Monday, February 2, 2004

This post might get me in trouble. When I was nine, I was spending my summers in southern Oregon. That summer the buz was that they were going to put new power lines through. The chosen route was through "my" backyard. I didn't own the land, but I had hiked it and I loved it. For me, that gave me property rights. So when surveyors flags appeared on my hiking trails, I pulled them out and threw them away. In spite of my efforts, the powerline went through. I remain unrepentant. The hillside in my memory is better without the powerlines. 7:43:07 PM     Comment []

I just walked back and forth across a large college campus in San Jose. Throughout my walk no-one made eye contact with me. It reminded me of walking through the financial district in San Francisco in 1984. I am looking up, I have a smile on my face, I am happy to be here. And no-one makes eye contact. Everyone is afraid. I imagine that I can look crazy at times. But now isn't one of them. I am just walking, the rain has stopped, I don't have to hide my head under a hood. I am happy. My head is up, I am greeting everyone who walks by. I am smiling. Yet no-one makes eye contact. Everyone is afraid. Everyone else is evil. I slither home and lock myself in. It's scary out there. Everything out there is evil. 7:07:19 PM     Comment []

Today is one of those days that I hate. I have two full hard drives (1G+ available on each drive) and my system alerts me that the start up drive is full as it tries to load more into virtual memory). So rather than getting to go outside and play, I have to archive the data on my drives. Why do I feel like I'm eight years old again. My only consolation is that is raining outside. 5:31:07 PM     Comment []

With the headlines declaring yesterdays Super Bowl an instant "Classic", I think back on what I witnessed and think, "Huh?" There was no scoring until just over 3 minutes to go in the first half; One missed fieldgoal, one blocked field goal, two punts under 25 yards. Then the scoring began as the over-hyped defenses began to sag. The games outcome was decided by special teams gaffes, defensive lapses and penalties, rather than stellar play. Neither mediocre offense could generate much of anything while the defenses were playing their game. The Patriots were probably the better offense, they could at least move the ball against the Panthers in the first half. When the scoring finally started, it came in spurts. Seventeen points in the last three plus minutes of the first half. thirteen points in the first three minutes of the fourth quarter. Seventeen points in the last 3 minutes of the game. The lone unanswered score came in the middle of the fourth quarter. While the game was exiting, it wasn't a classic. There were just too many mistakes. When the defenses started to give they gave up big time. Receiving yards per attempt were 20.2 for Delhomme and and 11.1 for Brady. There were rushes of 33, 23 and 21 yards. The Patriots and Panthers were penalized for 60 and 72 yards respectively. The defenses were the focus of the pre-game hype, yet they allowed a total 61 points (which would have been 63 points if not for some coaching blunders). Tom Brady did end up with MVP numbers, they were comparable with some of Joe Montana's numbers. With Brady's numbers, however, it should have been a blow out. And Brady's final drive of 39 yards (+/-) for a field goal cannot compare to Montana's 92 yard drive for a touchdown. So congratulations to the Patriots and thanks to the Panthers for making it exciting. But please don't tell me that I witnessed one of the "Greatest Super Bowls Ever". 12:14:26 PM     Comment []