January 25, 2006
Random Thoughts
January 25, 2006, 9:55 PM | 1 Comment
Over the past few weeks I’ve had a lot of things running through my brain that I felt like I wanted to share. None of them really constitute a full entry in my mind, so I’ll just post them all at once.
This is something that I know many people do on their sites from time to time and I would imagine that more and more of these entries will show up here in the coming months as well. Wait and see…
Redesign Coming Soon
Well, I said way back when that I had wanted to give this site a facelift, but I didn’t really know when it would happen. I’m happy to say that the redesign is in progress, almost complete and will probably be uploaded this weekend. New site design, new logo, and new posts that actually relate to web development will all be coming in the near future! Check back often.
Windows Live Messenger
Windows Live Messenger is Microsoft’s next generation of MSN Messenger with a brand new name, and several new features. WLM has been in semi-public beta testing since early December and is available on an invite only basis. If you can’t get an invite to WLM, you can sign up to be a beta tester here. No guarantee on how long it’ll take before you get your invitation from Microsoft though.
On Monday, I received an email from Microsoft letting me know that I’d been selected to join their beta testing team, so I downloaded the new version of Messenger (Messenger 8.0) and have been using it for a couple of days. I have to say that I’m mostly impressed by the latest features and updates. It’s still very much in beta form, so nothing is really finalized, but my first impression is that it’s a great improvement.
Some of the key new features include: better audio/video messaging, the ability to rename and add additional information to your contacts (much like an address book), much, much better conversation history logging, offline messages (which is very much like what ICQ has been doing for years) that allow you to send messages to contacts regardless of their status. Basically it means that if they ‘appear offline’ they’ll still get your message, and if they are offline, they’ll get your messages once they sign in again.
It seems to take a little longer to sign in to the MSN Messenger service now, but it may just be due to the fact that the beta version uses different servers than the full version. All in all, I have high hopes for this new Windows Live Messenger. Perhaps I’ll post a more thorough review at a later date.
24
Up until 2 weeks ago, I had never watched an episode of 24 before. All that changed when my wife and I decided to tune into the huge premiere event that Fox had for the start of season 5. I have to say that I really have been missing out. I was hooked within the first 5 minutes, and have been waiting intently for the next episode week after week.
I like good shows that are very well produced, and 24 is no exception. I especially like that most of the best shows are all available in high definition, which just makes it even better. If you’ve never given it a chance before, I can tell you from experience, it’s worth a look. I may even grab the DVDs from the first 4 seasons just to catch up on what I’ve missed.
Superbowl XL
This is basically just a rant. Just because New England isn’t playing in this year’s Superbowl, doesn’t mean that the game will be any less interesting or exciting. In fact, I would think that for most people who live outside of the greater Boston area, this year’s Superbowl may be all the more interesting because New England isn’t playing. Seattle is a great football team. Pittsburgh is a great football team. This is going to be a great game. Period.
The new MacBook Pro
MacBook Pro: stupid name, but I want one. ‘Nuff said. Glad they didn’t call the new Intel iMac the ‘MacMac.’ Great commercials though.
Game Over Mario
Yesterday one of the greatest hockey players to ever lace ‘em up announced that he has decided to hang ‘em up… again. Mario Lemieux was a great hockey player and an even better person. I remember growing up being a Penguins fan and really looking up to Lemieux. He spent a lot of time fighting injuries, but still remained one of the biggest offensive threats in the game year after year.
One of his greatest accomplishments was off the ice when he beat Hodgkin’s disease, which he was diagnosed with in 1993. Lemieux overcame the disease and returned to the NHL, looking like he’d never missed a game.
Lemieux’s first retirement ended in 2000 when he returned to the Penguins lineup, assisted a goal 30 seconds into the game on his first shift and ended that game with 2 assists and 1 goal. He eventually led the team to the Eastern Conference Finals that year, the last year the Penguins were in the playoffs.
During the height of my obsession with hockey, I was able to watch the “Magnificent One” lead the Penguins to back-to-back Stanley Cup championships in 1991 and 1992. Most recently, Lemieux led Team Canada to the gold medal in the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympics and the 2004 World Cup of Hockey.
He is loved by hockey fans everywhere (especially in Canada), and loved by the city of Pittsburgh. Taking a break from the Superbowl hype, Bill Cowher (coach of the Steelers) had this to say about Mario:
”The grace with which he played the game & he was a magician on the ice. There is not a better ambassador for the game or a better person. He’s done everything he could to keep this franchise going, and his presence alone has brought a lot of pride to the city of Pittsburgh. Any time like a guy like that walks off the ice, you say, ‘Thank you.’”
The NHL will miss you. Pittsburgh will miss you. Team Canada will miss you. Hockey fans everywhere will miss you. I will miss you.
To Mario Lemieux: Thank you for all the great memories.
Superbowl Predictions
January 25, 2006, 8:28 PM | 0 Comments
Well, it all comes down to one. One game that will determine who is remembered and who is forgotten. One game that will cap a successful season for one team and one game that will make all the work seem like a failure for the other. Who those teams will be is a question that’s going to be answered on Sunday, February 5th. For me, I’m looking forward to what should prove to be a great game.
No one cares what each team did all season. Forget about it. It’s all in the past and the only thing that matters is now. What is each team going to do once the ball has been kicked off? Every player will tell you that this is what they’ve prepared for their entire careers. The moment is now, how will each team respond?
The ‘Who will win’ poll is again open for your votes, so tell me who you think will be the Superbowl XL Champion. This week, I’ll be doing something a little different than the rest of this season. I’ll break down the matchup like normal, but I wont make my final prediction until sometime late next week, probably Thursday or Friday. I’ll add a date stamp here so that you’ll know when this entry was last updated.
Last week I correctly predicted both matchups, but that also doesn’t mean anything now. This is the big one.
Now, here’s my breakdown for each team:
Last Updated: January 30, 2006.
Pittsburgh Steelers (13-5): The Steelers have had a bit of an up-and-down season. About 8 weeks ago, I didn’t even think they’d make the playoffs, and now they’re headed for the ultimate contest. Without Ben Roethlisberger under center, the Steelers were a completely different team. It’s really fortunate for the Steelers that he wasn’t sidelined for too long.
The Steelers have really proven themselves over the past several weeks (not just in the playoffs) and are probably on a much larger momentum high than the Seahawks. In the last 3 weeks, the Steelers have knocked off the #1, 2 and 3 seeds in the AFC (Indianapolis, Denver and Cincinnati).
This will probably be Jerome Bettis’s final chance at winning the Superbowl, and what better place for him to do it than in his home town of Detroit. Yes, it’s an over-played argument, but everyone in that Pittsburgh locker room wants to win this one for Jerome. Not because it’s Detroit, but because ‘the Bus’ will probably be parked sometime soon.
Seattle Seahawks (15-3): The Seattle Seahawks have never made it to the Superbowl before, but they have an experienced head coach in Mike Holmgren who has been there twice, and won once. If anyone on that team can rally them for this game, it’ll have to lie on their head coach’s shoulders.
The Seahawks possess the NFL’s league MVP and the number 1 offense. Largely un-noticed, the Seahawks are starting to get some exposure this year, and they will provide an excellent challenge to the Steelers.
This is going to be one good game, despite what some of the media will have you believe. I give the emotional advantage to Pittsburgh, who is the only 6th seeded team to ever make it to the Superbowl.
Talent-wise, I don’t think either team has an advantage on the other. I really think this is going to be a very close game, that should make for an exciting end to the 2005-2006 NFL Season.
The only reason for my pick is because I just feel like they’re going to get the job done. I really don’t have any other reason because I think these two teams match up against each other very well. Pick: Steelers.
Bonus pick - Superbowl MVP: Hines Ward.
UPDATE: Well, it was a pretty exciting game but I think Steve Young said it best on the post-game show: ‘it was a little awkward.’ I’m happy that I called the game right, and even got the ‘bonus pick’ by picking Hines Ward as the MVP.
Posted in: Sports