EY's Rants and Raves

Seriously. The NFL Sunday ticket watching was cool, but was too much info to process. As a result, I haven't watched most of the NYG vs PHI so I can "dry out". Appears to be a hideous game, as I watch some of the 4th quarter. Eleven sacks for NYG. Eleven. If I'm Donovan McNabb, I'm having a LONG talk with my offensive line tomorrow. As much as I didn't like the parakeet look of the Philly throwbacks last week, they won. Dance with the one who brung you, gents.

Random NFL thoughts (since my brain is too fried to product much else)
Pittsburgh, you lost to the Cardinals. THE CARDINALS. Seriously. I realize that under one of your former assistants, they're doing better, but THE CARDINALS?!?

Baltimore.....you lost to the Browns. The *Browns*. You and Pit should sit in the corner and think about that this week.

For all you Bears fans who wanted Brian Griese....You happy now? He's so much better, huh? Yeah, I think we could have gotten shellacked just as gracelessly with Grossman as QB.

AJ Smith and Alex Spanos, Keith Olbermann deemed you two the worst in the NFL. I couldn't agree more.

Congrats #4. Any time you'd like to collect this fan's, uh, ummm, "congratulatory prize", just stop by anytime.

Crazy weekend. It would be fitting if the Pats lost to Cincy tomorrow. It won't happen. The world just isn't *that* messed up. But if it does...I'm laughing.

So I've always felt like an idiot when I've watched NFL football with a laptop on my lap. Checking scores on games we don't get, checking on other stuff. I almost brought my machine to my friend's today when I came to watch NFL Sunday Ticket with her. Imagine my surprise when I come in and she has TWO laptops up and going. Fortunately, she shared one with me. We're watching the game summaries on NFL.com and when here's a red zone threat, we turn the channel. As you'd imagine, I'm quite envious of this setup. I've long wanted NFLST, but The Boy isn't interested in switching to Dish and I think this would kill him.

But it's really cool....

Or should I say "all rats off the sinking ship". Big Faceless is going through some rough stuff. Lots of people are finding their way to the door, both in advance of and now after the "letting go of fall 2007". It's sad that they're losing really good resources with institutional knowledge. When the idiocy is over, getting *anyone* to fill those spots is going to be costly. Getting good folks who know what they're doing is going to be more so.

I know people leaving for the same pay (but better stability), taking less and leaving with no solid prospects.

Have to wonder how long is too long to stay on?

From Charles Barkley. Sir Charles visited the set of Monday Night Football on Sept. 17 (yes, I know, it's a week later) and uttered his usual wit and an unusual bit of wisdom that I really need to take to heart. Kornheiser says that a team was "better than their record" Charles disagreed insisting that you're just as good as your record and no more. Kornheiser says *if* they'd done better on a few punts and Charles butts in with.....wait.....wait for it....."If? What's this 'if' stuff? If I didn't eat so much pizza I wouldn't be so fat." Indeed.

Tonight when I was finishing my workout DVD, my instructor recommended that we "close our eyes and think pleasant thoughts". What should pop into my mind? You guessed it, pizza. Good pizza, mediocre pizza, it's where my willpower breaks down. So I avoid it....mostly. But I do dream of the day that we can be together.....

Sin lies only in hurting others unnecessarily. All other "sins" are invented nonsense. -Robert A. Heinlein, science-fiction author (1907-1988)


When you boil down the major things that *everyone* agrees are "sin" they do neatly fit into that thought. Obviously, the "don't eat shellfish or pork", "don't shave your beard", "don't go out when it's humid" types of "sins" don't work so well. I don't think Heinlein is some sort of prophet, but he did have some really good ideas.

Like.... (All from Time Enough for Love)

• A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a hog, conn a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyze a new problem, pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently, die gallantly. Specialization is for insects.

• A touchstone to determine the actual worth of an "intellectual" — find out how he feels about astrology.

• A woman is not property, and husbands who think otherwise are living in a dreamworld.
• Being intelligent is not a felony. But most societies evaluate it as at least a misdemeanor.
• Dear, don't bore him with trivia or burden him with your past mistakes. The happiest way to deal with a man is never to tell him anything he does not need to know.
• Early rising may not be a vice … but it is certainly no virtue. The old saw about the early bird just goes to show that the worm should have stayed in bed.
• If it can't be expressed in figures, it is not science; it is opinion. It has long been known that one horse can run faster than another — but which one? Differences are crucial.
• Masturbation is cheap, clean, convenient, and free of any possibility of wrongdoing — and you don't have to go home in the cold. But it's lonely.
• Moving parts in rubbing contact require lubrication to avoid excessive wear. Honorifics and formal politeness provide lubrication where people rub together. Often the very young, the untraveled, the naïve, the unsophisticated deplore these formalities as "empty," "meaningless," or "dishonest," and scorn to use them. No matter how "pure" their motives, they thereby throw sand into machinery that does not work too well at best.
• Never appeal to a man's "better nature." He may not have one. Invoking his self-interest gives you more leverage.
• Place your clothes and weapons where you can find them in the dark.
• Stupidity cannot be cured with money, or through education, or by legislation. Stupidity is not a sin, the victim can't help being stupid. But stupidity is the only universal capital crime; the sentence is death, there is no appeal, and execution is carried out automatically and without pity.
• The more you love, the more you can love — and the more intensely you love. Nor is there any limit on how many you can love. If a person had time enough, he could love all of that majority who are decent and just.
• To be matter of fact about the world is to blunder into fantasy — and dull fantasy at that, as the real world is strange and wonderful.

The number of points I scored this week in my FFL. FAR more points than I've scored in previous weeks and I am far from dead last. In fact, as the points totals sit right now (with 2 games still to be played), I'm in SECOND place!!!! Yes, it won't last long, but it certainly is nice to enjoy it for a while....

In other FB news, I'm glad I'm not a Notre Dame AND Arkansas fan. Then I'd have to be on meds for depression. I didn't get to watch the debacle between AR and KY last night since I was in NE AR and the parents don't have satellite (too far out for cable). I couldn't even keep up with the score since my internet access on my phone gave out around halftime. All the better I suppose. When I saw the score today, I wasn't surprised. I'm also quite sure that it was uglier than the score indicated. Yep, very few coaches have the talent to snatch defeat out of the jaws of victory quite like HDN. I'm sure the pickled walnut AD we have thinks that aliens distracted the team and turned their focus from the game. Couldn't in a million years (and Frank Broyles KNOWS from a million years) be anything to do with the coach. No siree bob. A fine fella....we should pay him a few more mill....only if he scoots out of town and takes most of his coaching staff with him.

I accept the label of "foodie" and even wear it with pride most of the time. I'm also a fan of a good number of shows on Bravo. I do not, however, like Top Chef. In fact, I can't even stand commercials about it. I find Tom Colicchio way too much of a smug bastard. When you add a rail-thin-former-model-"food expert" to the mix, it just gets worse. Ted, I feel completely sorry for you. Keep judging on Iron Chef and I'll watch.

Seriously, I just can't buy Padma Lakshmi as a food expert. She looks like she eats air and water. I'm supposed to learn about food from HER? Giada L on the Food Network at least looks like she eats. She doesn't appear to eat much, but I've seen her eat the desserts she fixes. I get a strong feeling that if I were between her and a pan of brownies, she'd knock me down to get them. She seems to do a good balance of eating and exercising. Padma? She just looks like a bitchy former model.

I have a friend who is VERY expressive. One look at her and you know her mood. You say something she thinks is stupid and you get a clear picture of exactly HOW stupid she thinks your idea is. She is the eye-rolling-est, nostril-flaring-est chick I know.

She used to do a lot of eye-rolling when folks we worked with got off on rants about their fantasy football woes: Didn't get good players drafted, my best guy had a bad week, I really need a new QB, etc. She was a casual football fan, but didn't get why you'd bother with anything more than watching the game.

Fast-forward a few years.....Her guy is INTO fantasy leagues. During one season, he was in 13 leagues. This season, he's the Commish of a league I'm in. And she's in it too. She and I are definitely the newbies in the bunch and for me, it's showing. She did make two very good picks (Ben R QB for PIT; NEP Defense) that make her look "not quite so new". Last night, I'm at their house and I asked him for some advice on my roster. We discussed players I need to drop and SHE proceeds to explain how the waiver wire works for our league. He interrupts her (not an uncommon occurrence in their relationship) and she gets irritated (ditto). She demands that he let her explain the waiver wire to me.

If her year 2000 self could have heard that, she would have done a SERIOUS eye roll at herself. It was all I could do to NOT laugh in her face. I tried to call a mutual friend as I left to "share the moment", but couldn't reach her. I knew going in that it would be very easy for me to get "really into" fantasy football. I had no idea that she would get so into it...

Today was a sloooow day. Not because there wasn't much to do at work, actually there was plenty. I just couldn't get moving. I've felt like I've been going in slow motion all day (and still do). Was it the roller coaster of last week? Was it the trip up and back Sunday? Was it sitting in the hospital room listening to S gripe? Was it eating crap I normally avoid (Qtr Lb/Fries for lunch and Taco Bell for dinner)? Was it Emma howling and The Boy not bringing her in for almost an hour last night? Who knows?

Tomorrow is "Kick, Punch and Crunch" on FitTV. I love that show, but I just don't know that I'll have the energy to do it. I'm feeling a little better since dinner. Lunch was a very healthy organic burrito, red pepper strips and an apple. Dinner was turkey mignons and a pasta bake with whole wheat pasta, a tomato and red pepper sauce and artichokes (yes, I mixed together a few leftovers and put cheese on top. it was tasty.) I almost wonder if I should put Em in the garage when I go to bed so I'll have a better shot at an uninterrupted night.

Just tired.....

It's been nearly a football-free weekend for me this weekend. If you notice how many of my posts concern football, you know how appropriate the subject of this post is. Unfortunately, the football I did watch (am watching) isn't exactly the kind you cherish. I watched the unfortunate Arkansas game while I tried to do everything I'd planned to do today. I'm not sure if the 21-0 first quarter was worse than the "giving the game away" stunt from the 4th quarter. Twice, the Alabama drive was given new life and yardage by pass interference calls. Unbelieveable. One wondered (very loudly, in my case) why they were given the ball with so much time on the clock. Oh well. No one loses in the last few minutes of a game quite like HDN.

The Patriots-Chargers game isn't giving me much to smile about either. The Patriots are good. Really good. If the Evil Genius (and now we know he really is--it's not just me making that up) WERE taping defensive calls, how much worse than 24-0 would it be?? LT is still having problems. Turner is faring little better. Gates isn't doing too bad, I suppose. I'm getting slaughtered in my FFB league AGAIN. Who knew the Saints would get pasted by the Bucs??? Answer: Not me.

So what have I been doing all day? Sitting in a hospital room 2.5 hours from my house listening to my best friend bitch. She had a heart attack Friday night/Saturday morning and 2+ days with no smoking hasn't been easy for her or those around. Of course, she sneaked a couple today and unfortunately, I aided and abetted. Pissed me off. All day she griped about having a headache and being unable to get narcotics (BP too low). If I recall correctly, most of the world manages OK without them. I'm very sure that the headache was primarily from little caffeine and little nicotine. Both things that she needs to DEAL with not having. (She drinks more Diet Coke in one day than I drink water.) I wanted to shake her and say "You nearly DIED you ungrateful bitch. Start thinking about how to live the rest of your ilfe DIFFERENTLY or I'll send you your funeral flowers NOW." Of course, that's not a nice thing to say to someone who needs to watch her stress level.

I'm sure I'll spend time with her next weekend. And if she pulls the "I'm not changing because I want to live how I want", I just don't know what I'll do.

Had a heart attack today. Yes, you read that correctly. My best friend, only 6 months older than I am, had a heart attack this morning. She had one artery that was 100% blocked, they put in a stint and she'll be fine. But she had a HEART.ATTACK.

Granted, she smokes heavily, has a poor diet (which is a charitable way of putting it) and doesn't exercise. I'm not saying this to say she deserved it or to be sanctimonious. I've long worried about her health and when she's been here, I've tried to help us eat better. She has a saying that she'll die of something, so she may as well enjoy her life. In theory, I don't disagree with that, but 36 is WAAAY too early to be checking out. Her Mom and I hope she'll make some changes in her life.

Well, on Friday. Obviously, lots of people I knew. One guy 10 weeks away from his 20 year mark with BFC, one lady let go after 28 years, a friend of mine who has a $900 a month child support bill. Since she's only been there 2 years, that's only 2 weeks of severance pay. She has had 2 promotions in 6 months and if she'd passed on both of them, she'd not have been in danger. Stupidity reigns as usual.

I'm sure I'll hear a lot more names that have fallen and it won't be any more fun to hear it later than sooner. Later this month will also mean the last day of a good friend and excellent colleague. She's practically my "Wonder Twin" at work and because of her efforts, I've gotten a LOT done that we needed to be doing in her area. Her Big Boss has used our efforts to get other much needed changes needed and I was looking forward to using our example to build programs in other areas. Unfortunately, our programs are in danger of dying if no one in her area picks them up. Not the example I was looking for. The "belt tightening" may mean scarcer time for other areas to be able to build similar tasks.

It's hard not to look at her leaving as two and a half years of work down the drain. The new opportunity is a good one for her and companies can't stand or fall on one person. I frequently say that I like new challenges. Working at BFC for the next few months will certainly be challenging.

The rumour mill finally grinds to a halt as we get word today about "The Great Letting-Go of 2007 at Big Faceless Corp". "Only" 265 across the US. Far better than the 1400 across the company or the 400 at my location than we've been hearing. I have to wonder how the number was impacted by the droves of people leaving on their own. I know someone who is on the list. She's known for weeks. And I have to wonder, I helped with bringing new folks on Monday. One of them is a former colleague. She's good at what she does, but my "on the list" friend could EASILY do the job that returning friend will be doing. Why not move the person on the list to this open job?

As with many other decisions made at BFC, I don't get this one.

From the loveliest email in my Inbox this week......

Congratulations! We are pleased to inform you that on 11 September 2007 the CISA Certification Board approved your application and awarded you the Certified Information Systems Auditor (CISA) designation.


Now I can sign things as "EY, CISA"

In my league. Tied for dead last with the other newbie who hasn't been more than a casual fan until her hub got her into this. Yes, I know that defenses do well early in the season and that offenses tend to take a week or so to gel. I get that. However, "the football gods", to steal a quip from TMQ, REALLY wanted Baltimore to win last night and they just couldn't. They also really wanted the Giants to win, but they too managed to screw up some good opportunities. (I have no Giants on my FF team and could care less about them....I'm just saying.)

The touchdown that Todd Heap made, but wasn't called correctly would have been nice. The pass in the end zone that hit him between the 8 and the 6 would have been nice. Heck, if you can't catch that one, at least don't let the opposition get it. The Cincy defense was a lot better than I figured they'd be.

Looking at who I didn't play, I made the right decisions with my roster for the week. My non-playing team does show my inexperience in drafting LOUD and clear. Not much I can do about that other than watch the releases from other teams and keep an eye on the free agents. The only guys I have who are worth trading are way too valuable for me to give away.

So I'll work out tonight, read for Book Study. Tomorrow night I'll do Book Study, work on the cookbook and my roster. At some point, my poor house needs some attention, but that will have to wait until Saturday.

I'm still ambivalent about the Fantasy Football thing. Today had me rooting for LT, which really felt like rooting AGAINST the Chicago Defense. I think LT is just fine as a player, but I'm a Chicago FAN. Our esteemed Commish is leading the league on points today. I'm not doing horribly considering that I have 3 players who don't have a game until tomorrow night. Both my wide receivers and my tight end are MNF guys. I doubt, however, that I'll get 80 points off them and that's what it would take to pass him. Yes, I recall that at times Commish has had as many as 13 FF teams going at once and that he's won quite a few. This, IS my first rodeo.

So I'm watching the Dallas vs NYG game in relative peace since I have nothing on the line. I don't like either team all that much, but it's pretty decent football.

Yet again, there are credible rumours that Big Faceless Corp is about to let a significant number of people go. This happens with alarming frequency at BFC. It's getting old, from my perspective. I've been through this a few times and it's never fun. There will be some folks who are let go who are valuable, productive people who were simply the "wrong people, wrong place". It's frustrating and there won't be any rhyme or reason to it. Last time this happened, many were hired back before their severance pay ran out. I'm no MBA, but how does *that* make sense?

I'm fairly certain that I won't be let go, but I feel that if it does hapen, I'll be OK. I'm <> to having a professional certification that will help me. I have confidence in my abilities. I think I'd be OK. I work with a good team of folks. I don't want to leave them. But there's a lot to be said for not being the last rat on the ship when it sinks. So do I stay or do I go? Will it even be my choice?

# posted by EY @ 8:41 PM 0 comments

And while I could have picked Manning, Wayne, Harrison, Addai, Utetch, I picked Brees. One of the many reasons I was hesitant about playing Fantasy FB was my lack of time to prep for picking a team and the inevitable angst I would feel if my picks did poorly. Angst is a bit too "pretty" for what I feel right now. I am NOT happy in the least. Not.at.all. Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrr. I'd like to call my Commish and rip him for not asking me earlier than 3 days prior ot the draft, but that's not really his fault.

grrrrrr.dammit.grrrrrrr

For my first week of fantasy play:

RB Ladianian Tomlinson SD (as my Commish says "play him every week he's alive")
RB Fred Taylor JAC
RB DeAngelo Williams CAR (technically, he's my "flex" player)
WR TJ Houshmandzadeh CIN
WR Mark Clayton BAL
TE Todd Heap BAL
K David Akers PHI (he's my only kicker...I gotta play him)
D Pittsburgh

Why am I not going with the Baltimore D? The one I was so happy to get? Well, first off, they're playing against my primary WR. Second, the rest of that offense isn't too bad. They have some weird guy you may have heard of....he's really low-key, name's Chad Johnson. PIT on the other hand, is playing the Browns. I'm not going to cast any aspersions on the fine Cleveland team, but I think PIT has the better matchup this week, defensively. Lastly, my mentor recommended it. Well, he recommended pretty much everthing on the list and we had a good discussion on why last night.

I could have gotten to the same point without his help, but I've been so busy, I had not idea who PIT was playing until he told me. I'm not happy that I've let football get short shrift (I even have TMQ articles stacked up to read--and I NEVER miss TMQ.), but Birthday Month was really.frakking.busy. Not all of it birthday-related, but busy nonetheless. First week of Sept. will be pretty hectic too, but all that STOPS at 7 pm Thursday night. I'm checking out of Job #2 at that point and heading home for some and NFL football.

# posted by EY @ 11:57 AM 0 comments

One good, one bad. Spent the weekend in Springdale with the in-laws. As usual, it was a very nice, relaxing time. Spent a good bit of Saturday am in their hammock on the deck. Low humidity, warm, but not hot, good book I've been trying to finish for weeks, had Little Dog with me. Thought she would enjoy it, but watching me read apparently isn't the thrill she was looking for. I brought Big Cow Dog with us outside and she provided a distraction until she kept trying to go under the hammock. I will say, there's a lot comical about watching a bassett herd a lab until the lab sees your comfy spot as a good "escape route".

We ate well this weekend and again last night at a friend's cookout. I resolved that I'd have to "do good" the rest of the week. 6 am was waaaay too early this morning, so I pushed working out until tonight. Also didn't feel very good and doing exercise I like isn't much fun when you think your face is about to explode. So you'd think I'd make good choices at lunch? Nah. Pizza from the kiosk at work is easy. Grease laden and not too tasty are other appropriate descriptors. Every.single.time I get their pizza, I regret it and swear not to do it again. However, I wasn't in the mood for pre-prepared BBQ, don't trust whoever does their chicken for sandwiches and not thrilled about eating a baked potato either. So I'll sit with this lump of grease and starch in my gut this afternoon as my penance for the bad choice of pizza.