Author: Deck

Posted inOn The Web / Television

Smith: The Rest of the Story

by Deck

Remember when TV shows were given a chance to find an audience before they were yanked unceremoniously from the schedule? I think of classic shows that might never make it in today’s cut-throat world of broadcast television… Cheers, Seinfeld, and of course Star Trek all received low ratings early in their runs and almost certainly would be cancelled if they premiered and performed the same way now.

CBS featured a show called “Smith” in their fall lineup. It looked very promising with an interesting premise and some notable actors. The show features a group of professional thieves who are starting to have trouble separating their criminal lives from their otherwise relatively normal personal lives. The leader of the group is played by Ray Liotta. He’s looking to end his criminal career after a few more big scores. His wife, played by Virginia Madsen is becoming more and more suspicious of his frequent “work-related” absences. Each episode centered around a different heist.

Although I enjoyed the show and thought that it had lots of potential, “Smith” did not perform well and was the first show of the season to be cancelled after only three episodes.

Anyway, the point of this entry isn’t to whine about CBS’ decision to pull the show. It’s to applaud CBS what they have decided to do for the fans of the series regarding the remainder of the series. From the Smith Website…

Now you can catch all the episodes of this controversial and exciting drama series, including four that never aired on TV. You can also read how the story arc plays out, what happens to all the characters, and how the series concludes, with detailed synopses of the last five episodes.

I’m not happy that the series is over, but at least we get to know a little about what might have happened.

Posted inGames / Sports

Red Zone Wrap-Up (Week 9)

by Deck

Undefeated no more (finally! ;-))… The Houston Inferno (8-1) lost their first game this week, 67-65 to the P’burg PrairiePride (5-4). The PrairiePride are currently enjoying a three-game win streak. The Inferno could have used Rudi Johnson’s 13 bench points this week. I’ve been telling Jeff (owner of the Inferno) for a while now that Donovan McNabb would break his heart by the end of the season. After a disappointing nine point performance last week, Donovan failed to score any points at all this week. Of course, it might have had something to do with the fact that Philadelphia had a bye this week.

In the “Battle of the Bulls”, the Springfield Bullhawks (6-3) defeated the Batavia Bulldogs (3-6) by a score of 133-97. The ‘Hawks only had three players in double-digits this week. Luckily for them, those players scored 26, 40, and 41 points respectively.

My Spooky Boogeymen (6-3) returned to their winning ways with a 96-85 victory over the Peoria OrangeCrush (3-6). Marvin Harrison and Peyton Manning managed to pretty much cancel each other out, so it was up to the rest of my players to outscore the rest of their players for the win.

The Kentucky Mad Max (5-4) won their third game in a row beating the Petersburg PowerPuff Girls (3-6) with a 84-58 score. The Max had five double-digit scorers this week, so they didn’t need the 52 points left on the bench.

The Shelbyville Outkasts (4-5) defeated the Foreign Bodies (2-7) by a score of 98-81. 35 points from QB Drew Brees lead the way for the Outkasts.

Here are the updated standings after 9 weeks…

NORRIS DIVISION
Houston Inferno (8-1)
Spooky Boogeymen (6-3)
Springfield Bullhawks (6-3)
Shelbyville Outkasts (4-5)
Batavia Bulldogs (3-6)		 LONG DIVISION
Kentucky Mad Max (5-4)
P’burg PrairiePride (5-4)
Peoria OrangeCrush (3-6)
Petersburg PowerPuff Girls (3-6)
Foreign Bodies (2-7)

Posted inTechnology

Hacking the Vote

by Deck

Election Day is every American citizen’s chance to vote their conscience. We can vote to support the distinguished ladies and gentlemen that represent us in the halls of power. Or we can participate in a perfectly legal and binding coup d’etat and vote the bums outta office.

That’s a lot of power at the end of our fingertips, but that’s exactly where that power belongs. The “will of the people” should be the only thing that decides an election, whether it be presidential, congressional, or even student council. Unfortunately, this ideal has become much more difficult to guarantee due to the proliferation of and reliance on electronic voting machines throughout the country.

Let’s think about that for a second… “Electronic Voting Machine” is just a fancy name for a computer. It might be the hi-tech touch screen that directly records your vote, or it might just be the scanner that tabulates your paper ballot. So it has all of the vulnerabilities that any other computer might have… There might be accidental bugs in the software. Or maybe a developer is paid to insert a not-so-accidental piece of code in the program. The hardware may malfunction. Or a piece of equipment, storage medium, or trusted network might be compromised by an outside virus or other malware.

Surely, the government is intimately involved in the development, testing, implementation, distribution, and usage of something so vital that it will determine what’s written in future history books. Right?

Nope. The software and hardware are developed and sold to individual counties by private for-profit companies. Unfortunately, these companies treat everything involved in the process of manufacturing their electronic voting solutions as very closely held trade secrets. These vendors provide a report (produced by another private company) verifying that the electronic voting machines are safe, secure, and accurate. However, there is no involvement by any truly independent entities in this certification process.

Don’t get me wrong… Anyone who’s read this blog knows that I’m a fan of technology. But this is a case of technology applied to a situation without a proper level of common sense and oversight. I hope we can make the appropriate changes before the inevitable happens, and a major election comes under suspicion. Or maybe an entire election will be stolen, and no one will be the wiser.

Here are links to resources covering this topic in much more detail…

Hacking Democracy
A fascinating (and frightening) HBO documentary focusing on the problems and controversy surrounding electronic voting machines (and the vendors who sell them) in the past couple of elections. I didn’t want to embed it here because it’s pretty big (1 hour 21 minutes), but you can follow the link the Google Video. Highly recommended.

How to Steal an Election by Hacking the Vote
An in-depth article from Ars Technica discussing exactly how easy it would be for a determined individual with the right access to steal a statewide election.

Black Box Voting
Black Box Voting is a national nonprofit, nonpartisan elections watchdog group whose mission is to ensure fair and accurate elections through citizen oversight. The founder of this organization is featured prominently in the “Hacking Democracy” documentary previously mentioned.

The Second American Revolution, Part 1
The Second American Revolution, Part 2
These are links to my buddy Jeff’s blog. The current state of American politics has inspired Jeff to write an interesting and well-argued case condemning both the Democratic and Republican political parties as abject failures in what should be their number one priority, representing the interests of their constituents. This isn’t exactly on-topic regarding electronic voting, but I whole-heartedly agree with Jeff on this issue. Read what he has to say and then let him know what you think one way or the other.

Posted inGames / Sports

Red Zone Wrap-Up (Week 8)

by Deck

The Houston Inferno (8-0) remained unbeaten by knocking off the Foreign Bodies (2-6) by a score of 86-53. Donovan McNabb looked human for a change with only 9 points, but 20 points from Bears Tight End Desmond Clark and 23 points from the Ravens Defense more than made up for it.

The Peoria OrangeCrush (3-5) had another high-scoring week to follow up last week’s 141 point effort. Unfortunately, they ran up against the Springfield Bullhawks (5-3) who had a record-setting week (so far), beating the Crush 153-93. The Head Coach position for the Bullhawks let down the rest of the team being the only player slot not to turn in a double-digit performance.

The Kentucky Mad Max (4-4) had a triple-digit day vs. the Shelbyville Outkasts (3-5). The Mad Max won 102-59 behind a 34 point perfomance from QB Michael Vick.

The Petersburg PowerPuff Girls (3-5) won their third game in four weeks with a 66-50 victory over the Batavia Bulldogs (3-5). The Bulldogs left Tom Brady’s 37 points on the bench in favor of David Carr’s -2 points. WTF?!?

Oh, and the Petersburg PrairiePride (4-4) narrowly defeated my Spooky Boogeymen (5-3) 121-75. Move along. Nothing to see here…

Posted inInspirational

Cartoonist, Heal Thyself

by Deck

Dilbert BlogI didn’t realize it until I read his blog earlier today, that Scott Adams, the creator of the Dilbert comic strip, lost his voice more than a year ago due to a rare condition called Spasmodic Dysphonia.

Essentially a part of the brain that controls speech just shuts down in some people, usually after you strain your voice during a bout with allergies (in my case) or some other sort of normal laryngitis. It happens to people in my age bracket.

I asked my doctor – a specialist for this condition – how many people have ever gotten better. Answer: zero.

The weirdest part of this phenomenon is that speech is processed in different parts of the brain depending on the context. So people with this problem can often sing but they canÂ’t talk. In my case I could do my normal professional speaking to large crowds but I could barely whisper and grunt off stage. And most people with this condition report they have the most trouble talking on the telephone or when there is background noise. I can speak normally alone, but not around others.

How strange is that? But wait, it gets stranger… Scott noticed just a few days ago that he could speak perfectly in rhyme.

I repeated it dozens of times, partly because I could. It was effortless, even though it was similar to regular speech. I enjoyed repeating it, hearing the sound of my own voice working almost flawlessly. I longed for that sound, and the memory of normal speech. Perhaps the rhyme took me back to my own childhood too. Or maybe itÂ’s just plain catchy. I enjoyed repeating it more than I should have. Then something happened.

My brain remapped.

My speech returned.

Not 100%, but close, like a car starting up on a cold winter night. And so I talked that night. A lot. And all the next day. A few times I felt my voice slipping away, so I repeated the nursery rhyme and tuned it back in. By the following night my voice was almost completely normal.

How cool is that?

I still donÂ’t know if this is permanent. But I do know that for one day I got to speak normally. And this is one of the happiest days of my life.

I highly suggest going to Scott’s blog and reading the whole story for yourself. Scott’s an interesting character in his own right. I hope he’s found his way back to his voice again for good.

Posted inGames / Sports

Red Zone Wrap-Up (Week 7)

by Deck

Apathy is hard workThis is pretty much how I feel about this week’s fantasy football. (Yes, I lost. How did you guess?)

The Houston Inferno (7-0) continued their winning ways with a 79-62 win over the Shelbyville Outkasts (3-4). Another 30-plus point game from Donovan McNabb lead the way for the red-hot Inferno.

As mentioned above, my Spooky Boogeymen (5-2) lost a close game 82-84 to the Foreign Bodies (2-5). Both teams had a player going in Monday night’s game. Unfortunately, Tiki Barber had a better game for the Bodies than T.O. did for me. I need to start looking around for some trades or shrewd pickups because my Spooky Boogeymen haven’t put a scare into any other teams for quite a while.

The P’burg PrairiePride (3-4) knocked off the Springfield Bullhawks (4-3) in a 112-103 game that wasn’t decided until Monday night. Plaxico Burress’ 17-point performance was the difference in the game, but I gotta say that I’m impressed that the Bullhawks put up a 100+ point game with four Byes and an IR player on their bench.

The Peoria OrangeCrush (3-4) lived up to their name this week and crushed the Petersburg PowerPuff Girls (2-5) by the gaudy score of 141-80. The Crush got a 40 point performance from Peyton Manning as well as 38 points from Hines Ward. That’ll do it.

Finally, the Kentucky Mad Max (3-4) beat the Batavia Bulldogs (3-4) by nine points for a 61-52 win. The Max got steady scoring from each position, although the bench outscored the starters with 67 points.

Here are the updated standings after 7 weeks…

NORRIS DIVISION
Houston Inferno (7-0)
Spooky Boogeymen (5-2)
Springfield Bullhawks (4-3)
Shelbyville Outkasts (3-4)
Batavia Bulldogs (3-4)		 LONG DIVISION
P’burg PrairiePride (3-4)
Peoria OrangeCrush (3-4)
Kentucky Mad Max (3-4)
Foreign Bodies (2-5)
Petersburg PowerPuff Girls (2-5)

Posted inGames / Sports

Red Zone Wrap-Up (Week 6)

by Deck

Da BearsWeek 6 is history, as is the offensive coordinator of the Arizona Cardinals after the Cards blew a 20-point second half lead to Da Bears Monday night. More on that game later…

The Petersburg PowerPuff Girls (2-4) blew up this week with a 126 point performance, beating the P’burg PrairiePride (2-4) who had a respectable 91 points of their own. Six of the nine PowerPuff starters had double-digit days, not to mention the 60 points that stayed on the bench this week. The Puffs have won two in a row and go into next week with lots of momentum.

The Springfield Bullhawks (4-2) knocked off the Foreign Bodies (1-5) with a 107-91 victory. Da Defense of Da Bears saved the Bullhawks Monday night with a 22 point performance, making up for the -7 points posted by the Bears’ Rex Grossman. It’s unfortunate (for them) that two teams put up 91 points this week, and both teams lost.

The Houston Inferno (6-0) were tested this week by the Kentucky Mad Max (2-4) but continued their winning ways with a four point 88-84 victory. Although the Max had more consistent scoring, Torry Holt’s 36 point game for the Inferno was too much to overcome.

My Spooky Boogeymen (5-1) barely outlasted the Shelbyville Outkasts (3-3) in an 80-77 win, again due indirectly to the domination of the Bears D in the second half of Monday night’s game. Coming in to Monday night I had a six or maybe seven point lead, but the Outkasts had Edgerrin James of the Cardinals yet to play. The way the Cardinals were playing early in the game, I assumed it would just be a matter of time before Edge scored or broke a long run for big points. Brian Urlacker and the rest of the Bears defense took over the game in the second half, but it still got down to just a single point difference in our game, at least until Brian Urlacker ripped the ball out of Edgerrin’s arms for a fumble that the Bears returned for a touchdown. The fumble reduced James’ point total and cemented the win for me and the Boogeymen. Whew.

And finally, we finish with a game that had absolutely nothing to do with the Bears. ;-) The Peoria OrangeCrush (2-4) defeated the Batavia Bulldogs (3-3) 75-58. Both teams featured three starters in double-digits, but each of the Bulldogs’ big three outscored their OrangeCrush counterparts by 5-10 points.

Posted inComics

Opus Lives!!!

by Deck

OpusHOW COME NOBODY TOLD ME THAT OPUS IS BACK?!?

Opus the Penguin is the star of the classic comic strip %28comic%29″ target=”_blank”>Outland. And now I find out that Opus came back almost three frickin’ years ago in his own Sunday comic called, appropriately enough, Opus.

Opus has been a hero of mine since a good friend (Hi Rach!) gave me the first Bloom County collection, Loose Tails, when we were in high school. Opus is a naive good-hearted doofus who tends to get swept along in the crazy events that surround him. (Not that I identify with him or anything. ;-))

I need to get out those old Bloom County collections again. It’s been too long since I’ve had a good silly laugh. :-D

Posted inGames / Sports

Red Zone Wrap-Up (Week 5)

by Deck

Houston InfernoSo far this season, I’ve made all the right moves on a week-to-week basis as head coach of the Spooky Boogeymen. I’ve consistently been able to put my best players on the field, and I’ve made some decent pick-ups from the waiver wire. Unfortunately, I’ve sucked as general manager of the Spooky Boogeymen. After a great deal of consideration, I elected to keep headcase Terrell Owens from last year’s team instead of Donovan McNabb, and that decision has finally come back to bite me in the ass. The Houston Inferno, lead by Donovan McNabb, handed the Boogeymen our first loss of the season with a convincing 95-70 victory. The Inferno right now look more like an all-star squad than anything else, fielding a team this past weekend having seven of the starting nine positions ranked no lower than fourth in the league. I’m considering filing a petition with the FTC accusing the Inferno of being an anti-trust monopoly. :-P

The Springfield Bullhawks earned a 1-point victory over the Shelbyville Outkasts 86-85. The Bullhawks had to wait until late in the game Monday night for Javon Walker to catch his last pass for a 63 yard/6 point total putting the Bullhawks over the top.

The Peoria OrangeCrush took advantage of a weak outing by the Kentucky Mad Max for a 78-39 win. The 39 point total ties the PowerPuff Girls for low game score, potentially earning some money back at the end of the season (hypothetically speaking).

Speaking of which, the Petersburg PowerPuff Girls earned their first win of the season this week beating the Foreign Bodies 71-61. Both teams are now 1-4.

The Batavia Bulldogs won a close game against the P’burg PrairiePride 65-62. Kicker Adam Vinatieri was a surprise scratch for the PrairiePride.