I had anticipated shaving back here in the Midwest due to the much softer water here than out in the desert. Hard water is hard on skin and soft water is preferable. I had shaved the other day, but I tore up my skin badly and was disappointed with the results. I had some theories as to why and most of them involved moisture and temperature. Here are some things I made sure to note:.
Remember that moisture is the essence of wetness and is vital to any good wet-shave. I have been preaching building lather directly upon the face to let your skin soak up as much moisture as possible, but I wasn't thinking enough when I actually went through with my shave. One thing I highly recommend is to re-wet your face after every pass to apply a layer of moisture (water) that the lather will mix-with/sit on top of. This will help with lubrication and irritation.
The other super important thing is that it is winter time dummy and that means that it is cold outside. In an old house like mine, the bathroom isn't modernly hyper-insulated and it is cold in there. As a result, the sink is super cold. After I filled the sink with hot water, it got cold quickly and when I started my shave, it was already cold. I shaved with the cool water because I didn't want to waste H2O. When you shave with cold water, your skin is tighter and your razor tends to grip it more. This coupled with a lack of moisture will make for a bad shave. When I went to shave a again yesterday I boiled a pot of water on stove and poured that into the sink. Now this was way to hot, and I mixed it with some water from the faucet to bring it down a little. The hot water totally helped my shave experience and I stress now the importance of hot water. The general rule of thumb is to get it as hot as you can stand and no hotter.
I also got around to using some new shaving products for this last shave. They are staples of traditional wetshavers: Proraso's Pre/Post Shave Cream and Bloc Osam alum. Take a look at them below.
The Proraso is a preshave balm from Italy that moisturizes and is methylated and makes your beard "stand up". It is said to open up the pores on your face. A little bit goes a long way here so don't use much. I would say use about a pea-sized amount. It is kind of like a thicker, more luxurious Noxzema that is way more menthylated. It is cool. The other is an alum bar from France. Alum is a natural astringent that you use after a shave to help close up your pores and has antiseptic properties to help prevent infection. You use it after you finish your shave and have rinsed your face with clean water. Simply hold the bar under the faucet for a second and glide it down your face along the grain. If it stings you, then you have tiny cuts in your face. My face stung alot after the shave, but it went away and felt really good a few seconds later. You will get a lot of feedback from using the alum bar and hopefully will improve your technique.
Both products can be found here
Next time: Face maps!
Wednesday, December 28, 2011
Tuesday, December 27, 2011
Sunday, December 25, 2011
Wednesday, December 21, 2011
Galaxy Nexus (Verizon LTE) review
So this is a little later than i planned on doing this, but i felt like waiting til i've had it for a couple days before writing a review would be better. Now, i have rooted my phone and can change certain settings that i wish you could with stock, but for my review i'll base things off being just stock and no root (except for a comment about battery). Without further ado, here we go!
Hardware: There are certain parts of the hardware that i don't like. The back cover is super thin and feels pretty cheap.
I got the Otter Box Defender case as an early Christmas present. It definitely adds some bulk to the phone (and the phone is pretty big to begin with) but i feel like if i drop it now, it won't break into a million pieces.
There are only 2 physical "buttons" on the phone: power and the volume rocker. I don't really mind the absence of a dedicated camera button because i would accidentally hit it sometimes on my OG Droid. The headphone jack and microusb slot are on the bottom of the phone which is pretty nice. I always drop my phone into my pocket "top first" so this is nice for me to be able to plug headphones into the bottom of it. There is an NFC chip on the battery but i haven't tried doing anything with that yet so i can't comment on how well it works. The phone is lighter than my old OG Droid (which makes sense because it had a full keyboard slideout). It's also pretty thin which is good. It rests very nicely in your hand. The notification light is centered in the middle towards the bottom of the phone. It fades in and out of a white circle. It's pretty cool looking but i wish you could change the color of it for different notifications (email, missed call, text message, etc).
Display: With all the talk about it being a pentile screen, i thought it was going to be a let down. Thankfully it's not. The screen is gorgeous. It has an almost 180° viewing angle. It's not gorilla glass but the screen still feels very durable and like it can take some damage. It's pretty big too. I have to kinda stretch my thumb to get to the upper left corner sometimes. I defnitely like having all the screen space though and am more than happy to take that slight inconvenience. The screen is slightly curved and it makes talking on it feel pretty nice. Not much else to really say.
Performance: Android 4.0 (here on out referred to ICS {Ice Cream Sandwich}) is by far the best Android experience. From little touch ups here and there, and graphical changes everywhere, ICS is what you want to have. The font was designed specifically for ICS and i think it looks very clean. It's really easy to read and easy on the eyes. There is now a screenshot feature built into the OS which is just awesome. Apps are quick to load and the browser is very fast. I haven't noticed any kind of lagging or anything like that when i'm trying to run an app. The settings are grouped a lot better than on previous versions of Android also. The dropdown menu now has a feature where you swipe to the left or right to clear only certain notifications that you want to. This feature is also applied to the "previous applications" list and kills them when you swipe them away. 4G is amazing. Here's some speed tests (first one is by Best Buy, the second one is by Stevenson School):
Wrap Up: Overall this is a great phone. Best phone i've ever used. Only things i would change is a thicker back cover, maybe a bigger battery, and a slightly SLIGHTLY smaller screen. Even with the high price point of $300, i still give this phone a 4.5/5.
Hardware: There are certain parts of the hardware that i don't like. The back cover is super thin and feels pretty cheap.
I got the Otter Box Defender case as an early Christmas present. It definitely adds some bulk to the phone (and the phone is pretty big to begin with) but i feel like if i drop it now, it won't break into a million pieces.
There are only 2 physical "buttons" on the phone: power and the volume rocker. I don't really mind the absence of a dedicated camera button because i would accidentally hit it sometimes on my OG Droid. The headphone jack and microusb slot are on the bottom of the phone which is pretty nice. I always drop my phone into my pocket "top first" so this is nice for me to be able to plug headphones into the bottom of it. There is an NFC chip on the battery but i haven't tried doing anything with that yet so i can't comment on how well it works. The phone is lighter than my old OG Droid (which makes sense because it had a full keyboard slideout). It's also pretty thin which is good. It rests very nicely in your hand. The notification light is centered in the middle towards the bottom of the phone. It fades in and out of a white circle. It's pretty cool looking but i wish you could change the color of it for different notifications (email, missed call, text message, etc).
Display: With all the talk about it being a pentile screen, i thought it was going to be a let down. Thankfully it's not. The screen is gorgeous. It has an almost 180° viewing angle. It's not gorilla glass but the screen still feels very durable and like it can take some damage. It's pretty big too. I have to kinda stretch my thumb to get to the upper left corner sometimes. I defnitely like having all the screen space though and am more than happy to take that slight inconvenience. The screen is slightly curved and it makes talking on it feel pretty nice. Not much else to really say.
Performance: Android 4.0 (here on out referred to ICS {Ice Cream Sandwich}) is by far the best Android experience. From little touch ups here and there, and graphical changes everywhere, ICS is what you want to have. The font was designed specifically for ICS and i think it looks very clean. It's really easy to read and easy on the eyes. There is now a screenshot feature built into the OS which is just awesome. Apps are quick to load and the browser is very fast. I haven't noticed any kind of lagging or anything like that when i'm trying to run an app. The settings are grouped a lot better than on previous versions of Android also. The dropdown menu now has a feature where you swipe to the left or right to clear only certain notifications that you want to. This feature is also applied to the "previous applications" list and kills them when you swipe them away. 4G is amazing. Here's some speed tests (first one is by Best Buy, the second one is by Stevenson School):
Camera: Everybody has knocked the camera on this phone. I really don't think it's that terrible. There have been some pictures i've taken that appear "hazy" but it could have been user error. I don't know what all the hate is about. Here are a couple pictures i've taken (the last one is with the front facing camera).
Battery: I can get through the whole day without charging it, but that's with switching to wifi while at work and at home. You can switch to just 3G, but that's just silly to me. I guess if you wanted to conserve battery it's a good idea. Now since i am rooted i have installed SetCPU which is an over/underclocker for the processor. I have it clock down to 325MHZ when the screen is off and while talking. I also bumped the max down to only 920MHZ (stock is 1.2GHZ). I just don't really see the need to have it so high and it's only killing battery. Stock users probably have a different story than me is this case so maybe Sawsheezle can let us know what his typical experience with battery is.Wrap Up: Overall this is a great phone. Best phone i've ever used. Only things i would change is a thicker back cover, maybe a bigger battery, and a slightly SLIGHTLY smaller screen. Even with the high price point of $300, i still give this phone a 4.5/5.
Thursday, December 15, 2011
Chicago Bear Sam Hurd busted for drug distribution network
http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/blog/shutdown_corner/post/Bears-WR-Sam-Hurd-busted-by-federal-agents-in-on?urn=nfl-wp13964
He was already pushing 4 kilos of cocaine per week into the Chicago area, but that just wasn't enough.
He was already pushing 4 kilos of cocaine per week into the Chicago area, but that just wasn't enough.
Saturday, December 10, 2011
The Chronicles of Sawsheezle and capital_prototype: Adventure 1
Adventure 1: Their first adventure
Not much happened on their first adventure. Sawsheezle and capital_prototype just mostly sat around drinking Celebrator and talking about alpha-politics and meat. Their second adventure would prove to be one adventure closer to them changing the world.
Not much happened on their first adventure. Sawsheezle and capital_prototype just mostly sat around drinking Celebrator and talking about alpha-politics and meat. Their second adventure would prove to be one adventure closer to them changing the world.
Men and Women Can't Be Friends
Really good video here. Well done. Notice how one sided our society is in attraction. All these dudes like these chicks, but these chicks don't like these dudes and yet there are more chicks than dudes. This explains why men go crazy.
Friday, December 9, 2011
This is why Community is the greatest show ever
Also, (this is mainly directed to Sawsheezle only because i know for sure that he watches the show) did you ever catch any of this background stuff in this episode?! Because i sure didn't.
Sawsheezle's Shave Blog: Special Rydub Edition
Rydub requested Sawsheezle's opinion on shave soaps and pre/post shave remedies and I wanted to offer some insight into my own thoughts/practices/dreams.
As for soaps, there are so many different kinds out there that it may be too hard to truly say which is best. I have two really strong recommendations here that I would like to share. First are Mama Bear's soaps which are made by a woman in Wisconsin and are really great. Most of them are scented which I do not recommend for someone with sensitive skin like Rydub, but they do come in a variety of scents and they have a really strong following. I have used Aged Spice, Rosemary Mint, and Marauder's Citrus.
http://mamabearssoaps.com/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=1
I have recently tried the Van der Hagen's luxury line of soaps and think they are the best bang for the buck. They are available from Amazon and work great and are super popular at the moment.
http://www.amazon.com/Van-Hagen-Luxury-Scented-3-5-Ounces/dp/B004L4AMIG/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1323491310&sr=8-5
Now how does one apply soap? I had been using a bowl to mix the lather, but now I am directly applying to the face. I bought a few vintage Old Spice shaving mugs on Ebay.
But how does one get the soap in there? For the Van der Hagen's soap, I just simply put the soap in the mug and that was that. If you go to a soap like Mama Bear's, then you can melt the soap in the microwave for a few seconds (slower the better) and pour it in to your mug. I usually pour a little bit of hot water into the shave mug and get an initial lather in the mug with my brush. This lather will be extremely wet which is the point. You should then apply this hyper wet lather to your face with the brush and begin to lather directly on the face. Your skin soaks up moisture very well and the lather will begin to thicken while your face becomes hydrated. The water that was in the shave mug will dry out and won't affect the soap at all. Take a look at this video for more thoughts.
Now what do you use for a post/pre shave? There are several schools of thought here. For an aftershave, the cheapest and most readily available solution is the nivea sensitive skin shave balm. The sensitive skin is more moisturizing than the regular version and is recommended highly. Definite all time great product. I use witch hazel (Thayer's Rose Witch Hazel btw) after the shave to clean my skin before I apply shave balm. As for pre shaving, a few drops of oil like olive/grapeseed/almond/apricot is very popular. Another internet favorite is Proraso Pre/Post shave lotion which I have read is a lot like Noxzema is terms of smell. I have asked for it for xmas. One other thing the pros recommend is an alum bar. You run the bar over your face after a shave and it helps to close any nicks and cuts you may have incurred during the shave. Very soothing. You can find these products here and I highly recommend this website.
http://thesuperiorshave.com/Shaving_Creams.html
For general shaving product reviews badger and blade is an amazing resource.
http://badgerandblade.com/
As for soaps, there are so many different kinds out there that it may be too hard to truly say which is best. I have two really strong recommendations here that I would like to share. First are Mama Bear's soaps which are made by a woman in Wisconsin and are really great. Most of them are scented which I do not recommend for someone with sensitive skin like Rydub, but they do come in a variety of scents and they have a really strong following. I have used Aged Spice, Rosemary Mint, and Marauder's Citrus.
http://mamabearssoaps.com/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=1
I have recently tried the Van der Hagen's luxury line of soaps and think they are the best bang for the buck. They are available from Amazon and work great and are super popular at the moment.
http://www.amazon.com/Van-Hagen-Luxury-Scented-3-5-Ounces/dp/B004L4AMIG/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1323491310&sr=8-5
Now how does one apply soap? I had been using a bowl to mix the lather, but now I am directly applying to the face. I bought a few vintage Old Spice shaving mugs on Ebay.
But how does one get the soap in there? For the Van der Hagen's soap, I just simply put the soap in the mug and that was that. If you go to a soap like Mama Bear's, then you can melt the soap in the microwave for a few seconds (slower the better) and pour it in to your mug. I usually pour a little bit of hot water into the shave mug and get an initial lather in the mug with my brush. This lather will be extremely wet which is the point. You should then apply this hyper wet lather to your face with the brush and begin to lather directly on the face. Your skin soaks up moisture very well and the lather will begin to thicken while your face becomes hydrated. The water that was in the shave mug will dry out and won't affect the soap at all. Take a look at this video for more thoughts.
Now what do you use for a post/pre shave? There are several schools of thought here. For an aftershave, the cheapest and most readily available solution is the nivea sensitive skin shave balm. The sensitive skin is more moisturizing than the regular version and is recommended highly. Definite all time great product. I use witch hazel (Thayer's Rose Witch Hazel btw) after the shave to clean my skin before I apply shave balm. As for pre shaving, a few drops of oil like olive/grapeseed/almond/apricot is very popular. Another internet favorite is Proraso Pre/Post shave lotion which I have read is a lot like Noxzema is terms of smell. I have asked for it for xmas. One other thing the pros recommend is an alum bar. You run the bar over your face after a shave and it helps to close any nicks and cuts you may have incurred during the shave. Very soothing. You can find these products here and I highly recommend this website.
http://thesuperiorshave.com/Shaving_Creams.html
For general shaving product reviews badger and blade is an amazing resource.
http://badgerandblade.com/
Thursday, December 8, 2011
New Android Phone Spotted!
So apparently the Galaxy Nexus was delayed AGAIN. You know what? I don't want it anymore. I'm getting the Samsung Rezound Vivid V G1 G2.
Pujols to Angels
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2011/baseball/mlb/12/08/pujols.angels.ap/index.html?sct=mlb_t11_a0
This is a sad day for baseball even though it is sort of a good day for Cubs fans. I am torn because it seems to be yet another example of "Bud Selig era" baseball where a player signs a super unrealistic contract for an ungodly amount of money (in this case 10 years, $250 million). Baseball needs to wake up! No more tv blackouts, fix mlb.tv so I can watch the Diamondbacks and the Cubs. Reduce ticket prices! Can they structure contracts like the NFL? How about Pujols for $250 million, $150 million guaranteed over five years, with options for the next five years? What a damn risk. I guess I can't be mad at Pujols for taking the money and admitting he has no loyalty to the Cards and their fans (possible the best fans in Baseball) even though he has been with them forever and also went to hikes school in Missouri and oh yeah won two World Serials with the Cards to boot! Again, a sad day for baseball.
This is a sad day for baseball even though it is sort of a good day for Cubs fans. I am torn because it seems to be yet another example of "Bud Selig era" baseball where a player signs a super unrealistic contract for an ungodly amount of money (in this case 10 years, $250 million). Baseball needs to wake up! No more tv blackouts, fix mlb.tv so I can watch the Diamondbacks and the Cubs. Reduce ticket prices! Can they structure contracts like the NFL? How about Pujols for $250 million, $150 million guaranteed over five years, with options for the next five years? What a damn risk. I guess I can't be mad at Pujols for taking the money and admitting he has no loyalty to the Cards and their fans (possible the best fans in Baseball) even though he has been with them forever and also went to hikes school in Missouri and oh yeah won two World Serials with the Cards to boot! Again, a sad day for baseball.
Wednesday, December 7, 2011
Tuesday, December 6, 2011
Monday, December 5, 2011
No google wallet for Galaxy Nexus
So that NFC payment thing isn't going to be supported by the Nexus (at least google's version anyway). So the camera is that great, the NFC payment option we are getting isn't what we were expecting, no USB mass storage support, no micro sd car slot. Why I am getting this phone again?
http://blogs.computerworld.com/19381/verizon_galaxy_nexus_google_wallet
http://blogs.computerworld.com/19381/verizon_galaxy_nexus_google_wallet
Ron Santo elected to Hall of Fame
It came too late, but Ronnie is finally in the Hall. Now we have to push for Mark Grace (maybe that's just me?)
http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/news?slug=ap-halloffame
http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/news?slug=ap-halloffame
Thursday, December 1, 2011
Wednesday, November 30, 2011
The Chronicles of capital_prototype and Sawsheezle: A Forward
This is what we know...
We know that Sawsheezle and capital_protoptype love the television show "New Girl" (in German: "neues Maedchen") that is partially based on their lives. We also know that Sawsheezle sometimes dances naked to Jamaican music and that his manhood has been known to be considered regal, stately, and a real treat to female roommates who have accidentally snuck a peek at it. We know that capital_prototype and Sawsheezle enjoy having an athletic African-American dude for a roommate because he is cool and good at sporting. What we didn't know is that their mutual interest in Jamaican music and particle physics would take them on a journey neither of them could have ever imagined...
Tuesday, November 29, 2011
Friday, November 25, 2011
Tuesday, November 22, 2011
NL MVP: And the Winner Is
Player, Team 1, 2, 3, Total
===========================
Braun, Brewers 20 12 - 388
Kemp, Dodgers 10 16 6 332
Fielder, Brewers 1 4 11 229
Upton, D-backs 1 - 8 214
Pujols, Cardinals - - 1 166
Votto, Reds - - 4 135
Berkman, Cardinals - - 1 118
Tulowitzki, Rockies - - - 69
Halladay, Phillies - - 1 52
So they got it a little more correct this time. The first glaring thing you should notice is a first place vote for Justin Upton. Are you kidding me? He was sixth according to 2011 THFL metrics. A first place vote is simply irresponsible by the writers. The debate went down to Kemp or Braun for MVP. Braun led in OPS, but Kemp had more hits, HR, and walks. I thought Kemp should have won. Braun was most likely helped by the Brewers appearance in the playoffs for the first time in a long time. Of course, playoffs are not supposed to count towards the vote. Maybe I live in too ideal of a world/mindset? Anyway, Fielder at 3 is what we said. Pujols follows and then Votto. Ok. Another funny thing is that Halladay shows up on this list before Clayton Kershaw who won the NL Cy Young! This reminds me of a funny thing from 2005 when a first baseman won both the silver slugger and gold glove awards as the best offensive and defensive first baseman in the National league, but lost the league MVP award to another first baseman. Of course, I am talking about Derek Lee who lost to Albert Pujols.
===========================
Braun, Brewers 20 12 - 388
Kemp, Dodgers 10 16 6 332
Fielder, Brewers 1 4 11 229
Upton, D-backs 1 - 8 214
Pujols, Cardinals - - 1 166
Votto, Reds - - 4 135
Berkman, Cardinals - - 1 118
Tulowitzki, Rockies - - - 69
Halladay, Phillies - - 1 52
So they got it a little more correct this time. The first glaring thing you should notice is a first place vote for Justin Upton. Are you kidding me? He was sixth according to 2011 THFL metrics. A first place vote is simply irresponsible by the writers. The debate went down to Kemp or Braun for MVP. Braun led in OPS, but Kemp had more hits, HR, and walks. I thought Kemp should have won. Braun was most likely helped by the Brewers appearance in the playoffs for the first time in a long time. Of course, playoffs are not supposed to count towards the vote. Maybe I live in too ideal of a world/mindset? Anyway, Fielder at 3 is what we said. Pujols follows and then Votto. Ok. Another funny thing is that Halladay shows up on this list before Clayton Kershaw who won the NL Cy Young! This reminds me of a funny thing from 2005 when a first baseman won both the silver slugger and gold glove awards as the best offensive and defensive first baseman in the National league, but lost the league MVP award to another first baseman. Of course, I am talking about Derek Lee who lost to Albert Pujols.
THFL: Senior Circuit participation award
Player, Team, POS Owner H/AB 1B 2B 3B HR BB IBB K HBP SB CS PTS AVG
=========================================================================
Matt Kemp, LAD OF Corp 195/602 119 33 4 39 74 24 159 6 40 11 542.3 3.4
Ryan Braun, Mil OF BAGO 187/563 110 38 6 33 58 2 93 5 33 6 516.7 3.4
Prince Fielder, Mil 1B BAGO 170/569 95 36 1 38 107 32 106 10 1 1 511.6 3.2
Albert Pujols, StL 1B CRF 173/579 107 29 0 37 61 15 58 4 9 1 448.6 3.1
Joey Votto, Cin 1B DETH 185/599 113 40 3 29 110 15 129 4 8 6 446.1 2.8
Justin Upton, Ari OF CRF 171/592 96 39 5 31 59 9 126 19 21 9 424.8 2.7
Troy Tulowitzki, Col SS Corp 162/537 94 36 2 30 59 12 79 4 9 3 407.3 2.8
Lance Berkman, StL SWAN 147/488 91 23 2 31 92 17 93 3 2 6 385.7 2.7
Jose Reyes, NYM SS BAGO 181/537 127 31 16 7 43 9 41 0 39 7 364.3 2.9
Carlos Beltran, SF OF SWAN 156/520 89 39 6 22 71 7 88 3 4 2 364 2.6
Again, can we get some consistent text editing here? Tabs anyone? Anyway, Matt Kemp is the guy. Followed by Braun and Fielder. I expect Braun to be chosen because Milwaukee went to the playoffs. Let's see if the writers get it wrong again.
=========================================================================
Matt Kemp, LAD OF Corp 195/602 119 33 4 39 74 24 159 6 40 11 542.3 3.4
Ryan Braun, Mil OF BAGO 187/563 110 38 6 33 58 2 93 5 33 6 516.7 3.4
Prince Fielder, Mil 1B BAGO 170/569 95 36 1 38 107 32 106 10 1 1 511.6 3.2
Albert Pujols, StL 1B CRF 173/579 107 29 0 37 61 15 58 4 9 1 448.6 3.1
Joey Votto, Cin 1B DETH 185/599 113 40 3 29 110 15 129 4 8 6 446.1 2.8
Justin Upton, Ari OF CRF 171/592 96 39 5 31 59 9 126 19 21 9 424.8 2.7
Troy Tulowitzki, Col SS Corp 162/537 94 36 2 30 59 12 79 4 9 3 407.3 2.8
Lance Berkman, StL SWAN 147/488 91 23 2 31 92 17 93 3 2 6 385.7 2.7
Jose Reyes, NYM SS BAGO 181/537 127 31 16 7 43 9 41 0 39 7 364.3 2.9
Carlos Beltran, SF OF SWAN 156/520 89 39 6 22 71 7 88 3 4 2 364 2.6
Again, can we get some consistent text editing here? Tabs anyone? Anyway, Matt Kemp is the guy. Followed by Braun and Fielder. I expect Braun to be chosen because Milwaukee went to the playoffs. Let's see if the writers get it wrong again.
Monday, November 21, 2011
AL MVP: The Votes In Are
Ok. Baseball seems to take a step back almost everyday now. We are going to have more interleague play soon, more wild card teams, a wild card play-in game, we have instant replay now and they want to expand it, Florida still has baseball teams, and now Jose Bautista didn't win the AL MVP award. Again, pitchers already have the Cy Young. Let the MVP go to fielders/DH/offensive players only. Anyway, here are the results.
Verlander, Tigers 13 3 3 280
Ellsbury, Red Sox 4 13 4 242
Bautista, Blue Jays 5 7 4 231
Granderson, Yankees 3 4 4 215
Cabrera, Tigers 2 - 9 193
Cano, Yankees - - 2 112
Gonzalez, Red Sox - - 1 105
Young, Rangers 1 1 1 96
Pedroia, Red Sox - - - 48
Longoria, Rays - - - 27
Kinsler, Rangers - - - 25
Avila, Tigers - - - 13
Konerko, White Sox - - - 11
Sabathia, Yankees - - - 10
How did Ellsbury make it to #2? Jose Bautista was so much higher on the list than him. How did Granderson and Ellsbury even make it ahead of Cabrera? Cano ahead of Gonzales? Can we say that the post season may have affected things somewhat even though it is not supposed to? Did Jose Bautista get shafted because he plays in small-market North Buffalo? Yes. Let me know if you think we got it wrong or if the writers did.
Verlander, Tigers 13 3 3 280
Ellsbury, Red Sox 4 13 4 242
Bautista, Blue Jays 5 7 4 231
Granderson, Yankees 3 4 4 215
Cabrera, Tigers 2 - 9 193
Cano, Yankees - - 2 112
Gonzalez, Red Sox - - 1 105
Young, Rangers 1 1 1 96
Pedroia, Red Sox - - - 48
Longoria, Rays - - - 27
Kinsler, Rangers - - - 25
Avila, Tigers - - - 13
Konerko, White Sox - - - 11
Sabathia, Yankees - - - 10
How did Ellsbury make it to #2? Jose Bautista was so much higher on the list than him. How did Granderson and Ellsbury even make it ahead of Cabrera? Cano ahead of Gonzales? Can we say that the post season may have affected things somewhat even though it is not supposed to? Did Jose Bautista get shafted because he plays in small-market North Buffalo? Yes. Let me know if you think we got it wrong or if the writers did.
AL MVP: As According to the Todd
Player, Team, POS Owner H/AB 1B 2B 3B HR BB IBB K HBP SB CS PTS AVG
=========================================================================
Jose Bautista, Tor 3B, OF LANC 155/513 86 24 2 43 132 24 111 6 9 5 542.7 3.6
Miguel Cabrera, Det 1B LANC 197/572 119 48 0 30 108 22 89 3 2 1 525.3 3.3
Jacoby Ellsbury, Bos OF TOM 212/660 129 46 5 32 52 1 98 9 39 15 508 3.2
Adrian Gonzalez, Bos 1B SWAN 213/630 138 45 3 27 74 20 119 6 1 0 456.5 2.9
Curtis Granderson, NYY OF DETH 153/583 76 26 10 41 85 0 169 12 25 10 454.7 2.9
Ian Kinsler, Tex 2B, DH RJW 158/620 88 34 4 32 89 2 71 8 30 4 437.5 2.8
Robinson Cano, NYY 2B BAGO 188/623 107 46 7 28 38 11 96 12 8 2 424.2 2.7
David Ortiz, Bos DH RJW 162/525 92 40 1 29 78 12 83 1 1 1 415.5 2.8
Dustin Pedroia, Bos 2B LANC 195/635 134 37 3 21 86 6 85 1 26 8 389.5 2.4
Paul Konerko, CWS 1B, DH BAGO 163/543 107 25 0 31 77 17 89 8 1 1 380.7 2.6
So there you go. We make the distinction that the Cy Young is already for the best pitcher in the league and do not consider pitchers in the MVP voting. Also, MVP means to the Sawsheezle anyway as the best player in the league (hitter only). Whether the player's team went to the playoffs is irrelevant as this is an individual award. We will see later how the writers do.
=========================================================================
Jose Bautista, Tor 3B, OF LANC 155/513 86 24 2 43 132 24 111 6 9 5 542.7 3.6
Miguel Cabrera, Det 1B LANC 197/572 119 48 0 30 108 22 89 3 2 1 525.3 3.3
Jacoby Ellsbury, Bos OF TOM 212/660 129 46 5 32 52 1 98 9 39 15 508 3.2
Adrian Gonzalez, Bos 1B SWAN 213/630 138 45 3 27 74 20 119 6 1 0 456.5 2.9
Curtis Granderson, NYY OF DETH 153/583 76 26 10 41 85 0 169 12 25 10 454.7 2.9
Ian Kinsler, Tex 2B, DH RJW 158/620 88 34 4 32 89 2 71 8 30 4 437.5 2.8
Robinson Cano, NYY 2B BAGO 188/623 107 46 7 28 38 11 96 12 8 2 424.2 2.7
David Ortiz, Bos DH RJW 162/525 92 40 1 29 78 12 83 1 1 1 415.5 2.8
Dustin Pedroia, Bos 2B LANC 195/635 134 37 3 21 86 6 85 1 26 8 389.5 2.4
Paul Konerko, CWS 1B, DH BAGO 163/543 107 25 0 31 77 17 89 8 1 1 380.7 2.6
So there you go. We make the distinction that the Cy Young is already for the best pitcher in the league and do not consider pitchers in the MVP voting. Also, MVP means to the Sawsheezle anyway as the best player in the league (hitter only). Whether the player's team went to the playoffs is irrelevant as this is an individual award. We will see later how the writers do.
Friday, November 18, 2011
NFL Logos: Redux
Awesome ESPN article on rebranding teams' logos. Have a look. The Broncos one is perhaps my favorite.
http://espn.go.com/espn/page2/story/_/id/7238430/page-2-rebrands-nfl-logos-better-reflect-field-performance
http://espn.go.com/espn/page2/story/_/id/7238430/page-2-rebrands-nfl-logos-better-reflect-field-performance
Thursday, November 17, 2011
NL Cy Young Votes: THFL vs. "The Writers"
NL Cy Young voting totals
Pitcher Team 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th Points
Clayton Kershaw Dodgers 27 3 2 207
Roy Halladay Phillies 4 21 7 133
Cliff Lee Phillies 5 17 9 1 90
Ian Kennedy D-backs 1 3 6 18 3 76
Cole Hamels Phillies 2 13 17
Tim Lincecum Giants 1 5 7
Yovani Gallardo Brewers 1 3 5
Matt Cain Giants 1 1 3
John Axford Brewers 2 2
Craig Kimbrel Braves 2 2
Madison Bumgarner Giants 1 1
Ryan Vogelsong Giants 1 1
Ok Blogger formatting be damned. Again, we correctly predicted the Cy Young winner in NL as we did the AL. The writers again got it wrong though. We had Cliff Lee in 2nd and Hallady 3rd. Ian Kennedy was awesome this year, but the fact that the Diamondbacks got to the playoffs is not supposed to factor into the decision. We had him tied for 5th. Other than that, things look fairly similar between ours and "theirs". So how bad was our metric for pitchers this year? We correctly identified the top pitchers in each league. Some analysis this winter will seek to further validate/tweak the metric.
Next week will will look at the MVP!
Pitcher Team 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th Points
Clayton Kershaw Dodgers 27 3 2 207
Roy Halladay Phillies 4 21 7 133
Cliff Lee Phillies 5 17 9 1 90
Ian Kennedy D-backs 1 3 6 18 3 76
Cole Hamels Phillies 2 13 17
Tim Lincecum Giants 1 5 7
Yovani Gallardo Brewers 1 3 5
Matt Cain Giants 1 1 3
John Axford Brewers 2 2
Craig Kimbrel Braves 2 2
Madison Bumgarner Giants 1 1
Ryan Vogelsong Giants 1 1
Ok Blogger formatting be damned. Again, we correctly predicted the Cy Young winner in NL as we did the AL. The writers again got it wrong though. We had Cliff Lee in 2nd and Hallady 3rd. Ian Kennedy was awesome this year, but the fact that the Diamondbacks got to the playoffs is not supposed to factor into the decision. We had him tied for 5th. Other than that, things look fairly similar between ours and "theirs". So how bad was our metric for pitchers this year? We correctly identified the top pitchers in each league. Some analysis this winter will seek to further validate/tweak the metric.
Next week will will look at the MVP!
Wednesday, November 16, 2011
Tuesday, November 15, 2011
AL Cy Young Votes: THFL vs "The Writers"
American League Cy Young vote
Pitcher, Team 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th Total
Verlander, Tigers 28 - - - - 196
Weaver, Angels - 17 8 2 1 97
Shields, Rays - 5 9 8 3 66
Sabathia, Yankees - 5 7 9 4 63
Valverde, Tigers - 1 3 6 3 28
Wilson, Rangers - - - 1 7 9
Haren, Angels - - 1 1 2 7
Rivera, Yankees - - - - 4 4
Beckett, Red Sox - - - - 3 3
Romero, Blue Jays - - - 1 - 2
Robertson, Yankees - - - - 1 1
Read more: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2011/baseball/mlb/11/15/al.cy.young.justin.verlander.ap/index.html#ixzz1doL8bCEs
Anyway, THFL using our scoring metric agrees with the Baseball Writers of America for the first three spots. They overvalue Sabbathia because of his wins (19) and put him fourth where we said Danny Haren should be (he only had 16 wins. We never considered Jose Valverde because we don't include relief pitchers in our league. Anyway, the rest of the names on the list are in line with what we predicted. Again, we didn't use wins or losses and only looked at aggregate totals of IP, K, ER, and bases given up via walks and such. We didn't look at situational stuff or the playoffs (the writers did considering CJ Wilson is 6th on their list and ahead of Danny Haren).
Pitcher, Team 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th Total
Verlander, Tigers 28 - - - - 196
Weaver, Angels - 17 8 2 1 97
Shields, Rays - 5 9 8 3 66
Sabathia, Yankees - 5 7 9 4 63
Valverde, Tigers - 1 3 6 3 28
Wilson, Rangers - - - 1 7 9
Haren, Angels - - 1 1 2 7
Rivera, Yankees - - - - 4 4
Beckett, Red Sox - - - - 3 3
Romero, Blue Jays - - - 1 - 2
Robertson, Yankees - - - - 1 1
Read more: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2011/baseball/mlb/11/15/al.cy.young.justin.verlander.ap/index.html#ixzz1doL8bCEs
Anyway, THFL using our scoring metric agrees with the Baseball Writers of America for the first three spots. They overvalue Sabbathia because of his wins (19) and put him fourth where we said Danny Haren should be (he only had 16 wins. We never considered Jose Valverde because we don't include relief pitchers in our league. Anyway, the rest of the names on the list are in line with what we predicted. Again, we didn't use wins or losses and only looked at aggregate totals of IP, K, ER, and bases given up via walks and such. We didn't look at situational stuff or the playoffs (the writers did considering CJ Wilson is 6th on their list and ahead of Danny Haren).
Monday, November 14, 2011
Toddy Hollandsworths Fantasy League: Awards Season
So they announced the rookie of the year awards today. I wasn't interested in that so I ignored the news conference. I am interested in the Cy Young and MVP awards however. Using our in-house derived scoring system we predict that the Cy Young voting should look something like this in each league. Pardon the stupid blogger formatting.
AL Cy Young
===================================================================
Name, Team Owner IP H ER B HBP K WP B Points Avg.
===================================================================
Justin Verlander, Det SP CRF 251.0 174 67 57 3 250 7 2 601.2 17.7
Jered Weaver, LAA SP BAGO 235.2 182 63 56 3 198 8 0 524.8 15.9
James Shields, TB SP BAGO 249.1 195 78 65 5 225 4 0 500.7 15.2
Dan Haren, LAA SP LANC 238.1 211 84 33 5 192 6 0 422 12.1
CC Sabathia, NYY SP RJW 237.1 230 79 61 7 230 2 1 415.8 12.6
Doug Fister, Det SP DETH 216.1 193 68 37 12 146 3 1 395.6 12.4
C.J. Wilson, Tex SP RJW 223.1 191 73 74 10 206 6 0 395 11.6
Ricky Romero, Tor SP Corp 225.0 176 73 80 14 178 9 1 389 12.2
Josh Beckett, Bos SP DETH 193.0 146 62 52 9 175 6 0 375.1 12.5
David Price, TB SP Corp 224.1 192 87 63 9 218 2 0 350.2 10.3
NL Cy Young
====================================================================
Name, Team Owner IP H ER B HBP K WP B Points Avg.
====================================================================
Clayton Kershaw, LAD SP SWAN 233.1 174 59 54 3 248 5 1 572 17.3
Cliff Lee, Phi SP LANC 232.2 197 62 42 6 238 0 0 541.2 16.9
Roy Halladay, Phi SP DETH 233.2 208 61 35 4 220 2 1 536.4 16.8
Cole Hamels, Phi SP DETH 216.0 169 67 44 5 194 3 3 445.2 13.9
Tim Lincecum, SF SP CRF 217.0 176 66 86 6 220 9 0 414.4 12.6
Ian Kennedy, Ari SP RJW 222.0 186 71 55 9 198 11 1 414.4 12.6
Matt Cain, SF SP Corp 221.2 177 71 63 9 179 4 0 412.5 12.5
Madison Bumgarner, SF SP BAGO 204.2 202 73 46 5 191 0 1 336.1 10.2
Chris Carpenter, StL SP TOM 237.1 243 91 55 6 191 3 1 329.3 9.7
Tim Hudson, Atl SP FA 215.0 189 77 56 15 158 10 0 327 9.9
It really shouldn't be a race in either league. This is an exciting time to how the scoring metric predicts the awards. The same will be done for the MVP awards that will be announced next week.
AL Cy Young
===================================================================
Name, Team Owner IP H ER B HBP K WP B Points Avg.
===================================================================
Justin Verlander, Det SP CRF 251.0 174 67 57 3 250 7 2 601.2 17.7
Jered Weaver, LAA SP BAGO 235.2 182 63 56 3 198 8 0 524.8 15.9
James Shields, TB SP BAGO 249.1 195 78 65 5 225 4 0 500.7 15.2
Dan Haren, LAA SP LANC 238.1 211 84 33 5 192 6 0 422 12.1
CC Sabathia, NYY SP RJW 237.1 230 79 61 7 230 2 1 415.8 12.6
Doug Fister, Det SP DETH 216.1 193 68 37 12 146 3 1 395.6 12.4
C.J. Wilson, Tex SP RJW 223.1 191 73 74 10 206 6 0 395 11.6
Ricky Romero, Tor SP Corp 225.0 176 73 80 14 178 9 1 389 12.2
Josh Beckett, Bos SP DETH 193.0 146 62 52 9 175 6 0 375.1 12.5
David Price, TB SP Corp 224.1 192 87 63 9 218 2 0 350.2 10.3
NL Cy Young
====================================================================
Name, Team Owner IP H ER B HBP K WP B Points Avg.
====================================================================
Clayton Kershaw, LAD SP SWAN 233.1 174 59 54 3 248 5 1 572 17.3
Cliff Lee, Phi SP LANC 232.2 197 62 42 6 238 0 0 541.2 16.9
Roy Halladay, Phi SP DETH 233.2 208 61 35 4 220 2 1 536.4 16.8
Cole Hamels, Phi SP DETH 216.0 169 67 44 5 194 3 3 445.2 13.9
Tim Lincecum, SF SP CRF 217.0 176 66 86 6 220 9 0 414.4 12.6
Ian Kennedy, Ari SP RJW 222.0 186 71 55 9 198 11 1 414.4 12.6
Matt Cain, SF SP Corp 221.2 177 71 63 9 179 4 0 412.5 12.5
Madison Bumgarner, SF SP BAGO 204.2 202 73 46 5 191 0 1 336.1 10.2
Chris Carpenter, StL SP TOM 237.1 243 91 55 6 191 3 1 329.3 9.7
Tim Hudson, Atl SP FA 215.0 189 77 56 15 158 10 0 327 9.9
It really shouldn't be a race in either league. This is an exciting time to how the scoring metric predicts the awards. The same will be done for the MVP awards that will be announced next week.
Smartfones
Hey, Did any of you guys hear the latest really boring technical feature of the newest release of a new web 3.3 based application phone? It really might affect my next shartfone purchase!
Saturday, November 12, 2011
Let's start ranting
First of all, let's have all the retarded football announcers get off the Andrew Luck boner bandwagon because he is not Heisman worthy. He showed that tonight. Stanford was overrated and they are a running team anyway. How is the QB for team that runs the ball the odds on favorite for the #1 pick. I don't get it.
Just started watching the office epsiode. Wow. Please end this. I keep watching just to see how bad it can get. Pam sucks.
Got rejected by another female this week. Shart happens. Why don't they even give you a chance anymore? It is going to keep getting harder to meet females (Caucasians primarily) given that I work with male Chinese mostly. Shart again. The chick and I went on a second date to a bar that featured a batting cage in the back. I thought we had a good time. We texted a lot the next day during the local college basketball game, but the next day I called her, left a message asking her out for dinner, and she never called back. Again, shart. Alphas to the front.
I haven't watched Zoey Deschanel's new New Girl epsiode yet, but I hope to soon and then send capital_prototype an email summarizing the hilarious parts whilst simultaneously discussing its connection with myself and possibly a one night stand I had recently.
Somehow I get picked on a lot out here which is weird considering I am working on deadlifting three plates (315 lbs) at the moment. There was discussion tonight that I couldn't play varisty high school football in my current shape. I disagreed. They don't realize my resolve nor my overall warrior-esque mental state of mind. They think I am some sort of weakling. Too bad for them.
Ranting continued, just saw a Jim Halpert "interview" or whatever it is they do on the show. Wow kill his character please. Again, capital_prototype had the right idea several fiscal years ago.
More to come ....
I want to admit to the blogosphere that I am very good at barking. Jew Dogs!
Wow. Community is really getting nuts. Forrealzies.
Alright, How I met Your Mother keeps messing with my mind. Let's get one more alphas to the front before nap time.
Just started watching the office epsiode. Wow. Please end this. I keep watching just to see how bad it can get. Pam sucks.
Got rejected by another female this week. Shart happens. Why don't they even give you a chance anymore? It is going to keep getting harder to meet females (Caucasians primarily) given that I work with male Chinese mostly. Shart again. The chick and I went on a second date to a bar that featured a batting cage in the back. I thought we had a good time. We texted a lot the next day during the local college basketball game, but the next day I called her, left a message asking her out for dinner, and she never called back. Again, shart. Alphas to the front.
I haven't watched Zoey Deschanel's new New Girl epsiode yet, but I hope to soon and then send capital_prototype an email summarizing the hilarious parts whilst simultaneously discussing its connection with myself and possibly a one night stand I had recently.
Somehow I get picked on a lot out here which is weird considering I am working on deadlifting three plates (315 lbs) at the moment. There was discussion tonight that I couldn't play varisty high school football in my current shape. I disagreed. They don't realize my resolve nor my overall warrior-esque mental state of mind. They think I am some sort of weakling. Too bad for them.
Ranting continued, just saw a Jim Halpert "interview" or whatever it is they do on the show. Wow kill his character please. Again, capital_prototype had the right idea several fiscal years ago.
More to come ....
I want to admit to the blogosphere that I am very good at barking. Jew Dogs!
Wow. Community is really getting nuts. Forrealzies.
Alright, How I met Your Mother keeps messing with my mind. Let's get one more alphas to the front before nap time.
Friday, November 11, 2011
Tuesday, November 8, 2011
Monday, November 7, 2011
Kardashians: SNL vs Mad TV
Even though Mad TV is dead, it holds a special place in my heart. They were better than SNL during their prime. I think these sketches ares a nice comparison between the two. They never had a middle-eastern actress or Kristen Wiig, but they had the better package. Anyway, take a look.
SNL
Mad Tv (sorry can't embed)
http://youtu.be/-eGSH-VZeVg
SNL
Mad Tv (sorry can't embed)
http://youtu.be/-eGSH-VZeVg
Droid Razr Reviews
http://gadgetbox.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2011/11/07/8682369-motorola-droid-razr-review-the-new-android-king
http://www.engadget.com/2011/11/07/motorola-droid-razr-review/
http://www.slashgear.com/motorola-razr-review-07193439/
Seems like a winner so far. You still have to deal with motoblur though.
http://www.engadget.com/2011/11/07/motorola-droid-razr-review/
http://www.slashgear.com/motorola-razr-review-07193439/
Seems like a winner so far. You still have to deal with motoblur though.
Sunday, November 6, 2011
Another IL reference
Just saw Rum Diary last night and the character Lotterman says something about "a plumber from Normal, IL." I can't remember exactly what it was in regards to. I think it was like "no one wants to be a plumber from Normal, IL."
Friday, November 4, 2011
More Posts
Happy Endings from last week featured a nice Matt Besser cameo and an awesome costume. Another Illinois show.
Quotes:
"It is getting hot up in hur"
"Good schools out here"
Quotes:
"It is getting hot up in hur"
"Good schools out here"
More Illinois References
In this week's Community, there is a cross dresser character named Urbana Champaign. For realsies.
New Whitney
Watch the new Whitney episode "2 Broke-Up Guys". The show takes place in Chicago I guess. Shart. Anyway. It has some good broments.
Decent article about current MLB managerial openings
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2011/writers/cliff_corcoran/11/04/cardinals.red.sox.cubs.manager/index.html?sct=mlb_t11_a1
Summary, the Cardinals job is the best in baseball.
Summary, the Cardinals job is the best in baseball.
Thursday, November 3, 2011
The (smartyphone) Plot Thickens
http://www.engadget.com/2011/11/03/htc-rezound-unveiled/
HTC now has a dual, 4G, 720p phone coming to Verizon. Nov. 14th to be exact. I will have to read the reviews of this, the Droid Razr, and the Galaxy Nexus to see which one to get.
HTC now has a dual, 4G, 720p phone coming to Verizon. Nov. 14th to be exact. I will have to read the reviews of this, the Droid Razr, and the Galaxy Nexus to see which one to get.
Sunday, October 30, 2011
Ok Panic Mode Begins
Epstein may take down the scoreboard!
"I wouldn't look for that old scoreboard to be sitting on top of the center-field bleachers for many more years,'' the general manager said. "There's $20 million (a year) sitting up there if they put up a giant Jumbotron. I know people are attached to tradition, to that scoreboard, but is taking it down any bigger change than putting seats on top of the Green Monster?"
http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/baseball/cubs/sc-spt-1030-notes-rogers-baseball--20111030,0,4735617.column
"I wouldn't look for that old scoreboard to be sitting on top of the center-field bleachers for many more years,'' the general manager said. "There's $20 million (a year) sitting up there if they put up a giant Jumbotron. I know people are attached to tradition, to that scoreboard, but is taking it down any bigger change than putting seats on top of the Green Monster?"
http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/baseball/cubs/sc-spt-1030-notes-rogers-baseball--20111030,0,4735617.column
Saturday, October 29, 2011
World Serial of Baseball
The Cardinals proved last night that they are the best organization in the history of the National League. It is frustrating that the Cubs are so far behind them. I actually was rooting for them which I think stemmed from a hatred of the American League, wanting to support my friends who are Cards fans, and being a little homesick. Anyway, congrats to them.
Thursday, October 27, 2011
More Apple Patent Madness
Apple now owns the "slide to unlock" feature. When will the madness stop?
http://www.tomsguide.com/us/Slide-to-Unlock-Apple-Patent-Android-unlock-Patent-infringement,news-12998.html
http://www.tomsguide.com/us/Slide-to-Unlock-Apple-Patent-Android-unlock-Patent-infringement,news-12998.html
Wednesday, October 26, 2011
Nokia N9: The World's Most Beautiful Smartphone
Read the review
http://www.engadget.com/2011/10/22/nokia-n9-review/
Watch this video. One of the designers is being interviewed by some alternative dude.
http://www.engadget.com/2011/10/22/nokia-n9-review/
Watch this video. One of the designers is being interviewed by some alternative dude.
Tuesday, October 25, 2011
Epstein Officially Announced as Cubs President of Baseball Operations
http://chicago.cubs.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20111025&content_id=25788488&vkey=news_chc&c_id=chc
Watch the short video and tell me if you don't get goosebumps at some point. I am excited.
Watch the short video and tell me if you don't get goosebumps at some point. I am excited.
Monday, October 24, 2011
Must Read article about Crane Kenney
"That is it how it should be. Kenney is not a baseball man, he is a business. There is no question that Kenney has some value to the front office when he is making business decisions, but over recent seasons, Kenney has been invovled in baseball decisions. News came out towards the end of the season that while Hendry was negotiating the contract for then free agent Alfonso Soriano in 2007, the general manager was working on proposed six year deal worth approximately $100 million. Towards the final stages of the contract negotiations, while Hendry was on an airplane, Kenney stepped over Hendry and signed Soriano to an eight year, $136 million contract. That contract will likely go down as one of the worst in Major League Baseball history, and all because Kenney–with the Tribune Company’s endorsing–wanted to add value to a franchise that was being sold."
100 million at 6 years is pretty bad though. Anyway, a must read!
http://cubbiescrib.com/2011/10/23/was-crane-kenney-the-hold-up/#more-4050
100 million at 6 years is pretty bad though. Anyway, a must read!
http://cubbiescrib.com/2011/10/23/was-crane-kenney-the-hold-up/#more-4050
Scientology: South Park Smear Campaign
They are supposed to be a church, right? Anyway, they tried to dig up dirt on Trey Parker and Matt Stone a few years ago and the details are coming out in the open now.
http://blogs.villagevoice.com/runninscared/2011/10/south_park_trey_parker_matt_stone_scientology_investigation.php
http://blogs.villagevoice.com/runninscared/2011/10/south_park_trey_parker_matt_stone_scientology_investigation.php
Saturday, October 22, 2011
Friday, October 21, 2011
Thursday, October 20, 2011
Tuesday, October 18, 2011
I'm so excited
Samsung and Google's Ice Cream Sandwich event liveblog!
Or watch a live feed (starting at 9PM {maybe 8:30} CST): http://www.youtube.com/android
Or watch a live feed (starting at 9PM {maybe 8:30} CST): http://www.youtube.com/android
Monday, October 17, 2011
Saturday, October 15, 2011
Thoughts: Four Beers In
Without a doubt, Tony La Russa is the best manager in baseball. He may not realize it, but he is actually the most moneyball manager in the bigs.
This Desert/West Coast lifestyle isn't for me. It was 99 degrees today.
the Office is on a seemingly never ending death spiral. How low can it go now? Jim Halpert is the worst human being I have ever had to watch on TV.
Shows that are still good: Fringe, Parks and Rec, Community (getting a little weird)
Shows that are beginning to fall of the wagon: It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia
New shows that are a little queer, but kind of funny at times: Whitney, New Girl, 2 Broke Girls
Things Sawsheezle shouldn't admit to: watching Whitney, New Girl, 2 Broke Girls
We will see how things go after a few more beers.
This Desert/West Coast lifestyle isn't for me. It was 99 degrees today.
the Office is on a seemingly never ending death spiral. How low can it go now? Jim Halpert is the worst human being I have ever had to watch on TV.
Shows that are still good: Fringe, Parks and Rec, Community (getting a little weird)
Shows that are beginning to fall of the wagon: It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia
New shows that are a little queer, but kind of funny at times: Whitney, New Girl, 2 Broke Girls
Things Sawsheezle shouldn't admit to: watching Whitney, New Girl, 2 Broke Girls
We will see how things go after a few more beers.
Thursday, October 13, 2011
Wednesday, October 12, 2011
Tuesday, October 11, 2011
Mike Stoops Fired: Behind The Scenes
http://espn.go.com/college-football/story/_/id/7086070/arizona-wildcats-fire-mike-stoops-coach-1-5-start
Mike Stoops was fired after 8 years as head coach of the University of Arizona Wildcats Football Squad. The Wildcats have lost their last 10 games to FBS opponents which amounts to nearly an entire season's worth of games. The program needs a shot of life and perhaps someone who will get the team to play defense (UA is something like 115th in the nation out of 120 schools) and perhaps not blow so hard. UA recently hired a new athletic director, Greg Byrne, to make important decisions of this matter. Yesterday, he made one. For the record, Greg Byrne's wife is smoking hot, he is tall, and his dad is the AD at Texas A&M so naturally he is qualified to hold his position. I like to think this is kind of how it went down.
***This is a dramatization. All portrayals herein of real people are not meant to be accurate, but rather just a humorous take on things and are not meant to be taken literally in any way. Please make the following changes in your brain as you watch this scene unfold.
Rip Torn = Jim
Tom Green = Gordy
Jim = Bill Byrne
Gordy = Greg Byrne
Little Timmy = Jim = Bill Byrne
Bob (on the phone) = Mike Stoops
Computer Job = Athletic Director Job
Stocks = Season Tickets
Wire the money = Change the plays
Geneva = Blitz
Helsinki = Man to Man coverage
40 million Deutschmarks = 115th ranked defense
Mike Stoops was fired after 8 years as head coach of the University of Arizona Wildcats Football Squad. The Wildcats have lost their last 10 games to FBS opponents which amounts to nearly an entire season's worth of games. The program needs a shot of life and perhaps someone who will get the team to play defense (UA is something like 115th in the nation out of 120 schools) and perhaps not blow so hard. UA recently hired a new athletic director, Greg Byrne, to make important decisions of this matter. Yesterday, he made one. For the record, Greg Byrne's wife is smoking hot, he is tall, and his dad is the AD at Texas A&M so naturally he is qualified to hold his position. I like to think this is kind of how it went down.
***This is a dramatization. All portrayals herein of real people are not meant to be accurate, but rather just a humorous take on things and are not meant to be taken literally in any way. Please make the following changes in your brain as you watch this scene unfold.
Rip Torn = Jim
Tom Green = Gordy
Jim = Bill Byrne
Gordy = Greg Byrne
Little Timmy = Jim = Bill Byrne
Bob (on the phone) = Mike Stoops
Computer Job = Athletic Director Job
Stocks = Season Tickets
Wire the money = Change the plays
Geneva = Blitz
Helsinki = Man to Man coverage
40 million Deutschmarks = 115th ranked defense
Friday, October 7, 2011
Nexus Prime Reveal now October 27
http://www.tomsguide.com/us/Nexus-Prime-Google-Phone-Launch-Delayed-Release-Date,news-12802.html
October 27 now. The delay is out of respect for Steve Jobs and their very recent iPhone 4S reveal. I think that is a nice gesture by them to delay the reveal.
Update: This video is supposedly of the Nexus Prime "in the wild"
October 27 now. The delay is out of respect for Steve Jobs and their very recent iPhone 4S reveal. I think that is a nice gesture by them to delay the reveal.
Update: This video is supposedly of the Nexus Prime "in the wild"
Thursday, October 6, 2011
Wednesday, October 5, 2011
Tuesday, October 4, 2011
iPhone 5 is a figment of your imagination
It never existed. The podPhone 4s is here. To summarize, it isn't very exciting. The Nexus Prime is launching next Tuesday supposedly and with the rumored updates it is hands down the phone to look for.
http://www.forbes.com/sites/benzingainsights/2011/10/04/apple-unveils-the-iphone-4s-aka-the-iphone-rehash-edition/
http://www.engadget.com/2011/10/04/iphone-4s-vs-the-smartphone-elite-galaxy-s-ii-bionic-and-tita/
http://www.forbes.com/sites/benzingainsights/2011/10/04/apple-unveils-the-iphone-4s-aka-the-iphone-rehash-edition/
http://www.engadget.com/2011/10/04/iphone-4s-vs-the-smartphone-elite-galaxy-s-ii-bionic-and-tita/
Playboy Club Canceled!
http://tv.yahoo.com/slideshow/773/photos/1?nc
How did this happen? I mean, how was a show like this even put on the air in the first place?
How did this happen? I mean, how was a show like this even put on the air in the first place?
Monday, October 3, 2011
Thursday, September 29, 2011
Wednesday, September 28, 2011
Amazon Silk: Connecting People and Clouds with Webbing
Amazon wants to rule the world. Is Silk a precursor to Skynet? In a word, yes. Watch out Amazon, you are making Cloud God angry.
Monday, September 26, 2011
Update: Bob Brenly is not Nostradamus
http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/baseball/cubs/ct-spt-0926-cubs-cardinals-chicago--20110926,0,5348419.story
Bob Brenly is a visionary, but he doesn't give himself his due credit.
Bob Brenly is a visionary, but he doesn't give himself his due credit.
Friday, September 23, 2011
So Rick Santorum just lost the election...
He says sex shouldn't be an issue in the military. That is exactly why we repealed DADT. It is crazy how some Republicans only care about social issues. This guy is an idiot.
Thursday, September 22, 2011
Opening Night
Community, Parks and Rec, and The Office all open tonight with new seasons. Now that Michael is gone, how about Jim and Pam leave and let Dwight take over the office? Also, Fringe debuts tomorrow and Sawsheezle can't wait to witness the new season. Also, in case you missed it, these shows have already aired new episodes:
Archer
Workaholics
Blue Mountain State
How I Met Your Mother
Modern Family
It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia
Archer
Workaholics
Blue Mountain State
How I Met Your Mother
Modern Family
It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia
Sunday, September 11, 2011
A Fur
This is a semi-immediate emotional reaction fur in response to Sawsheezle getting his little heart broken this evening by a prospective female. Shart happens. Alphas to the front! Anywho, this in addition to being stressed out by the semester and feeling like the University of Arizona football team could use a 25 year old DE/WR/CB prospect with years of eligibility left, I have decided to try a little bit of a "clense" diet in order to calm the nerves and restore my currently unbalanced chi. Also, I may have high blood pressure so this may help that too. I believe I will start things off by saying no way to fast food, alcohol, and soda. I will then increase my intake of flaxseed and wheatgerm oils while trying to pump extra hard at the gym. For the mental side of things, I think I will make some time for reflection/meditation and do some of that tantric yoga shit the celebs do. Anyway, the goal of course is to dunk a basketball and right now I am not getting rim (although I am very close) so the end result is clear. The journey itself is, admittedly, a little tough to bear sometimes, but shart happens and you have got to get back on the horse. Can I get another Alphas to the front!?
Friday, September 9, 2011
A Negative Droid Bionic Review
As expected, the pentile screen is a love-it or hate-it thing. Overall summary of a bunch of reviews seems to be: performance excellent, bloatware terrible, screen bad (or good depending on who you ask), 4g great, dual core awesome, camera ok, price not worth it.
http://www.geek.com/articles/mobile/review-motorola-droid-bionic-2011099/
http://www.geek.com/articles/mobile/review-motorola-droid-bionic-2011099/
Thursday, September 8, 2011
More Conference Realignment
Texas A&M is perhaps ruining things again. Can't we stop this realignment mularky? How about Sawsheezle settles things the alpha way? Bam. Here we go. How about the Lonestar conference which is only Texas schools? The rest of the Big 12 can stay together and add Boise State, and perhaps some other scraps.
The Lonestar Conference (10 schools)
Texas (BIG 12)
Texas Tech (BIG 12)
Texas A&M (BIG 12)
Baylor (Big 12)
TCU (Mountain West)
UTEP (Conference USA)
SMU (Conference USA)
Rice (Conference USA)
Houston (Conference USA)
North Texas (Sun Belt Conference)
The Lonestar Conference (10 schools)
Texas (BIG 12)
Texas Tech (BIG 12)
Texas A&M (BIG 12)
Baylor (Big 12)
TCU (Mountain West)
UTEP (Conference USA)
SMU (Conference USA)
Rice (Conference USA)
Houston (Conference USA)
North Texas (Sun Belt Conference)
Wednesday, September 7, 2011
Your One-Stop Fur for Droid Bionic Diesel Goodness
CNET
http://thisismynext.com/2011/09/07/motorola-droid-bionic-review/
http://www.ubergizmo.com/2011/09/droid-bionic-review/
http://www.engadget.com/2011/09/07/droid-bionic-hits-verizon-tomorrow-we-go-hands-on-today-video/
http://www.gottabemobile.com/2011/09/07/motorola-droid-bionic-review/
Highlights/thoughts so far
1. It is fast.
2. It has a pentile screen which some people abhor. Here is some info.
3. It is going to cost $300 for sure.
4. I haven't heard anyone say that it is revolutionary by any means.
5. To me it seems this is too little too late even though 4g is still in its infancy.
6. If Nexus Prime is coming out before x-mas and iPhone next month is this phone worth the $300 price tag?
Keep coming for more...
http://thisismynext.com/2011/09/07/motorola-droid-bionic-review/
http://www.ubergizmo.com/2011/09/droid-bionic-review/
http://www.engadget.com/2011/09/07/droid-bionic-hits-verizon-tomorrow-we-go-hands-on-today-video/
http://www.gottabemobile.com/2011/09/07/motorola-droid-bionic-review/
Highlights/thoughts so far
1. It is fast.
2. It has a pentile screen which some people abhor. Here is some info.
3. It is going to cost $300 for sure.
4. I haven't heard anyone say that it is revolutionary by any means.
5. To me it seems this is too little too late even though 4g is still in its infancy.
6. If Nexus Prime is coming out before x-mas and iPhone next month is this phone worth the $300 price tag?
Keep coming for more...
Tuesday, September 6, 2011
Win-Tease
For those of you who like wins still please take a look at this little gem. You will waste part of your life if you read this article. I think he may be a win-tease (you're welcome world).
http://joeposnanski.si.com/2011/09/05/in-praise-of-wins-sort-of/?sct=mlb_t13_a2
http://joeposnanski.si.com/2011/09/05/in-praise-of-wins-sort-of/?sct=mlb_t13_a2
Sunday, September 4, 2011
Friday, September 2, 2011
The Curious Case of Mark Reynolds
So I was having a friendly debate last night about the validity of scoring metrics in general and their ability to truly measure a player's value and possible impact on their team. Of course, it has been well documented that fantasy baseball is limited in its ability to measure the true value of a player, but I continue to argue that it is good at measuring raw offensive output. Again, we cannot measure defensive worth in fantasy baseball at least in its current incarnation. Some of the arguments that were brought up included situational hitting, lineup dependent thought processes by both the pitcher and the hitter, and various other psychological things. My argument is that there is no way that we can measure a player's psychological impact on a game so why worry about it? I think we should include an overall "fudge" factor that can include our "gut" instincts about a player's actual value. Take, for instance, Mark Reynolds. Reynolds, the perennial strikeout king, is like Adam Dunn's retarded little brother. Retarded because he strikes out more and walks less. They both just tear the cover off the ball though, but how good is Reynolds? I think all of our instincts will tell us that he sucks, but by how much? His replacement on the Diamondbacks this year, Ryan Roberts is, according to my gut, a decent third baseman but not an elite player. While I don't think he is better offensively than Reynolds, I "know" he is a better player overall. But is he? Let's take a look at the top third basemen according to Sawsheezle's scoring metric along with some advanced metrics from fangraphs. Recall that Sawsheezle's metric is fundamentally limited by the inherent parameters of fantasy baseball to only deal with offensive output.
The top third basemen according to Sawsheeszle (excluding Jose Bautista who is primarily in RF and Johnny Peralta who is at SS/3B):
1. Aramis Ramirez (300.7)
2. Michael Young (285)
3. Kevin Youkilis (248.5)
4. Mark Reynolds (241.8)
5. Adrian Beltre (232.8)
6. Evan Longoria (229.5)
7. Edwin Encarnacion (212)
8. Ryan Roberts (208.6)
Did you know that Aramis Ramirez is the best 3B in baseball (offensively)?
Now let's look at OPS from fangraphs which is still a raw metric, but doesn't include/consider number of games played/total at-bats:
1. Aramis Ramirez (.865)
2. Michael Young (.862)
3. Kevin Youkilis (.861)
4. Daniel Murphy (.809)
5. Mark Reynolds (.803)
6. Evan Longoria (.802)
7. Edwin Encarnacion (.801)
8. Ryan Roberts (.791)
No real shockers here, but Youkilis and Murphy are higher than expected, but this doesn't include total at-bats. Aramis has 107 more ABs than Murphy and 103 more than Youkilis and that is why Aramis has so many more points.
Now let's look at wRC which is a "runs created" metric:
1. Michael Young (91.5)
2. Aramis Ramirez (84.8)
3. Kevin Youkilis (75.9)
4. Mark Reynolds (71.8)
5. Ryan Roberts (65.3)
6. Edwin Encarnacion (62.4)
7. Evan Longoria (62.0)
8. Daniel Murphy (58.9)
Nothing so far has looked into fielding. Again, I wish we could do fielding in the fantasy league, but we really can't as was discussed in the scoring treatise. If we include fielding stats we can look at a player's WAR which is the number of wins above a replacement level player that the player is worth. The difference in two players' WARs should tell you how many more/less wins a team would have with one player or the other. Again, WAR is perhaps the most complicated statistic used in baseball today and I am not necessarily a believer in it, but it paints a different picture at least so let's dive in.
1. Kevin Youkilis (4.2)
2. Evan Longoria (4.0)
3. Ryan Roberts (3.6)
4. Michael Young (3.5)
5. Daniel Murphy (3.2)
6. Aramis Ramirez (3.2)
7. Alberto Callaspo (2.6)
8. Placido Palanco (2.3)
9. Macier Izturis (1.8)
10. Martin Prado (1.6)
11. Edwin Encarnacion (1.5)
12. Casey McGehee (0.7)
13. Mark Reynolds (0.6)
Now, at least according to WAR, Mark Reynolds drops from about 4th in the other metrics to 13th. We can see that the Diamondbacks gained three more "wins" by getting rid of Reynolds in favor of Roberts. But why is Reynolds' WAR so low? It is because he is a terrible fielder. We knew that. In our guts we knew that he sucked. We can at least see it here even if we can't measure some of the intangibles like whether or not he is a strong "clubhouse presence" or what he thinks about when he strolls to the plate with runners in scoring position.
This was interesting to do. I will be doing a lot of analysis like this over the offseason to reevaluate the scoring metric so as to improve it for next year. I would also thank my friend for putting up with a physicist who loves to argue about baseball.
The top third basemen according to Sawsheeszle (excluding Jose Bautista who is primarily in RF and Johnny Peralta who is at SS/3B):
1. Aramis Ramirez (300.7)
2. Michael Young (285)
3. Kevin Youkilis (248.5)
4. Mark Reynolds (241.8)
5. Adrian Beltre (232.8)
6. Evan Longoria (229.5)
7. Edwin Encarnacion (212)
8. Ryan Roberts (208.6)
Did you know that Aramis Ramirez is the best 3B in baseball (offensively)?
Now let's look at OPS from fangraphs which is still a raw metric, but doesn't include/consider number of games played/total at-bats:
1. Aramis Ramirez (.865)
2. Michael Young (.862)
3. Kevin Youkilis (.861)
4. Daniel Murphy (.809)
5. Mark Reynolds (.803)
6. Evan Longoria (.802)
7. Edwin Encarnacion (.801)
8. Ryan Roberts (.791)
No real shockers here, but Youkilis and Murphy are higher than expected, but this doesn't include total at-bats. Aramis has 107 more ABs than Murphy and 103 more than Youkilis and that is why Aramis has so many more points.
Now let's look at wRC which is a "runs created" metric:
1. Michael Young (91.5)
2. Aramis Ramirez (84.8)
3. Kevin Youkilis (75.9)
4. Mark Reynolds (71.8)
5. Ryan Roberts (65.3)
6. Edwin Encarnacion (62.4)
7. Evan Longoria (62.0)
8. Daniel Murphy (58.9)
Nothing so far has looked into fielding. Again, I wish we could do fielding in the fantasy league, but we really can't as was discussed in the scoring treatise. If we include fielding stats we can look at a player's WAR which is the number of wins above a replacement level player that the player is worth. The difference in two players' WARs should tell you how many more/less wins a team would have with one player or the other. Again, WAR is perhaps the most complicated statistic used in baseball today and I am not necessarily a believer in it, but it paints a different picture at least so let's dive in.
1. Kevin Youkilis (4.2)
2. Evan Longoria (4.0)
3. Ryan Roberts (3.6)
4. Michael Young (3.5)
5. Daniel Murphy (3.2)
6. Aramis Ramirez (3.2)
7. Alberto Callaspo (2.6)
8. Placido Palanco (2.3)
9. Macier Izturis (1.8)
10. Martin Prado (1.6)
11. Edwin Encarnacion (1.5)
12. Casey McGehee (0.7)
13. Mark Reynolds (0.6)
Now, at least according to WAR, Mark Reynolds drops from about 4th in the other metrics to 13th. We can see that the Diamondbacks gained three more "wins" by getting rid of Reynolds in favor of Roberts. But why is Reynolds' WAR so low? It is because he is a terrible fielder. We knew that. In our guts we knew that he sucked. We can at least see it here even if we can't measure some of the intangibles like whether or not he is a strong "clubhouse presence" or what he thinks about when he strolls to the plate with runners in scoring position.
This was interesting to do. I will be doing a lot of analysis like this over the offseason to reevaluate the scoring metric so as to improve it for next year. I would also thank my friend for putting up with a physicist who loves to argue about baseball.
Thursday, September 1, 2011
Finally, a baseball writer who realizes Selig is ruining baseball
"MLB has spent decades trying to be more like the NBA and NFL. It hasn't worked. The solution is to embrace what is great about baseball, which is a long and meaningful regular season and the concept of a pennant race. MLB, under Bud Selig, sold September for October. Undoing that, by eliminating the wild card, is the key to making baseball's pennant races matter again."
Read more: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2011/writers/joe_sheehan/09/01/wild.card/index.html#ixzz1WkHG4KT9
No divisions please! Pennant races for the win! Please fire Bud Selig, elect Sawsheezle!
Read more: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2011/writers/joe_sheehan/09/01/wild.card/index.html#ixzz1WkHG4KT9
No divisions please! Pennant races for the win! Please fire Bud Selig, elect Sawsheezle!
Wednesday, August 31, 2011
Monday, August 29, 2011
The Cubs are bad at many levels (Duh)
http://www.baseballamerica.com/today/prospects/ask-ba/2011/2612260.html
The Cubs had the worst draft class of 2005. I don't think our rankings would be much better in other years either. We need to take advantage of supplemental picks (received through offering arbitration to a player and having them reject the offer) as well as just evaluating talent to begin with. We need a huge philosophical change to occur within the organization in order to set ourselves up for continued success. I again offer my services as GM to the Chicago Cubs if they are willing to take a risk on a guy with a big heart and bigger dreams.
The Cubs had the worst draft class of 2005. I don't think our rankings would be much better in other years either. We need to take advantage of supplemental picks (received through offering arbitration to a player and having them reject the offer) as well as just evaluating talent to begin with. We need a huge philosophical change to occur within the organization in order to set ourselves up for continued success. I again offer my services as GM to the Chicago Cubs if they are willing to take a risk on a guy with a big heart and bigger dreams.
Saturday, August 27, 2011
Monday, August 22, 2011
I posit that Cliff Corcoran needs to read my scoring document
Read his article here about who he thinks the AL MVP should be. (Hint: he thinks it is Curtis Granderson)
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2011/writers/cliff_corcoran/08/22/mvp.granderson.fielder/index.html?sct=mlb_t11_a0
Here are his AL MVP candidates in order:
1. Curtis Granderson
2. Adrian Gonzalez
3. Jose Bautista
4. Jacoby Ellsbury
5. Miguel Cabrera
Note that Justin Verlander is only an honorable mention and Jered Weaver doesn't even make that list. He likes Curtis granderson because he is leading in RBIs!!! No! I firmly believe that the MVP should simply go to the best player in the league be it a pitcher or hitter, but let us focus solely on hitters at the moment. Using the scoring methodology we employ in the fantasy league here are you AL MVP candidates: name (points scored):
1. Jose Bautista (463.4)
2. Curtis Granderson (408.7)
3. Miguel Cabrera (364.1)
4. Jacoby Ellsbury (350)
5. Paul Konerko (345)
Justin Verlander is having an amazing season with a 2.31 ERA and a 0.88 WHIP. So is Jered Weaver who sports a 2.10 ERA and a 0.97 WHIP, but has pitched less innings than Verlander. Here is what the AL MVP rankings would look like if we included pitchers:
1. Justin Verlander (540.2)
2. Jose Bautista (463.4)
3. Jered Weaver (460)
4. Curtis Granderson (408.7)
5. Dan Haren (366.4)
I was surprised to see Dan Haren at #5, but he has 2.98 ERA and a 0.98 WHIP in 190.1 innings. If we allow the MVP to go the hitters and the Cy Young to the pitchers then your AL MVP this year is Jose Bautista and your AL Cy Young winner is Justin Verlander. I just thought this was an interesting way to test my scoring methodology against popular opinion.
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2011/writers/cliff_corcoran/08/22/mvp.granderson.fielder/index.html?sct=mlb_t11_a0
Here are his AL MVP candidates in order:
1. Curtis Granderson
2. Adrian Gonzalez
3. Jose Bautista
4. Jacoby Ellsbury
5. Miguel Cabrera
Note that Justin Verlander is only an honorable mention and Jered Weaver doesn't even make that list. He likes Curtis granderson because he is leading in RBIs!!! No! I firmly believe that the MVP should simply go to the best player in the league be it a pitcher or hitter, but let us focus solely on hitters at the moment. Using the scoring methodology we employ in the fantasy league here are you AL MVP candidates: name (points scored):
1. Jose Bautista (463.4)
2. Curtis Granderson (408.7)
3. Miguel Cabrera (364.1)
4. Jacoby Ellsbury (350)
5. Paul Konerko (345)
Justin Verlander is having an amazing season with a 2.31 ERA and a 0.88 WHIP. So is Jered Weaver who sports a 2.10 ERA and a 0.97 WHIP, but has pitched less innings than Verlander. Here is what the AL MVP rankings would look like if we included pitchers:
1. Justin Verlander (540.2)
2. Jose Bautista (463.4)
3. Jered Weaver (460)
4. Curtis Granderson (408.7)
5. Dan Haren (366.4)
I was surprised to see Dan Haren at #5, but he has 2.98 ERA and a 0.98 WHIP in 190.1 innings. If we allow the MVP to go the hitters and the Cy Young to the pitchers then your AL MVP this year is Jose Bautista and your AL Cy Young winner is Justin Verlander. I just thought this was an interesting way to test my scoring methodology against popular opinion.
Sunday, August 21, 2011
2012 Fantasy Baseball
So last weekend we discussed the possibility of becoming a money league. I feel that this is a great direction for us. Not only do we get something tangible out of it, but it gives us more incentive to pay attention to our teams. Here are some of my ideas on how we should implement this (i'm basing my thoughts on having 8 teams involved):
--$50 buy in. I think $50 is pretty reasonable. I know we had talked about $100 but i think that's a little too steep.
--We have payouts for 1st, 2nd, and 3rd. By having more payouts, the competition is a little more robust. Now instead of just having 2 teams battling for a payout, we know have 4 or 5.
--3rd place gets $50 payout. This way you at least get your money back. 2nd place gets $125 and 1st gets $225. Now obviously these last 2 would be adjusted depending on how many teams we end up with, but i think 3rd should stay at $50 no matter what.
--We keep Sawsheezle's scoring system instead of using default scoring. He's done an absolutely amazing job analyzing everything and coming up with a very accurate and pretty balanced scoring system.
That's about all i got for now. Please comment and let me know what you think. (Sawsheezle, put your boner away)
--$50 buy in. I think $50 is pretty reasonable. I know we had talked about $100 but i think that's a little too steep.
--We have payouts for 1st, 2nd, and 3rd. By having more payouts, the competition is a little more robust. Now instead of just having 2 teams battling for a payout, we know have 4 or 5.
--3rd place gets $50 payout. This way you at least get your money back. 2nd place gets $125 and 1st gets $225. Now obviously these last 2 would be adjusted depending on how many teams we end up with, but i think 3rd should stay at $50 no matter what.
--We keep Sawsheezle's scoring system instead of using default scoring. He's done an absolutely amazing job analyzing everything and coming up with a very accurate and pretty balanced scoring system.
That's about all i got for now. Please comment and let me know what you think. (Sawsheezle, put your boner away)
An introduction to Rocker-T
I have been listening to Rocker-T a lot lately. I thought I would share some links to his sound.
Saturday, August 20, 2011
Speaking of Cubs people that (maybe) are leaving...
To start off, i decided to wear my Cubs jersey today.
So i wake up this morning, get showered, grab two chocolate chip muffins that my mom made me fresh this morning, and jump on the elevator to leave her building. As the doors open to the lobby, i exit and bump into a tall, well built, Hispanic man. I look up, and it's Aramis Ramirez. I apologize, he attempts to apologize in english. I say, "You're Aramis Ramirez aren't you?" He smiles and says, "Yes." I shake his hand and say, "It's a pleasure to meet you" and that "I've been a fan for a long time." He says, "Thank you." I leave saying, "Have a great game today!"
I hope i didn't jinx him.
So i wake up this morning, get showered, grab two chocolate chip muffins that my mom made me fresh this morning, and jump on the elevator to leave her building. As the doors open to the lobby, i exit and bump into a tall, well built, Hispanic man. I look up, and it's Aramis Ramirez. I apologize, he attempts to apologize in english. I say, "You're Aramis Ramirez aren't you?" He smiles and says, "Yes." I shake his hand and say, "It's a pleasure to meet you" and that "I've been a fan for a long time." He says, "Thank you." I leave saying, "Have a great game today!"
I hope i didn't jinx him.
Friday, August 19, 2011
Fall 2011 TV Premiere Dates
Bored to Death: Monday, October 10
Community: Thursday, September 22
Fringe: Friday, September 23
Happy Endings: Wednesday, September 28
It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia: Thursday, September 15
Modern Family: Wednesday, September 21
Nick Swardson's Pretend Time: Wednesday, October 5
Parks and Rec: Thursday, September 22
The Walking Dead: Sunday, October 16
Community: Thursday, September 22
Fringe: Friday, September 23
Happy Endings: Wednesday, September 28
It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia: Thursday, September 15
Modern Family: Wednesday, September 21
Nick Swardson's Pretend Time: Wednesday, October 5
Parks and Rec: Thursday, September 22
The Walking Dead: Sunday, October 16
Diablo 3 "Inferno" difficulty level revealed
http://www.tomshardware.com/news/Diablo-3-action-RPG-PC-Gaming-Inferno-Uniques,13253.html
Also, note that the level cap is 60! WTF!
Also, note that the level cap is 60! WTF!
Tuesday, August 9, 2011
MrBillmacdonald
Sunday, August 7, 2011
Thursday, August 4, 2011
Very Famous
Michael Ian Black has a new stand up special on Comedy Central this Saturday at 10pm CST.
Carry on.
Carry on.
Wednesday, August 3, 2011
New Plasma Appreciation Day Fur
So I ordered a new 55" plasma tv to replace my old 42" lcd. I had a nice deal at amazon with a 10% off coupon, some amazon rewards points, and the money I sold my old tv for so I didn't break the bank. The tv didn't get the message though and showed up busted. Here is what it is supposed to look like.
You have got to love those wild horses. Here is what it looks like in reality!
Now amazon is sending me a new one, but it will get to town while I am gone so I have to have them hold it until I get back. Also, I now have a dead tv sitting in my "living room" which is so big I can't put it back in the box myself. What a shitstorm.
You have got to love those wild horses. Here is what it looks like in reality!
Now amazon is sending me a new one, but it will get to town while I am gone so I have to have them hold it until I get back. Also, I now have a dead tv sitting in my "living room" which is so big I can't put it back in the box myself. What a shitstorm.
Tuesday, August 2, 2011
Pizza Box Technology
You have got to love this guy's enthusiasm. Jeremy, maybe show this off to the guys at work?
Friday, July 29, 2011
Monday, July 25, 2011
Harry Spoilers
Ok. This is officially a rant. I just saw the latest Harry Potter movie-film yesterday and while I enjoyed it, I cannot help but be super frustrated. Here I will list several of my key problems with the movie franchise. This accounts for only the things that have happened in the films as I have no knowledge of the books.
1. I understand that Voldemort wants to rule the world or whatever, but I never really felt any sense in the movies that anyone was actually scared of him. In the last two movies, Voldemort's forces seem to have simply just taken over everything. How did this happen? How did people let this happen? I never ever felt that the world was in danger.
2. Why were the only people who could use any magic Dumbledore, Voldemort, Snape, and Hermione? Harry and Ron only used those damn stupify spells the entire time. You have Death Eaters throwing out killing curses like they were going out of style, but these guys aren't willing to fight back. Also, the impact of using the killing curse isn't very well explained in the movies. I would have loved just a little bit more dialogue stating that using the curse definitely kills a part of you and also that the curse is very difficult to use and that you risk it backfiring on you if you do it wrong. This would have put some emphasis on how skilled the Death Eaters are and how everyone of Voldemort's minions were soulless. Also, if I was Harry Potter and I knew from age 11 that I had to kill the most evil enemy in the world of all time, I would have been reading all the books and learning as much as I could about magic and new spells and stuff. Did he really ever try and get better outside of that one time when he assembled Dumbledore's army?
3. Back to Harry. Obviously part of Voldemort' soul latched itself to Harry, but the way it was explained/developed in the movie meant that Harry really wasn't special at all at that it was only luck/circumstance that he be tied to Voldemort and not fate. This makes for a less compelling story to me.
4. The movies themselves lost their magic. I was talking with RyDub about how the first few films had this energy and aura about them. They were scored by John Williams and, to me anyway, literally felt magical. I hardly ever noticed the score in any subsequent films. Things I missed were the ghosts in Hogwarts, the paintings (finally showed up in the last movie), and the staircases (which didn't move in the last movie I believe nor the books I have heard). All of these little details set the first couple of movies apart.
5. How the hell is Quidditch scored? What are the official rules? It seems that the game is played until someone catches the snitch. Why are they throwing the balls through the hoops if the only thing that matters is the snitch being caught? Again, just a few lines of dialog explaining the rules would be have been amazing.
6. Why did the Death Eaters just disappear when Harry revealed that he wasn't dead? What were they scared of? Pretty weak if you ask me.
7. The coolest thing about the movie were the giants that stormed Hogwarts.
8. As RyDub already stated: why didn't they use the magic they did know? When Harry and Voldemort fall to the ground I was half expecting a momentum interuptus (sp?) spell or something similar. Come on. Again, an explanation saying "Most magic is very difficult to perform and only a wizard/witch who can maintain extreme focus and who has enough will power can perform magic. Harder magic requires more inner strength and concentration." Something like that. Jesus.
9. I felt I could have written the scripts to the last 5 or so films myself without having read the books and been more accurate to the source material. I then would have revised the script to make the source material pale in comparison to the story I would tell. I would do this all by just discussing the origin of magic and how one becomes good at it.
10. I still loved it though.
1. I understand that Voldemort wants to rule the world or whatever, but I never really felt any sense in the movies that anyone was actually scared of him. In the last two movies, Voldemort's forces seem to have simply just taken over everything. How did this happen? How did people let this happen? I never ever felt that the world was in danger.
2. Why were the only people who could use any magic Dumbledore, Voldemort, Snape, and Hermione? Harry and Ron only used those damn stupify spells the entire time. You have Death Eaters throwing out killing curses like they were going out of style, but these guys aren't willing to fight back. Also, the impact of using the killing curse isn't very well explained in the movies. I would have loved just a little bit more dialogue stating that using the curse definitely kills a part of you and also that the curse is very difficult to use and that you risk it backfiring on you if you do it wrong. This would have put some emphasis on how skilled the Death Eaters are and how everyone of Voldemort's minions were soulless. Also, if I was Harry Potter and I knew from age 11 that I had to kill the most evil enemy in the world of all time, I would have been reading all the books and learning as much as I could about magic and new spells and stuff. Did he really ever try and get better outside of that one time when he assembled Dumbledore's army?
3. Back to Harry. Obviously part of Voldemort' soul latched itself to Harry, but the way it was explained/developed in the movie meant that Harry really wasn't special at all at that it was only luck/circumstance that he be tied to Voldemort and not fate. This makes for a less compelling story to me.
4. The movies themselves lost their magic. I was talking with RyDub about how the first few films had this energy and aura about them. They were scored by John Williams and, to me anyway, literally felt magical. I hardly ever noticed the score in any subsequent films. Things I missed were the ghosts in Hogwarts, the paintings (finally showed up in the last movie), and the staircases (which didn't move in the last movie I believe nor the books I have heard). All of these little details set the first couple of movies apart.
5. How the hell is Quidditch scored? What are the official rules? It seems that the game is played until someone catches the snitch. Why are they throwing the balls through the hoops if the only thing that matters is the snitch being caught? Again, just a few lines of dialog explaining the rules would be have been amazing.
6. Why did the Death Eaters just disappear when Harry revealed that he wasn't dead? What were they scared of? Pretty weak if you ask me.
7. The coolest thing about the movie were the giants that stormed Hogwarts.
8. As RyDub already stated: why didn't they use the magic they did know? When Harry and Voldemort fall to the ground I was half expecting a momentum interuptus (sp?) spell or something similar. Come on. Again, an explanation saying "Most magic is very difficult to perform and only a wizard/witch who can maintain extreme focus and who has enough will power can perform magic. Harder magic requires more inner strength and concentration." Something like that. Jesus.
9. I felt I could have written the scripts to the last 5 or so films myself without having read the books and been more accurate to the source material. I then would have revised the script to make the source material pale in comparison to the story I would tell. I would do this all by just discussing the origin of magic and how one becomes good at it.
10. I still loved it though.
Sunday, July 24, 2011
Barry Hopper and The Blooming (can't really find a word for the opposite of hallows) Part 2 **SPOILERS**
Fuck Harry Potter. The more and more i watch these movies, i realize how stupid they are. At one part, a bunch of people are coming up a very long flight of stairs while Harry is pushing his way through them trying to get down. YOU'RE A FUCKING WIZARD! JUMP DOWN THE STAIRS AND HOVER RIGHT BEFORE YOU HIT THE GROUND LIKE YOU DID AN HOUR AGO! There's another part where Voldemort and Harry are lying a couple feet away from their respective wands and they crawl very dramatically towards them in slow motion. Now, there is a spell that Harry and his friends use called Accio, which brings whatever item they say to the person who uttered the spell. They use it like it's going out of style in the other films, and even at other points in this same movie. I could go on and on, but i'll stop. And i know that other movies do this too, but it seems utterly terrible in Harry Potter films.
I have read the books as well, and i don't seem to recall as many of these kinds of problems in them, but i could be wrong. I think it's just the writers/directors/whatever of the movies that make it terrible.
I have read the books as well, and i don't seem to recall as many of these kinds of problems in them, but i could be wrong. I think it's just the writers/directors/whatever of the movies that make it terrible.
Thursday, July 21, 2011
First Grade (a long time in the making)
I'm gonna write about a couple things i remember since i've been slow to put this next part in my series up.
A certain Fur Father's mother used to come in and do science-y things for us like blow a cork out a 2-liter bottle with a nail and electricity or something (don't really remember except the girls would always scream.)
Some kid got stung by a bee in his eye and had to wear sunglasses for awhile.
I think i dressed up as a vampire or Batman for halloween.
MAIN STORY:
So in first grade we sat in partners. Meaning two desks were placed next to each other so everyone had a "partner." We were moved around over the course of the year and sometimes they were even co-ed. On this particular occasion, mine was. I was sitting next to the girl that pretty much everyone thought was pretty. We were doing some kind of craft stuff so we had glue, scissors, construction paper, etc strewn across our desks. The girl was minding her own business creating "art." I thought i would try to impress said girl by throwing scraps of construction paper into the air, and cutting them in half before they fell to my desk. Bad idea. Somehow i managed to get my finger in-between the paper and the scissors, slicing my skin open. Blood immediately started flowing out of the gash and onto my desk. The girl screamed and the teacher ran with me to the nurse, all the while dripping blood onto the floor, leaving a trail from the classroom through the hallway. I really don't remember being that scared or even crying, but that could be inaccurate. All in all, it was pretty awesome.
The girl in this story will show up at least twice later on.
(sorry that took so long, i promise the others will come more quickly)
A certain Fur Father's mother used to come in and do science-y things for us like blow a cork out a 2-liter bottle with a nail and electricity or something (don't really remember except the girls would always scream.)
Some kid got stung by a bee in his eye and had to wear sunglasses for awhile.
I think i dressed up as a vampire or Batman for halloween.
MAIN STORY:
So in first grade we sat in partners. Meaning two desks were placed next to each other so everyone had a "partner." We were moved around over the course of the year and sometimes they were even co-ed. On this particular occasion, mine was. I was sitting next to the girl that pretty much everyone thought was pretty. We were doing some kind of craft stuff so we had glue, scissors, construction paper, etc strewn across our desks. The girl was minding her own business creating "art." I thought i would try to impress said girl by throwing scraps of construction paper into the air, and cutting them in half before they fell to my desk. Bad idea. Somehow i managed to get my finger in-between the paper and the scissors, slicing my skin open. Blood immediately started flowing out of the gash and onto my desk. The girl screamed and the teacher ran with me to the nurse, all the while dripping blood onto the floor, leaving a trail from the classroom through the hallway. I really don't remember being that scared or even crying, but that could be inaccurate. All in all, it was pretty awesome.
The girl in this story will show up at least twice later on.
(sorry that took so long, i promise the others will come more quickly)
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