collisionbend.com

Twelve days into 2008 and I have written absolutely nothing.

Shame on me. Other than having a lot going on, both personally and professionally, I just haven’t had the time to sit down and keep Dear Constant Reader (that would be you) posted on the goings-on and what-not.

Issue #1 for me is that I’m terribly busy at work. A couple of clients are keeping me going, and I find myself doing more and more each day — which is a good thing for me professionally, but it’s bad for me here.

Issue #2, if you are aware of what I’m facing, has also been an issue, what with doctor’s appointments and such. Wednesday is D-Day; for those of you who don’t know about this, I’ll write more later this week.

Issue #3 is (well, was) the Bucks in the NCAA National Championship Game this week.

<rant>Let’s face it: the Bucks had no business being there; had there been a playoff system, they wouldn’t have made it to the final game.

I’m not dissin’ da’ Boys, nor giving up on them: I’m just being blunt — and honest. I’m proud to say that I went to The Ohio State University (I wouldn’t trade that experience for anything!), and I’m proud to be a dedicated Buckeye fan: I fly a black Block-O flag on the house on game day; I wear Scarlet & Gray on Fridays; this is the first year I haven’t redesigned my Web site for Michigan week (I got half-way there, OK? Time-Warner scotched that idea when they busted negotiations with the Big Ten Network — I would have been home redesigning for the game that day); I have ‘colors’ hanging in my cube at work.

Hell, even my last three cars have been some combination of Scarlet & Gray!

So I’m not saying that the Buckeyes are a bad team, or that Jim Tressel is a bad coach — far from it. This was a rebuilding reload year for OSU; nobody, at the beginning of this season, even expected the Bucks to so well in the Big Ten, much less play for the National title.

So winning the Big Ten, beating Michigan (yet again), being in the NCAA Top 10 — all of this is a testament to the quality of Jim Tressel’s coaching and recruiting abilities. He is, most likely, the best (or one of the best) head coaches in NCAA football: in a reload year, they didn’t win the Big Game, so quit your whining. Just being there was the feat-and-a-half; let that be the end of that discussion, OK?</rant>

So what’s on tap for 2008 at the Bend?

Wednesday. Getting through Wednesday. Say a prayer, OK? Thanks in advance.

Golf lessons. Yes, you read that right, golf lessons. I always wanted to learn how to play the game, and the bride has made the same desire known, so we’re going to do it. I’ll keep you posted; I’m sure there will be a new category in the old blog soon.

Speaking of the old blog (it’ll be 4 years old this April), it’s getting a redesign — actually two designs, both versions of the same theme, and it’ll have a better focus on usability and accessibility, more up-to-date code, upgraded WordPress, a couple of new wrinkles, etc. Look for it in about a month or two. It’s cool, if I do say so myself.

I’m having thoughts about returning to my dojo, although he is in Akron, so I’m not sure how that will work out. Unfortunately, he doesn’t have any teaching students in the Cleveland area anymore, so if I return to him, I’ll have to drive a long way. Yeeesh!

I’m probably going to write more about the Web and designing/developing for the Web than I have in the past; I’m doing more — and making more and more “Command Decisions” every day for clients — as my experience and scope both grow, my comments will as well, I’m sure. I’ve noted too much lately that I could — and probably should — comment on, both good and not-so-good, and some points cry out to be made, and it surprises me that none of the big dogs out there have said anything about some of it.

I’m going to bring back the Recto-Cranial Invert of the Month Award (non Web design-oriented, thank you). Every month, on the last day of the month, I’ll give the Award to the person (or persons) most deserving of being honored for their absolute brainlessness. Kind of like a “News of the Weird,” or “Knuckleheads in the News.” Who knows? I might even open it up to voting, if I can polish my PHP skills enough…

So 2008 will be for me a year of refocus, redesign, redevelopment (both personal and professional), and re-application.

Let’s hope I can get through at least half of it.

I am watching the Indians get thumped by the Boston Red Sox tonight. OK, it was bound to happen; the Red Sox have a good team this year. The Tribe is good, too, so I’m not all that worried; they’ll bounce back. The might not win the series, but they’ll bounce back and make it respectable.

Enough of baseball. I’m on to something else.

My beloved Buckeyes are hosting Kent State at noon Saturday (tomorrow — or today, depending on when you read this) at the ‘Shoe. The game is being televised on The Big Ten Network.

Time Warner Cable, unlike their competitors who feel that The Big Ten Network belongs in the standard tier, feels that I should pay a premium for this network.

Like I was subscribing to HBO (which I don’t).

Meanwhile, every other cable service provider offers up The Big Ten Network for no more than their regular monthly fare.

Greedy bastards. Anything to make a buck.

If I had a choice, which I don’t, I’d use another cable provider. I wouldn’t even flinch at the thought. The money-grubbing a-holes (sorry, not G-rated) at Time Warner want to squeeze every last, living dime out of each customer they screw with their over-priced service.

Time Warner Cable gets the long-dormant Recto-Cranial Invert of the Month Award for October, 2007.

~~~~~~~

My other thought comes from trying to make a purchase at www.hangonsloopy.com (the OSU Team Shop online): if you own a Mac, forget about it — it’ll never go through. Error city. They’ll tell you that your credit card is either invalid or has insufficient funds.

My card is in excellent standing, and I have more than enough funds to pay for my purchase some 300 times over.

They tell me it’s an error in their system.

Bullshit. (Again, sorry for the lack of a G-rating.)

They have so many IT students at OSU that programming a secure web store should be totally free for them — yet they still use PayPal — which they pay for! Using OSU IT students to program their site would be a great teaching resource, as well. OSU offers many co-op positions and internships for things just like this — so why don’t they use it?

What really ticks me off about them, however, is that they are only open Monday through Friday 8:00 - 5:00. When the Hell am I supposed to contact them without taking myself away from my own job? WTF?

You guessed it:

Runner-Up, Recto-Cranial Invert of the Month, October, 2007: www.hangonsloopy.com.

Carr gave out platitudes.

Coach Tressel played it diplomatically. (Sorry, it starts automatically — you can’t control it even with Firefox plugins).

Ron Zook, coach of the Ilinois Hawkeyes, was succinct.

(And you know a redesign for this site is in the works)…

…you don’t want to know what I think of last week’s UM/Appalachian State football game.

They looked bad. Real bad. The Buckeyes tonight were totally outclassed, outcoached, and outplayed, losing to Florida 41-14. They lost big, suffering one of the most embarrassing losses I’ve ever seen a team — any team — suffer. Utterly atrocious.

Troy Smith looked fat and slow. So did the rest of the team. They looked as if they’ve been partying for the last 51 days. At one point, the camera focused on Bucks’ defensive end Jay Richardson, and he was panting furiously for air, sweat pouring down his face like a water spigot on full blast, like he couldn’t get enough.

Tressel looked totally confused. Talk of him renegotiating his contract after winning his second National Championship in four years, was fruitless. In fact, Tressel doesn’t deserve it: he has to go back to the drawing board with this one.

In fact, he screwed the pooch tonight: now his recruitment task is that much harder — how are you going to draw the best talent when you let one of the biggest games in school history fall from your grasp before you even take the field?

Now, you can say that a 51 day layoff hurt. Probably. In fact, I think the NCAA has to change that rule immediately. But that’s not the reason the Bucks were pounded tonight.

Heismann letdown? Possibly.

Michigan letdown? Maybe. I doubt it, though. But beating Michigan is the highlight of the 2006 season.

My prediction: Buckeyes fall to No. 5 — or lower — in the final BCS standings. Which is generous, when you consider that they didn’t even look like they even belonged in the Top 25.

Grrrr…..

So, anyway… “Denim ‘n Dinge” returns to the Bend tonight: it’s not complete, as I haven’t had time to totally test it, so if there are a few unvarnished spots I apologize. I’ll get to it as soon as I can…

So my cousin in Arizona, a Michigan fan/alum (the poor soul), was baiting me about the upcoming NCAA National Championship game in Arizona January 8th. He made a point that Coach Tressel might ask/demand a raise for winning another National Championship.

Well, I discussed the issue as I saw it (I really don’t think so, based on recent public appearances by the Jimster), and then proceeded to tell my cousin that if he were to win 7 of the next 10 OSU/UM football games, he might get a substantial raise. I concluded with this gem:

See, at OSU, we don’t care about Big Ten titles or bowl games, for those are expected. We really only care about one thing: beating Michigan.

Man, when it’s good — it’s good.

Go Bucks! Beat Florida!

I have to admit that tonight’s OSU-Michigan football game will probably go down as one of the greatest football games ever played.

Seriously: the game had everything: lots of scoring, big plays, tough calls, tension and excitement, a “win one for the Gipper” swan-song story… everything. Of course, the best part for me was the final score (Ohio State 42, Michigan 39).

But, I digress…

In the first half, I thought the Bucks might win in a runaway, but I knew in the back of my tiny, little mind that Michigan had the opportunity, talent, and skill to come back in the second half and make a game out of it — which they did.

The second half was almost all Michigan; the Bucks, however, made all the plays that they had to make, and that was the difference. You could see Troy Smith start to get down on himself for the Bucks’ offensive errors in the second half, but his teammates picked him up — like they should.

Heisman 2006: Troy Smith, hands down.

But I have to hand it to Michigan: they played their hearts out today, leaving them on the field with their souls — and their sorrows for Bo Schembechler (who undoubtedly had the best seat in the house, sitting right next to old friend Woody Hayes). They never gave up, even after several times when they ended up looking dazed, stunned, and wondering, “what the f*** just happened?” (like many other teams also did this year). They simply didn’t quit. Bravo, Michigan!

I have to also hand it to the Buckeye fans: they gave Bo the respect and credit he truly deserved, in an honorable and respectful way. It was probably the classiest I have ever seen Buckeye fans when it comes to Michigan.

I do have to question Michigan running back Mike Hart’s comments about the Buckeye defense after the game — does he know what sportsmanship means? If it should come down to a rematch in the NCAA National Championship game in Arizona in January (more on this in another post), someone might want a make a rather small point in his direction. These things happen.

Oh, to be on High Street tonight! Woooo!

All in all, however, this turned out to be every bit the exciting, nerve-wracking, high-tension game it was billed to be. I wore down my living room carpet pacing in nervous anticipation. My hair’s a little thinner. And my stomach will need a double dose of Prilosec tonight.

Shoot. Afterward, I was looking for nitroglycerin tabs, my heart was beating so hard.

All of this — over a football game. Imagine.

Pass me the nitroglycerin — quick!

Breaking news: ESPN is reporting that during the taping of the “Big Ten Ticket” show at a television studio in Detroit, Michigan, Bo Schembechler, former coach for the University of Michigan football team, collapsed and died this morning. He was 77.

Tomorrow’s game aside, this is a sad day for college football — not just for Michigan.

Tomorrow’s game aside, he was a class guy, a nasty opponent, a great teacher, and the consummate college football coach. He will be missed. Having been through the loss of Woody Hayes, I feel for Michigan fans.

Tomorrow’s game aside, this will have an impact on tomorrow’s game, the Big Ten in general, and NCAA football as a whole.

But tomorrow’s game is just that: tomorrow’s game. The stakes may now be higher for Michigan, but tomorrow’s game is just tomorrow’s game.

Good sportsmanship requires many things, but today — and tomorrow — it requires a few more: I would exhort Buckeye fans not to boo Bo Schembechler when his death is announced at tomorrow’s game (and it will be) — respect the man and his accomplishments because he is as much of Ohio State’s tradition as he is of Michigan’s; I would exhort Jim Tressel to understand (and he will) and communicate to his team (and he will) that tomorrow’s game is still strictly business — they have the better team, they’re playing at home, and they can best deflate Michigan emotionally by playing solid football.

And the single, most respectful thing the Buckeyes can do tomorrow afternoon is to soundly whip the Michigan Wolverines and send them home 10-1. For Woody — in Bo’s memory.

NOTE: — For those of you that are unaware, Braylon Edwards was a standout for the Michigan Wolverines football team and had a couple of good games — in losing efforts — against the Ohio State Buckeyes. He now plays for the Cleveland Browns, and so far isn’t living up to his hype — self-generated or otherwise. And… he talks… a lot.

After last week’s Cleveland Browns victory over Atlanta in NFL football action, Braylon Edwards, as usual, couldn’t keep clammed:

“We are the best team in the country, and it’s goin’ down,” Edwards crowed. “Michigan 29, O-State 17.”

Oh, Braylon, you are so misguided.

OK, so the feed was down for a few. I had a parse error on my archives page, which downed my feed. It’s now corrected.

One of the things that ticks me about scripting languages is the idea that if you have one simple character mis-typed, missing, or otherwise impaired, it impairs the whole shooting match. There’s nothing I can do about it, so there’s no use complaining about it — just fix it and move on.

This, my annual “Go Bucks!” style, is only a temporary design until about Thanksgiving, when I will change the theme over to yet another theme (”Denim & Dinge”) with this same layout and structure. The color palette is the same as the old Bend, except it’s been re-arranged a bit, and the denim image is coming back.

The site’s been restructured, too: I moved the archive links, the calendar, etc. over to their own page; it simply makes more sense to do it that way. In so doing, I also revamped a little of WordPress’ output code to simplify the links: it now puts out one, simple unordered list instead of several lists and several embedded lists. It’s much easier to style now. In fact, I was able to cut out close to 100 lines out of the style sheet. I cut another 100 lines or so out of the CSS file with this layout as well, which makes the site a touch quicker and a lot easier to manage, style-wise.

I’ve been toying with this layout for over 18 months now, and I finally decided to do it: the layout is not liquid, not ice; it’s what they call “jell-o.” If you have a wide-screen monitor, and your browser is not maximized, you can click and hold on the lower right corner of your browser and resize it and the content area resizes along with it — to a point. It has both minimum and maximum widths, so it will maximize the use of screen real estate in any resolution.

This way, it looks good at 800 x 600, and it doesn’t look whacked at 1440 x 900 (like on my screen). It’s a usability thing: easier for the reader, and easier for me. Easier for me means that I’ll spend less time maintaining the site and more time doing what I need to do — and that’s a Good Thing.

Now I haven’t yet tested it in IE7, so if you see something in IE7 that is a little whacked, please let me know; most of the JavaScript that holds this site together in IE is set in conditionals specific to IE 6 and below, so it really shouldn’t break.

That being said, it’ll probably be totally borked in IE7…