Horrible story - a Minnesota-based collections agency threatens and taunts a disabled veteran.  Michael Collier suffered head and spinal injuries while in the Army.  He successfully sued a collections agency called Gurstel that illegally tried to garnish his disability payments.  After that.... (per Courthouse News)

     Collier says he called Gurstel's office, and an unidentified paralegal told him he would have to sue to get the money. When he said the money was exempt veteran disability payments, "the assistant told Michael, 'F--- you! Pay us your money! You can't afford an attorney. You owe us. I hope your wife divorces your a--. If you would have served our country better you would not be a disabled veteran living off social security while the rest of us honest Americans work our a-- off. Too bad; you should have died.'"

Wow.  Collections agencies are notorious for being ruthless and cutthroat, but are they really that aggressive and callous???  Are the operators trained to cross lines like that, or is it the offshoot of a high-pressure environment with pressure to be agressive and threatening?  Unbelievable.

(Consumerist)

BACK TO THE MATTSPACE!!!

above: months of intensive study & prep pay off as you select Eric Decker in the 6th.

Last night I had my first fantasy football draft of the year.  Tonight I have another.  Thursday I have another one, followed by Friday.  With two weeks to go until live football action, it's fantasy draft crunch time.

Now I'm sure you listen to my fantasy football podcast every week on 1460 the Ticket... 

*crickets*

...but just in case you missed an episode or two, here are a few tips to get you ready for your fantasy drafts:

This year, running backs are at a premium.  All the good running backs are going to be gone after the first three rounds.  After that, you're going to be picking through guys with question marks or limited upside.  I strongly suggest taking at least two RB's in the first three rounds. You MUST get at least one RB by then.

Middle/late round guys to target: If you can't get two RB in the first 3-4 rounds, hold off a round or two and chase these guys in the 6th or later:

BenJarvis Green-Ellis, Bengals

Isaac Redman, Steelers

Donald Brown, Colts

Jonathan Stewart, Panthers

Peyton Hillis, Chiefs

Conversely, this year is DEEP at wide receiver.  There are good ones - really good ones like Mike Wallace or Dwayne Bowe or Miles Austin - lasting into the 6th, 7th, even 8th round.  All the more reason to chase those running backs: in the middle rounds, the board's going to be full of good WR's while RB is all dried up.

Middle/late round guys to target: Again, there are a TON of good receivers in the middle rounds.  These guys can usually be grabbed 8th round or later:

Malcolm Floyd, Chargers

Titus Young, Lions

Denarious Moore, Raiders

Torrey Smith, Ravens

Desean Jackson, Eagles

Darius Heyward-Bey, Raiders

Quarterback is another position where there are really good options in the later rounds.  If you don't go chasing one of the big stars (Rodgers, Brady, Brees etc.) you can still get a guy like Eli Manning or Philip Rivers in the 5th or 6th.  There tends to be a long gap after the first few QB's are taken.

Middle/late round guys to target:  All three of these guys are worthy starters but go several rounds later than their peers.  I would even suggest getting TWO of these guys (say, Rivers in the 6th and Schaub in the 9th) and play matchups.  

Philip Rivers, Chargers

Matt Schaub, Texans (goes REALLY late!)

Ben Roethlisberger, Steelers

Last year saw a revolution at Tight End as two guys, Jimmy Graham and Rob Gronkowski, piled up record-setting yards and touchdowns.  Both go in the late 1st/early 2nd round this year and are worth it in my opinion.  But if you don't chase the top two names, there are plenty of other good options.  

Middle/late round guys to target: There are two guys I think have the potential to crack that Graham/Gronk upper tier of BIG-TIME fantasy producers:

Fred Davis, Redskins 

Brandon Pettigrew, Lions 

Want a deep sleeper that could turn into this year's Jimmy Graham?  Try Kyle Rudolph, Vikings.

All right, let's recap:

• Good running backs are super-scarce this year.  Target RB in the first three rounds.
• Wide receiver is absolutely stacked.  There will be plenty of good ones in the middle rounds if you choose to focus on RB early.
• If you don't go after a top-tier QB, you can still get an upper-tier guy late.  Heck, take two!
• There are good tight ends all through the draft, but I won't argue if you chase Graham or Gronk (especially Graham) early.

BACK TO THE MATTSPACE!!!

The latest chilling harbinger of the inevitable robot apocalypse:  They're better at us at Rock-Paper-Scissors:

Japanese scientists have created a robot capable of playing Rock-Paper-Scissors.  Which, now that I think of it, wouldn't really be all that impressive.  Except that it WINS EVERY SINGLE GAME.

It actually wins by cheating, because it can sense the shape of your hand so imperceptibly fast that you'd never notice.  But still, YOU CAN'T EXPLAIN FAIR PLAY TO A ROBOT.  We're doomed.

Ever since I took a college advertising class, I've been fascinated by the art of food photography - the way pictures in menus look so different (and so much better, obviously) than plate that arrives at your table.  

The answer, apparently, is something called a 'food stylist'.

In this video, McDonald's (who I've always thought were among the best at this) pulls back the curtain and shows you exactly how they dress up that Quarter Pounder for the shoot.  Plus, it's shot in Canada, so you get plenty of aboots:

Hat tip to Gawker for the link