84

The Bulls bounced back again after suffering their largest margin of defeat to the Denver Nuggets in the prevous game. They came out, once again without Rose and Hamilton and blew out the playoff-bound Hawks. Boozer, Deng and Gibson all had good games, leading the Bulls on a 3rd quarter run to seal the deal. They squandered an 18-point lead at the end of the 2nd, then secured a 20-point lead for much of the 2nd half in typical Bulls fashion. I like how Deng has adjusted his game to his injured wrist, getting open and shooting from 3... he had 5 in this game for 15 of his 22 pts. The Bulls have now gone through 84 games without losing back to back... no losing streaks!

Sword of Azrael: The Trayvon Martin Case

A few weeks ago, a black kid named Trayvon Martin was walking home from the convenience store in Florida. He was shot an killed by a neighborhood watchman named Zimmerman. This has gained national attention partly because of social networking. The majority of the public opinion is on Martin's side, labeling this a hate crime. Zimmerman claims that it was an act of self defense, that Martin was attacking him. The local police department sided with Zimmerman based on evidence they found. But there was also a cellphone record of Martin talking to his girlfriend during he attack. So this is a tough one to judge. I can't place any side under the sword unless I hear the recording for myself. We do have to keep in mind that people and the media will have strong opinions without knowing actual facts. All I know is one guy had a gun and the other had some candy. I feel like you can only claim self defense if the weapon you defended with was weaker or equal to the attacker's... or if there were multiple attackers. So I'm not really neutral here.

Re: vs Fwd: Attachment

It's amazing especially in this day and age that many people still don't know he difference between an email reply and  a forward. They think that the two are the same thing but with a different subject line prefix. Often in the office, someone will get a mass mailing. Then he/she will want to send to just part of that group + some people not in the original list. So there are 2 options...

1) Reply all, then subtract names  and add others
2) Forward and retype all of the names 

The first option is less typing, but becomes a problem if the email had an attachement. Replies are meant to be replies, so they don't carry the attachment. A forward retains the attachment because you're forwarding a message to someone who may not have it. I get this a lot and the senders often blame their email client for bugging out. It's not! It's because they did a reply and lost the attachment!

2 or 3?

Get an iPad3 if...
- You're really into one of the games that's rewritten for HD
- You're into drawing... electronic painters can never have enough pixels and programs like Autodesk Sketchbook thrive on the new screen
- You like lugging around a 10" camera... the new camera has  a digital camera MP and not a webcam one
- You don't have a previous iPad... the 3's are the same price points as what the 2's used to be... you should always buy the newest from Apple if it's your first device

Get an iPad2 if...
- You want to save money... there's a big price difference and not much functional difference
- You're a basic user... news reader, book reader, light-medium gamer, business user
- You want to max out memory... having 64 GB at a disccount is better than 16 GB or 32 GB at full price

Overall, the iPad3 is a great device, but it just isn't THAT much better than the 2. Ever positive I gave the 3 can be easily argued. If  you were a hardcore gamer, the tablet wouldn't be your gadget of choice anyway. Same if  you were a serious photographer. The 2 does a great job of all daily tasks. I myself use it for browsing, typing this blog, light gaming and streaming video. Full HD over the air isn't great yet and if you buy with a data plan, it'll cost you a lot more. Even the full HD games are going to be larger. 64GB just isn't large enough. You're better off with a low res device @ 32 GB.

An All-Time Thing

Winning is definitely an all-time thing for the Bulls. With an injury plagued season, their most important stat stayed the same... wins. The team is built from winners... players who have won something big before. That's important because it means they've tasted what it was like and have the drive to do it. That's how they can win games like last night's. The Raptors looked as if they were going to catch the Bench Mob sleeping and steal a victory. It wasn't meant to happen. In the 4th, it was as if a spell was cast on the Raptors. The Mob went on a 20-0 run, lead by Lucas and Korver. I think both guys scored all of their points in the final quarter to turn a 10pt deficit into a 10pt victory.

Equinox

Spring offiially arrived yesterday and that means we really skipped over Winter this year. There was only a snow day in Fall (October) and one day during the actual Winter, but it was so little that many didn't even have to shovel. Most of it melted on its own the same day. Temperatures have been up since Daylight Savings Time. So it feels like we're in the clear.

As for DST, it seems only affect the evening commute asit's been bright on the way home since the change. For the morning commute, it was bright for about a week and has reverted to being dark again.

Winning Ways

Rose is still out with a groin injury and will likely be out for the remaimder of the 2-game road trip, but his team continues to find way to win. They dropped a sloppy one against the Blazers, but then defeated playoff-bound Sixers and Magic. Those were also 2 teams with rare wins against the Bulls this season. In the Sixers game, it was a less than 100% CJ Watson who stepped up. Last night's game against the Magic, Boozer picked up the slack in scoring and Lucas had an amazing game off the bench. He had a 1-man 9-0 run to break a slow 1st quarter for both teams. I can't say enough about the depth of this team. The Bulls have guys that aren't on the 12-man roster that can probably start for other teams!

With last night's win, Tom Thibodeau became the fastest coach to 100 wins in NBA history. Itt was out of 130 attempts. The previous record holder was Avery Johnson with 131 attempts. Both guys had 2 unbelievable seasons in a row.

iPad3 Arrival

All the hype for the iPad3 and it's super hi-res screen just lead to a lot of disappointment. Everyone who preordered got theirs on Friday, so it was a big conversation all around the office. Most of the feedback I heard is that it looks and works almost exactly the same as the iPad2. The dimensions are almost identical as well. You can only tell the difference when you zoom into to photos. So it's not a breakthru device despite the specs. It wins the resolution war, but the Transformer 700 series has more processing power and the keyboard dock has no competition.

I'm glad I didn't go for the iPad3. I already own the iPad2 and it's just about a year old. I'm not the type to trade in and update annually and it was a good call this time around. It sucks for all the diehards that bit at this piece of marketing!

911 Chicago PD

Awesome commercial...

Deadline

The trade deadline came and went yesterday and there were no big blockbuster moves... no one taking their talents elsewhere. I kind of knew that the Bulls would stay stagnant. They're smart enough to know that you shouldn't mess with the chemistry of the team with the best record in the NBA. The Hamilton injury and rumors of Howard moving had me worried a little. A Howard move would have depleted the team. So he opted to stay with Orlando, which was a wise decision since they're playoff-bound. The most rumored move would have been NJ, who is struggling to  get to the 8th seed.

The Pacers  got better as they acquired PG, Leandro Barbosa. So that shows  that they're serious about winning. The Knicks made no moves, but lost D'Antoni the day before. It seems like the Bulls game was the knockout punch. He was an important piece to thhat team because the skill sets of the players were brought together for his Phoenix Suns style. All of their guards are good at it... Bibby, Lin and Davis. Stoudemire knows the system by heart. The young athletic guys work into it as well... Shumpert, Fields, Novak. But all it takes is one superstar to disagree with the system... Melo.

Bulls vs. Heat

With Derrick Rose on the sidelines with a pulled groin, most writers wrote off this game as a Miami win. But then again, most people don't know the Bulls. Everyone knew it was a big game. Deng and Watson both came in and played injured. Watson was good for a little  while, but aggravated his ankle, which limited his minutes. Deng didn't play his normal game, but spotted up and dropped in 3's whenever the Bulls needed one. They certainly don't win this game without Deng. The main story was the 3rd PG option, John Lucas III who lead the 6 players in double figures with 24. He also knocked in a big 4th Quarter shot over LeBron James. The Bulls rarely double-teamed as both James and Wade scored over 30, but they stopped the rest of the Heat, which is the key to beating this team. Keep the big 2 to around 30 and just shutdown the scrubs! Taj Gibson also had a big night including a monster dunk that Wade wanted no part of. He also had a tip out to Noah with a monster dunk of his own. 

James and Wade are going to own the highloight reel for the night, but the Bulls get the teamwork award and more importantly the win. So far, both games this season were close. In both games Miami had their full squad and the Bulls were plagued with injuries. I like our chances this postseason!

Express vs Local Buses

With the bus schedules in NYC, it's pretty common to see 2 of the same line coming at once. This happens when one is running behind schedule and one is hot. One of them will be packed while the other is almost empty as they approach you. If you take the crowded one, you have a chance of skipping stops, but you'll feel like a sardine. If you take the empty one, you'll sit in comfort, but surely stop at every street. I'd say that if you're in Manhattan, take the empty bus. No matter what, both cars will stop at every corner. If you're in Queens or Brooklyn, take the crowded bus. It will likely skip all the streets until the next major stop.

Linsanity Comes to Chicago

...and gets schooled! Last night was the first time the "new" Knicks faced the Bulls, with Jeremy Lin running the full squad of Melo, Stoudemire, Chandler and Fields. Lin did play in the previous game this season, but it was just garbage time really. It was nice to see this matchup between Lin and Rose because they have similar offensive games. Rose has the huge edge in defense though. He finished with another great game... 28pts, 6asts & 7 rebs. The Knicks actually defended well in this game too. They shot worse than the Knicks overall, but won the game on offensive rebounds. Taj Gibson had a double-double and was key in second chance points. Jimmy Butler did a great job on Anthony and also cleaned things up at the rim. 

With the Knicks as a possible 1st round opponent, this was a good game to win. The Bulls faced a healthy and complete Knicks roster with Deng, Watson and Hamilton sitting out and they still won. There was some help by the Knicks game plan too as the ball went to Melo in the final seconds while Stoudemire was the one on fire.

Also, a note on the fans last night. With the Jeremy Lin tour going on, fans in other arenas are buying tickets just to see him. So the seats were often filled by a large contingent of 1-month old Knick fans. This was not the case in the United Center. While there were cheers from Chicago's Chinese-Am community, the sellout crowd was in red and white. And sellouts are the norm there, so there was nothing different about this crowd. Bull fans watch whether it's Bulls vs Heat or Bulls vs Bobcats... and they'll be into it... true fans!

DST Monday

The amount of daylight is really noticeable on the first weekday of DST. What I noticed today is that a lot of people are outside. With DST, schools still follow the same schedule. People still work 9-5. There's not change in bus or train schedules. Everything should be just the same except for the light, but it looked like a weekend as I got out of work at 5:30.

Today also felt like the end of Winter, with 60-70 degree temperatures for the rest of the week. Some people were wearing their Summer clothes already. There's officially just a week left of Winter.

iPad3

As expected,the iPad3 was released yesterday. Like the rumors, it sports a 2048x1536 display that trumps anything out there and anything that's coming soon. From the demo, it looks like the low-res items scale up nicely, particularly websites, which are all designed for 1024x768. On the outside, the iPad3 looks like the iPad2, but I won't know if it's the same exact shape until I see if for myself live. Because of the display, it needs to be heavier, so it might be a few millimeters thicker than the iPad2. I actually thought they would go back to the iPad1 case for this one. On the inside, there are significant improvements to the graphics, processor and back camera. Storage is still the same as SSDs haven't dropped that much since last year. I think the most amazing thing is that they were able to retain the 9-hour battery with the doubled resolution display.

Subway Tales: Tunnel Entrance

Cellphone users on the subway are an annoyance for many riders, but I noticed something very strange.  Whenever I'm riding an above-ground train, a lot of phone calls tend to come in when we're about to head under. It's literally seconds before going under. Passengers' phones ring, they pick up and then get cutoff. What I don't get is why they don't just let the call go. For the person making the incoming call, it's probably more pleasant to get the voicemail than to get an abrupt hangup! This goes along the whole pet peeve of people having to answer their cellphones no matter what.

Deceptive Light

This week really looks like Spring. It's that time of year that I wake up in the morning and do a double-take on my alarm clock, thinking I woke up and hour too late. But the bright sunlight is deceptive because it's been below 30 each morning. I noticed that a lot of people on the train and at work are dressed for the light and not the actual temperature, which could mean a flu outbreak coming up! Stay warm.... we're not through yet!

Central Rival

Last time they faced off, the Pacers handed the Bulls their 2nd home loss of the season. The Bulls, knew this and would use it as motivation for the night. Both Rose and Noah also took exception to the Pacers' celebrating last time as if they won a playoff series. Jordan used to do the same thing in  his day... just find little points of motivation to get him to play like an MVP. This was a slow start, with Hamilton exiting from and early shoulder injury. Rose and Deng I think only had one bucket a piece in the first half,  but the Bench Mob kept them in the game with solid performances by Lucas and Brewer. Rose and Deng came back in the 3rd and lead the Bulls on a 20-4 run . It came quickly, by way of 5 3-pointers. The Pacers did cut it back down to a 13 point lead, but the Bulls came back and won by 20. It's great to see these 2 teams thriving like they did in the Jordan vs Miller age. 

What's the deal with Hamilton though? This guy is suppposed to be one of the most conditioned athletes in the NBA, but he seems so fragile this year. Maybe he hasn't been drinking his milk!

Weekend NBA Wrapup

Bulls
It was a good weekend for the Bulls as they have yet to lose after the break. They've been easing Hamilton in with about 0 min per game and he's looking pretty good. Last night's game was a good test against a playoff team, the 76ers. Philly reminds me of the Bulls a few years ago, before Rose jumped from being a good player to MVP. Like the Bulls, they're more a built team than a bought team. They had Iguodala for years and he has grown from a flashy dunker to a great all around player. Then they adderd Elton Brand and surrounded them with role-players. With Doug Collins as coach, you basically have a no-ego team that only cares about winning. So the game was pretty close throughout wth each team making short runs. The game was never secure, but the Bulls won it in the 4th with clutch plays from Rose, Deng and Noah.

Knicks
The Knicks split their weekend, but lost the Boston rivalry one as Rondo had a monster triple-double and Lin was terrible. With all of the trade rumors going around, this was the type of game that would determine Rondo's future. It was against a rival, both teams at a similar level. So I think Boston keeps him when the deadline comes along.

Heat
The Heat loss against the Lakers gave the Bulls a full game lead in the standings and kept them at the top of the NBA. The Heat have now lost 2 in a row. But it all doesn't matter much. The Bulls still have to figure out how to beat this team as they've lost the last 5 after winning the previous 4.

Nets
Even the Nets couldn't lose to the bottom of the cellar Bobcats, but it was a close game. It's usually those close games where a superstar can score big points because they can't afford to sit him. Last night, it was Deron Williams, setting a new franchise record with 57 points!

Finals Preview

In a posssible NBA Finals preview, the Bulls visited the San Antonio Spurs last night. The Spurs can be considered the hottest team of late as they went on that 12-game streak just before the break and have won 12 of their last 13. This is all with Ginobili injured too. Somehow this team always finds a way to win. But the Bulls bounced back from a sloppy game the previous night. The Bench Mob knew what they did wrong and looked more like themselves, providing most of the 4th quarter points. Rose had 29 along with the game tying shot. Deng started out slow, but sealed the deal in the 4th with a dagger 3. This was a great game for the Bulls to win, dealing the Spurs only their 2nd home loss of the season. It was a top team and they played well all around.