So if you see changes or massive rewrites within a post or two, you will know that there was a lot of thought and care put into them.

However, there HAVE to be a decent number of meat eaters who would love to prepare a nice ribeye steak or New York strip. I am one of those browns! I would love buy Halal meat and feel guilt free (as I would be doing the right thing religiously).

The problem is two-fold. First problem is 95% of the butchers are so F.O.B. that they might as well still be back in Pakistan or whatever country they originally came from. Speaking English? Forget it! All you get are awkward one-word or two-word answers like "yes", "no", or "cut meat" when asked "Do you have INSERTCUT?"

If you are lucky enough to find an English speaking brown, then they will tell you about one cut and one cut only...t-bone steak. Not only do these guys wax poetic about t-bones, they follow that up with "best cut, very juicy!". You can ask about ANY cut of meat and they will follow-up with a t-bone. It's like timeshare salesman working on the hard sell to get you to buy their terrible timeshare.

One time my wife ordered meat from an Afghan butcher who PROMISED four sirloin steaks.  I was spinning like a top when she told me about this as we were preparing a massive brunch with the family.  I came to her place of work to pickup the meat (it was "hand-delivered" by the owner of the meat place).  I happily gave him the money for the meat and he confidentally hands me four t-bone steaks.  What?  So he promised one cut, gave me another, and made it seem like this was no big deal.  If I were more aggressive about things I would've asked for my money back and ripped a new one for fucking up our order.  But whatever, we took the meat and ate it up.

Maybe t-bone steaks are the absolute best cuts of meat ever. Whatever, I don't care! If I want a fucking ribeye steak, dammit I should be able to buy a ribeye steak!

Imagine how lame it is when many players opt not to play due to injury.  What are you left with, replacement players that were either left out and MEANT to be on a given year's roster (only to have been left-out due to politics or the "popularity contest" votes)?  How about those players who will participate in that oh so important game after the Pro Bowl?  What's that game called?  Oh right, the FUCKING SUPER BOWL! They are NOT eligible to play because they lose time in practice, risk injury, and have a much larger goal in mind.

Don't get me wrong, the more football that's available the better.  But this is a game that, again, is based either on player politics (sometimes players are sent to the Pro Bowl simply because of repuation) or the popularity vote.  Seriously, were there better tight ends in the AFC than Antonio Gates last season?  You bet there were.  Two of them play for New England and yet only one of those guys made it to the Pro Bowl.  It's also a game where, for the past 5 years or so, these players just don't try.  You want proof?  Check out the end of the 2010 Pro Bowl.  The linemen on offense and defense were just standing there!

Here's the recipe for success going forward (in bullet form):

• Select the team
• Have a brief celebration
• Over analyze the selections (and snubs) on NFL Network
• Get the hell on with Super Bowl coverage

You're welcome.

Alex Smith, this is REALLY the last chance to prove yourself to the faithful!

Here is Alex Smith wearing the new uniforms developed by Nike and the NFL.  Both Nike and the NFL have made a big stink about these uniforms and it's hard to see any improvements. (They are supposed to improve mobility for players and fit better, but I bet they are excited for new merchandising opportunities as well.)

The picture is getting me excited about the 2012 season.  I have not been this optimistic about a 49ers season in a VERY long time.  I hope it lasts!

GO 49ERS!

This is the same reason why I believe the Nintendo Wii is overrated.  There are some good games for Wii, I'm not doubting that.  But the whole motion control feature (which was built into the Wii and not tacked on like the Kinect or the even less popular Playstation Move) became a novelty and it wore off real quick.  How can I say this after the Wii outsold both the Xbox 360 and Playstation 3 combined?  Easy.

1. The Nintendo Wii was hundreds of dollars cheaper than both systems.
2. The system was way more family oriented than the other systems.
3. HDTV was not all the rage as it is now.
4. Media had not overtaken consoles as it has now.
5. Many games required special Wii addons to function properly or for improved play.

That last can't be overstated.  Sure, you can play Mario Kart Wii without the Wii wheel (or whatever it's called), but you get a more accurrate feel for driving with the wheel.  How about Super Smash Bros?  Sure, you could gesture all you want to play a fighting game but it's NOT the same as a standard controller.  Point is, the motion controlling proved to be harder to use that initially anticipated.  I'm sure the prospect of selling accessories enticed Nintendo as I'm sure it does Microsoft and Sony as well.  (If you don't believe me, check out how many accessories are available for the Wii.)

Oh well.

Anyways, the Smartphone Beta Test site has a series of videos of iPhone "beta testing" that took place and they attack some of Apple's misstep with the phone.  Most notable, IMO, is the "Death Grip" video.  It speaks to how arrogant Apple was during the whole "Antennagate" issue and how they blamed everyone else except for themselves.  It's a funny video and any nerdnick should appreciate this video.

(NOTE: Yes, I'm an iPhone 4 owner and my phone experiences the infamouse "Death Grip".  Personally, I'm still on the fence about switching to Windows Phone (again), but it's nice to see this level of competition for a phone that is actually compelling and didn't just try to ripoff Apple like Google did.)

Shahs of Sunset or whatever it's called is a terrible show.  No, we don't care that you have terrible accents and that you reference terrible Persian lingo.  And this pig, Mercedes "MJ" Javid, can go eat one.  You have money and I'm sure can buy your way into life's greatest luxaries or wear the fanciest cloths on the planet (not a typo, I typed cloths on purpose)...and yet you're still a pig.

Gross.