Looking ahead to next week
I can handle working three extra hours in a week once in awhile. No problem. But when it's in a week where my trivia "team" is scheduled to play five times in seven days, it begins to be more than I can handle. In fact, it's a lot more than I can handle. So what do I do? I love playing trivia. It keeps me sane. It allows me to do something to get out of this room that doesn't involve working or seeing a movie (which technically is work since I'll review the film, however, that's not really work. It's a labor of love).
The last few weeks I've felt my constant level of fatigue growing. I don't think this is signaling that the end is getting near, rather it is a sign that I'm not the "superman" I once was. So I'm going to make choices that I think are healthier for me for the upcoming week. We're in trivia competitions on Monday and the following Sunday. Those I will play in. But of the other three evenings we are slated to play trivia, I will skip at least one and probably two of the three. I reserve the right to go to all of them of course, if I feel up to it. But if you want to make some easy money, call a Las Vegas bookie and bet on me skipping at least one.
* * *
Someone who I follow on Twitter (and she follows me back) posed a question about fantasy football. Now I'm not really into fantasy sports leagues. I just don't see the point. But that doesn't mean I don't understand them, how they work, or how to pick winning combinations. I tried to give her a suggestion, but 140 characters to answer her response just won't work. So here is my more detailed answer.
I said that you have to remember that fantasy sports is all about numbers. Statistics. But you can't just select the players who had the best stats last season. Aside from the fact that you're going to be competing in a draft to choose players, you want to find those players who have the best probability of compiling the kind of stats that produce points in the scoring system of the game you choose.
The NFL has stats on everything except maybe how many times players ran to the locker room to answer nature's call. Heck, they might even have that. But not all of them come into play in fantasy football. So throw those out right away. Quarterbacks are rated on passing efficiency. Doesn't matter. You want the QB who will throw for the most yards, or the most touchdowns, or will run for the most yards or touchdowns. As an example, Aaron Rodgers had the best "rating" last season. But Drew Brees threw for more yards and more touchdowns. On the other hand, Brees threw 19 interceptions while Rodgers had only 8. So using the ESPN standard scoring system, who had the most points last season among quarterbacks? It isn't that simple. There are other variables you have to include like bonus points for touchdowns that cover more than 40 yards.
Now you can try to do this the math way (if you have moderate spreadsheet skills, you can research and calculate who has the best fantasy numbers over last season. You can go on and do it for the two prior seasons and a three season track record is a better than average indicator for predicting next season's performance. But that's a lot of work for something that's supposed to be fun.
So what you should do is:
1. Don't pick with your heart, pick with your head. That you're a fan of players on a particular team, or a particular player has no correlation with how they will perform in the upcoming season.
2. Make sure to track the injury reports. Having the best player statistically is no help if he's on the bench in a cast.
3. Don't listen to the pundits who say pick Player A over Player B or Player C. If it was that easy, they'd make millions by picking all of their choices. Free advice is usually worth what you paid for it. Nothing.
Ever see "Two For the Money" with Matthew McConaughey and Al Pacino? It's about a "tout" service, which is a business that makes money by selling their "picks" on sports events so betters can lose their asses by following the picks they pay bad money for. Again, if someone can pick games with that kind of unerring accuracy, they'd just bet on the games themselves and clean up.
4. Have fun!
* * *
Last Sunday I went to the VA's emergency room. I had an open wound on my leg that wasn't healing. It was much easier to do that early in the morning than to try to be seen the next day in the Primary Care Clinic (PCC). The doctor said it wasn't serious, gave me a week's worth of two antibiotics and sent me home.
It's been a week and the wound is smaller. Clearly it is healing. But it hasn't gone away and the antibiotics ran out yesterday. Guess I have to get it checked when I'm at the VA tomorrow for my standing Monday morning appointment. Now I will have to wait in that long queue in the PCC.
* * *
California has the lowest participation rate in the nation when it comes to the food stamp program. Excuse me, that's not its name anymore. CalFresh is the name for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) that the federal government will spend nearly $75 billion on in the current fiscal year.
The state discourages participation by making it hard to apply for benefits. It's just as hard to retain them as those in the program are asked regularly to document their eligibility. Then on top of that, they have to deal with county employees who for the most part have little interest in anything other than their own pay and benefits.
Since some of the money spent on the administration of and funding for this program (very small amount for the funding of the actual program itself) comes from state coffers, probing for fraud and waste is really important, right? Not really. Yes, oversight is needed with any program that provides "free" money to taxpayers who are 'in need of assistance'. But considering that almost every dollar that CalFresh recipients spend in grocery stores and fast food joints comes from the federal coffers, it's is actually something that stimulates the economy. That's why some states are actively seeking out those who are eligible. More spending equals more jobs in the state. It's a simple equation.
One more thing to consider when thinking about this. California has the largest delegation in the U.S. House of Representatives. Yet our state receives back only 78 cents in federal funding for every one dollar taken in federal taxes from California. Meanwhile, New Mexico, which has a House delegation of 1/10th the size of California's is getting back $2.03 for every $1.00 taken from the state. Doesn't add up, does it?
* * *
Random ponderings:
Why was some woman feeding her dog inside the parking structure at Westfield Century City, next to her car? Did she leave it alone in the car while shopping and decided to feed it before going home?
If you think a movie auditorium is going to be sold-out, or anywhere near close to capacity, and it uses the assigned seat system, does it make sense to sit anywhere but your assigned seat?
Did I read this right? Drinking warm water fills you faster than drinking cold water? I hate warm water but if it will help to lose weight.
I could have saved $7 on parking at the movies today if I'd gone down to my car after the first film, driven out of the parking lot, re-entered the lot and gotten my ticket validated both times. I wonder if I should have done that. Maybe next time I'm there and seeing a movie where there is enough time between movies to do that.
Did the NCAA really make a former Marine ineligible to play college football because of his participation in intramural leagues while in the military? Yes they did. Jerks.
It feels weird to not be watching the WWE PPV Summer Slam. Then again it doesn't feel as weird as paying more than ten bucks to see it would feel.
Did I actually see a typo in a Wikipedia article that I didn't feel duty bound to fix (yes I did)??
Yes, a reporter from Time Magazine tweeted that someone should kill WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange with a drone strike. How long will it take for them to fire him over this?
* * *
This Date in History:
684 – Battle of Marj Rahit: Umayyad partisans defeat the supporters of Ibn al-Zubayr and cement Umayyad control of Syria.
1304 – The Battle of Mons-en-Pévèle is fought to a draw between the French army and the Flemish militias.
1487 – The Siege of Málaga ends with the taking of the city by Castilian and Aragonese forces.
1572 – Marriage in Paris, France of the Huguenot King Henry III of Navarre to Margaret of Valois, in a supposed attempt to reconcile Protestants and Catholics.
1587 – Virginia Dare, granddaughter of Governor John White of the Colony of Roanoke, becomes the first English child born in the Americas.
1590 – John White, the governor of the Roanoke Colony, returns from a supply trip to England and finds his settlement deserted (I was wondering if then-Governor Schwarzenegger was worried this would happen to him in his first overseas trip after becoming governor).
1634 – Urbain Grandier, accused and convicted of sorcery, is burned alive in Loudun, France.
1783 – A huge fireball meteor is seen across Great Britain as it passes over the east coast.
1838 – The Wilkes Expedition, which would explore the Puget Sound and Antarctica, weighs anchor at Hampton Roads in 1838
1848 – Camila O'Gorman and Ladislao Gutierrez are executed on the orders of Argentine dictator Juan Manuel de Rosas.
1864 – American Civil War: Battle of Globe Tavern – Union forces try to cut a vital Confederate supply-line into Petersburg, Virginia, by attacking the Wilmington and Weldon Railroad.
1868 – French astronomer Pierre Janssen discovers helium.
1870 – Franco-Prussian War: Battle of Gravelotte is fought.
1877 – Asaph Hall discovers Martian moon Phobos.
1891 – Major hurricane strikes Martinique, leaving 700 dead.
1903 – German engineer Karl Jatho allegedly flies his self-made, motored gliding airplane four months before the first flight of the Wright brothers.
1917 – A Great Fire in Thessaloniki, Greece destroys 32% of the city leaving 70,000 individuals homeless.
1920 – The Nineteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution is ratified, guaranteeing women's suffrage.
1938 – The Thousand Islands Bridge, connecting New York, United States with Ontario, Canada over the Saint Lawrence River, is dedicated by U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt.
1942 – A group of freedom fighter of Sherpur hoisted the Tricoloure at Mohammadabad Tehsil, Ghazipur India
1948 – The Australian cricket team completed a 4–0 Ashes series win over England during their undefeated Invincibles tour.
1950 – Julien Lahaut, the chairman of the Communist Party of Belgium is assassinated by far-right elements.
1958 – Vladimir Nabokov's controversial novel Lolita is published in the United States.
1958 – Brojen Das from Bangladesh swims across the English Channel in a competition, as the first Bangali as well as the first Asian to ever do it. He became first among 39 competitors.
1963 – American civil rights movement: James Meredith becomes the first black person to graduate from the University of Mississippi.
1965 – Vietnam War: Operation Starlite begins – United States Marines destroy a Viet Cong stronghold on the Van Tuong peninsula in the first major American ground battle of the war.
1966 – Vietnam War: the Battle of Long Tan ensues after a patrol from the 6th Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment clashes with a Viet Cong force in Phuoc Tuy province.
1971 – Vietnam War: Australia and New Zealand decide to withdraw their troops from Vietnam.
1976 – In the Korean Demilitarized Zone at Panmunjom, the Axe murder incident results in the death of two US soldiers. (RIP, gentlemen)
1977 – Steve Biko is arrested at a police roadblock under the Terrorism Act No 83 of 1967 in King William's Town, South Africa. He would later die of the injuries sustained during this arrest bringing attention to South Africa's apartheid policies.
1983 – Hurricane Alicia hits the Texas coast, killing 22 people and causing over USD$1 billion in amage (1983 dollars).
1989 – Leading presidential hopeful Luis Carlos Galán is assassinated near Bogotá in Colombia.
Famous Folk Born On This Date:
Virginia Dare
Antonio Salieri
Meriwether Lewis
Marshall Field
Burleigh Grimes (master of the spitball pitch)
Caspar Weinberger
Rosalynn Carter
Marge Schott
Roman Polanski
Vincent Bugliosi
Ronnie Carroll
Rafer Johnson
Robert Redford
Johnny Preston
Martin Mull
Lewis B. Puller, Jr. (yet another veteran who took his own life)
Elayne Boosler
Patrick Swayze
Denis Leary
Madeleine Stowe
Timothy Geitner
Edward Norton
Christian Slater
Andy Samberg
Today's movie quotes come from 2000's very funny "Keeping the Faith", starring and directed by Edward Norton:
Indian Bartender: Let me guess. Your old lady got fed up because you're out here chasing the skirt so she took these little ones and left you.
Father Brian Kilkenney Finn: It's a little more complicated than that.
Indian Bartender: Sure it is. Everyone thinks his story is the one with a twist. Well let me tell you, I've heard just about everything there is to...
[Brian unzips his jacket, revealing his priest's collar]
Indian Bartender: Holy shit.
Father Brian Kilkenney Finn: Exactly.
#2
[Brian, a celibate priest, confesses his love for Anna, to Jake's astonishment]
Jacob: I mean, she's like your sister!
Father Brian Kilkenney Finn: Thank you for adding new depth to my confusion.
#3
Rachel Rose: Oh my God! The Iraqi defense minister just committed suicide!
Rabbi Jacob "Jake" Schram: Ooh!... Is that bad or good?
#4
Father Brian Kilkenney Finn: I feel like I'm on some bad new Aaron Spelling show - "Melrose Priest."
The last few weeks I've felt my constant level of fatigue growing. I don't think this is signaling that the end is getting near, rather it is a sign that I'm not the "superman" I once was. So I'm going to make choices that I think are healthier for me for the upcoming week. We're in trivia competitions on Monday and the following Sunday. Those I will play in. But of the other three evenings we are slated to play trivia, I will skip at least one and probably two of the three. I reserve the right to go to all of them of course, if I feel up to it. But if you want to make some easy money, call a Las Vegas bookie and bet on me skipping at least one.
* * *
Someone who I follow on Twitter (and she follows me back) posed a question about fantasy football. Now I'm not really into fantasy sports leagues. I just don't see the point. But that doesn't mean I don't understand them, how they work, or how to pick winning combinations. I tried to give her a suggestion, but 140 characters to answer her response just won't work. So here is my more detailed answer.
I said that you have to remember that fantasy sports is all about numbers. Statistics. But you can't just select the players who had the best stats last season. Aside from the fact that you're going to be competing in a draft to choose players, you want to find those players who have the best probability of compiling the kind of stats that produce points in the scoring system of the game you choose.
The NFL has stats on everything except maybe how many times players ran to the locker room to answer nature's call. Heck, they might even have that. But not all of them come into play in fantasy football. So throw those out right away. Quarterbacks are rated on passing efficiency. Doesn't matter. You want the QB who will throw for the most yards, or the most touchdowns, or will run for the most yards or touchdowns. As an example, Aaron Rodgers had the best "rating" last season. But Drew Brees threw for more yards and more touchdowns. On the other hand, Brees threw 19 interceptions while Rodgers had only 8. So using the ESPN standard scoring system, who had the most points last season among quarterbacks? It isn't that simple. There are other variables you have to include like bonus points for touchdowns that cover more than 40 yards.
Now you can try to do this the math way (if you have moderate spreadsheet skills, you can research and calculate who has the best fantasy numbers over last season. You can go on and do it for the two prior seasons and a three season track record is a better than average indicator for predicting next season's performance. But that's a lot of work for something that's supposed to be fun.
So what you should do is:
1. Don't pick with your heart, pick with your head. That you're a fan of players on a particular team, or a particular player has no correlation with how they will perform in the upcoming season.
2. Make sure to track the injury reports. Having the best player statistically is no help if he's on the bench in a cast.
3. Don't listen to the pundits who say pick Player A over Player B or Player C. If it was that easy, they'd make millions by picking all of their choices. Free advice is usually worth what you paid for it. Nothing.
Ever see "Two For the Money" with Matthew McConaughey and Al Pacino? It's about a "tout" service, which is a business that makes money by selling their "picks" on sports events so betters can lose their asses by following the picks they pay bad money for. Again, if someone can pick games with that kind of unerring accuracy, they'd just bet on the games themselves and clean up.
4. Have fun!
* * *
Last Sunday I went to the VA's emergency room. I had an open wound on my leg that wasn't healing. It was much easier to do that early in the morning than to try to be seen the next day in the Primary Care Clinic (PCC). The doctor said it wasn't serious, gave me a week's worth of two antibiotics and sent me home.
It's been a week and the wound is smaller. Clearly it is healing. But it hasn't gone away and the antibiotics ran out yesterday. Guess I have to get it checked when I'm at the VA tomorrow for my standing Monday morning appointment. Now I will have to wait in that long queue in the PCC.
* * *
California has the lowest participation rate in the nation when it comes to the food stamp program. Excuse me, that's not its name anymore. CalFresh is the name for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) that the federal government will spend nearly $75 billion on in the current fiscal year.
The state discourages participation by making it hard to apply for benefits. It's just as hard to retain them as those in the program are asked regularly to document their eligibility. Then on top of that, they have to deal with county employees who for the most part have little interest in anything other than their own pay and benefits.
Since some of the money spent on the administration of and funding for this program (very small amount for the funding of the actual program itself) comes from state coffers, probing for fraud and waste is really important, right? Not really. Yes, oversight is needed with any program that provides "free" money to taxpayers who are 'in need of assistance'. But considering that almost every dollar that CalFresh recipients spend in grocery stores and fast food joints comes from the federal coffers, it's is actually something that stimulates the economy. That's why some states are actively seeking out those who are eligible. More spending equals more jobs in the state. It's a simple equation.
One more thing to consider when thinking about this. California has the largest delegation in the U.S. House of Representatives. Yet our state receives back only 78 cents in federal funding for every one dollar taken in federal taxes from California. Meanwhile, New Mexico, which has a House delegation of 1/10th the size of California's is getting back $2.03 for every $1.00 taken from the state. Doesn't add up, does it?
* * *
Random ponderings:
Why was some woman feeding her dog inside the parking structure at Westfield Century City, next to her car? Did she leave it alone in the car while shopping and decided to feed it before going home?
If you think a movie auditorium is going to be sold-out, or anywhere near close to capacity, and it uses the assigned seat system, does it make sense to sit anywhere but your assigned seat?
Did I read this right? Drinking warm water fills you faster than drinking cold water? I hate warm water but if it will help to lose weight.
I could have saved $7 on parking at the movies today if I'd gone down to my car after the first film, driven out of the parking lot, re-entered the lot and gotten my ticket validated both times. I wonder if I should have done that. Maybe next time I'm there and seeing a movie where there is enough time between movies to do that.
Did the NCAA really make a former Marine ineligible to play college football because of his participation in intramural leagues while in the military? Yes they did. Jerks.
It feels weird to not be watching the WWE PPV Summer Slam. Then again it doesn't feel as weird as paying more than ten bucks to see it would feel.
Did I actually see a typo in a Wikipedia article that I didn't feel duty bound to fix (yes I did)??
Yes, a reporter from Time Magazine tweeted that someone should kill WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange with a drone strike. How long will it take for them to fire him over this?
* * *
This Date in History:
684 – Battle of Marj Rahit: Umayyad partisans defeat the supporters of Ibn al-Zubayr and cement Umayyad control of Syria.
1304 – The Battle of Mons-en-Pévèle is fought to a draw between the French army and the Flemish militias.
1487 – The Siege of Málaga ends with the taking of the city by Castilian and Aragonese forces.
1572 – Marriage in Paris, France of the Huguenot King Henry III of Navarre to Margaret of Valois, in a supposed attempt to reconcile Protestants and Catholics.
1587 – Virginia Dare, granddaughter of Governor John White of the Colony of Roanoke, becomes the first English child born in the Americas.
1590 – John White, the governor of the Roanoke Colony, returns from a supply trip to England and finds his settlement deserted (I was wondering if then-Governor Schwarzenegger was worried this would happen to him in his first overseas trip after becoming governor).
1634 – Urbain Grandier, accused and convicted of sorcery, is burned alive in Loudun, France.
1783 – A huge fireball meteor is seen across Great Britain as it passes over the east coast.
1838 – The Wilkes Expedition, which would explore the Puget Sound and Antarctica, weighs anchor at Hampton Roads in 1838
1848 – Camila O'Gorman and Ladislao Gutierrez are executed on the orders of Argentine dictator Juan Manuel de Rosas.
1864 – American Civil War: Battle of Globe Tavern – Union forces try to cut a vital Confederate supply-line into Petersburg, Virginia, by attacking the Wilmington and Weldon Railroad.
1868 – French astronomer Pierre Janssen discovers helium.
1870 – Franco-Prussian War: Battle of Gravelotte is fought.
1877 – Asaph Hall discovers Martian moon Phobos.
1891 – Major hurricane strikes Martinique, leaving 700 dead.
1903 – German engineer Karl Jatho allegedly flies his self-made, motored gliding airplane four months before the first flight of the Wright brothers.
1917 – A Great Fire in Thessaloniki, Greece destroys 32% of the city leaving 70,000 individuals homeless.
1920 – The Nineteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution is ratified, guaranteeing women's suffrage.
1938 – The Thousand Islands Bridge, connecting New York, United States with Ontario, Canada over the Saint Lawrence River, is dedicated by U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt.
1942 – A group of freedom fighter of Sherpur hoisted the Tricoloure at Mohammadabad Tehsil, Ghazipur India
1948 – The Australian cricket team completed a 4–0 Ashes series win over England during their undefeated Invincibles tour.
1950 – Julien Lahaut, the chairman of the Communist Party of Belgium is assassinated by far-right elements.
1958 – Vladimir Nabokov's controversial novel Lolita is published in the United States.
1958 – Brojen Das from Bangladesh swims across the English Channel in a competition, as the first Bangali as well as the first Asian to ever do it. He became first among 39 competitors.
1963 – American civil rights movement: James Meredith becomes the first black person to graduate from the University of Mississippi.
1965 – Vietnam War: Operation Starlite begins – United States Marines destroy a Viet Cong stronghold on the Van Tuong peninsula in the first major American ground battle of the war.
1966 – Vietnam War: the Battle of Long Tan ensues after a patrol from the 6th Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment clashes with a Viet Cong force in Phuoc Tuy province.
1971 – Vietnam War: Australia and New Zealand decide to withdraw their troops from Vietnam.
1976 – In the Korean Demilitarized Zone at Panmunjom, the Axe murder incident results in the death of two US soldiers. (RIP, gentlemen)
1977 – Steve Biko is arrested at a police roadblock under the Terrorism Act No 83 of 1967 in King William's Town, South Africa. He would later die of the injuries sustained during this arrest bringing attention to South Africa's apartheid policies.
1983 – Hurricane Alicia hits the Texas coast, killing 22 people and causing over USD$1 billion in amage (1983 dollars).
1989 – Leading presidential hopeful Luis Carlos Galán is assassinated near Bogotá in Colombia.
Famous Folk Born On This Date:
Virginia Dare
Antonio Salieri
Meriwether Lewis
Marshall Field
Burleigh Grimes (master of the spitball pitch)
Caspar Weinberger
Rosalynn Carter
Marge Schott
Roman Polanski
Vincent Bugliosi
Ronnie Carroll
Rafer Johnson
Robert Redford
Johnny Preston
Martin Mull
Lewis B. Puller, Jr. (yet another veteran who took his own life)
Elayne Boosler
Patrick Swayze
Denis Leary
Madeleine Stowe
Timothy Geitner
Edward Norton
Christian Slater
Andy Samberg
Today's movie quotes come from 2000's very funny "Keeping the Faith", starring and directed by Edward Norton:
Indian Bartender: Let me guess. Your old lady got fed up because you're out here chasing the skirt so she took these little ones and left you.
Father Brian Kilkenney Finn: It's a little more complicated than that.
Indian Bartender: Sure it is. Everyone thinks his story is the one with a twist. Well let me tell you, I've heard just about everything there is to...
[Brian unzips his jacket, revealing his priest's collar]
Indian Bartender: Holy shit.
Father Brian Kilkenney Finn: Exactly.
#2
[Brian, a celibate priest, confesses his love for Anna, to Jake's astonishment]
Jacob: I mean, she's like your sister!
Father Brian Kilkenney Finn: Thank you for adding new depth to my confusion.
#3
Rachel Rose: Oh my God! The Iraqi defense minister just committed suicide!
Rabbi Jacob "Jake" Schram: Ooh!... Is that bad or good?
#4
Father Brian Kilkenney Finn: I feel like I'm on some bad new Aaron Spelling show - "Melrose Priest."
posted by me at 6:35 PM
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