Thoughts On The Wiggles

You may have heard at this point that Greg Page of the Australian group The Wiggles is leaving the group due to health reasons. You may have NO CLUE who Greg Page, also known as Greg Wiggle or the Yellow Wiggle, is. Normally, I'd be right along with you.

However... my two-year old boy Duncan LOVES the Wiggles. He's learned lots of words from their fine television shows and lots of neat dances and songs, too. Sure, it gets a bit repetitive, but that's how kids learn. And the Wiggles, three of whom have degrees in Childhood Development, understand that.

Greg started feeling the effects of his condition during one of the many tours the group does. The condition, Orthostatic Intolerance, which is a lowering of blood pressure when he is standing, resulting in fainting spells, fatigue, and other similar symptoms, made it impossible for him to continue in the high energy shows that he and his fellow performers put on. We took Duncan to see one of the shows when they came to Columbus in August, and he loved every minute of it. It's not easy to keep the attention of a less-than-two-year-old, but they did it. Duncan was dancing, staring at the stage, singing along, and enjoying the whole experience. Little did we know we were catching one of Greg's last performances ever.

It's weird for me to be feeling loss at such an event. Usually I push aside stories about celebrities as just gossip and stuff that doesn't really affect anyone. With this story, I'm not sure if it's going to affect Duncan or not. He's young enough that he probably won't notice until later in life. But I'll notice. And I will always give a tip of the hat to the man who helped my child experience so much fun and happiness through his gift of entertainment.

Thanks, Greg. My hat is off to you.

ExxonMobil Continues To Push Against Climate Change Education

Here's a Washington Post article that talks about how the production company that put out An Inconvenient Truth, the movie about the science of global warming and how it's affecting us and will affect us in the future, wanted to give 50,000 DVDs of the movie to the National Science Teachers Association. Apparently the NSTA was afraid of accepting a video that went against the so called science of one of their donors. Yeah, you guessed it: ExxonMobil.

Read and weep.

Stella Artois - The Official Beer Of Steampunk

A seriously cool website with some great games and great graphics... and it's all about beer, too. What more could you want?

Well, for starters, that beer at the end could be real...

To Everyone Who Says "I Can't Do That"...

Prepare to be amazed and possibly shamed a bit...

Phoenix Motorcars Truck Discussed

Pheonix Motorcars has produced a vehicle that can be recharged from an outlet (a dryer outlet, but that's no big deal), can go 100 miles on a charge, and has all sorts of capacity. Check out the video below, as presented by actor Ed Begley, Jr.:



A lot of folks talk about how electric cars aren't solving anything by pulling their energy directly from the grid, but Bagley hits on the answer to this in the video - he has solar panels which recharge his car. Ergo, this car is completely off the grid and produces no dangerous pollution.

This concept agrees with something I and many others in the environmental movement have said all along: unlike now, when we're totally reliant on oil for so much of our power; the future will need to see us using many diverse forms of energy for our power needs. Naysayers frequently look at an answer such as solar or biofuels, etc., and like to talk about how those solutions can't be the answer because they won't have the capacity for the whole country. The idea of mixing the various systems never seems to occur to them.

It All Comes Down To Recruiting

Even two years after his dismissal, the legacy of Ty Willingham is biting Notre Dame in the ass. To look at the box score for the Notre Dame game, you'd think it was close, or even an ND win. ND had better passing, more plays, and pretty much equal number on the other basic stats of the game.

But when you look at what was actually done with those plays... damn. The USC guys were, by and large and nearly across the board, better athletes. And it showed. Quinn didn't have any INTs, but he had lots of passes batted down simply because their defensive backs got to the play faster. The depth of that team is frightening. And in a lot of ways, it reminded me of the other two games we've lost in the last calendar year: OSU and U of M. The scheme wasn't necessarily better, just the athletes were.

And that all boils down to one thing: recruiting. Ty couldn't recruit an eskimo to a whale blubber factory sale. Weis is picking things up, but as it stands now, we may have another tough year next year as well, as our Offensive line graduates four starters (thank god for Sam Young). Quinn, Samardzjia, McKnight, Landri, Laws, and Abiamiri all graduate, and waiting in the wings is... well, Jimmy Claussen, but as with any freshman we'll see what he can do. I doubt he'll start next year, we're more likely to see Evan Sharpley start at least the first part of the season.

Methinks this spring I'm going to have to try to convince the wife that a trip to the Bend for the Blue-Gold game just so we can assess the situation for ourselves.

Grass Apparently A Concern At Southern Cal

And no, not in the way you're probably thinking (for a change, anyway).

Though I can't find a link for the quote, according to some posters at NDNation.com, Sneaky Pete Carroll is still complaining about the length of the grass at Notre Dame Stadium last year for the USC/ND game. Apparently he was commenting on it at his football luncheon last Friday, though he may have been joking around.

The USC band practicing in the Coliseum for this weekend's big clash.

RIP: Bo Schembechler

A sad day for U of M fans - legendary coach Bo Schembechler passed away today at the age of 77.

The article gives his history, but I would obviously like to make a few comments.

I never liked Bo, but I respected him. He ran a clean, quality program at Michigan and gave a good name to college football in this country. He led the nation's winningest program for twenty-one years and was always a great opponent for the Irish. And he always remembered that college football's real wins came after graduation in the character and intelligence of the former players.

Bo, you will be missed. Hopefully your boys from Ann Arbor will be able to give you a proper send-off by crushing the Buckeyes tomorrow.

This is Notre Dame

Apparently this is the video that is showing 24/7 at the Eck Visitors Center at ND. If you are wondering what Notre Dame is all about, or the feeling you get when you're there... this is it. Hands down.

Automakers Try To Hide The Truth About Their Failure

Interesting article in the news today (I have an LA Times link, only because it's the first one I've come across among the many).

The nation's Big Three automakers have apparently gone to President Bush with complaints that the Asian Automakers are keeping their currencies artificially low in order to keep their prices low. President Bush apparently wouldn't make any promises, particularly since he's headed to Asia for an economic conference.

Apparently what the Big Three don't quite get is that the reason they're failing is that they have failed to keep up with what people really want in their cars: fuel efficiency. Gone are the days when oversized SUVs ruled the road. Now those road hogs are also seen as gas hogs, and people are rejecting these behemoths in favor of more fuel efficient compact cars, and especially hybrids.

And now, in this environment where capitalism is supposedly doing such wonders for our economy, we see some of the top employers asking the government for a handout.

Wake up, Big Three - the reason you are losing money is that you aren't providing the cars people want and you're trying to blame it on unfair trade practices. Wake up, change, and make cars people want. You can run all the truck ads you want and try to make SUVs look hip, but if it isn't cheap at the pump, people won't buy them.

More Support for Brady Quinn for Heisman

Mark Kiszla of the Denver Post makes a strong case for Brady Quinn and the Heisman Trophy. It's a good point of view on things and even takes on Heisman voting in general for the past few years.

Also, I read the Heisman prediction article at ESPN and once again, the spin-meisters in Tolland have skewed the wording of Troy Smith's and Quinn's accomplishments this season in a fashion that has been typical for this season:

1. Troy Smith, QB, Ohio State
Troy Smith had his worst showing of the season in a near miss versus Illinois two weeks ago, but he recovered nicely with a four-touchdown outing in the Buckeyes' drubbing of Northwestern on Saturday. Some argue against Smith because Ohio State's schedule wasn't overly difficult and because Smith's numbers are short of exceptional. I completely disagree. Smith has transformed his game from a run-first quarterback to a patient pocket passer with pinpoint accuracy as a senior. He has shown tremendous poise and leadership in tough road trips to Austin, Texas, and -- at the time -- Iowa City, Iowa, and the statistic that outweighs all others is his ridiculously impressive touchdown-to-interception ratio of 26-to-4. If he leads the Buckeyes to a perfect regular-season record with a win over an undefeated Wolverines team Saturday, Smith should be the runaway winner.

So... basically what they're saying here is that Smith should get the Heisman... because he's better this year than he was last year? And his "ridiculously impressive touchdown-to-interception ratio of 26-to-4" is somehow better than Quinn's ratio of 29-4?

Like I've said in previous posts, there are precisely two games you need to consider when comparing Smith and Quinn, the two opponents that they have in common: Penn State and Michigan State.

2. Brady Quinn, QB, Notre Dame
As expected, Quinn continues to put up big numbers versus marginal competition. Since the embarrassing home loss to Michigan in the third week of the season, Quinn has thrown 23 touchdown passes, compared with just one interception. Although the Michigan loss left an indelible stain and his numbers since then admittedly are inflated, Quinn does have some memorable Heisman-like moments so far this season, including comebacks versus Georgia Tech, Michigan State and UCLA. If Smith and the Buckeyes come up short against the Wolverines on Saturday, Quinn will have a golden opportunity to swing the vote his way one week later when the Irish travel to the Coliseum to take on the Trojans.

Once again they talk about how Quinn's numbers have all come against "marginal competition," where Ohio State's schedule has been so tough? Two MAC teams, a low-lying Big East team, and the pansies of the Big Integer.

"But Texas was #2 when Smith played them!" True. And Michigan State was undefeated when Notre Dame played them. In fact, the first FIVE teams Notre Dame played were undefeated when they faced the Irish.

The fact remains - Quinn has done more with less all season. Notre Dame is still dragging itself out of the recruiting quagmire that was left it after the horrible Davie/Willingham years. Weis is playing Willigham's recruits right now. His offensive line is fair at best. He's dealing with a defense that consistently gives up big plays and has needlessly kept games close.

Yet his numbers tower over Smith's.

No matter what the outcome of next weekend's Michigan/tOSU tilt, Quinn has proven himself in clutch situations time and time again. OSU hasn't faced a clutch situation all season.

Smack Laid Down on Ohio Right Wing Nutcase

This is possibly the BEST message that sent all night, too: Ken Blackwell, the man who won the 2004 election for Bush with his voter intimidation and coercion tactics, and who was courting the right wing zealot fringe of Ohio's population, was smacked down HARD. Looks to me like the sound-minded people of Ohio came to the polls in record numbers to keep this guy out of office.

Good for you, Ohio.

And the First Sacrificial Lamb Is Laid on the Big Blue Pyre

Aside from being REALLY PROUD of that headline I put on this entry... I find it interesting that Rummy is gone already. Was this an attempt by Bush to take some thunder away from the Dems by doing this without being asked?

Oh well... we all know why he really did it. TO SUCK UP.

Good riddance, you incompetent nitwit.

Election Results: BOO-YAH!

It's sort of a weird feeling: I have been so down on anything the government (either federal or state) has done lately that I hear "Today, in Washington" on the news and I automatically cringe. But in the wake of the sound electoral beating about the head and neck that the Democrats just laid on the Republicans, I actually feel something now that I haven't felt in years.

Hope.

• I've watched as the big money has influenced the government to lie about the realities of global climate change and to cease enforcement of envivronmental laws that have given our country clean air and water.


• I've watched as big oil businesses have coerced our country into putting more of our country's hard-earned tax dollars into getting them rich while abandoning attempts to find other sources of energy that would be cleaner and give us real energy independence.


• I've watched as religious zealots have attacked our country's freedoms, both from inside our borders and outside.


• I've watched as our president told bold-faced lies about another country to the United Nations and us in order to get us to declare war on them, then watched as he let big businesses use our troops as muscle while they set up shop to make money off that poor country.


• I've watched as our status as a greatly respected nation in the world has dwindled to that of a third rate banana republic.


• I've watched as our president has attempted to take benefits away from the veterans of the very war he started.


• I've watched as state officials have tried to devalue our democracy by pushing through attempts at voter suppression and coercion.


• I've watched as our president tried to take away the money we've so honestly put into the Social Security Administration and give it to Wall Street.

But now, we have hope. I was listening to the comments of Senator-Elect Sherrod Brown of Ohio today, and he gave us a message of hope - that real economic relief, smart spending, balanced budgets, real environmental enforcement, and a timetable for ending the Iraq War are all coming.

Today, I feel good. We'll see what tomorrow brings, but for today I'm happy with the world.

Brady Quinn For Heisman

Here's a great list of articles that talk about the reasons Brady Quinn should win the Heisman.

Trust me - there are plenty.

Brady Quinn vs. Troy Smith

Heisman Shenanigans

The Best Argument For Quinn

Same Old Demons - New York Times

This is an excellent article by David Brooks of the New York Times. It talks about the situation in Iraq (in regard to the total chaos into which it is falling) and why that is. Read the op-ed piece, but the jist of the article is that the reason Iraq is failing is because Iraq, as a nation, doesn't really exist in the minds of the so-called "Iraqis."

Before the British takeover of the area known as Iraq, it was a simple group of small tribes that constantly fought with each other for the resources available. After the British created the state of Iraq, they figured that simply having a constitution and a government would be enough for them. Well, that wasn't the case.

So what you have is a boundary encasing several warring tribes (not even just the Kurds, Shia, and Sunnis, but smaller factions beyond those) that have been trying to use the government to "get over" on each other for centuries. Even the government of Saddam Hussein was one tribe getting power of the main resource of the state - oil - and forcing their will on everyone else. And now we're trying to do what the British tried and failed.

Again, the Bush Administration fails to understand history and has gotten us involved in a situation we can't win. The Iraqis simply don't have the same motivations as we do.

Intelligence Test

Got this joke in my email at work today:

George W. Bush meets with the Queen of England. He asks her, "Your Majesty, how do you run such an efficient government? Are there any tips you can give to me?"

"Well," says the Queen, "the most important thing is to surround yourself with intelligent people."

Bush frowns. "But how do I know the people around me are really intelligent?"

The Queen takes a sip of tea. "Oh, that's easy. You just ask them to answer an intelligence riddle."

The Queen pushes a button on her intercom. "Please send Tony Blair in here, would you?"

Tony Blair walks into the room. "Yes, Your Majesty?"

The Queen smiles. "Answer me this, please, Tony. Your mother and father have a child. It is not your brother and it is not your sister. Who is it?"

Without pausing for a moment, Tony Blair answers, "That would be me."

"Yes! Very good," says the Queen.

Back at the White House, Bush asks to speak with vice president Dick Cheney.

"Dick, answer this for me. Your mother and your father have a child. It's not your brother and it's not your sister. Who is it?"

"I'm not sure," says the vice president. "Let me get back to you on that one."

Dick Cheney goes to his advisors and asks every one, but none can give him an answer. Finally, he ends up in the men's room and recognizes Colin Powell's shoes in the next stall.

Dick shouts, "Colin! Can you answer this for me? Your mother and father have a child and it's not your brother or your sister. Who is it?"

Colin Powell yells back, "That's easy. It's me!"

Dick Cheney smiles. "Thanks!"

Cheney goes back to the Oval Office to speak with Bush. "Say, I did some research and I have the answer to that riddle. It's Colin Powell."

Bush gets up, stomps over to Dick Cheney, and angrily yells into his face, "No, you idiot! It's Tony Blair!"

Things That Make Jamie Lean Away From Gun Control

If OSU beats Michigan this year, I'm buying a shotgun.

And this is meant as no offense to any of my friends who are OSU fans, I know you guys wouldn't be caught dead in situations like what this video is showing. But there's a reason that my brother's father-in-law once said he'd never come back for a game in Columbus, and my cousin will not come here at all (despite being the biggest Michigan fan I've ever personally encountered).

Smith is Gone For Spartans

From an article by the AP:

Michigan State coach won’t return next season
Associated Press
Wednesday, November 1, 2006 2:15 PM

EAST LANSING, Mich. (AP) -- John L. Smith will not return next year as Michigan State's football coach, but will complete the rest of this season, with the Spartans struggling again in the Big Ten.

Smith is in the fourth year of a six-year contract that pays him about $1.5 million annually. Michigan State said it will honor the last two years of Smith's contract.

“The performance on the field has not lived up to what we hoped it would be,” athletic director Ron Mason said during a news conference Wednesday. “It comes time to make a change, and that's where we're at.”

The Spartans (4-5) are coming off a 46-21 loss at Indiana and are 1-4 in the Big Ten.

Smith has been under pressure at Michigan State. School officials gave him a vote of confidence after last season's losing campaign, but were looking for better results in 2006.

A message seeking comment was left with Smith.

“This is a man who cares deeply about his players. He is a consummate professional,” school President Lou Anna Simon said.

Mason and Simon said they reached the decision on Tuesday to make a change. Mason met with Smith on Wednesday, and the coach agreed to stay on the rest of the season.

Smith was expected to meet with the players before Wednesday afternoon's practice.

Mason and Simon will lead the search for a new coach. Part of the reason behind the timing of the announcement is so Michigan State can search for a new coach with transparency, they said.

Smith has compiled a 22-23 record in four seasons at Michigan State. He led the Spartans to the Alamo Bowl in his first season, but the team did not qualify for a bowl in 2004 or 2005.

His record in the Big Ten has worsened since 2003, when the team was 5-3 and tied for fourth. The Spartans were 4-4 in 2004 and 2-6 in 2005.

The decision comes nearly four years to the day after Michigan State fired Bobby Williams with three games left in a season that was disappointing on and off the field.

Smith has a 132-83 career record in 18 seasons as a college head coach.

He was hired at Michigan State after having solid success at Louisville, where he compiled a 41-21 record and made five consecutive bowl trips from 1998-2002.

Smith, who also coached at Utah State and Idaho, took over a Michigan State program that has been inconsistent and relatively mediocre since the late 1960s. The program last went to the Rose Bowl after the 1987 season and hasn't won a share of the Big Ten title since finishing in a four-way tie in 1990.

This season's Spartans started with three straight wins and led Notre Dame by 16 points in the fourth quarter. But Michigan State squandered the lead, lost 40-37, and hasn't been the same since.

The Spartans mounted an NCAA-record comeback to beat Northwestern, but also lost to lowly Illinois and Indiana. Injuries and lack of depth have hurt the program.

This article, though factually accurate, completely misses an important point. The Spartans under Smith have turned into the Miami Hurricanes of the Big "We Can't Count." From the fight against Notre Dame, to the fight against Illinois, to the crumbling mess that is their football program, this guy has been nothing but negative.

Michigan State needed to do this from the standpoint of cleaning up their program and injecting some class into it.

Heisman Talk

I'm sure it's no secret that I think Brady Quinn should be leading the Heisman race right now. If you click on my Heisman Label at the bottom of this post, you'll see a couple of posts that go further with this. But here's a little op-ed from some of the writers at ND Nation about the Troy Smith vs. Brady Quinn choice:

Brady Quinn is having a hell of a year. It's not his fault we started off with Georgia Tech, Penn State and Michigan. Hell, Troy Smith had his worst game of the year against Penn State and Brady Quinn rolled the Lions. If Quinn were on Ohio State, who do you think would start? In their two games against like opponents Quinn has dominated and that's with no running game and a crappy offensive line. Quinn has been sacked 21 times this year. Smith? 8. Ohio State's running game is 15th in the country. I can't count how far down Notre Dame's running is. Defenses? Uh. Let's not go there. Brady Quinn has done it on his own with a constant rush in his face. The Heisman doesn't go to the best team, it goes to the most outstanding player. Any idiot who says that Ohio State winning out locks up the Heisman doesn't understand the award. If Quinn were on OSU, they'd still be undefeated. If Smith were on ND, we might have two more losses.

The key thing here is the point that the Heisman goes to the best player period, not the best player on the best team. Doesn't matter what the record of that team is. Hell, Paul Hornung won the Heisman back in 1956 despite having a 2-8 season.

Sportswriters of today need to rethink their hype machine and actually report facts. Sure, Troy Smith's having a great season. But he hasn't been THE DIFFERENCE in any of those games. Quinn most certainly has.