For only the fifth time in Major League Baseball history, a player was traded as compensation for a manager.
The Boston Red Sox sent Mike Aviles to the Toronto Blue Jays and in return received a pitcher and the Blue Jays manager John Farrell.
See NYT: Red Sox Make a Trade to Get a New Manager
However, the most unique baseball trade involved the legendary Ernie Harwell. In 1948 he became the only broadcaster to ever be traded for a player when Branch Rickey acquired him from Atlanta (source: USAToday).
Wednesday, October 24, 2012
Boats Are The Antithesis Of Performance
Boats. Yachts. Once a person gets one they can't stop thinking of it. It steals their free moments and their concentration. You can't think of anything else. You have fallen in love.
But a boat is different from a lover in that is not hidden. A boat makes a siren call to you and everyone knows it. Or should know it.
Linking poor performance to yacht purchases is a well known phenomenon. See Slate: The CEO Bought a Yacht?: Then it's time to sell.
I mention this because the Florida Marlins fired Ozzie Guillen as their manager after one dismal year.
Last fall after the White Sox let him go, he talked about buying a 62 foot boat then the Marlins hired him. And he got his boat and his Miami dock slip for the boat. And the Marlins had a horrible season.
This should not have surprised anyone.
But a boat is different from a lover in that is not hidden. A boat makes a siren call to you and everyone knows it. Or should know it.
Linking poor performance to yacht purchases is a well known phenomenon. See Slate: The CEO Bought a Yacht?: Then it's time to sell.
I mention this because the Florida Marlins fired Ozzie Guillen as their manager after one dismal year.
Last fall after the White Sox let him go, he talked about buying a 62 foot boat then the Marlins hired him. And he got his boat and his Miami dock slip for the boat. And the Marlins had a horrible season.
This should not have surprised anyone.
Wednesday, September 12, 2012
One Day I'll Be Obsessed With That
I might be just a little obsessed with Sharon Van Etten's 'One Day' from her album Epic.
That is if listening to a song every day and finding as many live versions as possible can be considered obsessed. This is one of those rare songs that never becomes tiresome and I get some new insight from each performance.
There are times when I sing along and the thought I have is "this is the perfect song".
But maybe that is just me.
Some of my favorite performances:
Sharon Van Etten performs 'One Day' for WBEZ from WBEZ on Vimeo.
For me, the song puts me in the mind of of my favorite sonnet. 'I Know I Am But Summer to your Heart' by Edna St. Vincent Millay. The use of the seasons as metaphors for seasons of love and the wish that just as summer comes after winter, love can return after leaving.
Here is Edna in 1922:
And here is Sharon:
Here is a different St. Vincent performing 'Surgeon', one of my top songs of 2011.
That is if listening to a song every day and finding as many live versions as possible can be considered obsessed. This is one of those rare songs that never becomes tiresome and I get some new insight from each performance.
There are times when I sing along and the thought I have is "this is the perfect song".
But maybe that is just me.
Some of my favorite performances:
Sharon Van Etten performs 'One Day' for WBEZ from WBEZ on Vimeo.
For me, the song puts me in the mind of of my favorite sonnet. 'I Know I Am But Summer to your Heart' by Edna St. Vincent Millay. The use of the seasons as metaphors for seasons of love and the wish that just as summer comes after winter, love can return after leaving.
Here is Edna in 1922:
I know I am but summer to your heart,
And not the full four seasons of the year;
And you must welcome from another part
Such noble moods as are not mine, my dear.
No gracious weight of golden fruits to sell
Have I, nor any wise and wintry thing;
And I have loved you all too long and well
To carry still the high sweet breast of spring.
Wherefore I say: O love, as summer goes,
I must be gone, steal forth with silent drums,
That you may hail anew the bird and rose
When I come back to you, as summer comes.
Else will you seek, at some not distant time,
Even your summer in another clime.
And here is Sharon:
Snow is outside but I'm by your fire I feel all the love you'll bring
You gotta see how we can see this out
Summer in mind and spring by your side
You'll see all the love we'll keep
Gotta see that we couldn't be there
Here is a different St. Vincent performing 'Surgeon', one of my top songs of 2011.
Wednesday, August 22, 2012
Beer Today
Some craft beer news->
-NPR: Canning Factories On Wheels Rev Up The Beer 'Canvolution'
-"Craft Beer" and "Gastropub" added to the Merriam-Webster dictionary
-BeerAdvocate: Number of US brewers reaches 125-year high with 2,126 open and 1,252 in planning
-NPR: Home Brew Petitioners To POTUS: Release The Beer Recipe and SF Weekly: Sign a Petition to Release the White House Honey Ale Recipe
-NPR: Canning Factories On Wheels Rev Up The Beer 'Canvolution'
-"Craft Beer" and "Gastropub" added to the Merriam-Webster dictionary
-BeerAdvocate: Number of US brewers reaches 125-year high with 2,126 open and 1,252 in planning
-NPR: Home Brew Petitioners To POTUS: Release The Beer Recipe and SF Weekly: Sign a Petition to Release the White House Honey Ale Recipe
Tuesday, July 10, 2012
Lyme Disease And Top Predators
Lyme disease is a growing problem, reaching epidemic status in some areas.
See:
NPR SciFri: Tick Talk: Lyme Disease Under The Microscope
Vancouver Sun: B.C. must act to combat Lyme 'disease explosion,' scientist says
The most common explanation is that warmer winters lead to better survivability and hence a growing range for the disease. I took CDC data from 2001 - 2010 to show the change in reported Lyme disease cases from 2001 - 2010:
The NYT reports on a new study indicating a plausible relationship between coyotes and foxes and Lyme disease carrying white footed mice: Predators, Prey and Lyme Disease
The hypothesis is with coyotes expanding east they are displacing foxes. And since mice are a main component in the fox diet this change in the top predator is contributing to a decline in mice mortality and this leads to more cases of Lyme disease because there are more mice.
Why are coyotes expanding their range to the Eastern U.S.?
[NatGeo: Coyotes Now at Home in Eastern U.S.]
Prior to 1850 coyotes lived in the plains and western U.S.
[via NWF]
While the wolf was top predator for most of the United States
[via NPS]
(the lack of wolves in the southeast United States could be due to this being part of the historical range of Mountain Lions)
Wolves and foxes occupy different niches in the ecological ladder and are able to coexist in a shared habitat whereas coyotes occupy the range between these Canids hence wolves/coyotes and coyotes/foxes compete with each other for the same food with the smaller species the loser in these interactions. By extirpating wolves from their historic range beginning around 1850 humans set the stage for the expansion of coyotes. As coyotes became the top predators the fox populations declined. As this happened the population of the favorite foods of wolves and foxes exploded (deer and mice). As these former prey populations have grown so have their ability to be disease vectors.
The Inter-connectedness of Things
Therefore, the killing of wolves has likely led to a potential lyme disease epidemic.
An unbalanced ecosystem missing its top predator is nudged by the perturbation of climate chaos; and the result is an explosion in cases of Lyme disease.
"The Earth isn't fragile; we are"
See:
NPR SciFri: Tick Talk: Lyme Disease Under The Microscope
Vancouver Sun: B.C. must act to combat Lyme 'disease explosion,' scientist says
The most common explanation is that warmer winters lead to better survivability and hence a growing range for the disease. I took CDC data from 2001 - 2010 to show the change in reported Lyme disease cases from 2001 - 2010:
The NYT reports on a new study indicating a plausible relationship between coyotes and foxes and Lyme disease carrying white footed mice: Predators, Prey and Lyme Disease
The hypothesis is with coyotes expanding east they are displacing foxes. And since mice are a main component in the fox diet this change in the top predator is contributing to a decline in mice mortality and this leads to more cases of Lyme disease because there are more mice.
Why are coyotes expanding their range to the Eastern U.S.?
[NatGeo: Coyotes Now at Home in Eastern U.S.]
Prior to 1850 coyotes lived in the plains and western U.S.
[via NWF]
While the wolf was top predator for most of the United States
[via NPS]
(the lack of wolves in the southeast United States could be due to this being part of the historical range of Mountain Lions)
Wolves and foxes occupy different niches in the ecological ladder and are able to coexist in a shared habitat whereas coyotes occupy the range between these Canids hence wolves/coyotes and coyotes/foxes compete with each other for the same food with the smaller species the loser in these interactions. By extirpating wolves from their historic range beginning around 1850 humans set the stage for the expansion of coyotes. As coyotes became the top predators the fox populations declined. As this happened the population of the favorite foods of wolves and foxes exploded (deer and mice). As these former prey populations have grown so have their ability to be disease vectors.
The Inter-connectedness of Things
Therefore, the killing of wolves has likely led to a potential lyme disease epidemic.
An unbalanced ecosystem missing its top predator is nudged by the perturbation of climate chaos; and the result is an explosion in cases of Lyme disease.
"The Earth isn't fragile; we are"
Tuesday, May 15, 2012
Bio News
Some recent news about putting biology to work in areas I get excited about. Biofuels (specifically biobutanol) and aquaponics (aquaculture + hydroponics).
(Biofuels)
DesMoinesRegister: Ethanol plants may shift to biobutanol
GCC: Study finds biomass-to-liquids fuels could be economically competitive at current price levels
SciAm: First Dedicated Biorefinery Could Wean Hawaii Off Imported Oil
Record-Eagle: Teacher to launch biodiesel fuel plant
(Aquaponics)
UpNorthLive: Grand Traverse Academy Starts Aquaponics
HuffPost: A Tour Of Chicago's Amazing Vertical Farm
(Biofuels)
DesMoinesRegister: Ethanol plants may shift to biobutanol
GCC: Study finds biomass-to-liquids fuels could be economically competitive at current price levels
SciAm: First Dedicated Biorefinery Could Wean Hawaii Off Imported Oil
Record-Eagle: Teacher to launch biodiesel fuel plant
(Aquaponics)
UpNorthLive: Grand Traverse Academy Starts Aquaponics
HuffPost: A Tour Of Chicago's Amazing Vertical Farm
The Plant is a fish hatchery, hydroponic garden, commercial kitchen, and brewery for both beer and kombucha tea. Perhaps best of all, the waste from one part of farm serves as raw material for another, making it a net-zero energy system...The Plant (official site)
Tuesday, January 31, 2012
This Is What Peak Oil Looks Like
These things are related.
1. TheAtlanticWire: Suddenly, the United Arab Emirates Is Interested in Green Energy
2. ArsTechnica: We've hit "peak oil"; now comes permanent price volatility
3. Total Vehicle Miles peaked in 2005 and have declined since then.
Federal Highway Administration
1. TheAtlanticWire: Suddenly, the United Arab Emirates Is Interested in Green Energy
2. ArsTechnica: We've hit "peak oil"; now comes permanent price volatility
Since 2005, the global production of oil has remained relatively flat, peaking in 2008 and declining since, even as demand for petroleum has continued to increase. The result has been wild fluctuations in the price of oil as small changes in demand set off large shocks in the system.
3. Total Vehicle Miles peaked in 2005 and have declined since then.
Federal Highway Administration
Wednesday, January 18, 2012
Projecting The Economic Gains Of Nationwide Carbon Pricing
The Analysis Group released the report The Economic Impacts of the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative on Ten Northeast and Mid-Atlantic States. It is a study of the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative agreement between Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, Rhode Island, and Vermont.
Findings included regional economic gains of more than $1.6 billion and 16,000 new jobs in the three years of the program.
The population of these 10 northeastern states is 40,494,453.
The population of the United States is 308,745,538.
(via census.gov)
Projecting the job and economic gains of carbon cap and trade for these 10 states to the United States as a whole gives (over three years):
-105,990 jobs created
-more than $10 billion in economic gain
For comparison, the Keystone XL Pipeline which is in the news has been projected by the Cornell Global Labor Institute to eliminate more jobs than it will create.
[original news item via ThinkProgress]
Findings included regional economic gains of more than $1.6 billion and 16,000 new jobs in the three years of the program.
The population of these 10 northeastern states is 40,494,453.
The population of the United States is 308,745,538.
(via census.gov)
Projecting the job and economic gains of carbon cap and trade for these 10 states to the United States as a whole gives (over three years):
-105,990 jobs created
-more than $10 billion in economic gain
For comparison, the Keystone XL Pipeline which is in the news has been projected by the Cornell Global Labor Institute to eliminate more jobs than it will create.
[original news item via ThinkProgress]
2012 Predictions
My 2011 predictions had mixed results.
I was definitely wrong about Twitter being a fad; Bonderman having a great pitching year; and alien life being confirmed though the Mono Lake announcement got people excited. The others are a mixed bag.
The ones I got really right were Verlander having an amazing year; Ford's improving reputation (sales were up 11% for 2011); almost all shoe companies started carrying minimalist shoes; marriage and home ownership continued to decline; suburbs are being abandoned; Ming Tsai's One Pot Meals (wok cooking) was a Top 100 cookbook on Amazon; and many people cancelled their cable TV service in 2011.
Here's what I am thinking about 2012:
I was definitely wrong about Twitter being a fad; Bonderman having a great pitching year; and alien life being confirmed though the Mono Lake announcement got people excited. The others are a mixed bag.
The ones I got really right were Verlander having an amazing year; Ford's improving reputation (sales were up 11% for 2011); almost all shoe companies started carrying minimalist shoes; marriage and home ownership continued to decline; suburbs are being abandoned; Ming Tsai's One Pot Meals (wok cooking) was a Top 100 cookbook on Amazon; and many people cancelled their cable TV service in 2011.
Here's what I am thinking about 2012:
- It will be Microsoft's make-it or break-it year. Windows 8 and Windows Phone takes off or Zunes away. Regardless, Microsoft will be out of the operating system business in less than 10 years.
- Chia will be the new superfood fad, and the fad will turn into a diet
- A new masculinity emerges in hip hop. It'll be introspective and vulnerable. Childish Gambino and Tyler the Creator both had songs in 2011 that represent this new style; Shad had it in 2010; and Jay Z's song about his daughter is what will propel it to the big time.
- Stephen Colbert's aphorism of "reality has a well known liberal bias" will become more self-evident
- People will really get tired of the phrases "everything is better with bacon" and "I try to keep it simple and let the food speak for itself"
- People who call themselves film critics will get tired of Wes Anderson while Tarantino gets elevated to even more mythical status. Movie goers will love Wes Anderson.
- Still no Arrested Development movie.
- Cable companies will realize they started as aggregators and that is how they can make the most money now. Everything will be packet based.
- The conventional wisdom will finally draw the connections between energy supply - food prices - wealth aggregation - access to jobs and the Arab Spring/Occupy movements.
- The debate of "is Internet access a fundamental human right?" will get noisier.
- The world won't end like in the movie 2012 though I would not be surprised to see unprecedented climate chaos that displaces a large number of people.
- Apple won't make a traditional stand-alone TV, but really, they are going to put apps on the Apple TV this year.
- The next iPhone will do more than a Star Trek tri-corder and will be able to scan reality to make virtual maps.
Friday, December 02, 2011
This Is Peak Oil
[Update 12/16/2011]
ExxonMobil's own chart shows 75% of today's oil was discovered before 1980.
Via WashPost: Oil’s getting harder and harder to come by
First check the Oil Drum for what Peak Oil is not: Five Misconceptions About Peak Oil
That puts in context the analysis at Early Warning that Saudi oil production has been declining for the past few months despite more rigs coming online: Saudi Oil Production Declining (also interesting that Saudi Arabia could not meet their promised increase in output earlier this year)
ExxonMobil's own chart shows 75% of today's oil was discovered before 1980.
Via WashPost: Oil’s getting harder and harder to come by
First check the Oil Drum for what Peak Oil is not: Five Misconceptions About Peak Oil
That puts in context the analysis at Early Warning that Saudi oil production has been declining for the past few months despite more rigs coming online: Saudi Oil Production Declining (also interesting that Saudi Arabia could not meet their promised increase in output earlier this year)
Pollution Must Not Be Trying Hard Enough
Republicans say environmental regulations kill jobs; therefore, pollution must create jobs.
Except that is not what I found. My guess is pollution isn't trying hard enough to find jobs. No good lazy pollution.
The facts are the top 25 cleanest cities for year round particulate pollution have an average unemployment rate of 7.4%
The top 25 dirtiest cities for year round particulate pollution have an average unemployment rate of 9.7%
The national average is 8.8%.
If you look at the Top 10 Cities in each category then you find that the cleanest cities have a median unemployment rate of 6.3% and the dirties Top 10 have a median unemployment rate of 12.5%.
So I can literally claim that pollution doubles unemployment.
This myth is busted.
Stephen Colbert explains it further:
Sources:
-American Lung Association State of the Air 2011 City Rankings: http://www.stateoftheair.org/2011/city-rankings/
(I chose year long particulate pollution as the best proxy for overall environmental health factors)
-Bureau of Labor Statistics Unemployment Rates for Metropolitan Areas: http://bls.gov/web/metro/laummtrk.htm
The data from my spreadsheet:
Dirtiest (yr round particulate) Unemployment rate
#1: Bakersfield-Delano, CA 13.7
#2: Visalia-Porterville, CA 15
#2: Phoenix-Mesa-Glendale, AZ 8.1
#2: Los Angeles-Long Beach-Riverside, CA 11.3
#5: Hanford-Corcoran, CA 14
#6: Fresno-Madera, CA 14.9
#7: Pittsburgh-New Castle, PA 6.8
#8: Birmingham-Hoover-Cullman, AL 8.9
#9: Cincinnati-Middletown-Wilmington, OH-KY-IN 8.7
#10: Modesto, CA 15.1
#10: Louisville-Jefferson County-Elizabethtown-Scottsburg, KY-IN
9.6
#12: Charleston, WV 7.5
#12: Steubenville-Weirton, OH-WV 10.4
#12: Cleveland-Akron-Elyria, OH 7.6
#15: Huntington-Ashland, WV-KY-OH 8.5
#15: Indianapolis-Anderson-Columbus, IN 8.1
#17: St. Louis-St. Charles-Farmington, MO-IL 8.7
#17: Detroit-Warren-Flint, MI 11.7
#17: Houston-Baytown-Huntsville, TX 8.6
#20: Hagerstown-Martinsburg, MD-WV 8.9
#21: New York-Newark-Bridgeport, NY-NJ-CT-PA 8.3
#22: Lancaster, PA 6.4
#22: Dayton-Springfield-Greenville, OH 9.2
#24: Knoxville-Sevierville-La Follette, TN 7.9
#24: Philadelphia-Camden-Vineland, PA-NJ-DE-MD 8.4
#24: York-Hanover-Gettysburg, PA 7.4
#24: Parkersburg-Marietta, WV-OH 8.2
Cleanest (yr round particulate) Unemployment rate
#1: Cheyenne, WY 6
#2: Santa Fe-Espanola, NM 5.4
#3: Tucson, AZ 8
#4: Great Falls, MT 6.4
#4: Honolulu, HI 5.7
#6: Anchorage, AK 6.2
#7: Albuquerque, NM 6.9
#7: Amarillo, TX 6
#9: Redding, CA 13.5
#10: Salinas, CA 10.1
#11: Bismarck, ND 2.5
#12: Boise City-Nampa, ID 8.5
#13: Billings, MT 5.4
#14: Flagstaff, AZ 7.3
#14: Sarasota-Bradenton-Punta Gorda, FL 11
#14: Fort Collins-Loveland, CO 6
#14: Cape Coral-Fort Myers, FL 11.2
#14: Palm Bay-Melbourne-Titusville, FL 11.6
#19: Claremont-Lebanon, NH-VT N/A
#20: Rapid City, SD 4.2
#20: Port St. Lucie-Sebastian-Vero Beach, FL 13.7
#22: Duluth, MN-WI 6.5
#23: Fargo-Wahpeton, ND-MN 3.3
#24: Burlington-South Burlington, VT 4.2
#24: Bangor, ME 6.4
#24: Orlando-Deltona-Daytona Beach, FL 10.2
#12: Cleveland-Akron-Elyria, OH 7.6
#15: Huntington-Ashland, WV-KY-OH 8.5
#15: Indianapolis-Anderson-Columbus, IN 8.1
#17: St. Louis-St. Charles-Farmington, MO-IL 8.7
#17: Detroit-Warren-Flint, MI 11.7
#17: Houston-Baytown-Huntsville, TX 8.6
#20: Hagerstown-Martinsburg, MD-WV 8.9
#21: New York-Newark-Bridgeport, NY-NJ-CT-PA 8.3
#22: Lancaster, PA 6.4
#22: Dayton-Springfield-Greenville, OH 9.2
#24: Knoxville-Sevierville-La Follette, TN 7.9
#24: Philadelphia-Camden-Vineland, PA-NJ-DE-MD 8.4
#24: York-Hanover-Gettysburg, PA 7.4
#24: Parkersburg-Marietta, WV-OH 8.2
Except that is not what I found. My guess is pollution isn't trying hard enough to find jobs. No good lazy pollution.
The facts are the top 25 cleanest cities for year round particulate pollution have an average unemployment rate of 7.4%
The top 25 dirtiest cities for year round particulate pollution have an average unemployment rate of 9.7%
The national average is 8.8%.
If you look at the Top 10 Cities in each category then you find that the cleanest cities have a median unemployment rate of 6.3% and the dirties Top 10 have a median unemployment rate of 12.5%.
So I can literally claim that pollution doubles unemployment.
This myth is busted.
Stephen Colbert explains it further:
The Colbert Report
Get More: Colbert Report Full Episodes,Political Humor & Satire Blog,Video Archive
Sources:
-American Lung Association State of the Air 2011 City Rankings: http://www.stateoftheair.org/2011/city-rankings/
(I chose year long particulate pollution as the best proxy for overall environmental health factors)
-Bureau of Labor Statistics Unemployment Rates for Metropolitan Areas: http://bls.gov/web/metro/laummtrk.htm
The data from my spreadsheet:
Dirtiest (yr round particulate) Unemployment rate
#1: Bakersfield-Delano, CA 13.7
#2: Visalia-Porterville, CA 15
#2: Phoenix-Mesa-Glendale, AZ 8.1
#2: Los Angeles-Long Beach-Riverside, CA 11.3
#5: Hanford-Corcoran, CA 14
#6: Fresno-Madera, CA 14.9
#7: Pittsburgh-New Castle, PA 6.8
#8: Birmingham-Hoover-Cullman, AL 8.9
#9: Cincinnati-Middletown-Wilmington, OH-KY-IN 8.7
#10: Modesto, CA 15.1
#10: Louisville-Jefferson County-Elizabethtown-Scottsburg, KY-IN
9.6
#12: Charleston, WV 7.5
#12: Steubenville-Weirton, OH-WV 10.4
#12: Cleveland-Akron-Elyria, OH 7.6
#15: Huntington-Ashland, WV-KY-OH 8.5
#15: Indianapolis-Anderson-Columbus, IN 8.1
#17: St. Louis-St. Charles-Farmington, MO-IL 8.7
#17: Detroit-Warren-Flint, MI 11.7
#17: Houston-Baytown-Huntsville, TX 8.6
#20: Hagerstown-Martinsburg, MD-WV 8.9
#21: New York-Newark-Bridgeport, NY-NJ-CT-PA 8.3
#22: Lancaster, PA 6.4
#22: Dayton-Springfield-Greenville, OH 9.2
#24: Knoxville-Sevierville-La Follette, TN 7.9
#24: Philadelphia-Camden-Vineland, PA-NJ-DE-MD 8.4
#24: York-Hanover-Gettysburg, PA 7.4
#24: Parkersburg-Marietta, WV-OH 8.2
Cleanest (yr round particulate) Unemployment rate
#1: Cheyenne, WY 6
#2: Santa Fe-Espanola, NM 5.4
#3: Tucson, AZ 8
#4: Great Falls, MT 6.4
#4: Honolulu, HI 5.7
#6: Anchorage, AK 6.2
#7: Albuquerque, NM 6.9
#7: Amarillo, TX 6
#9: Redding, CA 13.5
#10: Salinas, CA 10.1
#11: Bismarck, ND 2.5
#12: Boise City-Nampa, ID 8.5
#13: Billings, MT 5.4
#14: Flagstaff, AZ 7.3
#14: Sarasota-Bradenton-Punta Gorda, FL 11
#14: Fort Collins-Loveland, CO 6
#14: Cape Coral-Fort Myers, FL 11.2
#14: Palm Bay-Melbourne-Titusville, FL 11.6
#19: Claremont-Lebanon, NH-VT N/A
#20: Rapid City, SD 4.2
#20: Port St. Lucie-Sebastian-Vero Beach, FL 13.7
#22: Duluth, MN-WI 6.5
#23: Fargo-Wahpeton, ND-MN 3.3
#24: Burlington-South Burlington, VT 4.2
#24: Bangor, ME 6.4
#24: Orlando-Deltona-Daytona Beach, FL 10.2
#12: Cleveland-Akron-Elyria, OH 7.6
#15: Huntington-Ashland, WV-KY-OH 8.5
#15: Indianapolis-Anderson-Columbus, IN 8.1
#17: St. Louis-St. Charles-Farmington, MO-IL 8.7
#17: Detroit-Warren-Flint, MI 11.7
#17: Houston-Baytown-Huntsville, TX 8.6
#20: Hagerstown-Martinsburg, MD-WV 8.9
#21: New York-Newark-Bridgeport, NY-NJ-CT-PA 8.3
#22: Lancaster, PA 6.4
#22: Dayton-Springfield-Greenville, OH 9.2
#24: Knoxville-Sevierville-La Follette, TN 7.9
#24: Philadelphia-Camden-Vineland, PA-NJ-DE-MD 8.4
#24: York-Hanover-Gettysburg, PA 7.4
#24: Parkersburg-Marietta, WV-OH 8.2
Thursday, December 01, 2011
Me Love TV
Some TV news that I am happy to hear about:
LesStroud.ca: SurvivorMan Returns!
Deadline: Netflix Picks Up New Episodes Of ‘Arrested Development’
Paste: Flight Of The Conchords Look To Make Film
LesStroud.ca: SurvivorMan Returns!
Deadline: Netflix Picks Up New Episodes Of ‘Arrested Development’
Paste: Flight Of The Conchords Look To Make Film
Tuesday, November 01, 2011
One More Thing (As Steve Sometimes Said)
To add to the standards he set, now his eulogy is the one all others will be compared against.
His sister, Mona Simpson, in the NY Times: A Sister’s Eulogy for Steve Jobs [a must read]
His sister, Mona Simpson, in the NY Times: A Sister’s Eulogy for Steve Jobs [a must read]
Friday, October 28, 2011
Who Steve Jobs Was
I used to do my utmost to suspend belief
Until the day it hit me like a kick in the teeth
-Ivy, I Guess I'm Just A Little Too Sensitive
I usually listen to Ivy when sad. It happened when hearing about Steve Jobs. These two lines are what came to mind. Because...
We suspended belief when we stood in line for the new iPhone.
We were kicked in the teeth when heard the news Steve had died.
When Steve Jobs resigned in August I posted my thoughts. I'm finally able to read stories about Steve Jobs without tearing up and becoming consumed with grief. So I finally feel able to explore why I, and people from all over the world, felt this unexpected sadness.
I believe it was a relationship with Apple and by extension Steve Jobs that people felt. Because Apple and Steve were inseparable right to the very end.
My relationship with Apple started because I was hoping for a relationship with a fellow Geology student. She used Cricket Graph on a Mac in the computer lab (in the entire lab there were only two Macs) and so this is the computer I used too. Then when I needed help I had to ask her. It seemed like a crush but was much more and would impact the rest of my life. Steve Jobs sat in on a calligraphy class at Reed College and this seemingly small chance opportunity changed typography on computers forever. I feel that my seemingly innocuous attempt at flirting by choosing the same computer as a girl I wanted to talk to changed my life forever.
This little Mac was what I used to first experience the Internet, originally with NCSA Mosaic then with something called Netscape. And it was with a Mac that years later I found my callings.
Once I used an Apple computer there was no going back. It was the first time I saw design mattering. And that mattered to me, hence Apple has been a part of my life.
And Apple was Steve Jobs.
Ivy's song is about a relationship and that is what we had with Apple - with Steve Jobs. A relationship we never thought would end.
He wasn't my hero. I looked up to him but never wanted to be him. I looked up to him as people would look at a mythical figure. He was mystifying in that what he did seemed obvious in hindsight; so why did no one else have the foresight?
With that said, I do not believe Steve Jobs was a visionary. He was an evolutionary. He made evolutionary changes that led to revolutions. He was a change agent. He joined the loose connections.
And he set the standard of standards.
Consider these:
-all commencement speeches are now compared to his 2005 Stanford commencement speech
-all Superbowl commercials are compared to his 1984 ad. Plus he made the Superbowl the platform for big commercials.
-how devices are un-boxed or judged against Apple's packaging and now there are web sites just about unboxing.
-advertisement campaigns are judged against Apple's 'Think Different' campaign which he wrote copy for
-Tim Berners Lee invented the World Wide Web on Steve Jobs' post-Apple NEXT computer
-Apple stores are the most successful retail stores in the world and Steve Jobs had final say in their architectural design
-then of course, look at phones, music players, tablet computers, computers, music stores, and video rentals before Apple entered those markets
Steve Jobs really did change everything. So when you see comments from people saying "I never used Apple products but..." they are misguided. Everyone has benefited from Apple. Because to compete, companies have had to be more like Apple in order to succeed. For just one example look at Android phones before and after the iPhone.
Apple design has spilled over all of our culture.
There won't be a "next Steve Jobs". But what we will start hearing is "so and so is the Steve Jobs of X industry".
Steve Jobs was our team captain. If we were visited by extraterrestrials and they demanded one specimen of humanity to interact with the world would have chosen Steve Jobs as our captain. And the amount of one word expletives I saw at the news of his death sounded to me like our reaction when the team we love loses unexpectedly. Our team captain had failed.
Steve was an actual Monomyth but we are used to our stories having a happy ending. He was supposed to live at the end of the story. If he can succumb to the inevitable then we all must succumb to the inevitable too.
That was a kick in the teeth.
Perhaps his greatest evolution is yet to be seen? Perhaps he did succeed in creating a culture of innovation of innovation at Apple.
I just can't stop thinking "What Now?"
For me, I plan on getting his biography this weekend.
Some of the things I have been reading about Steve:
Fortune: Steve Jobs and Me: A journalist reminisces
Slate: The Man Who Invented Our World
HBR: Steve's Seven Insights for 21st Century Capitalists
Wired: Steve Jobs, 1955 – 2011
Wired: Guest Column: Steve Jobs, Obsession, and Those Whales
Wired: Guest Column: Steve Jobs as Frank Lloyd Wright
Wired: Guest Column: Steve Jobs, For The Love of Technology
WSJ: Mossberg: The Steve Jobs I Knew
MercuryNews: Why we all feel the passing of Steve Jobs so deeply
Esquire: Steve Jobs and the Portal to the Invisible
Slate: Steve Jobs and Me
Poynter: iMemorial: Steve Jobs honored on front pages, magazine covers, news & tech websites
NYT: Steve Jobs: Imitated, Never Duplicated
TheAtlantic: Why We Mourn Steve Jobs
Wirecutter: Steve Jobs Was Always Kind To Me (Or, Regrets of An Asshole)
RWW: What Steve Meant Back Then
"For an entire generation of young Americans who had every reason to believe what they were being told by their teachers, their friends, their bosses, even their family - that their dreams and ambitions were unattainable and that we were just cogs in a great machine we could never understand - Steve Jobs was living, breathing, human proof that it was all wrong. We were all vessels for something greater, we had it within ourselves to put on a game face and stand up to everything and everyone. He was the personification of "Hell, no!""
Ars: Steve Jobs: a personal remembrance
TheStreet: Steve Jobs' Death Is 'Setback for Humankind'
Macworld UK: Opinion: Why Steve Jobs's death feels so sad
TechReview: Steve Jobs, Storyteller
AllThingsD: Jon Stewart, Stephen Colbert Say Goodbye to Steve Jobs
RWW: Steve Jobs' Legacy In the Pantheon of Great American Innovators
Friday, September 30, 2011
Friday, September 09, 2011
Who Steve Jobs Is
I remember the day in 1997 when Gil Amelio left and Steve Jobs came back. For me it was a day of confusion as at the time I did not have an understanding of how and why Steve left Apple before. These were the days of endless rumors of Apple's Rhapsody OS to replace System 8 - of Red Box, Yellow Box, and Blue Box. And the days of factions of what Apple should do next. I was one of those who wanted Apple to buy BeOS. Others wanted Apple to keep pursuing Rhapsody. The NeXT aquisition was a surprise to many, but when you saw that it included Steve Jobs, then in hindsight it all makes sense.
This was also the time when Apple had failed to sell itself to Sun and Michael Dell famously said "What would I do? I'd shut it down and give the money back to the shareholders." (10 yrs later Apple was worth twice as much as Dell).
What no one saw is that Steve Jobs was returning from his personal diaspora with a new focus. But he knew it "Focusing is about saying no". (YouTube link) And this is why Apple has been such a great story. Like Neo returning from the dead in the Matrix, Aragorn returning from the Paths of the Dead, Luke Skywalker returning from Dagobah. What Joseph Campbell described as the Monomyth.
This is the path Steve Jobs has been on. Kicked out of Apple, years in the wilderness, and returned to lead what arguably is the most successful company in history.
When he came back he re-focused Apple.
The biggest change I see CEO Steve Jobs making is he returned Apple to what it was always supposed to be - a hardware company. While he was away Apple became mired in the OS wars. As the technology caught up with Steve he leapfrogged these arguments of the past and that is where I see his genius. To always be looking forward. To make Apple hugely popular but still innovative. To be appealing while having a mass appeal.
I do believe that his resignation as CEO but staying as Chairman of the Board is about Steve searching for a higher purpose at Apple. To finally let go of the details.
Because he has always been about the details and there is only so much mental energy you can devote to these things. When he announced he was resigning there were two anecdotes I read that, for me, capture what makes him so effective.
NPR: A Story About Steve Jobs And Attention To Detail
Business Insider: It Took Me 13 Years To Understand Steve Jobs
Fast Company has a long summary of these kinds of stories: The First Time I Met Steve Jobs...
Other ways to understand who Steve Jobs is:
BI: Apple's Incredible Run Under Steve Jobs
Forbes: How Apple works: Inside the world's biggest startup: From Steve Jobs down to the janitor: How America's most successful - and most secretive - big company really operates.
Watch his 2005 Stanford University commencement speech
I look forward to the upcoming biography.
This was also the time when Apple had failed to sell itself to Sun and Michael Dell famously said "What would I do? I'd shut it down and give the money back to the shareholders." (10 yrs later Apple was worth twice as much as Dell).
What no one saw is that Steve Jobs was returning from his personal diaspora with a new focus. But he knew it "Focusing is about saying no". (YouTube link) And this is why Apple has been such a great story. Like Neo returning from the dead in the Matrix, Aragorn returning from the Paths of the Dead, Luke Skywalker returning from Dagobah. What Joseph Campbell described as the Monomyth.
This is the path Steve Jobs has been on. Kicked out of Apple, years in the wilderness, and returned to lead what arguably is the most successful company in history.
When he came back he re-focused Apple.
The biggest change I see CEO Steve Jobs making is he returned Apple to what it was always supposed to be - a hardware company. While he was away Apple became mired in the OS wars. As the technology caught up with Steve he leapfrogged these arguments of the past and that is where I see his genius. To always be looking forward. To make Apple hugely popular but still innovative. To be appealing while having a mass appeal.
I do believe that his resignation as CEO but staying as Chairman of the Board is about Steve searching for a higher purpose at Apple. To finally let go of the details.
Because he has always been about the details and there is only so much mental energy you can devote to these things. When he announced he was resigning there were two anecdotes I read that, for me, capture what makes him so effective.
NPR: A Story About Steve Jobs And Attention To Detail
Business Insider: It Took Me 13 Years To Understand Steve Jobs
Fast Company has a long summary of these kinds of stories: The First Time I Met Steve Jobs...
Later, I asked him why he had seemed happier with the boy than with the two famous artists. His answer seemed unrehearsed to me: ‘Older people sit down and ask, “What is it?” but the boy asks, “What can I do with it?”
Other ways to understand who Steve Jobs is:
BI: Apple's Incredible Run Under Steve Jobs
Forbes: How Apple works: Inside the world's biggest startup: From Steve Jobs down to the janitor: How America's most successful - and most secretive - big company really operates.
Watch his 2005 Stanford University commencement speech
I look forward to the upcoming biography.
Tuesday, August 23, 2011
Brandon Inge
He came back from Toledo over the weekend and had a home run in his first at-bat and a double later in the game.
Yet there are haters. See DetNews: Tigers' Brandon Inge sounds off on call-up, life in Toledo
My guess is the people who hate on Inge are the same people responsible for Arrested Development getting cancelled. They just don't get it.
I made a Venn diagram to demonstrate:
Yet there are haters. See DetNews: Tigers' Brandon Inge sounds off on call-up, life in Toledo
My guess is the people who hate on Inge are the same people responsible for Arrested Development getting cancelled. They just don't get it.
I made a Venn diagram to demonstrate:
Friday, August 19, 2011
Thursday, August 18, 2011
Who Is The Greatest MC Of All Time?
The safe answer is Rakim.
The correct answer is Big Daddy Kane.
He was the complete package. He could do many styles, had the dance moves and the cameo cut, was the lyricist for the Juice Crew, and was behind Roxanne Shante's battle raps.
I love Rakim but he was not as versatile as BDK.
In high school the margins of my class notes were filled with Big Daddy Kane lyrics. I made diagrams showing the links between BDK - EPMD - Biz Markie. They were the holy trinity of rap.
Doug E Fresh, Dana Dane, the Jungle Brothers, De La Soul and others were there too; but as planets around the rap stars.
I am still not sure how I found this music as a suburban kid. It all came as tapes from my friend Tom. They were the primer that led us listening to Marly Marl's The Symphony over and over in Matt's basement while we played ping-pong.
But Big Daddy Kane was always the one I listened to the most. Even in graduate school I was writing his lyrics on chalkboards when I was board.
When my wife was just my girlfriend I gave her a few quizzes, one test was on a drive from southwest Ohio to northern Michigan. Much of that drive was spent listening to Big Daddy Kane tapes. Had she complained our history would have been history. Rather she complimented his ability to work the phrase "party people" into just about every song.
His line that gets stuck in my head most often is "So pick a B.C. date because you're history".
And the song I listened to most often? Many nights were spent in the '87 Accord with 'On The Move' turned up all the way as I drove from Matt's and past Jill's on the way home.
Without Big Daddy Kane there would be no Jay-Z. Maybe not even a Paul Barman (which would probably make many people happy). But to my ears there is direct link from Big Daddy Kane's compound syllable rhyming (e.g., "the best oh yes I guess suggest the rest should fess/ Don’t mess or test your highness/ Unless you just address with best finesse/ And bless the paragraph I manifest") to today's MC Paul Barman incredibly clever quattro-syllabic to mono-syllabic rhyming. (e,g., "That sure made it sat-ur-at-ed")
What sent me on this sentimental journey was a post at Herohill that linked to a documentary about Big Daddy Kane.
Watch it then see the 2005 VH1 Hip Honors celebrating Big Daddy Kane.
PEACE
The correct answer is Big Daddy Kane.
He was the complete package. He could do many styles, had the dance moves and the cameo cut, was the lyricist for the Juice Crew, and was behind Roxanne Shante's battle raps.
I love Rakim but he was not as versatile as BDK.
In high school the margins of my class notes were filled with Big Daddy Kane lyrics. I made diagrams showing the links between BDK - EPMD - Biz Markie. They were the holy trinity of rap.
Doug E Fresh, Dana Dane, the Jungle Brothers, De La Soul and others were there too; but as planets around the rap stars.
I am still not sure how I found this music as a suburban kid. It all came as tapes from my friend Tom. They were the primer that led us listening to Marly Marl's The Symphony over and over in Matt's basement while we played ping-pong.
But Big Daddy Kane was always the one I listened to the most. Even in graduate school I was writing his lyrics on chalkboards when I was board.
When my wife was just my girlfriend I gave her a few quizzes, one test was on a drive from southwest Ohio to northern Michigan. Much of that drive was spent listening to Big Daddy Kane tapes. Had she complained our history would have been history. Rather she complimented his ability to work the phrase "party people" into just about every song.
His line that gets stuck in my head most often is "So pick a B.C. date because you're history".
And the song I listened to most often? Many nights were spent in the '87 Accord with 'On The Move' turned up all the way as I drove from Matt's and past Jill's on the way home.
Without Big Daddy Kane there would be no Jay-Z. Maybe not even a Paul Barman (which would probably make many people happy). But to my ears there is direct link from Big Daddy Kane's compound syllable rhyming (e.g., "the best oh yes I guess suggest the rest should fess/ Don’t mess or test your highness/ Unless you just address with best finesse/ And bless the paragraph I manifest") to today's MC Paul Barman incredibly clever quattro-syllabic to mono-syllabic rhyming. (e,g., "That sure made it sat-ur-at-ed")
What sent me on this sentimental journey was a post at Herohill that linked to a documentary about Big Daddy Kane.
Watch it then see the 2005 VH1 Hip Honors celebrating Big Daddy Kane.
PEACE
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