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August 30, 2006
American Democracy
A few weeks back while on a plane to Chicago, I heard an interesting
program on XM Public Radio about the prospects of democracy in China. They
made some interesting statements about how the Chinese view the American
model of democracy and what the Chinese model might look like.
I think the most important point they raised is there is a serious and fundamental flaw in
the American model: Individuals can be placed into positions for which they
have no skill or training to perform their assigned duties. In fact, they
may not even completely understand what their duties are or the limits to
their power. But what could be done
to correct this problem?
One idea that comes from Chinese tradition is a qualifying examination.
It's a radical, yet simple solution. Implementation would be difficult, but
it would at least ensure that basic tenets of government are understood by
potential leaders. There would still be elections, but the choices would
have been first narrowed by, in a perfect world, unbiased
examiners.
The Chinese government once feared the live broadcast of American
elections in their country for fear that the people would question why they
do not have such a system. However, given the overwhelming anti-Americanism
brought about by the current administration, China allowed the elections to
be broadcast live as an example of how the American model is flawed.
At one time, I held the belief best summarized by Thomas Jefferson, that
"It is an insult to our citizens to question whether they are rational
beings or not." I no longer am of that belief, as even among supposedly
educated and rational people I have seen opinions and convictions based
more on emotion than rational and logical thought (and I'm just as guilty
as everyone else). For example, how can our
leaders, and those that believe them, question the legitimacy of a
democratically elected government (see Hamas and Hezbollah) while at the
same time claiming adherence to a doctrine of spreading democracy around
the world? If the "wrong" people can be elected in systems based on similar
operational principles as our own, then doesn't it stand to reason that the
"wrong" people can be elected by us?
In forming the operating principles of our democracy, our founding fathers
recognized this problem, that an uneducated and uninformed electorate could
be easily swayed by emotion and incitement by devious persons. As a
precaution against this, they formed the Electoral College to determine
the President. The people elect a group of, hopefully, qualified and
well-informed persons to
debate and decide who should be the next President. It is unfortunate that the Electoral College does not
operate the way in which the framers intended, but a potential solution to
a flaw in our democratic system already exists, even if only for one
position in our government.
The prestige of the American democratic system is declining worldwide, at a
time when we claim the purpose of our wars and foreign policies is to
spread democracy. However, before we can tell the rest of the world what
they should do, perhaps we should take a look at ourselves and recognize
the fallacies in our system.
August 29, 2006
Football Update One
English Premier League
August 27, 2006 Aston Villa 2 - 0 Arsenal
It took all of three minutes for Villa to take control of this home match.
Luke Moore scored a goal in the 3rd minute and Aston Villa never looked
back. Juan Pablo Angel added an insurance goal in the 38th minute. Despite
winning the time of possession and attempting only one less shot than
Villa and forcing Villa goalie Thomas Sorensen to make three saves, Newcastle was unable to break through
on the scoreboard. Yellow cards were shown to Villa's Gareth Barry and
Gabriel Agbonlahor, the first of the season for both. Aston Villa is
currently in tie for third with Everton with 7 points from a 2-1-0 record.
They have a +3 goal differential. Villa's next game is
Sunday, September 10 at West Ham, a team which they lost to twice last
year.
La Liga
August 28, 2006 Celta Vigo 2 - 3 Barcelona
Barcelona was tested today, but managed a victory over a strong Celta Vigo
side. Vigo started the scoring in the 42nd minute, Barça's Samuel Eto'o
scored an equalizer in the 56th minute, then Leo Messi gave them short
lived lead in the 60th minute. Celta knotted the score at 2 in the 65th minute,
but a goal in the 88th minute against a ten man Vigo side gave Barça
the victory. Yellow cards were shown to Barça's Thiago Motta and Andres
Iniesta. Barça's next match is Sunday, September 10 at home against
Osasuna.
August 28, 2006
A Mexican Sunrise: Chapter 5: More planning
Charlie and Isaac walked to Deming after
their breakfast. They did not speak much, as worry about guards on the
train occupied Isaac's mind. Isaac also saw that Charlie was wrapped up in
thoughts of his own, so decided to remain silent. He might be trying to
figure out how to get past the guards. I don't want to interrupt him in the
middle of figuring it out.
"I have to go to the post office to drop
something off." Charlie said once they reached the city limits.
"Okay."
Charlie handed Isaac a quarter. "Why don't
you go get a copy of the latest newspaper? And head over to the train
station and look at the train schedule. That way we can make sure when the
train stops here."
"Okay." Isaac didn't want to admit to
Charlie that he couldn't read. He hoped that he could just go to the
general store and ask for the paper and ask someone at the train station
when the train stopped.
"Meet me at the salon once you're finished."
"Okay."
With that, Charlie headed to the post office.
Isaac went to the general store first and headed straight to the cashier,
walking past the tables of canned foods and clothing.
"I need a copy of the latest newspaper." He
said.
The cashier gestured to a stack of papers at
the end of the counter. "Take your pick."
This situation was just what Isaac had
feared. He walked over to the papers and looked at them for a moment. He
looked up and walked away from the papers for a moment, pretending to study
the shelf of dry goods next to the papers. He knew enough to recognize
numbers, so he hoped he might be able to figure it out that way.
"What's today?" He asked the cashier.
"Wednesday."
"No, I mean the date."
"The 25th."
"Thanks." Isaac went back and looked down at
the papers. Twenty-fifth. I need a paper with a 2 and a 5 next to each
other. He scanned the top paper on each of the four stacks, finally
seeing the number 25 on one of them. He picked it up and took it to the
cashier to pay.
The cashier looked at the paper, then at
Isaac with a confused look. Isaac noticed, but didn't react. The cashier
told Isaac the total.
Isaac put the quarter down on the counter.
The cashier counted out the change and placed it in Isaac's outstretched
hands.
"Thank you, sir. Have a good day."
"Thank you." Isaac replied, taking the
newspaper and walking out the door. He felt a sense of relief, but was also
now worried that he had made an error. But it has 25 on the top, and
today is the 25th. Oh, that cashier probably just thought he recognized me.
Funny, as long as I've been here I've never seen him.
Isaac walked down the street, leaving faint
footprints in the fine sand. He passed the barber shop and its faded red
and white candy striping, the salon with swinging doors, and the bank.
Glancing into the windows of the bank, he saw Charlie standing at the
teller window. That's strange. I thought he was going to the post
office. I wonder what he's doing in the bank? Isaac stopped and watched
Charlie for a bit. The teller pushed an envelope toward Charlie. Charlie
took it, nodded to the teller, then turned and made eye contact with Isaac.
Isaac quickly looked away and started walking briskly toward the train
station. Dangit! I hope he doesn't think I was spying on him. I wonder
if he'll mention it later. Dangit, why do I do stuff like this. I just have
just gone straight to the train station like he said instead of peeping in
on him. None of my business what he was doing in there. Probably just
getting money to buy our train tickets.
Isaac was so busy beating himself for spying
on Charlie that he almost walked right past the train station without
realizing it. Once he realized where he was he took a deep breath and
walked inside. The only person in the station was the ticket agent. He
looked up and greeted Isaac with an enthusiastic, "Howdy". Isaac replied
likewise, but had grown nervous again. He could see the train schedule
posted right next to the ticket window. Dangit! He knew he would
have to ask the agent what time the train left out of here and when he did
the agent would know he couldn't read.
"Do you need a ticket? If so, don't look at
the schedule. The schedule was changed this morning and we haven't gotten
the new one posted yet."
A look of obvious relief filled Isaac's face,
as well as an audible sigh. Sometimes I can't catch break. Sometimes I
can. Must be my lucky day. Maybe I'll see if there's any available ladies
of marrying age around here today.
"Can I help you?" The agent inquired.
"Oh, yes. What time does the train leave
from here?"
"Depends on which way you're going."
"Oh." Charlie didn't say which way we
would go. I guess I should get both times. "Well, I was sent here by
people that need to know both."
"Okay." The agent thought that was little
strange, but he had seen stranger. "The westbound train leaves each Monday
morning at 8:06 a.m. The eastbound train leaves each Friday afternoon at
3:19 p.m. Is there anything else you need?"
"No, that's all. Thank you very much."
"Have a good day, sir."
"Thank you. You too."
The agent smiled and nodded at Isaac. Isaac
left, again wondering why he had never seen the man behind the ticket
counter in all the time he had lived in Deming. I must not get out too
much. I guess I never take the train anywhere or go into the general
store.
Isaac's thoughts began to worry him again as
he approached the salon. I wonder what Charlie is going to say to me. I
wonder if he's mad at me for spying on him at the bank. Gosh, what am I
going to say. Maybe he didn't recognize me. Maybe he won't say anything.
I'll just act normal, and maybe he'll have forgotten.
Isaac walked timidly through the swinging
doors. He saw Charlie sitting alone at one of the tables and there were two
beers on the table. He walked over to the table and Charlie motioned him to
sit down.
"Hey Charlie." Isaac said nervously, but
attempting to remain calm.
"Can I see that newspaper before you kill
it?"
"Huh, oh, yes. Heh-heh." In his nervousness,
he had rolled up the newspaper and had begun to squeeze it tightly. He
unrolled it and put it on the table. He then picked up his beer and took a
nervous sip.
Charlie looked down at the paper. "Would you
take a look at that? The president is coming here to Deming."
"Really?"
"Yes, it's the headline. Take a look here."
Isaac looked down at the headline. Even
though he couldn't read it, he took a moment to look at it thoughtfully and
took another sip from his beer before replying. "Isn't that something?"
Charlie eyed Isaac suspiciously. "Yes, that
is something."
"That will be exciting."
"You can't read, can you?"
"What? Don't be crazy. Why would you think
that?"
"Because this headline says nothing about
the president."
Charlie knew he had been discovered. Oh
well. Probably better he know. "No, I can't read."
"Don't be ashamed. There's plenty of people
that can't read. And it says nothing about your smarts."
"You don't think I'm stupid because I can't
read?"
"No. But, it is something I'm glad I found
out now. We have to know all of our liabilities while doing our planning.
If there's anything else you need to share with me, then you should tell
me."
He did see me watching him at the bank. I
guess I should fess up. That's got to be what he's talking about. "I
saw you at the bank."
"I know. Were you spying on me?"
"No. I was just surprised to see you in
there."
"I was preparing to send some money to my
wife. Everytime I get a little bit saved up, I send her what I can."
"Oh, I see."
"That's why I went to the post office."
"Oh, okay. That makes sense."
"What does the train schedule look like?"
"Oh, do you want eastbound or westbound?"
"Westbound."
"It leaves every Monday morning at 8:06
a.m."
"What time does the east bound leave?"
"Every Friday afternoon at 3:19 p.m."
"All right." Charlie took a deep gulp from
his beer and thought for a moment. "You should get some nicer clothes."
"Why?"
"We want to look like professionals when we
board the train. You'll get better treatment that way."
"I guess it will also make me look less
suspicious."
Charlie's eyes grew wide. "Shhh. We don't
talk about that in here." He whispered loudly.
"Oh, sorry." Isaac whispered back
sheepishly.
Charlie looked around the salon. There
weren't many people in there, and the few that were there didn't seem to
have noticed their conversation. "Drink up and head over to the tailor."
"The tailor?" Isaac was surprised. "You mean
not to the ready-to-wear store?"
"No. The chances of finding something that
fits you well there are pretty low. You want to look professional, so we
want something that fits you properly."
"But I can't afford that."
"Don't worry. I'll pay for it." Charlie
reached into his pocket and pulled out five dollars. "Here, that should be
enough for a full sack suit. They are quite fashionable now days."
"Well, I just don't know what to say. Thank
you."
"It's an investment. Now head on over
there." He gulped down the rest of his beer, picked up the newspaper and
stood to leave. "Where do you live?"
"I have a room at the edge of town."
v"Do you mind if I go wait for you there? It would be nice to have a nice
quiet place to read and think."
"Sure, no problem." Isaac pulled a key from
his pocket and gave it to Charlie.
"Thanks."
As Charlie left, Isaac followed him with his
eyes out the door. He couldn't help but question what Charlie had just
proposed. If he can afford to buy tailor fitted clothes, then why does
he need to rob a train?
August 26, 2006
Football Update Two
English Premier League
August 23, 2006 (EPL) Aston Villa 2 -1 Reading
Aston Villa won their first home match of the year, with Juan Pablo Angel
scoring a penalty goal in the 34th minute after Reading's Ibrahima Sonko
received a red card in the penalty box. Gareth Barry scored the winner in
the 61st minute with a nice header. Things did
not start well, however, as Reading's Kevin Doyle scored a goal in the
fourth minute, then Gavin McCann was shown a yellow card in the 9' minute.
Jlloyd Samuel was also shown a yellow card in the 47th minute. Aston Villa now
stands in fifth place at 1-0-1 with 4 points and a +1 goal differential.
Today's home match against Newcastle was postponed.
La Liga
August 25, 2006 (European Super Cup Final) Barcelona 0 - 3 Sevilla
Barça's last game before league play begins ended in a
disappointing and embarrasing defeat in the European Super Cup Finals.
Barça was going for their third Super Cup win, but instead Sevilla won
their first. Let's hope that this result was simply a fluke and that
Barça's first league game Monday against Celta Vigo goes as expected.
K-League
August 26, 2006 (K-League) Pohang 2 - 1 Gwangju
The Steelers got into the win column today with a win over Gwangju at home.
I was not able to find any information about how the match went, but Pohang
is now in a three way tie for second place with a 1-0-1 record and 4
points. Their next match is August 30 at Seoul and will surely be a test for
the Pohang side.
Bundesliga
August 26, 2006 (Bundesliga) VfB Stuttgart 1 - 3 Borussia
Dortmund
Things did not go well for Stuttgart in today's match. Two minutes after
Serdar Tasci scored an equalizer in the 30th minute, Borussia Dortmund
scored again to take the lead they would not relinquish. In the 63rd minute
Mario Gomez appeared to have been dragged down in the penalty area but was
not awarded a penalty shot, thus a bit of controversy. Stuttgart now stands
in 13th place with a 1-2-0 record, 3 points, and a -4 goal differential.
Let's hope they can get things turned around in their next match at Werder
Bremen, on September 16.
August 23, 2006
Football Update One
Of the teams I am following, Aston Villa, Pohang, and VfB Stuttgart have
played at least one match. Here is the round-up.
Bundesliga
August 12, 2006
VfB Stuttgart 0 - 3 Nurnberg
August 20, 2006
Arminia-Bielefeld 2 - 3 Stuttgart
Stuttgart is currently in 9th place with 3 points and a -2 goal
differential. The next match is Saturday, Aug. 26 at home against Borussia
Dortmund.
English Premier League
August 19, 2006 Aston Villa 1 - 1 Arsenal
Aston Villa is currently in a three-way tie for 10th place with 1 point and
a 0 goal differential. Their next match is today at home against
Reading.
K-League
August 23, 2006 Chonbuk 1 - 1 Pohang
Pohang is in a eight-way tie for second place with 1 point and a 0 goal
differential. Their next match is Saturday, Aug. 26 at home against Gwangju.
Note:
In my post about choosing a team from the K-league, I was mistaken in writing
that Pohang had to win the second stage in order to qualify for the playoffs.
In order to make the playoffs, they must be one of the two top teams in
the overall standings, not counting the two stage winners. Of course,
winning the stage would be the best way to make the playoffs.
August 22, 2006
Carbonite Backup Service: A Review
Although I think the jury is still out on the backup service provided by
Carbonite, for the most part it has worked and functioned just as
advertised. It works in the background, backing up your data so you don't
have to remember to do it manually. It requires an internet connection as
your data is uploaded to their systems, which affords a level of protection
an external hard drive sitting next to your computer can't offer should a
fire or flood occur. They also allow you a free trial without
credit card information, which is a big plus.
However, their customer service leaves something to be desired. Should you
need to contact them, the only method is through email. There is no
number listed on the website, although you can have them call you.
I'm still waiting for a response to an issue I had. It's been over 24
hours, and I have yet to hear from them, despite promises on the website
that they typically respond within 24 hours. Because I have not heard from
them and put my trust in their product, I have been unable to work on a
couple of important projects.
Should you use the service, I hope you do not have these issues. I know
this is a company just starting up, but the founder has plenty of
experience starting companies, so he should have realized prompt customer
support and service will be key to separate him from his current and future
competitors.
Update, Aug. 23: I received an email last night from Carbonite
asking for some more information in order to verify my identity. After I
replied I received another email this morning allowing me to resolve my
issue. Since then, I've been downloading my data to my new computer with no
problems at all! It seems to be working exactly as advertised. I do
recommend it if you have lots of data (documents, photographs, etc.) on your
computer that you can't replace.
August 21, 2006
Football Side Choices: Part 3 of 3
K-League
Sometimes when examining the options, an obvious choice presents itself.
Just such a case happens with my choice from the K-League, the youngest
league I've chosen to follow. Judy's hometown is Pohang, and Pohang just so
happens to have a very successful side, the The Pohang Steelers. The
Steelers have gone by a few different names in their history, originally
called POSCO after the Pohang Iron and Steel Company that owned it. In 1984
they changed their name to POSCO Dolphins, and in 1985 to POSCO Atoms. In
1995 they again changed names, becoming the Pohang Atoms before changing the
last time in 1997 to the Pohang Steelers.
The Steelers were a founding member of the K-League in 1983 and have
enjoyed have a history of success. They've won the several league titles
(1986, 1988, and 1992), were runners up on several other occasions (1985,
1987, 1995, and 2004). They've won two Asian Cup championships, winning
them back to back in 1997 and 1998. Given such a history and the personal
ties I have, it's like it was meant for me to be a fan.
In the first stage of the 2006 K-League play, Pohang finished in second
place with 22 points from 6 wins, 4 draws, and 3 losses. The Steelers
finished second to Seongnam, who appear to have dominated the first round
with 10 wins, 2 draws, and only a single loss. The Steelers must win the
second round in order to qualify for the playoffs. They kick off the second
round at Chonbuk, a team they defeated 3-1 in the first round. Here's to a
great start next Wednesday!
Irish Premier League
The final league from which I'll choose a team is the Irish Premier League.
I'll start this decision not by looking at history but by geography. I have
ancestors from Ireland on my mother's side, ancestors with the surname
Gordon. Gordon is actually Scottish, but I only know my origins back to Ireland
with confidence. Although I can't verify it, I have traced my ancestors
back to John Gordon, born about 1370 in Scurdurgue, Aberdeenshire,
Scotland. But that's another story. I'll make my choice based on an
ancestor, John George Gordon born in 1691 in Sheepbridge, Newry, County
Down, Ireland.
Of note is that the clubs in Northern Ireland, for the most part, consist
of part-time players who hold day jobs. The league is one of the oldest and
longest-running domestic leagues in the world. The Irish League first
started in 1890 with 8 clubs. The side I am choosing to follow, Newry City,
was not a member in that inaugural season, but began play with the 1923
season. I'm choosing Newry City because that is where I have traced my
ancestry to Ireland, and given the specialness of this league (the town of
Loughgall, with a population of 285, hosts a team), I feel comfortable not
choosing an original member of the league (which would have been
Cliftonville, Linfield, or Glentoran).
Newry City has never won a league championship, but perhaps this year will
be different. They finished last season in 6th place with 45 points and a
six match streak without dropping a match (3 wins and 3 draws). They open the
2006/2007 league campaign at Dungannon Swifts, who finished last season in
4th with 49 points. These two clubs played three times last season, each
winning one match and drawing the other. The loss by Newry was not in
league play but in Mid-Ulster Cup. League play begins Saturday, Sept. 23.
August 20, 2006
Football Side Choices: Part 2 of 3
La Liga
The founding members of La Liga that have membership in the 2006/2007
league are FC Barcelona, Real Madrid, Athletic Bilbao, Real Sociedad,
Athletic
Madrid, RCD Espanol, and Racing Santander. Perhaps the most famous clubs in
the
league, if not the world, are Real Madrid and FC Barcelona. There is a real
temptation for me to pick one of these from the start, especially since I
had a
chance this summer to watch them play (on TV, anyway). FC Barcelona has in
its
employment one of the most exciting players in the world, Ronaldinho,
another
temptation to pick them. Certainly if I do not pick one of these clubs then
my
team will not win the league, but I'll still try to go about this
systematically.
I don't believe I have close personal ties to Spain, so narrowing down by
geography is out of the question. However, I do know someone from Bilbao,
so
perhaps Athletic Bilbao should be a favorite. But to move forward I think I shall
arbitrarilly
choose to cut the teams with the most and fewest league titles.
Real Madrid, having won 29 times is thus
eliminated, as
are RCD Espanol and Racing Santander, each having never won a league
title.
I am now left to choose from FC Barcelona, Athletic Bilbao, Real Sociedad,
and
Atheltic Madrid. I will now eliminate the club with the least diverse
roster,
that is, the club with players from the fewest number of countries. Again,
not a
perfect way to do this and actually fairly arbitrary. FC Barcelona has
players
from 10 nations, Athletic Madrid 9 nations, Real Sociedad 7 nations, and
Atheltic Bilbao only 1 nation (perhaps 2, pending final roster
announcement). These numbers are from wikipedia, so may be a few months out
of
date, but I can't imagine that the Bilbao roster would have changed enough
to
stay in contention. Thus, they are out.
Let's take a look at the results from last season, and remove the club that
finished lowest in the standings, as I would rather not sweat out worries
of
relegation. Real Sociedad finished in 16th position, narrowly avoiding
relgation
by 1 point. The remaining two clubs are now FC Barcelona and Athletic
Madrid.
Now is where logos and fashion come into play. I would give a slight edge
to
Athletic Madrid in the logo department, mostly because of the tree included
on
it. The FC Barcelona logo just seems to busy. However, the uniforms of FC
Barcelona, to me, just seem to be undeniably superior to those of Athetlic
Madrid. Those of Athletic Madrid seem almost clownish, while FC Barcelona
seems
more regal. In addition, they have so far refused to allow commercial
sponsorship logos on their football shirts, but have worn the TV3 logo on
the
left arm. This year they reached an agreement with UNICEF to allow the
UNICEF
logo on their shirts, an action that deserves praise. So, my team of choice
from
La Liga is FC Barcelona.
FC Barcelona won the La Liga title last year, so they should be poised for
another great season. Real Madrid did add a number of great players from
Serie A, so it should be a fun rivalry to track this year. At least Barca
still has the best player in the world, Ronaldinho. Their first game is a
week from today at Celta Vigo, a team they beat twice last year, 2-0 at
home and 0-1 on the road.
Serie A
I'll choose my Serie A team in the following way. First, as usual I'll find
the current members that were founding members of the league, then
eliminate any that were involved in the match fixing scandal. I'll then
take a closer look at the remaining clubs and try to make a reasoned, if
illogical, choice.
Founding members of Serie A who have membership in this season's league are
AS Roma, FC Internazionale, SS Lazio, AC Milan, Torino, and Livorno.
However, due to the involvement of AC Milan and SS Lazio in the match
fixing scandal, I cannot in good conscience choose them.
I'm now left with AS Roma, FC Internazionale, Torino, and Livorno. At this
point I'm leaning toward AS Roma, mostly because that are based in Rome.
But I should investigate the other teams further.
FC Internazionale is one of the more famous clubs in the league. They have
played in every season since the founding of Serie A in 1929, the only club
to do so after Juventus FC's relegation to Serie B. They have won the third
most titles with 14, the last coming in 2006 after being awarded the
championship due to Juventus' unfair play. In short, Inter has had a long
history of success. They are based in Milan, which can only be a positive.
Negatives, however, are the uniform and logo. I know these are classic
uniforms, but I'm going to need some basis to make a final decision here.
I'm just keeping the uniform/logo thing in the back of my mind.
Torino is based in Turin. They've won 7 titles, the last coming in 1976.
They've spent most of their existence in Serie A, but won membership into
the current season's league only after finishing 3rd in Serie B and winning
a playoff. Despite their cool logo and distinctive uniforms, I'm not sure I can
choose a team that might be playing just to avoid relegation.
Livorno is based in Livorno, Tuscany. Livorno has only had membership in
Serie A for 14 seasons, definitely not a history of success. In addition,
they have a simple if uninspired logo, but the uniforms seem respectable.
There seems to be a strong belief that they will be able to avoid
relegation, but the fact that they haven't had a history of success and
that the expectations set the bar only at avoiding relegation make me
hesitant to choose them.
AS Roma has won 3 titles, the last 2001. They've beem relegated only once,
and so have had a long story history of big wins. I know the
mythology of how Rome was founded, but a logo with the Capitoline she-wolf
suckling twins is a turn-off. They provide a Chinese version of their
website, but oddly no English version. So, despite my initial bias toward
choosing them, I now feel equally biased toward not choosing them.
I have narrowed my choice down to two teams, Inter and Torino. As I said
earlier, the Inter uniforms are a negative in my mind. That combined with
the fact that they have in their employment Marco Materazzi, the player
head-butted by Zidane in the 2006 World Cup final. It seems the
consensus view is that Materazzi is a dirty player, taking to diving and
violent fouling. These facts are enough to overcome my worries of following
a team that might be in danger of relegation, so my choice from Serie A is
Torino.
As I mentioned earlier, Torino just won membership into Serie A after last
season. The current club is actually a direct heir to a previously
cancelled club, Torino Calcio, but the history has passed down to the new
club. They were just two points short of second place in Serie B, so
perhaps this season in Serie A will not simply be a fight to avoid
relegation and they can finish higher in the table. As far as I can find,
the schedule for the upcoming season has not yet been released, so I don't
when they might have their first game.
August 19, 2006
Football Side Choices: Part 1 of 3
Bundesliga
The second oldest league I've chosen, the Bundesliga, founded in 1963. Of
the 2006/2007 members of the Bundesliga, Eintracht Frankfurt, VfB
Stuttgart, Hertha BSC Berlin, Borussia Dortmund, Werder Bremen, and
Hamburger SV were founding members. As an aside, the most famous club in
the Bundesliga might be Bayern Munich, but they weren't a founding member.
Now, I have to choose a club from those I've just listed. I thought an
additional criteria I might apply is geography, and decided to try to find
the city where my last name originates. I was surprised to learn that it
originates in Bohemia, which is currently in the Czech Republic. So, based
on the (completely arbitrary) proximity of the cities to Bohemia, the
remaining candidates are Eintracht Frankfurt, VfB Stuttgart, and Hertha BSC
Berlin. Let's examine each team in more detail.
Hertha Berlin BSC: This side was Berlin's reigning champion in 1963
and so became an inaugural
member of the Bundesliga. But after the first in a series of scandals
(attempted
bribery of players), they were demoted. After returning to the top division
in
1968, they were involved in a match fixing scandal in 1971 and were found
to be 6 million DM in debt, forcing the sale of their home ground. They
spent most of the 80's in the second division, even dropping to the third
division at one point. Of late they have enjoyed more success, but the
history of scandal and mediocre play means I cannot choose them.
Eintracht Frankfurt: This sided maintained membership in the
Bundesliga from founding until 1996, so they have enjoyed a history of
success, even if success just means avoiding relegation for the most part.
The only hint of scandal that has it this club were financial misdeeds that
resulted in a penalty of 2 points in 1999 and financial difficulties in
2004. They managed to play back into the top league, but the overall lack
of real success leaves me hesitant to choose them.
Stuttgart: Stuttgart has only been relegated once to the second
division, before quickly achieving promotion back to the Bundesliga. They
have enjoyed a fair amount of success, as German Champions for the 1983/84,
and 1991/92 seasons.
They were runners in 1978/79 and 2003/04 and have finished in the top 5 on
13 other occasions (meaning in total they have finished in the top 5 17
times). They were German Cup winners in 1997, finalists in 1986, UEFA Cup
finalists in 1989, Finalists in Cup Winner's Cup in 1998, and UEFA
Intertoto
Cup winners in 2000 and 2002. They play in an older stadium, built in 1933
(which I see as a plus), and the stadium played host to several 2006 FIFA
World
Cup matches, including the third place match. Given all of this, plus a
pretty cool logo and uniforms, my choice from the Bundesliga is VfB
Stuttgart.
Stuttgart finished in 9th place last season with 43 points. Let's hope for
a better result this season, although they did drop their opener (home
opener at that) to 1. FC Nurnberg, 0-3.
English Premiere League
The EPL did not officially form until 1992, but its founding members were
from the First Division of the Football League. Thus, the league can claim
origins back to 1888. The members of the current EPL who were founding
members of the Football League are Blackburn Rovers, Bolton Wanders,
Everton, and Aston Villa. With a little help from the
Sports Guy, Bill Simmons, article "Choosing my EPL team",
I can try to eliminate a few of these from contention. The
Blackburn Rovers are apparently the dirtiest team in the EPL, and I can't
cheer for a team that prides itself in dirty play. In addition to worry
about unsportsmanlike players, I also want to avoid teams with a large
number of hooligans. So, how can I determine which team has the fewest
hooligans? I happened upon a
2002 BBC program that offered news on past hooligan
activity. By going through the activity for the remaining three teams,
I can surmise which team has the fewest.
I'll start with Aston Villa. Bill Simmons reported that Aston Villa fans
are "the most miserable" and "self-loathing" in the EPL. Not a good sign.
In addition, there were two reports of hooligan activity for them, but one
of the incidents seems to have been incited more by Manchester United fans
that Aston Villa. However, there is no excuse for the other incident in
which Aston Villa fans attacked Chelsea fans at a train station. Hooligan
Score: 1
Next, let's examine the Bolton Wanders. Again, two incidents, but the first
appears to have been incited by Everton fans and the second once again
involved Manchester United. However, the fact remains that Bolton fans did
not discourage the standoff that occurred with MU fans, so a completely
clean slate cannot be given. Hooligan Score: 0.5
Finally, Everton. Everton fans seem to cause the most trouble of the three
sides in contention. They've attacked fans from other teams even when
their team wasn't playing, they are the ones that incited violence at
Bolton, and also looked for trouble in a match against Stoke City. This
activity was unfortunate because I believe the team itself could be quite
fun to follow, drawing comparisons to the Oakland A's of the last decade.
Hooligan Score: 3
So, based on Hooligan activity, I must eliminate Everton. That leaves Aston
Villa and Bolton. Despite having a slightly higher Hooligan Score and
unflattering portrayal of their fans in the Bill Simmons article, I am
choosing Aston Villa as my team. Bolton's history just seems too mired in
mediocrity, while Aston's is richer. Their honors are too long for me to
list here, but suffice to say it's impressive, even if not overwhelming.
Aston Villa finished finished in 16th place last season with 42 points.
They open the season Aug. 19 at Arsenal, sure to be a tough match but I'm
hoping at full time they are victorious.
August 17, 2006
Choosing a soccer team
A few weeks ago I wrote of my desire to pick a soccer team (or teams) from
among the many world leagues to follow. I began thinking, what are some
criteria that I would like to apply? Certainly I don't want to choose a
team just because I've heard of it before. That's partly why teams such as
the New York Yankees have so many fans worldwide. And we know how much the
Yankees are loved by baseball fans here in the U.S. Unless you count
yourself among their supporters, then you definitely loathe them. And who
wants to cheer for a team like that?
But, I won't eliminate teams just because I've heard of them. Yet. It may
used as a tiebreaker. Before I set about choosing which teams to follow, I
must choose the leagues from which I will choose said teams. In the process
of choosing teams and leagues, I actually learned a bit more about my
heritage. For instance, my last name,
Shubert, originated in Bohemia (which is in the current day Czech
Republic), not Germany as I always believed. The name is German, but
not the place of origin. On my mother's side, I knew I had ancestors from
Ireland, and always thought that Gordon was an Irish surname. Turns out,
Gordon is actually Scottish. So, the criteria for
choosing some of my leagues was not as clear cut as I had thought. But, I
have finally made some choices.
I have chosen six leagues to follow:
La Liga (Spain),
English Premiere
League (EPL),
Italian
Serie A (despite the recent match fixing scandal),
Bundesliga
(Germany),
Irish Premier
League (IPL), and the
K-League
(Korea). I chose
La Liga,
EPL, and
Serie
A because of they are regarded as the best leagues in the world. The
remaining three I chose for personal reasons
Bundesliga and
the
IPL were chosen
because they are in countries from which I believe I have ancestors (Irish
on my Mom's side and German on my Dad's) and the Korean
K-League was chosen because that is where my girlfriend,
Judy, is from.
Now that the leagues have been chosen, some criteria must be applied.
First, I'll apply some history by limiting my choice to only teams that
were founding members of the league of interest and that have membership
this season. Next, I'll try to find a team from a city or region with
personal ties. Those ties could be where someone was born or a region from
which I may have ancestors. Another criteria I'll apply is historical
success. Does it have an interesting and compelling history? A team that
has eeked out a living in the second division of a league for most of its
existence and only recently had success doesn't offer a captivating
history. But, having been relegated to a second division at some point
doesn't automatically exclude them either. Other criteria, such as players,
uniforms, logos, etc. will be applied as necessary.
If you interested, you can follow along the next few days as I reveal to
the world my team choices. Once the teams are chosen, my goal is to write
an update as to their progress this season as well as my opinions and
conjecture as to how the season has unfolded. It should be fun!
Promotion and Relegation in Major League Baseball
Before I begin, I should first offer some defense of myself. I am a
lifelong baseball fan, and consider myself a traditionalist in many ways. I
believe the designated hitter and the wild card berth should be removed from the game.
That being said, I do believe there is something that Major League Baseball
could take from professional association football leagues around the
world.
In many of the top tier football leagues, teams face
the prospect of relegation or the reward of promotion at the end of the season.
Teams that finish in the lower positions of the league (typically the worst
two or three teams) are relegated to the next lower division and the teams
that finish highest in the lower division are promoted to the top division.
If baseball were to implement the same sort of system, then teams long out
of the playoff picture still have something to play for. It could only add
more intrigue and suddenly games between last place teams would have a
playoff like atmosphere near season's end. At the same time, teams in the
lower division would be fighting for one of the promotion spots.
But how could baseball implement this system? There are a total of 30
teams, 16 in the National and 14 in the American. Let's first even up the
split by placing the Brewers back into the American League. Now, we have 15
teams in each league. As a traditionalist, I want to retain the American
and National Leagues, so let's divide the first division into those two
leages. Since we'll want an approximate even split between
the first and second divisions, let's place 8 teams in the top division of
each league, leaving 7 in the two second divisions.
Let's take a look at how this scenario would have played out for the 2005
season. Taking the results from 2004, the teams in the divisions would
have been:
American League
2005 1st Division | National League
2005 1st
Division |
Boston Red Sox
Chicago White Sox
Cleveland Indians
Los Angeles
Angels
Minnesota
Twins
New York Yankees
Oakland Athletics
Texas Rangers | Atlanta
Braves
Chicago Cubs
Houston Astros
Los Angeles
Dodgers
Philadelphia Phillies
San Diego Padres
San Franscisco
Giants
St. Louis Cardinals |
|
2005 2nd Division | 2005 2nd
Divison |
Baltimore Orioles
Detroit Tigers
Kansas City
Royals
Milwaukee Brewers
Seattle Mariners
Tampa Bay Devil
Rays
Toronto Blue Jays | Arizona Diamondbacks
Cincinnati
Red
Colorado Rockies
Florida Marlins
New York Mets
Pittsburgh
Pirates
Washington Nationals |
For the sake of simplicity, let's retain a schedule format where all the
teams still play each other (that is, teams from the 1st division still
play teams in the 2nd division). This simplification also allows for the
the current schedule to be retained. However, in reality some tweaks should
be made such that 1st division teams play most of their games
against first division opponents.
Let's choose a format whereas the bottom two teams in the 1st divisions are
relegated to the 2nd, and the third to last team in the 1st division must
play a playoff series against the third place team of the 2nd division. The
winner of that series is given membership into the 1st division for the
next season.
In this scenario, at the conclusion of the 2005 season, in the American League the Minnesota Twins
and Texas
Rangers would have been relegated, the Milwaukee Brewers and Toronto Blue
Jays would have been promoted, and the Oakland A's would have played the
Baltimore Orioles for a spot in the 1st Division. Let's use the regular
season results to determine that winner. Oakland and Baltimore played 10
times, with Oakland winning 6, thus Oakland would remain in the 1st
division.
In the National League, the Giants and Dodgers would have been relegated,
the Marlins and Mets promoted, and the Cubs would have played the Nationals
for the last 2006 1st division membership. Once again using the regular
season results, the Cubs went 1-5 against the Nationals, thus the Cubs
would have been relegated and the Nationals promoted.
But what about the World Series? First let's tackle who would play in the
World Series. Since we only have 8 teams in each league, and since teams
would be changing yearly, it doesn't seem necessary to me to break the league
into smaller divisions of four teams, but that is an option. But for now,
let's allow the top two teams in the league play each other. If one likes,
we could even keep two rounds of playoffs by allowing the top four teams
into the playoffs, with a seeding system based on records. But, I think
doing so dilutes the meaning of the regular season, so I think it best to
only keep two teams (I'd actually prefer to keep only the top team, but in
this day of big dollar media contracts , a league championship series is a given).
At any rate, the top two teams in each league play a series for the league
championship.
In 2005, this would have meant the Cardinals would have played the
Braves in the National League and the Yankees and White Sox would
have met in the American League. As these series did not play out, we must
again look to regular season results. Since the Braves and Cardinals split
their season series at 3 games apiece, let's look to aggregate runs. The
Cardinals outscored the Braves 26-24, so they would have played in the
World Series. We also must look to regular season results to decide the
American League Champion, finding that they also split their season series
3-3, but the Yankees outscored the White Sox 15-13. Thus, the 2005 World
Series would have been between the St. Louis Cardinals and the New York
Yankees. The Cardinals won the season series 2-1, so the Cardinals are my
hypothetical 2005 World Series Champions
For 2006, the Leagues and Divisions would have looked like this:
American League
2006 1st Division | National League
2006 1st
Division |
Boston Red Sox
Chicago White
Sox
Cleveland
Indians
Los Angeles
Angels
Milwaukee Brewers
New York Yankees
Oakland Athletics
Toronto Blue Jays | Atlanta
Braves
Florida Marlins
Houston Astros
New York Mets
Philadelphia Phillies
San Diego Padres
St. Louis Cardinals
Washington Nationals |
|
2006 2nd Division | 2006 2nd
Divison |
Baltimore Orioles
Detroit
Tigers
Kansas City
Royals
Minnesota Twins
Seattle Mariners
Tampa Bay Devil
Rays
Texas Rangers | Arizona
Diamondb
acks
Chicago Cubs
Cincinnati
Reds
Colorado Rockies
Los Angeles Dodgers
Pittsburgh
Pirates
San Francisco Giants |
For the current season, many teams are on the bubble in terms of relegation
and promotion. In the American League, the Brewers and Indians are likely
to be automatically relegated, while the Angels are in a tight race for
avoiding the relegation playoff with Toronto. At the top of the division,
that White Sox and Yankees must look nervously down at Boston and Oakland.
All in all, this would be a very exciting division to follow, as the spread
between first place and sixth place is only 10 games, the spread between
the top four teams is only 4.5 games. In the 2nd division, Detroit and
Minnesota are virtual locks for promotion, while Texas appears to have an
easy road to the promotion playoff game.
In the National League, the Cubs appear assured of relegation while the
Braves, Giants, Astros, Phillies, and even the third place Padres, all
within 4.5 games of each other, are fighting to avoid both the automatic
relegation seventh place position and the playoff relegation position of
sixth place. The Mets easily hold the top spot, but St. Louis is only 3.5
games up on the Padres for second place. In the 2nd division, nothing is
clear except that the Nationals and Pirates are likely completely out of
the promotion picture. The Dodgers, Reds, Diamondbacks, and Rockies are all
within 5.5 games of each other, and the Marlins can still dream of an
automatic promotion as they are only 6 games back from second
place. The table below demonstrates the hypothetical positions of teams in the
two leagues.
|
American League
1st Division |
| Team |
Record |
GB 1st |
GB 2nd |
GB 6th |
GB 7th |
| New York Yankees |
70-46 |
0 |
0 |
-10 |
-15.5 |
| Chicago White Sox |
71-47 |
0 |
0 |
-10 |
-15.5 |
| Boston Red Sox |
68-50 |
3 |
3 |
-7 |
-12.5 |
| Oakland Athletics |
67-52 |
4.5 |
4.5 |
-5.5 |
-11 |
| Toronto Blue Jays |
64-55 |
7.5 |
7.5 |
-2.5 |
-8 |
| Los Angeles Angels |
62-58 |
10 |
10 |
0 |
-5.5 |
| Milwaukee Brewers |
56-63 |
15.5 |
15.5 |
5.5 |
0 |
| Cleveland Indians |
53-65 |
18 |
18 |
8 |
2.5 |
|
National League
1st Division |
| Team |
Record |
GB 1st |
GB 2nd |
GB 6th |
GB 7th |
| New York Mets |
71-47 |
0 |
-8 |
-15.5 |
-16 |
| St. Louis Cardinals |
63-55 |
8 |
0 |
-7.5 |
-8 |
| San Diego Padres |
60-59 |
11.5 |
3.5 |
-4 |
-4.5 |
| Philadelphia Phillies |
58-60 |
13 |
5 |
-2.5 |
-3 |
| Houston Astros |
57-62 |
14.5 |
6.5 |
-1 |
-1.5 |
| Atlanta Braves |
55-63 |
16 |
8 |
0 |
-0.5 |
| Florida Marlins |
55-64 |
16.5 |
8.5 |
0.5 |
-3 |
| Washington Nationals |
52-67 |
19.5 |
11.5 |
3.5 |
3 |
|
American League
2nd Division |
| Team |
Record |
GB 1st |
| Detroit Tigers |
78-41 |
0 |
| Minnesota Twins |
69-49 |
8.5 |
| Texas Rangers |
61-59 |
17.5 |
| Seattle Mariners |
56-63 |
22 |
| Baltimore Orioles |
51-68 |
27 |
| Tampa Bay Devil Rays |
47-72 |
31 |
| Kansas City Royals |
42-78 |
36.5 |
|
National League
2nd Division |
| Team |
Record |
GB 1st |
| Los Angeles Dodgers |
64-56 |
0 |
| Cincinnati Reds |
61-58 |
2.5 |
| Arizona Diamondbacks |
60-59 |
3.5 |
| Colorado Rockies |
58-61 |
5.5 |
| San Francisco Giants |
56-63 |
7.5 |
| Chicago Cubs |
51-68 |
12.5 |
| Pittsburgh Pirates |
46-74 |
18 |
I believe I have demonstrated that a Promotion and Relegation system in Major League
Baseball could work very well. It could create more interest than the wild
card, as there is more on the line that simply a playoff spot. If you are
relegated, then you can't win the World Series the next year. Such a
circumstance would also help to prevent scenarios where a team could
effectively buy a World Series title, as the Marlins did in 1997. Firesales
would happen less often as owners and managers would not want to risk
demotion the following season. It would force teams to plan for their
futures in a more careful manner. It also returns more significance to the
regular season, the results of which have been diluted with the advent of
the wild card and two rounds of playoffs. What good does it do to
demonstrate that you are the best team in the league, only to risk
elimination from World Series contention by a team with two strong starters
in a short series?
August 10, 2006
US Repealing Adherence to Geneva Conventions
It seems that the Bush administration no longer thinks the US should follow the
Geneva Conventions. Proposed amendments to the War Crimes Act would
effectively immunize policymakers against criminal charges for authorizing
any humilating and degrading treatment of detainees.
It seems the only thing that Bush had learned from the recent Supreme Court
ruling that the Geneva Conventions do indeed apply to detainees is that he
needs to cover his tracks and attempt to protect those who have been the
perpetrators of terrible human rights violations. Although one section does
outlaw torture and inhuman or cruel treatment, it does not contain
prohibitions from Article 3 of the Geneva Conventions.
It is a dangerous time for freedom, not only from the enemies of the United
States and its allies, but also from leaders who are creating more anger
against us through illegal detentions and inhumane treatment and then
attempting to protect those who carried out the torturous actions. And
those actions are on top of the increasing violations of civil liberties.
Can the US survive another two years of Bush/Cheney? Let's hope the
elections in November give us a fighting chance.
August 03, 2006
Inflating your tires with Nitrogen?
A story about people filling their tires with pure
nitrogen, supposedly to get better gas mileage, made me exclaim, out
loud, alone in my apartment, "What?!"
I had to read the story. You see, air, which most people use when filling
their tires, is about 78% nitrogen. The bulk of the rest is oxygen and
water vapor. I can understand the arguments about reduced oxidation on the
inside of the tire, but the other arguments seem a bit bogus.
The first of these arguments is that nitrogen molecules are larger than
oxygen molecules, and so nitrogen leaks out of the tire slower. This
argument is incorrect. The molar volume of nitrogen is 13.54 x 10-6
m3/mol, while for oxygen it is 17.36 x 10-6
m3/mol. In other words, if you had enough nitrogen molecules to
fill a 10 ft. x 10 ft. x 10 ft. room, you would need 10.86 ft. x 10.86 ft.
x 10.86 ft. room for the same number of oxygen molecules. Nitrogen molecules are not
bigger than oxygen molecules. Without going into details, the difference
between the size of oxygen and nitrogen is neglible given the material
(vulcanized rubber) through which they leak. You may also read about
kinetic diameters, and for some materials the kinetic diameter of nitrogen
is smaller than oxygen. But for some materials, water has a smaller kinetic
diameter than hydrogen! I do not know if this is true for vulcanized
rubber, but my guess is the difference is neglible. Very specialized
materials are produced when making molecular sieves that are based on
kinetic radii, and I know of none that rely on vulcanized rubber.
The last argument is that water inside the tire can cause the pressure to
be less stable than with pure nitrogen. This might be true, but the higher
pressue inside the tire means that less water actually remains as vapor.
So while this argument is technically correct, the most
one might expect the pressure to fluctuate is 0.5 psi.
The reason most people likely see an immediate improvement when they switch
to nitrogen is that they finally have their tires inflated to the proper
pressue. In short, the best way to improve your gas mileage via tire
inflation is just to make sure you have your tires properly inflated. Also,
your tires will likely need to be replaced because of outside treadwear
before inside-out oxidation is a problem. The additional cost of nitrogen is
not
justified by the very limited benefits it provides.
August 02, 2006
Sleeping Cat
Below is pictured a painting I created in June. I gave it to Judy as a
gift.
A larger digital copy of the painting is available for purchase in the Libloggery Store.
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