Trapped

The New Yorker presents a condensed security camera video of Nicholas White, who spent 41 (!) hours trapped in a New York City elevator.

Of course, I would have John McClane’d outta there way before 41 hours.

The article the video accompanies, Up And Then Down by Nick Paumgarten, is a fascinating read… (seriously!)

The elevator, underrated and overlooked, is to the city what paper is to reading and gunpowder is to war. Without the elevator, there would be no verticality, no density, and, without these, none of the urban advantages of energy efficiency, economic productivity, and cultural ferment. The population of the earth would ooze out over its surface, like an oil slick, and we would spend even more time stuck in traffic or on trains, traversing a vast carapace of concrete. And the elevator is energy-efficient—the counterweight does a great deal of the work, and the new systems these days regenerate electricity. The elevator is a hybrid, by design.

I Voted.

For Ron Paul. You should too.

He’s not perfect, but at least he’s neither a Giant Douche nor a Turd Sandwich*.

* Nor is he Hillary Clinton, who’s a Giant Turdy Douche Sandwich.

And It Begins… LSU vs. Mississippi State

Over at Casa de Hartman and was a little late getting the network set up. Didn’t miss much - Ms. State just went four and out.

The countdown to the first mention of Coach Croom being black begins…

[8:10] 3 and half minutes in and LSU already has two first downs and is in MSU territory.

[8:13] Great breakup by the MSU DB. AND THE PSEUDOGS HOLD!! For now.

[8:18] Oh boy. LSU intercepts. The closest MSU WR was in Tupelo. In other news, Louisville has already put up 28 points in the first quarter.

[8:25] Colt Brennan McCoy David puts LSU up 3-0. I guess MS State deserves some credit - moral victory and all that.

[8:33] Not to jinx MSU or anything, but they actually look kinda OK at the moment. And just as I say that, MSU goes for it on 4th and 2 and loses two yards.

[9:03] BORRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRINGGGGGGGGGGG

[9:14] We have our first touchdown, surprisingly, with 6 minutes left in the first half. 10-0 LSU.

[9:21] Trickeration by MSU! And LSU isn’t fooled and they intercept it in the end zone. MSU’s offense is scraight horrible.

[9:27] And on cue, MSU throws their fourth interception of the first half. Somehow MSU still looks to be going into halftime only down 10 - moral victory and all that.

[9:32] Check that - LSU 1st down at the 5 yard line with 12 seconds left. And… touchdown LSU with no time left. 17-0.

Times Have Changed

I’m watching the 1981 Sugar Bowl on ESPN Classic when Keith Jackson said, “The muscle of Notre Dame… they are very big along the (offensive) front.”

Week One Top 15

I promised myself I would take what I learned from last year’s Top 15 and try to apply to this year’s poll. I pride myself on learning from elementary mistakes and not making them again, but then again, I drank 20 ounces of cold turkey gravy on a dare last year and could very well do the same again this year. Take that as you will.

Yum.

So, without further ado, my completely unscientific Top 15 of which I shall be referred to as a genius at season’s end:

1. Michigan
2. West Virginia
3. LSU
4. Louisville
5. Wisconsin
6. Texas
7. Florida
8. USC
9. Georgia Tech
10. Oklahoma
11. California
12. Georgia
13. Hawaii
14. Virginia Tech
15. Auburn

Observations:

• Winner of West Virginia/Louisville game will play for title. It’ll be the ‘Eers this year; Rutgers won’t factor into the Big East equation like they did last year.
• Winner of Michigan/Wisconsin game will play for title. It’ll be the Wolverines this year; Ohio State won’t factor into the Big Ten equation like they did last year.
• I needed a smaller-conference juggernaut, and this year it’s Hawaii. BCS ratings and computer rankings and all that be damned, if they go undefeated, they should get a BCS bid.
• I also needed one conference Cinderella, and this year’s Cinderella is wearing any number of shades of mustard yellow, a pocket protector, and missed the ball because she was too busy playing World Of Warcraft. But she won’t miss Ball this year… ha! Get it? See where I’m going with that?
• USC will win the Pac-10, but lose two games along the way.
• Virginia Tech had a distraction-free offseason, so they sneak in here.

August 28, 2007 at 7:55 pm :: Comments (1) :: Filed under College Football, DAve, National, Sports, UGA

A Quick Look Back

Here’s my Top 15 to start the season from last year and how they finished… um… ugh.

1. Auburn (finished #9 AP, #8 USA Today)
2. Ohio State (finished #2 AP, #2 USA Today)
3. Texas (finished #13 AP, #13 USA Today)
4. USC (finished #4 AP, #4 USA Today)
5. West Virginia (finished #10 AP, #10 USA Today)
6. LSU (finished #3 AP, #3 USA Today)
7. Notre Dame (finished #17 AP, #19 USA Today)
8. Louisville (finished #6 AP, #7 USA Today)
9. Iowa (finished UR AP, UR USA Today)
10. Florida (finished #1 AP, #1 USA Today)
11. Clemson (finished UR AP, UR USA Today)
12. Tennessee (finished UR AP, #23 USA Today)
13. Florida State (finished UR AP, UR USA Today)
14. Georgia (finished #23 AP, UR USA Today)
15. Montana State (finished UR AP, UR USA Today)

Eh, well I nailed it when it came to USC and Ohio State, so that’s worth something, yeah? I flipped a coin on Louisville/West Virginia and lost, and failed to account for the J.G.E. (Jim Grobe Effect) in the ACC. As for Iowa? Don’t ask, ’cause I have no clue. Looking back, as much as I hate the Big 10, I should’ve had Michigan in there, and didn’t account for at least one smaller-conference juggernaut (Boise State) and one conference Cinderella (Rutgers). I won’t make the same mistake again.

So I now absolve myself of this pathetic pickeration and look to this year’s Top 15, coming soon.

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Now playing: Pink Floyd - Breathe
via FoxyTunes

No Big Shock Here

Here’s my results from a cool little online survey. It’s based on data culled from 2decide.com. Feel free to post your results in the comments section - I’d be curious to see how my friends stack up.

Paul 36
Embryonic Stem Cells, Kyoto, Guns - Background Checks

Gravel 25
Abortion Rights, Border Fence, Universal Healthcare

Kucinich 20
Abortion Rights, No Child Left Behind, ANWR Drilling, Assault Weapons Ban, Border Fence, Net Neutrality, Minimum Wage Increase, Universal Healthcare

Obama 11
Abortion Rights, ANWR Drilling, Assault Weapons Ban, Patriot Act, Net Neutrality, Iran Sanctions, Minimum Wage Increase, Universal Healthcare

Biden 9
Abortion Rights, Death Penalty, No Child Left Behind, ANWR Drilling, Assault Weapons Ban, Patriot Act, Net Neutrality, Iran Sanctions, Minimum Wage Increase

Dodd 9
Abortion Rights, Death Penalty, No Child Left Behind, ANWR Drilling, Assault Weapons Ban, Patriot Act, Net Neutrality, Iran Sanctions, Iran - Military Action, Minimum Wage Increase

Clinton 8
Abortion Rights, Death Penalty, No Child Left Behind, ANWR Drilling, Assault Weapons Ban, Patriot Act, Net Neutrality, Iran Sanctions, Iran - Military Action, Minimum Wage Increase, Universal Healthcare

Brownback 5
No Child Left Behind, Embryonic Stem Cells, Kyoto, Guns - Background Checks, Patriot Act, Guantanamo, Iraq War

Edwards 5
Abortion Rights, Death Penalty, No Child Left Behind, ANWR Drilling, Assault Weapons Ban, Patriot Act, Net Neutrality, Iran Sanctions, Iran - Military Action, Minimum Wage Increase, Universal Healthcare

Richardson 4
Abortion Rights, Death Penalty, Patriot Act, Border Fence, Net Neutrality, Iran Sanctions, Iran - Military Action, Minimum Wage Increase, Universal Healthcare

Thompson -1
Cox -4
Tancredo -10
McCain -12
Huckabee -22
Giuliani -24
Hunter -25
Romney -27

Throwing Stones, Or It’s Not a Right vs. Left Thing

Disclosure: I voted for George W. Bush the first time around, but did not the second time. Additionally, I believe his approval ratings are about where they should be considering the rather depressing direction his second term has taken.

Many liberals have taken near-orgasmic joy over watching the President’s approval rating fall. And fall. And fall. That joy has been proportionately measured and corrolates with the ridiculous, over-the-top preening and crowing heard by the Left since the Democrats took control of Congress. Those preening and crowing must, by simple mathematics, reside in a very small minority of liberals, considering this:

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Most U.S. voters think the country is on the wrong track and remain deeply unhappy with President George W. Bush and Congress, but still feel good about their finances and optimistic about the future, according to a Reuters/Zogby poll released on Wednesday.

Eighteen months before Bush leaves the White House, nearly two-thirds of Americans say the country is headed in the wrong direction and give the president negative marks for his job performance.

An even bigger majority, 83 percent, say the Democratic-controlled Congress is doing only a fair or poor job — the worst mark for Congress in a Zogby poll. - Emphasis mine.

My question, then, is this: Where is all the condemnation, indignation, name-calling, etc. for the members of Congress from the outspoken Left?

My only guess is a feeling akin to getting stood up at prom. Liberals voted in droves to turn Congressional control back to the Democrats, and now feel embarrassed or maybe shameful for having done so. I just wish they’d be as vocal about it as they are about the President.

Chunks Of Liberty

• AOL News Blogger Dinesh D’Souza questions Ron Paul’s libertarianism with regards to Iraq, and is promptly out-reasoned by over 50 rational and relatively well-behaved commenters.
• “Writes Steve Dekorte: “What I don’t understand about the nationalized healthcare movement is why it must be done using the threat of force. If there are people in the US who wish to be a part of a healthcare system in which each contributes according to their means and receives according to their needs (with rationing), then aren’t they already free to form a private insurance organization of freely consenting members to do so?”
• “I’ve been a blogger for years and my Technorati account dates back to March of 2004. But, I’ve never seen anything like the sustained presence of Ron Paul in the Technorati top search terms. The Paris Hiltons and iPhones come and go and YouTube is almost always at the top. But a politician? When has that ever happened before? According to a Technorati spokesman, never.”
• And lastly, how encouraging.

“I Done Wet My Britches”

You can keep your Cal-Stanford “Play”, the Music City Miracle, Flutie’s Hail Mary, even Belue-to-Scott… give me Plano vs. John Tyler 1994, because this is the most entertaining final five minutes of any football game I’ve ever seen.