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Friday, January 24, 2003
Yo, statboy
While you've got to go through a bunch of hoops these days to read it, Salon has a great piece on the numbers game of protest marches. I've always wondered where the organizers of some of these events got their numbers of people attending their events, and many times they sound a lot like Dr. Evil (we had one million people). The mathematical formula used makes a lot of sense and reminds me of how people would use similar numbers to guess the number of jelly beans in a jar (and often be right). I'm surprised more people don't use it when estimating crowds at rallies, but then again just like everything else, the numbers game is political. Of course, if sports teams can fudge attendance numbers (and they have tools to measure the numbers precisely -- ticket stubs/turnstiles), why can't some group trying to prove everyone not in the Bush administration is against the war?
posted at 6:38 PM
If I'm startin', I ain't departin'
As I keep on saying after the Pro Bowl selections are announced, don't whine if you didn't get in because you will eventually. You'd think Michael Vick was a long-time NFL veteran because he's skipping the game to have a bunion removed. That's the type of ailment you seen seven- or eight-time honorees get in order to skip the trip to Hawaii. A good thing about that move is that it finally gets Brad Johnson into the game. At least Priest Holmes had a good reason to pass, thanks to that injury that seems eerily similar to Bo Jackson's. I'm sure some of the other Super Bowl players will bow out soon, and I can almost see Jon Kitna being called in.
posted at 10:04 AM
Thursday, January 23, 2003
If the whole flag issue didn't already say a lot about the state of Georgia, the long-running crusade to exempt pick-up trucks from seat belt laws may finally end as long-time speaker of the house Tom Murphy was defeated last November. I suppose you could say he had his constituents in mind since he came from a rural area with plenty of trucks around, but the safety issue at stake here seems a lot more tangible than any smoking or drinking ordinances out there.
And to answer Brian's query, as it states in the article, SUVs are not part of this exemption. Then again, I doubt there were that many SUVs in Murphy's district. Speaking of SUVs, the Wall Street Journal had an entertaining essay the other day breaking down the sociology of SUVs, calling it a "civil war within the educated class" and comparing it to a war between geeks and jocks. I'm not a big fan of SUVs, or more accurately, I'm not interested in getting one. But I'm not sure I'm all for the crusade against them, especially the "moral fervor ... which has risen to the level of a liberal fatwa." I'm just more annoyed by how much space they can take up in the parking lot -- there used to be a guy living in my section of my apartment complex with a gigantic Escalade that seemed to overwhelm any car around it.
posted at 12:54 AM
Desperation unknown
Well I guess it's something that I've discovered this guy's page before MTV follows him around for an upcoming special (no, not Cribs, thankfully). I suppose an actual application to date this guy (and is that really his name? Come on, now.) seems strange, but I'm not too sure on which end: The guy would seem to desperate for a date, but then again he's got a full list of qualifications and he seems to have dated some attractive women over time. On the other hand, you wonder what type of women would apply, either for real or as a joke, and if they send a photo, just exactly would they send? I suppose I'll just have to watch the special to find out.
The application itself is rather funny. The Ralph quotes are classic, and the description of a "Chicago girl" is a riot. I now have to think that over carefully based on who I knew and know from there.
It's a very creative, if very vain project, but more power to him if he can actually find some hotties out of the whole deal. Plus it's probably preferable to some of the dating stories already told on some of my friends' blogs or the whatever it is I call my social life.
posted at 12:35 AM
No, Senator, you may not buy a vowel
Hmm, Fox News is ruling the cable news airwaves so I guess they can afford to give Pat Sajak a talk show? Then again, it may not be a bad choice given how much I guess he appeals to Middle America all these years. Then again, I thought his short-lived talk show wasn't all that bad, so what do I know?
posted at 12:05 AM
Wednesday, January 22, 2003
I've recently had my share of getting lost en route to social engagements, but I don't think I've had anything as public as everyone's favorite police chief. No word if Boris or Natasha were seen in the vicinity, but there was a very agitated squirrel.
posted at 11:35 PM
At the Googleplex ...
I'll give SI's Grant Wahl the credit for excessive hits on Googlism, a silly tool that pretty much digests Google results and turns them into some odd descriptions of your search terms. A lookup of my name pretty much turns up things I already knew existed on the Web. I'm afraid to see what might happen with other people, especially with those who might share the same name.
posted at 11:15 PM
Monday, January 20, 2003
Mmm ... 24.2 pound cheeseburger. Something tells me it's probably a bit better than the $41 monstrosity that seems to shy away from the real definition of the term.
posted at 3:47 PM
Sunday, January 19, 2003
While the format was a bit screwy, Jim Caple hits some good points about the hypocrisy over criticizing baseball while giving a pass to football regarding start times and schedules.
However, for now the NFL has scheduled prime-time playoff games on Saturday nights, which probably doesn't have as much effect on the "children" watching the games. (Then again, many of the same critics want World Series weekend games to start during the afternoon, so it's all over the place.) But, things have been screwy recently with the timing of NFL playoff games. Most fans have now been trained on the 1 p.m./4 p.m. schedule for games during the season, so why change things for the playoffs? I guess appeasing the West Coast audience is good, and it makes things slightly easier had they're been two Pacific Time Zone teams hosting conference title games.
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