KXVU

Niners Playoff Football … (sigh)

So close, yet … (sigh)

Positives to take away from the game and the season:

- If you had told me or pretty much any Niners fan at the start of the season that we’d go 13-3 and to the NFC championship game, we’d all have taken it without question. This was a great season.

- The Niners didn’t have a let-down in play following that win over the Saints, which speaks well to their mental fortitude and preparation.

- The Niners run defence was still elite and incredible tonight.

- Akers & Lee = Consistent & Clutch.

- Vernon Davis = Beast With Swagger.

Negatives to digest and expel:

- Alex Smith was sort of vintage in the 4th quarter and in overtime, the bad vintages, throwing at receivers’ feet and jumping up to get sacked.  Not all awful, but losing his focus in the high pressure drives. (Conversely, Eli looked about the same, regressing and throwing into heavy coverage repeatedly towards the end of the game.)

- I’m not sure if it’s technically a negative, but the Niners were unable to make interceptions when gifted the opportunities. Granted, this was because there were two defenders making plays for the ball and getting in each others’ way, but damn.

- Kyle WIlliams = Dead To Us.

Here’s looking forward to next season, and given what Jim Harbaugh was able to do with this team in his rookie head coach season with a lockout-shortened offseason, I have great optimism (and naturally raised expectations) for next year.

Happy New Year, all!  Let’s start off 2012 with some throw-back-format bullets:

• Just how much has changed in the past year for authors of this site? I count 3 kids and 2 weddings in the past year. (Granted, the authorship is mostly in the past, though always welcome.)
  • The Lunar Year of the Dragon starts on January 26. Children born this year will be, in particular, Water Dragons.
  • There is at least one more wedding coming this year, and it hasn’t driven anyone insane … yet.
• It is an election year, and everything seems much more defensive and polarized than in 2008. But I have faith that the long game and being civil will prevail, mostly because I have to be optimistic that the country won’t devolve into belligerent shouting forever.
  • Thomas Jefferson did call this democracy and America “The Great Experiment”.  So before we get too proud about 236 years of a government and nation that is probably the most open, industrious, and successful in all of human history, keep in mind that in comparison to the past couple tens-of-thousands of years, we are the outlier.
  • Of course, the pessimist in me was chilled to the bone by the thought of Tebow for President in 2036. If people in this country can send Uncle Ronny, Arnold, Ventura, Al Frankin (I love him, but come on), and Cooter from the Dukes of Hazard to elected office, then Timmy Tebow isn’t an unrealistic candidate either.
• SOPA & PIPA - These are topical today in particular, as the Internet as a whole is protesting bad legislation which threatens to cripple everything built over the last ~15-20 years.  Wikipedia, Boing Boing and other sites have gone dark, while some like Google and Ars Techncia are protesting in other ways. My broad brushstroke opinions:
  • Congresspeople are generally too old to understand the Internet and just how much it has changed the mentality of our generation and younger.
  • The SOPA and PIPA legislation are merely protectionism for old, breaking business models that extract far too high a cost out of technology, innovation, and free speech.
    • (How do these bills do that? By creating statutes with criminal penalties, i.e. jail, for actions that have traditionally only been penalized with civil, i.e. money, damages. And by making the monetary damages completely disproportionate and ridiculous.)
  • I’m starting to think that Intellectual Property is going to be at the forefront of civil rights fights for the rest of this century.  How will patents and copyright be used to leverage control over technology that spreads information, be it political, creative, or industrial, like wildfire?

Yeah … everything feels much more serious. It has to be a side-effect of getting older, because I’m sure Life Was Serious when we were younger too. And I’m not saying I haven’t been more responsible or noticed these things only now (certainly, I like to think of myself as a grown-up a good percentage of the time) … but it weighs a lot heavier on the mind and spirit these days.

So this is the first Xmas holiday I have not spent at home. (Yes, my mother is very sad, but she is also insistent that I not come home if it means I don’t spend the holiday with Kattekilling.) This gives Kattekilling and I the opportunity to save money, save energy, and save sanity before August. It is a little odd, and I am sad to have not seen my extended family as is tradition on Xmas Eve. However, we spent last night with my cousin who lives here in DC along with his family and the various in-laws, which includes my aunt & uncle from Napa. (Thus the excess of wine.) It was a very laid back evening, and we’re heading back today for a more formal Xmas dinner. As time with family should be, there has been a lot of various stories of varying degrees of hilarity and embarrassment. I also discovered that my 13-yr old cousin is crazy tall and looks like she’s 16, which gives her father heartburn thinking about 16-yr old boys coming on to her. It’s a very understandable fear. Luckily, she has a good head on her shoulders, so she will hopefully avoid the creepy and dumb boys out there. Hopefully.

As for the rest of these holidays, we plan on chilling out, seeing friends around here, going to a movie or two, and putting in hours at work. We went to see The Muppets the other night, and thoroughly enjoyed it. The movie may not have been as funny if where the first introduction to the Muppets, but the clever allusions back to the older material made for a good nostalgic comedy, but one that has its own story nonetheless. We will probably see Tintin as well. In the meantime, we’re watching The Dark Crystal on Netflix. (So yeah, we’re taking advantage of downtime not doing much of anything.) By the way, The Dark Crystal is pretty damn scary for a kids movie and doesn’t pull any punches in terms of creatures dying. Oh yeah… female Gelfings have wings, I had forgotten about that.  Can we also agree that in 1000 years, the Mystics did very little of anything to stand up against their evil halves? Of course, Kattekilling & I got this along with Labyrinth and Mirrormask for my cousins. Sincerely scary Henson workshop work with a dash of David Bowie sexuality directed at a teenage Jennifer Connolly, that is a proper Xmas gift we think.

What is everyone else up to this season?

Happy holidays all!

There has been a ton of ink spilled over the absurdity of the NBA Lockout, the aborted lawsuits by the players, and now the Chris Paul trade debacle. It’s hard to think of anything that I haven’t already read elsewhere. But one conspiracy theory I’ve yet to see is the suggestion that David Stern was negotiating only in order to save face. The Lakers-Hornets-Rockets trade that Stern vetoed was probably the best the Hornets could get, not great for the Hornets, but considering they have little leverage, getting back 4 starters and a pick was extraordinary. GM Del Demps was rightfully lauded, and then completely kneecapped.

So, last I read, the Hornets (i.e. David Stern) demanded four players (a solid center, a rising star shooting guard, and two up-coming prospects) and 2 picks from the Clippers. This was far too steep for the Clippers, and to me seems completely unreasonable, but if the Hornets were able to pull down a better deal than what the Lakers and Rockets were offering, then his rejection of the trade would not seem so heavy-handed and unfair.

Of course, if there is no trade for Chris Paul, which by all accounts will be because the NBA (be it David Stern, the team owners, or some potential buyer of the Hornets) is asking too high a price and too stubborn. At this point, I cannot conceive of any team being able to reach an agreement with the Hornets, given the demands made of the Clippers. I wouldn’t be surprised if the Hornets are unable to trade CP3 at all this season, and they end up losing him to free agency at the end of the 66-game season, and getting nothing in return.I also doubt CP3 will play hard this season, because why the hell should he risk injury or too much wear on his knees for a team and league that seems determined to martyr him for the sake of “competitive balance” by which they mean their “bottom line”.  The sad part is, the other owners are devaluing thier own asset in the Hornets through this embarrassment of cannibalism.

Then again, I thought that there wouldn’t be a season at all and am thoroughly surprised the NBA is playing any games this year. So maybe the NBA will work something out but they will not get over the impression that they are running a conspiracy to show the players that they are mere chattel while screwing over big-market teams through unfair bullying instead of competing on the court.  When the current CBA can be opted out of in 6 years, expect another lockout and/or strike, because the owners were unhappy with the deal they signed as evidenced by their complaining about the CP3 trade, and the players may not have signed the CBA at all if they knew they would be disrespected in this manner.

Through all of this, keep in mind that Chris Paul may have a labor complaint to file against the NBA. I doubt a lawsuit could be filed, or would be successful, although the difference between a 4-year free agency contract and a 5-year extension contract might be a legally cognizable economic injury. Regardless, these actions on the part of the NBA and David Stern will be an interesting piece of evidence in the antitrust case the NBA Players will likely file 6 years from now.

Who knew that NOLA meant “NO LA” for Chris Paul. Yes, the NBA, where a train wreck happens.

Would that we could all be paid for complaining to an audience and being curmudgeonly.  Truly, Andy Rooney lived the American Dream.

What is it about Tim Tebow that people dislike so much? And why is that dislike so strongly associated with his faith?  Nothing I’ve read has tried to draw a correlation between his faith and his talent; and most references to his faith has been very respectful, but treats it as separate from his football skill. There is plenty of reason to think that Tebow is overhyped, but the mockery and rooting-against him goes beyond the traditional “big shot rookie needs some humbling” hate. So here is my brief attempt at trying to understand the correlation.

1) What pisses people off about faith?

I think that one aspect of religion that is aggravating to the non-religious is blind faith.  Without trying to get in depth or inadvertently offending anyone, the kind of faith that leads to irrational confidence/self-righteousness/smugness in a belief is what I’m trying to focus on with the term “blind faith”.  When those without faith point to objective reasons to discredit the belief, but there is no effect, it becomes infuriating to try and hold a rational conversation with such people.

2) How is this analogous to Tim Teabow as a QB?

The possibly-rational confidence/self-righteousness/smugness of Teabow’s supporters, and their blind faith in his pending success “because he’s a winner”, in the face of so many objective detractors pointing to discernible football skills that he lacks and, given the historical experience of QBs, is unlikely to develop. That fragment of a thought, I think, is the connection, and why the hate for Tebow loosely associates the dismissiveness of  his football skill with dismissiveness for his religion. And I’m not even going to try and address the victim-complex of Tebow’s defenders.

Tebow’s performance this past Sunday against Detroit (7 sacks, 1 INT returned 100 yds for a TD, 56.8 passer rating) was the first game I actually watched much of Tebow play.  Although it is only one game, I don’t know how it is possible that he will be a successful NFL QB. Everything about his mechanics looks… not of a professional caliber. I am certainly no scout to say that with any authority, but compared to every other NFL QB I’ve ever watched, his motions just look wrong.  It’s too bad for the kid, but Denver’s fervor for him may come back to bite them really soon.

I just hope that the desire to see a hyped rookie with unquestioning faith in his abilities fail doesn’t get further conflated with a resentment against the man’s unquestioning faith in his religion.

(Edit, links addendum)

More on this Tebow kid:

1. Tebow Planking.
2. The Grantland piece that got me thinking about the above post.
3. An ESPN article about Tebow, which for 3 days straight so far, has had people commenting in the form of, “[idea/thing] > Tebow”, e.g. I am so proud of the Internet right now.

Just a few articles I read about the late Raider which I think describe the man well.

• Comments from his peers and colleagues.
• Describing his innovation of the vertical passing game.
• His relationship with the media.
• In Speaker for the Dead fashion, honesty about his dark side.

Not much more to say than that, though I think Jim Harbaugh said it best, “The autumn wind will always be a Raider.”

It is very weird to think about the death of someone you don’t know, particularly when you feel an impact from that death. For me previously: Princess Diana, no feeling; JFK Jr., very sad; Joe DiMaggio, almost in tears. Why, I couldn’t tell you, but I suppose one associates some people with senses of the way things should be in the world, and so different deaths affect one differently.

Steve Jobs. He understood the intersection between form and function better than anyone else of his generation. He was more capable than most others of taking an idea and bringing it to realization. He probably has inspired and guided the way we think about and interact with modern technology more than any other. He took an leading role in merging music with technology. He supported the best new movie studio of the past 20 years. He did not accept anything less than the meticulous perfection of design, and was able to see what consumers would want before consumers knew they wanted it. He was a man who aspired to great things and consistently met and exceeded those goals.

I am not a fan of some of the ways Apple implements their technology, but I certainly respect what they have accomplished and the high quality of their products. It may seem a little melodramatic, but we are all a little poorer with the passing of Steve Jobs. He is an example for everyone who aspires to great things, and will continue to be so for our lifetimes.

But why does this matter to me, or to anyone else who isn’t more closely linked to Steve Jobs? Because this will affect my life, albeit in a very, very small way. The thing is, his death will affect nearly everyone at least in a very, very small way. What Steve Jobs stood for, the overwhelmingly successful self-made American inventor and businessman, became a part of the social fabric, or maybe he took up that role and mantle from others, but he filled that need better than almost anyone else in memory and that loss will be a pronounced void for some time to come.

I haven’t run the numbers, but financially, I seriously wonder if law school was as good an investment as initially thought.  Granted, I was seriously underpaid in my old job, but I had options to advance. Would 3 years of employment and the ability to save / invest have counterbalanced the 3 years of debt-into-six-figures that I accrued?  Sure, the upside is that once I pay down the debt, I’ll have more income. But why the hell would I want to continue to work at a law firm just for money?

So am I working just for money (i.e. to pay down the debt) at this point? Not quite. I’m still learning a lot about my trade, which is good and engaging. But is the trade fulfilling? Eh. I find myself easily distracted from my work (such that I’m blogging now) despite the fact that things are DUE tomorrow morning. None of it has yet felt particularly … productive as of late. Now, maybe some of the things up on the horizon will be more creative and creating, but that always seems to get pushed off until later because of the next crisis.  For for the moment, ugh, uninspired and tired.

Of course, the upside of having done this is the girl sitting across from me at the table. So no regrets at all. We’ll just both figure out something better to do with ourselves.

Yes, there was a real earthquake in DC. People were justifiably rattled. For me, the only anxiety I had was at the very start when I thought it could be a terrorist attack. Once I realized it was just an earthquake, no big deal. In fact, the required evacuation was very pleasant given the weather. I don’t think there is a billing code for “evacuated from office” however.

Of course, at this very moment, a mess of fire engines and ambulances have flocked to the Metro station right next to me. No idea what’s going on, but I will happily not find out.

In terms of truly earth-shattering events, with orangejello’s nuptial coming imminently, I will be the last of the circle here to not be hitched. Not a big deal, nor surprising, but things just fell into place as they are and I think I should have some observational feeling about it, but I don’t. What I would like to know, however, is whether the soon to be Mrs. orangejello even knows about this site and the insights (blackmail?) she could find in the archives. I’m guessing she doesn’t know … yet.

What I was sad about is the departure of oj back West, although that is properly jealousy. Then again, life is busy enough that I hardly see any of my DC friends with any frequency anymore. That is a sad state of affairs. But there are goals and a plan, so hopefully I will start to be able to look in the direction of where the light at the end of the tunnel is supposed to be, maybe.

The part of this coming weekend I am most looking forward to at the moment: wearing a kippa and dancing the Hora. La’hayim!