Slight misCARLculations

It's Over! Week 17

2012-01-01T12:11:00.004-06:00

26-31-1 for the year. Awesome.

The very last week of the season:

Bills at Patriots (-10), Under 50
Titans (-1.5) at Texans, Under 38.5
Colts (+3) at Jaguars, Over 37
Bears at Vikings (-2.5), Over 41.5
Redskins (+7) at Eagles, Over 44.5
Jets at Dolphins (-2), Over 39
Panthers at Saints (-7), Over 55
49ers at Rams (+12.5), Over 34.5
Lions (-1.5) at Packers, Over 42
Chargers at Raiders (-2.5), Over 48.5
Chiefs at Broncos (-2), Under 37.5
Seahawks at Cardinals (2.5), Over 40.5
Buccaneers at Falcons (-9.5), Under 45.5
Steelers (-7) at Browns, Over 33
Ravens (-2.5) at Bengals, Under 38
Cowboys at Giants (-3), Over 47.5

It was a fun season as always.

Now on to the playoffs.

Carl.

Down the Stretch to Week 15...

2011-12-18T11:56:00.002-06:00

3-1-1 last week taking us up to 23-27-1 for the season.

This week:

Browns at Cardinals (-6.5)
Lions at Raiders: over 47.5
Ravens (-1) at Chargers
Packers (-13.5) at Chiefs
Dolphins at Bills (-1)
Saints(-7) at Vikings
Saints at Vikings: over 53

Yes!
Carl.

Week 14 is upon us

2011-12-11T11:47:00.001-06:00

1-3 last week. 20-26 for season

This week:

Patriots (-7) at Redskins
Saints (-3.5) at Titans
Buccaneers at Jaguars: under 42
Vikings at Lions: over 47
Rams at Seahawks (-6.5)

Carl.

Lucky 13

2011-12-04T11:48:00.001-06:00

Somehow we got to 3-1 last week, pushing the record to 19-23.

Let's see if we can do even better for week 13:

Packers (-7) at Giants
Bengals (+7) at Steelers
Falcons at Texans: under 38
Lions at Saints: over 54

Fun times!

Carl.

Week 12 is On...

2011-11-27T11:39:00.001-06:00

16-22: getting worse after 1-3. I should change careers and move to Vegas

Here we go:

Panthers (-3) at Colts
Patriots at Eagles: under 50.5
Patriots (-3.5) at Eagles
Giants at Saints (-6.5)

Let's get it!
Carl.

Week 11. Fight the Good Fight

2011-11-20T07:47:00.001-06:00

Yeah, not doing so hot . 2-2 last week, keeping us on pace for the year at 15-19.
You know what though; I can't stop! So here we are for week 11:
Lines taken at time of post from covers.com

Eagles at Giants (-5.5) - Wish I caught it at -3, but I think with Vick and Maclin both out, the Giants can still cover.
Chargers at Bears: OVER 45 - Haven't hit on any over/under pick yet, but I get a feeling this might be shootout, or a Bear demolition.
Bills (+3) at Dolphins - I'm hoping the Bills get back to winning. Dolphins might be looking towards that Thursday game.
Cowboys (-7) at Redskins - Washington has too many injuries. Cowboys will look to dominate, so they can rest for that Thanksgiving game.

This week we'll be 0-4 or 4-0.

Carl.

I'm not very good at this aka Week 10...

2011-11-13T11:33:00.001-06:00

Yeah, so I'm not really good at this at all. Sitting now at 13-17.
Gone through half the season, so we might as well finish it out and be great.

This week using Covers.com lines:

Steelers (-4) at Bengals: we'll see if the Bengals are for real, I have my doubts.
Ravens (-6.5) at Seahawks: the Ravens have been breaking my heart all season long, but I just can't quit them.
Broncos at Chiefs - over 42.5: Tebow is my fantasy QB right now... yeah
Patriots (+1) at Jets: can the Pats look that horrible for three straight games? I think they'll turn it around

Have fun,
Carl.

Week 9...

2011-11-06T11:58:00.002-06:00

Took a week off since I was out of town watching the Jackets do their thing against Clemson:

Scoreboard!

Picks for week 9:

Miami at Kansas City (-5.5)
Atlanta (-7) at Indianapolis
NYG at New England: over 51.5

Sitting at 12-15 for now. Really need to turn that corner.

Carl.

It's Week 7 - Time for Plan B

2011-10-23T11:44:00.001-05:00

Went 2-1 last week, badly missing on the Packers/Rams over call. Sitting at 10-14 for now.
Again, I'm looking at Covers.com at the time of posting.

Here we go for week 7:

Steelers (-4) at Cardinals
Falcons at Lions: under 47
Ravens (-9.5) at Jaguars

Let's see how it goes.

Carl.

6

2011-10-16T07:31:00.001-05:00

1-3 last week, 8-13 overall. Not good.

Starting this week, I'll be using the composite numbers from Covers.com at whatever time I post.
Here we go:

St. Louis at Green Bay: over 47.5
Carolina at Atlanta (-3.5)
Miami at N.Y Jets (-7)

Carl.

NFL Week 5 ...

2011-10-09T11:55:00.000-05:00

Well,
Managed to go to .500 on last week's picks, which is progress. Sitting at 7-10 for the season. I even won my fantasy match-up.
Week 5 picks:

Saints (-5.5) at Panthers
Bengals (+2.5) at Jaguars
Seahawks at Giants (-9.5)
Chargers (-4.5) at Broncos

Enjoy Week 5
R.I.P Al Davis.

Carl.

I Have no Comments...

2011-10-02T07:42:00.001-05:00

1-3 last week, bringing the total to 5-8.
Lost my fantasy match-up. Now 0-3.

This week:

Giants (-1.5) at Cardinals
Titans at Browns (-1.5)
Redskins (+0.5) at Rams
Bills (-3.5) at Bengals

Happy Week 4!

This will be the Perfect Week

2011-09-25T07:14:00.002-05:00

So went 2-2 and last week, but I think that Raiders-Bills line might have been incorrect. Oh well. As bad as the season's going so far (0-2 in fantasy also), I've gotta take this little victory.

We're now 4-5 for the season. This is the turnaround week. I feel it!

Broncos at Titans (-6.5) - The Broncos are a bad team; the Titans, slightly less bad
Lions (-3.5) at Vikings - The Lions are getting to be a "good" team. First time favored at Minnesota since the 80's
Patriots (-8.5) at Bills - Brady probably couldn't even sleep in anticipation of that Bills secondary
Raven (-3.5) at Rams - Going with Baltimore on more week. I might have a fetish for them

I smell a perfect weekend and a first fantasy win!

Carl

My Picks Suck. So Let's do it Again for Week 2

2011-09-18T07:26:00.001-05:00

Didn't do too hot on week 1 going 2-3. That's OK, it's all for fun anyway.
I didn't get a chance to look at the match ups this week, but c'mon, like that would make a difference?
Here are the week 2 picks:

Browns at Colts (+2.5) - I'm hoping the Colts show some pride at home in this one
Raiders at Bills (-2.5) - Negative body clock for the Raiders playing at 10:00 AM
Cowboys (+2.5) at 49ers - I'm a Niners fan, and this is just a crazy line. Cowboys win this one easy
Ravens (-5.5) at Titans - Ravens defense and Titans lack of offense

Here they are. Let's see how it goes this time around.
All hail NFL Redzone channel.

Carl

You Had to Call a Run Play Sean Payton? Week 1 Picks

2011-09-11T08:04:00.001-05:00

Really Sean Payton? You guys have been getting stuffed at the line all night, and at the crucial moment of the game that's what you come up with? Never mind that Brees was just on fire?!? Just get that touchdown. If you want to run, go ahead and do that on the 2-point conversion, but at least give me my cover. I guess this is what happens when you move to Dallas.
NO 34 - GB 42, and so it starts: 0-1

Here are some quick hits for the rest of the first week of 2011 (using ESPN.com lines):

Falcons (-2.5) at Bears
Steelers at Ravens (-2.5)
Patriots (-5.5) at Dolphins
Raiders at Broncos (-0.5)

That's all I got.

All praises to the 9/11 heroes.

Carl

The NFL is Back

2011-09-08T18:57:00.003-05:00

Man, I've really been neglecting the blog lately.

The NFL is finally back. This season, I'll repeat what I did back in '09 and pick some games against the spread throughout the year. I finished 6 games over .500 then, hopefully we can do better.
I'll just go with the NO-GB kickoff game for now, and hopefully by Sunday I'll remember to log back on for some other games.

Saints (+4.5) - Packers

That's it for now!

Carl

The Flat Iron Steak

2011-05-17T11:23:00.020-05:00

I've never been a big fan of enchiladas for some reason, but watching Cook's Country the other day inspired me to whip up a batch.

They made them with some top blade steaks, so I went out looking for them at my usual H-E-B. Unfortunately they were all out, so I swung out instead to Kroger looking for them. Kroger still didn't have exactly what I was looking for - some small steaks like shown in the picture

Top Blade Steaks

Instead, they had the flat iron steak, which is still from the shoulder, but cut like a more traditional steak. It was pretty cheap, so I picked it up anyway.

Flat Iron Steak

Before I got to cook the enchiladas though, I found the small steaks at H-E-B a couple of days later and used those for my recipe (which turned out awesome. Here's a link to it.)

I figured I'd take care of the flat iron , so I went on the web looking for some advice on how to best cook it. I'd never tried the flat iron, and it's actually a pretty new cut that was "developed" only in 2002 by some researchers.

Most of the recipes I found recommended not to cook it past medium (like most steaks), and compared it somewhat to a filet mignon.
They were right!
I cooked it on a skillet after a simple marinade right up to medium-rare/medium. It's a really beefy tasting cut and just about as tender as the filet mignon. Close to the ideal steak honestly.
If you do come accross the flat iron steak at your store, I recommend you give a shot. It's usually pretty cheap even when not on sale, so if you're in the mood for steak on a budget it's the way to go.
It'll probably work really well for fajitas too - I may have to try that out soon enough.

Carl

My Samsung HLT-5687S Calibration

2010-06-11T00:06:00.003-05:00

I finally took the time to calibrate my TV, a Samsung HLT-5687S. It's an LED based DLP rear projection set. I've had it now for about a year and a half now, but just hadn't taken the time to calibrate it properly. I bought the service manual to get a better idea of what I was getting myself into. After reading some folks’ experience on AVS Forums, I felt pretty confident I could get it going.

I have an ancient Spyder 2 probe, which I'd used to calibrate my old Panasonic CRT set, but its accuracy is somewhat sketchy. I stepped up to an Eye-One LT probe, which is supposed to be much more accurate.

I used the coolest free calibration software out there, HCFR, to get the readings through my laptop and the probe, and played the “AVS HD 709” calibration disc from my HTPC. I was pretty comfortable with HCFR, since I’d play with it quite a bit when I worked the Panasonic.

I followed the steps lined out by AVS user “Scooper 750” (Stephen Cooper of Digital Video Calibrations) after getting in the service menu (Mute-1-8-2-Power):

1-Got raw RGB readings after turning CCA off

2-Entered those R,G and B readings into the CCA menu - x,y and Y for each color

3-Entered the target gray/white value of x=313,y=329

4-Exited the service menu, and checked the primaries (RGB) and secondaries (YMC) to see how off they were from the .rec 709 targets.

5-Went back in the service menu and adjusted primaries and secondaries in the Desaturation menu by adding or subtracting x and y values to reach my target.

6-Go back out of the service menu and check primaries and secondaries again. If they are still off, I went back to step 5.

7- Once happy with the color readings I did a IRE 0-100 gray scale reading. In theory, having the colors at target, and the white point set for rec.709 target should get you pretty close on the gray scale. That was the case for me, but it still needed some tweaking.

8- Went back to the service menu and made adjustments in the White Balance menu (Cuts and Gains) as needed to at least get dE readings less than 2.

9-Go back and again check gray scale and colors

10-Repeat as necessary ‘till satisfied/tired/defeated

I was not able to make all adjustments from the service menu, I also had to tweak the regular user menu to get my readings in line. This was especially needed for the luminance readings (Y), as I couldn’t find and adjustment on the SM.

Below are my before and after readings; and a screenshot of The Fifth Element. For some reason, this is the default screen cap that a lot of people use to judge their calibration results … looks good to me.

As you can see, I was able to get the delta E readings pretty low from IRE 20 on up, and the gamma tracked right around 2.22.

I was happy with the set even before this, but after calibrating I’m just ecstatic about it. One of the must-haves for my next TV set is going to have to be a good service menu and CMS. I hope Samsung keeps allowing this.

Before any calibration:After calibration:Luminance (Gamma Tracking) after calibration:CIE Color Triangle after Calibration: Fifth Element Screen Shot Photo:

Carl

09/09/09

2009-09-09T21:07:00.002-05:00

Today is 09/09/09 ... it's got to mean something right?

The Yellow Jackets play Clemson tomorrow on ESPN. It's cool to get the national game and all, but it gets kind of lessened when we're going up against the NFL opening game (Ten @ Pit).
Oh well, I'll be eventually flipping between both games.
The week after we'll get another national Thursday game against Miami at their house.

Go Jackets!

Rockin’ the Azera …

2009-09-02T22:55:00.001-05:00

So I finally got myself another car… a 2007 Hyundai Azera. Yes, Hyundai!

So far so good with it after about a month. It’s a really underrated car with 263HP and more options than I’ve ever had in any car.

Here are some pictures from the online listing. I ended up buying it from an eBay dealership, Texas Direct Auto, which was an experience unto itself. I didn’t actually buy it online, since they are local, I was able to test drive at the “dealership”.

View Full Album

I’ll soon be adding a navigation system to it and tint up the windows.

Carl

Lets Get Football Going! Finally!

2009-09-01T22:18:00.001-05:00

Finally, finally, we get a break from the incredibly long baseball summer and toe meets leather.

The first college games get going this Thursday, with two pretty good national games on ESPN:

South Carolina vs.. NC State in Raleigh at 6:00 CDT. We’ll see if the Wolfpack can progress. Russell Wilson should be fun to watch this year. This game will be the first of the many ACC vs.. SEC matchups.
Oregon vs.. Boise State on the smurf turf in Idaho at 9:30 CDT. This game is pretty much make or break for Boise. If they win it, they’ll have a legitimate shot at the BCS championship game. If they lose, the best they can hope for is a return to a BCS game.

Then it’s just a smorgasbord on Saturday. I can’t wait.

The Jackets will take the field with Jacksonville State, and the “Jonathan Dwyer for Heisman” campaign begins.
Here’s a little dose for fun:

I’ll post some select college and pro lines and make some picks over the season to see how I stack up.

More to come later,

Carl

Lebron & Shaq ...

2009-06-24T23:39:00.003-05:00

So Shaq just got traded to the Cavs. I think things just got a little more interesting in the eastern conference. He's on his last leg these days, but Shaq is much better than anything the Cavs trotted out in their pathetic attempt to guard Dwight Howard.
If you're keeping count, that's now five teams for Shaq, and one happy LBJ.

Sources: Shaq sent to Cavs in 3-player deal

Carl

Dispensing Father’s Day Anniversary with Mos Def T-Shirts and Breaking Bad Coupons Fun

2009-06-24T23:29:00.003-05:00

Father’s Day Fun

Father’s day was this past Sunday. This is only my second year celebrating so in time I’ll become a pro at it. The wife and daughter let me enjoy the day by relaxing.

They also know what I like to do in my spare time: hitting up the grill! They hooked me up with a real cool GT grill cover, but unfortunately it doesn’t fit. It’s supposed to be a “large” grill cover, but I guess we’ll need to look for the “absurdly large” one. I also got the mitt, pot holder and cups to match. Thanks girls!

Anniversary Fun

A couple of weeks ago Kristin and I celebrated our fourth anniversary. Lucky for us, our daycare was having a “parents night out”, so we didn’t even have to line up a babysitter for Noelle.

After figuring out how to handle the roundabout, we kicked off the night with some culture at the Houston Museum of Natural Science by taking in the Terra Cotta Warriors. I’m always in awe when we’re talking about stuff from BC. That’s old! And all because the emperor wanted to guard his tomb. Paranoid much?

We had better luck with the roundabout while leaving: I only had to make two circles. Who the heck thought it’d be a good idea to lay down a giant circle in the middle of the street in Houston anyway? Apparently they’re 40% safer than traditional intersections. It sure didn’t feel safe, and looking at the other confused drivers they probably didn’t feel any safer either.

Despite driving challenges, we made it in time for our reservation at “Gravitas”. The dinner was EXCELLENT! And you know I mean it since I used CAPS. It’s owned by chef Scott Tycer, and apparently he’s kind of a big deal: he was named one of the best new American chefs back in ‘03. It was recommended by my boy Christian. His only issue with the restaurant was that the service can be hit or miss. They hit it big time for us. Our server was really pleasant and even hooked us up with some free risotto. The vibe is pretty chill too. I’d definitely recommend it. We’ll probably be going back sometime soon.

I got the steak frites, which is a sautéed (yeah I used an accent aigu) hanger steak with mushrooms, grilled onions and fresh cut fries. The hanger steak is pretty underrated as a cut. I’ll need to look out for some at the store. Kristin got the seafood special, which looked real tasty too. The highlight though was probably the bread pudding dessert. MAN that was good!

Breaking Bad Fun

I recently discovered Breaking Bad on AMC, and I think it might just be the best show on TV right now. I had both season 1 and 2 backlogged on the DVR and watched it all in a really short time. Here’s a spoiler recap of season 1 that’ll give an idea what the show is about:

Breaking Bad follows protagonist Walter White (Bryan Cranston), a chemistry teacher who lives in New Mexico with his wife (Anna Gunn) and teenage son (RJ Mitte) who has cerebral palsy. White is diagnosed with Stage III cancer and given a prognosis of two years left to live. With a new sense of fearlessness based on his medical prognosis, and a desire to secure his family's financial security, White chooses to enter a dangerous world of drugs and crime and ascends to power in this world. The series explores how a fatal diagnosis such as White's releases a typical man from the daily concerns and constraints of normal society and follows his transformation from mild family man to a kingpin of the drug trade.

…and hilarity ensues… Crankston won a well deserved Emmy after season 1.

There’s been a recent run of terrific shows on basic cable. Premium cable used to run things when HBO had the “Greatest show of all time”, but AMC, FX (The Shield, Rescue Me), TNT (The Closer, Saving Grace) and USA (Burn Notice, Psych, Monk, In Plain Sight) have stepped it up with some really clever shows that probably wouldn’t make it on the networks. I’m also digging Mad Men on AMC, but I’m still only season 1. HBO was actually pitched the show, but they passed. I bet they’re still kicking themselves for that one.

Both Breaking Bad and Mad Men should be available On-Demand though cable providers. Check them out!

Mos Def T-Shirt Fun

Mos Def is actually putting his new album The Ecstatic out on a T-shirt:

You can buy a shirt that has The Ecstatic's Killer of Sheep-interpolating cover art on the front, its tracklist on the back, and a download code for the album on a hang tag.

That’s a pretty neat idea, and I’ll keep up to see how it works out. I’m thinking I may have to buy one just cause.

Conan is Back Fun

And not a moment too soon:“Bro’s a No No for CoCo?”

Coupon Fun

I’ve always thought clipping Sunday paper coupons was kind of pointless and a little bit creepy. Last couple of weeks though, we decided to give it a try, and thus far for two copies of the Houston Chronicle at $1.75 each, we’ve saved about $20 on two grocery trips. Hey you know, in this economy …

Paper Towel Dispensers Fun

I can’t be the only one who absolutely can’t stand the pull-down style paper towel dispensers. I mean, they never, ever work right and you end up having to spin that little wheel to get paper out. I mean, WTF, should it really be that hard. Rube Goldberg would be proud.

The absolute greatest invention in the dispenser world is the automatic dispenser. Though sometimes building owners try to cheap it up and make it spit out a tiny little piece. Hey, that’s ok, I just keep waving at it until I get enough.Tree huggers don’t approve though: http://www.treehugger.com/files/2007/06/tough_love_an_a.php

Faucet Fun

I love DIY home improvement projects, but replacing the two faucets in the spare bathroom add me almost crying. I was able to replace the faucets themselves pretty easily, but getting the drain not to leak was an adventure. I went through at least 4 gaskets, and what seems like five or six tubes of silicone before getting it leak tight. All in all though, I’m still the winner:

Carl –1 Faucets- 0

Carl

Literally Married to Heat Exchangers

2009-06-04T23:01:00.001-05:00

We’ve been been married for four years today. It’s time to celebrate. I think we’ll be checking out the Terra Cotta Warriors at the Houston Museum and have a nice dinner somewhere. I still need to figure out where though.

Had some heat exchanger training the past couple of days, and it was actually pretty not bad. The first couple of days focused on the common shell & tube exchanger and multi-stream exchangers. Today we got more into air cooled exchangers. Real cool presentation, but the rep literally used “literally” every other sentence. He also asked and answered himself a lot of questions: “Would I recommend you do this? … No”. That must be his form of speech disfluency (big word), I would have literally preferred he “uh”-ed and “ah”-ed his way through it though. Could I do anything about it? No.

Carl

Tattoos, Layups & Ribeyes

2009-05-27T23:36:00.001-05:00

So when did it become mandatory to have a whole bunch of tats to play for the Nuggets? I mean come on, even Lil’ Wayne thinks its a bit excessive.

Kenyon’s got some lips on his neck. Supposedly they’re for Trina. He did this for the baddest bi*%h ? Really?

J.R. Smith wears a full suit:

And of course the Birdman is all over the place too:

I remember when AI first came into the league how controversial it was that he was so tatted up. Now you’re hard pressed to find a player without. Hell, even Joel Przybilla has tattoos. If that’s not jumping the shark …

I guess my question is what’s gonna happen when these guys get older? It won’t be pretty:

Other Random thoughts:

I was stupid trying to ever grill without a meat thermometer.

I thought I was good enough to use the palm check, but I was just jeopardizing a perfectly good ribeye every time I fired up the grill. I began to faithfully use a regular old “stab the meat” thermometer, which was great, but I recently picked up one of those digital ones that can stay in the oven or the grill.

It even beeps when you get to the right temp. Only one word: AWESOME!

Sean and John at 1560 had their second annual Seinfeldian mock draft. Hilarious stuff.
This is just crazy.
Are we really surprised that Memphis basketball cheated? Good luck with Calipari Kentucky.
I’m getting old.

Carl