It's All (Morally) Relative

Slot Machines bills passed in both the Maryland House and Senate! Awesome! Well, actually it is. No, I'm not a fan of slot machines in the state. Not because I'm against gambling, but because it seems like a political cop-out. Leaders can't balance the budget and continue to waste taxpayer money, so of course they are all too attentive when gambling lobbyists and their money come calling. More importantly, slots is a classic example of NIMBY. Republicans in Maryland support their governor and his slots bill, because it puts slot machine parlors in already-economically struggling areas with higher populations of poor people.

So the House bill that was so successfully engineered to pass - by the thinnest of margins - by House Speaker Michael Busch exposes this hypocrisy; it names Frederick as one of the 4 counties where slots are allowed. Frederick is a relatively wealthy Republican-leaning county, far from Baltimore City and Prince George's counties, and our beloved governor has already said that he'll fight to remove Frederick from the list of counties. It's a good strategy, in theory - it makes sense to place an addictive enterprise such as slot machines as close as possible to those low-income communities that help to keep slots in business. Fortunately, Ehrlich and his allies won't have the opportunity, as Busch has ensured that any negotiated bill that varies from the House bill won't have any chance of passing.

The quote of the article comes from Delegate Richard Madaleno Jr. of Montgomery County, and I think it sums up what's backwards about the conservative movement in this country:

Madaleno read a passage from the conservative Christian group Focus on the Family, and said social conservatives worried about family values should vote against the bill. "Otherwise, it is just another wonderful example of the moral relativism in American politics."

Moral relativism, what a fabulous term! Is that like when conservatives talk about states' rights for such issues as gun control, congressional re-districting, environmental regulation, and - back in the day) - segregation, but want the Feds to crush gay unions, abortion rights, and entertaining television? (we'll miss you, Michael Powell!) Or maybe it's when they pour more money into incarcerating non-violent drug offenders, while at the same time cutting after-school programs for urban kids? Maybe it's when they attack the country of an oppressive dictator with no WMDs, and all but ignore countries with actual WMDs like North Korea, or other oppressive regimes like the one in Burma?

Not that liberals are immune to this theory, (pro-choice, anti-death penalty comes to mind) but it just seems much more evident on the conservative side. Especially these days.

Super Nerdio

12 USC engineering students + 3800 Post-It notes + 90 minutes = a nerd art masterpiece.

0-1 as a Prognosticator

Only one day later, I'm already out of the prediction business. It's totally astounding to me, given the intensity level of the coach, that this team could expend such little effort, so very often. No matter what the talent level of Gary's teams, effort and energy in games has rarely been an issue. This season it's the issue for two out of every three games! So much talent is being wasted because this team doesn't match the focus, toughness, and energy of its opponents, especially defensively. Yes, they sound like sports cliches, but it's true:

• Clemson FG: 58.2%, Terps 40.8%
  
• Clemson 3-pt FG%: 66.7%!, Terps 34.8%
  

Amazingly enough, Maryland out-rebounded the Tigers, had more assists, and fewer turnovers. But when your defense is so pathetic that you allow those shooting percentages, there are fewer rebounds to get. And no Clemson player gets an assist when one of their guards dribbles down the floor and hits a 3 (with minimal defensive pressure applied by MD, of course).

I would love to see changes for the Carolina game. Give Mike Jones more playing time, at least he makes an effort, even if he's still not a good defensive player. And he can shoot the ball consistently, which can't be said of anyone else on this team. I'd also love to see Gary bench his starters for the beginning of their next game against Carolina, a game I don't think this "team" has any shot of winning anyway. Maybe that will send a message, but with these guys, who really knows?

For better or worse, most of the top players on this team - in terms of minutes played - are juniors, which means the same team will be back again next year. Gary has recruited some very talented players, including this group. If they ever figure out that talent alone doesn't win games, (and I'm not holding my breath in anticipation of this happening) they could be a dangerous team. To someone other than themselves, that is.

Terps decide that they're a good team this weekend!

I know this is a few days after the game, my apologies. On Saturday, the Terps beat what appeared at times to be a surprisingly competent Virginia team in double-overtime.

If Maryland has proven one thing this year, it's that no team should take them lightly, nor should they take any opponent (i.e., like their next opponent, Clemson) lightly. This team has the talent and depth to go to the Final Four. And the maddening inconsistency in effort and execution to lose in the first round to an 11 seed by 25 points.

Maryland and Virginia seem to play a lot of close games, but the Terps usually come out on top - they're now 12-4 in their last 16 vs. UVA. Next on the schedule is a rematch against Clemson in College Park. As crazy at it is to predict anything with this team: considering how the Terps were embarrassed down at Clemson, I predict a decisive win!

The name is Sir Graham (like the cracker)

Back in 1984, the term "personal computer" was still relatively new, and very limited. If there was a computer in the house, it was likely a Commodore 64 or Apple II. My family had IBM's first real personal computer, the PCjr, because my dad worked for the company. I honestly remember when he brought it home, along with a bunch of games in ugly hard plastic hinged boxes. One of them, King's Quest, turned out to be the most popular in our family - and it was no surprise! You could control the little protagonist Sir Graham (later on, his highness King Graham) , making him walk around in his bright blue pants, red shirt, and feathered cap, climb beanstalks, outwit his fairy-tale foes, all the while exploring a magical 16-color world! Yes, sometimes in took a while to load the next screen, but a little patience when playing from a single 5 1/2-inch floppy, please!

No wonder it's been recognized time and again as one of the most important games ever made (#15 on this list, I would have ranked it higher of course).

62 Essential Vitamins and Minerals

That's what your average box of Grape Nuts cereal contains. Not only that, but 500% of your USDA RDA - that's Recommended Daily Allowance, for you non-label-readers out there. And what does it have in the taste department? I'm glad you asked!

Jenny (my lovely and talented wife) and I don't often disagree, believe it or not. But I can only hope for the best, and prepare for the nutritious, when she buys breakfast cereals without me. While it's true that I do enjoy the sugary cereals - I have always had a particular affinity for Lucky Charms - I don't need tons of sugar for breakfast. There's nothing wrong in my book with Special K, even the plain stuff without the fruit, or Cheerios, the classic stand-by. But breakfast is the first meal of the day, and I'd prefer not to experience character-building events so early in the morning. Grape Nuts might be fantastically healthy for me, it might be the single greatest source of fiber known to cereal, but it also tastes like mulch. Cheap mulch, not the premium mulch with cedar chips and stuff like that. Cedar chips would actually improve Grape Nuts. Maybe I should write to Post and suggest that - "Grape Nuts, now with cedar!" I've heard that cedar doesn't stay crunchy in milk though, so it's probably not as marketable.

I also never thought much of frosted mini-wheats - kind of bland, I always thought, even with the sugar. That tune changed in a hurry when I discovered the colon-cleansing joy of regular (non-frosted!) shredded wheat. Frosted mini-wheats are a fabulous concept by comparison! Scouring the kitchen for a pop-tart is never an ennobling task, but alas, it was all too necessary on that sad morning.

I'm not asking that pastel-colored marshmallows be added to every cereal, but could we perhaps find a happy medium? Honey-Nut Cheerios? Total, with raisins? Golden Grahams never killed anyone, at least not that I've heard.

Consistent Inconsistency

I am of course referring to the University of Maryland men's basketball team, which lost badly to N.C. State for the second time this season. Yes, they once again produced a bad loss after a big win. Any time Gary criticizes his team so openly, it's a sign that he's really frustrated, and he should be. This very talented team doesn't seem to be able to summon defensive focus for every game. To allow so many wide-open 3-point shots to N.C. State, to allow them to execute so many of the same high-screen pick-and-roll plays, it seemed as though the players were just reacting instead of anticipating. It's no mystery that N.C. State wants to shoot the 3, and wants to screen high for cuts to the basket. I'm not quite sure what that says about a team that doesn't figure that out, when they play the Wolfpack at least twice a year, and Herb Sendek has been running the same offense for years.

OK, I'll hazard a guess (since this is my page and that's what it's here for, unsolicited opinion) - this is not a smart team unless there's a ranking next to it's opponent's name. It also apparently helps if "Duke" is featured prominently on the uniform. Why is that? Beats me. If you can figure it out, please let me know. First give Gary a call though, before his head pops off of his neck.

Planning for the Future?

Time to start allocating more money to our 401(k) plans, looks like we might need them to last a while.

Terps Beat Duke: A Familiar Refrain

The Terps triumphed for their third win in a row over the Blue Devils on Saturday night, in a game that could not have been hyped any more by ESPN. I hate to say it, but this just isn't a big deal anymore. There's not a disparity in talent between these two programs, when you look at the teams as a whole. Might their starters be better than MD's? Maybe. But as a whole, since Koach Konsonant insists on recruiting only the top-rated HS players, he's left with a 1 or 2 player bench when those players leave early for the NBA. Meanwhile, Gary recruits very good players as well, but he seems to recruit those who for the most part are going to stick around for 3-4 years. And given roughly equal talent, Gary has been able to out-coach Konsonant pretty regularly. Speaking of the Koach, I was under the mistaken impression that all the students in Durham loved him. My bad.

Now, is this the beginning of the Terps' run to the tournament this year? Perhaps. One well-played team game with many contributors is certainly a good sign. There may be more hiccups along the way, time will tell. I was wondering 2 weeks ago why a team with so much talent could play so poorly, and often without the requisite effort, against teams like Clemson and Miami. I forget that these players are in their late teens and early 20s; given the hype of certain games, and the disinterest from media and fans for other games, asking them to play with the same level of intensity for every game is probably the most difficult thing they're asked to do as players. It simply runs counter to human nature.

Finally, I would be remiss if I didn't mention that today was Valentine's Day. Jenny decries this as a greeting card holiday (I agree), and therefore we do not observe said holiday. But most relationships could use a little bit more romance throughout the year, so with that in mind I give you the Onion Love Coupons. Enjoy!

WarCrack

Given that I've taken to blogging - not that I've promoted it much, and to those few in my family that I have made aware of its existence, I hardly expect regular readership, but rather that I simply enjoy the process - I figured I could combine it with my other pursuit as of late, that being World of Warcraft. It's quite an addictive game, much more so by far than any other game I have had the pleasure of playing over the years.

I planned to create a new blog, calling it - ever so wittily - World of WarCrack, and use it to reflect on the game and its addictive nature, social aspects, and what a generally kick-ass playing experience it offers. It would use the address warcrack.blogspot.com. I suppose that I should've posited the existence of such a blog already, but I didn't. I was actually surprised to find that someone had beaten me to the punch. Thinking about it, though, with well over 1 million characters already playing across the world (I don't assume 1 million players because a player can create multiple characters), one player was bound to come up with the idea before me.

So now I'm toying with the idea of a Warcraft-related blog from a different angle; it would be a journal narrated by one of my characters! Brilliant! Of course, creative writing was never a strength of mine back in my school days, but this project would be different - the stories would practically write themselves as the character moved through the game, I would simply need to take dictation, and occasionally add a few embellishments. I'll have to think it over...

American Leisure

It's official - according to a new study reported by the Onion (America's Finest News Source), Americans lost 180 trillion leisure hours to work in 2004. That number is just staggering to me. Yet another area where we lag far behind developed countries in Europe and Asia.

I'm a positive person though, so I refused to let this news of lost leisure, especially news from a fake news source, get me down. Instead, I scoured all of the Internets (thanks, Google!) for data that validate our hard-working free market society. There are plenty of great things about living in one of the few developed countries with a private insurance system, and having fewer vacation days than anyone else isn't so bad when you consider the US:

• has more televisions per capita than any other country (excluding the super-tiny nations at the top of this list, Christmas Island, Bermuda, and Monaco)
• imprisons up more people per capita than anyone else
  
• uses the most energy per person
• drinks more juice than any country save Canada

So there you have it. We make work harder and have less free time to show for it, but with all of our extra cash, we're buying more TVs, locking up more bad guys, and drinking lots of juice, all with the lights on, the water running and the engine idling. We're obviously having a lot of fun, so who's to say that we need any more free time?

Clemson?!?

Yuck. For those who saw the game, no need to elaborate. For those who didn't:

Maryland was terrible. They couldn't shoot, the had no interior game to speak of on offense or defense, they allowed 50% shooting and were out-rebounded. They looked tired and out-of-sync. The lone bright spot was backup point guard Sterling Ledbetter, who demonstrated some great driving and scoring moves that should serve the Terps well when Gilchrist isn't in the game for whatever reason. Clemson beat MD for the first time since 1997.

To say this team needs more consistency is probably a gross understatement. This is especially true in the Terps' interior game, which disappears completely at times. Over-reliance on your guards and your small forward for all of the scoring isn't the best basketball strategy; when they have an bad shooting night, you lose.