Nothing says 'tis the season for giving like kidnapping an expert in kidnappings. Well, this is exactly what happened in my [not so]beloved home country recently as reported here. While I have not been a fan of my birth nation for quite some time, or a fine representative of it, I dare say that the frequent reports of kidnappings, narc killings, corruption scandals and you name it are starting to make me wonder whether things are about to get much worse before things get better. Actually, a supreme court justice in Mexico thinks the country is starting to slip from the hands of those that care for a better Mexico (article in Spanish). While on the topic, an exchange with my sister's boyfriend also yielded this news piece (sorry, also in Spanish) about a drug lord that was busted recenlty and that during a gun fight tried to call for help from two police chiefs.
Maybe I am naive in not worrying for the safety of my mom and sisters who live in Mexico City or my dad and sister who live in Ciudad Juarez and El Paso. I guess I just have convinced myself that since we are not loaded and are not narcs that we should be safe but for a robbery here or there. As far as I know, the only one in my immediate family that has been robbed at gun point was my dad a few years back while taking a cab. My oldest sister has had 2 cars stolen, but never while she was in the car.
Here is hoping that things turn around in Mexico and that Nat and I make it to and back without a hitch.
Monday, December 15, 2008
Friday, December 12, 2008
You tell me this now...
Courtesy of one of Nat's coworkers, US News thinks this about my career. I guess this tells me I should have started my subscription to their mag a long time ago and maybe I should have listened to all the voices in my head.
Monday, November 24, 2008
I [don't] love pirates
Today while driving home from work, Nat and I saw an older Jeep Wrangler that had this I love Pirates bumper sticker. OK, that is not a fair representation of the car. The car had a NJ Devils (the hockey team) tire cover and license plate holder, a NY Giants Super Bowl Champions bumper sticker, as well as about 3 or a dozen more. While there were lots of sports related stickers, I couldn't get past the I heart Pirates sticker, at least in the sense that I thought that sticker basically symbolized the driver of the car being a female. When I verbalized this to Nat, she quickly disagreed with me and asked for my logic.
My logic? While I can see lots of guys covering the back of their car with loads of stickers, I cannot think of a single one that would willing put an I heart Pirates sticker on their car. I mean, what kind of statement is that? It is not a political statement, or a statement of loyalty to a sports team, or crazed philosophy. It's a statement of love for a way of life, that short of this being Somalia, is something reserved for Disney, it goes by the way of a lifestyle similar to those of a LARPers nationwide. In the later case, I doubt a serious pirate would put a sticker on a Jeep Wrangler stating that they love pirates.
Thus, I take my opinion to you, my loyal listeners. I do like pirate movies and even an occasional visit to a theme park, but I do not heart pirates.
My logic? While I can see lots of guys covering the back of their car with loads of stickers, I cannot think of a single one that would willing put an I heart Pirates sticker on their car. I mean, what kind of statement is that? It is not a political statement, or a statement of loyalty to a sports team, or crazed philosophy. It's a statement of love for a way of life, that short of this being Somalia, is something reserved for Disney, it goes by the way of a lifestyle similar to those of a LARPers nationwide. In the later case, I doubt a serious pirate would put a sticker on a Jeep Wrangler stating that they love pirates.
Thus, I take my opinion to you, my loyal listeners. I do like pirate movies and even an occasional visit to a theme park, but I do not heart pirates.
Tuesday, November 4, 2008
Election Special
"If [the media] convince enough voters that that is negative campaigning, for me to call Barack Obama out on his associations," Palin told host Chris Plante, "then I don't know what the future of our country would be in terms of First Amendment rights and our ability to ask questions without fear of attacks by the mainstream media."
In other words, Palin wants freedom of speech rights to apply to her but not to the media. Those liberal nutjobs have just gone too far speaking their mind. If you want more on this, here is the entire piece. The best part of this, is that when a coworker told me about this, I thought it was a piece in The Onion.
In other words, Palin wants freedom of speech rights to apply to her but not to the media. Those liberal nutjobs have just gone too far speaking their mind. If you want more on this, here is the entire piece. The best part of this, is that when a coworker told me about this, I thought it was a piece in The Onion.
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
Joe Plumber
I actually think this video shows Obama in great light. Yes, he take a bit getting into it, but by the end he basically states what most of us on the left believe is the best way to go, tax the rich more than the poor to even out the wealth and keep the middle class strong.
Friday, October 10, 2008
Tuesday, October 7, 2008
Town Hall Meeting
I am going to edit this entry as things pop up during the 2nd debate, which happens to take place in our neighboring university Belmont:
1. Where are all the black folk in this town hall meeting? I see but a few out there. Were these 100 undecided townsfolk not supposed to include a nice cross-section of the population?
2. Second question from a young black man. I hate to continue the race talk, but if a black person votes for McCain will he ever be welcomed home? On a serious note, I guess it looks like it is you white folk out there that need convincing as to whom you are going to vote for.
3. Don't know if you have heard, but McCain said that the "fundamentals of the economy are strong."
4. Message to Teresa Finch: if you are asking a question in a presidential debate that contains about 10 words, I suggest that you do not pause after every 3 words.
5. I had not noticed this before, but McCain is looking a little tired and worn down and he hasn't even started the presidency. Just look at before and after pix of past prez. What will happen to McCain? Do you trust cheerleader Palin to lead your country?
6. Just as I thought we had heard it all before, because this seems more like an hour and a half of stuff we have heard before, Tom Brokaw pulls out his veto pen and asks a question of his own over an online voter question.
We interrupt this townhall meeting for a message from our sponsors (ok, not really), but this is really funny.
After 49 mins I call it quits. Hope you all enjoy the rest of the debate and go Obama!
1. Where are all the black folk in this town hall meeting? I see but a few out there. Were these 100 undecided townsfolk not supposed to include a nice cross-section of the population?
2. Second question from a young black man. I hate to continue the race talk, but if a black person votes for McCain will he ever be welcomed home? On a serious note, I guess it looks like it is you white folk out there that need convincing as to whom you are going to vote for.
3. Don't know if you have heard, but McCain said that the "fundamentals of the economy are strong."
4. Message to Teresa Finch: if you are asking a question in a presidential debate that contains about 10 words, I suggest that you do not pause after every 3 words.
5. I had not noticed this before, but McCain is looking a little tired and worn down and he hasn't even started the presidency. Just look at before and after pix of past prez. What will happen to McCain? Do you trust cheerleader Palin to lead your country?
6. Just as I thought we had heard it all before, because this seems more like an hour and a half of stuff we have heard before, Tom Brokaw pulls out his veto pen and asks a question of his own over an online voter question.
We interrupt this townhall meeting for a message from our sponsors (ok, not really), but this is really funny.
After 49 mins I call it quits. Hope you all enjoy the rest of the debate and go Obama!
Thursday, October 2, 2008
An FDIC Catch 22
I am sure you have all heard about the bail out plan ad noseum over the last week or two. I am also sure a lot of us are unsure what to exactly make out of the plan, never mind understanding where all the money could and would go and whether this is a good thing. I myself, have wavered about whether this is a good thing or not. In general, I tend to believe the economic folk in charge (I am looking at you Ben Bernake). So, if they say the economy needs this, I will tend to believe you know your stuff. After all, if you are sick, you tend to listen to what the doctor says. If you want to double check what the doctor thinks, you get 2nd and 3rd opinions. In this case, 2 big heads of the economy, Bernake and Henry Paulson say we need this. So, I tend to lean towards listening to their opinion, especially Bernake who should not care who carries the election. My only request is that we add some regulation, or at least some oversight, to the banks so that this does not happen again.
One item I do want to bring up is related to the talk about increasing the FDIC (Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation) limit on bank deposits from $100,000 to $250,000. The reasoning behind this is to stop people with large deposits (currently anything over $100,000) in banks from withdrawing their funds. In other words, by raising the FDIC limit to $250K, people's bank deposits would be insured up to that dollar ammount. The result would, in theory, be that people with large bank deposits would leave their money in the bank so that the bank can then turn around and lend the monies to someone else, thus helping the credit situation.
One catch with raising the FDIC limit, is that since the FDIC is an insurance, raising the coverage from $100,00 to $250,000 should result in an increase in the premium charged to the banks. In doing so, the banks would have to dole out more money to pay for the increased coverage as opposed to having that money to lend it out to businesses and people. As such, there has been some talk about increasing the FDIC coverage without increasing the premiums for the banks. However, doing so could be tragic in a future economic crisis as the FDIC would likely not have enough funds to cover all the deposits.
While I now believe some federaly sponsored aid is needed, I just hope that legislators do not remove so many safeguards/oversight measures now to help banks that in a few years we find ourselves in a bigger hole that we currently find ourselves in.
One item I do want to bring up is related to the talk about increasing the FDIC (Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation) limit on bank deposits from $100,000 to $250,000. The reasoning behind this is to stop people with large deposits (currently anything over $100,000) in banks from withdrawing their funds. In other words, by raising the FDIC limit to $250K, people's bank deposits would be insured up to that dollar ammount. The result would, in theory, be that people with large bank deposits would leave their money in the bank so that the bank can then turn around and lend the monies to someone else, thus helping the credit situation.
One catch with raising the FDIC limit, is that since the FDIC is an insurance, raising the coverage from $100,00 to $250,000 should result in an increase in the premium charged to the banks. In doing so, the banks would have to dole out more money to pay for the increased coverage as opposed to having that money to lend it out to businesses and people. As such, there has been some talk about increasing the FDIC coverage without increasing the premiums for the banks. However, doing so could be tragic in a future economic crisis as the FDIC would likely not have enough funds to cover all the deposits.
While I now believe some federaly sponsored aid is needed, I just hope that legislators do not remove so many safeguards/oversight measures now to help banks that in a few years we find ourselves in a bigger hole that we currently find ourselves in.
Monday, September 29, 2008
In case you missed it...
Monday, September 29th turned out to be Black Monday, in part driven by the House of Representatives voting down the bailout plan for the financial sector. The vote, 205 for and 228 against can be seen here. Of interest, all Republican 7 GA House reps. voted against the bill, whereas in Arkansas, 6 of 7 House reps (both Democrat and Republican), voted for the bill. In the end, the numbers fell as follows:
For:
Dems: 140
GOP: 65
Against:
Dems: 95
GOP: 133
While I am not well enough educated on the subject to say if I am for or against the the bailout plan, I am fairly certain I am confused if this is a Republican initiative or a Democratic one. I know George W. Bush keeps on pushing for the plan, and so is the Democratic Senate leader Dianne Deinstein. Then again, this sure smells like a compromise by both parties, yet it appears by the voting that the GOP has agreed to not compromise. Whatever the case the Standard and Poor's index took the biggest dive since I was in 1st grade, 1987.
Hopefully the rest of the week will go better for all involved.
For:
Dems: 140
GOP: 65
Against:
Dems: 95
GOP: 133
While I am not well enough educated on the subject to say if I am for or against the the bailout plan, I am fairly certain I am confused if this is a Republican initiative or a Democratic one. I know George W. Bush keeps on pushing for the plan, and so is the Democratic Senate leader Dianne Deinstein. Then again, this sure smells like a compromise by both parties, yet it appears by the voting that the GOP has agreed to not compromise. Whatever the case the Standard and Poor's index took the biggest dive since I was in 1st grade, 1987.
Hopefully the rest of the week will go better for all involved.
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
Thank You Maureen Dowd
I know a lot of you frequently read Maureen Dowd's column in the NY Times. Just in case you missed this one, go ahead and take a peek. It is depressingly funny.
I must quickly add to the column link by saying that I walked into an eye opening conversation over the weekend. We were at a party for the girlfriend of one of Nat's coworkers and at one point I walked into a conversation between a Coast Guard reservist, a pediatrician, a food industry person that went to the Cordon Bleu in Paris, and a commercial real estate lawyer. The reservist is a republican, while the other 3 are self proclaimed Democrats.
When I walked into the conversation, the lawyer was defending Obama, while the other 3 were attacking Obama for being "too liberal" and for wanting to tax the wealthy too much. The pediatrician was strongly lamenting how she hated writing her quarterly tax checks to Uncle Sam, while the reservist kept on talking about how he is tired of giving "hand outs" to the lower income folk, while saying the problem with people in the US is that there is a feeling of "entitlement."
While I have heard some of these statements before I was surprised to hear them from registered Democrats. The comment about Obama being "too liberal" stroke me as a joke at first. Too liberal? Really? Apparently Obama's fault is that he talks too much about wanting to change things. In other words, Obama's problem is that he looks at the future and talks about a better nation. That, my friends, is not acceptable since he will not be able to accomplish any of the things he talks about.
Obama is also too liberal because he wants to increase taxes on the people that make way more than the average American ($38,651.41 in 2006). Yes, taxing %40 of your income stings. Yes, government programs can be wasteful. Yes, people abuse government programs. But the thing is, if you tax 40% of the income to someone making a million, they still have $600K. I am no expert here since I make below what the average American makes, but I think most people can live fairly comfortable with that much money. Plus, in exchange for $400K in taxes you get to live in a great country with great social programs like the military forces that keep the country safe, fire and police protection (yes, they are both social programs!), subsidized postal service (go live in a developing country that has no working mail and we can talk about the USPS), public schools, and so on. Don't we all think we are better off having governement provide some of these services? Do we really think that if the government did not tax that nice people would take over and provide these services?
As for the comment of "hand outs" and "sense of entitlement", I have two things. One, I think people that grow up in wealthy families can take for granted how much easier it is to do things like go to school, high school and college, since you don't have to worry about putting food on the table because your folks are working minimum wage jobs. You can call it a "hand out", I call it giving a hand to people that have fallen on hard times so that some day they can in turn give a hand to someone else, perhaps by raising their income and paying more taxes to support social programs for those in need.
As for the sense of entitlement, I think people should feel that if they live in one of the wealthiest nations in the world they should be entitled to, perhaps, a decent education. Why is it a bad thing to feel that if you live in a civilized nation that you should be entitled for your kids to go to a decent school? How about health care, should we not feel entitled to not dying because we cannot afford to save our life? I am not saying that because I feel entitled for something I am going to stop working any harder.
I always thought that one of the great quality about this country is that people cared for the improvement of the nation above the individual. It was this notion of nation before person that pushed USA ahead of all nations in the world. Yet, when I hear people saying that a candidate is "too liberal" because he is idealistic, it just kills me. I can only hope that I lost something in translation.
I must quickly add to the column link by saying that I walked into an eye opening conversation over the weekend. We were at a party for the girlfriend of one of Nat's coworkers and at one point I walked into a conversation between a Coast Guard reservist, a pediatrician, a food industry person that went to the Cordon Bleu in Paris, and a commercial real estate lawyer. The reservist is a republican, while the other 3 are self proclaimed Democrats.
When I walked into the conversation, the lawyer was defending Obama, while the other 3 were attacking Obama for being "too liberal" and for wanting to tax the wealthy too much. The pediatrician was strongly lamenting how she hated writing her quarterly tax checks to Uncle Sam, while the reservist kept on talking about how he is tired of giving "hand outs" to the lower income folk, while saying the problem with people in the US is that there is a feeling of "entitlement."
While I have heard some of these statements before I was surprised to hear them from registered Democrats. The comment about Obama being "too liberal" stroke me as a joke at first. Too liberal? Really? Apparently Obama's fault is that he talks too much about wanting to change things. In other words, Obama's problem is that he looks at the future and talks about a better nation. That, my friends, is not acceptable since he will not be able to accomplish any of the things he talks about.
Obama is also too liberal because he wants to increase taxes on the people that make way more than the average American ($38,651.41 in 2006). Yes, taxing %40 of your income stings. Yes, government programs can be wasteful. Yes, people abuse government programs. But the thing is, if you tax 40% of the income to someone making a million, they still have $600K. I am no expert here since I make below what the average American makes, but I think most people can live fairly comfortable with that much money. Plus, in exchange for $400K in taxes you get to live in a great country with great social programs like the military forces that keep the country safe, fire and police protection (yes, they are both social programs!), subsidized postal service (go live in a developing country that has no working mail and we can talk about the USPS), public schools, and so on. Don't we all think we are better off having governement provide some of these services? Do we really think that if the government did not tax that nice people would take over and provide these services?
As for the comment of "hand outs" and "sense of entitlement", I have two things. One, I think people that grow up in wealthy families can take for granted how much easier it is to do things like go to school, high school and college, since you don't have to worry about putting food on the table because your folks are working minimum wage jobs. You can call it a "hand out", I call it giving a hand to people that have fallen on hard times so that some day they can in turn give a hand to someone else, perhaps by raising their income and paying more taxes to support social programs for those in need.
As for the sense of entitlement, I think people should feel that if they live in one of the wealthiest nations in the world they should be entitled to, perhaps, a decent education. Why is it a bad thing to feel that if you live in a civilized nation that you should be entitled for your kids to go to a decent school? How about health care, should we not feel entitled to not dying because we cannot afford to save our life? I am not saying that because I feel entitled for something I am going to stop working any harder.
I always thought that one of the great quality about this country is that people cared for the improvement of the nation above the individual. It was this notion of nation before person that pushed USA ahead of all nations in the world. Yet, when I hear people saying that a candidate is "too liberal" because he is idealistic, it just kills me. I can only hope that I lost something in translation.
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
Pirates
My pirate name is:
Dirty Harry Kidd
You're the pirate everyone else wants to throw in the ocean -- not to get rid of you, you understand; just to get rid of the smell. Even though you're not always the traditional swaggering gallant, your steadiness and planning make you a fine, reliable pirate. Arr!
Get your own pirate name from piratequiz.com.
part of the fidius.org network
Saturday, August 30, 2008
Putting the fear of the Barracuda
In case you missed it, and I am betting the answer is no unless you leave outside of the US, John McCain announced his running mate for the presidential race, and her name is Sarah Palin. I am linking three stories to the announcement, one from BBC news, NY Times, and Wall Street Journal.
I think it is easy to see that McCain was going for the vote out women constituents, especially those Hillary supporters that are lamenting her losing to Obama. And as a pure observer in this, since I cannot vote in the election, I will say that on first glance there seemed to be a bit of panic in the voice of several Democrats I know. That said, as the dust from the announcement settles, I doubt that this will end up being as good a move as the GOP was thinking. As stated in the articles linked above, McCain's ability to target Obama for his inexperience in foreign affairs is bound to be weakend by his choice for a VP. Then again, I didn't think people would re-elect a man that sent the country to war under false pretenses.
I think it is easy to see that McCain was going for the vote out women constituents, especially those Hillary supporters that are lamenting her losing to Obama. And as a pure observer in this, since I cannot vote in the election, I will say that on first glance there seemed to be a bit of panic in the voice of several Democrats I know. That said, as the dust from the announcement settles, I doubt that this will end up being as good a move as the GOP was thinking. As stated in the articles linked above, McCain's ability to target Obama for his inexperience in foreign affairs is bound to be weakend by his choice for a VP. Then again, I didn't think people would re-elect a man that sent the country to war under false pretenses.
Thursday, August 28, 2008
100 posts
I doubt anyone is reading the blog, after all it has been almost a month since I last posted anything on here. Anyway, today I am using the 100th post of the blog to talk about my horrendous relationship with Toshiba laptop computers.
A couple of years into grad. school I bought a Satellite Pro laptop to replace the aging Gateway laptop I had carried around in undergrad. The Satellite Pro A65 was a bit on the hefty side, but it was a decent laptop. As a grad student, spending $1200 on a laptop was no easy task, but I enjoyed having the flexibility to take all my work files with me. That laptop lasted a year and 1 month. 1 month past warranty the battery leaked battery acid onto the motherboard and completely killed the laptop. I was able to recover most of my files by purchasing a USB hard drive case and spending some quality hours on Google finding out how to take ownership of my hard drive (let's just say that if you have a profile in Windows that is password protected you cannot just go back and get to files under My Documents).
So, about 3 years ago, November of 2005 to be exact, I stupidly replaced my acid-leaking Toshiba with........another Toshiba, this time a Tecra A4. Now, I should rationalize my purchase by saying that a good chunk of the decision came down to me getting good financing from Toshiba, while the folks at Dell wouldn't. I loved the laptop. Compared to the bulky Satellite Pro, the Tecra was sleek. Besides, I loved the all black keyboard and case and the silver lid. Not too fancy a laptop, but it looked efficient and rugged.
One thing I did learn from Satellite Pro fiasco was that you should get the extended warranty with your laptop, which I did. So, a year and a half into my Tecra A4, the freaking hard drive dies. And I mean dies. The computer thought the BIOS was password protected, when it wasn't. After talking to the Toshiba folks, who were quite responsive and nice, I brought the machine in to a Toshiba service center where I was informed my hard drive was dead and a new one was provided as part of the extended warranty agreement.
This leads to today. On the tail end of a horrible scince day, my laptop crashed. I plugged in my USB key to transfer some files and the thing would not restart. I spent a solid 3 hours of my afternoon getting to the point where I could simply start the machine in Safe Mode so that I could backup as many files as possible. Luckily I have 2 months left on my warranty so I called the Toshiba folk who promptly told me I should try to wipe my HD clean and that if that fails I should call them back so that I can take the computer in to a dealer.
All in all, good times with Toshiba computers.
A couple of years into grad. school I bought a Satellite Pro laptop to replace the aging Gateway laptop I had carried around in undergrad. The Satellite Pro A65 was a bit on the hefty side, but it was a decent laptop. As a grad student, spending $1200 on a laptop was no easy task, but I enjoyed having the flexibility to take all my work files with me. That laptop lasted a year and 1 month. 1 month past warranty the battery leaked battery acid onto the motherboard and completely killed the laptop. I was able to recover most of my files by purchasing a USB hard drive case and spending some quality hours on Google finding out how to take ownership of my hard drive (let's just say that if you have a profile in Windows that is password protected you cannot just go back and get to files under My Documents).
So, about 3 years ago, November of 2005 to be exact, I stupidly replaced my acid-leaking Toshiba with........another Toshiba, this time a Tecra A4. Now, I should rationalize my purchase by saying that a good chunk of the decision came down to me getting good financing from Toshiba, while the folks at Dell wouldn't. I loved the laptop. Compared to the bulky Satellite Pro, the Tecra was sleek. Besides, I loved the all black keyboard and case and the silver lid. Not too fancy a laptop, but it looked efficient and rugged.
One thing I did learn from Satellite Pro fiasco was that you should get the extended warranty with your laptop, which I did. So, a year and a half into my Tecra A4, the freaking hard drive dies. And I mean dies. The computer thought the BIOS was password protected, when it wasn't. After talking to the Toshiba folks, who were quite responsive and nice, I brought the machine in to a Toshiba service center where I was informed my hard drive was dead and a new one was provided as part of the extended warranty agreement.
This leads to today. On the tail end of a horrible scince day, my laptop crashed. I plugged in my USB key to transfer some files and the thing would not restart. I spent a solid 3 hours of my afternoon getting to the point where I could simply start the machine in Safe Mode so that I could backup as many files as possible. Luckily I have 2 months left on my warranty so I called the Toshiba folk who promptly told me I should try to wipe my HD clean and that if that fails I should call them back so that I can take the computer in to a dealer.
All in all, good times with Toshiba computers.
Friday, August 1, 2008
Lesson of the Day
I have been eating corn on the cob the same way since I can remember. That is, I douse the cob in lemon or lime, add a pinch of salt, and finish it off with a healthy sprinkle of chili powder. Today, I learned that chili powder and red pepper (cayenne) are not one and the same. While you can add a bunch of chili powder to the cob and not feel much of the heat, if you add a heap of cayenne you will be asking your dearest wife why it is so damn hot in the room and why is your mouth on fire. That said, I kind of liked the cayenne.
Saturday, July 26, 2008
AT&T Customer Service
I have had my cell phone service with Cingular/AT&T since 2002. I have been quite happy with them in what has been a mostly pain free relationship. I chose them initially because as a UNC student I got some nice perks, like 200 free Text messages and some free Web access.
When we moved to Nashville last year, Nat and I renewed our contract with ATT by getting two Motorola Razr V3 phones. I got a black one and Nat a pink one. Mine has been working just fine. Nat's developed a software glitch back in April where the phone would not power up properly and would issue some weird screen error (think DOS prompt with lots of numbers). I called ATT and they nicely issued a replacement phone at no cost to us. The phone came in, I added the SIM card (which contains all your phone numbers, identifies the phone as yours, etc.), popped the battery in, put the battery cover on and we were off. I mailed the defective phone off and we were off.
About 2-3 months ago, Nat noticed that if her phone ran out of battery or if she merely turned the phone off, the keypad would light up when you tried to turn it back on, but the phone would not boot up. I then figured out that if you took the battery off AND the SIM card out and put them back in, the phone would boot up. Because I was lazy, I didn't call ATT to tell them the phone was misbehaving until this afternoon, and the response was not to my liking.
In short, their warranty people told me that even though the replacement phone was issued only over 3 months ago, that the one year warranty with the phone only applies to the first phone. Unluckily for me, that warranty expired July 14th of this year, or 12 days ago. As such, they told me they would not be able to issue a replacement phone. I then asked to talk to customer service, and after being transfered to the wrong "market", I was able to talk to the right person. After I bitched their service out, he talked to his supervisor and gave me 2 options:
1. Get a bottom of the line Nokia phone for $29.
2. Pay $79 for a new phone.
In other words, even though ATT issued 2 DEFECTIVE phones to us in a period of a year and 12 days, they are askign us to pay for a new phone? Really? Is this how they treat loyal customers of 6 years that have never missed a payment? Whatever happened to taking responsibility for your actions, or in this case for issuing 2 defective pieces of equipment? I am outraged that we have had 2 defective phones in a period of year and that the company that issued them expects ME to pay for it.
I cannot wait for out contract to be up next summer, because when it does, I think I will be looking somewhere else for my cell phone business.
When we moved to Nashville last year, Nat and I renewed our contract with ATT by getting two Motorola Razr V3 phones. I got a black one and Nat a pink one. Mine has been working just fine. Nat's developed a software glitch back in April where the phone would not power up properly and would issue some weird screen error (think DOS prompt with lots of numbers). I called ATT and they nicely issued a replacement phone at no cost to us. The phone came in, I added the SIM card (which contains all your phone numbers, identifies the phone as yours, etc.), popped the battery in, put the battery cover on and we were off. I mailed the defective phone off and we were off.
About 2-3 months ago, Nat noticed that if her phone ran out of battery or if she merely turned the phone off, the keypad would light up when you tried to turn it back on, but the phone would not boot up. I then figured out that if you took the battery off AND the SIM card out and put them back in, the phone would boot up. Because I was lazy, I didn't call ATT to tell them the phone was misbehaving until this afternoon, and the response was not to my liking.
In short, their warranty people told me that even though the replacement phone was issued only over 3 months ago, that the one year warranty with the phone only applies to the first phone. Unluckily for me, that warranty expired July 14th of this year, or 12 days ago. As such, they told me they would not be able to issue a replacement phone. I then asked to talk to customer service, and after being transfered to the wrong "market", I was able to talk to the right person. After I bitched their service out, he talked to his supervisor and gave me 2 options:
1. Get a bottom of the line Nokia phone for $29.
2. Pay $79 for a new phone.
In other words, even though ATT issued 2 DEFECTIVE phones to us in a period of a year and 12 days, they are askign us to pay for a new phone? Really? Is this how they treat loyal customers of 6 years that have never missed a payment? Whatever happened to taking responsibility for your actions, or in this case for issuing 2 defective pieces of equipment? I am outraged that we have had 2 defective phones in a period of year and that the company that issued them expects ME to pay for it.
I cannot wait for out contract to be up next summer, because when it does, I think I will be looking somewhere else for my cell phone business.
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
ASV Part Deux
I had intended to post a recap of the meeting on a day-by-day basis, but I just ended up being too tired to write at the end of each day. There were so much going on, fantastic talks, good talks, bad talks, meeting new people, and catching up with old ones. The highlight of the meeting was, hands down, a talk give by MIT professor Angela Belcher. She is basically genetically engineering bacterial viruses, bacteriophages, to carry out physical processes. Her talk was mostly about how they have been able to use these phages to BUILD nanowires, which they then use to build bateries. While this may not sound too impressive, her lab has been able to build a battery, the size of a watch battery, that is able to power up an LED light by using phages. Yes, she has built a viral battery!
Besides getting lots of ideas for my own research, I was able to talk to several people about their postdoctoral experiences (good and bad) as well as catch up with old friends and collegues, while also making new friends and colleagues. It is quite amazing how small the world of viruses actually is, and how my life overlaps with so many people that have gone, or are going, through the process of building a career in science.
I will finish up by saying that my grad school mentor gave a great talk that made me feel incredibly appreciated. She presented quite a bit of my work, and Natalies, from our grad school years in her lab. Even though I am only a year removed from her lab, it felt so good to see my work in retrospect.
Thank you NRT.
Besides getting lots of ideas for my own research, I was able to talk to several people about their postdoctoral experiences (good and bad) as well as catch up with old friends and collegues, while also making new friends and colleagues. It is quite amazing how small the world of viruses actually is, and how my life overlaps with so many people that have gone, or are going, through the process of building a career in science.
I will finish up by saying that my grad school mentor gave a great talk that made me feel incredibly appreciated. She presented quite a bit of my work, and Natalies, from our grad school years in her lab. Even though I am only a year removed from her lab, it felt so good to see my work in retrospect.
Thank you NRT.
Saturday, July 12, 2008
And we are off...
Today marked the start of the annual American Society for Virology (ASV) meeting. This year the meeting is in beautiful Ithaca, NY. From a professional standpoint, ASV is a good gathering for virologists around the country to share their science. There are some international scientists at the meeting, but it is not the most international of meetings. There is also a lack of attendance from certain scientists that carry out research in specific areas, like the retrovirologists and Herpes folk, who have their own meetings. Even so, ASV is a fun, casual meeting.
I have not attended ASV since I was an undergrad, so it was fun going through the motions this time around as a postdoc. I have also been very excited to get the opportunity to catch up with old friends from my grad school years. As such, I am happy to say that two great people I know from my graduate years, Tim and Mehul, gave fantastic talks during the first workshop of the day. Mehul was actually hooded right before me last year, so it was great seeing that he has gotten so much accomplished in only a year.
With my talk coming up tomorrow night at 800 pm, I must say that I am feeling a bit intimidated, which is unusual for me. I saw some very good talks today from very knowledgeable people, and I just hope that I can put up a decent show tomorrow. Good night from Ithaca.
I have not attended ASV since I was an undergrad, so it was fun going through the motions this time around as a postdoc. I have also been very excited to get the opportunity to catch up with old friends from my grad school years. As such, I am happy to say that two great people I know from my graduate years, Tim and Mehul, gave fantastic talks during the first workshop of the day. Mehul was actually hooded right before me last year, so it was great seeing that he has gotten so much accomplished in only a year.
With my talk coming up tomorrow night at 800 pm, I must say that I am feeling a bit intimidated, which is unusual for me. I saw some very good talks today from very knowledgeable people, and I just hope that I can put up a decent show tomorrow. Good night from Ithaca.
Thursday, July 3, 2008
On Heated Running
For those of you that like to exercise outdoors in the summer, here is an interesting article in the NY times about running in the heat. Luckily for me, I stay indoors and playing Xbox does not require me to break a sweat so I am exempt from sweating in the summer. OK, this is not entirely true, but I always thought that I was not well heat adapted as I sweat like nobody's business when I am out in the heat, but this may just mean that I am actually well adapted to the heat. Go figure.
Thursday, June 26, 2008
EPO
I know I should probably stop posting links to stories in the NY Times, but this one caught my eye. I am a big sports fan, and it is hard to ignore all the performance enhancing banter going on. This story, by Gina Kolata, is great because the basis for it is two scientific studies. What I am more interested in, however, is what the future holds.
I believe that the cheaters will be gaining ground on the anti-doping agencies. Recombinant technologies are getting fancier and better, partly driven by health-care industry. The National Institutes of Health is pushing hard for patient-targeted therapeutics, using genomic analysis of the diseases affecting an individual. As such, it is likely that in the near future, therapies and performance enhancing regimens will be tailored to the individual, making them harder to be detected. And we are not even talking about the day when genetic engineering goes mainstream. Yes, some day it will be possible to edit your DNA, whether for medical purposes or enhancing your performance.
In short, the future will be a scary place for ethics surrounding the athletic world.
I believe that the cheaters will be gaining ground on the anti-doping agencies. Recombinant technologies are getting fancier and better, partly driven by health-care industry. The National Institutes of Health is pushing hard for patient-targeted therapeutics, using genomic analysis of the diseases affecting an individual. As such, it is likely that in the near future, therapies and performance enhancing regimens will be tailored to the individual, making them harder to be detected. And we are not even talking about the day when genetic engineering goes mainstream. Yes, some day it will be possible to edit your DNA, whether for medical purposes or enhancing your performance.
In short, the future will be a scary place for ethics surrounding the athletic world.
Saturday, June 21, 2008
Legally Speaking, Duke Sucks
If there was any doubt about how much dook sucks, especially in the football field just read this article.
Let it be known that the courts agree that dook blows.
Let it be known that the courts agree that dook blows.
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
Vintage MJ
I was reading about this dunk, against the Maryland Terps, and even though most of you have seen it a zillion times here it is:
Going Bananas
I like bananas. They are very much portable, tasty, a good source of potassium and other vitamins, and fairly inexpensive. If you are like me, you would be bummed if bananas went missing at the grocery store. This may actually happen. Dan Koeppel wrote a book, and a very interesting piece in the NY Times about bananas.
When growing up I was a very picky eater, but I always found bananas to be good eats. In Mexico, my mother would frequently buy these little bananas called "Dominicos." They kind of look like the little bananas on the right of this picture. Nowadays, Nat and I frequently supplement our daily work lunches with an apple, a banana, and a yogurt. I wonder what we would eat otherwise if the bananas went missing?
When growing up I was a very picky eater, but I always found bananas to be good eats. In Mexico, my mother would frequently buy these little bananas called "Dominicos." They kind of look like the little bananas on the right of this picture. Nowadays, Nat and I frequently supplement our daily work lunches with an apple, a banana, and a yogurt. I wonder what we would eat otherwise if the bananas went missing?
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
Wisdom-less
Friday afternoon I had my four wisdom teeth removed. My top 2 wisdom teeth were fully out, and judging by the pain since, came out without much of a fight. My bottom left tooth, was poking out about a third of the way and my right one was coming at a 90 degree angle. As such, the place where my bottom two teeth used to be have been slower in healing, but at day 4 post surgery, I think I am moving in the right direction to full recovery. With my medical checkup coming up Friday morning, I think the top 4 things I will remember from my wisdom tooth surgery are:
1. Vomiting on the way home after the surgery. Since I had fasted since the night before, the vomit was all clear except for the gausses that had been wedged in my mouth and a bit of blood that came along for the ride. I am blaming the anesthesia in combination with a hot car ride.
2. Foreshadowing to Nat taking care of me when I am old and sick. My lovely wife took great care of me by making me lots of milkshakes and beverages, grabbing my meds, making soft foods, tending to me, and keeping me company.
3. Watching the Food Network on Saturday night was incredibly painful. Let's just say that when you cannot eat but soft foods, a TV show about BBQ sandwiches, fried chicken, etc. is incredibly painful to watch.
4. Playing lots of Xbox. As I was to limit my physical activity, I decided to spend a good chunk of my weekend playing Call of Duty 4 and Madden 08 on my Xbox 360. It was a great reminder that even though I am 28, I can still act like a 10 year old every now and again.
1. Vomiting on the way home after the surgery. Since I had fasted since the night before, the vomit was all clear except for the gausses that had been wedged in my mouth and a bit of blood that came along for the ride. I am blaming the anesthesia in combination with a hot car ride.
2. Foreshadowing to Nat taking care of me when I am old and sick. My lovely wife took great care of me by making me lots of milkshakes and beverages, grabbing my meds, making soft foods, tending to me, and keeping me company.
3. Watching the Food Network on Saturday night was incredibly painful. Let's just say that when you cannot eat but soft foods, a TV show about BBQ sandwiches, fried chicken, etc. is incredibly painful to watch.
4. Playing lots of Xbox. As I was to limit my physical activity, I decided to spend a good chunk of my weekend playing Call of Duty 4 and Madden 08 on my Xbox 360. It was a great reminder that even though I am 28, I can still act like a 10 year old every now and again.
Tuesday, June 3, 2008
Insurances
I was going to reply to Nate's comment about my meeting with a higher up about our postdoctoral insurance plan, but I figured I'd just post an entry to discuss some extra bits.
The meeting went ok, although I learned very little new information. As expected I was told that having the crappier health insurance, combined with a bigger paycheck, and lesser benefits was better or no worse than employee insurance.
What I learned was:
When one is getting paid through a training grant or fellowship, not taxes, social security, FICA, etc. is deducted. Also, the insurance is paid for by the overhead of the grant, so the individual has no monthly contributions to the health insurance deducted monthly. So the thinking is that, even though we don't get matched retirement (up to 5% by Vandy), disability benefits, dental, vision, or life insurance (which regular employees have deducted according to how much coverage they choose for themselves), we get extra monies every month that at the end of the year add up to about $3500 (off a $40K/year postdoc salary).
The thinking is that one can then take that extra money and invest it and that the returns would be equal or greater than a regular employee would get through their retirement. The catch on all of this is that this does not take into account if the person actually needs to use the insurance, to say get their wisdom teeth pulled, or some procedure that is not covered by the insurance. This specially stinks if itwould have been covered with the employee's insurance. This puts postdocs, especially those with kids, at a greater disadvantage by having to pay large sums of monies at once.
What really got me was the part when the higher ups were trying to argue that paying for a dental plan would not be smart because who really goes to the dentist? In other words, why pay for a monthly dental plan plus the premiums that you are not going to use, at least not all that often according to them. Another postdoc then mentioned that getting 2 dental cleanings and x-rays would offset the $120/year basic dental plan offered to employees. In my case, the $30/month plan (for Nat and myself) would have saved us about $1000, or half the cost of getting my teeth pulled:
Cost of surgery: $2000
Dental plan ($30/month): $360
Upper end premium for 4 wisdom teeth: ~$740
I do want to point out that this is not entirely Vandy's fault. The training grants and fellowships were created by Congress, and the way they were created, as training fellowships, prevents universities from deducting FICA from the pay. As such, universities cannot treat postdocs as employees. This especially hurts when the university, like Vandy, has very good benefits for its employees and makes the paltry postdoc insurance seem lame.
Lastly, one scary thing that was brought up is that our current insurance only covers up to $250K in medical expenses per person. While this number is quite large, I believe that certain medical treatments, although rare especially considering the age of most postdocs, could leave a postdoc in dire straights and with HUGE medical bills.
While I do not claim to be an insurance expert, I will say that these last few days have reinforced my belief in a nationwide insurance plan. I am even ok paying for other people to get treatment, even if they arose because of bad decision-making in their part, simply because I believe that if you spread the cost over a large number of people (a.k.a. the entire country), the cost to us individuals, financially, morally, and otherwise, would be a lot smaller.
Then again, I can always move to Canada.
The meeting went ok, although I learned very little new information. As expected I was told that having the crappier health insurance, combined with a bigger paycheck, and lesser benefits was better or no worse than employee insurance.
What I learned was:
When one is getting paid through a training grant or fellowship, not taxes, social security, FICA, etc. is deducted. Also, the insurance is paid for by the overhead of the grant, so the individual has no monthly contributions to the health insurance deducted monthly. So the thinking is that, even though we don't get matched retirement (up to 5% by Vandy), disability benefits, dental, vision, or life insurance (which regular employees have deducted according to how much coverage they choose for themselves), we get extra monies every month that at the end of the year add up to about $3500 (off a $40K/year postdoc salary).
The thinking is that one can then take that extra money and invest it and that the returns would be equal or greater than a regular employee would get through their retirement. The catch on all of this is that this does not take into account if the person actually needs to use the insurance, to say get their wisdom teeth pulled, or some procedure that is not covered by the insurance. This specially stinks if itwould have been covered with the employee's insurance. This puts postdocs, especially those with kids, at a greater disadvantage by having to pay large sums of monies at once.
What really got me was the part when the higher ups were trying to argue that paying for a dental plan would not be smart because who really goes to the dentist? In other words, why pay for a monthly dental plan plus the premiums that you are not going to use, at least not all that often according to them. Another postdoc then mentioned that getting 2 dental cleanings and x-rays would offset the $120/year basic dental plan offered to employees. In my case, the $30/month plan (for Nat and myself) would have saved us about $1000, or half the cost of getting my teeth pulled:
Cost of surgery: $2000
Dental plan ($30/month): $360
Upper end premium for 4 wisdom teeth: ~$740
I do want to point out that this is not entirely Vandy's fault. The training grants and fellowships were created by Congress, and the way they were created, as training fellowships, prevents universities from deducting FICA from the pay. As such, universities cannot treat postdocs as employees. This especially hurts when the university, like Vandy, has very good benefits for its employees and makes the paltry postdoc insurance seem lame.
Lastly, one scary thing that was brought up is that our current insurance only covers up to $250K in medical expenses per person. While this number is quite large, I believe that certain medical treatments, although rare especially considering the age of most postdocs, could leave a postdoc in dire straights and with HUGE medical bills.
While I do not claim to be an insurance expert, I will say that these last few days have reinforced my belief in a nationwide insurance plan. I am even ok paying for other people to get treatment, even if they arose because of bad decision-making in their part, simply because I believe that if you spread the cost over a large number of people (a.k.a. the entire country), the cost to us individuals, financially, morally, and otherwise, would be a lot smaller.
Then again, I can always move to Canada.
Thursday, May 29, 2008
Benefits of being a Postdoc
One B.S. degree in Microbiology and 1 Ph.D. in Microbiology and Immunology...$37,000 salary.
One competitive NIH fellowship awarded...downgraded medical coverage.
Twenty-eight years of not going faithfully to the dentist...4 wisdom teeth in need of removal.
Four wisdom teeth removal without medical coverage because I am a postdoc and have a piece of shit medical coverage because I am in a training grant...$1950.
Doing bench research at a quality institution...Priceless!
One competitive NIH fellowship awarded...downgraded medical coverage.
Twenty-eight years of not going faithfully to the dentist...4 wisdom teeth in need of removal.
Four wisdom teeth removal without medical coverage because I am a postdoc and have a piece of shit medical coverage because I am in a training grant...$1950.
Doing bench research at a quality institution...Priceless!
Tuesday, May 27, 2008
Claim to Fame
I know I have been seriously neglecting the blog, part of it has to do with me not having much to talk about except a bunch of crap science days that are starting to hit me so hard and fast I feel like I am playing Mike Tyson's Punch Out. But I digress. While I was in Atlanta visiting my sister, she mentioned that she had brought with her a bunch of pictures that were at my mom's place from my childhood years. Most of them are from my baby years all the way to when I was about 8 years old and they mostly provide a good way for me to reminisce about some fun trips and friendships that I lost between going to boarding school and landing here. One of the most amusing pictures is the one shown below.
I look to be about 6 or 7 years old in the picture (fourth from the left). The cool part about the picture is the kid that is standing to my right on the picture, or third kid from the left in the picture. His name is Gerardo Torrado. He is now a professional soccer player and a pretty good one at that. He has been playing for the Mexican National soccer team for the past few years (since 1999), accumulating 45 international caps. My memories of our shared soccer-playing days in grade school are limited to playing against his team as well as having the entire team try to keep him from touching the ball. He was one of the best kids playing soccer then, if I remember correctly, he was playing in more than one league from very early on. Not very exciting I know, but I feel good knowing that I was once on the same pitch as someone that now plays for the Mexican National soccer team
I look to be about 6 or 7 years old in the picture (fourth from the left). The cool part about the picture is the kid that is standing to my right on the picture, or third kid from the left in the picture. His name is Gerardo Torrado. He is now a professional soccer player and a pretty good one at that. He has been playing for the Mexican National soccer team for the past few years (since 1999), accumulating 45 international caps. My memories of our shared soccer-playing days in grade school are limited to playing against his team as well as having the entire team try to keep him from touching the ball. He was one of the best kids playing soccer then, if I remember correctly, he was playing in more than one league from very early on. Not very exciting I know, but I feel good knowing that I was once on the same pitch as someone that now plays for the Mexican National soccer team
Sunday, May 18, 2008
Turner Field
My oldest sister called me out of the blue a week ago to ask me how far Atlanta was from Nashville. It turns out that she was going to be in Atlanta for business, and asked if I would be willing to drive out to meet her. Thursday afternoon we were finalizing plans for me to go meet her when she asked if I wanted to go to a baseball game as the A's and Braves were playing a night interleague game.
As you all know by now, I love sports. I am a little too crazy about sports for my own good and I love going to new sports sites that I have not been to as much as going to sporting events. I have attended quite a few baseball games, although I have been limited to the D'Backs, Pirates, and Nationals park as well as the Durham Bulls park (AAA ball) and the Diablos Rojos the Mexico old park (Mexican league). I had not been to Turner Field and had had a generally negative view of Braves fans as an apathetic crowd after years of winning divisional pennants but only winning one World Series in 1995. Boy was I wrong and I should have known better (this link is a great review of most of today's MLB parks).
For starters, transportation to the stadium was fantastic. We were staying at a downtown hotel and took the Atlanta metro (MARTA) one stop where we were easily pointed to a shuttle going to the park by Braves employees at the metro stop. The metro, shuttle ride, as well as picking up our tickets from the friendliest Will-Call employee ever took 30 minutes. The park itself, which served as Olympic stadium for the 1996 games, and was redesigned a bit for baseball, is still very modern with good sight-lines, a great video board, decent concession stands with expensive, but not ridiculously expensive food including a good veggie burger (for those vegeterian readers) and a good jumbo dog. The park also has one thing that the Nationals park lacks a lot of, character. Coca-cola is ubiquitous in the stadium, and rightly so as they are headquartered there and Coke was born in Atlanta, and there are lots of history sprinkled around the stadium (divisional and WS pennants, tributes to Hank Aron, and so on). You actually feel like you are in THE Atlanta Braves park not a park that was built for just any team.
As for the fans themselves, they were completely the opposite of what I expected. Most people in the stadium were wearing Braves gear and seemed fairly knowledgeable about the game and the team, with Chipper Jones and Jeff Francoeur (Atlanta born) being fan faves. More so, fans were into the game, cheering, jeerings, doing the Tomahawk chop at several points in the game, and generally excited about the game. I am sure it helped the game itself was a good one and that the Braves pulled off a win after trailing 2-0 after 5 and half innings. Still, this was a regular season game against a team that there isn't a huge rivalry. I mean, forget they aren't in the same division, they are 3 time zones away! Despite all of that, and a fairly chilly spring night, the park was hopping with the intensity of a late September game.
As we were leaving the park to fireworks going off, I couldn't help but think that these Braves fans must be proud. They have a solid franchise that is serious about winning, with a solid park, and built around a very good fan base. Kudos Braves fans.
As you all know by now, I love sports. I am a little too crazy about sports for my own good and I love going to new sports sites that I have not been to as much as going to sporting events. I have attended quite a few baseball games, although I have been limited to the D'Backs, Pirates, and Nationals park as well as the Durham Bulls park (AAA ball) and the Diablos Rojos the Mexico old park (Mexican league). I had not been to Turner Field and had had a generally negative view of Braves fans as an apathetic crowd after years of winning divisional pennants but only winning one World Series in 1995. Boy was I wrong and I should have known better (this link is a great review of most of today's MLB parks).
For starters, transportation to the stadium was fantastic. We were staying at a downtown hotel and took the Atlanta metro (MARTA) one stop where we were easily pointed to a shuttle going to the park by Braves employees at the metro stop. The metro, shuttle ride, as well as picking up our tickets from the friendliest Will-Call employee ever took 30 minutes. The park itself, which served as Olympic stadium for the 1996 games, and was redesigned a bit for baseball, is still very modern with good sight-lines, a great video board, decent concession stands with expensive, but not ridiculously expensive food including a good veggie burger (for those vegeterian readers) and a good jumbo dog. The park also has one thing that the Nationals park lacks a lot of, character. Coca-cola is ubiquitous in the stadium, and rightly so as they are headquartered there and Coke was born in Atlanta, and there are lots of history sprinkled around the stadium (divisional and WS pennants, tributes to Hank Aron, and so on). You actually feel like you are in THE Atlanta Braves park not a park that was built for just any team.
As for the fans themselves, they were completely the opposite of what I expected. Most people in the stadium were wearing Braves gear and seemed fairly knowledgeable about the game and the team, with Chipper Jones and Jeff Francoeur (Atlanta born) being fan faves. More so, fans were into the game, cheering, jeerings, doing the Tomahawk chop at several points in the game, and generally excited about the game. I am sure it helped the game itself was a good one and that the Braves pulled off a win after trailing 2-0 after 5 and half innings. Still, this was a regular season game against a team that there isn't a huge rivalry. I mean, forget they aren't in the same division, they are 3 time zones away! Despite all of that, and a fairly chilly spring night, the park was hopping with the intensity of a late September game.
As we were leaving the park to fireworks going off, I couldn't help but think that these Braves fans must be proud. They have a solid franchise that is serious about winning, with a solid park, and built around a very good fan base. Kudos Braves fans.
Thursday, May 8, 2008
Return Labels
Let me start by saying I love the convenience of return labels. I love being able to put something in an envelope, quickly scribble the sender's address, slap on a self-adhesive stamp as well as a return label that already carries my name and home address. Good times.
Return labels usually come in through the mail unrequested from charities, professional organizations, universities, you name it. Most of the time, I have a good selection of return labels sitting around waiting to be used at my convenience, to the point where when new ones come in I can throw them away if I do not like the logo that comes with the label.
The issue now stems in that we only moved to Nashville last July, so my stash or return labels is rather thin. Since we moved out here my stash was mainly supported by a decent looking one from Progressive Insurance (which is not my insurance company) as well as some ok ones from, are you ready for this, the Greek Orthodox Church-that's right, the labels are sans JC but have a cross-which is extra funny because I am about as atheist as they come. My last set are these ones from St. Jude's Children's Hospital that have Ziggy...fucking Ziggy on them. Two things about Ziggy, if you put them on your return labels it basically guarantees that nobody in their right mind is going use them and if you are a charitable organization, it guarantees that you will not get any money in return. I mean, the only way these could be worse is if they had Hello Kitty on them (important note: if you click on the Hello Kitty sign be prepared to be attacked by an incredibly friendly cartoon).
I ran out of the Progressive labels back in November and have been using the shitty Ziggy ones for bills (I figured they don't care) or the Greek Orthodox Church ones. However, when I have sent stuff to friends and family I have been stealing Nat's labels from the ASPCA. Those labels are pretty cool. To the left of your name and address they have either the ASPCA logo or a picture of an animal. Pretty good stuff.
After having had enough of being in return label purgatory, and seeing that Nat's stash of return labels of quality keeps increasing, I did a shameful but utilitarian thing, I went on the ASPCA site and signed up to be on their mailing list hoping that they will find it in their hearts to send me some return labels. Besides, if the labels are cool enough, I may even promote their cause.
Return labels usually come in through the mail unrequested from charities, professional organizations, universities, you name it. Most of the time, I have a good selection of return labels sitting around waiting to be used at my convenience, to the point where when new ones come in I can throw them away if I do not like the logo that comes with the label.
The issue now stems in that we only moved to Nashville last July, so my stash or return labels is rather thin. Since we moved out here my stash was mainly supported by a decent looking one from Progressive Insurance (which is not my insurance company) as well as some ok ones from, are you ready for this, the Greek Orthodox Church-that's right, the labels are sans JC but have a cross-which is extra funny because I am about as atheist as they come. My last set are these ones from St. Jude's Children's Hospital that have Ziggy...fucking Ziggy on them. Two things about Ziggy, if you put them on your return labels it basically guarantees that nobody in their right mind is going use them and if you are a charitable organization, it guarantees that you will not get any money in return. I mean, the only way these could be worse is if they had Hello Kitty on them (important note: if you click on the Hello Kitty sign be prepared to be attacked by an incredibly friendly cartoon).
I ran out of the Progressive labels back in November and have been using the shitty Ziggy ones for bills (I figured they don't care) or the Greek Orthodox Church ones. However, when I have sent stuff to friends and family I have been stealing Nat's labels from the ASPCA. Those labels are pretty cool. To the left of your name and address they have either the ASPCA logo or a picture of an animal. Pretty good stuff.
After having had enough of being in return label purgatory, and seeing that Nat's stash of return labels of quality keeps increasing, I did a shameful but utilitarian thing, I went on the ASPCA site and signed up to be on their mailing list hoping that they will find it in their hearts to send me some return labels. Besides, if the labels are cool enough, I may even promote their cause.
Wednesday, May 7, 2008
Da Burgh and Traveling Through O'Hare
I just want to start by dispelling rumors that I have abandoned the blog. I have merely been taking a creative sabbatical to deal with basketball players jumping into inflatable pools, even if they are recovering from a torn ACL, as well as attending a wedding and a bachelor party.
The wedding was in Sharon, PA and included such amusing activities as going to karaoke night at the local Quaker Steak and Lube. I know this is going to sound incredibly snobby, but if you were ever going to go looking for your truck drivin', gun toatin', possum eatin', GOP votin' folk they'd be hanging out there. The place is decorated for the NASCAR lover, and although I know more than you would think about NASCAR because I do like car racing of all kinds, I think decorating your restaurant with car hoods and other car paraphernalia just takes things down a notch. That said, karaoke was pretty amusing.
The other quality event of the wedding, besides the event itself, was my dearest wife and her brother doing push-ups while we were all getting ready to leave (I will provide pictures of this soon). Let's just say it was pretty damn funny. I also got to drive Nat's aunts truck which was lots of fun. It is always amusing driving something that is twice as big as my Civic.
As for the bachelor trip to DC the most amusing part was flying through O'Hare. I know this goes without saying for you middle of the country folk, but that airport stinks if your goal is to arrive anywhere on time. My flight Friday morning was delayed at the runway in Nashville for 1 hour, followed by a 1 hour delay in the air, refueling stop at the tarmac in Indianapolis and further 1 hour delay. Luckily Nat told me by phone that American Airlines had canceled my morning flight to Reagan National but had rebooked me for a later flight without doing a thing. That little change made it possible for me to land at O'Hare 3 hours late and run to a gate, with enough time to grab a Kit Kat for lunch, and get to DC only 3 and half hours late.
In DC there was some semi-controlled debauchery and a trip to the Washington Nationals new ballpark. The park itself is pretty nice and has some nice views of the city, but overall it is just ok. The concession stands are well stocked with good food items, even though they are pricey as expected, but the park lacks that characteristic that makes it stand out from the rest of the parks and from the city itself. The HD and gigormous scoreboard is awesome but you don't get to enjoy its full capacity that much as replays are not shown nearly enough. All in all, the park on the outside fits into the city almost as yet another office building and inside it lacks that something that makes it unique.
On the way back I actually left National, which is an absolutely joy to fly into because you get the most amazing viewof the city, on time but I was delayed out of O'Hare on the way home. Not only that, the flight was overbooked by 5 people and the next flight was not until the next day. Now, the airplane only holds about 50 people, so that means that American overbooked the flight by 10%! That meant that those 5 people did not get home on time, even if they got a hotel stay and $250 voucher for their troubles, simply because the airline screwed up. Just not a good scenario.
I will end by saying that I was incredibly disappointed with the customer service provided by the American flight attendants. I am aware that their job is stressful, especially when flights are delayed, and especially when your job is on the line because of job losses in the industry left and right. However, none of these make it ok to be rude to costumers that have a request, especially when the request is being made in a courteous manner. At the end of the day, it is their job to make the costumer have a pleasant experience when they are using the airline. Being nasty at costumers is going to do nothing but drive them to other airlines, which will translate on more job problems for them.
The wedding was in Sharon, PA and included such amusing activities as going to karaoke night at the local Quaker Steak and Lube. I know this is going to sound incredibly snobby, but if you were ever going to go looking for your truck drivin', gun toatin', possum eatin', GOP votin' folk they'd be hanging out there. The place is decorated for the NASCAR lover, and although I know more than you would think about NASCAR because I do like car racing of all kinds, I think decorating your restaurant with car hoods and other car paraphernalia just takes things down a notch. That said, karaoke was pretty amusing.
The other quality event of the wedding, besides the event itself, was my dearest wife and her brother doing push-ups while we were all getting ready to leave (I will provide pictures of this soon). Let's just say it was pretty damn funny. I also got to drive Nat's aunts truck which was lots of fun. It is always amusing driving something that is twice as big as my Civic.
As for the bachelor trip to DC the most amusing part was flying through O'Hare. I know this goes without saying for you middle of the country folk, but that airport stinks if your goal is to arrive anywhere on time. My flight Friday morning was delayed at the runway in Nashville for 1 hour, followed by a 1 hour delay in the air, refueling stop at the tarmac in Indianapolis and further 1 hour delay. Luckily Nat told me by phone that American Airlines had canceled my morning flight to Reagan National but had rebooked me for a later flight without doing a thing. That little change made it possible for me to land at O'Hare 3 hours late and run to a gate, with enough time to grab a Kit Kat for lunch, and get to DC only 3 and half hours late.
In DC there was some semi-controlled debauchery and a trip to the Washington Nationals new ballpark. The park itself is pretty nice and has some nice views of the city, but overall it is just ok. The concession stands are well stocked with good food items, even though they are pricey as expected, but the park lacks that characteristic that makes it stand out from the rest of the parks and from the city itself. The HD and gigormous scoreboard is awesome but you don't get to enjoy its full capacity that much as replays are not shown nearly enough. All in all, the park on the outside fits into the city almost as yet another office building and inside it lacks that something that makes it unique.
On the way back I actually left National, which is an absolutely joy to fly into because you get the most amazing viewof the city, on time but I was delayed out of O'Hare on the way home. Not only that, the flight was overbooked by 5 people and the next flight was not until the next day. Now, the airplane only holds about 50 people, so that means that American overbooked the flight by 10%! That meant that those 5 people did not get home on time, even if they got a hotel stay and $250 voucher for their troubles, simply because the airline screwed up. Just not a good scenario.
I will end by saying that I was incredibly disappointed with the customer service provided by the American flight attendants. I am aware that their job is stressful, especially when flights are delayed, and especially when your job is on the line because of job losses in the industry left and right. However, none of these make it ok to be rude to costumers that have a request, especially when the request is being made in a courteous manner. At the end of the day, it is their job to make the costumer have a pleasant experience when they are using the airline. Being nasty at costumers is going to do nothing but drive them to other airlines, which will translate on more job problems for them.
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
End of a Legacy
Ramses, the UNC mascot, has been replaced by...Ramses' son Pablo. We had the pleasure of meeting Ramses at a Democratic party fundraiser (I snuck in) that was held at the farmhouse where Ramses lives.
I guess since his son is named Pablo, his mother must've been Hispanic, which means that we the people of Hispaniola are getting closer at taking over the US of A.
Note: the N&O story is not PG13 or vegetarian friendly as it talks about someone eating a ram.
I guess since his son is named Pablo, his mother must've been Hispanic, which means that we the people of Hispaniola are getting closer at taking over the US of A.
Note: the N&O story is not PG13 or vegetarian friendly as it talks about someone eating a ram.
Monday, April 21, 2008
Feist Sucks!
We attended this weekend the Vandy-sponsored Rites of Spring. For $20 we got to go Friday afternoon and Saturday evening to listen to a wide array of artists, none of which I was particularly fond of. Either way, after a hideous day of work for me (let's just say I had a beer with lunch) we walked over with blankets, beer, and raincoats in hand to the site of the concert. We were treated to a bit of Jeremy Lister (pretty generic) followed by Concord, NC natives The Avett Brothers, followed by a lot of rain that chased us home before Spoon (Nat really wanted to check them out) came on. I must say that The Avett Brothers were a good show and their music is pretty cool. I am currently listening to "Emotionalism" and I recommend it. It is a fun mix of Bluegrass, Blues, Punk, with a little spice here and there.
Saturday night we got there, with cloudy but dry skies, to a decent Grace Potter, who would prove to be the highlight of the night, Old Crow Medicine Show (ok Bluegrassy band with a high percentage of words in songs referencing drugs or drug use), followed by Feist (who was so horrible it is hard to imagine her lasting much longer). Actually Feist was so incredibly hideous that we called it a night halfway through her show. We missed the last act, Lil Jon, although word has it that he was almost as bad as Feist. Overall, it was a good time to hang out with friends and wife and listen to some music after a crappy work week, even if the music was not particularly good and mother nature decided to cry on us.
In the end I learned 4 things:
1. If you musical career took off mostly because of a solid marketing campaign by a computer maker chances are you suck at the music thing and should consider going back to college.
2. Female undergrads at Vanderbilt like to wear cowboy boots with dresses-is this normal or am I just old?
3. While people hate on Microsoft and Bill Gates and root for Apple and Steve Jobs, I must say that while I notice Apple selling iPods and Macs and giving away iPods at concerts they sponsor, Bill Gates gives away anti-HIV, malaria, etc. drugs and runs a quality foundation.
3. The Avett Brothers proved again that what I consider my home state, NC, is a hot bed for everything good...and yes, in my mind I am going to Carolina.
Saturday night we got there, with cloudy but dry skies, to a decent Grace Potter, who would prove to be the highlight of the night, Old Crow Medicine Show (ok Bluegrassy band with a high percentage of words in songs referencing drugs or drug use), followed by Feist (who was so horrible it is hard to imagine her lasting much longer). Actually Feist was so incredibly hideous that we called it a night halfway through her show. We missed the last act, Lil Jon, although word has it that he was almost as bad as Feist. Overall, it was a good time to hang out with friends and wife and listen to some music after a crappy work week, even if the music was not particularly good and mother nature decided to cry on us.
In the end I learned 4 things:
1. If you musical career took off mostly because of a solid marketing campaign by a computer maker chances are you suck at the music thing and should consider going back to college.
2. Female undergrads at Vanderbilt like to wear cowboy boots with dresses-is this normal or am I just old?
3. While people hate on Microsoft and Bill Gates and root for Apple and Steve Jobs, I must say that while I notice Apple selling iPods and Macs and giving away iPods at concerts they sponsor, Bill Gates gives away anti-HIV, malaria, etc. drugs and runs a quality foundation.
3. The Avett Brothers proved again that what I consider my home state, NC, is a hot bed for everything good...and yes, in my mind I am going to Carolina.
Sunday, April 6, 2008
Roy
One small bit from the Roy Williams press conference after our final four loss to Kansas. Hey, I may not be curing cancer, but he sure is right about not giving up. I love my Heels, in victory and defeat.
What did you tell the team when you down by so much in the first half?
“I guess the good news is I haven't had that many experiences like that. But I did tell them – I'm corny as all get out, guys. What we have here is every day - again, you can make fun of this if you wish - but what the doctors and scientists do that are trying to find a cure for cancer, they get hit right in the mouth every day because it's not there, but they keep going back to work to try to do it again the next day. And I'm so dadgum corny, I even used that with my team. I said, ‘Hey, we don't want those guys to give up. You can't drop your head and say, ‘Woe is me.’ We've got to keep playing.’
”I know our guys did. I know that's probably melodramatic or overly dramatic or whatever you want to call it. But that is, that's life. It's not all roses all the time. But you have to continue trying to do the absolute best you can do. So during that timeout, that's what I challenged them. I said, ‘We can't do anything about what's already gone on, but we can do something about the way we do it now and have some pride.’ You know, I really did, guys, down 17 at the half, I still thought we had a great chance, that we would be there at the very end to win the game.”
Friday, April 4, 2008
First time for everything
For the first time since I can remember, I will be watching a March Madness game that my Heels are involved in without a group of friends. The reason for this is a small conference that I will be attending. I guess it is the signs of growing up whenever you start having to do work-related stuffs in exchange for big sporting events. I am sure that soon enough I will be having to TiVo/DVR big basketball and football games due to work-related travel. Thankfully, that shouldn't be happening for a few years.
I know a lot has been written about growing old, and it seems silly to write about it when I am only in my late 20s, but it sure feels like time blows by. My oldest sister is a couple of years from turning 40, and that just seems crazy to me. Working in academic science also provides an interesting view point on aging. The Freshmen undergraduate classes do a really good job at staring you right down and letting you know that there are plenty of 18 year olds in the world.
Alas, I should leave this post on a positive note:
Go Heels!
I know a lot has been written about growing old, and it seems silly to write about it when I am only in my late 20s, but it sure feels like time blows by. My oldest sister is a couple of years from turning 40, and that just seems crazy to me. Working in academic science also provides an interesting view point on aging. The Freshmen undergraduate classes do a really good job at staring you right down and letting you know that there are plenty of 18 year olds in the world.
Alas, I should leave this post on a positive note:
Go Heels!
Monday, March 24, 2008
Blind Side
It's hard to tie the game when your arm(s) are being held back by the defensive player (courtesy of the LA Times with some help from our DIY at despair.com).
In what has to be the biggest story to follow with the UCLA men's basketball season, if not all of college basketball, the officiating in a UCLA game again favored the Bruins. It is one thing when bad calls fall both ways, but at least three horrendous calls (not including the blown call of the game winning shot that went over the backboard) have gone UCLA's way in game deciding plays. How on earth can so many game deciding plays favor one team? I am not suggesting a conspiracy, but maybe the officials ought to eliminate some of the bias towards said team. It is not uncommon for players to get calls all the time (think D-Wade in the NBA finals a few years back), but a whole team? This is ridiculous!
In what has to be the biggest story to follow with the UCLA men's basketball season, if not all of college basketball, the officiating in a UCLA game again favored the Bruins. It is one thing when bad calls fall both ways, but at least three horrendous calls (not including the blown call of the game winning shot that went over the backboard) have gone UCLA's way in game deciding plays. How on earth can so many game deciding plays favor one team? I am not suggesting a conspiracy, but maybe the officials ought to eliminate some of the bias towards said team. It is not uncommon for players to get calls all the time (think D-Wade in the NBA finals a few years back), but a whole team? This is ridiculous!
Saturday, March 22, 2008
Day 2 NCAAs
Some thoughts of day 2 of action at the Men's NCAA basketball tourney:
For starters, even though I did not catch the entire Heels game, that is the kind of win you want to start the tourney. I mean, it isn't every day when you hit the 101 mark with 4 mins to go and your scrubs end up playing 3+ minutes and Surry Wood gets an alley oop. Just crazy.
Although I think Arkansas may be playing better ball now, I sure am glad not to get Indiana in the 2nd round. Indiana may be struggling after the Sampson fiasco, but they have some crazy good players that I would not want to face in the 2nd round of the tourney.
I feel bad for Clemson choking away another big lead or maybe they just got caught by the 'Turmoil in Tampa'. I guess they just never figured out a way to close out games and this showed again. Once they tighten up it is all downhill. That and the abnormal number of treys from way the hell out they took.
The W. KY ending was crazy. I was following the game at work and got to catch the ending. I still cannot believe the shot that kid hit over 2 guys...or wait, was it 3 defenders?
The San Diego ending was just as crazy, with the added craziness that UConn looked horrid for a huge chunk of the game (even with AJ Price getting hurt). I guess I got used to watching us play because I am not used to missing lots of shots from 5 feet away where you don't even hit the basket. I thought the most telling point of the game, besides the game winning shot, was Calhoun calling a TO as one of his players was about to shoot a wide open three. Just not a pretty scene.
Vandy got destroyed by Siena. There have been some grumblings (not an expert but it goes to the point) before the tournament about Vandy being mostly good at home and mostly mediocre away from home. The home court advantage may have something to do wit the weird configuration of the court, where the team benches are at the end of the floor as opposed to the side.
Out of the first weekend, three out of the four #1 seeds just overpowered their opponent in the first game. The only one that didn't clobber the #16 seed was really Memphis. While a 87-63 win is clearly a butt kicking, Memphis just didn't run away with their game as badly as the other #1 seeds (Kansas, UCLA, UNC).
One last note. I hope Bobby Knight goes back to coaching, not only because he is a good basketball coach but also because he is completely life-less as a TV commentator. He rambles on and on and lacks the spice that always made him entertaining in press conferences.
Enjoy round 2 today and tomorrow.
For starters, even though I did not catch the entire Heels game, that is the kind of win you want to start the tourney. I mean, it isn't every day when you hit the 101 mark with 4 mins to go and your scrubs end up playing 3+ minutes and Surry Wood gets an alley oop. Just crazy.
Although I think Arkansas may be playing better ball now, I sure am glad not to get Indiana in the 2nd round. Indiana may be struggling after the Sampson fiasco, but they have some crazy good players that I would not want to face in the 2nd round of the tourney.
I feel bad for Clemson choking away another big lead or maybe they just got caught by the 'Turmoil in Tampa'. I guess they just never figured out a way to close out games and this showed again. Once they tighten up it is all downhill. That and the abnormal number of treys from way the hell out they took.
The W. KY ending was crazy. I was following the game at work and got to catch the ending. I still cannot believe the shot that kid hit over 2 guys...or wait, was it 3 defenders?
The San Diego ending was just as crazy, with the added craziness that UConn looked horrid for a huge chunk of the game (even with AJ Price getting hurt). I guess I got used to watching us play because I am not used to missing lots of shots from 5 feet away where you don't even hit the basket. I thought the most telling point of the game, besides the game winning shot, was Calhoun calling a TO as one of his players was about to shoot a wide open three. Just not a pretty scene.
Vandy got destroyed by Siena. There have been some grumblings (not an expert but it goes to the point) before the tournament about Vandy being mostly good at home and mostly mediocre away from home. The home court advantage may have something to do wit the weird configuration of the court, where the team benches are at the end of the floor as opposed to the side.
Out of the first weekend, three out of the four #1 seeds just overpowered their opponent in the first game. The only one that didn't clobber the #16 seed was really Memphis. While a 87-63 win is clearly a butt kicking, Memphis just didn't run away with their game as badly as the other #1 seeds (Kansas, UCLA, UNC).
One last note. I hope Bobby Knight goes back to coaching, not only because he is a good basketball coach but also because he is completely life-less as a TV commentator. He rambles on and on and lacks the spice that always made him entertaining in press conferences.
Enjoy round 2 today and tomorrow.
Sunday, March 9, 2008
Saturday, March 8, 2008
Let the Games Begin
With all that has happened to the UNC community on the days after the Eve Carson murder, it is hard to think about the UNC-dook game. Yet, the insatiable beast of time does not but slow down a bit, just a wee bit, just enough for us to gather our thoughts before it demands that we keep moving along. As such, there will be a brief moment of silence prior to tonight's game to honor Eve and to show the support of us as a community to her family and friends. I hope we can all use that small moment to honor Eve and to honor those around us that in present and past help us become better human beings. I also hope that we all use this brief moment of silence to reflect upon ourselves and find a way to continue the work of Eve Carson. I hope in her death our community grows stronger and learn to give back to those around us with as much abandon as she did.
And once that moment of silence is done, I do hope we beat dook. I hope.
And once that moment of silence is done, I do hope we beat dook. I hope.
Friday, March 7, 2008
Thursday, March 6, 2008
The Good Guys
Now it is time to talk about the good guys a little. I want to start off with this little excerpt about Marcus Ginyard. I know having a summer job doesn't mean he is a good guy, but how many DI players do you know get out of their way to hold a summer job? That's what I thought The story was off the N&O but I cannot find the original article.
CHAPEL HILL - North Carolina's basketball season ended more than a month ago. But three nights a week on this town's crowded streets, sophomore Marcus Ginyard is still doing what he does best: working.
"Gotta go, gotta get there fast," Ginyard said Thursday evening, grabbing two tortilla wrap orders, racing to his 1995 pea-green-and-black Caprice Classic, and navigating toward South Campus. "People want their food fresh."
These days, it isn't the game that's on the line, but the tips. Ginyard, a player known for his defense and hustle, averaged 4.1 points per game last season. He's currently averaging about $2 a delivery.
Ginyard is one of only roughly 50 Tar Heel scholarship athletes -- out of about 700 getting a full or partial ride -- who work part-time while carrying a full course load and maintaining a rigorous workout schedule.
He started as a delivery guy for Franklin Street-based [B]Ski's Tortilla Wrap Grill after hoops season to save some extra rent money because he and several teammates are moving into a 3,100-square-foot house off campus. While earning minimum wage ($6.15 an hour) plus tips, he says he's learning something else: responsibility.
"It's kind of like practice: You have to be there on time, you have to be ready to work, and you have to be a member of the team,'' Ginyard said, cranking up the country music after being no-tipped on one delivery and pocketing $3 on the second. "And for me, I enjoy it, because I like talking to people, meeting people, surprising people."
PS-my condolences go to the family and friends of Eve Carson, UNC student body prez who was killed yesterday.
CHAPEL HILL - North Carolina's basketball season ended more than a month ago. But three nights a week on this town's crowded streets, sophomore Marcus Ginyard is still doing what he does best: working.
"Gotta go, gotta get there fast," Ginyard said Thursday evening, grabbing two tortilla wrap orders, racing to his 1995 pea-green-and-black Caprice Classic, and navigating toward South Campus. "People want their food fresh."
These days, it isn't the game that's on the line, but the tips. Ginyard, a player known for his defense and hustle, averaged 4.1 points per game last season. He's currently averaging about $2 a delivery.
Ginyard is one of only roughly 50 Tar Heel scholarship athletes -- out of about 700 getting a full or partial ride -- who work part-time while carrying a full course load and maintaining a rigorous workout schedule.
He started as a delivery guy for Franklin Street-based [B]Ski's Tortilla Wrap Grill after hoops season to save some extra rent money because he and several teammates are moving into a 3,100-square-foot house off campus. While earning minimum wage ($6.15 an hour) plus tips, he says he's learning something else: responsibility.
"It's kind of like practice: You have to be there on time, you have to be ready to work, and you have to be a member of the team,'' Ginyard said, cranking up the country music after being no-tipped on one delivery and pocketing $3 on the second. "And for me, I enjoy it, because I like talking to people, meeting people, surprising people."
PS-my condolences go to the family and friends of Eve Carson, UNC student body prez who was killed yesterday.
Wednesday, March 5, 2008
UNC Basketball Mailbag
We take a brief break on the [cheater] dookie bashing to bring you this Q&A from the UNC Basketball Mailbag from Tarheelblue. And yes, I am extra stoked that this came out and that Q and Surry Wood had a nice game against Florida St.
I have a quick stats question about Tyler's FT shooting. I know he has been to the FT line more than any other Tar Heel and that he shoots around 77% from the line, which is pretty darn good. The only time he seems to show that he gets tired is when he is shooting FTs while winded, as expected. My question is, does the FT shooting % for Tyler vary from 1st to 2nd halves or when he has played more minutes? I know this is not a direct way to measure that statistic but I figured this may shed some light.
Bernardo
UNC Alum Class 2007
Nashville, TN
I have a quick stats question about Tyler's FT shooting. I know he has been to the FT line more than any other Tar Heel and that he shoots around 77% from the line, which is pretty darn good. The only time he seems to show that he gets tired is when he is shooting FTs while winded, as expected. My question is, does the FT shooting % for Tyler vary from 1st to 2nd halves or when he has played more minutes? I know this is not a direct way to measure that statistic but I figured this may shed some light.
Bernardo
UNC Alum Class 2007
Nashville, TN
Lauren writes: On the season, Hansbrough has made 113-of-133 free throws (85%) in the first half of games and 127-of-163 (77.9%) in the second half. He has also made 11-of-14 free throws (78.6%) in the four overtime periods Carolina has played in. He missed both attempts in the first overtime game at Clemson and has since made 11-of-12. In ACC play alone, Hansbrough has made 54-of-62 free throws in the first half (87.1%) and 64-of-84 in the second half (76.2%).
All of those percentages are good, but it does seem to be true that Hansbrough starts to lose his legs a bit at the line. In Carolina's six blowout ACC wins, Hansbrough has shot 33-of-40 from the foul line in the second half (82.5%) but in Carolina's eight close or overtime games, he has shot 42-of-58 (72.4%) in the second half and overtimes. In the second half alone of those close contests, he has shot 31-of-44 (70.5%).
Rebounding would be another sign of weak legs, though, and that has not been a weak point for Hansbrough in either half. The fewest rebounds he has had in the second half of an ACC game this season is two; in seven of 14 second halves in ACC play, he has five or more rebounds (including 11 in the second half against duke). He also has a ridiculous 14 rebounds in four overtime periods (20 minutes), or 0.7 rebounds per minute. Turnovers might also be a sign of fatigue - in ACC play, Hansbrough has 17 first-half turnovers compared to 13 second-half turnovers. He has just one overtime turnover. On the season, he has 34 first-half turnovers to 28 second-half turnovers. His steals also go up from the first to second half in ACC play, from six total first-half steals to 15 second-half steals and one overtime steal.
Hansbrough has failed to shoot 50% or higher from the field in just 11 first halves in 29 games this season. Of those 11, he turned it around and shot 50% or better in the second half eight times. The Boston College game Saturday snapped a six-game streak of shooting at least 50% in the first half and an 11-game streak of shooting at least 50% in one half.
He has failed to shoot at least 50% from the field in the second half in just nine of 29 games this season. He has shot 59.2% from the field on the season in the second half compared to 52% in the first half. Since ACC play began, Hansbrough has improved his point totals from the first to the second half in seven of 15 games. The biggest improvement came at Miami - he scored just eight points in the first half and went off for 27 in the second half. He has also had at least one double-digit half in each of the last seven games.
That kind of improvement just shows what kind of will Hansbrough has, as if Carolina fans needed additional evidence. But what shows the kind of steadiness that causes the fans and the media alike to sometimes take him for granted is this:
(In ACC play)
1st half: 11.6 points per game, 5.4 rebounds per game
2nd half: 11.4 points per game, 5.0 rebounds per game
Tuesday, March 4, 2008
He [the king of the cheaters] is a classy guy
When I think of a class act I always think of this guy before anyone else. Then again, would a class act say this about his player smashing his elbow on an opposing player's face? And defend a player that stomped on a defender's chest? Again, when thinking classy guys and classy institution shouldn't we always refer to dook first?
But seriously, if you wanted to have one guy teach your kid about how to behave in and out of the court, I think THIS GUY is really your guy. No, really, he is your guy. The guy won't even curse in front of your kids.
Addendum:
I saw this in the quotes from Roy's weekly radio show and it cracked me up:
On the team's superstitions -
"I've gotten a lot better - I'm better than I used to be. I used to be really superstitious and I guess I still am compared to most people. I walked today, found a penny that was head up and I put it in my pocket. At North Carolina State I found a penny during the day and a quarter in State's locker room. ... There are a lot of silly things that we do. Steve Robinson goes into the locker room during pregame warmups at the 13:00 mark ... If I wear a new suit or new tie and we get beat, you ain't ever going to see me wear that at another basketball game ... We've got all kinds of little crazy stuff. Never get a haircut on game day. With the Olympic Team, Larry Brown and Greg Popavich got a haircut on game day and we lost to Germany in an exhibition game and I told them it was their fault."
But seriously, if you wanted to have one guy teach your kid about how to behave in and out of the court, I think THIS GUY is really your guy. No, really, he is your guy. The guy won't even curse in front of your kids.
Addendum:
I saw this in the quotes from Roy's weekly radio show and it cracked me up:
On the team's superstitions -
"I've gotten a lot better - I'm better than I used to be. I used to be really superstitious and I guess I still am compared to most people. I walked today, found a penny that was head up and I put it in my pocket. At North Carolina State I found a penny during the day and a quarter in State's locker room. ... There are a lot of silly things that we do. Steve Robinson goes into the locker room during pregame warmups at the 13:00 mark ... If I wear a new suit or new tie and we get beat, you ain't ever going to see me wear that at another basketball game ... We've got all kinds of little crazy stuff. Never get a haircut on game day. With the Olympic Team, Larry Brown and Greg Popavich got a haircut on game day and we lost to Germany in an exhibition game and I told them it was their fault."
Monday, March 3, 2008
This is why, this is why, this is why you suck
Not PG 13 and there is a lot of cursing but always enjoyable and says a lot about the [cheaters] dookies.
Sunday, March 2, 2008
The Flop
In part two of the weekly series on [cheating] dookies we have the highly entertaining Greg "Tea Bag" Paulus. Greg's biggest accomplishment was helping UNC lure his little brother to play QB at the Chapel on the Hill. For that, Greg, we thank you.
Saturday, March 1, 2008
Once a [cheater] dookie, always a [cheater] dookie
With one week to go before the rematch between UNC and the dookies this Saturday night in the itty-bitty-tiny shed called cameron indoor, I thought it would be a good time to point out this story in the NY Times (an impartial source to the UNC-dook rivalry I may add). I just love it when dookies go [cheat] through life and act like they are just doing it because everyone else is too. As a matter of fact I wouldn't be at all surprised if a dookie-run team starts a cycling team or a team that employs the likes of Barry "Big Head" Bonds and Roger "shot o'roids" Clemens. Let the fireworks begin!
Note: the one dookie that gets a reprieve because I think he is a good guy and I am sure this happened after he drank water from certain well on the Hill is Jay Bilas.
Note: the one dookie that gets a reprieve because I think he is a good guy and I am sure this happened after he drank water from certain well on the Hill is Jay Bilas.
Tuesday, February 26, 2008
Sweet boring life
Nothing much to report on my end, which really means things have been moving along just fine. Nat turns 31 on Thursday and we are going here to celebrate. Beyond that the front end of our year will be loaded with friends coming over, us going to friends and family getting married, and the ever entertaining science meetings. Somewhere in there we hope to watch our Carolina sports teams win a championship or two, or three.
Just about the only thing other thing of interest is the epidemic hitting Nashville of women, I guess there could have been a few dudes too but that is another issue, that like to drive while doing their makeup in the morning and, on special occasions, while on the phone.
Oh, and I recently learned that macaques can jump up to about 16.4 feet.
Just about the only thing other thing of interest is the epidemic hitting Nashville of women, I guess there could have been a few dudes too but that is another issue, that like to drive while doing their makeup in the morning and, on special occasions, while on the phone.
Oh, and I recently learned that macaques can jump up to about 16.4 feet.
Sunday, February 17, 2008
Just For Dawg
Is your home dawg going gray? Is her butt sniffing taking a hit because her muzzle is going gray? Does he or she spend extra time grooming that gray fur? If your answer is yes to any of these questions, it may be time for you to try "Just for Dawg." Just for Dawg has been unscientifically proven to remove gray fur in minutes and it can be yours for only $2.99. If you bark now, we will even throw a bag of kibble at no cost.
Disclaimer: this message was not approved by the Mainou-Thornburg dawg association (MTDA).
Thursday, February 14, 2008
Happy VD!
Since I have nothing much to say except that I love snow, especially when it comes down during the day, here's another funny YouTube video:
Wednesday, February 6, 2008
Monday, February 4, 2008
Tyler Hansbrough-PG
Things have been slow so I have been lagging behind on my writing here. I did see this off the Roy Williams Monday press conference that I thought was interesting:
"On any other players that could slide over to the point guard spot:
“We worked Tyler Hansbrough there last week for a couple of possessions so we’ll have to see if he can handle it or not… He really did good. You think I’m lying, but we put him in for one play just to lighten the mood at practice the other day. We put him at the point and let him bring the ball across the court. We even kept a defensive point guard on him, so he didn’t get it stolen and he brought it across and he could do was giggle the whole time. So I think if he did it during a game, he would probably lose the giggling part.”"
I am not sure I like our chances against the damn dookies if Tyler is playing the point, but I guess I am not completely surprised. On the other hand, I feel like Q is having his best stretch in the team, I mean, he is even shooting the ball somewhat well. If he can just cut down on the plays like the awful layup he did at the end of regulation in the Florida St. game we'll be ok.
"On any other players that could slide over to the point guard spot:
“We worked Tyler Hansbrough there last week for a couple of possessions so we’ll have to see if he can handle it or not… He really did good. You think I’m lying, but we put him in for one play just to lighten the mood at practice the other day. We put him at the point and let him bring the ball across the court. We even kept a defensive point guard on him, so he didn’t get it stolen and he brought it across and he could do was giggle the whole time. So I think if he did it during a game, he would probably lose the giggling part.”"
I am not sure I like our chances against the damn dookies if Tyler is playing the point, but I guess I am not completely surprised. On the other hand, I feel like Q is having his best stretch in the team, I mean, he is even shooting the ball somewhat well. If he can just cut down on the plays like the awful layup he did at the end of regulation in the Florida St. game we'll be ok.
Monday, January 28, 2008
Boeuf
This article on the NY Times is pretty interesting. It talks about some serious issues associated with mass production farming of livestock. My favorite part is that in the future we may be eating tissue culture beef. Yuuuuummmmmy!
For those of you that are of the vegetarian variety, let me thank you in advance for saving energy for all of us.
PS- if you find this stuff interesting Nat is reading the Omnivore's Dilemma and she loves it.
For those of you that are of the vegetarian variety, let me thank you in advance for saving energy for all of us.
PS- if you find this stuff interesting Nat is reading the Omnivore's Dilemma and she loves it.
Sunday, January 27, 2008
Of Mice and Men
Let me get started by saying that I am for animal research. Animal research, when done properly, is absolutely necessary to develop compounds before they reach human patients. It is just too hard to figure out how a compound will work in a whole living system by simply using tissue culture models, computer models, etc.
That said, I believe that the research establishment greatly abuses the use of animals. For starters, I can name several instances by several labs where experiments were badly planned and animals, mostly rodents here, had to be sacked. Rodent colonies are not always maintained thoroughly resulting in rodent offspring that needs to be sacked because of negligence.
Another aspect of animal research that I don't think receives enough attention is whether certain types of research should be doing animal research. An example of this is basic research on biologic agents that have no foreseeable use to improve the standard of life of humans or other living organisms. While scientists argue that basic research is necessary to fuel the therapies of tomorrow, and this is a fair argument, I find it that fairly often scientists rush to the rodent to determine if there is something of interest. It also drives me crazy when animal experiments are carried out to simply fill out a figure for a scientific paper.
While I do not advocate the stop of animal research and I am no fan of PETA, I do think that scientists need to do a better job at making sure that animals are treated as living organisms that can feel and sense pain rather than just as an assay that can be easily disposed of if something comes up.
That said, I believe that the research establishment greatly abuses the use of animals. For starters, I can name several instances by several labs where experiments were badly planned and animals, mostly rodents here, had to be sacked. Rodent colonies are not always maintained thoroughly resulting in rodent offspring that needs to be sacked because of negligence.
Another aspect of animal research that I don't think receives enough attention is whether certain types of research should be doing animal research. An example of this is basic research on biologic agents that have no foreseeable use to improve the standard of life of humans or other living organisms. While scientists argue that basic research is necessary to fuel the therapies of tomorrow, and this is a fair argument, I find it that fairly often scientists rush to the rodent to determine if there is something of interest. It also drives me crazy when animal experiments are carried out to simply fill out a figure for a scientific paper.
While I do not advocate the stop of animal research and I am no fan of PETA, I do think that scientists need to do a better job at making sure that animals are treated as living organisms that can feel and sense pain rather than just as an assay that can be easily disposed of if something comes up.
Wednesday, January 23, 2008
It's all about the food
Next time you are trying to understand the sub-prime mortgage mess, just think in terms of Mexican food. At least that is what Hillary decided to do when talking to a group of Hispanics prior to the Vegas primary. Here's the quote:
"Clinton said unscrupulous lending leads to bad mortgages, which lead to foreclosures, which lead to people with nowhere to go and vacant neighborhoods that can go rapidly downhill.
"We treat these problems as if one is guacamole and one is chips, when ... they both go together," she said.""
Wednesday, January 16, 2008
D.R. Thornburg
Rest in Peace D.R. Thornburg.
I promise to take care, respect, and love your daughter with abandon.
I promise to take care, respect, and love your daughter with abandon.
Monday, January 14, 2008
twelve
12. Cowboys start the game missing tackles (Giants up 0-7).
11. Game tied up after a nice drive and Romo-TO TD (7-7).
10. 20 play-10+ minute drive has me relaxed and happy, maybe things are different this year (14-7).
9. Incredibly give up a TD before the half with the Giants scoring in about 30 s (14-14).
8. Stay positive, stay positive, stay positive.
7. First drive of the half stalls and settle for FG (17-14). Note: last points of season.
6. Giants score what will be game winning TD on a drive that started at midfield thanks to special teams (17-21) and right after Patrick Crayton drops a pass on 3rd down.
5. O-line falls apart and Romo start to look exasperated at the lack of protection.
4. D-stops Giants twice.
3. Cowboys offense can't get it done and game ends with INT.
2. Pain. Rejection. Another season.............flush!!!!!
1. 12 years without a playoff win
11. Game tied up after a nice drive and Romo-TO TD (7-7).
10. 20 play-10+ minute drive has me relaxed and happy, maybe things are different this year (14-7).
9. Incredibly give up a TD before the half with the Giants scoring in about 30 s (14-14).
8. Stay positive, stay positive, stay positive.
7. First drive of the half stalls and settle for FG (17-14). Note: last points of season.
6. Giants score what will be game winning TD on a drive that started at midfield thanks to special teams (17-21) and right after Patrick Crayton drops a pass on 3rd down.
5. O-line falls apart and Romo start to look exasperated at the lack of protection.
4. D-stops Giants twice.
3. Cowboys offense can't get it done and game ends with INT.
2. Pain. Rejection. Another season.............flush!!!!!
1. 12 years without a playoff win
Friday, January 11, 2008
Who's your daddy?
I am not sure whether to laugh or shake my head at this clip. It helps if you know what PCR is.
And on a serious note, I found this piece on the Kenyan election mess very interesting, especially as if comes from a different point-of-view, which is refreshing in this day and age of oversaturation by the media.
And on a serious note, I found this piece on the Kenyan election mess very interesting, especially as if comes from a different point-of-view, which is refreshing in this day and age of oversaturation by the media.
Wednesday, January 2, 2008
Not all balls are for chewing
Our good friends Nate and Steph were kind enough to send our two dogs (a.k.a. The Girls) a pair of dog chew toys they felt were too large for their Porky-Yorky Riley. The toys were chocolate-flavored tennis balls. While I didn't think the girls would mind either way, they were both fairly interested in the toys and about 5 minutes after opening the package, Phoebe had already split one of them in half. What you can see in the picture above is the remaining piece of the tennis ball, appropriately labeled in case the dog may want to check halfway through the chew cycle what flavor tennis ball he/she had gotten.
Tuesday, January 1, 2008
Happy 2008 Everyone!
Best wishes to everyone for the year that started about 9 hours ago for us in the central time zone.
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