ESPN.com: Immigrant dream plays out through son
Harvard college basketball star Jeremy Lin, lights up basketball powerhouse UConn for 30 points.
Browsing Category
Uncategorized
From NYTimes.com: For Judges on Facebook, Friendship Has Limits
Judges and lawyers in Florida can no longer be Facebook friends.
In a recent opinion, the state’s Judicial Ethics Advisory Committee decided it was time to set limits on judicial behavior online. When judges “friend” lawyers who may appear before them, the committee said, it creates the appearance of a conflict of interest, since it “reasonably conveys to others the impression that these lawyer ‘friends’ are in a special position to influence the judge.”
I’ve been struggling with the definition of what is a friend on Facebook and now I have a mishmash of friends, acquaintances, and a few people I don’t really know. On a “friendly” day I might let someone in my circle that I otherwise wouldn’t. But, anyone who looks at my profile doesn’t really know the difference. It’s just a number and a connection.
From HuffingtonPost.com: Palin’s Father: She Left Hawaii Because Asians Made Her Uncomfortable
According to him, the presence of so many Asians and Pacific Islanders made her uncomfortable: “They were a minority type thing and it wasn’t glamorous, so she came home.
Wow, the feeling is mutual. I have this strong uncomfortable feeling about Sarah Palin.
From WSJ.com: How to Boost Book Sales? For “Get a Grip on Physics,” Tiger Woods’ Crash Helped
The book, a layman’s guide to physics by British science writer John Gribbin, appeared in a photo of Woods’ crashed SUV, lying on the vehicle’s floor. Since yesterday, the book’s Amazon sales rank has jumped from 396,224 to 2,268 — a fortuitous turn for the author. “Anytime a book gets highlighted, you get a spike of a day or two,” Jim Milliot, a senior editor at Publishers Weekly, said. “It happened when President Bush was carrying some books on vacation. It happened with Obama.” Asked if there was an industry term for such a notoriety-induced sales boost, Milliot replied, “dumb luck.”
I guess it’s just human nature. When I saw the book in this photo, I immediately went to Amazon to look it up too.
UPDATE: Fixed the link!
Shepard Fairey Selected As Official GRAMMY Artist
Innovative illustrator Shepard Fairey has been selected to create the official artwork for the 52nd Annual GRAMMY Awards. The piece, which brings together traditional GRAMMY iconography with Fairey’s unique approach to design, will be used as the official artwork for the world’s premier music event and will grace the cover of the 52nd Annual GRAMMY Awards program book, telecast tickets, promotional poster, and 2010 GRAMMY Nominees CD.
This is pretty cool. Can’t wait to see what he comes up with. The Contemporary Arts Center in Cincinnati will be exhibiting Shepard Fairey’s work in February 2010.
Shepard Fairey: Supply and Demand
Guest curated by Pedro H. Alonzo in consultation with the artist, and developed by ICA/Boston
February 20-August, 2010
ESPN.com: Artest admits drinking, blasts ref
Ron Artest, the often-controversial Los Angeles Lakers’ forward, told a magazine interviewer he used to drink alcohol at halftime of NBA games.
“I used to drink Hennessy … at halftime,” Artest said in an interview with The Sporting News, which is publishing the story in its Dec. 7 issue. “I [kept it] in my locker. I’d just walk to the liquor store and get it.”
If you have made a transgression, today’s a good day to admit to it.
ESPN.com: Woods: ‘I have let my family down’
“I have let my family down and I regret those transgressions with all of my heart,” Woods said on his Web site. “I have not been true to my values and the behavior my family deserves. I am not without faults and I am far short of perfect. I am dealing with my behavior and personal failings behind closed doors with my family. Those feelings should be shared by us alone.
Tiger Woods is an aspirational figure, living what appeared to be the dream life. He’s the best at what he does, has a beautiful wife and two young children. I think that too often we think that if we had all the money in the world, that our lives would be perfect. But, that’s not always the case.
CNN.com: Large Hadron Collider back online
“The LHC is back,” the European Organization for Nuclear Research announced triumphantly Friday, as the world’s largest particle accelerator resumed operation more than a year after an electrical failure shut it down.
…
The collider has been dogged by problems. It made headlines early this month when a bird apparently dropped a “bit of baguette” into the accelerator, making the machine shut down.
PopSci.com: Baguette Dropped From Bird’s Beak Shuts Down The Large Hadron Collider (Really)
The Large Hadron Collider, the world’s most powerful particle accelerator, just cannot catch a break. First, a coolant leak destroyed some of the magnets that guide the energy beam. Then LHC officials postponed the restart of the machine to add additional safety features. Now, a bird dropping a piece of bread on a section of the accelerator has, according to the Register, shut down the whole operation.
The bird dropped some bread on a section of outdoor machinery, eventually leading to significant over heating in parts of the accelerator. The LHC was not operational at the time of the incident, but the spike produced so much heat that had the beam been on, automatic failsafes would have shut down the machine.
That sounds like one serious design flaw if a bird with a baguette can shut down a 10 billion dollar machine.
From CNNMoney.com: Dirty secrets of Black Friday ‘doorbusters’
Here’s a Black Friday reality check: Of the hordes of pre-dawn shoppers who line up for hours outside stores on the day after Thanksgiving, most will not bag the best bargains that appear in merchants’ circulars.
Look at the fine print that appears next to an advertised “doorbuster deal” at the bottom of the page in this year’s circulars.
It will either say “While supplies last,” “Minimum 2 per store,” “No rainchecks” or “All items are available in limited quantities.”
…
“C’mon guys. Give me a break,” said Dworsky. “How can you be the size of a retailer like Sears and only get a minimum of five per store, yet devote big space in your circular to advertise that deal?
This is a pretty sleazy practice and is bad business. Is the ill will generated by not having adequate supplies worth the frenzy?
From ESPN.com: Agassi: Book part of atonement for lies
On Chang: “He thanks God — credits God — for the win, which offends me. That God should take sides in a tennis match, that God should side against me, that God should be in Chang’s box, feels ludicrous and insulting. I beat Chang and savor every blasphemous stroke.” When Chang wins the 1989 French Open, Agassi thinks, “I feel sickened. How could Chang, of all people, have won a slam before me?”
On “tanking”: Agassi says he lost on purpose against Chang in the Australian Open semifinals one year so he wouldn’t have to face Becker in the final, writing: “It’s almost harder than winning. You have to lose in such a way that the crowd can’t tell.” He also says of sports writers: “They never get it right. When I tank, they say I’m not good enough; when I’m not good enough, they say I tank.”
Two interesting excerpts from Andre Agassi’s biography regarding Michael Chang.