Schonhose

In my previous blog post I mentioned I bought a Huey Pro update for my original Huey. The update program wouldn’t work so I send the support department of Pantone an email. As of today I haven’t heard from them so I called them to ask my question.

I got transfered to the support department and had a nice chat with John, I pointed out the earlier question and he promised me to get right on it. Guess what? Two hours later my issue was resolved!

The records indicated that I had a Huey with a specific serialnumber and it the upgrade process is bound to that serialnumber. However, I had some issues with my Huey (most notably the famous colorcast issue) and I got a replacement. This replacement obviously had a different serialnumber so the upgrade program wouldn’t work. Pantone provided me with the correct file and now all is well.

The upgrade succeeded and I can sleep well tonight. All because of John and the other people of Pantone. If you need some kind off monitor calibration, check out the Pantone website (yes, that was a shameless plug).

Well, since my last (rather large) post almost eleven days ago I decided to write a little something about nothing. Funny how things go, I got caught up doing my everyday job while not having much room to do some other stuff. I do have stuff laying around I ought to be doing but time isn’t pretty easy to come by these days. Sometimes I try catching up on my RSS feeds only to realize I need more time.

I’ve updated my Huey to a Huey Pro, or at least I’m in the process of trying. The current status is I’ve payed for an upgrade, got a couple of files to upgrade the hardware and then I got stuck. It seems the upgrade utility cannot find some file needed to perform the upgrade. I’ve contacted Pantone Support and I’m still awaiting response from them. As usual it could take a few days (it has been almost two now….). I do hope I can sort this out soon since I really need to process some pictures for my website.

Another season has almost come to an end. Usually this is a good time to start reflecting on what I would like to do next season. Looking back on last season I have to say that it was totally lost. I meant to play again at the start of this season and talked it over with the coach. Unfortunately for me he wanted to focus more on the younger guys and he had a full roster (in hindsight: one never showed up and another left halfway through the season). So basically I was asked to sit this season out.

That was it, I’ve lost my interest in basketball right there at that moment. I did attend some practices at the start but I never felt like having fun. After a while I just stopped practicing and tried to focus on officiating. This was the second season I had to watch from the sidelines. Earlier I decided to sit one season out mostly because this way all my injuries (e.g. knee, shoulder and ankles) could heal properly. And here I was, fully healed and sitting on the sidelines again.

Looking back I realized the decision at the start of the season had a major impact on my attitude towards the game. I wanted to give it another chance, despite the difficulties I had in my first year. I really wanted to set aside all I have learned and wanted to try to fit in the scheme. It wouldn’t be easy, things surely were different compared to where I came from.

After a couple of months I realized I started to miss playing basketball. I realized I wanted (perhaps even needed) to play the game. But it was clear from the start my current team wasn’t the place for me anymore. I gave up on the idea I needed to fit in, the idea I needed to abandon all I know. I just wanted to play, start having fun again on the court.

To find out my true feelings I started out working with my old team again, amazingly having fun every time I stepped on the court. It felt like a homecoming but I knew it wasn’t going to work for a whole season because of the distance. So that is why I started to look around for other teams I wanted to play with. I attended some practicing sessions of a couple of teams and I hoped to find a team with a familiar playing style. A team where I would feel at home. Luckily I managed to find such a team and I have been practicing with them for a few months. I’m starting to have fun again, although I tend to miss some shots and my condition is not all that good. But these things can be worked on during the off-season and I’m determined to get myself in shape again.

A couple of weeks ago I made the decision that this is the last year with my current team. And that is not all, here in the Netherlands you have to officiate for a sportsclub. Any sportsclub that wants to play on a high level needs to provide one or two officials. This season I was one of those officials they needed to provide. I also made the decision the current season is the last season I will be officiating for them.

Will I be officiating in the upcoming season? I don’t know. Will I be playing in the upcoming season? Yes, definitely! Am I happy with my decisions? You bet ya! It sure feels good to be on the court again!

Tonight UNC failed to win the Final Four game against Kansas. Basically the game was decided in the first half when Kansas had the largest lead of 28 points (40-12). UNC was unable to match the intensity of Kansas. Every loose ball was collected by Kansas and some nice defensive stops where made. However, North Carolina had a great comeback, starting in the first half to cut it to 4 in the second half.

Unfortunately UNC ran out of gas and Kansas had some luck making some shots. UNC tried to claw their way back by shooting threes but the shots didn’t fell. Again I was amazed by the toughness of this UNC team, coming back the way they did.

Because of the missed threes Kansas played smart and had a couple of easy baskets in the last 2 minutes. That makes the final score 84 – 66 which looks like an easy win. It wasn’t and UNC fought and nearly managed to make the greatest comeback in sports history. An awesome run had come to an end, a run that should have gone much farther. UNC definitely would have had a shot in winning not only this game but the title this year if only Kansas didn’t jump to that 28 point lead.

On monday night Kansas will take on Memphis in the finals of the 2008 NCAA tournament. Although I plan to watch that game I doubt that I will watch it live again. The next couple of days will be interesting. I wonder what some UNC players will do, will they enter the NBA draft or stay another year? We just have to wait and see.

I once again applaud Roy Williams, his staff and of course the 2008 North Carolina team for an awesome run. Thanks guys!