timwheatley.org

There’s the people who are there to protest, and there’s the people who are there to be seen to protest and to cause a little choas. Last night a few of the former and a whole lot of the latter turned out for the Chicago ‘Critical Mass‘ 10th Annual Ride…

While I understand the concept and why these people seek to say that nobody needs a car, I’d like to vent - just a little - on what I think of a lot of cycle-riders in this city… You’re dangerous.

I don’t have a car (you hear that?), I walk almost everywhere in the city and when I don’t (very, very rarely) I will use CTA services. I am very regularly one of those ‘near miss’ pedestrians that you guys get close to hitting when you run a red light or don’t stop at a stop-sign, appear from round the corner of a building or ride on the sidewalk rather than the road.

Sheila and I were by Daley Plaza yesterday when the cyclists were massing, we saw a whole lot of the ‘there to be seen’ protesters - “whoop-ing” and shouting on their way to it from surrounding blocks - and how I chuckled inside when a guy who had been “whoop-ing” and had paid no attention to the fact that there were pedestrians crossing the road (when they had the light to do so) promptly fell off his bike beside me after he’d had to swerve to avoid hitting a woman. After I saw he was OK, I couldn’t help but say to Sheila that “maybe now he’ll shut up.” Maybe he didn’t want to be ’seen’ falling off? Because he - and his friends - weren’t so loud and obnoxious as they rode away.

Still, as much as I find most of the people who do this kind of thing (when they’re in small groups) annoying, it was one hell of spectacle to see the huge train of cycles come thundering by our house. They do have a point - you don’t need a car in this city - infact you can save yourself a huge amount of money not having one! The thing I hope a lot of the full-time cycle rider’s would realize however is that, you don’t need to ride like an idiot on a daily basis.

Photo by Tim Wheatley.

I’ve got that buzz right now that I get at the start of a new season, start of the playoffs or the start of the Super Bowl and it’s because of Brian Griese. I think I’d been denying my feelings, not wanting to attack Rex I hadn’t found it easy to criticize him either!

I’m really excited about Sunday… Go Bears!

I have to say, I am more happy about this than I expected to be.

As soon as the fans began chanting “Griese! Griese! …” my first thought was how that would effect the other players on the team, not about Grossman. I think there is far too much damage done to the confidence of the other players now for the Bears to force them to play with Grossman anymore… So I think it’s the right decision.

With time away, Grossman might sort his demons out, might get re-signed by the Bears during the off-season and come back next year, or the year after, a new man. If not? Good luck to the man - I just hope that a man the Chicago Bears spent four years training doesn’t become the next great Quarterback alongside names like Elway, Favre, Marino and Manning - if he’s not playing for the Bears!

I do still think this town is too touch on a Quarterback… A few minutes of playing Madden ‘08 makes you realise if it’s difficult when you have almost a birds-eye view of the field, it must be supremely difficult in real-life. The tough thing too is that when you’re a Quarterback, you can screw up once and that’s it - the opposition might get the ball. If you’re pretty much any other player on offense, you get 3 chances to make the catch or the run for 10 yards. I know that sentence doesn’t make a whole lot of sense, but what I’m trying to say is that QB is a massive-pressure position… I guess not being American I maybe don’t see a few of the failures as “failures” and have come to accept them as inevitable parts of the game - because I didn’t grow up through school and college having a coach shouting at me?

Ah well, I hope Brian Griese can handle the pressure and bring the Bears back on-track. It’s annoying because I’ve been playing with Griese as QB all season in Madden ‘08 and we’ve kicked ass.

A 1297 copy of the (1215 original) Magna Carta is to be auctioned off in New York this December. This document is basically the basis for everything we take for granted today.

If you have never looked at it, or heard about it, I’d advise you take a look at Web information on it (or go see it in an English museum). When you realise what things were set out in writing back in 1215 and think about what you have today, it really does make you appreciate things.

Walking my wife to work this morning in Chicago I heard a discussion by a couple we walked past that included: “…I hope so. They just can’t put together anything on Offense.” I’m going to assume that they were talking about Rex Grossman.

The negativity towards Grossman in the Chicago TV Press has been brainwashing, and it seems that most of the locals have been caught up in the media attack. I’ve been one of the few (it seems) to support Grossman through everything, but even I have caught myself thinking that perhaps Griese would be the better option.

So let me state some facts:
Rex Grossman is entering his fifth season as a Chicago Bear.
In his first season as a full-time starting Quarterback (2006) he led the team to Super Bowl XLI.
The last time the Bears went to a Super Bowl before XLI was in 1985.
Has led the Bears for a 17-6 record.
Has the best regular season winning percentage of any Chicago Quarterback since 1961.

To answer the sentence of that discussion I heard this morning, I’ll point out that last season (that season when the Bears went to the Super Bowl - remember that?) the Chicago Bears were heavily reliant on Devin Hester. In the last game this season against Kansas the Bears won the game 20-10 and in my opinion it was pretty much the same thing we saw all last season; The Bears Defense were very good. Devin Hester provided both a kick return for a Touchdown and a kick return for good field position (that allowed Gould to get a 3-point Field Goal). I also noticed (and everyone else seems to have missed this) the Offense score a Touchdown and also the Offense drive for enough field position for Gould to get another 3 points. The offense did score points - if they didn’t we would have lost. To me, that seems very similar to last season - when we went to the Super Bowl.

We’re two games in people. It took 21 years for the Bears to return to the Super Bowl between 1985 and 2006 (when Grossman led them) and I don’t think that’s Rex Grossman’s fault - is it? Shouldn’t we be somewhat grateful that he was good enough to get them there last year - and probably is this year - too?

It’s tough - it really is - I wouldn’t be upset if this afternoon against the Cowboys Griese came out as starting Quarterback, but unlike most of Chicago I will support Rex Grossman if he does too. You’ve supported your Bears for the last 22 years haven’t you? Why not try supporting them while they have a QB who’s actually been to a Super Bowl with the team?

So what about Devin Hester? He’s a game-changer. I’ve already said what he did against Kansas in the last game and that seems pretty similar to how his season was last year. He was touted as an Offensive player in the 2007 preseason - but is that too much of a risk?

I know that if I am playing the Bears and see Hester as Wide Receiver, I’m going to hit him as hard as I can to try to take him out of the game (and out of the Special Teams). It’s an awful big risk to lose a kick returner like Hester when you have receiver’s like Olsen and Muhammad.

Is he really worth risking? No!

Before the season began I was excited about Hester actually getting the ball ahead of the opposition, giving him less players to run by, rather than returning as usual, starting behind the opposition and giving him them all to run by… Now, I just want to see him doing those amazing returns all season long, winning games all by himself if needed! Unless the Bears have a play they can run him in where he’s properly protected, they really need to be careful with Hester and Offense isn’t the right place for that.

Here’s my advertisement text tagline for Windows Vista:
Windows Vista: Because your time matters.

I find this German politician’s recent attempt to get media attention very interesting, especially what she has to say about Marriage:

The basic approach is wrong … many marriages last just because people believe they are safe,” she told reporters. “My suggestion is that marriages expire after seven years.”

After that time, couples should either agree to extend their marriage or it should be automatically dissolved, she said.

Huh? Why should happy couples be forced to file to continue their Marriage?

Isn’t what she says completely pointless? People who are not right for each other should not have to wait seven years to file for divorce, just as much as people who are right for each other shouldn’t have to do anything more than stay together. This just reminds me of every typical no-content argument that every politician has made before her - she makes no sense whatsoever. It creates more paperwork and does what? Forces seven years of unhappy marriage? Forces happy couples to have to prove it?

I really don’t think the institution of marriage needs a ‘get out of jail free’ card.

I think the real issue here is that her approach is wrong - which is why she has been divorced twice. She’s either saying crap like this to get media attention or to make herself feel less guilty the next time she gets ‘dissolved’.

I’ll give just one example of many. The price paid by the British in the technology sector is shocking…

Apple iPhone announced for sale in the UK for GBP £269 + contract costs.
Cost of Apple iPhone in the United States: $399 + contract costs.
Current Exchange Rate: £1 = $2.01, £269 = $540.79.

British customer pays an extra: £70.54/$141.79.

I’m not posting this to attack Apple, because the entire technology industry seems to do it… But it is annoying. You could easily pay for a flight from the UK to the US with the savings you’d make on buying a top-range laptop in the US rather than the UK. It’s funny really, because with the British Pound so strong against the American Dollar, it should be the opposite way around.

Time to give the British store credit, Steve?

Not even going to be mentioned on the news here, I expect this to be huge news back home.

Really, really surprised by this. The guy is obviously a very good manager. I do wonder though, who wouldn’t have been able to do almost as good at the helm with the funds Chelsea has had since 2004?

I always wonder how much of a difference a manager actually makes - I guess we’ll see now! Hopefully my dad’s favorite club will perform better for the rest of the season.

It probably won’t achieve anything, but it’s something - at least. I really cannot believe that this man hasn’t been removed from office - somehow.

I’m not in the UK anymore but I do have to say ‘well done’ to Gordon Brown for at least making a stand - nobody else obviously has!