Flotsam and Jetsam

Miscellaneous thoughts and observations. 

So if half the new Covid infections in Israel are among fully vaccinated adults - does that make having a vaccination a coinflip on whether you are protected or not? Serious risk assessment question... Think a good campaign slogan for Trump 2024 would be "Trump because at least then you'll know who is in charge"...  Heh Heh... "Standing outside the Cracker Barrel having a smoke" - if I ever write a country music song that'll be the first line... Say what you want about Lance Armstrong but without him the Tour de France basically needs a giant fan-caused crash in order to make the news in the US. Seriously did anyone realize that the Tour De France was going on before hearing that news?... 

Linky Links

Stuff I found interesting or amusing and thought I'd share.

- Nice little poker tip.

- This is my favorite Hamilton quote. My second favorite Alexander Hamilton quote is, "Don't believe everything you read on the Internet."

- Heh heh

- What a complete waste of taxpayer money

- Nice story of the kindness of a waitress.

- Cool - good news for Harry Potter fans

Lance Armstrong is a Creep

This is awesome.

Lance Armstrong is a creep.

Flotsam and Jetsam

Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.

When Tom Brady is all done - his number of playoffs wins will be untouchable like Joe DiMaggio's 56-game hit streak. Untouchable... This is funny because its true!... The Big Bang Theory should do "very special" episodes but instead of tackling social issues they should tackle science topics like the Higgs Boson... This man was a true bad ass... Stunt Custard would be a good name for a band... This store called - they are all out of Lance Armstrong... A factor that shouldn't be overlooked in today's Patriots game is the wind at Foxboro. The wind has been pretty strong these past few days and it could effect long passes and the kicking game. The wind should give the Patriots an additional advantage today... Holy crap - there are whales alive today that were born before Moby Dick was written. I also take the fact that there are no white bowhead whales alive as proof that the end of Moby Dick was a murder-suicide....

Two Things I Do Not Care About

I really don't care about Lance Armstrong and his baring of his soul to Oprah looking for redemption. I also really don't care about Manti Te'o and his imaginary girlfriend.

What Armstrong did in the Tour de France - drugs or no drugs - was incredible. But really who cares about the Tour de France? Does anyone think that Armstrong was the only cheater in those races? From most accounts it seems like Armstrong is a real jerkface in real life so why would I want to get emotionally involved with his story? The only thing I'm slightly curious about is whether he was taking steroids prior to his cancer diagnosis and if his taking steroids may have caused his cancer in the first place.

As far as Manti Te'o - caring about the girlfriends of college kids isn't borderline creepy - its creepy. So we are starting off at creepy - and we are getting worse from there. Either the kid was trusting and was completely duped or he has emotional issues and was involved in the hoax. Either way it doesn't end well. And if this story really doesn't end well - how good are you going to feel about yourself for laughing at all those Manti Te'o jokes? I already feel guilty for participating.

Because I don't care about these stories I will be avoiding sport talk radio for the next few days. Sunday and the Patriots victory over the Ravens can't come soon enough for me.

Flotsam and Jetsam

Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.

Just a reminder but when Carl Crawford first came off the injury list this season for Boston - there were many who wanted him to sit on the bench while Daniel Nava took his spot on left field. The Crawford era in Boston was hardly a success... Rob Riggle is replacing Frank Caliedo on Fox's NFL pregame show. Caliendo had run his course. I'm interested to see how Riggle does. I like Rob Riggle... The trade people should be comparing this Gonzalez / Beckett / Crawford trade to is when the Bruins traded Joe Thornton to San Jose. Thornton didn't win a Stanley Cup in his new Southern Cal location but he did win a MVP. In both cases I think the real problem was in management. Mike O'Connell with the Bruins and Larry Lucchino for the Red Sox... Interesting profile of Penn State coach Bill O'Brien. I wasn't aware of the adversity he and his family face every day... My biggest fear regarding the Red Sox right now is that they somehow go on a 10 game winning streak and decide to give Bobby Valentine another chance next year... Interesting perspective on Lance Armstrong... OK here's the scenario - Todd Akin drops out of the Missouri Senate race the morning Barack Obama is due to speak at the DNC and a woman is named as his replacement. That would certainly take a lot of air out of a lot balloons... 10 things that were created in bars over drinks... I always laugh when I see the Drudge Report on Twitter report something about Obama surrogate Stephanie Cutter. I laugh because Drudge shortens her name to SCUTTER and which has a rather wicked meaning according to the Urban Dictionary. I'd guess that definition 4 is what Drudge had in mind...

Lance Armstrong - Cancer Exemplar or Fraud

With today's news about Lance Armstrong it is an excellent time to read this Outside Magazine profile on Armstrong and his Livestrong non-profit.

The key takeaway is that when you donate money to Livestrong you are not giving money for cancer research - you are giving money for hope (many people don't realize that Livestrong actually doesn't give any funds towards research). And Armstrong's image becomes the beneficiary of that message as the exemplar of that hope.

In no way am I sitting in judgement on this. Rationally I feel that the cure from cancer will be found via research. But that rationality is coming from someone who does not have cancer. If I had cancer I'm guessing the hope. message and example of Lance Armstrong would become much more important to me.

Post Rapture Flotsam and Jetsam

Miscellaneous thoughts and observations from a guy who didn't get raptured.

Whenever I read about Lance Armstrong and accusations of doping, I can't help but think about the Tom Nuttall quote from Deadwood "Corruption won't never breathe stinky on my bi-cycle!"... The things you learn from the Internet (via Mental Floss): "Reed Hastings was inspired to start Netflix after racking up a $40 late fee on a VHS copy of Apollo 13"... Hollywood is so out of new ideas that I wouldn't be surprised if someone somewhere is pitching Casablanca II: A Beautiful Friendship starring Aston Kusher and Charlie Sheen... Heh heh - JFKFC... David Ortiz's HR last night gave him for 300 as a member of the Red Sox. Only Ted Williams, Carl Yastrzemski, Jim Rice and Dwight Evans have more... Erik Seidel just won another poker tournament. You have to say that he's the best poker player on the planet right now. Better than Phil Ivey... 105 years ago today the Wright brothers were granted U.S. patent number 821,393 for their "Flying-Machine." 105 years later and we still don't have flying cars. We were promised flying cars... Haunting pictures of the abandoned Six Flags New Orleans