College Football 13 November 2010

My game Jason Jenkins and I drove to the University of Illinois to watch the Illinois-Minnesota game.

The day was cold and blustery; there was drizzle prior to the game but it didn’t rain during the game.
I knew that Illinois was a heavy favorite, but when I saw Minnesota warm up, the looked the part of a competent Big Ten team even if their record didn’t show it.

Illinois forced a Gopher punt and then drove it 81 yards for a 7-0 lead; the offense was clicking well (going with a brisk wind). But then the game became punt trading (with a few stalled drives) and the Gophers gradually begin to win the battle of field position; Illinois constantly started inside their own 20.

In the second quarter, the Gophers answered to tie 7-7; another long drive made it 14-7. Short punting kept the Gophers in great field position and they cashed in with a field goal go up 17-7 in the half.

In the second half, Illinois drove it mixing running and passing to cut it to 17-14; then the next wind shortened kick-off was fumbled; the Illini cashed in very quickly to go up 20-17; a botched snap/hold cost the extra point.

But the Gophers drove it the length of the field to go up 24-20 going into the 4′th quarter.

Then the fireworks began. Illinois used the wind and mixed passing and running to drive it 80 yards to go up 27-24. Another stop, then a long run up the middle (beautifully blocked) ran the score up to 34-24 with just over 8 minutes ago. Illinois fans began to breath easier…until…

The next kick-off. The Gophers broke a return alond the left side and ran it to the Illini 4; two plays it was 34-31.

Illinois went 3 and out and punted. But Minnesota couldn’t move and had to punt which put the Illini near midfield with just over 4 minutes to go. But on 4′th and 1, Illinois punted (wisely) and had Minnesota pinned at the 20 with 2 time outs and bucking a stiff head wind.

Then came the last drive; it featured a key scramble on 3′rd down for big yards, a pass that had a 15 yard late-hit penalty tacked on (correct call) and a screen pass; Minnesota eventually drove inside the 5 yard line with less than a minute to go.

They scored a TD and extra point with 16 seconds left; that left time for a squib kick, and one last interception.
Illinois outgained Minnesota 387 to 361, but that discounted a huge kickoff return that made part of the difference. One fumble (by Minnesota on a kick off) and one interception (desperation pass on the game’s last play) were the only turnovers in chilly weather.

I wish that Illinois had won, but it was an exciting game.

Other games
Right now I am watching Texas get whipped; it is 26-3 Oklahoma State at the half. Texas is simply not a good team this year.
TCU held off a tough San Diego State squad to win 40-35.
Navy:

won 38-37 when Central Michigan went for 2 points with 4 seconds left in the game and didn’t make it. So while Navy improved to 7-3 and has scored 180 points in the last 4 games, Navy has also given up 34, 35 and 37 points in the last three and 27, 21 and 17 in the three games prior to that. The defense has flaws.

Notre Dame-Utah

Allow me to remind you what I said on October 24:

What I see: Army and Tulsa should be winnable games. But that is a SHOULD with this team. USC: it depends on how seriously the Trojans take the game. Utah: on paper this looks like a potentially ugly loss, BUT Utah plays TCU the week before and Air Force the week prior to that. They might go 2-2 the rest of the way to finish 6-6. But Utah is a potential upset.

ND won easily 28-3.

This represents a huge improvement in their defensive play.

(photos from yahoo)

Well, one bit of good news: in the time it took me to type this, Oklahoma State hasn’t gone further ahead.

msnbc video: The Maddow/Stewart interview uncut

I can recommend this, even for conservatives. Stewart made me rethink some of my attitudes.

msnbc video: The Maddow/Stewart interview uncut, posted with vodpod

12 November 2010 Rehabilitation Edition

Sleep: mostly pain free, but I took a “dry me out” tablet prior to going to bed (cough due to post-nasal drip).

Workout: Mostly lower body:
one legged squats (Smith): 10 x 45, 10 x 95, 10 x 95
Leg press: 20 x 180, 20 x 270, 20 x 360
Squats (no Smith): 10 x 135, 10 x 135. These were easier but not “legal” depth; I’d say not quite to parallel.
Sit ups: 100 (4 sets of 25 on the incline)
Leg extensions-leg curls-toe raises-back extensions-vertical leg lifts: 3 circuits
reps: 10, 10, 30, 10, 20
Arm bike: 15 minutes (4.17 miles)
Rotator cuff: weights and pulley (both arms)
AMT: 2 miles (23 minutes).

This was a good workout; much better than Wednesday. I actually feel stronger.

Yowza!

Awesome women’s volleyball uniforms from South America.

More here.

11 November 2010 pm

Running/Walking/Rehabilitation/Science
Underwater treadmills existed for some time now; these helped injured runners gradually ease into running. Now there is a more sophisticated treadmill which uses air to tailor the amount of weight that the recovering individual uses when running or walking.

Science
Cosmology/Astronomy
Gamma bubbles: yes, there are massive gamma ray plumes coming from some locations (the places where there were black holes?) These are thousands of light years in diameter! So much for the claim that “the universe was designed for life” (as Neal DeGrasse Tyson lampoons here)

Here is an awesome photo of two galaxies colliding…as ours will eventually with the Andromeda.

Physics/Mathematics
Time and space really are different!

And yes, while the curvature of space might change from location to location, the value of “pi” (which is the ratio of a circle’s diameter to circumference in Euclidean geometry) doesn’t vary by location. No, I am not making this question up as a “straw man”.

Biology/Evolution
Yes, there are genes that influence the amount of sleep we need; read about that here.

Astonishingly, fly maggots have many light receptors (“eyes”, so to speak):

An article soon to be published by Nature from the world-famous laboratory of Lily and Yuh Jan describes the astonishing finding that Drosophila maggots – and, you can be pretty sure, virtually every other kind of fly maggot – is covered with tiny “eyes”. Nobody had any idea that this was the case.

Up until today, the maggot’s “eyes” were thought to be a group of 12 cells called Bolwig’s organ.

It turns out that if this Bolwig’s organ is “killed”, the maggot will still avoid light; it still detects it!

Social Issues
Yes, raising the retirement age is problematic: whereas life expectancy (from 65 years on) has gone up for some economic groups, it has barely budged for the lowest income groups (those who need social security the most). And think about those whose jobs are physically demanding..not about those who work in climate controlled offices.

Health insurance Interesting question: should health insurance cover medical bills that result from stupid acts (e. g., a kid deliberately swallowing various items? ) That itself is an interesting question, but this finding is VERY interesting:

A potential catch for would-be sword-swallowers is that until the full panoply of protections in the health care reform bill comes into effect, insurance companies can deny coverage to prospective clients based on a history of risky behavior. Companies sometimes scour applicants’ medical records for evidence of frequent emergency room visits or revealing doctors’ notes. New rules will severely limit the factors they can consider starting in 2014. [...]

Economic theorists have long been concerned about moral hazard—the assumed tendency to engage in risky behaviors, like eating razors, because your insurer will always have your back. But recent studies have shown the opposite to be true. People who have health insurance are actually less likely to drink heavily, smoke, or have a high-risk job such as logger, airline pilot, or taxi driver. The insured are also more likely to wear seat belts and seek preventive care services. Researchers speculate that risk-loving people may perceive forgoing health insurance as just another adrenaline rush.

Another tough issue Amazon was carrying a self-published book on pedophilia. This sparked outrage. On one hand, I can see the outrage over this book; part of it was instructions on “how to not get caught”. On the other hand a book to help pedophiles (those who have these desires) to NOT ACT ON THOSE DESIRES might be useful.

And yes, there is free speech; the government has no right to censor such stuff. But citizens can decide to buy where ever they want. So no, I did not take part in the protest but I didn’t loudly back Amazon either. It turns out that Amazon gave in.

I hope that they don’t place the whole subject as a taboo one; protecting society from the acts of pedophiles requires us knowing more about them.

Politics

Republican anti-science
Yes: John Shimkus (IL-19, from the Southern Part of the state) says that “God” won’t let global warming destroy the planet so we don’t have to worry about that.

I am utterly revolted that we have such idiots in positions of power. Evidently, the younger, better educated voters are also turned off for these reasons:

He answers in the affirmative, and proposes a reason: the Republican war on science and knowledge (Why America’s Top Students Tune Out the GOP). Money quote:

Today’s top students are motivated less by enthusiasm for Democrats and much more by revulsion from Republicans. It’s not the students who have changed so much. It’s the Republicans. … Under Presidents Eisenhower and Nixon, Republicans championed science and knowledge. But over the past 30 years, national Republicans have formed an intensifying alliance with religious conservatives more skeptical of science and knowledge. I don’t know whether discarding evolution goes against common sense; but I’m pretty sure it goes against most Ivy League-educated senses.

More along these lines here.

Such stupidity (in terms of both science and being reflexively against regulations) has a consequence as Millard Fillmore’s Bathtub points out here.

General Republican stupidity
Of course current Republican stupidity isn’t limited to science:
Here Sarah Palin (who else) attacks a non-existent program.

Then Ms. Palin attacks The Journal’s Real Time Economics for pointing out that she got the facts wrong:

The Journal’s Real Time Economics, having had the audacity to point out that Sarah Palin’s attack on quantitative easing was factually challenged, gets a blast from the barracuda. As I read it, they seem somewhat shocked — it sounds as if they’re deeply surprised at being accused of villainy simply because they pointed out that the facts are somewhat at variance with what politicians on the right are saying.

Folks, my hatred of many current Republicans comes from this. I don’t hate someone for disagreeing with me; heck I am frequently wrong about things. What I detest is this celebration of stupidity and anti-intellectualism. That is also why I liked Barack Obama so much; I saw him as a push-back against that. True, this quality of his might be hurting him politically; he doesn’t seem to have the ability to do the necessary arm twisting that President Johnson, President FD Roosevelt and President Clinton did. Then again, he did get some large bills passed, so I can’t say that he was ineffective though.

Politics: what will happen?
The Democrats are wooing Senator Snowe. I disagree with DK here: if Senator Snowe wants to defect, I say “welcome her with open arms”. She is smart and will perhaps be more moderate without the straight jacket that the current Republican party is throwing on her. Note: she proposed a “pubic option trigger” for the Senate Health Care bill which would have been an improvement over what we passed.

Don’t Cave Mr. President!
Liberals (myself included) are worried that President Obama might cave on the Bush tax cuts for the wealthy. Paul Krugman is not optimistic. Robert Reich offers a way forward:

Yes, the President needs to acknowledge the Republican sweep on Election Day. But he can do that by offering his own version of a compromise that’s both economically sensible and politically smart. Instead of limiting the extension to $250,000 of income (the bottom 98 percent of Americans), he should offer to extend it to all incomes under $500,000 (essentially the bottom 99 percent), for two years.

The economics are clear:

First, the top 1 percent spends a much smaller proportion of their income than everyone else, so there’s very little economic stimulus at these lofty heights.

On the other hand, giving the top 1 percent a two-year extension would cost the Treasury $130 billion over two years, thereby blowing a giant hole in efforts to get the deficit under control.

Alternatively, $130 billion would be enough to rehire every teacher, firefighter, and police officer laid off over the last two years and save the jobs of all of them now on the chopping block. Not only are these people critical to our security and the future of our children but, unlike the top 1 percent, they could be expected to spend all of their earnings and thereby stimulate the economy.

Conservative supply-siders who argue the top 1 percent will stop working as hard if they have to return to the 39 percent marginal rate of the Clinton years must be smoking something (probably an expensive grade).

11 November 2010 Rehabilitation

Last night: no soreness, though I did take NSAIDs at 5 pm.
Workouts: yesterday I walked 3 miles in the sunshine over lunch.
This morning: ran 1 mile (to the end of Waverly), walked one mile, ran another mile (back to Waverly plus a block), then walked still another mile.
Then I did 2 miles on the elliptical (more; 20 minutes) and varied the incline.
Then I did my rotator cuff set (both arms) and upper body:
dumbbell curls 10 x 20 lb., 3 sets
dumbbell military (seated), 30 x 30 lb. 2 sets
pull downs: 15 x 120 (3 sets)
rows: 8 x 90 each arm (180 total), 3 sets
bench press: I had trouble getting comfortable. Getting into position in the barbell exercise and on the machine hurt, so I did one set of 30 with 30 pound dumbbells; that was painless though it eventually “burned” the chest. Any sort of initial strain hurts.

Note: the running, walking and elliptical felt GREAT. Most of the weight exercises felt good too (save getting into position for the military presses); the only major problem I have is with the bench press with anything more than a ridiculously small amount of weight.

10 November 2010 (am) Rehabilitation

Last night: some slight shoulder soreness, but I took zero pain killers. So I now have a pain-killer free baseline.

Workout: 100 sit ups, arm bike (15 minutes), rotator cuff exercises (weights and pulleys)
Then: 1 mile of running in 10:40 (very, very easy; a little sore everywhere at first), 2 miles of AMT, stretching (I am tight).

This is the reality of trying to push yourself as a middle aged “athlete”: much of my “success” comes from either not getting injured or managing my injuries or coming back from them. It is all part of the sport at this stage of my life.

Yes, my rotator cuff stuff takes about 30 minutes a day (including the arm bike) and I am going to have to stretch my legs; that will be essential. If I want to finish the Potawatomi 50 miler or the Big Shoulders 5K swim or the Quad Cities Marathon, I have to do this drudgery.

Yes, it is easy to get discouraged; you have to not only manage the injuries but also rebuild basic fitness and overcoming the lingering soreness. That is all part of it; there are no “get out of discouragement” or “get out of the pain of rehab” cards.

And of course, I have to be flexible at this time. My body won’t always permit me to do the workout I have planned; this might hurt or something else might hurt. So each day I give myself a choice from a “menu” of activities: core strength, weights, run, walk, hike, stepper/AMT, arm bike, stretching, yoga and do what I can do THAT day. Most of the time, I can do my planned activities but sometimes I can’t and I have to make another choice.

Do what you can, when you can!

PS: it isn’t as if I am capable of doing nothing; two weekends ago I did finish a 30 mile trail walk, albeit at a disgustingly slow pace.

Senator Elect Rand Paul is quizzed on how to balance the budget

Watch Rand Paul evade how to balance the budget:

He promises a budget; I’m waiting.

Rachel Maddow: Congressmans aid threatens America

Rachel Maddow: Congressmans aid threatens America, posted with vodpod

Republican style democracy: vote for me, or I will shoot you.

President Obama’s Main Weakness

Yes, Republicans are reptiles and Democrats actually care about others; the Republicans use this fact to “play political chicken” with the President. Yes, President Obama should be tough on them….but he won’t. “That wouldn’t be nice”.

Then again, he ran on a platform of “getting along”.

Note: the Republicans don’t have anything like a mandate for their policies such as “repealing the HCR bill”.