Blog Archives
The Annexation of Patience
There is a trend in sports that has transformed analysts and “experts” into Bingo contestants that frequently stand-up with bravado and gusto to shout “BINGO!” for all to hear.
The only problem is that this occurs after only marking off one letter.
College football punditry is a perfect example of this evolving dynamic. There is a tendency to want to declare with absolute certitude the two best teams in the country each week. Admittedly, it is perfectly okay to speculate about teams and their corresponding achievements and failures. Totally fine. These are fun debates. However, it shouldn’t be exercised in the definitive nature that is done today. Three games into the season and the national championship is already being predicted with incomplete statistics from some of the aforementioned analysts.
Will the BCS Standings remain exactly same by the end of the regular season? Probably not. And that’s partly because of the unpredictable and inspirational dimension of college athletics.
It’s a weird phenomenon: these analysts love to watch college football, but they are more often than not so eager to chisel in stone certain bowl match-ups with incomplete statistics and records that they end up not allowing football teams the “ridiculous” courtesy to work hard, improve and then play their best game by the end of the regular season as a final exclamation point to their fall campaign.
As written above: weird.
While the schedules for most Division 1 college football teams list around 12 games, the attention span for most analysts seems to range from 5-7. At this point, most of the “experts” would have you believe the top two teams are pretty much penciled in (not with a pen, but pencil mind you) and that the remainder of those seasons are mere technicalities.
Of course, do you know how many “technicalities” have resulted in shocking upsets or surprising victories?
One of the amazing aspects of college football (and college sports in general) is that anything can happen…anything! In college, the underdog, whether a single player or an entire team, has the potential and opportunity to shine for that one play or one drive to win the game or to make a strong goal line stand to complete an upset for the ages.
What’s even more incredible is how many of these moments occur during the final seconds of the last games of the season when everything is on the line.
Hopefully, the lighting crew won’t turn off the lights in the stadiums on those players, coaches, teams and fans when those unbelievable plays happen at season’s end.
Technically speaking, that would be a terrible thing to do. And the same notion goes for day games as well.
Otherwise, the world may never have witnessed the incomparable, “Annexation of Puerto Rico” that only works as the last play…
Those “one time” moments help make up the magical fabric of sports.
So, let’s just sit back, relax and watch some football.
You just may see something special.
The Wisdom of the Garage
Public vs. Private.
This is a fiercely debated and complex issue that has a myriad of avenues to explore and a variety of micro and macro points to consider for in-depth analysis. Today, the focus will be centered on the latest example of this classic, everlasting battle of ideology and basic societal structure.
Speaking of putting ourselves into the right mindset…
Regarding ObamaCare, the people do have a fever of frustration and the only prescription appears to be increasingly less government.
The federal government, under President Obama, has had between 2-3 years to put together a website for his signature achievement…in the 21st century…in the year 2013.
Now, healthcare is recommended to be dealt with over the phone by the government.
Can’t imagine any problems or scams there. In a related story, Nigerian princes are discovered to be very happy this week.
Aside from fact that the policy of the law is unequivocally flawed, bad, unworkable, unsustainable and unfair, let’s focus on the website. Consider that Facebook (“thefacebook” back then) was digitally built by a group of college students (granted, from Harvard) that took user’s information and compiled a personal profile for them that was capable of being viewed, updated, shared and commented on by his or her friends with seemingly no limit on activity.
It worked.
Why?
Put simply, the founders and builders of “thefacebook” had the market incentive to create the best product because of the competitive landscape in social networks. They had to be the best for survival’s sake. Therefore, the company had to recruit the best talent with the skill-set to continually innovate and improve their product for the public and, most importantly, their voluntary members. Money had to be allocated prudently and the business decisions required great intelligence and foresight.
In the private marketplace, you have to be the best or you will very likely fail and go out of business. For many, that is the bottom line and the daily reality.
Conversely, in government, there is no such marketplace. Money is provided, which is usually bloated beyond belief. Correction: The public’s/our money is provided to the government contractors and is bloated beyond belief. Even still, the transaction is done so through a maze of red tape and is absent any competitor, let alone several. The public sector is not conducive to consistently producing high quality and innovation influenced by a variety of critical market incentives, pressures and rewards.
“Our team is bringing in some of the best and brightest from both inside and outside government to scrub in with the team and help improve HealthCare.gov.” As reported yesterday by Washington Post columnist Ezra Klein, the aforementioned statement was a weekend notice from the Department of Health and Human Services.
The obvious question: Why weren’t the best and brightest brought in in the first place?
The obvious answer: The best and brightest don’t work in the government.
Silicon Valley is the hub of technological genius in the United States and even around the world. This is one of the places where the best and brightest work. Freedom to imagine is coupled with personal responsibility and monetary limitations, which creates the atmosphere for ingenuity and potentially terrific outcomes. Contemplate how many successful start-ups and society-altering companies were born in garages (Apple, HP) and small offices just outside San Francisco.
People in a garage with nothing more than a crazy, outlandish dream and a little business savvy have established a better and a more cognitive environment than the hundreds of millions of dollars the federal government doled out for the new healthcare.gov website that had years to be constructed.
If Apple or Google had premiered like this, there would be no Apple or Google today.
Actually, that’s not true.
Apple and Google never would have concocted, put together and premiered such an unworkable and fiscally unsustainable disaster for the public.
That’s the lesson from the best and the brightest.
Happy Monday!
Fall has arrived. There is a distinct chill in the air, especially in the early morning. Snow isn’t far away. As we all know, we must be prepared to wear the proper attire when the seasons change.
This is especially true if you find yourself in and around the Rocky Mountains during the months when Mother Nature casts her snowy blanket over everything in sight.
Happy Monday! And Remember to Wear Your Gloves and Hopefully You’ll Somehow Find Yourself with a Briefcase Full of Money!
P.S. Here’s a quick “Dumb and Dumber” quiz:
What does 2+2+2=?
Did you guess 6? I’m sorry, but that’s incorrect.
Actually, it equals 222…as in my 222nd blog post!
A Big Afternoon
Several months ago, I was in New York City with my Dad and nephew for an impromptu “boys weekend,” which included dinner in a very cool SoHo restaurant and front row tickets to “The Lion King” on Broadway. The dinner and show were both fantastic and unforgettable.
In addition to what was mentioned above, one of the moments that will forever be burned into my memory was when we ventured to FAO Schwarz one late afternoon. Bound and determined, I wanted to show my nephew something special. Despite the fact it had been moved from its regular spot, we weaved through the maze of toys, giant stuffed animals, video games and LEGO’s to reach the end of what should be considered the toy store’s treasure map. Believe me, with a young boy, this was not easy.
Still, we made it to the giant piano on the floor!
Correction: We made it to the “Big” piano on the floor!
Hesitant at first, my nephew eventually started to do what all kids do on a giant piano…he slid across the keys on his knees like a boss. He was tapping, sliding and jumping around amongst the other kids, just letting loose.
It was his “Big” moment, whether he realized it or not. Aside from the fact I recorded this experience (with the slide!) and that he’s seen it a few times, years down the road when he’s experiencing a stressful moment, he can think of that afternoon and/or watch that video and remember how great it feels to act like a kid and to just have fun.
The video below has been making its way around the popular media outlets recently. Tom Hanks, host Jonathan Ross and Sandra Bullock goofing off on a big piano on The Jonathan Ross Show. What’s not to like?
Regardless of our age, it’s vital that we occasionally let that kid within ourselves come out and play once in a while.
You might be amazed at how many other people feel the exact same way.
After all, smiling and having fun is kind of a big deal.
Jimmy's Daily Planet 