The Jets and the Vikings lost.

Check that:

Braylon Edwards and Brad Childress lost. And to me that’s the important thing.

Yes, Edwards did get that 80-yard touchdown pass, but I was applauding wildly when, later in the game, he had that beautiful drop where the ball went right through his hands. It was a moment of beauty, and just reinforces for Jets fans yet again what they are getting with Edwards. Last I heard, Edwards will likely get a 1-year offer from the Jets this offseason, which is probably going to be a good deal, but the fact it’s a 1-year deal doesn’t exactly speak volumes of their faith in his consistency. Of course, Edwards could sign with another team, but with the likely new rules coming in plan in the absence of a new CBA, free agency this year could be very anemic.

As for Brad Childress, I never liked the way that he approached the whole Favre courting ritual. Yes, it is without question that he went out and got a vast upgrade at quarterback. I do not, however, agree that the ends justifies the means: he lied, repeatedly, to his team, and while these are professionals, they are also not stupid, and will remember that when he tells them that they are important, that he is counting on them, or that he has thier back, that in actuality he will not hesitate to throw them under the bus if it serves his purpose.

And as many others have already pointed out, Favre ends this run as he did with the Packers — his last throw is in the NFC Championship game and is an interception that leads to the opposing team winning on a field goal. I bet you a lot of Packers fans felt immensely better when they watched that play with less than 7 seconds in the game.

For the Vikings, this offseason could be tense. Favre was beaten to a pulp in the game, and may well decide to retire, only to change his mind after training camp (by then he will have healed up and be getting the bug to play, again). So, it’s quite easy to imagine this scenerio: the Vikings let Favre skip all of the meetings and camps and everything (which sends a lovely message to the rest of the team, doesn’t it? “I’m way more important than you”), expecting that he’ll come back for the season, but then Favre decides that he really is done, leaving the Vikings with no back-up plan.

It’s way too early to tell right now, but I get the feeling that the Vikings — having pulled a Wall Street (trading long-term success for short-term gain) — will not have as good of a year in 2010.

Oh, and one more thing.

If someone was to ask me what American football is all about, I’d really have to point to the ending of this game as a prime example. The whole game itself was actually a good example, filled with drama, fantastic plays, and brutal hits, but overall, both teams played a bit sloppy, hence I wouldn’t say the game as a whole is the ideal.

But the ending pretty much sums up, to me, what makes for great games. Both teams fought tooth and nail through the game, the momentum shifted back at forth, so you never really could say for sure what was going to happen. Near the end, points were getting to be a premium. So the Saints manage to get down the field with the combination of some close plays (some might argue questionable), and are in place to kick a 40-yard field goal. Now keep in mind that besides the slight sloppiness in the game (with muffed punts, botched handoffs, etc.), kickers this postseason have not been playing well, with more misses than hits. Out trots the Saints kicker, who is a rookie, no less. While he should be able to hit it fine, there’s no way to really call it one way or the other. This is the height of drama in the game. And he winds up splitting the uprights.

It’s the stuff of NFL Films.

This morning I was up early; probably the earliest I’ve been up on a Sunday for a long time (not counting the times at my parents house, where I tend to be up early regardless of my original intentions). This was a planned event, however: I went to bed at around 11 PM. A little before that, actually. I was able to get some sleep, and then was up and out of bed at about quarter after 6. See, I wanted to get a number of things done, but more importantly, I have an important meeting (so to speak) in the city at 9 AM. That means I’ll need to be up and out of the house in time to catch the 8 AM train.

Hey, I might run across Dex on the train. Wouldn’t that freak him out?

Anyway, I decided it would be good to get my sleeping schedule warmed up for this. Tonight I’ll be in bed before midnight, definitely, and probably around 11 PM again, so I can be up early again tomorrow. Then, tomorrow night I have basketball at 8, and thus will be leaving right afterward to get home. So I can get to bed! Yay!

[ S H I E L D B R E A K ! ! ! ]

So Bill Livingston of The Plain Dealer posted a column about how Eric Mangini is not getting the credit the coach deserves for building the Jets into a Superbowl contending champion.

I find this rather bizarre given that I seem to recall Livingston making a lot of disparaging remarks about Mangini earlier in the season. Certainly, the man is allowed to change his mind, but it’d be nice to actually see him say something like “I was wrong about Mangini….”

[ S H I E L D B R E A K ! ! ! ]

I’ve been making some progress on my side video/animation project. Slowly, to be sure, but a good part of that is just refreshing myself on how to use Maya, AfterEffects, and Illustrator. So that alone has been good — nice to touch up those skills — but also this method taking the project in bite-sized chunks is also handy as it’s keeping things moving forward.

The really hard part will be coming up soon, though, which is trying to do some hand animation. I’ll have to do some tests and see if I can do the rough approach that I would like, but otherwise I may have to go the (very) long route of scanning in the drawings, then redrawing them in paths via Photoshop/Illustrator.

Stay tuned.

Some of you may recall that my remote for my VCR/DVD combo was officially kaput after that bad battery acid trip,  and that my original plan of replacing it with a universal remote wound up being a nice and big fluffy ball of fail. I finally resorted to ordering a replacement from Sony a couple of weeks ago, and was just starting to wonder about it when I received a message this morning from DHL. It read, and I quote:

Hello!

The courier company was not able to deliver your parcel by your address.
Cause: Error in shipping address.

You may pickup the parcel at our post office personaly!

Attention!
The shipping label is attached to this e-mail.
Please print this label to get this package at our post office.

Please do not reply to this e-mail, it is an unmonitored mailbox!

Thank you.
DHL Delivery Services.

Since I had been just wondering about my delivery, I assumed this was the issue. I couldn’t remember if the shipping company had been listed when I made the order, so DHL was as good a thought as any. Attached to the email wasa zip file, and while I thought that was odd that a printing label would be in a zip, I opened it up to take a look.

That’s when I saw that there was just an .exe file inside. Oh sure, it said something like DHL Tracking Label or something, but still.

Now, granted, I had literally just gotten out of bed five minutes ago, and I’m never my sharpest at such times, but even I know when to hit the delete key. And honestly, if I hadn’t been thinking about the remote, I might not have ever gotten to the point of opening up the attachment. After all, another re-read of the message shows that the person who wrote it A) doesn’t have a functional spell-checker, and B) likes exclamation points a little bit too much for their own good.

But the really ironic part about this is that later on, at around 11 AM, FedEx Ground stopped by to drop off my remote. Talk about interesting timing. I have to wonder if the hackers knew about my incoming delivery and scrambled to throw something together really quick in hopes of duping me before the real McCoy arrived. That’s unlikely, but hey, you see stuff like that all the time on TV, right?

Too bad for them, though. The plot was foiled.

Oh, and yes, I checked — the new remote works just fine. And this time, I take the batteries out after using it.

The Ravens not only lost, but lost in a rather unimpressive performance to the Colts by the final score of 20-3. Turnovers, penalties, and just bad breaks swarmed around the Ravens, and it was great to watch, for a number of reasons:

1. Last week people talked a lot about how well the Ravens played, but I thought the much bigger story was how poorly the Patriots played. Tonight, the Colts played up to their level, and the Ravens couldn’t afford to make any mistakes, let alone a number of the ones that they did make.
2. The Ravens have now lost 8 in a row to the Colts. And I’m sorry, but considering how long the Browns have been losing to the Ravens (the team that left the city), I think it’s great to see the Ravens on the other end of the whip for a change.
3. Some idiot made a post that the Ravens were due for a big win because of the “bad karma” that the Colts had due to basically rolling over in the Jets game, and the original move from Baltimore. Apparently, this moron never stopped to consider the “bad karma” that the Ravens have gathered, such, as I don’t know, maybe the fact that they, themselves, had left Cleveland, not to mention the fact that they fired Trent Dilfer about a week after he quarterbacked them to and through to their first Superbowl win. You want proof of the Ravens having worse karma? Consider: Ed Reed intercepts the football, returns it over 30 yards, only to have it stripped and bounced into the waiting hands of Dallas Clark; because it was change of possession, the Colts get a fresh set of downs and (as I recall) got another field goal out of the drive. If you’re going to make a case for karma, that’s proof that the Ravens still have a lot of bad mojo that they have to work through. I’m hoping it’s something that sees them go through about 10-12 losing seasons.
4. Oh, and speaking of Superbowls, the Ravens already have one trophy. I would prefer that they never win another one until the Browns do. Then we can talk.

On a side note, I felt that the Ravens were in deep trouble on that pair of touchdown drives at the end of the first half, just from the way that the defense was acting — it seemed very listless and uninterested, as if time was going to run out before the Colts could do anything but maybe a field goal. Instead, Manning (Peyton — you know, the good one), drives down and shoves two touchdowns down the defense’s throat.

And give credit to the Colts. Going for it on 4th down instead of a settling for a field goal, Manning telling his coach “1 more play!” with only about 7 seconds left on the clock — this was a team that was fired up to win, and win decisively.

So yeah, it was nice to watch the Ravens get scorched, and implode at the same time. And in case any Ravens fans are reading this, hey, let’s be honest: you did the best out of the AFC North this year. You really don’t have much reason to complain.

Two players from the Browns — Joe Thomas and Josh Cribbs — were named to the AP All-Pro Team. That’s interesting.

But what’s even more interesting is that no other team from the AFC North was voted on the First Team, or even the Second Team. Nobody from the Steelers, Bengals, or Ravens.

Think about this: the Browns had the worst record in the division, and were the only team in the division to be eliminated from the playoffs by mid-season. The Bengals won the division crown. The Ravens are still playing. The Steelers, while missing the playoffs, still were the Super Bowl champs last season. Yet, only the Browns are representing the AFC North.

And the nice thing is that Thomas and Cribbs really are no-brainers. Cribbs set a league record with most kickoff returns for touchdowns (including two of over 100 yards in Kansas City), while Joe Thomas continues to be the gold standard of a left tackle, preventing sack-masters (such as Jared Allen) from even getting close to the QB. (Of course, John St. Clair was doing his best to make up for that on the right side by impersonating a turnstile, but that’s another story.)

[UPDATE]

I missed Ray Lewis, from the Ravens, as linebacker on the All-Pro Team. That makes a little more sense that at least one other team besides the Browns landed a player on the squad.

Having picked up The Yeah Yeah Yeahs’ “It’s Blitz” mp3 album, I have come to the conclusion that they are today’s version of Siouxsie & the Banshees. Consider:

• A female singer with a a bit of a punk edge to her voice
• A semi-electronic rock beat and gothic feel to many of their songs
• The songs also tend to have a catchy tune underneath some somewhat depressing lyrics: “You’re a zero / What’s your name? / Nobody’s gonna ask you / Better find out where they want you to go”

Not saying this is a bad thing, mind you.

Why do “hired” and “fired” rhyme even though the words represented diametrically opposed ideas? Very handy for written poems and song lyrics, true, but still….

[ S H I E L D B R E A K ! ! ! ]

I have been using my WiiFit for about a week and a half solid, now, but I have switched from the strength resistance about a week ago to aerobic training. See, the “Free Step” exercise program allows you to do step aerobics for durations of 10, 20, or 30 minutes while you watch TV. Just set it all up, then switch over the TV input to watch something. In the past I had used DVDs, but do to the dead remote, I have been unable to properly utilize the DVD/VCR player.

But, last week, I had a brainstorm.

I had started playing Kingdom Hearts II, which I have been told that I will never finish because of its “Epic of Gilgamesh-ish” length. Having actually finished the first game (not an easy task, I freely admit), I am determined to wrap this one out, and I released that instead of sitting around for 4-5 hours playing, I could just as easily play while stepping on and off the Wii Balance Board.

Playing Kingdom Hearts II while “playing” WiiFit in the background. Talk about meta-gaming.

Not surprisingly, I’m not doing the Free Step for 4-5 hours; just the 30 minutes. I have, however, upped the challenge for me: rather than just have the balance board sitting on the ground, which means I’m only stepping uo and down by the grand total of 2 inches, I have raised the balance board up on to my futon frame — about 6-7 inches or so. This makes no difference to the Free Step “game,” but certainly makes a difference to me. I’m always working up a sweat this time, and certainly feel like I’m getting a decent workout.

At some point, I should get back into the strength training, but for now, it’s nice to know that I have a system in place that pretty much insures I’ll be getting some exercise every day.

I’m so bloody clever.

[ S H I E L D B R E A K ! ! ! ]

The first pass at the basic stats for the indie game I’m working on with The Wizard and Curly were wrapped up last night. I need to do some testing with the basic numbers, but then can send those only so that they are ready to be plugged into the game when the programming is ready.

I admit that there’s something of an odd development going on: the job I interviewed for should be getting back to me within a week or so, and naturally I’m still looking into other options. But assuming I get the job, I would then have to proceed to most likely abandon the game because it could fall under a “non-compete” clause of the new job. And it would be a shame to have to stop work on this–

Oh who am I kidding — I would drop it easily. Sure it’s been fun and I think it’s a strong idea, but it also isn’t paying me anything. A job trumps it, easily.

The flip side is that if I do not get the job, this will just be even more motivation to get the game wrapped up ASAP. Right now, I’m wondering if we might be able to hit a testable version of the game by the start of next month. And hey, that’d be some serious progress.

I was up later than I wanted to be again, but the truth is that since I have no real reason to be up at 7, or 9, or 2PM, or whatever, what really matters is how much I get done while I’m up. And, again, today has turned out to be fairly productive. Got foodstuffs (and a coupon! woo!), did laundry, followed up on some more job leads, and otherwise have been taking care of business. I still have some things to mark off my list, but those can be done later tonight without an issue.

Back over the visit with the family (when I wasn’t ramming cars, of course) my Dad asked me:

“So you want me to get you up at 5 AM tomorrow?”

To which I replied, “What?”

“Well, you just always seem to get the most work done when it’s dark out.”

And hey, he’s right. Of course, the dark lasts longer at night than in the morning, so I’ll stick to being a night owl.

[ S H I E L D B R E A K ! ! ! ]

I ran across this website last night (see what I mean about getting more done at night?) and thought I would pass it along, as it’s the type of group that I could easily see following if I lived in LA, and hey, maybe Error-09 could do a collaboration with them at some point!

http://www.garfunkelandoates.com/

Actually, I ran across one of their homemade music videos, “Sex with Ducks” once before, but I can’t remember who first pointed me to it.

Also, I should note that Kate (aka Oates) is a good example of my “type:” small, dark hair, dark eyes, witty, and smart.

Hmm. Maybe one of my future requirements for a long-term relationship would be, “Could this girl write a song parody with me?”

Every team that I wanted to win lost, and except for the Packers, were blown out by the end of the first quarter.

I mean, 0-4. What an utter disappointment.

1) Ever since Mangini has been named to remain with the Browns by Holmgren, I’ve seen a lot of revisionist thinking in the national media; even a good share of the local writers are backtracking in their first opinions that not only would Mangini been dismissed, but that it would be the only logical move that Holmgren could make. (As a quick aside, I was glad Mangini was kept on, if for no other reason than it proved that a lot of the talking heads in the media really don’t pay any attention to the Browns beyond first appearances.) Now that Mangini is staying on, I’ve seen a number of pundits and writers remark that “Well, it really makes sense, because….” and then rattle off things like the lack of viable replacements, the loss of any momentum from the past month, the possible lockout in 2011, Holmgren’s own possible return to the sidelines, the price of tea in China, etc. Yet, what I find so amusing is that none of these points were brought up just a week ago, when so many were declaring Mangini was a dead man walking. This turnaround means that those who made such bold statements A) aren’t very smart, having only thought about this after the fact, and B) have drunk so much of their own Kool-aid that they are ready to crash through a wall saying “Ohhhh yeaaaahhhhhhh!”

2) Despite Braylon’s Edwards best efforts (e.g. dropping a sure touchdown in the end zone), the Jets managed to still win. After taking the time to trash the Browns some more by talking about how the Jets weren’t concerned about “petty things” (which, I assume, refers to the incidentals that Edwards refused to pay for when staying in hotels, because, you know, Edwards is so strapped for cash these days), he proceeds to display yet again that maybe, just maybe, the reason he has been such a disappointment as a receiver is because he just isn’t reliable. On a related note, the Bengals played very sloppy football, with the 28-yard missed field the final punctuation mark on the night. Penalties, errant throws, and some poor clock management just killed any hope of comeback. Here’s another sad fact from the game: the Bengals currently have the longest playoff win drought in the NFL. Yes, that means that the Raiders, Browns, and even the Lions all have had a more recent playoff victory than the Bengals.

3) The Eagles were run over again, so apparently the whole “edge” of rematches usually going to the team that lost the first time isn’t as big of a deal as you might think. I just hope that this trend continues with the Packers, so they can win.

4) Oh, and I hope the Ravens lose tomorrow (Sunday) night, but I suspect that whatever the outcome, it will probably be a much closer game than anything that happened Saturday.