31 January, 2008

Perspicuity Matters


So a couple of Christmases ago, my sister-in-law gave me the coolest tshirt ever. (Unfortunately, she will probably never read this...) It has this picture on it. I was wearing it today, and took note of the website listed:


There is actually some pretty cool stuff here. Everyone should check it out.

30 January, 2008

Santana Departs Twins

Well, it has finally come – the Minnesota Twins have traded Santana to the New York Mets in exchange for four high level prospects. Was this a good deal? Ask me in 3 or 4 years. (Honestly, anyone who thinks they KNOW right now is absolutely foolish...)

Were the rumored Yankees and Red Sox deals better? Maybe, but that is really just a matter of perspective. First, it is tough to know exactly what was offered for sure in those deals. However, even assuming the information available was reasonably correct, those were better short term let’s try and still win now kind of deals. So lets look at it for a second, especially the Yankees deal which by most opinions, including mine, was the better of the two the Twins didn’t take. If the Twins couldn’t win in the ever-more-competitive A.L. Central with Torrii and Johan, what makes anyone believe that they would when with Melky Cabrera, Phil Hughes, and (the recently acquired) Delmon Young?

I will freely admit that I may drink too much of the Twins koolaid, but this organization has a remarkable history of scouting other teams and asking for the right players in trades. So the short of it is, I am going to give them the benefit of the doubt (and look forward to a decade of dominance beginning in 2010...)

29 January, 2008

Old School, Baby! (Video Games, that is...)

This gallery on EW.com really brings back the memories - and makes me want to go home and plug in the old Atari Flashback...

Seriously, that sit-down Star Wars was the bomb - I don't want to think of how much money (after inflation ) I sunk into that machine. Rampage was awesome; Tempest was totally cool - honestly, that might be one of the best games ever for me; Burgertime was quirky fun (as was Tapper); Space Invaders badly pixilated goodness; I seem to remember always getting my butt kicked by Rob in Joust; and Dragon's Lair was an absurd waste of money.

As much as I love my Nintendo Wii, there will alwasys be a special place in my video-gaming heart for old school stand-up video games...

28 January, 2008

When doctors compete, you win!

I know on one hand it might sound kind of hokey to be able to shop online for health care like airline tickets, but at the same time the health care crisis in this country is approaching a critical mass, and somedbody needs to find ways to reinvent the system to make it more cost-effective for everyone involved.

Maybe, the ideas behind carol.com are a good start.

24 January, 2008

I know it is -5º F here, but...

THIS HAS TO SUCK!


I'm sure this picture has been floating around for awhile, but after Rob sent it to me, I couldn't resist commenting on it...

Pearls Before Breakfast

My friend Rob, who is Still in Japan, posted this article from the Washington Post.

WHOA!

What a profound experiment! It is unfortunate that it turned out the way it did. However, honestly, I am not terribly surprised at the dismal reflection on American society/culture. We really are too much of a head down, go go go, no time time to chat, places to go, people to see, fast-paced, instant gratification society. To say that we typically have our priorities in the wrong place could spawn more sidebar tangents then I care to engage in here, but I am going to say it anyway.

"We typically have our priorities in the wrong place".

The sad thing about it is, you probably aren't going to get us to change - at least not for the better...

14 January, 2008

Pack Rats Anonymous, Local Chapter #253

"I hereby call this meeting to order. Let us begin with a prayer."

God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot toss,
The courage to toss the things I can,
And the wisdom to know the difference -

Especially when I can't see the floor,
I lament the lack of space for things,
And I explicitly decide not to buy something
Lest I trip over it and kill myself.

"My name is Derrick, and I am a pack rat..."

In-Context Quote of the Day

So at the Book Barn this weekend we had up a new display of "Complete Idiots Guides to...". As I was browsing the titles on the table, I noticed the "Complete Idiots Guide to Amazing Sex (Third Edition)". I then asked one of our managers, "Does that mean that the sex wasn't quite so amazing in the first two editions? Or maybe some of the positions or techniques were experimental or something? But, have no fear, because in this new, third edition, it will be the most amazing sex yet?"

After some, as you can only imagine, continued witty banter, I suggested, "Hey maybe the ad slogan could be 'Multiple Editions for Multiple Positions'".

08 January, 2008

"The Compact" - Too Extreme?

This is a very interesting idea, not buying anything new, that I hadn't heard about before. Or at least not in some formalized way. Personally, I think it might be a bit extreme, and I don't think I could completely commit. But, I do think there is a lesson that can be learned and general principles that could be applied.

However, I do shudder at the thought of what the economic ripple would be if a large enough segment of our population embraced this idea in our consumer-driven economy...

06 January, 2008

The Best Confirmation Email EVAH!!!

Derrick -

Thanks for your order with CD Baby!

Your CD has been gently taken from our CD Baby shelves with sterilized contamination-free gloves and placed onto a satin pillow.

A team of 50 employees inspected your CD and polished it to make sure it was in the best possible condition before mailing.

Our packing specialist from Japan lit a candle and a hush fell over the crowd as he put your CD into the finest gold-lined box that money can buy.

We all had a wonderful celebration afterwards and the whole party marched down the street to the post office where the entire town of Portland waved "Bon Voyage!" to your package, on its way to you, in our private CD Baby jet on this day, Wednesday, December 19th.

I hope you had a wonderful time shopping at CD Baby. We sure did. Your picture is on our wall as "Customer of the Year." We're all exhausted but can't wait for you to come back to CDBABY.COM!!

Thank you, thank you, thank you! Sigh...

--Derek Sivers, president, CD Baby

the little store with the best new independent music

http://cdbaby.com/ cdbaby@cdbaby.com

(503)595-3000

03 January, 2008

Presidential Pong


Choose your candidates and watch them battle it out for debate points. No love lost on this court!

This is very amusing...

Play Presidential Pong!!!

Here's......the Iowa Caucus!

Today is when it really starts to get interesting. (insert favorite cliche here _________.)

My predictions for Iowa:

DEM
1. Hillary
2. Edwards (-1.5 % from Hillary)
3. Obama (-2.5% from Hillary)

REP
1. Huckabee
2. McCain (-3.0% from Huckabee)
3. Guliani (-5.0% from Huckabee)