todd

Buffalo Bills - 10-6 I think we've got a team around Losman that's set to win games. Our OL, while not as skilled as I would like, is really big. In Buffalo, power running game is the shiznit and blowing people off the line is what needs to happen. The key to this year is not Losman, it's McGahee. Anyway, if Mularkey and Clements made a Pro Bowler out of Kordell Sthewart, Losman will do fine. Jets - 7-9 They are switching up their offense this year. It's gonna be a problem. Herm Edwards is a mediocre coach who talks too much. Curtis Martin is great, but he's a year older and it's starting to catch up to them. Lamont Jordan ain't there no more. New England 8-8 I know, Belechek is a great coach, but I think NE will have problems this year. They've lost some key players, not to mention his OC and DC. His coordinators were instrumental in implementing his plans. I don't think Belecheck will shift his organization into a new format in time to win 10 games. They'll lose some tough games, but win some tough ones as well. This will be a rebuilding year for NE, and I bet by next year they'll be kicking everyone's butt again. Miami 6-10 This team will be good. In two years. There are way too many question marks on this team to allow them to compete. There are questions on the OL, questions at LB, questions at RB, and huge questions at QB. There's even questions at the coordinator positions.

Good point.

But he's a human being and has rights just like the rest of us! He has a right to lust after little kids! Anyway, he can be rehabilitated! BARF! I prefer castration to rehabilitation.

I can. :-) Lonnie Johnson Robinson - that crappy LB I try to block out the rest. It's too painful.

I'm a hippie. Pretty odd for a staunch capitalist.

It's really too bad. When I was laid off it really sucked. I hated it. But hindsight is 20-20, and I should have seen it coming. Kodak was going down, and one of the first things that are cut are cost centers - IT being one of them. 85% of my group was cut. However, since then I've learned that getting out of Kodak will end up being great for my career. At least I kept up my marketable skills, kept a decent network of potential employers, and am doing well. In today's market if people don't do that, they are screwed. I hope others have done the same. If they have, they'll be OK. If anyone has neglected their own job skills, and expected to be employed by kodak forever after all the cuts that have happened recently, I can't imagine what they are thinking.

Kodak has had a top 3 market share in the US. Commendable. But they don't make enough money on digital cameras alone. They also don't play in quite a few market segments. For example, they don't play in the Pro-sumer market, or high-end consumer markets. Their service products such as Ofoto are losing ground to products such as Flickr and Snapfish. They just can't keep up. I worked at Kodak, and saw quite a bit of bloat. I think Kodak is probably accellerating it's cuts to deal with it's poor profits. It sucks when you lose your job. I know, I dealt with it. I also think I should have seen it coming and done something about it myself instead of waiting for the ax to fall. The problem is that Kodak just isn't selling enough film to justify it's manufacturing workforce in that area. It's too bad, but that's what happens when management sucks. What could have been handled by attrition if recognized early enough now has to be done with cuts.

Hi kettle, I'd like you to meet Mr. Pot.

I'd change "sometimes" to "most of the time" the product that maximizes profit has high quality, and then agree with you. Of course, there are price points, and market segments that go into the equation, but I'd agree that most of the time the product that produces the most profit is the one of the highest quality. There are always exceptions to this. VHS vs. Beta, for example.

You don't actually think that way, do you? The better product doesn't make a difference? That's just retarded. However, there are many things that go into a product, including marketing. Branding, etc. Some lines of Nike products are a great example of this. Is a shirt that has a nike swoosh on it better than an identical shirt that doesnt? No. It isn't. However, Nike is a marketing powerhouse, and branding is an important part of a product. So because of the brand, the Nike shirt is actually percieved as better to the consumer. Therefore, it is the better product. If that's what you are trying to say, I agree. If not, well, I might have a giggle.

Nice try. Don't try to speak for me, or what I feel is right or wrong. I'm speaking about products, and how people choose to buy them. So get to the point, if you have one.

Generally, that's how capitalism works. Success of the best product at the best price point. That's how I buy things. To do otherwise would be un-American.

Not at all. This has nothing to do with America vs. Japan. Fuji is horrible in the digital world. They haven't adapted at all, and they are doing quite poorly as well. This is about capitalism. Whoever makes the better product for the best price wins. Toyota makes better cars than GM. They win. Canon makes better digital cameras than Kodak. They win. It's really quite simple.

No, it's not only about that. This isn't a momentary dip in revenue. This is a slow decline that is now an unstoppable avalanche. Kodak will continue to decline because there are too many people there who have no idea about innovation and what it takes to save a sinking ship. This is about about Kodak - 15 years ago - not having the ability to start a wholesale investment in digital. It's Kodak - only 8 years ago - not having the ability to make a comittment to the switch to digital. When I worked there - even as recently as 3 years ago - there was still talk of "expanding the benefits of film." I saw it with my own eyes. It was amazingly retarded. Finally, it's about Kodak still not facing the music about the switch to digital. Kodak is still a follower in the digital world. They aren't innovating, and they are still playing catch- up. I remember my last year there - 2003 - when all of the camera phones were coming out. People asked the then CEO Dan Carp about why Kodak wasn't ahead of the curve in that technology and Carp said "Well, we're not sure that this camera-phone technology is here to stay, so we're approaching it cautiously and we'll see how it shakes out." Serously. That's what he said. It was then that I knew Kodak would never really change. There is a serious retardation in innovation at that company. They will never innovate. Ever. You can have the best R&D department in the world, but if the company doesn't point them in the right direction it doesn't matter. And at Kodak, the management direction is so piss poor it's too late. This has nothing to do about outsourcing to India, it has to do with poor management decisions. Paying too much for unskilled labor and employee sloth played a part, but not as much as you'd think. Can't say I'm not sad to see this happen to Kodak. I can say I'm glad I'm not there to see it and be a part of it myself.

Hell no! Real Bills fans upgrade to first class any chance they get because there's unlimited booze! Any real Bills fan can easily drink a first class ticket's worth of booze in just a few hours.

More importantly, the Sundowner is in Canada. That place is quite fun.

Not for me. They give plastic stuff now. The past year, every time I've been lucky enough to be upgraded I've had plastic stuff.

Not to mention that Duluth is one of the worst airports in the country. My family is from there. It sucks. Will we board soon? "Oh, you betcha." Friggin Minnisota. What a fugged up state.

Lots of thunderstorms all over the NE. I feel for you, man. Travel the past few days has been horrible.

Let me tell you about my travel since Sunday. Sunday: 1. Had a flight from Rochester, NY to Denver through Philly leaving at 4:40. 2. Airline calls, says there's weather problems and I should try to make the 2:30 flight to philly. I hurry and pack and make the flight. 3. Turns out the flight to denver from Philly is delayed. It leaves after 9:00, and I get to denver at 1:30, Mountain time. 4. Get to the hotel at 2:00 AM. Probably asleep at 2:30. Monday 1. My wakeup call startles me at 6:00 for my 7:30 meeting with client. Yes, that's 3 1/2 hours of sleep. 2. I do my stuff with the client, half asleep (I kick ass, BTW). 3. Get to the Denver airport at 3:00 for a 4:30 flight. 4. Get on the plane at the regular boarding time. 5. Computer problems. Flight is delayed. And delayed more. 6. We leave really late. Tuesday AM 1. Arrive at 12:30 in Philly. Flight to Rochester is delayed, so I can still make the connection, however, there's no shuttle running to the other terminal to get to the flight. I make a gazillion calls, nobody give a shiznit. Bastards. I'm pissed. 2. Rebook on a 7:30 flight on Tuesday morning after much consternation. Philly sucks. 3. I make a reservation at a local hotel. Have to stay in the room with my extremely odd boss. This is at 1:00 AM. 4. Wakeup call comes at 4:30. Security and stuff sucks at Philly. If you don't get there early you are screwed. Yes, that's 3 1/2 hours of sleep again. Turns out the idiots at Philly forgot to load the carts full of luggage on the plane. Not only that, they can't find it. Somewhere, there's a trailer full of luggage, but the idiot, retarded, lead-paint eating retards at philly have lost it. We wait until 9:00 and they finally find the cart and load it on the plane. 5. Arrive in Rochester at 10:30. Just in time for a conference call with another client. I can barely speak I'm so tired. So here I am. 3 days, under 7 hours of sleep, I've spent the last 3 days in airports. Yeah, travel has really gotten sucky.

Brilliant minds.

Am I the only one who thinks that John Lennon's "Beautiful Boy (Darling boy) is awesome for this occasion? Close your eyes, Have no fear, The monsters gone, He's on the run and your daddy's here, Beautiful, Beautiful, beautiful, Beautiful Boy, Before you go to sleep, Say a little prayer, Every day in every way, It's getting better and better, Beautiful, Beautiful, beautiful, Beautiful Boy, Out on the ocean sailing away, I can hardly wait, To see you to come of age, But I guess we'll both, Just have to be patient, Yes it's a long way to go, But in the meantime, Before you cross the street, Take my hand, Life is just what happens to you, While your busy making other plans, Beautiful, Beautiful, beautiful, Beautiful Boy, Darling, Darling, Darling Sean.

Jack used to pound the ball 300+ yards with a persimmon and a steel shaft. And he also had crappier, inconsistent balls. There ws nothing even close to the ProV1 or Nike balls when he played. And Jack used to hit those crappy balls with a 1 iron! Who the hell can hit a 1 iron these days? Things were so different equipment and training-wise back then it's hard to compare Jack to Tiger. These days players have access to better training equipment, on-tour massage therapists and chyropractors, sports psychologists, etc. When Jack was winning his majors he dragged his family of 6 around with him everywhere he went. He didn't have the luxuries that players these days are afforded. Tiger and Jack are both wonderful, classy ambassadors of the game. One of the things that makes them both reat is their respect for the history of the game, and lack of real bravado. What sets Tiger and Jack apart is their competitive nature. You would NEVER see either of them give up on a round, or a tournament. Their mental focus and ability to remain "in the now" is freaking amazing. Jack Nicklaus is my favorite player of all time, but I respect Tiger more than any other touring player in the game today. We're lucky to have a player of Tiger's caliber in our lifetime.

On Friday he shot a 72!

I've e-mailed him before. He's a prick, and a stupid one at that. He doesn't have sources. As a matter of fact, I think he's been sued before about his stories.