Sunday, October 30, 2005

Don't believe that Europe has gone completely off the rails? In yet another small example, the cumulative effect of which is a culture so lost it doesn't even know it's lost, goldfish bowls are now banned in Rome. Cruel to animals, don't you know. Oh yes, and you better walk your dog every day...

Saturday, October 29, 2005

"What use is the CIA?" asked Richard Nixon. "They've got 40,000 people over there reading newspapers."

Not such a bad idea, actually.

Friday, October 28, 2005

Great. Just great.

Wednesday, October 26, 2005

Finally, Einstein's theory of relativity summed up in a few short video clips, so that even I can understand it.
Micah Glasser of Event Horizon is hosting the latest installment of the Carnival of Tomorrow. The theme is the economics of the future...where free markets meet technology.

Tuesday, October 25, 2005

Autumn has always been my favorite season, and it's not really close for second place. I could pretty much handle 12 months of Autumn in New England. It's got the one truly great American holiday, Indian Summer, apple cider, the World Series, college football, youth soccer, and you can spend time cooking up great food like this...
David Spence over at Fishtown Chatter is hosting the lastest Carnival of the Recipes. Stop by to check it out...the Eyeball Soup looks like a perfect Halloween supper. He also features James Lileks Gallery of Regretable Food, which shouldn't be missed...


Rosa Parks, the lady who stopped being afraid and refused to move to the back of the bus, has passed away at the age of 92.

NYT obit.

Montogomery Advertiser.

Saturday, October 22, 2005

Chemical warfare in France!

Hey, I just take my lead from main stream media...
Another referee match fixing scandal, this time in Vietnam. Disturbingly, a coach is involved.

The Vietnamese soccer officials seem intent on cleaning this up, even talking about significant jail time, which we didn't see in the German case earlier this year.

Friday, October 21, 2005

American Express gets it...

They must not have known I was available for a modest fee. Maybe I should use my AX card more often...

Thursday, October 20, 2005

Are tanks and terrorists in city streets enough to postpone a soccer match? Not in Russia, evidently. In fact, if you don't show up for your scheduled match, you'll be fined and lose by forfeit...Especially if the host team essentially tells you not to worry about the tanks and terrorists.

Internet properties and stocks rising again? Apparently so, and with better justification this time around. So let's party like it's 1999!
The Astros are in the World Series and the Cold War is truly over, as Austin Bay points to an eerie coincidence...

Tuesday, October 18, 2005

A survey/vote for the top magazine covers was announced today. The winner is no real surprise...
This seems about right, except it misses the part about my real job as well as my efforts as a volunteer. But then again I'm pretty much a some-time blogger...

Monday, October 17, 2005

Afraid of dogs? How about cloned dogs?

The Singularity draws ever nearer...
Another post in the "science of happiness" milieu:

Existentialist angst leads to a life that is short, sickly, lonely, and self-obsessed. Get yourself on the road to happiness now with a good hearty laugh!
A gender-based poll was recently taken in London, and the results seem to have surprised a few people.

Having observed the behaviors and decisions of both male and female assistant referees for some time now, I can say I'm not the least bit surprised.
Things have cooled off and dried up, and all signs point now to Autumn.

Got this stuck in my head for some reason.

Download here.

Thursday, October 13, 2005

Getting and keeping focused while remaining energized is a difficult thing, but its critical if you're going to make tough decisions in tough times. Darwin Magazine offers 7 rules for a hardened approach to management.
The Speculist continues the future blogging trend with the latest installment of the Carnival of Tomorrow. It features a segment on converting dead cats into fuel, which sounds like good regeneration planning to me, but I'd certainly understand if cat lovers take exception.

Things aren't getting any easier for Maradona, who's retirement from soccer has been by turns tragic and comedic.

We remember of course Maradona's previous, er, difficulties...

Wednesday, October 12, 2005

More praise for Holland, and particularly Marco van Basten.

I've mentioned this previously -- when players play for the team, not themselves, success will follow. As van Basten notes: "We try to select the best team, not the best players."

Monday, October 10, 2005

Holland are qualified! A breathtaking group stage performance, 10 wins and a draw in 11 games, leave the Orange clear with one match to play.

Meanwhile, African qualifications has resulted in four Cinderella stories...
Strategy Page has published a report that says events in the North are a matter of when, not if... They make the comparison of the situation in Eastern Europe just before the collapse of communism.

Strategy Page reports are rarely if ever wrong, but I remain quite pessimistic about the situation in the North.
Loyal, happy employees equals loyal, happy customers, which in turn equals increased sales and profits. Simple, no?

Thursday, October 06, 2005

The lowly, ubiquitous doorman has a far greater impact on city society than you would think: Doormen know an awful lot about their tenants, and the tenants know little of their doorman. The Christmas bonus, the sports conversation, the shady visitor, it's all part of the sociology of doormen.
1990. Not so long ago, really. Except for the very youngest, we can all remember where we were and what we were doing in 1990.

Slashdot takes an interesting perspective, asking that you "rewind your brain 15 years" and reflect on a few interesting facts.

Wednesday, October 05, 2005

Here's an article offering some analysis into the recent game-fixing scandals in Germany and Brazil.

I think we'll be seeing more of these type of articles, including investigative reports, in the run up to next years World Cup.
The calculus of sports: big payrolls and high priced stars should equal wins, right?

Um, well, maybe not so much...

Monday, October 03, 2005

It's another referee match fixing scandal, this time in Brazil. A Brazilian court has ruled that eleven matches must be replayed.

I think this stuff is rampant in several international leagues...