NFL Playoffs -- Championship -- January 17, 2026

Locator: 49740NFL. 

The best part about the four games this weekend (two today, two tomorrow) we are going to be listening to the best "color" analysts:

• today -- Tony Romo and Tom Brady.
• tomorrow: Troy Aikman and Cris Collinsworth.  

In order of preference for me:

• Tony Romo (my favorite by far): after posting this blog, this was a trending story (LOL).
• Tom Brady
• tossup between Troy Aikman and Cris Collinsworth but if forced to choose, my least favorite is Troy Aikman.

DUOs:

• Tony Romo and Jim Nantz: CBS
• Tom Brady and Kevin Burkhard (very, very good): Fox
• Cris Collinsworth and Mike Tirico (very, very good): NBC
• Troy Aikman and Joe Buck: ESPN/ABC
•  Joe Buck is getting long in the tooth (as are the others, but Joe Buck seems more annoying;his "catch phrases" have not changed in years);
• Troy Aikman and Tom Brady are way too analytical / unemotional 
•  Kirk Herbstreit and Al Michaels: Amazon Prime (Al Michaels is so good, I forget he is "play-by-play" and not the "color analyst.")

How good is Al Michaels?

NBCUniversal developed an AI-generated version of Al Michaels' voice for personalized, pre-recorded, or automated highlights, but not live game action. 

Next games:

• AFC championship: CBS
• NFC championship: FOX
• Super Bowl: NBC
• missing: ABC/ESPN and Amazon Prime

Memory -- This Is So Incredibly Interesting On So Many Levels -- January 17, 2026

Locator: 49739DRAM. 

Tag: memory costs Micron DRAM 

From Beth today. 

I have spent the last hour or so discussing this issue with ChatGPT. Very, very interesting.

Rabies And AI -- January 17, 2026

Locator: 49738RABIES.  

If you think Jensen Huang's racks are efficient (see this post from Beth) and compare it to the rabies virus. 

To put this in perspective:

• human: 25,000 protein-coding genes 
• E. coli bacterium: 4,500 genes
• chickenpox virus: 72 genes
• measles virus: eight genes.
• rabies virus: five genes. 

AI prompt:

Can AI research learn anything from the rabies virus? Of all viruses causing severe human disease, only rabies is so highly attuned to nerve cells, similar to AI using "neutonal-like systems to transmit information. Amazingly, the rabies virus has only five genes. It reminds me of Velcro and the Venus fly trap. 

Google Gemini reply: 

So, how would ChatGPT handle that question? I prefer ChatGPT's reply. It is such a long reply, I had to make it a stand-alone post; link here.

On-Line Times Subscription Is Increasing By 20% -- January 17, 2026

Locator: 49737INFLATION.  

The New York Times alerted me that my on-line subscription to The New York Times will be increasing by 20% next month, from $25 / month to $30 / month.

Automobile Mileage -- January 17, 2026

Locator: 49736MILEAGE.  

For my 2012 Honda Civic, exactly:

For my wife's 2025 Mazda CX-50, estimated due to data provided by wife: