Quarterback Abstract

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I am a fan of books that list or compile or compare ...places to visit, best books, words to know, etc.. When you start comparing 'this' to 'that' ...in a heartbeat 'my guy is better than your guy' breaks out and soon David is slinging a stone at Goliath. Fast forward several thousand years, mix in competitive sports ...and the 'Manning vs Brady vs Favre' discussion/argument is on.


"The quarterback has been the pivotal position in football since the 1940s ... Since 1950, 339 men have started at least 10 games at the position. Quarterback Abstract has gathered them all, along with 27 notable pre-1950 QBs."
--Back cover blurb, Quarterback Abstract

Photo credit: bk-robat at flickr dot com

John Maxymuk, librarian and author, has published eight books about professional football. Quarterback Abstracts demonstrates he knows how to collect data, crunch numbers, express opinions, and have fun as a 'sports writer'. All resulting in a 'very helpful' pro football resource book ...one that is fun to read.





Please check out the rest of my review of Quarterback Abstract on Epinions dot com.



...tom...
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one in 1.75 Billion...

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A recent online solicitation I received:

"WIN $5,000 A WEEK for Life!"

Geezus..!! Where do I go to sign-up..!?!


Of course, once I check it out a little more thoroughly ...this missive from Publishers Clearing House ...once I check it out thoroughly I see the odds of winning are "1 in 1,750,000,000"..!! One in one point 75 Billion..!! And I thought the Powerball lottery odds were long..!!


Lets see, what is the current world population ...sleeper runs off to 'Google it'. Hmmm, just over 6.8 billion peeps, number courtesy of your tax dollars.


So if aliens were to swoop down and abduct 4 random earthlings from the entire world's population . . .that would be about my odds of being implanted with an anal probe. Or of winning the Publishers Clearing House sweepstakes. Ha. Like that is gonna happen

Image source: Clinton Steeds via Creative Commons license

Hey, did you hear that..?!? Strange lights and noises outside my bedroom window ...I better go investigate. Well ...as soon as I complete my Publishers Clearing House entry..!!



...tom...
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The hyperbole of LeBron...

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" James nearly averaged a triple-double -- 32 points, 11.3 rebounds and 7.5 assists -- as the top-seeded Cavaliers breezed through the first round of the playoffs, ... "

OK, we can agree LeBron James is the class of the NBA this season. Just named MVP of this 2008-2009 season and having already finished second in the race for defensive player of the year, no one is the equal of Lebron right now.

Image source: Craig Hatfield via flickr dot com

So is the hyperbole of Associated Press writer Tom Withers quoted above really necessary..?? 'Nearly averaged a triple-double'..?!? Uhmm ...7.5 assists per game is a long way from the 10 assists per game that would earn that 'triple double' note.

If a NBA player scored 30 points, would you say he nearly scored 40 points..?? I do not think so. If a horse lost the Belmont Stakes by twenty lengths, would you say he nearly won the Triple Crown..?? Even if the horse had won the first two races..?? I do not think so.

No matter how you want to look at it, 7.5 is a long way from 10.


LeBron is good enough to not need overblown hyperbole to note his level of performance. Tell us what he did, not what he almost 'but really did not come close' did.


That said, I am looking forward to watching him continue at a high level through the Cleveland Cavalier's playoff run.



...tom...
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Graphing your thoughts about you...

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The innertubes are full of widgets and games and 'which fill-in-the-blank are you..??' quizzes. There are countless ways to waste precious minutes to learn one more way to define just who the heck you are. What is with this 'defining ourselves' anyway..??


An 'exercise' I stumbled across recently is fun and different. Sponsored by The College Board (yes, the people who tortured you and now torture two million college-bound HS-ers each year with the SAT college exams) it is a simple way of weighing the significance of two pairs of choices on a 2D grid.














The example above pairs the choices of 'memorization vs comprehension' against 'verbal vs visualization'. (Click on any of the images for the bigger pic.) By sliding your mouse pointer across the face of the grid you can weigh your own balance between each pair of choices. The sample dot on the example above is obviously weighted much more heavily to memorization and almost as much to verbal for the styles of 'how you learn'.

Once you find your 'sweet spot' for any given graph and click to mark your place, the flash application fills in spots marking the choices of all those who have already completed that particular question grid. See the example below.













The simple flash program is found at the For Students page of the College Board site. No registration is required, you are simply given a cutesy 'user name' ( BrownCrownedMinnow here.. ) and away you go.


One more example of a fun one found there:

Love is: 'cruel vs wonderful' against 'attainable vs a myth'



I guess we should be encouraged that young people are finding love both 'wonderful' and 'attainable'. Though I suppose we should fear for that cluster hugging the 'cruel' line...






Anyway . . .a fun diversion for a few minutes during your day. Gawd knows we could all use a 'fun diversion' these days.

Click the links, check it out a bit, have some fun.


...tom...
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Game on...

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It is finally here: college football 2008..!!


Fourteen games tonight in Division 1-A and probably that many more in the other divisions to fill out the evenings schedule. And many more to follow through the rest of the weekend..!!




All the prognosticating is over, no more pre-season hype, and unrealistic expectations ...well maybe some until the first games are played out.

Time for the tailgaiting to begin and the parties to commence..!!

Time for cheerleaders and marching bands and rivalries being turned up to a rolling boil.

Time for first downs, completed passes, and touchdowns.

Time for sacks in the backfield, dropped balls, and turnovers.

Time for cheerleaders and silly mascots, game-dates and bringing the kids.

Time to get it on..!!

(edited to note: Gee. I mentioned 'cheerleaders' twice. Imagine that.)











Yahoo..!! 'Hook 'em Horns' and 'Roll Tide' and 'Rock, Chalk, Jayhawk' ..!!

This is gonna be fun...



...tom...
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OK, I barely remember this one...

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It seems it was decades ago that I was first exposed to coin-operated video games. Actually, it probably was...

But this one was definitely one of the first I remember playing. Well other than the table-top Pong games that I seem to remember from one of the old college bars I once frequented...


The growing, menacing 'music' on this recreation definitely brings old buried memories back to life. Still get that old, harried, 'I am gonna die..!!' buzz from it.


hat tip to: Mike the Mad Biologist