Centerfield

To start things off, in addition to the expected dimunition in traffic to this blog since the election, I've also noticed a dimunition in posting by some of our regular bloggers. Where are ya? Out shopping?

Who can afford to go shopping? LOL

Btw...comment spammers are starting to really get on my nerves. Our MT interface makes it really easy to get rid of the crap...but it's still annoying.

Here is an interesting web site I found, showing the state of the economy. All the major indicators in chart format, with little or no commentary. Lots of pretty pictures, draw your own conclusions.

http://www.bullandbearwise.com/Default.asp

Just click on one of the hyperlinks on the left-hand side of the page.

And here it is in hyperlink (I link, therefore I am?)
BullandBearWise

Kevin Spacey is going to play Lex Luthor in the new Superman movie.

http://restlessmania.blogspot.com/

This week marked the end of an era - 2.5 Million Dollar Man, Ken Jennings, was defeated on Jeopardy! after 74 appearances. Here's the Final Jeopardy category and answer:

Category: Business & Industry

Answer (paraphrased): This organization employs most of its' 70,000 workers for four months of the year.

Any guesses?

Rick, I've noticed that traffic is down everywhere I normally visit right now.

Working, hunting, shopping, and preparing for the in-law influx, Rick. Our reward for living in the middle of everywhere (or nowhere, depending on your POV) is that my wife's family converges on us every year at this time for the annual holiday rituals. "Centrally located" is not always a good thing. Fortunately they're good people and don't stay forever.

I already know the question, Jamie, so I'll sit that one out. :-)

LOL, Bob. That's the best single statement of blogger self-awareness I've ever heard. "Concateno, ergo sum!"

Happy Friday, Rick! I haven't posted much mostly because I haven't had a whole lot to say and the past month has been a personal emotional roller coaster (my daughter-in-law lost her baby at 5 months gestation). We are all in the process of recovering and planning for the holidays.

What do people think about the Jason Giambi baseball steroid scandal? Those of you who are baseball fans, will this effect your view of the game?

To start things off, in addition to the expected dimunition in traffic to this blog since the election, I've also noticed a dimunition in posting by some of our regular bloggers. Where are ya? Out shopping?

Josh Marshall addressed the issue of his traffic in this this post. His bottom line - November saw a dramatic dropoff, but it was about even with September, and markedly higher than August. So I thought that I would check this blog's numbers by month since August. Here they are, and the trend is similar to Marshall's trend:

August: 14,785
September: 22,495
October: 42,401
November: 27,518

December traffic will undoubtedly be lower because of the holidays, but I hope things pick up and continue to grow starting in January.

My condolences to your family, Heather.

If you are looking for gift ideas check out Decembers Wired magazine.
Ideas include a model rocket that electrolyses water into hydrogen gas for fuel (boom), a CSI forensic facial reconstruction kit (give your toddler a nightmare for Christmas) and giant microbes plush toys ( including athlete's foot, aids and flesh eating bacteria)

The online version is unimpressive, so you will have to actually buy the paper magazine.

Wired tools

I think the Giambi and Bonds things are no surprise. I think it will be real interesting if the Yankees try to void his contract by saying that steroid use effected his conditioning and health.

What are peoples thoughts on Kerik? Is it me or is the guy highly unqualified for this position???

Speaking of steriods, there was also this story today:

New York, NY (Sports Network) - Olympic track and field star Marion Jones allegedly used a performance-enhancing substance, if BALCO chief Victor Conte's assertions can be believed.

Conte, in an ABC News interview scheduled to be aired Friday night on the newsmagazine "20/20," said he watched as Jones injected herself in the leg with human growth hormone.

These stories don't surprise me anymore. But, please, don't let it be true about Lance Armstrong.

Two issues, one political and one personal.

Political: Final campaign spending numbers came out and Dems spent more this year on presidential election. So what is the correalation between money and election outcome? Is it no longer possible to buy an election?

Personal: I've tried several times to post a blog to this blog. Never shows up. What am I doing wrong? Are only certain folks allowed? Please help.

I haven't read many good things about Kerik. This appointment explains why he was so visible during the presidential campaign. I'd like him to prove his critics wrong and make significant strides in domestic security.

We New Yorkers know a bit about Kerik. He was abandoned by his hooker-mom as a child. Was on the force walking a beat in some of the toughest neighborhoods, while studying for his GED. Went to college at night, rose to become NYPD Commissioner uder Rudy. During his tenor, it was common to see annual drops in violent crimes of substantial amounts. I believe that the number of murders in NYC in his last year was lower than 40 years prior.

He took on the job of organizing the Iragi police force right after the fall of Baghdad.

I don't know whether he is qualified to run the giant DHS bureaucracy, but his career indicates that he has succeeded at a number of overwhelming challenges.

Kerik organized the police force Iraq? Are these the same guys that run away whenever there's tough fighting?

Earlier this week Rick had a post up about Evolution vs ID in the classroom. Dover, PA is teaching ID in place of Evolution...and George has stickers on it's textbooks telling kids Evolution is a theory and they should keep an open mind.

Today I came across some new stickers that poke a gentle stick in the eye of this phenom:

http://www.preemptivekarma.com/archives/2004/12/you_say_you_wan.html

Tim beat me to posting those in the ID/Evolution thread a day or so ago, Carla. I'm formatting them for standard Avery labels..... :-)

Highly recommended!

Questions:

* Why do minority groups strongly support a ban on gay marriage?

* Is support for the ban higher in minority groups than the nation as a whole?

My theory: Bi-sexual/Homosexual men are concealing their sexual identity in minority communities. Minority support for a ban is out of denial rather than other motivations.

Your thoughts?

One minority group at least, the African Americans, are heavily organized by their church which, I think, would seem to put a greater emphasis on traditional opinions regarding homosexuals and homosexual behavior. So rather than a denial, I see it as an outgrowth of the role of black churches and the Catholic church in the black and latino communities, respectively.

Ukraine Court Orders New Run-Off Election

Great news.

Prayers and good thoughts to your family, Heather. Love helps you stay strong.

The steroids thing is no surprise at all. This has been obvious ever since Brady Anderson hit 50 homers. regarding sports records, I think it just adds a layer to all the traditional arguments. That it will make it harder to compare eras is a good thing, because these discussions are so hot-aired. Greatest in your time has meaning, but comparing Ruth to Mantle to Mcgwire is academic. Over time, it's likely that the current era (dsiclosure, not my original idea) in sports is regarded as the "juiced" era.

I hope that a lot of people come forward. It's right that all sports achievements of the current era will be regarded with suspicion, and we'll probably never know who all the cheaters were. It's a great example of only truly understanding the importance of keeping the barn door closed only after leaving it open resulted in all your livestock escaping. Many athletes, both steroid cheaters and non, were either selfish or dismissive and uncourageous in either cheating or staying silent. And now all are tainted. I bet Lance Armstrong doped.

Tully:

When you get those formatted for the Avery labels, I'd love to have it. My son (8th grade) will get a kick out of them, as will his science teacher.

carla -

You may be thinking of King Arthur and his coconut horse ("run away, run away"). The Iraqi police force that I was referring to is the one that keeps getting bombed by Baathist, and keeps coming in to work (and keeps drawing new recruits).

In any case, if you want some direct experience with Kerik's expertise, come to New York and take an evening stroll in Central Park.

I was surprised Jennings missed this, I guessed it right away. The giveaway was that the temps were white-collar. FedEx temps would be blue collar.

Chris, are you maybe forgetting to change your posts from "draft" to "publish"?

Brian, I was surprised Ken Jennings missed it as well. But, if you compare his overall performance in his final appearance with previous ones, you could tell he was "off". He found both Double Jeopardies, bet his usual large amount, and, uncharacteristically, missed both. Was the term "white collar" in the Final Jeopardy answer? Maybe that's what helped me get it right.

I think Jennings was tired of the whole thing and threw it. These were pretty easy questions he missed. He already made a ton of money and I think he just said, I have other things to do with my life than play Jeopardy.

I've also noticed a dimunition in posting by some of our regular bloggers. Where are ya? Out shopping?

Been busy, busy! Been training some new people, so I haven't had as many opportunities to come and blog during the day. As soon as I get them trained and unload all my work off onto them, I can start slacking again. :-)

Amy! Slacking at work?? My, my! (I should talk with my 3-hour day... :D)

Thanks, Brian and Jamie. My son asked me to post a thank you to all my readers that totally blew everyone away. It's still on the front page if anyone is interested.

What's interesting about the steriod use is that it's my understanding it really wasn't illegal in MLB. I'll bet it will be soon! Have we become such a "win at all cost" society? Makes me wonder whatever happened to "love of the game." Oh wait, nevermind... Television and dollars...

I've been swamped with work and personal life.

The excitement of Christmas is so tangible this year for my 3 year old (and in mimicking fashion, my 16 month old). Up until I got married a couple years ago, I was one of those schmucks who waited until the 24th to shop, but my wife and kids have infected me with the santa-gene and that means putting lights on every part of the house that doesn't move. I'm sure some PG&E employee smiles everytime I put the plug in.

On the steroid scandal, I sure hope Armstrong didn't dope; that would be such a disappointment.

After the election, I felt kinda blogged-out. I'm recovering, now, though. The urge to grumble and gasbagify is coming back....

Also, I got a new game, "Rise of Nations," and that's kept me in trouble for the last couple of weeks. If you're into strategy games, I do recommend RoN, by the way.

Athletes have always done whatever it takes to win. In the book Ball Four, Jim Bouton describes how baseball players in the sixties (who, in those days weren't making nearly as much as now because of lack of free agency) regularly took "greenies" (amphetamines) to get themselves ready to play. The difference is greenies didn't actually enhance performance; it simply helped relieve tiredness during the long season. I suspect greenies were not legal but no one in baseball made an effort to stop them. So I'm not sure that much has changed; the incredible money involved has simply increased the incentive to do whatever it takes. And it's not necessarily a matter of winning at any cost. A lot of players, I suspect, are taking steroids because that's the only way they can play at a high level (obviously not Barry Bonds)--and they don't want to give up their dream of being major league baseball players. And the fact is that, at the professional level, it has always been win at all costs. They don't get paid to play, they get paid to win and it's always been that way.

The issue is really how are fans reacting to this and it seems that a lot of people aren't really that upset about the steroids. I think that reflects the win at all costs mentality more than anything.