Lord Stanley's Cup

Well I was able to watch the NHL finals this year and it offered a great experience for me. The main reason for that is because my two favorite teams were playing for it all, although my favorite is the Wings. Overall I found this cup well played by the Wings, but the Penguins did not until their back was against the wall. Especially in game six when the started having better puck control and being more aggressive as the Wings got the puck. So I am looking forward to next year and I really hope that the Penguins can keep their team together.

Back from the Midwest

Well, I had a bit of an absence from blogging and the web in general as I toured around the portions of Illinois, Indiana, and Michigan visiting friends and family and letting Miranda get acquainted with them. We had a couple of rainy days, but really ran into absolutely lovely weather sitting in the mid 70's most of the time.

Originally we were supposed to go to a wedding on Memorial Day weekend, but in the end the travel was trying and Miranda can be a bit stubborn and exhausting, so we made a quick change in plans and headed to Michigan to let Miranda unwind from being placed in a harness for a long time. This gave us an extra day with my grandma where Miranda could be her goofy self and skin her knee.

Sunday though was a party my parents put together and they were able to get a lot of my relatives together and just have a nice cookout. We were able to get another Aunt and Uncle to visit on Memorial Day, and overall it is was a very fun weekend. Even managed to get a bit of sunburn on the bald spot.

Tuesday, Michelle and I had one of very few and infrequent dates. Went to El Rodeo and caught Ironman. Great food and a fun movie.

We then spent the next 4 days slowly visiting my friends from high school and seeing all of their kids. We also spent a day going to Grand Rapids where we got Miranda's photos done by Sadies. I think next year, we are going to use our friend Jodi as she takes some really good pictures. Either way, once I get the pictures I will be sure to post and share.

Either way, we spent some more time with family and friends, and on some level we were very sad to go. We caught Michigan at a beautiful time and it is good seeing all the folks were are friends with. But in the end, we are exhausted. Miranda was exhausted. So we spent all day today traveling back to our home in the Northwest.

Don't forget your night vision

Night Vision is really the best way to avoid falling into a puddle.

Bringing back up to date

Not a lot has happened recently, so I really haven't felt like blogging. Football seems to the major source of my blogging material. The other one is reviewing stuff I have read, watched, or otherwise used. This will be a couple of half-assed reviews for a couple of things.

Book: The Cat Who Walks Through Walls by Robert A. Heinlein

The sequel to Number of the Beast, which I didn't really care for, but I found this one more enjoyable than the Beast. Still not on par for some of his other works however. Again we find ourselves with a bit of Author Masturbation, where he has included many of his past favorite characters, however we do get introduced to a very strong male lead character that is very interesting if not similar to his other leads in previous books. The plot starts out pretty straight forward as a murder mystery and then twists and turns like a snake into a hero story. I won't give away the ending, but heck, I re-read the ending twice and still didn't know what happened. If you like Number of the Beast, you will like this one. For me, I still like Starship, Stranger, and Mistress much more.

Book: Fast Second: How Smart Companies Bypass Radical Innovation to Enter and Dominate New Markets by Constantinos C. Markides , Paul A. Geroski
Pretty good business book to read, but with a few caveats. Most of these style books (innovation centric) will tend to have lots of case studies and talk about the hypothesis as to how some companies made it and others didn't. This book didn't have any case studies. Instead, it looked historically at which companies innovated and came up with a new product idea, and which companies had staying power. I know that sounds like case studies, but this felt more like a history lesson to me. The hypothesis put forth is that companies that innovate on the product and create the product are never the companies that succeed. The companies that succeed are the ones that are able to efficiently deploy these product ideas to the market. The authors go on to talk about companies that specialize in bring products to a market are never good at innovating new products, since their culture and skills tend to marketization whereas other companies that innovate really focus on the technology and not how it will apply to the mass market.

Either way I recommend picking this up if you are into big business innovation, as I found it easy to read and insightful.

Phone: Samsung Blackjack II Black Smartphone (AT&T)
So far, I have had this phone for about 2-3 weeks, and I still like it. Given that it is a Windows device I was prepared to reboot it every couple of days like one of my friends runs into with his mobile Windows device, but I can happily say, that it has happened once, but it was mostly my fault. Rather than review every little aspect of the phone, I will give the condensed version.

Pros: 3G is fast and reliable. GPS is cool, but a little inaccurate. Video and picture camera are decent, though not high res. Phone calls are clear. Reception is good even in some nearly dead areas I know of.

Cons: Keyboard is slippery and hard to type on. Battery case is slippery and hard to open. Mobile Internet Explorer is horrible. Wish I had an extra 1/2 inch of screen width.

Overall: I like it, but really anything should have been better than my 4.5 year old Sony Ericsson T637. But battery life is about 7 days idle, or 3 days doing some surfing and texting, or 1 day if you talk alot.

Video Game: Grand Theft Auto IV Special Edition

I am about 25 hours into the game and 45% in. I really like a lot of it. The sandbox aspect of the game is just really addictive. The driving is ok, and I think I liked it better than Yahtzee, although I don't think I have played as many of the GTA games as Yahtzee has. The voice acting is superb, and the plot is engaging (at least to me). Some things I can complain about is my "friends" in the game. It feels like they wait till the most inopportune time to give me a ring and want to hang out, and if I turn then down, they like me less. So I have drop everything and go hang out with. Not only hang out with them but pick them up and get them home. Seriously. Can't we just meet somewhere? Give me more than an hours heads up. But in terms of depth of content, I think there is more stuff to read in here than any of The Elder Scrolls games which really says alot. Also would like to note, THIS IS NOT FOR KIDS!

And in conclusion: It seems that Miranda has taken a liking to Rock Band. Frequently we here the phrase, "I rock?" Which lets us know she wants to play the drums.

I keep wondering how he got re-elected last time...

Kwame is at it again. Way to rail against your voting public and their right to information.

I have a new phone

I got a new cellphone with a new number. If you want to get ahold of me, you should contact me and ask for it. I still have my old cellphone for a couple of days, but it will be shut off. You can contact me via my old phone too or if you work with me, then it is in the phone tool. Otherwise, I am not posting it.

And the phone is pretty nice. Definitely like it so far. Samsung Blackjack II.

Lions draft... ummm yeah.

The Lions have added a few new folks to their teams but I am not sure what they will really add this year.

• Gosder Cherilus (OT) - May not start this year, but will be in the rotation. Although honestly after seeing the rotation last year, Gosder will likely be the starter. I think this is a solid pick, but I question moving away from Brendan Albert. This could prove to be letting go of one of those massive guards that could have improved the run game.
  
• Jordon Dizon (LB) - Small, but quick. I am not sure this is where I would have spent my round two pick. I think there were more, larger LBs available with strength. I am not sure he will be able to shed blockers in run situations. In passing situations, he has the vertical that can help for his lack of stature. Honest, I think this was a bad pick. No offense.
  
• Kevin Smith (RB) - Almost broke Barry Sanders' collegiate records and has lots of carries in a relatively weak conference to show for it. Although, I think this was a good pickup and could see lots of time in the RB rotation.
  
• Andre Fluellen (DT) - Rivals.com puts him as an underachiever that lacks passion. Let's see if we can get some work out of him, but he will likely show up in the rotation. I think this was a decent pickup.
  
• Cliff Avril (DE) - I expect him to move to LB in the next couple of years and make a significant impact to special teams this year. High motor, large lineback type. If the Lions have some problems at strong side lineback, that is where he will be.
  
• Kenneth Moore (WR/KR) - Not much receiving in college, did more work in punt and kick returning with a punt return average of 13 yards. Might get cut.
  
• Jerome Felton (FB) - When we lost Schlesinger because of Martz we lost a lot of power in the run game. This could bring some of that back. A couple of fumbles, but should still help the run game. If can develop solid pass catching skills we are in business here.
  
• Landon Cohen (DT) - Practice squad
  
• Caleb Campbell (S) - Practice squad

I am probably being overly negative here, but in general not all rookies can make an impact. And honestly, after looking at the Lions schedule, I see them potentially winning 5 games, but I really think the last 9 games will be losses. So, come on Lions, please prove me wrong.

2008 Mock Draft

I pray this is the last one I have to do. I wouldn't have taken another stab at but the Kansas City trade of Jared Allen prior to the draft completely scrambled who they would target and all that trickled down and made me spend another hour on this. Sigh. Of course, I love it, but still there is a lot time put in here. So let's see if this one has legs.

1. Miami Dolphins - Chris Long DE whoops Jake Long, OT
2. St Louis Rams - Jake Long OT whoops Chris Long, DE
3. Atlanta Falcons - Ryan Clady OT
4. Oakland Raiders - Vernon Gholston DE
5. Kansas City Chiefs - Glenn Dorsey DT
6. New York Jets - Darren McFadden RB
7. New England Patriots - Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie CB
8. Baltimore Ravens - Matt Ryan QB
9. Cincinnati Bengals - Sedrick Ellis DT
10. New Orleans Saints - Keith Rivers LB
11. Buffalo Bills - Limas Sweed WR
12. Denver Broncos - Chris Williams OT
13. Carolina Panthers - Rashard Mendenhall RB
14. Chicago Bears - Branden Albert OG
15. Detroit Lions - Derrick Harvey DE
16. Arizona Cardinals - Leodis McKelvin CB
17. Kansas City Chiefs - Jeff Otah OT
18. Houston Texans - Mike Jenkins CB
19. Philadelphia Eagles - Devin Thomas WR
20. Tampa Bay Buccaneers - James Hardy WR
21. Washington Redskins - Calais Campbell DE
22. Dallas Cowboys - Jonathan Stewart RB
23. Pittsburgh Steelers - Aqib Talib CB
24. Tennessee Titans - Kentwan Balmer DT
25. Seattle Seahawks - Gosder Cherilus OT
26. Jacksonville Jaguars - Phillip Merling DE
27. San Diego Chargers - Antoine Cason CB
28. Dallas Cowboys - Kenny Phillips FS
29. San Francisco 49ers - Sam Baker OT
30. Green Bay Packers - Brandon Flowers CB
31. New England Patriots - Pick forfeited
32. New York Giants - Erin Henderson OLB

Draft part 2 (16 - 32) and updates

Whoops. I missed on my first pick and the draft hasn't even started. So suffice it to say, I just going to swap the Longs. Easier and I could see either team take either of them.

1. Arizona Cardinals - Mike Jenkins CB; With needs at both CB and the D-line, my rough feeling is that they are likely to focus on secondary with a lot of DE going early. The next couple DE that could go would be Lawrence Jackson, Calais Campbell and a couple of others, but I think it is unlikely for them to go after them with Mike Jenkins on the board.
2. Minnesota Vikings, Jared Allen => Branden Albert OG Chiefs; My guess is this will be the mega trade of the draft where they hand this pick over (and more) for Jared Allen and then the Chiefs will grab an O-line guy with Brendan the most likely person.
3. Houston Texans - Aqib Talib CB; And David Carr can probably attest, the Texans would like more depth at o-line as they have been injury plagued since they became a team in the NFL. That said, they will likely grab a corner which is also a need and pick Aqib Talib to pick up the nickel slot.
4. Philadelphia Eagles - Devin Thomas WR; More than likely, if they don't make a strong play for Chad Johnson, they will likely grab a good wide receiver in the draft if one is availabe that warrants the 19th overall, and I think they will find one in Devin Thomas who already look good in their colors.
5. Tampa Bay Buccaneers - James Hardy WR; Tampa suffers from a player surplus in their areas of weakness where no one has really stepped up and taken control of the game. Jonathan Stewart is a possibility, but with injury concerns, I think they will pass. I think they will go toward who ever is the top receiver on their draft boards.
6. Washington Redskins - Calais Campbell DE; Let's go with someone you know will likely drive who the Redskins pick when they pick one of their defensive coaches ex-players.
7. Dallas Cowboys - Jonathan Stewart RB; Filling in for Julius Jones with a vacated spot.
8. Pittsburgh Steelers - Jeff Otah OT
9. Tennessee Titans - Kentwan Balmer DT
10. Seattle Seahawks - Gosder Cherilus OT
11. Jacksonville Jaguars - Phillip Merling DE
12. San Diego Chargers - Antoine Cason CB
13. Dallas Cowboys - Kenny Phillips FS
14. San Francisco 49ers - Sam Baker OT; Call me crazy but I could see the Lions move up and take Brohm. And then I would cry.
15. Green Bay Packers - Brandon Flowers CB
16. New England Patriots - Pick forfeited
17. New York Giants - Erin Henderson OLB

And of course, the teams most likely to bone the draft according to the analysts.

2008 NFL Draft: Picks 1 through 15

As per this time of year, my football addiction becomes too much and I have to post my predictions for the NFL draft. So far, in my years predicting the first round (sometimes public, sometimes private), I don't have a real good track record. This year though, I think I can feel it... not really.

So without further ado:

1. Miami Dolphins - Chris Long DE; Likely that the Dolphins will take Chris Long as there is probably going to be some good offensive linemen available later in the draft and an elite end here could mean a big difference to apply pressure and giving the rest of your defense a bit of a break.
2. St Louis Rams - Jake Long OT; Rams here have a couple of needs being offensive line, wide receivers and defensive line. Given the whupping that Bulger got, I think they are going to put a priority on getting Jake Long here to create a cornerstone for the future of their offensive line. However if he is gone at this point, they will likely pick up Chris Long. If they were to go WR I would put my money on Limas Sweed, but this could be a tad early for Limas to go.
3. Atlanta Falcons - Ryan Clady OT; This one is just as interesting at the first pick as both the Falcons and the Dolphins are looking at serious rebuilding efforts. I am sure that many will expect them to take Matt Ryan here and get their next QB, I am going to predict that put a little more stock in the offensive line and pick up Ryan Clady.
4. Oakland Raiders - Vernon Gholston DE; I am sure that Al Davis would love to pick Darren McFadden, but with only 5 picks in the draft and this the only one in the first three rounds, he would love even more to trade it. Unfortunately trading away high draft picks is impossibly hard, here we will see Oakland trying to get a bit more ferocious on defense and pick Vernon Gholston.
5. Kansas City Chiefs - Leodis McKelvin CB; Chiefs could use offensive line help but will look to later rounds to pick up some guards and a center. Most likely, with the absense of Ty Law, they will pick up what they hope with be a shutdown corner in Leodis McKelvin.
6. New York Jets - Darren McFadden RB; Jackpot for the Jets here. With Thomas Jones' rough outing last year look for the Jets to select Darren McFadden who probably shouldn't have fallen this far. If he is gone, they could take Matt Ryan or Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie.
7. New England Patriots - Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie CB; High likelyhood here that we will see them draft Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie if available. There was a lot of flux at the corner position and I wouldn't be surprised to see the use of another high draft pick to bolster what they have. That said, they could grab hold of Keith Rivers to add some more youth the the linebacker corps.
8. Baltimore Ravens - Matt Ryan QB; With McNair a recent memory and Boller or Troy Smith waiting in the wings to fill those shoes, expect the Ravens to take some insurance and pick the best pure passer in the draft in Matt Ryan.
9. Cincinnati Bengals - Glenn Dorsey DT; Maybe with the bargain of the first round, I expect the Bengals to add another potent weapon to their defensive front. Expect later in the draft for them to address additional LB, WR, and O-line to add some depth.
10. New Orleans Saints - Sedrick Ellis DT; The Saints are showing some age on the D-line and will like grab a young guy to fill in on the front. Cornerback could also be a need they fill here with Mike Jenkins or one of the other top flight CB.
11. Buffalo Bills - Limas Sweed WR; Looking to give another passing threat the Bills will likely pick Limas Sweed instead of grabbing Mike Jenkins (another high likelyhood at this spot).
12. Denver Broncos - Keith Rivers LB; If Keith Rivers is sitting here, that is likely to be their pick. If he is gone, I see them trading down as they could get some of their other targets for DT or LB a little later this round. If they stick it out here, Branden Albert could add to the Oline.
13. Carolina Panthers - Rashard Mendenhall RB; While Carolina could sign Brian Brohm here, I think they will make a surprise pick and grab the next top rated RB available in Rashard Mendenhall.
14. Chicago Bears - Chris Williams OT; Here they could grab Brian Brohm (QB), Chris Williams (OT), or Branden Albert (OG) and I really expect them to go after a lineman in Lovie's organization.
15. Detroit Lions - Derrick Harvey DE; WR last year, another defensive building block this year. Given the lack of LB in this draft that fit the Tampa 2 mold out of the blocks, I expect a high draft pick spent on an edge pass rusher to attempt and give the corners a release of pressure by reducing the time the QB has to throw.

Note: Made correction to typo

Doctor Says...

I am fine. Or good enough.

Either way, that is good news, so now we can have our party for Miranda (although secretly I think it is just to get folks we care about together). Seems that my sinus infections are ok to have somewhat frequently as they are going away. So I guess each one has been a different infection.

As for my foot, it is healing normally and doesn't look to contain any infection. Plus I renewed my tetanus shot, so ten more years till I need another one.

Happy Birthday Miranda

Miranda hit two today even thought it feels like she has been two for a while (talking back you know). She has plenty of personality and had a good time at her birthday party on last Wednesday. We were supposed to have one today, but I have been pretty ill of late so we decided to not infect everyone. So we will take a look at having it next week after I visit the doc and see "what's up?"

Grandma and Grandpa Dykstra decided to get her a trampoline which I thought I would share a picture of.

Miranda at the Doctor

Besides the nasty diaper rash, Miranda is very healthy. The big news is we hit the 25 percentile of weight (I am sure Michelle will correct me if wrong). So now she is 35" high and 25lbs. Woohoo.

Attacked by a 2 year old

Well, I wounded my foot as a result of things magically appearing where I would not expect them. One of those hair holder things (sorry don't know the name as I am lacking in hair and it is generally worn by females) was laying on the ground pokey side up. Suffice to say, that is magically got embedded into my heel. Which hurt. A lot.

Sigh.

New Direction in Life

Today I am here to announce that I am taking on some new endeavors. When I look at the state of the world today and what Miranda is going to have to live through, how can I not decide to start my own company which has the sole goal of creating a better future and world for our kids.

The real crux of our problems stem from our heavy reliance on energy. We need energy for our TVs, vehicles, refrigerators, and everything in our lives. Now you may be thinking that I will be spending time working on a solution to cheap, safe fusion energy, but that really doesn't hit to the heart of the matter. It still leaves us with a dependence on energy.

So what I propose is to create an army of individuals that will rise up around the world to cut the power. It is easy to start, but I won't say that it is not without some danger. We are currently looking for people with experience with bolt cutters, chainsaws, and cutting torches. We need to bring that power grid down. We need to free up our time from mindless pursuits of video games, music, and TV. Then we will be free to spend our time doing what we were meant to do which is live from the land by raising crops and animals. No more wasted time and our personal fulfillment levels will be higher.

Join with me and remember that only you can truly hate April Fool's Day.

Book Review: You Suck

Recently read You Suck: A Love Story on the advice from Ish and I was surprised at how much I enjoyed it. This book is definitely not high brow literature. It doesn't fall into the traditional vampire (or vampyre) tales. Instead it weaves a really nice story about two naive vampires just learning what it means to be that. What you give up, and what you gain when dealing with people around you.

The main characters consist of Jody and Tommy but that book is able to create a great supporting cast. The Animals which are Tommy's friends before he turned are just fun and really add to the story (especially for someone who used to work in the grocery business). Also you have the Cheddar princess turned stripper and hocker who really just is about the only purely nasty person in the book. You get treated to the 800 year old vampire Elijah as well and his more subdued view of being pissed on while trying to feed on a drunk. But really the most delightful character is that of Abby who is trying so hard to be goth, but really is just a bubbly, hello kitty type girl.

The story is simple and short, but the characters really bring the fun into it. Recommended.

Misc Notes

So I thought I would drop off a couple quick notes / rants / whatever.

1. Miranda has now used the potty a couple of times. Woo hoo!
2. Miranda still hates hair washing.
3. Miranda now says happy, bubbles, and a few other words and phrases.
4. Work is good. Tiring but good.
5. Coffee is good and not so tiring.
6. The parking garage at the train station should really try to be open in the morning. There really isn't any place to park otherwise.
7. The Rescuers is a pretty fun movie, but it is weird to feel the different pacing of the show from a by gone era. Very slow and methodical.
8. Burnout: Paradise City is fun.
9. Godiva Chocolate Liquor + Chai + Soy Milk = Yummy goodness.

My little rockstar.

Co-operative gamer bill of rights

I saw a post on this in a couple of different places and took a stab at what I thought it should be on my gaming clan's blog.

Miranda is not impressed

Lions release Kenoy Kennedy

This one I am pretty surprised by. I really thought that Kenoy had produced good numbers and positively impacted play on the field. I can only guess this is cap related, but otherwise it doesn't make much sense. I can only hope that at 30 he will get a chance to start somewhere and make an impact like he did with the Lions.

The only other Lion thing to note, is I saw that Harrington got re-signed by the Atlanta Falcons. Hmmmmmm. Not sure what is up with that, but Atlanta is a weird place.