Go NH!

Sununu fights for digital freedom.

Chew Guevara

Man, I'm a dork, but this made me laugh.

Analbumcover

Celebrity Jeopardy (via Newmark).

This analysis of Google's foray into China strikes me as just about right. Yes, I don't like the deal they've made, but the Chinese government is sowing the seeds of its own destruction by letting them in. It's a second-best solution, but it's far better than lack of engagement.

Tweak

Well, a trade did happen with Minnesota, just not the one I was unrealistically hoping for. I'm provisionally happy with it, but I need to think about it a little more to be sure. On the plus side it'll be easier to keep Olowokandi on the bench than it was to keep Blount there, meaning Doc will be forced to play Jefferson and Perkins more, speeding up their development. On the negative side, Wally has three years left on his contract at pretty big cap numbers. Hard to say whether I'd rather have Wally or Ricky. Banks, Reed, Jones, and the 2 2nd round picks aren't a big deal. I like Reed, but he wasn't going to get PT in Boston nor were we going to get much for him. The conditional first round pick is good, though the C's really don't need to get any younger, so hopefully it will be used in another trade at some point. So I guess the question comes down to the somewhat worse salary cap situation vs. the likelihood of more consistent rotations that feature more of Al and Kendrick. I'll go with the PT for the kids and support this.

Brilliance!

If Danny Ainge can pull off this deal, he's Exec of the Year. I love Al, like Ricky, and have high hopes for Gerald, but KG paired up with Pierce? That would be tremendous.

Go Atlas

BB&T is my new favorite bank.

Implied consent

Stein on supporting the troops but not war. The piece could have used a few fewer snarks/attempts at humor (some worked, most took away from the message), but on the whole it's quite good.

See it for yourself

Here's Kobe Bryant's 81 point game in about 3 minutes (via TrueHoop). I criticize Kobe fairly regularly, but damn.

Poor, hungry, desperate

Don't go for your Ph.D. Unless it's in a field like rocket science or you are doing it because you want to and can afford it, it's a losing proposition.

A site you need to be reading

Dead Spin. So good. For instance, what the NFL Network commercials should have said.

Week 3

Week 2 went pretty well for me qua picking. Not so well as a Pats fan, but I was prepared for the loss. Not for the shitting of a brick, but for the loss. I was 3-1 against the spread, 2-2 picking winners, bringing me to 4-4 and 4-4. I really wouldn't be surprised by any of the four possible SB matchups occuring, but I'll make picks anyway, it makes the games more interesting for me. Onto the games (here's SG for reference).
Pittsburgh Steelers at Denver Broncos, Broncos favored by 3.5. Denver played an ok game last week following its bye week. Pittsburgh has played two straight excellent games. Yes, they were lucky to have Roethlisberger make that tackle, but bad luck and bad officiating put them in that situation in the first place. I think Denver needed a game to shake off the rust from not playing, while I think it's unlikely Pittsburgh will be able to maintain this level of play. So, I'm taking the home team. I will note that people talking about a sixth seed being unlikely to go to the Super Bowl don't know what they're talking about, the 'burgh was a tiebreaker from being the #3 seed. Regardless, Denver is a little better, and at home, and a little better rested. Broncos 27-21.
Carolina Panthers at Seattle Seahawks, Seahawks favored by 3.5. I'm guessing that Steve Smith doesn't singlehandedly destroy another opponent this week and that Shaun Alexander finally has a good playoff game. Again I'll take the home team with the rest edge that is probably slightly better under neutral circumstances. Seahawks 24-17.

Puzzles

Can you beat 21 seconds?
Level three keeps beating me.

This isn't a Disaster Waiting to Happen

Korea will rollout robot cops over the next few years. Westworld, anyone?

Well...

People are saying that the administration comparing its wiretapping actions to Clinton's is a smear. I don't know. Don't get me wrong, Bush is completely wrong here. FISA is probably too lenient when it comes to this stuff, and he still couldn't comply with it. Still, while Clinton's transgression was somewhat different, it wasn't completely different. Bush did what was explicitly illegal, Clinton did what wasn't addressed in the law. Unless we amended the Constitution in some way that I'm not aware of, what Clinton did was still illegal, as citizens can do things that aren't prohibited and the government needs permission to do things.

Is the first among the world!

It is news universal design in "odor" at arrival of the mail of a cellular phone. It's the smellphone!

Let in a little sunshine

Too often laws are passed without being read over very well; sometimes they aren't read over at all. This seems like a good idea that would help with the problem at least somewhat.

Vanilla

I have no idea if this stuff works or not, but here's how to lucidly dream.

The Overworked American Destroying the Environment

We work about 46% fewer hours than we used to.
And aerosol cools the globe.

Week 2

Well, last week's playoffs didn't go so great for me. 2-2 picking winners, 1-3 against the spread, though if Shepherd hadn't inexcusably dropped that touchdown pass, I'd likely be 3-1, 2-2, with one score exactly right. Oh well, moving on.
SG's picks, my picks:
Washington Redskins at Seattle Seahawks, Seahawks favored by 9.5. While it's possible the 'Skins pull this off, it would be because Seattle shits a brick. The defenses are similar, but Seattle has the better passing game and running game, it's in Seattle, and they're better rested. Seattle 27-13.
Pittsburgh Steelers at Indianapolis Colts, Colts favored by 9.5. This game could turn out just about anyway and I wouldn't be surprised. The Colts are the best team in the league until proven otherwise, and could win in a blowout. Or they could be too rusty as they haven't played a good game in over a month, and be blown out. Or Pittsburgh could play smashmouth and push the Colts around enough that it's close. I just don't know, but I'm leaning towards Colts hang on. Indy 24-20.
Carolina Panthers at Chicago Bears, Bears favored by 3. I still don't trust the Panthers, and they're coming off a huge win, which seems to bode poorly for most teams. Yes, Grossman is a big wild-card for da Bears, but their defense is dominant and running game is good. Chicago 19-10.
New England Patriots at Denver Broncos, Broncos favored by 3. This is a tough one for me. Sentimentally I want to pick the Pats, and there is a strong argument for doing so. Brady + Belichick = 10-0 in the playoffs, the defense is much better than it was in the first half of the season, and Shanahan hasn't won a playoff game since Elway retired. Plus Jake Plummer is the opposing QB. Even given all that, I think the problems in the Pats secondary and in the running game are significant enough that we can't quite overcome the home-field and bye week advantage. Broncos 27-21.

Tappa tappa tappa

Michael Kinsley has a good piece on Slate on wiretapping and how to deal with it.

More C's

Gerald Green is not building my confidence in him: "It took Green about 90 seconds to recognize who was on the phone...That was a little scary. He was talking away. Then, I said, 'You know, this is Doc?'" Still, the kid has clearly got skillz, hopefully we'll be seeing them soon.

Wow

Nice driving!

Save a few bucks

Apparently you can opt of phone taxes.

A Second Opinion

Sports Guy says fire Doc Rivers, now. I understand where he's coming from, and share some of his specific complaints. Before the year my thoughts were that Doc wasn't the long-term answer, but that he's fine for now. Now I think I agree, fire him and have Ainge finish the year before finding someone else. However, in fairness to Doc, of the eight complaints laid out against him, 5 can largely be attributed to the composition of the team (youth, and terrible veteran big men) and #4 is irrelevant. I absolutely agree on the rotations/consistent playing time problem, and that Doc does some dumb things, like in the Detroit game. Ainge needs to sit down with him and hash some stuff out, but I am strongly leaning towards Danny temporarily taking over.

The Ripped Ref

Gotta love Ed Hochuli.

Bite-sized Wisdom

Great quotes equal to or shorter than 10 words.

What an arse

A new and exciting way to light a candle.

Quick hits

Get smarter.
The NY Times Year in Ideas.
A brief comparison of Buffett and Lampert.
The Ultimate Keyboard?

2005 in Review

The Darwin Awards.
Best Photoshop Images.
Best Blonde Joke.
And, I'm pleased to announce that the Humanitarian of the Year, 2005, was Francesca Morandini, fiancee of Gabe Leibowitz, primarily for knowing "how to change a guy's world in
74 hours", and apparently doing it. Francesca join such luminaries as Seth (2001, 2002, 2004) and myself (2003) as people who have been honored with this prestigious award. Sorry, Commander, maybe 2006 will be your year.

Crap

Not a complete surprise, but still bad for us. China is moving away from the US dollar.

Playoff time!

The NFL playoffs start tomorrow. Here are Sports Guy's picks, and here are my (entertainment purposes only) picks:
Washington Redskins at Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Bucs favored by 2.5. Both teams are good but flawed. E.g., TB's QB is too young, while the Skins' QB is too old. I like both running games, and the defenses are comparable. I think the fact that Gibbs hasn't coached a playoff game in ages is a negative for Washington. It will be close, but I'm leaning towards the home team. Bucs 20-17.
Jacksonville Jaguars at New England Patriots, Pats favored by 7.5. The Patriots should win this game, they have the better coach, better QB, a roughly equal defense, and a roughly equal running game. But, the problems in the secondary aren't totally fixed and they rarely blow people out. The Jags cover, the Pats win. Patriots 20-16.
Pittsburgh Steelers at Cincinnati Bengals, Steelers favored by 3. I like the Bengals a lot, but I think they are the Not Ready for Primetime Team. Plus the defense has been poor since their bye week. And Roethlisberger has 2 more (admittedly shaky) playoff starts than Palmer. It's been a great year for Bengals fans, but wait until next year for serious contention. Steelers 23-14.
Carolina Panthers at New York Giants, Giants favored by 2.5. Eli concerns me, but so does Jake. The Giants were only ok down the stretch, but the Panthers were iffy. Home field and Tiki give NY the win. Giants 20-13.
For reference, last year I was 8-3 picking winners, 7-4 against the spread. Two years ago I was 5-6 picking winners, 2-8-1 against the spread. Three years ago I was 8-3 picking winners, 4-7 against the spread. Add all those up, and I am 34-31-1. No, wait, picking winners I am 21-12, against the spread I am 13-19-1.

Bleg

I've seen Quine plugged in a few places recently, most recently in Cowen's Normblog interview. It's happened enough that I think I need to read some of him. Any good suggestions as to where to start?

Buerosse!

This guy is my new hero. Go Buerosse, it's my birthday!

Wow

There is apparently a lot about the NBA that I have no clue about. William Wesley sounds like one of those movie characters that's the guy behind the guy, behind the guy. Jordan gave him 10% of Jumpman? Of course, this could be a ruse or exaggerated, but it is fascinating.

Pretty good

I'm not normally a fan of Hitchens or of Sharon, but this piece is pretty good.

I want to go from Chicago to Hippopotamus

Travel agents have stories. Though I suspect some were pranks.

Playboy has articles in Braille

Hilarity ensues.

Getting there

Rick Pitino is slightly less self-serving than usual in this piece. So that's something.

Not that there's anything wrong with it...

Echoing Kurtz and Cameron, Larry David won't see Brokeback Mountain.

The Source of Bias

To some extent it's the reporters, but it's largely from us. D'oh.

100 Things BBC News Didn't Know

Right here. Also, go bananas.

The Future of Television

Joss Whedon lets us know what will happen.

Conan's 2005 in Review

Cyber Gays!!! With metallic fanny packs!!!

Early Nomination for Best Ending to a Post

Cowen on Argentina.