Occasional visitors to the site might have noticed something like a dramatic pause in our postings this week - and though I can think of a multitude of excuses, I'll not list them here. Suffice it to say that the workweek started at 3:00 a.m. Monday, and continued at a relentless pace through through Friday. On top of the usual efforts, which accelerated to force an 8 to 7 schedule most days, we were also asked to attend business dinners both Monday and Wednesday, meaning I didn't make it home until very late.

Given the dramatically reduced hours at home and behind the laptop, the blog was one of the first things to be neglected.

In the winter months, it isn't too uncommon to leave for the office in the dark, and return home in the dark, with my body escaping the ravages of natural light. It goes to explain the rising rates of depression and listlessness many feel around the holidays, as increasing demands come as invigoration from nature slips away.

For me, it can at times be overwhelming, as even when I leave the office late, I know there's much more to get done, as the count of e-mails in the In box is higher than when I had started the day, and I may never reach a point where I feel I have caught up. Weekends are not much better, as, while they may seem inviting, they instead serve as 48-hour countdowns to when the cycle starts again. Every second not spent on catching up on work, instead of a respite, seems wasted, and as the hours tick by, the stress adds up, nearing a point where it's not a question of whether to act on projects, but selecting which one should get the highest priority, as they all fight for attention, or even worse, which ones, if neglected, will draw the least wrath.

Is there a break on the horizon? Maybe. I don't anticipate 3:00 a.m. start times and dinner meetings to be de riguer. But there will always be demands on my time, and with the sun not doing its part to rise early and set late, it's literally us against the world.

Listening to ''I.R.A. (Original Mix)'', by Dariush (Play Count: 19)

I almost feel guilty pointing out how Microsoft is a very confused, bureaucratic dinosaur of a company now. It seems that after everybody else has come to the same conclusion, it's no longer hip, and piling on isn't going to do much good.

Yet, with the Zune launch universally seen as a dud, and the company's Internet enterprise flailing, one can't help but watch the train wreck as it happens. A company who has based its war fighting the battles of previous decades has not adapted, and the company has grown too fat and bloated to turn on a dime, as other more nimble players have.

Steve Berkowitz, responsible for Microsoft's online services unit, told the New York Times as much in a long-ranging article printed Sunday.

“I’m used to being in companies where I am in a rowboat and I stick an oar in the water to change direction,” said Mr. Berkowitz ... “Now I’m in a cruise ship and I have to call down, ‘Hello, engine room!’ ” he adds with an echo in his voice. “Sometimes the connections to the engine room aren’t there.”

The disconnect has left Microsoft trailing Yahoo! and Google in the Internet space, without much hope of taking the #1 position. But to me, it doesn't really make sense that Microsoft should be in this fight in the first place. If the company wants to be the world's leading operating system and productivity software company, it's done that. If it wants to move their Office suite to the Web, then great. But there is no real good reason or inherent birthright for the company to take on this new market. They haven't delivered any new features that customers have found interesting, and in a market when customers have a variety of options to choose from, they won't accept lower quality.

This issue can be seen easily with the early response to their iPod wannabe, Zune. Jupiter Research's Michael Gartenberg says there is much that could have been done to improve customer adoption of the device. Chief among them, that it "lacks elegance" and "doesn't feel complete". With the iPod's five year head start, Microsoft, as it has shown in its fruitless battle with Google, is not capable of innovating its way into  market where it doesn't belong.

Give it up, Microsoft. Do what you do best, and leave the innovations to others.

Last week, after mentioning to my mother that I had started occasionally writing for The Apple Blog, on top of contributions to Athletics Nation, Sactown Royalty, continued posting on louisgray.com and the usual work fare, she called, concerned that just maybe I was ignoring my wife, choosing instead to spend all my time online. Were we having enough time together, or were we drifting apart, more comfortable with the way we looked behind the glow of our respective laptop monitors than away from behind the keyboard?

Though I argued we were doing just fine, that our marriage was not in trouble due to excessive blogging, articles do occasionally come up that investigate the impact ubiquitous technology access has on families, whether they be spouse or child. The Wall Street Journal, in a prescient piece titled "Blackberry Orphans", wrote:

There is a new member of the family, and, like all new siblings, this one is getting a disproportionate amount of attention, resulting in jealousy, tantrums, even trips to the therapist. It's the BlackBerry.

The article blames the Blackberry for parents lying to children, distracting them while driving, and distracting attention from kids who just may deserve it more. But is the Blackberry that much worse than the advent of the cellphone, or the standard telephone or television before it? Does increased convenience and an enhanced feature set that makes people want to use a device more spell impending doom and the end of humanity as we know it?

Probably not. Though I have my Blackberry nearby at all times, and watch for the green light to glow red - signaling a new message has arrived - the device has less chance of making me avoid feeding the dog or playing cards with my wife than prime-time TV. Its interruptions typically last a minute or two instead of 30 to 60, and the more work I do on the Blackberry at home, the less time, in theory, I need to spend in the office doing the same tasks.

While some will undoubtedly take device usage to the extreme, as people do with just about everything, I am not too concerned. I also don't believe that the occasional post on a Macintosh or sports blog makes me too much closer to receiving divorce papers. But let me first ask my wife to close her laptop, and see if she agrees.

Cross-posted at Sactown Royalty...

The Kings' up and down 2006-07 season is hitting new lows now, after the team's fifth consecutive loss Thursday night, in overtime against the Shaq-less Heat at Arco. The loss was exactly the type of game the Kings need to win if they are to challenge for the postseason this year, and as many of us here on the site have said, the team needs to show some serious discipline when it comes to shooting, or they're flat-out not going to win, period.

Approximately one-fifth of the way through the season, the Kings have amassed enough stats to show some basic trends, and we've crunched the numbers:

Skip The Analysis and Download The Stats

The Kings Are Not A Good Shooting Team

• The Kings' field goal percentage is 25th in the league, ahead of only Houston, Miami, New Orleans, Indiana and Memphis.
  
• In only two contests (vs. Memphis on 11/15 and at Seattle on 11/24) has the team shot above 50%. The Kings won both contests.
  
• In eleven contests, including Thursday night, the Kings have shot below 45% as a team. In those eleven games, it probably comes as no surprise that they have gone 3-8 (.273). By simply raising their shooting percentage above 45%, the team has a 5-2  (.714) record.
  
• It also should not come as a shocker that the team with the higher field goal percentage typically wins the game. When the Kings have a higher FG %, they have gone 6-2 (.750). When they have had a lower FG %, the team has gone 2-8 (.200).
  
• This ratio gets even more crazy when it comes to 3-point field goals. When the Kings make a higher percentage of their 3-point shots, they are 7-2 (.778). When they make a lower percentage, they are a stark 1-8 (.111).
  

Shooting And Missing Is NOT The Answer

• The Kings actually have a BETTER record (4-3) when they take fewer field goal attempts than when they take more field goal attempts (4-6). This speaks to picking the right shot, and making it.
  
• Recognizing when to go for three is critical. When the Kings have attempted more 3-point shots, they are 5-5 (.500). When their opponents have hoisted up more 3-point attempts, the Kings are only 2-5 (.286).
  

Relying On Free Throws Won't Win You Games

• The Kings have taken more free throws than their opponents in 14 of the 18 contests played so far. Yet, in those 14 games, their record is 6-8 (.429). When they have spent less time at the charity stripe, they are 2-1 (.667).
  
• Yet, if you do get to the stripe, you better make your shots. When the Kings make a higher percentage of free throws, they are 6-5 (.545). When they miss a higher percentage of free throws, they are a woeful 2-5 (.286).
  

It Comes Down To Getting the Ball In the Bucket

There's no mystery here. By making a higher percentage of shots, that leads to a higher total number of shots going in, more points and more wins. But let's see what the numbers show...

• When the Kings MAKE more shots than the competition, they are 7-1 (.875). That contrasts to 1-9 (.100) when they make fewer buckets.
  
• From beyond the arc, if the Kings score more 3 point shots, they are 6-1 (.857). When outlaunched, they are 1-8 (.111).
  

Note how much more impact a three point shot has on the eventual outcome of a game when compared to free throws. It's night and day.

Yes, mixing math and sports can be dangerous. Sometimes the sample size is too small. But it's clear to me that the team needs to focus on making high-percentage shots, and taking the opportunistic three-pointer from pure shooters. It may be fundamental, but so far this season, other teams are getting it through their noggins a lot better than we are.

Want to come up with your own Sactown Stats? Download the Excel document I used for this post and let us know what you've found.