Just a shout-out for the best pediatric dentist in Decatur, GA!
February 10, 2008
July 29, 2007
What MLB can learn from the Tour
For a while now I've been quietly fraught with internal turmoil about Barry Bonds. Yes, I think he's guilty of using illegal performance-enhancing substances. (Lord knows head growth is not common in a man his age.) At the same time, I've seen plenty of guys with big arms who probably couldn't hit 755+ home runs in the majors. There's undeniable skill at work that steroids played no part of.
Then last week everything crystallized. Team Robobank pulled their own competitor, who was leading and likely to win the Tour de France. He was not kicked off for testing positive for doping, but for "unexplained absences" and missing two drug tests. His suspicious behavior was enough that he was no longer eligible to win. This of course came shortly after another player, Alexandre Vinokourov, was kicked off the Tour for actually failing his blood test.
In the Tour de France, a team is willing to send its own lead player home for impropriety, sacrificing victory for honor. But in America we don't even regularly test our players for drug use. The need for the Tour to be won legitimately is paramount, above the desire to break records. Lance Armstrong, when repeatedly accused of doping to reach his record-setting 7 straight titles, once described himself as the world's most tested athlete.
We may not have hard proof that Barry Bonds cheated, but his inevitable record is already tainted beyond repair. Yankee-haters are united in the hope that A-Rod can get there soon and we can forget about this unfortunate moment in Baseball. But sadly, the tarnish here is not simply on Bonds or his record. It is on the failure of leadership throughout Baseball.
From the Commissioner to the owners and managers of each team, no leader has taken the steps to ensure that their players are beyond reproach. Fearful of speaking out against the sport's "look the other way" culture, worried that fewer home runs would lead to diminished attendance, none will take the stand to ensure that the sport itself maintains a clean reputation.
Baseball can learn a lesson from the Tour de France. While home run record races may have enthused audiences in recent years, the long-term damage to the reputation of the sport is a greater threat to ticket sales than a lack of long balls.
I for one will not be celebrating when Barry Bonds hits his 755th and 756th home runs. I will be waiting, not for A-Rod, but for a season of accountability, when honesty is as important as ratings. That's the American Pastime I can be proud of.
June 25, 2007
Swiss Pics
Pictures from my vacation are here! (I decided to try flickr instead of my photo gallery... just seemed easier.)
June 14, 2007
Today was a good one
However long I work in politics and government, however much I achieve, and however successful I eventually am, today is and will remain a high point of my career.
June 03, 2007
Zombie Contingency
Whenever I watch a zombie movie, be it 28 Days Later or, today, Shaun of the Dead, I end up unable to stop planning scenarios for when the next zombie plague hits Boston.
I have decided that the safest thing to do is to ride out the crisis, barricading ourselves in the apartment until the zombies leave or help arrives (which it always does in the movies, be it a day or a month later). Sure, there's the urge to get out of the city, head somewhere safe, but that always leads to many of the supporting cast being killed or zombie-fied. Plus, my apartment is one of the easier places in Boston I know to secure.
Fortunately for this scenario (and unfortunately if there were a fire), we're on the 3rd floor with only one entrance to the apartment. So keeping the zombies out would be relatively simple. No need to worry about protecting the windows, as it's a pretty steep climb and I've yet to see any flying zombie movies.
The biggest challenge would be sustenance. It would require quickly stockpiling as much water as possible, to prepare for the inevitable shutting down of utilities. Fill the bathtub, sinks, and as many containers as possible with clean water and then ration it and food. (Note to self: stock up on canned goods.)
After that, it's just a matter of waiting it out. Stay away from the windows, no lights at night, do nothing to draw attention to ourselves and hope that the cavalry arrives soon.
This plan would also work for any mass hysteria event, biological (non-airborne) outbreak, or particularly rambunctious block party. Sadly, I don't think it's applicable in any other situations.
May 02, 2007
Are you kidding me???
24 used to be a kick-ass show. The show that wasn't afraid to kill off central characters, have its lead disobey all protocol in the name of protecting the good 'ole US of A. It reintroduced bad-ass to America.
And now? Now they can't even come up with a plot line that lasts an entire season, the bad guys have to have "my heart is breaking" monologues, and Bauer has been proven time and again to be so much of a bad-ass that we're no longer surprised when he does something cool. In fact, we're just depressed that he can't always be a bad-ass. We're addicted to Bauer breaking the rules, but unfortunately that can't quite fill 18 hours of programming.
And that's why 24 now sucks.
April 22, 2007
Past Life
I may no longer be an editor, but this still looks amazing.
Of course, it also looks frighteningly intimidating, as I've forgotten how to use all of the old functions, much less the new ones.
April 05, 2007
No longer the worst song ever
I have always hated Fergie. Her songs are some of the worst on the planet. And rising above them all on the chart of suckiness, was "My Humps."
But no more! For you see, Alanis (Yes, Alastair?) Morrisette has redeemed us from Fergatory.
April 01, 2007
Go Deis!
That's right, I just registered to attend my 5-year college reunion. And you know what that means? That means that the rest of you have to attend as well. That's right, I'm talking to everyone who graduated in 2002 from Brandeis. All of you whose weddings I went to last year. All of you who I occasionally get mass Friendster messages from (you know who you are).
If you don't then I'm going to end up spending the weekend surrounded by people whose names I don't remember but who were once in that class that I took to fulfill a requirement one semester and who talked too much and asked dumb questions just to hear the sound of their own voice. Yeah, them. Our class had more than its fair share of them.
So that's my plea. I've already offered my guest room to out-of-towners for the weekend, but there's plenty of floor space here too if that's what it's going to take to get people here. Just let me know.
February 13, 2007
Whirlwind Tour
3 days, 6 airports, 8 or 9 vodka tonics, countless hands of poker, very little sleep... one hell of a bachelor party.
This past weekend was spent in Vegas and LA celebrating Afsheen's becoming a man remaining months of freedom. After excessive amounts of poker and a good bit of drinking, I'm pleased to say that the event was a success. Of course, after three days of heavy travel and little sleep, getting up at 7 this morning for work was a little difficult, but I managed to caffeinate myself enough to get through the day.
One thing I learned was that I'm not quite as bad at poker as I had previously thought. I still need to learn some patience, but when I remind myself that no, 8-5 off suit is not worth seeing to the flop, I play decently. Still not great, mind you, but decently.
Now, of course, I'm addicted to the game. I know that I have friends here who do a semi-regular poker night, but I haven't been able to attend in the past because of work.
Anyway, back to the weekend...
I also got to spend a night in LA and see some friends (and cats) while I was there. It was definitely good to get to see people, especially since I don't know when I'll be able to get back there to visit again. Now that I have a regular job, I don't get quite as many opportunities to take a week to fly across the country. (And I'm already devoting some of my opportunities for time-off to this year's batch of weddings.)
So in conclusion, it was a great weekend. Still kind of tired, time to get some sleep.
