- 12:34 PM
- 11/21/24
"The bill passed on a voice vote, with the only dissent from Rep. John Barrow, D-Ga., who said Congress has better things to do." Can we fix the auto-comment insertion feature? It's redundant.
Joe Barton's salary is a clear example of government waste.
posted by joaquim at 01:32 PM on December 10, 2009
I'm thrilled that you seem to think you've got a handle on how to replace the experience of being there with, uh, "sense" Happy to add to your joy of life. It's too bad you didn't actually understand what I wrote or it may have been even better for you. As for the irreplaceability of your "experience of being there":
1) Can you breathe in the vacuum of space? How do you know if you've never experienced being there? 2) Was being gassed and burned at Auschwitz a good or bad thing? How do you know if you never experienced being there? 3) Did Chamberlain score 100 points in a game? Did he sleep with thousands of women? Were you there?
Basing an assessment of the greatest impact to a particular activity solely on what you've personally witnessed is foolish. It would be like considering Bill Gates a greater scientist than Isaac Newton simply because you weren't alive when Newton was alive. We have the capability of studying history and learning from it, so we should use that capability rather than relying exclusively on knee-jerk reactions to personal experience.
"Grey hair does not confer wisdom." - Thoreau "Thoreau was a pussy" - Chuck Norris
posted by joaquim at 11:18 AM on November 16, 2009
By that reasoning, your twenty-something's choice of greatest president is limited to Reagan, Clinton, Obama, and a couple of Bushes. Ta-ta, Lincoln. Don't even turn around, Washington. (And believe it or not, I wasn't around to vote for either of them.)
Instead of defending your slack-jawed, dull-minded, self-centered, low-attention-span-having youngsters, maybe you should be trying to get some sense into them.
posted by joaquim at 05:49 PM on November 14, 2009
When he was in college, the NCAA introduced the goaltending rule to counter George Mikan's dominance of the game. When he was in the NBA, they had to widen the lane for the same reason. Later, the shot clock was introduced because other teams were slowing the game down to keep the ball away from Mikan. One man: three fundamental rule changes. Oh, and as commissioner of the ABA, he introduced the 3-point line.
His Lakers won 5 of the first 6 NBA championships and he won a couple more in the NBL and BAA before the NBA was formed. He was voted the greatest player of the first half of the 20th century by the AP.
Jordan was the best I've ever seen, but I've got to say that Mikan had more impact on the game. Maybe Lebron needs to study some history.
posted by joaquim at 09:39 PM on November 13, 2009
he wiped it off and then the very next play was when he smeared it on Ealey's face. look at the footage. Actually, he stored it on the grassy knoll after the first play, then had one of the cameraman from the moon landing put it in a black helicopter on its way to bomb the Pentagon on behalf of the New World Order. The helicopter hovers at 80,000 feet above the field while a man in an invisibility suit climbs down a rope and gives the spit back to Spikes. look at the footage.
posted by joaquim at 12:01 PM on November 03, 2009
Would there be an issue with some of the other features of an iPod (Pedometer, FM radio)?
I'm not at all familiar with marathon rules (taxies and Uzis are not allowed, right?), so it could be that anything goes. I can see the FM radio feature being used to receive information about the other runners in the race, but then again it could be within the rules for a coach to use a megaphone or hold up signs to provide the same info.
posted by joaquim at 12:40 PM on October 09, 2009
back in '82 it was a joke, now it is reality Let's do some math. I'll try to keep it simple:
Male: The US Female/Male ratio in 2000 was approximately 51/49, so males as a whole are a minority. The 51/49 ratio has been true for a while.
White: I'm assuming you're talking about those who identify themselves as white alone. In 2000, that was 75% of the population. 75% of 49% is approximately 36%. The preponderance of whites in the US population also has not changed enough over the last few decades to make a difference in the calculations we're performing here. (Anything less than 100% white makes that 49% shrink; there is no number outside of Glenn Beck's head that would make it grow.)
Conservative: A little bit harder to pin down. We'll be generous and call it a 50/50 split. 50% of 36% is 18%.
So, conservative white males make up roughly 18% of the population. I did not see any indications that the CWM segment dropped from 51% to 18% in the last 50 years, so the "new" minority claim is just hyperbole. What's new is the tendency of the extremists on either side of the spectrum to portray themselves as an oppressed minority.
posted by joaquim at 12:03 PM on October 07, 2009
See what happens when Americans try a little gentle sarcasm? Is it because we're the only ones dumb enough to think sarcasm works when written in plain text?
posted by joaquim at 02:20 PM on September 14, 2009
Say what you will about Favre and no matter where he plays, we Packer fans will never forget our Bert...Brent...Bart. Whatever.
posted by joaquim at 01:17 PM on July 07, 2009
I have this image of several dozen pink-clad women stapling a "fishing hat" to his head, shoving some fishing poles up his ass, and throwing him overboard several miles off the California coast during a Mother's Day fishing tour. I like this image. It soothes me. It needs sharks, though.
posted by joaquim at 12:25 PM on June 16, 2009
I don't quite see the point of a double retirement like this. If you're the first guy who wore the number and they didn't retire it when you retired, it's almost an insult for them to include you in the ceremony at the later retirement. If you're the second guy, it's like the team is saying the number would not have been retired if only you had worn it.
If neither player is considered individually good enough to have the number retired, then the retirement ceremony is honoring a number that's significant in the history of the team, not honoring the players.
posted by joaquim at 11:31 AM on March 25, 2009
In one respect, Wilt's record of never fouling out of an NBA game simply can't be broken because, well -- he never fouled out. Someone can match that, but the "never" part prohibits any more than a tie.
OTOH, the record could be considered broken if anyone plays more games than Wilt without fouling out.
posted by joaquim at 11:33 AM on March 05, 2009
As for running up the score, tough shit. Covenant came to play the game, not roll over and do nothing for the second half.
They reached the 100-point mark with 4 minutes left in the game, so maybe they came just to play 28 minutes and then roll over and do nothing. Or maybe it was that 100-point mark that mattered. It certainly wasn't just a matter of winning the game since they were still playing a full-court press and shooting 3s when the outcome was no longer in doubt.
I would have some empathy for the Covenant team if there were more than 6 players. It's always difficult to put in substitutes and tell them not to play the game to the best of their ability. With 6 players, however, everyone is getting PT and there is absolutely no excuse for what happened here.
If Dallas Academy's coach didn't prepare his team for the very real possibility of a royal asskicking, that's his fault.
Please read this. It would seem that the coach and the girls from Dallas Academy have very good understanding of the values of high school athletics.
It's not like they are special needs kids that have autism and things like that.
"...and things like that"? What would be your learned and expert assessment of things that are like autism? Please provide a list of "things like that" that are below the cutoff line -- you know, so we can identify the "handicap kids".
posted by joaquim at 09:38 PM on January 23, 2009
This lawsuit would not exist if Alabama had won. If this clown is so concerned about the unfairness he perceives in the BCS, why didn't he file years ago? This is a political stunt, just like Joe Barton's proposed legislation.
posted by joaquim at 01:13 PM on January 07, 2009
One of the effects of the 32 minute game with no shot clock is that it lets the team with lesser offensive power remain competitive. More game time and a shot clock would give the offensive juggernaut that many more chances to score. (A 40 minute game with a 24 second clock means they would be guaranteed at least 50 possessions.)
High school is probably the first time when these kids will be learning team fundamentals rather than individual skill fundamentals. The two most important team fundamentals? Defense and passing. Those aren't exactly the components of run-and-gun, especially when the kids are still learning.
There is a difference between the high school and college games, to be sure. However, there's a transition period already in place. It's called freshman year. High school is the last time many of these kids will have a chance to play basketball. The game becomes something else at the college level that takes more dedication and time than their skill sets warrant. If the author of the article was a better coach, he might understand that what he's involved in is two-fold: a game for kids to play and a test to see who goes on to the next level. If it's changed to benefit the latter, the former (who are the majority, BTW) will suffer.
posted by joaquim at 02:42 PM on December 31, 2008
We don't need field goals. If teams can't get in the end zone, they don't deserve to score. My plan is to not count field goals in the final score if the team hasn't scored some other way -- touchdown, safety, extra point (awarded if they run back the other team's PAT attempt). No more 9-7 games (this would revert to 7-0 when the field goals are removed).
You can kick field goals all game long, but you'd better be able to make them safe by scoring some other way. Imagine the change in dynamics and tactics if your team is leading 12-7 towards the end of the game and needs the TD.
Overtimes would also have to be settled with a TD or a safety -- no more getting the ball on the 20 and moving 40 yards before kicking a FG to win.
posted by joaquim at 03:39 PM on December 22, 2008
wfrazerj, I took the info about the team's record as an indication that the team has been affected by the incident and is no longer functioning as well as they had in the past. If the town is divided about culpability, the team probably is, too.
posted by joaquim at 11:48 AM on September 25, 2008
But any doctor who doesn't connect concussions with long-term effects should be ashamed of themselves. Any doctor who connects any effect to any cause without proper research is a quack. (Before anyone gets started: I think that repeated concussions have long-term effects. I still require some research before I would state that as a fact.)
"I shouldn't have to prove to anybody that there's something wrong with me." Does he mean that should be an assumption?
posted by joaquim at 11:40 AM on September 25, 2008
This is great news. If they want our money learn our lanquage. This should be a lesson to our government. Make english our official lanquage. You keep using this "our" word. I don't think it means what you think it means. (Unless you're including yourself in that set of small-minded bigots that raise themselves up on their furry hind legs and start bleating every time a question of language comes up.)
posted by joaquim at 11:36 AM on August 27, 2008
I have a better idea: Put a guy on second base, then let the batter throw the ball anywhere he likes in fair territory. Runner on second has to score or that half of the inning is over. Or: put men on all three bases and give them gloves along with the batter. Give the defense bats. The offense has to throw the ball around the horn without it being hit into fair territory by the defense. If it's hit foul, start the throws from the next base. Every time around the horn counts as a run; every time it's stopped counts as an out. Or: Give the batter a foam bat. Put a man halfway between third and home. He can't start running until the pitcher goes into his stretch. Nothing's more exciting that a suicide squeeze, so this should be perfect. Or: flip a coin after the 10th inning. Flip it after the ninth. Hell, flip it before the game. Make all the fielders wear big floppy clown shoes. Blindfold the catcher. Put claymore mines in the outfield and allow the first base coach to detonate one per inning. Whatever you do, don't infringe on TV because it's just baseball, right?
posted by joaquim at 10:11 AM on July 28, 2008
Truth is, swearing is in the soccer fan's DNA. So is questioning the fidelity of an opponent's mother. I must be a soccer fan, because I'm thinking "horseshit" right now.
posted by joaquim at 10:55 AM on July 24, 2008
Since you asked, dviking, when I got home tonight I learned that they had to put the dog to sleep. That's neither here not there for you, I know. You have to attend to the serious stuff like games. (Tell me, is it the FBI or the CIA that forces people to bet on these games?) Next time you go to a game, don't forget to throw a beer at that 7-year-old girl rooting for the other team because this is Serious Business and you're just the bestest fan in the whole wide world, aren't you?
posted by joaquim at 11:21 PM on June 12, 2008
THX, my point is that it IS exactly small taters. It's entertainment. I can choose to watch or not. No matter who wins this series, I'll still have my job and I'll still be worried about why my dog's limping. Where did I accuse anyone of commenting irrationally? You and bender seem to be perplexed that I'm not sufficiently concerned about this matter and want my comments to follow a certain style in order to match a preconceived formula for thread dialog. Others posted their suggestions (turn the channel, give up the NBA entirely, convene an inquisition) for resolving the issue; I suggested that maybe we not take it so seriously. If my suggestion upsets you, I don't have any problem with the admins deleting my comments. Your call.
posted by joaquim at 05:51 PM on June 12, 2008
So you think a current event couldn't possibly be that people are taking entertainment way too seriously?
posted by joaquim at 02:51 PM on June 12, 2008
Time to apply the ET test. This is where you explain something to an extraterrestrial and try to illustrate why it's important. Me: "Well, this is a game where people throw a bag of air through a hoop. The men in the striped shirts have to make sure the rules are followed. They sometimes aren't very good at it and we want to know why." ET: "Is this game part of a religious ceremony?" Me: "No" ET: "Do you kill and eat the losers?" Me: "No" ET: "Do governments fall or is anyone forced into slavery as a result of the outcome of the game?" Me: "No" ET: "So it's just a bunch of people throwing a bag of air through a hoop and you're worried that someone might not be making them follow the rules for throwing a bag of air through a hoop?" Me: "Some people get really upset about it." ET: "Please leave this planet. We need the space for useful things."
posted by joaquim at 12:32 PM on June 12, 2008
If my victory is attained through cheating -- whether my own or someone on my team -- then it's not a victory and it doesn't deserve to be commended as such. I'd return the (slightly dented and gory from when I used it to beat my cheating teammate until he screamed like a little girl) medal.
posted by joaquim at 11:44 AM on June 04, 2008
the Gator Bowl had plenty of empty seats in spite of a good Texas Tech-Boston College matchup The gator bowl was Texas Tech vs Virginia Wow, they couldn't even get the BC players to attend.
posted by joaquim at 11:19 AM on May 01, 2008
She's taking a crap on America and she should be soundly boo'ed when she returns home....or wait a minute...this isn't her home anymore. Despite being the best HS player in her state, Becky was ignored by the major colleges. She ended up being the leading scorer of all time -- man or woman -- in the WAC. Despite being an All-American, Becky went undrafted. She signed up with New York and ended up with two NBWL titles and an MVP, plus being all-WNBA and MVP candidate in 2007. Despite these credentials, the USOC passed her over in 2004 and 2008. She's done what she's always done -- found a way to play basketball. She still has a home here. It's quite literally just down the street from where I grew up. When she returns, we will greet her warmly and do what we can to protect her from jingoistic asses like yourself. What if she were going to play for Saudi Arabia, the Sudan, or China (or pick the nation you despise the most) would you still feel OK about it? It's basketball, for pete's sake, not world domination.
posted by joaquim at 01:07 PM on April 11, 2008
Cuban woke up this morning and pouted because he wasn't he center of attention, what with the controversy over the Jason Kidd trade starting to fade and all. What better way to inject himself into the limelight than to come up with yet another publicity stunt disguised as Super Mark sticking to his principles? When you throw in the "what is a blogger?" angle, it's almost bulletproof since he can weasel-word for quite a while without providing positive proof that he's still just the asshole he's always been. Cuban has made me schizo. I want the Mavs to win, but I'll root for them to lose as long as he's the owner.
posted by joaquim at 12:24 PM on March 11, 2008
Gee, 7 comments into the thread and the snark about interceptions appears. What's the matter -- did you think bringing up the drug addiction would make you look like too much of an ass?
posted by joaquim at 11:38 AM on March 04, 2008
If the prosthetics provide that large an advantage, perhaps they should swap the roles of the Paralympics and the Olympics since the faster, stronger athletes will be competing in the former. This reminds me of the fuss made when Tom Dempsey kicked his record-setting field goal with a shoe specially made for his toeless foot. The NFL allowed the record to stand (no choice, really), but outlawed special shoes soon after.
posted by joaquim at 11:53 AM on January 14, 2008
When I become king: 1) Only an undefeated team can be the national champion. 2) If there are more than 3 undefeated teams, then use the strength-of-schedule to determine who plays. 3) If there is only one, use a ranking system to determine who plays them (and if that undefeated team loses in the championship game, there's no champion that year). 4) If there are no undefeated teams, there is no national championship game -- everyone just lines up and plays in the bowl games they're invited to. 5) Notre Dame and Texas A&M never get to be champion (because I'm king and they displease me). An undefeated team has beaten all comers and should be expected to keep doing so until proven otherwise. Back to reality, no way should LSU be in the title game. They were ranked #1 two different times this year and lost. Why should they be given a third chance?
posted by joaquim at 11:07 AM on December 03, 2007
but to see her fat ass waddle across the line, that would be priceless... And of course you'd be watching it from the comfort of your sofa, covered in donut grease and potato chip crumbs. The author of this whine-fest doesn't seem to realize that different people will perform a task for different reasons. I've run marathons and even attempted an Ironman; the whole point to me was if I could force my tiring body to keep going. There was no tangible reward in front of me, there was no danger behind me -- it was simply a test of willpower. What do you call the last-place finisher in the marathon? A marathoner.
posted by joaquim at 12:02 PM on November 15, 2007
If they scored 72 in the first quarter and only 86 for the game, it looks to me like they showed some good sportsmanship. The article said there were 6 turnovers in the first quarter -- maybe the defense scored a couple times? They stopped trying to score after the first quarter. If you're the coach and you put your second team in, do you tell them they're not allowed to score? "Run to daylight, then fall down."
posted by joaquim at 11:04 AM on October 31, 2007
"Maybe the neighbors don't particularly like the traffic," he said, "but it seems like most of the businesses in town had a lot of success." Translation: "I'm a whore."
posted by joaquim at 11:09 AM on August 09, 2007
Her body language in parts of that clip (most noticeably where she's sitting in the chair and flinches when he starts to put his arm around her) indicates that this isn't the first time he's "calmed her down".
posted by joaquim at 10:13 AM on March 28, 2007
One of the problems with an athlete betting is that the bookie owns him after that: "Say there, Speed, I need to make up some of what I lost last week. Let's say you trip rounding second or your betting slips end up in the commissioner's office and you can kiss your career goodbye." Given that Rose is still peeling this onion and there are going to be many layers yet to come, how do we know he was betting? How do we know he wasn't being blackmailed for betting and his "bets" were hush money? (BTW, I wonder what his tax returns looked like in those years -- how did he hide the money he won?)
posted by joaquim at 12:03 PM on March 15, 2007
I think Jim Ryun being tripped in his last attempt to win a gold medal would have been a good candidate for this list. He was the king of the mile in the 60s and never won the gold in three Olympic tries.
posted by joaquim at 01:06 PM on January 10, 2007
The award could have been handed out for many years before it was named after Kingman. Vince Lombardi won two Superbowl trophies, but he never won the Vince Lombardi trophy. (Like the old joke: "Lou Gehrig's Disease -- couldn't he see that coming?")
posted by joaquim at 10:17 AM on December 07, 2006
"Not one person from the front office has even come up to congratulate me," he said. "It's all the little people like you guys." I'm sure his audience just loves being referred to as "little people". That quote provides a calibration point for his character and outlook.
posted by joaquim at 10:44 AM on July 20, 2006
His thinking HAS cleared up. That's why this is so convenient: he says he radioed down; team leader says he didn't; gosh, everything is so confused up there that how can they be blamed for leaving Sharp to die? That mountain just screws up your thinking, so no one is to blame for anything. I've said it before: if the climbers were so far gone that they couldn't render aid, then they shouldn't have continued their ascent.
posted by joaquim at 11:58 AM on July 07, 2006
The calculus is simple: 1) If they are on the way down and the survival of their party is at stake, they were right to leave him. 2) If they passed him on the way up and didn't stop to help or abort their climb, they are partly responsible for his death. They still had resources to spare if they are attempting to summit. If helping him would have endangered the party on the way up, they have no business continuing the ascent, anyway. Standing on top of a big rock versus leaving someone to die? That decision shouldn't take more than 2 seconds to make, even allowing for oxygen deprivation. As for the argument of him being too far gone, ask Beck Weathers about that one.
posted by joaquim at 10:48 AM on May 25, 2006
Odd that they talk about Nixon installing bowling alleys and leave out the fact that he covered over the White House swimming pool. Let's see, where would I get a better workout -- bowling alley or swimming pool?
posted by joaquim at 12:00 PM on May 12, 2006
Gotta agree with bperk. Cal didn't have the sack to match up on the court? Bunch of pussies. Hey, maybe next time they can call their opponents right before gametime and tell them their parents died. I wonder how many people who approve of this stunt would have the same opinion if the rally committee (do people actually admit to being on such a thing?) had done this to someone on the women's team.
posted by joaquim at 12:58 PM on March 15, 2006
A scholarship is paid for by the school, not the government. UT is a pubic school. As such, it receives money from the state of Texas (more than $1B per year, IIRC). Even if the scholarship money doesn't flow directly from the state funds, the scholarship winner will still be using services and facilities paid by those funds and therefore by the taxpayer.
posted by joaquim at 11:54 PM on February 19, 2006
My high school team was called the Cobblers (yes, the mascot was a shoemaker). I then went on to college at SD Tech, noted by chicobangs as the Hardrockers. I went to work in a town where the high school team was known as the Fighting Farmers. I guess I should have seen all that coming since my favorite NFL team is the Packers.
posted by joaquim at 11:14 AM on February 15, 2006
Secretary of Defense for the whole military should qualify. Since the Secretary of Defense is a civilian job, it doesn't entail military training. OTOH, military training would probably not have prevented this accident. Mr. Cheney did a dumb thing (you don't fire at birds that close to the ground) and someone else paid the price for it. This has nothing to do with his politics or his job; it's simply an indication that he shouldn't be trusted with a weapon until he breaks some bad habits. Now: how many of you are thinking of Aerosmith and singing, "Cheney's got a gun" this morning?
posted by joaquim at 10:49 AM on February 13, 2006
At least trrron gets it.
posted by joaquim at 12:56 PM on January 31, 2006
I can't believe you people read the article and all you do is praise Hines Ward. (To quote Chris Rock: "you low-expectation-having mother****s"). He's SUPPOSED to honor his mother. Look at what his mom went through: she was left alone in a country where she didn't speak the language, her child was taken away from her, she got him back and worked three jobs to make sure he had food and clothes and the best you can come up with is that her son turned out to be a class act? Where do you suppose he learned that?
posted by joaquim at 11:19 AM on January 31, 2006
And now Kwame can brag about the time he and Kobe combined for 84 points against Toronto.
posted by joaquim at 12:17 PM on January 23, 2006
Back in high school, we played a basketball marathon that went for over 150 hours. Our dreams of glory were immediately punctured because some high school in Missouri played over 170 hours the same week. Not sure of the rules Guinness sets, but 57 hours? That's barely a weekend.
posted by joaquim at 04:40 PM on January 17, 2006
The decision to violate the contract was initiated by Owens when he demanded that the Eagles renegotiate one year into a 7-year deal. When they refused, he all but promised to be a distraction and to not play to the best of his abilities. He is not unemployed. He is suspended without pay for four games, after which the Eagles will pay him his regular salary to sit at home. So...how does any of this translate into the Eagles violating his contract? In context of football or out, Owens is the culprit in this situation.
posted by joaquim at 04:17 PM on November 23, 2005
unless the interloper actually makes a threatening move In this age of suicide bombers, I'd say that running towards a group of people in a public venue where such behavior is extraordinary constitutes a threatening move.
posted by joaquim at 11:15 AM on November 01, 2005
I think that the academies need to get rid of their football programs. First of all they suck. You don't seem to recognize the cyclic nature of college football. Compare the records of IA teams over the past 20 years. Look at who's in 27th place. By your reckoning, everyone below Air Force would have to eliminate their football program. Hell, look at Army in 49th place -- you'd be getting rid of Texas Tech, Missouri, Oregon State. (OK, maybe I'll give you Navy.)
posted by joaquim at 03:51 PM on October 26, 2005
Do you remember when the drafting of a teenager was remarkable? Is it remarkable now? What happens when it becomes commonplace and all the best players skip college? Will the college game suffer because it no longer has the top young players? If attendance (and revenue) fall as a result, where will the second tier (those with no hope of being pros) of players go? What about those players that have no dreams of going pro, but use basketball as a means of getting into college? Would this ultimately lead to fewer men (of any color) getting into college?
posted by joaquim at 02:37 PM on April 13, 2005
what do you have to do to get fired from CU? Have a losing season.
posted by joaquim at 01:38 PM on May 19, 2004
A good calibration point of the cluelessness of the list's author is the inclusion of George Mikan in the "also received votes". During Mikan's college days, DePaul played a zone where Mikan would guard the basket and deflect any shots before they went in. The NCAA had to install the goaltending rule to end that tactic. In the NBA, the league doubled the width of the lane to make it more difficult for him to score. In one game, the Pistons decided the only way to beat the Lakers was to sit on the ball. This resulted in a 19-18 score and the introduction of the 24-second clock a few seasons later. It's inane to call a player overrated when rules are changed to end his dominance. Major rules were changed three times (twice directly) due to Mikan. The charitable assumption here is that Merron was only practicing his typing when he wrote this column.
posted by joaquim at 01:37 PM on July 01, 2003
Company Fires Four Employees Over Fantasy Football
Isn't a comapnay that is involved in the stock market and finacial investment having policies against gambling kind of hypocritical? Actually, that's the kind of company where such a policy makes the most sense. If the gambler/employee is losing big, he could be sorely tempted to cover his losses from his clients' accounts. The employees not only have to be innocent, they have to be above suspicion.