Wait, You're Actually Busy?

Music countdowns.  Relationship ineptitude.  Fantasy football draft analysis.  This blog originated as a forum to share my rules for a more effective society, and I have not done that in a while.  Time to get back to the basics.  I’d like to turn my attention towards proper usage of IM statuses in the workplace and recognition of what those statuses actually represent.  A great many people just don't understand some of these concepts.  There are no doubt several applications across the workplace but I imagine they all utilize a similar set of status options.  My company uses Microsoft Lync so that will be the basis of these rules.  Let’s meet the players involved.  

Available

I’m incredibly paranoid (shocker, I know).  My fear is that I’m going to engage you at a most inopportune time.  Perhaps you were just getting ready to leave your desk.  If you are making an unplanned departure from your desk, there really is no way for me to know that.  It doesn’t ease my nerves but I’ve learned to chalk it up to my unlucky tendencies.  At least if you have a meeting upcoming, the additional information provided by Lync will tip me off.  It’s those times that you really are busy but show as available which irk me.  That pit of quicksand is completely avoidable if you’d just cooperate a little bit.

If you’re green, the expectation is that I’ll be met with some sort of acknowledgment in a reasonable time frame.  I also hope to have a reasonable amount of your attention; I’ll factor in the possibility that you have simultaneous conversations going.  This road travels in both directions.  That is my promise to you when engaging an available me.  Any topic is fair game.  We can discuss anything you like, from your stupid adorable cats to your disdain over the actions of a boss or fellow co-worker.

So when should you be available?  Whenever any situation you see below does not apply.  It’s pretty simple.

Busy

You will see some people utilize the busy status for its intended purpose and I tip my cap to you good folks.  Most, however, are only busy when the status defaults for them as a result of a meeting they’re in.  That, of course, is standard protocol, but I guess I’d like to see more busy people.  Additionally, these same people often lazily cling to the busy status even after their meeting has ended and they’re truly available again. 

It should go without saying but there are times when each of us has got shit to do.  I don’t know about you but…I’m kind of a big deal.  I am busy from time to time and I’ll let you know about it.  It is, however, perfectly acceptable to interrupt a busy person if it’s a work-related matter.  Ultimately, that’s what where all there to do, right?  Depending on the person and their current situation, I may not get my answer, but I’ll still try.  I can say that I will never fault someone for asking me anything at any time that will help them perform their job.

Less scrupulous people might choose to appear busy when it’s not the case.  It’s hard to definitively prove how busy someone actually is so there’s little downside to showing yourself as such from time to time.  Some co-workers may become jealous of your work ethic but others (a boss perhaps) may grow to admire it. He’s still busy?  He must really have a lot of work because he’s not even making himself available to talk.  What a dedicated worker.   You know it.  That Penske file isn’t going to take care of itself.  George Costanza would be proud.

Over the years, I’ve adopted a policy of making myself busy when I don’t really feel like talking to people.  I’ll appreciate you not calling me out on it either.  Contrary to what you may believe, there are times I really don’t want to hear about Garfield or your workplace nemesis.  Perhaps I’m having a rough day or feeling particularly sorry for myself.  I can’t go completely off the grid so I have to take some preventative measures.  I never know when someone will remember how fantastic my back and forth banter truly is and want a piece of it. 

Being busy should be a suitable deterrent to unwanted solicitors.  The indicator is even a red stop sign albeit one that’s missing a few sides.  Unfortunately, there are a lot of awful drivers out there.  They blow right through the sign as if the rules don’t apply to them.  They do so at their own risk and must suffer whatever consequences come their way.  You reserve the right to be less than cordial to them or ignore them altogether.  These are horrible people who you don’t need to be associated with anyway.

Of course, we all have certain people in our workplace who have the eternal green light to engage us even when busy.  At the very least, they should have an eternal yield sign.  It’s like this ridiculous stop sign out by my parent’s house.  I’ve blown through that sign a million times because 98 times out of 100 there’s nothing coming in either direction.  It’s a quiet country road; I’ll stop when I need to.   The privileged few who enjoy these extra rights are your close friends or that person you have a crush on.  You make exceptions for them and that’s well within your right.  Prevailing liberal propaganda may try to trick us into believing that everybody should be equal.  Don’t buy into it.  America is great because that’s not the case.

I love the “busy” status because it serves many purposes and can help you reach a desired end.  When you get right down to it, you’re doing everybody a favor by showing yourself as busy. 

Do Not Disturb

Of the 4 colors in the IM rainbow, the one for DND is definitely the one you see the least.  Don’t you always feel a small surge of supremacy when selecting this status?  Conversely, it’s perfectly normal to feel jealous or annoyed when you see someone else who simply cannot be disturbed.  They think it’s just putting the rest of the IM universe on notice that distractions are not allowed.  But you know better what they’re really saying.  Working-on-some-super-secret-project-much-more-important-than-anything-you-could-ever-possibly-understand-or-be-involved-with. 

There are certainly occasions when do not disturb applies.  It is an absolute must when you are presenting anything, especially when you are sharing your computer screen for others to view.  The last thing anybody wants is a little NSFW message popping up from a friend.  You can’t ignore or close that window fast enough; those words are burned in everyone’s mind.  Noooo, boss, that remark was taken completely out of context. No-talent hack is a compliment in this sense.  I should probably start looking for a box, shouldn’t I?

DND is also a more severe tactic that can be employed when you don’t feel like chatting.  It’s certainly more effective but not without its drawbacks.  The people who desperately need to reach you for something cannot do so.  Sure, they can send an email marked as high importance but there’s no guarantee it makes your radar.  As such, I don’t advertise using DND for this purpose but it is an option I suppose.

DND can be used to express extreme dissatisfaction with another party.  It’s the proverbial door getting slammed in your face.  Sometimes “I HATE YOU. LEAVE ME ALONE.” just doesn’t do the trick.  I’ve only had this happen to me once (KJ) and I think it takes a certain level of bitch or asshole to go there.  It’s a short-sighted response because your knee-jerk reaction to one person has now negatively impacted the rest.  Regardless of how you use it, Do Not Disturb is not for the faint of heart.

Be Right Back

This status gets lost in the shuffle and I find it to be vastly underused and underappreciated.  It’s just another form of being away you may protest.  While that’s true, it’s also a more accurate representation of your situation.  When you are away, there’s no timeline for your return.  A co-worker may have a pressing question and you may be the best person to provide the answer.  If they knew you were going to be back shortly, they can rest assured knowing that they will be able to ask their question in a few minutes.  If you’re merely “away”, they might be better served reaching out to someone else. 

One potential problem with this status stems from differing opinions of what “right back” really means.  Generally speaking, anything less than 6 minutes is an acceptable time of absence for this status.  Going to the bathroom?  Be right back.  Stopping by a co-worker’s cube to answer a work-related question?  Probably be right back, unless that question is related to anything about sharing revenue or allocating internal broker expenses.  Stopping by a co-worker’s cube to shoot the breeze?  NOT be right back.  Patrolling the office to ensure there hasn’t been a security breach of the perimeter?  Definitely NOT be right back.

If you aren’t sure about the duration of your absence, it’s probably best to err on the side of caution.  Nobody likes to be misled in the waiting game, like that girl who was supposed to call or text you after she was done washing her hair.  Who is she? Rapunzel?  If you habitually misuse this status, your time management skills come into question and that’s no way to get ahead in the corporate world. 

Off Work

Here’s another status that you rarely see selected.  I won’t champion its usage as strongly as BRB because its effectiveness is fairly limited.  Most people who might see this status are probably gone for the day themselves.  Furthermore, given the time of day, most people can reasonably assume that your “away” means “gone for the day.”  Do you even use this status then, Dave?  I’m glad you asked.  Of course I do, but I’m better than you.  I can’t very well expect you to follow my lead by setting a poor example. 

Let’s say you are engaged in a conversation with a co-worker late in the day.  You might also be one of those jerks who do not offer a goodbye to officially end the proceedings.  Your co-worker may be left wondering, ‘Are we done here?’  Notifying the other party that you are indeed off work with a simple status selection does not excuse your lack of courtesy but it does answer their question.  It’s the least you can do for them. 

The best thing about this status is that it isn’t open to interpretation.  There is exactly one time of the day when it should be selected.  I will offer one word of caution about this status if your clocks are set to Younker time and punctuality isn’t exactly your thing.  You may be “off work” at the end of the day and not think twice about it.  Just remember that your status will stay that way until you change it the next morning.  If your boss hawks your arrival time, do you really want him or her to know you haven’t managed to make it into the office yet?

Appear Away

The mere name of this status bothers me.  Do I read way too much into things?  Yes I do.  Do I pose questions and then answer them myself?  Yes I do.  I don’t want to “appear” as anything.  Either I’m away from my desk or I’m not.  Fortunately, the actual status only displays as “away." 

Being away may provide the perfect out for a conversation you’d like to gracefully back out of.  If you’re a nice guy like me, you don’t want to feel the burden of uncomfortably informing the other party that you’d no longer like to talk to them.  Just put yourself as away for a while and continue working as normal.  That often derails the conversation.  When you regain availability, the conversation momentum has been lost and the other person has probably moved on.  If they persist with the undesired messages, you may need to take more drastic measures (see above). 

There really isn’t a whole lot else that needs to be said about this status.  You should use it when one of the other yellow statuses does not apply. 

So now you’re a bit more educated about how to use the Lync instant messenger program.  If you could all start following these rules, that would be greaaaaat.  I knew you’d see it my way.  I am, however, a slave to logic.  If anything I’ve said here doesn’t make sense or if you have additional scenarios for when a particular status could apply, feel free to enlighten me.  I could be wrong, but I am wearing glasses right now.

Q101: Outro

I don’t have much more to say about Q101 than I did in my intro.  However, when I decided to write this mini-series, I had always planned on an epilogue of sorts to wrap the mini-series up in a nice, little bow.  I went through a couple tasks to create some material for this post.  I’m not going to publicly share this post because the content isn’t worth advertising.  If you’ve stumbled upon it for yourself, consider it an Easter egg I’ve hidden amongst other posts. 

Since I’m a nerdy numbers guy, I went back through the lists and compiled some stats.  I’ll share my thoughts on some of the interesting things that jumped out to me. 

Mandie Stats

• Total number of songs in common = 18/85
• Years with at least 1 song in common = 11/17
• Year with most songs in common = 2005 (3)

My companion on this Q101 journey was my co-worker Mandie.  I again want to thank her for giving me a brief reprieve from the daily rigors of work.  We always shared our lists with each other after year was completed, so I knew we had some favorites in common.  You can see all of her lists and her write-up here.  15 of our shared songs were prior to 2006 (out of a possible 60 songs), which is right around the time I started to notice a considerable drop in the music quality.  The fact that we shared at least 1 song in common 11 times is a higher number than I would have guessed considering how many songs you can choose from each year.  Great minds think alike?

Artist Stats

• Artist with most songs in a top 5 = Foo Fighters and Breaking Benjamin (4)
• Artists with 3 songs in a top 5 = Goo Goo Dolls, Linkin Park, and Seether
• Artists with more than 1 song in a top 5 = 15

The Foo Fighters are most deserving of the honor to be the most represented band.  They aren’t my favorite group but they’re up there, so I’m cool with it.  I can’t help but feel that Breaking Benjamin made the list as many times as they did only because of the watered-down musical landscape of the late ‘00s.  Goo Goo Dolls and Linkin Park are 2 of my favorite bands and the stat above validates that.  Seether?  Not so much.  They’re another beneficiary of the era in which they existed.   Many of the ‘90s alternative giants and my favorite groups, such as Green Day, the Smashing Pumpkins, and Bush, made the list more than once.  So did later favorites like Jimmy Eat World and Silversun Pickups.  There were some notable absences in the list of groups included on more than 1 top 5.  Pearl Jam, Oasis, and Fall Out Boy jump out to me based on how much I enjoyed all of their music.

Now that I had ranked the top 5 within each individual year, I wanted to answer the question of which Q101 year was the greatest.  Back when they played the countdowns, the station would always hold a vote for people to submit their favorite year.  The winning year would get replayed on New Year’s Day and 1994 won EVERY year.  1994 was a very good year so I had little complaints.  I’ve always preferred 1995 myself, but I needed to prove to myself that it was indeed my favorite.

I ranked the years in a few different ways to help gather the data I felt I needed.  First, I pitted the top 5 of each year against each other.  When you are considering the best year, you want to compare the best of the best.  These elite songs are often what you remember most about a year in music.  I, somewhat arbitrarily, decided this rank to be worth 30% of the composite score.

The 2^nd ranking I did was a sub-total of rankings.  When I listened to each year, I not only ranked the top 5; I ranked every song I had in the list.  That served me well for this purpose.  I was able to compare cross-sections of each year.  For example, I could compare my 10^th favorite song of each year and my 20^th favorite song each year.  A year with a strong top 5 may be very top-heavy.  Going deeper into the ranks gave me an idea of how well the year sustained its musical quality.  I stopped at the top 50 for a couple reasons.  I didn’t have many songs past 50 (in my library) for some of the later years.  Plus, the ranks really start to lose their meaning the further down the list you go.  Everyone’s top 5 or top 10 is fairly set in stone I’d imagine.  But do you REALLY like the 60^th best song more than the 61^st?  It probably depends on which day of the week you made the ranks.  Since is this more of an overall review, I deemed it to be the most important piece of the equation.  It counts for 50% of the score.

The final ranking I did was a completely objective one.  I ranked the years in order of the number of songs I had in my own personal music library.  Logic would suggest that a song would be in my library if I thought enough of it to buy the album on which it was on or I chose to download the song.  It also probably reflects how much I was in tune with what was being played on the radio that year.  A year with more total songs would also simply give me more to listen to.  Quality is still greater than quantity though, so this ranking only accounts for 20% of the total.

When you put it all together and the dust settles…2001 is the best year!?

Top 5	Rankings Collection	Songs in Library	Composite Score
1995 1996 2001 1999 1997 1994 1998 2004 2002 2005 2006 2009 2010 2003 2008 2000 2007	1995 1994 2001 2002 1996 1998 1997 2000 1999 2004 2005 2003 2006 2009 2007 2010 2008	1998 2002 2000 2001 1996 1997 2003 1994 2004 1999 2006 1995 2008 2005 2007 2009 2010	2001 1995 1996 1994 1998 1997 2002 1999 2004 2000 2005 2006 2003 2009 2010 2008 2007	14.9 14.7 14.5 12.8 12.5 12.2 11.9 11.2 9.2 6.9 6.9 6.5 6 4.6 3.3 2.9 2

I’ve always clung to the belief that 1995 was the best year but it was narrowly beaten by 2001.  I actually felt a little bit angry when I calculated the formula and saw the results.  1995 MUST be the best.  It holds a revered place in my heart and shouldn’t be threatened.  You’ll see that 1995 contains my favorite top 5 and my favorite top 50 (essentially).  Its undoing was the curiously low number of songs it has contributed to my library.  I suppose that can be attributed to the fact that I was still an alternative newbie at the time with limited musical access.  2001 was consistent across the board in all 3 categories.  In the fateful final category, 2001 had the advantage of being smack dab in the middle of the golden years.  1996 also deserves a shout-out for coming in just behind the leaders in the clubhouse.

As you can see, the yearly rankings follow an almost chronological pattern.  The ‘90s are better than the early 2000s which are better than the later 2000s.  The romanticized years of my youth have really held up over time.  Just put it on Lithium when scrolling through Sirius XM stations and I’ll be a very happy boy.  Q101 is sort of back now but under a different name.  I’ll still get some of my old favorites but there’s so much unfamiliar new stuff.  Listening to the station now makes me feel like that 30-year old who still shows up to high school and college parties.  Q101 – you will always be a part of who I am and I salute what you were.  Thanks for the memories.  

2014 FF Draft Work: Teams 2 and 3

I'm not sure who has less of a life: me for writing this or you for reading it.  Let's see what you think of these teams.  I felt it was another couple strong days in the office.  I really wish they paid me for drafting teams (other than the money I'm taking off my fellow owners) or writing about them.

TEAM 2

Setup – 12 team; .5 PPR; 1 keeper (Jamaal Charles); 12^th pick

QB – Colin Kaepernick (7^th)

RB – Jamaal Charles (keeper)

RB – Shane Vereen (4^th)

WR – Antonio Brown (1^st)

WR – Michael Crabtree (3^rd)

RB/WR/TE (WR) – Michael Floyd (5^th)

TE – Julius Thomas (2^nd)

K – Nick Novak (15^th)

DEF – 49ers (12^th)

BN (QB) – Tony Romo (10^th)

BN (RB) – Chris Johnson (6^th)

BN (RB) – Christine Michael (11^th)

BN (WR) – Brandin Cooks (8^th)

BN (WR) – Riley Cooper (14^th)

BN (TE) – Ladarius Green (9^th)

BN (DEF) – Buccaneers (13^th)

Having a surefire top-4 pick to start with is always nice.  I used to prefer drafting on one of the ends because I liked doubling up on picks at once. However, I’ve since migrated away from that thinking because I’ve found that you need to reach for players more often.  Or maybe I don’t like sitting around waiting for 20 minutes between picks. 

I was really hoping the Bernard would make it to me and he almost did.  Once he didn’t my only decision was 1 or 2 WRs.  I knew I was taking my man Brown.  I decided to go with a curveball by selecting the Orange Julius.  My general thinking has been to wait on TE if I can’t get Graham.  I do have Thomas as my #2 TE and it wasn’t a stretch to grab so I hoped that wouldn’t put me behind the 8-ball too much. 

I was quite pleased that Vereen came all the back; he’s going to catch a ton of passes.  Maybe not Larry Centers circa 1995 but in the ballpark I’m hoping.  Crabtree and Kap had some good mojo a couple years ago that I think they can rekindle.  I’m content with him as my #2. 

Both Floyd and CJ1K both seemed like real value picks when they got to me. 

As I predicted, there would be QBs in the middle to late rounds that I could snag and walk away from the draft happy with.  I actually think Romo could end up with the better year than Kap but I also correctly predicted he would drop.  There’s just some negative stigma about the guy that I don’t get. 

Cooks was a reach but I’ve already supported my basis for going outside your comfort zone on guys when you’re on an end.  Plus I really wanted to get at least 1 share of a guy who could duplicate the work of Darren Sproles. 

I’d much rather have Green on my 1^st team but I’m not complaining.  I typically like to carry 2 defenses and play the matchup game.  I feel like I have 2 top 10 units with the 49ers and Bucs (in Lovie I trust). 

Overall, I’d consider this another job well done.  I don’t have any perceived weaknesses and I don’t need unrealistic performances from any player or group of players to compete.  Obviously I like my chances to make the playoffs (6 of 12 make it) and I consider myself one of the favorites to win it all (and retain my title). 

This league is on NFL.com and they gave my work an A+.  Another league mate input the draft into his fantasy sports program.  The prognosis on my team is that I have a 99% chance to make the playoffs with excellent in-season management and an 84% chance to make them with merely average in-season management.  I love having my ego massaged but those calculations definitely seem inflated.  I hope he didn’t pay too much for that app. For the results, go here and look at the Draft2 tab. 

TEAM 3

Setup – 10 team; .5 PPR; Auction with $200 budget

QB – Colin Kaepernick ($3)

RB/WR/TE (RB) – Eddie Lacy ($41)

RB/WR/TE (WR) – Jordy Nelson ($32)

RB/WR/TE (WR) – Antonio Brown ($28)

RB/WR/TE (RB) – Andre Ellington ($22)

RB/WR/TE (WR) – Andre Johnson ($21)

RB/WR/TE (WR) – Larry Fitzgerald ($16)

K – Justin Tucker ($1)

DEF – Cardinals ($1)

BN (WR) – Keenan Allen ($16)

BN (WR) – T.Y. Hilton ($11)

BN (WR) – Brandin Cooks ($6)

BN (QB) – Russell Wilson ($1)

BN (WR) – Terrance Williams ($1)

This was only my 2^nd auction ever for football.  I had some player values from ESPN printed out ahead of time but I quickly tossed them aside.  If you look at the entire auction results here on the Draft3 tab, you’ll see some guys who went for way more than expected and some absolute steals. 

The auction value is in parentheses and I made the highest paid players on each the starters. I did italicize a few situations where a bench guy (based on price) might actually represent the more optimal lineup.  What you can’t tell from this sheet is when the player got added.  Trust me when I say that makes a difference. 

Even when you look at my players, it’s impossible to look at individual players in a vacuum.  It’s all relative to everything else going on around you.  From my baseball auction experience, I’ve found that the best deals are early and late.  Even though everyone has money at the beginning, people are hesitant to overpay because they’re still holding out hope for a better deal later.  I’ll shell out a couple extra bucks for a stud if it’s someone I really want.  In the middle stages, the pool of valued players is dwindling and the money usually hasn’t caught up to it yet.  In order to be sure they aren’t stuck holding the bag, people will squabble over the few big names left.  By the end, there are great bargains if you’ve got some money left. 

This league is a bit unique because you can completely customize your lineup outside of your QB, K and DEF.  The other 6 spots can be comprised of any combination RB, WR and TE.  I rode a deep stable of WRs to a 3^rd place finish and you’ll see that I’ve followed a similar strategy this year.  For whatever reason, I’ve found the WRs to be a better value.  There are also few question marks with the WR position versus the RB position which is another reason I tend to lean in that direction.  I had no knowledge of this “Zero RB Strategy” but the logic is documented in this article if you’re curious. 

You’ll see that I didn’t follow that strategy completely by shelling my largest amount on Lacy.  That was at a point in the auction where I still had a lot of money and I was panicking a little bit at the lack of good players I had compared to everyone else. 

My UPS guy (what can Brown do for me?) shows up on a team for the 3^rd.  Nelson makes another appearance too.  I’m not disappointed in either but I also wish I had made a harder push for one of the top 5 WRs. 

I wanted me some Andre Ellington so I splashed the pot when his name was called.  I think it was a very fair price.  I then rounded out my starting lineup with all WRs.  You’d be hard pressed to argue with any of those prices I think.  No TE?  Well, you don’t need one, so no.  All of my WRs except the last few should outscore most TEs anyway. 

I was getting real nervous that I was going to be stuck with someone like Eli or Dalton as my starting QB because I was under $10 without a QB.  Fortunately, most of the people with money left already had a QB or they made the position an afterthought. If you at the results, you’ll see all sort of crazy bargains at the position.  For the 3^rd league in a row, I’m “stuck” playing the matchup game.  I may do the same with DEF so I was fine getting whatever was left. 

The league site didn’t provide any projections for this team.  With the range of teams (some stars and scrubs, some steady across the board), it’s also harder to judge everyone.  I tried to envision my team against a standard snake draft and it comes out favorably.  That might not mean anything actually.  I had a general plan to model my team after last year’s squad after its success.  Of course, that team also had Peyton Manning.  

2014 FF Draft Work: Team 1

Fantasy football season is upon us yet again.  I had 3 drafts the previous weekend.  Like any great artist, I like to take a moment to step back and appreciate my work. I am definitely caught in the HUB undertow at the moment but I surfaced for just long enough to write about my first draft.  Maybe I'll be able to write about the others before my brain is completely fried.  This league is comprised of all co-workers and it's also the one I expect to give and receive the most trash talk for. 

Unless you're in the league, I'm going to assume the likelihood of you reading any further is only slightly higher than my chances of landing a date with Jennifer Lawrence. Below is my team with the round I selected the player.  I'll humor myself that someone is going to click here to see the full draft results.  In addition to the thoughts on the players I acquired, my general draft strategy for this year is revealed.  Feedback on anything you see is always appreciated.

Setup - 12 team; .5 PPR; 4th pick

QB – Tony Romo (8th round)
RB – Matt Forte (1st)
RB – Rashad Jennings (4th)
WR – Jordy Nelson (2nd)
WR – Antonio Brown (3rd)
TE – Antonio Gates (11th)
WR/TE (WR) – Emmanuel Sanders (7th)
K – Dan Bailey (15th)
DEF – Bengals (12th)
BN (QB) – Phillip Rivers (10th)
BN (RB) – Toby Gerhart (5th)
BN (RB) – Pierre Thomas (6th)
BN (WR) – Terrance Williams (9th)
BN (TE) – Eric Ebron (13th)
BN (DEF) – Bills (14th)

There’s a clear-cut top 5 in most drafts so I was thrilled to pull a top 5 pick. In fact, #4 might even be the number I most prefer. I had no problem taking whatever was left and I got a sooner pick on the way back.

My starting WRs are both guys I have in my top 10. Generally speaking, in any draft this year, I find the back half of the top 10 WRs to be a better pool of players to choose from than the back half of the top 10 RBs. Especially with an elite RB, I was confident in my ability to cobble together a collection of RBs to compete for the #2 spot. (That went even better than I expected.)

If you can see all of my teams, you might think I’m the biggest Antonio Brown fan. I prefer consistency over the boom-or-bust guys (I’m looking at you, DeSean Jackson). Brown had at least 6 catches in every game last year. Plus he’s got the best smile in the NFL.

I had Bernard and Vereen snatched up 1 pick before me, but in the grand scheme of things, they were minor annoyances. I was, however, pleasantly surprised to see Jennings’ name still on the board when I was ready to return my focus to RB.

Gerhart’s carries might result in three yards and a cloud of dust, but it’s all about volume with him. I could do worse for a backup RB, and the same could be said for the criminally underrated (in PPR formats) Pierre Thomas.

I’m loving my flex selection of Sanders more by the minute with every Wes Welker concussion.

I feel that once you miss out on the big 3 at QB, you’re well served to wait and pair a couple quality options. That’s exactly what I did with Romo and Rivers who are both perfectly capable of delivering top 10 seasons at the position. People always seem to mistake real-football shortcomings for fake-football shortcomings when it comes to Romo. He often ends up my team because of that and I’ve never really regretted it.

It’s hard to be strong everywhere and TE is my weakest position. I’m banking on Gates being able to hold off Father Time for another season, and I’m not disappointed to call him my starter.

My biggest disappointments came when filling out my bench, which should tell you how strongly I feel about this team. Julian Edelman kept slipping and I would have been ecstatic to call him my #4 WR had he lasted just 2 picks longer. Instead, I went with Williams over the buzzy Brandin Cooks. I guess potentially using him with Romo some weeks was the tiebreaker.

I also wanted to double down on Chargers tight ends. In addition to being on everyone’s TE sleeper list, Ladarius Green would have made a nice insurance policy for Gates. My nemesis Scott poached both Edelman and Green from me.

The Bengals figure to be another strong DST unit again.

The Bills and Ebron are picks I’m already considering cutting but whatever; maybe I can pick up big ‘ol Matt Adams as my reserve TE (inside joke). 

So Yahoo graded my draft a B+ for whatever it’s worth (probably a place in the sewer). I felt that was a little low but it was also the highest grade they gave out. I should have little trouble reaching the playoffs again. I won’t predict a championship but that’s only because T.J. Housmandzadeh doesn’t play anymore.

Q101: 2010

How did we get here?

2010 (Or, the year the music stopped…but on a good note)

5. “Substitution” – Silversun Pickups

When reactions turn into hurricanes / And the middle ground seems a little tame / Whether full or empty it's all the same / It's so easy to see, everyone can agree, you're not to blame

I already showed these guys some love in 2009 and here they are again in the top 5.  I thank my former co-worker Matt for sharing his library of Silversun Pickups albums with me.  Swoon is my favorite album they’ve released thus far and “Substitution” is probably my favorite track off of that album.  The mellow upbeat tone just hits the spot.  Fun fact: The women playing musical chairs in the video were actually playing for a real prize.  According to Silversun frontman Brian Aubert, it got pretty ugly.

4. “Odd One” – Sick Puppies

Odd one, you're never alone / I'm here and I will reflect you / Both of us basically unattached / To anything or anyone unless we're pretending

Sick Puppies aren’t one of my favorites but they get to join the party.  I think it’s worth noting that I consider the top 5 of 2010 to be a strong collection of songs.  Maybe I latched onto “Odd One” because the lyrics attempted to soothe the disconnected feelings so many of us have had.  I could try to relay some story about being an “odd one” that comes with a hidden agenda, but I’m abandoning that approach for this year.  As the years progressed in this mini-series, it became less about the music and more about stories unrelated to the music.  We’re in the final year of the countdown and it should be as much about the music as possible, plain and simple.

3. “Give Me A Sign” – Breaking Benjamin

Forever and ever / The scars will remain / I'm falling apart / Leave me here forever in the dark 

Fun fact:  Each room in this video features artwork from a Breaking Benjamin album cover.  Can you spot them all?  Breaking Benjamin has made the list several times this decade so it’s somewhat fitting that they make one final contribution.  “Give Me A Sign” is a song I was destined to love based solely on the song title.  I’m always looking for signs to explain why things are the way they are.  It can be my undoing.  In response to some hurdles I was having trouble getting over, a friend recently suggested that I just “ride the wave.”  I’m going to take him up on that sage advice.  Things may happen for a reason but there doesn’t have to be one.  I don’t need to dissect and analyze everything.  Keep your signs for now, Breaking Benjamin.  C’est la vie.

2. “The Crow & The Butterfly” – Shinedown

Just like a crow chasing the butterfly / Dandelions lost in the summer sky / When you and I were getting high as outer space / I never thought you'd slip away / I guess I was just a little too late

This is another of those Shinedown songs off of The Sound of Madness album that enjoyed some crossover success.  Fun fact: the album is the 2^nd one ever to have 4 singles top the chart.  There is a certain nostalgic appreciation that one can gain from this song.  I know I loved it as soon I heard it and the crow/butterfly analogy is genius.  I’d venture we’ve all been the crow at some point in our lives chasing after a butterfly just out of our grasp.

1. “Kings And Queens” – 30 Seconds To Mars

We were the kings and queens of promise / We were the victims of ourselves / Maybe the children of a lesser God / Between Heaven and Hell.

Anything associated to Jared Leto is pretty much pure gold.  Am I right?  “Kings And Queens” is an eruption of awesomeness.  The buildup lures you in and by the time the full ensemble of instruments and choric chanting takes effect, you’re ready to take on whatever lays before you.  The video for this song perfectly captures the possibility and promise this song inspires.  The song even made its way into my sports consciousness because ESPN uses it as background music during its promotional commercials for the big tennis tournaments it airs.  I couldn’t think of many better songs to close out the final year of Q101’s top 101 songs.

Q101: 2009

How did we get here?

2009 (Or, the year “Wheels” helped resuscitate the corpse of alternative music)

5. “Kristy, Are You Doing Okay?” – The Offspring

A rose that won’t bloom / Winter’s kept you / Don’t waste your whole life trying / To get back what was taken away

The lyrics in this one are pretty easy to connect.  It’s an outreach to a girl who was raped at a young age and the singer feels obvious remorse over his passive reaction to the situation.  I liked the song pretty much right away, but I didn’t know who the group was.  An internal conversation with myself went something like this.  “Hey, wait a minute.  That voice sort of sounds like Dexter Holland’s voice.”  “Nah, it can’t be.  Just listen to the song.”  “No, I really think it is.”  “Since when did The Offspring have a softer side?  Come on, they’re penning the lyrics that will incite the next great riot or accompany some WWE wrestler into the ring.”  “Yeah, you’re probably right.  That mediocre ‘Hammerhead’ song they came out with recently is what I’ve come to expect from them.”  Weeks passed, and I heard the song a few more times.  I still couldn’t shake my belief that maybe, just maybe, it was The Offspring.  Sure, I could’ve just looked up who performed the song.  I have an idiosyncrasy (I know, right?) where sometimes I like to let the discovery of an artist or song come naturally in the flow of the day.  There is fun in the anticipation.  It’s sort of like the notion that the pursuit of something is better than what you’re actually after.  Needless to say, I did eventually discover that “Kristy, Are You Doing Okay?” was by The Offspring.  A mixture of shock and approval ensued.  A meaningful contribution by The Offspring helped serve notice that alternative music wasn't dying.  Those past couple years were pretty rough.  No, the genre wasn’t the vibrant being I had come to love, but it was taken off life support.  My total number of downloaded tracks for this year pales in comparison to the glory years, but the top of the list is certainly worthy of attention.  In an era where my musical tastes were more diversified, that was all I could ask for.

4. “Wheels” – Foo Fighters

Well I wanted something better man / I wished for something new / And I wanted something beautiful / I wished for something true / Been lookin' for a reason man / Something to lose 

Yesyesyesyesyes!  This one’s for you, Mandie.  I couldn’t wait to formally acknowledge the greatness of this song in blog form.  (Mandie has spewed so much vitriol in its direction and I’m not entirely sure why.)  I can honestly say that her disgust had nothing to do with its inclusion in my top 5, but I’d be lying if I said I didn’t have a little smirk because of it.  I’m very proud to capture some of that past musical nirvana (pun only slightly intended) with the inclusion of a song from one of my old favorites.  I simply adore those stutter stops throughout the song.  Sometimes I find my body rhythmically tensing up in conjunction with the stops as I’m listening along.   Kentucky Fried Chicken.  What does “Wheels” and the Foo Fighters have to do with KFC?  Nothing, but this is 2009, and my family took a vacation to the Smoky Mountains that year.  We toured and ate at the original KFC restaurant along the way.  If ever there was a time to re-enact the scene from Family Guy where Peter tries to meet The Colonel, this was it.  I ordered my meal and made my request, hoping they were familiar with the show and I didn’t sound like too much of an idiot.  (They hadn’t and I did.)

3. “Panic Switch” – Silversun Pickups

When you see yourself in a crowded room / Do your fingers itch? Are you pistol-whipped? / Do you step in line or release the glitch? / Can you fall asleep with a panic switch?

I’ve really grown to like this group.  The lead singer’s voice and their distorted melodies reminded me of one of my favorite groups, the Smashing Pumpkins.  They’ve even got a female band member like the Pumpkins.  Silversun’s emergence also indicated a potential resurgence of the alternative scene for me.  They would never have the impact of someone like The Smashing Pumpkins, Green Day, or even Fall Out Boy, but I was just glad to have a new group I could get behind.  Carnavas was a solid album but Swoon took it up a notch.  “Panic Switch” is meant to represent a nervous breakdown.  You’d like me to launch into some story about how this song symbolizes some moment in my life or parallels some underlying feelings of insanity, wouldn’t you?  Sorry to disappoint.  I may be weird but I ain’t crazy.

2. “Second Chance” – Shinedown

Tell my mother, tell my father / I've done the best I can / To make them realize this is my life / I hope they understand / I'm not angry, I'm just saying / Sometimes goodbye is a second chance

Fun fact: this is the final song legendary disc jockey Casey Kasem played before signing off for the final time.  I can remember eating lunch in my car while attending USF, listening to Shinedown sing about “staring down the barrel of a 45,” and I fully expected them to become just another one of those groups from the early 2000s that would fade away.  “Second Chance” is off The Sound of Madness album, which had some major crossover success.  I know I enjoyed several songs off the album.  The lyrics of this song are ones that I always wanted to sing with some meaning.  Living at home all those years and being frustrated with the way things were going, I had dreams of breaking it off and moving far away to start over.  This is the song I was going to leave them with.  You know now that I’ve moved out but I’m still very much in the area.  I’m close with my family and you can’t deny what feels right.  I know many friends who weren’t as fortunate as I have been.  Some of them barely talk to their siblings or parents.  I know I’ve been blessed and I was raised the right way.  Maybe I never needed a second chance after all.  Here’s a picture taken during that aforementioned family trip to the Smokies.  This was shortly after shaving off all of those glorious shoulder-length locks I had.  I remember we left our house on this trip not knowing our destination.  My boss, in particular, was miffed at the notion of such uncertainty when I told her our “plans.”  What can I say?  That’s just how the Younkers operate sometimes.  I shrugged and told her we didn’t have to decide until we got to a certain fork in the road.  If my dad turned left, it was going to be Gettysburg.  If it was right, we’d see the Smoky Mountains.

1. “Audience Of One” – Rise Against

We're all ok until the day we're not / The surface shines while the inside rots / We raced the sunset and we almost won / We slammed the brakes, but the wheels went on

Here’s another submission for my Mount Rushmore of songs.   Its place on that hollowed monument is pretty secure because I’d arguably call it my favorite song of the decade.  I don’t agree with the decidedly liberal agenda being pushed throughout the video but if a band’s political views were a prerequisite to liking to their music, I suspect there would be very few songs up for top 5 consideration.  There is no doubt that the lyrics are the best part of “Audience of One.”  I could have pasted the full set of lyrics above because they all apply.  Some days, I feel like I’m slowly rotting away.  I just know that something’s missing.  You wouldn’t see it if you weren’t looking for it.  I don’t want to wake up one day wishing I could’ve done it all differently.  I feel like I’ve positioned myself nicely for a fulfilling life.  I’ve made good choices and tried to do it the right way.  Does it get better?  Tell me I’m on the right track.  I’m sure there’s a greater plan in the works and nobody likes a backseat driver; I’d just like to know where we’re going.  This song represents the natural progression of life.  You drift apart from many people that you knew.  I’m sure I’ve broached the subject before in prior blogs but it’s rather difficult to make new friends after college and it only gets harder with each passing year.  Have you met people recently through mutual friends?  Are you now hanging out together?  Doubt it.  If so, you’re much better at life than I am.  You just have to hope that you’ve still got an audience to play in front of when the dust settles.  For most people, this is a spouse and kids.  My two best friends growing up, Matt and Tom, have since moved to away (to Texas and Bloomington, respectively).  Matt has been happily married for years and Tom probably will be sooner than later.  I guess I’ve never really replaced them.  Your wife and kids should be the most important part of your life, and I’d be fully committed to mine like any good husband and dad.  It’s selfish for us out there on our own to expect the attention we used to get.  I’m reasonable, if nothing else.  A blog with limited followers has prepared me to accept my audience of one but I don’t ever want to be OK with it.  Life can be a long trip by yourself.  Maybe you’ll just let me ride along once in a while. 

Q101: 2008

How did we get here?

2008 (Or, the year even old favorites such as Foo Fighters, Weezer, or Linkin Park couldn’t relight the extinguished flame of alternative music that once guided me through life)

5. “Breakdown” – Seether

So break me down if it makes your feel right / And hate me now if it keeps you alright

Seether finds itself on my countdowns more often than I would have guessed.  I’m definitely going to cite subpar competition as the reason for their inclusion in this particular installment.  2008 offers a slightly better top 5 than 2007 but the year’s overall contribution shall not stand the test of time.  I could go about 15 deep on my 2008 rankings and any of those songs could make the top 5 depending on the day you asked.  I ultimately settled on “Breakdown” because it was my favorite (at the time) of the 3 Seether songs I put in the top 15.  Thus, I felt something off the Finding Beauty in Negative Spaces album deserved some recognition.  Fun fact (opinion?):  it’s been said the song is about Shaun Morgan’s ex, Amy Lee of Evanescence.

4. “Sometime Around Midnight” – The Airborne Toxic Event

And all of these memories come rushing like feral waves to your mind / Of the curl of your bodies, like two perfect circles entwined / And you feel hopeless, and homeless, and lost in the haze of the wine

“Sometime Around Midnight” has made a slow, steady ascent up my personal charts from when I first heard it.  I find myself gaining a stronger appreciation for what it represents as I mature.  There is a certain trendy coolness that I’ve decided accompanies the song.  In my mind, I’ve validated myself among the musical snobs by including it in my top 5.  It’s pretty much the exact opposite effect of including another Nickelback song (I only had one!).  The song was written by the lead singer in isolation after seeing a former girlfriend at a bar and discovering he still had feelings for her.  I haven’t decided if the singer has eloquently described the situation unfolding around him in perfect detail or if he’s swept up by a suffocating paranoia.  Either way, I think it’s brilliant.  These are exactly the sort of thoughts my imagination would invent.  Is she going out of her way to make sure I see her or am I so fixated on her that I can see nothing else?  That’s just a sampling of the mess my brain always seems to find itself in.

3. “Calling All Skeletons” – Alkaline Trio

Here it is again yet it stings like the first time / Seems it never ends, double nickels on your dime / I thought we were friends, I guess it just depends who you ask / These feelings tend to leave me with a hole in my chest

It’s my belief that Alkaline Trio probably got more play on Q101 than they did nationally simply because they’re a local band.  That’s a shame because their work is good enough to demand a larger audience.  Agony & Irony is a pretty solid album top to bottom.  I so wish “Love Love, Kiss Kiss” had made Q101’s list because that’s a song I’ve drank away many a lonely night to.  It’s playing in my head every time I go a wedding or see a public display of affection on my Facebook feed.  It’s nothing against the happy couple.  My feelings of melancholy and jealousy do not discriminate.  I’ll wish you and your significant other a long and prosperous future together and I will truly mean it because I don’t seek to deny anyone the right to be happy.  However, if a war ever broke out between the Singles and the Relationships, I’ll proudly fight side by side along the throngs of my tribe.  We may be friends in times of peace, but I’ll thrust my bayonet deep into your chest should we come face to face on the battlefield.  I wonder which side would be favored in such an epic clash.  One side has something tangible to fight for while the other side has a cause and feelings of oppression spurring it onward.  The Relationships will have the advantage of teamwork, but the Singles have developed a sense of adaptation that would translate well in the trenches.  I should probably stop now before my “taken” friends start to fear for their lives.  You two make a great couple!  Don’t you think Alkaline Trio is an underrated group?!  They don’t make you think about killing at all! .... Um, sure, Dave, they’re alright. I, uh, just remembered I left the, uh, door to the, uh, parakeet cage slightly ajar and I need to go make sure the bird hasn’t flown away. … But you don’t own any pets. … I’m bird-sitting for my next door neighbor.  … But your next door neighbors don’t own any pets.  I’ve met them, remember? … Gotta go.

2. “Love Me Dead” – Ludo

Love me cancerously, like a salt sore soaked in the sea / High maintenance means you’re a gluttonous queen, narcissistic and mean

After watching the video for this song, I came to the conclusion that these guys had a ton of fun making that video and I’m convinced the lead singer could launch a successful career on the Broadway stage if he so chose.  I just think they’d be some cool guys to hang out with.  I was glad when Mandie included this song in her ’08 top 5 and her stories seemed to confirm my thoughts about the group.  The posted lyrics for “Love Me Dead” are just a small example of the eerie serenading often exhibited in a Ludo song.  You really need to listen to “The Horror of Our Love” for a complete appreciation of the band.  You will never hear love described in such a beautifully creepy manner.  Both songs are off the You’re Awful, I Love You album (did you expect a different title?), which earns my full endorsement.  I worked the Sunday morning shift at Sports Authority for several years and was responsible for setting part of the weekly sales ad.  We started pretty early in the morning and the employees were granted control of the music until the store opened.  I had some Ludo songs on my mix CDs and I remember being extremely self-conscious whenever something like “The Horror of Our Love” came on.  I just knew I was going to have explain myself for what I was subjecting these people’s ears to.  It ranks right up there with the orgasmic beginning of White Zombie’s “More Human Than Human.”  Fortunately, nobody is really listening to the lyrics of anything at 6 in the morning.  Ludo – what a weird little band. 

1. “Cath…” – Death Cab For Cutie

The whispers that it won't last roll up and down the pews / But if their hearts were dying that fast / They'd have done the same as you / And I'd have done the same as you

I first became aware of Ben Gibbard through his side work with The Postal Service.  It was solid stuff but nothing game-changing.  I guess that’s how I feel about Death Cab.  “Cath…” fought off some weak competition to claim the top spot of 2008.  I sympathize with the song’s subject, a woman who is marrying out of desperation.  He isn’t her ideal suitor but she recognizes the clock is ticking.  I realize that my clock is ticking; I’m not 21 anymore.  No, I’m not looking to get married tomorrow or even in the next few months.  If you know one thing about me, it’s that I never rush into anything.  It takes me a while to find somebody I like and often even longer to work up the courage to ask them out, if ever.  I’m getting better at it…I think.  I can’t possibly imagine how long it would take me to arrive at a proposal.  I guess I’ve just finally reached a point in my life where marriage is something I’d like to at least pretend I’m working towards.  I guess the one difference between Cath and I is that I won’t marry out of desperation.  If it doesn’t happen, then I’ll accept that.  There is no rule that says happiness comes from marriage; I’m just taking my best guess, like everyone else, at how to achieve it for myself.  I don’t know what my future holds, but I do know that it’s short-sighted to close the door on any potential outcomes simply because it’s convenient to do so.  You have to allow for change in yourself and you have to be willing to let things happen to you.