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Well, January will be over in 20 minutes. I decided to take a look back at resolutions I made a month ago. I'm big on lots of resolutions, that way at least if I keep a couple going I feel good for a while. Had I only picked one, and bagged it January 12th, I'd feel like a shiit right now.
Resolutions Revisited
I think I'm doing ok here. Technically I didn't make more money in January. I work on commission with a base draw. I get my base pay each month and a quarterly commission bonus if I earn more than a minimum. My January sales were strong. I'll have doubled my base salary in commissions if I keep this up. As for as spending goes, the only excess money I spent this month was on Kristie's birthday party, but I don't need to do that again for 30 more years, right? Today I went to the mall. I looked at big screen televisions, Progressive Scan DVD players, a bunch of new games for my PC, and a 21" flat screen LCD monitor. All I bought was a magazine, a DVD for the kids, and a Curious George wall calendar. Total: $23. I'm spending less but it's painful.
I think I'm doing ok here. Technically I didn't make more money in January. I work on commission with a base draw. I get my base pay each month and a quarterly commission bonus if I earn more than a minimum. My January sales were strong. I'll have doubled my base salary in commissions if I keep this up.
As for as spending goes, the only excess money I spent this month was on Kristie's birthday party, but I don't need to do that again for 30 more years, right?
Today I went to the mall. I looked at big screen televisions, Progressive Scan DVD players, a bunch of new games for my PC, and a 21" flat screen LCD monitor.
All I bought was a magazine, a DVD for the kids, and a Curious George wall calendar. Total: $23. I'm spending less but it's painful.
This will be easy this year. Last year was my first with this new company my father and I formed. We are both smarter.
I think I'm doing well here too. In November and December we got pummeled by the flu. I didn't have much energy or stamina even after the virus was gone. I don't recover as quickly as I used to. But January is different. It's fŭcking cold outside. Cold enough to kill most bugs, so we've all been pretty healthy. My stamina is back and that means dinner and evenings playing with kids.
You be the judge. Obviously I'm writing more. Quantity certainty, quality questionable. There is certainly a benefit to quantity. I've never written anything good when I'm not writing at all. Including today's entry, this month's blog would be 20+ pages in print.
I vividly remember doing this several times. I also vividly remember thinking to myself "Gee she looks good tonight, why didn't I notice this morning?" I'll work on this one.
Utter failure here. I went out yesterday to a doctor's appointment and today to the mall for a long overdue haircut. Did I mention it's fŭcking cold?
I sat here for ten minutes trying to think if I've done something new this month. I probably have, but if I can't remember then I guess the spirit of the resolution hasn't been met even if it has by the letter of the law.
I spoke to Mike early this month, he was busy, he's never busy, but the conversation was short. I tried to call Tim but his number is disconnected. God, I hope I haven't lost him for good. I called Ellen, a friend from college. We spoke for over an hour and really caught up. She leaves about two hours away, in D.C., and I realized how much I missed her. She has a boyfriend of eight months I knew nothing about. I invited her to come visit this spring. The next day I got an email from Ellen. Apparently she's been offered a job in Georgia and leaves next week. I saw her about 6 years ago for the last time, and she was only two hours away.
I spoke to Mike early this month, he was busy, he's never busy, but the conversation was short. I tried to call Tim but his number is disconnected. God, I hope I haven't lost him for good.
I called Ellen, a friend from college. We spoke for over an hour and really caught up. She leaves about two hours away, in D.C., and I realized how much I missed her. She has a boyfriend of eight months I knew nothing about. I invited her to come visit this spring.
The next day I got an email from Ellen. Apparently she's been offered a job in Georgia and leaves next week. I saw her about 6 years ago for the last time, and she was only two hours away.
Actually, we were supposed to go see the final Lord of the Rings movie today, but did I mention it's fŭcking cold outside?
Well, I'm having more. A couple times I even invited Kristie.
Every week? What was I thinking. I cleaned it for the first time this month right before Kristie's party. I told her it was a birthday present. She said "That was a surprise, even if the party wasn't."
On the creating side, I haven't done very well. I was reading some old SunFyre archives and other journals laying around and realized I'm using less humor lately. I need to work on this, humor is essential for communication in my opinion. Boy, do I wish I had a punchline for this paragraph. On the extinguishing side, I've done ok. Frankly, my life can be frightening at times. Fear is paralyzing and I certainly don't need more disability. This resolution isn't monthly, weekly or daily. It's hourly sometimes.
On the creating side, I haven't done very well. I was reading some old SunFyre archives and other journals laying around and realized I'm using less humor lately. I need to work on this, humor is essential for communication in my opinion. Boy, do I wish I had a punchline for this paragraph.
On the extinguishing side, I've done ok. Frankly, my life can be frightening at times. Fear is paralyzing and I certainly don't need more disability. This resolution isn't monthly, weekly or daily. It's hourly sometimes.
This one is tougher to measure. Ask my children in 30 years. I'm trying, however. Trying is more important than succeeding this month.
Today I bought a Pecan Log at the coffee shop. I'd never had one before. It was rolled phyllo dough similar to baklava. It was drizzled in dark chocolate. I'll eat broccoli tomorrow.
I feel I'm doing well. Winter is always difficult for me. I'd move to North Carolina in a heartbeat, but Kristie wouldn't survive that far from family. Thirty-one days is too little to see significant results, but ask me 29 days (leap year) from now.
I feel I'm doing well. Winter is always difficult for me. I'd move to North Carolina in a heartbeat, but Kristie wouldn't survive that far from family.
Thirty-one days is too little to see significant results, but ask me 29 days (leap year) from now.
Feeling completely unresolved,
Generally, I hate "Reality TV". First of all, I watch TV exclusively to escape reality for a little while. Second of all, whose reality is this? Reality TV started with Cops and When Animals Attack. Not my reality, but reality. Then they dumped 12 people on an island and told them to survive for $1,000,000. Not reality at all, but ratings. Then 75 copy-cat shows about bachelors, fake millionaires, and people who eat worms or have to bungie jump. (How do you spell "bungie"?)
Yesterday, a new trend in "reality" that is my reality. Shows about disabled people who want to get laid! Read on...
Fox Dwarf-Dating Show Sparks Mixed Emotions Jan 29, 6:24 pm ET By Steve Gorman LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Critics may roll their eyes at Fox television's upcoming dwarf-dating contest "The Littlest Groom," but the head of the advocacy group Little People of America says the show could end up giving his members a boost. While some audiences may snicker at the spectacle of a dozen dwarf women competing with average-sized females for the affections of a 4-foot-5-inch bachelor, LPA president Matt Roloff said the Fox show may benefit people of short stature by depicting them as regular folks "just being themselves." In other words, a person's size doesn't matter. "Yes, the radio jocks will have a field day," Roloff told Reuters in a telephone interview. "(But) hiding us behind closed doors or in funny costumes will never give us the exposure needed to desensitize society to us." Fox said this week that it would air the show, essentially a dwarf version of ABC's "The Bachelor," as a two-part special next month on Feb. 16 and Feb. 23. The announcement sparked a flurry of angry letters to the LPA from little people and their parents and a debate within the Portland, Oregon-based organization over its response to the show, Roloff said. "The fact that Fox is doing this reality show is outrageous," Roloff quoted one e-mail he received from the parent of a dwarf child. "It is one more avenue to make fun of their stature." WITHHOLDING JUDGMENT Roloff credited the producers of the show for consulting with his group in an apparent effort to develop and promote the show in a sensitive manner. While the LPA neither supports nor endorses the program, Roloff said he would withhold judgment until he sees it. "My sense is that they probably didn't do anything too derogatory." But the retired software design and sales executive said he remains troubled about the idea of throwing averaged-sized women into the mix, an element of the show he called "ill-advised" and potentially hurtful to his members. "Personally, I think that the (bachelor) guy might have the same tastes I have and prefer a little woman and reject the average-sized women," he said. "But at the same time, if it did go the other way around, it might be problematic, and make America think there's something wrong with little people." He said there are roughly 100,000 people in the United States who have been born with dwarfism, a genetic condition that usually results in an adult height of 4-foot-10 or less and disproportionately short arms and legs. "Littlest Groom" Executive Producer Bill Paolantonio defended the program as a "celebration of diversity." "We have gone to great lengths to make sure everybody on this program is treated with dignity and respect," he said. "Human emotion is human emotion, no matter what the package is, and this program ultimately is about that" He said all the dwarf contestants on the program had dated a mix of little and average-sized people, and that one little woman on the show had never dated a little person.
Fox Dwarf-Dating Show Sparks Mixed Emotions
Jan 29, 6:24 pm ET
By Steve Gorman
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Critics may roll their eyes at Fox television's upcoming dwarf-dating contest "The Littlest Groom," but the head of the advocacy group Little People of America says the show could end up giving his members a boost.
While some audiences may snicker at the spectacle of a dozen dwarf women competing with average-sized females for the affections of a 4-foot-5-inch bachelor, LPA president Matt Roloff said the Fox show may benefit people of short stature by depicting them as regular folks "just being themselves."
In other words, a person's size doesn't matter.
"Yes, the radio jocks will have a field day," Roloff told Reuters in a telephone interview. "(But) hiding us behind closed doors or in funny costumes will never give us the exposure needed to desensitize society to us."
Fox said this week that it would air the show, essentially a dwarf version of ABC's "The Bachelor," as a two-part special next month on Feb. 16 and Feb. 23.
The announcement sparked a flurry of angry letters to the LPA from little people and their parents and a debate within the Portland, Oregon-based organization over its response to the show, Roloff said.
"The fact that Fox is doing this reality show is outrageous," Roloff quoted one e-mail he received from the parent of a dwarf child. "It is one more avenue to make fun of their stature."
WITHHOLDING JUDGMENT
Roloff credited the producers of the show for consulting with his group in an apparent effort to develop and promote the show in a sensitive manner.
While the LPA neither supports nor endorses the program, Roloff said he would withhold judgment until he sees it. "My sense is that they probably didn't do anything too derogatory."
But the retired software design and sales executive said he remains troubled about the idea of throwing averaged-sized women into the mix, an element of the show he called "ill-advised" and potentially hurtful to his members.
"Personally, I think that the (bachelor) guy might have the same tastes I have and prefer a little woman and reject the average-sized women," he said. "But at the same time, if it did go the other way around, it might be problematic, and make America think there's something wrong with little people."
He said there are roughly 100,000 people in the United States who have been born with dwarfism, a genetic condition that usually results in an adult height of 4-foot-10 or less and disproportionately short arms and legs.
"Littlest Groom" Executive Producer Bill Paolantonio defended the program as a "celebration of diversity."
"We have gone to great lengths to make sure everybody on this program is treated with dignity and respect," he said. "Human emotion is human emotion, no matter what the package is, and this program ultimately is about that"
He said all the dwarf contestants on the program had dated a mix of little and average-sized people, and that one little woman on the show had never dated a little person.
My Two Cents - Usually this is where I give my definitive statement, no room for argument. Today I'm not quite sure how I feel.
I think Fox is smart enough not to make this offensive, but is it innately offensive? Little people have had a history in the media and entertainment of being the butt of jokes; from the "freak shows" of vaudeville and carnival to early movies, very few little people were given respect. Even two of my favorite movies, Willie Wonka and the Chocolate Factory and the Wizard of Oz, don't portray little people and an overly positive light, although not necessarily negative either.
Are little people innately funny because of our conditioning by the media? Is this why few are saying "Cool, I've always wanted to learn about the mating habits of little people."? Most people reading the article above are reading it and chuckling. Does this chuckling make the show offensive by nature?
Then there is the other side of me. I'm disabled. I'm in a wheelchair. I'd love to see a show, a reality show that had even one contestant in a wheelchair. I'm not talking a pretty-boy paraplegic, a real disabled guy, like me for example.
I'd love to see a reality show that included the 1% of Americans who use wheelchairs or the 16% of Americans who need assistants with at least one activity of daily living. If that reality show showed them dating, even better.
If Fox wanted to do something to really promote people with disabilities, let's have a show that included just one wheelchair guy or little woman. Let's not have a exclusive show.
I know in the dating world that many little people prefer dating other little people. This is also true of the deaf community. But among other disabled people, we typically date able-bodied people. Two wheelchair users have difficulty making-out. Two blind people might not be able to find each other. And two people with Adult ADD would never shut up!
If anyone at Fox or NBC or one of the other initials is reading this, I'm available for reality TV. Don't put me on Cops because I look horrible without a shirt. I could do the marriage show, but I'm not a bachelor so Kristie would have to be one of the contestants. Don't worry, I'll flirt heavily with the fashion models and students of nuclear physics before I pick Kristie. I'm also available if Donald Trump needs another apprentice, although he'd have to buy out my company first. Last consideration, you can throw me out of a plane on Fear Factor, but I'm not eating a giant slug!
Reality Webmaster,
P.S. If you are actually a little person, and are interested in dating (or just meeting) other little people, there is a online dating site just for you. Visit www.datealittle.com.
One of my favorite games is Taboo, probably only because I'm pretty good at it. Kristie and I got it around the time we were married and it's still our most played game. Although, that's not saying much considering the last time we played it was over a year ago. Having twins makes sitting down to a game, particularly a loud game, absolutely ridiculous. You can't play with adults while the kids are awake, and you can't play for fear of waking them after bedtime.
Anyhow, this story appeared in the Associated Press this morning and it made me miss Taboo.
Tempers Flare During 'Taboo' Board Game Jan 29, 7:20 AM (ET) CONWAY, Ark. (AP) - The party game wasn't the only thing taboo. Three men were arrested on felony charges after a game of Taboo went awry at a Conway home. Officers were called to the home Sunday after two men threatened others with guns because they were losing the game, in which one teammate gives clues about certain subject matter, but using certain words is taboo. One of the people in the apartment told police the men were yelling and cussing and threatened them with handguns. Officers searched a car at the scene for weapons and found hypodermic needles and drug paraphernalia. The men, aged 21 and 23, were arrested on suspicion of felony aggravated assault. A 24-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of felony possession of a controlled substance and felony possession of drug paraphernalia.
Tempers Flare During 'Taboo' Board Game
Jan 29, 7:20 AM (ET)
CONWAY, Ark. (AP) - The party game wasn't the only thing taboo. Three men were arrested on felony charges after a game of Taboo went awry at a Conway home.
Officers were called to the home Sunday after two men threatened others with guns because they were losing the game, in which one teammate gives clues about certain subject matter, but using certain words is taboo.
One of the people in the apartment told police the men were yelling and cussing and threatened them with handguns.
Officers searched a car at the scene for weapons and found hypodermic needles and drug paraphernalia.
The men, aged 21 and 23, were arrested on suspicion of felony aggravated assault. A 24-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of felony possession of a controlled substance and felony possession of drug paraphernalia.
My two cents - It sounds to me like the game was just getting good when police arrived. I'm not condoning drug use, but the handgun thing sounds like spirited competition to me. The only reason the cops arrested them is that they knew they didn't have a strong team. Had the cops been partners longer, I'm sure they would have simply challenged the drug addicts. Plus, they had brought their own guns.
Order Taboo today at Amazon! Unfortunately, you have to purchase the Deluxe Redneck Edition to have firearms included.
SunFyre
Last summer Jason Andrew fell on the sidewalk and gave us our first skinned knee. He slipped on the porch in the fall and gave us our first bloody nose. Last month he tangled with Panda and lost. We got our first puncture wound. This month he put his hands too close to something hot and we had our first 2nd degree burn.
I suppose our first black eye was bound to happen soon, and I figured Jason Andrew would be directly involved, if not receiving at least giving. He wasn't.
Our little girl now looks like a little boxer! She was sitting on the sofa, and slipped off, like she's done 100 times before, and this time something got in the way. We have no idea what, but she yelled once and that was it. Not a mark on her, at least not for five minutes. Then, it started to swell. Rocky Balboa would have been proud.
Ainsley Grace barely cried. I barely cried, barely.
I'm not looking forward to our first broken bone. I'm hoping it is years away.
On another topic, someone emailed me and asked about my wife's birthday surprises. They implied that I was planning something lewd and sexual and wanted me to post details here. Or, if I wasn't willing to kiss and tell, I could simply email him directly.
Well, I didn't plan anything erotic, but I don't want to disappoint a reader so I purchased a red leather thong and took a picture of myself in a compromising position and emailed it to him.
For the rest of you non-pervs, here's what actually took place on Saturday. Kristie had to work on Friday, her birthday, and Saturday. When she works weekends her parents or mine usually visit and help me baby sit. This weekend her parents and younger sister were scheduled.
I called a couple friends from college and a couple from her office and our families and tried to surprise her when she got home on Saturday.
When I asked her if she wanted a party, she said adamantly "No". I took this as a "yes".
My perception was that "no party" meant "I don't want to plan it, arrange it, schedule it, or cook or clean for it."
We had about a dozen people and four kids. Most of her family couldn't make it because they live two hours away and never travel anywhere. I figured they wouldn't show so I asked people to send a letter or card saying something more than "Happy 30th" and I also specifically asked for none of those stupid "over the hill" gag gifts.
I ordered chocolate cake with peanut butter icing, her favorite. (Our wedding cake was chocolate with peanut butter icing, too.) We bought two of those little numeric candles because our smoke detector goes off every time someone farts, let alone what 30 candles would do.
Her girlfriend, Rachel, asked "Is this going to be a surprise?"
"I don't think we'll surprise her," I replied, "but if I make her cry happy tears, it will be a success."
She did, and it was.
Thanks, Miranda, for sending us this... I laughed my ass off, which is decidedly inconvenient for a guy in a wheelchair.
Little Trevor was in his 5th grade class when the teacher asked the children what their fathers did for a living. All the typical answers came up; fireman, policeman, salesman, etc... Trevor was being uncharacteristically quiet and so the teacher asked him about his father. "My father's an exotic dancer in a gay cabaret and takes off all his clothes in front of other men. Sometimes, if the offer's really good, he'll go out to the alley with some guy for money." The teacher, obviously shaken by this statement, hurriedly set the other children to work on some coloring, and took Little Trevor aside to ask him, "Is that really true about your father?" "No," said Trevor, "He plays for the Philadelphia Eagles, but I was too embarrassed to say that in front of the other kids."
Little Trevor was in his 5th grade class when the teacher asked the children what their fathers did for a living.
All the typical answers came up; fireman, policeman, salesman, etc...
Trevor was being uncharacteristically quiet and so the teacher asked him about his father.
"My father's an exotic dancer in a gay cabaret and takes off all his clothes in front of other men. Sometimes, if the offer's really good, he'll go out to the alley with some guy for money."
The teacher, obviously shaken by this statement, hurriedly set the other children to work on some coloring, and took Little Trevor aside to ask him, "Is that really true about your father?"
"No," said Trevor, "He plays for the Philadelphia Eagles, but I was too embarrassed to say that in front of the other kids."
I decided to have two little contests. The winner gets their name in LIGHTS on SunFyre and eternal bragging rights!
First, I created a new link on the links page for my True Lies page. The graphic used for the link has a pair of eyes. The first contest is to be the first person to tell me whose eyes they are. The only clue is that the eyes weren't picked completely at random.
Second, I'm creating a new look for SunFyre. I'd like a new banner graphic for the top. It can be no larger than 600x 100 for poor slobs using 15" monitors. It also must be in JPG format. It must look good on a white background and contain the word "SunFyre". If you can make a matching left border and buttons etc. even better. If I get enough entries I'll create a page showing every entry.
Send entries for both contests to SunFyre.
Thanks to some minor computer upgrades... I'm a little behind publishing. I'm putting up these entries retroactively. I'll have a few more in a few days. Stay tuned.
P.S. The moron at my host reset the counters again. I noticed today it's down to 1200. I'm going to delete the stupid thing. (The counter, not the moron.)
Today is Kristie's 30th birthday. I guess she's a grown-up now.
I sent flowers to her office. I called and ordered a little bunch in a vase. The card was to simply read "I love you, Jason". After I hung up I remembered her favorite flower is Gerber Daisies so I called back and they added a few. Then I hung up and Michele, my administrative assistant, said "You do realize she has children now?" I called back a third time and added the kids' names. I'm such an idiot.
If you ever need flowers delivered to Kutztown, PA, call Jackie and Daughter Flowers. They are very helpful and don't mind if you call three times.
She got the flowers and took the picture above with her cell phone.
One minor surprise was already delivered. I sent her the flowers and have a couple other things planned, but I'm not going to tell you yet. (Mainly because she reads SunFyre, and I have a few surprises in mind.)
I will, however, lament. I'm 33 now. We had a big party three June's ago.
I had decided to throw myself a party, mainly because I wanted to invite lots of people, and I knew if my family or Kristie's family tried to have one, it would end up sucking. No offence to them, but it would have.
I knew not everyone would be able to come on a June Saturday. Furthermore, if they could all come I wouldn't have gotten to spend more than 10 minutes each with them. Many people on the guest list hadn't been seen in years. So I decided to have an open house from Friday through Sunday! Honestly, I didn't know how many would show up. I expected a couple dozen over the three days and figured we'd have lots of down time.
The invitation said people could stay over wherever they could find beds/floor/lawn to crash on. I knew my sister would probably stay but didn't figure anyone else would.
We ended up having 70 people over three days. The big cookout was Saturday afternoon. We had about 30 for lunch and had to run out for more burgers. A dozen people spent the night Saturday night and the party literally went non-stop from Friday through Sunday evening.
The best part was that I spent hours with every person. I really got the chance to get reacquainted with many old friends.
It was a great way to begin my 30th year, little did I know it would be my most challenging and difficult year so far.
Monday night was a big night for Kristie. It was the season premiere of American Idol. She became addicted during Season 1, when she was extremely pregnant and couch-bound. Last season she tried to escape, but it roped her in with about six contestants left, and she followed it until Reuben won. Kristie decided to get involved from the beginning this year.
The first episode was Monday. It's usually on Tuesday and Wednesday nights, and I wanted to avoid the whole scene, so I made plans to play EverQuest every Tuesday and Wednesday night with my friend, Syamise. I invited Syamise over Monday to plan our adventures.
Kristie came in at 9:00 and stopped the tape and rewound. She tapes Idol and watches it after the babies are in bed. She hit play and Syamise said "I've never seen this show, let's watch it." So I actually sat and watched the first "auditions" episode, and Syamise and I sat and ridiculed the contestants worse than Paula, Randy, or Simon.
The last contestant of the night was "Scooter Girl" as she called herself. I think her name was Nicole. She rolled out on a scooter, generally the judges hate props, and acted like an air-head. She was blonde with extremely large breasts. Later, Kristie said she wasn't wearing a bra. I actually didn't notice (believe it or not) and haven't been motivated to find the tape. She told her life history, then bragged a little about her accomplishments, then did a handstand in a dress. All things that would probably get her noticed on the audition show but not get her into the finals.
Then she started singing, and actually had a pretty good voice. By the end of her song, the judges seemed impressed. Then came the vote.... click... The tape stopped. Our VCR clock is off by five minutes and Kristie stopped the tape too soon. We were all left wondering if Scooter Girl made the cut.
Kristie called me from work today to tell me Scooter Girl was accepted. Half the reason she watches the show is that most of her officemates watch it. They sit around the proverbial water cooler and analyze each contestant, usually based on hair or clothes rather than talent.
Then tonight the unthinkable happened. I called Syamise at 7:50. Kristie was tucking the Twins into bed, and taping Idol. Syamise answers, and I asked if she was ready to play. (We play EverQuest while talking on the phone.) And she says, "Did you hear about Scooter Girl?"
"Yeah, I heard, why?" I answered.
"Well, aren't you watching AI tonight?" I laughed out loud, not only because she suggested I watch, but because she was obviously mimicking the lingo, AI. It was typical Syamise humor. But she wasn't laughing. "What's funny?" She asked, and I laughed harder.
Suddenly I realized the joke was on me. "Well," she said, "I have to go. It's starting."... Click.
My Tuesday/Wednesday nights have been destroyed. My guaranteed time away from children/wife to play EverQuest with my best Beastlord friend... gone.
Syamise has gone to the dark side... where Simon is Emperor!
I will not heed the evil spirits of Fox,
I got this email yesterday, obviously from someone not watching football. Here's the email, including my responses in purple.
SunFyre, I like your web page. Thanks. I used to love your movie reviews but you haven't done many lately. True. Lately all you've talked about is football. You're whole page has football hats on it. Football hats? Oh, you mean helmets. Well, it's playoff time... Could you email me when you give up on this football thing? Maybe when you put up a new movie. Thanks, Dawn. :-p
SunFyre,
I like your web page.
Thanks.
I used to love your movie reviews but you haven't done many lately.
True.
Lately all you've talked about is football. You're whole page has football hats on it.
Football hats? Oh, you mean helmets. Well, it's playoff time...
Could you email me when you give up on this football thing? Maybe when you put up a new movie. Thanks, Dawn. :-p
Well, Dawn,
I'll give up on the football "thing" right around February 1st, when the New England Patriots beat the Carolina Panthers in Super Bowl XXXVIII. Sorry, didn't mean to go off on my football "thing".
Actually, I did see Lovely and Amazing, and really liked it. I'll put up a longer review later this week.
Ok, Dawn, stop reading now. Check back in tomorrow, the rest is about football...
The playoffs went pretty much as I predicted in the AFC. The Patriots controlled Peyton Manning pretty well, and Ty Law played exceptional football. Manning only completed three passes to Ty Law's side of the field, and Law intercepted three. I was pretty disappointed that they interviewed Tom Brady first after the game. They should have interviewed Law first.
The NFC has proven me a complete idiot. Well, not the entire NFC, just the Carolina Panthers who I predicted would lose to Dallas, then to St. Louis, then to Philadelphia. I'm no longer predicting the will lose. I'll just predict they won't win. (Is there a difference? I hope so.)
Carolina does look more impressive every week, but Dallas, Philadelphia, and St. Louis have one thing in common... inconsistent offense.
New England scores only nine points more than their opponents on average. They've won 14 in a row and only one of those victories was by more than 14 points. (Buffalo got crushed 31-0 in a revenge game from losing to Buffalo in Week 1, 0-31.) This team knows how to score exactly enough to win and prevent exactly enough scoring to win. New England is the best coached and most talented team all-around. Besides that, they are healthy.
Unless something major changes, I'll take New England to win by nine.
Pick your favorite in my new poll.
Addicted to football,
Since last week several people have emailed me asking my predictions for the next round of NFL playoff games. Here are my picks...
Philadelphia and Carolina are both tough teams to beat. They each have just enough offense and defense to win games. I think the difference between these two is coaching. Both coaches have done an excellent job and deserve "Coach of the Year" but I think Andy Reid's experience in these games, and the team's desire to win will put Philadelphia on top.
The AFC was loaded with talent this season. New England, Tennessee, Kansas City, or Indianapolis could have won it all. I think Indianapolis has the best offense in both conferences currently, but New England has the best overall team and wins this game in icy Massachusetts. New England puts up points when they need it, so you'll see the offense step up more tomorrow than when they played Tennessee.
I'm anxious for Philadelphia to get in the big game and I sincerely hope they win. (My Cowboy's heart aches a little saying that.) If Philadelphia were to claim its first Super Bowl, this area would go crazy.
I haven't lived in a Super Bowl town since 1980when the Steelers beat the Rams. It was the Steelers fourth trophy, and the attitude was that they'd probably win the rest of the Lombardi trophies produced. I was nine years old.
As for New England, I think this is the best overall well-rounded team in the NFL. Assuming they beat the Colts, I think they can beat Philadelphia or Carolina too. I will predict February 1st that Tom Brady will be holding the trophy, and be named MVP. Everyone else on that team will deserve the MVP award too, but they won't get the recognition because they just went out and did their jobs flawlessly. They will award the quarterback by default. The real MVP in my book, Bill Belichick.
Indianapolis is an interesting story too. I think this offense is really clicking now. If they have another flawless game like the last two, even the Patriots will have difficulty winning. While I like to pick the best overall team, the winning team is the one who scores the most points, and Indianapolis certainly can score. If Indianapolis, and their field general, Peyton Manning can beat New England, I think they will win it all. I don't think Philadelphia or Carolina can beat Manning and his receivers.
Carolina goes in as a significant underdog for winning everything in my book, but they've one lots of games this season that no one predicted they would. The defense is phenomenal. If they win in Philadelphia they have to keep them below 14 points. Then they have to keep New England below 10 or Indianapolis below 17. Carolina could probably beat any of these teams, but not two in a row.
One side note on Carolina. Stephen Davis is injured and rookie, DeShaun Foster, looked great last week. If he gains 100 yards this week and they win, then he gains 100 in the Super Bowl, and they win. He has a chance at MVP and Carolina will have a tough choice to make next season. It's going to be hard to keep these two talented backs on the same team for long.
Remember one thing when making your predictions... a weatherman's guess is as good as an economist's.
Approximately 70-100 deaths occur each year after allergic reactions to licking stamps or envelopes. Most of these reactions occur after licking large numbers, most commonly graduation or wedding invitations. Melting 10,000 pennies ($100.00) will provide enough copper to the worth between $120 and $150 depending on current copper prices. Of the 22 vitamins and minerals required to survive, 18 of them are present in milk chocolate. The human body could survive exclusively on milk chocolate and strawberries if necessary. The most common cause of fires that occur on July 4th each year isn't fireworks, it's barbecue grills placed too close to homes. The most common complaint reported by Gateway and Dell Tech Support is that the computer "won't turn on" right out of the box. The most common solution is plugging in the power cord. One poll indicated that 90% of women who have shoulder length hair or longer will cut their hair "significantly" within 30 days before or after their wedding. Another poll indicated that 80% of men who are currently engaged to be married mentioned "her hair" as the first thing that attracted them to their fiancée. A survey of married men in their 20s indicated that "not enough sex" was the #1 problem with their marriage. Married men in their 30s cited financial instability as the #1 marital problem. Married women in their 20s said financial insecurity was #1, while married women in their 30s indicated "not enough sex" was the most critical issue. Enough lies... now for Strange but True. Or you can visit SunFyre's True Lies page for disclaimers to the lies above.
Approximately 70-100 deaths occur each year after allergic reactions to licking stamps or envelopes. Most of these reactions occur after licking large numbers, most commonly graduation or wedding invitations.
Melting 10,000 pennies ($100.00) will provide enough copper to the worth between $120 and $150 depending on current copper prices.
Of the 22 vitamins and minerals required to survive, 18 of them are present in milk chocolate. The human body could survive exclusively on milk chocolate and strawberries if necessary.
The most common cause of fires that occur on July 4th each year isn't fireworks, it's barbecue grills placed too close to homes.
The most common complaint reported by Gateway and Dell Tech Support is that the computer "won't turn on" right out of the box. The most common solution is plugging in the power cord.
One poll indicated that 90% of women who have shoulder length hair or longer will cut their hair "significantly" within 30 days before or after their wedding. Another poll indicated that 80% of men who are currently engaged to be married mentioned "her hair" as the first thing that attracted them to their fiancée.
A survey of married men in their 20s indicated that "not enough sex" was the #1 problem with their marriage. Married men in their 30s cited financial instability as the #1 marital problem. Married women in their 20s said financial insecurity was #1, while married women in their 30s indicated "not enough sex" was the most critical issue.
Enough lies... now for Strange but True. Or you can visit SunFyre's True Lies page for disclaimers to the lies above.
I'm compiling a list of true lies. These are lies. I'm making them up. I assure you that any resemblance to truth is coincidental.
I get lots of stuff from people that they swear is true, distributed by email. They all claim to be filled with truth and insight, and many are disputable. I'm interested to see if my true lies will eventually make their way around the Internet. My goal is to have someone that has never heard of SunFyre email them to my personal account.
Fewer people die from E. coli, Salmonella, and mad cow disease contracted at fast food restaurants than die from choking on McDonald's Chicken McNuggets each year. Every year approximately 40 children die while "drowning" in ball pits (those pools filled with small plastic balls), making it the fourth leading cause of accidental death among toddlers, behind car accidents, traditional drowning, and electrocution. While there are many stereotypes, the average length of a man's penis is 5 to 6 inches when fully erect, regardless of race or ethnic background. One study did indicate, however, that men who use wheelchairs on a daily basis have unusually large penises, averaging nearly 8 inches when fully erect. Further research is needed to determine why this anomaly occurs. Dragons, thought for centuries to be mythical, have always baffled historians because of eye-witness accounts dating pre-Renaissance. These writings of flying, fire-breathing lizards (primarily in England and Scandinavia) may have merit after all. In 2003, x-ray satellite photos from the North Pole were purported to exist showing large fossils of winged, lizard-shaped creatures under the polar ice cap. Unfortunately, these satellite photos won't be public for up to 17 years due to "classified" national security reasons. One animal, the North American Muskrat, was recently discovered to be able to communicate using scent exclusively. The rodent can emit up to 200 different scents that can communicate everything from predator warnings to offers of sexual activity. Scientists have identified only 17 of the nearly 200 communications messages expected. On a side note, the North American Muskrat is also the only mammal besides humans and whales known to mate for life, which could further indicate the importance of communication in mating.
Fewer people die from E. coli, Salmonella, and mad cow disease contracted at fast food restaurants than die from choking on McDonald's Chicken McNuggets each year.
Every year approximately 40 children die while "drowning" in ball pits (those pools filled with small plastic balls), making it the fourth leading cause of accidental death among toddlers, behind car accidents, traditional drowning, and electrocution.
While there are many stereotypes, the average length of a man's penis is 5 to 6 inches when fully erect, regardless of race or ethnic background. One study did indicate, however, that men who use wheelchairs on a daily basis have unusually large penises, averaging nearly 8 inches when fully erect. Further research is needed to determine why this anomaly occurs.
Dragons, thought for centuries to be mythical, have always baffled historians because of eye-witness accounts dating pre-Renaissance. These writings of flying, fire-breathing lizards (primarily in England and Scandinavia) may have merit after all. In 2003, x-ray satellite photos from the North Pole were purported to exist showing large fossils of winged, lizard-shaped creatures under the polar ice cap. Unfortunately, these satellite photos won't be public for up to 17 years due to "classified" national security reasons.
One animal, the North American Muskrat, was recently discovered to be able to communicate using scent exclusively. The rodent can emit up to 200 different scents that can communicate everything from predator warnings to offers of sexual activity. Scientists have identified only 17 of the nearly 200 communications messages expected. On a side note, the North American Muskrat is also the only mammal besides humans and whales known to mate for life, which could further indicate the importance of communication in mating.
You can help. Copy these "strange but true facts" into an email, obviously without the disclaimer at the top. Then at the bottom put "for more truth, visit www.sunfyre.com/links/truelies.htm "
I opened my email yesterday around noon then again around 4:00 p.m. In that four hour span I received 67 emails, 1 from a reader and 66 from spammers.
Sure, some of those spammers think I opted in to their list because I made the mistake of filling out a form one time. The form claimed it was a market research survey company and I could check off my areas of interest. This bogus company is now out of business, or at least changed their name. They sold the addresses they collected to hundreds of spam lists. At first I hit remove, but that was fruitless.
It's been six months and I've dropped from 200 a day to around 75-100 a day, but I'm completely burnt. I stopped using my SunFyre email for a while and used my old email address on this site, but started getting spam there. I had no idea how many spam robots are out there collecting email addresses from web sites.
Ok, now you are saying "What about the Cat?"
I have a cat named Panda. About three years ago I was requesting a catalog and figured the catalog company would sell my name, filling my mailbox with junk (my real mailbox, not email) so I filled in my cat's name, PANDA TWEED. Since then we've gotten about 3-4 mail pieces each month.
Panda has been offered several pre-approved credit cards, a low-interest home mortgage, excellent prices on term life insurance (he's a non-smoker), and believe it or not, he was offered a subscription to Playboy at a substantial savings off the newsstand price.
Last week we got the first telephone call for Panda. The woman calling felt like an idiot. I just smiled.
Anyhow, I'm doing something to combat spam originating from this site and my cat, Panda, is going to help me.
First, I've re-routed all email from SunFyre @SunFyre dot com into my "Deleted items" folder. The only exception will be emails from people who include Panda's name in the subject, which will drop directly into my high priority folder. From now on, if you would like to contact me, you may do so by including the word PANDA in ALL CAPS in the subject line. I've re-configured every link on SunFyre to automatically add the PANDA subject line.
In case you are wondering, here is the html tag to do this.
mailto:sunfyre@sunfyre.com?subject=PANDA
Second, I've created an email account for Panda at SunFyre. And I'm creating this User License Agreement. The full user license agreement will appear on this website, but here is the abbreviated version.
Attention private individuals, companies, non-profit organizations, third-party contractors, marketing professionals and companies, and all other entities:
Therefore, every company using spambots has complete permission to use this email if they agree to provide payment. I think that is completely fair.
I'm so bummed. I put a little counter on my site about a week after I started last June. In the first month, I had a whopping 238 visitors. it wasn't the most accurate counter, so those visitors racked up about 450 on the hit counter.
Gradually the counter accelerated to slightly under 83,000 by New Year's Eve. I was getting excited because I'd break 100K sometime in January. I even planned a 100K party! (Not really.)
Then yesterday I checked and the counter said 227! WTF?!
Apparently for no reason whatsoever some computer genius at my web hosting company decided a universal counter reset was a good idea. He/she/it was wrong!
Anyhow, since I bought the cheapest hosting package, my actual statistics are only logged for two weeks. I look at the statistics but don' get crazy about them. Now with the counter gone we have no idea how many visitors I've actually had. Somewhere over 83,000.
Also, the new counter is complete crap. It ticks away every time you hit refresh/reload. As of this writing the counter says 407... refresh... 408... refresh... 409... etc.
Well, let's crank it back up and we can still have a 100K party! Whenever you visit SunFyre, please click refresh several times, heck several hundred times. Then shoot me a quick email and tell me how many you added. I'll post a top 10 "People with Too Much Time" List.
Un-accountable,
My disappointment about Dallas losing has faded somewhat and this weekend is partly why. It was a great weekend for "Oobaa" (as Jason Andrew calls it.)
Before Saturday, only four times in the history of the NFL has a game gone into double overtime! It happened again when Carolina beat St. Louis with 14:50 to go in the THIRD HALF. This game epitomized drama. With about a minute left in regulation, St. Louis Coach, Mike Martz decides to play it safe. St. Louis is down by 3 at the 15 yard line or so. He runs the clock down and kicks the field goal. Many people in the media criticized his decision not to go for the win. The same people would have criticized him for losing had there been an interception or fumble. I too probably would have gone for it, but the Rams didn't ask me, so I'll accept whatever Mike decides.
In this game there was a successful field goal called back on a delay-of-game penalty, two missed field goals, one punt, one interception, and a 69 yard touchdown pass from Panther quarterback, Jake Delhomme, to Steve Smith. All that happened in the third half alone! One of the most exciting games I've seen in a long time, and I didn't even care who won.
Carolina 29, St. Louis 23 (2OT)
Saturday's late game saw New England hosting. Tennessee already had three things against them. All three things were degrees of mercury! It was 3º and the wind chill was -17º.
I think this was the best game overall. Both teams played good offense and good defense. Neither ever looked out of it and both played playoff caliber football.
I've been a Steve McNair fan and an Eddie George fan for years. I think both of them are underrated. I'm glad Steve finally got the MVP he probably deserved about three times before, even if he shares it with Manning who was also very deserving.
New England 17, Tennessee 14
Indianapolis and Kansas City either put on the greatest offensive show or the worst defensive show ever. I won't go into every piece, but here are a few offensive stats that make my point.
Other notes:
Indianapolis 38, Kansas City 31
The Philadelphia - Green Bay game was the only one I actually cared about watching. The others I watched because that's what I do in January on weekends. But this game I really wanted to see. I have cheered for Brett Farve for years. This season I started cheering for Ahman Green because he was on my fantasy football team, and actually the only starter that wasn't severely injured.
Living here and not being an Eagles fan is nearly impossible. I've been a die hard Dallas fan since I was little, but besides two Eagles - Cowboys games each year, I also quietly root for Philadelphia. This city is going to go moderately insane if the Eagles ever win the Super Bowl.
Beyond that, Philadelphia is just an exceptional team. Andy Reid, the NFL's most underrated head coach, has gotten the Eagles to four consecutive playoffs and three consecutive NFC championship games. While they haven't won a title, no other team can even come close to that record. The last three Super Bowl winners haven't even made the playoffs the following year. They've had a respectable defense and mediocre offense, and they win games consistently. Ask Kansas City how they feel with the #1 offense or Dallas with the #1 defense if they'd trade them for home field advantage in the NFC championship game.
I'm not sure how to evaluate this game. It reminded me of the Tennessee - New England game, just hard fought down to the wire. Good defense forced both offenses to make miracle plays and they did.
Philadelphia 20, Green Bay 17 (OT)
All in all, probably the best weekend of football I've ever seen, and definitely the best weekend of football where Dallas wasn't competing.
Tune in next week for Championship Sunday. Pay attention because the games are at weird times. They are listed below as a public service.
Constantly Fumbling,
About three years ago I signed up to be an online survey participant. Back then spam wasn't nearly as prevalent. I filled out a form with my age, gender, race, occupation and those of members of my household (at that time just Kristie and myself).
The company was NFO Worldgroup, I didn't realize it then, but they are currently the world's largest market research firm. They specialize in product market research primarily for food and household goods companies.
Several times each month I get an email from someone named Carol something. The email has a link to a pre-survey. The pre-survey may be worth 10-50 points. The pre-survey screens you for a larger survey. For example, you may answer the following questions.
Gender: male Age:33 How much of your household weekly grocery shopping do you do? All - Most - Some - None
Gender: male
Age:33
How much of your household weekly grocery shopping do you do? All - Most - Some - None
At this point my survey may end if the sponsoring company wants opinions of women, or if they only want people who do most or all grocery shopping. I would get 10 points and that's it.
In the past 4 weeks have you purchased bottled iced tea? Yes
At this point I'd likely be invited to take an additional survey worth 100-250 points. This second survey would be very in depth about specific products and brand names.
Occasionally they even send new product samples by mail and ask you to preview them. Once I got to try a new flavor of Bugles Snacks. It went by another name then, but I think it was Smokin BBQ flavor.
Anyhow, if you like taking surveys and earning a little money (each point is worth $0.01.) That you can cash in or donate to a charity. This is a truly reputable company. No spam at all and the surveys you take help real companies make real decisions.
I made the mistake of answering another so-called survey company. The first survey was details about my life... age, sex, children, pets, income, hobbies, etc.... then I started receiving spam from companies... 70-100 spam each day. There must have been some incredible fine print, because I read everything!
The answer to your last question is "yes" you can earn money by making referrals. So if you click on one of the NFO links on this page, I earn 150 points (or a buck and a half.)
As always, all money earned by SunFyre.com goes to my twins college fund.
Thanks,
The Britney Spears Vegas marriage story has been all over the news, at least the Internet news sources I read. She married some guy from her elementary school or something in the wee hours of Saturday morning. By Sunday afternoon they'd filed for annulment which took effect Monday morning. The marriage lasted 55 hours.
Here's the official word from her official website:
Britney Spears' Nuptials On Saturday, January 3rd, Britney Spears and a friend took a joke too far by getting married. Britney and Mr. Alexander have filed for annulment which will become official on Monday, January 5th.
In other news, an American helicopter pilot was shot down in Iraq on Friday. I checked several news sources and was unable to find the pilot's name, but did learn the helicopter was a Kiowa. It's kind of rare for an aircraft to successfully be shot down. Typically when Americans are killed in Iraq, it's accidental, like a jeep accident, or it's part of a bombing. At least these deaths differ from the first Bush's war where the #1 cause of death was "friendly fire", whatever that is.
So why do I bring this American pilot to your attention? Well, one of my best friends has a best friend who's an Army computer geek. The pilot was part of his group. I'm not sure if he knew the pilot, but someone he knows knew him certainly. I'm apparently three or four degrees of separation from that pilot.
As far as I know, this is the closest this war has hit home for me. My father's generation felt the effects of Vietnam, the first living room war. He was in college at the time, and protests were frequent, although I've never asked him if he had anything to do with them. Probably not, his father was in the Merchant Marines.
My grandfather's generation had World War II. That had impact on everyone in America. Everyone lost someone or knew someone personally who had. A generation of men was sent overseas and a generation of women were sent to work.
A couple generations before, the Blue and the Gray fought a war everyone felt, and some witnessed in their own backyards, literally.
I suppose being three degrees, probably four, explains why it doesn't feel very real or important to me. We can make it about terrorism, or imperialism, or simply oil; it still doesn't feel real. Even Afghanistan felt a little more real because that was about a country pissed, which is what most wars were about in the past. Some country or some religion just getting pissed. I guess I'm just not angry enough anymore.
I started writing this little rant so I could go off about the low quality of television news. It ended up being more about the low quality of recent American wars. Oh well, maybe tomorrow we can talk about the news.
Newsworthy...
The Dallas Cowboys hired Bill Parcells last January, almost exactly one year ago. My team had been 5-11 for three years straight, and frankly last year they were lucky to win five. This season they started strong, a Cinderella Story. They were 5-1 and had the best record in the NFC. After that they returned to what I expected, going 5-5 the rest of the way. They beat the teams they should have beaten and lost where they should have lost.
Ten wins was enough to secure a spot in the "tournament", as Bill Parcells calls it. They almost won the NFC East.
The Carolina Panthers were somewhat of a Cinderella Story too. They went from one of the worst teams into NFC South champions. They did it with a rookie quarterback, a tailback that Washington rejected, and a defense with few stars but lots of guts.
Yesterday, Carolina beat the Cowboys and earned the right to play another January game.
If you'd asked anyone who knew anything about football to pick the playoff teams this season, Carolina and Dallas wouldn't have made many lists. Miami won ten games and doesn't make the playoffs. Every team won at least four games and only one won more than 12. Kansas City put together the longest winning streak in a decade, and it only lasted ten games. Tampa and Oakland, last year's Super Bowl teams, had a combined 11-21 record and neither came close to the "tournament". In fact, the last three Super Bowl champions have failed to make the playoffs the very next year. The sports writers call that "League Parity".
I enjoy parity. Football and Hockey have parity. It's fun to be a fan and know at the beginning of the season that your team has a shot.
Baseball is different. If you are the Yankees, you have a 25% chance of winning the series. If you are the Atlanta Braves you have a 75% chance of winning your division, and losing in the playoffs. If you are just about any team except the Cubs or Red Sox you have about a 3% chance of winning it all. The Cubs and Sox that percentage is about 1/2%, but they like it that way.
To baseball fans parity isn't important. Purity is. Ask any fan who they cheer for and they will list one team. Ask most NFL fans and they have a favorite, but usually cheer for a couple.
Let's look at parity closer. Hockey achieved parity by allowing virtually every team into the playoffs. If you win fifty percent of your games, you earn a playoff spot and a shot at the title. Many teams get in with losing records. It makes the regular season virtually useless. Especially because each series is played in both arenas so a home ice advantage isn't even important.
Parity is destroying Hockey. People would go to games, and hope their teams won enough to get a playoff spot. If so, they would clamor to scoop up playoff tickets, and scalpers would get a couple hundred each. Now, your team makes the playoffs about two out of three years. And playoff games are the only ones you even have to win more than 50%. So fans save their cash and go to playoff games only. Most of those haven't sold out, scalpers are now season ticket holders who made other plans, selling tickets below face value. Last season it's estimated that 50% of professional Hockey clubs lost money and the Ottawa Senators' players went without pay for several weeks because of a financial crisis.
The Hockey Club owners should get together and cut the playoff teams in half. Make the regular season mean something. Then reduce playoff series to best of five. If we had best of five, virtually every series would go the distance. We'd have lots of drama. The best of seven Stanley Cup would become a major television event, and give the winner's fans substantial bragging rights.
The NBA is approaching similar problems from what I've heard, but I'm not sure, I stopped watching years ago.
The NFL has a lot going for it. With the new league structure, making the playoffs is still a challenge. Most playoff games sell out. NFL players are Super stars. And every game is important because of winning home field advantage for the playoffs (and home game revenues for the owners.)
The NFL could face a similar fate, however if they don't get a couple things under control. First, the life span of the average NFL career is shrinking. This is primarily because young teams tend to win so much emphasis is placed on scouting and developing talent. Because so much money is involved in finding young talent, the league has developed the scouting combine system. This system essentially provides identical scouting information to every team. The downfall of this is that 32 teams are now all competing for the same players. The draft becomes even more important when a Michael Vick or Ricky Williams hits the radar screen.
Next draft the San Diego Chargers will pick first. They have the first shot at a Heisman Trophy winner or candidate. Three other teams had identical 4-12 records, and 6 other teams could have gotten the #1 draft pick by only losing two more games. A team that wins 50% will probably pick around 15-20, but by losing one additional game they could get a top 10 pick.
The danger here is that with parity, any team could improve substantially with one highly talented player, and that player could be only two losses and one draft away. I don't like any system of drafting that encourages teams to lose.
Two possible solutions. One, eliminate the scouting combine. That would put more pressure on individual teams to scout effectively. They would know that their top five choices would only be examined by a few other teams. If I'm picking 20th I'll still have good options, it creates less importance on the draft order.
The other possible solution is to create a lottery similar to the NBA. All non-playoff teams will get an equal chance at top draft picks. The 10-6 Dolphins who just missed the show will have an equal 5% chance at a #1 pick and a 25% chance of getting a shot at a Heisman candidate. As it stands, they are trying to figure out who to pick 20th.
This year Dallas needs a top level running back to improve into a Super Bowl contender. They probably aren't going to get him from the draft. Dallas will pick 22nd in the draft. Running backs usually go early. With San Diego having a top running back already, they could pick a new quarterback or perhaps the best linebacker in the country, and who knows. They could be a contender next year. Dallas and Miami will probably both struggle for playoff positions.
Leveling your playing field...
Today I updated the Reviews page and Links page.
The reviews page, if you aren't familiar with it, is sort of an index to SunFyre. Originally I wanted to index movie reviews only, but then realized that indexing everything made the page more useful and a little more entertaining.
I added about 15 links to the links page. New additions are highlighted with a glowing blue "New".
The only active page not updated in the past two days is the Surveys list. I haven't added many new surveys lately because people don't take them for some reason. About 50 to 100 of you visit every day, but hardly any take the surveys or polls. I guess you are more of a "feed me" lot than participating lot. Take these surveys, damnit.
Feeding you...
I did a little maintenance today. I moved November and December to their own archives page. I'll leave December entries on the main page for a couple more days. I also updated the archives directory.
Back in November, the 21st, I wrote an opinion of capital punishment. This little entry has gotten several dozen search engine hits and a few emails from readers, so I decided to make it its own page.
More tomorrow...
Go To December Archive or the Archive Directory
