A quick thought, isn't it interesting that all the candidates keep saying they are running for president. Technically, they are running for their party's nomination. It's hard to argue that we wouldn't be better off with more choices when it actually comes down to ballot box time, but the truth is there will be two presidential candidates: one representing the democrats, one representing the republicans. The current candidates seem to have forgotten this. One step at a time, and if one of the players (especially on the Democrat side) stepped up to say they wanted to lead their party, I think it would resonate with a lot of voters.
Well that wasn't that quick, at all. Here's what I wanted to include in the blog. USA Today has a Presidential Nomination Poll Tracker. It gives a neat look at where public opinion is headed and where it has been. Also, its about the only practical application of regression analysis I've ever seen.
Monday, January 07, 2008
Roger Clemens
Roger Clemens is slimy. The tape released at today's news conference reeks. McNamee seems like he's upset about something. Clemens sounds like he's acting. When Clemens says "I don't know who's on the line." He lies to him. Then Clemens talks about a press conference, but doesn't say that he's going to throw McNamee under the bus. McNamee starts breaking down at the end of the call and asks Clemens what he wants him to do. Clemens asks McNamee why he would tell everyone that he did steroids. Clemens didn't ask McNamee why he lied and McNamee didn't say that he lied. It sure sounds like McNamee is at the end of his rope. Someone who has everything to lose has nothing to gain by lying.
Clemens and his lawyers came across as pretty greasy, taping a phone call without the other person's knowledge and exposing that person's raw emotions to the world. If Clemens was really "pissed off" like he told Mike Wallace, why wasn't he screaming at McNamee, the person who started this whole thing?
Clemens and his lawyers came across as pretty greasy, taping a phone call without the other person's knowledge and exposing that person's raw emotions to the world. If Clemens was really "pissed off" like he told Mike Wallace, why wasn't he screaming at McNamee, the person who started this whole thing?
Monday, December 10, 2007
Republican caucus
I'm deeply concerned about the caucus coming up in a few weeks. As a pretty liberal person, I don't normally follow republican politics too closely. I currently am following it in Iowa, since I heart Huckabee is making a big run. I really want that guy named Mitt or Mr. 9-11 to win, since they will both get crushed in the general election by any of the democrats. I'm worried about I heart Huckabee since he can probably win every southern state with his Christian ways, and will probably pick up a couple northern states as well (Possibly Iowa, Ohio and maybe Florida). Losing those states again would be detrimental towards Democrats goal of gaining control again. I think he would be an awful president who would blur the separation of church and state lines (he was a minister) and would decrease social programs and cut taxes all while heavily funding the military. Anyway, just a quick thought. Also, Mitt Romney's commercial is really funny. He says "I believe marriage should come before children because every child deserves a mother and a father." However, apparently he doesn't believe that every child deserves health care. Ah, the good, core values of a multimillionaire. Here's his health care policy:
Rather than relying on a one-size-fits-all, government-run system, we must recognize the importance of the role of the states in leading reform and the need for innovation in dealing with rising health care costs and the problem of the uninsured. By expanding and deregulating the private health insurance market, we can decrease costs and ensure that more Americans have access to affordable, portable, quality, private health insurance.
Putting health care in the hands of states isn't the best idea. It decreases buying and negotiating power that the federal government could have with a single payer system. The medicare reform did something similar thing where there are a bunch of private companies that people can chose from. Taking choice away from people sucks, but it also gave the government no power to decrease medicine costs that the single payer system is useful for.
Rather than relying on a one-size-fits-all, government-run system, we must recognize the importance of the role of the states in leading reform and the need for innovation in dealing with rising health care costs and the problem of the uninsured. By expanding and deregulating the private health insurance market, we can decrease costs and ensure that more Americans have access to affordable, portable, quality, private health insurance.
Putting health care in the hands of states isn't the best idea. It decreases buying and negotiating power that the federal government could have with a single payer system. The medicare reform did something similar thing where there are a bunch of private companies that people can chose from. Taking choice away from people sucks, but it also gave the government no power to decrease medicine costs that the single payer system is useful for.
Sunday, December 09, 2007
Texans Win!
Texans had a big home win against the playoff bound Bucs. Tampa Bay was without Jeff Garcia, and their best WR, "Old Man" Joey Galloway was probably a step slow coming off an injury; however, Houston wasn't at full strength either. Ahman Green has been placed on IR, and Ron Dayne went down with an injury early in today's game. The Texans were able to manage the clock through short, controlled passes by Sage and a decent running game from rookie Darius Walker. They always seemed to get just enough for a first down. The Texans were effective on third down (10-17, 59%) which allowed them to keep the ball for most of the game.
Sage and Matt Schaub have been around for about the same length of time in the NFL. Sage had a few starts and some relief appearances before this year, whereas Schaub hadn't had much experience at all. Still, Schaub is supposed to be the man. So why do I have more faith in the Texans when Rosenfels is starting? He seems to manage the game a little better, has thrown more TD passes and seems to put up more consistent numbers than Schaub. Joe asked whether anyone was talking about Sage starting instead of Schaub. I haven't heard any talk yet; the Texans believe Schaub is their starting QB of the future, and they will play him when he's healthy. However, it has to be reassuring to the Texans coaching staff and front office that they have a backup QB that can win games both as a starter and in relief.
The Texans' Record Setting Season
Best record through 13 games: 6-7 (.452) 2007
Total team TD passes: 17, 2007
Sage and Matt Schaub have been around for about the same length of time in the NFL. Sage had a few starts and some relief appearances before this year, whereas Schaub hadn't had much experience at all. Still, Schaub is supposed to be the man. So why do I have more faith in the Texans when Rosenfels is starting? He seems to manage the game a little better, has thrown more TD passes and seems to put up more consistent numbers than Schaub. Joe asked whether anyone was talking about Sage starting instead of Schaub. I haven't heard any talk yet; the Texans believe Schaub is their starting QB of the future, and they will play him when he's healthy. However, it has to be reassuring to the Texans coaching staff and front office that they have a backup QB that can win games both as a starter and in relief.
The Texans' Record Setting Season
Best record through 13 games: 6-7 (.452) 2007
Total team TD passes: 17, 2007
Sunday, December 02, 2007
Are libraries still relevant?
An article in last Sunday's Houston Chronicle spoke of the deficincies of Houston's school's libraries. The state of Texas has established benchmarks (9000 books with an average age of 15 years or less) to measure libraries. Many of the schools in Houston's school districts fall short. The funding necessary to update these resources would be large. Even larger would be the funding necessary to staff these upgraded libraries. My question is, are libraries outdated? Over Thanksgiving, my grandfather was lamenting Monticello, Iowa's building of a new public library. He made a remark that most people are getting information from the internet. This made me think on a couple levels. One, I was unaware that he knew what the internet was. To my knowledge, neither of my grandparents have been exposed to the information superhighway, and two, he was on to something. I haven't been to a library since I moved to Houston. I can't remember the last time I went to a city library, and I don't believe I had ever checked out a book from the library at Iowa State. Are libraries still relevant?
Books are important. They continue to remain an important part of education. The state of Texas has differentiated between elementary school, middle school and high school libraries. I'd agree with them. Real books are more important for younger children, who are more likely to read fiction stories front to back. High schools students are more likely to use books as resources, and are looking for specific information. This information is more easily accessed digitally, however the "whole picture" that reading a book on a subject would give you would be lost. Certainly, there are different needs for different groups of users, but how can we adapt to provide the best resources for each group at a reasonable price?
Elementary schools should have large, fully staffed libraries. Especially in Houston, where many students don't speak English as a first language, libraries should have many books of varying difficulties. The librarian is important in stimulating students' interest in books and finding books that would be of interest to the student. However, the age requirement doesn't make much sense to me for younger students. My book about big cars, small cars probably still has relevance. High schools are a somewhat different story. I believe there should be a determined effort to digitize much of what is contained in libraries. Access could be restricted to computers in the school to protect copywrite laws. I enjoyed the traditional method of research - looking through indexes and reading large portions of books to find relevant material. However, I think that may be a little outdated. While real books will continue to be an important part of research, online searching should be appreciated as a larger part. Aside from the digital editions of books, another logical step would be to link the collections of all libraries in HISD. As one of the largest school districts in the nation, HISD could spread the burden of a complete library over many different schools and campuses. Keep an online record of all the books and allow students access to books at other sites. There are probably trucks travelling between the schools anyway, why not put books on them? This makes sense because students are there everyday anyway, so they are more likely to order a book from another site knowing they won't have to do much to pick it up and return it.
I feel libraries are still relevant, but they need to adjust to technology. Maybe they don't need the resources that they once did, just a little more innovation. Large school districts can benefit from distributing the burden and allowing students to check out books from any location. Finally, older students should be able to conduct research through digital access to collections. Google has begun an effort, and I believe most authors and publishers would be receptive to having their books available in an electronic format to students and educators.
Books are important. They continue to remain an important part of education. The state of Texas has differentiated between elementary school, middle school and high school libraries. I'd agree with them. Real books are more important for younger children, who are more likely to read fiction stories front to back. High schools students are more likely to use books as resources, and are looking for specific information. This information is more easily accessed digitally, however the "whole picture" that reading a book on a subject would give you would be lost. Certainly, there are different needs for different groups of users, but how can we adapt to provide the best resources for each group at a reasonable price?
Elementary schools should have large, fully staffed libraries. Especially in Houston, where many students don't speak English as a first language, libraries should have many books of varying difficulties. The librarian is important in stimulating students' interest in books and finding books that would be of interest to the student. However, the age requirement doesn't make much sense to me for younger students. My book about big cars, small cars probably still has relevance. High schools are a somewhat different story. I believe there should be a determined effort to digitize much of what is contained in libraries. Access could be restricted to computers in the school to protect copywrite laws. I enjoyed the traditional method of research - looking through indexes and reading large portions of books to find relevant material. However, I think that may be a little outdated. While real books will continue to be an important part of research, online searching should be appreciated as a larger part. Aside from the digital editions of books, another logical step would be to link the collections of all libraries in HISD. As one of the largest school districts in the nation, HISD could spread the burden of a complete library over many different schools and campuses. Keep an online record of all the books and allow students access to books at other sites. There are probably trucks travelling between the schools anyway, why not put books on them? This makes sense because students are there everyday anyway, so they are more likely to order a book from another site knowing they won't have to do much to pick it up and return it.
I feel libraries are still relevant, but they need to adjust to technology. Maybe they don't need the resources that they once did, just a little more innovation. Large school districts can benefit from distributing the burden and allowing students to check out books from any location. Finally, older students should be able to conduct research through digital access to collections. Google has begun an effort, and I believe most authors and publishers would be receptive to having their books available in an electronic format to students and educators.
Tuesday, November 27, 2007
$100 laptop and Amazon digital books
The rise of Amazon's new digital book, combined with the "$100" laptop ($188 is current cost of manufacturing) has big implications in world education if we can get past the cost. I find it interesting that schools in third world countries are buying laptops when they can't afford chalk, pencils, or anything else. However, with internet access, computers are far more important than any of that other stuff. Especially if you can download books on line, especially text books. Now there just needs to be someone with the courage to offer free downloads of old textbooks. I noticed in Mali, they just don't have any way to learn, since there aren't enough books for everyone. I think the combination of the $100 laptop, a few generous professors who say screw it, I'm open sourcing my textbook could revolutionize the bottom of the pyramid's education system. This will never happen, since professors make huge profits off of textbooks, hence the "revisions" of editions every few years. I would love to write some simple textbooks, like basic math, basic science, etc, and not copyright them and make them available for download. There would be no profit, but if you could get a bunch of people working on it, it wouldn't be too big of a deal. The problem is, with higher level of courses that are changing, it would be difficult since not having any financial incentive to advance the field could hinder development. But basic k-8 science and math aren't really changing as far as I know. Anyway, just a quick thought for the day.
Sunday, November 11, 2007
Thoughts from Week 10
The Packers are the real deal. They seem to have found a running back in Ryan Grant. Donald Lee looks like a fine replacement for Bubba Franks. Brett Favre still has something left. His wide receivers look pretty good and spreading the ball around makes it tough for the defense to defend the pass.
The Vikings are terrible. Brooks Bollinger is not a NFL quarterback. He looks tentative in the backfield, can't complete a pass when necessary. They'd be better off lining up two left tackles and Peterson in the backfield. I understand now why Peterson doesn't get the ball as many times as he should. Minnesota can not convert third downs and their offense can't stay on the field. On the flip side, it looks like the way to keep AD from dropping 300 on you is to keep him off the field. The Packers have been running the ball, converting third downs, chewing the clock.
Fox just switched to a different game! We're now watching the Eagles play the Redskins. Washington missed a PAT: bad. They then chased the points after their second TD and missed the two point conversion: worse. Philly just scored, and what do they do? Chase the points. Of course they missed it. This wasn't as bad of a call as the Redskins, but I'd take the free point in the third quarter.
After ups (win vs. Colts) and downs (2 losses vs. Texans) last year, Jacksonville seems to have figured it out this year. Garrard seems comfortable with his position as starting QB, Gray has played well with Garrard hurt. The RB tandem of Taylor and Jones-Drew seems to keep both fresh and effective. Maybe most of all, the mood on the sidelines seems to be positive. Garrard congratulating Taylor on a TD run, Taylor congratulating Jones-Drew on a big run. Playing as a team is what it will take to win in the AFC.
The Vikings got the ball 1st and 10 inside the redzone. Sounds like AD time, right? I guess not. 1st down: B. Bollinger pass to TE, 7 yards. 2nd and 3rd: AD? nope, B. Bollinger pass to C. Woodson. Charles Woodson plays for the Packers. Who is calling these plays!?! You have three yards to gain and three plays to gain them. Perhaps you should give it to the NFL leading rusher / offensive ROY / best rookie RB of all time. Just a thought. (Editors note: Editor just read that Peterson was hurt in the third quarter and didn't return to the game. Editor still thinks Vikings should have run the ball instead of letting Bollinger pass.)
Eagles just missed another 2 point try. They now lead by 1 point, instead of three, with a little over 3 minutes left. The Redskins let Philadelphia score after giving them the ball back. The Redskins get the ball back with a little over 2 minutes to play and it's still a one possession game. If Philly kicks in the third, they could have kicked in the fourth to go up three and now they'd be up 10 with two minutes left. Take the free points early in the game!
Brian Westbrook accounted for 183 of the Eagles 379 total yards (48%) and 18 of the Eagles 33 points (54%). My guess is that he accounts for more total offense than any RB in the NFL. Andy Reid is probably overrated as a coach, but one thing he knows: giving his best player, Westbrook, the ball a whole bunch gives him the best chance to win the game. Coming into today's game, Westbrook had 1036 of the team's 2950 total yards (35%) and 36 of the team's 156 points (23%). That's a pretty sizable chunk of the offense.
A quick look showed that Adrian Peterson had 44% of the Vikings total yards and 32% of their points. Brad Childress should attend the Andy Reid school of coaching.
This just in ... Childress was the offensive coordinator for the Eagles before taking the Minnesota job! 2003 through 2005, while Childress was the offensive coordinator, Westbrook averaged 15.5 touches per game. The last season and a half? 22.3. Maybe it isn't so surprising that Peterson is only averaging 18 touches a game.
Does anyone suck the life out of a telecast quite like Joe Buck? He's got an uncanny way of making even the most exciting games nearly unwatchable.
I just noticed that every article on espn.com has a comment section except for Bill Simmons. Here's the comment I just submitted to Page 2.
We'll see what they have to say.
21 Tags! A very productive Sunday.
The Vikings are terrible. Brooks Bollinger is not a NFL quarterback. He looks tentative in the backfield, can't complete a pass when necessary. They'd be better off lining up two left tackles and Peterson in the backfield. I understand now why Peterson doesn't get the ball as many times as he should. Minnesota can not convert third downs and their offense can't stay on the field. On the flip side, it looks like the way to keep AD from dropping 300 on you is to keep him off the field. The Packers have been running the ball, converting third downs, chewing the clock.
Fox just switched to a different game! We're now watching the Eagles play the Redskins. Washington missed a PAT: bad. They then chased the points after their second TD and missed the two point conversion: worse. Philly just scored, and what do they do? Chase the points. Of course they missed it. This wasn't as bad of a call as the Redskins, but I'd take the free point in the third quarter.
After ups (win vs. Colts) and downs (2 losses vs. Texans) last year, Jacksonville seems to have figured it out this year. Garrard seems comfortable with his position as starting QB, Gray has played well with Garrard hurt. The RB tandem of Taylor and Jones-Drew seems to keep both fresh and effective. Maybe most of all, the mood on the sidelines seems to be positive. Garrard congratulating Taylor on a TD run, Taylor congratulating Jones-Drew on a big run. Playing as a team is what it will take to win in the AFC.
The Vikings got the ball 1st and 10 inside the redzone. Sounds like AD time, right? I guess not. 1st down: B. Bollinger pass to TE, 7 yards. 2nd and 3rd: AD? nope, B. Bollinger pass to C. Woodson. Charles Woodson plays for the Packers. Who is calling these plays!?! You have three yards to gain and three plays to gain them. Perhaps you should give it to the NFL leading rusher / offensive ROY / best rookie RB of all time. Just a thought. (Editors note: Editor just read that Peterson was hurt in the third quarter and didn't return to the game. Editor still thinks Vikings should have run the ball instead of letting Bollinger pass.)
Eagles just missed another 2 point try. They now lead by 1 point, instead of three, with a little over 3 minutes left. The Redskins let Philadelphia score after giving them the ball back. The Redskins get the ball back with a little over 2 minutes to play and it's still a one possession game. If Philly kicks in the third, they could have kicked in the fourth to go up three and now they'd be up 10 with two minutes left. Take the free points early in the game!
Brian Westbrook accounted for 183 of the Eagles 379 total yards (48%) and 18 of the Eagles 33 points (54%). My guess is that he accounts for more total offense than any RB in the NFL. Andy Reid is probably overrated as a coach, but one thing he knows: giving his best player, Westbrook, the ball a whole bunch gives him the best chance to win the game. Coming into today's game, Westbrook had 1036 of the team's 2950 total yards (35%) and 36 of the team's 156 points (23%). That's a pretty sizable chunk of the offense.
A quick look showed that Adrian Peterson had 44% of the Vikings total yards and 32% of their points. Brad Childress should attend the Andy Reid school of coaching.
This just in ... Childress was the offensive coordinator for the Eagles before taking the Minnesota job! 2003 through 2005, while Childress was the offensive coordinator, Westbrook averaged 15.5 touches per game. The last season and a half? 22.3. Maybe it isn't so surprising that Peterson is only averaging 18 touches a game.
Does anyone suck the life out of a telecast quite like Joe Buck? He's got an uncanny way of making even the most exciting games nearly unwatchable.
I just noticed that every article on espn.com has a comment section except for Bill Simmons. Here's the comment I just submitted to Page 2.
Why is there a comments section on every other article on espn.com except for Bill Simmons'? Jemele Hill gets constant harassment, TMQ gets railed for his articles but Simmons gets a free pass? I think readers would appreciate the chance to let other espn.com readers know how they feel about The Sports Guy.
We'll see what they have to say.
21 Tags! A very productive Sunday.
Sage Wins!
This post is about a week late, but with the Texans on a bye, I get one too.
Sage looked pretty good in his first start with the Texans. The Raiders aren't much of a team, but there are not gimme wins for the Texans. Rosenfels did some work with his feet, including a 14 yard scramble on the Texans' first offensive play of the game and a fourth down QB sneak. Kubiak has confidence in Sage and his ability to run the offense, going for it on fourth down from the Oakland 5. That decision was rewarded with a TD, only the second touchdown on an opening drive all season.
The one issue that Rosenfels has is under throwing deep balls. He also has a tendency to lead the receiver into the middle of the field, allowing DBs to make a play on the ball. The second play of the second quarter was a deep pass that was intercepted. Walters, the WR, was uncovered and had a lot of ground. If Sage throws the pass so Walters straightens his route out and puts the pass 5 yards deep in the endzone, it goes for a TD, or at the worst, an incompletion, because the DB doesn't have a chance to make a play on it. This quote, about his 4th quarter TD pass, pretty well sums up his hesitancy to air it out.
"Andre' ran a great route," Rosenfels said. "I saw that he had 3 yards on him
and threw it. I thought I overthrew him, but he ran that sucker down."
Overall, Sage had an effective day. The Raiders had been allowing about 175 yards passing, and had allowed 6 TD passes through 7 games. Sage's numbers were 180 yds and 1 TD, which is pretty good for a backup QB making his third career start.
Look for Matt Schaub to start next week against the resurgent Saints.
The Texans' Record Setting Season
Best record through 9 games: 4-5 (.444) 2007, 2004
Sage looked pretty good in his first start with the Texans. The Raiders aren't much of a team, but there are not gimme wins for the Texans. Rosenfels did some work with his feet, including a 14 yard scramble on the Texans' first offensive play of the game and a fourth down QB sneak. Kubiak has confidence in Sage and his ability to run the offense, going for it on fourth down from the Oakland 5. That decision was rewarded with a TD, only the second touchdown on an opening drive all season.
The one issue that Rosenfels has is under throwing deep balls. He also has a tendency to lead the receiver into the middle of the field, allowing DBs to make a play on the ball. The second play of the second quarter was a deep pass that was intercepted. Walters, the WR, was uncovered and had a lot of ground. If Sage throws the pass so Walters straightens his route out and puts the pass 5 yards deep in the endzone, it goes for a TD, or at the worst, an incompletion, because the DB doesn't have a chance to make a play on it. This quote, about his 4th quarter TD pass, pretty well sums up his hesitancy to air it out.
"Andre' ran a great route," Rosenfels said. "I saw that he had 3 yards on him
and threw it. I thought I overthrew him, but he ran that sucker down."
Overall, Sage had an effective day. The Raiders had been allowing about 175 yards passing, and had allowed 6 TD passes through 7 games. Sage's numbers were 180 yds and 1 TD, which is pretty good for a backup QB making his third career start.
Look for Matt Schaub to start next week against the resurgent Saints.
The Texans' Record Setting Season
Best record through 9 games: 4-5 (.444) 2007, 2004
Wednesday, November 07, 2007
Coal - the first step in energy independence
A coworker brought up an interesting point. Oil is valued in US dollars. As the dollar continues to decrease in value, oil becomes cheaper for other countries. This increases the demand worldwide and increases the price for the US. Specifically, the Canadian dollar has increased in value 26% against the US dollar since the beginning of the year. That means more and more US dollars are needed to purchase a barrel of oil. The same would be true for natural gas, a source of energy that is increasing in favor in the US.
Burning coal is a major source of pollution, yes, however, coal is cheap and plentiful within the United States. A major part of any energy policy should be the continued work toward energy independence. This, as shown above, would be good for the economy, as well as international relations.
That's a long introduction to what I found in the Houston Chronicle on Friday. Thad Hill, president of NRG Texas had this to say,
Burning coal is a major source of pollution, yes, however, coal is cheap and plentiful within the United States. A major part of any energy policy should be the continued work toward energy independence. This, as shown above, would be good for the economy, as well as international relations.
That's a long introduction to what I found in the Houston Chronicle on Friday. Thad Hill, president of NRG Texas had this to say,
"Coal is our most abundant energy resource, and there's no way for the U.S. to get anywhere near energy independence without finding an acceptable way to use coal."
That's an expected statement from a company that operates a coal power plant, but it makes it no less true. Coal is a national resource and we should be looking for ways to use coal in a cleaner manner. Check out how NRG is working toward that in Friday's Chronicle article.
Monday, November 05, 2007
Sustainability
I recently looked in this magazine called Dwell. Its an architecture magazine, and the thing I found interesting was that a lot of the "trendy" products in there were popular because they were sustainable. This has a major implication that "green" things will become a very profitable future (Therefore many people will start working that area) and also will help the environment significantly. People in the developed world love trendy things and if going green is the new thing, we could make significant strides reducing our carbon footprint. It seems like architects are on the fast track to become green builders, while engineers seem to not care. Obviously this is a generalization, but seems to be true on the whole. However, engineers are the key to developing environmentally friendly buildings, cars, and whatever else. See this article for something about using fly-ash from power plants to create bricks. I think its pretty interesting and hope engineers get fully on board.
Wednesday, October 31, 2007
Another Sage Sighting
Sage played again in San Diego, this time because of a Matt Schaub concussion. Unfortunately for Sage, Houston had already spotted the Chargers 32 points by halfway through the 2nd quarter. He still looked effective passing against a talented Chargers defense, even though the play calling was obviously skewed away from the run. It sounds like Rosenfels will get the start this Sunday vs. the Raiders, a winable game for the Texans. Hopefully they let Sage throw the ball around from the beginning.
The Texans Record-Setting Season
I can't think of anything right now.
The Texans Record-Setting Season
I can't think of anything right now.
Monday, October 29, 2007
Warren Buffet and taxes
I watched NBC Nightly News tonight and they had a story about Warren Buffet's tax beliefs. He feels that he should pay more taxes than he currently does, even though he has no tax shelters and said "I pay exactly what congress tells me too." Anyway, I've always been a fan of Buffet since he's a self made billionaire who has always been considered by most to be an honest investor who never takes advantage of people. Anyway, you should read this article, it's pretty interesting. From the initial thought, I agree that people who make less shouldn't pay a higher percentage than multimillionaires. Oh well, quick, thought. By the way, he offered $1 million dollars to anyone in the top 400 richest in the U.S. who can prove that their secretary pays a smaller percentage in taxes than they do. Gotta like Warren Buffet.
Friday, October 26, 2007
Sage!!!
I'm officially the only Texans fan still excited. There's the tough matchup against the Chargers this weekend, the tough loss to the Titans last weekend and the embarrassment of the Sunday before that. What was once an over .500 season isn't even an even .500 season anymore. The prospects look grim at best. No playoff hopes. Last in the division, behind by 3.5 games. But I see something through the darkness ... behold ...
The Texans Record Setting Season
SAGE!!!
Sage's four fourth quarter TD passes were impressive, as were his 290 yards passing. Between last weeks heroics and the garbage time he played the week before that, Sage has thrown for 372 yards and 5 TDs. Schaub in those two games? 282 yards and 0 TDs. Here are the season lines for both QBs.
Sage has a slightly higher completion percentage, essentially the same yds per attempt, the same number of TDs (with only a quarter of the attempts), a higher rating, and maybe most impressive of all, he hasn't been sacked. Granted, he played garbage time against Jacksonville and the Titans were playing prevent in the fourth, but this was the same line behind which Carr got sacked 41 times last year. He should be getting sacked on accident!
It isn't set in stone that Sage will start. I hope he does, because I'd like to see him play. Unfortunately, Schaub will start the week after that and all through the rest of the season. Rosenfels probably deserves a chance to start at least part of a season, but he won't get that opportunity in Houston.
The Texans Record Setting Season
Even with the two losses, we're still in the midst of what could be the greatest season of Texans football ever. I'll add some new records every week and link to my ever growing list.
Most touchdown passes in a game: 4, Sage Rosenfels 10/21/07
Thursday, October 25, 2007
spread offense
This will be a short post about how I think defenses could catch up to the spread offense. First, the defensive line would stay the same, because they still need to be able to stop the run just in case. Next, the linebackers would be smaller and faster. They'd be more like safeties. This allows better pass coverage on the excess amount of people who go out for passes. The safeties and would be more like corners and corners would stay the same. Making the defense smaller and faster would end the spread offense. You could also play the safeties shallower from the start if you knew they were quick enough to not get burned, which would allow them to help out with the run. I kind of like spread offenses, it makes the nfl more exciting, but I can't believe teams can't stop it yet. Also, TMQ made a good point last week about how all of the Patriots passes are down the middle deep. I know other teams have that figured out, but I think Moss is opening up the middle of the field for people like Wes Welker since he's double covered about every play now. I think that shows how good Moss still is. Anyway, thats my brief football column. Let me know your thoughts. I should probably do some real work now.
Thursday, October 18, 2007
Wind energy in Texas
As I've said before, the key to making wind energy truly useful will be finding a way to store the energy locally and dispense as a more consistent power source. The link below talks about Texas' increasing use of wind energy and work being done to store it.
http://www.isa.org/Content/ContentGroups/News/20071/October30/Understanding_wind_powers_variability.htm
http://www.isa.org/Content/ContentGroups/News/20071/October30/Understanding_wind_powers_variability.htm
Sunday, October 07, 2007
Texans win! vs. Dolphins 22-19
This is why you visit houstonramblings: hard-hitting Texans insight! Sure, the Texans won, but did they look good? Sortof. They scored 22 points, which isn't shabby, but 15 came from field goals, which isn't good. And three of those field goals were longer than 50 yards, which means they didn't move the ball very far into Dolphins' territory. Once they got the ball on the other side of the 50, it didn't seem that they tried very hard to score touchdowns. But it was an awful lot of trouble for them to get the first one (4 rushes to gain 3 yards). You'd like to see them put more emphasis on the TD because field goals aren't going to beat teams like Indianapolis. That said, I had Kris Brown on one of my fantasy teams (23 points, if you're scoring at home), so I'm not complaining. And neither should Texans fans, a win is a win.
The Texans Record Setting Season
The Texans are 3-2 after beating the winless Dolphins 22-19. This is, apparently, the first time in franchise history they've started 3-2. Not sure if that qualifies for "best start" status. It is, however, better than .500, which is rare for the Texans. In 2004, the Texans got their third win in the sixth game of the season. Every other season, it's taken them many more games to get the third win. The Texans have only been over .500 for 3 weeks before this season (1-0 in the first two seasons and a 4-3 start in 2004). This is already the fourth week they've been over .500 this season. Now you can see why Texans fans are excited!
The Texans Record Setting Season
The Texans are 3-2 after beating the winless Dolphins 22-19. This is, apparently, the first time in franchise history they've started 3-2. Not sure if that qualifies for "best start" status. It is, however, better than .500, which is rare for the Texans. In 2004, the Texans got their third win in the sixth game of the season. Every other season, it's taken them many more games to get the third win. The Texans have only been over .500 for 3 weeks before this season (1-0 in the first two seasons and a 4-3 start in 2004). This is already the fourth week they've been over .500 this season. Now you can see why Texans fans are excited!
Tuesday, October 02, 2007
Africa and solar lighting
Interesting advancements in technology are making electricity more and more feasible each day for people in rural Sub-Sahara Africa and other impoverished areas. So why is nothing happening to reduce the number of people without electricity from 1.6 billion? It is predicted that 1.3 billion will still be without electricity in 2030 (a large percentage reduction, but 1.3 billion is a lot of people). I feel this is unacceptable, considering the massive benefits electricity offers in life quality.
Solar energy is getting more and more affordable, micro-hydroelectric is very feasible (People in Alaska use it). So people can have power without the high cost of extending the already overburdened grid that exists in developing nations. I say overburdened grid because the power cuts in and out constantly in third world countries. At least that's what I experienced and have been told by people who have been in countries in central and south America and other parts of Africa. Back to the question at hand, why isn't this happening? I think there are three major problems. First, people can't afford the initial costs of these systems. Some microfinance organizations are the scum of the Earth, charging up to 50% interest rates. Also, most of these are designed to finance entrepreneurs not people who just want lights, radios, water purification, refrigeration for vaccines and other important factors. One microfinance organization that has good reviews is http://www.kiva.org/. I've heard good things and read a lot of good reviews. It's a really interesting idea at a minimum. You loan people in poor areas money to improve their business at no interest, and then you probably get your money back. They have volunteers on the ground evaluating business plans, and deciding who should get finance. Once someone has income, they can purchase small solar electric systems. One example is the nurse in one of the villages I was in. He has a good income as an educated state employee, and he bought a system that has two fluorescent lights, a radio and a small tv along with a lead acid deep cycle battery. All that for $180.
Which brings me back to the three problems hindering electricity to spread to rural areas. It is damn hard to distribute things to rural areas in Mali, and I'm assuming this is the same case in other rural third world places. It took us about 4 hours to drive 90 km (~55 miles). It would be very tough for trucks to pass certain parts of the roads, however, it is possible. The third is electrical storage devices. Batteries suck in hot environments and everyone knows this is a common problem, yet thats what everyone is using in their solutions (We're guilty too). So you have a solar panel that lasts 20 years and a battery that lasts 3 years, if it's buried in the ground.
I think there is a problem with third world engineering in general also. People go in there thinking they're going to fix everything because they're smart and educated. Clearly, this isn't the case. It takes years to develop a working solution in an unfamiliar culture and climate. Many people who do work in developing nations aren't as smart as they think either. A classic third world example is this stove that a team designed, called a Lorena stove. I'm not going to insult the team that made it, they worked hard and tried to make a difference, but the stove ended up using more wood than a 3 stone fire, due to a misunderstanding of heat transfer. The material ended up absorbing heat, not insulation. That stove is everywhere in the world. It does remove smoke from houses, which is a very good thing, as wood smoke causes TONS of health problems, including blindness and infant deaths. But, people ended up not using them since they had to go and collect more wood than previous stoves. Another stove example is a solar cooker. These are good ideas, but in some places, women called them stick stoves. This is because the women wouldn't have dinner cooked at the right time, then they would get beaten. Women in many third world countries are treated as second class citizens, who aren't allowed education and other things I would consider rights. In Mali, the women don't eat with men, and the men even say it's because they're not equals. Women work ridiculously hard. A feminist in the U.S. would probably go on a killing spree of dudes if one went to a developing nation.
Also, a lot of people just design a product here, then go and drop it off in a poor country and just leave. They never go back and redesign. They just assume it works here, it'll work there. I don't think we have any solutions that really work for any of their problems, but effort is the first step towards some success.
So our plan is currently something that is semi-new but kind of used in Kenya. Kenya sets up battery charging stations where people can pay a buck or two to charge their car battery. The charging stations are located on the electrical grid. They then use this battery to power whatever they want in their village. I'm guessing most people power fluorescent lights, although, there are probably tvs and radios depending on what people can afford. So our idea is to create a charging station off of the excess power created from the solar panels for the water systems that are installed in a few villages in Mali. We'll give the batteries to a person in the village, who will distribute the batteries. He will then charge people for recharging their batteries. He'll save 1/2 of the money he makes to buy new batteries when the old ones crap out, which will probably be 3 years. The pay back period that we estimated is two years, so the person will have a pretty good business. Just let me know what you think.
Alright, I've wasted enough of my time and yours. And I didn't proofread, so ignore the grammar and whatnot.
This post was kind of weird, since i usually try to stick with sports, but I've just been thinking about this quite a bit lately.
Solar energy is getting more and more affordable, micro-hydroelectric is very feasible (People in Alaska use it). So people can have power without the high cost of extending the already overburdened grid that exists in developing nations. I say overburdened grid because the power cuts in and out constantly in third world countries. At least that's what I experienced and have been told by people who have been in countries in central and south America and other parts of Africa. Back to the question at hand, why isn't this happening? I think there are three major problems. First, people can't afford the initial costs of these systems. Some microfinance organizations are the scum of the Earth, charging up to 50% interest rates. Also, most of these are designed to finance entrepreneurs not people who just want lights, radios, water purification, refrigeration for vaccines and other important factors. One microfinance organization that has good reviews is http://www.kiva.org/. I've heard good things and read a lot of good reviews. It's a really interesting idea at a minimum. You loan people in poor areas money to improve their business at no interest, and then you probably get your money back. They have volunteers on the ground evaluating business plans, and deciding who should get finance. Once someone has income, they can purchase small solar electric systems. One example is the nurse in one of the villages I was in. He has a good income as an educated state employee, and he bought a system that has two fluorescent lights, a radio and a small tv along with a lead acid deep cycle battery. All that for $180.
Which brings me back to the three problems hindering electricity to spread to rural areas. It is damn hard to distribute things to rural areas in Mali, and I'm assuming this is the same case in other rural third world places. It took us about 4 hours to drive 90 km (~55 miles). It would be very tough for trucks to pass certain parts of the roads, however, it is possible. The third is electrical storage devices. Batteries suck in hot environments and everyone knows this is a common problem, yet thats what everyone is using in their solutions (We're guilty too). So you have a solar panel that lasts 20 years and a battery that lasts 3 years, if it's buried in the ground.
I think there is a problem with third world engineering in general also. People go in there thinking they're going to fix everything because they're smart and educated. Clearly, this isn't the case. It takes years to develop a working solution in an unfamiliar culture and climate. Many people who do work in developing nations aren't as smart as they think either. A classic third world example is this stove that a team designed, called a Lorena stove. I'm not going to insult the team that made it, they worked hard and tried to make a difference, but the stove ended up using more wood than a 3 stone fire, due to a misunderstanding of heat transfer. The material ended up absorbing heat, not insulation. That stove is everywhere in the world. It does remove smoke from houses, which is a very good thing, as wood smoke causes TONS of health problems, including blindness and infant deaths. But, people ended up not using them since they had to go and collect more wood than previous stoves. Another stove example is a solar cooker. These are good ideas, but in some places, women called them stick stoves. This is because the women wouldn't have dinner cooked at the right time, then they would get beaten. Women in many third world countries are treated as second class citizens, who aren't allowed education and other things I would consider rights. In Mali, the women don't eat with men, and the men even say it's because they're not equals. Women work ridiculously hard. A feminist in the U.S. would probably go on a killing spree of dudes if one went to a developing nation.
Also, a lot of people just design a product here, then go and drop it off in a poor country and just leave. They never go back and redesign. They just assume it works here, it'll work there. I don't think we have any solutions that really work for any of their problems, but effort is the first step towards some success.
So our plan is currently something that is semi-new but kind of used in Kenya. Kenya sets up battery charging stations where people can pay a buck or two to charge their car battery. The charging stations are located on the electrical grid. They then use this battery to power whatever they want in their village. I'm guessing most people power fluorescent lights, although, there are probably tvs and radios depending on what people can afford. So our idea is to create a charging station off of the excess power created from the solar panels for the water systems that are installed in a few villages in Mali. We'll give the batteries to a person in the village, who will distribute the batteries. He will then charge people for recharging their batteries. He'll save 1/2 of the money he makes to buy new batteries when the old ones crap out, which will probably be 3 years. The pay back period that we estimated is two years, so the person will have a pretty good business. Just let me know what you think.
Alright, I've wasted enough of my time and yours. And I didn't proofread, so ignore the grammar and whatnot.
This post was kind of weird, since i usually try to stick with sports, but I've just been thinking about this quite a bit lately.
Sunday, September 09, 2007
Salary cap and the NFL draft
John Clayton has written a pretty good article discussing the merits of the NFL salary cap. Apparently, the salary cap could end in 2008. The NFL salary cap seems to work better than the other three sports, in no small part because of contracts that aren't guaranteed. Unlike baseball and basketball, where unproductive players are dragged along and paid huge sums well past their effectiveness, football players can be cut. Owners and GMs, in any sport, put pressure on coaching staffs to play the expensive players, even when there are better options sitting on the bench. More guaranteed money in contracts given to players, especially unproven draft picks, will continue to handcuff front offices and coaching staffs alike - with the play on the field suffering.
Perhaps more interesting in Clayton's article is his talk of quality teams filling needs through the draft. I thought I had written about this, but wasn't able to find it. A championship team doesn't necessarily need to have great steals in the late rounds of drafts, but just use all of their picks effectively. Look at teams like Indianapolis, New England and the Chargers. All have formed their teams through great use of their first round picks. This, as Clayton says, allows you to fill your team with good, young, cheap players. The good teams fill in as needed through free agency or trades, being careful not to spend too much in any given year. Man, this sounds really familiar, I'm disappointed I hadn't written about this before. This was as close as I got.
It seems like a pretty basic idea, but requires foresight from the GM/team president and patience from the owner and fan base.
Perhaps more interesting in Clayton's article is his talk of quality teams filling needs through the draft. I thought I had written about this, but wasn't able to find it. A championship team doesn't necessarily need to have great steals in the late rounds of drafts, but just use all of their picks effectively. Look at teams like Indianapolis, New England and the Chargers. All have formed their teams through great use of their first round picks. This, as Clayton says, allows you to fill your team with good, young, cheap players. The good teams fill in as needed through free agency or trades, being careful not to spend too much in any given year. Man, this sounds really familiar, I'm disappointed I hadn't written about this before. This was as close as I got.
Championship teams are made through the draft - regardless of the sport. (See
San Antonio Spurs, New England Patriots)
It seems like a pretty basic idea, but requires foresight from the GM/team president and patience from the owner and fan base.
Sunday, July 22, 2007
Mali
I arrived in Mali last night after an excruciating journey through airports and the pain of sitting on a jet for 3 hours, then 8 hours, then 6 hours. We got to circle Bamako for about 1/2 hour while they tried to get the landing gear to go down, which it finally did (obviously). Fun stuff. Also, apparently the blogger is in french, and I can't figure out how to change it, so we'll see. Anyway, the reason I'm blogging is I'm still in Bamako waiting for a ride out to the village. I guess the two cars were full, so they had to go and come back. They decided to leave the guy who doesn't speak French, so I just went and sat at a bar for a couple hours. It was air conditioned and glorious. I drank a couple beers while watching some golf on tv. I tried to leave a tip at the end and the guy ran after me to give me my money back. So then I went onward to the internet cafe to kill some more time. I wandered around the city for awhile today also, but it's hard to find your way around a city when there are no street signs. So while I was wandering, I decided to get on a green truck that piles people in the back and drives them around. It cost me 125 cfa, which is less than 20 cents. I had no idea where it was going, but it seemed like a good idea at the time. So I rode for about 5 minutes, then got off and then took one going the opposite direction. I guess it worked out since I ended up back to an area that I recognized. Alright, thats about all I have for now. I'll post an in depth Africa blog when I get back.
Sunday, July 08, 2007
Rafael Nadal - the greatest ever?
If Roger Federer were not around, would Nadal be considered the best ever? Or at least on the verge of it? It seems as though Nadal and Federer have been meeting each other often in the finals of tournaments. As Federer displayed today, he still owns the grass, and Nadal owns the clay, but what about other surfaces? How many times, exactly, has Nadal lost to Federer in the finals of grand slam events? How many grand slam titles would Nadal have if he didn't have to play Federer?
Federer and Nadal have combined to win the previous 8 grand slam championships and 11 out of the last 15. I was surprised to find out that Nadal is 3-2 against Federer in head-to-head matches in grand slam events. The three wins have been at the French Open and the two losses have been at Wimbledon. Four of the matches occurred in the finals, one in the semis. Even if we assume Nadal wins the two Wimbledons, that puts him at 5, still a long way from the 11 that Federer has.
Considering Nadal has not won a grand slam event other than the French Open, even if we give him a couple Wimbledons. Winning all four of the grand slam tournaments seems to be a prerequisite for being part of the greatest ever debate. That's the knock on Federer and that would be a knock on Nadal as well. Nadal would be good, but not nearly as dominant as Federer has been over the past five years. He'd easily be number one (Federer and Nadal have been 1 and 2 for more than 100 weeks) but there wouldn't be a debate quite yet.
That said, Nadal is only 21 - Federer is 26. Unless Federer can get lucky, Nadal should continue his dominance on clay and continue to get better on grass. It was evident today that Nadal is playing much better on grass and is gaining on Federer. Nadal has been able to combine his athleticism with a more strategic game. As Federer slows down and Nadal picks up, it isn't unreasonable to think of Federer catching Sampras at 14 grand slam titles and Nadal closing in on Federer.
Federer and Nadal have combined to win the previous 8 grand slam championships and 11 out of the last 15. I was surprised to find out that Nadal is 3-2 against Federer in head-to-head matches in grand slam events. The three wins have been at the French Open and the two losses have been at Wimbledon. Four of the matches occurred in the finals, one in the semis. Even if we assume Nadal wins the two Wimbledons, that puts him at 5, still a long way from the 11 that Federer has.
Considering Nadal has not won a grand slam event other than the French Open, even if we give him a couple Wimbledons. Winning all four of the grand slam tournaments seems to be a prerequisite for being part of the greatest ever debate. That's the knock on Federer and that would be a knock on Nadal as well. Nadal would be good, but not nearly as dominant as Federer has been over the past five years. He'd easily be number one (Federer and Nadal have been 1 and 2 for more than 100 weeks) but there wouldn't be a debate quite yet.
That said, Nadal is only 21 - Federer is 26. Unless Federer can get lucky, Nadal should continue his dominance on clay and continue to get better on grass. It was evident today that Nadal is playing much better on grass and is gaining on Federer. Nadal has been able to combine his athleticism with a more strategic game. As Federer slows down and Nadal picks up, it isn't unreasonable to think of Federer catching Sampras at 14 grand slam titles and Nadal closing in on Federer.
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