So it was a somewhat weird ending to the Thursday night football game last night.
Up 7 points and having Seattle pinned back on their own 7 yard line, the 49ers drew a chop block penalty that happened in the end zone. Seattle did complete the pass and ended up about 6 inches short of the first down on a 4th and long.
Because the penalty happened in the end zone though, the ruling is that the 49ers would get a safety and then receive the kick-off being up by 9 points.
But, I guess believing that "things go crazy" Jim Harbaugh asked for a measurement to ensure Seattle didn't make the first down and then when that was verified he declined the penalty, forgo the 2 points and just take the ball and kneel on it to end the game.
I'm not sure what he was worried about since in this day and age of football, there's no way to score 9 points to tie the game, he was going to receive the kick-off (albeit it could have been an onside one) and then just either kneel on it, or play defense.
So this very interesting choice had me immediately look up what the line was in Vegas for this game and lo and behold, it was the 49ers -7.5. Harbaugh's decision thus awarded anyone who took the points with Seattle and screwed over anyone who was giving the points.
With the craziness of the replacement refs this year and the NBA referee betting scandal a few years ago, one would think that the NFL might want to investigate this.
Those who know me, know I never liked Jim when he was playing for the Bears (as well as at Michigan) and when he bought in at Panther Racing (IndyCar), it made me want to hate that team even more and THEN to find out his sister is married to Tom Crean (former Coach at Marquette), this guy just continues to annoy the cr@p out of me. So if he just MIGHT be involved in some scheme, I wouldn't feel for him at all.
19 October 2012
17 October 2012
Pencils Down, Work NOT Checked (again)
The other day I ranted a bit about marketing emails (which I opted-in to receive) showing up in my inbox and the sender or their contracted agency NOT ensuring that the images have been loaded to the live environment.
Two days later and they still haven't learned.
HEY DISNEY, maybe you need to change suppliers here, eh? Poor quality is something NOT expected from you and we know how nuts you are about image.
Two days later and they still haven't learned.
HEY DISNEY, maybe you need to change suppliers here, eh? Poor quality is something NOT expected from you and we know how nuts you are about image.
16 October 2012
Important Election Season Announcement
October 16, 2012
North Aurora, IL (October 16, 2012) - During this venomous and bitter election season, some specific issues have become evident to Brian LoCicero and therefore he has a prepared statement included below. There will be no questions entertained subsequent to the release of this statement and no interviews will be granted.
Fellow foursquare citizens: Although I've been playing the foursquare 'game' for several years now, I find it increasingly annoying that the number of specials or offers either being given for checking in or, most of all, obtaining the position of Mayor have been woeful at best.
foursquare's forged relationship with American Express has basically eliminated any discount that I can obtain by checking in to some of my favorite places as I'm not an Amex cardmember and frankly, most businesses that I frequent are not seeing it worth their time to utilize the business interface to post specials or reward players.
Further, for many businesses, their Mayor's are employees. For private businesses, this is perfectly fine but for retail businesses, the point isn't to have an employee, who seemingly should be there everyday, hold Mayorship but in fact, the customers should be the ones competing for that prestigious position.
It is with a mildly heavy heart that I announce that I shall not seek, and I will not accept the nomination from my iPhone for another term as your Mayor of such lovely places as Mother's Restaurant, Randall Crossing Restaurant, Honey Jam Cafe and the most esteemed Village Mattress.
This doesn't mean I won't check-in from time to time especially at a new restaurant, store, or event but since there is absolutely no benefit to becoming Mayor, my run has to come to an end.
Thank you, and God Bless America!
contact
leave a message below
About Brian LoCicero
Swallows a lot of aggression with a lot of pizza
About Foursquare
Early mobile app that was a great concept but seems to have fallen flat when Facebook rolled out their own version.
this release may contain forward looking information but seriously, if you're using this to make major decisions in your life or to figure out whether or not to invest in foursquare or Brian LoCicero, you're making a huge mistake ;-p
North Aurora, IL (October 16, 2012) - During this venomous and bitter election season, some specific issues have become evident to Brian LoCicero and therefore he has a prepared statement included below. There will be no questions entertained subsequent to the release of this statement and no interviews will be granted.
Fellow foursquare citizens: Although I've been playing the foursquare 'game' for several years now, I find it increasingly annoying that the number of specials or offers either being given for checking in or, most of all, obtaining the position of Mayor have been woeful at best.
foursquare's forged relationship with American Express has basically eliminated any discount that I can obtain by checking in to some of my favorite places as I'm not an Amex cardmember and frankly, most businesses that I frequent are not seeing it worth their time to utilize the business interface to post specials or reward players.
Further, for many businesses, their Mayor's are employees. For private businesses, this is perfectly fine but for retail businesses, the point isn't to have an employee, who seemingly should be there everyday, hold Mayorship but in fact, the customers should be the ones competing for that prestigious position.
It is with a mildly heavy heart that I announce that I shall not seek, and I will not accept the nomination from my iPhone for another term as your Mayor of such lovely places as Mother's Restaurant, Randall Crossing Restaurant, Honey Jam Cafe and the most esteemed Village Mattress.
This doesn't mean I won't check-in from time to time especially at a new restaurant, store, or event but since there is absolutely no benefit to becoming Mayor, my run has to come to an end.
Thank you, and God Bless America!
contact
leave a message below
About Brian LoCicero
Swallows a lot of aggression with a lot of pizza
About Foursquare
Early mobile app that was a great concept but seems to have fallen flat when Facebook rolled out their own version.
this release may contain forward looking information but seriously, if you're using this to make major decisions in your life or to figure out whether or not to invest in foursquare or Brian LoCicero, you're making a huge mistake ;-p
15 October 2012
Pencils Down & Check Your Work
I'm getting increasingly tired of companies that I'm fond of, outsourcing their campaign emails and then continuously having issues, but not changing up suppliers or even responding to me when I let them know it's all fanarkled up.
The biggest offender is Pet Supplies Plus who RARELY has the images that are embedded in the HTML email loaded on their live servers. When the entire email is image-based, this means your users open the email to nothing but blocks and 'alt-text'. A couple hours go by and I re-open that email and viola, there's my happy email campaign.
Today, however, the usually buttoned up Disney Corp has blown it. A Jake and the Neverland Pirates email is broken down.
In both cases, they do provide the link so that if you can't read the email, it'll take you to the web page, however, the images are looking for the same source and therefore, even the web page is blank with loads of 'alt-text' all over the place.
I realize that in most organizations, email campaigns are relegated down to the cheapest labor or outsourced to the big companies (Fishbowl, Constant Contact) who offer below ground costs, but it is one of the most common touch points with your brand loyalists and in a lot of cases, some early impressions with your new customers.
Get your shizzle together and proof your work, have a quality control step that someone in the organization has to punch through on the LIVE site to ensure everything has loaded before you give the push order to send the email. It's really simple and doesn't cost you very much.
The biggest offender is Pet Supplies Plus who RARELY has the images that are embedded in the HTML email loaded on their live servers. When the entire email is image-based, this means your users open the email to nothing but blocks and 'alt-text'. A couple hours go by and I re-open that email and viola, there's my happy email campaign.
Today, however, the usually buttoned up Disney Corp has blown it. A Jake and the Neverland Pirates email is broken down.
In both cases, they do provide the link so that if you can't read the email, it'll take you to the web page, however, the images are looking for the same source and therefore, even the web page is blank with loads of 'alt-text' all over the place.
I realize that in most organizations, email campaigns are relegated down to the cheapest labor or outsourced to the big companies (Fishbowl, Constant Contact) who offer below ground costs, but it is one of the most common touch points with your brand loyalists and in a lot of cases, some early impressions with your new customers.
Get your shizzle together and proof your work, have a quality control step that someone in the organization has to punch through on the LIVE site to ensure everything has loaded before you give the push order to send the email. It's really simple and doesn't cost you very much.
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