Scott Adcox

Doing More With Less Since 1972

Category: Reading (Page 21 of 35)

The Big Sports Post

July 10, 2009 / / 0 Comments

I’m not into watching sports as much as I used to be. Like, hardly at all. But I saw two interesting things about sports today.

First, check out the card for UFC 100–the biggest event in the history of the UFC.

  • 265: Brock Lesnar (c) (265) vs. Frank Mir (c) (245)
    UFC Heavyweight Championship Unification
  • 170: Georges St-Pierre (c) (170) vs. Thiago Alves (170)
    UFC Welterweight Championship
  • 185: Dan Henderson (185) vs. Michael Bisping (186)
  • 185: Yoshihiro Akiyama (185) vs. Alan Belcher (186)
  • 170: Jon Fitch (170) vs. Paulo Thiago (170)
  • 205: Mark Coleman (205) vs. Stephan Bonnar (205)
  • 155: Mac Danzig (154) vs. Jim Miller (155)
  • 205: Jon Jones (206) vs. Jake O’Brien (206)
  • 170: Dong Hyun Kim (171) vs. T.J. Grant (170)
  • 185: C.B. Dollaway (186) vs. Tom Lawlor (184)
  • 155: Matt Grice (155) vs. Shannon Gugerty (156)

What would you have said 3 or 4 years ago if I told you that the light heavyweight fight at the UFC’s biggest event ever would get 6th billing and would feature Stephan Bonnar as its top name?

The UFC is all about the welterweights right now, huh?

The second cool thing I saw today was in a tweet from @alyssa_milano on 11 things that have happened only once in MLB. I was shocked at how many of these are from the recent past and how many of them I actually remember. But this was my favorite:

During the September 4th, 1908, game between the Tigers and Cleveland Indians, Schaefer was on first and a teammate was on third. The Tigers wanted to do a double steal — Schaefer would break for second, and, when the Indians tried to throw him out, his teammate would steal home. But when Schaefer broke for second, the Indians’ catcher didn’t make the throw, so Schaefer stole the base without the run scoring.

That wasn’t the plan so, on the next pitch, he broke back for first… and successfully stole it without a throw. Then, on the next pitch, he broke for second AGAIN, to try to make the double steal work… but again, the Indians didn’t throw.

That makes him the only player in MLB history to steal the same base twice in one inning. (And one of only two players to ever steal first base from second.)

The Vampire Economy

July 10, 2009 / / 0 Comments

Sorry, this isn’t a post about True Blood or Twilight.

But Vampire Economy would make a great gift for anyone who is into the horror genre. I mean, this sounds pretty scary, doesn’t it?

The national demand for “stimulus” replaced private decision making entirely, as businessmen were required to produce and avoid any economic downturns that might embarrass the state.

Ironically, this isn’t about 21st century economics in the United States. Yet.

Congress Sucks, Except For My Representative

July 9, 2009 / / 0 Comments

That’s usually why the same clowns keep getting sent back to Congress.

But in this case it’s true–it really isn’t my representative who is the problem. Congratulations to Jimmy Duncan for getting a perfect score on Freedom Index.

The average House score for this index is a dismal 38 percent and the average Senate score is an even worse 35 percent. Three representatives earned perfect scores: John Duncan (R-Tenn.), Jeff Flake (R.-Ariz.), and Ron Paul (R.-Texas).

My Senators need some work though.

Senator Bernie Sanders (Independent-Vt.), an avowed socialist, is the same score garnered by two GOP senators — Lamar Alexander (Tenn.) and George Voinovich (Ohio)

Hat Tip: Terry Frank

Health Care Reform’s Effects on Lobbying Activity

July 6, 2009 / / 0 Comments

If You Can’t Beat ‘Em, Join ‘Em and Then Say You Beat ‘Em

Any move toward greater government involvement in health-care is going to lead toward increased health-care lobbying of government.

Interesting.

If I didn’t know for a fact that every single member of Congress is there for no other reason than to do what is best for the long term strength of the country, I’d say the whole discussion of health care reform was nothing more than an attempt to shake down the health care industry.

But I know better than that.

A Book That Made Me Think

June 29, 2009 / / 1 Comment

It’s been highly recommended by so many people, so I finally broke down and read Outliers: The Story of Success over the weekend. I walked away with one burning question…

Why does everyone else get all the breaks while nothing good ever happens for me?

Heh…just kidding.

It is encouraging to know that I’m good at math despite having to translate my native language to numbers for calculating things in my head without being angered to the point of violence due to my honor society heritage. 😛

Good book. Recommend it.

Perspective on Celebrity Deaths

June 28, 2009 / / 0 Comments

I saw this comment to a comment on Facebook and thought it was pretty powerful…

So far this month, 10 members of our military have lost their live in Iraq, and 22 have lost their lives in Afganistan.

These were mostly young people in their 20s and 30s who put themselves in harm’s way to perform a job most of us don’t have the courage to perform. The fact that they were willing to do so affords us the opportunity to watch 24 hour “news” coverage on the deaths of entertainers who are at least 50 years old.

Yeah, 50 is young too. And it’s shocking. But let’s keep this in perspective.

I’m not saying I’m any less guilty than anyone else is of getting distracted by day-to-day life–I don’t mean to cast any stones. But it is shame when so much emphasis is placed on the death of a few celebrities while we all but ignore the sacrifice of people who, at the very least, deserve to be recognized on television/radio/print by news organizations.

I have to give props to George Stephanopoulos. He recognizes all of our fallen service people every week on his show.

Equal Protection For Taxpayers

June 22, 2009 / / 1 Comment

I was wondering the other day if/why the equal protection clause doesn’t protect people from the injustices of a graduated tax rate. Sure enough, someone else has wondered that already.

I guess since taxes are inherently punitive, “protection” doesn’t really come into play. I don’t remember reading anywhere that we are guaranteed equal penalty under the law.

I don’t expect anything to be changed, I was just wondering.

Inauguration to Impeachment Call Times Decreasing!

June 18, 2009 / / 0 Comments

With our newfound ability to reach blatant disregard for the Constitution information more rapidly, the calls for impeachment of the holder of the top executive position in the land are speeding up proportionally.

This is no hyperbole. I am not simply spouting off. I believe, and will from this point forward, work to see, Barack Obama impeached, charged, indicted, tried, and imprisoned, for the crimes he and his cronies have committed against this nation, and its people.

That was quick. Politically, wouldn’t it be more prudent to hold off for a while and give him the chance to anger more of the people who helped him get elected?

Well Lefty Blogosphere?

June 17, 2009 / / 3 Comments

Here’s your chance to show you aren’t hypocritical. Blue Collar Muse has posted the contents of an email that he says was sent while the whole brouhaha from yesterday was occurring–this time from a Tennessee Democrat staffer.

Are we going to see some outrage here?

Some have stepped up already, others are saying in the comments that they will wait until a name is released. I definitely won’t hold my breath waiting for some national attention.

My position remains the same…how stupid do you have to be? Really?

I thought we’d moved past blatant stupidity in this country, especially after yesterday.  😀

If you were to follow the line of logic set up by those who let their party affiliation dictate what they are outraged about and what the aren’t, the only logical conclusion would be that all Democrats and Republicans are stupid and/or racist.

Stupidity – Yet Another Reason For Smaller Government

June 15, 2009 / / 6 Comments

It’s bad enough that a staffer for an elected official is racist enough to distribute something like this by e-mail.

It’s even worse that they are so stupid as to think it wouldn’t surface with their name attached to it.

Now for another round of apologies and resignation. Michael Silence has more.

Update From Christian Grantham:

I spoke with Sherri Goforth minutes ago to confirm she sent this email. She confirmed she had sent it and also said she had received a letter of reprimand from her superiors and said she will stay on the job.

When I asked her if she understood the controversial nature of the photo, Goforth would only say she felt very bad about accidentally sending it to the wrong list.

Huh?

“Sorry Officer…I intended to rob a different bank. My bad. Am I free to go?”

Guess that resignation thing is out the door.

Millions of Small Businesses Created or Saved!

June 12, 2009 / / 0 Comments

Edgelings.com » The Obama Surprise.

Indeed, you can make the case that the sole contribution the Obama administration has made to entrepreneurship in America to date is to force all of those millions of unemployed people to desperately set up their own businesses in order to survive.

This doesn’t even take into account how much entrepreneurship in general is damaged when companies deemed “too big to fail” are bailed out, effectively guaranteeing market share where there has already been market rejection.

But here’s my favorite part…

High tech CEOs are supposed to be the smartest people you’ve ever met. And most of them are. But when it comes to politics and dealing inside the Beltway, experience has taught me that these men and women are fools, dupes and rubes – and too arrogant to realize it. They thought they were electing one of them, and someone pliable enough to help them succeed while at the same time crushing their competition.

It’s kind of ironic. These guys should know better than anyone that catchy slogans don’t cut it…you have to bring the goods.

It’s Not The Economy Bob!

June 9, 2009 / / 0 Comments

Bob Dylan has canceled his show in Knoxville due to low ticket sales:

Snider declined to reveal how many tickets were sold but said the number was too low to rely on last-minute ticket purchases to save the show.

“It’s just sort of tough times economically, right now,” said Snider.

Yes, things are tough economically, but another reason ticket sales are low is because it’s the “Bob Dylan” concert. I saw Dylan at Smokies Stadium with Willie Nelson in 2004.  Dylan was horrible. He was two verses into “All Along the Watchtower” before I even recognized it. Waste of time and money.

Willie is always a tremendous show, and Mellencamp is a great show as well. I’ve only seen him once and walked away a fan. Actually, I walked away realizing how big of a fan I’d always been.

I didn’t buy tickets because Dylan was part of the show. Can’t justify giving money for him to take time away from two good acts.

And some breaking news for the KNS–Mellencamp dropped “Cougar” about 20 years ago. You got scooped!

The Power of Federal Spending Compels You!

June 4, 2009 / / 0 Comments

S.C. Supreme Court orders governor to apply for stimulus money.

The court voted 5-0, with Justice Costa Pleicones concurring in a separate opinion, that the General Assembly had the authority in passing the state budget to order Sanford to apply for the money.

Just for giggles, it would be interesting to see what would happen to him if he still refused. The worst case scenario is that he’d be an automatic front runner for the GOP nomination in 2012.

Yeah, that’s pretty bad, but still…

HT Michael Silence

Blogging, Twitter, Facebook, MySpace, and More!

June 1, 2009 / / 2 Comments

From  No Silence Here.

Blogging is often cited in the obits of newspapers. Twittering is often cited in the obits of blogs. And now I’m hearing Facebook and MySpace cited as the killers of Twitter. Some soon-to-be freshmen in high school told me last week they’re not on blogs or Twitter. They’re strictly Facebook or MySpace.

And just wait for Wave to ramp up. I think it may eventually kill email, along with marginalizing all of these other communication tools. Ok, “kill” may be a strong word, but the future of communication definitely lies in a One-Stop-Shop, real time type of communication instead of these various distributed and semi-connected tools we’re using now.

In the future, every communication tool will be useful for 15 minutes.

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