A Seahawks fan blog made Blogger®'s "Blogs of Note" section. Go 'Hawks. But I'm kind of jealous that I wasn't picked. I guess I need a blue background and Seahawks pics and less of those flat attempts at humour I put up in my fits of temporary insanity.

Backlog Bob

P.S. In case you forgot, I predicted that the Seahawks would win the Super Bowl.

I blogged about Iran in this space not long ago, which I don't normally don't do here. This is usually a sports and movies blog. But some issues demand our attention. Iran's nucular ambitions is, er... are one... or I should say are two of those issues.

These two issues require a thoughtful response. Fortunately, I have already thought of one. I'll tell you about it. Right now. My solution to this vexing problem is to send Gillette® Fusion™ Power razors to Iran. These are the only known "single-use" nucular power source, meaning they can only be used for peaceful purposes. Also, since all Iranians seem totally uninterested in shaving, the razors' power can be used entirely for non-shaving purposes.

That only solves part of the problem. The other part of the problem can easily be solved by sending the west's top secret agents (the men who played James Bond, except for George Lazenby and Woody Allen) to Iran, where they can set their Gillette® Fusion™ Power razors to overload, destroying Iran's "dual-use" nucular power plants. Sean Connery and Pierce Brosnan are clearly not using razors any more anyway.

Clearly, this is the best strategy yet proposed for dealing with potential nucular proliferation in the Middle-East - at rather, the upper-right middle east.

Backlog Bob

Revisiting Babel

You know what else that Babelfished spam is like? It's like those spamblogs that you find when you click the "Next Blog" button on blogger (which should be at the top right of your screen right now, or at least of this window) enough times. Y'know, sometimes it seems like those are almost all of the blogs out there.

But I'm still here, compiling quite a backlog.

Backlog Bob

News flash!

Seahawks to win Super Bowl, local blogger predicts.

Everybody and their mothers are picking the Steelers to win the Super Bowl. Reasons given are as diverse as gut feelings, destiny, star alignment, and it being a nice thing for Jerome Bettis. While all of this is compelling evidence, I think this game will boil down to two key questions:

Will the Steelers' defense be able to stop the Seahawks' offense for four quarters? The answer is probably not. The Steelers' defense, as a unit, is very good, but not as good as Seattle's offense is. A lot of idiots say that if you stop Shaun Alexander, Seattle's offense is suddenly vulnerable. But that only works if you have thirteen defenders on the field, because Seattle has a very potent passing game, and Matt Hasselbeck is about a million times more mobile than sports chatterers realize. He rushed for a touchdown against the Redskins' defense, for crying out loud. The Seahawks also have the benefit of learning from the Colts' and the Broncos' mistakes. Seattle's offense should be able to score.

Will the Seahawks' defense be able to stop the Steelers' offense for four quarters? The answer is maybe, and not as unlikely as the first one. Yes, Big Ben is really good, especially for a second-year QB. And the Steelers' running game is one of the top five in the league. But Seattle's defense is excellent against the run, and pressuring (and sacking) QB's. Seattle's weakness, as we have all heard three hundred times from talking heads on tv and radio, is their secondary. But that's looking at season statistics that don't take into account how much healthier the secondary is now than it was in the regular season. This is tough to say, and because it's tougher to say than the first one, the Steelers will need their advantage in special teams to come through in a big way, or a fortuitous fumble or two, or a no-show by the Seahawks (like the Broncos and Bears pulled). You can't really take those into consideration except as "gut feelings," and I only do that during the regular season (remember Green Bay over Atlanta).

So I feel I must pick the Seahawks over the Steelers, 26-24.

Backlog Bob

My team...

beat your team, Carolinians. My Seahawks are finally going to the Super Bowl.

Backlog Bob

Important Adsense news

I've almost reached that all-important threshold of (drum roll, please) $1.00!!! Yes, I typed that right: I've made almost an entire dollar from prostituting my blog to corporate interests, namely Google. And it was worth it. I can almost taste the sweet drip of the nectar of the business world: money. In about 70 to 80 years, great wealth ($100) will be mine. I can hardly wait. I owe it all to you, my faithful reader(s). You are like my partner in this revenue giant. My silent partner. My unmunerated, silent partner. You deserve some of the credit. And please click on that credit report ad to your right ->

Backlog Bob

NFL Conference Championships

The Panthers of one or the other of the Carolinas are going to Seattle to face the Seahawks, and the winner will be the champion of the NFC, and go to the Super Bowl. Same thing with the Pittsburgh Steelers at the Denver Broncos, except they're AFC.

Who will win? Who will go on to the Super Bowl? And who will return home in shame, afraid to look their friends in the eye evermore? Only I know!

Okay, actually, I don't know. But I will venture a couple of educated guesses, because it's really fun to do that.

First, "my" Seahawks. They are an awesome 14-3, and they have one of the two most feared offenses in football, and a defense that's gaining respect with every passing week. Okay, actually it only gained respect this past week. But a few people know that they are the regular-season sack leaders, with 50, and they shut down the Redskins last week, despite a few blunders by the Seattle offense and special teams. And the Seahawks are better at home, where they will be facing the Panthers.

The Panthers have a defense that lots of people talked about, but an offense that few noticed until it put up 29 points on what was previously thought to be the best defense in the league. Now, people are showing new respect for the Panthers' offense, but nobody's talking about how their defense allowed 21 points by one of the worst offenses in the playoffs. Bottom line: both of their playoff games were very Twilight Zoney. Is Panthers @ Bears a recipe for the highest-scoring game in the NFL playoffs? Yeah, in Bizarro World. Oh yeah, and in the '05-'06 NFL playoffs. That too. So, unless the weirdness continues, I'm going to have to say that Carolina is outmatched on both sides of the ball when they go to Qwest Field to take on "my" Seahawks. Seattle over Carolina, 27-17.

As for the Steelers heading to Denver, that is also a tough home field advantage to overcome. That and Denver has the best balance of really good offense and really good defense in the entire league. If only the team with the second best balance could play them. Oh wait, the second-most balanced team in the league is playing them. That's right, the Steelers have got it going on on both sides of the ball, just like the Broncos. But here's the thing: just as with Seattle over Carolina, Denver outranks the Steelers, if ever-so-slightly, whichever team has the ball. Denver's D is just a little better than Pittsburgh's offense, and Denver offense is just a little better than Pittsburgh's defense. Oh, and their special teams have played a little bit better too. Is Pittsburgh's momentum from their win over the Colts going to carry them over Mile High? I don't think so. Broncos over the Steelers, 24-17.

It is quite possible that Carolina and Pittsburgh will continue their flukey postseason and both go to the Super Bowl. I just don't think so. There you have it. I have predicted that the Super Bowl will be Seahawks vs. Broncos.

Backlog Bob

"Babel"fish indeed

I don't know any language other than English, except for a little Spanish, and a few spare phrases here and there ("Bonjour," "Wilkommen," "Ahnyunghashipnika," "et cetera"). I certainly can't tell one Asian language's characters from another's. (Wait a minute, I'm going somewhere with this.) Well I was just checking my email, and I got something written almost entirely in some Asian script. I decided to copy-paste it into Babelfish, just for fun. I tried Korean-to-English first, because I happen to have some Korean friends, but that yielded an error message. So then I tried Japanese-to-English, and this is what I beheld:

The tip note 册 success empress you attach, 款, the sinking possession duty no mark? ? ! ! ! 随 Arrival minute? During proclamation IE7 military officer direct supporting sentence country? The limits name empress, it is close sentence limits name 掀 happening one crotch note in the period 跨 national company note 册 册? Tide, non-? Sentence limits name mark in note 册 企? Discernment? ? Multi, 而 且 notes 册 mark several Kazuya days? ? ? . Inclusion in 其? National treasure? Steam? Company? Country 泛 distinction such as Yasushi corporation and the Hong Kong 迪 loyal retainer nun 企? Capital? ? Note 册 Ryo it is close sentence limits name in hundred 个. 如? National treasure? Flight note 册 Ryo "treasure? Collection? Com "" Treasure? Steam? Com "And so on it is close sentence limits name in ten 个. 而 worldwide seventh major desk item 牌 之? Country 泛 Yasushi 更 right sip 气 note 册 sentence limits name in Ryo 20 multi 个. ? The inside folks finger to come out, 随 the sentence limits name importance sexual the convex in arrival? Sentence limits name note during recent times 册 emergency? Sho warm. Distinction 企? Limits name roughness? Mark incident 屡屡? Raw, white cat, sea? ? Pair happiness, Sanxing and American 其 forest, treasure? 迪 loyal retainer nun et. al. domestic 企? Equal not yet talent running away deviation from 此? . Preservation? Limits name forming? 企? Non- profitable non- acceptance it receives and 之 is heavy. ? Ryo? Time self hit sentence limits name, each large 企? Non-? Remaining strength? Arbitration? ? Isotropic system, flower? Ryo large quantitative energetic harmony gold? . Possession? Folks? ? Medium sentence limits name 已? ? Beginning resident in? Person 网? Large aspect? Sentence limits name forming in the midst of spreading and reason use profit? One 个? ? Characteristic? Source, 其 importance 逐? Suffering surpassing coming surpassing multi marks 企? Place? Knowledge. During immediate domestic each large note 册 trade capital possession offering sentence limits name mark note 册 clothes? City? 价 case capital resident in 280 origins/above year, this human work? Country? Prominent limits name note 册 trade eNom amount? Trade and yes from here? Expert offer 180 origin/year note 册 clothes? The note 册 success empress ahead the 并 且 you attach, 款 (? 淘 treasure 网? ? Trade), exhausting yes absentmindedness! This human amount? Mark limits name military officer? Possession complete independent eNom management? Number, 100%? ? Independent management? ? And so on possession operation, 也 yes from here naturally main human generation of reason? ? ? . ? ? Entrance 淘 treasure 网? Watching? Feeling:

It's hard for me to tell how much of that is evidence of spam, and how much is due to the hilarity that is Babelfish. I love the question marks, and the exclamation marks even more. This reminds me of a conversation I had with the Orz in that semi-classic computer game, Star Control 3. (SC3 is enjoyable and funny, if you aren't already so obsessed with SC2 that its sequel seems like an affront to all that you hold dear.) The question marks are apropos, after phrases like "Multi, notes mark several Kazuya days" and "This human amount."

By the way, this month's HWoP is "Treasure? Steam? Company?" I will treasure it.

Backlog Bob

Shocking news from Drudge, The Sun

It is always shocking when a child, especially a famous or photogenic one, is kidnapped. But it is doubly shocking if trusted authorities are the culprits. This is from a story in London's The Sun, linked to by Drudge.

Special Branch cops.... kidnap[ped] [Prime Minister Blair's son] little Leo Blair[.] The security source said: "Fortunately, we think we have nipped [him] in the bud at an early stage." Special Branch began [the kidnapping plot] three years ago. And their efforts intensified.... Police refused to comment on the Leo plot.

This is simply appalling. Not only was the son of the sidekick of the free world kidnapped, but the dastardly deed was did by dirty... um, police. This is a sad, sad day.

Backlog Bob

I get so sick...

of hearing those idiot talking heads on TV talk about how surprising it was that the Seahawks won even without Shaun Alexander. One of the commentators said during the game that it reduced Seattle's offense to one dimension. Which dimension would that be? Their Pro-Bowl quarterback throwing to Jackson, Engram, and Jurevicius? Or their Pro-Bowl fullback, Mack Strong, running behind the best offensive line in the league? Hmm? Another airhead said "When Alexander went out with a concussion, Seahawks fans must have thought that was it." Really? All the Seahawks fans I know are aware of the other ten players that make the Seattle offense work week in and week out, without any credit from the national sports press.

My 'Hawks still won. West side.

Backlog Bob

Seahawks vs. Redskins (and other games too)

Finally I get to see my Seahawks play a divisional-round playoff game. Finally they are a serious contender. But my football predictions are about what I think will happen, not what I want to happen. So will the Red-hot 'Skins beat my mighty Seahawks?

Everyone says that Seattle has no defense and they just outscore their opponents. Defense wins championships, and the Redskins have a better defense than the Seahawks. Washington's schedule was much tougher than Seattle's. Blah, blah, blah. You can come up with a lot of reasons to think that the Redskins might become the first six-seed in NFL playoff history to beat the one-seed. Rich Tandler came up with enough to predict Redskins 21, Seahawks 17.

Here's the #1 reason they won't: Seattle's defense at home is different than Seattle's defense on the road. That's not the biggest vote of confidence, I know, but considering that Seattle's offense is good (nay, great) everywhere, visiting Qwest field to play football is like a death sentence this year. Your defense is likely to be overmatched - Seattle is not likely to turn the ball over like Tampa Bay did, and they're easily the best field-gobbling offense in the NFC. Before you know it, you're back's against the end zone, and you're trying to keep out a team that's been there 57 times during the regular season.

Oh, and Seattle's secondary is convalescing - I'm gonna say Seahawks, 28-13.

The Steelers visit the Colts. Here's one where my mind and my heart diverge. My heart says that the Steelers can do it. They're a tough defensive team, and they can run the ball, and Big Ben is the best second-season QB in the league (no offense, Eli). But the Colts are going to win. If the Steelers win, then either something will have happened to Eli's brother before the game, or the Steelers (key to winning, Cowher, coming up:) will have gotten to Manning before he could get the ball to Harrison or even James. That's the key. If Harrison gets the ball, you've lost already. Put 11 in the box. Did I mention that maybe the Colts D-line deserves some credit? I'm just gonna sneak that in there, and maybe my brother won't notice. I'm going with the Colts, 27-14.

Patriots go to Mile High. What a great match-up. This will be one of those really tough moments in Tom Brady's career. The Broncos, like the Jaguars, have an underrated defense. And in case all you saw of the Patriots-Jaguars game was the final score, the Patriots had a very, very difficult time on offense. And the Broncos are a much better team on offense than the Jaguars. They have the best running game in the AFC, (best in the league, in my opinion), and Jake Plummer is doing some kind of late-bloomer thing that probably has something to do with not playing for the Cardinals. So the Broncos are really good on both sides of the ball, but here comes the other hand, which reminds us that New England has playoff experience oozing out of every orifice. Sorry about that mental image, but it's true. Listen to anyone who talks about football, and you'll hear how much experience the Patriots have. Third hand coming in: it says that once upon a time, the Patriots had as little playoff experience as I do, and they still won... maybe we shouldn't count the Broncos out so fast. And oh yeah: Mile High. Best home-field advantage since, well, Foxborough, MA. I'm going with the Broncos, 23-20.

And oh, yes: da Bears. Panthers are overrated. Bears are going to be able to run the ball better than most people think, and no one knows what the deal is with Rex Grossman, which is another thing going for da Bears, actually. I doubt the Panthers will beat da Bears even more than I doubted they'd beat the Giants. Da Bears, 13-3.

Backlog Bob

Nucular difference of opinion

I was just thinking about Iran's nuclear "power" program, and it reminded me: it took the Catholics a while to pick a new pope. Bear with me a little here. I thought, when they were going through this black/white smoke thing, "The reason they can afford to dwaddle like this is that the Vatican doesn't have any nuclear enemies." Now, the next time they need to pick a pope that probably won't be true. Obviously, they need to expedite the transfer of power. They should pick a vice-pope, who will be ready to take over the moment the current pope dies. The Vatican must not be the Vatican't when nuclear war looms. Oops, I shouldn't have written that. I should have written "The Vatican must not be the Vaticannot when nuclear war looms."

Backlog Bob

Brokerep Mountain

Heath Ledger's new movie Casanova is just coming out... er, poor choice of words. Sorry. My point is, funny timing, wouldn't you say? I don't suppose he's trying to overcompensate for anything, is he?

No word on whether or not we'll be enjoying Jake Gyllenhaal in a movie version of Don Juan soon.

Backlog Bob

NFL Playoffs, week 1

Okay, I know, I know. My regular season picks sucked. But here's where I'll really shine.

Redskins @ Buccaneers - 'Skins by 7 (I won't let you forget that TB is one of just 4 reasons that SF won't be drafting RB the RB of RB's.)

Jaguars @ Patriots - Jags by 10 (The Jaguars are 12-4, a better record than five out of eight division leaders, including their hosts, for crying out loud. Easy schedule? Not remotely. They beat Seattle (13-3), Pittsburgh (11-5), and Cincinatti (11-5), lost to Indianapolis (14-1) twice, and lost to Denver (13-3) once. Everybody oohs and aahs about Tampa's 11-5, which was compiled almost entirely on nobodies and one bad call. When are the Jags going to get some credit? Maybe when they beat the defending NFL champions, whose "playoff experience" doesn't change the fact that they're not the better team.)

Panthers @ Giants - Giants by 13 (The Panthers are coming out of one of the most overrated divisions in the history of football. The NFC South got to play the AFC East and the NFC North in non-division play. Not to be confused with the NFC East and the AFC North, which are very tough, the AFC East and NFC North are lame, meaning the NFC South is lamer than it looks too.)

Steelers @ Bengals - Steelers by 4 (Healthy Steelers beat Bengals, it's just that simple.)

Ahh, controversy. Especially that whole Patriots thing. Everybody seems to take it for granted that they'll win. It's not that easy. Not against the Jaguars.

Backlog Bob