Apparently, a new study shows that use of an electronic device while walking is unsafe for teens aged 16-19. Really!? You needed a scientific study to determine that? Sometimes people think too hard and just completely forget about common sense. And how did they come up with the age range? Does that mean it has a different affect for someone 15, 20... or 45? It's unsafe for everyone! I can tell you that without conducting a study and wasting good money that could have gone into something more useful.
If there are colleges out there that have science majors interested in things like this, they should really cut those programs. Using common sense should be part of all professions. Letting out students who do this kind of thing hurts the advancement of science.
2012-08-30
2012-08-29
The Good Announcement
Commuters are already used to the various train delays. Our brains already react the moment we hear the PA system go off when it's not to announce the next stop. This morning, when I heard, "ladies and gentlemen..." on the PA, I already thought it was some kind of delay. It's usually a sick passenger, police investigation or signal problem. The best you could hope for is train traffic because that's a short delay compared to the others. The PA continued, "...because of an earlier incident..." It was definitely bad, I thought. Then he surprised me by ending it with "... we're skipping xxxx and xxxx. The next stop will be xxxx." So the train I was on got a slight speed boost. After an earlier delay, which didn't affect my train, we skipped 2 stops!
2012-08-28
Maria & Galaxy Tab
What a great combination of sports and technology! It looks pretty stupid when they hold it up like a phone, but Maria's still pretty!
2012-08-27
Weekend Sports Wrapup
Yankees
The Yankees won their series against the Indians, but they dropped the second game, wasting another good performance by Hiroki Kuroda. He gave up 3 runs, but all the offense could pick up was one. That was a lost opportunity. With a bad 2nd half record, they needed to take advantage of this weaker team. Game 1 was a 3-1 victory behind a dominant 8-inning performance for CC Sabathia's return. Yesterday's 4-1 win needed a team pitching effort and 11 hits from the offense.
US Open
This weekend kicked off all the festivities and events at Arthur Ashe, bringing life to the city within a city that's a ghost town for most of the year. Nadal is still nursing injuries and will not compete in this event. So I'm going to skip a lot of matches in this one as well. It'll likely be Federer vs Djokovic in the finals. Murray also has a shot of upsetting either one of them. If Roddick gets in the zone, he also has a slight chance. For the women, it could be Serena if she can keep from getting fined! Maria and Venus always have shots if they getting on a good winning streak. Clijisters will retire after this one, so expect a strong final push from her as well.
The Yankees won their series against the Indians, but they dropped the second game, wasting another good performance by Hiroki Kuroda. He gave up 3 runs, but all the offense could pick up was one. That was a lost opportunity. With a bad 2nd half record, they needed to take advantage of this weaker team. Game 1 was a 3-1 victory behind a dominant 8-inning performance for CC Sabathia's return. Yesterday's 4-1 win needed a team pitching effort and 11 hits from the offense.
US Open
This weekend kicked off all the festivities and events at Arthur Ashe, bringing life to the city within a city that's a ghost town for most of the year. Nadal is still nursing injuries and will not compete in this event. So I'm going to skip a lot of matches in this one as well. It'll likely be Federer vs Djokovic in the finals. Murray also has a shot of upsetting either one of them. If Roddick gets in the zone, he also has a slight chance. For the women, it could be Serena if she can keep from getting fined! Maria and Venus always have shots if they getting on a good winning streak. Clijisters will retire after this one, so expect a strong final push from her as well.
2012-08-22
2012-08-21
End of Summer?
We've had a full week of Fall-like weather now. Could this already be the end of the Summer, 2 weeks before the marketing end of Labor Day? I think this Summer was a lot milder than most people thought. Yes... we did have super hot days, but they alternated with very unusually cold, sub-70 degree days. Upstate NY got a tornado, but city dwellers dodged anything extreme. Maybe the Summer seemed hot because it lacked rain. We didn't have many days with showers or thunderstorms. Even the thunderstorms that hit lasted minutes and were smaller than predicted.
2012-08-20
Weekend Sport Wrapup
Yankees
It was rivalry weekend again at Yankee Stadium, in a weird schedule that buts all of the NY games in the 2nd half of the season. This time, the Yankees took the series 2-1, to make it something like 9-4 for the season. Yesterday's game was an excellent closeout to the 3-game set as Kuroda pitched another gem. He gave up 1 run on 4 hits right after his 2-hit complete game. Jeter had 3 hits and continues to climb up in baseball history. Ichiro had 2 solo homers.
Melky
Ever though there was something suspicious about Melky's breakout year? He's been out of the spotlight since leaving NY, then all of a sudden he's putting up MVP numbers. The 50-game suspension by the MLB is last week's news, but Melky also setup a fake website for the drug to try to clear himself. So that's being investigated as well.
Muay Thai
Two of the top female fighters, Julie Kitchen and Miriam Nakamoto fought each other in San Diego. As in most women's bouts, this one started out in all out offense as they both came out swinging all 8 Muay Thai weapons. Miriam was cut in the 2nd round, but her cutman was able to stop the fight. She got the OK to continue. She went into desperation mode and scored a ton of points to earn the unanimous decision.
2012-08-17
Bus Stop... per
At a bus stop that I pass each day, there was an old man with a walker this morning. He was the lone customer waiting for the bus. When it arrived, he slowly made his way up and paid the fare.... coin by coin. In the time it took him to get through, 4 other customers who weren't even at the stop materialized and made it on! The old man was a good bus stopper for those running a little late. It just sucked for the passengers already on the bus!
2012-08-16
Jackie Chan V8
It's good to see Jackie Chan again. I was surprised with this commercial because I wasn't expecting him to pop in!
2012-08-14
Subway Tales: Crazy Eyes
No... this won't be a post about a Subway Tales character that looks like Kurt Thomas! Crazy Eyes is a woman who gets on a few stops after I do. She's a middle aged woman with long black hair and streaks of grey. She's about 5'2" and always wears a mini skirt. But her most prominent feature is her huge, round, staring eyes. They're further accented by her round glasses. She looks scary enough to be in one of those Japanese horror flicks!
2012-08-13
Weekend Sports Wrapup
Olympics
The Olympics always feels short as we wait another 4 years for 2 weeks of intense competition. I didn't feel like I got into as much this time. I watched the swimming, track & field, random stuff and a couple of basketball games. I didn't watch as much gymnastics as usual for some reason. For tennis, I only watched a few Ivanovic matches. I think I would have watched more if Nadal was in it and if Derrick Rose wasn't injured. He still has another shot in 4 years though.
Basketball
Team USA won as expected, but it was a close final against Spain. Spain actually had a shot at winning too if they didn't turn the ball over so much and connected on just a few more 3's. In the bronze medal game, Russia upset Argentina on a controversial play at the end. That's really not how you want a game to end, especially one involving a medal.
Yankees
The Yankees drop another series and also lose CC Sabathia to the DL. Phil Hughes lost yesterday in a 10-7 slugfest. So far, no starter that's not injured has shown consistency except perhaps, Kuroda. The bullpen has also been shaky. Robertson this year isn't lights out and on many occasions, they had to rely on a 3+ out Soriano save.
The Olympics always feels short as we wait another 4 years for 2 weeks of intense competition. I didn't feel like I got into as much this time. I watched the swimming, track & field, random stuff and a couple of basketball games. I didn't watch as much gymnastics as usual for some reason. For tennis, I only watched a few Ivanovic matches. I think I would have watched more if Nadal was in it and if Derrick Rose wasn't injured. He still has another shot in 4 years though.
Basketball
Team USA won as expected, but it was a close final against Spain. Spain actually had a shot at winning too if they didn't turn the ball over so much and connected on just a few more 3's. In the bronze medal game, Russia upset Argentina on a controversial play at the end. That's really not how you want a game to end, especially one involving a medal.
Yankees
The Yankees drop another series and also lose CC Sabathia to the DL. Phil Hughes lost yesterday in a 10-7 slugfest. So far, no starter that's not injured has shown consistency except perhaps, Kuroda. The bullpen has also been shaky. Robertson this year isn't lights out and on many occasions, they had to rely on a 3+ out Soriano save.
2012-08-10
Medal Count
All of the newspapers and people watching the Olympics are wrapped up in the medal count, particularly the US and China since those are the 2 at the top. The US will likely finish with more just because they're in most of the events at the end of the competition. There's a lot more to this than the total number though. If you look at the batting average, China is winning because they have a lot less athletes. If this was baseball, there would be no question about it. If there are 2 players, with a close number of hits, but a big difference in average... 1 guy has 100 hits and .250 avg and another guy has 85 hits with .310 avg, clearly the .310 is better. With the Olympics, there are just too many factors to compare countries one-to-one. China has different specialties as does the US. Some event yield more medals than others. There's also # of teams sports vs individual sports. When it comes down to it, the total count doesn't mean much except that it's a number for people who don't want to think too much and writers who need material. The only true comparison is when you look at each competition separately... which is what the Olympics is all about anyway.
2012-08-07
VISA: Phelps' 19th
A commercial that would be outdated soon! It's still great though... love the gold hue and Morgan Freeman narration.
2012-08-06
Weekend Sports Wrapup
Swimming
Michael Phelps completed his career with 22 medals (16 gold) as he finished the fly and a really strong. That capped an Olympic that he started slow and had the press thinking he was done after his first race. And it extended a record that won't be broken for a long time. I think the closest leader in gold medals is something like 9 or 10. It can only be broken by an athlete who competes in multiple events and he/she has to start racking them up at 14 or 15 years old!
Yankees
The Yankees finally won a series as the Mariners visited for the first time since the Ichiro trade. CC pitched a complete game, giving up just 3 runs... all at the end. Kuroda lost his in a 1-0 pitcher's duel. So that was a good 3-game.
Tennis
No surprise on the women's side... Serena Williams defeated Maria Sharapova for the gold. The William's sisters also won the doubles gold. On the men's side, Andy Murray finally beat Roger Federer on his home turf.
Michael Phelps completed his career with 22 medals (16 gold) as he finished the fly and a really strong. That capped an Olympic that he started slow and had the press thinking he was done after his first race. And it extended a record that won't be broken for a long time. I think the closest leader in gold medals is something like 9 or 10. It can only be broken by an athlete who competes in multiple events and he/she has to start racking them up at 14 or 15 years old!
Yankees
The Yankees finally won a series as the Mariners visited for the first time since the Ichiro trade. CC pitched a complete game, giving up just 3 runs... all at the end. Kuroda lost his in a 1-0 pitcher's duel. So that was a good 3-game.
Tennis
No surprise on the women's side... Serena Williams defeated Maria Sharapova for the gold. The William's sisters also won the doubles gold. On the men's side, Andy Murray finally beat Roger Federer on his home turf.
2012-08-04
Sword of Azrael
James Holmes
This guy easily wins the Death by Fiery Sword penalty. He planned to kill all of those people in the theater and then tried to fake insanity. There's no punishment that will ever be equivalent to what he has done unless they implement my idea of torturing him to near death and then reviving him x the number of murders he committed. I think I'm going to name a new penalty... 100 Deaths.
Badminton Players
8 players... 4 from China, 2 from Korea and 2 from Indonesia get the Excommunication penalty for trying to fix the Olympic Games by losing their matches. Badminton is a tournament style and these pairs purposely and obviously lost to try to get a weaker draw next round. This goes against everything the Olympics stands for.
This guy easily wins the Death by Fiery Sword penalty. He planned to kill all of those people in the theater and then tried to fake insanity. There's no punishment that will ever be equivalent to what he has done unless they implement my idea of torturing him to near death and then reviving him x the number of murders he committed. I think I'm going to name a new penalty... 100 Deaths.
Badminton Players
8 players... 4 from China, 2 from Korea and 2 from Indonesia get the Excommunication penalty for trying to fix the Olympic Games by losing their matches. Badminton is a tournament style and these pairs purposely and obviously lost to try to get a weaker draw next round. This goes against everything the Olympics stands for.
2012-08-03
Grades Are In
This year's subway grades are in and here are the results:
Amount of Service
Best = 6
Worst = C
Regularity
Best = J/Z
Worse = 5
Breakdowns
Best = E
Worst = C
Seating
Best = R
Worst = 5
Cleanliness
Best = 1
Worst = C
Announcements
Best = 4/Q
Worst = 7
Best = 6
Worst = C
Regularity
Best = J/Z
Worse = 5
Breakdowns
Best = E
Worst = C
Seating
Best = R
Worst = 5
Cleanliness
Best = 1
Worst = C
Announcements
Best = 4/Q
Worst = 7
2012-08-02
Phelps vs Lochte
This is the ultimate showdown. There's no medal, no tournament and no crowds... just Ryan and Michael going at it at a normal pool to who's the best!
2012-08-01
Midweek Sports Update
Yankees
The Yankees continue to lose series... last night to the 2nd place Orioles, who have really cut the nice 10-game lead. When the Yankees went up 5-0, I was thinking that they finally woke up. Then Nova gave up 7 runs the next inning. While he's had a good start to the year, he's been terrible since a couple of weeks before the break. Our most solid pitchers have been CC and Kuroda, who actually looked bad in the beginning.
Bulls
Yesterday, in a surprise move, the Bulls picked up G Nate Robinson. I thought it was strange because it's been part of the Bulls recruiting habit to consider personality. Robinson has always been a guy that would talk better than actually play the game... unless he's grown up a little since playing for the Knicks. We'll see I guess. I imagine he'd be a bench warmer on a team that had Hinrich and Hamilton.
Swimming
Michael Phelps, although a little slower this time around was still able to make history. He racked up a silver in his specialty fly event and then a gold in the relay, making him the most decorated Olympian of all-time with 19 medals. Of those 19, 15 are gold, which is far beyond the record. While Phelps is not the superman he was 4 years ago, he's still a great champion personality-wise.
The Yankees continue to lose series... last night to the 2nd place Orioles, who have really cut the nice 10-game lead. When the Yankees went up 5-0, I was thinking that they finally woke up. Then Nova gave up 7 runs the next inning. While he's had a good start to the year, he's been terrible since a couple of weeks before the break. Our most solid pitchers have been CC and Kuroda, who actually looked bad in the beginning.
Bulls
Yesterday, in a surprise move, the Bulls picked up G Nate Robinson. I thought it was strange because it's been part of the Bulls recruiting habit to consider personality. Robinson has always been a guy that would talk better than actually play the game... unless he's grown up a little since playing for the Knicks. We'll see I guess. I imagine he'd be a bench warmer on a team that had Hinrich and Hamilton.
Swimming
Michael Phelps, although a little slower this time around was still able to make history. He racked up a silver in his specialty fly event and then a gold in the relay, making him the most decorated Olympian of all-time with 19 medals. Of those 19, 15 are gold, which is far beyond the record. While Phelps is not the superman he was 4 years ago, he's still a great champion personality-wise.
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