Gale Force

I’m watching the Jazz game…San Antonio is leading by 23 points.  But wait!  That’s not the worst part…the worst part is that it’s still the first quarter!

<deep breath>

Unfortunately for Jazz fans there are a lot of questions and few answers.  When did things go horribly wrong for the team?  How could they advance to the conference finals and then play like they did against San Antonio?  Why kind of bad mojo affected Mehmet?  Who has cooler tattoos: D-dub or Booz?  Why is AK such an emo?  We may never have the answers…but at least we have the entire summer ahead of us to think about it.

Post Game Update: As expected, the Jazz lost…and they did it in craptaculous fashion ultimately trailing by 25 points at the final buzzer.  It’s going to be a long plane ride home for the team…I hope they can tell themselves they left it all out on the court, but from what I saw in game 5, nobody did.

The Jazz Have Left The Building

PS - Sorry Suz…I thought for sure they’d make it back home for game 6 :(  I’ll still give you the tickets for the game…they’ll make a nice bookmark.

I took a page from Colonel Sanders’ book…I put an addictive chemical in my blog writing that made you crave it fort-nightly. And now that I’ve been away for a bit I can only imagine the jonesing that must be going on. Well I’m back with a vengeance (I always wanted to say that) and here for your reading pleasure is another quality post.

Let’s talk about frugality.

I’ve been accused of being cheap. I like to consider myself “frugal”. Let’s take my son’s eighth birthday as an example. Jachin really wanted a new bike and because this was a big birthday for him I decided to take him to the REAL bike shop instead of Wal-Mart. As you’d expect, bike prices at a REAL bike store are considerably higher than those at Wal-Mart so I’m thinking he needs to pick out something that will last him a really long time (read: until he’s old enough to drive). First he tried a 16″ BMX bike. It fit well and had those really cool front and rear pegs that make you think you can do awesome stunts. He liked it but we convinced him that a mountain bike might be a better choice. We tried a 20″ mountain bike that fit him perfectly. He did a few laps around the store, grinning ear-to-ear the whole time. He was the Lone Ranger and had found his Silver. All I could think as I watched him ride around the store was “boy…at the rate he’s growing that bike will last him 2 years tops!”. I’m a horrible father I know.

After some coaxing I convinced my son to try the 24″ version of the same bike. The bike absolutely dwarfed him…it was almost comical watching him try to mount this behemoth. When he finally got on he could barely touch the pedals and the handlebars were entirely out of reach. Not wanting to give up so easily I asked the sales rep if it could be adjusted to fit someone of his size. A whirlwind of allen-wrench tweaking ensued…first the seat was dropped down about 6 inches then the handlebars were lowered all the way and rotated forward. The pedals were even moved forward on the cranks to accommodate a shorter stride. When it was all said and done, Jachin could actually get on the bike and he even managed a few laps around the store. He still looked ridiculously under-sized on that bike…but he was riding it. “Perfect!”, I declared triumphantly and headed toward the register.

So what do you think? Frugal, cheap or horrible parenting in general? You should know, however, that the story has a happy ending. After a few hours (OK minutes actually) with his new bike Jachin absolutely loves it! He quickly made the adjustment from a 14″ bike to a 24″ bike and has figured out the gears and hand brakes. Every time he gets on his bike I catch a glimpse of that same smile he had at the bike store when he was riding something that actually fit him. Besides…he looks really good on that bike with his pants that are rolled up 4 inches, the shirt that is 2 sizes too big and the shoes that have padding in the toes that I can take out when his feet grow…

By Devin Hansen - Inaugural Guest Blogger

Greetings, Gale Force readers. I’m honored to be guest posting on the increasingly famous Gale Force Blog today for the first time. How unfortunate that the monumental occasion comes under such unfortunate circumstances.

But before I get into the meat and potatoes, let me preface this by saying that I’m a glass half-full kind of fellow. I’m a self-proclaimed optimist at heart, but I also try to ground myself with a healthy sprinkling of realism to keep my expectations of things at a reasonable level. So when the Jazz made it into the playoffs this year, I was hopeful they would turn the junky end-of-season play around and pull out a series win against the Rockets, and they stepped up and made it happen, just for me. Then they moved on against the Warriors, and I said to myself, “Self, the Jazz are going to win this series, I’m fairly sure of it.” And again, they did not disappoint.

Then it was on to the Western Conference Finals, and the story changes here a bit.

You see, it’s not that I’m disappointed that the Jazz have lost the first two games, and it’s not even that I’m abandoning all hope that they could still pull out a win in the series and go to the finals (hope is dim, but still burning). The issue is the manner in which the Jazz lost. We, the citizens of Jazz Nation, have now had to suffer through two nearly identical games. Jazz start out strong in first quarter, fall apart in second quarter, enter half down just shy of 20 points, fight their guts out in second half, come up short still by 10 or so points, never closing that defecit to closer than 7. Now I wasn’t so suprised to see that in game 1. It was a big transition from playing the run and gun Warriors to the inside power Spurs, so there was going to be some effort required for the Jazz to shift gears, but I expected (in all honesty) a much closer, more evenly matched loss to the Spurs in game 2. My expectations were realistic, I believe, but went sadly unfulfilled.

Now I could go on at length in an analysis of why the Jazz lost the way they did (and believe me, there were plenty of reasons), but instead I want to post my snapshots of the problems the boys in blue created for themselves and let you, Gale Forcers, analyze to your the content of your collective hearts. So here we go:

1. All five starters need to play like starters! Boozer and Williams posted great offensive games, but without help elsewhere, they can’t beat a team like the Spurs.
2. I’ll excuse Fisher a little for shooting so poorly, but Memo’s game-long string of bad shot choices and lame-duck, half-hearted efforts to post up get the stink-eye award.
3. I could strangle AK for making bad pass after bad pass, trying so hard to do too much in clever passes that only went straight to the Spurs.
4. Is anybody on this whole team going to ever defend a baseline 3-point shooter? Good grief!!!
5. The Spurs could put their grandmother on the court and the Jazz would have given her a lane to drive the basket.
6. Leave Millsap on the floor! He was the only bench player who hustled without looking downright frantic. Giricek always screws up, and Harpring didn’t play up to the level I usually expect from him. And let’s see Rafa get some more minutes. He’ll certainly make the Spurs pay for driving in, even if he doesn’t mean to…he’s just that big.

That should about cover it for now. I’m building up another head of steam and I don’t know if I can keep from Hulking out again if I start thinking about it. My hope for the Jazz now is that they do what they did against the Rockets and Rally themselves back into contention on their home court. So get it together for Saturday, boys. You may lose the series, but I expect you to put up a fight at least.

You’ve all seen the email going around the ‘nets that asks you to fill out some “getting-to-know-you” info and pass it along to all your friends. Well I got the 2007 edition of the email just this week but instead of spamming my email list I decided to post my answers here.

1. What time did you get up this morning? 6:52 (seriously that’s what my alarm is set for)
2. How do you like your steak? Rare as you dare
3. What was the last film you saw at the cinema? Shrek 3. Disappointing.
4. What is your favorite TV show? Heroes
5. What did you have for breakfast? Egg Beaters egg white omelette
6. What is your middle name? Richard (Ricardo for you latin-America types)
7. What is your favorite cuisine? Bar-be-cue (have you ever watched the BBQ challenge on Vs. TV? SWEET!)
8. What foods do you dislike? Italian, white onions
9. What are your favorite chips? Chocolate
10. What is your favorite CD at the moment? “Favorite” is so dependent on the day. For argument’s sake let’s say Sade’s Greatest Hits
11. Who is your favorite singer? Neil Diamond
12. What is your favorite song? Six by All That Remains…good workout song (see “favorite” disclaimer on #10)
13. What characteristics do you despise? Despise-ination
14. What are your favorite clothes? T-shirts that are 2 sizes too small
15.If you could go anywhere in the world, where would you go? Nebraska
16. Favorite brand of clothing? IZOD
17. Where would you want to retire? Near a golf course
18. Favorite time of day? Quittin’ time!
19. Where were you born? In the hospital
20. What is your favorite sport to watch? College football or Jazz basketball
21. Who do you think will not send this back? N/A
22. Person you expect to send it back first? N/A
23. Pepsi or Coke? Diet Coke
24. Beavers or ducks? Uhhh….beavers?
25. Are you a morning person or a night owl? Night
26. Pedicure or manicure? Yes…no…maybe!
27. Any new and exciting news you’d like to share? Yes, but not with you.
28. What did you want to be when you were little? Rich
29. Your best childhood memory? Riding BMX bikes
30. Piercing? One ear for one night before a Nitzer Ebb concert
31. Ever been to Africa ? No…but I hear it rains down there
32. Ever been toilet papering? I plead the 5th
33. Been in a car accident? Never as a driver
34. Favorite day of the week? Friday
35. Favorite restaurant? Any place with flair!
36. Favorite Flower? The one from Bambi
37. Favorite ice cream? Something nutty (as in: contains nuts)
38. Favorite fast food restaurant? asterisk TACO asterisk (all things taco)
39. How many times did you fail your driver’s test? Zero…but I failed hunter’s safety 4 times by accidentally shooting my instructor.
40. From whom did you get your last email? Deborah Gillman
41. Which store would you choose to max out your credit card? Newegg.com
42. Bedtime? Nahh…I just got to work
43. Who are you most curious about their responses to this? Donald Rumsfeld
44. Last person you went out to dinner with? My family
45. What are you listening to right now? Joss Stone
46. What is your favorite color? Of what? Car: black, Hair: red, M&M: Green, Dirt: brown.
47. How many tattoos do you have? Do surgical scars count?
48. How many are you sending this email to? N/A
49. Favorite magazine? How about favorite blog (I no longer read printed material)? Lifehacker
50. What time did you finish this email? If by “email” you mean blog post…then 9:39

Well I survived the vacation…barely. To summarize my experience I have chosen to write this informative Q&A guide. Enjoy.

Q: What was your vacation destination?

A: The Green Valley Spa and Resort in St. George Utah.

Q: Why did you choose that location?

A: Because I am cheap thrifty. Because the weather is nice. Because the drive is only 500 miles round-trip.

Q: Where is the switch to turn on the sink disposal in a Green Valley Spa and Resort condominium?

A: In the appliance garage behind the coffee maker. Duh!

Q: Where can I get the best ice cream in St. George?

A: Blue Bunny

Q: In what year was the microwave oven introduced?

A: 1967. There’s an original model on display in unit 1634 at the Green Valley Spa and Resort.

Q: What activities did you enjoy while on vacation?

A: Swimming, eating, shopping, hiking, ice creaming (YES, “ice creaming” is an activity), sight-seeing (site-seeing?), sleeping, Phase 10.

Q: Did you take any pictures?

A: Yes

Q: How much money did you spend?

A: More than $200…less than $8,000.

Q: Did you see any hot chicks at the pool?

A: Yes. Two, actually.

Q: Dude…get a tan!

A: That’s not a question.

I’m on vacation!  I’m pretty sure the last time I had a vacation proper was during the Clinton administration…so I definitely deserve this.  The fam and I are staying at the Green Valley Spa and Resort in sunny St. George Utah.  Stay tuned for pics and commentary…

I’ve decided to add a new feature to my blog. I know I know…my witty commentary on life combined with my intelligent writing style doesn’t leave much room for improvement…but I’m a progressive-ist. With that said, I am officially introducing the “Gale Force Seal Of Approval” feature to the site. What is this “GFSoA” you say? Well it’s my way of telling you, the humble internet tube-surfer, those things that I deem “cool”, “hip” or otherwise worthy of your attention and/or consumer dollars. So on with it already….

Today’s GFSoA award goes to Sennheiser for their super-awesome PMX 70 headphones.  Here’s what Sennheiser’s marketing folks have to say about these beauties:

Short Description

The rugged stereo neckband headphones fit comfortably behind the neck. The moisture-resistant construction makes these headphones the ideal sports companion.

Features

Ergonomic neckband and vertical transducer system
Powerful neodymium magnets for detailed sound
Sweat and water-resistant
Extremely rugged earphones and cable
Accessories: cable clip

If I had just one gripe about the iPod it would be that the first time I took my brand new 30GB video iPod out jogging it broke.  Boy, that sadPod icon really IS sad…I almost cried.  If I had two gripes about the iPod, gripe #2 would be that the earbud headphones don’t stay in my ears and are, for me, practically useless.  With a mounting collection of useless Apple earbud headphones I set out to find the perfect replacements.  My requirements were simple:

1. Would be good for working out
2. Would stay in my ears (seems like a reasonable requirement)
3. Had a cool day-glo green headphone cord
4. Sounded better than my current $4 behind-the-neck headphones

After a few Google searches I started to notice a pattern…Sennheiser’s new line of “Sport” headphones kept showing up.  All the reviews I read were favorable so the decision was an easy one.  The only hard part was choosing between the PMX 70 and the OMX 70, which is an over-ear design as opposed to the behind-the-neck variety.  I’ve never had a problem with the behind-the-neck headphones so I settled on the PMX 70 and placed my order. 

Now that I’ve had the headphones for a few days I can tell you that I’m utterly thrilled with my purhcase!  The sound is fantastic and they stay put during even the most rigorous workouts.  The ONLY thing (and honestly it’s hardly worth mentioning) that annoys me slightly, is the fact that the headphone cord came rolled up (see picture above).  After a few days of use the cord is still coiled and has a phone-cord spring effect thing going on.  I’m sure it will relax over time but for now it’s a mild annoyance…but that’s hardly enough to keep Sennheiser from receiving the very first GFSoA award!  Congratulations!

I’ve been sick for nearly a week.  When I’m sick I don’t feel like doing much of anything…working, exercising, playing or writing on my blog.

There are 3 people I don’t like today.

1.  Baron Davis. While he is arguably one of the best point guards in the NBA his cheap shot to former teammate Derek Fisher in Utah’s rout over the Dubs (what the locals like to call the Warriors) last night was completely uncalled for.  What’s worse is how this is being covered in the press today:

“Fisher dropped to the floor in a heap after a scary collision with Davis with 1:37 left, but eventually got up to finish the game. ”

http://www.nba.com/games/20070513/UTAGSW/recap.html 

“Scary collision” my butticles!  Davis was frustrated after a 6-16 shooting night against the dominant Jazz defense and he took it out on one of the nicest guys in the NBA.   Sorry GREG BEACHAM, an elbow to the side of the head is not a scary collision…your words imply accidental or incidental contact — it most certainly was not.

And Davis, I know you’re reading this,  we didn’t pull that kind of crap during game 3 on Friday night when we watched your team drop 15 3 pointers on your way to a 20 point victory.  We held our poise, maintained our dignity and lost with good sportsmanship.  You could learn a thing or two.

2.  Jason Richardson for the flagrant foul against Mehmet Okur with 0:37 left in the game and 3.  Doug Collins for having the audacity to blame the situation on Okur - “you shouldn’t drive to the basket in a situation like this”.  In a situation like what?!  Like when playing a BASKETBALL GAME?  I’m no NBA coach or anything…but when the shot clock is winding down, you try to make a basket!  Okur drove in, Richardson went WWF on him and somehow that’s Okur’s fault?!  I guess it’s the 7-11 owner’s fault every time he gets robbed too…right Collins?

All drama and playground tomfoolery aside, the Jazz are looking good in the Playoffs.  They have yet to lose a game at home and there isn’t a team left (save the NJ Nets) that the Jazz didn’t  beat or tie during the regular season.  I officially revise my Utah Jazz Playoff Prediction to have them winning the NBA Title in 5 versus the Detroit Pistons!  Take that Jazz haters!

I realized today that I am very dependent on a few really nifty tools to get my work done. As a developer I am inherently lazy so I need tools that let me get things done quickly and efficiently. I assume many of you are also developers and lazy so today I’m going to open up my web developer’s toolbox and show you what’s inside in hopes that I can inspire you to reach your full laze potential.

Firefox

If you’re not developing your web sites in Firefox, you should be.

Firefox AddOns That Rock My Socks

Everyone has their list of “best Firefox addons ever”. I’m no different from them except I’m way cooler. So here is my list:

• Web Developer Toolbar - The swiss-army knife of toolbars. It does everything including page validation, real-time CSS editing, form pre-population, DOM inspection etc etc etc. Trust me, you need this.
• Firebug - Ever tried to debug JavaScript without it? Are you a sadist? Seriously go download this right now if you don’t have it already. When you’re back go read this and this.
• QuickProxy - There are a few sites that I work on routinely that are only accessible through an SSH SOCKS proxy. I use QuickProxy to easily switch the Proxy on/off. Fewer clicks = more lazy (this is a good thing).
• GreaseMonkey - Ever since I wrote my first only GM script I’ve been hooked on phonics GreaseMonkey. For those of you who have been living under a rock for the past several years, GreaseMonkey lets you inject your own JavaScript code into any webpage so you can customize your user experience. Check out all the cool scripts at Userscripts.org.
• Adblock Plus + Filterset.G Updater - I seriously cannot remember the last time I saw an Advertisement on a webpage. I know there are a lot of people who don’t like ADP because they make their livelyhoods from web advertising. I am not one of those people.
• FavIconize Tab - Real estate on my tab bar is a precious commodity so I use FavIconize Tab to only display the favicon of sites I visit frequently. Cool.

XAMPP

Need a complete WAMP solution without all the hassle of multiple packages, configuration woes and perhaps even *horror* compiling stuff? Look no further than XAMPP from Apache Friends. Their package contains the latest and greatest Apache, MySQL and PHP (both v4 and v5 support) all in an easy-to-use installable package. They also throw in some other goodies like an FTP server and PHPMyAdmin. Ever since I discovered XAMPP I do all of my testing and development locally before deploying to a staging server.

A Desktop Shortcut to Edit Your HOSTS File

What do you mean you don’t have one of these yet? Any good web developer needs to edit his/her HOSTS file frequently. Why are you still doing it the hard way: Explorer > C:/ > C:/WINDOWS > C:/WINDOWS/SYSTEM32 > C:/WINDOWS/SYSTEM32/drivers > C:/WINDOWS/SYSTEM32/drivers/etc > Right-click hosts > Open With > Notepad. Whew! Instead try something like this:

Double click that baby and your off and editing! BTW I use gvim instead of notepad because it makes me feel good. If you’re confused about what you’re seeing above, do this: Go to your Desktop. Right click > New > Shortcut. Enter “notepad c:/windows/system32/drivers/etc/hosts” as the location then click Next. Give it a name and you’re done! Double-click when you need to edit your HOSTS file.

A Good IDE

I use Zend Studio but I wouldn’t hold it against anyone for using Eclipse. The point is you need a good IDE to develop quickly! There are probably some purists out there that will extol the virtues of “Notepad coding” — or typing everything by hand. This is complete crap. Get an editor that does auto-completion, tag insight, tag highlighting and sports a full debugger.

Colorpic

Simple but awesome. How often do you need to find out what color that was on that site you just visited. Enter Colorpic. (Not on my list but also cool is Screen Calipers from the maker of Colorpic)

ScreenHunter

You need screenshots! You need them in your documentation, you need them to attach to emails, you need them to post on your blog, you need them to corroborate your stories. ScreenHunter is an unobtrusive screen capture utility that sports full-screen capture, area capture, timed capture, JPG, GIF and BMP support amidst a whole slew of other features. Did I mention it’s free?

Launchy

Nevermind…I’ve decided I don’t like Launchy all that well.

So there you have it. My toolbox opened for the world to see. I hope this post spawns an army of eager web developers ready to code the next killer web two-point-oh site.

Jon Gale is currently employed by nextSTAT and spends his days looking for tools and tricks that will let him express his inner slackitude. He enjoys rousing games of badmitton and has had a goatee for over 10 years.