You know technically I’m not even really supposed to be here right now, might as well make the most of it …
Passion
The theory of evolution claims that only the strong shall survive. But the theory of competition says that just because they’re the strong doesn’t mean they can’t get their asses kicked . . .
USC 38, Oregon 35
We’re here to ruin your season. — Matt Kalil
The Ducks were 15-point favorites at home — 21-game home winning streak, 19-game conference winning streak . . . the Men of Troy haven’t had the speed to play with these guys the last couple of years but this year they do.
It looked like the Trojans had fumbled the game away with 2:54 left, up 3 on the Duck 15-yard line — a blown handoff between a fifth-year senior (Marc Tyler) and a Heisman Trophy candidate (Matt Barkley). Oregon had already scored two fourth quarter touchdowns and the Trojan defense was tired.
Ironically, the up-tempo Duck offense ran out of time. They never called timeout — they had all three available — as the clock ticked down between every play and they wound up having to send out their lousy kicker (60 percent, career long 40 yards) to try a game-tying 37-yard field goal with five seconds left.
Which he missed.
He may be the only weak link on that team. If you win every game in a blowout, you don’t need a good kicker but they needed one last night and he wasn’t there.
FIGHT ON!
Related articles
- Missed FG spoils Oregon’s comeback vs. USC (sports.espn.go.com)
Misled by Metrics
From a Sr. IT Consultant:
I recently asked a colleague [CIO] whether he would prefer to deliver a project somewhat late and over-budget but rich with business benefits or one that is on time and under budget but of scant value to the business. He thought it was a tough call, and then went for the on-time scenario. Delivering on time and within budget is part of his IT department’s performance metrics. Chasing after the elusive business value, over which he thought he had little control anyway, is not.
Aside
I’m holding myself accountable for my own destiny . . .
If You Tolerate It, You Insist On It
Whenever you perceive that a virtue is missing or that a vice is present, you either tolerate the situation or try to change it. If you cannot “fix” it, you can at least withdraw your participation. The problem with tolerating the absence of virtue or the existence of vice is that this choice summons them into your life.
You might tell yourself stories about the problem you perceive and your tolerance of it:
- That’s just the way it is in the real world.
- Others will not listen even-handedly to your perceptions and advice.
- It’s not your place to say truthful but difficult things.
- The problem lies in another department.
- You are not reading the situation correctly. You may not be able to discern beauty from ugliness or efficiency from waste, and your ignorance will be exposed. You’ll be rejected or ridiculed.
- You will look dumb if you ask for help to resolve any uncertainty.
Acknowledge that if you tolerate it, you insist on it. If you insist on something, you are its creator.
Race Against the Machine
We don’t believe in the coming obsolescence of all human workers. In fact, some human skills are more valuable than ever, even in an age of incredibly powerful and capable digital technologies. But other skills have become worthless, and people who hold the wrong ones now find that they have little to offer employers. They’re losing the race against the machine, a fact reflected in today’s employment statistics. . . .
There is no economic law that says that everyone, or even most people, automatically benefit from technological progress.
In a Conference Room
Stop being false just because you’re in a conference room. Start actively engaging. For example, when you think an idea someone states, or one a group adopts, is a poor one, investigate it. Either you don’t understand it, or it is a poor idea. Stop everything, and find out why someone would say such a thing at this time. What was the purpose? What is the meaning of the contribution? Your teammates will have to live with your inquisitive engagement. You will be present, and you will engage them. You will see them. You will hear what they say. You will seek information about their emotional states, beliefs, plans, and skills. You will connect with other team members to the maximum extent possible. They will have to adjust to your strategy and its results or else not invite you–which would be fine.
First Rule of Usability? Don’t Listen to Users
To design an easy-to-use interface, pay attention to what users do, not what they say. Self-reported claims are unreliable, as are user speculations about future behavior.
The way to get user data boils down to the basic rules of usability:
- Watch what people actually do.
- Do not believe what people say they do.
- Definitely don’t believe what people predict they may do in the future.
Separating the Sheep From the Goats
Three pit bulls that slaughtered 42 goats captured
Oh dear, this is going to fuel more paranoia and irrational fear of pit bulls.
I call on other dog breeds to slaughter more goats!
Dilbert: Goals
Aside
Chaos is the new calm
Parents of the Year
If my offspring ever had a conversation like this on Facebook, I hope to God someone would stick their thumbs in my eyeballs and kick me in the groin . . .
JoePa Shielding the Assets
STATE COLLEGE, Pa. — Joe Paterno transferred full ownership of his house to his wife, Sue, for $1 in July, less than four months before a sexual abuse scandal engulfed his Penn State football program and the university.
Thank God for Coach K
Without whom Duke would be known for nothing more than educating the idiot offspring of our nation’s tobacco barons.
Now that he’s broken the record, are there any grand jury reports waiting to be released?
Related articles
- Duke Basketball Coach Krzyzewski On Joe Paterno: ‘I Think He’s A Great Man And It’s A Horrific Situation’ (huffingtonpost.com)
Release the Hounds
Educating Oligarchs
Education not only increases the average income a person will earn, but it also changes the entire distribution of possible life outcomes. It does not guarantee that a person will end up in the top 1 percent, but it increases the likelihood. I have not seen any data on this, but I am willing to bet that the top 1 percent are more educated than the average American; while their education did not ensure their economic success, it played a role.
Let me give you a couple examples. I am comfortably in the top 1 percent. I believe that Paul [Krugman], with his Princeton professorship, regular Times column, speaking fees, and moderately successful textbook, is there as well. I suspect (although cannot prove) that if he and I had stopped our educations after finishing high school, we would not have been anywhere near where we are in the income distribution. If that is correct, might it be better to think of education as the key rather than focusing on the growing influence of oligarchs?
Cat and Dog
Originally uploaded by Mrs Hoffy
Aside
How inspiring is it that the 99 percent have $4 billion to spend on Call of Duty video games? #getajob
Second City Comedy
In the middle of an Occupy Chicago teach-in this week, traders at the Chicago Board of Trade dumped several sheets of paper on top of the heads of protesters below. Demonstrators were angered to find out they were showered with employment applications for McDonald’s.
