Before the Saturday sports got started, I thought I would get something accomplished today, so I took a few of my watches to a nearby watch repair shop - three to get new batteries, and two to have repairs made to the bands. After I had ignored the task for a few months, I thought it was about time to do something useful.

I drove up to Cupertino and met a kind man who said he could take care of everything, cheaply, and get it finished, all by this afternoon. He took down my name and phone number, and I swore I would be back between 4:30 and 5 to pick them up.

Then I went grocery shopping, put everything away, and settled in to watch the A's game. With the A's game completed, I wrote the previous post, and relaxed, ready to endure what may be a long, cold, winter, baseball free. Then I looked at my one remaining good watch, and noted the time: 6:30. I had completely forgotten my appointment, and the kind old man who no doubt got everything done I had asked, was left to shut down his store without seeing me tonight. Also, given he had asked me to pay upon receipt, he hasn't gotten anything for his efforts either.

Wow - do I feel bad. But I can't go over there now, as the store's closed, and it will be closed Sunday and Monday as well. I may have to trek up there on Tuesday as soon as I can, and deeply apologize. It may be a bigger deal to me than it is to him, but I sure do feel like a louse.

Listening to ''Dimensiond - Tonight'', by Club Class (Play Count: 3)

Just as quickly as the A's had dispatched the Minnesota Twins in the ALDS, sweeping them in three games, they were easily handled by the World Series-bound Detroit Tigers, who wrapped up their four game sweep of the A's tonight with a bottom of the ninth, two outs, three run home run by Magglio Ordoñez, making the final tally 6-3 in their favor. Comerica Stadium erupted in celebration and shouting, just as McAfee Coliseum had done just a week and a half ago, when the A's had clinched an ALCS birth for the first time in 14 years. But this time, the A's left the field, some hanging their heads, knowing that tonight's game was the last they will play in 2006, having come so close, but left so far from reaching the goal - a World Series title.

In the months to come, as individual players and plays are dissected and examined, there may be much made of Mark Ellis' injury, Eric Chavez's comments that the Tigers were the better team, Frank Thomas' lack of hitting in the series, and as always, the same platitudes regarding Moneyball and how the A's "stuff" just doesn't work in the playoffs. But even in this loss, we are pleased with how the team forged its way into one of the last four to be playing, as 26 teams had long gone home. Despite a payroll that came in at one-fourth the size of the bloated New York Yankees, and tens of millions less than the division rival Angels, the A's were the ones playing deep into October.

2006 was the first time I've ever owned season tickets for the A's, and though driving up and down Highway 880 twice a week for an entire summer got tedious, I can't think of any time I was disappointed I went. The more than 40 contests (and likely 50, including Spring Training and playoffs) we took in this year were a fantastic way to follow the team up close and root them on to the best of our ability. We know they aren't perfect, and today's loss (as with the previous three) is disheartening, but as fans, we just need to take a deep breath, and move on. We will find other obsessions to focus on through the cold, lifeless, winter months, be they other sports, politics, and as always, there's plenty of work to do at the office. And there's always Athletics Nation. That crowd of A's fans is always ready to talk green and gold, regardless of the date, all year round.

Tonight, we'll feel empty, and all next week, we will have to take sympathy and make excuses for the loss to colleagues who see us representing the team, but we'll pull through. I wanted to say thanks to the A's players, management and ownership for putting together such a great season with such likeable players, and we hope to push even further - in 2007.

Listening to ''Love You More (Extended Vocal Mix)'', by Armin van Buuren (Play Count: 4)

When it comes to handheld cell phones or PDAs, I fell off the leading edge years ago. After being one of the first to embrace the Handspring Visor platform in the 1999 timeframe, I moved on and ditched the Palm OS altogether a few years ago, in favor of the most rudimentary of Blackberry devices, which simply sent and received corporate e-mail. Of course, this meant I needed a second device, a real cell phone, to act as the yin to its yang. But as time has passed, the Blackberry has taken over for remote e-mail, Web browsing and cell phone calls. Just last week, I managed to get my hands on the 7130e handheld model, and I would likely run out of superlatives for it if I tried to tell you how cool the darn thing is.

Unlike the traditional clamshell Blackberry, the 7130e is slimmer and taller, shaped more like a traditional cell phone, and offering a tall, brightly lit color screen, with all the familiar applications for out of office communication. The largest difference between this device and the others I've tried is its keyboard. Venturing away from the standard QWERTY keyboard, the 7130e doubles down by squishing two letters on each key, and through a sophisticated database, it inherently guesses as to the word you are typing, and learns as you go along. Though this initially made me nervous, it has proven much better than I had anticipated. I can easily type long sentences without making any errors or typos, and the longer the words, the more likely the Blackberry is to get it right. In fact, it's words like "get" which have the same keys as "hey" which are more trouble.

Contrasted to previous models I've used, the 7130e has an excellent screen, regardless of the background lighting, and the device's operating system is sophisticated enough to offer passable Web browsing, and most importantly, real game playing. Within an hour of getting the new Blackberry, I had purchased and installed Blackberry versions of Spades, Hearts, and Cribbage, to go along with the free Klondike and BrickBreaker, which came with the device. Now, instead of your fearing a distracted motorist on a cell phone call, you have to deal with me trying to make 15s and 31s at the steering wheel when I zip through the intersection. Don't think I won't be either...

If you're already using the Blackberry platform, and have been cruising along with an older generation device, it's time to trade up. If you haven't yet switched, there are very few reasons not to anymore. Blackberry is the de facto standard in the workplace, and is making inroads to consumers as well. Given its not some wacky version of Windows Mobile helps too.

Listening to ''Culture Flash'', by Ministry Of Sound (Play Count: 10)

This morning didn't feel like a button-down long sleeve shirt and slacks day. Vaguely anticipating the A's were not going to be in a good way in time for their afternoon game against the Tigers, I thought I'd show my colors in the office by going casual, wearing jeans, an A's shirt and ballcap. But somehow, all my A's shirts were in the laundry, so I instead grabbed an old t-shirt out of the drawer, and headed off to work, not in my usual fare, but something more appropriate for your standard Silicon Valley engineer. Yet, given the reaction, you would have thought I'd shown up shirtless or with a buzz cut.

In my senior year at UC Berkeley, when I was trying to pull double duty by attending classes and working in the Silicon Valley, it was common that I'd show up to lectures or class discussions in a button down shirt and slacks, while the rest of my classmates were the definition of casual. I had mentally moved on beyond graduation, and so had the wardrobe.

Since graduation, I've tried to appear professional, sometimes to belie my youth - in an attempt to be taken seriously, and have consistently dressed the part. In fact, in the summer of 2001, when I asked for a week off from work, I was told by my boss that he wouldn't sign the vacation slip unless I showed him a store receipt proving that I had purchased at least one pair of shorts. Truth was, I didn't have any until I met his demands.

As a result, today's incursion into jeans and sneakers land raised quite a number of eyebrows around the office, as did the fact I hadn't shaved, and showed up slightly scruffy. Many made comments - one saying he confused me for one of the engineers, while another, with a smirk, thanked me for "dressing up." Amusingly, even in my dressed-down state, there were others in shorts and sandals, or t-shirts in various stages of wear and tear. But because I had broken with what they expected, I was the subject of discussion.

At some level, this is a good thing, as I've forged a personal brand that includes the professional business look. While it was fun to make a one-day break from this, even if just to see the reactions, but I don't anticipate it happening on a more-regular basis in the future. The Tommy Bahama shirts and kakhis quota can be consumed by the rest of more casual corporate America.

Listening to ''Falling'', by Liquid State (Play Count: 13)