Friday Night Fights Commercial

Friday Night Fights just launched a commercial on SNY. Check it out:

Flagrant Loss

I really thought the Bulls would go up 3-2 last night, but it was the other way around. It was another exciting OT game too. The Bulls played good defense for the entire game. I didn't feel the offense was there in the first half, except for Hinrich who kept them in the game. The Bulls actually had a lead by the end of the 3rd, which made me nervous because I'm more confident in them when they enter the 4th quarter behind by a few. Gordon was amazing in the 4th quarter again. He was a buzzer beating 3-pointer away from being the next Michael Jordan. Had his final 4th quarter shot went in, the Bulls would've had the 3-2 lead, but I guess he had to miss sometime. He did finish with a solid 26 and 6 assists... not bad for someone who was playing on one leg. Overtime went back and forth just like the other OTs in this series. Pierce was hot and just nailed everything. The Bulls had the final play though. Miller was open for an easy layup for dunk, but was clotheslined by Rondo and no flagrant foul was called. The replay was obvious. At normal speed, even I thought it was just a hard 4th quarter foul that usually doesn't get called. But the replay clearly shows Rondo going for Miller's head. Miller who was shaken up and stitched up missed the first shot. He also missed the second on purpose, but failed to hit the rim. A game like that shouldn't end on a bad call. I wanted to see a clean shot attempt and maybe another OT. The Bulls were robbed.

Still, the close game could have been avoided. Del Negro chose to keep Salmons on Pierce who kept shooting jumper after jumper over him. He should have had Hinrich on Pierce. He's smaller, but still a better defender. On the other side of things, Boston could've avoided overtime if they let Marbury shoot more. He was open several times, but passed up on the open jumper.

Pork Chops, Bacon & Other Swine

In recognition of the recent swine flu news:

Vincent: Want some bacon?

Jules: No man, I don't eat pork.

Vincent: Are you Jewish?

Jules: Nah, I ain't Jewish, I just don't dig on swine, that's all.

Vincent: Why not?
Jules: Pigs are filthy animals. I don't eat filthy animals.

Vincent: Bacon tastes good. Pork chops taste good.

Jules: Hey, sewer rat may taste like pumpkin pie, but I'd never know 'cause I wouldn't eat the filthy motherfucker. Pigs sleep and root in shit. That's a filthy animal. I ain't eat nothing that ain't got enough sense enough to disregard its own feces.

Vincent: How about a dog? Dogs eats its own feces.

Jules: I don't eat dog either.

Vincent: Yeah, but do you consider a dog to be a filthy animal?

Jules: I wouldn't go so far as to call a dog filthy but they're definitely dirty. But, a dog's got personality. Personality goes a long way.

Vincent: Ah, so by that rationale, if a pig had a better personality, he would cease to be a filthy animal. Is that true?

Jules: Well we'd have to be talking about one charming motherfucking pig. I mean he'd have to be ten times more charming than that Arnold on Green Acres, you know what I'm saying?

Talking About Oranges

"Last week an Iranian government official muttered darkly about a "Citrus Plot" by the Israelis to undermine the Islamic regime by bombarding it with infidel Israeli fruit... Last night he breathed a sigh of relief" because the oranges were actually from China.
- From 4/27 NY Metro

Could there be anything else in the world that's more of a waste of time, emotional investment and newspaper space? That's all the space I can waste on this blog post!

Patrick Chewing

Check out this new Snickers commercial they've been playing throughout the NBA Playoffs:


It's totally random and out of no where, but pretty funny. Snickers' new campaign is integrating their keywords and branding into pretty much all random items.

Today's game was another marathon/nail-biter. It was close all throughout, but based on body language, I thought the Celtics were going to win. But the Bulls came through in the end. Something must've flipped a switch at the end because they started hitting shots. In the early quarters, they were missing open shots and making a lot of bad plays. The did have a lead by the end of the 4th quarter, but Ray Allen got open for a game-tying 3. How many times have we seen that? Free throws were bad down the stretch though. In the first overtime, Tyrus Thomas, Gordon and Hinrich each missed one. I don't get how an entire team goes into a FT slump... these guys are 80% as a team. How can they all drop to 50%? It's mind-boggling. Because of those blunders, it looked like the Celtics were going to win it again in OT, but with 5 seconds left, BG hit a tough 3-point shot that erupted the United Center. The 2nd OT was still close and down the wire, but the Bulls were just a little bit better. They improved their FTs, with Salmons coming alive. He was a bit off in the beginning of the game, but his clutch FTs won the 2nd OT.

I like what I saw from Rose and Gordon. They're causing so much confusion cutting up the paint. These 2 guys are about 6ft tall and keep hitting tough shots.

These games are nerve-racking! I'm covered in sweat and I'm just a spectator!

Tech Deals of the Week (4/26-5/2)

Flash Sales
- 8 GB PNY @ ST for $27.99
- 16 GB PNY @ ST for $49.99
- 8 GB Verbatim @ OD for $19.99
- 16 GB Verbatim @ OD for $39.99

$25 off every $100 for Furniture @ ST
This is a good deal if you're looking for a desk to setup that new system. Staples has coupons for $25 off $100, $50 off $200, $75 off $300 and $100 off $400.

23" Acer LCD @ CU for $181.98
This is a great price for a 1080p monitor. You may even want to connect your digital cable box to this one for a small room because they don't make small 1080p TVs yet. Like last time's I-Inc model, this is good for video games as well.

Flop @ Home

Everything was going the Bulls' way. They had won a game on the road and came close to taking 2. They headed into last night's game with one of league's best home records in the 2nd half of the season. Everyone was playing well. Rose just got the Rookie of the Year award. They were setup to go up a game, but blew it. Somehow, everyone went old. It's funny how catchy it can get. The point of having a deep team is so at least a couple of guys would be hot each night. In last night's blowout loss, the Bulls had way too many turnovers, missed most of their 3's and went close to 50% at the line. The free throws alone would've made this a contest at least. The Bulls are in a tough situation now. I still think they have a chance, but they just canceled out the home court advantage they won from the defending champs. The deeper they get into this series, the better chance Boston has because of their experience.

In order to win Game 4, the Bulls need to be 80% from the line and drive to the basket more so they could get there. They also need to cut down on the fancy passes and just keep it simple. That's how many of their turnovers occurred... especially from John Salmons.

Subway Tales: Coast is Clear

I was at one of the small entrances to a station. There were only 4 turnstiles and no booth. Something was obviously wrong with all of the machines because they were all giving customers trouble when swiping. It took me 3 attempts that the same turnstile, but I finally got through. This one guy was trying so many times and was starting to panic... which made him swipe even worse. So he finally decided to jump the turnstile because he heard the train coming. What's great was he looked around as if to make sure no one was watching. There were at least 7 people around when he made his move. He failed the first jump, tripping slightly... and ended up missing the train anyway. He was fortunate no cops were around.

Turnstile Tips
- If the swipe fails and says "swipe again," move to a different machine and try it.
- If the swipe fails and says "swipe again at this machine," do as it says. If you move to another machine, you'll lose the credit and have to wait 15 min. if you have the unlimited.
- Don't panic... it'll make your swipes faster and fail at a higher percentage.
- Don't jump the turnstiles... better late than in jail!
- If you absolutely feel you HAVE to jump the turnstile, make sure no one is watching and make sure you can make it into the train quickly without stumbling.

Yankees Update

I haven't been following the Yankees that closely, but I normally don't at this point in the season. The NBA Playoffs take priority. I have watched most of the Yankees games though and here are a couple of quick thoughts about the past week or so:

Why did they set up CC Sabathia to open up in the new stadium? It made all the sense in the world to give that to Andy Pettitte. He's the original Yankees pitcher and he's the man with the championship rings.

What happened to Wang? It feels like he's given up more runs in the past 3 games than his entire career total! Usually, when a Yankee gets injured, he comes back in top shape. Wang even had a good Spring training, but I've never seen him so bad before. He's gone from ace to minor leaguer!

The guys with the rings are still reliable. Jeter is still doing things that win games. Scoring to tie the game, a game winning RBI, a homer, etc. He's getting older, but finding ways to get better still. Posada keeps improving as well, which is very odd for a catcher. Rivera is still automatic... maybe he's a robot?

The new guys are great... Mark Texeira and Nick Swisher are proving that they're worth every penny and they both fit in well with the team. Only a championship will really tell though.

I would say the team is doing OK so far at 8 and 6. It's a winning record and the rebuilt team is still gelling and getting used to the new home. The only quirk is Chien Ming Wang who mysteriously lost his edge. I would send him back to the minors for a bit to see if they can work it out.

Evened Up

OK... so the Bulls won't sweep anymore. I have to believe that we can still take it in 5 though. We lost last night 118-115, but I'm not bothered by it. I can live with Ray Allen mailing a last second 3-ball because the Bulls hit all of their shots down the stretch and played good defense in the game. In these first two games, the Bulls have really elevated their gameplay to the level of the 2nd seeded Celtics. In the first game, you could say that Allen was cold... but so was Ben Gordon. In the second game, Gordon was on fire, but Rose was a little off. Both games were very close and I don't think the Bulls have done well as a team on the offensive end yet. Their defense has been great. So they're going toe-to-toe and haven't shown their best stuff yet. 1 out of 2 on the road is a good thing. Now they need to take care of business at home.

3 More Games to Go

Can anyone believe that the Bulls just took Game 1? It was an exciting game all the way through... no big leads on either side... lots of lead changes and ties. Naturally it went to overtime. It felt like a mirror match to me. Derrick Rose was great on the Bull's side. Rajon Rondo was great on the Celtics. Ray Allen, the usual scorer struggled throughout as did Ben Gordon. Gordon broke out of it towards the end of the 4th quarter though. Ray Allen did not, missing the game tying shot in overtime. The Baby Bulls really contributed in this game. Noah pulled down 17 rebounds, had a couple of blocks and was all hustle. Tyrus Thomas was also good on both ends of the court, hitting a bunch of clutch jumpers.

Derrick Rose finished with 36 points to lead all scorers and grabbed his place in playoff history already. He holds the most points in a rookie playoff debut. Oh... and he had 11 assists to go along with that. The Bulls also have their first win against the Celtics in the playoff history. This is also Ben Gordon's chance to show the world what a great player he is. Today, he grinded it out and ended up with a solid 20 points. Tat's reminiscent of Jordan's "bad" games when he turn around a bad shooting night by somehow getting 20-30 points and making big plays.

3 more games left in the first round... gotta believe!

Knocked to 7 on 1 Point

The Bulls didn't follow through on their final game, but it wasn't the loss to the Raptors that hurt most. It was the Sixers 1 point victory over the Cavaliers in overtime. This reminds me of 2 years ago when the Bulls blew their last game against the Nets that cost them a higher seeding. They came back and swept the defending champs in the first round. Maybe this means they'll play with some determination in the 1st round. The difference this time is they'll be facing a defending champion team that didn't deteriorate much from last year. As I mentioned before, I wanted them to play any other team besides the Celtics because they have so much trouble with any team that has Kevin Garnett. Game 1 is on Saturday!

Sword of Azrael: Somali Pirates

Last week, the Maersk Alabama commanded by Capt. Richard Phillips was attacked by Somali pirates in an attempt to take over the ship. They failed. The US sailors fought back, jumping one of their captors in the engine room and took control of the ship back. The pirates had custody of the Alabama's captain though. The sailors tried to get him back by exchanging a captured pirate for their own leader. The pirates didn't hold up on their end. Well... they ARE pirates! A couple days later, the Navy made a successful rescue, taking out 3 pirates to recover the captain unharmed. The pirates then vowed revenge.

That's the story in a nutshell. Here's my thought... what did the pirates expect? Are we suppose to just give them our ship without a fight? Let them take what's not their for free? They act as if we're the bad guy. If they didn't try to steal the ship, their 3 buddies would still be alive. All pirates deserve to burn under the Sword of Azrael for trying to take what other people have worked hard to earn.

Michael Jordan

I never got a chance to write about Michael Jordan getting inducted to the Hall of Fame, but even though it's late, I should still put this up.


"Growing up I never thought about the Hall of Fame. All I wanted was a chance to go to college. I haven't given this much thought over the course of a lifetime. I'm not sure it quite strikes home until you're standing here."
- Michael Jordan

There was no surprise when it was announced that Michael Jordan would be part of the Class of 2009 in the Basketball hall of Fame. We all expected it from the day he stepped into the NBA. The actual naming that took place was just a formality. Jordan is by far the greatest player ever. Even something like the Hall of Fame is beneath what he has achieved. Also in his class were David Robinson and John Stockton. Both guys were great players, but not even close to Jordan's level. I wonder if the Hall of Fame will do something more special for him as they should.

The above quote is also a reason why Jordan is loved by all. Despite his godlike basketball skills, his success, wealth and championships, he's still as humble as they come. Whenever he's in front of crowds, getting honored and being showered with praise, he's not holding his chin above everyone else. He looks down, embarrassed and uncomfortable.

Congratulations, Michael Jordan! You're not only the greatest basketball player of all time, but you also symbolize what it means to bring the human will to the max.

7 Secured

The Bulls are so ready for the playoffs. I'm feeling confident in them because they're winning important games that are coming down to the final seconds. they haven't had a huge winning streak all year, but I still feel they could make a good run. I think they can upset one of the top 3. In tonight's game, they played another close one against their rivals, the Pistons. It was tied after 1 quarter, then the Pistons made a run in the 2nd, going into Halftime with an 8 point lead. The 3rd quarter was close, but the Pistons were leading still. And the 4th quarter was the Bulls quarter as we've gotten used to after the All-Star break. They played tough defense, holding Detroit to 13 points. Scoring was pretty spreadout tonight... Rose had 24 and Gordon 19. So they can do no worse than a 500 record and will get the 7th seed at least. The 6th is between them and the 76ers and will come down to the wire. This is much better than last year!

Season Continues

The Bulls weren't playing on Friday, but I tuned into the important game between Charlotte & Oklahoma City. With the Bulls' magic number at 1, a Bobcats loss would get them into the playoffs despite being idle for the night. It was actually a game I had to follow all the way through because it was close. I had mixed feelings about going against Charlotte though. I would've preferred Jordan's team in the playoffs over the Pistons, but the Bulls are my number one priority and it meant guaranteeing them a spot. The Bobcats still had a great run... the best in their franchise's history. Congrats to MJ!

The Bulls resumed play last night, but they didn't slack off and celebrate early. They played hard and had a come-from-behind victory against a Bobcats team that could've been looking for revenge for being eliminated from playoff contention. Charlotte had a 4th quarter lead, but hot 3-point shooting won the game for the Bulls as Gordon and Salmons connected from downtown. Gordon finished with 39 and Salmons with 19. They're still battling for position as they could end up anywhere from 6 to 8. Either way, it'll be a tough first round... Cleveland, Boston or Orlando.

What the Bulls have on their side
- clutch shooting in the 4th quarter
- depth... a couple of guys can have off nights, and they still have scoring ability
- tough defense and scrappiness is back
- awesome @ home
- improved free throw shooting
- points off turnovers

What works against them
- weak on the road
- bad against sub-500 teams
- favor outside shooting even though they have paint ability
- many guys don't have playoff experience

Tech Deals of the Week (4/12-4/18)

I thought there would be some kind of Easter sale this week. I usually get the circulars with Saturday's paper and there was nothing. This morning I checked each store for the Online version... either nothing or a reduced size one. But I found a couple of good deals from the Online stores. I guess this is the recession doing its thing.

Flash Sales
- 8 GB Verbatim @ OD for $24.99
- 16 GB Ativa @ OD for $39.99
- 8 GB Kingston @ CU for $21.98 [click here]

25" I-Inc LCD @ CU for $227.20
This is $30 lower than last month's price, which was already low for a 25" 1080p monitor. It's great for movies, digital cable or even a dedicated monitor for PS3 and XBox 360. [click here]

18.5" Acer LCD @ CU for $116.27
While the 1080p LCDs are starting to see some sales, the 720p ones are even more of a steal. These are still good for secondary displays or monitors for your upscaling DVD players. [click here]

Sword of Azrael: Sandra Herold

I haven't done my monthly Sword of Azrael for a while because there were either too many or too few to choose each month. So I'm just going to do it randomly when something pops out in my mind. Today, the sword of Azrael falls upon Sandra Herold, the owner of the 200-pound chimpanzee that attacked Charla Nash. Nash is still in critical, but stable condition. I just saw a news report the other day where they interviewed her brothers and retold the story in detail. There was one part of the news report that played audio of the owner defending the chimp! She was saying something about how rare the occurrence was and that there are bad people everywhere. And this was just one case involving a chimp. I couldn't believe she said that. Her friend could've been killed and is going to be scarred forever.

My rule regarding pets... if it's physically big enough to kick your ass, then it's not safe to have around! A 200 lbs chimp is stronger than a human of the same size. It's intelligent and capable, but most important... we have no idea what it's thinking.

Knicks Down... Magic #2!

As always, I was excited about the Bulls playing with the Knicks last night. The Knicks had a chance to do a lot of things last night. With a win, they would've set the Bulls back from securing a playoff spot, taken a season series for the first time since 2001 and spoil an impressive United Center streak/record. The game was close most of the way, but Captain Kirk would no be denied as he lit up the Knicks' defense (or lack of) like a Christmas tree! Scoring was impressive behind Hinrich's 25. Gordon, Rose, Salmons and Thomas each had 17 or higher. The Knicks actually shot better... 51% vs the Bulls' 43%. Wilson Chandler and Al Harrington were erd hot throughout, but the Bulls penetrated and got to the line a lot... 25 points on free throws! That's something they should've been doing all year... and all year last year. The Bulls also capitalized on points off turnovers... their bread and butter.

The magic number is now 2. They have the 7 spot ahead of Detroit and a comfortable 3-game lead on the Bobcats at #9. Their current home streak is at 5 and they won 12 of their last 13. They won the season series against the Knicks and the fans got Big Macs out of the 110-103 victory!

Season Opener

The Yankees didn't get the start they envisioned in their season opener yesterday afternoon as CC Sabathia got knocked out of the game early. He gave up 6 runs and was taken out in the 5th inning as they dropped to last place on opening day. It was 6-3 when he was taken out. The Yankees threatened in the 7th with a 2-run homer by Matsui, but the O's added 4 more in the 8th to put things out of reach. Despite the great Spring training, Sabathia didn't follow through for the real thing. Hopefully this game was just clearing out the cobwebs.

Some positives:

1) Jeter went 3 for 5. When he starts the season off hot, there's always a chance he'll make a run for the batting title. It's especially good this Spring because he's batting leadoff and out of his element. In the past, Jeter's been most effective at #2.

2) Damon went 2 for 3, continue his hot hitting from last year. This is very important as the 2nd guy up.

3) Matsui's homer showed that he hasn't lost anything with last year's injuries. The power is still there and much needed.

NBA Weekend Recap

Bulls vs. Nets
For the moment, the Bulls are still in the 7th spot after they defeated NJ in an exciting Saturday afternoon game. They lead for most of the game, but the Nets pulled closer in the 4th quarter, tying it within the last minute. The Bulls went on a 10-0, including a dagger 3-pointer by Ben Gordon run to finish it though. Gordon actually had an off game, shooting only 3 of 14, but he did his job on the line and hit clutch shots. He actually ended up leading the team with 18! But the win was a team effort with 6 players in double digits. Noah had 10 rebounds and Tyrus Thomas had 3 blocks. They're currently tied with Detroit with the same record, but hold the season series 2-1 (they still play one more). If they end up tied at the end of the season, Detroit gets it because they have the better division record.

Sunday Quadruple Header
There were 4 games in a row televised on Sunday, so I just stayed in almost the whole day! Game one featured what I think is the NBA Finals preview between the Spurs and the Cavs. The Cavs have the best player in the league and I think this is LeBron's year to will his team to a championship. In the West, record aside, the Spurs are still the team to beat. They have the most playoff experience and always find a way to win. They don't get the attention because they lack flare, but they can beat any team with old school basketball skills and teamwork. This game ended up being a blowout for Cleveland behind King James' 38. Next up was the classic Western matchup of Phoenix vs. Dallas... as expected, a high scoring blowout with the Mavs defeating their rivals 140-116. 140! No overtime either! Around dinner time, the Knicks game started. They were already mathematically eliminated from the playoffs, but I still watch them to root for the other team. Unfortunately, they pulled out a win over the Raptors. The last game was the Nets, who managed to keep their post-season dreams barely alive. Of course the Bobcats lost earlier in the day, which helped out too.

Tech Deals of the Week (4/5-4/11)

Flash Sales
- 8 GB PNY @ BB & ST for $27.99
- 16 GB PNY @ ST for $49.99
- 16 GB Verbatim @ OD for $39.99

PS2 EVERYWHERE for $99.99
The great video game console that used to sell for $300 is now a measly $99.99! This is the small form factor version too. The games, although old are still pretty good as far as graphics. It's not 1080p, but does have a widescreen mode that still looks great on modern TV systems. Most games are also under $20.

JVC Gumy Earbuds @ BB for $9.99
If you own a colored iPod or Sansa MP3 player, you can pick up one of these colored earbuds to match your player's color. They're also made of more flexible material and won't get cracked or damaged from shock like the stock iPod ones.

Acer 23" LCD @ CU for $199.99
This model is a 1080p, 16:9 model with HDMI input. It's great if you watch a lot of widescreen movies or if you want a dedicated monitor for your PS3 or XBox 360. [click here]

Subway Tales: Switching Programs

The weekend service on the subway is always confusing. Riders have to read the posted signs carefully. Sometimes, what's written on the signs isn't consistent with alerts posted on the MTA website. I was on the E train today going from Jamaica to Manhattan. The advisory for this weekend was that it would run local between Jamaica and 74th St. Between 74th and WTC, it would run express as it normally does. It did do just that properly, but the new electronic announcements weren't synced up correctly and it confused people. There were no problems from Jamaica to 74th street because it was running on the local lineup. But during the switch, it ran the Jamaica bound lineup for one announcement. Then it ran the local WTC bound lineup... and then finally the correct express WTC bound one. Passengers got confused and some even walked out of the train thinking it was heading back in the direction they came from. Those of us who knew about the programming stayed on. The program with the stops works fine, but it's not very flexible for changing during advisories. They basically only have 4 lineups... WTC & Jamaica bound express and local. There's no intelligence built-in for it to circumvent all possible advisories at each stop. As an IT professional, I can confidently say that this is not hard to do. The MTA just doesn't hire the best and brightest.

Stop Making New N270 Machines!

A couple of N290 netbooks are already out and there are more models coming down the pipeline. So it makes me wonder why many manufacturers are still developing N270 systems. They're going to fall behind. The thing that annoys me is that they're well designed and they keep adding appealing features. It all sounds great until I see that it has an N270 processor! For example, Samsung's N120 is a new design over the NC10. The keyboard is larger and it has a 2.1 sound system. It also has an improved battery that claims 10.5 hours. But.... the processor is the 1.6 Ghz N270! Why didn't they just use the new one? The N280 doesn't bump up the price to another level at all. This system is about $450. The Eee PC 1000HE (which has the 1.66 Ghz N280) goes for $389 @ Amazon. It would make sense to create new N270 models if there was a significant price drop, but they're in the same range as the newer, faster processor!

RE: HD Video Cameras

HD video cameras are another consumer trap for people who always blindly buy the "latest thing." If you think about it, getting an HD video camera is a chain reaction that will deal a serious blow to your wallet. You may find a great deal on the device, but most people don't think about the final output. So you've purchased a camera and shot a lot of video... now what? You're going to need to dump those to some media. If you go with a DVD, you're defeating the purpose of shooting in HD. So you have to go with Blu-ray... that's about $200 for a burner and another $200-300 for a stand-alone player for your TV. Oh yeah... your TV should be a 1080p model to experience full HD... another $1000. To do the editing and dumping, the computer you have the Blu-ray burner on needs to be pretty powerful too. For most people, this means buying a new system. If audio is important to you, you need to get a 5.1 system because all flat screen TVs have bad sound because they're so thin that there's no where to put the hardware... another $500! Also... Blu-ray isn't really that widespread yet. It's growing, but I won't consider it a standard until players start hitting the $50 mark.