he’s doing something right.

My Prediction:
Pats 34 Iggles 16

The NFL has reduced itself to 4 teams. By the end of the day we will know who is going to the Super Bowl. My Bold Prediction: Patriots vs. … well, that’s thing. I don’t know who to pick for the NFC. AFC, no problem. The Steelers host the Patriots. The two best teams in football, duke it out. The advantage goes to the Pats for three simple reasons. First, Tom Brady is a veteran quarterback who has stepped up in the playoffs for this team time and again. Second, Corey Dillon. Dillon provides the pats with balance on offense. He helps them set their tempo, and will keep the Pittsburgh defense honest. Third, Bill Belichick. No one game plans as well as Belichick. He has seen this Steelers team before, at their best. He is 13-0 against teams in the second match up against a QB. It will be a competitive game, but the Pats should win.

Across the Keystone state we have the other match up. The Eagles have a more balanced offense, a better defense, experienced coaching with Andy Reid, and home field advantage. They should be easy pick. But… they have been here before. The last three years they have been here and lost. Last year, they were clearly the better team but they were dominated by Carolina. Add to that, nasty cold weather that will minimize the passing game and of course that walking breathing X-factor we call Michael Vick. The Eagles should win this game, but I don’ think they will. I’m going on record for Atlanta.

Closer to home, the Ravens have revamped their Coaching staff, Jim Fassel is now Offensive Coordinator and Rex Ryan is the Defensive Coordinator. I think we have a big upgrade in coaching as a result. But is it enough? Probably not. We still need a big play receiver. And we are probably not going to get one. The free agent market is thin. Our best option is possibly to trade up in the draft and take Mike Williams. There is another option. One that would have been blasphemy here in Charm City just a year ago. I propose we trade Ray Lewis for Randy Moss.

I can here the nay-sayers now. Ray Lewis is the Heart and soul of that team. Randy Moss is a cancer with off field problems. True enough. But I contend that Ray’s leadership, is as much a hurt as a help. He means well, I have no doubt. But last season the defense didn’t play as cohesively as they have. And the offense is still treated like a support cast. We have more talent on Defense than you shake a stick at. Ray only has so many good years in him and it’s not like he’s going to take a pay cut. He would make an immediate impact on the Vikings D. He would raise the level of play of the other players. Its time for Baltimore to hand the torch to the next generation: Ed Reed. And let Ray go.

Moss on the other hand would give our Offense immediate Credibility. Defenses would have to plan for him, this would only improve the play of Todd Heap and Jamal Lewis. As far Randy’s dedication, he had some of his best years when Brian Billick was his OC. Billick is a master of motivation. If anyone is going to get a full effort out of Randy, it’s Billick. Maybe he is a cancer in Minnesota, but look at Corey Dillon. He was a malcontent in Cincinnati, but in New England he is a Team Player. Some times a change of address is just what is needed. Off field Issues? I hate to say it, but we’re used to those here in the Free State.

Call me Crazy but I think it’s a win-win for both teams and I would love to see it. If you’re a football fan let me know what you think.

Last week sucked for football. May fantasy team lost and I only got 5 of my picks right dragging my season total down to 73 - 43. Oh yea, the Ravens lost and TO did the Ray-Ray dance in the endzone. That was first time I was sorry that I have a 65″ HDTV. On to the Picks:

Sunday, Nov 7, 2004
1:00 PM New York NYJ (6-1) vs. Buffalo (2-5) J-E-T-S win
1:00 PM Oakland (2-6) vs. Carolina (1-6) Panthers win
1:00 PM Dallas (3-4) vs. Cincinnati (2-5) Bengals win
1:00 PM Washington (2-5) vs. Detroit (4-3) Lions win
1:00 PM Arizona (2-5) vs. Miami (1-7) The Fish pick up win number two
1:00 PM Philadelphia (7-0) vs. Pittsburgh (6-1) The Steelers upset the Iggles
1:00 PM Kansas City (3-4) vs. Tampa Bay (2-5) Chiefs win
4:05 PM New Orleans (3-4) vs. San Diego (5-3) ‘Bolts win
4:05 PM Seattle (4-3) vs. San Francisco (1-6) “hawks win
4:05 PM Chicago (2-5) vs. New York NYG (5-2) Giants stay hot
4:15 PM Houston (4-3) vs. Denver (5-3) Broncos win at Mile High
4:15 PM New England (6-1) vs. St. Louis (4-3) The Rams show up and win this one. Too many injuries for the talented Pats right now.
8:30 PM Cleveland (3-4) vs. Baltimore (4-3) Ravens show off swanky new Black Uniforms on National TV. And the take out their frustration on the Browns.
Monday, Nov 8, 2004
9:00 PM Minnesota (5-2) vs. Indianapolis (4-3) Colts beat the Mossless Vikes in a shoot out.

My fantasy team is in trouble. At least Bulger and Portis are back from their bye weeks. The 3-5 Charm City Bruisers (my team) faces the 5-3 PSU Returns in ‘04. I run a real risk of falling to 3-6 which is going put my playoff aspirations on the ropes.

Ok Football time again. I picked 9-5 last week. Miami, Cincinnati, Arizona surprised me, and everyone else last week. My record for the season is still a very respectable 68-34. My picks for week 8:

Sunday, Oct 31, 2004
1:00 PM Detroit (4-2) vs. Dallas (2-4) Lions stay perfect on the Road
1:00 PM Jacksonville (5-2) vs. Houston (3-3) Jags win
1:00 PM Indianapolis (4-2) vs. Kansas City (2-4) Colts O is to much for Chiefs D
1:00 PM New York NYG (4-2) vs. Minnesota (5-1) Vikes win
1:00 PM Cincinnati (2-4) vs. Tennessee (2-5) Titans hold on at home
1:00 PM Green Bay (3-4) vs. Washington (2-4) Redskins win after the Bye
4:15 PM New England (6-0) vs. Pittsburgh (5-1) Pats remain perfect
1:00 PM Arizona (2-4) vs. Buffalo (1-5) Cards win (yes the Bills are this bad)
4:05 PM Carolina (1-5) vs. Seattle (3-3) ‘Hawks win
4:05 PM Atlanta (5-2) vs. Denver (5-2) Broncos bounce back this week
4:15 PM Oakland (2-5) vs. San Diego (4-3) ‘Bolts (Chargers) win
1:00 PM Baltimore (4-2) vs. Philadelphia (6-0) Ravens win (yes you can just call me homer)
8:30 PM San Francisco (1-5) vs. Chicago (1-5) Bears win (some one has to win right?)
Monday, Nov 1, 2004
9:00 PM Miami (1-6) vs. New York NYJ (5-1) J-E-T-S win

My fantasy team, The Charm City Bruisers (3-4), lost again last week. By two points. If only Terry Glenn had completed the pass into the endzone. Bulger is on bye this week so we will hold our breath and go with the rookie, Carson Palmer. Luckily we are facing the Happy Horses (2-5) so we may have a chance.

Once Again its time to talk football. Last week my picks went an amazing 12-2. My total for the season improves to 59-29. Without further ado, here are my picks for Week 7:

Sunday, Oct 24, 2004
1:00 PM Jacksonville (4-2) vs. Indianapolis (4-1) Colts win
1:00 PM Atlanta (5-1) vs. Kansas City (1-4) The Chiefs pull out a win at home
1:00 PM Tennessee (2-4) vs. Minnesota (4-1) Vikes win
1:00 PM Detroit (3-2) vs. New York NYG (4-1) The Lions win on the road
1:00 PM Chicago (1-4) vs. Tampa Bay (1-5) The Bucs get a break against a lousy Bears Team
1:00 PM St. Louis (4-2) vs. Miami (0-6) The Rams get their turn to beat up on the Fish
1:00 PM Buffalo (1-4) vs. Baltimore (3-2) Ravens D gets it done at home
1:00 PM San Diego (3-3) vs. Carolina (1-4) Chargers win
1:00 PM Philadelphia (5-0) vs. Cleveland (3-3) The Iggles are on a roll and won’t stop in Cleveland
4:05 PM New York NYJ (5-0) vs. New England (5-0) One of these teams is gonna lose, but the Pats’ streak will stay in tact one more week
4:15 PM Seattle (3-2) vs. Arizona (1-4) ‘Hawks win
4:15 PM New Orleans (2-4) vs. Oakland (2-4) Raiders win
4:15 PM Dallas (2-3) vs. Green Bay (2-4) The Pack wins
Monday, Oct 25, 2004
9:00 PM Denver (5-1) vs. Cincinnati (1-4) The red hot Broncos win

My fantasy team, The Charm City Bruiser, on the other hand, suffered a gut wrenching loss last week to the Happy Lemons. The victory was in our sites, but a fumble and an interception for Marc Bulger put it out of reach. This week we face the WoodChucks Gone Wild and we need a win. We are 3-3 right now and need some separation from the rest of the pack. I’m confident that my studs; Bulger and Curtis Martin; can beat his studs; Plummer and Ahman Green.

The Ravens are back from the bye, but without Jamal Lewis. The Bills are suffering and this should be a good chance for Boller to establish himself and build some confidence. I don’t expect greatness, just presence and decision making. If they can’t find some offensive rhythm this week, it could get ugly in Philly next week.

I had a fun weekend if you don’t count that sorry excuse of a football game. On Saturday my wife and I took my brother and sister-in-law for an old fashioned train ride. It was a blast. We got to ride in a dining car while the steam locomotive pulled us through the mountains of Western Maryland. When you think about how important the railroad was to the history of our country, it’s just cool to get a feel for what it was like back then. And the scenery was breath taking.

That night my father and I went fishing for catfish. And lo and behold, I caught one. Only 11 inches or so but worth keeping. Pretty cool. I’m happy to actually catch a fish this year, but those things are creepy.

For the football festivities on Sunday I made Suicide wings with Suicide sauce I had bought at the bar that is the home of the original Buffalo Wings. We had been to Buffalo in May and I had been saving it for football season. I also made some very hot chili, spiced with jalepenos, red chilis, and a dose of Dave’s Insanity Sauce. Good stuff! Not a bad way to keep your mind off the game.

It is a bad feeling to wait all this time for the beginning of the football season just to have your team lose. I’ll take comfort in the fact that the fans of half the teams in the NFL feel the same way I do, right now. I won’t go in to the details of the game, but I will make a couple of points.

1. Contrary to what I’ve been hearing, I think Boller looked OK. Consider his first game last season, the Steelers blitzed the hell out of him. He looked like a deer in the headlights for most of the game. Sunday, he stood in the pocket , for the most part, and he threw the ball well enough. But more importantly, he didn’t ever looked confused.
2. Too much credit its being given to the Brown’s defense for holding Jamal to 57 yards. There are two factors that contributed to that. First, perennial Pro-Bowler, Jonathan Odgen was out with a sprained knee. Second, Brian Billick hates to run the ball. That may seem counter-intuitive if you are only looking at the stats, but it is true. Sure he does have Jamal run a lot, but is not want he wants. That is what happened Sunday, Billick knew that Cleveland would pack 8 or 9 in the box, leaving the receiver in Man to Man coverage. So he tried to exploit it. Great plan, unless you have a inexperienced quarterback and a underachieving receiving corps.
3. The Ravens’ Special Teams sucked. They stunk. Too many penalties, short punts, a kick off out of bounds. The Ravens offense needs good field position to have a chance to score points and the Special Teams Unit did everything they could to give up field position.

The good news is that there are still 15 games left to play, and like all the sports radio guys keep saying, here in Baltimore, the last 4 teams to go to the SuperBowl lost in week 1.

Football Season officially starts tomorrow. For the record I predict that the Baltimore Ravens will defeat the Seattle Seahawks in the Superbowl. For whatever that’s worth. I’ve never picked that correctly, but its fun to try. And hey this year if I do get it right, it will be documented. Just for fun I am going to put my weekly picks on here. We can keep score.

Indianapolis (12-4) vs. New England (14-2)— Colts win (but it will be close)
Arizona (4-12) vs. St. Louis (12-4)—Rams win
Detroit (5-11) vs. Chicago (7-9)—Lions win
San Diego (4-12) vs. Houston (5-11)—Texans win
Seattle (10-6) vs. New Orleans (8-8)—Seahawks win
Oakland (4-12) vs. Pittsburgh (6-10)—Raiders win
Tampa Bay (7-9) vs. Washington (5-11)—Bucs win
Jacksonville (5-11) vs. Buffalo (6-10)—Jags win
Baltimore (10-6) vs. Cleveland (5-11)—Ravens win … duh
Tennessee (12-4) vs. Miami (10-6)—Titans win (Miami will have a tough season)
Cincinnati (8-8) vs. New York NYJ (6-10)— J-E-T-S win (I’ll take Chad Pennington over Carson Palmer anyday)
Atlanta (5-11) vs. San Francisco (7-9) —Falcons win
Dallas (10-6) vs. Minnesota (9-7)—Vikings win
New York NYG (4-12) vs. Philadelphia (12-4)—Iggles win
Kansas City (13-3) vs. Denver (10-6)—Chiefs win
Green Bay (10-6) vs. Carolina (11-5)—Panthers win

Wow … Now that I look at it I’ve picked 10 road teams to win this week. That seems unlikely, but I stand by the picks, at least until I’m proven wrong. You may have noticed I didn’t address the spread. That’s because I don’t gamble and I love the game I want to know who wins not who beat the odds. If you gamble … I wouldn’t risk your money on my predictions. I’ll post my results on Tuesday as well as the results of my fantasy team … The Charm City Bruisers. I am so ready for this … Football season truly is the best time of the year.

No. No. No. Seems to be word of the day. My three year old might tell you that No is the word of the day every day.

I went to register for my Intro to VB class today on my lunch break. And the lady there told me … No! The class was cancelled due to lack of interest. I attempted to explain to her that I was very interested in the class and maybe they should reconsider. She would have no part of it. I am not put off that easily, so I figured I would just sign up for another one. (My work had only approved payment for that particular class, but when you sign up for classes on the day that they are scheduled to begin you need to act fast!) I asked her if I could register for Into To Java Programming. No! Cancelled. How about Principles of Computer Technology? No! Cancelled. How Microcomputer Operating Systems? No! Cancelled. How about the Internet Section of he VB Class? No! Cancelled. I am beginning to wonder if the ole Community College still has a Computer Information Systems Program. I sent off an email to one of the program advisors, but for now it looks unlikely that I will be able to take a class this semester. On the positive side, this may be enough to push me in to getting off of my ass and finding an actual undergraduate degree program to pursue.

No Internet Explorer! At least that is how I feel about it. I can’t stand it. Even with the fixes in XP SP2 it still just ticks me off. It seem that a lot of people still use IE because they don’t realize they are allowed to use another a browser. You are! Don’t know what your Choices are? Go Here! Its a cute little site that gives “success” stories of people who have made the switch. Kind of a take off of the Mac commercials from a year or so ago.

No! Deion “Prime Time” Sanders is not a Raven … but he could be as early as tomorrow. (So technically this is really a yes, but I had to keep with the no theme.) Chris McAlister did report to the team today, signing his one year tender that locks him in the team’s Franchise Player. It also pays him a cool $7.1 Million. It seem that the Ravens and C-Mac are still no where near agreement on a long term deal. It is unlikely that they will negotiate once the season starts. It is not unreasonable to imagine that C-Mac is going to get “tagged” again after this season.

Took a nice drive today up into Pennsylvania. Drove past Caledonia State Park throughout the Michaux State Forest to Pine Grove Furnace and from there up into the Cumberland Valley to Boiling Springs. In Boiling Springs we stopped at the Appalachian Trail Conference Regional Head Quarters. There wasn’t anyone there, But I looked through the register and saw that many thru-hikers I met this summer had made it that far. Very pretty country up there, not a bad way to spend a Sunday afternoon.

Tomorrow, I should be starting a new class. Intro to VB. I don’t have much programming experience, so it is a real blast for me to take these classes. I hope get to learn some cool stuff, what I can do now in VB is very limited.

I watched the Ravens third preseason game last night. The offense still looks a little lack luster, but they are making progress (slow but progress.) And I see a glimmer of something exciting between Kyle Boller and Kevin Johnson. They seem to be getting on the same page. And BJ Sams looked good. I think Lamont Brightful will be looking for work when the next round of cuts comes around.

The O’s won. Breaking a 12 game losing streak. I wish I had more to say but…

I am now up to 6 gmail invites. I can’t seem to give them away. So please, please let me know if you want one.

I liked The DaVinci Code so much that I bought Dan Brown’s Angels and Demons. I’m most of the way through it and in a lot of ways I like it better than The DaVinci Code, of course how it ends will affect my final judgment. At any rate, I can safely say that I’m becoming a big Dan Brown fan.

ESPN.com - MLB - Recap

The good news is football season is almost here. 11 in a row! Yuck. It’s not like I thought they would go to the post season, but maybe at least stay above 500 and keep third place. Its all pitching … well a lot of its pitching.

Speaking of football … My fantasy draft is Sunday … stay tuned!

The Men’s Olympic basketball team is now playing for the Bronze. On the bright side US Women’s Softball and US Women’s Soccer have won the gold. And the US Women’s Basketball Team is playing for the Gold. I still haven’t watched much of the Olympics. Seems kind of pointless. I know all of the results before NBC bothers to air the events. It just seems too packaged to me.

In the NFL Preseason game apparently Eli Manning had a rough night. What’s surprising is that anyone is surprised about this. I don’t care how good he is… he’s still a rookie. And part of me (the part that bleeds purple and black) is happy to hear it. A lot of teams have rookie or second year quarterbacks right now and those teams know that the kids will have some bumps along the way. But since Eli is in the Big Apple everyone acts like he’s going to be as good as … oh just Peyton… overnight. What short memories we have. Everyone knew Peyton was gonna be good, but he’s just in the past two season’s really started to come into his own.
The Ravens face the Lions tomorrow night. Still with a weak secondary, but should be able to put on a good show. I am really looking forward to seeing Randy Hymes get some time at Wide Receiver since Travis Taylor probably won’t play. And BJ Sams will have a chance to beat out Lamont Brightful for the Return Specialist position.

Anyone want to venture I guess as to how many the O’s will drop before they break this streak. I’m scared to even think about it.

I called Eureka! yesterday and the lady there was more than happy to give me a new set of poles as a warranty item. She didn’t even want any proof of purchase from me, which confirms my suspicion that these poles tend towards this nature of defect. The only problem is that the poles are on back order till November at the earliest. I asked if it was possible to upgrade to aluminum poles. And it is. So for the small sum of 21 denarios, including shipping I will have a new set of stronger and lighter poles for my tent. Unfortunately, they won’t get here until Monday. So this weekend I’ll be taking my chances with the old poles, if tenting is necessary.

The Ravens have given Deion Sanders a deadline to decide about this comeback. So the suspense will be over soon, one way or another we will find out if Prime Time is going to be a Baltimore Raven.

After almost a week of testing, troubleshooting, phone calls, and emails we finally have the handheld units for our new software package syncing data with the database. Now we get the users testing and this project moving forward again. Yea!

Yahoo Sports NFL New charge filed against Jamal Lewis

I probably shouldn’t even comment on this piece of news, but it looks like this more a matter of changing the way they are prosecuting Jamal as opposed to some new evidence.

Only trial will bring out all the information, or at least most of it. What has been made public so far doesn’t sound that insemination. Yes, Jamal’s childhood friend is a coke head. Yes, he took a phone call from some other crackhead, who, as it turns out, was an informant at the time. And that’s it. She (the informant) did all the talking. If she would have been a cop, you’d being talk of entrapment. I can’t help but wonder if this new charge is not a move by the prosecution to get Jamal to testify agents his friend. It just doesn’t seem like there enough evidence here to found him guilty of anything.

Let’s put this in perspective. If Jamal did everything the State is accusing him of,then what he did is this: He thought about purchasing some drugs, talked to this informant about it (after she approached him,) and then he decided against it. That’s right. No drugs were even sold.

I find it hard to believe that our tax dollars are being spent on bringing charges on a prominent athlete for deciding to not buy drugs 4 years ago. Just makes my blood boil. It might be different if he was on your team, but he’s not. He’s on my team and we love him. 2066 yards last season, 2nd most ever, 295 yards in one game, most ever. Funny that the D.A didn’t notice him before those accomplishments.

ESPN.com - NFL - Prime Time special: Deion weighs comeback

According to the Baltimore Sun and ESPN.com Deion Sanders is considering playing football Again. And the team he is eying up? The Baltimore Ravens. General Manager Ozzie Newsome and Head Coach Brian Billick are playing it safe, saying that Deion is retired and until they hear differently they have to assume he is unavailable.
I’m not sure that this is a great move for Ravens, if Deion were to actually come to Baltimore. That’s a whole lot of ego to add to a locker room that already has plenty of ego. And to put it gently, Deion is not as young as he used to be. But the bottom line is this, the Ravens have a need at nickelback. So I say, if Deion is the best player available, bring him aboard.

Here is my analysis of the Ravens first preseason contest. I know .. its not like anyone wants to hear that… I mean most Ravens fans wouldn’t want to be bored with my analysis. But that is why I have a blog. So I can ramble on and on about what ever my heart desires. So here it goes…
Overall the Ravens looked good. The Defense, as expected, looked great. They kept Vick quiet (for all tree snaps he was allowed) and they did not allow Atlanta to score. A shut out is a shut out … preseason or not. In particular, I was happy to see the secondary playing well even while they were playing short handed. The Offense got off to a slow start, but Kyle Boller was able to lead the on a 95 yard drive down the field that resulted in a very pretty TD pass. There are still some who can’t seem to help themselves in criticizing Boller, but I think all thing considered he looker good. I was impressed with Kevin Johnson who stretched out and grabbed a pass to keep that drive alive. The first team Offense looked to me as though it was very much missing the presence of Orlando “Zeus” Brown at Right Tackle. Ethan Brooks was filling in and got beat by defenders several times letting the Atlanta defense in the back field.
Other Notes…
I thought Kordell Stewart looked horrible. This guy has oodles of experience and he led the Steelers to playoffs in 97 and 01. And there he was making poor decisions and looking confused against a second string defense. Not only that, but when he did manage to throw a touchdown pass , he ran towards the endzone like he was going to celebrate but no one was there for him to celebrate with. If he can’t inspire those he’s on the field with he serve no do us no good as a back up quarterback if we ever need him.
If Jamal Lewis is going to miss some time this season due to his pending legal situation (I’m sure I’ll have more to say about that as the court date gets closer,) Musa Smith is going to have to step it up. He looked OK, but I hope to see significant improvement from him over the next few preseason games.
Overall, this team looks to me as though they could go deep into the postseason this year, as long as Boller continues to develop and the team stay healthy (and out of jail.)