Edge of Darkness:
I don't care what Mel Gibson thinks about anything. Really I couldn't care less. I don't get my politics from the movies I watch or the music I listen to, nor the people who make it. That being said, I may see the movie or I may not. It's not described, which is beyond irritating. Apparently it's being reviewed as a good thriller, so if you have the same lack of scruples that I do regarding those involved you'll probably enjoy it. The point of bringing it up is to encourage you to rent the original BBC serial, which if fabulous. Warner finally released it in region one last November, so rental places should've gotten a copy or two by now.
Hey, people who can read sheet music while you're playing. You don't know how good you have it. Just saying.
Still a B league:
So during a fight Wednesday night, Mark Fistric of the Stars grabs Eric Nystrom's (Flames) helmet and hits him in the head with it. I'm sure you've seen it, it's been all over YouTube as these things usually are. The NHL handed down its disciplinary ruling late yesterday afternoon and...Fistric was fined $2500. No suspension, just a meaningless fine. Wake me up when this league acts like it wants to be taken seriously around North America.
Alberta blues:
Speaking of the Flames and their chief rivals, let's just say it's been a bad month to be a hockey fan from Alberta. The Oilers just lost their 12th straight game, and the Flames their 9th. And casting a wider net, let's just say the other 4 Canadian teams haven't distinguished themselves this season either.
The new axis of evil:
One more State of the Union gripe, just one. I couldn't help but notice that the axis of evil from 2002 (Iran, Iraq and North Korea) has apparently been replaced by the 2010 version. Judging by that speech, the axis of evil in America in 2010 is oil companies, investment fund managers and people earning more than $250,000 a year. Well, isn't that special?
29 January, 2010
28 January, 2010
First Five: January 28
Movie recommendation:
I finally watched the Hurt Locker over the weekend, and everything you've heard about how great it is is definitely true. It's not an action movie, though there's no shortage of action. And it's not a thriller, at least not in the whodunit sense. What it is is perfectly paced and tense as all hell. By the end, you'll be asking the question the filmmakers clearly want you to, which is to wonder what kind of person can do a job like this. I'll put it along side Generation Kill as the most honest dramatic portrayals I've seen of the second gulf war on film.
He lied! Again!
So last night during the State of the Union, the President dropped a line regarding the recent Supreme Court campaign finance decision about said decision allowing foreign corporations to donate to political campaigns. There's just one problem: it's still illegal. In the majority opinion, the court specifically excluded foreign donors from the scope of the ruling.
Other thoughts on the speech:
The above was pretty much the only highlight of a fairly predictable and boring speech. More favours for this or that favourite group that everyone else will be forced to pay for, more government intrusion into basically everything, etc. Just like every year, there was a laundry list of stuff the government must do, followed by a lament that the government just spends so much money and no one can figure out why. And of course it wouldn't be a speech from President Obama without a ton of passive-aggressive whining about how hard everything is because of that awful George Bush. Right, and because the stupid people don't understand why the super great stuff he wants to do would be so great.
The iPad:
At 1:26 yesterday afternoon, I tweeted the following: "Why would someone who already owns a 13" MacBook buy this? Yeah, it's a lot lighter and thinner, but not smaller." I still don't have an answer for that question. The appeal of the iPhone is that it goes in your pocket. The iPhone is less than 4" and less than 4oz; the iPad is 10" and 1.5 lbs. The iPad is not pocketable. As of now, it runs the 3rd version of the iPhone OS, which means it can't multitask. That means no Pandora when you're working or reading, no Twitter or IM clients in the background, etc, etc. Apple has the luxury of having an army of sheep who will buy absolutely anything the company puts out, so the thing won't be a failure by any means. But will it go mass market? that I'm not sure. The thing that makes the iPhone - or any smartphone - great, being able to grab it and check social media or other quick info on the go,
the iPad isn't that, and it's not quite a laptop either. What it is is a great (though much more expensive than Kindle) e-reader.
Tim Tebow's ad:
Wow, America is a screwed-up place when a Super Bowl ad telling Tim Tebow's amazing story is controversial.
I finally watched the Hurt Locker over the weekend, and everything you've heard about how great it is is definitely true. It's not an action movie, though there's no shortage of action. And it's not a thriller, at least not in the whodunit sense. What it is is perfectly paced and tense as all hell. By the end, you'll be asking the question the filmmakers clearly want you to, which is to wonder what kind of person can do a job like this. I'll put it along side Generation Kill as the most honest dramatic portrayals I've seen of the second gulf war on film.
He lied! Again!
So last night during the State of the Union, the President dropped a line regarding the recent Supreme Court campaign finance decision about said decision allowing foreign corporations to donate to political campaigns. There's just one problem: it's still illegal. In the majority opinion, the court specifically excluded foreign donors from the scope of the ruling.
Other thoughts on the speech:
The above was pretty much the only highlight of a fairly predictable and boring speech. More favours for this or that favourite group that everyone else will be forced to pay for, more government intrusion into basically everything, etc. Just like every year, there was a laundry list of stuff the government must do, followed by a lament that the government just spends so much money and no one can figure out why. And of course it wouldn't be a speech from President Obama without a ton of passive-aggressive whining about how hard everything is because of that awful George Bush. Right, and because the stupid people don't understand why the super great stuff he wants to do would be so great.
The iPad:
At 1:26 yesterday afternoon, I tweeted the following: "Why would someone who already owns a 13" MacBook buy this? Yeah, it's a lot lighter and thinner, but not smaller." I still don't have an answer for that question. The appeal of the iPhone is that it goes in your pocket. The iPhone is less than 4" and less than 4oz; the iPad is 10" and 1.5 lbs. The iPad is not pocketable. As of now, it runs the 3rd version of the iPhone OS, which means it can't multitask. That means no Pandora when you're working or reading, no Twitter or IM clients in the background, etc, etc. Apple has the luxury of having an army of sheep who will buy absolutely anything the company puts out, so the thing won't be a failure by any means. But will it go mass market? that I'm not sure. The thing that makes the iPhone - or any smartphone - great, being able to grab it and check social media or other quick info on the go,
the iPad isn't that, and it's not quite a laptop either. What it is is a great (though much more expensive than Kindle) e-reader.
Tim Tebow's ad:
Wow, America is a screwed-up place when a Super Bowl ad telling Tim Tebow's amazing story is controversial.
14 January, 2010
First Five: January 14
Haiti:
What can I say? It's yet another reminder that the world can be an awful, dangerous, cruel place. It's proof that humanity is not the ultimate force on this planet. It's a reminder to count your blessings, always. It's another reason we have to completely change how we do foreign aid (which is our responsibility to do) in the west.
No Kindles for you...yet:
I suppose it's my responsibility to weigh in on this. The US DOJ has ruled that universities can't make Kindles standard for students until they're completely accessible. Now don't get me wrong, in a way this is a nice development. But I disagree with this approach. I would've much preferred the DOJ had allowed schools to start using them and mandated that they be accessible in 6 months or a year. Amazon has already announced it's working on a software update that will enable text-to-speech for navigation. I wouldn't want students stopped from using them on my account. And a Kindle is much more accessible today than a print textbook is.
"Financial crisis responsibility fee":
Yes it is a tax. Yes bank customers in the US will pay it. Yes it is unfair; it's also being imposed on banks and financials who had nothing to do with TARP or who already paid back what they were given. Yes it is a misnomer; I still think the thing that more than anything else caused the nonsense in the mortgage market was the actions of the US Federal Reserve in 2001. Yes it is yet another example of how this White House doesn't understand how business actually works. What else is knew.
The Buffalo Bills have apparently declared their non-interest in Brian Billick as their next head coach. Wow, this is dumb. With Brian Schottenheimer publically refusing an interview, are the Bills really in a position to not be interested in anyone at this point?
Okay, the Raptors loss Monday night doesn't sting so much now, seeing as the Pacers just did it to another team last night. We were up 23, the Suns were up 24, same result. Guess that means it's time to cheer the Pacers for being the team that never gives up on the game. Good for them.
What can I say? It's yet another reminder that the world can be an awful, dangerous, cruel place. It's proof that humanity is not the ultimate force on this planet. It's a reminder to count your blessings, always. It's another reason we have to completely change how we do foreign aid (which is our responsibility to do) in the west.
No Kindles for you...yet:
I suppose it's my responsibility to weigh in on this. The US DOJ has ruled that universities can't make Kindles standard for students until they're completely accessible. Now don't get me wrong, in a way this is a nice development. But I disagree with this approach. I would've much preferred the DOJ had allowed schools to start using them and mandated that they be accessible in 6 months or a year. Amazon has already announced it's working on a software update that will enable text-to-speech for navigation. I wouldn't want students stopped from using them on my account. And a Kindle is much more accessible today than a print textbook is.
"Financial crisis responsibility fee":
Yes it is a tax. Yes bank customers in the US will pay it. Yes it is unfair; it's also being imposed on banks and financials who had nothing to do with TARP or who already paid back what they were given. Yes it is a misnomer; I still think the thing that more than anything else caused the nonsense in the mortgage market was the actions of the US Federal Reserve in 2001. Yes it is yet another example of how this White House doesn't understand how business actually works. What else is knew.
The Buffalo Bills have apparently declared their non-interest in Brian Billick as their next head coach. Wow, this is dumb. With Brian Schottenheimer publically refusing an interview, are the Bills really in a position to not be interested in anyone at this point?
Okay, the Raptors loss Monday night doesn't sting so much now, seeing as the Pacers just did it to another team last night. We were up 23, the Suns were up 24, same result. Guess that means it's time to cheer the Pacers for being the team that never gives up on the game. Good for them.
11 January, 2010
First Five: January 11
The day the defense died:
You have to admit, that was one hell of a game in the desert yesterday. Hopefully we've now settled the debate as to whether Kurt Warner belongs in the hall-of-fame. That down field pass to Steve Breaston through 3 packers in the 4th quarter was an all-time highlight. The last hour of that game is the thing you can never explain to someone who doesn't understand why we watch sports.
Bizarro world:
That's where I find myself this morning, obviously. As of this moment, carry-on items for flights into the United States from Canada are restricted to the following: 1 laptop sleve (note: sleve, not bag), and 1 bag, size 10"x12"x5". Everything else must be checked. I could rant about how the government has no legitimate authority to tell me what I can and can't bring on a plane flown by a private airline, but the fact remains that I've just been massively inconvenienced for the foreseeable future for no good reason, and all because the bleeding heart morons in the U.S. State Department were either unwilling or too stupid to simply do their fucking jobs. Oh, and the only reaction from the GREATEST PRESIDENT EVER!!!!!!!!!! was to tell everyone in the U.S. national security bureaucracy that they're now on double secret probation. What a joke. Except the joke is on me and my fellow law abiding citizens. No ifs, ands or buts, this round goes to the terrorists.
The water is wide:
Yet another water main break in Tooronto over the weekend. The sorry state of my city's infrastructure is yet another anvil to hang on David Miller's neck as Mayor. Toronto continues to sit atop decades old plumbing, and even worse, the system is being burdened worse than ever. New condos are being connected to pipes originally meant to service 4 person homes, and so on. It's yet another mess the new Mayor will have to clean up.
It's John A Day:
Today we celebrate Sir John A. MacDonald, the father of confederation. I know I shouldn't gripe about federal employees not being given another reason to do even less work than usual, but today should really be a holiday.
The Reid thing:
Do I have a problem with what Harry Reid said 2 years ago? yes and no. I'm more or less fine with the thought itself, in fact I'd call anyone who would claim they never observed that Obama speaks in a way discordant with previously prominent black politicians in America during 2008 a straight-up liar. But I think the fact that he said it the way he did validates the impression I've always had about him as a person, which is not at all good. His comment resembles nothing so much as it resembles 'they all look/sound alike.' What I have a huge problem with, of course, is the ridiculous double-standard with regard to which politicians the Washington media firing squad chooses to descend on in these matters. The sole purpose of this selective outrage is to reenforce the completely false notion that historically, the Democratic Party has the superior record on racial matters compared to the GOP. The President's attempt to completely dismiss the matter simply proves that his claim during the campaign that he desired to become the first 'post-racial' President was equally false.
You have to admit, that was one hell of a game in the desert yesterday. Hopefully we've now settled the debate as to whether Kurt Warner belongs in the hall-of-fame. That down field pass to Steve Breaston through 3 packers in the 4th quarter was an all-time highlight. The last hour of that game is the thing you can never explain to someone who doesn't understand why we watch sports.
Bizarro world:
That's where I find myself this morning, obviously. As of this moment, carry-on items for flights into the United States from Canada are restricted to the following: 1 laptop sleve (note: sleve, not bag), and 1 bag, size 10"x12"x5". Everything else must be checked. I could rant about how the government has no legitimate authority to tell me what I can and can't bring on a plane flown by a private airline, but the fact remains that I've just been massively inconvenienced for the foreseeable future for no good reason, and all because the bleeding heart morons in the U.S. State Department were either unwilling or too stupid to simply do their fucking jobs. Oh, and the only reaction from the GREATEST PRESIDENT EVER!!!!!!!!!! was to tell everyone in the U.S. national security bureaucracy that they're now on double secret probation. What a joke. Except the joke is on me and my fellow law abiding citizens. No ifs, ands or buts, this round goes to the terrorists.
The water is wide:
Yet another water main break in Tooronto over the weekend. The sorry state of my city's infrastructure is yet another anvil to hang on David Miller's neck as Mayor. Toronto continues to sit atop decades old plumbing, and even worse, the system is being burdened worse than ever. New condos are being connected to pipes originally meant to service 4 person homes, and so on. It's yet another mess the new Mayor will have to clean up.
It's John A Day:
Today we celebrate Sir John A. MacDonald, the father of confederation. I know I shouldn't gripe about federal employees not being given another reason to do even less work than usual, but today should really be a holiday.
The Reid thing:
Do I have a problem with what Harry Reid said 2 years ago? yes and no. I'm more or less fine with the thought itself, in fact I'd call anyone who would claim they never observed that Obama speaks in a way discordant with previously prominent black politicians in America during 2008 a straight-up liar. But I think the fact that he said it the way he did validates the impression I've always had about him as a person, which is not at all good. His comment resembles nothing so much as it resembles 'they all look/sound alike.' What I have a huge problem with, of course, is the ridiculous double-standard with regard to which politicians the Washington media firing squad chooses to descend on in these matters. The sole purpose of this selective outrage is to reenforce the completely false notion that historically, the Democratic Party has the superior record on racial matters compared to the GOP. The President's attempt to completely dismiss the matter simply proves that his claim during the campaign that he desired to become the first 'post-racial' President was equally false.
07 January, 2010
First Five: CES 2010 edition
No new new thing:
This year's show is clearly about taking products that are already out there and trying to turn them into stuff normal people might want. There's been nothing announced from the big mfrs that has everyone buzzing on the show floor. It's been making internet set top boxes and 'connected TVs' easy and natural enough that your dad can use them, that sort of thing. Netbooks get a little bit more powerful (though still not getting close to ultraportables). Cell phones can pull stuff down from the internet a little bit faster. But the question is, do people really want this stuff? I'm talking about most people in CE terms, as in, more than 2.5 million a year. Do that many people really want to use the internet on a less than 4" screen? Do that many people want to watch their TV shows on Hulu (or whatever internet site), in less than HD after they already bought new HDTVs? I'm not so sure. And speaking of stuff I'm pretty sure people won't do...
3D:
Or, how the CE industry is about to walk itself off a cliff. This thing is so dead on arrival it's not even funny. People are not going to buy new TVs, on mass, 4 years after you already sold them new HDTVs. Forget the glasses, that's a separate issue. Content is the other problem; there isn't any. When the CE industry made the big push for HD 5 years ago, most of primetime TV was already being shot in HD, even if it wasn't available everywhere yet. Nothing's being shot in 3D right now. And that's not likely to change soon, because most production people don't know how to work with it yet. And yeah, there's the glasses.
Tablets:
Unlike 3D, I really think there's a future, and an immediate future for these. Ebook readers are about to get colourized, Lenovo has the most talked about laptop at the show with it's removable tablet, and there's just a torrent of them in general. The concept of Epaper doesn't seem so far out now.
And while I just finished saying there's nothing new at the show:
There's this, which sounds unbelievably cool. Projected touchscreens. Mind-boggling. And depending on what developers do with it, the dual touchpad tech in this laptop could mean new and very cool ways of interacting with your games and software.
Sprint's overdrive:
So the other US CDMA carrier will now have a version of the MiFi, my absolute favourite product of last year. In case you're unfamiliar, it's a very portable 3G (and now 4G) WiFi hotspot/router.
This year's show is clearly about taking products that are already out there and trying to turn them into stuff normal people might want. There's been nothing announced from the big mfrs that has everyone buzzing on the show floor. It's been making internet set top boxes and 'connected TVs' easy and natural enough that your dad can use them, that sort of thing. Netbooks get a little bit more powerful (though still not getting close to ultraportables). Cell phones can pull stuff down from the internet a little bit faster. But the question is, do people really want this stuff? I'm talking about most people in CE terms, as in, more than 2.5 million a year. Do that many people really want to use the internet on a less than 4" screen? Do that many people want to watch their TV shows on Hulu (or whatever internet site), in less than HD after they already bought new HDTVs? I'm not so sure. And speaking of stuff I'm pretty sure people won't do...
3D:
Or, how the CE industry is about to walk itself off a cliff. This thing is so dead on arrival it's not even funny. People are not going to buy new TVs, on mass, 4 years after you already sold them new HDTVs. Forget the glasses, that's a separate issue. Content is the other problem; there isn't any. When the CE industry made the big push for HD 5 years ago, most of primetime TV was already being shot in HD, even if it wasn't available everywhere yet. Nothing's being shot in 3D right now. And that's not likely to change soon, because most production people don't know how to work with it yet. And yeah, there's the glasses.
Tablets:
Unlike 3D, I really think there's a future, and an immediate future for these. Ebook readers are about to get colourized, Lenovo has the most talked about laptop at the show with it's removable tablet, and there's just a torrent of them in general. The concept of Epaper doesn't seem so far out now.
And while I just finished saying there's nothing new at the show:
There's this, which sounds unbelievably cool. Projected touchscreens. Mind-boggling. And depending on what developers do with it, the dual touchpad tech in this laptop could mean new and very cool ways of interacting with your games and software.
Sprint's overdrive:
So the other US CDMA carrier will now have a version of the MiFi, my absolute favourite product of last year. In case you're unfamiliar, it's a very portable 3G (and now 4G) WiFi hotspot/router.
05 January, 2010
First Five: Googlephone edition
It's why I'm here, so lets get to it.
Solid foundation:
They took it to HTC (who they had worked with before, G1, MyTouch), which was definitely the right move. Ask me who's doing the best work in phone hardware these days (sans Apple) and my answer is unquestionably HTC. Their designs are solid industrial and physically their build quality is top notch. These guys know what they're doing when they build phones. And though it doesn't come into play here, they're fantastic on the software back end. The job they did skinning Windows Mobile for the HD2 was award worthy.
Doing a Googlephone:
I don't have as much of a problem with this as most people seem to. This is a niche phone. The price will reportedly be $180 on contract from T-Mobile ($530 unlocked direct from Google) and that won't be coming down. I don't see it as an alternative to the Droid or what other Android mfrs come up with, and I don't see it as Google going head to head with its Android 'partners.' They'll be staying away from "it's the Googlephone!" branding, it'll officially be known as the Nexus One (nice Android/Dick/Blade Runner reference). I remember years ago, a few computer game developers had a practice of putting "best performance" lists on their games. This sort of feels like that to me. Which leads me to...
Snapdragon:
Or, the reason you're buying this phone. The truth is, Android itself isn't optimized to run on this platform yet. That will change, and this will still be one of the Android phones to have a year from now. It's no secret that the iPhone wasn't remarkable for the hardware inside it (aside from the screen), the magic was what Apple did with that hardware on the software side. Snapdragon and other plus 1Ghz processors is the next step that will give us the next game changing product, either this year or next. While this phone might not be that product out of the box, the potential is there for it to evolve into it with time.
One finger, please:
If you bought an Android phone in the last year, you know what's coming. There's a better than decent chance that this phone will come with multitouch disabled on the software side out of the box. What can I say? For a phone without a hard keyboard this is hugely awful. It also means the potential for serious game apps for this phone is nearly nil. I won't belabour the point, but this is a serious downer for this phone, and any smartphone for that matter.
Holes in Android:
This is more of a software issue, not specific to this phone. But these points have to be raised. As of version 2.0, Android is still not ready to be a serious mobile platform for business users. There's no official PC sync. I know, the cloud is the future and all that. Well Google should no better, and after the Sidekick fiasco, T-Mobile should know better. People want to dump their data to their computer in case they find themselves holding a brick or if their phone is stolen. They want to be able to buy a new one and have it up and running as soon as possible, without negotiating for their provider to magically give their data back to them. And speaking of stolen phones, Android needs to follow Apple's lead and include an upfront remote search-and-destroy feature, simple as that.
Solid foundation:
They took it to HTC (who they had worked with before, G1, MyTouch), which was definitely the right move. Ask me who's doing the best work in phone hardware these days (sans Apple) and my answer is unquestionably HTC. Their designs are solid industrial and physically their build quality is top notch. These guys know what they're doing when they build phones. And though it doesn't come into play here, they're fantastic on the software back end. The job they did skinning Windows Mobile for the HD2 was award worthy.
Doing a Googlephone:
I don't have as much of a problem with this as most people seem to. This is a niche phone. The price will reportedly be $180 on contract from T-Mobile ($530 unlocked direct from Google) and that won't be coming down. I don't see it as an alternative to the Droid or what other Android mfrs come up with, and I don't see it as Google going head to head with its Android 'partners.' They'll be staying away from "it's the Googlephone!" branding, it'll officially be known as the Nexus One (nice Android/Dick/Blade Runner reference). I remember years ago, a few computer game developers had a practice of putting "best performance" lists on their games. This sort of feels like that to me. Which leads me to...
Snapdragon:
Or, the reason you're buying this phone. The truth is, Android itself isn't optimized to run on this platform yet. That will change, and this will still be one of the Android phones to have a year from now. It's no secret that the iPhone wasn't remarkable for the hardware inside it (aside from the screen), the magic was what Apple did with that hardware on the software side. Snapdragon and other plus 1Ghz processors is the next step that will give us the next game changing product, either this year or next. While this phone might not be that product out of the box, the potential is there for it to evolve into it with time.
One finger, please:
If you bought an Android phone in the last year, you know what's coming. There's a better than decent chance that this phone will come with multitouch disabled on the software side out of the box. What can I say? For a phone without a hard keyboard this is hugely awful. It also means the potential for serious game apps for this phone is nearly nil. I won't belabour the point, but this is a serious downer for this phone, and any smartphone for that matter.
Holes in Android:
This is more of a software issue, not specific to this phone. But these points have to be raised. As of version 2.0, Android is still not ready to be a serious mobile platform for business users. There's no official PC sync. I know, the cloud is the future and all that. Well Google should no better, and after the Sidekick fiasco, T-Mobile should know better. People want to dump their data to their computer in case they find themselves holding a brick or if their phone is stolen. They want to be able to buy a new one and have it up and running as soon as possible, without negotiating for their provider to magically give their data back to them. And speaking of stolen phones, Android needs to follow Apple's lead and include an upfront remote search-and-destroy feature, simple as that.
04 January, 2010
First Five, January 4
Airport security:
Blah blah, go read what Megan had to say about this a week ago. Oh, and if you're not following her, fix that now @asymmetricinfo
New York Giants state of mind:
It's an amazing thing, to watch the team who won the Super Bowl 2 years ago, who were 5-0 this year and looked like they were headed back, totally disintegrate. That's what happened yesterday; the Giants embarrassed themselves on national TV. I'll never understand how someone can just walk on to the field (ice, court whatever) for the last time in a season and just not give their best.
Big Ten pride!
Oregon, LSU, Miami. All ranked schools, all with a loss to end their season courtesy of the bigger than ten. And no win last week was more hard fought than Penn State's 19-17 victory at the Capital One mud Bowl. WE ARE!
Winter (kinda) Classic:
So the Bruins tied the game with 2 minutes left in the 3rd and then won in overtime. All that was great and all, but honestly, the game was a bit of a bore. The only problem I have with the way the NHL handles this game every year? build the larger rink! There's no reason not to. Then you'll have a showcase for your sport every New Year's Day. And don't get me started on the travesty that will be hockey at the Vancouver Olympics.
Wes Welker:
OHMYGOD! OHMYGOD! OHMYGOD! BILL POLIAN WAS RIGHT! No, stop. What the Colts did was still stupid and counter-productive and killed the morale on the team. What happened to Wes Welker was a non-contact injury. Freak injuries happen all the time. Just ask the Colts, who lost 3 defensive backs during 1 week in November...in practice.
Blah blah, go read what Megan had to say about this a week ago. Oh, and if you're not following her, fix that now @asymmetricinfo
New York Giants state of mind:
It's an amazing thing, to watch the team who won the Super Bowl 2 years ago, who were 5-0 this year and looked like they were headed back, totally disintegrate. That's what happened yesterday; the Giants embarrassed themselves on national TV. I'll never understand how someone can just walk on to the field (ice, court whatever) for the last time in a season and just not give their best.
Big Ten pride!
Oregon, LSU, Miami. All ranked schools, all with a loss to end their season courtesy of the bigger than ten. And no win last week was more hard fought than Penn State's 19-17 victory at the Capital One mud Bowl. WE ARE!
Winter (kinda) Classic:
So the Bruins tied the game with 2 minutes left in the 3rd and then won in overtime. All that was great and all, but honestly, the game was a bit of a bore. The only problem I have with the way the NHL handles this game every year? build the larger rink! There's no reason not to. Then you'll have a showcase for your sport every New Year's Day. And don't get me started on the travesty that will be hockey at the Vancouver Olympics.
Wes Welker:
OHMYGOD! OHMYGOD! OHMYGOD! BILL POLIAN WAS RIGHT! No, stop. What the Colts did was still stupid and counter-productive and killed the morale on the team. What happened to Wes Welker was a non-contact injury. Freak injuries happen all the time. Just ask the Colts, who lost 3 defensive backs during 1 week in November...in practice.
09 December, 2009
In praise of H.R. 390
Or, in other words, the College Football Playoff Act of 2009.
Now, there's a giant flaw in this bill: as soon as it passes, the NCAA will simply rename/reconfigure the Football Bowl Subdivision, and that'll be that. Let's just assume though, that doesn't happen. I love this bill. This bill is the greatest thing to come out of Washington this year. Of course it's flagrantly unconstitutional. But give me a break, suddenly Americans should care that a bill before Congress is unconstitutional? We have 2 separate 2,000 page bills circulating full of faschistic health care regulations and suddenly we can't pass a bill to regulate college football? C'mon now! This is the year 2009, the Constitution is sooo last millennium, and it's evolving and all that. Or, to put it another way, if the government can tell someone what insurance company they can buy their health insurance from, if the government can tell you how much electricity you're allowed to use in the name of 'saving the environment,' the government can darn sure regulate college football. That's why I love this bill. Because it's absurd...but only just the least bit more absurd than everything else Congress is doing. If they spend an hour, or a day, or even many days debating it, so much the better. At least they won't be spending that time debating something else that will take away more of your freedom, something they are doing far, far, far, far, far too much of these days.
Now, there's a giant flaw in this bill: as soon as it passes, the NCAA will simply rename/reconfigure the Football Bowl Subdivision, and that'll be that. Let's just assume though, that doesn't happen. I love this bill. This bill is the greatest thing to come out of Washington this year. Of course it's flagrantly unconstitutional. But give me a break, suddenly Americans should care that a bill before Congress is unconstitutional? We have 2 separate 2,000 page bills circulating full of faschistic health care regulations and suddenly we can't pass a bill to regulate college football? C'mon now! This is the year 2009, the Constitution is sooo last millennium, and it's evolving and all that. Or, to put it another way, if the government can tell someone what insurance company they can buy their health insurance from, if the government can tell you how much electricity you're allowed to use in the name of 'saving the environment,' the government can darn sure regulate college football. That's why I love this bill. Because it's absurd...but only just the least bit more absurd than everything else Congress is doing. If they spend an hour, or a day, or even many days debating it, so much the better. At least they won't be spending that time debating something else that will take away more of your freedom, something they are doing far, far, far, far, far too much of these days.
07 December, 2009
Some are more equal
I knew there was something wrong about the way the Big 12 game ended on Saturday, I just couldn't put my finger on it. I was right of course, and only 40 years of televised football proves it. Yes, it would've been nice if Nebraska hadn't kicked it out of bounds, and yes, it would've been nice if that Nebraska lineman hadn't (allegedly) horse-collared. But you know what? it also would've been nice if the referees hadn't given Texas their first field goal by calling what 80 people have told me was the single worst pass interference penalty they have ever seen. So bygones. That game was over with the incomplete pass. If you watched any of the other games on Saturday, and/or any of the 14 NFL games on Sunday, you saw the same thing: when a pass is incomplete, or when a player steps out of bounds, the rest of the second on the play clock is rolled off, and the clock stops for the next full second of time. If a player steps out with 11 and a half seconds left, when he steps out the clock reads 12, the clock rolls off for half a second, and 11 full seconds are left in the game. I'm not saying it's right, I'm saying it's the rules. And guess which team the Big 12 officials changed the rules for? wouldn't you know it, it was the team which would go to the fraudulent 'national championship game' if they won. What a shock. And speaking of that, can someone tell me what was so impressive about the schedule Texas played this year? So much more impressive than Cincinnati, and TCU, and Boise State? So impressive that it was a certainty that they would go to the BCS game if they won? I didn't think so. The Bowl Championship Series: where the biggest reason for a team playing for 'the national championship' is how good people thought they would be in August. Gotta love it.
16 November, 2009
Why he was wrong
I can't believe I'm writing about this. I can't believe the entire sports world--or far too much of it at any rate--is braindead on this. You can say that you like the call. You can say you turned to the person you were watching the game with at the time and said, "yeah, Belichick is totally going for it here." You can say a bunch of things about 4-2. But you can't say it was the right call, because it isn't, and it wasn't.
First of all, I need to inform you that if you use the names Belichick, Brady, or Manning at any point in this discussion, you have already half-lost the argument. That officially constitutes the "yeah, but" defense. And I'll get back to those arguments later. Now that that is out of the way, we can deal with this question on a level befitting smart fans and smart people. Nearly everyone I've heard discuss this today has done so in a vacuum, talking about the play itself, out of context. But context is everything here. I'm going to expllain that The decision was wrong, because other decisions made during that drive were wrong. With thanks to CBSSports.com, here is the drive summary.
New England Patriots at 02:23
1-10-NE20
(2:23) (Shotgun) K.Faulk up the middle to NE 20 for no gain (R.Brock).
2-10-NE20
(2:18) (Shotgun) T.Brady pass short right to W.Welker to NE 28 for 8 yards (J.Lacey, C.Session).
3-2-NE28
(2:11) (Shotgun) T.Brady pass incomplete short right to W.Welker (J.Powers).
4-2-NE28
(2:08) (Shotgun) T.Brady pass short right to K.Faulk to NE 29 for 1 yard (M.Bullitt).
I don't have a problem with the first 2 plays, so let's skip to 2:11 left and 3-2. There is a saying in football that, when you throw the ball 3 things can happen and 2 of them are bad. Those 3 things are of course a reception, an interception and an incompletion. Given the fact that the 2 minute warning stops the clock already, a running play is called for here. That being said, I don't have a problem with the pass to Welker. This however is where things went very wrong. The rest of this drive should have been set up during the Colts time-out. The Patriots should have lined up immediately after the incompletion and ran the 4th down, if that was the plan. The Patriots calling their final time-out after the incompletion is what makes the decision to go for the 4-2 wrong. The biggest problem with calling the time-out is that it allowed the Colts to reset their defense. Because the play was 4-2 and not 4-1, they had a good idea what was coming, as did everyone watching the game. You don't call a time-out to set up a quarterback sneak. The implications of that point--why the Patriots ran the obvious play--are interesting, but that's a discussion for another time. The other problem with the time-out, as mentioned, is that it was the Patriots' 3rd. That meant there was no stopping the clock during a Colts possession if the play failed, and it meant, fatally, that the Patriots could not challenge the spot after a short yardage play.
Remember I said I was going to get back to the "yeah, but it's Tom Brady!" argument? Well okay. If you want to go there, if you say that it matters who the quarterback is, who the other quarterback is, all that stuff, then the play was still wrong, because you're talking about the state of the game at that moment. And as I just pointed out, everything about that moment in the game says that the Patriots should have punted. The other 28 yard line, Stopping the game, no more challenges, the extra yard, all of those things are what made going for it on 4th down, in that situation, the wrong play. End of speech.
First of all, I need to inform you that if you use the names Belichick, Brady, or Manning at any point in this discussion, you have already half-lost the argument. That officially constitutes the "yeah, but" defense. And I'll get back to those arguments later. Now that that is out of the way, we can deal with this question on a level befitting smart fans and smart people. Nearly everyone I've heard discuss this today has done so in a vacuum, talking about the play itself, out of context. But context is everything here. I'm going to expllain that The decision was wrong, because other decisions made during that drive were wrong. With thanks to CBSSports.com, here is the drive summary.
New England Patriots at 02:23
1-10-NE20
(2:23) (Shotgun) K.Faulk up the middle to NE 20 for no gain (R.Brock).
2-10-NE20
(2:18) (Shotgun) T.Brady pass short right to W.Welker to NE 28 for 8 yards (J.Lacey, C.Session).
3-2-NE28
(2:11) (Shotgun) T.Brady pass incomplete short right to W.Welker (J.Powers).
4-2-NE28
(2:08) (Shotgun) T.Brady pass short right to K.Faulk to NE 29 for 1 yard (M.Bullitt).
I don't have a problem with the first 2 plays, so let's skip to 2:11 left and 3-2. There is a saying in football that, when you throw the ball 3 things can happen and 2 of them are bad. Those 3 things are of course a reception, an interception and an incompletion. Given the fact that the 2 minute warning stops the clock already, a running play is called for here. That being said, I don't have a problem with the pass to Welker. This however is where things went very wrong. The rest of this drive should have been set up during the Colts time-out. The Patriots should have lined up immediately after the incompletion and ran the 4th down, if that was the plan. The Patriots calling their final time-out after the incompletion is what makes the decision to go for the 4-2 wrong. The biggest problem with calling the time-out is that it allowed the Colts to reset their defense. Because the play was 4-2 and not 4-1, they had a good idea what was coming, as did everyone watching the game. You don't call a time-out to set up a quarterback sneak. The implications of that point--why the Patriots ran the obvious play--are interesting, but that's a discussion for another time. The other problem with the time-out, as mentioned, is that it was the Patriots' 3rd. That meant there was no stopping the clock during a Colts possession if the play failed, and it meant, fatally, that the Patriots could not challenge the spot after a short yardage play.
Remember I said I was going to get back to the "yeah, but it's Tom Brady!" argument? Well okay. If you want to go there, if you say that it matters who the quarterback is, who the other quarterback is, all that stuff, then the play was still wrong, because you're talking about the state of the game at that moment. And as I just pointed out, everything about that moment in the game says that the Patriots should have punted. The other 28 yard line, Stopping the game, no more challenges, the extra yard, all of those things are what made going for it on 4th down, in that situation, the wrong play. End of speech.
They think you're stupid
Woke up this morning to hear some Ontario government flack on the John Moore show telling me that the HST is actually, get this, going to save me money. Yes! Believe it or not, I'll be getting money back. Whenever the government tells you how you'll be saving money when they bring in a new tax, reach for the sky...because they're reaching for your wallet.
It's always important to remember that one of the reasons for the government to levy a tax on something is to discourage or exploit a behaviour certain politicians don't like or see as an easy target. That's the insidious motivation behind certain taxes. But what we're talking about today is a sales tax. The government doesn't want to discourage people from buying (most) things, so what's at work here is the primary reason for taxation; to raise revenue for the government. The Liberals have so badly managed the economy of the province of Ontario that they're now racking up huge deficits. They have ruled out cutting or auditing any government services, so all they have left is to increase taxes. The HST will not be good for the people of Ontario, simply because the express purpose of it is to take more of their money. To pretend otherwise is simply dishonest, something which we all know has already become a hallmark of this government. Don't get fooled again by this bunch. This tax will cost you money, because it has to.
It's always important to remember that one of the reasons for the government to levy a tax on something is to discourage or exploit a behaviour certain politicians don't like or see as an easy target. That's the insidious motivation behind certain taxes. But what we're talking about today is a sales tax. The government doesn't want to discourage people from buying (most) things, so what's at work here is the primary reason for taxation; to raise revenue for the government. The Liberals have so badly managed the economy of the province of Ontario that they're now racking up huge deficits. They have ruled out cutting or auditing any government services, so all they have left is to increase taxes. The HST will not be good for the people of Ontario, simply because the express purpose of it is to take more of their money. To pretend otherwise is simply dishonest, something which we all know has already become a hallmark of this government. Don't get fooled again by this bunch. This tax will cost you money, because it has to.
20 October, 2009
Short rest
I have to say, I totally don't get Joe Girardi's thinking as far as it applies to starting CC Sabathia this afternoon in LA. Why are you pitching your ace on shorter rest than he has worked during the entire season, in a series where you have a game in hand. Why not pitch him on his normal cycle in game 5, where at worst he will be trying to win your third game in the series. Is he trying to make sure the Yankees don't have to play another game in this series in Yankee stadium, where the Angels really didn't play very well? I just don't get it.
Our wonderful future
...is not here yet.
This is a story from last Wednesday's Toronto Star. It is the story of First Light, a gigantic solar farm in Napanee Ontario. The installation spans 36 hectares and includes 126,040 solar panels. Here is the problem: this enormous solar farm generates...9 megawatts. The reason this is a problem is because First Light is big. It is really big. How big? 36 hectares big. For my Toronto readers, you could build 9 Rogers Centres inside it. And this 36 hectares can generate enough power for 1000 homes. Now 1000 homes is nice, it's surely not nothing. But compared to the province of Ontario, it is nothing. Power plants generate thousands of megawatts, First Light generates 9. And the problem with solar energy at the moment is that there is no economy of scale. You build a farm with 300,000 panels, you get about 27 megawatts. And it goes without saying that this land can't be used for anything else. Fortunately, Ontario at least has passed regulations that will stop construction of these farms on land that is more suitable for actual farming. But the point remains, in terms of return on investment, solar is just not practical yet. And government should not be in the business of plunging forward with, nor mandating, technology which would not be embraced by the market as it stands now. Alternative energy is not yet in a position to be an effective substitute for traditional energy. These projects only serve to convey to the public the idea that it is, which will only harm the movement in the end.
None of the above is to say that First Light is not itself a wonderful feat of engineering. In fact it is a commendable one. I'm unaware of whether the installation can be upgraded with more advanced panels in the future. If it can be, that would temper my disappointment with the final product.
This is a story from last Wednesday's Toronto Star. It is the story of First Light, a gigantic solar farm in Napanee Ontario. The installation spans 36 hectares and includes 126,040 solar panels. Here is the problem: this enormous solar farm generates...9 megawatts. The reason this is a problem is because First Light is big. It is really big. How big? 36 hectares big. For my Toronto readers, you could build 9 Rogers Centres inside it. And this 36 hectares can generate enough power for 1000 homes. Now 1000 homes is nice, it's surely not nothing. But compared to the province of Ontario, it is nothing. Power plants generate thousands of megawatts, First Light generates 9. And the problem with solar energy at the moment is that there is no economy of scale. You build a farm with 300,000 panels, you get about 27 megawatts. And it goes without saying that this land can't be used for anything else. Fortunately, Ontario at least has passed regulations that will stop construction of these farms on land that is more suitable for actual farming. But the point remains, in terms of return on investment, solar is just not practical yet. And government should not be in the business of plunging forward with, nor mandating, technology which would not be embraced by the market as it stands now. Alternative energy is not yet in a position to be an effective substitute for traditional energy. These projects only serve to convey to the public the idea that it is, which will only harm the movement in the end.
None of the above is to say that First Light is not itself a wonderful feat of engineering. In fact it is a commendable one. I'm unaware of whether the installation can be upgraded with more advanced panels in the future. If it can be, that would temper my disappointment with the final product.
18 September, 2009
Even Better Than the Real Thing
If you were following my Twitter yesterday, you know that I had some thoughts about the setlists for the 2 U2 shows which took place at the Rogers Centre this week (9/16 and 9/17). Basically, I said that if I had been at either show (I wasn't), those setlists would have been a major letdown for me. Now there's something I have to say up front, before I get into a lot of detail here. If you have the chance to go to a U2 concert, go. Period. There is no way that concert will not be one of the top five shows you see in your lifetime. No matter what songs they play, the experience is that good. I was lucky (and I mean that, anyone who gets into these shows is lucky, fifty thousand more people want to go than there are tickets) to be at the September 16 2005 show of the Vertigo Tour (setlist here), and if it's not the greatest concert I've ever been to then it's number two. So what I'm about to talk about is, as I told a friend yesterday about something unrelated, a marginal problem. It is the difference between great and outstanding, it is the last half star in a four star review.
There was a lot of controversy this week because U2 chose not to play Pride, their signature song, at either of their Toronto shows. Now, I understand that playing the same song, more or less the same way, for twenty years can get boring. I've never accepted that reason though. First of all, tickets for these shows were not cheap. I think prices ran from about $60 to $230. For that money, I think the fans deserve to hear what they expect to hear, and when you go to a U2 concert, there are just certain songs you feel entirely justified in expecting to hear. Pride (in the Name of Love) has to be at the top of that list. At this point I'll invoke Mark Knopfler, who I once read in an interview say that he feels he owes playing his hits to the fans, because however he might feel about playing them personally, he knows that those songs were and are important to his fans in their own lives. Now that I've gotten all of that out of the way, here's my real reason for this post: my personal setlist of U2 favourites.
City of Blinding Lights
Magnificent
Kite
Two Hearts Beat as One
I Will Follow
Wire
Bad
Miracle Drug
Love or Peace or Else
Sunday Bloody Sunday
Beautiful Day
In God's Country
All I Want is You
Where the Streets Have No Name
One
Bullet the Blue Sky
Pride
I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking for
Running to Stand Still
encore
I'll Go Crazy If I Don't Go Crazy Tonight
Unknown Caller
Who's Gonna Ride Your Wild Horses
Walk on
second encore
One Tree Hill
Fourty
There was a lot of controversy this week because U2 chose not to play Pride, their signature song, at either of their Toronto shows. Now, I understand that playing the same song, more or less the same way, for twenty years can get boring. I've never accepted that reason though. First of all, tickets for these shows were not cheap. I think prices ran from about $60 to $230. For that money, I think the fans deserve to hear what they expect to hear, and when you go to a U2 concert, there are just certain songs you feel entirely justified in expecting to hear. Pride (in the Name of Love) has to be at the top of that list. At this point I'll invoke Mark Knopfler, who I once read in an interview say that he feels he owes playing his hits to the fans, because however he might feel about playing them personally, he knows that those songs were and are important to his fans in their own lives. Now that I've gotten all of that out of the way, here's my real reason for this post: my personal setlist of U2 favourites.
City of Blinding Lights
Magnificent
Kite
Two Hearts Beat as One
I Will Follow
Wire
Bad
Miracle Drug
Love or Peace or Else
Sunday Bloody Sunday
Beautiful Day
In God's Country
All I Want is You
Where the Streets Have No Name
One
Bullet the Blue Sky
Pride
I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking for
Running to Stand Still
encore
I'll Go Crazy If I Don't Go Crazy Tonight
Unknown Caller
Who's Gonna Ride Your Wild Horses
Walk on
second encore
One Tree Hill
Fourty
17 September, 2009
Listen carefully
When you're being given statistics, it's always important to consider certain things. Consider the source. This one is obvious. Why is someone giving you this information, what is their goal, what are they trying to convince you of. We all use information to help make our case, I do it as much as anyone. We use what we think will make our case appear strongest, and we often neglect to include things which might weaken our case or distract from it. Something else to consider about information is what you are being given. Make sure you are aware of what you have been told and try to figure out what context you should put it in.
Today, President Obama was speaking at the University of Maryland. At one point in his speech, he mentioned that in America, "up to 98,000 people die every year from medical errors." Now simply reading that, you should notice something immediately; saying "up to" a number clearly does not mean the same thing as saying that number. What was the number last year? The year before that? The next thing you should think about is how broad the term "medical errors" is. What does it mean? What is included in it? Are these errors which occur during surgeries? Errors which happen at any point during someone's stay at a hospital? Suppose the number only applies to problems which occur during surgeries, and that 100,000,000 surgeries are performed each year. That would mean the rate of incidents causing death during surgery is less than 0.1%. This is the difference between being given real numbers and being given nominal numbers. Nominal numbers are figures, real numbers give you a greater sense for the whole.
My reason for posting about this is pretty clear, I really resented the President throwing around an arbitrary number completely without providing context for it. But it can also serve as a lesson for dealing with the constant stream of information we're assaulted with on a daily basis.
Today, President Obama was speaking at the University of Maryland. At one point in his speech, he mentioned that in America, "up to 98,000 people die every year from medical errors." Now simply reading that, you should notice something immediately; saying "up to" a number clearly does not mean the same thing as saying that number. What was the number last year? The year before that? The next thing you should think about is how broad the term "medical errors" is. What does it mean? What is included in it? Are these errors which occur during surgeries? Errors which happen at any point during someone's stay at a hospital? Suppose the number only applies to problems which occur during surgeries, and that 100,000,000 surgeries are performed each year. That would mean the rate of incidents causing death during surgery is less than 0.1%. This is the difference between being given real numbers and being given nominal numbers. Nominal numbers are figures, real numbers give you a greater sense for the whole.
My reason for posting about this is pretty clear, I really resented the President throwing around an arbitrary number completely without providing context for it. But it can also serve as a lesson for dealing with the constant stream of information we're assaulted with on a daily basis.
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