Sports is all about the underdog, the little guy.
Earl Boykins, 5 feet 5 inches, out of Eastern Michigan University, born in Cleveland. How do you measure heart? Boykins is in his 12th season! OK, so he's never been a superstar, and he's had to come off the bench a lot. But he's had some good years. And how many so-called basketball players never make it the NBA, let alone hang in there for 12 seasons? Gotta love it.
Oh, yeah, and he dropped 22 points on the Lakers last night as the Bucks won at the Staples Center!
Wednesday, December 22, 2010
widget dashboard
My widget dashboard in KDE4 in Linux Mint Isadora. Nothing fancy, just a few tools.
MultiSystem
For the first time, I created a bootable Linux USB flash drive. I used the MultiSystem application (http://www.pendrivelinux.com/multiboot-create-a-multiboot-usb-from-linux/) with Ubuntu Lucid to add a couple of distro's live CD sessions to a 4 GB flash drive.
I had to go into my BIOS and change the boot order, and I after doing that I was able to boot into live sessions of Linux Mint Debian and Ubuntu 10.10 (Maverick).
Works good; the systems run much faster than from a live CD, and being able to put more than one on a flash drive is convenient.
I would use a larger flash drive (maybe 16 GB) for an actual installation, or to run a persistent mode; and, ultimately, it's cheaper to use CDs for live CD sessions than it is to use flash drives, although the prices of the latter continue to drop.
I had to go into my BIOS and change the boot order, and I after doing that I was able to boot into live sessions of Linux Mint Debian and Ubuntu 10.10 (Maverick).
Works good; the systems run much faster than from a live CD, and being able to put more than one on a flash drive is convenient.
I would use a larger flash drive (maybe 16 GB) for an actual installation, or to run a persistent mode; and, ultimately, it's cheaper to use CDs for live CD sessions than it is to use flash drives, although the prices of the latter continue to drop.
Wednesday, December 1, 2010
the scale of the universe
An incredible presentation at this web page:
http://www.newgrounds.com/
Makes ya feel a bit insignificant, doesn't it?
http://www.newgrounds.com/
Makes ya feel a bit insignificant, doesn't it?
Wednesday, November 17, 2010
mice, mouses, meeces
In computing, what is the correct plural for "mouse?" I prefer to say "mouses." The following from The Free Dictionary explains things:
http://encyclopedia.tfd.com/Computer+mouse
The Compact Oxford English Dictionary (third edition) and the fourth edition of The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language endorse both computer mice and computer mouses as correct plural forms for computer mouse. The form mice, however, appears most commonly, while some authors of technical documents may prefer either mouse devices or the more generic pointing devices. The plural mouses treatsmouse as a "headless noun."
Two manuals of style in the computer industry – Sun Technical Publication's Read Me First: A Style Guide for the Computer Industry and Microsoft Manual of Style for Technical Publications from Microsoft Press – recommend that technical writers use the term mouse devices instead of the alternatives.
http://encyclopedia.tfd.com/Computer+mouse
The Compact Oxford English Dictionary (third edition) and the fourth edition of The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language endorse both computer mice and computer mouses as correct plural forms for computer mouse. The form mice, however, appears most commonly, while some authors of technical documents may prefer either mouse devices or the more generic pointing devices. The plural mouses treatsmouse as a "headless noun."
Two manuals of style in the computer industry – Sun Technical Publication's Read Me First: A Style Guide for the Computer Industry and Microsoft Manual of Style for Technical Publications from Microsoft Press – recommend that technical writers use the term mouse devices instead of the alternatives.
Wednesday, November 10, 2010
grisham
I hate John Grisham novels!
Actually, I enjoy them, but the problem is that I can't put them down!
Every time I start a Grisham novel, I end up staying up too late at night, trying to finish it.
A friend of mine recently gave me five Grisham books. Even though I've been trying to go slowly with them, even reading other books between the Grisham novels, I've already gone through three of them:
The Last Juror.
The Testament.
The Brethren.
Two more to go. Two more late nights coming up...
Actually, I enjoy them, but the problem is that I can't put them down!
Every time I start a Grisham novel, I end up staying up too late at night, trying to finish it.
A friend of mine recently gave me five Grisham books. Even though I've been trying to go slowly with them, even reading other books between the Grisham novels, I've already gone through three of them:
The Last Juror.
The Testament.
The Brethren.
Two more to go. Two more late nights coming up...
Wednesday, October 13, 2010
die, BCS
Dan Wetzel, Josh Peter, and Jeff Passan's new book, Death to the BCS, looks like it might make waves.
The Yahoo! Sports story, with excerpts.
Their blog page.
And, another excerpt.
I think most people agree that a playoff would be the correct way to go (I'm in favor of a 16-team playoff), but what kind of stood out for me while reading those excerpts was how the BCS system goes to such great lengths to keep the little guys down. Some folks say that a team like Boise State doesn't deserve to play for the championship until they schedule more road games against teams from, say, the SEC. But if the BCS wasn't in control, teams like the BCS would be getting a lot more money, and a lot better recruits, than they're getting now, and they'd be presenting a much bigger challenge to SEC, Big Ten, Pac-10, Big Twelve, ACC, and Big East schools.
The BCS schools can't have that. It isn't about a level playing field; it's about staying in control.
So, the Big Six conferences get 82.3% of the money. The MWC, WAC, MAC, Conference USA, and Sun Belt Conference are left with the remaining 17.7%. This way, the little guys will always be little guys, and the BCS schools will always stay in charge.
Put a playoff system in place, with the money more evenly distributed, and with every team having a shot at going all the way, and all of a sudden perhaps Boise State doesn't look like such a bad option for a 5-star recruit who normally wouldn't consider Boise State because it isn't a BCS school. All of a sudden, TCU and Hawaii have a chance at landing much better players, more t.v. time, more money to build bigger stadiums, and maybe even (gasp!)home games against SEC teams.
The problem isn't that Boise State and others don't schedule enough games against teams from BCS schools. The problem is that the BCS "Cartel," as the authors put it, gives all the advantages and most of the money to teams from those Big Six conferences.
It's an injustice; and that's why I'll always root for non-BCS teams against BCS teams, and it's while I'll always ignore college football once the regular season is over.
The Yahoo! Sports story, with excerpts.
Their blog page.
And, another excerpt.
I think most people agree that a playoff would be the correct way to go (I'm in favor of a 16-team playoff), but what kind of stood out for me while reading those excerpts was how the BCS system goes to such great lengths to keep the little guys down. Some folks say that a team like Boise State doesn't deserve to play for the championship until they schedule more road games against teams from, say, the SEC. But if the BCS wasn't in control, teams like the BCS would be getting a lot more money, and a lot better recruits, than they're getting now, and they'd be presenting a much bigger challenge to SEC, Big Ten, Pac-10, Big Twelve, ACC, and Big East schools.
The BCS schools can't have that. It isn't about a level playing field; it's about staying in control.
So, the Big Six conferences get 82.3% of the money. The MWC, WAC, MAC, Conference USA, and Sun Belt Conference are left with the remaining 17.7%. This way, the little guys will always be little guys, and the BCS schools will always stay in charge.
Put a playoff system in place, with the money more evenly distributed, and with every team having a shot at going all the way, and all of a sudden perhaps Boise State doesn't look like such a bad option for a 5-star recruit who normally wouldn't consider Boise State because it isn't a BCS school. All of a sudden, TCU and Hawaii have a chance at landing much better players, more t.v. time, more money to build bigger stadiums, and maybe even (gasp!)home games against SEC teams.
The problem isn't that Boise State and others don't schedule enough games against teams from BCS schools. The problem is that the BCS "Cartel," as the authors put it, gives all the advantages and most of the money to teams from those Big Six conferences.
It's an injustice; and that's why I'll always root for non-BCS teams against BCS teams, and it's while I'll always ignore college football once the regular season is over.
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