Aluminum

Small. Blurry. Uninteresting.
I have no clue why I like this Ty-photo. But I do. Oh well.

"Small. Blurry. Uninteresting."

1. New aluminum bats
What a great idea... make aluminum bats mushier (or something), so the balls aren't unnaturally flying off the bat.

College Baseball: New bats for the 2011 season

QOTD

“It’s like using a wood bat, they suck.”
- college baseball player

2. Couple-a QOTD

Potpourri. Go!

QOTD2

"Have you ever met an entrepreneur who wasn't an optimist?
A true entrepreneur doesn't have the word 'failure' in his lexicon.
Maybe [a venture] doesn't work out. But no failures."
- Sam Zell, Forbes article

QOTD3

"Turkish delight!"
- (excellent) Bull announcer nickname for Turkish big man Omer Asik

3. Black Sunday
Book: "Black Sunday" by Thomas Harris
Review: 4 bill-stars (out of 5)... excellent!

Thomas Harris is the "Silence of the Lambs" author. I believe that "Black Sunday" is his first book. Harris' other Hannibal Lecter-ish book is called "Red Dragon", and it is an all-time fave of mine and jiminy scary.

"Black Sunday" is about some Arab terrorists trying to blow-up the Super Bowl. Interestingly, the book was written in 1975. I wonder if Harris got any flak at the time because one of the the terrorists is a messed up Viet Nam veteran. His description of the vet's troubled childhood and then POW experience in Viet Nam blew me away.

The weakest part of the book was the ending. That's not unusual, but oddly, the problem wasn't the plot. The plot of the ending was pretty good; it was just Harris' weird, rushed writing style that made the boffo conclusion kind of muddled.

It was no Vince Flynn, but still, "Black Sunday" was definitely worthy.
peace out... yow, bill

Really Green Frog

 "Really Green Frog"

1. Do nothing
Try this (funny) one:

www.donothingfor2minutes.com

2. Unserious

I posted previously on the silly high-speed rail reference in President Obama's speech. This is a WSJ subscription piece by Peggy Noonan that is of a similar vein.

An Unserious Speech

Peggy Noonan's theme is, well, the unserious nature of the speech. She mentions President Obama's terrible joke about airport pat-downs "to which the president has never been and will never be subjected". Here's the most relevant factoid for me.

QOTD

"The federal government is twice the size it was 10 years ago.
It's 27% bigger than it was two years ago."

- repub pol

The fed deficit (nor Illinois) is not a revenue problem. It is a spending problem.

Here's a serious notion that President Obama could have made during his speech... a simple leftie/rightie tradeoff:

• Offer reducing fed spending to 2008 levels, less than 20% of GDP
• In exchange for higher taxes on the richy-rich.

If you yearn for longer-term seriousness, then you could throw in there tax simplification and allowing free choice options in health care and retirement. If President Obama wants Obamacare, then keep it and offer people to join or not. Pretty simple.
really green... yow, bill

PS - My really green frog is from the Shedd Aquarium... not bad for indoors with my crappy digital.

Onion me

Of course, The Onion is awesome. Oh, I don't know, say a story like:

FDA Official: "Just Eat a Goddamn Vegetable"

One of my Christmas presents pays Onion dividends nearly every day... it's The Onion 2011 daily calendar. Each day includes an Onion "story" and a horoscope.

QOTD

"K-Y Introduces New Line of Jam"
- Jan 26 2011 Onion calendar story

he he... yow, bill

Disconnected

The feds are projecting a deficit of $1.5 trillion this year.

QOTD

"Within 25 years, our goal is to give 80 percent of Americans access to high-speed rail. This could allow you go places in half the time it takes to travel by car"
-  President Obama, state of the union speech, story 

How surreal. $1.5 TRILLION in the hole. In just one year of your presidency. And your talking about spending $$$ on high-speed rail. I mean... how disconnected from reality can you be?

OK. I humbly present the mayor of New York.

QOTD2

"What is America waiting for? I don’t want to spend money we don’t have. I’m sympathetic to the cost of debt. I’m sympathetic to encumbering our descendents with the cost of building things. But this is not wasting money."
- Michael Bloomberg, WSJ story

Or, as Sarah Palin described the speech, "Winning The Future" is more like "WTF".

The opportunity for repubs... here in Illinois, and at the federal level... you could drive a truck through it. I'd run a commercial, split-screen: one of President Obama touting high-speed rail and the other with $5T or whatever the tally will be next year of Obama debt added to the pile. Americans don't want this, along with tons of other Obama-goodies. And repubs, or fricking someone, just has to step up and say, "Nobody wants this shit."

But here we are Jan 2011, and I don't see any repub candidates for president. I don't hear about any of them. Sarah Palin would be a great choice... if she were still governor of Alaska, and not a reality TV star. Paul Ryan is good, but I don't think he's interested. So, are we looking at the same tired-ass laundry list as last time? Romney? Huckleberry? Please.

We went through this last year in Illinois. You don't get much more feeble than Governor Quinn. But still, the IL repubs didn't offer a real/strong candidate. Will 2012 be the same on the national stage?
we shall see... yow, bill


PS - Movie: "Bullitt". Review: 4 bill-stars. Best car chase ever. Manly man Steve McQueen and a 24 yo Jacqueline Bisset. Good. Lord.

Facebook news

"Cartoon Mystery" by Ty

I missed President Obama's speech last night. (drat) Forget talking heads and polls and radio blather... faker tourists all! (he he) What are the real people saying? Real Facebook people, of course.

Well, dozens of posts on Facebook, and nary a mention of President Obama's performance, neither praise from the lefties nor derision from the right. There were a few snarky posts about repubs looking funny or this or that, and some of the Supremes not being there, but nothing about President Obama. Nothing good. Nothing bad. Nothing about his policy initiatives or appearance or oratory skills or anything.

Two years and people are tuned out.
I reckon that's the real political news of the evening.
yow, bill

You have to have a little faith in people

1. Chuckles

Chuckles Barkley on the radio this evening. He he.
QOTD1

"Anyone who tweets is a damn idiot... and anyone who wants to follow what I do or say every minute of the day is a damn idiot."
- Chuckles Barkley

2. Freaks on fire
Ah, Freakonomics...

QOTD2

"Your arrogance knows no limits."
-Freakonomics wife

LOL.
Dang, that Freakonomics blog is on fire lately.

Freakonomics - Scorecasting

Hold on a second... done. Just bought that Scorecasting book on Amazon. If it's good enough for the Freaks, then it's good enough for me. BTW, hardcover price $14.44 (no paperback yet). Kindle price $13. A buck forty four doesn't cut it, Kindle boys.

Man, that's a good blog, that Freakonomics. Fun. Funny. Interesting. And personal to boot.
I gotta improve my crappy blog with some of that.
So, I had a date with this girl from the Internet, and...
he he... yow, bill

PS - Bonus. Movie: "Mahattan". Review: 5 bill-stars (out of 5)... all-time top 10 Bill-movie. Easy.

QOTD3

"Six months isn't so long.
Not everybody gets corrupted.
You have to have a little faith in people."
- Tracy, "Manhattan"... fade to Gershwin (youtube clip)

Two commercials

1. Boo. Hoo. Hoo.

Good news:

US Postal Service to close 2,000 offices

And did you catch the boo hoo hoo part?

QOTD

"The news is crushing in many remote communities where the post office is often the heart of the town and the closest link to the rest of the country. Shuttering them, critics say, also puts an enormous burden on people, particularly on the elderly, who find it difficult to travel out of town."
- On closing post offices (story)

OK, maybe boo hoo'ing is a little harsh, just as "crushing" is a little over the top. But, we're smart. What happens when fed-subsidized shenanigans go away. Well... this or that, something newer, something bigger and badder will come out of the private sector. Or if you want me to be less rosy... at least this allows the possibility of something better evolving in small towns.

2. Two commercials

IBM is touting their Jeopardy-playing computer in a commercial:

www.ibmwatson.com

QOTD2

"This game is an atrocity"
-Some mom who hates Dead Space 2

But the big money is this Dead Space 2 commercial with the tag line: You Mom hates this. In the commercial, the Moms are (supposedly) watching the video game and recoiling in shock and horror. He he.

www.yourmomhatesthis.com

It's nice to see a little more creative approach. And pretty ballsy by the video game marketing guys.
Speaking of 11 yo's...

QOTD3

"I'm sure Derrick Rose eats all his vegetables."
-me, weak parenting attempt at dinner last night

And I'm such a faker. It was mashed potatoes, not vegetables.
he he... yow, bill

The Kindle Problem

QOTD

"BAD GIRL SEX"
- big ole Cosmo headline at the Jew-el checkout

Well, shit.
You tell me: Kindle problem or old man problem?

I got my new Kindle (pant pant), but the e-books cost pretty much the same as a real book.
Some examples:

• I read about Thomas Harris' "Black Sunday" in the WSJ. Cool. I've seen the movie, but haven't read the book. And I heart "Red Dragon" by Harris. So, clickety click over to Amazon... $8 for the book, and $7 for the Kindle version.
• My super all-time fave Vince Flynn most recent book, "American Assassin" is $15 for a hardcover. It's $15 for the Kindle version. Why in the heck would I pony up $15 for a Kindle version versus a dang hardcover?

Add in that I get free 2-day shipping from Amazon Prime.
So, maybe I'm a dinosaur, shouldn't e-books cost less?
You have the R&D to create the software. After than, no production costs... no delivery costs... no nothing.

Well, my imaginary price point is "about half". If hardcover Vince Flynn is $15, then I'll pay around $8 for the Kindle version.

Until then, my Kindle sits on the kitchen counter, cool as all get out and obsolescing before my very eyes.

One good thing... it seems that in every photo of a girl reading a Kindle, she's extremely attractive and totally engrossed in the thing. How odd.
he he... yow, bill

PS - The postscript to my Kindle story: I ordered a used hardcover of "Black Sunday" on Amazon. (Hardcovers are easier to read than the tiny paperbacks) It was a whopping 4 bucks, with free shipping. I ordered the thing Saturday morning, and it got here Sunday morning via some special nabob delivery service. So, that's 24 hours delivery. On a weekend. For a crappy $4 used book. Amazing. Amazon is beyond belief, but you gotta fix the Kindle prices for e-books.

PPS - Post postscript. Bear lose. Dop.

Super Bears, Super Bowl...

1. Bear win!

Bear-Packer.
Today is the Super Bowl.

OK... sing along: www.hark.com/clips/ycfsbtynty-bear-down-chicago-bears-instrumental

QOTD

Bear down, Chicago Bears, make every play clear the way to victory
Bear down, Chicago Bears, put up a fight with a might so fearlessly
We'll never forget the way you thrilled the nation with your T-formation
Bear down, Chicago Bears, and let them know why you're wearing the crown
You're the pride and joy of Illinois, Chicago Bears, bear down

- Bears fight song, www.chicagobears.com/fancenter/bearsfightsonglyrics.asp

Bear win!
Super Bears... Super Bowl... Super Bears... Super Bowl...

And en homage to the last Chicago Bear Championship team from 1985:

QOTD2

"Life is a lot like ass.
Sometimes you kick it.
And sometimes you lick it."
-Steve McMichael, Chicago Bears lineman

LOL.

2. Tron II

Movie: Tron Legacy
Review: 3 bill-stars (out of 5)... just OK

This was barely 3 stars for me. There was a lot of nostalgia in there, but little else. Dumb plot. Slow pace with sporadic action. The movie is liberally sprinkled with hot chicks to make it, um, tastier. (Like Olivia Wilde over there. Jeez.) It was worth seeing, but barely.

I was surprised getting out of the movie that Ty wanted to rate Tron 3 1/2 stars. I chastised him on the purity of the Yelp star system, and he chose 3 stars. I guess it surprised me because there were some really long boring parts to Tron Legacy. I didn't think my 11 yo would be that into it. Must have been the hot chicks. Ha!

The original Tron was beautiful because it was such a goof. Goofy effects. Goofy computer terminology used throughout. Goofy soundtrack. It had an innocent quality that made the movie fun. Tron 2 is just an average action movie.

Now, Tron the video game was fun and kind of goofy too.
Back in the day. Sigh.

yow, bill

Gold and tigers

1. Gold

The S&P 500 is about $1,285.
An ounce of gold costs $1,345.
Of course, just 3 years ago the S&P 500 was higher and gold was much lower.
Here's a great chart comparing these two asset classes over the last 3 years:

Gold vs. the S&P 500

Q: Which will outperform over the next 3 years?
A: Got me.
Q: Will I be invested in the winner.
A: We'll see about that. He he.
In our "interesting times" here, you can find as many "experts" who will argue gold and commodities as much as the stock market. F the experts, I'm only listening to my computer... well, the algorithms on my computer.

2. Tiger Moms

This instantly became one of my FAVE all-time blog posts. It a (wonderful, interesting and personal) Freakonomics reply to the Chinese Tiger Mom:

The Economics of Tiger Parenting

Not too many Tiger Moms at good ole Joliet West. Ha!

yow, bill

PS - Factoid: 40% of corn grown in the US is used for ethanol (WSJ op-ed). WTF?

PPS - The blaring headline in this morning's WSJ:

Obama to Push New Spending

LOL.
Dammit, that's funny.

Not so bad

1. Format change
Well, that's not so bad. It like it. Fun.

I've always wanted a 1-column setup... with all the admin crap at the bottom. I think bigger pics will fit better into this format. We'll see.

So, goodbye CSS hacking and hello new Blogger "Template Designer" guy. It was very nice, and it was flexible enough to not make me cranky. Which is good.

TODO:

1. Add a regular old web page where I'll keep a log of my backgrounds. That's sort of the plan... change the fun background image when I get a hankering.
2. My little favicon.ico isn't working for some reason.

peace... yow, bill

PS - Here's the first background that you're (sort of) seeing.

PPS - I fixed my favicon.ico woes... see the tiny yellow and blue Yow! up in the browser tab. That's it.

PJ

1. PJ

PJ O'Rourke blasts the NY Times (and fellow leftie nabobs) for exploiting the AZ shootings:

PJ - The Times Loses It

QOTD

"In the matter of self-serving, bitter, calculated cynicism, there wouldn’t seem to be much left to prove against the Times. Judging by what I’ve heard from my fellow conservatives, the issue is decided. The New York Times is a worthless, truthless, vicious institution. But I disagree. I think things are worse than that."
- PJ

The WSJ is the right. The NY Times left. I get that, and it's cool. So, you agree with the slant or you don't.

PJ is a (lovable) mad dog, but the essence of his rant is correct. You just don't see this AZ stuff in the WSJ. Irrational blather. You just don't.

2. Williamt
I heart PJ. I wish I could summon that level of crankiness.
On second thought, I'll pass.

Here's my not-nearly-as-effective crankiness about the state of Illinois, Naperville, and the DuPage Children's Museum.

So, the state of Illinois is helping to bail out Naperville's own DuPage Children's Museum (DCM):

Trib - Naperville helps children's museum stay afloat

Daily Herald - Naperville to approve Children's Museum lease

Well, first, as a Napervillian, I want to thank the (much) poorer citizens of Illinois for the largess... to the tune of a couple million bucks. I look forward to more state aid for Naperville as the articles stated that the DCM was $9M in the hole, so there's plenty more room for the state's dough. And I ask you, "What about the children!"

With the recent IL state tax increases and the Gov Quinn's coffers now flush with cash, perhaps Illinois would be interested in buying a Naperville Riverwalk bridge?

3. Doubly Land-locked

A land-locked country (according to Wikipedia) is "a country entirely enclosed by land, or whose only coastlines lie on closed seas." OK. There are 47 of them, by their count.

And there are 2 doubly land-locked countries: Liechtenstein and Uzbekistan. These are countries completely surrounded by land-locked countries.

4. Norm!

Cheers reruns (first couple season) make this old fossil happy.

QOTD

All: Norm!
Coach: How's life treatin' ya, Norm?
Norm: Like he caught me in bed with his wife.
- Cheers

I'm looking at playing with my blog format. We'll see.
Maybe I can get the state of Illinois to pitch in some $$$.
he he... yow, bill

The Godzirra Pack

"When Octopi Attack"

1. Four states
News on four different states... all referencing (lunkhead) Illinois:

1. Utah - I already talked about the pension reform in Utah: The Utah Pension Model
2. Georgia is looking to lower taxes to be more competitive in attracting business: The Anti-Illinois
3. Indiana - The mayor of Indy is taking ads out in downstate IL papers, "praising his city's friendlier business climate": Indiana appeals to Illinois taxpayers
4. Florida - Jimmy Johns is looking to move to Florida to lower his (their?) tax bill: Jimmy Johns checks out Florida to flee Illinois tax

Hey, we're famous!
Dop.

2. Ignorant me

I guess I really haven't followed the plethora of lawsuits related to the 9/11 Muslim terrorist attacks? In this lawsuit, some financial firm is suing American Airlines:

Cantor Fitzgerald Death Claims Against Airline Barred

And this is separate from the Sep 11th Victim Compensation Fund that we funded. "At the end of the process $7 billion was awarded to 97% of the families; the average payout was $1.8 million."


And these fed $$$ are separate from the September 11th Fund, which was a charitable endeavor that "collected $534 million from more than two million donors and distributed a total of 559 grants totaling $528 million."

And there's also the new James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act which pays about $5B " to provide health monitoring and financial aid to sick 9/11 workers."

QOTD

"Justice is finally being served."
- nabob

In similar news, the WSJ reports that indoor marathons are the "new thing": Indoor marathons keep athletes running in circles.

3. Godzirra

Spam from the Oakland A's... for my Asian-American brothers... the "Hideki Matsui Pack":

"Watch Hideki Matsui and the A's 

take on the biggest Japanese stars in baseball, 

including Ichiro and Daisuke Matsuzaka"

Oh no. There goes Tokyo.

go go godzilla... yow, bill

A bag full of bulbs

1. And silliest of all...

The silliest of all the global warming nonsense?
Perhaps, it is the curly cue light bulb, the CFL.

In CA, they literally pay people to use these little guys. Well, it's not quite working as well as planned as the bulbs don't save as much money or energy as advertised:

The new light bulb loses a little shine

I really heart this one.

QOTD

"Turning them on and off a lot also appears to impair longevity."
- some nabob, on why CFL bulbs aren't lasting as long as predicted (by some other nabobs)

LOL.

Another tiny problem with CFL's is the mercury in them. The article describes government efforts in emerging markets to push the CFL. "Last June, for example, Bangladesh gave away five million of the bulbs in a single day." You think all them little Bangladeshis are recycling their free CFL's when they burnout sooner than expected because of "turning them on and off"?

In the US, the legislation is still in place to outlaw incandescent bulbs, "which won't be available in stores after 2014". Maybe the newbie repubs can do something about that. Or maybe I need to go buy me a big bag 'o bulbs sooner rather than later... stick em in a closet... sell 'em on the light bulb black market in a few years. He he.

2. Utah Pensions

Utah replaced defined-benefit plans for state workers with a 401K (WSJ story).
So, state workers get 10% of the salary tossed into a 401K.

It's common sense, plain as day:

• "Workers own their retirement account and can carry it to another job."
• "They also benefit because politicians can no longer steal from the pension plan to pay for other government spending."
• "As for taxpayers, the reform will eventually slash state pension liabilities in half"
• But Bill (sob), I can't even live (sniff) without my pension, "If they wish, new workers can choose a defined benefit plan, but the state contribution to such a plan is no longer open-ended but is legally capped at 10%."

The punchline: "Union leaders nonetheless resisted the plan"

Own your own stuff. Good for Utah.
Illinois?
yow, bill

Pestering, nudging, hectoring, chattering demands

1. Alone Together
I think I'm going to get this book: Alone Together by Sherry Turkle

QOTD

"Teens may embrace the peculiar sociability that the wireless computer makes possible, Ms. Turkle says, but they do so with unease and ambivalence. To put it in theater terms, they are "on" all the time, expected to respond immediately to every text, every IM, every scribble on their Facebook walls. There is no escape from the pestering, nudging, hectoring, chattering demands of being connected. Many high-schoolers are more exhausted than exhilarated by their virtual lives."
- Eric Felten, WSJ book review of "Alone Together"

Much of this quote applies to oldsters as well. I don't do Facebook that much any more. It just seems boring as paste. And you do sense this feeling of people being "on" all the time. Everyone knows they're being observed. It's an odd, new phenomena.

I'm not bashing Facebook. It's great to have a way to be connected, but it does get old.

But, jeez, even my cell phone is heavy. My cell phone is a heavy pestering, nudging, hectoring, chattering demand. He he. A smart phone? Are you fucking kidding me. I'd pay extra for a dumber phone. A big, fat dumb phone. Oh, that reminds me...

QOTD

"I'm not a big fat panda. I'm the big fat panda."
- Po, "Kung Fu Panda"

Sometimes I'll be carrying the thing (um, my cell phone) and wonder to myself, "Why do I have this thing... here, at the Jew-el?" I remember in college, ole Rog Sullivan would call your wallet a "suitcase" and a watch, "handcuffs"... wondering why anyone would carry such things.

Yet, I do heart my williamt blog. What's the difference between this and Facebook or texting or whatever? Well, I'm in charge, I guess. I can take as long as I like. Not 200 characters. My blog doesn't follow me to the Jew-el. It's already old technology, so I'm not threatened. LOL.

Maybe the biggest positive: I'm not blogging to connect, superficially or not. Just blathering because I enjoy it. And yes, it is fun.

2. Stock Trader's Almanac

I heart the Stock Trader's Almanac (the STA). It's a calendar/day-planner deal that they (the Hirsch father-son team) put out each year. I must be close to a 20 year run of these things. They have a (busy, kinda crappy) website where you can find a link to the book/calendar/day-planner:

www.stocktradersalmanac.com

There's tons of quirky stock market data in the STA. However, I don't recall ever taking specific investment advice from the STA and doing it. But I have found a few book reviews that I liked that pointed me toward some good reading.

The absolute BEST feature of the STA is the quote they list for each weekday in the calendar. Many of these are truly outstanding. Here's a tiny sample from the end of 2010:

STA QOTD

"There is only one corner of the universe you can be certain of improving, and that's yourself."
-Aldous Huxley

"Only those who will risk going too far can possibly find out how far one can go."
-T.S. Eliot

"Amongst democratic nations, each generation is a new people."
-Alexis de Tocqueville

"He who wants to persuade should put his trust not in the right argument, but in the right word. The power of sound has always been greater than the power of sense."
-Joseph Conrad

And a hundred more!
buy low... yow, bill

Bear win!

1. Bear win!

Huzzah!

Bear 35, Seahawk 24

It wasn't anywhere near that close as Seattle threw in two cheapies to finish the game.

This is a wonderful video of the Blackhawk guy singing the national anthem at the Bear game yesterday. Wait for it... the end is punctuated by the jets flying over Soldier Field.

youtube - Bear game national anthem

Pack are next. Sunday at 2:00.
For Bear fans... this IS the Super Bowl.
The Bear will have to play a nearly perfect game to beat Aaron Rodgers and the boys. Cutler!

2. New Grit

Movie: True Grit (the new one)
Review: 3 bill-stars (out of 5)... OK.

I have bumped the old John Wayne "True Grit" to #1 on my Netflix queue. I remember the old one being a lot better than this.

You can't expect Jeff Bridges to be as good as John Wayne, but he is the best part of the movie. The girl was good as well. The movie is very sloooow. And the ending was goofy. It was worth seeing, but barely.

I also remember "Rooster Cogburn" being better than "True Grit". I'll test that theory out as well... "Rooster Cogburn" is #2 on my Netflix queue.
yow, bill

Thirty minutes

1. Bear win!

30 minutes to the biggest Bear game since the 2000-whatever Super Bowl... and the game next week against the Pack. Ha!
Go Bear!

2. Rapture review
Movie: "The Rapture"
Review: 4 bill-stars (out of 5)... very good plus Mimi Rogers

You catch that math... you have a good movie and add one star for a 35 yo Mimi Rogers. Jiminy! This is a weird/different movie that's entertaining. There's a very weird/good ending to the story, too.

I was surprised that it's from 1991. It has an older, 80's feel to it. David Duchovny is very kitschy and (surprisingly) all buffed out as Mimi's love interest.

3. Dunk Machine

SI has 17 of the most fun and outrageous photos of Blake Griffin dunking this season.

Blake Griffin - Dunk Machine

My NBA all-young (22 yo or less) team:

• PG - D-Rose, Bull (22 yo)
• SG - R Westbrook, OKC (22 yo)
• SF - K Durant, OKC (22 yo)
• PF - Blake Griffin, Clip (21 yo)
• C - Kevin Love, Min (22 yo)

I'm pretty sure all those guys are NBA all-stars this year. And 21, 22 yo... jeez.

I know. I know. Rose and Westbrook are both point guards. Sue me.
If I have to, I'll take D-Rose at the point and E Gordon of the Clip as a pure #2.
But Westbrook, at 12th in the league in scoring and 8th in assists, he is worthy!
peace... yow, bill

The forehead

Of course, it's a very different reality for the wildly famous.

QOTD

"The forehead."
- Tim Tebow Denver Bronco QB, when a fan asks him to autograph their baby, this is where they typically ask him to sign the baby

I'm not quite sure why you can't refuse such a request, but then again, I've never been in that position.

1. Ah, marketing
I can't find the current Buffalo Wild Wings radio ad, which is my fave. In it, the guy favorably compares Buffalo Wild Wings to staying at home with his wife. Excellent.

And this marketing effort achieved rare status... it managed to somehow gross out my 11 yo:

youtube - Luvs Diaper Commercial

Sell them diapers, baby.

2. It did not
I didn't see President Obama's speech on the AZ shootings, but it was nice to read this QOTD.

QOTD2

"...let us remember it is not because a simple lack of civility caused this tragedy--it did not--but rather because only a more civil and honest public discourse can help us face up to the challenges of our nation in a way that would make them proud."
- President Obama, on AZ shootings ( WSJ - It Did Not )

The WSJ also points out "liberal politicians have behaved far more decently than liberal journalists in the aftermath of Saturday's atrocious crime". Good. And polls seem to be showing that the public is on board. Good again.

good good... yow, bill

Wonderful snark

It's got to be tough to be a snarky movie reviewer for a living.
But on rare occasion... too funny.

QOTD

"The Green Hornet may not be the end of movies as we know them, though the people who made this atrocity were certainly in there trying."
- WSJ movie guy

smile... yow, bill

PS - Some channel has been playing the TV show from the 60's. Ugh. Pretty rough viewing. Poor Bruce Lee just standing around. And as Butthead would say, "These effects aren't very special."

Big party... but fewer jobs

 "Just stairs"

1. Big party

This is a fun video from National Geographic. If you had a part for all 7 billion people in the world, and gave each person 6 sqft (a subway has 2-3 sqft/person), then you could fit the 7 billion people in the world in Rhode Island. He he.

7 billion - World Party

2. Goodbye jobs!

IL took one step closer to raising taxes some stupidly amazing percentage in a budget that continues to increase spending. Good Tribe editorial on our state's woeful governance:

Chicago Trib - Goodbye Jobs

QOTD

"A triumphant Gov. Pat Quinn congratulated fellow Democrats early today after the Illinois Senate and House sent him a major income tax increase without a single Republican vote in favor.

Quinn smiled and shook hands on the floor of the Senate around 1:30 a.m. after the Senate voted 30-29 for the bill, which would raise the personal income tax-rate by 67 percent and the business income tax rate by 46 percent."

- IL dem tax increase, source

Well, we just voted the guy (Quinn) in, so there you go.

No repubs voted for the massive tax hike. Kudos.

IL repubs could drive a truck through this hole of an opportunity. Vote for us and we'll repeal a 70% tax hike and replace it with spending cuts. We'll see if IL repubs can take this next step.

Speaking of jobs (he he) catch these top interview mistakes (Taking cell call tops list of interview blunders):

1. Taking a cell call during the interview,
2. Dressing inappropriately,
3. Appearing disinterested,
4. Appearing arrogant

"J. O. B. Job.
Gonna get a job today".
yow, bill

Beauty Math

1. Rhee me
This is a pretty low-key op-ed from fave Michelle Rhee:

In Budget Crises, an Opening for School Reform

Her 3 point deal:

1. Treat teachers like professionals... no tenure, evaluate based on performance and not seniority
2. Empower parents with school choice
3. Be fiscally accountable... get rid of defined-benefit pension and health plans

Pretty simple.
Even simpler. Give people their dang $10K and let them find a school.

2. The Mathematics of Beauty

Fun fun piece by the OkCupid blog where they analyze 2 variables: 1) how men rate women's appearance vs. 2) how many messages men send women:

The Mathematics of Beauty

OK, it's more the statistics of beauty, but then nobody would have read the thing. If I may slap my own paraphrasing on their conclusion: quirky looks get more attention.

Huzzah to that!

3. Beast mode

Best stiff-arm since Earl Campbell... Marshawn Lynch in self-proclaimed, "Beast mode". Marshawn was touched by 8 Saint defenders on the run. Jeez.

youtube - Marshawn Lynch TD run

QOTD

"I wish he'd done that when I had him."
- Ty, (disgruntled) Marshawn Lynch fantasy owner this year

4. I'll take Bobby Hull
The NHL All-Star game is trying something weird... anything to get some attention, eh. All the All-star players have been selected. Now, team captains will choose up teams in a sort of fantasy draft the Friday before the game:

"Those captains and alternates will then pick players in an 18-round fantasy draft on Friday, Jan. 28, to kick off the All-Star weekend in Raleigh, N.C. The teams, which will be named after the last name of those voted as captains, will each have 12 forwards, six defensemen and three goaltenders."
- picking the NHL All-Star teams, source

I still won't watch. He he.
And, hockey in Raleigh, NC. Cha.
shoot the puck... yow, bill

3 Editorials

OK, one more post on this nonsense... with 3 editorials to compare and contrast.
The stupid Sun Times made me do it. It's so reprehensible and right here in our back yard. Ha!

1. The Sun Times - The absolute worst of the lot. This editorial link is courtesy of the outstanding people at The Morning News. Thank you, comrade. We can't say we weren't warned about shooting
2.  Richard Roeper - Sun Times columnist Richard Roeper does a nice job inserting a little bit of common sense... though you'll notice he doesn't finger his employer as one of those "rushing to condemn". Blame lunatic for AZ tragedy, not Palin or rhetoric
3. The WSJ - Finally, a (mostly) rational editorial from the WSJ: The AZ Tragedy and the Politics of Blood Libel

Done.

QOTD

"Sarah Palin isn’t responsible for the shootings any more than J.D. Salinger was accountable for the murder of John Lennon, “Taxi Driver” was the cause of the attempted assassination on Ronald Reagan or video games were the motivating factor behind the Columbine shootings.

Maybe even less so."
- Richard Roeper, Sun Times

I haven't logged any talking head time on this. Thank you very much. But Dick Durbin's snarky mug popped up on Yahoo trying to make political hay out of someone being shot. There was also some Wapo article foretelling the demise of Sarah Palin.

First, I don't think the American people will buy all this.
And second, it's a warm, furry snuggie by the fire with a hot cocoa and some chocolate chips to NOT be on "the side" that dishonorably tries to gain from people being shot and killed by some random nutjob.


One, two, five!
three sir... yow, bill

Cub fan Jeopardy

1. Anyone can have a bad century for 50, Alex
A little Jeopardy... the answer:

• often reckless, 
• borderline gluttonous, 
• usually desperate,
• and forever disappointing,
• finished fifth in the NL Central, 
• ahead of a Quadruple-A franchise,
• and just behind the stripped-down Houston Astros

Question: Who are the Chicago Cubs?

This great description of the my Cub is from some blah blah analysis of the Garza trade.

2. Honorable character

This lady (below) has an honorable character. Courage.
In this link, a Chinese Mom describes the rigors that she puts her kids through. It is decidedly politically incorrect. I don't agree with a lot of her methods, but I respect them and her decision as a parent.

Why Chinese Mothers are Superior

I'd like to read an article on the flurry of leftie hate that was heaped this lady's way after this WSJ article came out.

3. A lack of character
And speaking of hate, we have the low character crowd crawling out of their holes with this AZ congress-person shooting. It's a "flurry of leftie hate", indeed... as the media and talking heads and pols and the leftie blogs all attempt to sensationalize or gain from the shooting by blaming Sarah Palin or Tea Party people or something.

I'm not sure which is stranger: a) the lefties blaming this on political speech before anyone knew anything about the shooter, or b) the lefties blaming this on political speech after it was reported that the guy was a generic, vanilla nutjob.

It's not hard for me to bash these people. I am better than that. I suspect that you are too. How can I say that? There's a simple test. 

If some mope in an Obama t-shirt mowed down some repub pol or a banker or a CEO or something, would you read here (or anywhere for that matter) about how President Obama was to blame. Would you read about how Obama's charged rhetoric of "whose ass to kick" at BP and "if they bring a knife to a fight, we bring a gun" and his tired "them against us" theme to minorities and on and on... inflamed his already zealous numb-nut supporters to strike out.

No.
Of course not.

And you know this is a redo, right? In May 2010, the failed Times Square bombing was immediately blamed on some Tea Party person or crazed right-winger, blah blah. Here's my link from back then:

williamt post: Dichotomy

My "dichotomy" continues... I'm heartened that I haven't read any leftie Facebook posts among friends like the media reports you see. But that's the way it is.
Life is one way: filled with people of honorable character.
Politics and the media blather is the other, dishonorable path.
choose character... yow, bill

The Silver Lining

"Radiator"

1. Not the silver lining

A lame-duck session of the Illinois legislature is "working hard" to raise income and corporate taxes in the state by 75%. They're trying to push this through before repubs elected in November show up.

WSJ - The Taxman Cometh to Illinois

There are two great numbers in that link:

1. 20% of the Illinois budget goes to retired public employees. And this number is rising. Fast. Duh.
2. If these tax hikes go through, "Illinois will have the highest corporate tax rate in the industrialized world". I would love to hear any argument... fucking any... that having the highest tax rates on companies in the known universe is "good".

Arguing. Can I make a point about arguing this stuff. There isn't some raging argument going on about whether any of this is "good". The reason: there is no debate. This is not a tax problem. IL revenues are not down. IL spending is up.

Lil Indiana is cracking up and cracking wise about big brother Illinois and what a joke the governance of this state is. And this stuff is dead on.

 Illinois tax hikes good for Indiana

QOTD

"It does show that you can make very different choices, and the contrast between the choice we've made and the one they have is stark. Obviously I think ours is wiser, but self-governance means people get what they vote for."
- IN Gov Mitch Daniels, Illinois tax hikes good for Indiana

He's right. We just voted in the Gov Quinn who promised a whopping 33% tax increase. So, we're idiots. To a point. The repub challenger to Quinn in November was so lame that the guy selling frozen Snicker bars at Ty's little league games has more credibility.

We'll see if dems push through the largest tax hike in IL history.
We're making California almost seem sane in comparison.

2. Still not the silver lining

The Obamacare farce continues. Poor President Obama and the Congressional dems continue with the strained (and silly) rhetoric that adding 30 million people to the government dole will reduce government spending.

WSJ op-ed today:

ObamaCare's Reality Deficit

QOTD2

"If you believe that a new entitlement saves money, you'll believe anything."
- WSJ, on ObamaCare

Cha.

3. OK, here it is... The silver lining

The silver lining?

Ronald Reagan has a special place in our history because he was nearly unique in his desire to  transfer power from the government to the people.

So, the silver lining... with all the shenanigans of ObamaCare and IL nabobs and such, there is an incredible opportunity for a candidate (or candidates) to clearly distinguish himself as someone who is passionately for personal freedom and responsibility: lower taxes, lower government spending, school choice, retirement choice, health care choice, etc.
We shall see.

Please pardon this repeat:

QOTD3

"There's a clear cause and effect here that is as neat and predictable as a law of physics: As government expands, liberty contracts."
- Ronald Wilson Reagan, Jan 11, 1989 (source)

unique... yow, bill

Matty Walker

QOTD

"Ambition - To be rich and live in an exotic land."
- Mary Ann Simpson, Wheaton High School yearbook

Or Matty Walker. 1981.
ay carumba... yow, bill

Run away!

1) See Bill run... away
I'm not a fan of this type of story... sort of sensational, and a pretty rare event.
But I'll post this one because I had a little kismet in regard to dealing with dogs just last week:

QOTD

"In 2009, there were 32 fatal dog attacks in the United States... the offending canines were usually (75 percent of the time) either pit bull terriers or Rottweilers."

-  Freakonomics post, Breeding Killers?

Cars and dogs are my #1 enemy when running outside. I avoid them. I wait for cars at intersections, and I run around dogs.

So, last week I'm running and I see a guy with a HUGE rot up ahead across the street. Then, oddly, the guy stopped his dog and put his hand over the dogs head, covering the dog's eyes. So, I run by and peek back over my shoulder. When the guy took his hand away, the dog went nuts... barking, growling and baring its teeth. What do you do if a dog that big and ferocious comes to get you. Got me. I'm glad I didn't have to find out.

2) A million meetups

Fun email from www.meetup.com:

Happy New Year to All....

2010 was the first year of a Million Meetups! On behalf of everyone
who benefited from all the conversations, connections, community, and
collaboration, a big THANK YOU to Meetup Organizers!

Meetup is a nice 21st century deal. Meet people with your interests via this here internet.
I have sort of let my meetups slip, but we'll see in 2011.

3) More SI kudos

SI knocking the cover off the ball:

• Blake Griffin with 21 consecutive double-doubles
• AJ Johnson, some high school kid from Oswego, IL, bowled 4 perfect games in a month
• In their NFL playoff predictions, SI has the Packer at the Bear for the NFC Championship. They have the Pack winning, but just the idea of that game... yow!

QOTD2

"Every game, including high school. Even basketball. The interesting thing about it was, we were so superstitious [in Buffalo] that my offensive line would not leave the locker room until I threw up."
- ex-Buffalo Bill QB Jim Kelly, on throwing up before every game he played

And a good one, without the barfing... the Buffalo Bills cheerleaders are called the Buffalo Jills.
yeah team... yow, bill