I think I just did something ridiculous.

I needed to transfer some graphics from my work computer to my home computer so I simply emailed them from my work account to my home account. After attaching the GIFs, I typed "8 designs so far... not a bad start!" Imagine me swelling with pride when I open that message tonight and read such encouraging words. Never again should people with 2 or more email accounts feel unappreciated!

The Thanksgiving holiday is really becoming a great participatory/televised sports weekend.

• First, the Thanksgiving day NFL games: Denver pulls out a nice win over Dallas, but Detroit couldn't pull the upset over Atlanta. The real story is the awards. Fox has replaced John Madden's turducken with a robotic turkey trophy... not bad. But Simms' Iron awards?

• Black Friday Flag Football Frenzy 2005: The Frenzy follows Thanksgiving day and 2005's event was encouraging. There were no injuries or temper flare-ups, so the tournament played out well. The weather was pretty nice considering the sub-40 degree temps. 10 Apple Rush even notched two wins.

• After a long day of football, its always nice to turn around and hit the hardwood for a little Saturday afternoon Church League action. Westminster came out firing on all cylinders and appeared ready to upset St. Matt's. But, our recurring nightmare set in late in the game and St. Matt's came back to win by 1 point. These losses are getting old, hopefully this one frustrated us enough to find a way to keep it from happening next time.

• Sunday's NFL action was like Thanksgiving all over again. Eagles fans across the nation gave thanks to the Green Bay Packers for letting Brett Favre throw the ball during their final game-winning attempt. After a bogus roughing the passer call nullified Favre's first interception in the final two minutes of a 5-point game, the Gunslinger heaved another to Rod Hood with about 30 seconds on the clock. Maybe T.O. was right when commenting on the Eagles chances with the Lambeau Legend as our quarterback... after all, Favre does have a knack for finding green jersey's with his passes.

Labels: Frenzy, nfl

The Mike McMahon era is officially underway. Unfortunately, ol' #4's offense was complemented as well by the Eagles sporadic, ineffective defense as ol' #5's offense.

The Eagles D opened their week 11 showdown by keeping a potent NY Giants offense in check. But in the second half, while Mike McMahon was getting the Birds offense fired up, the defense allowed the G-Men to score easily and often. Their second half performance was so sour that even Troy Aikman noted how poorly they were playing. Funny the things you notice when Donovan and T.O. aren't on the field.

Looking at the positives:

• Rookie DE Trent Cole has been the Eagles most impressive defender as of late, making up for an otherwise ordinary rookie class.
• WR Billy McMullen is proving that he belongs on the field. He only had one catch for five yards but it was an impressive first down snare that was all hands.
• Mike McMahon played pretty well. Outside of Michael Vick, he is instantly the league's most dangerous running quarterback. Looks like the offense should be able to continue to play well enough to win games.

After losing consecutive games they could have won against division opponents, this flock of Birds clearly isn't of the same caliber as Philly's 2000-2004 teams. The Eagles won't make the playoffs this season and Donovan won't be back on the field in '05. Hopefully, this is just a bump in the road.


For further proof of how hard the Eagles have fallen, first this email from Jim:

Philadelphia (PA) - A seven-year-old boy was at the center of a Philadelphia Pa courtroom drama yesterday when he challenged a court ruling over who should have custody of him. The boy has a history of being beaten by his parents and the judge initially awarded custody to his aunt, in keeping with child custody law and regulations requiring that family unity be maintained to the degree possible.

The boy surprised the court when he proclaimed that his aunt beat him more than his parents and he adamantly refused to live with her. When the judge then suggested that he live with his grandparents, the boy cried out that they also beat him.

After considering the remainder of the immediate family and learning that domestic violence was apparently a way of life among them, the judge took the unprecedented step of allowing the boy to propose who should have custody of him.

After two recesses to check legal references and confer with child welfare officials, the judge granted temporary custody to the Philadelphia Eagles, whom the boy firmly believes are not capable of beating anyone.

And then there's this link from Mark:

Eagles Cartoon

Labels: Eagles '05

Perfect news... Just in time for the holidays, there seems to be a great buzz swirling around discounted reading material - books going for as little as 50 cents! What a deal!

Oh, wait... stupid headlines. Looks like a new line of "street fiction" novels launched by rapper/actor/whatever 50 Cent dubbed G-Unit Books. Seems like everyday this not very creative multi-media mogul finds new ways to tell us he likes guns:

1. Rapper 50 Cent's debut CD "Get Rich or Die Tryin'" released in 2003; follows up with "The Massacre" in 2005
2. Actor 50 Cent's debut movie "Get Rich or Die Tryin'" released in 2005
3. Computer Generated 50 Cent's debut video game "Get Rich or Die Tryin'" released in 2005
4. Book Publisher 50 Cent's debut novel set to be released in 2007... any guesses on the title?

Question: Will the books be available as "Parental Advisory" and "Clean Paragraphs" versions just like this chump's music? That way when Travis borrows "Rollin' Wit Real Bullets", he can dejectedly tell the lender "I read the Fitty book. I didn't know I was getting the Wal-Mart version."

I guess in the book world, the public library parallels music's radio airwaves. That means if you sign out a G-Unit Book, every 5th word will use a "dingbat" font. The good news is, you won't have to walk too far when buying a hip-hop novel at your local Barnes & Noble. Like the Rap CD rack at Camelot Music, they'll put the "Street Fiction" shelves closest to the cashiers.

But think about the possibilities. What if G-Unit Books looks to diversify by acquiring rights to existing publications? Good-bye Farmer's Almanac, hello Farmer's Blvd. Almanac! Instead of predicting the weather, the Farmer's Blvd. Almanac would forecast drive-bys. ("I checked the FBA today... we shouldn't go to the movies tonight. 'Get Rich Or Die Tryin'' will just have to wait.")

Personally I'm hoping the "50 Cent to Launch Hip-Hop Book Line" headline marks the point where 50's career officially jumped the shark. Maybe his next big move will be starring in a Nationwide commercial or something.

Labels: music

• Miss Manners breaks down cell phone etiquette. Let me guess... Rule number 1: There is no cell phone etiquette.
• What's Tai Shan up to?
• I see that Taxi drivers/chauffeurs ranks 10th on the America's Most Dangerous Jobs list. Insert Jayson Williams joke here.
• If you've ever thought your iPod looked uncomfortable while charging, BeanPod is for you.

Labels: weekend reading

The 4th Annual Black Friday Flag Football Frenzy is only a week away!

An early look at the weather is showing a way too cold 40 degrees, but also a 0% chance of rain. The Saturday and Sunday following the Frenzy are showing warmer, upper-40s temps, but scattered showers. I think I'll root for the weekend weather to arrive a day early.

Check out this year's website here.

Labels: Frenzy

Whaaa?? Nice toss Donovan.

But there's still time to march down and kick a field goal. McMahon throws a floater toward the 20-ish yard line that finds its way into Reggie Brown's hands. And then bounces off Reggie Brown's hands. Rookie!

Looking back, what stands out most was the excruciating 15-20 minute lull in emotion during the 3rd and 4th quarters. It was like the game was over and the teams were using the extra time to just run their stuff. Then with about 5 minutes remaining in the game, with the right string of breaks, the Cowboys realized they might still be in the thing. Turns out they were.

The latest news is that Donovan McNabb could be done for the season. Part of me feels like it would be a shame for ol' number 5 to have that loss hang over his head until next September. But another part of me figures an extended break is just what McNabb needs.

Random Thought on the Media: Notice how Brian Westbrook's signature on a new contract changed him from an underpaid superstar running back to an overpaid glorified 3rd down back?

Labels: Eagles '05

Sometimes, when I blog stuff, I might dance with the reader and type something like "insert such-and-such joke here." The idea is to make them think that I trust their wit, and I will not patronize them by choosing one of many obvious quips. However, usually the "insert joke here" line is nothing more than an admission that I've got nothin'.

I don't miss the hiss, but I do have fond memories of the blank tape. One thing's for sure, the clear tapes are better than the solids. Especially the solids with stickers.

Labels: music

Well, week 9's loss to the Redskins marked a return to normalcy in the football world. The Eagles D gave up 32 points less than the previous week and played an average game. The 500-pound gorilla has finally disappeared from the Eagles offensive lineup and old #5 returned to his jovial self, even smiling and joking after throwing a 4th down interception that sealed the loss.


So that brings us to the following question heading into this week's MNF matchup with the Cowboys: Will the Eagles be able to turn things around and still make the playoffs?

I think the Eagles will have to win 6 of their final 8 games to have a shot, and 7 of their final 8 to ensure a birth. Reid/McNabb-led teams have finished the past 5 seasons on these kinds of streaks, but they started their runs with a great deal less pressure and uncertainty than they face this season. The Eagles were up against similar early season circumstances of pressure and scrutiny in 2003 and turned around a 2-3 start, but the NFC East division was undoubtedly much weaker that season.

Whether or not the Eagles finish on a hot-streak or not is irrelevant to this fan. They rid themselves of an embarassment and will be much more fun to root for in the coming weeks. The season will be entertaining as the beauty of the football games themselves will finally prevail over the three-ring circus.

This article makes a nice final word on the whole T.O. mess. I hope.

Labels: Eagles '05

Let's swing by The 700, where Pat Robertson has this to say about Dover, PA:

"I'd like to say to the good citizens of Dover: if there is a disaster in your area, don't turn to God, you just rejected Him from your city."

Such a kind, warm, sparkle of happiness that Pat Robertson. I just wish he could be more specific. Living in the same county as Devilish Dover, I have a few concerns. Should I trade in my Focus for a blizzard-friendly SUV? Should my dad and I finally connect permanent piping to my hurricane-handling sump pump? Should I stick velcro to Toto's, I mean Macy's, paws in case a tornado touches down on Lakeview?

Labels: news, politics, threats

• Pluto: Put up or shut up. In its 76th season, the little fella better show his planetaryness... or else!
• Scoop out-Jacksons Phil.
• Vanilla Ice topped the charts 15 years ago. Check out the newly redesigned Billboard.com for proof.
• Net radio sounds off to their four-legged market.
• All you need to know about influenza pandemics! Oh, and read this too.
• As a new season begins, it's time to slam-dunk some old myths.

Labels: weekend reading

Do I have to? I mean, how else can a 49-21 blow-out loss be analyzed? The defense has just been awful. Forget trying to make sense of it. Instead, take a closer look at the number 49:

2004: Eagles hang 49 on the Cowboys in week 10
2003: 49ers foil the Birds' possible 11 game season closing winning streak with a week 15 upset
2002: Koy Detmer and AJ Feely provide quality relief in their first effort in replacing an injured Donovan McNabb with a week 12 MNF win over the 49ers
2001: The Eagles needed 1 more point in their week 9 romp over the Vikings to hit the 49 point mark
2000: Pickle juice got us 41 in week 1 vs. Dallas, which turned out to be the season-high in points scored or allowed in one game
1996: The Ty Detmer led Eagles look sluggish in a 14-0 loss to the 49ers in a Wild Card Playoff game
1994: We say hello to Cahlie Garner in a week 4 blowout victory over the 49ers
1993: The Rich Kotite era ends with a 3 point win over the 49ers in week 18
1983: No doubt Jaworski and Quick contributed heavily in the Eagles season opening win over the 49ers
1981: The Eagles are a field goal better than 49 in a week 10 win over division rival St. Louis Cardinals
1972: The last time the Eagles gave up 49 or more points, in a 62-10 week 11 loss to the Giants

Labels: Eagles '05

The official announcement finally came yesterday. Rumors were true and Comcast has purchased SusCom and will become the cable operator in our area. Below is the blurb from today's Multi-Channel Newsday:

Labels: news, work