This Guy Falls Down

Here Comes the Disclaimer

I've seen a few others do it. Now it's my turn. Today I'm heading to Georgia for the holidays, and my access to Al Gore's Information Superhighway (AGIS, if you will) will be severely limited. I'll post as I get the chance.
So, with that said, I wish you a Merry Christmas (to you AND your kin) and a Happy New Year!

Falcons - The Other Side of the Coin

There are some good things to come out of the Falcons' miserable season that's about to come to a close. For one, they should get a pretty good draft pick next year, probably in the top 6 or 7. Another benefit is that Vick is starting these last few games. Now they should have an idea of what pieces they need for next year. And finally, and this is the tough one, but they will get a new coach. I love Reeves, as much or more than the next guy. But I don't think he's the style of coach they need.
So, with a few tweaks in the offseason, they can be a team to contend with.
Isn't it sad that the season's not even over, and I'm already talking like this?

The Falcons - Better Than You Think

Watching the Falcons take on the Bucs today made me think about a lot of "what ifs" about their season, and only some of them revolved around Michael Vick. What if the defensive changes they implemented during their bye week had been going on all season? What if they hadn't blown leads against Washington, Minnesota, Tennessee, or New Orleans? And what if they'd had a decent quarterback all season?
Hey, at least I'm not just sitting here whining about Vick being hurt. Seriously - if they'd only won about 4 more games, they'd be in the playoff picture. And they came close more than 4 times, even without Vick.

Downloading roundup

Canada maintains a different approach to the downloading situation, in which a tax is added to the sale of mp3 players and split up among copywright owners. The key difference is that uploads are illegal in Canada; downloads are not. In a strange way, this actually makes sense to me...
Walmart is testing out a downoading service, offering songs at 88¢ a pop.
And it looks like the RIAA was dealt a setback, as a court ruled that ISP's are not responsible for those using their service to acquire illegal downloads.

Vocabulary lesson

I don't know why, maybe because my mom used to be an English teacher, but one of my biggest pet peeves is when people either mispronounce or misuse words. To give you an idea of what I'm talking about, here are some of the main culprits, with the proper word or usage provided:

1. It's not expresso, it's espresso
2. It's not laxadaisical, it's lackadaisical. There exists a word "lax", with a similar meaning, and that's probably where the confusion comes from.
3. When you use the term "mute point", this is not incorrect, although you probably mean "moot point".
4. You nip a problem "in the bud", not "in the butt" (that's a personal favorite of mine)
5. And finally, I think only about 1% of the population knows what "juxtapose" means, even though about 75% try to use it. To juxtapose is to place two things side by side for emphasis.

Jingle Bell Judge

Here's a funny story about a Tennessee judge with a lot of Christmas spirit.

PBS Special

For any of you fellow geeks who like a good historical show on PBS, I'm watching a pretty cool show about early Christianity. Some may not dig it because it's in that intellectual, somewhat liberal vein, but I dig it because it gives a historical context to the Gospels as well as the first couple of centuries of Christianity. If you're into this sort of thing, I'm sure it will air again at some point.

Cinnamon

Every now and again I get on these kicks where I am into a certain flavor. Right now the flavor that's doing it for me is cinnamon. And you know what they totally need to have? Cinnamon toothpaste. I figured somebody made it until I tried to find it. Think about it. What's the most popular flavor of breath freshening gum besides mint? Why, cinnamon, of course. So why not have cinnamon toothpaste? Somebody needs to make it.

NOTE: Thanks to your kind advice, I am now the proud owner of a tube of Crest Cinnamon Blast toothpaste. It is quite good.

Best Movie Ever, Man

It's 4:20 A.M. I just got back from seeing The Return of the King. It is easily the best movie I've ever seen. I did the whole opening night thing on the first LOTR movie, and I tried on TT but it was sold out. I didn't think I was going this year, but found some friends with an extra ticket. I must say, it's pretty fun to be there the first night with all the other geeks (Notice I'm including myself. The first step is acknowledging that you have a problem.). You know. The clappers. The ones who shush you during the key scenes. And the ones you turn to when you don't know who King Theoden is, or why it's funny when Samwise says "This one's for the Old Gaffer!" Well, you're on your own, because we were all there tonight. You'll have to figure all that out for yourself.
Oh, but wait a minute. You're OK. All those people who were there tonight will see it again, so you'll have that guy sitting next to you who knows what's going on. Chances are, it will be me.

Kazaa Revolution?

I've talked a whole lot about iTunes and other legal services. But there's an elephant in the room called Kazaa. And they want you to join their "revolution".