Not Such Deep Thoughts: Countdown To Christmas Edition

From the Christmas can be dangerous department; This year I only whacked my head once getting the tree and ornaments out of the attic. As I was climbing down with the last load I was thinking that I had gotten out of it a little too easily this year, and sure enough, my load suddenly shifted and a large storage container of breakable ornaments started a slow slide off the top of the pile. Supporting the other container with my knee as I wobbled precariously on one leg on the drop down stairs, I snatched the escaping container before it dropped, and consequently smashed the back of my hand on the metal hinges. Although the knuckles bruised and the back of my hand has swollen up considerably, I still considered it a small victory. I usually end up sporting a bloody gash on my head at Christmas, so a gnarly hand is nothin, I can just keep it in my pocket. Plus, I didn’t smash all the ornaments. Win, win!


Hershey’s Candy Cane Kisses are my new holiday favorites. Little crispy chunks of candy canes in them. Mmmm.


The best bang for your buck gift this year is LCD Televisions in the 32 to 46” range. You can find top of the line sets like Samsung, Sharp and Sony on sale from $300 to $800. The Samsung LN46C630 has been on sale for as low as $750, that’s just slightly more than half of what I paid for my 32” 2 years ago. Not bad. I know it’s late to still be shopping for big gifts, but if Santa were to leave you a few gift cards or some of the long green, you might want to think about it. Do your homework first though, cuz if you find a good price online, most places will match it. Also, keep in mind that some places (like Paul’s TV) will deliver and set the TV up, same day, for free. See, there are some good things about a bad economy!


Speaking of bang for your buck, if you’re looking for something less expensive that will still put a smile on your geek’s face, check out both the Roku Box and Apple TV. For under $100, you can stream movies, photos and music from the internet to your TV. The Roku comes in 3 flavors, HD ($59), XD ($79) and XDS ($99). I recommend the XDS, it delivers a 1080p picture, has better WiFi and a wider variety of outputs. You’ll need the additional optical audio output if you listen to your music or home theater soundtrack through a separate stereo system. There’s also the Apple TV device, which is very comparable and similarly priced at $99. It only outputs a 720p picture, but it also has an optical audio out. More importantly, if you’re already an iTunes centric household, this is the device you want. When you turn it on, it will automatically seek out and connect to any iTunes library on your network. How cool is that? It’s chilly, Willy.


And while we’re on the subject of gifts, unexpected ones are always the best. I was tense and uptight yesterday on my way to the mall. Work kept calling, even though I’m out on PTO, the traffic sucked, and I was way behind the curve in the Christmas shopping department. All my troubles melted away though when the CD I was listening to ended and I switched over to the radio. Who would have thought that a straight arrow, no nonsense kind of guy like Rex Ryan would be posting foot fetish videos on the interwebs. For the rest of the afternoon I chuckled every time I thought of him saying “Those are nice feet, Ma’am, would you mind if I smell them?” Now don’t get me wrong, I’m a “whatever floats your boat” kind of guy, but when you’re in the public eye as much as Rex is, you have to be a real dope to post videos of yourself and your wife on an internet fetish site. Oh wait, that’s a redundant statement, isn’t it? Well, as they say, if the shoe fits, smell wear it…


Hershey’s Candy Cane Kisses are no longer my favorites. I’m really likin’ these cherry filled ones.


My favorite holiday albums are “A Christmas Gift for You from Phil Spector” and “A Charlie Brown Christmas”. Two very different sounds, but both are great in their own right. Phil’s “wall of sound” production is a masterpiece, featuring Darlene Love, Ronnie Spector and The Ronnettes and a cast of literally thousands, infusing some old favorites with his pulsing trademark sound. Vince Guaraldi’s “A Charlie Brown Christmas” is a must have for your collection and shouldn’t be dismissed as a silly cartoon soundtrack. The man was a true genius, and his piano work floats and soars through each track against a backdrop of incredible jazz bass and percussion. The recording quality is fantastic, to boot. When I listen to it, it feels as if each note reaches in and gently massages the stress centers of my brain.


How about those Patriots? Man, what a surprising turnaround. When they traded Moss I said we’d probably look back on this trade as the moment this year’s team jelled, and it looks like I was right. I love being right. Why did it make such a difference? Because Tom was always trying to force it in to him. Now he has to look to his other receivers, and he’s got quite the bunch. Branch is back in a big way, and Welker is as dependable as always. Add in the rookie tight ends Hernandez and Gronkowski, plus the slippery little Woodhead, and you have a stable full of sure handed overachievers. How do you defend against that? Blitzing is pretty much the sure bet, but with Mankins back, and these big tight ends, it’s not so easy. And if they do get beat, Brady has a bunch of options for the quick out. I love this team.


Update; these caramel filled kisses are pretty good too!


Speaking of sports, another great and unexpected holiday gift came from the Sox, in the form of Adrian Gonzalez and Carl Crawford. Good acquisitions for the team, and for the Sox’ bottom line; TV ratings and shirt sales had been trending downward, they needed fresh meat.


On a somber note, I haven’t seen our resident bunny in a while, but I have seen a very large fox. The other night I was out doing the trash and he trotted right by me, not more than 10 feet away. He wasn’t the least bit afraid, which leads me to believe he was hungry and on the hunt. My wife wants me to start bringing my cell phone out with me at night. I can see it now, me trying to dial with one hand with a fox clamped on the other. Yeah, right. I have a better idea. I bring out my short trenching shovel. If old Freddy Fox gets within arms reach, I’m gonna El Kabong him into next Christmas. KABONG!


Never mind the caramel filled kisses, these white and dark chocolate swirled ones are… Oh Sh*t! I think I just ate all of the candy for the stockings! My wife is gonna beat me with a stick, or my trenching tool!

I guess I’m not done Christmas shopping after all. Anything open on Christmas Eve?


Merry Christmas to all, and to all, a good night!

What The Faulk…

happened to my Patriots?

Last Sunday started off well, with the Patriots performing as expected in the first half, kicking butt and taking names. I felt so confident that I started catching up on chores during halftime. I settled back down to watch about 10 minutes into the 3rd quarter and it was like I was watching a different game. I was in Bizarro World. Sanchez was looking more Brady-like than Brady, and the momentum had swung to the Jets.

To top it off, my all time favorite Patriot’s running back, Kevin Faulk (actually, it’s a coin toss between he and Mosi), was down and out with what looked like a serious injury, and was in fact a season ending torn ACL , but that last strip sack of Brady was the dagger in my heart. No last minute heroics, just the Jets squatting on the ball to run out the clock.

As I sat there fuming, one thought kept muscling its way to the forefront of my mind;

“This is just like last season. They hang in there against the cream puffs, but cough it up late against the tougher teams.”

What’s up with that? Are they poorly conditioned and unable to sustain the intensity for a full game? Is the team so predictable that the opposition can adjust at the half and just shut them down, and if so, why don’t the Pats have a plan to deal with that? Is Bill trying to do too much? The whole; no offensive or defensive coordinator thing doesn’t seem like a good idea to me. That’s a lot of ground to cover for one man.

Maybe it’s Brady. Does he feel like he has to shoulder the load, and consequently puts too much pressure on himself? Some of his decisions towards the end of the game were definitely questionable, like jamming the ball in to Moss when there were other receivers open. Was he trying to feed Moss in an effort to help him prove that he could beat the Jet’s coverage? I hope not, but whatever the reason, it just wasn’t working. I’m still surprised he didn’t see Jason Taylor bearing down on him. I know it developed quickly, but he’s usually more aware of what’s happening on his periphery, always ready to duck, or slide forward for one more quick look. Not this time. He was blindsided by Taylor, BLAM, and didn’t even have a chance to secure the ball.

Most likely, their problems are a combination of all of the above, served up with a large side of poor blocking and a heaping helping of suspect defense. Whatever the reason, they need to pull it together this week. They have to beat the Bills. They’re not gonna get too many bunnies like this, plus it’s a divisional game, so they can’t afford to squander the opportunity.

Their biggest problem going forward, aside from choking, that is, is the loss of Faulk. The man has been a first down machine, and someone has to step up and fill that role. With Taylor doing the bulk of the running, Sammy Morris and BenJarvus Green-Ellis should be able to fill the void on third down, but God help them if anyone else gets dinged. Dumping Maroney for a draft pick to be named later doesn’t seem like such a good idea anymore, I guess.

So, they need to come out firing on all cylinders today, and they need to keep the pedal to the metal until time runs out. 60 minutes of hard fought football. Not 30, not 45, 60, that’s all I ask, and if they provide it, they should be able to steam roll over the Bills. A Patriots romp, followed by a sweep of the Yankees and seeing the Jets get pounded by the Dolphins would be the ultimate Sunday for me, but I’ll settle for just a win from the Pats.

Come on guys, time to step up.

That is all.

Celtics Even Series

Ray Allen raining threes and Rondo reigning the floor, now that’s what I like to see!

What a game. Best line of the night, midway through the second quarter; “I guess people were making too much out of a single win…”. Yeah, you were, you chowdahead.

It wasn’t just Breen, Jackson and Van Gundy singing the Lakers praises early though, Scott and company made the pre game intolerable with their premature coronation ceremony. Do these people understand that they’re broadcasting in both markets? I think not. They’re all gonna have to work overtime revamping their shtick before Tuesday. Empty suits.

So now it’s back to Boston for 3 games in what has become a best of 5 series. This is going to be a back and forth heavyweight slugfest right to the end, but I think the Celtics will prevail. In the end, the Lakers downfall will be their attitude. Like tonight’s broadcast team, the Lakers were convinced that they had the Celtic’s number, and they weren’t prepared for the team that showed up tonight. When things don’t follow script for these guys, they start breaking down. Watch and see.

Final: Celtics 103 Lakers 94. Complete game coverage on Celtics.com

Not Such Deep Thoughts In The Year 2010

I had a great holiday vacation, and I hope you all did too. I rested, relaxed, visited, shared and celebrated. I even managed to get a few long put off projects done, most notably installing slick new programmable thermostats throughout the house and rewiring my entertainment center to include a nice input selector switch to manage all of my sources. On the whole, it was time very well spent.

All good things must come to an end, though. I’m back in the thick of things now, and life’s tempo has picked back up to its usual break neck pace. I spent most of last week in that “after vacation” state, where I run around trying to get caught up, and promptly crash and burn the minute I find time to sit down. Although I haven’t been able to stay awake long enough to post anything, I haven’t stopped thinking. Matter of fact, in that period just before sleep, as I’m slowly and blissfully spiraling down into unconsciousness, my mind bubbles ups all kinds of interesting things.

Here’s a few of this past week’s “thought bubbles”:


Wow, 2010. It still seems kind of unreal to me. It wasn’t that long ago that the year 2010 seemed an eternity away for me, and it promised to be a time of technological wonder. In Arthur C. Clarke’s 2010: Oddessy 2, he had us visiting distant planets and seeing a second Sun appear in our sky after aliens turned Jupiter into a star. Although it has become a world of technological wonder, the journey to 2010 hasn’t played out quite as he had envisioned, and that’s probably a good thing. I’m of the opinion that aliens can be rather pesky, plus I’m pretty sure a second Sun wouldn’t help us with the whole global warming thing. Computers with artificial intelligence freak me out a little, too. Sometimes I worry that my GPS might pull a HAL and carjack me, but so far all it’s done is scold me. If she starts calling me Dave though, I'm shutting her down.


A lot of people like to make New Year’s resolutions. Not me. I prefer not to make any promises that I may or may not be able to keep. It only seems to lead to disappointment down the line. In fact, research shows that only about 12% of people polled actually achieve their goals. Instead, I like to make a list of New Year’s hopes. Almost the same thing, except there are no lofty expectations attached. Don’t get me wrong, this isn’t a completely passive wish list. As the year, or the new decade, in this case, progresses, I try to do what I can, where I can, to help things along.


Speaking of new decades, the Aught’s kind of sucked. I hope the Ten’s are better.


Win, lose or draw, I hope the Pats bring it, and leave it all on the field during the playoffs.


I really love the CES; it’s a pure, unadulterated, geek fest. Although a lot of what’s unveiled at the show amounts to little more than vaporware, it brings me great pleasure to see what amazing things people have been cooking up each year. This year’s buzz is all about 3-D TV, with tablet PCs, e-readers and handheld digital TVs also making a strong showing. I’d love to attend one of these days. I’ll have to work on getting some press credentials for next year. Anybody out there interested in helping a fellow geek live his dream?


The Winter Classic was fun to watch, but I still can’t get into the Bruins in a serious way. I was a huge fan as a kid, even sleeping on the sidewalk outside of the Gahden for days, just for a chance at playoff tickets, but it doesn’t seem to float my boat anymore. It’s a different game these days, and way to sterile for me. Memories of Orr, Espo, Turk, Pie and the Chief, all flying around sans helmets (and teeth), ice chips and blood spraying everywhere, seems to have spoiled me forever. Those were the days when men were men, and sheep were afraid. Especially if the Turk was around.


There’s nothing like heated seats when it’s frigidly cold. It’s one of those small things that make a huge difference in life. Mmmm, toasted buns…


On the subject of life, and making differences, I leave you with this; during my holiday sabbatical I realized that I haven’t been striking a good work/life balance lately. It’s important to be with friends and family, and to enjoy life on a regular basis. It will do wonders for your stress and anxiety levels, but more importantly, life can be way too uncertain to squander.

This year that’s going to change. This one isn’t a hope or a resolution, it’s a solemn vow.


That is all.


zzzz, SNORK, zzzz…