At the start of each football season, I say the same thing: “Two things define a “good season” for the 49ers – 1) win the Super Bowl, or 2) beat the Rams twice. I don’t care if we go 2 and 15, as long as we beat the Rams twice.“ | |
Today we were defeated in the NFC (National Football Conference) Championship Game by the Philadelphia Eagles. It was not a close loss. It was a resounding beat down (31 – 7) based on the final score. Congratulations to the Eagles and their supporters! | |
As a LONG time 49er fan, I am (of course) disappointed in the defeat, but this was a VERY good year for us. No, we didn’t win the Super Bowl – we didn’t even qualify to lose the Super Bowl. But, if you look back at my earlier standard for a “good season”, we DID beat the Rams twice. Please recall this is (was) the defending Super Bowl Champion Rams (last year), which beat us in NFC Championship Game to go on an play in the Super Bowl. Last year, I qualified my original standard to insert: “Defeat the Rams in the playoffs” as #2 and the original #2 became number three. | |
After review, I added: defeat the Dallas Cowboys in the playoffs or defeat the Cowboys and / or the Raiders in the regular season. Defeating the Cowboys in the playoffs is a borderline #4, but beating either the Cowboys or the Raiders in the regular season is really just a sweetener – nowhere near satisfying enough to make an otherwise unsuccessful season a “good” one. | |
So… How did the Niners do this season? | |
1) | No Super Bowl win – oh, well… You can’t win (or lose) if you don’t qualify. |
2) | Beat the Rams twice in the regular season – sho ’nuff!! We smoked them twice within five weeks: 03 Oct (24 – 9) and then 30 Oct (31 – 14)!! |
3) | We beat the Cowboys in the playoffs: 19 – 12, and, |
4) | We beat the Raiders in the regular season: 37 – 34 |
5) | NFC – Western Division Champions |
6) | Winner of two playoff games |
Unfortunately, luck, injuries and good / bad calls are a part of every game and every season. It’s hard to say which individual breaks / events were the most significant. Obviously, losing your two suited-up quarterbacks was important, but the defense played (most of the game) well enough to win if a few of the other things had gone our way. | |
And so our team will watch the Super Bowl from their living room couches instead of from the sidelines – just like us… There’s always next year! | |
And once the taste of this last game fades, we’ll all realize (remember) this was a VERY good year. | |
So, I’m offering a big THANK YOU to the team and all the staff of this year’s San Francisco Forty-Niners!! Rest. Recover. And, let’s get ’em next season! | |
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On This Day In: | |
2022 | A Murmuring Note |
2021 | Satisfied If Not Fulfilled |
You Don’t Know | |
Urban Ballroom | |
2020 | R.I.P. Kobe |
2019 | Looks A Lot Like #45 |
2018 | Trying To Stay Young |
2017 | Seems Reasonable To Me |
2016 | We Can Get Through This Together (In Time) |
2015 | How Long Is A Piece Of String? |
2014 | Heathen, n. |
2013 | Wisdom’s Folly |
2012 | When The Student Is Ready |
Disconnected Leadership | |
2011 | The Complex Richness Of Life |
Posts Tagged ‘General Comments’
It Was A Very Good Year
Posted in General Comments, Sports, tagged 2023 NFC Championship, A Good Season, American Football, Dallas Cowboys, General Comments, LA Rams, Las Vegas Raiders, NFL, Philadelphia Eagles, San Francisco 49ers, Sports on January 29, 2023| Leave a Comment »
Un-Wired
Posted in General Comments, Reading, tagged General Comments, Reading, Time Magazine, Wired Magazine on January 11, 2023| Leave a Comment »
Today was a surprisingly emotion tugging day for me… I received a notification of subscription renewal for Wired Magazine for just shy of $30 for the year (a monthly issue – hard-copy via “snail-mail”). This is more than normal (at least in the past) and I just don’t believe I can justify the continued subscription now I’m into my sixth year of retirement. So, I’ve canceled my subscription… | |
I started reading Wired back in 2000, when I got hired as a web-development manager in San Francisco (just before the “dot-bomb”) at a “dot-com”. The company I was working at had a whole bookshelf of every back issue of Wired from inception to present (2000). I started at issue #1 and read them all – cover to cover – during the time I was separated from my family. After I got current, I purchased my own subscription and have maintained it all of these 20+ years – until today. So, I am probably one of just a few people who can say they’ve read EVERY issue of almost 30 years of Wired. Interestingly, (to me anyway), I was the only person at the company who EVER read the magazine. I asked! I also asked why we kept the annual subscription if no one read the magazine, and was told: “We have a handful of subscriptions and we just renew them all each year.” | |
Now, in full disclosure, I have to qualify that I’m “currently” a few months behind in my reading, due to “life issues”, so you will probably see multiple quotes from 2022 issues in the future as I wrap up the outstanding reading. My future son-in-law is also a hard-copy subscriber, and he’s promised to hold on to and pass along his copies. Other than that, there’s always the public library… | |
Having cancelled my subscription to Time Magazine last year (June 2022 – after a near 50 year relationship), it feels strange to cut another string from my past primary written information sources. | |
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On This Day In: | |
2022 | You Ought To Be Having Fun |
2021 | Democrats Talking To Republicans |
Talkin’ To Myself And Feelin’ Old | |
2020 | You Are Not Late (Yet) |
2019 | Too Difficult To Try |
2018 | Hold Fast |
2017 | The Only Real Security |
2016 | Time Said |
2015 | If Only Common Sense Were More Common |
2014 | PTI |
2013 | What Now, Then? |
2012 | Big C, Little B |
Duty, Honor, Country | |
Happy New Year — 2023!
Posted in General Comments, tagged General Comments, Happy New Year - 2023 on January 1, 2023| 6 Comments »
If you’re reading this, it means you’ve survived 2022 and last night’s New Year’s Eve party… Congratulations! | |
A new year full of opportunities awaits us. Let’s all make healthy choices as we try to survive politics, climate change(s) and a dicey economy. | |
Happy 2023, everyone!! — kmab | |
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On This Day In: | |
2022 | Happy New Year — 2022! |
New Year Changes To My Blog | |
2021 | Happy New Year — 2021! |
Facing The New Year | |
2020 | Happy New Year — 2020! |
2019 | Happy New Year — 2019! |
2018 | Happy New Year — 2018! |
2017 | Happy New Year — 2017! |
2016 | Happy New Year — 2016! |
Remembering My Brother | |
2015 | Happy New Year — 2015! |
2014 | Happy New Year – 2014! |
2013 | Another New Year’s Thought (In Case It Rains) |
Happy New Year – 2013! | |
2012 | Best Wishes For 2012! |
Where Did You Spend New Year’s Eve? | |
2011 | Happy New Year (2011)!! |
The Natural Order Has Been Restored!
Posted in General Comments, Pictures, tagged #TrumpTheLoser, "The Force", Ashes, Blog Views, General Comments, Images, Ozzies, Pictures on July 8, 2022| 2 Comments »
LoL!! Yesterday, I reported I was shocked to find that for the first time since starting my blog a country other than the U.S. had recorded the most views for a day… | |
Well, it turns out I pulled a “#TrumpTheLoser” and created Fake News before the final tally… | |
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The “next-day” / yesterday full view count is in and the “balance in the force in the universe” has been restored with the U.S. well over the view count of Australia. No “Ashes” for the Ozzies, after all. | |
In my defense, I can only say nobody told ME in advance there would be a end of day surge – AND it didn’t occur to me until today. (LoL!! And now I’ll go back to almost never looking at meaningless blog numbers.) | |
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On This Day In: | |
2021 | No Profit Without Risk |
And One For Me | |
2020 | He’s Forgotten About Drugs And Rock ‘N Roll |
2019 | I Still Walk Daily |
A Windy Monday | |
2018 | No Religious Test, Yes Religious Ban |
2017 | Looking At #DumbDonald |
2016 | No Great Thing |
2015 | Happy Memory |
Of Two Minds | |
2014 | Sums |
2013 | Memories & Binging |
Admiration Due | |
2012 | Choices Matter |
2011 | Acceptance Is The Key |
2010 | Just A Permanent Crease… |
Bodily Functions | |
Shocked!
Posted in General Comments, Pictures, tagged Australia, Canada, General Comments, Images, India, Pictures on July 7, 2022| Leave a Comment »
Shocked! Shocked, I say. For the first time (since starting this blog back in 2009) I’ve gotten more views from a single country which are greater than from the U.S. Somebody pinch me… 🙂 | |
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Over the years, Canada and India have come the closest (Canada most often), but they never quite got there. Thank you “Down Under”! | |
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On This Day In: | |
2021 | The Truth Shall Keep Us Free |
Let Your Hair Down | |
2020 | But What About Tomorrow’s Blog Post? |
2019 | Don’t Forget Obstruction Of Justice |
An Honest, Unvarnished Assessment | |
2018 | #45 And The Republicans Are Pretending (So Far) |
2017 | Made |
2016 | Halves |
Accepted Fraud | |
2015 | Even The Little Ones |
2014 | Who’s On First? |
2013 | No Equal Measure |
2012 | A Single Host |
2011 | No Exemptions |
2010 | Memories Of KSA – Inside The Fire |
The End Of Time
Posted in Family History, General Comments, Reading, tagged Big Bands, Family History, General Comments, Germany, Great Men Of Music, LIFE Magazine, Liverpool, Military Service, Newsweek Magazine, Reading, Time / Life Books, Time / Life Reading Program, Time Magazine, U.S. News and World Report Magazine on June 29, 2022| Leave a Comment »
WAY back when I was starting high school (just before the meteor killed most of the dinosaurs), I signed up for a social studies / current events class. As our homework, we were expected to become familiar with current events by reading at least one “national” publication (as opposed to a local newspaper with national news). My mom always tried to encourage our reading so she signed up for three (four actually): Time Magazine, Newsweek and U.S. News and World Report. The fourth was more for herself and the whole family: Life Magazine. | |
Thus began my (more or less) life-long subscription to Time Magazine… | |
We dropped the other two after the first year’s subscriptions ran out – but she kept me going on Time. There was a brief lapse while I was in the military and in training, but I picked it back up when I got stationed in Germany for my last two years. I was reading the “International / European” edition. I didn’t realize there was a “different” version until after I’d already subscribed. I just assumed everybody in the world got the same news – after all, our “national” version contained international and European news. But of course, this was a completely different focus / emphasis and I – being the ugly American – resented I wasn’t getting as much American news. | |
Anyway, I kept it up when I got out and went to college and, in fact increased my subscriptions to include the Time / Life book series on “understanding computers”, the book series on history and civilization, the book series “Reading Program” – (kind of a mini-“Great Books”) secondary works of famous authors, and two music series: “Great Men of Music” (classical composers) and “Big Bands”. I continued my weekly subscription when we moved to Liverpool and again upon returning to the Bay Area. | |
Now, however, my 50+ year relationship with Time has run its course. My subscription ended towards the end of last summer (2021). For whatever reason, they continued to send me issues until the end of January this year (2022), but I did not and will not be renewing my subscription. | |
There are three primary reasons for my non-renewal: 1) As of five years ago, I retired and funds are getting tighter. Now don’t get me wrong… I can still “afford” the subscription. I just choose to spend the limited discretionary funds on other things. 2) the magazine has gone from a weekly to a every-other-week magazine. They are under pressure to turn everything over to the internet and are apparently struggling to keep up staff, quality and quantity. The practical effect was the weekly was getting thinner and thinner. Their shift has “almost” restored the number of pages in any given issue, but it’s still only half as many pages of information. And, 3) the magazine has modified the typeface in their hard-copy. I’m fairly confident they explained / justified their reasons for doing this in one of their editor columns, but frankly, it (the magazine) is just less appealing to look at now. And so I’m moving on… | |
And just to make a long story (post) longer… Why now? If the subscription ended last year and the “bonus” issues back in January, why am I writing this (blog post) is the end of “Time“? | |
It’s purely personal. I get the issue in the mail. I take a quick glance to see if there’s anything I “NEED” to know about now. I read that. The issue then goes into my “throne” rack to be read cover to cover when I’m doing “something else”. So, now, at the end of six months, I’m all caught up and “moving” to other things… | |
I am continuing my subscription to “Wired” magazine and I will be occasionally be posting quotes from that source. I will miss the Red border and (regretfully) I’m sure my overall knowledge of current events will suffer / decline. | |
Back in the Principal’s Office of my high school, there was a framed question on the wall: “Time is passing… Are you?“ | |
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On This Day In: | |
2021 | Best To Be Trained And Educated |
The Great Relief | |
2020 | Diversity And Uniqueness |
2019 | Ebb And Flow |
2018 | America: Paging #45 |
2017 | Near By |
2016 | Maybe Someday |
2015 | How’s The Cow? |
2014 | Mind Made Up |
2013 | On Purpose |
2012 | The Dream |
2011 | What Could Be More Comfortable? |
5 In 6
Posted in Disclaimer, General Comments, tagged Disclaimer, Games, General Comments, Highly Recommended Game, New York Times, Wordle on June 23, 2022| Leave a Comment »
About a month and a half ago I started playing a daily word / search / complete game: “Wordle“. It is a once a day game hosted on the New York Times news website. Basically, you have six chances to figure out the five letter word of the day. Incorrect letters appear as grey; correct letters in the wrong location as yellow; and, correct in the right location, as green. | |
As of today, I have only missed twice. I have found it EXTREMELY addictive and also a great vocabulary refresher. Highly recommended! | |
Here’s the link to the NYT site’s version: Wordle – The New York Times (nytimes.com) | |
[Disclaimer: I have nothing to do with the New York Times or the producers of the Wordle game. I am merely offering this link / game as a suggestion of something I’ve enjoyed playing. — kmab] | |
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On This Day In: | |
2021 | The Principal Difference |
Picture Perfect | |
2020 | So Sad, Faux Crowd |
The Spirit Is Willing | |
2019 | And The Same For Blogs And Posts |
2018 | The End Of Asgard (For Now) |
I Learn The Hard Way Every Time | |
2017 | For Some |
2016 | Fragile And Explosive, Provocation And Privacy |
2015 | Bound Up |
2014 | Economic Engines |
2013 | Weren’t You Supposed To Be Reading? |
Absent Friends | |
Where I Stand | |
2012 | Hangin’ With His P’s |
Help Save | |
2011 | Six Facets Of Good Leadership |
Memorial Day 2022
Posted in General Comments, History, Leadership, Pictures, tagged Arlington National Cemetery, General Comments, History, Leadership, Memorial Day -- 2022, National Holidays, Pictures, Sacrifice, The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, Thoughts And Prayers on May 30, 2022| Leave a Comment »
![]() Arlington National Cemetery |
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As we gather around our dinner and picnic tables enjoying the freedom you sacrificed your lives to provide for us, a grateful nation remembers and prays for you and your families… |
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On This Day In: | |
2021 | How Trump Won The Fringe Right |
Hold My Hand | |
2020 | I’d Include Health Care |
2019 | Accustomed To It |
2018 | Booking My Trip Into The Expanding Universe |
2017 | Fear Instead Of Convictions |
2016 | Memorial Day – 2016 |
2015 | A Handful Of Reviews |
And You Can Quote Me | |
2014 | Get Wisdom |
2013 | Enjoying The View? |
2012 | Adam’s Rib |
2011 | I’m Sure I Remember That… |
Memorial Day, 2011 | |
Defeated: So Far (Anyway)
Posted in Philosophy, Politics, Quotes, tagged American Democracy, American Politics, General Comments, How Close We Came: The secret history of the shadow campaign that saved the election, Ian Bassin, Molly Ball, Norm Eisen, Philosophy, Protect Democracy, Quotes, Time Magazine, Voter Protection Project, Voter Suppression on January 6, 2022| Leave a Comment »
“The untold story of the election is the thousands of people of both parties who accomplished the triumph of American democracy at its very foundation,” says Norm Eisen, a prominent lawyer and former Obama Administration official who recruited Republicans and Democrats to the board of the Voter Protection Project. | |
… | |
“Every attempt to interfere with the proper outcome of the election was defeated,” says Ian Bassin, co-founder of Protect Democracy, a nonpartisan rule-of-law advocacy group. “But it’s massively important for the country to understand that it didn’t happen accidentally. The system didn’t work magically. Democracy is not self-executing.” | |
From an article written by: Molly Ball | |
The article is titled: “How Close We Came: The secret history of the shadow campaign that saved the election“ | |
Appearing in: Time Magazine | |
Dtd: 15 February 2021 | |
[This story is not even close to being over. Unless there is a massive turnout of Democrats this November, the Republicans will likely take both the House and the Senate. If that happens, the treasonous insurrection of 6 January 2021 will be swept under the rug and the Republicans will use their dominance at the state level to guarantee the election of a Republican nominee, irrespective of the actual vote totals. They will “find” the votes necessary to win. Voter suppression and fake ballots? You ain’t seen nothing yet… After all, to Republicans it seems it is less important who wins the election at the ballot box than who actually gets to take office and rule. (And, yes, I said “rule”. Not “govern”; rule.) — kmab] | |
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On This Day In: | |
2022 | Defeated: So Far (Anyway) |
2021 | Elections Have Consequences |
It’s Cold Way Down There | |
2020 | Fearless Security |
2019 | I Prefer A Neat Single Malt |
2018 | Seeking Finer Fruits |
2017 | Something That Is Absolute |
2016 | Animate And Encourage |
Out Of Time | |
2015 | In Time |
2014 | Robust Interconnectivity |
2013 | What Have We Here? |
2012 | Tributaries And Eddies |
An Honest Politician | |
2011 | Penultimate |
New Year Changes To My Blog
Posted in Blog Changes, General Comments, tagged Blog Changes, General Comments on January 1, 2022| 1 Comment »
For the last 10 years, I’ve been posting personal health / fitness updates on pages under my menu topic “Sweat Equity“. I was doing this to create an open site for me to refer to if I ever needed to, while not having access to my home computer. I have used the pages very rarely – no more than 2 or 3 times per year and I’m fully settled into retirement now so I don’t really have the need for this type of access. | |
As such, I will no longer be updating or adding to these pages. If anything of note happens, I will simply publish a “normal” post. Typically, it will be as an additional post for a given day. | |
I will be updating my “Tributaries and Eddies” section (on my sidebar). Two of the blogs there have (more or less) stopped updating, so I’ll be removing them. One has changed location, so I’m just updating the address. I used to do this updating (removing and adding) every six months, but I’ve kind of let it slide, so this will be a bit of New Year’s housekeeping. | |
Third, for now at least, I will no longer be posting music videos every day. I’ve been doing it for almost a two years and it started off as a “lark” – just to share music (lyrics) I’ve enjoyed. Once I got past a month, I thought, I’ll just do it for year (365 days straight). Then I thought, well, just do it for a full calendar year. Now, that’s done, too… I will post a music / song video every now and then, I just won’t be doing it every day. | |
Finally, I’m going to try to write more posts of my own. I started this blog to practice my writing and to vent at the universe. When I began to run out of bile I began using quotes and book / movie reviews more and more and using the post titles as my “creative” tool. My intent was to express a view / twist of the quote / review with a pun or hi-lite of a few words from the quote(s). This was my way of pretending to be a newspaper headline writer. I feel this was mostly unsuccessful, but I’ve enjoyed trying, so I will keep at it (on post titles anyway). | |
I hope everyone reading this has a prosperous year and that you keep on blogging! Excelsior!! | |
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On This Day In: | |
2022 | Happy New Year — 2022! |
New Year Changes To My Blog | |
2021 | Happy New Year — 2021! |
Facing The New Year | |
2020 | Happy New Year — 2020! |
2019 | Happy New Year — 2019! |
2018 | Happy New Year — 2018! |
2017 | Happy New Year — 2017! |
2016 | Happy New Year — 2016! |
Remembering My Brother | |
2015 | Happy New Year — 2015! |
2014 | Happy New Year – 2014! |
2013 | Another New Year’s Thought (In Case It Rains) |
Happy New Year – 2013! | |
2012 | Best Wishes For 2012! |
Where Did You Spend New Year’s Eve? | |
2011 | Happy New Year (2011)!! |
Happy New Year — 2022!
Posted in General Comments, tagged General Comments, Happy New Year - 2022 on January 1, 2022| 2 Comments »
If you’re reading this, it means you’ve survived 2021 and last night’s New Year’s Eve party… Congratulations! | |
A new year full of opportunities awaits us. Let’s all make healthy choices as we try to survive politics, climate change(s) and a dicey economy. | |
Happy 2022, everyone!! — kmab | |
. | |
On This Day In: | |
2022 | Happy New Year — 2022! |
New Year Changes To My Blog | |
2021 | Happy New Year — 2021! |
Facing The New Year | |
2020 | Happy New Year — 2020! |
2019 | Happy New Year — 2019! |
2018 | Happy New Year — 2018! |
2017 | Happy New Year — 2017! |
2016 | Happy New Year — 2016! |
Remembering My Brother | |
2015 | Happy New Year — 2015! |
2014 | Happy New Year – 2014! |
2013 | Another New Year’s Thought (In Case It Rains) |
Happy New Year – 2013! | |
2012 | Best Wishes For 2012! |
Where Did You Spend New Year’s Eve? | |
2011 | Happy New Year (2011)!! |
Boosted
Posted in Family and Friends, General Comments, Health, tagged Booster Shots, COVID-19, Family, General Comments, Health, Vaccinations on September 30, 2021| Leave a Comment »
Today my wife and I both got our COVID booster shots!! We got same day scheduling at the pharmacy in our local supermarket. | |
Six(6) months and two days after receiving our second original vaccination. | |
No ill effects to speak of other than a slight soreness at the shot location which passed after a couple of hours. (That was me. Hil had NO effects.) | |
If everything works out, we should be good to go until next year when they’ll probably have an annual regime in place. Time will tell… | |
If you have not received your vaccinations yet… Get on it! Protect your health and let’s get living our lives back to normal. If you have received your initial vaccinations, but not your booster shot – get it scheduled as soon as you are eligible. Life (and health) is too precious to risk losing it over politics. | |
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On This Day In: | |
2021 | Four Down, Three To Go |
It Still Ain’t | |
Boosted | |
2020 | Three Down, Four To Go |
Twenty-Four ‘Til You | |
2019 | Two Down, Five To Go |
2018 | Year One, Done! |
2017 | First Day Of Retirement! |
2016 | Revere And Criticize |
2015 | Global Climate Change May Test This Statement |
2014 | Adaptability Won |
2013 | Disappeared |
2012 | Fuller |
Life On The Range | |
More Classics | |
2011 | Stoned Again? |
2010 | Insubordination… And That’s Why I Love Her! |
Losing – Week One | |
Hanging On By My Fingertips…
Posted in General Comments, Guitar, Guitar Stuff, Music, Pictures, tagged Andrés Segovia, Anular, Finger Nails, Fingerpicking, General Comments, Guitar, Images, Indice, Medio, Merle Travis, Music, Pictures of Me, PIMA, Pulgar, Travis Picking on February 5, 2023| Leave a Comment »
“PIMA“: P = pulgar (thumb); I = indice (index finger); M = medio (middle finger); A = anular (ring finger)
1 – 2 mm past your finger / nail join point
Poorly shaped, but approaching the correct length
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