On the Internet, Nobody Knows You’re a Dog . . . but it helps if they do!
By Brian | October 19, 2009
A colleague of mine just informed me that he joined Twitter. After weeding out the obvious spammers who would follow him if he would just please click this one link, he seems to have settled in at around ten followers.
On a lark, he also created a Twitter account for his daschund, Logan. Again, after weeding out the obvious spammers, Logan seems to have settled in at approximately seventy followers. Mostly women, he says, as well as a random assortment of dog lovers, kennels, and other seemingly legitimate dog-related vendors.
So, it would appear, that in the sixteen years since Peter Steiner first pointed out in The New Yorker magazine the anonymity that the Internet can provide, this very anonymity has turned out to reduce your audience size by a factor of roughly seven-to-one. Not only that, but it’s a pretty good bet that sometime in the next sixteen years, sociologists and linguists will come together to discover that the previous sentence actually does makes sense…
Categories: Tech Talk | Comments Off on On the Internet, Nobody Knows You’re a Dog . . . but it helps if they do!
What Happened? Government Forces Ken Lewis to Work for Free
By Brian | October 17, 2009
Throughout the past year, I’ve written a few posts about various aspects of the financial crisis, but I’ve purposely stayed away from writing specifically about my employer – Bank of America.
I don’t speak for Bank of America. My words on this blog are mine and mine alone. No one at work reads them, approves them or, for all I know, even agrees with them. Still, I’ve made it a self-imposed, personal policy to steer clear of stories that involve the company, just to be safe. This morning, though, when I read about Kenneth Feinberg, the “Special Master for Compensation” (a.k.a., “The Pay Czar”), I felt compelled to speak out.
Just to be clear, though: these are my opinions. They don’t necessarily reflect the views of anyone else on the planet, whether they’re affiliated with Bank of America or not. Are we clear? OK, good.
Categories: Money Talk, Political Rantings | 9 Comments »
Gaah! October Snow!
By Brian | October 15, 2009
How depressing is this:
It’s like Minneapolis out here…
Categories: New York, New York, Random Acts of Blogging | Comments Off on Gaah! October Snow!
Rivera in Puerto Rico?
By Brian | October 15, 2009
From a friend of mine, yesterday afternoon (Oct. 14):
My mom is on her way to Puerto Rico at the moment. She called me from the plane and said Mariano Rivera is sitting four seats away from her. Is it possible that he is on a Jet Blue flight to San Juan at the moment? Doesn’t he have a World Series to worry about????
Her mom later confirmed that it was, indeed, Mariano Rivera flying to San Juan on Wednesday, via an autograph and what she called a “very nice” conversation. (I also confirmed for my friend that it was the ALCS, not the World Series, that Mo would be worried about, but we’ll forgive the semantics in return for the inside tip…)
So, the question is this: with Game 1 scheduled for Friday, October 16 (weather permitting), why would Mariano Rivera fly to Puerto Rico on Wednesday, October 14? Wouldn’t you think the Yankees would have some kind of workout/practice schedule in New York this week? I’d guess that maybe he’s flying home for a couple of days, but Mariano was born and raised in Panama, not Puerto Rico. Connecting flight, perhaps?
Mom is checking the local, Puerto Rican papers for more scoop. I’ll update you here if I hear more.
We now return you to your regularly scheduled 24/7 analysis of the upcoming ALCS/NLCS series, brought to you by ESPN…
Categories: Sports Talk | Comments Off on Rivera in Puerto Rico?
More Baseball – Weather or Not…
By Brian | October 10, 2009
Tonight’s Phillies/Rockies game has been postponed due to snow and record low temperatures in Denver, despite the Rockies’ home field being the only one in the major leagues with an underground heating system.
Tomorrow’s Yankees/Twins game will likely go on as planned, even though Minneapolis’ forecast for tomorrow night is 38 degrees and snow flurries, but that’s only because the Twins still play in the Metrodome (an absolutely awful, but still, indoor) place to play baseball. Next year, when the Twins move to Target Field, which has no roof (retractable or otherwise), this will be the kind of thing Twins fans might wake up to on game day:
(Photo is of an actual house in the Minneapolis suburbs, courtesy of a very cold friend of mine…)
Of course, their other option is to just stop playing baseball in September from now on… ;-)
Categories: Sports Talk | 1 Comment »
An Instant Yankee Classic – ALDS Game 2
By Brian | October 10, 2009
Wow, what a game…
After watching Derek Jeter break Lou Gehrig’s all-time Yankee hits record back on September 11, 2009, I commented on how every time you go to Yankee Stadium, there’s a chance you’ll see something special. Well, October 9, 2009 was certainly no exception. This could be the greatest game I have ever seen, or ever will see, live. And the best part, by far, is that my kids were there to see it too.
The game had everything. Through five innings, it was a classic pitchers’ duel – the Twins had two hits and the Yankees had one. In the sixth, the Twins broke through with a run, but the Yankees immediately countered with a run of their own. In the eighth, both teams now into their bullpens, the Twins put together three hits and a walk and took a 3-1 lead.
The Yankees couldn’t respond immediately in the eight, and after a quiet ninth from Mariano Rivera, they came to bat with their backs against the wall. Mark Teixeira who, up until that point, hadn’t had a hit in either post-season game, singled into right field. Then Alex Rodriguez, who had struggled in the post-season in the recent past, but had driven in a couple of runs in Game 1, hit a monster homerun over the center-field fence to tie the game and send it into extra innings. The crowd went nuts.
In the tenth, the Twins put runners on first and third with two out, but Orlando Cabrera flied out to right to end the threat. The Yankees got a man on with one out, and pinch-ran the speedy Brett Gardner. He stole second base, and then went to third on an errant throw by the Twins’ closer, Joe Nathan. After an intentional walk made it first and third, Johnny Damon hit a screaming line drive to Cabrera, who turned an easy double-play on Gardner after he broke for home on contact. More tension, and still, more baseball.
In the eleventh, Joe Mauer led off the inning with a pop-up down the left field line that Melky Cabrera couldn’t get to. In the stadium, it was a minor disappointment and the game continued. Everywhere else, though, replays showed that the ball was obviously a fair ball, and Mauer should have been on second base. Despite the bad call, Mauer singled. And then the next two Twins did the same. Bases loaded, nobody out – eleventh inning of a playoff game. Sheesh! Then, the Yankees pulled off the impossible. A line drive to Teixeira. A ground ball to Teixeira that he throws home for the force out. And then a lazy fly ball to center-field, and the Twins had, incredibly, failed to score.
Which brought us to the bottom of the eleventh inning, still tied. That is, until Mark Teixeira brought the game to an end with line-drive homerun into the left-field seats. Absolute bedlam in the Bronx. High-fives and hugs all around. The (now traditional) pie in the face from AJ Burnett for Mark Teixeira and three choruses of New York, New York with Frank Sinatra – all before a single one of the 50,006 people left the stadium.
As I said, any trip to Yankee Stadium can lead to something special. This one was truly one for the ages.
[Note: Click on either of the above images to see a full slide-show of our fun time at the game, or click on the thumbnail in the “Featured Photos” section on the left]
Categories: Family Matters, New York, New York, Sports Talk | 2 Comments »
Top Ten Obama Peace Prize Jokes
By Brian | October 9, 2009
This is just from me and my friends. I can only imagine what will happen when the Late Night Comedians get their hands on it.
(Credit where credit is due) – All others are by yours truly…
10. Obama walks Bo, wins Westminster Dog Show (Joe Catania)
9. At least Al Gore had a kick-ass PowerPoint presentation
8. Obama plays backyard stick hockey game with his kids. NHL awards him Stanley Cup
7. Couldn’t they have given this out before the IOC decided who gets the Olympics? (Zach Noyce)
6. Barack Obama winning the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize is like Stephen Strasburg winning the 2009 Rookie of the Year Award. (Tom Gordon)
5. Bono’s reaction: It’s an honor just to be nominated
4. Electoral College impressed with Obama
Categories: Political Rantings | 1 Comment »
The Incredible Shrinking PIPP
By Brian | October 6, 2009
Great news! The Obama administration has found a way to cut $488 billion from a government program, and reduce the total projected commitment of that program by a whopping $960 billion! I guess we can pay for healthcare now! OK, maybe not…
The program is the Public Private Investment Plan, or PPIP for short. PPIP was designed to achieve what Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson originally said the TARP money would be used for – buying mortgage-related assets from Wall Street firms in order to expand the power of their balance sheets. Of course, when they actually gave him the money, he decided to use it to buy equity in the banks instead.
That was back in September of 2008, when the worst financial crisis of our time demanded immediate, decisive action. Like suspending the two presidential campaigns for a photo-op at the White House.
Having failed to actually buy any of these so-called “toxic assets,” our government tried again in March of 2009, launching the PPIP program, which intended to use “$75 to $100 billion in TARP capital and capital from private investors [to] generate $500 billion in purchasing power to buy legacy assets
Categories: Money Talk, Political Rantings | Comments Off on The Incredible Shrinking PIPP
Oy Vey! Ahmadinejad is Jewish!
By Brian | October 4, 2009
According to today’s Daily News, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was born to practicing, Iranian Jewish parents who changed their name from Sabourjian to Ahmadinejad when they converted to Islam just after his birth.
The Sabourjians traditionally hail from Ahmadinejad’s hometown of Aradan. The name is even on the list of reserved names for Iranian Jews compiled by Iran’s Ministry of the Interior, [the London Daily Telegraph] says.
Experts told the Telegraph his vitriolic attacks against Jews could be an attempt to hide his past.
“This aspect of Mr. Ahmadinejad’s background explains a lot about him,” said Ali Nourizadeh, of the Center for Arab and Iranian Studies. “Every family that converts into a different religion takes a new identity by condemning their old faith.
“By making anti-Israeli statements, he is trying to shed any suspicions about his Jewish connections.”
A London-based expert on Iranian Jewry said that the “jian” ending to the Sabour name shows that the family had been practicing Jews.
How embarrassing, huh? Although, if he can deny the Holocaust ever happened, it shouldn’t be much of a stretch for him to deny all of this as well. Look for Ahmadinejad to claim that he was born at the age of eighteen any day now…
Categories: Political Rantings, Random Acts of Blogging | 2 Comments »
ISBS Concert Review: Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band Live at Giants Stadium – October 3, 2009
By Brian | October 4, 2009
Good evening, New Jersey!
Last night at Giants Stadium, Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band put on a three-hour extravaganza that proved conclusively that adrenaline can power a rock & roll band every bit as much as an electric guitar.
Billed as his farewell to Giants Stadium (a new Giants Stadium is nearing completion in the parking lot next door, and will open for business with next year’s football season), Bruce and the band powered through twenty-eight songs (setlist), providing the required momentum for the near-perpetual motion machine that is his loyal fan base.
Categories: ISBS Reviews, Words about Music | 5 Comments »