Archive for November, 2019

Giving Thanks with a Busted Wing

Posted: November 28, 2019 by datechguy in Uncategorized

Webster: Feeling all right?

Luz: There you go [putting a blanket on Lipton ]He’s got pneumonia.

Webster: l’m sorry to hear that.

Luz: What are you sorry about? He’s alive, he’s got a couch, a goddamn blanket. He’s snug as a bug.

Lipton: Yeah

Band of Brothers: The Patrol 2001

Thanksgiving day has come and for the first time in a lustrum it’s not the calm before the profitable storm.

At the warehouse where I work Black Friday begins a month of overtime and stretches of seven days of working flat out to keep up with orders, occasionally these expectations aren’t met beyond the 1st week (thus the shocking one week layoff I had a few years ago) but usually it means a lot of hours and plenty of extra money to pay for the bills that come in the Christmas season.

All of that changed on Sunday when I tripped at work and fell hard on the concrete floor fracturing my shoulder and putting me out of commission for this busy & profitable time.

Given not just the injury but the conversion of December from a month of good income to relying on workman’s comp just to keep bills paid one might think that there is little to be thankful for, but that conclusion can only come with an ignorance of history.

For the majority of human history if you didn’t work you didn’t eat, if you got hurt you were dependent on the charity of others, if you were very lucky you had a big enough family to carry the load, if not you worked through an injury like mine and basically screwed yourself up assuming you were allowed the privilege of doing so.

America’s capitalist system has created a country so rich that my big worry can be my recovery and maybe a few late bills plus a few trips to a 1st rate doc while I recover. Meanwhile I have the whole net & Roku to keep me occupied along with 3 dynasty baseball leagues.

And then of course there is you dear reader and the blog.

I’ve got plenty to be thankful for, a great wife, fine sons, friends and family, the blessings of God, but I would be very remiss if I didn’t give thanks for those Puritans (who wouldn’t have thought much of me as a Catholic) who came to this land 400 years ago and created the freest and wealthiest land the world has ever seen.

I suspect that a lot of kids attending $50K+ a year colleges while somehow considering themselves oppressed with a straight face can’t see this. What a shame.

Twitter and the Tina Brown Math

Posted: November 28, 2019 by datechguy in Uncategorized
Tags:

The investors can expect to lose a crapload of cash in the process. The New Yorker reportedly lost $42 million in three years (1995-97) under Ms. Brown’s editorship. Talk lost an impressive $80 million during its two-year existence. Whatever else you might say about Tina Brown, she’s undeniably brilliant at convincing investors to lose money on her projects.

Robert Stacy McCain The Weekly Newsbeast? Nov 11 2010

10th Doctor After a while everything is just stuff. That’s the problem you make all of space and time your back yard and what do you have? A back yard!

Doctor Who Prequel Vampires of Venice 2010

When I first heard about Glenn Reynolds voluntarily leaving twitter my mind said this is a bad thing for twitter. Professor Reynolds is called the blogfather for a reason as he spawned literally thousands of imitators and can cause a book, a fundraisser or a product on amazon to get a big bump in sales almost at once and the domain it spawned PJ media where it now resides is in the top 10,000 worldwide and top 2000 in the US.

So if your goal/business model is to sell ad space to people you don’t want to reach a point where someone like him says:

I’ve never liked Twitter even though I’ve used it. I was a late adopter, and with good reason. It’s the crystal meth of social media — addictive and destructive, yet simultaneously unsatisfying. When I’m off it I’m happier than when I’m on it. That it’s also being run by crappy SJW types who break their promises, to users, shareholders, and the government, of free speech is just the final reason. Why should I provide free content to people I don’t like, who hate me? I’m currently working on a book on social media, and I keep coming back to the point that Twitter is far and away the most socially destructive of the various platforms. So I decided to suspend them, as they are suspending others. At least I’m giving my reasons, which is more than they’ve done usually.

and if running a successful business is the goal that would be the wake up call.

But them I remembered something a rather rich friend who has many other rich, very rich and very very rich friends told me that for most rich people it’s not about the money anymore because they have more than they’ll every have and can get anyTHING they want (emphasis on THING in that word) and I remembered my older brother telling me a story about a trip with some incredibly rich friends who seemed to get a real kick out of watching him in their world for a weekend.

That’s the real point here. Economics isn’t what’s driving this ideology and status is. Jack and the big investors who back him don’t care about the money, they’re never going to be hurting or needing. It’s all about the stuff money can’t buy and by leaning on conservatives you remain acceptable to the “right” people.

Seriously did you think Tina Brown got all those people to lose all that money over the years because they thought she was brilliant or was putting out to get it? Nobody’s that brilliant and there are plenty of woman who would put out for less. It was all about getting the bona fides and entree to the right parties, and the right people and believe me those “right” people who hate our guts will use that for the fullest effect.

Jack and twitter aren’t going to change because of economic pressure or anything else. He’s virtue signaling and that signal is being seen by the people that he wants to see it.

And if the hoi polloi of the left cheer him for it, well that’s just a bonus extra.

Three Sable League Updates

Posted: November 27, 2019 by datechguy in Uncategorized

I am currently running four Dynasty Baseball Leagues three online and one face to face here. This is why I’ve stopped doing the “sports columns” that I was doing for the league because I just can’t keep up with that many.

But if you’re interested (and even if you’re not) here are the updates on all the online leagues (except the face to face one)

Online SABLE/GERBL league 48 games

AL

  1. Texas Thunder 29-19 —–
  2. Juneau Muffin Men 27-21 2
  3. Boston 25-23 4
  4. NYY (computer) 18-30 11

With two days to go Juneau & Texas were tied and had two games against each other. Texas managed to pull both out to clinch their ticket to the Series in the 48 game league,

Final League leaders

NL

  1. Rivertown Raiders 31-17 —–
  2. Ragnar’s Vikings 21-27 10
  3. Washington (me) 21-27 10
  4. LA Dodgers (comp) 20-28 11

Rivertown took an early lead and kept clinching with 6 games to go. The most interesting thing was the last surge of the Vikings who spent most of the year but won their last 4 games against Division Rivels to finish 2nd.

This is the league I was doing writeups on until time became a constraint.

League leaders AL/NL Bold indicates overall lead

  • Batting Betts MFN .357 Dickerson Wash .311
  • OBP Betts MFN .457 Muncy LA .385
  • Slug Betts MFN .650 Escobar KRV, Rendon Wash .536
  • OB+Slug Betts MFN 1.107 Escobar KRV .890
  • Runs Trout Tex Yelich Bos Nimmo Bos 31 Rendon Wash 32
  • Hits Lindor Tex 58 Merrifeld KRV 64
  • 2B Chapman MFN 18 Rendon Wash 25
  • 3B Baez Tex Nimmo Bos Chapman MFN 4 Marte Wash 4 Ramirez RVR 4
  • HR Trout Tex 12 Carpenter RVR 10
  • RBI Bergman Bos 38 Story Wash 33
  • SB Benintendi 9 Cain RVR Merrifield KRV 11
  • BB Trout Tex 42 Muncy LAD 33

Pitching

  • ERA Clevinger Tex 2.86 Sale RVR 1.66
  • Wins Clevinger Tex 6 Cole KRV Corbin RVR 6
  • Losses Sabathia NYY Happ NYY Severino NYY 5 Kershaw LA 6
  • Saves Osuna MFN 7 Jensen LA 10
  • Blown Saves Kimbrel Bos 4 Alexander LA 3
  • Innings Verlander Bos 70.2 deGrom KRV 74.1
  • K’s Verlander Bos 112 Scherzer KRV 111
  • K’s per 9 Verlander Bos 14.26 Sale RVR 13.69
  • BB per 9 Greinke Tex 1.32 Buehler LA 1.47
  • Avg vs Snell Bos .211 Sale .RVR 171
  • WHIP Greinke Tex 1.03 Sale RVR 0.82
  • HR per 9 Severino NYY 0.61 Corbin RVR 0.49

World Series

Game 1 Texas 4 Rivertown 2 W Iglesias (1-0) L Nola (0-1) S Vazquez (1)

Game 2 Rivertown 7 Texas 4 W Flaherty (1-0) L Clevenger (0-1) S Castello (1)

Game 3 Rivertown 8 Texas 7 W Castello (1-0) L Iglesias (1-1) S Diaz (1)

Game 4 Texas 3 Rivertown 1 W Wheller (1-0) L Morton (0-1) S Kela (1) Game 5 Rivertown 6 Texas 2 W Noka (1-1) L Grenkie (0-1)

Game 6 Texas 9 Rivertown 2 W Carrasco (1-0) L Flaherty (1-1)

Game 7 Rivertown 2 Texas 1 W Corbin (1-0) L Clevenger (0-2) S Diaz (2)

Rivertown entered the series with both Sale their leading pitcher and Adam Wainwright out for the year this series was neck & Neck all the way decided in the last inning of the 7th game..

League 2 Greatest Team League 154 game season no interleague play

Current Standings Teams designated with **** are available for interested players

AL East

  1. 1970 Baltimore Orioles 20-7 .741 —- Won 5 9-1
  2. 1939 New York Yankees 16-16 ,500 6.5 Won 2 6-4 ****
  3. 1946 Boston Red Sox 12-15 .444 8 Lost 5 3-7 ****
  4. 1928 Philadelphia A’s 11-18 .379 10 Lost 1 5-5

After a very slow start Baltimore has racked up an impressive streak

AL West

  1. 1924 Washington Senators 18-14 .563 —— Lost 2 6-4
  2. 1973 Oakland Athletics 16-13 .552 1 Loss 1 3-7 ****
  3. 1954 Cleveland Indians 15-14 .517 1.5 Won 1 5-5 ****
  4. 1934 Detroit Tigers 9-20 .310 7.5 Won 1 4-6

NL East

  1. 1957 Milwaukee Braves 21-9 .700 ——- Won 2 9-1 *****
  2. 1955 Brooklyn Dodgers 17-8 .680 1.5 Won 2 8-2 ****
  3. 1969 New York Mets 12-17 .414 8.5 Lost 1 2-8 ****
  4. 1971 Pittsburgh Pirates 7-18 .280 11.5 Lost 1 2-8

NL West

  1. 1962 San Francisco Giants 17-13 .567 —— Lost 3 4-6
  2. 1942 St. Louis Cardinals 14-15 .483 2,5 Won 1 6-4
  3. 1929 Chicago Cubs 13-16 .448 3.5 Lost 1 3-7 ****
  4. 1965 Los Angeles Dodgers 12-17 .414 4.5 Won 2 7-3 ****

Current Leaders

League leaders AL/NL Bold indicates overall lead

  • Batting Bucky Harris Wash.393 .434 Cleon Jones Mets .418
  • OBP Frank Robinson Bal .476 Jackie Robinson Brooklyn .496
  • Slug Al Simmons Phil A’s .764 Rogers Hornsby Cubs .707
  • OB+Slug Al Simmons Phil 1.173 Jackie Robinson Bkyn 1.163
  • Runs Charlie Keller NYY George Selkirk NYY 30 Hank Aaron Mil Willie Mays SF 30
  • Hits Joe Dimaggio NYY 51 Cleon Jones NYM Carl Furllio Brk 41
  • 2B Hank Greenberg Det 13 Marty Marion St Louis Joe Adcock Mil 11
  • 3B Joe Judge Wash 5 Johnny Hopp St. Louis Cards 7
  • HR Al Simmons Phil A’s 11 Rogers Hornsby Cubs 12
  • RBI Joe Dimaggio NYY 34 Rogers Hornsby Cubs 33
  • SB Mark Belanger Balt Bert Campaneris Oak Showboat Fisher Wash Sam Rice Wash 2 Maury Wills LA Dodgers 16
  • BB George Selkirk NYY 30 Jackie Robinson Bkyn Eddie Matthews Mil 26

  • ERA Vida Blue Oak 2.36 Mort Cooper St Louis Cards 1.43
  • Wins Vida Blue Oak A’s Bob Lemon Cle Schoolboy Rowe Det 5 Warren Spahn Milwaukee 5
  • Losses Tom Zachary Wash  Vic Sorrell Det 5 Bob Johnson Pirates
  • Saves Bob Klinger Redsox 5  Don McMahon Mil 6
  • Blown Saves Marcelino Lopez Balt Pete Richert Balt Ray Narleski Cle 2 Luke Walker Pirates Bobby Bolin Giants Don McMahon Mil 2 
  • Innings Red Ruffing NYY 59.2 Don Drysdale LA 57  
  • K’s Walter Johnson Wash 48 Sandy Koufax LA Dodgers 70
  • K’s per 9 George Easrshaw Phil A’s 7.71Sandy Koufax LA Dodgers 12.35
  • BB per 9 Jim Hardin Bal 1.29 Don Newcombe Brk 0.43 
  • Avg vs Vida Blue Oak .168 Tom Seaver Mets .150
  • WHIP Jim Harden Balt 1.03 Tom Seaver Mets 0.75
  • HR per 9 Vida Blue Oak A’s 0.00 Charlie Root Cubs 0.00 

All futility League (each team lost 100 games their season) 154 games no Interleague (available teams marked by *****

AL East

  1. 1970 Chicago White Sox 13-7 —- .650 Won 1 6-4
  2. 2018 Baltimore Orioles 10-7 1.5 .588 Won 1 6-4 ****
  3. 2002 Tampa Bay Rays 7-10 4.5 .412 Lost 5 3-7 *****
  4. 2003 Detroit Tigers 6-11 5.5 .353 Lost 2 3-7

Al West

  1. 2008 Seattle Mariners 10-7 —– .588 Lost 1 5-5 ******
  2. 2005 Kansas City Royals 11-9 .5 .550 Lost 1 6-4 ******
  3. 1973 Texas Rangers 7-10 3 .412 Lost 3 5-5 ******
  4. 1982 Minnesota Twins 7-10 3 .412 Won 2 5-5 ******

NL East

  1. 2009 Washington Nationals 10-4 .714 ——– Won 1 6-4 *****
  2. 1967 New York Mets 6-6 .500 3 Lost 3 4-6
  3. 1998 Florida Marlins 7-7 .500 3 Lost 1 5-5 ******
  4. 2010 Pittsburgh Pirates 5-7 .417 4 Lost 4 4-6

NL West

  1. 2002 Milwaukee Brewers 12-8 .600 ——- Lost 1 7-3 *****
  2. 2012 Houston Astros 10-10 .500 2 Won 1 6-4 *****
  3. 1974 San Diego Padres 9-11 .450 3 Lost 1 5-5 *****
  4. 2004 Arizona Diamondbacks 7-13 .350 5 Won 1 4-6 *****

Leaders

League leaders AL/NL Bold indicates overall lead

  • Batting J Lopez .458 Sea T Davis NYM .396
  • OBP J Lopez Sea .500 A Dunn Wash .508
  • Slug J Burroughs Stairs Tex .925 J Willingham Wash .692
  • OB+Slug J Burroughs Tex 1.387 J Willingham Wash 1.171
  • Runs J Villar Bal 23 S Moore Hou 19
  • Hits J Lopez Sea 33 J Hernandez Mil 29
  • 2B D DeJesus R Nunez Bal 11 Q McCracken Ari 8
  • 3B D DeJesus KC 3 E Dukes Wash R Machado Mil E Hernandez SD 3
  • HR J Burroughs Tex 11 J Maxwell Hou 10
  • RBI J Burroughs Tex 23 J Maxwell Hou B Wallace Hou 21
  • SB J Villar Bal 8 E Hernandez SD 11
  • BB J Villar Bal 14 A Dunn Wash 20

Pitching

  • ERA J Horlen W Sox 0.00 M Lincoln Pitts 1.23
  • Wins T John W Sox A Williams Min 4 V Darenbourg Fla 3
  • Losses R Castillo Minn M Maroth Det R Hernandez KC J Brown Tex 3 E Gonzalez Ari W Lopez Hou D Freisleben SD 3
  • Saves M Givens Bal 4 M Mantei Fla 3
  • Blown Saves M MacDougal KC 4 M Fetters Pittsburgh 3
  • Innings T John W Sox 35.2 R Johnson Ari 41.0
  • K’s B Johnson W Sox 30 R Johnson Ari 51
  • K’s per 9 T Felton 10.8 B Borris Hou 11.35
  • BB per 9 C Silva Sea 0.51 J Anderson Pittsburgh 1.23
  • Avg vs J Horlan W Sox .155 M Lincoln Pirates .140
  • WHIP J Horlan W Sox 0.75 R Johnson Ari 0.88
  • HR per 9 11 tied with 0.00

any interested players should contact me via a comment here or a chat if you comment here I can send you an invite to the game which allows a two day free trial. Id do better than the two day trail but with a busted shoulder and at least a month or two out of work can’t spare the extra cash.

The Pentagon’s Vast All-Wing Conspiracy: Plunder

Posted: November 26, 2019 by julietteochieng in Uncomfortable Truths, war
Tags: , , ,

Nicknamed “Pentagram” for a reason

by baldilocks

While reading the media frenzy on the firing of Navy Secretary Richard V. Spencer, I ran across a report on something that I read last year and promptly put out of my mind because it was too big to fathom, both the fact of it and the implications of it.

In 2018, the Pentagon conducted an audit; it was the first time Department of Defense had ever done so since its 1947 creation, even though an annual audit for the Department has been legally required since 1990. The audit failed – an insufficient description.

The Pentagon cannot account for $21 trillion. TRILLION. Times 21.

Truthdig:

There are certain things the human mind is not meant to do. Our complex brains cannot view the world in infrared, cannot spell words backward during orgasm and cannot really grasp numbers over a few thousand. A few thousand, we can feel and conceptualize. We’ve all been in stadiums with several thousand people. We have an idea of what that looks like (and how sticky the floor gets).

But when we get into the millions, we lose it. It becomes a fog of nonsense. Visualizing it feels like trying to hug a memory. We may know what $1 million can buy (and we may want that thing), but you probably don’t know how tall a stack of a million $1 bills is. You probably don’t know how long it takes a minimum-wage employee to make $1 million.

That’s why trying to understand—truly understand—that the Pentagon spent 21 trillion unaccounted-for dollars between 1998 and 2015 washes over us like your mother telling you that your third cousin you met twice is getting divorced. It seems vaguely upsetting, but you forget about it 15 seconds later because … what else is there to do? (…)

Let’s stop and take a second to conceive how much $21 trillion is (which you can’t because our brains short-circuit, but we’ll try anyway).

  1. The amount of money supposedly in the stock market is $30 trillion.

  2. The GDP of the United States is $18.6 trillion.

Remember: the Pentagon is run by generals, admirals and GS-eleventies and it is they who approve of these monstrous expenditures. It’s impossible to even begin to comprehend the decades of graft that many of them have perpetrated for the benefit of themselves and their associates. But I do think that the antipathy and open insubordination to President Trump is directly related to his general trend of turning off the spigots of tax dollars which go into the pockets of all these public “servants.”

No other president has been willing to ask “hey, where did all this money go?”

That’s why everyone dipping into our pockets – Democrat and Republican, military and civilian — wanted Donald Trump gone even before he arrived. And why they keep trying to make it happen.

I don’t know if the country can recovery from this vast rape-and-pillage, but if it can, the first step has already been taken.

(Thanks to MintPress News)

Juliette Akinyi Ochieng has been blogging since 2003 as baldilocks. Her older blog is here.  She published her first novel, Tale of the Tigers: Love is Not a Game in 2012.

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