Apple, America and a Squeezed Middle Class – NYTimes.com
'Mr. Jobs’s reply was unambiguous. “Those jobs aren’t coming back".
The BCS rankings don’t tell us much
From the article:
'Without high-quality out-of-conference games, every major conference is in essence an island unto itself. We can identify the best team in the Pac 10, or the best team in the S.E.C. But we don’t have any good way of comparing the Pac 10 against the S.E.C., or against any other conference. It doesn’t matter how smart your computer rankings are, or how wizened the participants in your poll: there simply isn’t enough worthwhile data to work with.'
This is why the BCS rankings are essentially meaningless. We don't have a reliable way to measure quality across conferences. Which team is better, 11-2 Oregon who lost on the road to L.S.U. and to a good U.S.C. team, or 11-1 Alabama, who also lost to L.S.U. at home without scoring a touchdown? Does Alabama get credit for playing in the tough SEC? Why? How do you know the SEC is a tough conference? I suspect it probably is at the top, but I have no evidence that after Arkansas there is anything special there. Would Oregon put up big points against Alabama and Arkansas? Probably, but I don't know for sure.
Even schools that schedule tough non-conference opponents only play one or two tough teams a year outside their conference. It's not nearly enough data. We know which teams won their conference championships and that's about all we know for sure. The BCS bowl games are entertaining exhibitions, but nothing more than that.
A Look At Employment
A Look At Employment: " . . . consider the following unemployment rates by educational level achieved. The first number is for January 2009 and the second is for January 2010:
Less the high school diploma: 12.4%/15.2%
High School Graduates, no college: 8.1%/10.1%
Some college or associate degree: 6.4%/8.5%
Bachelor's degree or higher: 3.9%/4.9%"
Kids, get as much education after high school that you can. We've lost entire categories of jobs that are not coming back any time soon.
(Via FiveThirtyEight.com: Electoral Projections Done Right.)
Kenji Johjima opts out of final two years | Mariners Insider
Kenji Johjima opts out of final two years.
One less problem to solve for the 2010 Mariners.
Betancourt traded to the Royals
Shannon Drayer reports that the Mariners have somehow managed to trade Yuniesky Betancourt to the Kansas City Royals for right-handed pitcher Danny Cortes and left-handed pitcher Derrick Saito. Read the full story at her excellent Mariners Blog.
Those screams you hear in the distance are a million Royals fans crying out in unison. If the Royals are paying Yuni's salary, those fans' voices will then be suddenly silenced.
Shoreline Historical Museum is in trouble: being evicted by Shoreline Schools
Shoreline Historical Museum is in trouble: being evicted by Shoreline Schools.
The four most useful lessons of Columbine
The four most useful lessons of Columbine. - By Dave Cullen - Slate Magazine:
"The Secret Service and U.S. Department of Education studied every American school shooting from 1974 to 2000—37 separate attacks—and reached the same conclusion. Shooters came from all ethnic, economic, and social classes. Most had no history of violence and came from solid, two-parent homes."
Tax protestor myths
Daniel B. Evans thorough Tax Protestor FAQ debunks pretty much all the nutty 'evidence' I've heard from my tax protesting friends (well, really, it's just the one guy) for why the U.S. federal income tax is illegal. I review it every year.
My favorites, which I have actually heard from friend (again, just the one) and at least two relatives (the relatives were speaking at me together, so it probably counts as only a single tax protestor interaction):
- The authors of the Constitution (aka, the “Founding Fathers”) never intended to give Congress the power to tax wages or other incomes from labor
- The 16th Amendment was not properly ratified
- I am not a “person” within the meaning of the Internal Revenue Code
Enjoy!
Blue Oyster Cult sighting: More Cowbell
A Facebook profile for 'Cowbell':
http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=1425085&id=36413251007&ref=mf