Nongo

Fly me to the moon
Let me play among the stars
Let me see what spring is like
On Jupiter and Mars
In other words
Hold my hand
In other words
Baby, kiss me
- Frank, Fly Me to the Moon

QOTD

In the realm of ideas, everything depends on enthusiasm.
In the real world, all rests on perseverance.
- Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, German poet

1. Christmas trio

I "played with" 3 great Christmas presents last night.

Deluxe Punkins - I listened to my remastered deeee-luxe Punkins Gish and Siamese Dreams CD's (amazon). The timbers of The Castle were rattling last night, eh.

I haven't gotten through half the stuff, and it's outstanding! I read all Billy Corgan's liner notes where he comments on each song and what it means to him. It all seemed incredibly personal, and I have a lot more respect for Billy's crankiness than before.

I haven't even gotten to the concert DVD's from 20 years ago. Excellent.

The song that changed my life more than any other. The ultimate in irony: a chirpy song about my near-suicide that all the kids can sing along to.
- Billy Corgan, on his song "Today"

7 letter heaven/hell - I parried with my Scrabble calendar, trying to create 7 letter bingo after 7 letter bingo. I suck. (he he) I'm getting most of them, but it takes me a while.

Q: What is the SCRABBLE term for a "bingo" on your rack that won't play on the board?
A: Nongo

Frenchie brandy - I was enjoy my Christmas toys, when I thought of a gift from Christmas past... my Armagnac, which is a Frenchie brandy (link). A couple sips and a pleasant cloud engulfed me... "I wonder what Martini puts in these drinks"... he he!

2. 2012

The theme for 2012.

QOTD

The fight for economic rationality goes on.
- WSJ

Huzzah to 2012!

peace... yow, bill

Usain's 2nd 100 meters

"Lyam Bow"

1. Timeline example

From my previous post on Facebook's blog-like transformation, I got a couple emails on this... what the heck is Facebook Timeline? Well, here's an example for you... Drew is a cousin of mine: www.facebook.com/drew.barnes

2. Usain question

Q: When elite athletes run 200 meters, which is faster... their first 100m or their second 100m?
A: Their first 100m is faster.

Usain Bolt holds the world record in both the 100 meter and 200 meter dash. Here you go:

• 100m - 9.58 seconds
• 200m - 19.19 seconds

So, Bolt's 100m time is 9.58 seconds. If he ran the next 100m in 9.58 seconds, then his 200m time would be 19.16. Since Bolt's 200m time is 19.19 seconds, it makes sense that, even with a running start, Bolt's second 100m is slower than his first.

I think this is pretty surprising. It means that peak speed performance for the human body breaks down in about 10 seconds. And it really must break down quite a bit. Pretend that Bolt is racing himself. Bolt #1 will run a 200m and Bolt #2 a 100m race. The first Bolt starts his 200m run and cruises past the 100m mark in full stride (presumably it takes him 9.58 seconds to run the first 100). Now, exactly when he passes himself, the 2nd Bolt starts his 100m run from the blocks. Even with a running start, Bolt #2 will win that last 100m with a 9.58, faster than the 2nd Bolt who, I assume, is tiring. Weird.

3. "Denier" explanation

Here's a (kind of smarmy) pro-global warming article:

How can climate change denialism be explained?

Well, that was silly. And he's working too hard. I can give you a quick 5 reasons why I don't buy global warming:

1. Fraud - There has been plenty 'o fraud in global warming science from the bogus hockey stick to the ClimateGate emails. And it's not just the science. The general media, seemingly on impulse, attributes everything and anything to global warming... from Hurricane Katrina to the Japanese tsunamis.
2. Science - The science is in doubt. There was just an article in Science magazine proposing that the impact of CO2 is dramatically less than that used in global warming models. And of course, there are sun spot guys, and more.
3. Do as I say - Global warming nabobs don't walk the walk. First, everybody is making money, and lots of it. Second, methane from meat consumption is as big a global warming factor as cars and trucks, but as Al Gore says, "I ain't giving up my meat." It's odd as well to note that so many of the global warming luminaries have second houses and log extensive travel miles.
4. Solution - Let's say tomorrow somebody could metaphysically prove that global warming was happening. The solution still would not be rolling back progress or a massive tax increase. The solution is not telling 2 billion Chinese and Indian people to F off. The solution would be to engineer a way to mitigate the warming or roll-back the CO2 increases, ala the Freakonomics boys.
5. Shut up - In general, any time somebody tells you that you better shut the fuck up... they're full of crap.

done... yow, bill

Tynasty (tm)

Q: What rhymes with Acapulco Bay?
A: Cuckoo day
- Frank, "Come fly with me"

QOTD

You think you've flown before
but baby, you ain't left the ground
- Frank, "The best is yet to come"

1. I'm right

Blogging is better than Facebook. Correct!

Facebook is becoming, for all intent, a blog. The new Facebook Timeline stores Facebook posts chronologically and provides search of posts, etc. just like a blog. Labeling of posts? I don't know. Will the character limit will be scrapped? Hold on a sec. Yup. Link.

Facebook was a napkin, a bunch of transient scribbles. That stinks. Of course, the other 800 million people using Facebook might have a different opinion. Cha! But now, Facebook will be, it seems, turning into an easier-to-use blog.

2. I'm wrong

The 2012 elections will be really important. Wrong!

I sure have the impression, the feeling, that the 2012 elections will be important. I have the feeling that it's vital that President Obama be defeated and that the new guy (Romney) will actually do something to undo Obamacare and control federal spending/control.

Yet, I know that I'm almost certainly wrong. Is it just optimism on my part? Or is it just that the Obama presidency has been such a disastrous leap in the wrong direction, that I can only see us correcting it. I don't want to see the alternative.

3. Mr. Potter
Movie: The last Harry Potter
Review: 3 bill-stars (out of 5)... OK

Forget the last movie. I'll go 3 bill-stars for the whole Harry Potter she-bang... the movies, the books, the fans, etc. It's super light fun. No more, no less. It's OK.

4. Tynasty (tm)

TyPad. Tyger. Tynasty.

QOTD

Well done. A juggernaut, an immovable force...a "Tynasty"
- Rob T, Facebook post on Ty's fantasy football victory

Tynasty. He he. Good one!

Ty won fantasy football this year in a wonderful, crazy end-of-the-year run marshaled by uber-rookie Cam Newton: Payton34 2011 Season. Huzzah!



peace... yow, bill

Voluptuousness

QOTD

Regrets
I've had a few
But too few
To mention
- Frank, My Way

1. Best story of the year

The best news story of 2011?

Italian airport police eyeing up a busty Spanish model's curves made a startling discovery on Wednesday -- 2.5 kilograms (5.5 pounds) of pure cocaine stashed as implants in her bust and backside.

The 33-year-old woman arriving in Rome from Sao Paulo in Brazil was wearing tight-fitting clothes to enhance her voluptuousness, hoping that her looks might distract the attention of border police, ANSA news agency reported.
- yahoo story

2. MIGP

Movie: Mission Impossible Ghost Protocol (MIGP)
Review: 4 bill-stars (out of 5)... awesome action!

This is an Imax review. Forget the plot and characters and acting and all, MIGP is as dense an action flick as I can recall. Tom Cruise hanging off an Imax skyscraper in Dubai was sublime. There was so many actions scenes, we were exhausted after the movie.

In the MI series, I still give the nod to the first movie for having both action, great characters, and an interesting plot. But MIGP is a close second.

I won a dollar. The hot chick in MIGP is a halfsie. Paula Patton is half black, half white. Super race!

Two previews of note before the movie:

1. The GI Joe preview rocked! I am still dubious, but that was an outstanding trailer.
2. The Dark Knight 2 preview, however, was a total bust. They already have my money for this one, but I sure hope it's better than the trailer. 

And to top it off, mini-burgers after the movie. Mission Kimpossible!
ha... yow, bill

Prime Rib Special

 "Cool Night Tree"

1. Movie

Movie: Good Hair
Review: 4 bill-stars (out of 5)... very good

This is a Chris Rock movie, a documentary. Its really funny, sharp, original and good-hearted. This is probably a 3-star movie bumped up to 4 stars because I learned so much about the totally whacked-out world of black women and their hair. Really, with the weaves and the relaxer and all, this movie could be documenting an alien culture on Mars as far as I knew. Ha!

The most important, poignant scene is a group of black high school girls talking about their hair. They expressed that they couldn't just leave their hair in natural/afro form because then it would be hard to get a job. I don't think this is the case, but who knows. I have a sneaking suspicion it's more about attracting guys, and conforming, but again, don't know.

Something's goofy though. For all the time and money and emotional energy that black women put into changing their hair... it just seems, um, misplaced. Dang good movie though.

2. Book

Book: Divergent by Veronica Roth
Review: 3 bill-stars (out of 5)... just (barely) ok
Goodreads link: www.goodreads.com/review/show/249658813

This book is very similar to Hunger Games (HG). I mean it was a fun, light read and all, but it wasn't terribly original in the light of how popular HG is. I think HG is a better book and concept as well. Divergent was barely worth it, barely earning its 3 stars.

So it's cool, but the burr in my saddle is that Divergent was chosen by Goodreads members as the best book of 2011: www.goodreads.com/award/choice/2011. Snort. I'm going to guess that the age of the goodreads voters on these things must be extremely young, definitely under 20. Fool me once.

Bah. Maybe I'm just a little cranky because I got caught. I was sitting at a bar having dinner (the prime rib special... mmm) reading Divergent when a nice, cute-as-a-button 20-something couple said "Hi!" and asked what I was reading. Um. Er. Uh. Pause. I showed them Divergent, and to my horror the girl announced that she knew this book because worked at a bookstore. "Yeah, it's a lot like Hunger Games," I rationalized. I then nervously broke bad on goodreads and the whole "best of 2011" blah blah.

Anyway, the 20-somethings didn't care. I found out that their keen interest in (old) me was just nervous avoidance of their company Christmas party that was going on somewhere else in the restaurant. Before returning to their party, Mrs. 20-something recommended some book about Abe Lincoln being a vampire or hunting vampires or something... I don't think so. Vampires, schmampires. Enough already.

After the 20-somethings left, I drank a little extra dinner and kept reading Divergent. Like I said, it was worth it.
once bitten... yow, bill

Ready Player One

1. Dynamic
The American economy isn't static, my leftie friends. There is no permanent upper or under class.

QOTD

"A November Federal Reserve study, meanwhile, found that a third of the people in the top 1% in 2007, as measured by wealth, were no longer in the top 1% in 2009."
- wsj - The Truth About Wealth

2. Metallic

Book: Ready Player One
Review: 3 bill-stars (out of 5)... good
Goodreads link: www.goodreads.com/review/show/249297315

Hey, this is a fun read. It's a celebration of video games and pop culture from the 80's. The setting is 2045, where most people spend their post-apocalyptic time in a virtual reality called "The Oasis", aka the Facebook of the future (he he). In this future/virtual world, the 1980's are recreated in great detail for the virtual inhabitants and us readers.

If you're under 40, I imagine this book would be complete gibberish. For me (old-timer), I smiled with dreamy glee when the author described playing Joust and storing his Trash-80 programs on a cassette recorder. Sigh.

Obviously, this is very light reading. I enjoyed it, though the virtual world stuff got kind of repetitive and tiresome by the middle of the book. Ironically, the story picks up once the lead character leaves "The Oasis" for some time in real reality. The ending was a lot of fun.

This is my very favorite passage from the big virtual battle near the end.

QOTD

Then he produced an item from his inventory and placed it on the ground in front of him. I zoomed in for a closer look and felt the muscles in my jaw tighten. It was a toy robot. A bipedal dinosaur with armor-plated skin and a pair of large cannons mounted on its shoulder blades. I recognized it immediately, from several turn-of-the-century Japanese monster flicks.

It was Mechagodzilla.
- fun virtual battles from Ready Player One

Yup. Laughed out loud reading that one. So? What are you looking at?
Mecha-Godzilla.
snort... yow, bill

Goodpleebs

"Night Tree"

1. Goodpleebs
This is pretty cool. Goodreads lists its best books of 2011 as voted on by goodreads pleebs (goodpleebs?).

 www.goodreads.com/award/choice/2011

The top top book is Divergent, which looks sufficiently immature for me to try out. The other nice thing about Goodreads' effort is that they list "best of" books by category.

2. Nerdy
nerdgasm - (slang, neologism) A feeling of great excitement in a nerd or geek, as for example when hearing about a new scientific discovery or video game console. (wiktionary link)

The Flynn Effect - a substantial and long-sustained increase in intelligence test scores measured in many parts of the world. (wikipedia link)

3. Grinchy
The grinchiest country: Holland, freaks - Christmas spending by country

Mr. Met isn't a Grinch. He's a goof.

4. Problem solved
The feds want to ban cell phones in cars (story). I could bitch and moan, but no... I'm all about solving problems.
Solution: The next president should announce a new rule. Any fed regulatory agency that "makes news" (on TV, radio, newspaper, etc) on any action they take, then 1) the head of that agency gets fired, and 2) the agency's funding gets cut in half.

I done this QOTD.

QOTD

"Either you're uninsured or you're a nutcase."
- Steve Forbes, what they think when you ask the doctor what something is going to cost

Or both.
yow, bill

PS - These (below) are virtual bikinis some store came up with... computer-generated girls wearing computer-modeled bikinis. Meh. The store got in trouble because some nabobs deemed these virtual girls to be too skinny. It might have been the feds for all I know. What fed agency is securing us from the evils and dire peril of virtual bikini models. Hmm.

Armani Underwear

1. How Doctors Die
Excellent article.

How Doctors Die

So how do doctors die? I guessed the answer. Without intervention. Without extraordinary, "heroic" measures. Without all the nonsense.

What does it mean that doctors don't choose the care that they give others? I don't have an answer to that one.

2. Do NOT use Proflowers
Do NOT use Proflowers. They are a jerky ripoff.
Go:

• I got Proflowers spam about some $20 Christmas thingie, free shipping, blah blah
• OK, that sounds fun. Go there and order it up.
• Submit the order and, like magic, there it is... $15 charge for the vase and $3 for care and handling. He he. So, my $20 item with free shipping magically transformed into nearly $40.
• Five minutes later, I called them up to change the order or cancel it. "Sorry, it's already in the shipping process and your order can't be changed."

I hung up the phone and smiled. You got me, boys. Good one.
Enjoy this one, but never again.

Do NOT use ProFlowers

They are a jerky ripoff

3. Nerdvana
Best Dilbert ever.

Source: search.dilbert.com/comic/Nerdvana

4. You're a-peein'
President Obama wants to send everyone in the US to college. Hey, on this one... I'm going European!

QOTD

"...take a look at students in Finland, Sweden, or Germany. In these countries, more than half the students enter apprenticeship programs instead of going to college, but these students are very well-educated and well-rounded."
- some nabob,  wsj notable quotable

I'll guess 25%... the number of kids in college who shouldn't be. Some because of ability. Most because of apathy, lack of motivation.
yow, bill

Everyoldlady

1. Yo yo Mah-ket
I heart this one. The market over the last 4 months or so: bespoke post.

That's 16 moves up and down greater than 5% in the last 4 months.
All resulting in a market that's basically flat (down just 2%) over that time period.
Jiminy Christmas.

2. Emily, Alone
Book: Emily, Alone by Stewart O'Nan
Review: 3 bill-stars (out of 5)... OK
Goodreads link: www.goodreads.com/review/show/243848045

About 200 pages in, I realized that nothing was actually going to happen in Emily, Alone. Meh. It was okay, so I kept on reading. I enjoyed the portrait of a senior citizen living alone enough to give it 3 stars and a thumbs up.

Emily, Alone is just a character study of an old, retired widow living in Pittsburgh. Now, you might think that the life of a retired widow in Pittsburgh might not be that exciting, and you'd be correct. O'Nan goes into great detail about the very mundane activities of Emily's everyday life. For example, there's a chapter on Emily resetting her clocks for daylight savings time. No, I'm not kidding. In addition, the author decided to tell Emily's story in the third person. I guess this was to remove any possible hint of excitement from the book (he he).

Well, the point here is that while the plot may be very mundane, it is also very realistic. Emily is every-old-lady ("everyman", get it?). She's a nice enough old lady, but she's paranoid and whiny about practically everything, especially her family. She misses her deceased husband. She dislikes breaking her routine. She talks to her dog a lot. She's frightened of falling. Etc. You get the idea.

Importantly, Emily, Alone accomplishes its (limited) mission. It's a borderline 3-star effort, but I enjoyed it's honesty.

3. Five things
Great list from the Freaks:

Five Habits of Successful Charter Schools

What works... the list!

1. Frequent teacher feedback
2. Data driven instruction
3. High-dosage tutoring
4. Increased instructional time
5. Relentless focus on academic achievement

What doesn't work... traditional (union) solutions "are not correlated with effectiveness"

• class size
• per-pupil expenditure
• the number of teachers with advanced degrees

And “resource-based solutions” actually lowered school effectiveness.

Excellent!
yow, bill

Boffinry

"Yellow flower"

1. More denier nonsense

This is certainly getting troublesome. More denier nonsense is finding its way into Science magazine. I think President Obama should do something about this!

Antarctic ice formed at CO2 levels much higher than today's

Global warming. Nuts to that. Definition of the day!

boffin - (noun, British Slang) a scientist or technical expert, link

So, is boffin is British for nerd? Sounds like it to me.

QOTD

The new research is published in premier boffinry mag Science.
- theregister link

And it's not like global warming has cornered the market on ridiculous nonsense...

• Forecast Predicts Horrible Winter With Heavy Snow, Brutal Cold - the weatherman (snort) predicts (snort snort) that Chicago will have twice the snow and significantly colder temps this winter. Betcha a dollar we don't. “People in Chicago are going to want to move after this winter,” weather nabob. No we won't, poindexter.

• Heading a soccer ball 'could lead to brain damage' - centuries of playing soccer and now we discover all the killer concussion that its causing. I recommend that all soccer players wear helmets.

People getting paid. You don't get paid if its just another winter or soccer balls just bounce off your noggin. And that's that. 

2. The Chart

The chart again. Courtesy the boys at The Morning News.
All together now...
We do not have a tax/revenue problem. We have a spending problem.
We do not have a tax/revenue problem. We have a spending problem.
We do not have a tax/revenue problem. We have a spending problem.

Source: heritage post

I don't know if this is real or not, but is it possible that the Post Office gets it.

Facing bankruptcy, US Postal Service plans unprecedented cuts to first-class mail next spring

And these guys are the problem. They don't get it. At this site, science and math graduate students sponsor "A Call to Congress to Protect Science Funding".

www.standwithscience.org

Interpretation: Don't touch our shit! Just like everybody and their mother, these young nerds (MIT and beyond) warn of the dire consequences if we dare restrict their access to the teet. Imagine that.
Whatever.
yow, bill

Ron Santo HOF

Excellent.
Better late than never. I guess.

Ron Santo elected to Hall of Fame

I wonder if the these HOF voters ever pause and think, "Jeez, maybe we should have done this while Santo was alive. Maybe Santo deserved that."
yow, bill

(Merry) Arthur Christmas

Movie: Arthur Christmas
Review: 4 bill-stars (out of 5)... great!

I took the kids (Big Ty, Lil Kim39) to Arthur Christmas. It's is a fast, fun, light Christmas movie. The movie is incredibly dense with action and jokes. And fortunately, many of the jokes are directed at you and me.

It's the time-tested Loony Tunes formula, ya know:

• animation, fast pace, simple plot for the kids
• fun, fast pace, and slip in some grown-up jokes for the adults

After Hugo and then Descendants, it was great to see a really good, fun movie. When Arthur comes out next year on DVD, count me in.

Two side notes.

1. Location, location, location - The Woodridge theater laughs at your location theory. The place is like a secret CIA base or something. They are hidden in an industrial park, nestled right next to a residential area. And yes, the place was dead on a Friday night. Dop.

2. Mini-burgers - We went to Ted's for mini-burgers after the movie. There was a wait, so I checked us in under the name "Arthur Christmas" (he he). Ted's is a classic faux green place. The straws are made out of paper. Ty's to-go plastic cup said it was made out of 100% plants. And oddly, the toilet had instructions to flush one way for #1 and another for #2. Look at me... I'm saving the Earf... flush!

Bah to that. Ted's mini-burgers are sublime.
ho ho ho... yow, bill

Great Jobs QOTD

"Sailing sunset"

Some wonderful Steve Jobs positivity.

QOTD

When you grow up, you tend to get told that the world is the way it is and your life is just to live your life inside the world, try not to bash into the walls too much, try to have a nice family life, have fun, save a little money.
That’s a very limited life.

Life can be much broader, once you discover one simple fact. And that is, that everything around you that you call life was made up by people that were no smarter than you. And you can change it, you can influence it, you can build your own things that other people can use.
Once you learn that, you’ll never be the same again.
- Steve Jobs, brain pickings post

And Steve Jobs' practical application of this philosophy: "Most people never pick up the phone, most people never ask. And that’s what separates, sometimes, the people that do things from the people that just dream about them. You gotta act. And you gotta be willing to fail… if you’re afraid of failing, you won’t get very far."

Huzzah!
positivity... yow, bill

Ukelele yodeling

"Castle Christmas lights"

1. Two in a row

Movie: The Descendants
Review: 2 bill-stars (out of 5)... sigh

Hugo. Now, Descendants. That's two in a row!

These are highly touted movies involving people I really like. They both have boffo reviews. Shit, Descendants is a 91%-er at rotten tomatoes (link). And... wait for it... both movies are boring and flat. Uninspired yawners.

Well, I wanted to love Descendants because George Clooney is in it. Also, hey, it's the holidays. Who doesn't love a good holiday movie... especially with your favorite tulip. But this torpid production has virtually nothing going for it. Except Clooney, of course. There are boring characters... boring, dumb plot... and boring direction.

Two things were especially tiresome:

1. There aren't any likeable, interesting characters. It's tough to watch a feel-good movie (and yes, I presume this was their goal) without any good/interesting characters.
2. The worst part of Descendants is the music. Jesu Cristo! It's a boring movie, and the whole time we're treated to trance-inducing Hawaiian music laden with ukeleles and native folk mumbling. Argh! This somnolent combination was deadly to those of us misguided souls hoping to stay awake during The Descendants. The low point: a song that featured a guy playing ukelele while yodeling. I wish I were kidding.

I gotta throw my Up In the Air DVD in the machine and rejuvenate. Chop chop.

Actually, before that, I gotta head to my Sooby dealer. Pre-movie, some lame Chicagoan smashed a window in my Sooby. A native city dweller (and tulip) figgered that the ne'er-do-well saw my backpack in the back seat and went sooby-fishing for a laptop. I figger it was just shenaniganry. Whatever.
yow, bill