Random Thoughts 12/1/08

• The Chiefs went and won a game! What were they thinking, lowering their draft position for next year? They had the second pick behind the Lions but are now half a game behind the Bengals and tied with the Seahawks and the awful Rams. Now the Chiefs will probably draft no higher than fourth and another couple of wins could drop them to the eighth or tenth position (there are currently 11 teams with four or fewer wins).
• It's official; economists have declared us to be in a recession since December of last year. I know what they mean, but it strikes me as funny that we had to be told we were in a bad economy 11 or 12 months ago. I can't imagine economists telling us in the 1930's that, "yes, we are indeed in the Great Depression since 1929!" Shouldn't a real crisis be more obvious than this? By the way, Black Friday sales were up quite a bit over last year. Hmmm… maybe some of this economic panic is hysteria.
  
• Speaking of the NFL draft, what do the Chiefs do with their fragile starting QB, Brodie Croyle, and the up-and-coming Tyler Thigpen? And how does this QB problem look if underclassmen Matt Stafford, Sam Bradford, Tim Tebow, Mark Sanchez, Josh Freeman, Nate Davis or Colt McCoy flood the market by declaring for the draft? My answer: draft an offensive lineman. You can't have too many top offensive linemen.
• Today is Cyber Monday, the Internet equivalent to the Black Friday retail sales. I didn't buy anything today but there were some good deals in my email inbox this morning.
• This is the 40th anniversary of the computer mouse. 40 years. Really. Actually trackballs and mice go back to the 1950's in one form or another. I use an infrared Logitech cordless mouse myself.
• If Bill Clinton takes Hillary's Senate seat when she becomes Secretary of State, I'm going to vomit.
• How disappointed was I to learn that my fairly robust DirecTV package does not include ESPNU, which is the exclusive outlet of five KU basketball games this season? Nuts.