April Flowers

I’m not usually one to do these marathon posts, but it’s been a busy month, I haven’t made a real post since April 1st, and I’ve got a lot to say.

1. Spend-free April. You may remember a couple of years ago Alison and I had a spend-free April. At that time we did our best to not spend any money on pretty much anything but fresh produce and bread. Alison was on WIC at the time so we were able to pretty much go a whole month without spending. We didn’t think we were really in a position to duplicate the experiment again, but we did set a goal to cut spending on all variable categories by 80% (basically, we will pay our full mortgage, utility bills, etc.) We wanted to trim our spending on groceries, clothing and other household items. I haven’t calculated how we did, but I don’t think we quite made it. It doesn’t help that we purchased a 65” TV this month…


2. Yes. We bought a new 65” Mitsubishi DLP TV. We didn’t expect to get one so soon or so big, but we’re not complaining. Not that we need to justify this purchase to anybody but ourselves, but here are our justifications for purchasing it: We had enough money saved up to pay for a 52” LCD TV. As I was looking at them at RC Willey one evening the salesperson made an offhand comment that if we weren’t going to hang the TV on a wall we could consider a DLP TV (which is around 15” deep). We did and we purchased. We had planned on buying one at the beginning of football season in order to let the prices drop lower, and then we wouldn’t have to pay for an HD DVR until then… But RC Willey was having a good sale (and they paid our sales tax), we had free delivery and setup until the beginning of June and a $150 (or so) gift card to RC Willey that we wanted to use. We have not been disappointed with our purchase. It’s been fun to watch the Masters and the NBA Playoffs on the big screen. We put the TV on the RC Willey 18 month no interest plan because we had just paid off our last big purchase (remember this one?) and what’s not to like about making money on our savings while paying the minimum due for 17 months? But, it turns out that my payment to RC Willey was posted after we purchased the TV and they applied it to both purchases – thus leaving our interest-free purchase from last year not paid off and the TV paid halfway off. Because I don’t want there to even be a chance that there will still be a balance on last year’s purchase, we’ll pay the full remainder off this month.

3. Work. This has been a really good month for me at work. I still love my job and I was able to bill more than 100 hours the last two weeks to my principle engineer as well as many thousands of dollars on another project of my own. It feels good to work my butt off, but I still can’t believe how much I don’t know. I love my job because there is truly a lifetime of learning ahead for me. My company had an open house to show off our new office space on Earth Day. Fitting because we are going for LEED Platinum (no building is yet certified LEED Platinum in Utah, but when all is said and done, ours will probably be the third). We also changed our logo. The new one is shown below:
4. The Jazz. They’ve been a hard team to peg down all season. They’ve got great players and they have a cast that should take them a lot further than they made it this year. They just seem to have so many players that are inconsistent and don’t play hard every game. I definitely think that changes need to be made to the team this summer, but I have no idea what those might be. Part of me feels that a summer free from Olympic obligations and other injury causing activities may allow them to have an injury-free year together as a team and then they’ll go ahead and win a championship. I can dream, right?

5. The Malibu. The Malibu’s registration was due in March and I took it in on the last day of the month and it failed. There were three problems that showed up. I took it to one shop and paid for the diagnostic and they were able to take care of one problem. They told me that the second problem was intermittent and that the third would have to be taken care of at a dealer. I didn’t want to pay dealer prices so I found another shop that could fix the third problem (which they did), but they also told me that the first shop had fixed the entirely wrong problem and that the first problem code was still active in my car’s memory system. I then took it back to the first shop and they tried to explain their way out of what they fixed but they got the check engine light to finally go off. That same day I left work early to take the car back to the inspection point to get a retest done. As I was driving there the check engine light came on. Of all the rotten luck. The next day I was going to return the car to the shop that failed at fixing the first problem when I noticed the check engine light was off. I drove directly to the inspection place and had my car all checked out (but I never turned it off, so the codes wouldn’t reset). The car finally passed and as I looked through my emissions report I saw that the same problem code was still active, but that it wasn’t one that even mattered to pass emissions. $600 later, arrgh.

6. I am reading Amy Dacyczyn’s The Complete Tightwad Gazette – Promoting Thrift as a Viable Alternative Lifestyle. While many of the tips are too over the top for me or don’t apply, there are many that do and I will try to share some of them here. As always, I’ve got loads of new book reviews on my book review blog. Check them out if you haven’t in a while.

7. I befriended SeaBass on facebook. You should too. I can die happy.

Go Jazz!

I'm a little bit slow in posting this, but I still wanted to get it out there. Last Friday night, my good friend Dan took me to see the Jazz play the Nuggets. Not only that, but the seats he bought were on the 14th row! It was amazing.

Alison and I always try to get to 1 Jazz game a year, but it's hard for us to justify the expense for 1 night of fun. Now that we can't get student discounts, it will be harder to get there.

The game was a great one. The Jazz got down big early and were down by 10 at halftime. With three minutes to go in the first half they only had 26 points. Even with them playing so poorly, we were never really nervous that they were going to lose the game - and as it turns out, they came out with a vengeance in the second half and quickly put the Nuggets away.

Thanks Dan for a great game. I owe you big time. While there, I had a fun time messing around with my camera and took a handful of pictures.

Warm-up Pictures:
D-Will:
Korver (for Alison):
Coach Sloan and Coach Johnson:
Tip-off:
The Arena (click to enlarge):
The Obligatory Jazz Dancer (for Dan, of course)...:

Good Day for Ballin'

Tonight was a good night for basketball teams from Utah. First off, the Utes came away with (arguably) the best win from the Jim Boylen era, taking down the UNLV Rebels. The Rebels were the #1 team in the conference (holding the tiebreaker over BYU) and had beaten the Utes 5 straight times. Utah has struggled against teams that they should have beaten (most recently Wyoming at home) and has shown much of the same inconsistencies that plagued them last year. They have shown a huge improvement in their defense though - leading the league in many defensive stats. They are giving up almost 20 points less than last year and holding teams to 12% worse shooting (and an amazing 18% worse from beyond the arc).

This win was not only a statement win for the Utes but a welcomed win from Cougar fans as well. BYU (having beaten TCU this evening as well) now has sole possession of the top spot in the conference. That obviously won't last as the Utes have to play in Happy Valley on the 20th. But, nonetheless, you're welcome.

Now onto the Jazz. The Jazz played the Denver Nuggets tonight in a dirty division game. Both teams were called for numerous fouls and a couple of players fouled out on the Jazz, while Carmelo Anthony fouled out on the Nuggets. I had to turn away from the game for a bit because I was getting so worked up over it. Boozer had a horrible night, but Deron Williams and Kyle Korver more than picked up the slack. The game was played in Denver, decided in overtime and ended up being their 10th straight win (the last time that they won 10 straight games was almost 9 years ago!). Like I said, a good night for Utah basketball teams.

Go Jazz Go

If the playoffs had started yesterday morning then the Jazz would not have made them. They were the 9th team in the west (and only the top 8 go to the playoffs). After beating the Spurs last night, if the playoffs were to start today, the Jazz would have a 4th seed. A 5 spot jump in one night, not bad...

The Jazz have been playing very well. Since going 4-11 in December, the Jazz have gone 11-2 in their last 13 games. Andre Kirilenko is playing lights out, Boozer & Williams are playing like all-stars and Okur and Korver are finally hitting their threes. The last few months of the season should be pretty exciting.

Good Luck Charm?

Al and I have gone to two Jazz games in the last 8 days. The first game was against the Dallas Mavericks the day after Christmas. Previous to this game the Jazz had lost 9 of 11 so the outlook was not good. While Dallas has been playing nowhere near the level that they were playing at last year, they are still a rather formidable opponent. Luckily, The Blonde Bomber (Nowitzki) was only 3-10 from behind the arc and Jason Terry finished the game with a big goose egg going 0-10 from the floor. The Jazz started the game on a 16-0 run, but the lead was all but gone by halftime. The Jazz eventually came away with a win 99-90.

We again went to a Jazz game on New Year's Eve (Al gave me tickets for Christmas). This time around, the Jazz had to play the streaking Trailblazers. They came into the game sporting a 12 game winning streak (with 2 of those wins coming against the Jazz). After beating Dallas, the Jazz lost games against the Lakers and Celtics. This second game was more exciting than the first because it was a pretty close game for most of the time. It's hard to say how the Blazers are so good. Greg Oden (#1 draft pick from last year) is out rehabbing his knee, and I think that I read somewhere that the Blazers are the 3rd youngest team in the NBA, of ALL time (I cannot cite where I read this, and I am not going to do the appropriate research to verify it, so take it for what its worth). The highlight of the game was the play of new Jazzman Kyle Korver (acquired in a trade with the 76ers two days before). Almost everybody agrees that he is an improvement over Giricek and it will be interesting to see how he fits in Sloan's system. The Jazz played a very balanced game (with 6 players in double figures). They again came away with a win 111-101.

Obviously Alison and I are a bit of a good luck charm for the Jazz. LHM, how 'bout some free tix?

The Art of the Flop

I took Ada to the second half of the Utes home basketball game yesterday. It was simply awful. The team had no consistency, toughness or heart during the game and they ended up losing by 15 point to Santa Clara. Somethings got to change if they want a winning record at the end of the year.

And now, you decide 2007: Who's a better flopper, Baron Davis or Robert Horry?


Why does it always have to happen against the Jazz?

Just wait till next year...

First of all, congratulations to the Jazz for getting as far as they did this season. They exceeded expectations and it was a bunch of fun to watch them play. The best news of all is that as long as the bulk of the team stays intact over the summer (and maybe they find an upgrade at SG) then next year and the years beyond sure look exciting.

I certainly can't blame the refs for the Jazz losing to the Spurs. The Spurs are just very good and they execute flawlessly. It is high time for the NBA to get rid of the "Manu flop" though.



Here's a Raja Bell version as well.

In my opinion, the NBA's "greatest" floppers are (There are obviously more than just these fine fellows):
Manu Ginobili
Shane Battier
Raja Bell
Steve Nash
Derek Fisher
Anderson Varajao
Robert Horry

NBA Playoffs Scoring Update II

Alison has an uphill battle if she wants to win this thing. We'll see how it turns out.
Round 1 Predictions
Round 1 Scores
Round 2 Predictions
Round 3 Predictions

Conference Finals Predictions

Alison and I are ready to make our conference finals picks available to all. (You can see our first round picks here and the second round picks here). The updated scores will be posted soon!

Eastern Conference

(2) Cleveland Cavaliers vs. (1) Detroit Pistons

Alison: Detroit in 5


Tyler: Cleveland in 6 (I'm going way out on a limb here...)

Western Conference

(3) San Antonio Spurs vs. (4) Utah Jazz

Alison: Utah in 6

Tyler: Utah in 6 (I guess we're both going out on a limb here - and predicting with our heart).

NBA Playoffs Scoring Update

As you can see I am holding a slight advantage over Alison for Round 1. Lets see if she can make up ground during Round 2.

Round 1 Predictions
Round 2 Predictions

WOOHOO!!!

WOOHOO! The Jazz have won it in seven. It was a thriller that went down to the wire but the young Jazz team took it to the Rocket. WOOHOO!
Game Recap

NBA Playoffs Round 2

The first round is over and Alison and I are ready to make our new picks (See our first round picks here). Here are our second round predictions. I'll post our first round scores after the Jazz's game 7 tonight. (Remember, 5 points for the correct team, and a 2 point bonus if the number of games is correct)

Eastern Conference

(5) Chicago Bulls vs. (1) Detroit Pistons

Alison: Detroit in 7



Tyler: Detroit in 6 (Al and I both had a tough time with this one, neither of us think that the Bulls will be able to pull it off).

(6) New Jersey Nets vs. (2) Cleveland Cavaliers

Alison: New Jersey in 6



Tyler: Cleveland in 7 (The Nets have just proven how important playoff experience is).

Western Conference

(8) Golden State Warriors vs. (4) Utah Jazz? (Game 7 hasn't been played but, we're taking our chances ;)

Alison: Utah in 6

Tyler: Utah in 7 (I don't think that the Warriors will lose another game this season at home).

(3) San Antonio Spurs vs. (2) Phoenix Suns

Alison: Phoenix in 7

Tyler: Phoenix in 6 (We just can't stomach picking the Spurs).

NBA Playoffs

The NBA Playoffs are here. For your enjoyment, Alison and I are going to attempt to predict the outcome of each series. Here are our first round predictions.

Eastern Conference

(8) Orlando magic vs. (1) Detroit Pistons

Alison: Detroit in 6



Tyler: Detriot in 4 (not even close).


(7) Washington Wizards vs. (2) Cleveland Cavaliers

Alison: Cleveland in 4



Tyler: Cleveland in 5 (Al may be right on this one. Without Arenas or Butler, the Wiz don't have a chance).

(6) New Jersey Nets vs. (3) Toronto Raptors


Alison: Toronto in 7

Tyler: New Jersey in 6 (I just feel that VC and Kidd are going to take it to the Raptors).


(5) Chicago Bulls vs. (4) Miami Heat

Alison: Chicago in 6

Tyler: Chicago in 6 (The Heat are certainly capable of winning this round, but it's been a long time since Shaq and D-Wade have had it).

Western Conference

(8) Golden State Warriors vs. (1) Dallas Mavericks

Alison: Dallas in 6

Tyler: Dallas in 5 (Golden State has won 6 of the last 7 games against the Mavs, nonetheless, I doubt Nellie's team can win this seven games series - they'll steal one or two).

(7) Los Angeles Lakers vs. (2) Phoenix Suns

Alison: Phoenix in 5

Tyler: Phoenix in 6 (Kobe vs. Bell, Kobe wins. Lakers vs. Suns, Suns win).


(6) Denver Nuggets vs. (3) San Antonio Spurs

Alison: San Antonio in 4

Tyler: San Antonio in 6 (Unfortunately, AI and Melo don't play defense).


(5) Houston Rockets vs. (4) Utah Jazz

Alison: Jazz in 6

Tyler: Jazz in 7 (My gut says Rockets in 6. I can't go on the record picking against the Jazz though. If they win today then I'll feel pretty good about their chances).

Look for the next installment before the second round!

Jerry, Jerry, Jerry!

Earlier this week (on Tuesday to be exact) Alison and I scored some tickets (thanks Ang and Hyrum) to go to a dinner with the Jazz coaches and players. On the day of the event, Coach Sloan informed everybody that he let the players stay home to rest so it would only be him and Coach Phil Johnson (a one-time coach of the year (1974-75)). This unfortunate decision is what allowed Alison and myself to attend.

While it would have been cool to meet some of the players, it was still fun to have a free dinner - which was very nice. The coaches spoke for a few minutes and answered questions from attendees. The most interesting thing that we learned was that Matt Harpring is not a morning person.

The highlight of the evening was meeting the coaches and getting our picture taken with them. We also had them sign a Jazz season calendar.

*** I'd also like to grant a Happy Birthday wish to Coach Sloan who turned 65 on Wednesday.***

Props to Coach Sloan!

The Jazz handily beat the Mavericks tonite at EnergySolutions arena (radium stadium if you prefer, or maybe 'The Dump'...). This win gave Jerry Sloan his 1,000th victory as a coach. He is only the fifth NBA coach to ever do so and is the longest tenured coach of any professional sports team in North America right now. I've always liked Jerry and I hope that the team can continue to keep up their winning ways.

How 'Bout Them Jazz?

The Jazz have slumped a little - but they have still kept up their winnning ways. They still own the best record in the NBA at 15-4. I think they've gone 3-3 in their last 6 games. They've had to play some tough teams though.

Today the Jazz were featured in the Cover Story of USA Today. The article is actually mainly about Deron Williams. Take a look at it here.

Tomorrow is my last day of class and then I have finals next week. Wish me luck!

Go Jazz Go!

Holy Smokes! The Jazz are on fire! If you don't believe it, Just check out this weeks power rankings where the Jazz are #1 at foxsports.com, ESPN.com, CBSSportsline.com, NBCsports.com and si.com. They are the only team with 1 loss and the next closest team is the Spurs (who lost tonite) and now have 3 losses and then there are a couple of teams with 4 losses. With the Jazz's 12 wins, they are 1/4 of the way to a good playoff spot.

Tonite the Jazz battled the Lakers at the new EnergySolutions Arena in Salt Lake City (For the record, I'm not a fan of the new name because of how it sounds and not because of the company). The Jazz were down by at least 9 in the game before turning on the jets and beating the Lakers.

In the three previous games (against the Kings in Sacramento, the Suns and Raptors at home) the Jazz were down by at least 16 in the second half before winning all of them. Alison and I are having a blast watching the games. The Jazz have never really had a team that could come back consistently in the 4th quarter - until this year.

Deron Williams is playing like a seasoned veteran averaging 9.3 assists per game and Boozer is playing like an MVP candidate averaging a double-double with 22.7 points per game and 12.7 rebounds per game. Andrei Kirelenko had been out injured for the last little while (he played tonite) and rookie Paul Millsap was filling his shoes nicely. Okur, Fisher and Harpring are all contributing as well. The Jazz are simple playing fantiastic basketball.