Posts Tagged ‘life is good’

A nice problem

Posted: May 19, 2009 by datechguy in opinion/news
Tags: ,

Picking up on the post yesterday concerning the supreme court something hit me this morning.

As you might have gathered I have a beef against the 60’s. I think the cultural changes have produced a lot of problems but there have been some changes of a very positive nature and one of the results of those changes is before us.

Professor Hutchinson and I have a chicken and egg argument in that would like to see “diversity” highlighted as a reason for a choice while noting that there are many qualified candidates who meet that test. I wish to see qualifications highlighted and diversity de-emphasized but note that there are plenty of “diversity” candidates that meet the qualifications standard that I have and if that standard is achieved I’m satisfied.

The amazing and wonderful thing is the increase of the pool of “diverse” candidates that are without a doubt qualified for the position.

Think 1968, there is no question that Thurgood Marshall would be a on short list for the supreme court in terms of qualifications but how large would be the pool of “diverse” candidates with his qualifications existed? Or at least were known by the general public?

Fast forward two generations we are having the debate over a new opening on the court. If the president wants to make a choice based on color or race it is actually much harder, not because of the breaking of a barrier but because of the number of qualified candidates to choose from, in fact it would take real effort for the president to choose an unqualified “person of color”.

This is an incredible thing, and the country should celebrate this fact. This is the ultimate success of the civil rights movement and the reason why at the time affirmative action was not a bad idea. The moves made two generations ago produced the pool of qualified candidates and assures us of that pool from this point on.

President Johnson had the problem of getting the country to accept a supremely qualified candidate for the high court who happened to be black. President Obama has the opposite problem, choosing one candidate from a large pool of supremely qualified candidates.

The fact that nobody notices how wonderful this is , shows how far we’ve come. Life is pretty good and we don’t even realize it.

And AGAIN Sox, Bruins and Celtics

Posted: May 13, 2009 by datechguy in baseball, local stuff
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You know in the last 5 years (you can really go back 8 with the Patriots) these have been golden years in Boston Sports. Yesterday was a great example of it: The Celtics win in the 4th:

They couldn’t make it all the way back in game 1, but they pulled it off this time.

The Celtics played very, very poorly in the first 3 quarters and I kept waiting for the Magic to put the game away, but they simply didn’t do it. The teams were trading baskets in the early 4th quarter with the Magic leading by double digits and they couldn’t close the deal.

Never, ever, ever, ever count this team out.

Celtics win.

The Red Sox win in the 9th

The news came minutes before game time. Kevin Youkilis not only would not be in the Red Sox’ lineup (left oblique injury), he was going on the 15-day disabled list. Dustin Pedroia (groin) also would be out of this one, leaving the Boston batting order weakened, despite the season-long heroics of the fill-in cleanup hitter, Jason Bay.

But that lineup got the job done in a 4-3 comeback win against the Angels, and the winning run in the ninth inning wasn’t produced by the most likely suspect. J.D. Drew began the ninth with a single to left field off Scot Shields, and one out later catcher Jason Varitek, now hitting .239, blasted a gap double to right-center. Drew scored from first base, third base coach DeMarlo Hale windmilling him in.

So the night that began with bad news ended well when Jonathan Papelbon converted his ninth straight save this season in front of 33,493 at Angel Stadium.

and the Bruins win in the 1st and force a 7th game:

Somewhere along their trip from Carolina to Boston for Game 5, the Boston Bruins found the motivation to turn this series on its head. They had been getting dominated on the scoreboard and on the ice for three straight games, outscored 10-3 during that time. They were outworked and looking like they had rolled over, ready to start their summer.

In Game 5, the Bruins turned the tables and dominated the Hurricanes. Tuesday’s Game 6, was more of the same, as a 4-2 victory by the Bruins has forced a Game 7 on Thursday in Boston, where the Bruins are 4-1 during these playoffs.

On Thursday all three will be playing again. A lot of sports bars in the area are making up for very hard time thanks to the last few weeks.

There has never been such a time in Boston since the period of Celtics dominance that included the impossible dream and the Bruins last Stanley cup win.

Red Sox Win, Celtics win, Bruins win!

Posted: May 11, 2009 by datechguy in local stuff
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The Celtics win in the last second on a dramatic shot by big baby:

Everyone dreams of taking the final shot in the final second, but not everyone really wants to do it. Truth be told, most guys want the ball in their hands as time is running out about as much as they want to sit next to someone with swine flu on a three-hour plane flight.

Glen Davis, however, wanted the ball as the final seconds were disappearing and the Celtics [team stats] options had dwindled down to him. When he got it with both Game 4 and the Eastern Conference semifinal series in jeopardy, he did what big men do in big situations, hitting a face-up, 21-foot jump shot as time expired to keep the Celtics from all but doing the same.

It was an amazing moment.

The Bruins win in a blowout.

The B’s dominated the game from start to finish in their 4-0 win over the Hurricanes in Game 5 to keep their season alive. Tim Thomas earned his first career playoff shutout by turning aside all 19 shots he faced, while Phil Kessel led the way offensively with 2 goals.

Carolina didn’t even belong in the arena and the cheap shots showed it.

Pappelbon after putting two men on strikes out the side to win it.

Jonathan Papelbon powered his way out of a ninth inning jam with three straight strikeouts after Jason Bay doubled home the go-ahead run in the eighth, and the Boston Red Sox beat Tampa Bay 4-3 Sunday night.

And not only did the wife and mother and aunt have a great dinner at the Southside Grille in Gardner but the Yankees, well the yankees…

It’s not just the top seats at the new Yankee Stadium that are selling poorly – tickets around the stadium are being resold online at prices well below face value, Crain’s New York reports.

Tickets for next Tuesday’s game against the Baltimore Orioles were listed for as little as $7 on fansnap.com, compared to $14 for the cheapest seats sold by the team directly.

At that rate, a ticket will cost you less than a beer at the spiffy new stadium.

Thirty-dollar grandstand seats are available for $11, and $50 seats in the outfield terrace section start at $17.

Life is VERY good.

Escape from Hell: Amazon Book Review

Posted: May 7, 2009 by datechguy in amazon reviews, fun
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escapefromhell1My review of the Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle’s novel
Escape from Hell the sequel to his work from the 70’s Inferno is available at Amazon.com here.

One thing you will find in the book that I didn’t mention in the review is the amount of red meat there is for conservatives like myself. From professional victims to the sympathizers to radical feminists, radical environmentalists we see them all. If you are on the right you can’t help but like this book. For the left there is J. Edgar Hoover converted to a demon named Pink Talon. I have to admit that was really funny.

This is very much worth your money. I’d advise picking up Inferno first.

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