Oil Spill

Here is a live feed of the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. Devastating disaster, to say the least. Big changes are needed, both in terms of regulation, but moreso in terms of our needing to change our reliance on unnatural energy sources.

Why?....

Our time is so short,
Should not waste it on garbage
Words should be savored.

.....

1am fighting
Why are we talking about
Whatever we are.

ESPN & NBA Free Agency

I love sports, pretty much all of them. I am particularly fond of sports I grew up playing (basketball, football, soccer) but I am also interested in those I have zero connection to other than video games or a brief stint attempting to play (hockey, baseball, volleyball, lacrosse).

For all the great parts of these sports, the downside is that there is eventually an off-season. This is largely true for professional and college ranks (who cares about H.S. sports other than those attending the schools, I mean really). There is always a portion of the year where the interest of the fans dwindles, gets caught up in some other sport or in life in general, and then has to be rekindled when the season comes around again. Some sports are better suited for this (baseball probably has the best season, stretching from spring training in late February through Free Agency in November, only missing the hectic holiday season, plus they are the only major sport aside from golf, racing, and tennis to compete during the dog days of summer), whereas basketball, football, and hockey largely overlap one another. I am still not a fan, nor do I ever see myself being a big fan of baseball, but they did chose a nice schedule.

The NBA is capitalizing on their off-season this year with a huge group of superstars that are free agents. James, Wade, Bosh, Stoudemire, Nowitski, Johnson, Boozer...big names, with A LOT of $$$$ waiting for them somewhere in the league. There have been hundreds if not thousands of articles written about free-agency this year, which is definitely not standard protocol.

It is funny how much time has been spent examining the possibilities of where players will go, who they are talking to, whether or not there will be an NBA superstar "summit" held somewhere to figure out where players are going to go, etc. My favorite is this, and NBA slot machine to see where players will end up. Fantastic, if only it worked that way in real life.

Golden Goals

World Cup is coming,
Will be starting in 10 days,
Best sporting event.

Catching Up

A post per day, hmm.

Seems pretty easy, yes/no?

Need to catch up soon.

Mental Block?

Creating own game.
Hard to envision in action.
Hope it is not crap.

Athens Transit

Insane bus drivers.
Slam gas to floor, brake to floor.
Repeat frequently.

Confederates Melting

I think the South lost
The Civil War due to this
Mind stifling heat.

Census Lost

Missing census work,
Mainly the mileage pay.
And time estimates.

1 Hour Later

Apparently the
Bus schedules are off a bit.
Waiting equals sweat.

New Assignment

Starting RA job,
Have own office, pretty chill.
Little victories.

Bus

Waiting for the bus,
Sweating my duff sitting.
Humid days are rough.

Driving-Wedge

Driving home from Atlanta last night, at around midnight,there are large stretches of road with a speed limit of around 65. The journey itself is around 70 miles and it can take awhile to get back to Athens (simple math would say 1.8 hours, but there are stoplights as well).

There are not any street lights, it is fairly rural, and there is the temptation to go a little above the requested mph to make better time. Given that both Bri and Linds were exhausted, and I wanted to get them as home asap, I had an additional incentive to push the limit a tad. Answer: Driving-Wedge.

That sounds like a golf club, but in fact it is a formation for a group of cars to form while they all push the boundaries of the "Speed Limit". Strength in numbers perhaps, extra highlights and eyes on the horizon for possible Five-O, and the possibility that the highway patrol will either ignore us or only pull over one person are compelling reasons to be a part of a Driving-Wedge. I have been in them before, generally in groups of 3 or 4, but last night we had a unique blend. 

I found an ideal Driving-Wedge and we all held a fairly regular "W" formation on a two lane highway, with three cars in one lane and two in the adjacent lane, each of them staggered. There were the occasional slow drivers that we would approach/pass and the two right laners, or sadly sometimes the three left laners would have to slide over and the formation would realign (I will skip the diatribe of slow drivers in the left lane) , with different positions being taken by those cars in the suitable positions, but overall the wedge held. 

The "W" was solid for about 20 miles or so but one car eventually peeled off and we took a trapezoid shape, which changed positions as we went along, and as some cars pushed to the front to lead the wedge (a good Driving-Wedge always needs a shifting pole position, to test both each driver's commitments to the wedge and see if they are willing to pace the group); overall, it held firm for a solid 50 miles.  

Without reporting my exact speed to avoid incriminating myself, we made record time. I wish I could have contacted those other drivers to give a digital high five via text, seen here as a  IIII_ or possibly a (5)_, or a real high five, but we all knew it was a well executed D-W and I appreciated their willingness to stick with it. Well done fellow I-316ers (aka University Parkwayers), particularly my Silver XTerra wingman. 

Nice work, and I hope to see you next time I am traveling to/from Athens.

Logo Sprawl: Had to post this

Logorama from Marc Altshuler - Human Music on Vimeo.

401(K) Actually Increased in Q1 of 2010...first step?

Lost Time

I have missed out on a couple posts already and am starting to doubt my 365/365 goal, but I am here to make up for some misses thus far.

Still working on the census, though at this point I am definitely just pushing through to the finish rather than enjoying the moment. Not that I was ever truly enjoying the moment, but it has not been all that bad. I have had some interesting moments with people, from getting slapped in the face (mosquito was on me) to people thinking I was some kind of auditor for the government (mainly worried about losing housing assistance, or Medicaid), but overall it has been fairly mild. Only three people have refused to answer my questions, and there have only been four people that I could not understand (due to accents or lack of proper English, mainly a combination of both).

Another couple of days and I will be done though, which is good for the mind, bad for the wallet.

Census

Working for the man
On a Sunday afternoon
Time and a half? Nope

Jazz...I know, can't let them go

Here is what I will always remember when I think of the 2009-10 season for the Utah Jazz (well this and the fact they beat the Nuggets in 6 games during Round 1).

Thanks for the memory Sundiatta (from U. of Georgia!).

RIP Utah Jazz 2009-10 Season

Having been swept by the hated/dreaded/feared/hated LA Lakers, at home, in an embarrassing fashion, is going to make the off-season for the Jazz a cloudy one. Granted they were somewhat reeling from a couple of key injuries (Kirilenko, Okur), their last stance at home was a sad one. At one point they trailed Pau Gasol and the Lakers (he was the driving force, Kobe was just complimentary) by 22 points in the second quarter, and though they made a valiant effort and brought it back to within 5 during the third quarter, that hole was just too deep to climb out of.

That is pretty much how the games between these two teams goes: Lakers get up by double digits, Jazz make a run and close the gap (occasionally taking the lead), and then the Lakers big men/Kobe hit the Jazz in the jugular and send them into a downward spiral of missed threes, forced shots, and turnovers. Sad to see such a potent team fizzle out at the most important time of their season, which brings this back to the off-season questions.

Will Carlos Boozer stick around? 

I am torn. He is great during the regular season, but when it comes to the playoffs he has the tendency to shrivel-up and complain to the refs more than go after the basketball. Perhaps his shrinkage is in part due to him being placed at the Center position where he is just too short to compete. Strange to say someone who is 6'8" as too short, but for the C position it is the case.

What draft position will the Jazz get in the lottery?

With rights to the New York Knick's first round draft position the Jazz are currently sitting at the #9 position in the lottery, though that can change if fate deems it so. Will the Jazz get lucky and move up a couple spots?...would be nice to see, but certainly not counting on it.

What will happen to Korver, Matthews, Fesenko, Gaines, and Jeffers?

Korver has indicated he wants to stay in Utah, though does Utah want to keep him? Certainly an excellent shooter (on occasion), but is a defensive liability. 

Matthews is one of the bright spots at the end of this playoff season, showing that he can play fairly solid defense (though Kobe torched him a number of times, but that is a rough assignment for a rookie). He can hit the three-ball and he has shown an ability to drive the lane and hit free-throws. Jazz should keep him, but how much will they pay?

Fesenko is a beast, but reminds me too much of Ostertag. Size is not everything, especially when you cannot hit free-throws/anything outside of about 5". Decent backup, but keep either Fesenko or Koufos...no need for both.

Gaines/Jeffers are still too raw to gauge at this point, though Gaines did pour in 7 points in the final 2 minutes of game 4 (when the Lakers were asleep). Jeffers looks promising, but needs more minutes. The pair should command less than $1.5 million, probably worth keeping around.

How are the Jazz going to revamp themselves to compete with taller, longer teams?

For the Jazz to reach the next level (WCF or Finals, not to mention Champions) they need to make some changes. Okur is going to be out for the first part of next season and is not a "big man", he is just tall. Boozer is a question mark (though Millsap looks like a nice replacement if he does leave), and there is a desperate need for some size in the paint. At the #9 position in the draft there a couple of players that looks like a decent fit (in order of my personal preference, if they are still available): Cole Aldrich from Kansas (6'11" with a 7'4" wingspan), Hassan Whiteside from Marshall (7'0"), Demarcus Cousins from Kentucky (6'11"), and lastly Donatas Motiejunas from Lithuania (7'0", though his game mirrors Nowitski, which is good and bad). Any one of these players would be a great signing for the Jazz, for now it is just a waiting game.

Brightest point of the season ending?

I get my nights back! The 10:30pm tip-offs (with 1:30-2am conclusions) have been rough. I can watch the highlights now, perhaps some of the Finals (depending on the teams...do not really care to watch the Lakers anymore, unless they are down in the series), but I will not have an ongoing date of staying up late.

...well, until the World Cup rolls around next month. Oh the life of a sports junkie!