The Detroit Free Press has broken an interesting story in which unnamed current and former players claim the University of Michigan football team has violated NCAA rules regulating off-season workouts, in-season demands on players and mandatory summer activities. The allegations center on strength and conditioning coach Mike Barwis and off-season conditioning requirements. Michigan has launched [...]
Archive for August, 2009
I Know Michigan Needs All The Practice It Can Get, But . . . .
Posted in sports, Uncategorized, tagged Big Ten, Buckeye football, college football, NCAA, Rich Rodriguez, sports, The Ohio State University, University of Michigan, Wolverine football on August 31, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
The Lockerbie Bomber, Oil, And Justice
Posted in World, tagged Abdelbaset Ali al-Megrahi, foreign policy, Great Britain, Libya, Lockerbie bombing, terrorism, World on August 31, 2009 | 1 Comment »
I’ve posted before — here and here — on the indefensible decision of the Scottish government to release Abdelbaset Ali al-Megrahi, the terrorist convicted of the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103. The British press is all over the story, digging to see if there were grounds other than “compassion” for the release. The London [...]
The Sad Story of Badfinger
Posted in Music, tagged Badfinger, Paul McCartney, Pete Ham, the Beatles, Tom Evans on August 31, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
For some reason, I was thinking today about Badfinger, the rock band with the saddest fate. Badfinger actually had an auspicious beginning. The Beatles liked them enough (despite their ridiculous hairstyles) to sign them to their new Apple record label in 1968. Over the next few years, they came out with a string of high-quality [...]
Winds Of Change In Japan
Posted in Politics, World, tagged Japan, Politics, World on August 31, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
News articles are reporting that a significant political shift has occurred in Japan, where the ruling party apparently has been pulverized in an election. The Liberal Democratic Party, which has controlled the government in Japan for decades, is forecast to go from a large majority in the lower house of Japan’s Parliament to a small [...]
Pelotonia 2009
Posted in Columbus, sports, tagged Columbus, James Cancer Hospital, Pelotonia on August 30, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
Here are pictures from the Pelotonia charity bike race I participated in on Saturday. Proceeds went to the James Cancer Hospital at OSU. I rode 25 miles, but some riders went 50, 100, or 180 miles. The 180 mile riders ended up in Athens. I woke up at 5:15 to get ready, and arrived there [...]
A Grocery Store in Downtown Columbus (sort of)
Posted in Columbus, tagged Brewery District, Columbus, Kroger, Sunoco, Urban Living on August 30, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
More and more people move to downtown Columbus each year, but the area still lacks many amenities essential for sustaining a community, such as grocery stores. After moving downtown, my friends and I quickly learned that the closest place to buy beer in the evening is a Sunoco gas station near the Courthouse building, about [...]
500th Post — Factoids
Posted in Blogging on August 30, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
We’ve now hit our 500th post. The latest factoids: Total views: 5,964 Busiest day: May 25, 2009 Most popular post: Real Lemons (203 views) Popular recent post: Dixie Electric Company Comments: 161
If Schlitz, Why Not Stroh’s?
Posted in America, College, Food, Growing Up, tagged America, Beer, College, Food, Schlitz, Stroh's on August 29, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
I went to the grocery store recently and decided to buy some beer and was delighted to see Schlitz for sale once more. I bought a six-pack (in bottles, of course) and found the new version of Schlitz to be tasty and refreshing. For all I know, it is not the new version at all, [...]
Vacation Time: Puerto Vallerta
Posted in Family, Travel, World, tagged Family, Mexico, Nuevo Vallarta, Puerto Vallarta, Travel, vacation, Vacation Time, World on August 29, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
In 2005, Kish and the boys and I spent a week or so, over the Christmas/New Year’s break, at one of those “everything included” resorts outside Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. Puerto Vallarta is a town on the Pacific coast, well below the Baja peninsula. Dr. Science had recommended it as an interesting, and less crowded, place [...]
Cereal Analysis
Posted in Breakfast Cereal, Growing Up, Humor, tagged Breakfast Cereal, Ezekiel 4:9, Humor, Special K, Wheaties on August 29, 2009 | 1 Comment »
Men’s Fitness magazine, which I don’t read but probably should, has published an analysis of certain cereals by a panel of experts. The eight listed cereals are Grape Nuts Flakes, Honey Bunches of Oats with Real Strawberries, Health Valley Granola Raisin Cinnamon, Special K plus Protein, Kashi 7 Whole Grain Honey Puffs, Multi-Grain Cheerios, Ezekiel [...]
Attention And Accountability
Posted in America, Politics, tagged America, Charles Rangel, Congress, corruption, Ethics, Politics on August 28, 2009 | 1 Comment »
The ongoing stories about Congressman Charles Rangel’s failure to disclose significant assets and transactions, and even checking and brokerage accounts, in his congressional disclosure forms is just another example of the culture of contempt for the rules and disdain for the little guy that is so sickeningly pervasive in Washington, D.C. The whole purpose of [...]
Every Parent’s Nightmare
Posted in crime, Family, tagged crime, Family, Parenting on August 27, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
This is a horrible story about an 11-year-old girl who was kidnapped and spent 18 years in some private enclave, where she has borne two children fathered by her kidnapper, who just happens to be a registered sex offender. It is impossible to imagine how the victim, now a 29-year-old woman, has been traumatized and [...]
Lies, Damn Lies, and Unemployment Statistics (Cont.)
Posted in America, Politics, The Economy, tagged economy, Politics, Unemployment, Unemployment statistics on August 27, 2009 | 3 Comments »
I’ve written before on the dubious validity of the official unemployment statistics because of issues concerning how “unemployment” is counted. A high-ranking official with the Federal Reserve has now spoken publicly of this phenomenon and estimated that, if the statistical contrivances are taken into account, the “real” unemployment rate is not the official 9.4 percent [...]
A Flawed Human Being
Posted in America, Politics, tagged America, Edward Kennedy, Politics on August 26, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
I heard the NPR eulogy of Ted Kennedy as I drove in to work this morning, and I thought: if ever there was a flawed human being, it was Ted Kennedy. The NPR eulogy was largely positive. It noted that Kennedy served for 47 years in the U.S. Senate and achieved a number of legislative [...]
I’ll Clap For Navy
Posted in sports, tagged Buckeye football, Michigan, Navy, sports, The Ohio State University on August 26, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
UJ, Buckeye Bebe, Richard and I will be going to the first game of this year’s Ohio State football season, versus Navy. There’s a bit of a controversy on Ohio State fan websites about whether true Ohio State fans should clap when Navy trots onto the Ohio Stadium turf or boo like there is no [...]
