No spreads over ten points this week - which is good for me. I have no clue what to do with those games! Not that I'm much better on the rest of the games!

This could be Oakland's best chance to get a win, but Arizona should be hungry to get back on the right track, so I'm not holding out much hope. Detroit should get back to their losing ways, as should Houston. Tennessee gets a reprieve - not because they'll win, but because they're on bye this week. Think Culpepper's looking forward to his game against an NFC North rival? Oh wait. I mean, think Harrington's looking forward to his against an NFC North rival? Yeah, Miami. Good move. Why get Brees when you can have Culpepper?

• Carolina vs. Cincinnati (-3) (44.5 O/U)
• Detroit vs. New York Jets (-4.5) (43 O/U)
• Green Bay vs. Miami (-5) (40 O/U)
• Jacksonville (-9.5) vs. Houston* (41 O/U)
• New England (-7) vs. Buffalo (37.5 O/U)
• Philadelphia (-6.5) vs. Tampa Bay (42.5 O/U)
• Pittsburgh (-3) vs. Atlanta (37.5 O/U)
• San Diego (-6) vs. Kansas City (42 O/U)
• Denver (-6.5) vs. Cleveland (31.5 O/U)
• Arizona (-4) vs. Oakland (40 O/U)
• Minnesota vs. Seattle (-7) (41 O/U)
• Washington vs. Indianapolis (-8.5) (48.5 O/U)
• New York Giants vs. Dallas (-3) (45 O/U)

Technorati Tags: NFL | Picks | Odds

The best way to ensure that I never actually put real money on games is to have back to back weeks like I've had the past two weeks. They weren't both bad, and that's the issue. If I could be consistent either way, then I'd be OK. If I was always good, then I'd think I could make money. If I was always bad, then I could just bet the opposite and make money. Being inconsistent means my money is safe!

Detroit got their first win, but they tried hard to lose it! Kevin Jones had a great day (he's on my fantasy team - the bench!), but Detroit is just pitiful at quarterback - Harrington's gone, but some things stay the same... The Giants are looking pretty good - but what's this talk of Tiki Barber retiring? It's kind of unreal to realize that over the past three seasons, Tiki has more yards than anyone. Considering he's in New York, he really doesn't get the press he deserves. New Orleans could be on the verge of having an amazing season - if they make the playoffs after last year, it'll be a huge story, and from a perspective larger than football, very important to the moral of to the city of New Orleans. Sports isn't everything, but it's something a city can rally around. Three winless teams got their first win this weekend - leaving just the hapless Raiders without a W. Poor Oakland. Lastly - the Bears. Which was that - the greatest comeback by a defense (!?!), or the biggest collapse ever?

• Buffalo 17 (-1.5), Detroit 20 (40.5 O/U) [P: ($10.00), S: ($10.00), O/U: $9.09, T: ($10.91)]
• Carolina 23, Baltimore 21 (-3) (33 O/U) [P: ($10.00), S: ($10.00), O/U: ($10.00), T: ($30.00)]
• Cincinnati 13 (-7), Tampa Bay 14 (43 O/U) [P: ($10.00), S: ($10.00), O/U: $9.09, T: ($10.91)]
• Houston* 6, Dallas 34 (-13.5) (43 O/U) [P: $1.00, S: ($10.00), O/U: $9.09, T: $0.09]
• New York Giants 27, Atlanta 14 (-3) (41.5 O/U) [P: $13.50, S: $10.00, O/U: $9.09, T: $32.59]
• Philadelphia 24 (-4.5), New Orleans 27 (46 O/U) [P: ($10.00), S: ($10.00), O/U: ($10.00), T: ($30.00)]
• Seattle 30 (-3.5), St. Louis 28 (44.5 O/U) [P: $5.71, S: ($10.00), O/U: ($10.00), T: ($14.29)]
• Tennessee* 25, Washington 22 (-10.5) (39 O/U) [P: ($10.00), S: $10.00, O/U: ($10.00), T: ($10.00)]
• Kansas City 7, Pittsburgh 45 (-7) (36.5 O/U) [P: $3.13, S: $10.00, O/U: $9.09, T: $22.22]
• Miami 17, New York Jets 20 (-2) (36 O/U) [P: $7.69, S: $10.00, O/U: $9.09, T: $26.78]
• San Diego 48 (-11.5), San Francisco 19 (42.5 O/U) [P: $1.67, S: $10.00, O/U: ($10.00), T: $1.67]
• Oakland* 3, Denver 13 (-16) (36 O/U) [P: $0.67, S: $10.00, O/U: ($10.00), T: $0.67]
• Chicago 24 (-13.5), Arizona 23 (39 O/U) [P: $1.18, S: ($10.00), O/U: $9.09, T: $0.27]

Results Summary

• Picks (this week): 8 - 5 (61.54%) - Winnings: ($15.46)
• Picks (season): 61 - 26 (70.11%) - Winnings: $20.32
• Spread (this week): 6 - 7 (46.15%) - Winnings: ($10.00)
• Spread (season): 38 - 46 (45.24%) - Winnings: ($80.00)
• Over/Under (this week): 7 - 6 (53.85%) - Winnings: $3.64
• Over/Under (season): 53 - 32 (62.35%) - Winnings: $161.82
• Total Weekly Winnings: ($21.82)
• Total Overall Winnings: $102.14

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Technorati Tags: NFL | Picks | Odds

Once again, I'm late. But at?least it's before the games start!

• Buffalo (-1.5) vs. Detroit (40.5 O/U)
• Carolina vs. Baltimore (-3) (33 O/U)
• Cincinnati (-7) vs. Tampa Bay (43 O/U)
• Houston* vs. Dallas (-13.5) (43 O/U)
• New York Giants vs. Atlanta (-3) (41.5 O/U)
• Philadelphia (-4.5) vs. New Orleans (46 O/U)
• Seattle (-3.5) vs. St. Louis (44.5 O/U)
• Tennessee* vs. Washington (-10.5) (39 O/U)
• Kansas City vs. Pittsburgh (-7) (36.5 O/U)
• Miami vs. New York Jets (-2) (36 O/U)
• San Diego (-11.5) vs. San Francisco (42.5 O/U)
• Oakland* vs. Denver (-16) (36 O/U)
• Chicago (-13.5) vs. Arizona (39 O/U)

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Technorati Tags: NFL | Odds | Picks

I actually have a decent excuse for not posting on Tuesday night. I was presenting at a user group - but that doesnt' excuse Wednesday, Thursday or Friday!

Going into Sunday night, I'd picked each winner correctly - 12-0. Then I missed both the Sunday and Monday night games. Oops. Of course, I wasn't quite as good where it matters - against the spread - but still, I was 7-6. Just to note, of the four teams with a 10 or more?point spread this week, only Chicago covered. My theory holds!

Detroit had to get creative to lose this week - and they did it! And Oakland has the inside track on that number one pick. Go Raiders! The best comment I heard all weekend: "Joey Harrington is 10-14 for 146 yards, and because he's Joey Harrington, he has an interception." That about sums it up. It's looking like Pittsburgh will be the Super Bowl team that doesn't make the playoffs the following year - unless Ben realizes he's Big Ben and starts playing like it again.

• Buffalo* 7, Chicago 40 (-11) (35 O/U) [P: $1.67, S: ($10.00), O/U: $9.09, T: $0.76]
• Cleveland 12, Carolina 20 (-8) (37.5 O/U) [P: $2.50, S: $0.00, O/U: ($10.00), T: ($7.50)]
• Detroit 17, Minnesota 26 (-6.5) (40 O/U) [P: $3.33, S: $10.00, O/U: ($10.00), T: $3.33]
• Miami* 10, New England 20 (-10.5) (37 O/U) [P: $1.67, S: $10.00, O/U: ($10.00), T: $1.67]
• St. Louis 23 (-3.5), Green Bay 20 (47 O/U) [P: $6.45, S: ($10.00), O/U: $9.09, T: $5.54]
• Tampa Bay 21, New Orleans 24 (-7.5) (35 O/U) [P: $3.64, S: ($10.00), O/U: $9.09, T: $2.73]
• Tennessee* 13, Indianapolis 14 (-18.5) (49 O/U) [P: $0.30, S: $10.00, O/U: $9.09, T: $19.39]
• Washington 3, New York Giants 19 (-5) (46 O/U) [P: $4.35, S: $10.00, O/U: ($10.00), T: $4.35]
• Kansas City 23 (-4), Arizona 20 (40 O/U) [P: $5.41, S: ($10.00), O/U: $9.09, T: $4.50]
• New York Jets 0, Jacksonville 41 (-7) (37 O/U) [P: $3.13, S: $10.00, O/U: $9.09, T: $22.22]
• Oakland 20, San Francisco 34 (-3.5) (40 O/U) [P: $5.56, S: $10.00, O/U: ($10.00), T: $5.56]
• Dallas 24, Philadelphia 38 (-2) (44 O/U) [P: $7.69, S: $10.00, O/U: ($10.00), T: $7.69]
• Pittsburgh 13, San Diego 23 (-3) (37.5 O/U) [P: ($10.00), S: ($10.00), O/U: ($10.00), T: ($30.00)]
• Baltimore 3, Denver 13 (-3) (33 O/U) [P: ($10.00), S: ($10.00), O/U: $9.09, T: ($10.91)]

Results Summary

• Picks (this week): 12 - 2 (85.71%) - Winnings: $25.68
• Picks (season): 53 - 21 (71.62%) - Winnings: $35.78
• Spread (this week): 7 - 6 (53.85%) - Winnings: $10.00
• Spread (season): 32 - 39 (45.07%) - Winnings: ($70.00)
• Over/Under (this week): 7 - 7 (50.00%) - Winnings: ($6.36)
• Over/Under (season): 46 - 26 (63.89%) - Winnings: $158.18
• Total Weekly Winnings: $29.32
• Total Overall Winnings: $123.97

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Technorati Tags: NFL | Picks | Odds

Last night, I gave my talk on Code Generation and CodeSmith, and I think it went fairly well. I promised I would post the templates I created as well as my slides, which?you can get here.?The slides are relatively useless. as there's not much details about what I talked about, but there are notes in the powerpoint, so you can get an idea of what I said.

There's also a text file in the zip which contains the command lines I used to do batch generation and the "Keep" region example.

Here's a listing of the resources I had on the last slides, in case you're just looking for those.

• CodeSmith Home page: http://www.codesmithtools.com. This is where you can buy CodeSmith, or at least get a 30 day trial to give it a go.
• Scott Hanselman's podcast on CodeSmith (HanselMinutes - Episode 14): http://www.hanselminutes.com/default.aspx?showID=20
• CodeSmith Community Contributed Templates: http://community.codesmithtools.com/files/9/default.aspx
• Code Generation Network: http://www.codegeneration.net

There's nothing in here about CodeSmith 4.0, but here's the email I got, as posted by Tim Rayburn.

Technorati Tags: CodeSmith | Code+Generation

Martin Fowler has a post title DesignedInheritence?which talks about the reasoning behind only allowing inheritence where the library developer specifies versus allowing inheritence anywhere. The reasoning for only allowing inheritence where the library developer specifies is the argument that library developers are experts and library users aren't.

He basically goes on to say that he believes in open inheritence, where you rely on the developers using your library to be smart enough to not screw things up?- basically, don't get a big ego about how good you are. When you use Designed Inheritence, you're basically putting yourself on a pedastal and saying, "Look at me, all you lowly coders. I have deemed you worthy to use my perfect software."

That's not how the world works. When we build libraries, we have to understand that we don't know how it will be used. That's the whole idea of it being a seperate library. You recognize how you need it, but you're also opening it up to let others use it. The best libraries out there are the ones that get used in ways the original developer didn't take into account - but wrote the library in such a way that it was flexible enough to support those alternate ways.

Recently, I've been involved in building a framework, and this article was right on point with the philosophy that we used when building the framework. It's designed to be a business entity layer that can be used on just about any type of project, and what you get out of the box is huge. But that doesn't mean we can take everything into account that will be needed on any given project. So we took an open inheritence approach?- our classes are wide open. You can override just about anything you want, and not one single class is sealed. Not only that, but we also have a whole set of events that you can hook into to manipulate data. Oh, and whoever's using the framework, they get the source to the framework. Not only that, they get the templates that generate the framework.

Can't get much farther from Designed Inheritence than that!

Technorati Tags: DesignedInheritence | Patterns | Martin+Fowler

On Tuesday, I agreed to fill in for a colleague and speak at the next West Michigan .NET User Group meeting, which happens to be next Tuesday (October 10th). It's short notice, but I'm sure I'll have time to throw together a pretty decent presentation on code generation and more specifically, CodeSmith. I thought someone had already done something on CodeSmith, but looking back, it appears that's not the case - a couple of years ago, there was a talk about useful tools, where CodeSmith was mentioned, but not covered in detail.

I've been deep into CodeSmith for the past couple of months, so I think I have a fairly good grasp of what it's capable of, and can put together a pretty compelling demo. And since I found out, I've been digging deeper and found a few more things that I can show. And more importantly, I'll start using them now that I know about them!

On the down side, since I found out, I've come down with a cold which is making it difficult to speak too much. Hopefully I'll be over that by next week. I guess the big test will be tomorrow, when I have a presentation at NuSoft - oddly enough, based around CodeSmith too!

Technorati Tags: GRDotNet | CodeSmith | User+Group

I've seen more 10+ spreads this season than I ever have before! And this week brings a new high. The Colts are an 18.5 point favorite! When you think about it, it makes sense - who wouldn't be surprised to see a 35-10 game? Remember, the Titans got plastered by the Cowboys last week, and Dallas was distracted by Owens' off field issues (this is becoming a trend!). Anyway, who would actually bet on this game? Yeah, you could do a spread pick, but which way? Now, if you pick the game straight up, who do you take? The obvious choice is the Colts, but assuming you are correct, you'd need to be $33 to get a $1 return. That's a big bet for a small return. On the other hand, if you thought the Titans could pull it off, and they did, you can bet just $1 to get a $12 return. It's almost worth throwing it on the dog in that just because of the return you'd get!

Is week five too early to declare a game meaningless? I don't think so. Is there anyone who thinks that the Raiders / 49ers game will have any effect on the outcome of the season? Well, this could be the battle for the number one draft pick! And I guess it could affect a top team's strength of schedule if there's a tie for a playoff spot. Now that would suck!

• Buffalo* vs. Chicago (-11) (35 O/U)
• Cleveland vs. Carolina (-8) (37.5 O/U)
• Detroit vs. Minnesota (-6.5) (40 O/U)
• Miami* vs. New England (-10.5) (37 O/U)
• St. Louis (-3.5) vs. Green Bay (47 O/U)
• Tampa Bay vs. New Orleans (-7.5) (35 O/U)
• Tennessee* vs. Indianapolis (-18.5) (49 O/U)
• Washington vs. New York Giants (-5) (46 O/U)
• Kansas City (-4) vs. Arizona (40 O/U)
• New York Jets vs. Jacksonville (-7) (37 O/U)
• Oakland vs. San Francisco (-3.5) (40 O/U)
• Dallas vs. Philadelphia (-2) (44 O/U)
• Pittsburgh vs. San Diego (-3) (37.5 O/U)
• Baltimore vs. Denver (-3) (33 O/U)

Technorati Tags: NFL | Picks | Odds

Again, I'm late with the review, so we'll be quick. Dallas destroyed the Titans, didn't they? Did you see the end of the Colts/Jets game? I didn't either, but everyone said it was an instant classic, and it looked like the Jets were going to pull it out, only to be beat by Manning. The Jets are a much better team than most thought they would be this year. On the other hand, Miami is much worse than expected. Who would have thought that adding Culpepper to a team that finished so strong last season would cause a complete collapse. Or maybe last season's strong finish was artificially inflated by weak opponents or teams who were on cruise control? Somehow, I don't think Culpepper is the problem. New Orleans is also much better than most expected. But seriously, everyone knew that if Brees played like he did in San Diego, this team could be great on offense. Add Bush in there, and this team could be good for a while. The 49ers got laid out by the Chiefs, who are weak this year. Ouch. Think the Madden curse isn't real? Where was Alexander when Seattle got pasted by that powerhouse offense in Chicago? Oh yeah, he broke his foot.

If you notice a discrepency in numbers, that's because I wasn't taking my over/under into account correctly, so my numbers were off. Oddly, again this year, I'm way up ($165) picking over/under, and down on the spread, even though I have no idea what I'm doing on over/under! FYI, betting the money line just isn't worth it. I'm picking over 68% correct, yet I'm only up $10?- after putting up $600 - a 1.6% return over 4 weeks. compare that to my over/under, which is at 28% return over 4 weeks. I dare you to beat that return on Wall Street!

• Arizona 10, Atlanta 32 (-7.5) (40.5 O/U) [P: $3.08, S: $10.00, O/U: $9.09, T: $22.17]
• Dallas 45 (-11), Tennessee* 14 (37 O/U) [P: $2.00, S: ($10.00), O/U: ($10.00), T: ($18.00)]
• Indianapolis 31 (-10), New York Jets 28 (46.5 O/U) [P: $2.22, S: ($10.00), O/U: $9.09, T: $1.31]
• Miami 15 (-3.5), Houston 17 (40.5 O/U) [P: ($10.00), S: ($10.00), O/U: $9.09, T: ($10.91)]
• Minnesota 12, Buffalo 17 (0) (34.5 O/U) [P: ($10.00), S: ($10.00), O/U: $9.09, T: ($10.91)]
• New Orleans 18, Carolina 21 (-7) (41.5 O/U) [P: $3.03, S: ($10.00), O/U: $9.09, T: $2.12]
• San Diego 13 (-3), Baltimore 16 (33 O/U) [P: $12.50, S: $10.00, O/U: $9.09, T: $31.59]
• San Francisco* 0, Kansas City 41 (-7) (40 O/U) [P: $3.13, S: ($10.00), O/U: $9.09, T: $2.22]
• Detroit 34, St. Louis 41 (-6) (43.5 O/U) [P: $4.17, S: $10.00, O/U: ($10.00), T: $4.17]
• Cleveland 24 (-3.5), Oakland 21 (33.5 O/U) [P: $6.67, S: ($10.00), O/U: $9.09, T: $5.76]
• Jacksonville 30 (-3.5), Washington 36 (34.5 O/U) [P: ($10.00), S: ($10.00), O/U: $9.09, T: ($10.91)]
• New England 38, Cincinnati 13 (-7) (46.5 O/U) [P: ($10.00), S: ($10.00), O/U: ($10.00), T: ($30.00)]
• Seattle 6, Chicago 37 (-3.5) (34.5 O/U) [P: $5.41, S: $10.00, O/U: $9.09, T: $24.50]
• Green Bay 9, Philadelphia 31 (-11) (48 O/U) [P: $1.43, S: $10.00, O/U: $9.09, T: $20.52]

Results Summary

• Picks (this week): 10 - 4 (71.43%) - Winnings: $3.62
• Picks (season): 41 - 19 (68.33%) - Winnings: $10.10
• Spread (this week): 5 - 9 (35.71%) - Winnings: ($40.00)
• Spread (season): 25 - 33 (43.10%) - Winnings: ($80.00)
• Over/Under (this week): 11 - 3 (78.57%) - Winnings: $70.00
• Over/Under (season): 39 - 19 (67.24%) - Winnings: $164.55
• Total Weekly Winnings: $33.62
• Total Overall Winnings: $94.65

Technorati Tags: NFL | Picks | Odds

It was definitely an interesting week. T.O. first accidentally overdosed, then he actually tried to commit suicide, then he denied that, despite the police report. Then the police report changed, and now, here we are, not really knowing anything about what happened, other than T.O. went to the hospital because he took too many pain killers. Oh yeah, and don't ask Bill Parcels. He doesn't even know where Owens is! Props to the one lone reporter at his press conference who asked a non-T.O. question about Terry Glenn. That takes guts!

• Arizona vs. Atlanta (-7.5) (40.5 O/U)
• Dallas (-11) vs. Tennessee* (37 O/U)
• Indianapolis (-10) vs. New York Jets (46.5 O/U)
• Miami (-3.5) vs. Houston (40.5 O/U)
• Minnesota vs. Buffalo (0) (34.5 O/U)
• New Orleans vs. Carolina (-7) (41.5 O/U)
• San Diego (-3) vs. Baltimore (33 O/U)
• San Francisco* vs. Kansas City (-7) (40 O/U)
• Detroit vs. St. Louis (-6) (43.5 O/U)
• Cleveland (-3.5) vs. Oakland (33.5 O/U)
• Jacksonville (-3.5) vs. Washington (34.5 O/U)
• New England vs. Cincinnati (-7) (46.5 O/U)
• Seattle vs. Chicago (-3.5) (34.5 O/U)
• Green Bay vs. Philadelphia (-11) (48 O/U)

Technorati Tags: NFL | Picks | Odds