Friday, June 29, 2007

Gator Sighting in DC Area

Ever since Bush has been President, DC has just gone to Hell....
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/06/28/AR2007062801343.html?sub=AR

Wednesday, June 27, 2007

Apple and Industrial Design

You have to give Apple credit. Its products are about 99% styling based and 1% based upon technology. People act as though Apple invented the MP3 player and as though there were something technologically exceptionally about its OS. Neither is true.

But with all things being more or less equal, people want to use products that look good, especially when based upon timeless designs. I find myself especially drawn to audio products that embody these precepts and a quick perusal on Ebay will show that products from the past that look good generally receive a large premium, even over sometimes superior products that fail the coolness test.

http://blog.seattletimes.nwsource.com/brierdudley/2007/06/mossberg_and_pogue_like_the_ip.html

Tuesday, June 26, 2007

College World Series

Congratulations to the Beavers, who seem to have the Tar Heels' number in the College World Series, after defeating them for the second year in a row.

You have to give OSU credit, but in general, the idea of a best 2 of 3 series as being determinative as to who is superior between two baseball teams seems statistically suspicious. I will have to check but I am willing to bet that the Tar Heels are still ahead in the power ratings. Unlike a single boxing or American football match, baseball prowess probably necessitates a series of at least 9 games.

This is a big issue for me in major league baseball, as I believe that MLB has sold out the importance of the regular season to boost attendance through the "phony" wildcard races, which involve teams that have not even played comparable schedules.

I would like to see them go back to the way it was in 1968, when the best team from each league made it to the World Series. When was the last time that that happened? Probably, when the Braves and Yankees played a few years back, but it is becoming less and less common. Last year was just a joke, with St. Louis, a team that barely had a winning record winning the series.

Monday, June 25, 2007

Mike Nifong and the Duke Case

I really couldn't put things much better than the following article, which makes clear how seldom state bar associations censure prosecutors for unethical conduct. State bar associations basically exist to promote the interests of large law firms, thus it is easy to find it laughable the way the North Carolina State Bar acted as though it came galloping to the rescue upon finding a lone violation by a prosecutor.

http://www.slate.com/id/2168680/