This just in...T.O. is pretty good

So, if you were like me on Sunday, you were sitting right there on your couch watching the Patriots vs. the Eagles in some known as "the big game". I really wasn't rooting for either team but rather just wanted to see a good game. Neither team disappointed in this regard.

Terrell Owens was definitely impressive. Coming back from the injury he suffered at the hands of Roy Wiliams (Dallas Cowboys), during the regular season, in just a mere 7 weeks was no less than spectacular. And then to have the game he had...9 catches for 122...WOW!

At the end of the game, the Eagles had a chance to tie the score at 24 and send it to overtime...oh, wait...no they didn't...you have to have good clock management for that. In the last half of the 4^th quarter, it was blatantly obvious which team had been there before. Donovan McNabb looked flustered after throwing the second the last interception with 5+ minutes remaining on the clock. You just can't make mistakes against that Patriots team.

All-in-all though...it was a good game.

The commercials...well, that was a different story. They were pretty lackluster. If you missed them, you can catch them here.

Best Ads

1. Bud Light: While You Were Out
   
2. Ameriquest: Taser Scare
   
3. Bud Light: Parachuting
   
4. FedEx: Dancing Burt
   

Most Controversial

• GoDaddy.com
  

Vegas/CES 2005 Recap Part 2: AMOLED

So, after hearing the constant complaints about the lack of blog postings, I have decided to take a different approach to the whole Vegas recap. I was hoping to get some time to write just a few posts that would cover the whole experience. But since I hardly ever find the necessary free time, I am now just going to make shorter posts which may just cover one thing.

So...to start things off, I will talk about the best of CES. The coolest (and definitely practical) item that I saw at CES was the AMOLED screen made by L.G. Philips (a joint venture between L.G. Electronics and Philips Electronics). AMOLED is an acronym for Active Matrix Organic Light-Emitting Diode. At 20.1", it's the largest OLED screen produced (or at least publicly debuted) to date. It was quite impressive. The viewing angle was listed at 170 degrees...with no loss of brightness or degradation of picture quality. It was stunningly thin and had a brightness level that was actually too high but this was probably done as a proof of concept. Here are some pics...






Just look how thin that thing is. Imagine hanging something like that on your wall. Is it time to say goodbye to large TVs? Well, maybe not just yet. We asked how long it would be before we saw these things in stores. Answer: 10 years. I'm not sure I really believe that estimate (I think probably more like 5 years).

Coach Carter

I went to see the movie, Coach Carter today...well, I guess it would technically be yesterday (Monday) at this point. I enjoyed the movie. Even though it was quite predictable, it's still pretty good. It has some decent humor in the way of witty remarks. It also tells a good story. The movie is one of the Remember the Titans types so if you aren't into that sort of thing then I would avoid this movie as well. I watched the movie at the Rave Motion Pictures Ridgmar 13...nice theater. It appears to be pretty new and it's conveniently located very near my apartment.

Sorry for the lack of CES content. I just haven't had much time to go through my stuff. I'll get one or two posts on CES this week...promise.

Getting back in shape...

So, I recently signed up for a membership at 24 Hour Fitness. The upfront cost was a little more that I wanted to pay but I like the club and I wanted to get back into shape. So, I'm now a member. :-)

Anyway, this morning I went in for my 1 free personal training session. Basically they take some measurements, ask you where you ultimately want to be physically and show you some basic workouts. Of course you can ask questions to get even more information. Here is what I found out:

Today's Stats
Resting Heart Rate: 67
Target Heart Rate: 145 - 160
Percent Body Fat: 15%
Percent Lean Muscle: 85%
Weight: 177

Goal
Percent Body Fat: 10%
Percent Lean Muscle: 90%
Weight: 187

Scott, the personal trainer, talked to me about changing my workout habits to focus on more specific area rather than working all upper body one day and all lower body the next. He also said that I should spread out my weight training days by throwing in "resting" or strictly cardio days. So, I think my workout plan will look something like this:

• Monday: cardio warmup, chest and back
  
• Tuesday: cardio and abs
  
• Wednesday: cardio warmup and legs
  
• Thursday: cardio and abs
  
• Friday: cardio warmup, arms and shoulders
  
• Saturday: cardio and abs
  
• Sunday: rest
  

I also found out some information about supplements that I can take to help me reach my goals. I'm currently taking Mega Men Multivitamins from GNC although Scott prefers Apex Multivitamins. He said that the only other thing I should really think about taking is Muscle Milk. Supposedly the best flavors are strawberry and cookies and cream. I think I might try some of that.

And finally...but most importantly, we talked about my eating habits. Working at Q has really not aided me in finding a health diet but I'm not working on fixing that. Scott said that I should be taking in about 2400 - 2500 calories a day (provided that I actually do what I have spelled out above).

Maybe one day soon I'll actually look like something more than some scrawny kid... :-)

Vegas/CES 2005 Recap Part 1

So, it's time for part 1 of my [not quite sure how long] series of posts about my trip to Las Vegas and the new and exciting technologies at International Consumer Electronics Show 2005.

Ah Vegas...the city of lights...and apparently cold beer and dirty girls. Isn't this the same city that was advertising Vegas as a family vacation spot just 2 years ago??? Family this...



I'm sure you can just imagine the conversation...

Little Johnny: "Daddy, what's an escort?"
Dad: "Well son...ummm...hey, let's go check out the ESPNZone"

Well, let's be fair though. Vegas does have some things for the little kiddos to do. You just have to know where to look.

But Vegas isn't all about cold beer and dirty girls. There are some ENORMOUS hotels and apparently people do quite a bit of gambling there too. I'm no Stu Unger so I stay away from the tables. In the past I have played slots...nickel of course...just to kill some time. But 97.4% payouts just are good enough for me. Money just tends to disappear so rapidly. Question: why don't they just automate the slot machines. Payouts are completely mathematical. No user interaction is required save the pull of a lever. It should be such that you walk up and enter your parameters: how many times you want to "pull the lever" or at what dollar amount you want to stop. At this point you should push a button and voila...you're finished playing the slots. Anyway, I did actually place 3 bets on some football games:

• Chargers to beat the 3.5 point line in the first half versus the Jets [Lost]
  
• Colts to beat the 6.5 point line in the first half versus the Broncos [Won]
  
• Steelers to win the AFC championship [Waiting]
  

And finally...here are some of the images from the strip...enjoy.

• Aladdin 1
  
• Aladdin 2 (inside)
  
• Bally's (or at least the kid-friendly sign)
  
• The Greatest Hotel 1
  
• The Greatest Hotel 2
  
• The Greatest Hotel 3 (front lobby)
  
• The Greatest Hotel 4 (Christmas decorations)
  
• The Greatest Hotel 5 (Christmas decorations)
  
• The Greatest Hotel 6 (Christmas decorations)
  
• Caesar's 1 (under construction)
  
• Caesar's 2 (inside)
  
• Et tu, Brute?
  
• Home Sweet Home 1...well, it wasn't sweet nor was it home but it was affordable
  
• Home Sweet Home 2
  
• Lady Liberty 1
  
• Lady Liberty 2
  
• Proof that even McDonald's needs a gaudy sign to survive on the strip...
  
• MGM Grand
  
• Bellagio Look-a-like 1
  
• Bellagio Look-a-like 2
  
• Interestingly enough the twin towers are missing
  
• Parlez vous Français 1
  
• Parlez vous Français 2
  
• South Strip 1
  
• South Strip 2
  
• South Strip 3
  
• Treasure Island
  
• Home of the Adult Entertainment Awards 1
  
• Home of the Adult Entertainment Awards 2
  
• Home of the Adult Entertainment Awards 3
  

Part 2 coming soon...

Back From Vegas

Well, I have returned to Fort Worth, TX from the city known for sex, [losing] money, and well...sex. Consumer Electronics Show 2005 was pretty good. I will be providing an in-depth summary of the entire trip and the new and exciting technologies coming down the pipe in 2005 in a multi-part series. I was a little disappointed because I expected to see some new technologies...but there wasn't too much that was overly spectacular.

A little tease...

Worst of CES 2k5
Sony Qualia SACD Player (find out why later...)

Best of CES 2k5
L.G. Philips AMOLED Screen (they say it won't be available for another 10 years...)

Major Themes

• Flat panel displays (plasma, LCD, DLP)
  
• MP3 players
  
• iPod accessories/adapters/etc.
  
• Bad food
  

Football: College Bowls and Cowboys

So it's January 2^nd and I'm recovering from my long day of college football watching. Note: when you sit on the couch all day, there really isn't too much recovering to do. :-)

So, my Aggies looked absolutely abysmal/pathetic/horrid/despicable/etc. against the Volunteers of Tennessee yesterday. That's alright though as this season was much better than recent seasons past. Next year should be a great season for the Aggies. Reggie McNeal is starting to become the quarterback that most expected him to be upon leaving high school.

There were 2 great games yesterday though. The Rose Bowl and the Capital One Bowl. In the latter, I certainly thought LSU had the game in the bag when they scored with less than one mintue remaining...but no...Iowa came back and won it on the last play of the game; a 50+ pass play to a WIDE OPEN receiver. Somebody blew their coverage. The former was the Vince Young vs. Braylon Edwards show. Braylon is one hell of a receiver and will most likely enjoy much success playing on Sundays. Vince, on the other hand, is one hell of a...RUNNING BACK. If you take his legs away, he is the 3^rd string quarterback at UT. So, last night during the game, Bob Griese (of the much famed undefeated Miami Dolphins team of so long ago) made the statement that Vince's Rose Bowl performance was better than any performance by those running backs and quarterbacks before him. Umm, HELLO...was he thinking??? Mike Vick? Barry Sanders? Jim Brown? ...and the list goes on... Let's just pick one player out. Take Barry Sanders. In his Heisman year (1988) he ran for 2628 yards (3249 total yards) and 39 touchdowns in 12 or 13 games. Take ANY ONE of his games and it was better than Vince's Rose Bowl performance. Nevermind the fact that he did it EVERY WEEK...something Vince still doesn't know how to do.

On a different note, the Cowboys play their last game of the season tonight against the New York Giants. This has (without a doubt) been a VERY frustrating season. I'm most displeased with the lack of playing time for Drew Henson (since the season was already a bust) and with the fall of the defense from the league's elite to the...well, not so elite. Supposedly Parcels has claimed that he is going to load up in the offseason to make a run at winning it all next year. They will have $20 million in cap space available so they should be able to sign a few worthwhile free agents. They will also have 2 first round draft picks (the second one from a trade with Buffalo). So, even though I'm a huge Cowboys fan, I hope they lose tonight because I'd like them to have the best pick possible.

And finally, the CEO of BetOnSports.com was on CNBC this past Friday. It's supposedly the biggest online sports book. So, for those of you who don't live in Vegas you can make your bets there. If betting isn't your game but you just want to see the lines, that's a good site for that too.

EBJ