The end of the year is coming and that means my job is heating up again. Between the months of January, February and March, the first quarter is by far the worst time of my entire year. I have to file some form of report be it annual, semi-annual or quarterly in an veto-overriding majority of the states between the first of the year and Tax Day as well as completing the rest of my work.
The good news is a lot of the licensing stuff is going to come off my plate. After it was originally plopped onto my plate unexpectedly back at the beginning of the month, I compiled a list of what I needed to do to do my additional duties in addition to my prior job. I presented it to my boss showing him the sheer number of things I need to do was overwhelming. Just as importantly, the likelihood I'd not be able to complete something in time really scared the piss out of me and thus him.
So help is on the way. They aren't going to employ someone new as there really may be only a little more than a half job to each of my positions. Instead we'll be farming most of the actual processing out to another company who will do it for us. I'll still be the person in charge of coordinating and collecting the material. Thus my job isn't in jeopardy. However it does mean I still need to learn everything useful to know about licensing.
I also have to make sure we're buttoning down the surplus lines stuff properly too. We've been pretty far behind since I got there and we'll only really catch up because I'll kill myself to get it done for the annuals. The last thing I want is to have something from 2006 trip me up in 2008.
All of this for a company I haven't even been employed by for a whole year yet. I enjoy the challenge and I prefer being a busy body to being bored out of my mind. It's a good job for me because I lose motivation if something is too easy and mindless. However there are sometimes I think about whether those above me really understand the work involved. Maybe a wunderkind of some sort could do my job much better and more efficiently. If you could get someone like that to take my job that is. Until they can, they're stuck with me.
(Happy Halloween Everybody!!!)
Wednesday, October 31, 2007
Sunday, October 21, 2007
Fantasy Basketball
Last Saturday I drafted my fantasy basketball team for the league my brother organized with some fellow FreeDarko readers. It's a Head-To-Head league with a PG, a SG, a SF, a PF, a C, a Util and 3 bench spots. This is my team, ShrkAttcksArntReal.
PG Gilbert Arenas (Was - PG)
SG Allen Iverson (Den - PG,SG)
SF Carmelo Anthony (Den - SF)
PF Carlos Boozer (Uta - PF,C)
C Zydrunas Ilgauskas (Cle - C)
Util Lamar Odom (LAL - SF,PF)
Bench Ben Gordon (Chi - SG)
Bench Richard Hamilton (Det - SG)
Bench Boris Diaw (Pho - PF,C)
In fact, here's my draft order.
1. (6) Gilbert Arenas
2. (15) Carmelo Anthony
3. (26) Carlos Boozer
4. (35) Allen Iverson
5. (46) Lamar Odom
6. (55) Ben Gordon
7. (66) Richard Hamilton
8. (75) Zydrunas Ilgauskas
9. (86) Boris Diaw
I took Gil in the first round because I wanted a competent PG who could both score and dish assists. The list is pretty short for guys who can do that on an elite level so I moved quickly. In fact, the only other guy I was considering in the first round who I knew was shoulders above his competition at his position was Yao Ming at the C.
In fact, I had Yao in the hopper when he was picked one pick before mine in the second round. So instead I went with Carmelo Anthony. It was kind of an easy pick since he was hands down the best guy left on the board in my opinion. I like Pau Gasol, Tracy McGrady and some of the other guys drafted before my 3rd round pick came up. But Melo felt like a 2nd round pick and I felt comfortable taking him instead of grabbing someone like Ray Allen too early.
Carlos Boozer was my pick in the third round. Again, I felt confident taking Boozer in comparison to taking someone about whom I had questions. Just as a reference the next four picks after mine were Gerald Wallace, Al Jefferson, Vince Carter and Rashard Lewis. Maybe Paul Pierce, the first pick of the 4th round, would've been a nice selection. But he plays either SG or SF and those are easily duplicable positions (and I already have Melo).
Then the fourth round I made a "I can't believe this guy is still available" pick to grab Allen Iverson. Normally I don't take two key players from the same team because I worry that they will steal stats from each other. He's still A.I. Though he may not be as dominating as he once was, there's still meat left on his bones. Plus he plays PG and I place a premium on that position. So, as I said, I picked him and felt grateful that he was still there. (Just as a reference, such luminaries as Andre Iguodala, Tyson Chandler, Caron Butler and Emeka Okafor were all selected before I picked A.I.)
Now we get into the rounds where only true basketball fans know who you're talking about. In the fifth round, I took the well-rounded Lamar Odom. He plays power-forward for the Lakers which means he gets his share of rebounds. At the same time, he plays point-forward in the Laker's triangle offense which means he gets assists.
I took Ben Gordon with my pick in the sixth round and Richard Hamilton in the seventh round for basically the same reason. Points are really easy to get and to get a lot of all at once. If a player gets 15 rebounds or assists in a game, that's a pretty big deal. If you see a guy scored 15 points, that's almost pedestrian. So it's necessary to have a team which can score points consistently no matter whose team is playing that night and who is off. Both Gordon and Hamilton provide that as either the first or second highest scorer on their teams from night to night. Add in that Gordon gives me a reason to cheer on the Bulls and it's two more picks I felt good making.
In the penultimate round I took Zydrunas Ilgauskas. I needed a center and Big Z was the best player left who filled that need. I actually had Andris Biedrins in the hopper ready to go when he was taken the pick before mine. Somehow I don't feel bad though. Instead of getting a Latvian, I got a Russian taking bounce passes from LeBron James. I have a feeling this will all work out.
Then I kept my final pick international as well and took Boris Diaw of France and the Phoenix Suns. Othe guys were making speculative picks in this round which I didn't understand. Players like Randy Foye, Darko Milicic and Nene Hilario may have breakout seasons. But Diaw has kind of proven himself as the league's Most Improved Player two years ago. I feel a lot better about him producing than Tyrus Thomas (and that C-eligibility doesn't hurt either).
Which is the sum of my draft and it might be a little obvious. I like the team I ended up with. From the first round to the ninth, I feel like I got a good player who wasn't a reach and even felt like I got a steal in a few instances. We'll see how my team plays once the season is on. For now, I think I got the best of the bunch.
PG Gilbert Arenas (Was - PG)
SG Allen Iverson (Den - PG,SG)
SF Carmelo Anthony (Den - SF)
PF Carlos Boozer (Uta - PF,C)
C Zydrunas Ilgauskas (Cle - C)
Util Lamar Odom (LAL - SF,PF)
Bench Ben Gordon (Chi - SG)
Bench Richard Hamilton (Det - SG)
Bench Boris Diaw (Pho - PF,C)
In fact, here's my draft order.
1. (6) Gilbert Arenas
2. (15) Carmelo Anthony
3. (26) Carlos Boozer
4. (35) Allen Iverson
5. (46) Lamar Odom
6. (55) Ben Gordon
7. (66) Richard Hamilton
8. (75) Zydrunas Ilgauskas
9. (86) Boris Diaw
I took Gil in the first round because I wanted a competent PG who could both score and dish assists. The list is pretty short for guys who can do that on an elite level so I moved quickly. In fact, the only other guy I was considering in the first round who I knew was shoulders above his competition at his position was Yao Ming at the C.
In fact, I had Yao in the hopper when he was picked one pick before mine in the second round. So instead I went with Carmelo Anthony. It was kind of an easy pick since he was hands down the best guy left on the board in my opinion. I like Pau Gasol, Tracy McGrady and some of the other guys drafted before my 3rd round pick came up. But Melo felt like a 2nd round pick and I felt comfortable taking him instead of grabbing someone like Ray Allen too early.
Carlos Boozer was my pick in the third round. Again, I felt confident taking Boozer in comparison to taking someone about whom I had questions. Just as a reference the next four picks after mine were Gerald Wallace, Al Jefferson, Vince Carter and Rashard Lewis. Maybe Paul Pierce, the first pick of the 4th round, would've been a nice selection. But he plays either SG or SF and those are easily duplicable positions (and I already have Melo).
Then the fourth round I made a "I can't believe this guy is still available" pick to grab Allen Iverson. Normally I don't take two key players from the same team because I worry that they will steal stats from each other. He's still A.I. Though he may not be as dominating as he once was, there's still meat left on his bones. Plus he plays PG and I place a premium on that position. So, as I said, I picked him and felt grateful that he was still there. (Just as a reference, such luminaries as Andre Iguodala, Tyson Chandler, Caron Butler and Emeka Okafor were all selected before I picked A.I.)
Now we get into the rounds where only true basketball fans know who you're talking about. In the fifth round, I took the well-rounded Lamar Odom. He plays power-forward for the Lakers which means he gets his share of rebounds. At the same time, he plays point-forward in the Laker's triangle offense which means he gets assists.
I took Ben Gordon with my pick in the sixth round and Richard Hamilton in the seventh round for basically the same reason. Points are really easy to get and to get a lot of all at once. If a player gets 15 rebounds or assists in a game, that's a pretty big deal. If you see a guy scored 15 points, that's almost pedestrian. So it's necessary to have a team which can score points consistently no matter whose team is playing that night and who is off. Both Gordon and Hamilton provide that as either the first or second highest scorer on their teams from night to night. Add in that Gordon gives me a reason to cheer on the Bulls and it's two more picks I felt good making.
In the penultimate round I took Zydrunas Ilgauskas. I needed a center and Big Z was the best player left who filled that need. I actually had Andris Biedrins in the hopper ready to go when he was taken the pick before mine. Somehow I don't feel bad though. Instead of getting a Latvian, I got a Russian taking bounce passes from LeBron James. I have a feeling this will all work out.
Then I kept my final pick international as well and took Boris Diaw of France and the Phoenix Suns. Othe guys were making speculative picks in this round which I didn't understand. Players like Randy Foye, Darko Milicic and Nene Hilario may have breakout seasons. But Diaw has kind of proven himself as the league's Most Improved Player two years ago. I feel a lot better about him producing than Tyrus Thomas (and that C-eligibility doesn't hurt either).
Which is the sum of my draft and it might be a little obvious. I like the team I ended up with. From the first round to the ninth, I feel like I got a good player who wasn't a reach and even felt like I got a steal in a few instances. We'll see how my team plays once the season is on. For now, I think I got the best of the bunch.
Monday, October 15, 2007
Can you spare a superstar or two?
Last night as K Dog and I were discussing the Vikings-Bears game in a way which basically constituted me teasing him that Adrian Peterson had such a good game because Rex Grossman was playing free safety. I also admitted that if the Vikings had actually blown their 14 point lead with 3:30 to go, this weekend would've been the prime example of why I don't really care for football.
The day after the Golden Gophers were unable to even beat the team made up of smart kids, the Vikings would've stomach punched me. Why would I care for a sport where these are the two teams which represent me? Fortunately the Vikings won and I got to bust K Dog's balls about how the game would've been different if Lance Briggs and Brian Urlacher had been in the game.
Because honestly this would've been a truly heart-breaking year to be a Minnesota sports fan if the Vikings really sucked instead of just sucking with a few glimmers or two of hope. That would be on top of the KG trade which we're all waiting to see on and the Twins kind of losing their way with the symbolic if nothing else departures of Terry Ryan and, soon to be, Torii Hunter. K Dogg said it would be like 1998 Boston all over again.
He's kind of right though we'd be better to expand it out to a timeframe covering the end of 1996 to the beginning of 1998. All that happened in Boston sports between those two markers is the Patriots advanced to and then lost the Super Bowl, the Celtics won fewer than 20 games in a season and then didn't win Tim Duncan's draft rights either and the Red Sox finished 6 games under .500 while Roger Clemens won the Cy Young in Toronto. I'm sure there were plenty of Boston sports fans who spent most of 1997 dying with their teams and hating when and where they were born.
The fantastic thing is Boston is enjoying a sports renaissance right now with the Patriots dominating the NFL, the Red Sox looking like the team to beat in baseball and the Celtics sporting three all-time greats. It would also be remiss of me to not point out they are doing it with three players who were the hope for the future in Minnesota sports in 1998, Randy Moss, Kevin Garnett and David Ortiz. As nice as it must be to have those guys now, we Minnesota fans feel like they were ours first.
It lead me to thinking about what midmarket municipality's current players I would want in about 9 years. The answer which pops in to my mind is Cleveland. Wouldn't you like your chances if I told you in 9 years you'd be cheering for the primes of Grady Sizemore, Brady Quinn and LeBron James? The people of Cleveland are looking forward to that possibility right now. Except it's not going to happen.
As the case of Minnesota in 1998 shows there's plenty which can go wrong along the way. I don't think any of the three Cleveland players are headcases on the level of Moss nor do I think the Cavs will be signing any illegal contracts with mid-level talents. Still if we're talking about Grady Sizemore carrying the Yankees to the World Series, Brady Quinn leading the Jets to the Super Bowl and LeBron James restoring the luster to the Knicks in 2016, remember we had this conversation all the way back when.
The day after the Golden Gophers were unable to even beat the team made up of smart kids, the Vikings would've stomach punched me. Why would I care for a sport where these are the two teams which represent me? Fortunately the Vikings won and I got to bust K Dog's balls about how the game would've been different if Lance Briggs and Brian Urlacher had been in the game.
Because honestly this would've been a truly heart-breaking year to be a Minnesota sports fan if the Vikings really sucked instead of just sucking with a few glimmers or two of hope. That would be on top of the KG trade which we're all waiting to see on and the Twins kind of losing their way with the symbolic if nothing else departures of Terry Ryan and, soon to be, Torii Hunter. K Dogg said it would be like 1998 Boston all over again.
He's kind of right though we'd be better to expand it out to a timeframe covering the end of 1996 to the beginning of 1998. All that happened in Boston sports between those two markers is the Patriots advanced to and then lost the Super Bowl, the Celtics won fewer than 20 games in a season and then didn't win Tim Duncan's draft rights either and the Red Sox finished 6 games under .500 while Roger Clemens won the Cy Young in Toronto. I'm sure there were plenty of Boston sports fans who spent most of 1997 dying with their teams and hating when and where they were born.
The fantastic thing is Boston is enjoying a sports renaissance right now with the Patriots dominating the NFL, the Red Sox looking like the team to beat in baseball and the Celtics sporting three all-time greats. It would also be remiss of me to not point out they are doing it with three players who were the hope for the future in Minnesota sports in 1998, Randy Moss, Kevin Garnett and David Ortiz. As nice as it must be to have those guys now, we Minnesota fans feel like they were ours first.
It lead me to thinking about what midmarket municipality's current players I would want in about 9 years. The answer which pops in to my mind is Cleveland. Wouldn't you like your chances if I told you in 9 years you'd be cheering for the primes of Grady Sizemore, Brady Quinn and LeBron James? The people of Cleveland are looking forward to that possibility right now. Except it's not going to happen.
As the case of Minnesota in 1998 shows there's plenty which can go wrong along the way. I don't think any of the three Cleveland players are headcases on the level of Moss nor do I think the Cavs will be signing any illegal contracts with mid-level talents. Still if we're talking about Grady Sizemore carrying the Yankees to the World Series, Brady Quinn leading the Jets to the Super Bowl and LeBron James restoring the luster to the Knicks in 2016, remember we had this conversation all the way back when.
... another opens.
I'd grown out of the journalistic style of Captain Handsome and didn't feel I'd written anything really good in that style in a long while. It may've been interesting but it wasn't the stuff I felt inspired to write anymore. Since I'm switching to a new style, I also decided to move to a new home. I'm going to keep my old handle so I can read and comment on posts at the old place. But I won't be posting over there anymore.
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