Does Hillary ever look old

The band of evil countries

Why would one want to be a member of the decrepit club listed below?  They might as well refer to themselves as the Anti-Human Rights League.  Regarding their strategy, obviously they are trying to present a unified front against intervention from other countries in internal conflicts.  But, who care about consistency of position when the consistency is so obviously inhumane?  And who cares how any of the evil countries vote?  They essentially carry negative moral weight--even more negative after this vote.  I think that a better strategy would be to vote with the majority, preserving the ability to claim a humane position and then claim that your own situation is somehow different, in the case you have to abuse civilians to stay in power.  Probably I would make a terrible despot.

"The U.N. General Assembly also passed a resolution, approved by 137 of the assembly's 193 member states, calling on Mr. Assad's autocratic government to "immediately put an end to attacks against civilians."  It also endorsed an Arab League plan for a democratic transition in Syria, requiring Mr. Assad to hand power to a deputy and form a unity government to prepare for internationally-supervised elections. 

General Assembly resolutions are non-binding, but reflect world opinion on major issues.  Eleven nations joined Syria in voting against the resolution, most notably Russia and China, which vetoed a similar measure in the U.N. Security Council earlier this month.  The VOA correspondent in New York says other nations whose ambassadors spoke against the General Assembly resolution included Iran, North Korea, Bolivia and Venezuela."

http://www.voanews.com/english/news/Syrian-Troops-Shell-Central-City-Following-UNGA-Condemnation-139505118.html

Bad Lin Joke

Guy's making love to his girl during halftime of the Knick's game but suddenly jumps off when it second half starts.  She says, "What the hell is that?"

He replies, "Sorry, coitus Linterruptus."

Fuck Jeremy Lin

Pardon the Linvenctive.

I just can't help a Lin pun I haven't seen yet, though I'm sure it's not the first use.

Too clarify, I'm a big fan and am thrilled by his success and the story of him being under the radar.  Yes, I do believe stereotyping played a large role.  As a 5' 10", 40 year old white guy who like to play inside to use my hook shot, it takes many games at the same court before people will begin to work the ball to me inside.  And this is just average pick up ball.  Lin was competing at a high level where the stereotypes are even more ingrained.  If he were white or black, I bet he would have been drafted and gotten playing time to prove himself during his rookie season.

Is the NBA Linsane?

http://focustaiwan.tw/ShowNews/WebNews_Detail.aspx?Type=aSPT&ID=201202160044

Stern is not an idiot, so their must be a reason for limiting the Knicks games on TV.  Maybe he wants to create fans for other teams?  But here's a bit of math.  If more than twice as many people watch a Lin game as a non-Lin game then their is more non-Knicks exposure created than would be otherwise.  In addition, if people really want to watch Lin, they will channel this motivation toward finding pirate streaming sites where they can still watch with the long term effect reducing the NBA's control over product.

Making GMs look like Lin-Cumpoops

Sorry, couldn't help it.

http://www.usatoday.com/sports/basketball/nba/story/2012-02-10/Kobe-doesnt-know-Knicks-Lin-but-everyone-else-seems-to/53039254/1

Misinterpretation of commercial

http://pandodaily.com/2012/02/06/samsung-shoots-at-apple-hits-the-customer/

Samsung is ripped for ripping Apple customers, but most apple customers do not wait in line to get the products.  Samsung is making fun of the fanatics, which I find funny.  Apple has used the marketing like "Think Different" when providing a walled garden with app content and Flash restrictions.  One cannot even change their own battery without voiding the warranty.  I guess Apple really means, "Think like we want you to."  Maybe that's differently then most, because Apple still holds a minority of markets.  Maybe "Talk different, think like us." is more appropriate.  Yes, I still prefer proper use of adverbs.

F Techcrunch part two

PandoDaily | the site-of-record for silicon valley:

I might never read techcrunch again. AOL is a lame joke of a company.

Uncrunched.com also high quality.

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Table shows NBA teams' true personalities.

2012 NBA Power Rankings: Chicago Bulls Doing Work, Knicks And Celtics Getting Worked - SB Nation Chicago:

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Gas Bears Boost Bets 0n ’Catastrophic’ Surplus - Bloomberg

Gas Bears Boost Bets 0n ’Catastrophic’ Surplus - Bloomberg:

Funny when too much of a good thing turns into a bad thing, for the producers that is. The rest of us save money. Wonder if the industry will run to the feds for price support?

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Skype is killing long distance, one minute at a time — Broadband News and Analysis

Skype is killing long distance, one minute at a time — Broadband News and Analysis:

“If all of Skype’s on-net traffic had been routed via phone companies, global cross-border telephone traffic would have grown 13 percent in 2011, remaining in line with historical growth rates.”

The question is why so few people use Skype, not why so many people do. I'm surprised long distance has not collapsed.

Drinking Ernest Shackleton’s Whisky - NYTimes.com

Drinking Ernest Shackleton’s Whisky - NYTimes.com:

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World's Greatest Free Throw Shooter ~ Ted St. Martin ~ 5,221 in a row! - YouTube

World's Greatest Free Throw Shooter ~ Ted St. Martin ~ 5,221 in a row! - YouTube:

I'm tired of the announcers making fun of Joakim Noah's free throw form. Noah looks like Ted. Please tell the NBA.

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Focus is underated

Figure out on what to focus.
Schedule when to focus.
Following though with this focus.
Continue on iteratively more specific levels until you know the very specific and immediate task and focus on it.
Focusing in this way is a nearly universally valuable skill that I have never known to be taught.

Example:
I want to be good at basketball so I must focus on practicing (not playing).
I decide to practice from 5 to 6 PM at the YMCA.
I go to the YMCA

I then decide that I want to improve my ability to attack the rim.
How, using a spin move.
How do I practice a spin move?

The components are:
1. Getting the other player leaning
2. Moving the ball to the hand opposite the side I'm spinning toward
3. Taking a large step with the foot on the side I'm spinning towards past the foot of the player I'm spinning past.
4. Pivot quickly on the planted foot with which the large step was taken while controlling the ball with the opposite hand in a single dribble that is continued with the hand on the side being spun toward.
5. Take another large step and likely one more dribble with the same hand being spun toward.
6. Pick up dribble, likely with the one hand and finish with a layup or pick up with both hands and pull up for a jump shot.

Now try to do the whole spin move quickly.  After imperfection figure out what component was imperfect first and practice it both in isolation and as part of the entire move.  Each component can be broken down into a similar list of components.

For example, how to I get the other player leaning?
1. Inside out dribble
2. Fake crossover
3. Forward between the legs dribble
4. Backward between the legs dribble
5. Behind the back dribble

Each of these fakes has intricacies.  The skills and sub-skills on which to focus are endless.  The relieving result of focusing on the components is that when practiced they will meld together in unexpected yet brilliantly productive combinations when in the flow during the heat of battle.

The stage management of the grief for Kim Jong-il - Telegraph

Is anyone actually fooled or affected by this display?

I'm shocked that the answer is likely yes. If for no other reason than that the power to coerce so many people to pseudo-mourn is an impressive show of power. Enforcing the mourning might be a relatively harmless signal to the people that the government is still in control.

The stage management of the grief for Kim Jong-il - Telegraph:

So secretive that we don't even know the rulers age

North Korea's Kim blocked the howling wind of history | Reuters: "His successor Kim Jong-un, believed to be in his late 20s, will have a hard task measuring up to his father's feats and those of his grandfather"

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Ethiopia convicts Swedish journalists of terrorism - CSMonitor.com

Should we really pity people brave or stupid enough to enter Ethiopia illegally and then mess with the government? It's almost as dumb as hiking near the Iranian border. At some point we should simply offer Darwin Awards and move on.

Ethiopia convicts Swedish journalists of terrorism - CSMonitor.com: "The pair entered the country illegally in July with the intention of reporting on the activities of a Sweden-linked oil company, they testified. To gain access to the heavily restricted region, they linked up with rebels from the banned Ogaden National Liberation Front."

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Not so brilliantSanta insight of the day

Santa gives presents.
We've never heard on anyone other than Santa riding on a flying sleigh pulled by reindeer.
Is this because nobody ever asked for such a sleigh?  Santa can't make another?  Or Santa doesn't exist?
If he does exist, meaning that such sleighs are possible, why hasn't anyone else come up with a similarly fun vehicle?

Contrasting Quotes

http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Kim_Jong-il

http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/V%C3%A1clav_Havel

Interesting insight into opposing ideologies.

Is Afghanistan another planet?

World News - Afghan woman, imprisoned over rape, is free:

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