Baumblog EST 1968 - A blog for the Baumbachs who originated in Syracuse, NY

Attack of the Ducks
posted by GJ on August 27, 2009 @ 12:58PM

Fantasy Sports....does anyone care?
posted by GJ on August 26, 2009 @ 3:25PM

Fantasy fooball and hockey didn't seem to get a lot of traction from users last year. Has it outlived its novelty? I don't want to guilt people into playing this year.

So, love it, hate it, could care less about it? Sound off! Football would have to start soon if we want to do that this year.

13 comments | Tags: fantasy

Steve said about 2 hours later

I enjoyed it when I had time (aka when I was single). I STILL owe Darcy the Trophy from hockey, and whomever else won it this year (guessing it was someone from the same household...but haven't even logged in to Fantasy Hockey since maybe January). Still need to get it engraved too. I like Fantasy Football because you only have to update your lines once a week. Hockey gets old because you have to update your lines for every day of games, and watch for when people get hurt. And that takes a bit of research, because they may sit out games for over a week before yahoo labels them as IR or "maybe" or whatever moniker they use. And they may just sit out a week because of a sprain and yahoo never marks them as being out. At least in football, they mark "possible," "likely," and stuff. Much easier to track.

So I'd be game for Football again. Hockey, I'd sign up for, but probably wouldn't put too much effort into it unless Parsla dumps me. Which since I haven't mowed her lawn in several weeks, she just might!
Marc said about 5 hours later

I'm definitely in for any of them. I'm already in a Fantasy Football league (on Yahoo) with some guys at work, so I'll already be paying attention for that league. So yea, count me in.
Geoff said about 18 hours later

I'm always game, but it does seem like folks lose interest fairly quick (not me of course!)
GJ said about 22 hours later

I think Steve pointed to the reason why people drop off in hockey--it is a fair amount of work.

I don't find football to be any less work--but there is so much infrastructure for fantasy football these days, it's easy to get high quality reports on your players to choose the right starters.

Hockey has no real good infrastructure--it's a lot of what you know and how much you watch / track stats. There is no mystery why the same people keep winning in hockey, or why a particular household does pretty freaking well.

Football can be a lot of fun, I think--more fun than hockey, although I have enjoyed hockey quite a bit myself. That said, football isn't much fun with only four to six players. Gets far more exciting with 8-10.
GJ said 6 days later

So...what's the verdict?
Steve said 6 days later

Football!
Marc said 6 days later

Yup, Football!
Geoff said 7 days later

yes, soccer!
GJ said 13 days later

ok, invites going out tonight. you'll want to sign up asap.

teams: gj, abby, dad, geoff, marc, steve.

filler: darcy if one more player joins (eric, parsla) since we need an even # of teams.

First NFL game is tomorrow(!). So if everyone registers today, I can do the draft overnight, I hope. If not, we might have to skip week one.
GJ said 13 days later

and no hockey league is planned, unless I hear from at least 3 people that they'll commit hari-kari without their fantasy hockey fix.
GJ said 14 days later

League is setup. Log into ESPN tomorrow morning to see what team you got stuck with--log in before then to set draft order, rankings, etc.
Steve said 14 days later

Parsla says she's not into it. I think her quote was, "Football? Are you kidding me?" I guess I need to work on her...she's too busy playing sorority life on facebook.
GJ said 14 days later

Football is up and running--draft held at 5am this morning. Please log into ESPN and set your lines, as the first NFL game is tonight. ESPN does a pretty good job of setting the lines for the first week--it takes your highest rated draftees, which is probably what you'd pick anyway, but has no vision regarding player injuries (and trust me, there are a few already this year).

If anyone is in the market for a RB, I might be in need of a WR or QB. You know where to find me.

Mouse S.O.S.
posted by Kristen on August 26, 2009 @ 8:56AM

I have a computer problem that I know will be an easy fix. On Drew's new laptop (lenovo, XP), everytime I'm typing something the cursor keeps moving to whereever I last had pointed the mouse. I have the mouse plugged into a USB port. So unless I realign the mouse with the end of the line that I am typing, it automatically jumps to the previous location. Very annoying!!

I had this same problem with my laptop and I think Marc fixed it. I've looked in the control panel but can't find anything. What the heck is the purpose of this feature? How do I turn it off????

7 comments | Tags: computers

Marc said 27 minutes later

Sounds like you've got lazy palms syndrome. :) Most likely while you're typing your palms are touching the track pad on the laptop. Since most laptops default tapping on the track pad as a mouse click, anytime you let your palm down it taps the track pad and registers a mouse click. Hopefully your Thinkpad isn't much different then mine, so try this:

Start > Control Panel > Mouse

In the Mouse window that pops up, look for "UltraNav" or some equivalent. You'll notice it's an IBM added tab because it has an icon and it looks horrible. In there is a section for TouchPad. If you never use the TouchPad, you can uncheck Enable TouchPad and you'll be good to go. If you just want to disable the tap-to-click feature, click on "Settings..." under that section. You'll see a new window come up with a list of things on the left. Click on "Tapping." You should see a checkbox for "Enable Tapping." Simply uncheck this and click OK. Problem solved.
Kristen said 42 minutes later

Ahh...I see a drew vs. kristen dilemna brewing. I prefer the mouse, he likes to use the touch pad. I guess I need to cure my lazy palms. LOL thanks Marc!
Marc said about 3 hours later

The touch pad can still be used, he just would have to give up the tapping. Laura would never give up tapping, but like you I've got the occasional case of lazy palms and can't stand when that happens. I disabled the touch pad tapping on my mac, but on my IBM laptop, I don't seem to have the problem, probably because the touch pad is much smaller.
GJ said about 6 hours later

Whereas I just disable the damn thing permanently. :)
Steve said about 9 hours later

Thanks Marc, I've had the same problem when I don't use a mouse. Fortunately, thanks to someone leaving their wireless laptop mouse in the trunk of a rental car I rented, I haven't used the touchpad much at all!
GJ said 1 day later

You must smack that person! :)
Abby said 1 day later

I get the same problem on our school computers... unfortunately I'm not allowed to change the settings :(

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