10 Thoughts for November 17, 2014

1. Video: If you haven't seen the Super Bad Mario videos, you're missing out.  It's what I'd call a guilty pleasure -- you'll see what I mean.
2. Internet: I'm stuck in an odd spot right now.  I'm trying to return that plumbing part that did not quite fit, but the problem is, I need to print out the return label and RMA tag, but I can't at this moment.  You see, one of the things that I had ordered, aside from this plumbing part, was a new power supply for my recently deceased unit that is attached to my printer.  Ha.
3. Internet: And of course, I had to follow up that prior post about waiting to get my power supply.  I got it, tried it, and it didn't work.  I don't know if it was the power supply or the printer, but I think that the new power supply was defective.  So, now, to return this part, I have to go buy a new printer anyway.  Funny how this whole thing ended up.
4. Space: Well, Philae has gone to sleep, because of low battery reserves.  It should wake up occasionally as the battery slowly recharges, so there's hope.  But space exploration is hard (a comet is harder than a planet) and sometimes frustratingly so, especially when the time between launch and final destination is measured in several years or a decade in the case of Rosetta / Philae.
5. Football: Does a 9-0 Marshall deserve any consideration in the college football playoffs?  I don't think so. As a member of a mid-major conference, they haven't played a single game against a power-5 team.  That should be seen as a low-risk and therefore low-reward schedule. If they want consideration, they need to play the big boys in their non-conference schedule, instead of other mid-majors and FCS teams.  As such, they're not even ranked in the top-25 by the playoff committee, even as the AP and Coaches' Polls have them ranked at 21.
6. Football: The Trojans would like to thank the Beavers.  Well done, Beavs.  USC still in the hunt, are you kidding me?  Sark and the Trojans may yet redeem those terrible losses this year.
7. Football: So, right after OSU turned the PAC-12 South into a wide-open battle, Disney booked the USC - UCLA game on ABC in prime time for next Saturday night -- no kidding, less than an hour following the game, ESPN already had it listed.  Gonna be epic, I think, but regardless of who wins on Saturday, the South won't be decided until the final week of the season.  Meanwhile, the North was determined last week when Oregon beat Stanford, knocking the last contender out of race.  What happened to Stanford?
8. Football: It's just too bad that Seattle's o-line is really bad without Max Unger in there.  Before Unger left the game, Marshawn Lynch averaged 5.7 yards per run.  Following Unger's departure in the 4th quarter, two Lynch runs gained just 4 yards.  So, on 4th and 1, with the Chiefs selling out on defending the run, why would you hand the ball off to Lynch up the middle? I'm baffled at Bevell's playcalling, here.  Why not slip the TE out into the flat with a QB rollout?  Why not throw the bubble screen?  I'm just as confused why they'd try to pass for a TD in a floater to the corner of the end zone, when a tailback wheel route would give your best runner the space to grab and go with momentum, or if that were foiled, you'd at least have Wilson able to extend the play and improvise -- something he'd been successful with, most of the game.
9. Geopolitics: When you're the 6th largest country, by rank of Purchasing Power, but placed at the end of the front row.  And when you have to deny rumors that you're leaving early because of the shellacking you're getting over Ukraine.  Or why you're not that guy, Mr. Superstar.  That's how you know no one respects you, outside of your country.
10. Holidays: It's not even Thanksgiving and there are pre-Black Friday sales.  We live in strange times.  I imagine the near-future will bring us pre-pre-Black Friday sales starting November 1st.