Warmfuzzyland

…which is what George RR Martin says when his team loses. Williams is fired. That game was great right up until the end. Argh, fail.

Update: Now that I’ve had some time to reflect, sober, about how the game went down:

1. The whole team played amazingly well vs. a surging Giants.
2. Williams essentially handed the Giants 10 of their points by muffing two punt returns in 49er territory.
3. A key injury in a niche position (Ted Ginn Jr., returner) essentially cost the 49ers the game.

I am crushed, since the 49ers had a real chance, even after the first muffed punt return. In overtime, they were containing the Giants amazingly well, giving their offense a shot at winning the game.

I might be sad, but I’m also proud that the 49ers generated such fun and watchable games in these two playoff rounds. Can’t wait for next year!

If George R.R. Martin can notablog about the Giants, I can blog about the 9ers when it’s this late in the season.

Turns out rooting for your favorite team is a hell of a lot more fun (and profitable) than last year’s self-loathing betting strategies. Since I grew up watching the 9ers dominate the 80′s, I’m a fan. I have many fond emories of watching Montana and Rice and Craig and Lott and Young and T.O. and on and on. The last decade or so has been pretty full of disappointment, and I was not alone in being supremely crushed by the 9ers performance (or lack thereof) last season. This season has been like a gift almost every week. Last week’s game vs. the Saints was just amazing. One of the best games I’ve ever watched. The atavistic experience of the shared fan experience doesn’t pay off like this very often, but when it does it makes enduring disappointment for years on end that much more worth it. Read all »

Dear Apple,

I’ve never been a fan. I can’t deal with your one-button mouse, your walled garden, your multitouch gestures (which seem to contradict your approach to mouse design), and your general disrespect for enterprise-compatible behavior. Finder sucks, spotlight fails in common large-scale use cases involving anything that isn’t AFP, and the last iOS update I ever applied to my original 8GB iPhone broke Wifi irrevocably.

It has occurred to me that I’ve never, ever paid for an apple device. I’ve paid small amounts for things like accessories, cases, screen protectors, but never for a piece of gear. And since about 2005 I’ve been given free Apple devices in a variety of raffles, contests, and now a recall situation. Read all »

Tribes: We Need You to Lead Us by Seth Godin

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

At the end of this book, the author mentions that some might find the book “disorganized” or “not practical enough”. It is definitely not organized or practical, but pep talks don’t need to be.

This is a really solid leadership pep talk, even for those folks who are uncomfortable with the status quo but can’t find the motivation/courage/guts to make something happen.


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Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game by Michael Lewis

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

On further review, I’m cranking this up one star to four. It was a very entertaining read, and I really don’t like baseball much. In fact, this exposed some nerdy things about baseball analysis that had previously escaped my attention, and made it so I can at least talk with hardcore baseball fans about team management strategy.

There are subtexts in this book, however, that require some analysis after you finish the book (and the afterword) to really drive them home. It’s worth it.

This book is about heretical management ideas succeeding despite the status quo, and from a certain point of view, BECAUSE of the status quo.

This book is about analyzing markets for your own advantage (or that of your organization). Specifically, it’s about finding value that nobody else has noticed, yet, and purchasing that value for pennies on the dollar before the market catches up.

This book is about how interesting real-life characters who were undervalued by the status quo succeeding because someone discovered how to value them.

It’s for everyone, even non baseball fans like me.
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