Stuff I found interesting and thought I'd share.
Interesting post on how to make yourself more productive.
Harry Potter would have turned 32 today - here are 11 things you may not have known about the Harry Potter series.
Pretty cool story and video (make sure you watch the video) about a legendary little island, a lizard and some young scientists.
I'm Barack Obama and I approved this message - sad but true metaphor
Tuesday, July 31, 2012
USA Basketball a Good Investment
The US men's basketball is a money-line favorite over Tunisia at an astonishing -$225,000 (meaning you'd have to risk $225,000 to win $100). This sounds like an awful bet but consider that at 4% interest your single day interest return on $1 million would be just $109.59.
So if you have a million just collecting interest - you could basically quadruple your return for the day by putting it all on Kobe and LeBron. Then pray there isn't an act of God.
So if you have a million just collecting interest - you could basically quadruple your return for the day by putting it all on Kobe and LeBron. Then pray there isn't an act of God.
THE Olympics
Very interesting look at the original Olympics. Some great nuggets in there. Sophocles was a great handball fan. Plato was a great wrestling fan. The Olympics even spawned the first sports bars (though technically I guess they were wine bars).
The ancient games did not run a marathon - that was Victorian addition. And the Olympic torch? That was something Hitler thought would be cool.
The ancient games did not run a marathon - that was Victorian addition. And the Olympic torch? That was something Hitler thought would be cool.
Monday, July 30, 2012
Flotsam and Jetsam
Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.
I think an Olympics Derby would be cool. Each country sends their best 2 racehorses and you hold a series of races until the big race. I'd watch that. It would be bigger than the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness combined... Another small factor to consider - if Josh Beckett was traded to Texas he'd probably save about $1 million per year in taxes... Jimmy Hoffa disappeared on this day back in 1975. I have a perfectly valid alibi... "If its a problem that can be solved with money, then its not a problem" - this is a saying people with money often use... Ancient Greek philosopher Chrysippus died of laughter. He got his donkey drunk and then couldn't stop laughing while watching the donkey trying to eat figs. That was the ancient equivalent of watching David Hasselhoff eat a cheeseburger I guess... 80% of all insects live in a jungle. Ergo I will never live in a jungle... Bill Clinton suckles puppies with his teats - yes this was actually broadcast on TV.
Sunday, July 29, 2012
Here's the Kicker
Just finished And Here's the Kicker: Conversations with 21 Top Humor Writers on their Craft
by Mike Sacks. This is the second time I've read this book. Can there be a better recommendation than reading a book a second time just for pure enjoyment? If you like humor, writing or the history behind some of the major comedic touchstones of the past century then give this book a read. And buy it from my links!
by Mike Sacks. This is the second time I've read this book. Can there be a better recommendation than reading a book a second time just for pure enjoyment? If you like humor, writing or the history behind some of the major comedic touchstones of the past century then give this book a read. And buy it from my links!
Red Sox Thoughts
There are two things that I really hope the Red Sox front office realizes:
1. The chances of this team making the playoffs are very, very slim
2. This is not a likable team. Personally I can root for maybe Pedroia, Ellsbury, Ross and Big Papi
I have a friend who is a big Phillies fan. We recently discussed how pleased we are with the timing of the Olympics because the games will allow us to segue right into football season unofficially allowing us to minimize the misery of following either the Red Sox or Phillies. The big difference, that he also acknowledges, is that at least the Phillies are still a likable team.
Josh Beckett needs to be traded. The Rangers keep saying they aren't interested but their options keep dwindling as other teams make moves and what else are they supposed to say? Texas also needs a catcher - so package Beckett with Kelly Stoppach. The Braves also need a starter. Get Randall Delgado and a couple of prospects for Beckett and a few million. This is Chipper's last season - Atlanta wants to go all out. A deal is there to be made. Move the guy already!
The Red Sox are 1-5 in extra innings games and their Bill James Pythagorean winning percentage would have the team at 53-48 instead of their 50-51 record. Combined these two stats are an indictment of the job Bobby Valentine is doing with this team. I really hope this will be the only season Bobby V will be forced upon the good will of Red Sox fans. To this point of the season Valentine has managed the team to the same exact record as the Cleveland Indians. Think on that for a minute. The patience with his competence has worn thin.
1. The chances of this team making the playoffs are very, very slim
2. This is not a likable team. Personally I can root for maybe Pedroia, Ellsbury, Ross and Big Papi
I have a friend who is a big Phillies fan. We recently discussed how pleased we are with the timing of the Olympics because the games will allow us to segue right into football season unofficially allowing us to minimize the misery of following either the Red Sox or Phillies. The big difference, that he also acknowledges, is that at least the Phillies are still a likable team.
Josh Beckett needs to be traded. The Rangers keep saying they aren't interested but their options keep dwindling as other teams make moves and what else are they supposed to say? Texas also needs a catcher - so package Beckett with Kelly Stoppach. The Braves also need a starter. Get Randall Delgado and a couple of prospects for Beckett and a few million. This is Chipper's last season - Atlanta wants to go all out. A deal is there to be made. Move the guy already!
The Red Sox are 1-5 in extra innings games and their Bill James Pythagorean winning percentage would have the team at 53-48 instead of their 50-51 record. Combined these two stats are an indictment of the job Bobby Valentine is doing with this team. I really hope this will be the only season Bobby V will be forced upon the good will of Red Sox fans. To this point of the season Valentine has managed the team to the same exact record as the Cleveland Indians. Think on that for a minute. The patience with his competence has worn thin.
Saturday, July 28, 2012
Flotsam and Jetsam
Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.
Barack Obama should announce that he's become a Scientologist. That way if anyone criticizes him he can have the Church threaten to sue them... The things you learn on the Internet: According to Mental Floss the flags of Liechtenstein and Haiti were once identical - a fact that wasn't known until the flags were displayed at the 1936 Olympics... What an absolutely beautiful photo... Not sure about you but I was disappointed that the Olympic opening ceremonies didn't end with Lane Pryce from Mad Men hanging himself... I would love to listen to a podcast by actors pretending to be Andy Warhol and Muhammad Ali doing movie and TV show reviews... Penn State football coach Bill O'Brien had a clause in his contract that extended his deal a year for every year Penn State was put on NCAA sanctions. So with 4-years of scholarship reductions and bowl bans - Bill O'Brien's contract went from a 5-year deal to a 9-year deal... How to break the Internet - 1. Take all the Troy McLure scenes from The Simpsons 2 Have Ichiro record them in live action and 3 Post those scenes individually to YouTube...
Barack Obama should announce that he's become a Scientologist. That way if anyone criticizes him he can have the Church threaten to sue them... The things you learn on the Internet: According to Mental Floss the flags of Liechtenstein and Haiti were once identical - a fact that wasn't known until the flags were displayed at the 1936 Olympics... What an absolutely beautiful photo... Not sure about you but I was disappointed that the Olympic opening ceremonies didn't end with Lane Pryce from Mad Men hanging himself... I would love to listen to a podcast by actors pretending to be Andy Warhol and Muhammad Ali doing movie and TV show reviews... Penn State football coach Bill O'Brien had a clause in his contract that extended his deal a year for every year Penn State was put on NCAA sanctions. So with 4-years of scholarship reductions and bowl bans - Bill O'Brien's contract went from a 5-year deal to a 9-year deal... How to break the Internet - 1. Take all the Troy McLure scenes from The Simpsons 2 Have Ichiro record them in live action and 3 Post those scenes individually to YouTube...
Friday, July 27, 2012
Representative Mike Kelly
I had never heard of Rep. Mike Kelly before but based on this little speech - if I lived in his District I'd vote for him.
Olympic Boxing
There is very little enthusiasm for Olympic boxing anymore. I think there is a simple solution to help stem or reverse this lack of enthusiasm. Move boxing from the Summer Olympics to the Winter Olympics.
There is no reason boxing has to be part of the Summer Games. It's an indoor sport that can be held any time. If it is during the Summer it has to compete with swimming, track and field, gymnastics and lots of other sports. It were held during the Winter Games it would be a much bigger focus of attention - especially for the first few games where the change would be treated as a major story.
A simple solution . I can think of any reasons why this wouldn't work.
There is no reason boxing has to be part of the Summer Games. It's an indoor sport that can be held any time. If it is during the Summer it has to compete with swimming, track and field, gymnastics and lots of other sports. It were held during the Winter Games it would be a much bigger focus of attention - especially for the first few games where the change would be treated as a major story.
A simple solution . I can think of any reasons why this wouldn't work.
Thursday, July 26, 2012
Romney and the 2002 Salt Lake Olympics
Very interesting article on Mitt Romney and the 2002 Salt Lake Olympics.
The fact that he took the 2002 Olympics from a $400 million deficit to a $100 million surplus is well known but what is interesting are the examples of how he spent money on the athletes and volunteers not on lavish IOC higher ups. Paying attention to the little things that mattered is why the 2002 Salt Lake Olympics are remembered as among the best run Olympics in history.
Contrast that to the stories you'll see coming out of London about not having enough security personnel or the fact that nobody thought to provide the athletes with air conditioning in their Olympic Village apartments. You can be sure that the IOC VIP's have air conditioning.
The fact that he took the 2002 Olympics from a $400 million deficit to a $100 million surplus is well known but what is interesting are the examples of how he spent money on the athletes and volunteers not on lavish IOC higher ups. Paying attention to the little things that mattered is why the 2002 Salt Lake Olympics are remembered as among the best run Olympics in history.
Contrast that to the stories you'll see coming out of London about not having enough security personnel or the fact that nobody thought to provide the athletes with air conditioning in their Olympic Village apartments. You can be sure that the IOC VIP's have air conditioning.
Wednesday, July 25, 2012
Flotsam and Jetsam
Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.
Boyd Crowder could not be reached for comment... I would love to hear Jon Lovitz read Obama's "You didn't build that" speech in his Master Thespian's voice. That would get a million YouTube hits easy... 18 Awesome Household Tips... Not sure who I find more heinous - Joe Paterno's son or Ted Williams' son. And yes I know John Henry Williams has passed away but he's still heinous... Very interesting story on Sherman Hemsley who just passed away. And by interesting - I mean bizarrely compelling... Orange barrel re-route! Orange barrel re-rout! Have you seen my baseball? Have you seen my baseball?... It would be cool if TV shows could trade actors the way MLB teams trade players... So it turns out that Ichiro was the player to be named later in the Jay Buhner deal... This is a real milk commercial...
Boyd Crowder could not be reached for comment... I would love to hear Jon Lovitz read Obama's "You didn't build that" speech in his Master Thespian's voice. That would get a million YouTube hits easy... 18 Awesome Household Tips... Not sure who I find more heinous - Joe Paterno's son or Ted Williams' son. And yes I know John Henry Williams has passed away but he's still heinous... Very interesting story on Sherman Hemsley who just passed away. And by interesting - I mean bizarrely compelling... Orange barrel re-route! Orange barrel re-rout! Have you seen my baseball? Have you seen my baseball?... It would be cool if TV shows could trade actors the way MLB teams trade players... So it turns out that Ichiro was the player to be named later in the Jay Buhner deal... This is a real milk commercial...
Tuesday, July 24, 2012
Bill O'Brien and Penn State
I think the NCAA sanctions against Penn State were both fair and predictable. You knew there would be reductions in scholarships and a bowl game ban. I'm glad they took away the program's wins because that punished Joe Paterno's legacy. Make no mistake - Joe Pa was one of the bad guys in this saga. The $60 million fine? That I have an issue with but it is more because does anyone really trust the NCAA with that $60 million? How much of that money will be wasted on "administration" fees?
Going from 25 to 15 scholarships shouldn't be that big a deal in the first year since I'm guessing the number of recruits who bail on the program will whittle that number down to around 15 anyway. Bill O'Brien can sell the remaining freshmen on either redshirting so that they get the chance of going to a bowl in their 5th year or having the chance of playing right away - something they probably won't get at any other major program.
The reduction in scholarship will certainly hurt Penn State's ability to get Blue Chip prospects and I agree that the depth chart may become an issue. But that too could be turned into a positive. Bill O'Brien could go after players who may want to play both ways. Highlight that the Patriots did this all the time and that this flexibility may make them more attractive to NFL scouts. No other major program could offer this up to players torn between playing offense or defense. At Penn State you could play both.
I think the NCAA sanctions were fair but now I'm rooting for Bill O'Brien to be successful.
Going from 25 to 15 scholarships shouldn't be that big a deal in the first year since I'm guessing the number of recruits who bail on the program will whittle that number down to around 15 anyway. Bill O'Brien can sell the remaining freshmen on either redshirting so that they get the chance of going to a bowl in their 5th year or having the chance of playing right away - something they probably won't get at any other major program.
The reduction in scholarship will certainly hurt Penn State's ability to get Blue Chip prospects and I agree that the depth chart may become an issue. But that too could be turned into a positive. Bill O'Brien could go after players who may want to play both ways. Highlight that the Patriots did this all the time and that this flexibility may make them more attractive to NFL scouts. No other major program could offer this up to players torn between playing offense or defense. At Penn State you could play both.
I think the NCAA sanctions were fair but now I'm rooting for Bill O'Brien to be successful.
Thunderstruck
Iran's nuclear program has been hacked again.
In general I'm not a fan of hackers but this is the exception that proves the rule. Hack on my friends. At this point the Iranians have to wonder if they did come up with a bomb whether they would be able to control it or if hackers have set a virus to make it blow up in their faces.
In general I'm not a fan of hackers but this is the exception that proves the rule. Hack on my friends. At this point the Iranians have to wonder if they did come up with a bomb whether they would be able to control it or if hackers have set a virus to make it blow up in their faces.
Monday, July 23, 2012
Unbelievable
What's the worst prank you can play on an Egyptian? Make him think he's in the same room as a Jew.
Simply unbelievable.
Simply unbelievable.
Flotsam and Jetsam
Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.
This may be strange but the person I would really like to hear from regarding how Jeremy Lin was handled by the Knicks is writer William Goldman who happens to be a big Knicks fan... If Time is real and is subject to the forces of gravity doesn't that mean that Time somehow has mass or some sort of energy component?.. Whenever you read about Barack Obama saving Detroit - how come you never see any workers from Saturn or Pontiac quoted in the story?... JA Happ and Jon Lester have basically been the same pitcher this year. People who advocate trading Lester should consider that and look at how comparatively little the Astros got for Happ... Interesting - according to Todd Brunson the poker show Poker After Dark paid the players a flat rate of $5,000 for 8 hours while the show High Stakes Poker paid $1,250 per hour... The Democratic Convention is going to be a disaster. Having one of the least successful Conventions in recent memory will be a big drag on the Obama campaign. The stories will be more about who isn't there than who is attending. Also post Convention don't be shocked if there isn't a bunch of stories about local vendors getting stiffed by the DNC. I just want to say that now.... I would love it if Fred Willard's defense is that he had a cramp and was just trying to work it out...
This may be strange but the person I would really like to hear from regarding how Jeremy Lin was handled by the Knicks is writer William Goldman who happens to be a big Knicks fan... If Time is real and is subject to the forces of gravity doesn't that mean that Time somehow has mass or some sort of energy component?.. Whenever you read about Barack Obama saving Detroit - how come you never see any workers from Saturn or Pontiac quoted in the story?... JA Happ and Jon Lester have basically been the same pitcher this year. People who advocate trading Lester should consider that and look at how comparatively little the Astros got for Happ... Interesting - according to Todd Brunson the poker show Poker After Dark paid the players a flat rate of $5,000 for 8 hours while the show High Stakes Poker paid $1,250 per hour... The Democratic Convention is going to be a disaster. Having one of the least successful Conventions in recent memory will be a big drag on the Obama campaign. The stories will be more about who isn't there than who is attending. Also post Convention don't be shocked if there isn't a bunch of stories about local vendors getting stiffed by the DNC. I just want to say that now.... I would love it if Fred Willard's defense is that he had a cramp and was just trying to work it out...
Saturday, July 21, 2012
Linky Links
Stuff I found interesting and thought I'd share.
Ha - I think this is great. Nobel laureate sets up table on street and lets people ask him physics questions.
Jerry Seinfeld's web video series is off to a funny start.
Golf writer/editor George Peper bought 2 bedroom flat overlooking 18th hole on Old Course in 1983 for $65,000 and is now selling it for over $2 million. Nice investment.
Really cool new photos of Saturn
I love stories like this - Man risks $66,200 on single roulette bet in Vegas and wins!
Interesting look at Portugal's drug policies and how decriminalizing drugs over 10-years ago changed things
Ha - I think this is great. Nobel laureate sets up table on street and lets people ask him physics questions.
Jerry Seinfeld's web video series is off to a funny start.
Golf writer/editor George Peper bought 2 bedroom flat overlooking 18th hole on Old Course in 1983 for $65,000 and is now selling it for over $2 million. Nice investment.
Really cool new photos of Saturn
I love stories like this - Man risks $66,200 on single roulette bet in Vegas and wins!
Interesting look at Portugal's drug policies and how decriminalizing drugs over 10-years ago changed things
Swimming with the Shark (the Great White Shark)
Wow - this diver really has big balls! I'd guess that he doesn't always drink beer but when he does he makes it a Dos Equis.
Trade Josh Beckett
I've long been in the trade Josh Beckett camp. I think he'd also welcome a trade because I think he's as sick of the Boston media as the Boston fans are sick of him being a miserable prick (the guy has not only used up all the goodwill from the 2007 championship - he's now running a deficit). Get back a top prospect or two from the Rangers or the Nationals or some team in contention that Beckett gives his OK to and everyone gets to move on with their lives.
Beckett has been tested in the post-season and has produced like no other active pitcher except maybe Andy Pettitte. His numbers aren't great but keep in mind he hasn't given up a HR in his last 10 starts and for his career he's got a 3.48 ERA in 5 starts at Rangers Ballpark in Arlington (where I think he'd be easiest to trade). Beckett has two more years left on his contract at $15 million per year - so he's not even a rental either.
The Red Sox would get a couple of prospects and would allow Franklin Morales to go back to starting where he's been more productive than Beckett. The team would also then have $25 million of payroll flexibility (combining Beckett's and Dice-K's salaries coming off the books) to make the 2013 team more competitive. Plus this year's team would immediately become more likable.
Alex Speier has an excellent breakdown of Beckett's numbers. Too bad he doesn't come right out and say that the Red Sox should trade him now while they have the chance.
Beckett has been tested in the post-season and has produced like no other active pitcher except maybe Andy Pettitte. His numbers aren't great but keep in mind he hasn't given up a HR in his last 10 starts and for his career he's got a 3.48 ERA in 5 starts at Rangers Ballpark in Arlington (where I think he'd be easiest to trade). Beckett has two more years left on his contract at $15 million per year - so he's not even a rental either.
The Red Sox would get a couple of prospects and would allow Franklin Morales to go back to starting where he's been more productive than Beckett. The team would also then have $25 million of payroll flexibility (combining Beckett's and Dice-K's salaries coming off the books) to make the 2013 team more competitive. Plus this year's team would immediately become more likable.
Alex Speier has an excellent breakdown of Beckett's numbers. Too bad he doesn't come right out and say that the Red Sox should trade him now while they have the chance.
Friday, July 20, 2012
Neil Armstrong and Mr. Gorsky
Today is the 43rd anniversary of Neil Armstrong landing on the moon.
It is sad that at this point I can't think of that singular achievement without also thinking about the "Good luck Mr. Gorsky" urban legend.
It is sad that at this point I can't think of that singular achievement without also thinking about the "Good luck Mr. Gorsky" urban legend.
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