December 2008
Nebraska 41 - Clemson 30
Nebraska’s Gator Bowl matchup against Clemson on New Year’s Day will be close - for a half. The Huskers, however, will turn it up in the second half and win by double digits. Here are my five reasons why:
New coaches. Clemson has received much publicity for promoting and then retaining Dabo Swiney as head coach following the mid-season firing of Tommy Bowden. That hiring/firing...
Scrubs moves to ABC →
“Attentive viewers may notice some other changes. Mr. Lawrence said a popular character nicknamed the Todd is no longer allowed to wear the thong-style swimsuit he occasionally wore on NBC.” Haha.
Studios increasingly use the slow release →
More and more movies this year are using the ploy of a slow release. Unfortunately, this does not prevent the studios from promoting the movies relentlessly. For example, heavily promoted movies, such as “Milk”, “Frost/Nixon” and now “Gran Torino” are being promoted but can be found in no more than one or two theatres in the biggest cities. It’s not...
Holocaust love story fabricated →
I’m sure you have heard the story about the boy at a camp in the Holocaust, who survives in large part because a local girl feeds him apples every day. Years later in the US, two Jewish survivors rehash their stories only for him to find out that she was the girl sending the apples (she was hiding as a gentile during the war). They were soon married and lived happily ever after.
It turns...
TMQ →
“In the second half at Green Bay, Robinson, a Lions defensive back, was penalized for taunting. The Lions at that point were 0-15 and within sight of attaining the designation they now hold, that of worst NFL team ever. After a Green Bay incompletion, Robinson danced around, pointing at himself and taunting Packers receiver James Jones. A player for the worst-ever NFL team was called for...
Rome Sweet Rome →
This article is written by a journalist who tags along with his wife to Rome for several months. He really gives a great first hand account of the city of “life” in Rome, rather than the 3-day trip to Rome. He also was there for the Pope’s funeral and how that changed the city.
“Journalists stepped off planes and wrote about how the Eternal City was being overwhelmed,...
A Surprising Aspect of the Housing Crash →
Before the housing crash, divorcing couples fought over who would get to keep the house. Now, following the housing crash, divorcing couples are fighting over who gets stuck with the house (and the overpriced mortgage). Some couples have gone so far as to get divorced, but remain with both people still living in the house.
Palin now country's hottest Grandmother →
Bristol Palin had her son today, naming him Tripp. Thus, Bristol maintains the family tradition of weird-ass family names.
Recession hits Vegas →
The History of Seasame Street →
Bowl Picks
Now we are in to the real Bowl Games, I am going to make my picks for the season.
Papajohns Bowl - North Carolina St over Rutgers - I have no clue about this game, but I figure the ACC is better than the Big East
Alamo - Mizzou over Northwestern - Normally, in lower tier bowl games the team with the momentum, the desire for the game will win. Mizzou is disappointed to be here, there were...
Broadcast News Sucks →
“Quietly, as the United States presidential election and its aftermath have dominated the news, America’s three broadcast network news divisions have stopped sending full-time correspondents to Iraq.”
Story of the year? →
This is a phenomenal re-cap of Tiger Wood’s victory at the U.S. Open while he played on a bum knee.
I hate the NFL
I am a fan of the NFL in general, but not really any team in particular (though I really enjoy watching the Patriots win). I want to watch the best and most important games each week. Today, we had the Vikings-Giants and Patriots-Bills games on, which were both good and important games. The problem is the afternoon game. At that time, there was the Baltimore game (if they win they’re...
A Recruiting Story →
Here is an interesting article on one rescruiting prospect’s situation.
Editorial: Imposing a Gas Tax →
Several commentators, including this editorial, have advocated the use of a gas floor tax. The idea is that gas always costs at least $4 a gallon, so we don’t get used to cheap gas prices and we will buy more energy efficient cars. It sounds like a great idea to (1) add stability in gas prices - you may be paying more but at least you know how much you are going to pay; (2) increase tax...
“Millions of White House e-mail messages created from 2003 to 2005 appear to be...”
– The National Archives are struggling to keep up with the number of electronic records from the Bush White House. “I’m told researchers like to come and dig through my files, to see if anything interesting turns up,” Mr. Cheney said. “I want to wish them luck, but the files are pretty thin. I...
Smoking bans in Casinos →
Article discusses a few casinos in Nevada which have voluntarily gone no smoking. They see a market opportunity and have decided to go for it. I commend their decision and fully believe that this is the way that no smoking casinos should come about. Several states, namely Illinois, have recently put smoking bans in effect for the state, including casinos. The revenue for those casinos have...
A 'passive' house →
These houses, in Germany where else, are completely sealed so as to not allow any heat to escape. The houses are able to be heated without any furnaces or other heating implements.
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Well, it’s no Forrest Gump. I may make a longer review later, but I’d suggest seeing another a different movie.
Census fun →
According to this blog, there are new predicitions over who will gain or lose seats in 2010 census (remember that all Congressional Districts must be equal size, so the seats are reapportioned every ten years). According to these guestimates, red states will gain seats and blue states will lose states. This also increases the likelihood that these red states may become bluer. (Note: I hate the...
Milk: Does it do a theatre good?
Today, we were looking at going to a movie and were seeing what was showing at the nearest multiplex. I was surprised to see how few movies I want to see are playing nearby. This is surprising because there are so many movies that I want to see that are out right now. Most of these are the movies being touted for Oscars and the other awards. I started to look up these movies and see where in...
Pardon Problems →
So, I am sure you may have already heard that Bush pardoned a few people last week (no administration officials or Scooter Libby) only to have the White House rescind the pardon a few days later. Apparently, the guys father made donations to the Republican Party.
All of the articles are using this as another example of Bush White House incompetance for improper vetting. Personally, I...
“Here the guy hasn’t even gotten his tuxedo for the ball yet and already there’s...”
– Some douchebag who implies that testifying as a witness makes you guilty of something.
Merry Christmas
I want to wish everyone a Merry Christmas. I made it here to Phoenix with very few problems - Frontier airlines have personal tvs on their planes - it was pretty cool. Shelley got home around 1230 and we opened our Christmas presents from each other. No one can say we didn’t do our part to get the economy going again. I got some great clothes and a really nice watch.
Santa came this...
Outta here
I am off to Phoenix for Christmas. I probably won’t post anything the rest of the day and my posts may be more limited over Christmas. I hope everyone has a Merry Christmas. God bless!
I am now in Phoenix
It could be worse, you could live in Seattle →
An astonishingly depressing story about the horror that has been Seattle sports this past year (worst NBA record, lost NBA team to OKC, worst baseball record, fired two managers, worst NCAA football record, only BCS team to not win a game, 5-11 NFL record). The story tries to put “A Long December” spin on the story (“Maybe this year will be better than the last”) but that...
New food policy? →
I love that people expect Obama to fulfill their every wish on every fringe issue, even when he has given no indication that he will do so. This article is a perfect example, where all of these people who are very passionate about food and agriculture expect Obama to all of a sudden require every American to eat organic beets.
Let’s set some priorities people. I hate to disappoint you,...
“We’re bacon people.”
– Michelle Obama. How this is news, I don’t know… but it is funny.
Lower gas prices bring relief →
Lower prices are nice, but don’t really effect me that much. Since I have moved to DC, I average filling up once a month for gas.
Another Guantanamo Case →
The Supreme Court ordered a lower court to rehear the claims of four British men detained, but never charged, at Guantanamo Bay. The four men claimed to have been systematically tortured. The move by the Supreme Court is purely procedural and not substantive, as they are merely requiring the lower court to reconsider in light of the case decided this summer by the Court which confirmed that...
A test
Al Caniglia
Wal-Mart settles 63 wage case for at least $352M →
The origin of the Ponzi Scheme →
e-books gain in popularity →
I have seen a few people on the metro using these, but I don’t think it will catch on big unless e-books are made much cheaper than their physical counterpart.
The three best ways to promote new technology are to (1) make it cheaper; (2) make it more convenient; or (3) make it cool. (Think of the ipod, which made music cheaper, more convenient and cooler).
I highly doubt that anyone can...
“Teenagers and young adults, crucial to the health of movie exhibition, are...”
– This is true, but sad.
Tuesday Morning Quarterback →
Reminiscing in the Air →
This op-ed from a flight attendant looks back at the glory days of the airlines, with fancy meals, on-time flights, and friendly service. As great as all that might have been (I still remember getting pilots wings on my first flight), we aren’t willing to pay the costs anymore.
Between fuel costs, union wages (though flight attendants make an absurdly low amount), high tech planes, and...
Rewriting history with Dick Cheney →
Sounds like a PBS Special
Reilly: Everyone Hates Hansborough →
Rick Reilly spouts off how everyone “hates” Hansborough, but that what they hate are all really good qualities - i.e. he tries hard, he came back for his senior year, etc.
Personally, I don’t give a shit about Tyler Hansborough. But I do hate Tim Tebow for all the same reasons that people hate Hansborough. Tebow had so much hype and he has lived up to it. My Mom always jokes...
Flight Issues
As I am sure most of you know out there, my sister Shelley works for US Airways. One of the main benefits of this is that I get to fly pretty cheaply. One of the problems is that I have to fly standby. Now, somehow on Thanksgiving, that worked out to their being dozens of empty seats on the flight. Unfortunately, it has not worked out so well for Christmas.
Even though DC has avoided the...
23% say Cheney is worst VP ever →
Somehow, 77% think that there is a worse VP out there.
Bowl Predictions →
So the predictions for the Bowl Games are coming in and right now they are pretty evenly split between Clemson and NU. I don’t have a problem with that. Nebraska has not really beaten anyone. But, the people who are predicting scores are way off base. Of the 11 people predicting scores, 7 of them have Nebraska scoring less than 28 points. Considering Mizzou is the only team to hold...
Top 5 Jobs
Earlier today, someone asked me what I would like to be when I grow up (I think they were joking). This got me to thinking - what job would I like to have if salary, talent, education, skill, training, connections, etc., were no problem. Here is my top 5:
(1) U.S. President - I would much prefer the governing part to the getting elected part. I have always wanted to make a difference in the...
Foreign Service is Hiring →