Justice Comes to the Women’s World Cup

Posted on July 10, 2011 by CDave

Anyone who follows soccer knows what a cruel sport it can be.  We’ve seen too many games where a team will dominate only to fall short due to an opportunistic or lucky goal, or perhaps a poor or bad no call.

I’m thrilled to have watched two games the past two days where justice truly was served.  Yesterday, France dominated England but it was England scoring, against the run of play and looked to come up winners,  A late goal and then a win in penalty kicks allowed France to prevail.

Now today, the U.S., who admittedly were a bit lucky to benefit from an own goal, found themselves down 2-1 after a controversial penalty call in the box, which included a red card.  In addition the U.S. keeper (Hope Solo) saved the PK but incredibly the ref demanded a rekick for what appeared to be no legitimate reason.  Brazil converted for a 1-1 tie.  Then Brazil scored the go ahead goal after a clear offside call was missed.

Abby Wambach tied the game in extra time added on to the second OT period and the U.S. prevailed in PK’s.  At that point the U.S. had been playing with just 10 players for almost an hour.

To a lessor extent, Japan’s win over host Germany was also deserved but also seemed unlikely.

It’s nice to see a tournament where good things are happening to good teams.

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SportyPal Goes Pro

Posted on March 14, 2011 by CDave

It’s been a while since I wrote about SportyPal.  However, March has come in like a lamb so I pumped up the tires, strapped on my helmet and started riding.

Since my last use of SportyPal, they have released a “pro” version which, unlike the non-pro version, costs money for some added features.  I downloaded the “pro” version and went for a ride.  Like the other version, it worked as designed.

I honestly don’t see a lot of differences, other then cosmetic ones.  I do like the integration with the audio player.  I’m not so sure of the value of the work outs using automobiles, planes, and paragliding????  but then again, I’m just a simple guy.

On the nit picky side, I find the method to select an On or Off setting a bit unusual. On and Off appear on what, to me, look 3D buttons.  But they don’t behave like tradition buttons i.e. the button “pushed” in, is in fact, off.   What makes it confusing is you don’t actually push “in” On or Off, as pushing either simply toggles the selection, so, for me, it wasn’t intuitive when an option was On or Off.I also don’t like that it doesn’t remember the type of workout I used previously.

The version I downloaded, 1.3, is supposed to implement automatic pausing.  I nice feature when you come to a stop sign or traffic light.   The blog states:

Added automatic pausing. If you enable the Autopause option in settings, your workouts will pause automatically if you drop below a certain speed, and then resume when you start moving faster.

“Certain speed”?  I suppose that makes sense to someone, but huh?  I didn’t see an option to designate the speed at which it pauses.  For me, who uses the cycling and walking options, the speed at which to pause would be ZERO, like when I’m stopped.  I suppose that option wouldn’t make much sense if you’re paragliding.

An additional option that might come in handy is the ability to keep the screen on.

It does integrate now with a bluetooth heart monitor, but doesn’t allow me to track calorie usage when riding my stationary bike.  There is a button labeled “Indoor” (which ironically uses a dumbell as an icon) which might apply, but it requires the paid version.

Since there is a free trial, I gave it a go.  What a mess.  First, it needs to connect to their server.  After a bit you see 4 options, (no graphic)  I pressed New Workout (no indication I pressed it).  I’m asked to enter a Name.  I press the field and normally an app will display the soft keyboard, nope.  So I open to type in the hard keyboard…it tries to connect to a servers again???…wait…wait…wait…bored…close keyboard and go back.

This time I press the dumb bell (the irony is getting personal) and then press Custom exercises.  I see a left arrow, a trash can and plus sign.  I press the plus sign and see a list of Reps, Weights, Distance and Time with teenie tiny check boxes. I check (I think) Distance and press an icon which looks like a piece of paper with a an arrow across it. Nothing.

I decide to press the menu hard button.  It has an option to “Reload” so I “Reload” and viola, the screen formats (sorta) better, there a buttons with text now instead of just text.  So I select Distance…nothing.  Maybe I need to enter a workout name…no soft keyboard, opening hard keyboard and I’m waiting….waiting….

Start over.

Never mind – I tried other things all without success.

This was indeed a trial, of my patience….

Anyway.  SportyPal Pro, the free, non trial, version works great.  It does what I want, but then again so did the previous version.  Perhaps they will make the dumb bell option such that this dumb bell can figure out why I need to pay for it.

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Colorado Rapids Preview – Part 2

Posted on February 27, 2011 by CDave

Returning Players

As I mentioned in my last blog, the Rapids will return the starting 11 that won the 2010 MLS Cup.  The Rapids use the traditional 4-4-2 formation. The defense is Matt Pickens in goal, Kosuke Kimura, Marvell Wynne, Drew Moor and Anthony Wallace across the back.  The mid fielders are  Brian Mullan, Jeff Larentowitcz, Pablo Mastroeoni, and Jamie Smith and the forwards are Conor Casey and Omar Cummings.

The teams strength is up the middle as JL and Pablo work well together defending, and getting the loose ball and starting the offense, which more often then not means either a mid range ball to Casey or Omar or sending the wide to the mids down the touch line.  The Rapids don’t employ lengthy buildups, preferring to strike quick.

Defensively, what the may players lack in faultless play, they make for in their remarkable ability to recover.  Marvell Wynne especially has prevented many easy chances with his quickness and speed.

New Players

As mentioned last week, the teams biggest weakness was it’s lack of quality depth.  Coach Smith has done, on paper, a great job addressing that concern.  In the midfield, Jamie Smith and Mullan are good possession mid fielders, but lack speed.  Coach Smith has brought in Sanna Nyassi from Seattle.  Sanna has excellent speed and quickness and is very explosive towards the goal.   Joseph Nane, recent of Toronto, will provide a tough backup for JL and Pablo.  Replacing Julian Baudet is Tyrone Marshall who, while not the imposing physical presence Julian was, is good in the air and tough on the ball.   As I write this, the Rapids are negotiating with Hull City for Caleb Folan. Caleb accompanied the Rapids on their pre-season trip to Arizona recently, scoring a goal and playing games with both Conor Casey and Omar Cummings.

The addition of Nyassi and Nane represent a big step forward in quality depth.  Adding Folan would be another huge plus.

Tactics

I saw an interesting analysis the other day regarding midfield tactics.  The article mentions the Rapids technique of “funnel-and-press” and how they’ve used it to success.  One positive thing mentioned was the Rapids completed an MLS best 83% of their passes.   According to Matthew Doyle:

That’s at least partially because they attempted fewer passes than most other teams, but also because they have Jeff Larentowicz sweeping and distributing in front of his defense.

Some (like me) might argue the high percentage might also be due to the fact the defenders do an awful lot of passing among themselves before moving the ball forward ;) .

It’s no secret, I prefer a different style of play.  But given the choice, I’ll take the results we saw last year.  But due to money constraints, MLS teams simply will not be able to  build a team with 11 highly skilled possession oriented,  players, at least any time soon.

Ever since the Designated Player rule, I have argued, against the wind,  having such a player (or recently, players) doesn’t guarantee success.   First, the additional money, while huge by MLS standards, still isn’t enough to get quality players in their prime.  Second, but more importantly, it’s a team game and adding one,  two, or even three as the New York Red Bulls did last year, doesn’t a championship make.  Unless I’m mistaken, as of now no team with a designated player has won the MLS Cup.  That will change, if for no reason than the odds.

The secret to wining is getting players who fit into and believe and can execute the coaches system (assuming, of course, the system is a good enough one to win).   That’s what Gary Smith and his Rapids did in 2010. Oh yeah, in addition to that, you need the ball to roll the right way and a bit of good fortune to boot.  The Rapids finished 2010 with all three.

What fortunes will 2011 hold?

At first glance, despite the constant hype about the L.A. Galaxy, it doesn’t look to me like the Western Conference is any stronger then last year.  FC Dallas doesn’t appear to be stronger, nor Real Salt Lake or San Jose.   In fact, I don’t see anything to suggest the Rapids couldn’t compete for the top spot.

Returning the starting team that won the 2010 MLS Cup is a good start, but is it enough?  Just a few things which could go wrong and send the team backwards include:

  • Playing like they are the returning champions instead of with a passion to defend.  That means working hard and playing smart instead of expecting results.
  • Key injuries. They are a bit deeper this year, but at this point, losing one or more of Omar, Casey, JL, Pablo, Marvell or Drew would be very painful.
  • More about depth.  The addition of the champions league games means more chance for fatigue and injuries.  Plus the Gold Cup will mean Omar will miss games playing for the Jamaican National Team and maybe some other Rapids players may earn spots on the U.S. National Team.  The new players need to play close to the level of those they replace.

According to the count down widget on the right, the first home game is less then 20 days out.  The legendary and MLS best tailgate 3 hours sooner.  We’ll learn a bit more about the team over the next few week as they take a trip to Southern California and play some more pre-season games.  We also should here if the Rapids are able to sign Folan.

MLS soccer is almost here, it’s time to break out the jerseys, scarves and hats, but leave the vuvuzelas at home because word is they’ve been banned from Dicks Sporting Goods Park.  

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Colorado Rapids – 2011 Preview

Posted on February 19, 2011 by CDave

The 2011 Colorado Rapids season is about a month away.  The season opener is Saturday March 19th at Dicks Sporting Goods Park in Commerce City, Colorado.  I will be there.

My last post on the Rapids was over two months ago on December 17th.   My last post on the Rapids forum on BigSoccer.com was on December 18th.  The Rapids 2010 MLS Cup championship was less then a month old and already there was a lot of negative emotions being displayed on the forum.  A new tagline was selected which, rather then celebrate the accomplishment,  provided a back handed compliment wrapped in sarcasm.  Now…Normally, I would applaud such a thing but here we were, the moment all Rapids fans have been waiting still fresh in our memories, but instead of celebration, choose to forget the good and focus on the bad.

Initially, I got caught up in discussions but decided instead  step back and spend more time with other interests.  Soccer and the Rapids still entered my mind, but the thoughts were of Conor Casey, stretching his right leg and foot far enough to poke the tying goal into the net.  Or of Mac Kandji nutmegging his defender and ricocheting the ball off George Johns into the net for the winning goal before falling down clutching his torn ACL.  I was picturing the Rapids players, led by Pablo Mastroeni hoisting the cup high over their heads.  Later it was watching the 2010 Denver Parade of Light and seeing Kosuke Kimura riding in one of the lead cars with the cup at his side.

Those were good thoughts, great thoughts and memories.  This was no time to get back into the mud.  There would be plenty of time for that in 2011. ;)

2011 – Defending Champions

Before the 2010 season I reflected on 2009 and tried to identify the areas the Rapids needed to improve to become a contender.  The Rapids failed to make the play-offs for the 3rd consecutive year, there were a lot of opportunities to improve.  The 2010 Rapids won the MLS Cup.  What’s to improve, what’s to talk about?

Coach Gary Smith must have felt the same way because he managed to keep his entire starting lineup as well as a few regular substitutes.   Clearly, Smith felt the starting 11, good enough to win in 2010, were good enough to win in 2011.  It’s tough to argue with that.  The team that went through the play-offs to the Cup, was a different team then started the year.  Jamie Smith and Brian Mullan were playing the wings and Anthony Wallace was playing left mid.  Further, it took Omar Cummings half the year to settle in and boy did he ever, becoming one of the most dangerous forwards in MLS.  It also took half the season for Jeff Larentowicz and Pablo to become real comfortable together, allowing them to alternate defending and attacking.

The team that ended the 2010 season was a pretty solid team.  Not every player was an all star, but there are no clear weak links either.  Having the same core of players, settling in and being comfortable playing together and within the system designed by the coach goes a long way towards making a team successful.  Without any obvious weak links, making changes to improve the team is risky.

An area the Rapids did need improvement was with their depth, quality depth.  Winning the Cup means the Rapids are playing in the CONCACAF Champions League.  That prestigious tournament demands a lot from the players.  The tournament brings long distance travel and mid week games, tough games.  Being successful requires quality depth, depth the 2010 Rapids did not possess. One only needs to look at the home D.C. United game to see what happened when the Rapids tried to rely on their depth.

The Rapids actually began to address their depth issue in the latter half of 2010 by acquiring Kandji.  Since the championship, they’ve further added depth with Joseph Nane, a tough defensive midfielder and Sanna Nyassi, a speedy outside mid and forward.   Both are very capable players who will improve the depth.  Coach Smith has also been looking at a few other players.  Two who made an impact during pre-season games in Arizona are Steven Emory, a local product out of Metro State and Ireland international Caleb Folan.

Preseason Rankings

I was amused to read the MLS Preseason Power Rankings a few weeks back.  The Colorado Rapids, 2010 MLS Cup Champions were ranked 5th.  Behind the team they beat for the Cup and  behind two teams beaten by teams the Rapids beat on in the play-offs.  Neither FC Dallas (FCD) nor Real Salt Lake have added any notably players.  FCD, in fact, lost Dax McCarty, Jeff Cunningham and Atiba Harris.  Two starters and a dangerous scorer. Yet they are ranked ahead of the Rapids.  Also ahead of the Rapids are the L.A. Galaxy and New York Red Bulls.  Both teams are darlings of the media as they have multiple marque Designated Players.  Never mind they were both upstaged by FCD and the Rapids last year.

Next week I’ll talk about the changes made for this years team and how they might impact the Rapids as they defend their title.

About the picture – I like having a picture at the top of these posts.  Sometimes it’s obvious, to me, what picture to use.  Often, however, I look for something “different”.  I Google (Google Image) a phrase which describes, to some extent, the theme of the post and then pick the most interesting or maybe the wackiest one I find.  To date, my favorite is the one for this post, a preview of the Rapids first play-off game against the Crew.  Not only was it heavy on wacky, but when we left the stadium after the game we received discount coupons to some kind Ozzy Osbourne event.  The picture above is one of those obvious ones.

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Cutting the Cord – Postlog

Posted on February 6, 2011 by CDave

Cutting the Cord – The First Week

It’s been a week since we “Cut the Cord”.

What’s changed?  We’ve watched the normal ABC, CBS & NBC content as well as a little from FOX.  We’ve also started streaming Internet content including HGTV & ESPN3 (From Kylo.tv), and misc. shows from Netflix and from Boxee.  Previously we used the Wii for Netflix, but using Boxee simplifies getting there a bit.

Issues So Far

No show stoppers at this point, but there has been a learning curve.

Using SageTV means a new remote and new ways to record, view and maneuverer around.  One feature of Directv which we took for granted was the Directv remotes behavior when fast forwarding.  When fast forwarding on the Directv remote, when you stop, the remote will backup the recording a bit to account for the delay of recognizing when you need to stop and actually stopping.  This meant you almost always started watching again right where you want.  With SageTV we end up needing to rewind a bit.  Oh the horrors :)

We expected watching shows on the Internet would be more work and it is, so that wasn’t a surprise.  On thing that did surprise us was the huge variance in volume of Internet between show and commercials.  I’m not just talking about your “normal” loud commercial, I’m talking blaring loud.  Plus there is even variance between shows.  Also, while the quality is well below HD, it hasn’t been distractingly bad.

We haven’t settled in one streaming entry point software as each seem to have their niche.  At this point  we’re most using Kylo,  Boxee and Netflix although we’ve used some Hulu.

Regarding navigation, The Loop is nice, but still harder then a “normal” remote.  Actually, it’s not The Loop that’s the issue so much as number of “clicks” you need to finally view a show.

I’ll close out this series in the next few weeks with a wrap up off the technology, costs and how our viewing experience has changed.  After the first week, I can say, we survived and see no reason to turn back.

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Cutting The Cord – Almost There

Posted on January 26, 2011 by CDave

I cancelled Directv today.  They were so sad.  They tried to entice me with getting less so I could pay less.  Maybe throw in some free pay TV.  No thanks, I politely responded.

Today I started to fine tune the Zino and SageTV HD300.  Tomorrow The Loop arrives, hopefully the tool which simplifies navigating the Internet.  The loop is a mouse which doesn’t require a “mouse pad”.  You hold it in the air and it responds to your hand movements to move the pointer.

The Loop arrives with TurboTax Deluxe which reminds me I hope we can escape on the plus side again.  But that’s another story for another day.

As I’ve waited for this week to arrive, I’ve kept my eye open for alternative Internet streaming options.  Specifically, I’ve been hoping that GoogleTV would progress to make it an option for us in 2011.  It might as the GoogleTV App store is expected to open in the next couple of months.  I’m hoping for a SageTV App which would greatly simplify my setup.  I’m also hoping for some competition in the set top box space for the Logitech Revue which I believe is priced about $100 more then it should.  So far GoogleTV is more promise then reality.  I’m hoping by the end of this year, we’ll see some real competition along with some good Apps.

I’ll post my thoughts after we go through our first week without subscription TV in what seems like forever.  It might as well be forever as I can’t remember when we didn’t have cable (or most recently satellite).  I’ll summarize what I’ve spent and compare it to what I’m saving.  Despite buying The Loop, I’m saving even more as Directv announce a rate increase which would have cost me about $72 more this year.  The Loop was $39 including the LivingSocial $20 for $10 deal at Amazon.com

Stay Tuned.

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Business As Usual is Dead, Long Live…

Posted on January 6, 2011 by CDave

Well you know the rest.  I won’t offer much of my own opinions in this blog, I will let quotes and links do most of the talking.  Like last time, I urge you to read the links and research other stores about these topics.  Any emphasis below is mine.

John Boehner – Speaker of the House – June 05, 2011

The people voted to end business as usual, and today we begin to carry out their instructions

About 12 hours earlier regarding a $2,500 a ticket dinner

If incoming GOP freshmen were hoping to bring fiscal responsibility and ‘family values’ to Washington, they may have gotten off to an interesting start,” conservative blogger Matt Lewis noted, citing the event’s steep ticket prices, as well as Rimes’s confessed extramarital affair and her recent appearance in a “Sexy Santa” outfit at a gay men’s chorus Christmas performance….Helping the freshmen get reelected is a project that (Denham) is very interested in and, of course, his own reelection is part of that,” Dave Gilliard, a consultant for Denham, said last week. “It’s such a huge freshman class, and that first reelection is the time that you end up losing people, so he really wants to help keep the majority.

Just so we’re clear.  The night the brand new house members were sworn in, they were working on their re-election.

Honest and Integrity in the first 48 hours

According to the rules laid out by the incoming House Republican majority, the House must pay for all new legislation that increases federal spending - and a repeal bill, of course, is a form of legislation. That would suggest that they must come up with $143 billion to make up for the cost of repealing the health care bill.

The GOP solution? To exempt repeal from that rule.

And…

No one believes that the job-killing healthcare law will lower costs, because it won’t,” said Michael Steel, spokesman for incoming House Speaker John Boehner.

Mr Steel didn’t bother mentioning any analysis or study to support his contention, nor did he mention the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office analysis he arbitrarily waves off.  Can you guess why?

And…

Despite promising a more open amendment process for bills, amendments for the health care repeal will be all but shut down. After calling for a strict committee attendance list to be posted online, Republicans backpedaled and ditched that from the rules. They promised constitutional citations for every bill but have yet to add that language to early bills.

And…(same link as above)

House Republicans have voted to peel back a requirement that would have required them to publicly post committee attendance — the first reversal on a set of proposed rules the GOP has laid out as it prepares to take control of the House on Wednesday…Republicans positioned the posting of attendance online as a major step that would help increase accountability and bolster the activity of committees – both major tenets of John Boehner’s (R-Ohio) impending speakership. But the quick reversal shows that not everyone in the Republican Conference was ready to embrace this step.

And…

The incoming House budget chief, Republican Paul Ryan, told NBC’s “Today” program a Republican campaign promise to cut $100 billion in spending this year had been “compromised” by the momentum of spending already under way…But aides said the actual cuts are likely to be less than half that amount because the fiscal year will be half over by the time Republicans get a chance to affect spending in March.

I understand the fiscal year issue.  I’m surprised those making the claims while trying to get elected, didn’t understand.  HA HA, no, I’m not really surprised at all.

So to summarize, in 48 hours:

  1. Republicans in the House broke (at least) three campaign promises
  2. The new House Republicans have started their 2012 re-election campaigns and
  3. Breathed new life into the term hypocrisy

I guess Boehner may have been right, this isn’t business as usual, it’s much worse.

Hmmm, this might be political :)

Edit – I found this as well, to tasty to let go.  Republicans made a big deal out of reading the Constitution at the opening of session yesterday.  Tea Party supporting members especially since they seem to view it as  a “Moses” like carved in stone document.  From here.

There is only one official, canonical version of the Constitution—and most of the folks who read today, Republicans and Democrats alike, have a copy in their offices, if not their breast pockets. The suggestion that there is some other, agreed-upon, document, whose “portions [were] superseded by amendment” is simply untrue. As CBS News Capitol Hill Correspondent Bob Fuss pointed out, the “redacted” version as read this morning had no coherent logic. They skipped over the three-fifths compromise but included the constitutional clause referring to the preservation of voting rights only for males over the age of 21—a provision superseded by the 26th Amendment. They skipped the 18th Amendment (Prohibition) then read the 21st (repealing Prohibition). Andrea Stone at AOL News picked up on the fact that they “read 14 words from Article I, Section 9 about taxation. Under a strict reading of the ground rules, though, it likely should have been excised because of the later passage of the 16th Amendment that legalized the federal income tax.”

In other words, in addition to taking it upon themselves to whitewash past constitutional errors, House Republicans today compounded the sin by inventing a choose-your-own-ending document they tried to pass off as official. …

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The Recession is Dead, Long Live the Recession

Posted on January 2, 2011 by CDave

I’ve been writing this blog for a few years now and have yet to write anything political.  I’ll keep that trend by saying this is more about economics then politics.

The Recession is Dead, Long Live the Recession

It’s what has been called the worst recession since the Great Depression which began with the Wall Street crash in 1929.  I’m not going to go into details of the severity as I don’t think that’s an issue of debate.  I do want to talk about where we are now and suggest, two months after the mid-term election, why we may be looking in the wrong direction and not using the right information when we think about the problem, or the solution.

On November 23, the N.Y. Times reported:

American businesses earned profits at an annual rate of $1.659 trillion in the third quarter, according to a Commerce Department report released Tuesday. That is the highest figure recorded since the government began keeping track over 60 years ago, at least in nominal or noninflation-adjusted terms.

That tidbit missed my radar until I ran across another tidbit last week.  Quoting here from CBS News at which point the answer to 2 + 2 become clear.

…unemployment remains high in the United States, edging up to 9.8 percent last month, even though companies are performing well: All but 4 percent of the top 500 U.S. corporations reported profits this year, and the stock market is close to its highest point since the 2008 financial meltdown.

But the jobs are going elsewhere. The Economic Policy Institute, a Washington think tank, says American companies have created 1.4 million jobs overseas this year, compared with less than 1 million in the U.S.

Please do read the entire articles feel free to Google others related to the subjects.

Many people scoffed and many others ridiculed the economists when they reported the recession is over.  I wasn’t one of them because there are two definitions for a recession.  The first is the one the economists use and is technical and I don’t understand it but that’s okay.  The second is the hold a wet finger up and feel the breeze method.  That’s the really important one because it’s the one that we feel the impact from.  Stated parochially, if I don’t have a job, the recession isn’t over.  Fortunately I still have a job, at least for now as my company is a leader in moving U.S. jobs offshore.

As we enter 2011 we know that American Businesses earned record profits, the highest ever recorded.  We also know over 40% more jobs were created overseas by U.S. Corporations then were created in the U.S.  Now tell me again how that jives with the non-stop drum beat we all heard throughout the summer and fall and up until the November 2 mid-term elections about how the economic problems, mostly high unemployment and why you didn’t have a job, was President Obama’s or the incumbent Democrats fault?

The recession is over, but not for the 9.8% who are unemployed.  Someone did the math and calculated that if those jobs had been created here instead of overseas, the rate would have “only” been reduced by about a point.  Bah Humbug? No it’s Bull Squat because that 1% equates to about 1.5 million jobs.  But lets be conservative and say just 1 million.  I suspect those 1 million people and their families might have a slightly different view of the recession then they do now if they had a job.

Let’s not forget the side effects of working.  They pay federal and state taxes and don’t pull unemployment funds which means less budget cuts which means more people in government working which means they are paying taxes which means, I think you can follow from here.

Lets not forget another side effect, people who work spend money.  That means products and services which are made by people who, wait for it…are also working.

So the meagerly 1% (or any reasonable fraction) means a lot for a lot of people.  Don’t get me wrong.  I’m not an isolationist and don’t restrict my purchases to American products only.  By the same token, we can’t ignore the value of creating jobs in this country.

I recognize globalization, at least this aspect, is a complex issue and there are no easy  answers.  I’ll leave you with additional thought.

Next time you hear someone complain about the President and Congress and why they aren’t doing anything about the horrible economy, think about the record corporate profits and multiple millions of jobs that have been created.  Then think about over half of those jobs not going to your neighbors.   Tell them maybe they shouldn’t write the President or their congressional representative, instead write or call a couple of companies that send jobs offshore.

Oh, you can also tell them to stop listening to talk radio or watch FOX News cause I bet you didn’t hear any of the above from them and it may raise your IQ a bit ;)

This was about economics remember :)

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Pogoplug Update

Posted on December 18, 2010 by CDave

Here is my latest update on my plug computing experience.

Earlier this year I ran into many problems trying to use the Pogoplug Windows Drive application, some of which are documented here.  I tried again to work with the Pogoplug team to resolve issues I have using their Windows Drive application.  To their credit they were relatively responsive and wanted to help but couldn’t.  I ran more traces and did more testing for them.  They decided my problem was, my problem.  They wanted me to replace the Ethernet cable and use a different switch port.  I did both, in fact I installed a new switch, all without success.

During this period I purchased a new PC as part of my Cutting The Cord project.  I installed Windows Drive and had the exact same type of problems I experienced on my laptop.   I decided to redesign my storage strategy to eliminate the need for Windows Drive.  I’m now using a drive attached to my  Dockstar to store my media.  I then use ActiveCopy to backup that drive to the drives attached to my Pogoplug.   I can use the Dockstar drive because it uses Samba to enable access.  The result has been 100% successful.  I’ve mentioned this before, but for reasons unknown, Pogoplug refuses to install Samba, ignoring the repeated requests by many users.   Here is one of a couple different threads asking for Samba support.

I just went through a conversation of all my music files from WMA lossless to FLAC.  The entire process went smoothly.  Using Windows Drive, it would have been a nightmare.

I’m still considering purchasing a Tonidoplug early next year.  I like the Tonido software and I’m hoping Tonido’s Windows backup function works better then the Pogoplugs Windows Drive ActiveCopy function, which I also gave up on.

One final note.  I purchased my first plug computer, the Pogoplug, in March of 2010, nine months ago.  I purchased the Pogoplug after getting tired of delays from Tonido.  Since that time, neither company has updated their plugs.  Pogoplug has a “business” and “pro” version but they have the same processor and memory.   Tonido is selling the exact same version there were in March.  I’m both surprised and disappointed technology changes haven’t  moved faster.

By now I was expecting a faster processor, additional memory and more connection options.  There are a few other options available, but none are directed at what I’ll call the modest technology geek.  To be honest, they haven’t progressed either, although one does have an eSATA connector available.

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Colorado Rapids – Forum Tagline Commentary – Updated

Posted on December 17, 2010 by CDave

A poll is currently underway to identify the next tagline for the Colorado Rapids forum on the BigSoccer.com forums.  For the uninitiated, a tagline is a phrase which appears under the forum name as shown here.  The current tagline for Colorado Rapids is “We’re Deep at Mascot” which is brilliant because it says so much with so few words.  Without going into to much detail, the Rapids have four mascots.  The official Colorado Rapids website even has a page dedicated to them.   While most teams don’t even have one, the Rapids feel the need to have four.  Compare that to the depth of talent the team has put on the field the past few years and you can’t peel the irony off without buckets of solvent.

Typically the tagline is changed every year and generally reflects the sentiments of the fans of each club.  Here are the nominee’s for the new Rapids tagline.  As you read them, keep in mind, the Rapids just won the 2010 MLS Championship.  Since no one can stop  me, I’m going offer my humble thoughts on each.  Since I watched Lettermen last night, I’ll offer them up in reverse order.

6. Live Simply — Give More — Expect Less

This would be a great tagline for Mother Jones magazine, The Sierra Club or The Amish.  Don’t take that wrong way, I have great respect for Mother Jones and the Sierra Club and rarely honk my horns at the Amish buggy’s driving through Lancaster and Lebanon counties when back in PA. I’ve been reading and participating in these forums for over 7 years and there is nothing anyone posts which reflects the good intentions of this tagline.  It’s a good motto for concerned citizens, especially in economic times like these.  but we’re talking about a tagline for a soccer forum.  While voting against this is like voting in favor of increased greenhouse gas, the above is a great philosophy to live by, not a tagline for a soccer forum.

5. Champions! … So thats what the “c” in Rapids stands for/Crapids… the “c” is for Champ.

This tagline plays off some opposing fans use of the name Crapids when referring to the Rapids.  If you don’t understand it, ask a 12 year old to explain it to you.  Instead of celebrating the 2010 season, this tagline repeats a childish phrase, giving it “front page” publicity no less.  As fans of a championship team, this is no time to be defensive and smack down a word, a childish one at that, and one that says more about those who use it then those it’s directed towards.

4. Good things come to those who wait.

A lovely sentiment, hokum and something not necessarily true all wrapped up in one hackneyed phrase.  Is this really the message Rapids fans want to share with the MLS community?  Don’t worry, be happy, good things come to those who wait.  I’m sure the 15 other clubs who didn’t win the MLS Cup this year will take comfort in that, after all, MLS fans are nothing if not a patient lot.  Is that who we are?  A patient group of fans who believe the most important thing to celebrate right now is…waiting?

3. I love it when a 15 year plan comes together.

This tagline references comments by someone(s) from a previous Rapids administration.  Perhaps a coach, I don’t remember.  But my memory isn’t the issue it’s….um, ah, that’s right it’s taglines.  Referencing this old “plan” makes perfect sense for fans suffering through another year which culminates with “wait until next year”.  But this year the Rapids won.  Why dilute the celebration we should be having now by referencing failures from the past?  There will be future failures, trust me.  Right now, however, Rapids fans are the fans of a championship team.  Let’s celebrate that.

2. Lets Get Insufferable!

Really?

1. 2010 MLS Cup Champions!

There are times for clever, coy, sarcastic (no, no time to be insufferable) but why now?  There are 17 other teams needing to come up with taglines.  Seventeen opportunities to be profound and  reflective.  None of them, however, can say they are 2010 MLS Cup Champions. Only one team can say they are champions, the Colorado Rapids.  I don’t get it.  After years of  whining, complaining, bitching and moaning on the forums about the lack of a championship team, when we get one, we people don’t want display that fact on the forum.  People needn’t worry, after the first loss we can go back to complaining ;)

The Rapids have been around for 15 years and this is the teams first championship.  Let’s celebrate it.  We should give more and expect less, but let our actions speak for us, not a tagline on a soccer forum.

Update

The 2011 Colorado Rapids season will begin in March with training a month or so before that.  I think it’s time for my Rapids off season to begin.  The holidays are here, in another month I’ll be Cutting The Cord and I’ve still got work to do with my plug computers so this is my last Rapids post until the 2011 season is about to begin.  Look for a 2011 team preview in early March.  As for my comments about the Rapids, until then…

Colorado Rapids – 2010 MLS Cup Champions

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