A follow-up on my blog post from last Sunday, based on the criteria I laid out in my February 4, 2009 blog post, this is what the BCS playoff matchups would be for the 2010-2011 football season:
#1 Auburn vs. #8 Connecticut (Sugar Bowl)
#2 Oregon vs. #7 Virginia Tech (Rose Bowl)
#3 TCU vs. #6 Oklahoma (Fiesta Bowl)
#4 Stanford vs. #5 Wisconsin (Orange Bowl)
Auburn and Oregon would probably steamroll through their respective first-round opponents but the other two games would definitely be worth watching. The winner of Stanford/Wisconsin against Auburn and the winner of TCU/Oklahoma versus in Oregon in the final four would be pretty huge too.
Why aren't you listening to me BCS?!?
Saturday, December 11, 2010
NYTimes.com: Japan Starts to Shop Its Bullet Train Technology
A few points from a New York Times article earlier this week about Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood's visit to Japan:
"Of particular interest to the Japanese has been a planned $1.25 billion, 84-mile high-speed link between Tampa and Orlando — the first leg of a corridor that state officials hope will eventually reach Miami. Twenty-two companies are bidding for the contract, and Washington is set to announce a winner this year."
"Central Japan Railway, which is based in Nagoya and is more commonly known as JR Central, is promoting its N700-I trains, which are in use in Japan and can run at a top speed of about 330 kilometers (205 miles) an hour.
"But JR Central has also been showing off its MLX01 maglev bullet train, still in its testing phase, which in 2003 clocked the world’s fastest trial run of 581 kilometers (361 miles) an hour. "
In case you're doing the math, the JR Central line in use in Japan today would make the Tampa to Orlando trip in 25 minutes. The MLX01 maglev would do it in 14 minutes.
For some reason people would rather sit in traffic for two hours and pollute the environment. Go figure.
"Of particular interest to the Japanese has been a planned $1.25 billion, 84-mile high-speed link between Tampa and Orlando — the first leg of a corridor that state officials hope will eventually reach Miami. Twenty-two companies are bidding for the contract, and Washington is set to announce a winner this year."
"Central Japan Railway, which is based in Nagoya and is more commonly known as JR Central, is promoting its N700-I trains, which are in use in Japan and can run at a top speed of about 330 kilometers (205 miles) an hour.
"But JR Central has also been showing off its MLX01 maglev bullet train, still in its testing phase, which in 2003 clocked the world’s fastest trial run of 581 kilometers (361 miles) an hour. "
In case you're doing the math, the JR Central line in use in Japan today would make the Tampa to Orlando trip in 25 minutes. The MLX01 maglev would do it in 14 minutes.
For some reason people would rather sit in traffic for two hours and pollute the environment. Go figure.
Friday, December 10, 2010
If you scratch my back...
It's kind of embarrassing for India that the three countries ahead of it for having the most prevalent cultures of bribery are Liberia, Afghanistan, and Iraq: one country artificially created by the United States in the 19th century that is forever enthralled in political turmoil and two countries where the United States has actively engaged war recently. Perhaps this means the reason we Americans are so far down on the list is because we tend to export bribery inducement to other places?
On the other hand, considering India's economic progress over the past decade or so, I'd be curious to know if this percentage has actually decreased over that period.
On the other hand, considering India's economic progress over the past decade or so, I'd be curious to know if this percentage has actually decreased over that period.
Thursday, December 9, 2010
“Life is like a box of chocolates.”
In a blog post on October 6th, I said that the Republican candidates for Governor in Ohio and Wisconsin were only using the issue of high-speed rail for political posturing and really had no intent to turn away free federal money that would create construction jobs in their states.
I guess I was wrong because The New York Times now reports that California, Florida, and a handful of other states will be receiving the funding that Ohio and Wisconsin are turning away. (Update: The Wall Street Journal also reported this story on December 10th.) For those states, “Life is like a box of chocolates. You never know what you’re gonna get.”
As far as the newly-elected Governors of Ohio and Wisconsin are concerned, another Forrest Gump quote comes to mind:
“Stupid is as stupid does.”
I guess I was wrong because The New York Times now reports that California, Florida, and a handful of other states will be receiving the funding that Ohio and Wisconsin are turning away. (Update: The Wall Street Journal also reported this story on December 10th.) For those states, “Life is like a box of chocolates. You never know what you’re gonna get.”
As far as the newly-elected Governors of Ohio and Wisconsin are concerned, another Forrest Gump quote comes to mind:
“Stupid is as stupid does.”
Monday, December 6, 2010
What would Brian Boitano do?
(If you didn’t get the reference, it’s from South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut.)
David Leonhardt explains in today’s New York Times what the $60 Billion that could be raised from not extending the Bush Tax Cuts for the highest income bracket would buy. Some of my favorites:
- Universal preschool for 3- and 4-year-olds, with relatively small class sizes.
- A national infrastructure program to repair and upgrade roads, bridges, mass transit, water systems and levees.
- Free college, including room and board, for about half of all full-time students, at both four- and two-year colleges.
Paul Krugman takes the argument further by saying “a cold, hard look at the consequences of giving in to the G.O.P. now suggests that saying no, and letting the Bush tax cuts expire on schedule, is the lesser of two evils.”
What Krugman fails to mention, as does everyone else, is extending the Bush Tax Cuts permanently for incomes below $250,000 still blows a $2 Trillion hole in the deficit. Again, that’s $2,000,000,000,000! The $700 Billion the administration speaks of is the difference between the $2 Trillion Democrats want to create and the $2.7 Trillion Republicans want to create. In reality, both sides are being dishonest here and people are falling for it all over the place.
The most important question is, if you didn’t make enough to notice the tax cut nine years ago, do you think you’ll notice the taxes go back up now, especially since incomes have been flat over that period? Would you be willing to do that for the nation’s economy?
Sunday, December 5, 2010
If the NCAA had listened to me, we'd be sitting on pins and needles today...
If you've followed this blog since the beginning, one of my earliest posts was my solution to the BCS "Mess", where I made the following recommendations:
The question we'd be waiting to have answered would be is a victory over a weak opponent like Utah State enough to push Boise State up one spot into the top ten? Based on the BCS rankings going into yesterday's play, TCU was the only mid-major team in the top ten. Based on my criteria listed above, that would mean the other open spot would go to the highest non-conference champ in the BCS, which would be Stanford. Based on yesterday's results, we have the following:
So rather than the anti-climactic announcement of the Auburn vs. Oregon matchup, we'd be waiting to find out if Boise State cracks the top ten for an automatic bid and, if that doesn't happen, whether the automatic bid goes to Stanford or one of the Big Ten teams that does not get the conference's automatic bid. Then we'd be waiting to find out how the seeding works out. Instead the BCS and NCAA choose to give us a rather dull and boring bowl matchup announcement on Sunday night.
Think about it guys. My idea could have given you better ratings!!!
- Keep the BCS points system
- Use the Rose, Orange, Sugar, and Fiesta Bowls as National Quarterfinal games
- Select three new locations each year for the two semifinal games and championship game
- Take the conference champion from the Big Ten, Big 12, Pac Ten, Big East, SEC, and ACC. Then take the top two mid-major teams in the BCS standings, so long as they finish in the top ten.
The question we'd be waiting to have answered would be is a victory over a weak opponent like Utah State enough to push Boise State up one spot into the top ten? Based on the BCS rankings going into yesterday's play, TCU was the only mid-major team in the top ten. Based on my criteria listed above, that would mean the other open spot would go to the highest non-conference champ in the BCS, which would be Stanford. Based on yesterday's results, we have the following:
- SEC Champ: Auburn (currently #1)
- Pac-10 Champ: Oregon (currently #2)
- Big 12 Champ: Oklahoma (currently #9)
- ACC Champ: Virginia Tech (currently #15)
- Big East Champ: Connecticut (currently unranked)
- Big Ten Champ: Either Wisconsin, Ohio State, or Michigan State (currently #5, #6, and #8, respectively)
So rather than the anti-climactic announcement of the Auburn vs. Oregon matchup, we'd be waiting to find out if Boise State cracks the top ten for an automatic bid and, if that doesn't happen, whether the automatic bid goes to Stanford or one of the Big Ten teams that does not get the conference's automatic bid. Then we'd be waiting to find out how the seeding works out. Instead the BCS and NCAA choose to give us a rather dull and boring bowl matchup announcement on Sunday night.
Think about it guys. My idea could have given you better ratings!!!
Wednesday, December 1, 2010
He Don't Know What He Don't Know
The New York Times' Tom Friedman writes an uncharacteristically humerous column today about what a WikiLeaks document from the Chinese Embassy in Washington would look like. After taking a very accurate cheap shot at Amtrak's Acela:
"The ambassador recently took what the Americans call a fast train — the Acela — from Washington to New York City. Our bullet train from Beijing to Tianjin would have made the trip in 90 minutes. His took three hours — and it was on time!"
Friedman goes on the state the obvious fact very few politicians are willing to say:
"But the Americans are oblivious. They travel abroad so rarely that they don’t see how far they are falling behind."
Unfortunately this has always been the case in this country. For example, we also complain about how high our taxes are in the United States even though our tax rates are among the lowest in the world. It's not surprising then that the places with the highest concentrations of immigrant populations as well as people that vacation abroad tend to be blue states. People living in those states actually have a clue as to how the rest of the world lives.
"The ambassador recently took what the Americans call a fast train — the Acela — from Washington to New York City. Our bullet train from Beijing to Tianjin would have made the trip in 90 minutes. His took three hours — and it was on time!"
Friedman goes on the state the obvious fact very few politicians are willing to say:
"But the Americans are oblivious. They travel abroad so rarely that they don’t see how far they are falling behind."
Unfortunately this has always been the case in this country. For example, we also complain about how high our taxes are in the United States even though our tax rates are among the lowest in the world. It's not surprising then that the places with the highest concentrations of immigrant populations as well as people that vacation abroad tend to be blue states. People living in those states actually have a clue as to how the rest of the world lives.
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