Sometimes ESPN Gets It Wrong

I absolutely love ESPN3 because it provides a free way for internet users to watch their favorite sports. I could not be happier with the fact that the ACC has been under contract with ESPN as it has allowed me to watch several of the Boston College basketball games online. Anyways, sometimes ESPN3 does “mess up.” On January 2, 2012 I watched at BC basketball game on ESPN3. The loading screen that was shown is displayed below. Does anyone notice a little problem?



Yeah, that would be pretty awesome if we had Raji for one more year.

Joe Paterno Dies at Age 85

Today is a sad day at Penn State state as the legendary Joe Paterno has died at age 85. He has quite a legacy as he has spent his entire coaching career at Penn State and holds the record for coaching the most consecutive seasons at a single school as a head coach. He coached Penn State last season, less than a year before his death. He was coaching his team to another winning season until he was fired after the indictment of longtime assistant Jerry Sandusky. Unfortunately, Joe Paterno's name will always be associated with Jerry Sandusky given the gravity of what Sandusky did while on the Penn State football staff. Paterno certainly deserves some blame, but Paterno shall also be remembered for all the good he did for the PSU football program.

What the Heck Is that Doing in My Freezer?

Today I did my much-needed grocery shopping run. I purchased only one frozen item, albeit a frozen pizza, and I noticed that there was no room in the freezer to fit the pizza. In a house of four people splitting a medium-sized refrigerator/freezer combo I was in disbelief (considering I did not have any frozen items in the freezer to begin with. Here is when you know that the freezer has never been reorganized...when you have food that has been left there that belonged to not the previous year's tenants or the even the year before that but the tenants from at least three years ago. Today I uncovered numerous very old items including this Turkey Bacon that was purchased over three years ago. For those who cannot read the date inscribed on the side of the package it says:
"USE OR FREEZE BY 10 23 08"

Wow! It's too bad this isn't wine, that would at least make the resale value nice. 3.5 years may not seem that long ago, but for meat, this Turkey Bacon is now practically an antique. It is interesting thinking what I was doing back in October of 2008...having the time of my life in Mexico.

I normally like asking all of my roomates before throwing something I think is old out, but this time there is no question that this Turkey Bacon belongs to nobody in sight.

Fixing the United States Postal Service

The United States Postal Service is in bad shape. It has already had to downsize and layoff several employees.

As it is now, USPS is bad bad bad. Last Tuesday, I went to my local post office simply to buy a stamp and mail a letter. I arrived at the post office at 1:38pm and I was shocked to find out that the post office was closed at that time. My local post office now closes at 1:30pm. I could understand this on a Sunday, Saturday, or even a Friday but Tuesday? I could not believe this recent change, especially considering 1:30pm is a pretty busy time of the day to make a postal run.

Today, the postal service is recognized as going through stormy seas. Republican house member Darrell Issa (Cal.) appears to support the downfall of the postal service in the sense that Issa and his bill are strongly against any postal bailout whatsoever. The bill calls for cuts in postal service, a reduction of service centers, and a reduction of labor benefits. This is in stark contrast to another bill titled the Postal Service Protection Act. Unlike Issa's bill, the Postal Service Protection Act is backed by Democrats in Congress as well as the postal workers themselves.

I am not member of Congress but I think there are a lot of simple solutions to fix the mess that the postal service is currently in:
1) Vending Machines: Post offices should be equipped with vending machines that dispense stamps (and possibly other items such as small envelopes). All of the post offices I know of in Phoenix do not have vending machines. I do not understand why this is, but it would solve a lot of headaches for customers who just need a stamp. Vending machines are an easy, quick, and cheap way of dispensing a necessary item for mailing letters. Vending machines may have a high initial cost, but they have virtually no labor costs. A vending machine should just be left in the lobbies of post offices so customers who need stamps can go to a post office even during after hours and still be able to mail their envelopes. Vending machines also reduce lines and the impatience of the people who currently have to wait in the personal service lines just to line get a stamp.
2) Increase Stamp Costs: Stamp costs should be increased to 50 cents and stay there for some time to come. This is a very sizeable increase and will generate plenty of additional revenue for the postal service. This also reduces the need to layoff workers. Demand for stamps is pretty inelastic so I doubt there will be much fewer stamps paid. Furthermore, what kind of number is 44 cents? The current cost of stamps is about as inconvenient as stamp costs get. Individuals have little use for the extra six cents, whereas the postal service can benefit immensely from charging each person more on stamps. Having stamps cost an even 50 cents will be a lot more efficient. At fifty cents a stamp, people do not have to get a calculator to figure out how much it costs to buy, say, six stamps.
3) Restore Hours: Post offices need to be open at least until 4 on weekdays. I know this is not the strongest point of mine because I cannot speak from an economic standpoint. However, every time I have gone to a post office in the afternoon, it has been quite crowded.

Love it

Guest post of the week by Bradley Guthrie

I went to http://www.satellitetvfamily.com/satellite-tv-spokane-wa at the suggestion of a colleague and I got all these channels I didn’t even know existed. I love that show Tori and Dean…I’ve been watching it since they bought a bed and breakfast but there’s something about them that I’m just so drawn to. They’re really cute and in love and I can tell that they like being with each other. I saw an episode the other day where Tori found out she was pregnant with their third and she told him as a Valentine’s Day gift – it was just adorable! They’re starting an “antiques” store with all this old junk Tori has had in storage and it’s just been hilarious. I can’t understand how someone could have THIRTY storage units full of furniture and stuff but you know, I guess that’s what accumulates when you’ve got millions of dollars and no hobbies other than collecting stuff. That’s something I guess I’m happy I never had the opportunity to do – I never had enough disposable income to hoard!

New Year Joke!

This one is very corny but it came from my New Year popper so expectations have to be low :)

Q. How did the human cannonball lose her job?

A. She got fired.

Happy New Year!

Wishing everyone a happy new year from California!

Discipline Matters

Image From ESPN

Dennis Erickson has "coached" his last game at Arizona State University if you can even call it that. The ASU football team has been criticized for being undisciplined, and the MAACO bowl game featuring ASU versus Boise State has exemplified ASU's problems. Quarterback Brock Osweiler has demonstrated a complete disregard for authority. Despite coach's orders he signaled the punting unit back to the sideline on a 4th and 4 just at midfield. Of course, ASU is unable to convert on that drive. On a later drive ASU drives to get within Boise State's ten-yard-line. The team fails to convert and on fourth and goal with the ball on the 1, Osweiler does not even pause to look over to the sideline. Instead, he unilaterally decides to go for it. Not once did he look to his coach who was calling for a timeout. ASU will get blown out this game and discipline has definitely been a factor.

DOJ After Joe Arpaio...but is anyone surprised?

Joe Arpaio never seems happy. In a recent interview with Fox News, he attributed his yelling to his Italian heritage. Given his track record, is anyone honestly surprised by the recent allegations that he has committed human rights abuses? In my opinion, Arpaio has been a disgrace to Maricopa County. I can only hope that he finally gets the boot.

The Texas Steam Team

The Steam Team is a Texas carpet cleaning company operating in Austin and Dallas. The Steam Team has been in service for over 25 years. The Team is experienced in cleaning, maintaining, and restoring flooring in both commercial and residential infrastructure. If you live in the Austin or Dallas area, check them out at http://www.thesteamteam.com/.

The website makes it convenient to schedule an appointment or if you would like to get a quote you can do that online. Of course they also accept phone inquiries. Carpet cleaning can get pricey, but The Steam Team offers some pretty nice specials. For example, the Steam Team is temporarily offering to clean three rooms for $99 if you order in Austin. One of the biggest problems for residential homes is removing the stench of pet odor. Particularly for homeowners that have multiple pets roaming around the house. When Fabreeze simply isn’t enough, give The Steam Team a call for carpet pet odor removal austin.

Boston College Basketball, Can You Feel It?

Anyone taking a quick glance at Boston College will notice that BC has a 4-7 record, almost unheard of for an ACC team that is still in the midst of out-of-conference games. However, Boston College fans and analysts closely following the Eagles basketball team should see a wealth of potential. Boston College was picked to finish dead last in the ACC at the conclusion of this season. It is hard to expect anything else this year when 7 out of your 9 scholarship players are freshmen. In fact, second-year BC head coach Steve Donahue’s entire roster is composed of strictly players he recruited. This is the definition of transition year for coach Donahue. Nonetheless, it has been exciting seeing the future of BC basketball developing and getting each game. While this year, has hit several bumps in the road and will undoubtedly continue to be a struggle. There are plenty of reasons to believe that the future is very bright for BC Basketball.

Donahue has already defied and exceeded the experts’ prognostications on BC basketball. Last year, BC was predicted to finish 10th in the ACC, which seemed reasonable considering BC had a roster consisting of only 8 scholarship players: Biko Paris, Reggie Jackson, Corey Raji, Josh Southern, Joe Trapani, Dallas Elmore, Courtney Dunn, and Gabe Moton (decommit from Air Foce). Furthermore, this was a reduced roster from the 2009-2010 BC team that had only won 15 games. Nonetheless, Donahue pulled off a 20-win season in 2010-2011.

All of the players from the 2010-2011season, except Moton, have now departed leaving the Eagles with a fresh group of new faces and a roster that consists exclusively of players recruited by second-year coach Steve Donahue. Nonetheless, the BC Eagles have shown slow but steady improvement.

There are patches of brilliance scattered throughout each BC basketball game. As this young BC squad develops and matures BC may soon become a nationally competitive team in the coming years. Donahue has struggled on the recruiting trail, and one can hope is recruiting improves overtime. Nonetheless, players like Jordan Daniels, Lonnie Jackson, Patrick Heckman, Ryan Anderson, and Dennis Clifford have demonstrated a wealth of potential. If they continue to work at it and progress, these players may become outstanding in the ACC. Caudill and Odio have yet to show much. Perhaps as they develop over the years they can become productive players. After all, very rarely are college freshmen put into the position that this freshman-laden BC roster has been put into.

The Eagles play Sacred Heart tomorrow at 7pm ET.

GO BC!

The Xavier Basketball Team is a Bunch of Gangsters

These words came straight from Xavier’s star player. What poor senior leadership that someone can go through a four-year university and still consider himself a gangster. This may be the worst college basketball post-game player interview.