Jerry’s gone

The ‘hawks announced today that they’ve released Rice. So, another prediction gone wrong, I was really hoping we’d have him for one more season. I really enjoyed watching him play for Seattle. I went to the MNF game with GeorgeP, and boy, did Rice put on a show: 8 receptions for 145 yards and a touchdown. It was amazing how the entire stadium was chanting "Jerry! Jerry!" on numerous occassions that night. I can’t remember the last time a player on a ‘hawks team was shown that much love. Too bad we crumbled late in the 4th and lost, but what an exciting game nonetheless.

I suppose he’ll sign with the 49ers in front of some cameras, pick up a glass of champagne, and announce his retirement. He probably won’t give up without a fight, tho’…he’ll likely ask to play one last season to make it "look legit", but the 49ers are in a major rebuilding phase right now.

<heavy sigh>

Well, I got the ‘hawks wrong so far…

If you read my Seahawks predictions further down, you’ll know I muffed it. Probably cuz I didn’t anticipate the return of Mike Reinfeldt, who is a bit of a player personnel wizard…it’s about time that basketball dude got kicked out of football.

So Walter Jones has been signed, and he’ll likely retire as a Seahawk. It makes sense, because I believe the franchise tag would have payed him 20% more salary than last year, and that would have been much more money than "the average salary" of the top-5 in that position…so he would have easily been the highest paid lineman in the NFL. Signing him for the long-term is actually cheaper (we should have done that the previous season instead, and save even more bucks).

Hasselbeck has reached an agreement on a contract (as I predicted), but hasn’t signed yet. He needs to do so by 1PM today so that the ‘hawks know who to place their franchise tag on. Strange…Hasselbeck was told that if he didn’t sign by today, the tag would be placed on him. I don’t get that strategy.

Here’s why: assuming Hasselbeck does sign, the franchise tag is expected to be on Alexander. This is a good move, since Edgerrin James is also expected to get the franchise tag…take two of the best free-agent backs out of easy acquisition, and it really narrows the free agency market for teams that need one. Example: the Dolphins are DESPERATE to find somebody to replace that pot-head who suddenly quit last year, so they might pay the Seahawks dearly for somebody who was 1 yard shy of the rushing championship last year. If we had slapped the tag on Hasselbeck, Alexander would be free to sign anywhere, and the ‘hawks would receive no compensation. The Colts made history last year largely on the air-game, so they can afford to lose James more than the ‘hawks can afford to lose Alexander.

Jeez, what a long day…

I started by doing email from home for a little while, then came into work and was running at 150 MPH all day. One issue I was dealing with, I finally had to reduce the explanation to baby steps before the key people who needed to know what was going on understood the problem…I re-read the email thread a couple of times, and scratched my head, "Where did we fail on the explanation earlier?"  Four meetings today, a ton of bugs investigated/verified fixed/resolved/etc, and I even had to skip the Rabble (but I ran up and grabbed a beer while they were cleaning up afterward…yay!).

Our next-door neighbor hasn’t let his dogs go blow out the door barking before 7:15 AM for over a week now (a milestone!), but he obviously thinks this is enough…he still splits for work by 8AM and leaves the dogs outside to bark all day long while he’s gone. Looks like the next part of my nefarious plan to quell his irresponsibility will have to be engaged (no, I’m not giving any hints…but it’s going to be irrefutable evidence, to be sure).

Superbowl Sunday was spent with a few fun friends and a 10-foot screen. Dan and his wife brought some awesome chili (they said it was SUPPOSED to be "beans"…but that’s how great dishes are made, right?). The Burt Reynolds commercial was my favorite. Then I was surprised that the Eagles didn’t go with the no-huddle offense late in the game! But I read the other day that between plays, McNabb was throwing up just a little bit in his mouth…he was apparently pretty sick. Too bad the illness caused him to throw up a little bit with the ball, too.

Ordered a couple of new fans for the MCE box I’m building, they should be in today. The stock HSF that comes with my Intel processor will be replaced by an Artic Cooling Super Silent 4 TC, which has a dB not to exceed 21 (as low as 9 dB!). The videocard fan will be replaced by a Thermaltake Crystal Orb. Both fans are well-reviewed, both are extremely inexpensive, both are very quiet…I’m excited to get my MCE box to as little noise as possible (the PSU fan is barely audible). Did a lot of research before deciding on these…really, the only way to get quieter would be to go to liquid cooling (which starts at $150…OUCH!). Great place for these parts: http://www.svc.com. Bought there before, really fast service, will buy there again.

Bright spot of my day: a couple of ladies I work with complimented me on how nice my hair looked.

Cell phones kill people…

I’ve had my cell for just one week, and a study is released detailing how over 2600 motorists die each year due to cell phone usage, plus well over 330K in injuries…and that’s just in the United States!

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6895319/

The study claims a 20-year-old has the same reaction time while on the phone as a geriatric that’s driving (but not in a call), or is less-adept than drunk drivers with a blood-alcohol level exceeding 0.08. And not only are their reaction times way lower, their resume times are also way lower, meaning that they won’t get back to a proper speed on a timely basis…affecting the overall flow of traffic.

Which totally explains the 520 bridge every rush hour, every day…