Axodys

This is old news now, but since I never got around to mentioning it in my weblog yesterday and first and foremost axodys is a record of what I’ve been thinking about and not about breaking news: Dave Winer is in the hospital.

I noticed Saturday that Dave hadn’t posted anything and by Sunday I was really starting to wonder what was going on. It actually crossed my mind that something might have happened to him because it’s fairly unsual for him to quit posting on a daily basis without first mentioning that he’s going to be away. Fellow Userland employee John Robb finally provided the confirmation that he was in the hospital, but gave very little in the way of details.

The outpouring of support on the web that followed John’s announcement has been particularly impressive. There are 215 get well comments on that message alone at last count and another get well page here. On top of that someone else put together a page promoting the idea that people could contribute money towards buying him an iPod.

In a tremendously enjoyable game this morning the US team thwarted Mexico’s ball possession dominance with not one, but two brilliant counter attacks to win 2-0.

Next up: Germany.

Now it’s time to go to sleep.

Since today is Father’s Day Mary and I have multiple family gatherings to attend. We have a picnic/reunion at Comstock Park around 1 PM then a little bit later we’re having a barbecue up at Mary’s parents’ house. Lots of family and lots of food.

Much later this evening we’re planning to watch the Mexico - US soccer game. Hopefully it’ll be a good one.

Spent part of the day packing and part of it coaching basketball. The varsity team is looking decent, but our apartment still has a ways to go.

U.S. loses, advances

So I’m driving into work this morning a few minutes after 4:30 and I hear that Poland has scored not once, but twice in the first five minutes. The game was literally over before I was able to start watching it. Thank goodness the South Korean team scored on Portugal and won their game. Now that I’ve had a chance to see the U.S. play I want to be able to keep watching them play.

I hope Agoos gets benched against Mexico. We need some clutch defense at the sweeper spot and he’s been anything but clutch so far.

When it comes to Championship traditions in pro sports Hockey wins hands down. I’m not the biggest hockey fan, but I watched parts of the last couple games of the Stanley Cup Finals and I especially enjoyed the trophy presentation at the end.

Hands down the Stanley Cup is simply the coolest championship trophy in professional sports. It’s been around for over 100 years, it’s big and silver, and it’s engraved with the name of every player that played for each year’s championship team. I absolutely love the fact that they present it to the winning team’s captain first and then he decides what to do with it. None of the that NBA and NFL crap where they present the trophy to the owner first. All the owners do is hire a few decision makers, pay the bills, and reap the profits— you don’t deserve a trophy for that.

And you’ve got to love the tradition of both teams lining up and shaking hands after the game. In most other sports the losing team simply runs off the floor once the game is over. Watching two teams share their mutual respect and admiration for each other after a hard fought title game is truly heartwarming. It’s just a shame that sportsmanship has become such an anachronism these days.

No more basketball so I’m watching… hockey? I’ve got to get my sports fix somehow I guess. Go ‘Canes!

In other sports related news I’m toying with going to work really early tomorrow so that I can watch the U.S. vs Poland World Cup match. I actually have a variety of tasks to perform in the computer lab tomorrow so that could definitely be a worthwhile way to kill two birds with one… soccer ball.

I made my first trip to the eye doctor in a few years today. My eyesight seems to have remained about the same since my last visit which was good news. A lot of my motivation for going was my need for new contacts with Hoopfest coming up at the end of the month. I’ve been using my glasses almost constantly for the last year and a half, but they just won’t get it done on the mean streets of Spokane when I’m hoopin’ it up.

Senegal: The Computer’s Choice. Will Argentina win the World Cup? Brazil? Argue all you want: It turns out that a computer may predict the odds more accurately than humans. It has already picked one big upset. By Kendra Mayfield. [Wired News]

Unfortunately the article didn’t mention where the computer thinks the U.S. team falls. Guess I’ll have to check out the Glover Automated Results Indicator directly. Hmm… 39% chance of making the last 16 and then being eliminated, 18% chance of only making it to the quarterfinals, 8% chance of losing in the semis, and a whopping 2% chance of winning it all.

APC now offers PowerChute Personal Edition for MacOS X systems. Sounds like it runs under the System Preferences application as well. Cool.