ANtics Episode 2.10: On the Road

The A's are 4-1 so far in the middle of what will have been a seven game road trip. (Eight if you count the rain-out) With the team away, they've had a chance to reevaluate what's working, and what's not. We check in to see their progress.

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ANtics Archive: 2005/06 ANtics | PDF | Take the Poll

Half a Dozen Top Announcements

While focused in Las Vegas, and without my trusty PowerBook, there were a number of announcements that warrant mentioning.

1. We've seen Bush make a lot of noise around breaking with his "oil man" background, and calling for lower gas prices amidst dramatic energy company profits and record lows in popularity. Guess what? The two are linked. As Business 2.0 notes, the president's popularity is inversely proportional to the price of gas. And here I thought spending $34.00 at the pump was patriotic.

2. Google released Sketchup, a new 3D modeling tool. While it's Windows-only for now, a Mac version is in the works.

3. Which brings us to Guy Kawasaki's excellent post on "The Top Ten Lies of Engineers". Number 6 is that the Macintosh version will be done just after the Windows version ships.

4. Microsoft continues plummeting. The company's stock got trashed to the tune of more than 10% Friday after announcing disappointing earnings projections. Meanwhile, Google is now showing ads for Firefox on the company's front page, when visited by Windows users running Internet Explorer.

5. BMW is planning on releasing an environmentally friendly car, expected to run up to 100 miles per gallon. I haven't seen it, but I probably want one.

6. You Tube continues to grow dramatically. According to Forbes, the video site is spending more than $1 million in bandwidth costs a month.

Listening to ''Dark Heart Dawning'', by BT (Play Count: 2)

A's Rained Out: What a Wet Mess!

It's as if the game never happened. But we were there. We saw some things that were out of the ordinary. Yet we also witnessed things that were all too ordinary, in a game the A's were trailing 6-1, but will never count.

According to "The Little Green Book", the last time the A's had a game postponed was against the Philadelphia Phillies in June of 2003. That also led to the last time the A's played a doubleheader, against the same Phillies the following day. Unfortunately, we ended up losing both games, 7-1 and 8-3. Now, our calendar says August 18th we will play two against the Royals and hope for a different outcome.

Today's outcome really never looked like an A's win was in the cards, rain or shine. After a top of the first that saw two A's go down on strikeouts, Esteban Loaiza continued his struggles, loading the bases for Reggie Sanders who cleared them with a grand slam. Amidst two outs, Loaiza loaded the bases a second time in the inning, before giving up a fifth run on an infield hit. In all, adding two walks to start the bottom of the second, Loaiza had faced 13 batters. 10 of those batters reached base, six by way of the walk.

The 2006 debut of Ron Flores, like the slam by Reggie Sanders, will be washed away. But he closed out the second, and teased us with what real pitchers do - get outs, something Loaiza has been baffled by so far in his early starts with the A's. Having seen him pitch in person at the Coliseum, his outings have baffled the imagination. The velocity is missing, the control is off, and those that make it over the plate have been hit. The A's, while good on paper, cannot withstand injuries to key players like Harden, Crosby, Street and Loaiza and be expected to excel.

We were given a gift with today's rainout. The division thus far is giving the A's a gift in that nobody is pulling away. With Texas' win today, the A's fall 1/2 game behind, into 3rd, but remain only a game out of first, pending the Angels game. It's early, but today's shortened outing leaves us all lacking for confidence. We cannot expect the rain to bail us out all season long.

Listening to ''Personal Jesus (Pump Mix)'', by Depeche Mode (Play Count: 6)

All Is Right With the World

After a week away from home in Las Vegas, I flew back in to San Jose yesterday afternoon, to find most things as I had left them. One thing that did make progress while I was out was the work on my previously-distressed laptop. Having dropped it off at the Apple Store last Saturday, the machine traveled further than I had, going to Texas for repair, before making its way back. So, despite having been up late the previous night, waiting for union workers until past 3:30 a.m. to return our equipment, I made my way back down to the Apple Store and retrieved the PowerBook - which is now happy again, accepting power and chugging away. Best of all, they didn't erase the hard drive, so no changes were needed.

Life can now carry on as planned.

Listening to ''Live @ DI.fm 2005-11-11'', by DJ Irish (Play Count: 2)

Help From a Little Green Book

As a young Oakland A's fan growing up in the era of Canseco, McGwire, Rickey, Stewart, Hendu, and Eckersley, I simply couldn't get enough news and insight into my favorite team. At the age of 12, I had set my watch to beep at 5:45 PM every day so I could run in and turn on the local news and get the sports report (this is pre-ESPN for me, mind you), and I must have read Bill Mazeroski's 1989 season preview cover to cover a million times.

To this day, I could tell you Jose Canseco had a .569 slugging percentage and 187 hits to go with his .307 average in 1988, alongside 42 home runs, 24 doubles, 40 steals and 16 caught stealing. Those numbers are hard-coded, and if I ever forget them, it's because I've gotten too old to recognize my own grandkids (should there ever be any).

In fact, one Christmas, I successfully begged my parents to get me the ultimate in baseball stats - Total Baseball. Filled with more than 2,000 pages, including all major league statistics for all players - ever, the book was incredible, including stories about every era of the sport, award winners, streaks, and odd circumstance. And yes, I probably skimmed through every page of statistics too. See - I was young, and baseball was my life. Though I grew up shorter and scrawnier than everyone else, and managed a .000 average in my one injury-shortened Little League season (kid you not, I walked or struck out every AB), I knew baseball, and I knew my A's.

Which brings us to today. At Spring Training in Arizona, I picked up the 2006 Oakland Athletics Media Guide, which aims to fill this particular niche in my psyche, with pinpoint focus on this year's squad - full of player profiles with the entire 40 man roster, and even non-roster invitees, and most importantly, all the stats, awards, and streaks a good fan should know. Now, when Ken Korach, Ray Fosse and Vince Cotroneo say that "The last time the A's hit 3 consecutive home runs was in 2000, when Randy Velarde, Jason Giambi and Ben Grieve accomplished the task," I'll know it's not solely because they have encyclopaedic knowledge of the sport, but through the help of a little green book - one that I too have at my disposal.

For instance, the A's have won 2 consecutive road games so far on this trip... but did you know that in 1971, the team won 12 consecutive games on the road from July 31st to August 15th? You probably already knew that during the team's AL-record 20 game streak, they won 10 consecutive on the road, from August 19th to 28th. Right?

Meanwhile, after 23 games, the A's have a record of 11-12. At this point in 1981, the A's had 20 wins and only 3 losses! Of course, in 1994, they had regressed, showing a record of 7 and 16 at this juncture, the worst ever in team history...

In 2005, we saw two pitchers, Dan Haren and Barry Zito, lead the team with 14 wins apiece. But did you know that in 1999, Gil Heredia led the team with only 13 wins? And did you know that current Yankee Aaron Small led the A's with all of 9 wins in 1997?

And did you know that the 2005 squad's tally of only 155 home runs was the least for an Oakland A's team since 1998 (149), and that this number falls 88 short of the team record of 243, set in 1996? Did you know that Eric Chavez has four of the top five home run seasons for an A's third baseman since 1901? Or that Nick Swisher had the fourth-most doubles by an Oakland A's rookie with 32?

I hope you'll excuse me... I've got some reading to do.
Listening to ''Mindcrasher'', by Blank & Jones (Play Count: 8)

Blog Vacation Through Friday

Just a heads up that this site will remain "stable" in its current state through at least Friday, April 28th. I will be in Las Vegas, Nevada for a trade show through Friday. In the meantime, my laptop is getting special care from Apple for the week, for a pretty good chunk of change. Turns out much of my power issues were related to damage to the logic board, impacting the DC connector. We knew that, but were in denial, of course.

See you then.

ANtics Episode 2.9: Early Trends, Odds and Ends

With the season just a little over one tenth of the way complete, the A's haven't exactly dominated the field so far - they've shown signs of brilliance, and often, quite a different story. While some, like Swisher and Chavez, have excelled, others haven't been pulling their weight. The ANtics looks in on 2006's early results.

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ANtics Archive: 2005/06 ANtics | PDF | Take the Poll

Technical Difficulties

You know something's wrong when you're cheering the computer being at 39% power capacity, and the fact that I don't have to hold my finger on the power cord for a full three consecutive minutes while the thing's actually on, but here we are.

(It just started blinking again - 39%... 38%... grr...)

After a few months of this, including new Apple power adapters and third party gear, we haven't seen a solution, so we're scheduled for a visit to the Apple Store Genius Bar at Valley Fair at 8:40 tonight to look into it. While I dream it's just a need for a new battery, that's probably not going to be my luck, and I'm concerned they may want to take a look at it, inflicted four-digit damages, or worse, make me get a new one... which would be infuriating. So, in advance, I've backed up everything to the iPod, and hope that's overdoing it.

If they take machine away, louisgray.com could go dark, and there'd be no ANtics tomorrow. In advance, I blame Al Quaeda.

Listening to ''Father's Field'', by Traci Lords (Play Count: 8)

E-mail History: 1999: Mac Financier Foiled

Just trolling through older e-mail after coming home from yet another tremendous A's victory against the rival Angels, when I ran across a plan in 1999, where I offered one of my best friends enough money to buy a new computer after his last one bit the dust. The idea was that he would use the money to but a Macintosh, and then we'd work with him to get the software he needed to get up and running. The loan could be paid back easily, at $100 a month, no interest, until it was resolved.

I had entered into this contract because I had nearly a full year in Silicon Valley under my belt, and felt I could afford $800 or so, while I was also very eager to get my friend moved from the PC "dark side" to Macintosh. I knew that for sure he would be happy with his move, and I would do whatever I could to support his choice.

But, weeks later, after my check had cleared, he told me that a second friend had set him up with boatloads of pirated, free, Windows software, so he took the $800 I gave him and bought an no-name AMD machine, thinking he could mooch off both friends' generosity and get everything he wanted. I was furious, feeling that I had been tricked into being generous, and very nearly demanded he return the money to me, now that I knew he wasn't going to be added as an Apple customer, but joined the drones in lock step behind Microsoft. I felt betrayed, and that my opinion, which should have held some value, had been ignored. But I also was very concerned that if I fought too hard, I could lose the friend, one I intended to keep for life, over a stupid computer OS choice.

Friends fight and families fight. I had introduced new wrinkles in our relationship - technology and finances, altering our roles. For months afterwards, not only was our relationship strained as he struggled with his new computer, but we couldn't have a conversation without my thinking about how much money he owed me, or when the next check was coming. I think the strain was reaching him too, for after four months of $100 checks coming in regularly, the fifth month's check was for the remainder, ending his need to pay me, and ending my need to bug him for it, even though I still hadn't fully forgiven him for using Windows.

One good thing for me was that my expectations were proven right. When his computer finally came in, the trials were immediate. He wrote, in his "now online" e-mail,

"From late Thursday night, to early Saturday morning, I was TOTALLY (censored) PISSED and in a BAD (censored) mood! Although Windows 98 had already been installed on my computer, the (censored) computer wouldn't even complete the boot-up process whenever I turned the (censored) on. Even more perplexing, the computer would always seem to do something different, or achieve a different percentage of the boot before it (censored) up -- every single time I restarted! So it dind't seem like an error in the program.

To make matters even more annoying, everytime I turned off the monitor, I had to wait at least a minute to turn it back on again, or the thing would simply stay black. Granted, I bought the 17" for $169, but I still figured it would at least (censored) work! But it didn't (censored) work! And I didn't know what the (censored) to do! So I suffered for two days straight..."

For me, having him struggle was a dark, moral victory. I had been proven right, and several years later, he saw the light, moving to Apple. And I had been paid. But I felt that he should have listened, and I was mad at myself for having tried to put such a silly thing in front of a friendship that's lasted the better part of two decades.

Listening to ''Innocence'', by Paul Van Dyk (Play Count: 5)

Bush's Trip Impact: Prisoners At the Office

As mentioned on Wednesday, Bush and his team flew into Silicon Valley today to meet at Cisco Systems, ostensibly for a panel on technology and education. Unfortunately, for those who work near the area, traffic on the streets nearby the shindig was dramatically effected. Before noon today, we were told that "in and out" access to the streets bordering our corporate headquarters were completely closed down. That meant no customers or partners could visit, and if they were already there, they couldn't leave, and through at least 4 p.m. this afternoon, nobody can come or go.

Every corner has security and every street intersection is lined with bright orange cones, and those working away at the office are literally prisoners in their own country - something we've gotten used to the last six years, but certainly brought home today.

Welcome to California, Mr. President.

Listening to ''Animal'', by Lost It.Com (Play Count: 4)

Morning Notes: April 20, 2006

More in an irregularly occurring series...

Apple (AAPL) stock is up more than 5% in early market trading, following its earnings report yesterday. The company had the second-strongest quarter financially in its history, behind only the preceding quarter - encompassing the holiday season. iPod revenue was half of the total, and now pushes Apple to play well in the fourth quarter of the calendar year, rather than its peak around MacWorld San Francisco, the traditional launching point for new products.

In other Apple news, the company is still trying to unveil just who leaked product detail to a few Mac-focused Web sites. It's a free speech discussion, but Apple doesn't think the Web sites' dissemination of the rumor was in the public interest at large.

The A's stunk last night against the Tigers, losing 11-4. It's a good thing I went to Tuesday's game and saw them win, rather than going last night. Having season tickets will be a kick as I learn the nooks and crannies of the A's park. We attended games on Friday, Saturday, Tuesday, and are signed up for tomorrow and Saturday this weekend as well. Good stuff.

In other interesting news, AOL allegedly is going to try and "kill" MySpace, with a new social network offering. For some reason, I don't think today's teens, who use the site, will really want to associate with AOL. On the flip side, they all use AIM, so what am I talking about?

Listening to ''Waiting for the Night (Bare)'', by Depeche Mode (Play Count: 14)

Fry's Giving Up on Mac Shoppers

Before Apple opened up their much-acclaimed retail stores, there were precious few places you could go to find Macintosh software and hardware. CompUSA, Best Buy, Sears and Fry's were all notorious for steering potential Macintosh customers to Windows devices, leaving machines in permanent crash mode, and generally being completely clueless.

But Apple came to the rescue opening what was known as a "Store Within a Store" at both CompUSA and Fry's, to enhance the customer experience - even staffing the facilities, in some cases. After a while, it was clear Apple was just "practicing" for their move to retail - and customers have found the Apple Store experience far superior to any other merchant. And now, it looks like competing stores aren't putting in the effort they had in recent years, in the face of competition.

Just today, I went to Fry's here in Sunnyvale, looking to see if I could get a backup PowerBook battery. Not only was it nowhere to be found, but the Apple "store within a store" featured such "Mac products" as PocketPC handhelds and USB memory sticks - which have taken over a full aisle in the Mac section of the superstore. I looked up and down neighboring aisles to see if I missed something, but I didn't. They didn't have any thing for me to buy, and didn't make any efforts to gain my business. Now I know just to go straight to the Apple Store itself - which probably will make the situation worse.

Listening to ''Free'', by 4 Strings featuring Sphere (Play Count: 9)

Nation and Media Turning Against Bush

I've chronicled my strong dislike for Bush and his administration's policies frequently here, and it's no secret I'd be eager to see him replaced well before the proposed departure date of January 20th, 2009. It seems that with every day he and his team remain in office, America dies a little. And it's not just figurative speech. Our troops are dying in an ill-defined, ill-led multi-faceted conflict designed on falsified issues, while assaults on our environment, education, and The Constitution lower the quality of life for those who remain here.

Yet today, I was annoyed to hear the loud thumping of multiple helicopters landing near the office as President Bush's cronies prepared for a speech at nearby Cisco Systems. With two white helicopters bearing the US flag, and two military helicopters patrolling the air search for who knows what, it was clear our tax dollars were being spent to have the liar in chief drum up more support (and by support, he means money) in the Silicon Valley - one that has frowned upon the administration's policies on outsourcing and immigration, to the War on Iraq.

But my disdain was not alone. According to a recent Survey USA poll, Bush has strong unfavorable ratings from states that used to be solid "Red" Republican states. The poll shows that with continued blunders, Bush has lost the support of Montana, South Dakota, Colorado, New Mexico and Nevada, to name a few, while those who always opposed him do so with more strength than ever. Aside from the backward South, only Utah, Wyoming and Idaho offer their support, and those states haven't overwhelmed us with any stream of intellectuality.

Meanwhile, famed reporter Carl Bernstein writes in Vanity Fair that the Senate should hold hearings into the Bush Administration's deceit immediately. Additionally, Rolling Stone asks in a cover story, is Bush "The Worst President In History"? It's certainly looking that way. Good luck to us all.

Listening to ''Closer Now'', by Filo & Perl featuring Fischer (Play Count: 5)

Morning Notes: April 18, 2006

More in an irregularly occurring series...

On the heels of TiVo's lawsuit victory against EchoStar, it's suggested that the company makes a terrific acquisition candidate... while in the political realm, one author notes that those pushing for a war against Iran have channeled conflicts 70 years old, dredging up Hitler and Churchill and Chamberlain, not updating their rhetoric for a much more modern world.

Meanwhile, in the self-affirmation category, I keep running into new places where people (from Athletics Nation is my guess) have taken the ANtics and repurposed them elsewhere. Some great examples are here and here and here. My favorite part is where one poster claims he doesn't like "Bobby Crosby Wellness Clinic 101", saying "It's interesting...I'm a Crosby fan, so I didn't like them slamming him, but I like the concept.", which results in his friend explaining, "the comic is not slamming him. It is having fun with the fact that he gets injuried and the gist is that A's fans do not want him to be hurt." My feeling? Any comic that needs explanation and proof it's satire, needs work. Time to be less subtle!

Listening to ''Paradise Garage'', by Jam and Spoon (Play Count: 11)

What's Next to be Obsolete?

If I took a snapshot of today's technology appliances, they seem fairly useful - and with each passing year (in some cases, more frequently), companies are constantly issuing improvements that make them even more integral to our lives. The cell phone, the laptop, the television - each seems to own a corner in our home that doesn't look to be disrupted. But if you turn the dial back a few years, one uncovers "cutting edge" technology that seems comparably antiquated by today's standards - the 56k dial-up modem, the handheld pager, and even the VCR, are all relics that have been replaced by later, greater, things that have capitalized on the developments of the past, and moved forward.

In my home, our CRT television is probably the first to bite it. We're ready to move to a flat panel that hangs on the wall, and aren't impressed by the machine's girth or picture quality. And yes, our VCR in the other room needs to be replaced with a second TiVo unit, so long as we can stomach the monthly fees. Even our TiVo is a series one, so we're due for an upgrade there... but then what?

I think our wireless base stations are going away in two to three years. With cities and metropolitan areas adopting wide range wireless, sponsored by Google or Earthlink, etc, it may become redundant for us to offer 802.11 at the home. And my iPod, while nice and portable, should also be replaced with a device that offers songs and video on demand from any location, instantly. I may or may not "own" the music, but I can always get to it. The DVD player too will go away, replaced by movies on demand. It's already happening in some areas, and if you combine TiVo with Netflix, you're almost there. Also, personal phone numbers should be just that - for people, and not locations. I shouldn't identify a number with a person's home, work or mobile number - it should just get them anywhere, and the user would opt to be disturbed or not, through their own selection on the communications device.

And as chronicled previously, I've had it up to here with power adapters. If computers are to be truly wireless, we need to learn a way to get power the same way we do Internet - through the air, without exposing us to radiation and sterility. Somebody is going to figure this out and get rich.

There's sure to be more ideas, but one step at a time. I just won't admit to having the equivalent of an 8-track player once we get to that point...

Listening to ''Words (Mana Mix)'', by Paul Van Dyk (Play Count: 7)

ANtics Episode 2.8: Swish vs. the Sophomore Slump

Last year, the A's, on the backs of 4 rookies, Huston Street, Nick Swisher, Joe Blanton and Dan Johnson, surprised many by contending all the way through September. With two weeks complete in the 2006 campaign, Swisher is providing power at the plate and strong defense - laughing in the face of the dreaded sophomore slump. Today, we check in to see how he and the other three "smores" are doing.

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ANtics Archive: 2005/06 ANtics | PDF | Take the Poll

Stephen King's Colorado Kid as Flat as Kansas

If you took a look at my bookshelf, you'd learn a few things about me - I can't get enough books on technology and the world of business, and like to surround myself with baseball stories and stats. In fact, the bookshelf is a lot like this blog. But one thing that stands out on the bookshelf, but is missing here, is my decades-long obsession with Stephen King. Starting with "IT" and "The Stand" in the 8th grade, I've consistently sought out everything King's ever written, from the old-school horror books, to his instructional book "On Writing", an instant classic. While others may think of macabre and darkness with King's work, I simply treasure his wit and humor. He is a hilarious, outstanding writer - a living legend.

While on a business trip in Las Vegas late last year, I found The Colorado Kid, a much thinner piece, that bore his name, and added it to my "to do" pile. Having taken it off the pile this last week, there's a good reason why it hasn't raced to the top of the charts or been turned into a full-length feature film like so many of his other pieces. The story, discussing a legendary unsolved murder in a small New England town, is told from the vantage point of the small-town reporters, now ancient, who recalled the case's detail, and the fogies love the story telling. But it doesn't go too far. Sure, there are unknowns and curiosity to the tale, but if you are the type who likes tidied up loose ends and resolution, this isn't the story for you. If you are the type who likes excitement and being scared or thrilled, again, not for you. It's for people like me who would feel lost without having Stephen King's full library - and now, that book is checked off the list, but the piece isn't in his top 40.

Listening to ''Someone Like Me'', by Röyksopp (Play Count: 1)

A's Go Back to Back to Back In the Drizzle

It's said that every time you go to a ballgame, you will see something you have never seen before. While some elements may be formulaic - from sluggers striking out to light-hitting catchers grounding into double plays every time there's a runner on first and less than two outs, the element of surprise makes the difference between a win and a loss for the home team. Today, in a game that at times alternated between needing to cover with umbrellas and that of partly cloudy skies, the A's charged back from a 4-2 deficit against the Rangers on the backs of three consecutive home runs on consecutive pitches in the sixth inning. The first lowered the deficit to one, the second tied it up, and one pitch later, the third put the A's ahead by one - to stay.

For the 16,000 of us who had chosen to brave the elements, the feeling in the stadium was electric - as we saw one veteran A's player followed by two of the A's off-season acquisitions put the nails in the coffin for the visiting team. I had never seen anything like it. The A's, though known for home runs in past years, haven't wowed anyone with the long ball the last few seasons, but 2006 looks like things are a-changing. It's amazing what three swings of the bat can do for an otherwise gray day.

Listening to ''Alpha Male'', by Röyksopp (Play Count: 1)

TiVo Wins Lawsuit Against Echostar, Protects Patents

In case you hadn't already heard, TiVo's aforementioned lawsuit against Echostar for infringement of the company's patents, most specifically related to "time shifting" of television shows, was resolved quickly, with a jury awarding the DVR company more than $73 million in damages, and issuing the first salvo in what could be the first of many court dramas involving TiVo. On the heels of my whining that I had missed out on TiVo's recent stock run from $6 to $8, I had jumped back in at the $8 mark Wednesday, and saw that trade take a positive 22% bounce after market hours Thursday night. While I don't have anything resembling a massive nest egg, I'm definitely picking and pulling wherever I can to increase the bottom line, and this one looks good so far.

Regarding the lawsuit, it's great to see technology innovators rewarded for their investment in R&D (research and development). Too often, competition so closely mimics a product's attributes and offers only price as a differentiator, which while temporarily beneficial to consumers, damages development in the long run, as the original market maker may fall on hard times. Many had speculated that if TiVo lost this round of the lawsuit against Echostar, the company's viability would be very much in jeopardy. For now, that decision has been postponed.

Listening to ''Requiem For A Dream (Leama's D'', by Paul Oakenfold (Play Count: 12)

A's Lose 4th Straight While We Watch On

In what was a "Not so Good Friday" for the A's, my wife and I attended our first regular season game of 2006 as season ticket holders, and saw Barry Zito lead the A's to a 6-3 defeat at the hands of the basement-dwelling Texas Rangers, who somehow posted an early lead and held on, despite solo home runs from off-season additions Frank Thomas and Milton Bradley. Zito fell behind 5-0 early, and despite fans' desperate calls for manager Ken Macha to show a quick hook and get him out of the game, Zito stuck it out a full seven innings, pitching well beyond the 100 pitch count mark.

The game, a Friday night event competing with the Golden State Warriors next door, drew only 14,000 to the newly miniaturized Coliseum, and the wind whipped through, coldly, though we somehow avoided the April showers that have plagued us with seeming perpetuity this last month. We have great seats and enjoyed seeing the team, but obviously weren't too excited about the final outcome. The good news is that division rivals Anaheim and Seattle also lost, leaving the A's only 1/2 game out, and the same two teams go back at it at 1:05 Saturday. We'll be there.

Listening to ''Superfabulous'', by BT (Play Count: 5)

Names and Places are a Blur

After the long day, which started very early as previously noted, my half-awake mind labored to guide me home from downtown San Jose, which in itself doesn't sound so rough, but has never been an easy thing for me - as whether we are leaving a San Jose Sharks contest, or are in the downtown area on business, I always seem to muck up my directions home. Today of course was no different, as I found myself on a scenic tour of the San Jose area, looking upwards at the freeway overpasses, which mocked me with their inability to offer available onramps. After a ridiculously circuitous route that showed me areas of the town I didn't knew existed, I literally had ended up a block away from my starting point, and opting for a different route in my second chance at redemption, I eventually found my exit point - though certainly not in the most direct manner.

While San Jose is notoriously bad for me - I must have some form of mental defect that just won't allow me to adapt to places where I'm not familiar. I take known routes to and from places, and if there are deviations from the norm, we have a good chance of being two or three U-turns away from success. If it weren't for Google Maps and Mapquest telling me how to get places - both new and old - I'd probably be a complete disaster. I know it's a weakness, and don't find myself getting better at this skill over time in any way.

Tonight's escapade got me thinking about other mental feats that I completely suck at - and the most obvious follow-up is with names. Even moments after introductions, I cannot remember names - and that can put me in odd situations when somebody more adept remembers who I am and I don't know them, except possibly by face. I may know what company they are from, what job title they hold, or even where I saw them last, but their name may as well be anonymous for as likely as I am to recall it.

My mother is similarly notorious for lacking name memory - and probably isn't the first person I'd call for directions, but those seem like funny excuses to use for maladies such as these. One of these days I'll lose somebody's name in a public setting and damage the relationship - or the next time I'm doing the world tour of your local neighborhood, I'll run out of gas or park on the side of the road for the night. There are just some things my brain isn't programmed well to do.

Listening to ''Superfly'', by Yellow Blackbird (Play Count: 4)

I Don't Know How Farmers Do It

Anybody who routinely gets up before the literal crack of dawn should either be given a medal, a raise, or have their head examined. In a quid pro quo deal, I had offered my mother in law a ride to the airport this morning, for a flight set to depart at 7:00 a.m. from San Jose. She routinely plays shuttle service for my trips, including last week, so I obliged despite the idea I would have to take her at 5:45 in the morning, and get up at 5 to be ready.

But the joke was on me. After working on PowerPoint through 1 a.m., I turned right around and got up at 5 to get ready for what will be a long day. However, when her call came in at 5:45, it wasn't because she was downstairs in the parking lot, but instead to inform me I could "go back to bed" as she had another ride to the airport. As if I could just turn around and immediately find the world of slumber - it's never been a skill I hold. So now, my schedule is off by a few hours, and I'll surely be ready to nap by mid-day, just when it wouldn't make any sense to do so.

Up until two I can handle. Up at five? Not my cup of tea.

Listening to ''Second Day'', by Jose Amnesia Vs. Serp (Play Count: 4)

Contrarian Market Advice

If I've learned anything, it's that I really don't have a clue when it comes to guessing how companies will make announcements that impact stocks I hold. Just a month or so ago, I mentioned that I'd played TiVo (TIVO) for a quick 5 percent bump, and jumped out of the stock around $6.00, expecting it wouldn't continue to appreciate. Yet, seemingly after that not-so-bold move, the stock has continued to grow - through $7.50 yesterday on news of their efforts to defend patents against EchoStar.

Now, this morning, we get the news that the company has extended its agreement with DirectTV for an additional three years, after an August 2005 release saying the opposite - that the two companies had parted ways. This too is good news for TiVo, and again, the company stock has jumped, surpassing $8.00 in early trading. That means that I left a full 33% on the table when I sold around $6.00. I hate that. It's called "sellers' remorse", and though I've always been told to lock in profits if you can and not to complain, I hate knowing I played the hand wrong.

In similar news, I've been a Salesforce.com (CRM) stock holder for some time - it's a great service our company uses, and I think Web hosted applications are the way the market is headed. Yet, yesterday, on what would seem to be good news, they acquired a company that will further their reach into wireless devices. While good, the news hit the stock for about 5%, as the adage on the street is the acquiring company is always punished.

While just two examples, it's certainly frustrating to be on the wrong side of a half-educated guess. It'd be wonderful to have a crystal ball that showed what companies planned next. But I guess that's called insider trading, and I probably should steer clear of that.

Listening to ''Messages'', by Solange (Play Count: 4)

From TV Shows to the Big Screen

Rapidly moving from the world of rumor to sparsely known fact, two of my favorite shows have recently announced plans to jump from the small screen to the big screen, though the shows are wildly different in nature - one a cartoon that has been on the air for 17 seasons, and the other a thrilling drama that would see some major changes from its current format - needing to compress 24 hours into a 2-hour feature. That's right - both The Simpsons and 24, coincidentally sharing time on the Fox network, are headed for Hollywood - if entertainment sites are to be believed.

It's said that The Simpsons movie trailer debuted in advance of the animated Ice Age 2 in theaters last week, showing Homer Simpson, in his underwear on the couch, fretting about the show's announced start date of July 27, 2007. (IMDB link) The idea of a Simpsons movie is likely as old as the series itself, and has itself been considered an urban legend - joining the Apple tablet PC, and the imminent release of Duke Nukem 3D. But, just like Apple's "surprising" move to Intel and announcement that its machines will now have the capability to run Windows, stranger things have happened, and we may have to adjust to the fable turning to reality.

(You can view The Simpsons Movie teaser on Apple's Web site)

In parallel, Jack Bauer's dominance over all terrorists and worldly threats, along with a new lucrative contract for Kiefer Sutherland, has launched speculation that a 24 movie is next. In fact, Sutherland, playing the role of spoiler, as MTV put it, has confirmed the movie is a go. The show has at times been riveting, and at other times, befuddling with plot twists the actors themselves can't seem to get behind, but for it to go from a 24 one-hour episode format to a single 2-hour format might be the show's biggest challenge yet. The 24 movie would likely hit screens in 2008, though a script is in development.

Listening to ''Lyteo'', by Mr. Sam (Play Count: 1)

Empowering a World of Shut-Ins

A lot of the technology advances in the last decade have been focused on increasing consumer access to information - at the home. Broadband to the home has delivered top of line Internet speeds that rival business access, while cable providers, combined with services like NetFlix, bring Hollywood videos to the home without your having to deal with sticky floors and chatty neighbors. Best of all, you can stay in your own comfortable furniture and pause the darn thing when you want to. And after the first wave of Internet fiascos, like WebVan and MyLackey came and went, retailers like Safeway offer the ability to purchase everything you need to live comfortably and have it delivered to your door. As you can pay for nearly everything by credit cards online as well, there's really no great reason to leave home if you don't want to.

I know for our family, we haven't gone to the movie theater for quite some time, thanks to Netflix and TiVo - and we've reduced our trips to the grocery store, realizing that our time may be worth more than the $9.99 it costs to get somebody else to pick out your groceries, lug them to your home, and deliver them to your door. And the only times I ever write checks are if my wife needs cash, or to pay tithing at church. For some reason, church hasn't yet set up direct deposit - but I've been told the practice of writing it out yourself is supposed to remind of you of the sacrifice you're making.

I'm not advocating we hole ourselves in our musty homes, but the excuses we have to never leave are mounting. If I can convince the office that I'll be telecommuting and using iChat for videoconferencing, you may not ever see me again. But I'll be sure to gain even more weight. Then you wouldn't want to see me anyway.

Listening to ''Carry On'', by Wellenrausch (Play Count: 1)

Abort. Retry? Fail.

Just when I thought I had it all figured out, the whole portable iPod strategy didn't pan out this evening. Typically, I utilize my 60 Gigabyte iPod as the primary hard drive at the office, and unmount it to take home - either for more work, or for what it was originally intended - as an entertainment device. Yet, today, as I had planned on putting additional late hours slaving over presentations, I hooked up the iPod to the laptop only to find the presentation I had put hours into at the office was back to its original state - updated at mid-day.

Apparently, I had saved the presentation onto the corporate network, and for some foolish purpose, had continued operating on that file instead of the local iPod copy. So, I booted up the Dell PC and connected to the corporate VPN to retrieve the file. While I had found it, with my updates, it too was not salvageable, saying I needed a higher version of Quicktime, simply to view some of the images I had thrown onto PowerPoint. Yuck. Needless to say, I scrapped it, and am now going through and recreating the slides again - but with a different process, to avoid those issues. And yes - this time, we are saving to the iPod. So frustrating!

Listening to ''Linking People'', by Giuseppe Ottaviani (Play Count: 1)

Matt Drudge Gives Away West Wing Winner

Tonight was the long-awaited Election results episode on The West Wing, where Matthew Santos (Jimmy Smits) and Arnie Vinick (Alan Alda) have been duking it out for the highest position in all the land. While our TiVo dutifully recorded it, and awaited our viewing, I had not anticipated running across any site that would carelessly blurt out the result before I had the chance to see it for myself. Unlike a sports event like the Olympics or Super Bowl - where I could go out of my way to avoid seeing the score, I didn't fear this issue with a simple TV drama. Unfortunately, in the evening, I visited Matt Drudge's Drudge Report and encountered a headline "SURPRISE! (PARTY NAME) WINS 'WEST WING' PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION...", only the words "Party Name" were replaced by the actual party of the TV show's nominee.

While I of course enjoyed watching the show after 11 p.m., I had already known the outcome, and had to be good - not telling my wife of the result, and not being caught up in the drama that entailed of who was going to gather the final electoral votes from toss-up states. The right thing to do for Matt Drudge, and he knows better, was to have put the word "Spoiler" before the link to warn potential viewers.

Listening to ''String Theory'', by Alex Gold (Play Count: 1)

ANtics Episode 2.7: Crosby Wellness Clinic 101

This week's episode of the ANtics focuses on Ken Macha and the team's approach to shortstop Bobby Crosby's apparent fragility, in a piece titled "Crosby Wellness Clinic 101"! May we never have to create an upper division course with the same name...

Click to See Larger Comic


ANtics Archive: 2005/06 ANtics | PDF

View Your iTunes Library on the Web

I may have mentioned KavaSoft on this site before, but the one-person company just released an update to their iTunes Catalog software which dramatically improves their online cataloging features - making it appear just as you were viewing your iTunes library, and it browses your personal music as if you were at the iTunes music store.

If you have a Web site, or just want to poke around with one of the very best independent software applications for the Mac I've ever seen, check it out. And it handles large libraries just fine, as you can tell with my 3,400+ song, 18 days, 28.5 Gig demo.

http://www.louisgray.com/music/

Bush Considering Nuclear Attack on Iran

It seems unthinkable, but in highly classified discussions about how to approach Iran's continued development of nuclear plants, presumably for weaponry rather than their said need for power, the White House administration is strongly considering preemptive attacks against production plants in Iran - and not just with conventional weapons, but nuclear weapons. This has come to light from a piece in The New Yorker, by Seymour Hersh, the same investigative reporter who uncovered My Lai in the Vietnam War, and first disclosed the treatment of detainees at the Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq.

We've already seen widespread acceptance for the concept of preemptive war - Iraq being the best example, but Hersh reports that the Bush administration's focus all along was on Iran, and that Iran's president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, is seen as a potential Adolph Hitler, having already stated his belief that the Holocaust was a fable, and that Israel should be "wiped off the map". But I am surprised that the United States would discuss the usage of nuclear arms as part of a campaign to thwart a hostile country's acquisition of nuclear weapons themselves.

Given Hersh's background and reputation for accuracy, combined with the administration's history for aggressiveness in the Middle East, this is an eye opening development.

The New Yorker: The Iran Plans
CNN: Report: US Steps Up Iran Options
Google News: "Seymour Hersh & nuclear"

Listening to ''Adrenalin'', by Purple Haze (Play Count: 1)

Kerry to Bush: Stop Lying, Save Lives

It seems that the Democrats are mad as hell and aren't going to take it any more - finally. After years of being pushed around by the Republican agenda, voices are rising up against the administration and its lacking ethics, the ongoing war in Iraq that seems to not have an end - or progress for that matter. From Russ Feingold's call for censure to Madeline Albright's words of fury in the LA Times, you can see the fury develop. Today, former presidential candidate and current senator John Kerry sounded off with some of his strongest words yet - saying the president needs to tell the truth, fire the incompetents and find Osama Bin Laden (long time since we heard of him, no?)

His best line? "The Bush administration is wondering when Iraq will have a functioning government. I want to know when we're going to have a functioning government."
Kerry didn't sound so strong in his failed presidential bid in 2004 - known as the candidate who couldn't keep a firm position, best evidenced by his "I voted for it before I voted against it," line. Now, he's struggling to stay relevant at a time when Howard Dean is running the Democratic National Committee and Kerry is seen more as someone with a political past than a political future. In fact, the Republican spokespeople have focused on Kerry in their response rather than the issues, of course, saying he "deserves credit for continuing to take himself so seriously, despite the fact that no one else does." Ouch! Of course, they couldn't have stood behind the president's record on Katrina, Iraq, wiretapping, leaking classified information, shooting friends on hunting trips, or any other of the litany of foolish things the administration has done to damage our reputation at home and abroad.

While Kerry may not be the ideal spokesperson for the Democratic Party, it is time for him and others to continue fighting for what they know to be right. As Kerry said, more than half of the American deaths in Vietnam occurred after Washington politicos had determined we were not going to win the conflict. He doesn't want to see a similar wall for this war - or combination of wars to wherever Bush has plans to send us next.

Related Links: New York Times | Daily Kos

Listening to ''Made Of Sun (KvA Hard Dub - AvB Edit)'', by Kyau Vs Albert (Play Count: 4)

Report First, Ask Questions Later

It seems that maybe I should create a new category beyond "Ramblings" focusing on "Media", given all the news shenanigans we've seen of late. As referenced last month in a piece I called "Launching Products In the Age of Instant Analysis", it seems there is a race on the Web and in traditional media to declare products unworthy, even if the reporter hasn't done the due diligence required to make such a judgement call. Yesterday, in an interesting turn of events, we saw this play out on one of my more-frequented sites, TechCrunch.

Reporter Michael Arrington, covering online photo services, in a piece titled "The Flickr Gunners", rated an array of offerings, from BubbleShare to Ookies, Smugmug and Zooomr. (I can't make these names up) Yet, if you look at the story today, his coverage of Smugmug is missing. Why? Because his analysis was clearly wrong, and when called on it by the site's owner, he deleted it - as if it were never there - without leaving the original text up to show where he made mistakes, or even showing a correction. While it's easy to do this on the Web, it's not best practices by any means.

He had written, "All I am going to say about Smugmug is that it isn't very web 2.0, but it is adored by lots of loyal users for having the best (and most customizable) layout for pictures. It also allows full quality archiving of pictures, and is the choice of many photo professionals for that reason. I am urging them to add the obvious web 2.0 features to round this out, starting with RSS feeds for photos and tagging." This review is nowhere on his site. That's because Smugmug actually has had the features he demanded they add, and they've been active for more than a year.

Smugmug's owner - smart enough to respond on the Web, as he should have, pointed out TechCrunch's failings, in a post called "TechCrunch says we're not 'Web 2.0'" Hours later, that part of the story went poof. Gone. In traditional media, the best practice is to issue a retraction or a correction, but note the mistake - and they are lucky TechCrunch isn't in print, for their readers wouldn't have had the chance to respond so quickly, and would have come away with a horrible review from someone who clearly hadn't done a thorough investigation. We're not impressed with the response.

Listening to ''Essential Hard Trance Vol. 3'', by DJ Irish (Play Count: 3)

Top Ten TV Shows (Updated)

This list was first posted three months ago, on January 9th, so as my fickle tastes evolve, here's the update to the idiot box rankings.

1. The West Wing (-)
2. 24 (+1)
3. War At Home (+4)
4. Law and Order, Criminal Intent (-)
5. House (NEW!)
6. The Daily Show (-4)
7. CSI (-2)
8. Conviction (NEW!)
9. Law and Order, SVU (-3)
10. Late Night With Conan O'Brien (-2)

Dropped from the list: The Colbert Report and Law and Order...

Listening to ''Dream'', by Blutonium Boy Vs DJ Session One (Play Count: 5)

NY Post Chooses Extortion over Gossip

The New York Post's Page Six feature has always managed to stir the pot, mixing celebrity sightings and gossip with unwanted photos and innuendo. Now, following an official law enforcement investigation, it sounds like at least one of the Page Six reporters was caught threatening one of New York's social butterflies with year-long harassment in the column, unless the "playboy billionaire" was willing to fork over more than $100,000 to keep his name out of the paper. Now finding its way onto the front page of the New York Times and the New York Daily News, both no doubt very pleased with their competitor's trouble, it's said that other notorious socialites have finessed their own coverage - though it's unclear whether payments were expected.

Mainstream journalism has taken a black eye in recent years with multiple plagiarism scandals, ranging from Jayson Blair to the recent resignation of a Republican flunkie the Washington Post had hired to bring on a conservative view to the paper, but to demand hundreds of thousands of dollars just to ensure a lack of bad coverage is eye opening. That a paper like the New York Post is behind it isn't a huge surprise. Long known for sensationalism over hard news, it's papers like these that give the craft a bad name. It should be interesting as the "facts" unfold to see what more we learn from the investigation.

Listening to ''Assorted Hard Trance Vol. 4'', by DJ Irish (Play Count: 4)

Google Goes Home (Shopping)

If anybody at Google says that they're not aiming to be a portal, they are lying through their artificially whitened teeth. Yesterday, Google very quietly released (in beta as always) a preview of their Real Estate search service, which utilizes Google Maps and Google Base to provide real estate listings with fly-overs of the home.

The service can be found if you go to Google and search for "homes for sale". You can customize by zip code to see available listings.

Examples: 94086, 94303, 95969, 80122.

While it's not an eloquent and visual service in the league of Zillow, Google Real Estate could become the standard if it adds the expected bells and whistles, while capitalizing on Google's reach and brand.

Listening to ''Stay'', by DJ Encore (Play Count: 4)

A's Send Yankees Packing

Garfield the cat famously said "I hate Mondays." The A's started their season off on the wrong foot Monday with a 15-2 pasting at the hands of the perennial superpower New York Yankees. It seemed all was lost, as the team's vaunted starting pitching and hopeful offense couldn't compete with the Bronx superstars. But as the World Champion Pittsburgh Pirates showed in 1960, it's not how many total runs you may score in a series, but when those runs are scored. A one-run victory is just as useful in the long run as an embarrassing blowout. Monday's debacle was followed up by a thrilling 4-3 victory Tuesday night, which saw Marco Scutaro come through in the clutch with a 9th-inning tie-breaking hit to close out the game before the rains came, and Wednesday's less close contest, a 9-4 victory for the home team. All in all, while the A's were outscored by a tally of 22-15 in the series, the final standings read as Oakland 2, New York 1, much more than we could have expected after being thoroughly maligned on national television to kick off the 2006 campaign.

Now, only two-plus days after thinking we were nearing Armageddon, the spirits are much happier in the Athletics Nation. For those of us who live and die by our team, we have not only been given life support, but have an air exuberance - an eagerness to vanquish our next foe, for we are tied for the division lead, and feel we've seen the best the league has to offer. On to more successes! 3 down, 159 to go.

Listening to ''Zocalo'', by DJ Armin van Buuren & Gabriel & Dresden (Play Count: 8)

Competition: Know Thine Enemy

It's a human tendency to hate that which is different - those who act a certain way, prefer one sports team over your personal favorite, vote for political parties contrary to your preference, or purchase products that you don't care for. In business, the highly competitive pressures to take your share of the market can lead to generalizations on who the competition is, what they stand for, what they represent, and how anybody who would choose to select or think about buying their products is either a fool, was tricked, or has signed an exclusive deal with the prince of darkness.

But, just as with Microsoft, as I mentioned in an earlier article, if you drill down through the global organization, you can find that your competition - the enemy - is comprised of individual human beings with similar desires to yours - to be happy, to be successful, and in most cases, to promote a product that delivers benefits to customers. While at the office, I can give you a long list of reasons as to why our product is better than the competition, and an extensive reference list for people who have chosen our route to solve their needs, I understand the human element, and through the years of going trade show to trade show, I have built up relationships with individuals who sell on the other side of the aisle - people whose products may differ greatly, but target similar markets, sometimes the same companies or opportunities. I recognize the faces, the mannerisms and the stories, and they often know people I know, or we may have shared experiences from different perspectives.

This week it was more evident than ever. Not only did I get the chance to talk to the CTO of one competitor and the Sales VP of another, but I was reunited with former colleagues of mine who in some cases I hadn't seen since 2002 or 2003, who were now working with the same gusto they once gave our business, but with new logos on their company-issued attire. In some cases, they've prospered at their new companies when they had struggled with us, and in others, they used success at our company to springboard to the next opportunity. This doesn't make them bad people, and it doesn't mean their technology is "evil". It's just different. These are people too - some driven by the almighty dollar, others for a new challenge or a new title, but still pushing forward nonetheless, and were I to see them as hell-bent demons, nobody would benefit.

In industries such as ours, the smallness of the market and the number of companies participating means you will most certainly see people again - as colleagues, competition or partners. To blow people off, and show your bad side in the name of competition cannot win long-lasting happiness and success. It's more than trading business cards and 10 minutes of your time - instead its about investing in the future. And if you just so happen to find out a tidbit that helps you compete today, go fight and win.

Listening to ''No One's Driving'', by Dave Clarke (Play Count: 6)

Apple Does Windows - Seriously

Many in the media were breathlessly awaiting any kind of announcement from Apple on the company's 30th anniversary this last April 1st, and when that date came and went without a peep from Cupertino, some were highly disappointed - though the only people not talking up any news were those who would issue it themselves. Earlier this morning, Apple broke their silence with a product called Boot Camp which enables Intel Macs to boot into Windows XP or Mac OS X with a simple restart.

While this isn't the virtual OS layer many were hoping for, which may be soon to follow, the option to boot Mac OS X or Windows XP on a single Apple computer is very intriguing, and dramatically expands the market for the company. Now, when it comes to the purveyors of limitations, it's Dell, HP and others who come to mind, who limit their customers to Redmond-approved environments only, while Apple gives you both. Now, people like me don't have to carry two laptops through airport x-ray machines on business trips, and corporations can feel better about providing those who prefer Macintosh with Apple products - knowing they can still run any Windows-only software that may be needed.

One side benefit of the announcement was that Apple stock (AAPL) jumped nearly 10 percent on the news, after weeks of slow descent. That helped my portfolio immensely, so I'm pleased. In fact, today's profit from Apple alone is enough to get a new iMac or Mac Mini with Intel inside. Dare me to give it a shot? I personally think I'll wait for the second revision of the MacBook Pro, Windows or not.

Listening to ''heavenly'', by Mystre and Dyloot (Play Count: 4)

Excuse Me - That's Not a Blog

One of the more annoying trends I've seen as the mainstream and tech media try to embrace blogging is that everything is being rebranded as blogs, even if the content and frequency isn't changing. To me, main features of a true blog are that it's organized in chronological order (newest on top in almost all cases), is updated regularly, provides readers the ability to comment and have their comments displayed for two-way discourse, and features a time stamp. Yet, all over the place, you can see people say they are blogging, when in fact all they are doing is providing small articles.

In fact, many in the media have been asked to blog from their editors, and those who don't see benefits from a new medium cling to the old, in some cases issuing the minimum of updates to "check that box off" and keep their main attention on their mainstream articles. And as corporations increasingly move toward blogging, there is a very serious tug of war between those who want to spread and share the message and those who want to control the message. While some companies, like Sun, have offered employees open opportunity to blog on anything they wish, others like Apple and even Google (who owns Blogger - funny how that works) are very strict about their blogging policy. Do it at Apple and you are incinerated, while at Google, stories of new hires blogging have led to stories of new hires being fired. Only approved articles in a semi-regular fashion are posted to Google's blog sites, and even those posts do not allow comments. Cute. Isn't it odd that the owner of Blogger doesn't allow comments? What are they afraid of? Negativity? Too many comments? Look at Slashdot - somehow they can handle it.

Listening to ''Outside the Club, Zürich (Prelude)'', by D:Fuse (Play Count: 4)

Still Unhappy With Laptop Power Issues

While it's definitely true that I've been away from the computer while working at this event, the blog has become even quieter than usual thanks to continued power issues on the laptop. Today I awoke to find the PowerBook completely out of juice at zero percent, and the power adapter I brought was doing no good at all. I'm sure it's probably an issue with the laptop now, as even after replacing the much-hated power adapters from Apple, we're still having problems, and it's not like me to want to be all Dell all the time, and I certainly was today. Not even the basics like FireFox and iTunes are nearly as good on Windows as they are on Mac OS X.

Somehow, I tricked the power adapter to start working this evening, and in this little window of optimism, I thought I'd check into a more pleasant OS. But I'll probably have to take this into the Apple store to see if they can diagnose the problem. They'll probably tell me it's out of warranty, and that I didn't buy AppleCare. Of course not - why would I ever need that? Grrr...

Listening to ''...Passing By'', by Ulrich Schnauss (Play Count: 10)

Opening Day A's Disaster: Small Sample, Big Stats

The Oakland A's opening day game against the New York Yankees yesterday was an unmitigated car wreck - down 7-0 by the top of the second inning, the team collapsed to a 15-2 finish, starting out of the gate in the worst way. Given that posters on Athletics Nation and other places tend to over-react to one game's ebb and flow, I posted a diary called "Small Sample Size: Large Stats", which extrapolated how the season numbers would look if that game were to happen every day for a full 162-game season.

With one game on the books for all teams, it's time to revisit the stat-o-meter and use that sample size to suggest end of the year statistics (with a heavy focus on our Oakland A's - after all, this is an A's site).
The A's pitchers are on pace to:
• Give up 2,430 runs
• Give up 2,268 earned runs
• Issue 1,458 free passes
• Hit 486 opposing batsmen

The A's offense is on pace to:
• Score a measly 324 runs on the season
• Draw ZERO walks on the season
• Sport a .228 OBP as a team

The A's defense is on pace to:
• Make 162 errors
• Give up 162 unearned runs
• Throw out 100% of base runners! (Go Kendall!)

Some other notable stats:

• Johnny Damon is set for a monster year, as he's on pace to have a record-shattering 486 hits in an incredible 1,134 at bats, and will surpass Ted Williams with a .429 batting average, making him worth every penny the Yankees paid for him.
• However, Hideki Matsui will claim the batting title with a perfect 1.000 average, and will dominate the league with 162 home runs, 648 total hits and 1,134 total bases. There's your MVP, folks.
• Frank Thomas will also show the A's he's worth every penny paid in free agency and more, with his 162 home runs per year contribution, and a slugging percentage of 1.333 - not too shabby.
• Best of all, the A's will draw a sellout crowd for every ball game this season, with the team's 35,077 capacity showing up at all 81 games, delivering a full year attendance of 2,841,237 - well ahead of expectations. This will provide Wolff and Beane with the money needed to trade Zito for Hideki Matsui in mid-season.
• Speaking of Zito, he will reach 216 innings pitched this year, according to early projections, which is fine, but his 47.25 ERA will leave much to be desired, and will likely set the team to continue on a 162-game slide unseen in baseball history. On the positive side, at least the bullpen will get in a lot of work.

Tom Delay Retires - Crime Doesn't Pay

At times during the Bush administration, it has seemed that cronies in the Republican party would have to commit murder in order to see any negative ramifications to their actions. Heck, even the vice president shot his friend in the face on a hunting trip - only to be apologized to later by his victim! Now, tonight, with the nation's eyes turned toward NCAA hoops and baseball's opening night (Damn Yankees are crushing the A's 13-1 right now), Tom Delay has officially announced his retirement from the political limelight, bringing an end to one of the most notorious blights on the political landscape.

Of course, it's not as if he's actually going to jail for his crimes of embezzlement and deceit, but instead, it looked as if he retired because he realized he was in serious danger of losing the election. So, while we have his smiling mug shot around to remind us the man should be in jail, we can at least rest comfortably knowing one fewer crook is running the asylum. How many more of these jokers will go down in flames on their own without giving the electorate the opportunity to throw them out on their ears?

Listening to ''Les Yper-Sound'', by Stereolab (Play Count: 9)

Baseball: Opening Day 2006

While the first official game of the season actually kicked off yesterday between the Cleveland Indians and Chicago White Sox, the rest of the major leagues get into action today across the country, including our Oakland A's - who are scheduled to match up in the first of a three-game set against the New York Yankees. While I've been exiled down here to San Diego for work purposes, we passed along our season tickets to a friend from church, and he will be in Oakland for Opening Day, representing us.

As chronicled here time and again, the Oakland Athletics of 2006 are a very intriguing club. Coming off a strong 2005 campaign, they are achieving national accolades, and are widely expected to return to the playoffs. While it's way too early to talk about that, with so many variables, we are excited about this year unlike any year I can ever recall, and I think our obsession with Athletics Nation has definitely contributed. Why turn off my thoughts of baseball for the cold winter months, when I can think and strategize about the team year round and take it up a notch in April?

To me, baseball's opening day is one of reverence, the way others see Easter, Christmas, or any of the holiest holidays. It is a day with traditions and passion - with stories you can tell your grandkids for generations to come. I am eagerly looking forward to the 2006 season and hoping the A's will bring us many stories to be told with win after win all the way through October.

Listening to ''Back to Cali (Push Remix)'', by Mauro Picotto (Play Count: 3)

Event Season Starting: Off to San Diego

Tomorrow morning, and way too early... I'm headed off on a flight from San Francisco to San Diego for an industry event, and make it back here by Thursday. Now, while some might claim I am getting the chance to get far away from the incessant rainstorms we've had here in the Bay Area, even weather.com is conspiring against me to make this not happen - forecasting showers for the San Diego area both tomorrow and Tuesday. But we'll press forward and do our jobs the best we know how anyway. After all, it's not as if the rain will reach the exhibition floor. And if it does, we'll definitely have other issues to discuss here.

Listening to ''Let Men Burn Stars'', by M83 (Play Count: 5)

ANtics Episode 2.6: 2006 Player Predictions

It's prediction season for the baseball media, and many are predicting the A's to win it all this year, while Bobby Crosby and Eric Chavez have been named as MVP candidates, and Harden for the Cy Young. But what about the players themselves? In the latest in the series of comics that has drawn copycats from competing baseball clubs... the ANtics ask the players for their predictions. Just what do they see developing in the upcoming year for them and their team?



Click to See Larger Comic

ANtics Archive: 2005/06 ANtics | PDF

Listening to ''Jumbo'', by Underworld (Play Count: 5)

911 Call Hits Automated Machine Response

After the A's game this afternoon, we were headed down south I-880, when a short distance ahead of me I saw glass and metal fly in a quasi-explosion, cars spun out of control coming to a rest diagonally, and directly in front of us, a van stopped, covering our lane, and multiple cars were leaking gas. One car, in the furthest right lane, had its front half completely totaled. As we edged our car around the stopped van, I got on the cell phone and dialed 911, expecting to reach an operator and give them an update to the where and when, as others helped the accident victims. Yet, when I called, after several rings, I was told I had reached the highway patrol, and "if this is an emergency, press any key." So, I hit a key, and was transfered to the emergency line, where after several more rings, I hit an automated response saying "all emergency operators are currently busy assisting other callers."

After a few cycles of this, I hung up. I had to hope that any of the other several dozen drivers who had cell phones and saw the accident occur had made a call. Heck - for all I knew, it was using a cell phone while driving that had caused the accident in the first place. But it wasn't a very reassuring feeling that all the emergency operators were busy when I called 911. What if I had been the only person to call? What if I had needed help? It's not as easy as they make it look on television.

Listening to ''Super Falling Star'', by Stereolab (Play Count: 5)

A's Club Giants 14-3 In First Oakland Game of 2006

In the next to last Spring Training game before the 2006 season opens up with a series against the Yankees that kicks off Monday, the A's played an exhibition contest against the local rival San Francisco Giants at the Coliseum, and positively blew them away, starting off with a four-run first inning featuring two home runs, and continuing the pressure through a 14-3 victory.

As part of our season ticket package, my wife and I enjoyed our first Bay Area baseball of the season at McAfee Coliseum. The A's featured a pair of two-run home runs in the first inning by Nick Swisher and Eric Chavez, another home run by the newly acquired Frank Thomas, and strong pitching by free agent signee Esteban Loaiza. It was great to be back in the Coliseum again, and to try out the seats where we will be every Friday and Saturday through the summer (so long as the A's are in town). Our seats are between home plate and the visitors' dugout, and just far enough forward that we're not wholly covered by the cement overhang. This means we won't be cold during the sunny July and August afternoons when everybody else is worried about getting sunburned.

Another side benefit of the game was booing Barry "steroids" Bonds. He was a miserable failure at the plate, never reaching base, and heard lusty disapproval from the home crowd, who didn't always impress me with their not so creative epithets. In fact, at one point, when the Left Field bleachers chanted, "Bar-roid, Bar-roid", Barry could be seen swaying to the rhythm with his hips, in a mock dance. All in all, the good guys won, bad guys lost, and we enjoyed the trip.

Listening to ''A New Culture Is Born'', by Blank & Jones (Play Count: 7)

April Fools 2006: Best Stories

The Web is a great medium for April Fools Day jokes and posts, and the practice of trying to dupe visitors is so widespread that even the Apple rumor sites, known for being susceptible already, warn their visitors not to be gullible on this day. Starting late last night, as it became April 1st in the UK and then on the East coast of the United States, there have been some amusing trends in the Web related to this day.

By far, one of the best was for geek news site Slashdot to revise their page style from techie green to bright pink in an effort to enhance their demographics. The site, now bubble gum pink screams of OMG!!! PONIES!!!, reviews of the OC, emoticons and LOL! As they wrote, "Our marketing department has done extensive research over the last 3 quarters and discovered that our audience is strangely disproportionately skewed towards males. Like, 98.3% males to be precise."

Appropriately, they've featured stories from The Register, who said that China had put in a bid to purchase all of Google's Class B shares. The site also wrote that in a more serious matter, that Bush and his cronies had devised a plan to extend his presidency beyond 2008. Google kept up their tradition of mischief themselves, debuting a faux service called Google Romance, which involves contextual text advertising and help from highly paid relationship consultants.

Wired gets into the act through displaying the Top Ten Internet Spoofs of all time, and offers a chaser with a gallery of Apple's most rabid fans. Both fun.

Update: News.com has summarized some of the stories that got them laughing as well.

Listening to ''Fascinated (Martin Eyeyer Remi'', by Raven Maize (Play Count: 14)