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Woooo-hooooo!

I’ve always said that God won’t let the Baltimore Ravens win a playoff game at Heinz Field. And although He seemed to be toying with me Saturday night, He came through in the end with a miraculous victory!

steelers_ravens_big_play

I had hoped to write a well thought-out piece, something worthy of posting on ESPN.com. But that’s just not going to happen. Instead, this post will just say things like “HELL YEAH!” and “Wooo-hoooo!!”.

Yes, the Ravens jumped out a big lead thanks to two Steeler turnovers (and, by the way, WHY did 11 Steelers and 10 Ravens just stand around after Suggs knocked the ball out of Ben’s hand? Whatever happened to playing to the whistle?) But, in true Baltimore fashion, the Ravens self-destructed in the second half, having only 94 yards of total offense through three quarters. Most painful for them was the (lack of) performance from the big-time receivers the Ravens (apparently) paid far too much for. Anquan Boldin dropped a sure touchdown pass from Flacco on the Ravens’ next to last possession, and ended up with 1 catch for -2 yards. TJ Houshmandzadeh fared better coming up with 3 catches for 38 yards, but dropped an easy one on 4th and 18 to end the game for Baltimore. See what happens when you disrespect the Terrible Towel, Housh?

Houshmandzadeh in 2005
Houshmandzadeh in 2005
Houshmandzadeh in 2011
Houshmandzadeh in 2011

The Terrible Curse lives! The game marked Roethlisberger’s seventh consecutive win against Baltimore, and (as I mentioned on Twitter earlier in the week) the Ravens have never beaten the Steelers when both Big Ben and Troy play. And so it was on Saturday. I just can’t say enough about the Steeler defense… it was truly an amazing performance, and one for the ages.

*     *     *

The Steelers also caught a huge break on Sunday, as the Jets defeated the hated New England Patriots by a score of 28-21. But the game was never as close as the score would suggest, and nearly everyone in Steeler Nation gave a big sigh of relief as the game ended. The Steelers never play well against the Patriots (as this year’s 39-26 loss would indicate). The Steelers lost to the Jets, too, but in a much closer game (22-17). And, more importantly, the Steelers get to play the Jets at home. I’m excited about the game, and can’t wait until next Sunday!

Here we go Steelers, here we go!

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Changing MSE’s Update Interval

Microsoft’s Security Essentials product is an excellent antivirus tool. But it does have its quirks. For instance, you can only set it to scan your system daily or weekly, with no other choice in-between. But one of the biggest problems with the client is that it only updates its virus signatures every 24 hours. While that’s not a problem for most, it can be annoying for laptop users who aren’t connected to the Internet full-time, or to people that regularly visit “less than secure” types of websites (wink-wink!).

You can easily change the frequency at which MSE checks for updates. Just cut and paste the following into your favorite text editor:

"c:\Program Files\Microsoft Security Client\Antimalware\MpCmdRun.exe" -SignatureUpdate

Save the file as something like MSEUPDATE.CMD, then add it to your system as a Scheduled Task that runs minimized every x hours. MSE will then update according to your schedule.

There is a Registry hack that will allow you to do this too, but the problem with it is that any time MS updates the client, there’s a chance this setting could be overridden by the update. “My” hack is external, and therefore won’t be affected by any client updates.

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Twitter Weekly Updates for 2011-01-16

  • Cleaned my bookshelves, and found a boarding pass for a flight to Cincinnati that I don't remember taking AT ALL. Even a connection. #
  • Dammit! The Sims Country Cloggers are closed due to the weather today. NOW what am I gonna do with my Monday? Rage. #
  • For the record, I didn't hide Lisa's mp3 player! #
  • "No honey… don't watch the BCS Championship! Drink and sing Wham! songs with me!" Borderline rage. #
  • There's nothing on "Hoarders" that can't be fixed with five gallons of gasoline and a match. #
  • Just voted for VIZIO's 2010 Top Value Performer Award – http://tinyurl.com/ycqcfu6 #VIZIOTVP #
  • I can't believe the President of the United States is using a tragedy to politic. This is, literally, repulsive. #
  • Ever notice that Rumer Willis looks like Glenn Quagmire? #
  • Today's fun fact: The Ravens have never beaten the Steelers when both Roethlisberger and Polamalu play. #
  • Today's Fun Fact: Since 2003, the combined score of all Steelers vs Ravens games is 302-302. #
  • Drinking Guinness at Smokey Joe's… #
  • Hell yes! GO STEELERS!!!!! #
  • Dear Falcons: Please play defense. Thanks! #
  • "I believe the game is designed to reward the ones who hit the hardest. If you can't take it, you shouldn't play." – Jack Lambert #
  • "I look for the Steelers to be the team of the future. Just remember I said that."- Vince Lombardi in 1970 #
  • "Hey Look! It's Enrico Pallazzo!" #

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Fix Multiple “Java Consoles” in Firefox

If you have Java and Firefox on your computer, you’ve probably seen this in your list of add-ons:

java_console

While having 19 different Java Consoles installed isn’t a security or stability issue, seeing all those entries in the add-ons list can make your eyes bleed and make you want to slap Java developers for writing such sloppy code. To make things worse in Vista or Windows 7, there either won’t be an “uninstall” button on the extra consoles, or the box will be greyed out… in either case, you can’t uninstall them.

The problem exists because the Java extensions are installed in the Program Files folder, not the user’s profile folder (which makes sense in a way, as any Firefox user on a computer would want Java, right?). But the older extensions aren’t deleted when Java is updated, so you eventually end up with a list of them… like the screen cap above.

The fix is simple, if annoying.

Continue reading “Fix Multiple “Java Consoles” in Firefox”

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The Strange History of Monterey Jack

If there’s two things Americans love, it’s ranch dressing and Monterey Jack cheese.

The story behind ranch dressing is simple and happy: in 1954, a couple named Steve and Gayle Henson opened a resort called Hidden Valley Ranch near Santa Barbara, California. There they served a salad dressing Steve had discovered and improved upon in Alaska. The dressing was such a hit with customers that the Hensons began packaging it, and in 1972 the couple sold their dressing company to Clorox for $8 million (around $47.6 million in 2017 dollars).

The story behind Monterey Jack is much darker.

It all began on June 3, 1770, when the Mission San Carlos Borromeo de Carmelo was founded in what is now Monterey, California. The Franciscan missionaries began converting the local Indians to Catholicism and teaching them trades relevant to the building and maintenance of the mission, like carpentry, making adobe bricks, farming and animal husbandry. They also began making a type of cheese called queso blanco, which originated in Spain but which many Americans now think of as Mexican in origin.

Continue reading “The Strange History of Monterey Jack”

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There ARE Stupid Questions!

Yahoo! Answers is a site where you can ask anything, and hopefully some helpful strangers will answer it for you. Yahoo! probably intended for the site to host questions like “What’s the best place to get a burger on the Upper West Side?” and “How can you get from San Diego to Sacramento by train?”… but even they can’t stop the stupid.

This site has a list of some of the best (worst?) questions and answers, like “Cheerleaders Y du u think their stupid?” and “Why are there school?”… and my personal favorite:

midgets_night_vision

Check it out at the link!

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Hooray! VM Intercept 2.2 Confirmed!

Good news yesterday for Virgin Mobile customers with Samsung Intercept phones:

vm_droid_update

Virgin Mobile is owned by Sprint, and it seems that the company had several issues when it tried to update Sprint Intercept users to Froyo back in December. I guess being Sprint’s red-headed stepchild is good for VM users in a way: all the bugs that plagued Sprint users should be ironed out before VM rolls out the update this spring.

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R.I.P. Dick Winters

Dick Winters, World War II veteran, winner of the Distinguished Service Cross, and main character in the mini-series Band of Brothers, has died. He was 92.

I tried to think of something poetic to say, my feeble words just won’t cut it. Instead, I’ll just quote Alan Sepinwall, who called Winters “a calm, selfless, inspiring, exceedingly decent man, and the very model of what Tom Brokaw dubbed ‘The Greatest Generation’.”

Read his Wikipedia entry here, and tear up a little as you watch this memorable clip:

“We are paratroopers Lieutenant; we are supposed to be surrounded.”

“Grandpa, were you a hero in the war?” “No”, I answered, “But I served in a company of heroes.”

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Twitter Weekly Updates for 2011-01-09

  • Woo-hoo! Go Steelers! #
  • AFC North champs! #
  • R.I.P. Pete Postlethwaite #
  • Screener season has started! So far, "True Grit" > "The Fighter", with "Black Swan" up next. #
  • It's official.. Nancy Pelosi is officially no longer Speaker! #
  • I went 157-99 on my NFL Pick 'Em this year. Not too bad, but not great, either. #
  • Between the birds and fish dying, the crabs washing up on the beach in the UK and rivers changing colors, I wonder if this is END TIMES! #
  • hahahaha! No Luck for Panthers in the upcoming draft: http://tinyurl.com/25nzf3t #
  • NFL: Steelers top team for merch; Polamalu has #1 selling jersey this year! GO TEAM! #
  • Great. I have a Lonely Island song stuck in my head! #
  • Sadly ironic that the press conference about Gabrielle Giffords' condition is coming from TV station KGUN. #
  • Man, I didn't think Lisa was being serious when she said she was hibernating this weekend! #

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