Overthinking things

I mentioned that I've been really busy.

Really busy.

Lots of stuff going on at work. And some issues arising that have caused them to call me in at like 4:00 in the morning. But, hey, it comes with the territory.

And, there's a couple of projects I've been working on at home. One with another blog. Actually, a couple. One after another. And the other project is a family thing. And they've taken my time from this little blog.

Switcheroo

Oh, and we've been switching computers around here at the house.

The Wife has a Dell desktop computer that she's been using. But, we took that down this week. Tonight, in fact.

She's now using the Dell notebook. It's newer than the desktop, and as powerful. Actually, a slightly more powerful machine. And, she likes that she can unplug it, put it on a tray, and sit in another chair or on the couch and do her computer work.

Not to mention that it takes up very little space on the desk. Her big CRT (that's a monitor, Big Sister; that's the TV-looking thing, Mean Sister) is no longer taking up all that space. And no big bunch of wires hanging down, running from the monitor, or from the keyboard, or from the speakers, over to the CPU.

Her desk almost looks clean. At least, you can now see the desk.

She's happy with the switch.

But the timing of it ... well, it's one of the things wearing me out.

Out with the Tiger, in with the Leopard

You see, Apple just released OS X 10.5 ... known as "Leopard" ... and I updated my MacBook.

I like Leopard. It actually allows me to use my old HP LaserJet 1100. You see, that old printer isn't compatible with a Mac. You must have a Windows computer to use it.

Well, you used to.

Leopard ... or OSX 10.5, as the PC Guy in me likes to call it ... has drivers for that printer. So, now, I finally have a laser printer on the Mac.

And the operating system upgrade ... even though it went very smooth ... has been another thing going on.

But, there's something else going on.

Running through the AirPort

Since we've been having problems with the old Motorola router, I got the new Apple AirPort Extreme.

This week.

Yesterday, in fact.

And it ran into an issue.

Well, I ran into an issue.

You see, it appears that when you change routers with BellSouth DSL and a Westell modem, you have to reset it. Twice.

At least, that's what the folks at BellSouth tech support had me do when I called them when I couldn't get online with the new router.

Anyway, once everything was working, I was very pleased that from anywhere in the house, we were getting a very strong signal and full speed. The old wireless router began to lose a little signal beyond the door to the bedroom.

So, it's a good thing.

It's just the timing of it all.

Network printing

One thing I overlooked, though, was the printer.

You see, the laser printer is in the office on the far side of the house. Where the DSL modem and the router is.

And the printer is hooked up to a D-Link printer server, that's hooked into the router.

So, tonight, I was going to print something. And that's when I realized I needed to hook the printer server up to the AirPort (the router).

So, I plugged it into a LAN connection, and went to check the configuration.

That's when I realized I didn't know how to do that.

So, looking up on the D-Link Web site, I found that my printer server works with Windows. But not with Mac OS X.

So, I began researching other printer servers, trying to find one that worked with Mac. I found a document that I downloaded to read up on it.

Then, it hit me.

I had never even tried to print.

I had already printed on the old network, just not on the new network.

So, with the document open, I clicked print.

And it printed.

I hadn't done the simplest thing: trying it.

And, when I did, it worked.

And that's how things have been with the MacBook. Everything I've wanted to do, I've been able to do with very little difficulty. And I've found it easy to do.

And almost every time I've had a problem, it's because I was in PC Guy mode. I assumed it didn't work until I configured things.

I've been overthinking things.

It's a habit that's been hard to break, after 25 years of using MS-DOS and Microsoft Windows.

The Cold Hard Facts of Life

Porter Wagoner died this weekend.

I missed that. Didn't find out until this afternoon. Been busy. Way busy. And still busy.

But, I just feel I need to talk for a minute about Porter Wagoner.

If you don't know who Porter Wagoner was, you missed a showman. You don't have to like country music ... heck, I don't ... to appreciate Porter.

He knew his audience, he loved his audience, and his audience loved him.

He had the rhinestone-studded outfit, the big country music hair.

Porter Wagoner looked the part. And he lived the part.

We used to watch Porter Wagoner back when he had his show on TV.

Now, you might be wondering why I'd watch The Porter Wagoner Show if I didn't like the music.

Well, you gotta remember ... this was back when folks had just one TV. Hooked up to an antenna. And when the knob fell off and was lost, you had to get a pair of pliers to change the channel.

Yeah, we're talking a while back.

And we ... my sisters and me ... didn't control the TV. The grown-ups did. And they watched Porter Wagoner.

I'd half-watch it. I'd pay attention when Speck Rhodes came on. He was the comedian, you see. And, well, comedians are funny. Or, they have to be if they last. And he lasted the entire run of the show. So, yeah, he was funny. And we'd watch.

Sort of like on the Jackie Gleason Show. I didn't pay much attention until Crazy Guggenheim came on.

Anyway, we'd watch Porter Wagoner.

My great-grandmother, "Ma," liked Porter and his singing partner, Norma Jean. She didn't know that Porter was cheating on his wife with Norma Jean. She knew that there was trouble around the same time that Norma Jean left the show and Dolly Parton showed up. And, I think that Ma suspected that Dolly was the problem.

Whether or not she thought Dolly was a home-wrecker, she always called her "a hussy."

Might have been the tight outfits that showed off Dolly's assets. Might have been thinking Dolly was screwing Porter (she wasn't). But Ma never did like Dolly.

I might have watched the show when Dolly came on. For a couple of reasons.

But, even with the others on the show -- Speck Rhodes, Norma Jean or Dolly Parton, the square dancers that always featured some little pre-teen girl out-dancing the grown folks, the musical guests -- Porter was always the star.

Last year, I saw Porter Wagoner hosting a segment of the Grand Ole Opry. And he was in charge.

He worked the audience and gave all the attention and applause to the guests. And running a live radio/TV show, he timed it perfectly. That impressed the heck out of me. Not bad for anyone, to say nothing about a man nearly 80 years old doing it.

Like I said, I was never a fan of country music.

But, Porter Wagoner was a star. Not just a country music star.

He was a star.

And I'll miss him.

BellSouth Tech Support

Switched from Windows to Mac ... for my computer at least ... back in August. Things have gone pretty well. Takes some getting used to, but it's not the drastic change I thought it would be.

That's not to say there haven't been issues.

For one thing, the hard drive crashed. Now, support was good. Took it to the shop on a Tuesday, and it went off to repair (in Memphis, I think) and was back in my hands 48 hours later. That's not bad turnaround.

But, this week, I had the pleasure of trying to get support from BellSouth regarding my MacBook.

"Why?" you might ask.

Go ahead and ask. I'll wait.

Well, since you asked, I'm not always at home. And this week, I had need to dial in to the Internet.

Using a telephone line.

You know. Hit "connect." It goes beep-bip-bip-beep-beep-bip-bip-bip-beep-beep. Then it squeals. First a medium, then quickly a low, then a high pitched squeal.

Then it stops squealing and the word "connected" comes on the screen.

Ah, dial-up. The good old days.

Yes, I know. Many people connect via dial-up today.

But I don't.

But I did. Had to. Yesterday.

Got to try out my fancy Apple modem. And it worked.

Only, it seems, I haven't set up a dial-up connection in a long, long time. And never on a Mac.

So, naturally, I messed up.

Did get a screen in my browser that told me I needed to reset my password.

Huh?

Reset my password?

Okay, I thought. Somebody at BellSouth has gone security crazy. Not that anything's wrong with security. Security is a good thing.

If done right.

Anyway, it told me I needed to use Internet Explorer to do that.

And, in case you missed it, I have a Mac.

Okay, to tell the truth, I do have Internet Explorer on my Mac. I have a utility called "Parallels" on my Mac. It lets me run other operating systems inside a window on my Mac.

And I have Windows XP installed. And, of course, it comes with Internet Explorer.

So, yeah, I have IE.

Only, the thing is, Windows XP won't work with an Apple modem. Unless I download a driver. From the Internet. Which I can't connect to unless the modem works to reset my BellSouth dial-up password.

Need the modem to get the driver to be able to use the modem.

So, I called BellSouth tech support.

First guy I spoke to didn't accomplish a whole lot, other than help me reset the password on the account.

But it still wouldn't dial in.

So, he connected me to another group.

They were sales, or something.

They apologized and sent me back to tech support.

This new guy was much more helpful. By the time he was done, I was online, doing what I needed to do.

And that was all well and good. Until I got home.

Was tired, and didn't write anything up after I got home.

Until this morning.

And I couldn't get online.

Instead, I got the "BellSouth password reset" screen.

Well, called them tonight. And, as it turned out, I needed to reset the password on the router.

Of course, it took them a bit to understand that I had a Mac, not a Windows machine.

Okay, yes, I could have gone over to the Wife's Dell. But I didn't feel like it.

Anyway, finally got the DSL modem reset. And the password on the router set. The little girl did good, once she understood the situation.

And now I'm back online.

Lucky you.

Football IV. For my Big Sister. Who's 5'4''

Because my Big Sister (who's 5'4'') wanted me to, I'm writing about football.

She likes football. Or thinks she does. I'm not sure.

Anyway, we talked about starting the game. And we got as far as putting the ball in play.

Running

The most common football play is the run.

The quarterback, who stands behind the center, receives the snap and the play starts.

On a run, he'll usually give the ball to a runner. Often called a running back.

The "back" part is because he's behind (or back of) the line of scrimmage.

Traditionally, their are four backs, though that's not quite as common these days ... or for the last 40 years.

The back that's back the most is the fullback. The one (or two) that are not as far back are the halfbacks. And the back that's closest to the center is the quarterback. And any could take the snap from center.

Or it used to be.

Nowdays, the quarterback is just the guy that takes the snap. Often, there's no "fullback" in the traditional sense. When there is, he's often called the tailback.

But they are all (except the quarterback) called running backs, because the original meanings don't usually apply anymore.

Anyway, the quarterback takes the ball and will usually hand it off to a running back. He can run with it himself, if he wants to, but often, he's some high-paid prima donna who doesn't want to break a nail.

So, the running back takes the handoff (or a lateral or backwards toss from the quarterback) and runs with it.

Other player can block for the runner. They can't grab a defender (that's called "holding" and is a 10-15 yard penalty, depending on where it occurs). They can't block the defender from behind (that's called "clipping" and is a 15-yard penalty). They have to face them man-to-man.

The defender tries to knock the runner down, or out of bounds.

If the runner falls on his own in high school ball, he's down and the play is over. But in the college and pro game, he can get back up and run some more, if he's not down because of a defender's actions.

The runner is down if any part of his body other than hands or feet touch the ground.

Then, the play is over, and they huddle up and do another play.

The pass

It's legal to throw the ball downfield. But there are restrictions.

We talked earlier about ineligible receivers. They can't be downfield when the ball is thrown forward.

Oh, by the way, note that I said "thrown forward." That's a forward pass. When someone says "pass," they usually mean "forward pass."

A backward or lateral pass is not a forward pass, and can occur any time the ball is in play.

A forward pass can only occur if the passer (often the quarterback, but it really can be any player) has not advanced past the line of scrimmage ... and if a forward pass has not already been thrown.

Only one forward pass can occur on a single play.

Only eligible receivers can touch a thrown ball (unless and until a defender touches the ball while it's in the air).

If a pass is dropped without the receiver having obtained full possession of the ball, it's an incomplete pass and the play is over.

If a defender catches a pass, it's an interception, and they become the offense at the conclusion of the play.

Oh, no player (offense or defense) can interfere with another player (offense or defense) trying to catch a pass. Interference can be hitting the man before the ball reaches him. Or it can be waving arms in his face.

The key thing, though, is that both offense and defense are allowed to catch the pass. Hitting a player while you are in the act of catching a pass is not interference. Hitting a player while you are getting ready to catch a pass is.

Turnovers

We said that a pass caught by the defense is an interception.

Well, if a runner (or receiver who has caught a pass) drops the ball, it's a fumble. Either team can recover a fumble.

If the defense recovers the fumble, play continues until the player with possession of the ball is down, then they become the offense.

If the offense recovers the fumble, play continues as normal.

Downs

Each team gets four tries to move the ball 10 yards. In the U.S., at least. In Canada, they get three tries.

Each try is a "down." When a team gets possession of the ball, their first play is "first down." And if they get 10 yards, the count of downs starts over.

For example, it's 1st and 10. (First down, with 10 yards to go for another first down.)

The team throws a pass, and it's incomplete.

Now, it's 2nd and 10. (Incomplete pass costs a down, but no gain or loss of yardage.)

They run the ball, picking up 7 yards.

Now, it's 3rd and 3. (They have 3 more yards to go for another first down.)

A pass is complete for 12 yards.

Well, since they got more than 10 yards net yardage on that series of downs, it's 1st and 10 again.

Now, let's say the next play is a run, but the runner is tackled 6 yards behind the line.

It's now 2nd and 16. (They need 16 yards to net 10 total yards, since they stand at -6.)

A pass is complete for 20 yards.

It's 1st and 10.

It keeps going this way until they turn the score or turn the ball over.

Let's say it's now 4th and 4. And they gain 3 yards. Well, they used all 4 downs and didn't gain a net of 10 yards.

The other team takes over possession.

This doesn't happen often, though.

Want to know why?

That's the next post.

Football III. For my Big Sister. Who's 5'4''

My great-grandparents lived in a log cabin. Ma and Pa, we called them. That's what their children (my maternal grandmother and her sisters) called them. And that's what their children (my maternal grandmother's children, and all their cousins) called them.

And, that's what the great-grandchildren (me, my sisters, and all our first, second, third, and so on cousins on that side of the family) called them.

Well, when Pa died, in 1967, Ma had to give up the house. The log cabin.

She went to live with her daughters. They all lived in three separate counties in southeast Georgia, usually with one for two weeks, then the next, then the next, and so on.

When Ma came to visit, she had her chair in front of the TV.

She'd sit there with her sewing or knitting ... and her snuff can. And she'd watch TV.

Wrestling, usually. Or "rasslin'" as it was often called. Georgia Championship Wrestling, hosted by Gordon Solie. If you never heard a wrestling match called by Gordon Solie, you missed a truly great experience. He was the best.

But I digress. We're talking about Ma watching TV. Actually, we're supposed to be talking about football. But we're almost there.

Ma would watch whatever was on TV. And, sometimes, on Saturdays or Sundays, there'd be football.

One day, Ma was watching the game, then suddenly called my name.

"What do them fellow do when they squat down there and look at each other?" *

Well, here's what they do.

Scrimmage

Following a kickoff, the teams line up to put the ball in play.

One team has possession of the ball. That's the offense.

The other team is defending a goal. That's the defense.

The offense puts the ball in play by lining up, and one man, the center, moves the ball to another player behind him, and play begins.

The offense must have at least seven men on the line of scrimmage.

The line of scrimmage is an imaginary line that runs through the football, from one sideline to another.

Seven (or more) offensive players must be lined up in a row on the line of scrimmage. Any less, and it's an illegal formation. More is okay, but there are impacts of that.

For example, the offense must move the ball downfield by running, or by successfully throwing the ball.

Anyone can run with the ball. Only certain people can catch the ball.

To catch the ball legally -- that is, to be an eligible receiver -- you must line up behind the line of scrimmage, or be one of the players lined up on the end of the line of scrimmage.

The center, the man who puts the ball into play (by "hiking" it), must, of course, be on the line. He can be on the end, but that's very uncommon.

A normal formation has the center, then a "guard" on each side, then, outside each guard, is a "tackle." Normal formations have additional players on either side of the tackles, called "ends."

Ends are eligible. Players behind the line are eligible, with one exception we'll talk about later.

Any player who lines up on the end -- even if he is the center, guard, or tackle -- is eligible. It's practically unheard of for a center to be an end. Likewise, for a guard. But it's more common, though rare, for a tackle to be an end.

When a tackle is an end ... called a "tackle eligible" play ... there must still be six other men on the line of scrimmage. And that means another player who would often be eligible is, for that play, an "exterior lineman," and ineligible.

Also, in pro ball, quarterbacks who line up immediately behind the center are ineligible. If he lines up farther back ... often called a "shotgun" formation ... he is eligible. In high school and college, a quarterback is always eligible.

Ineligible receivers may not run downfield if the ball is thrown forward (a "forward pass"). If the ball isn't thrown, they can run downfield.

And, under no circumstances can an ineligible receiver catch a forward pass. They can legally catch a pass deflected by a defender, but not directly from the passer.

Timing

Before putting the ball in play, each side gets together, often in a "huddle," to receive the play. Depending on the particular play, everyone has a different role to play and action to perform.

On the offense, some will run with the ball. Others will run downfield to attempt to catch a pass. Others will stay back and block for others who have the ball.

On the defense, some will "rush" the quarterback. Others will follow a receiver or guard a particular area or "zone" of the field from a pass (called a "zone defense"). And, sometimes, lots of players rush the quarterback. That's called a "blitz."'

In high school, the offense has 30 seconds to put the ball in play. In college, 25 seconds. And 45 in the NFL.

But all that happens after the teams line up. And squat down and look at each other.

And there's more that happens when the ball is put into play. More on that later.

Football II. For my Big Sister. Who's 5'4''

Because my Big Sister (who's 5'4'') wants to know about football, we're talking about football.

We covered the coin flip earlier. Which determines who kicks off.

The kickoff

Used to be, everybody kicked off from the 40 yard line. High school, college, and pro. Then, in 1974, this thing called the World Football League showed up. The WFL, though an unsuccessful league, had an impact.

The WFL kicked off from the 30. The NFL moved kickoffs to the 35, then, years later, the 30. College moved kickoffs back, too. High schools still kick from the 40.

The teams line up for the kick. The kicking team cannot have anyone past the football before the kick. And the receiving team cannot have anyone closer than 10 yards from the ball before it's kicked.

Once kicked, the ball must go 10 yards. Once it travels 10 yards, or if the receiving team touches the ball regardless of distance traveled, it's a "live" ball. That means either team, kicking or receiving, can gain possession of the ball.

If the kick goes out of bounds (or doesn't travel 10 yards) without being touched, it's a penalty. The ball can be moved back and kicked again, or the receiving team can take possession of the ball. Their choice.

Onside kick

This bit about 10 yards comes into play most often with a play called an "onside kick."

Usually, this happens when a team is behind, scores to close the score, but needs the ball again and there's not a lot of time left on the clock.

When that happens, teams will often try an onside kick.

The kicking team will kick the ball in such a way that it doesn't travel very far, and is hard to handle. The idea is to try to recover the ball and try to score again.

Most of the time, though, the team kicks the ball as far as they can, hoping to prevent a return.

If the kickoff crosses the goal line and either goes out of bounds or the receiving team gets the ball behind their goal line and chooses to not run the ball back, it's a touchback, and the ball is put into play on their 20 yard line.

If the receiving team catches ... or picks up ... the kickoff, they get to return the ball. They can run as far as they can, before the runner is tackled or forced out of bounds.

If they run it all the way back and cross the other team's goal line, it's a touchdown, and they score 6 points.

Usually, though, after the return, the receiving team will line up on offense at the point of the end of the return (tackle or out of bounds), or at the 20 in the event of a touchback, and they begin a series of downs.

We'll cover regular play, a team taking a series of downs, later.

Football. For my Big Sister. Who's 5'4''

Becasue my Big Sister (who's 5'4'') wanted me to ... and because I'm the perfect little brother ... here's a little bit about football. Football isn't football Now, when I say "football," I mean American football. Not soccer. Or association football. Which the rest of the world calls "football." Well, not all the rest of the world. The U.S. and Canada call American football by the name "football." And Canadian football is a little different than American football. But, essentially, it's the same game. Field a little different, teams line up different, minor rules differences, but still, pretty much the same game. And, in the U.S., there are three big types of football. High school, college, and professional. War First, football is war. A contained war, but a war nonetheless. And that's part of the attraction of football. There are two types of football fans. One who likes the old, traditional, "three yards and a cloud of dust" kind of football. Then, there's the football fan who wants to see a bunch of passing and a lot of scoring. Like baseball. There are the fans that love a 1-0 pitcher's duel. Others wants a 12-11 slugfest. In football, some like the 6-3 game. Others wants a 49-48 game. I'm the former. In both baseball and football. I want my football games to be old fashioned, hard-hitting, blood on your face, dirt on your uniform, football. I think that if you want to see a 49-48 game, you need to go find you an arena football team and leave the gridiron to my kind of football. Now, having said all that ... and pissing off half the folks who watch what passes for football today ... here's a little bit about football. So my Big Sister ... who's 5'4'' ... can enjoy the game. Or at least understand what she hates. Starting the game Football is played by two teams. Each time can put 11 players on the field at one time. One team has possession of the ball and tries to move downfield and score. They are the offense. The other team doesn't have possession of the ball. Instead, they are trying to stop the other team from driving downfield and scoring. That's the defense. The two teams take turns being offense and defense. And they decide who goes first by a coin flip. The team that wins the coin flip gets to choose. Used to be, they had two options. Nowdays, they've added a third option. At least in the pro and college game. The winner of the coin flip can:

• Choose to kick-off or receive the kick-off
• Choose which goal to defend
• Let the other team decide one of the above

Often, the winner of the flip defers. That's because whoever chooses to start the game, has to let the other team choose when the second half starts. Most teams, when having to choose, usually choose to receive the kickoff. Not always, but usually. The team that doesn't choose between kicking or receiving chooses which goal to defend. That's important when wind and weather can be a factor. But not often. "We'll kick to the clock" Back in the early days of the AFL (an old professional league that operated from 1960-1969 before being absorbed into the NFL), the AFL championship game in 1962 was tied after the end of regulation. Used to be, tie games were allowed. Unless it was a playoff game. (There's an interesting instance when playoff games can end tied. More later.) Anyway, in pro football, when a playoff game is tied, they start the "third half." That is, they have a coin flip, and start playing, just like at the start of the game. So, after the Dallas Texans (later, they moved and became the Kansas City Chiefs) and the Houston Oilers (who later became the Tennessee Titans) were tied at 17 when the fourth quarter ended, they had to play overtime. In the pro game, overtime starts just like a new game, but with 1 critical difference. As soon as someone scores, the game is over. Sudden death overtime, it's called. So, tied at 17, the Texans and the Oilers were headed for overtime. The wind at the stadium in Houston was a factor in the game, and Dallas coach Hank Stram told his team captain Abner Haynes, to elect to defend the goal facing the clock if they had to kick off. That would give them the winds at their backs, and a possible edge. So, when Dallas won the toss, Haynes was briefly flustered and told the referree "We'll kick to the clock." According to one report of the game, the referee, Harold Bourne, told Haynes, "You made the choice and said you'll kick." Then Houston chose the wind. Fortunately for Dallas, they held Houston from scoring, then after the fifth quarter ended, the teams swapped ends of the field, and Dallas has the wind to their backs. That's when Tommy Brooker kicked a 25-yard field goal to give the Texans their first AFL title, and save Haynes from being goat of the game for screwing up the coin flip. Review Football stars with a coin flip. The team that wins the flip gets to make decisions about who goes first and who defends what goal. Next time, we'll cover the actual kickoff, and what happens from there. Okay, Big Sister?