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18 Mar, 2013

Studying Bracketology

By |2016-10-29T13:30:21-04:00March 18th, 2013|Sports|5 Comments

DougMcDermott

There is no doubt this is an exciting time of the year for basketball fans. On a scale of 1-10, I give the first 4 days of the tournament a solid 9.5. There is just nothing else like it. There is even a feeling of depression when it comes to an end. For me the combination of thrilling basketball, the tournament aspect and choosing brackets, and constant action all make this time of year joyful. There is a huge level of difference in watching collegiate athletes put their hearts on the line compared to NBA players who go home with fat paychecks. That is what truly makes this tournament the best basketball there is.

With that little build up, we find ourselves amidst the few days you have to study and do some research for the brackets. My first thought it that no matter how much research you do, games won’t play out like you think. There is just too much unpredictability in this environment. However, I believe there are a few things to look for when choosing teams to make deep runs. I also want to point out that in no way to I consider myself a master, just a gambler.

How did the team fair in it’s conference tournament? I like picking teams that are winning games late in the season. Records mean nothing, it’s how well is the team gelling towards the end. People can argue that players can be tired after playing all these games but I just don’t buy it. These are collegiate athletes, not over the hill veterans.

What is the team’s seniority level? Seniors tend to lay it all on the line because it’s their last shot. They will also have more experience which can come in handy.

Are they a good Free Throw shooting team? I was watching the 30 on 30 last night on NC States improbable run to the title in 1983 and every team they faced blew foul shots at the end of the game. One easy way to let teams back in the game in missing foul shots.

Does the team have a superstar? Big players step up in these types of tournaments. I think it’s fine to have a well rounded team but when it comes down to crunch time, you need a player to make some shots.

Pick against the herd. If you are in a group with 100+ entries, it’s too hard to pick a perfect bracket while choosing the odds on favorite to win it all. It can be better to stray off the beaten path and choose a team like Florida or Miami to win it all. This way if it happens, you lock it up instead of getting nicked out at the end by others who chose the favorite.

I’m sure I’ll make another post after putting some time looking at the teams but this is my general guideline for what to look for. Bracket can be found here.

15 Mar, 2013

Bad Writing With Good Acting

By |2013-03-15T02:47:02-04:00March 15th, 2013|Movies|0 Comments

As Jeff and I were driving back from a late night (Mario) party, we drove by the Union Transfer which is concert hall for rock events. It was about 32 degrees out and a concert just let out so people were all over the sidewalks. Jeff said that he’d always wanted to pick someone up and charge them less than a taxi would (what!). I than thought of picking up some randoms and having them think we were going to drive them somewhere and than jacking their stuff. This lead to the idea of us picking them up and reversing it so the strangers would hold us up. The weapon in this reverse stick up would be humorous and some funky object like a pen or slingshot. As we pondered this scenario it made me think that people who create Movies and TV shows are just constantly thinking of funny scenarios like this (I’m sure not everyone would think it’s funny). Good writing comes from this idea of being able to create scenarios which are both entertaining and tell a story. The good actors are the ones who can take a scenario as described and make it good. This brought about the idea that the best actors are the ones who can take mediocre writing and still make it better than the thousands of other actors out there. These are the people who deserve the awards.

Bad Writing with Good Acting
(I hope it’s not a surprise these are mostly comedy’s)

5. Jon Heder in Napoleon Dynamite
Turn it Off! Turn it Off!
This story isn’t completely awful but the movie surrounds a geekish kid in the Midwest who runs for school President. It’s not a good plot and not much really happens throughout the movie but Jon Heder makes you enjoy watching Napoleon. He is the reason this movie is popular. If you didn’t laugh at that time traveling scene with the crystals…

4. Jim Carrey in Ace Ventura
Halftime!
Ray Finkle’s obsession with Dan Marino causes him to steal a dolphin and kidnap Marino in order to ruin the Dolphin’s Superbowl chances. I can’t see this idea coming to life with Will Ferrell being Ace Ventura. Carrey steals the show in every single aspect with his wackiness and oddball humor. I have to add though that he couldn’t overcome the writing of When Nature Calls so this ridiculous plot was far superior than 2. Nice scene.

3. Zach Galifinakis in The Hangover
Alan and the Wolfpack quote
I don’t particularly like Alan’s character (it tries too hard) but I can’t deny he was the best part of the first hangover. Over the top from every possible angle must rely on good acting because people don’t fall for bullshit. Stu and Phil are just Alan’s counterparts to this movie. Without the goofiness of Alan, this movie doesn’t have a part 2 and soon to be 3. Hard to perfect dumbness.

2. Jeff Bridges in The Big Lebowski
Jeff Bridges becomes The Dude
The plot to this movie is so horrendous that it’s good. The realism to the situation is acted out perfectly by Jeff Bridges. He’s a laid back guy who gets caught up in a unique situation with his hair trigger friend Walter. His acting is what brings the entire movie together because the Dude makes you like The Dude. Shut the Fuck up Donny!

1. Billy Bob Thornton in Bad Santa
Willie Stokes is Bad Santa
I”m sort of partial here because I find the movie verbiage hilarious but this is the stupidest movie possible. An alcoholic and his midget partner rob malls. That’s it. A funny fat kid does some nice support but this movie has no substance whatsoever. Billy Bob envelopes Willie Stokes. It was the part he was born to play. This movie would get negative stars compared to the minimum 1 it received with Billy Bob at the helm. How to deal with a kid asking too many questions.


Honorable Mention
Ben Stiller in Zoolander – The male model plot line gives him some flexibility.
Mike Myers in Austin Powers – Austin Powers has good lines which makes him funny.

14 Mar, 2013

My Book List

By |2013-03-15T02:47:32-04:00March 14th, 2013|My Brain|0 Comments

You can learn a lot about a person from the books they read. Fiction, sports, music, history, or any other topics out there all define your personality. When a person decides to stop reading it’s possible they’ve grown content. Reading requires you to produce thoughts and that is one of the most productive activities you can do as an individual. I spent an hour the other day in a book store and came up with multiple books that strike me as ones I’d like to read. There are millions of books available and it’s important not to waste your time reading the wrong ones. Here are a few that satisfy my tastes that I put on a higher priority than others list. Just to add, I go to the book store and don’t purchase anything, all downloaded to the Kindle Fire.

Intelligent Investor by Benjamin Graham
Intelligent Investor
This is an investment book written in 1949 which Warren Buffet called “by far the best book on investing ever written.” Why this book wasn’t mandatory in college is beyond me. I have a degree in finance and honestly have not made a dollar investing, in fact, quite the opposite. Now I’m more of a risk taker looking for an easy buck than a value investor but that doesn’t mean I haven’t garnered the experience of putting money to work. “Smart” people love to preach the idea of buying the index and waiting but I have news for you, when the Dow goes from 14,000 to 6,000 and it takes 5 years to recover, just remember that you actually have to wait 5 years to get that money back. That point aside, I would like to read this book to get a better idea on this books principals and how I can use money to make money. That is the secret ingredient to take you from rich to wealthy.

Speed of Trust by Stephen Covey
speed-of-trust
I read the 7 habits of Highly Effective People and remember having a fulfilled feeling that isn’t always easy to acquire. It makes me almost want to read it again because you come away from it with such a great outlook. This book is an addition to that and I like the idea of using trust to develop relationships. If you don’t have trust, what kind of relationship do you have? I believe this book could help me grow my current relationships as well as help me establish new, fruitful relationships.

The Onion Book of Known Knowledge
onion book of known knowledge
This book caught my interest because it was a funny, realistic spin on thousands of topics. It was general information on everything and anything that I think would be good reading on the toilet. There is something about having general knowledge on many things that make you sound like you know what you are talking about and help you become a well rounded individual. This book does that with some pizazz.

How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie
How-to-win-friends-and-influence-people
Who can forget when the Shee read this book and was a changed man for weeks. I actually started this book and ended up losing it about a quarter of the way through which is why I only have a quarter of my friends I should have. I think this book has similar principals to the Covey book above but any book that is relevant 75 years after it’s published has value. Books that can hold up to time are the ones you should read. Plus learning how to cooperate with people can’t hurt.

Ernest Hemingway
ernest hemingway
There is something about Ernest Hemingway which makes him alluring to a guy like me. Apparently he was a military drunk who loved to get into fights and wrote stories that were off the chain. I’m not sure the similarities to Hunter S. Thompson (Fear and Loathing) but I read a biography on him and much enjoyed it. Wild characters like this interest me. I’ve also read Old Man and the Sea which I remember thinking was OK but nothing that floored me. Something tells me I should read up on his life.

1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die
1001 albums you must hear before you die
I should have bought this in the store because a kindle version won’t hold a candle. What I really liked about this book was that the author noted the good songs on the album worth listening to. I personally like sitting down and listening to an album in its entirety but 1,001 is too many and it would be nice to know the best songs. Once again a book like this makes you more well rounded in regards to music. Being able to say you’ve experienced every album in this book would be an accomplishment. I listen to music all the time (Dance Away by Roxy Music right now) and I would just use this as a side project over the years. Other Ideas
Learn a new language – I plan on traveling to Germany in the next year and knowing German would come in useful. Plus it differentiates myself from other ignorant Americans.
Blogging Books – I always try to make this blog better and believe it or not, information on helping this website can be found in books. I’ve actually tried purchasing one before and it just collects dust.
Tony Robbins – He seems kind of cheesy but if you re-wire yourself and buy into his spiel, I bet you could accomplish things you’d never think you’d be able to.

I really wanted to close this post with the youtube clip of Uncle Jesse’s hated professor who says, “read any good books lately” but I couldn’t find it. Well, have you?

13 Mar, 2013

Where I’ve Been Going Wrong

By |2013-03-15T02:48:31-04:00March 13th, 2013|My Brain|0 Comments

Every so often I read something that spurs a self reflection process and a blog evaluation usually goes hand in hand. This website may not have the biggest staff but I will continually try to make it worth your time to check in. The fact that I’m constantly trying to grow positively as a human being should at least create some interest in the development of this website. As of late, I’ve been continuing to read the 17 principals of success and am finding new thoughts to incorporate into my life. The latest chapter I read on imagination has given me a great new perspective in regards to this blog. I’m going to give you my opinion of my blogs life and then what I think should happen moving forward.

In the past I’ve made posts like this which are going about this blog the incorrect way. I’m wrong with this method because generating comments has to come about because the reader has something they want to share, not because I make them. Something that I write has to make you want to share some useful information. This is obviously challenging but understanding this sentiment is important. It’s up to me to come up with creative means of generating reader involvement. That will enhance the blog. Me interacting with other bloggers and on twitter would be helpful as well. How on Earth can I generate Twitter followers from this site?

The idea of bringing more people into the blog is also a good idea that is difficult to incorporate. A so called “guest” author doesn’t have any real reason to submit material. The only person benefiting is me. Sure they share some information but after the initial thrill of posting something to a website wears off, that’s really all there is. It’s the same idea that their has to be a mutual benefit for it to work. I do believe that more input though is critical to the next level. One person can’t do it all by themselves.

Moving forward I have to stop doing this for myself and start thinking about the people who are reading this. I think I’ve toyed with the idea of making this about the readers but never really fully committed. This website has always been my personal ideas and I’ve never really given a shit what anyone wants to read. I’m still not exactly sure what people want to read but at least I have this concept in focus

I think the site has come a long way though from where it was. There have been drastic improvements in topics, post content, and just general readability of the blog. I haven’t seen a major breakthrough in traffic but in due time. The idea that I’m not centered on any one topic keeps the search engines away. Having a definitive aim on a specific topic would keep this site more on point but I would have way less fun doing it. That being said, you’re stuck with what I think.

song-chart-memes-blogs

13 Mar, 2013

Being Penguins

By |2013-03-15T02:48:40-04:00March 13th, 2013|Videos|0 Comments

I found this video from Barstool. A penguin has to be the worst designed bird in the world. It’s completely top heavy and super clumsy. Even the grown up ones are completely stupid. :33 seconds was my favorite. I think it’s impossible not to chuckle during this video.

13 Mar, 2013

Flicking the Beantown

By |2013-03-15T02:48:46-04:00March 13th, 2013|My Life|0 Comments

I would say that Boston is “not bad.” If you watch Workaholics you have to watch the link. I was away at a Roofing conference in Boston these past two days which made me unable to post anything. Fortunately I came away from the trip with many new ideas for posts and this particular post describing the trip.

First things first, Boston has no minorities. The northeast is compiled of all whites and a few Asians. The other thing I would say is that everyone was extremely pleasant. I stopped into about 10 distributors of tools and there wasn’t one asshole in the entire bunch who wouldn’t give me the time of day or wasn’t helpful. I don’t know if this was dumb luck or what but I’ve traveled south many times through Baltimore and DC and this was never the case. Maybe it was because Spring was approaching.

I want to expand a bit on this trip. I woke up at 4:30 on Monday and was out the door at 5 to attempt to beat NY traffic. It took me an hour and 45 minutes to get over the GW bridge and I was pretty much on the highway scot free. My fist stop was in Danbury, CT where I had two stops and ate some Dunkin Donuts. After that I visited Hartford, Worcester, Lowell, and finally Boston. I got to Boston at around 3 and my hotel was in the heart of the city. Not knowing my way in Boston I quickly found my hotel and got settled before rush hour started. I decided to take a walk around the city to get my bearings and definitely needed the GPS on my phone to find my way back as I was directionally challenged after 30 minutes of walking. I got back and took a nap because I was exhausted from the day. I awoke at 7pm and looked for something to eat and buy some running gear for the next day because I completely forgot long pants and a shirt. Being by myself it’s hard for me to just make friends at local places so I ate at a food court in the Prudential center and turned in relatively early.

I got up at 8:15 the next day and went for a run around the city. Once again after roaming the public garden and then the streets, I had a hard time getting back to my hotel because of my unfamiliarity of the city. I was back at 9:30, showered, and got my things together to check out. The conference started at 1:30 and I had some time to kill. I walked the main streets of commerce down Boylston and also hit the wharf area. There is a whole lot going on in Boston and the city is remarkably clean. It seems like there are a ton of people too which surprises me that Philly is bigger. The same way San Antonio is big population wise but the city is dead. I’m sure it counts suburbs as part of the population in these cases. Anyway, once the conference started I did my thing and it was worth the drive as relationships can’t be created any other way. At 5:30 I was finished and headed back home. I don’t mind driving much but I’ll add that NY drivers are the absolute worse.

I really like trips like this because they give me a chance to let my mind wander a bit. I have a flexible schedule and can think about ideas from a different locale. I spent a half hour in the book store writing down different books and thoughts that pop in my head. I also get a chance to do some reading while away which is much more peaceful and leisurely. These trips are more than just business but also bring a sense of relaxation and a feeling of satisfaction that you aren’t just stuck in one place. They are a must for the mind.

Nice slate roof.
bostonslatebuilding

Famous Cheers Bar
Cheers bar

Outside of the Public Garden
Bostonstatue

I was surprised Martin Lawrence had a gallery.
Martinlawrence

10 Mar, 2013

Moron Move of the Week

By |2013-03-15T02:48:51-04:00March 10th, 2013|My Life|1 Comment

The moron move of the week goes to my brother Sam for his action at the bar on Friday night. While 4 of us were playing a game of pool, a random player put a quarter on the table to reserve next game. This was a rule unbeknownst to Sam who preceded to take the quarter thinking that he was being tipped for his “good play”. 21 years old…

7 Mar, 2013

Out From Behind the Computer

By |2016-10-29T13:29:00-04:00March 7th, 2013|My Life|0 Comments

fail-owned-nerd

Last night I had someone come up to me and say he didn’t know I was a good writer. After a moment of confusion and trying to decide whether there was a hint of sarcasm, I said thank you. He had read this article which were my thoughts on the Broad St Run Lottery. To briefly summarize the post, I took a stance that there should be a time ceiling that every participant should have to be under to run the race. To any casual runner, this would be a particularly douchey stance. Combining the fact that every single runner I know who wanted to get into the Broad St run did, I barely regret writing the post. My opinions for that post stemmed from the chance that I do not get into the run. The reason I give this backdrop is because I could sense the person was aware of my particular stance as we talked for a couple minutes. Almost like he didn’t want to upset me because he regards me as a runner with an opinion. It was the first time in my entire blogging career that someone’s opinion of me was altered due to reading my blog. I have mixed thoughts.

I want people to know me for actually knowing me in person and not knowing me from reading my posts. I know this is an impossibility but allow me to explain my concern. When I write that post on the Broad St Lottery I’m taking an opinionated stance. For whatever reason, I was taught that if you are going to argue a point, argue 100%. Even though I write my exact thoughts for a particular post, also consider that I write for an audience sake and that everything in my posts isn’t 100% how I think. It’s probably closer to 95%. I don’t want people forming an opinion of me from my blog because I’m deeper than my posts. I have the ability to think, adapt, change, evolve and things that are put in a post, aren’t gospel.

The thing that I liked about the conversation with this is person is that he was talking to me like I cared about running. That makes me feel good because I do. I’m not a regional runner but I’m also not your average schlep. He was speaking to me with the understanding that I put a lot of time into staying in shape and taking running seriously. He formulates that opinion based on my blog and knowing me from races. It was nice to see that someone could sense my dedication but I don’t want it to be like I take running that seriously. I take it seriously for myself, but to each their own. I don’t create opinions on people based on their times. Running just doesn’t mean that much.

I rarely write anything with the thought in mind that it will have impact. You can develop a following if you want to participate in a particular area. I’m sort of half way. I have thoughts but I don’t really care enough to stand behind them or share them. It’s weird to think that things that I write in this blog can be brought up in conversations with me. It hasn’t happened often and this was my first experience and my thoughts on how I think about it.

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