Base10Blog
Tuesday, October 30, 2007
 
Robert Goulet, RIP
Robert Goulet, famed crooner, passed away today. I'd go out and rent "Camelot" if it wasn't that infernal Richard Harris in the lead role.
 
Joe Torre Update
Now that Joe Girardi is reportedly the new Yankee's manager, speculation abounds about Torre's future. The rumor--that Torre did little to discourage--is that he is going to the Dodgers. And it may be that Mattingly is going with him.

In other sports news, Brett Favre had a OT performance that was reminiscent of his prime. He threw an 82-yard TD pass ending the extra period and winning the game.

No major sports tonight.
Monday, October 29, 2007
 
Go Joe!
According to IGN entertainment, the upcoming live-action GI Joe movie is a little different than what we've come to associate with the action figure: "G.I. Joe is now a Brussels-based outfit that stands for Global Integrated Joint Operating Entity, an international co-ed force of operatives who use hi-tech equipment to battle Cobra, an evil organization headed by a double-crossing Scottish arms dealer. "

In case you think this isn't an insult to the US military, read this story by Vin Suprynowicz.
 
It's Official!
The Times reports that the Yankees have selected Joe Girardi to replace Joe Torre as manager.
 
Disturbing Technology Post of the Day
PC World reports that a recent Zogby poll tells us that 25% of Americans think their PC could substitute for their significant others. In addition, 11% would use a device that would enable direct brain to computer access. We are one step closer to the Asian girl-robot, my friends!
 
Collectivism Anyone?
Eric Haas has a piece on Hufpo about SCHIP and the evil insurance companies. We can pretty much assume anything on the Huffington Post is going to be devoid of economic content, but this is so over the top it's not even funny. To get a sense:

But the huge profits are killing health care. We all know that now.
Profit-maximizing insurance companies are bad economics. They make money by denying care, which is a terrible way to try to keep us healthy. And, profit-maximizing health insurance does more harm than that. It is also killing our sense of community. It pits us one against another to get the limited number of insurance policies, strangling the trust and cooperation we need to thrive. If we can't come together when we need each other most--when we're sick, injured or dying--without our vulnerability being used as an opportunity to maximize profits, then the U.S. is a hollow shell. The community that makes our nation a family is dead.

Forget about competition forcing prices down. Forget about basic microeconomics. Forget about profit motivation as the reason that that happens. Forget about the fact that US spending on healthcare as a percentage of GDP is double that of coutries like Great Britain and Canada. All we need to do to solve the problem is to come together. And we all know this is the case.

I'm not saying that health care doesn't need reform, but let's start by engaging in serious debate.


 
Jets Officially Suck Eggs
It's true. There's no denying it. Yesterday's 3-13 loss to Buffalo proves it. Interestingly, at least among Base10's friends, was the speculation about a quarterback controversy when Kellen Clemens was put in at the end. Jets fans cheered, but Clemens threw two picks. No speculation there. I think the big thing is to focus on next week against the 'Skins before going into the bye. The bye gives a little time to regroup and try to end the season with a bang to build for next year.

The Giants played Miami in London yesterday for an NFL first. The Gints prevailed 13-10 in what was a proverbial mud bowl. The announcers pointed out that the turf on a soccer pitch is not durable enough for pro football--no matter what they call the sport in merry old England.

The big news, of course, is the Red Sox sweep of the Rockies last night. Although Base10 was nodding off at the time of victory (I hate 8:35 starts), he was reminded by Mrs. Base10. Boston 4-3. Not so much talk about curses these days, eh?

In other baseball news, in a surprise announcement, probable AL MVP and post-season choke artist Alex Rodriguez opted out of his contract with the Yankees. The Yanks have pretty much ruled out signing him if it wasn't in the context of an extension. Speculation about where he will end up will keep the sports pundits in business the entire off-season. I find it curious, though., He had three years and $150 million left on his contract. A-Rod's a great player, but statistically at least, at 32, he will likely get worse from year to year rather than better.
Sunday, October 28, 2007
 
Ready for Some Football?
Maybe the Jets can win this one? Would you have believed that Buffalo would have a better record at this point? Base10 is traveling to Florida for the Jets-Miami game in December and it's quickly shaping up to be a battle for the bottom.

In baseball news, Boston won again last night and could seal the deal with a victory tonight. Bring your brooms.
Saturday, October 27, 2007
 
Noooooooooo..................
"Micro Brewers Faced With Hops Shortage to Raise Beer Prices, Alter Recipes" - Fox News.
Thursday, October 25, 2007
 
Midterm Blogging
Base10 is giving a midterm, and due to blogging technology, can actually make posts from here. Judging by the long faces, it's not going very well for many.

I was hoping that today would go early, but it doesn't look good. I wanted to catch the Red Sox game as well as a very good NCAA football game between no. 2 Boston College and no. 8 Virginia Tech. There's about thirty minutes to go, but there's still about a quarter of the class here.
Wednesday, October 24, 2007
 
California Wildfires
I blame the Bush administration.

Pot. Calling. Kettle. Black.

Bring the firefighters home!

UPDATE: A good start?
 
Game One
Tonight, the Red Sox face the Rockies in game one of the World Series (which is defined as the series of games between the best two teams in the US or Canada). Start time: 8:35. Click here for a preview. In series news, Josh Beckett gets the start while Time Wakefield is off the roster with an injury. Interestingly, even after going into a three-game hole in the ALCS before eventually winning, while the Rockies had two consecutive sweeps, the Bosox are the overwhelming favorites.

Naturally, to make a stupid political point, the New York media notes that Rudy told a New Hampshire crowd he'll be rooting for the 'Sox. Kind of a lame story, really. He said he's an AL fan (but would root for the Mets if they were in it). What's controversial about that?

Meanwhile, Joe Torre replacement watch continues. They have already interviewed Mattingly and Girardi who are considered the favorites. News reports indicate that a decision may come this week--if only to take some wind out of a Red Sox World Series win.

UPDATE: Maybe Giuliani has lost it.

UPDATE: Some people take their baseball very seriously. Check out the last photo. It's going to be a long night from the look of things.

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Gadget Update
Base10 remarked a few months ago that he was gadgeteering some new computers. The current setup:

  1. A core duo Mac-mini running Ubuntu 7.04. I've successfully set up Parallels running Windows XP on this machine as well.
  2. A core duo Mac-mini running OSX and being used as a DVR. I have this HD from LaCie connected as well as EyeTV and an Elgato 250 video tuner/encoder. Good stuff. I can remotely set up recordings and compress to a handheld device. The only thing that it doesn't support is recording in high-def, which is okay with me since it makes up too much disk space.
  3. I have relegated the Toshiba Libretto to desktop duty. The Fujitsu slate that I have was just too noisy to have on all the time as a desktop. I have the docking station for the slate so I can connect it to the network easily.
  4. I have the Libretto and the Ubuntu machines connected to an HP flat screen 15" monitor through a 2-way KVM switch. I may upgrade this to a four-way at some point.
  5. I can remotely connect to any of the machines through NX and ssh (for the linux box) and UltraVNC (for the mac and the windows box).
  6. I'll be upgrading the wireless network soon. I've been using Linksys 802.11b router for some time, but I'll upgrade eventually.
  7. My next computer update will probably consist of getting rid of the slate and the Libretto and upgrading. I have my eye on the new model Fujitsu slate as well as the new model Fujitsu convertible. They're both sweet, but I'll probably wait until the end of the year before I buy one (or both).

UPDATE: Mrs. Base10, please ignore that last sentance if you read this.

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Book Me a Flight
to western Australia.
 
Beauchamp a Fraud
Drudge has a breaking story about the results of The New Republic's investigation into the dispatches of erstwhile war correspondent and soldier Scott Thomas Beauchamp. Beauchamp's bogus tales of US military cruelty in Iraq have been noted here and here. It will be interesting to see how TNR handles this. Personally, Base10 likes TNR and reads it occassionally. It is not The Nation, after all, but this whole affair smacks of nepotism and bias in reporting.
 
The Market is Up/Down
Bad news on Wall Street today included a substantial write-off by Merrill Lynch as well as news that existing home sales have tumbled to their lowest levels since they started keeping track (only 1999, actually).

What does this mean? Some would see this as the cause of today's stock market decline. Why? How could they know this? Did they poll every investor that bought and sold today? It is interesting to note that the S&P 500 is down a little over one percent as I write this. It was up, as I recall, a bit more than one percent yesterday. I guess it's hard to write a column that says, "Stock market moves in random direction."
 
Historical Lens
Base10 has taken to reading Megan McArdle quite often. She is an MBA and an economics writer at The Atlantic. She recently wrote about the increasing dissillusionment of the left that the "activist" movement is not what it once was in its ability to solve the world's numerous ills. She responds:

First of all, the notion that this is some sort of uniquely horrible moment
in world history is absurd. I grew up with the very real fear that one day,
without much warning, I would simply vanish in a radioactive cloud. The fear of
nuclear annihilation was the ever-present undercurrent to the lives of children
living in major urban areas, or near military installations, in a way that you
simply cannot comprehend unless you've lived it. Compared to the threat of
global thermonuclear war, any of the world's current problems, including climate
change, are trivial.

But why do today's crop of potential "activists" feel that we are in such a moment? McCardle has an answer:

But of course, people now in their early twenties don't really remember
anything before the late Clinton administration; no wonder everything seems
like it's going to hell in a handbasket. Their baseline is an unsustainable
economic bubble in an unprecedented peacetime lull following the collapse of
the Soviet Union.

I've come across this same thing when talking to my students. Their view of politics and the economy often has no historical perspective.
 
It's Official
Eric Mangini has decided that QB Chad Pennington will get the start next week against Buffalo. No big surprise here.

I blame the Bush administration.
Tuesday, October 23, 2007
 
First Kurdistan and Now This!
"Wild Turkeys Take Boston, Surrounding Suburbs a Month Before Thanksgiving" - Fox News.
 
California Wildfires
Base10 has been looking at the devastation caused by the wildfires in California. So far, up to a half-million people displaced and up to a billion dollars in damage. Base10's sympathy to all the victims. Some would point out that the same people suffering today are those who will be the first to blame the Bush administration tomorrow, but Base10 thinks it's too early for this type of thing. There'll be time tomorrow.
 
Hmmmm Beer....
The Times has a good article on cask-conditioned ale. Base10 has had some very good experiences with cask-conditioned ale--well, what I can remember of them. For the uninitiated, cask-conditioned ale is finished in the cask. The brewer adds finishing sugar which causes the carbonation in the beer. It is not pasteurized and is served using gravity taps since it is not pressurized. Best places to try it, in this order:

Blind Tiger Ale House
In my opinion, the best beer bar in New York. Their new location is on Bleeker Street and they apparently can only serve beer and wine. That's okay though, because the beer is awesome and the staff is very knowledgeable. Well worth a visit.

dba's
In years past I would have given the best beer bar award to dba's, a craft beer bar on 1st Avenue. It's not a bad place, but it's changed over the years. I remember going there on a Sunday afternoon and having a bagel nosh with the manager before settling down to a pint. It's still a pretty good place and usually has two or three cask-conditioned offerings. They also have an extremely extensive bottled beer and scotch collection. The website has the tap list as well as the date it was tapped.

Mugs

Mugs is in Williamsburg and like dba's, I liked it better years ago. (Maybe I've become more of a curmudgeon with age). It's also a little out of the way from Base10's digs in Queens. The strong point about Mugs is that their food menu is quite good. They also have cask conditioned ale, but I think it's offered a little more sporadically. Also, IMHO, they tend to have a bit more of an eclectic selection than the other two.

UPDATE: I thought I'd add this. If you're thirsty and in Queens, one of the best beer distributors in the borough that specializes in craft beers is Community Beverage located on Grand Avenue and 80th Street. (Sorry, no business website that I could find). The place has an outstanding selection of craft brews as well as serving growlers for four taps. (Right now, Base10 is finishing off some Blue Point Octoberfest. Delicious, but I'm still a little partial to the toasted lager). BTW, for the interesting history of the "growler," click here.

UPDATE: Link added for the original Times article. Also, the picture accompanying the article shows The Ginger Man, a beer bar on 36th Street off of Madison. Good bar, but the beer list is definitely an exercis in information overload. Plus, they have 66 draft lines so you have to wonder how fresh any given brand is. Last time I was there, they didn't have any cask-conditioned ale, so maybe I need to investigate....

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Another Grim Milestone
Captain Ed points out that today is the twenty-fourth anniversary of the Marine Corp bombing in Beirut by Hezbollah. He notes: "Twenty-four years of unacknowledged war against the US, and it started in earnest on this day."
 
What's Scarier?
I don't know, what's more frightening: the idea that someone either hacked the CIA's website and created this or that someone in the DCI approved it for public display?

(Via Hotair).
Monday, October 22, 2007
 
A Park for Scooter?
Base10 thinks this is an excellent idea:
Phil Rizzuto's daughter is reaching to out Mayor Michael Bloomberg for his support in renaming a Queens ball field in honor of the legendary Yankee shortstop and announcer.

Patricia Rizzuto sent the mayor a letter urging him to support changing the name of Smokey Oval Park in Richmond Hill to "Phil 'scooter' Rizzuto Park." She says the field used to be a sandlot where her father learned to play ball.
Base10 hates to admit it, but he has no idea where Smokey Oval Park is, despite having been a former resident of Richmond Hill.

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Just End the Season
Base10 has never been one to give up the game so soon into the season, but the Jets completely lackluster performance in yesterday's 31-38 loss to Cincy has driven me to deep depression as I ponder the future of my team. It was a game that the team desperately needed to win in order to have the slightest chance of being in playoff contention come December. That's not going to happen. They are 1-6 and this year will be marked by organizational failure.

What happened? It's easy to blame Chad Pennington. After all, he can't seem to throw anything over 5 yards and seems especially susceptible to interceptions at crucial points in the game (yesterday's late fourth quarter pick is only the latest example). Truth be told, though, the defense looked pretty ugly giving RB Kenny Watson a career high and in fairness to Chad, one of his receivers dropped a pass that hit him in the helmet. The Jets were so bad they didn't even need an opponent.

Where do we go from here? I tend to think that Chad did just enough to keep the starting job for a little while longer. Mangini has made it clear that he doesn't want to bench him right now. All well and good, but the coach also has to realize that he has to adapt to new circumstances. First, as much as it pains me to say this, Chad is not going to take this team to the Superbowl so the rest of this season is better spent finding out if Kellen Clemens is that man. Second, face it, your deployment of the 3-4 is gobsmackingly awful.

That being said, Base10 is looking forward to March Madness already.

In other sports news, the Sox got a stunning victory over the Tribe last night, defeating them 11-2. Boston goes on to play the Rockies on Wednesday.

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