If I were the emperor

FIFA

2010-06-11T09:59:00.001-07:00

S Africa 1 - 1 Mexico

Mexico had the best of the first half, 2nd half very explosive!

Baseball: Time for Instant Replay.

2010-06-03T06:52:00.000-07:00

So, a really good umpire blew a call last night, leading to the first 28-out, 9.1 inning perfect game.

Mr. Selig, what's so hard about it? Institute a simple replay system: each manager gets 2 challenges per game--one extra if the game goes into extra innings. Hockey, Basketball, and Football all use replay. Soccer is flirting with it.

If I were the emperor, Mr. Selig would be commanded to make it so. It's hurting the game--and undermining the authority of the umpires--not to use technology that is readily available now. Keep up with the times.

Black Diamond Show

2010-02-22T09:19:00.000-08:00

I just gave out the wrong blogspot address on the air for the playlists and other info about the Black Diamond Show--Bluegrass and Beyond on WNHU -- 88.7 FM, West Haven, CT, and wnhu.net, Mondays noon - 2pm.

Correct blog address for the Black Diamond Show:
blackdiamondshow.blogspot.com

Slap Shot; Roadies; Senator; Other blogs

2010-02-16T05:27:00.000-08:00

If I were the emperor, when Slap Shot shows up on the Versus network, it would be shown without commercial interruption!

If I were the emperor, I'd have Roadies to help me move my basses, amps, mics, etc. when we have a gig.

But, since I'm not the emperor, I'll just shake my head in agreement with Senator Bayh when he announces his retirement from the senate because Congress--and our system--is too partisan.

I don't post here very often anymore. Here's where I tend to post most often these days:

The Black Diamond Show: Blog for the weekly mostly-bluegrass radio show I send in to WNHU, West Haven, CT, every week. (Mondays, noon-2pm, www.wnhu.net or 88.7 FM in West Haven).

Mandorichard's twitter feed: Mostly copyright and patent notes, occasional other tech topics, sometimes soccer or weather comments.

UDelCOTW twitter feed: Sheriff YoUDee's twitter feed: Follow the Code of the Web (UDel Computer Security).

Snow

2010-02-10T10:03:00.000-08:00

If it were up to me, if I were the emperor, I think we would have all migrated south before this storm.

I didn't mind the last one that much, but this wet, yucky, icy stuff--and the re-plow-in-the-driveway stuff. Ugh.

At least, thanks to this storm, I've got a new favorite weather site: http://weather.gov/phi

Well, sip my cuppa tea, then back out into it. Make the best of it. . . .

Christmas 2009

2009-12-25T21:14:00.000-08:00

If I were the emperor, we'd sing two songs on Christmas in all the churches in the land:

First is the hymn setting for Richard Wilbur's Christmas Hymn, often referred to as "Every Stone Shall Cry." I believe it shows up as Hymn 104 in the "1982" hymnal of the Episcopal Church.

What I love about this hymn is that it talks about the miracle in very simple terms: yes, even something as inanimate as a stone will be transformed if we get off our butts and take the basic message of humility and service seriously.

The second one is Miriam, by Pierce Pettis.

Some might consider this to be a strange one, but, again it talks about the very humble origins of the Christ Child--the product of an unwanted teenage pregnancy--yet upsetting all the rules:
"But laws of nature were suspended
Death sentences rescinded
Throughout all the world
And all because of a little girl named Miriam"

What I really like about these two is that they give a sense of the humble origins of the religion so many of us follow. This Jesus character is part of a miracle--there's no need to build enormous churches or armies. Just get out there and love each other, and the miracle that Christians say is most important will unfold.

If I were the emperor, I could tell the archbishop to cool his jets if he found my musings just too heretical. . . . :-)

Merry Christmas to all. . .

A Post A Post My Kingdom for a Post!

2009-12-21T09:34:00.000-08:00

I just looked and saw that over 11,000 views of this blog have happened since March 2008. I guess I'd better update it from time to time! So here's something I was thinking about earlier today. . . .

OK, Earlier today, I posted to my twitter feed (http://www.twitter.com/mandorichard): Monsanto wins "Angry Mermaid Award" for genetic patents on seeds. Goals? Not improved seed, but work with RoundUp. http://twurl.nl/mt35ov. And I head back from one of my musician friends, in fact, the lead fiddler in Tater Patch, who happens to be a prof in "a major mid-atlantic university's" college of agriculture:

Whoa! There are a few inaccuracies in this rant!
" Monsanto's seeds are resistant to one thing: Monsanto's toxic (and
increasingly expensive) herbicide RoundUp, which farmers are forced to buy,
(and consumers are forced to consume) in ever-larger quantities."

Actually, Monsanto's seeds are also often resistant to caterpillar pests,
because they produce Bt proteins, originally isolated from natural soil
bacteria and found in numerous tests to be toxic ONLY to Lepidoptera larvae
and only when they eat it - not to any other insect and completely harmless
to vertebrates like us - thus allowing replacement of high-toxicity
insecticides which are especially devastating when used by "peasants and
family farmers" in developing countries (there are frightening videos from
India). Those are also the places where insect pests are overwhelming, human
populations are way too high (and growing), and organic farming would simply
not produce enough food.

The second glaring inaccuracy is that Roundup is actually no longer under
patent protection, so you can buy the generic product (glyphosate)
increasingly cheaply, with the profits no longer going to Monsanto! Also,
glyphosate is a very safe herbicide - it has virtually no toxicity or
negative environmental effects and breaks down (microbially) quickly in the
soil.

It is true that it is increasingly difficult to find non-GMO seeds, Monsanto
has been drastically increasing the cost of their seeds (with little
competition, although DuPont is trying) - and they have used very
restrictive contracts in sharing their patented gene technology. There was
an article about that in the [Wilmington, DE] News Journal yesterday:
http://www.delawareonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2009912200338

I thanked Judy for not just telling me that the rant was inaccurate, but for also including some interesting facts on the other side of the issue. . . .

What really interests me about this matter is seeing if I can develop a case out of this matter for my Spring Semester course at the same mid-atlantic university. The kids are all gung ho on copyright issues, but it's hard to find patent cases that hold their attention. So, using both sides of this Monsanto controversy, I'm hoping to construct something that should engage their interest.

Of course, if I were the Emperor, I'd explore relaxing patent restrictions on drought-resistant seeds, certain medicines, and other things that can improve life for so many people. Note I said "explore relaxing" not "relax."

Wonder how many genetically-engineered agricultural products are hidden in the Healthy Choice (tm) lunch I'll be microwaving for myself in a few minutes?

Vick, Didinger, Protests, and Shelter/Rescue Work

2009-08-17T21:02:00.000-07:00

While visiting friends on my way home from vacation, I opened to the
Friday sports page in their local paper and let out a scream that
startled their dogs--"What's wrong with him? Is he OK?" My
Philly Eagles had signed Michael Vick. Non-YMCA appropriate language
passed through my mind as I tried to get my head around this horrible
(to me) event. Why'd my team sign another QB? And if they needed
one, why this villain??

Later that morning, my hosts and I sat around their kitchen table
completing a task they do most weeks for a local animal shelter:
looking at pictures of dogs about to be made available for adoption at
a shelter, and coming up with names for those who were surrendered or
found as "nameless" dogs. Brought back memories of my being involved
in mid-atlantic Rhodesian Ridgeback rescue. . . .

As I drove home along the NJ Turnpike and I-295 early Saturday
morning, I listened to sportstalk radio out of Philadelphia. Clearly,
I was NOT the only fan thinking about chucking his Eagles. Later in
the day, I heard a sports reporter on the radio talking about how he
wished people would channel their protests.

The guy's name is Ray Didinger, works for Comcast Cablevision, NFL
Films, and radio station WIP in Philadelphia. He and his wife are
active in bulldog rescue, too
( http://www.heavensentbulldogrescue.com/ ). He often talks about the
dogs he and his wife have fostered before they're sent on for
adoption. Didinger's comments were the first rational response I'd
heard on Philly airwaves about the Vick signing.

Anyway, his take on the signing of Michael Vick was pretty
interesting. Of course he found what Vick had done to be deplorable.
Of course he was taken aback by the signing at first. Of course he,
like the Eagles management, is taking a wait and see attitude to see
just how pro-active Vick will be in becoming a spokesman for animal
rights. But he also expressed frustration with how Eagle fans/ Animal
Lovers were expressing their outrage.

As Didinger said, going and standing outside the Eagles' practice
facility chanting and waving signs might make you feel better as you
vent your wrath, but wouldn't it be better if you felt moved to go
volunteer at a shelter or contact one of the many fine rescue
organizations that help abandoned and abused dogs and see what you can
do to help? He talked for a solid 3 minutes about the positive
difference people could make if they could channel their outrage at
Vick and the Eagles into action or contributions to help animals.

Anyway, as Ray Didinger suggested, if any of us hear people grumbling
about the situation, we could use the Vick incident as a way of
mobilizing people we hear PROTESTING into some positive action. Hear
people professing their love for animals? Then we could help them
channel their energy not into making anti-Vick protests but into
working with shelters and rescue organizations.

Maybe Didinger's point is just too commonsensical. Maybe I've become Pollyanna the Gullible. . . .
But it made sense to me--whether you support Vick's second chance or
would support more punishment--we in the dog community can use the
Vick publicity as a chance to mobilize action in support of the
animals most in need of our help.

So, if I were the Emperor, I'd have already had Mr. Vick in the studio recording PSA's against animal cruelty.

I'm so lazy that I'm a twitter. . . .

2009-04-14T11:09:00.000-07:00

http://twitter.com/mandorichard

For the time being, I'm too busy to write long and allegedly thoughtful comments. . . .

For now, just follow my twitter feed: http://twitter.com/mandorichard

I've been tweeting about copyright most often, but other topics, too. . . .

140 characters per post--THAT I can deal with!

Whither Ruckus? Comments on interview w/ News Journal

2009-02-23T06:08:00.000-08:00

As many college students learned on the night of February 6, Ruckus Networks, a legal music service that targeted college students, closed up shop -- without any prior notice. (The link is to a page at the University of Delaware that links to 3 stories about the demise of Ruckus.)

Shortly after Ruckus closed, I was interviewed by a reporter for the Wilmington, DE, News Journal for an article that ran this morning. Because of space limitations, the reporter omitted some of the points that I think are key to the story.

For instance, she correctly attributed to me the opinion that the demise of Ruckus will not lead to a spike in the amount of illegal music sharing on the UD campus, but she didn't have room to include the reasons I gave. As a result, since she also quotes students who think illegal file-sharing will increase, I wanted to say something SOMEWHERE about why I think the demise of Ruckus is not a big deal on UD's campus.

It's about the market.

First, Ruckus was bought last year by "Total Music"--a creation of Sony/BMG and Universal Music Group geared towards looking for ways to gain revenue from licensing music. The model Ruckus used ("loans" of DRM-protected music) is not providing a viable revenue stream. In fact, even Apple has announced that it's removing DRM protection from the music it sells. As I mentioned to the reporter, DRM may be starting to disappear from music the way copy protection began to disappear from software in the early 90s. Alternate models for restriction, distribution, and revenue-generation are starting to appear. I agree with Eliot Van Buskirk, a writer for Wired, that a "premium package" approach to Internet service--like cable tv companies have--is the likely model that we'll see next. (He talks about a Warner Music affiliate called Choruss in his Feb 9 posting.)

Second, even though royalty payments are still not sorted out, there are plenty of legal ways people can stream music from "Internet Radio" sites--many of which allow individual users to customize the music stream. Personally, I use last.fm both to log what I listen to and to generate a music stream of music I think I'll like. But there are plenty of others. Point is, there are a plethora of ways people can "borrow" music legally in ways analogous to what Ruckus used to allow. (Of course, if the royalty payment negotiations blow up, then this option may be curtailed.)

Third, there is an enormous growth in all segments of the intellectual property economy in "secondary markets." Look at how successful so many of the variants of Linux (open source version of UNIX operating system) have become. How? By using Linux as the free core, and then selling additional services. Lots of bands are giving away their music--in attempts to promote ticket sales, t-shirt sales, sales of songs for use in TV and movie soundtracks and so on. Or there's the basic "loss leader" approach--give away one track to entice people to purchase the rest of the CD or digital download.

Fourth, the music industry itself is changing. No longer does it require a six- or seven-figure investment to get started in the music biz. Free software, inexpensive software, USB mics, XLR-USB boxes, digital music duplication--it's gotten to the point that for a couple grand, you can get what you need to make something decent--maybe not super-duper, crystalline hi-fi--but still pretty decent quality.

So, what I'm getting at is that if we promote the other legal resources, we can keep the number of illegal file-sharers on UD's campus from jumping up. The market is changing; Ruckus succumbed to changes in the market (and an unrealistically optimistic business plan).

Of course, if I were the emperor, I'd also work to revise the copyright laws! But then I could teach a whole course about that!

Feb - May 2009

2009-02-14T11:28:00.000-08:00

During the spring semester at UD, I'm going to use this pulpit to let the faux emperor's intellectual property tsar take over.

Yeah, I'm teaching a course in intellectual property for undergraduates again this spring--and all of us are amazed at the news stories showing up. We're posting news stories for discussion using the delicious.com tag cisc367ud.

The Fairey v AP copyright flap even made it to the Colbert Report on Feb 12. (Description [to assist with searching for the video]: Obama Poster Debate - David Ross and Ed Colbert
David Ross and Ed Colbert debate the copyright issues surrounding Shepard Fairey's Obama poster.)

Bottom line: he who has the best lawyer will win!!

If I were the emperor, I think there might be some reforms here..... Stay tuned....

The Big Day: Inauguration 2009

2009-01-20T06:22:00.001-08:00

Some of my friends have been e-mailing back and forth about where they will be today, the day Barack Obama becomes president. I will be at work--except for a brief trip to the post office to mail something a certain college student of my acquaintance left behind when he drove back to school over the weekend.

It is indeed a historic day! Our first president of color! The symbolic value alone is monumental. I, like many Americans, feel a ray of hope--not unlike the ray of hope fans of every baseball team, no matter how woeful, feels the morning their team opens the baseball season. This could be the year! Mr. Obama could be the man!

Of course, the future still needs to unfold..... Just ask Cub fans....

Back in 1976, when I began what I thought would be a career in politics and public service (I lasted a little over 3 years), I can remember being shocked at the number of people who would blindly and loyally follow their leader--some with that "I'm in the presence of my (political) savior" glaze in their eyes, some with that blind loyalty to Our Feudal Leader (to the point that different campaigns would discuss how much to pay the different ward bosses, whether or not they could be trusted to "deliver" their votes)..... Over the weekend, I had a brief flashback to that time.

Saturday, one of my bands played at a party that turned out to be an "Obama Party." I did (and do) support Obama and recognize his value as a literate, thoughtful symbol of hope for about a dozen reasons, but I like to think that my expectations are not too high--he still has to deal with the corrupt system. One could even make the case that he is, in some ways, the "clean product" of the corrupt Illinois political machine. That being said, I have a lot more faith in Mr. Obama's desire to do the right thing than I have had for any president since Jimmy Carter. But I digress--my point is that I'm hopeful, but not blindly devoted.

Some of the people at the party on Saturday were the worst kind of blind zealot--I thought I was back in rural Missouri, 1976, listening to people lionize Congressman Jerry Litton, or in St. Louis, again 1976, looking at the stars in the eyes of some of John Danforth's supporters. It was a little scary for me to see these 40-something and 50-something men and women acting like overgrown teeny-boppers, professing that they were "in love with" Obama, and telling stories about when they fell for him.

In the car ride home from the party, one bandmate, her husband, and I discussed the hard circumstances Mr. Obama -- or anyone else! -- faces in Washington: The Democrats will continue to pander to their set of special interests, and the Republicans will continue to pander to theirs, and our new president will get stuck in the middle a lot of the time. The three of us agreed that something rational like the old Steve Forbes proposals for a Flat Tax on all income over X stands no chance in a partisan and pandering Congress.

The blind and giddy devotion I saw on Saturday night is not what this country needs. What it needs is a willingness on the part of all of us to help Mr. Obama and the rest of the government build a better society. And that is going to take a sea change in how most Americans view things--instead of thinking about entitlement and "what's mine," instead of looking for ways to "get rich and retire by age 49," we all need to look for ways to help each other and our country.

So, I look forward to seeing the news reports when I get home from work today. And if you have any doubt that too many people have been made gullible by their teeny-bopper hysteria or man-crushes on Mr. Obama, check out all the "commemorative merchandise" people are buying up left and right--this is NOT the economic stimulus package we need. Mr. Obama doesn't need our gullible devotion; we don't need gaudy plates, buttons, and coins! The new president needs us to engage our intelligence and reason, he'll need us to see that we may have to give up some of our "entitlements" to help others in our society, and he'll need us to engage in rational economic behavior.

So, if I were the emperor, I'd urge us all to give Mr. Obama a fair shake, but I'd remind us all that we need to give something back to our society for him, for any president, for our society to succeed.

The Skies Safe for Democracy?

2008-12-31T13:24:00.000-08:00

At the airport yesterday, my son called me a rookie.

Then he condescendingly said that my problem was that I had retired from traveling and didn't know the rules anymore.

Bottom line: even though our flight from PHL to ORD was on time on both ends, I had a miserable experience.

On the minor annoyance front.... Carry-on luggage should be carry-on luggage. My son and I are not globe-trotters, so we didn't get to board with the zone 1 passengers..... By the time I boarded, most of the overhead racks were full with coats and those "carry-on bags" that only fit two to a compartment--leaving the third person in a row with no place for even a small carry-on. And people were mad when group 3-5 passengers moved their precious coats. Fine. I don't expect customer service from USAirWays. Never mind loading the plane efficiently (from back to front) when, in the age of checked baggage fees, it's better to let your frequent customers board first--no matter where they sit--so they can gobble up the overhead luggage rack space before ordinary passengers like me get on board. Anyway, I gave an annoyed flier his coat back to make room for my small bag, and a flight attendant made some other clients take their coats back to make room for my son's bag. All minor. But if I were the emperor, some of those enormous carry-on bags would have made the trip in the hold of the airplane! Or been left on the tarmac!

On the more major annoyance front.... The security check-point. How on earth is the charade played out at TSA check-points making the skies safer? Because my head-and-shoulders, crest, and scope were all in a quart-sized ziploc glad bag, the skies are safer? How? Because some white-haired septugenarian's luggage got x-rayed three times, then unpacked by an overweight and sweaty person wearing latex gloves, are we less likely to have a plane blown up? And what's up with the shoes and jackets off routine? There I was with my camera, laptop, shoes, suitcase, prescription meds, toiletries all out in little plastic bins--Meanwhile, my son's slouching on a column waiting for me to reassemble myself and my luggage. That's when he came up to my sock-clad self and addressed me as "rookie".....

To be blunt about it, I did not feel safer. I felt annoyed by the ordeal. If I were a terrorist, surely my "dental floss" could have been bomb fuse and my "gummy bears for take-off and landing" could have been explosive. True, they would have found any metal weapon I had had, but the whole search is a charade. Time after time, people have tested the security check-points and found that they can smuggle contraband through--even though their toenail clippers and babyfood might end up in the trash.

If I were the emperor, TSA and it's checkpoints would be GONE. I understand the need for security; however, the TSA show is not very effective. It's all show and arbitrary rules. If I were the emperor, I'd go ahead and try the full body scanners that are beginning to be deployed (USA Today Article on topic). I would require identification checks. And perhaps, instead of making every 70-something take their shoes off and unpack their suitcases (and every 50-something like, me!), I'd find some way of using explosive sensing devices (or dogs) to check people and luggage....

I guess my point is that if we're going to search, then search. When I flew in and out of Germany several years ago, my son and I were thoroughly and efficiently searched. It can be done.

But your emperor found the TSA show to be just a show--where even my non-terrorist brain could see holes. Now I need to decide whether to leave my toothpaste in Chicago when I return home or bag it up and put it in a bin on the way home.....

Simpleton

2008-12-10T06:23:00.000-08:00

If I were the emperor, I would raise taxes on families, individuals, and businesses--making more than a certain amount--until the federal deficit is paid way down. Like most Americans, my house is mortgaged, but

I'm not hard-hearted, but given that, yesterday, people were willing to buy short-term T-bills at 0.00% yield, given the over-reliance of so many people on the institutionalized gambling on Wall Street, given the widening gap between haves and have-too-muches--to say nothing about the widening gap between the have-nots and the have-too-muches--isn't it time to ask some of the haves and have-too-muches to help the society at large by paying a larger share into the government treasury?

What am I missing? Wouldn't a more secure government foster a better economic climate in this country--therefore improving the economic climate around the globe?

In the meantime, if I were the Emperor, I'd sell the rights to tarring and feathering the Governor of Illinois to the highest bidder, with proceeds going into the Chicago education system. And I'd make sure his wife found the 6-figure job she wants--if you include the dollar sign, the comma, and the cents in those six figures!

Big Three Car Jerks

2008-11-21T07:48:00.000-08:00

If I were the emperor, every single last one of those suits who flew on PRIVATE PLANES to DC to lobby for a handout should be required to sell off the planes, sell a couple of their suits, put that money back into their car companies' general cash flow--AND each should be required to spend 3 weeks in training to go on the line and 2 weeks on the line. See what a working joe goes through before you first-class yourself to DC. Grrrrrrrr.

Euphoria

2008-11-20T14:41:00.000-08:00

I've been meaning to post something about Friday, October 31, 2008 for a long time. No, not because it was Halloween--but because it was the day of two rallies in the Delaware Valley. That morning, Senator Joe Biden came to the University of Delaware campus to address about 4,000-5,000 supporters; that afternoon, the Philadelphia Phillies held their parade and rally to celebrate their World Series victory. Only a couple million people turned out.....

The Biden rally--the Friday before the election--was an orchestrated and scripted affair. Sure, there was true enthusiasm--but the spot was carefully chosen so that the supporters could be crowded into an enclosed area--thereby making the crowd appear bigger. And the crowd was, to some extent, selected-particularly "on camera." The speeches were fine--but they were all aimed at eliciting shouts and cheers. It was a nice affair--pretty day, a photogenic number of people happy and noisy and cheerful. I didn't stick around for the whole thing. I went back to work a few minutes after Biden came out to talk.

As I was driving home from work, I caught the tail end of the radio broadcast of the rally in Citizen's Bank Park. There were 40,000+ people in that stadium AND about 60,000 people in the adjacent football stadium, watching a large screen TV. The spontaneous joy and eruptions of cheering AND knowing that over a million people had watched the parade from downtown Philly out to the stadiums--It all felt so genuine. All these people were out there just being happy! They were just thrilled that their team had won the series!! I was moved--as Jamie Moyer addressed the crowd (a 45-year-old pitcher who pitched better than most 30-year-olds this year), I admit to getting a little choked up--local boy grows up, wins the series, and addresses the local fans. Wow.

As I got home and got out of my car, I contrasted the two rallies I'd heard or seen....

The political rally just felt so sour compared with the outpouring of spontaneous euphoria from 2 million Delawareans, Eastern Pennsylvanians, and Southern Jerseyites. The one was a bit of old-fashioned manipulation of the media--even though it was a rally for the ticket for which I voted. The other was just ............. joy .............. Euphoria....... No one wanted anything--people were just celebrating! Even Chase Utley's F-bomb just made the celebration more surreal. Just joy. In Euphoria, happiness.

OK, OK, so there's no big news in the fact that the Biden rally was really a manipulative photo op and the Phillies' parade was an outpouring of enthusiastic and spontaneous joy. Politics is about self-serving advancement--sometimes in toto, sometimes just partially. Sports fans, when they're happy, revert to the state of unquestioning joy that they used to enter when they were 7-, 8-, or 9-years-old. Hearing the Phillies' fans on the radio sure had me flashing back to what I was sure was the best day of my life--when I, an 11-year-old St. Louisan, heard Harry Caray screaming on the radio "The Cardinals Win the Pennant! The Cardinals Win the Pennant!"

Fast forward to about midnight on Wed 11/5/08.... I'd been working most of the day and night at an election night event at UD. During Mr. Obama's acceptance speech, I walked into the auditorium where we had 9 big screen TVs and one large overhead projector showing the speech. In the room seated on the floor or leaning on each other were about 200 exhausted students. And they were so quiet. It was eerie. I'd never seen 200 college students in rapt silence before. I mean SILENCE.

I realized that their silent attention was another example of Euphoria. Unbridled happiness--but here, it was focused on the words of our future leader. Like him or not, the fact that he can command that kind of respect and joy should give us all hope that better things are possible.

Your Virtual Emperor notes, therefore, that, if the Phillies can win the World Series, any good thing is possible.

I am the village Smithie

2008-10-27T12:28:00.000-07:00

No, I don't do horseshoes and chains.

I get e-mail requests like this from colleagues at work several times a week:
"Could you bless and/or wordsmyth this announcement?"

I've also been grading student work--mostly open-ended essay assignments. Some of my troops are writing wonderful essays. But some of them are not. It's as if they think that by typing enough words -- no matter what they are -- they'll cause their ideas to automatically appear in my brain. Or the other rhetorical device they try is the "core dump" (to use a computer term): spilling out everything they can think of about some of the key words in the assignment so that, again, magically, my brain can put it together and see their answer.

As I was typing this entry, I heard a colleague say, "If I don't see you, Nancy, have a nice trip!" Of course I stopped her and asked if she was implying that she hoped Nancy will have a bad trip if they do see each other!

And then, here we are, in the last 8 days of Campaign '08. With lazy and misleading language flying around like crazy. I was on line yesterday (I admit it--playing hearts on line while taking a break from grading!), and someone made a remark about someone as if it were a vicious insult--something like, "He's a [expletive deleted] jerk. He's probably voting for that Bama person." I pointed out that others might be as well, and he replied "Then you're not really an American, are you?" And I need not bore any of us with examples of campaign language. (Thank God for Stewart and Colbert mocking the candidates of both parties--last week, Stewart showed McCain and Obama both pandering to World Series fans in both Florida and PA--then showed Palin pandering to fans in St. Pete, Philly, AND Boston the week before! And that's nothing compared to the allegedly substantive slime national and local candidates are heaving at each other!)

If I were the Emperor, I'd like to hire a wordsmith myself. How much fun it would be to have a thought and have someone else struggle with the right words to get the reaction I want from my audience. None of this pounding and re-shaping to form thoughts into the right words, none of this grubby hammering and pounding to get the words in exactly the right place.

But it ain't so. So, If I were the Emperor, I'd have to settle for people learning to pay attention. We could teach people using simple things like I ask my students now: "How many different meanings can you get by inserting the word 'only' into this sentence: 'The karate champion could smash bricks with his hand.'" (An old saw I stole from Phil Hennessy when we were in grad school together--and I'm sure he stole it from someone else. But it works. It helps people see that it DOES matter whether people think you're trying to say he's the only champ, or that he's a karate savant, or that he's a one-handed beast.)

Maybe I am the Emperor after all: After all, if the proverbial princess was kept awake by a tiny pea and if I'm jolted awake by silly little language nits. . . .

What else are we talking about.... The Economy

2008-10-08T06:28:00.001-07:00

If I were the emperor, certain greedy bastards from AIG who went on a $$$,$$$ junket AFTER the fed bailout would be sweeping the Imperial stables.

If I were the emperor, I'd ask everyone making over $1,000,000 to make a capital investment in a local small business, or to take a pay cut. That means you, Manny Ramirez.

If I were the emperor, I'd probably be on my 3rd set of economic advisors for the year.

Actually, I don't know what I'd do. As some wag said a long time ago, the difference between the stock market and a horse race? ONE of those nags has to win. Not so with the stock market.

The stock market is a very odd feedback mechanism. I think what it ends up doing is amplifying the "feeling" in a country. If people are optimistic, the stock market goes up, fueling more optimism, fueling more stock gains fueling more optimism, etc etc. Unfortunately, we're in the opposite cycle right now. And the fear we all are fearing is fueling more drops in the market, leading to more fear, more drops, more fear, etc etc

I'd love to see some comments advising what to do.

At least the price of Gasoline is dropping.

I sit corrected.....

2008-09-26T09:04:00.000-07:00

Well, according to CNN's report today, McCain is going to Mississippi after all. Like David Letterman, I feel used! I fell for his grandstanding. Because incumbents abandoning their duties to promote themselves is one of my pet peeves, I took what he said seriously..... Oh well....

If I were the emperor, I'd banish Mr. McCain to Arizona and make him work in one of his local offices for a while!

Dang, I wish it were my candidate who'd said that!

2008-09-24T13:19:00.000-07:00

McCain Suspends Campaign, calls for Obama to do same --CNN.com, 9/24/08

What a depressing election year. The candidate I prefer selects Mr. Foot-in-mouth as his Veep nominee (FDR on TV in 1929--uh, during the Hoover administration.... the age of radio), declines public funding after championing it for years, and now he lets the wild man from AZ upstage him on the economic crisis. If I were the emperor, I'd have picked up the phone and asked Mr. Obama to have done what Mr. McCain has done--some time last week. But, you know from my previous posting what I think of sitting office holders who desert their duties to run for higher office..... So I applaud Mr. McCain for suggesting that he and Mr. Obama get back to the job they were elected for.

Yeah, I know that it's "grandstanding" to some extent, but I have to give the opposition his due when he does something I wish MY candidate had done....

Of course, if I were the emperor, I'd like to think that, as Bill Clinton said recently, I'd have steered all that loose capital floating around in 2001 and 2002 into new industries rather than into the real estate/construction "boomlet." (See the clips from his 9/23 appearance on the Daily Show with Jon Stewart at ComedyCentral.com.) Under the current Republican administration, money has been steered into speculative mortgage and banking practices to preserve the market for all those investors in "old industry." As Clinton said, we'd have a different economic landscape if folks had invested in greener autos, solar power, wind power, and other areas in which the USA has fallen a bit behind--AND we'd have new jobs and new revenue streams!

But I'm not the emperor. And I will still vote for Mr. Obama, but I do so with my eyes open--recognizing that he is a good, decent, and intelligent man that can inspire the country--even if I'm currently disappointed that his opponent beat him to the punch on this one.....

Hiatus or Lazybones

2008-09-17T07:08:00.001-07:00

Yes, I'm back. Decide for yourself if it was a sabbatical, hiatus, or a lazy spell..... :-)

If I were the Emperor, I'd change our election process and keep changing it until we get it "right."

I am so sick of partisanship. I am so sick of election ads. The ads are driving me to PBS and TCM--an ad free movie channel. They've got me web browsing with the sound turned off. They've got me hiding from broadcast news. It's all talk talk talk talk I'm the best talk talk talk my opponent's slime talk talk talk.

Change the first:
"None of the Above" would be a valid contestant for each race.

Change the second:
You'd need 50.0000001% of the vote to be the winner. In any race that a named candidate does not get a simple majority of votes cast, a new election would be held in 3 - 5 weeks. Oh, and the last place candidate would drop off the ballot. And if "None of the Above" is one of the top vote getters, new candidates would be allowed to enter the race.

Change the third:
Partisan local primaries would be outlawed. States, counties, towns, cities, etc would hold open elections until one candidate has received 50% of the vote.

Change the 4th:
Primaries for President of the United States would be changed so that there would be 8-10 "regional" primaries--that is, no more of this stuff where states in different parts of the country have primaries in the same week. Each state's primary would be separate, but they'd be grouped--for example, SC, GA, MS, FL, and AL might have primaries on one week (Tu and Sat), NC, VA, WVA, DC, and MD might have theirs the next week and so on.

Change the 5th:
An incumbent can only run for his or her own office and is governed by term limits. That is, a sitting Senator or Governor may not abandon his duty to his constituents to run for President. An Attorney General may not abandon his duties to run for Governor. Term limits: Legislators are limited to 18 years (3 terms as US Senator, 9 terms as US Rep, 9 terms for most state legislatures and county councils). Executives and Elected Judges are, by federal law, limited to 3 terms in office, but state law may choose to make the limit 2 terms. So, if you are a sitting Senator, you can run for president after your term is up OR you can resign to run for president. Note that changes 2, 3, and 5 are designed to get more people involved in their own governance.

Change the 6th:
Political ads would join liquor ads and cigarette ads on the verbotten list for broadcast TV and Radio!

Change the 7th:
SPENDING LIMITS and PUBLIC FUNDING would have to be implemented. But even if I were the Emperor, I'm not sure exactly what they should be. It would take some tweaking to get the right balance here. (Can you tell how disappointed I am in my candidate of choice that he turned his back on public funding?)

Change the 8th:
All of the above is changeable until we get it right! Drive out those who overly promote one group's interests over what's best for the nation! Broaden the base--get more people involved--make government a public SERVICE again, not a public trough at which the hogs, porkbellies, politcos, and lobbyists all slop!

Without a good president and without a good government on all levels, your Emperor would not be able to enjoy his retirement to a life of music, photography, and sports! :-)

First Blog Post Of the Summer

2008-07-23T06:40:00.001-07:00

I've had a couple of inquiries about whether I was taking the summer off from blogging.... Well, not intentionally!

But it has been almost 2 months since I posted anything.... And the world is still messed up--and I'm still filled with ideas for what we need to do to improve the world.... Mostly impractical ones....

I will weigh in with this one quick comment.....

If I were the emperor, I would have made sure that there were decent movies around on Father's Day so that when my son took me to a movie, there was something better than Adam Sandler's You Don't Mess with the Zohan. He liked it. I admit I laughed sometimes, too. But, on balance, I found it one of the worst movies I've ever seen in a theater--ranking up there with 1974's Freebie and the Bean as Worst Theater Experiences--yeah, worse than John Waters' Pink Flamingos. But I digress. The premise is unusual, the execution is awful. Ring Announcer Michael Buffer leads a host of cameo appearances that range from uncomfortable to interesting. Stereotypes abound. Stupidity reigns. In short, I enjoyed spending time with my son, but geez, I wish there'd been a better movie around that weekend!

Metaphors and Hobby-Horses

2008-05-30T10:59:00.001-07:00

I run an e-mail list for owners and fans of Rhodesian Ridgeback dogs (http://www.mandorichard.net/RR/list.html). Fights on that list got so bad that I had to draft three people to help me—and we now review postings from all 1140+ people subscribed to the list. (I’ll add up front that the vast majority of the list members are extremely nice and caring people! It’s amazing how about three people can “poison” a list for 1100+ other people!)

One of the things I’ve noticed about the messages on this list, like so many other hobbies people participate in, is that for a handful of the list members, dog issues are metaphors for other issues in their lives—or maybe metaphorical antidotes for problems in their lives. Not a groundbreaking discovery or anything like that, but one that I’m face to face with a lot of the time as I see the list traffic.

Heck, my son’s mother and I got a dog first—before trying to raise a kid! Talk about metaphors! ☺

One current dispute on the e-mail list is about “kill” and “no-kill” shelters. In addition, there are people on the list who spend tons of time, money, and resources on rescuing abandoned and/or unwanted Ridgebacks that would otherwise end up dead. (Most major [and minor] dog breeds have very active rescue groups.) These people have my respect and admiration—I served my stint as a Ridgeback Rescue volunteer—with the $250-$350 phone bills and the several extra thousand miles on the odometer and the vet bills to show for my small contribution to the rescue process.

<aside type=personal>
Of course we had our successes—for example, Zoey, the 3-legged dog we picked up in Lancaster, PA, fostered at our house in DE, and placed with a woman in New Hampshire; or, Charley, the big galoot we picked up at the Jersey Shore, fostered at our house, then delivered to Columbus, OH, where he was picked up by his new family from the greater Chicagoland area. But I also remember the heart-wrenching situations—the one that stands out in my memory was the one we had with a dog named Poppy. His owners lived in Manhattan; my friend Karl Gabosch drove from his home in Collingswood, NJ, into Manhattan to get him and my family provided foster care to him.

Poor Poppy. His owners had kept him in a crate in an apartment, rarely cleaning it or letting him out, beating him and NOT cleaning his crate when he’d soil it. They lied to us about his health, his temperament, his “ridge” (Ridgebacks have a cowlick of hair growing down their backs—I think about 12% are born without the Ridge. Anyway, Poppy didn’t have one.), his origins, just about everything. He was a submissive-aggressive dog—from a human point of view, he was prone to making sudden unprovoked attacks. He growled and snapped (and missed) at someone who came to see him. He took a 4-inch chunk out of the flank of one of our dogs.

I didn’t feel it was fair to just put him down; after all, I suspect that most of his problems came from his treatment by his original owners. But my then wife,Dana; Karl and his wife Priscilla; the other members of our rescue committee, including a PA veterinarian, Paula Colletti, who is still active in SPCA and other rescue activities—all convinced me that Poppy had to be put down. It was very sad. The poor guy had felt unsafe all his life, so of course he’d snap out unpredictably.

Shortly after we put Poppy down, I started pulling out of the rescue world. It was too painful for me. Why? Well, the way Poppy had been treated became a metaphor for me for how people too often treat each other. His life and the way he was handed over to us really made me ashamed of our allegedly rational species. So humans created the problem; and then humans “solved” the problem by killing the dog instead of punishing the people who turned him into such a psycho.

And this transference that I experienced is what I see on the dog list at times.
</aside>

People start seeing their dogs’ success as intrinsically important when, in reality, they’re reveling in their dogs’ show or trial successes as a metaphor for the success missing from other areas in their lives.

Back to the rescue work/metaphor discussion: The people who get so involved in Rescue to make the world a better place—I wonder if, for some of them, the dogs they save are metaphors for the people they can’t help in the world. For some of them, the Rescue dogs are MUCH more than metaphors for the problems caused by too many dogs being bred: if this were a religious discussion, one might call them “sacraments”—outward and visible signs of a spiritual goodness (Christians would say God’s Grace, but let’s turn this into a sectarian discussion!). But the number of stray “purebreds” becomes, to a zealous rescue volunteer, a physical manifestation of humans’ greed and/or cavalier cruelty—almost an “anti-sacrament.”

Laurence Sterne and other 18th-century authors referred to people’s “hobby-horses”—in some senses, hobbies that become fixations, leading one away from what’s really important. Characters like Uncle Toby (in Tristram Shandy [Don’t know it? Visit http://special.lib.gla.ac.uk/exhibns/month/oct2000.html]) are presented as comic figures. But in real life, your emperor fears that some of my dog list people have fallen for the metaphor at the expense of their involvement in the “real[ler] world.” And I’m not claiming that anyone who belongs to an e-mail list is a nut case—just that all of us have to be careful not to lose sight of the big picture.

I am not claiming to be exempt. My hobby-horses are many and various and mask lots of important issues that I really should confront. I’ve bought guitars or cameras instead of {snow tires|plumbing supplies|other “important” things}. I find myself having difficulty making “intimate” friends—but rather than confront and deal with my fears and issues, I go spend time in the key of b minor, or get up early and go take pictures at the riverfront. I’ve given extravagant gifts to (now ex-) significant others instead of dealing with issues between us—letting the gift exchange be an insufficient metaphor for an attempt to patch up a failing relationship. I’m not totally detached from reality; my son and his upbringing and his education are the most important things in the world to me. (But then some would ask if I’m not just using his life as a metaphor for my own life—praying that he succeeds where I might not have!)

When we get hung up on our hobby-horse fixations, it becomes all too easy for us to forget to do the things we should. Just as politicians distract us with issues about lapel-pins, short-term cash in our pocket, and other tricks to keep us from focusing on the IMPORTANT issues, so many of us—myself included—allow ourselves to be distracted by our hobby-horses and lose sight of what’s important.

So, if I were the Emperor, what would I do? Probably nothing—because then I’d really have the bucks to have more hobby-horses than the next guy and could continue to postpone even MORE of the issues I don’t want to face.

Capital Punishment

2008-05-07T07:30:00.000-07:00

Well, this week, the first execution in 6 months happened in the United States.

If I were the Emperor, I'd ban capital punishment. Simple as that. Why?

Reason Number 1: I've always been taught that it's wrong to kill. I admit that there are circumstances in which one has to defend one's self, one's family, or one's country with deadly force. It's committing a wrong to prevent a bigger wrong. Not to be taken lightly. Capital Punishment exacts revenge; it does not directly prevent a bigger wrong. Whether or not it deters other potential criminals from crime, capital punishment is just killing for revenge.

Reason Number 2: I've always been taught that "two wrongs don't make a right." I'm not saying that if you torture someone to death that you should be locked up in a country club/resort or anything like that. But killing the killer doesn't right the wrong. It exacts a measure of revenge on behalf of the victim and conveniently disposes of the wrong-doer.

Reason Number 3: We are one of the last countries founded by Western Christians to still use capital punishment. This is perhaps the weakest reason to stop--but it gives one pause to see country after country end the practice. It should at least give us pause to examine the policy....

Reason Number 4: Capital Punishment is irreversible. Make a mistake? New evidence show the wrong guy's been convicted? There's no undoing it. (This reason is the one that a pro-death-penalty friend of mine said that he finds most troubling and potentially convincing. Whatever it takes; whatever it takes!)

There are many things that make me sad about our country--I love the USA and the ideals for which it stands. However, our wonderful nation is not perfect. Our continued policy of Capital Punishment--our insistence on exacting the ultimate and irreversible revenge--is one of the major blights upon our country.

If I were the emperor, I'd stop the practice.

The Constitution, Religion, and the State

2008-04-24T06:49:00.000-07:00

Last night, PBS aired a 2-hour show on a trial to determine whether Creationist/Intelligent Design theories must be taught in one community's public schools (Kitzmiller v Dover): PBS Web Site for "Judgement Day: Intelligent Design on Trial".

This morning, CNN ran an article about Christian license plates in Florida.

Both of these articles raise the US Constitutional issue of the separation of Church and State.

My biggest concern is that issues like these will drive a polarizing wedge between people--sorta like what's happening to the country in politics. (HIlary alienating Obama-ites; Obama alienating Hilary-ites....) I do happen to be a practicing Christian, but understand that others' faith in God might manifest itself differently. Therefore, to see Christians who happen to teach evolution branded as "atheists" and to see the most narrow of interpretations of the Bible's pronouncement that human beings are created in "God's image" scares me--I think because those most narrow readings of what I consider a holy book lead to divisiveness, a spending of one's energy on casting out of "enemies" rather than on the REALLY important things.

It doesn't have to be that way. Tolerance has its role models for us if we look hard enough. Even in pop fiction! For example, Dan Brown, in Angels and Demons (the prequel to the Da Vinci Code), had characters talk about science and religion as different ways of understanding God's creation. And there's a long history of scientific study in both the Roman Catholic and Muslim traditions. Science and God can and DO co-exist!! It just saddens me to see people just lash out at things and people and points of view they don't understand.

Now, onto Florida. So, they propose an "I believe" license plate. My first reaction is that it belittles the faith--makes it seem on a par with a "fun" affiliation--being a Florida State Alum or a Manatee-lover, for example. My second reaction is that it could set up potential divisiveness--along the lines of wearing or not wearing a flag lapel pin being taken as a sign of moral turpitude. Then there's the potential for an ACLU-led charge of co-mingling state and religion--does the license plate imply that Christianity is the official state religion of Florida? I see nothing but an increase in tension without any potential benefit in the wrangling if Florida goes ahead with this plan. Why be divisive when we have other problems on which to spend our collective energy?

So, if I were Emperor, I'd mandate the teaching of Evolution in our schools. And I'd tell Florida to stuff its proposed relgious-affiliation license plate. Surely, privately produced bumper or window stickers are plenty of identification for people to place on their cars without raising the whole "official religion" debate. And, finally, I'd mandate public service spots on television and radio that emphasize the value in respecting each others' most deeply held beliefs.

Joe Jobbed

2008-04-22T06:28:00.000-07:00

I just learned a new Internet verb today:

Joe Job (v): To send out a ton of SPAM from a spoofed e-mail address, usually in an attempt to inconvenience the person whose e-mail address has been spoofed. (Wikipedia "Joe Job" article)

Why did I learn that verb today?

Because some scheisskopf has JoeJobbed ME!!! My work inbox is just about totally swamped with SPAM. No exaggeration: over 1450 SPAM hit my work e-mail in an 18 hour period (yesterday and today). Makes me wonder who I've pissed off in the past couple of weeks. It's bad enough that my work inbox gets 435-450 SPAM a day on a good day. But why this sudden increase?

If I were the emperor, I'd track down the jerk who has JoeJobbed me and exile him or her to the hinterlands--back to the days of rotary dial telephones and party lines.

grrrrrrrrr.

Federal Tax Day

2008-04-15T07:55:00.000-07:00

If I were the emperor, I'd impose a flat income tax on all of us--minus a healthy exclusion for each person. I suspect a lot of the angst some of us feel on tax day comes from two things: the perception of unfairness in the tax system (the rich get all the deductions!) and the complexity of the system.

Here's what I'd do.

Every household is allowed up to two exclusions of X (for the first two people in a household) and exclusions of Y (for the next Z people in the household).

Subtract the exclusions from your income.

Pay N% tax on the rest.

So congress and state legislatures would set the values of (and definitions of) X, Y, Z, and N each year, and the IRS and state department of revenues would then enforce collection of the tax. A similar model could work for "corporate" taxes, too.

What's hard about that?

Someone, please tell me why the tax code is more complicated than this! Or explain why it SHOULD be more complicated than this.

Thank you....

Random Observations

2008-04-09T13:55:00.000-07:00

I'm bubbling with indignation this evening. Not sure where to start. If I were the emperor, OFF WITH THEIR HEADS! ALL OF THEM!! (No, not really--if I were the emperor I'd actually outlaw capital punishment....)

Power Corrupts, Govt. Employment Really Corrupts

Nearly half of transactions made in the 2006 fiscal year with government credit or debit cards -- referred to as "purchase cards" -- were improper, the study found, and the audit condemned the government-wide "rate of failure" as "unacceptably high."

The improper purchases were either not authorized or did not meet the government's requirements for using purchase cards, the study said. - CNN 4/9/08

If I were the emperor, there'd be a whole lot less of this kind of nonsense. It's bad enough that I've had musicians show up at a party at my house strictly to sell their latest CD to my guests, or that some people seem to think it just fine to send a non-commercial e-mail list post after post of things for sale. But what the heck were some of these employees thinking? The postmaster who used his govt. plastic to pay for $1100 of "dating services"? What the heck was he thinking?!?! (Read the article for some other stellar examples.)

I suspect the problem really was that no clear guidelines existed--or perhaps too specific guidelines existed--"It doesn't say I can't do this!" Or perhaps people just rationalized what they wanted to do because they perceived it as in their short-term interest.

If I were the emperor, employees who guilty of ethics violations of an egregious nature would find themselves emptying bedpans at a V.A. hospital real fast!!

Weather Whiners

Sunday, when my parish priest made a reference in his sermon to it being a "grey, depressing day," I had to interrupt him and correct him. "It's a beautiful day!" He challenged me what I meant and I pointed out that the grey and the rain were needed for the green and that they made the green of the grass and plants even greener--or words to that effect.

As one of my childhood heroes, Ernie Banks, used to say, "It's a beautiful day. Let's play two!"

If I were the emperor, I'd ask people to quit whining about the weather. Sure, I love coming out into the sunshine--but rain, wind, snow, ice, clouds, and dark are also part of creation--they're all part of our environment. They're part of the cycle, if you will.

Now being disappointed because an activity is affected by the weather--that's normal. But quit whining about it or declaring the weather to be "depressing." Sure, I don't like the cold weather as much as I used to when I was younger, fitter, and more flexible (in the knees!), but I recognize that that's MY problem--it's not the weather being out to get me!

The rain, the clouds, even a Tsunami or major storm--all have a power that fills me with awe. Like the ocean or the desert--intimidating forces of nature--the weather's part of what makes our world alive. It's not depressing to be in church on a rainy Sunday morning. Just wear a poncho on the way out and plan appropriate activities for the rest of the day. Even when my legs hurt from the cold, I know that it's always a beautiful day--it's just my knees that suck.

So, if I were the emperor, those who complained about the weather would be required to donate 5 hours of community service that week.

Clothing

Last night, a friend of mine asked me

"If you were the emperor, what clothes would you wear? A red velvet suit and a crown?"

I'd never thought about that. Jeez, I hope I'd be a people's emperor--maybe the royal closet might have a few more pairs of jeans and few more shirts in it, but I don't think I'd get all dolled up or anything. If I were emperor, I hope I'd be busy being a "benevolent despot"--like I hope I am with the rr-folk mailing list I run (sometimes calling myself "Benito" when I've had to intervene and cut off a discussion topic that's getting outta hand). It would take a lot of work being the emperor--I'd need to dress like a normal guy, rolling up my sleeves to help pitch in and make the world a better place.

I think that's enough ranting for one evening!

Take care of my subjects, please!!

2008-04-06T07:15:00.001-07:00

From the Wilmington, DE, News Journal: 106,000 (about 2 in 15) Delawareans without health insurance? This article summarizes last week's debate about health care by Delaware's candidates for Governor.read more | digg story

From the New York Times: strains upon the system of Universal Health Care in Massachusetts

Thought-provoking.

How do we take care of everyone and insure that everyone gets high quality health care?

If I were the emperor, I would decree the following:

Medical School tuition would be paid for anyone who, after serving a 3-year residency in a hospital, enters and stays in a primary care practice for at least 6 years in an "at need" area or at least 9 years in a "comfortable, suburban" area. I'd manage it by charging the tuition, allowing the medical students to take out loans, then have the government pay the loan off as the doctor is fulfilling the terms of his service. If he leaves early, he would owe a penalty in addition to the balance due.
I'd decree that the two-tier charging policies of most hospitals and medical laboratories are illegal. You know what I mean, the bill is submitted as $797.50, your insurance company has negotiated a price of $426.50, your co-pay is $25--so the specialist writes off $346.00. Oh, and I understand the medicare and medicaid pricing tiers are crazy, too.
I'd decree that more money be spent on preventing illness than treating it! When he was governor of Colorado, Dick Lamm proposed NOT spending taxpayer's money on transplant medicine when money was needed in the barrio of Denver for pre-natal clinics and public health clinics. I'm not saying that the emperor agrees with this line of thought 100%. But it does give one pause, particularly when one remembers how Mickey Mantle jumped up the liver recipient list just before he received his transplant (to die a mere 2 months later). OK, OK, I admit I'm mixing in other issues.

Back when your emperor led the WYMCA Wildcats to Denmark, we had a player break his foot in a match. The Danish health care system took care of our player. The family was out $0 and 0 Kronar for the hospital and doctor. Well, there was one funny thing. Rather than charge us for Jon's crutches, the hospital asked us to send the crutches back once Jon was back in America!

I recognize that this is one of the more disjointed blog postings I've made.

But this is a serious issue. One that confuses and concerns me. We as patients have to recognize that we've played a role in our health care crisis. No one seems willing to tackle the FOR PROFIT insurance and hospital industries' roles in the crisis. Even the doctors have played a role in developing the crisis. In short, we all need to put our selfishness aside and figure out what would get health care for all the people while still maintaining excellence in our health care system.

Make the teachers teach.... and the $$ spent on educational IT will reap rewards!

2008-03-29T07:08:00.001-07:00

At the end of an e-mail message my boss sent out to her staff about our role in the support of the technology faculty use at the University of Delaware, she included a link to Judith Tabron's "How to Find What Clicks in the Classroom", from the March 28, 2008 edition of The Chronicle of Higher Education.

Tabron's concluding sentence sorta sits in my belly rather uncomfortably: "It will be a dismal future if the only thing our graduates cannot do online is learn." Sounds like something a politician would say on the campaign trail!

The technology we provide faculty at UD (and at most universities) usually amplifies a faculty member's qualities: in the hands of a good teacher, it can make him or her better; in the hands of a bad teacher, it just makes him or her worse.

From a "learning perspective," one of the keys to the residential college or university experience is the connection between faculty and students. Online, that happens sometimes--but it takes extra effort on the faculty member's part to have it happen on a long-term basis. In the classroom, a good teacher can make it happen every time the class meets; then his or her use of technology carries that connection a step further. A bad teacher--give him technology and he has another way to fail to connect with his students.

So, I guess what bugs me about Tabron's article is how it is "IT-tech-centered" and not "teaching-learning-centered." She identifies only part of the problem. The issue really is that the majority of people are essentially conservative and lazy--even faculty. They resist change if it's going to take up their time--unless they see a reward. To me, the sad thing about research universities is the number of faculty who don't care about the quality of the instruction they provide--some faculty view teaching as a burden or a necessary evil they HAVE to do in order to pursue grant money or to do research.

Don't get me wrong. UD--and every university--has a lot of excellent teaching faculty. But teaching is not the determining factor for promotion and tenure at most universities. It's a secondary consideration; research is the primary one. Therefore, it's remarkable the number of people willing to be good teachers in spite of the relatively small rewards for teaching offered by the American research university system.

So, if I were the emperor.... sure, I'd mandate that we spend money to encourage innovative research and that we spend money on technology to support the classroom and on training for the faculty in using it. But I'd also mandate that teachers at all levels--K-12, college, university, professional schools (law school, medical school, etc.)--be eligible for promotion and raises based on the quality of the instruction they provide.

At the medium- to large-sized research university, most faculty arrive in the classroom with expertise in the subject matter they've studied but little or no expertise in how to run a classroom. Because not all PhD students go on to teach, I suspect that the institution that hires new faculty should expect that it train new faculty in teaching methods. The way it works now, talented teachers sort of discover what works for them. Researchers who are teaching to facilitate their research often don't bother to learn how to teach. So, like I said, if I were the emperor, knowing what human nature is like, I'd spend a lot more money and effort on training faculty to teach AND on rewarding good teaching. If we do that, then the money we spend on the technology in support of teaching will reap excellent rewards.

Returning to Tabron's article, she says that "Teaching is a complex activity, an odd combination of creativity and planning. And not only are the sciences, social sciences, humanities, and creative arts different from one another, but every course has its own personality." She also recognizes that "All too many [technology] tools facilitate less-desirable teaching methods."

But your emperor notes that if we spend money on helping new faculty learn that combination of planning and creativity that makes a good teacher, then the faculty will see the ways that technology tools can improve how their students learn!

The Anthem

2008-03-20T11:01:00.001-07:00

One of my readers, Videoguy, dropped me this note:

May I ask a favor of the Emperor? - Would you please mandate that
nobody is allowed to embellish the singing of the "Star Spangled
Banner." I know it's stupid, but it bugs the crap out of me when they
butcher our national anthem so they can show off their vocal ability.
Why can't anyone sing it the way it was written?

Ah, this request will be granted post-haste.

If I were the Emperor.... All singers who improvised TOO much during the national anthem would be locked in a room listening to cacophonous quartets performed on the bagpipes, banjo, accordion, and snare drum.

Of course the anthem brings back memories....

As a 7th grader, I got bounced out of Junior Chorus because ol' Chromedome's try-out song was.... you guessed it.... We each had to stand up and sing it acapella (no hats, no accompaniment, no nuttin'). I got to a point somewhere between the twilight's last gleaming and a bomb bursting in air and just froze. I stopped. I looked away. I sat down.

As a skinny teenager, I saw replays of the Olympic 200M final (Tommie Smith: Gold; John Carlos: Bronze) and Smith and Carlos's courageous yet notorious black power salute during the national anthem that evening.... (Those were also the Bob Beamon Olympics! But I digress!) As I look back on it, even though Smith and Carlos got a world of grief about their silent gesture, the incident shows how great our country is: that these two athletes could, during the national anthem, exercise their right to free speech in a non-disruptive way. Perhaps not the time some would have liked the reminder of how some of our founding fathers had built this land of the free and home of the brave on the backs of their slaves--but remember what 1968 was like. Riots at the political conventions. Riots in the street. A little controversy over a "dispute" in Vietnam. LBJ. HHH. Tricky Dick. Heady times for all sorts of idealistic statements....

In my mid-20s, I'd go to the ball game with my friend Mark--now a lawyer in DC, I believe--and the two of us would belt out the national anthem at the top of our lungs from the upper deck or the bleachers--much to the horror of the people around us. Talk about free speech. It's an appeal that the ball game and church share for me: you can sing as loud as you want to and no one stops you. Mark and I would break into improvised--and horrible--harmony. Maybe it was my revenge on Chromedome the Chorus Director.....

At any rate, Videoguy, I agree with you. The national anthem has an emotional impact when performed straight up. If you jazz it up too much, you do not honor America--you annoy or distract America--not nearly as much as if you have a live wardrobe malfunction, but still.....

Actually, if I were the Emperor, I might allow a plebiscite to see if we should switch the national anthem to something more people could sing more easily: America the Beautiful or God Bless America, for example. Maybe I've lived in the Philadelphia market too long--but I still get goosebumps when the Flyers trot out their most powerful good luck talisman: A video of Kate Smith belting out God Bless America. I know, I know; that offends our atheist fellow-countrymen and smacks of the mixture of religion and government.

In closing, I'll note that this is the kind of debate that politicians try to start when they want to get people worked up about something symbolic, distracting the people's attention from the many real problems we are facing: Schools! Taxes! Public Transportation! Over-consolidation of Wealth in Too Few Hands! Comcast Cablevision's exorbitant fees! Clean Energy!

Be that as it may, I do agree with Videoguy--I'm proud to live in the land of the free and the home of the brave, and I respect people's free speech rights, but I admit to being annoyed if someone is singing to me about living in "the land of the free-yuh-yee-yee-yeeeeeeeeeee!!!!!!!!!!..... a-a-a-a-and the hohohohohohome of the bray-ay-ay-aaaaaaay-aaaaaaaaaaaay-ve."

March 18--a long rant for a Tuesday....

2008-03-18T10:37:00.000-07:00

Jon Markman, writing at moneycentral.msn.com today, said the following:

"The Federal Reserve today will attempt to get out in front of the worst financial crisis to hit the world banking system in five decades by slashing short-term interest rates from their current perch at 3% to the lowest levels in years. But its effort will have little effect on the ability of the average American to get a cheap loan for a new home, car or college education even as it has a large effect on U.S. banks' ability to fix their balance sheets by racking up fat profits. If that sounds unfair, welcome to the latest episode of a brutal new American business ethic, in which the government bails out bad bets by risk-taking banking executives in New York with money that it borrows from middle-class families and foreign investors. The effort is gilded with fancy financial language and cloaked in the guise of a rescue that helps all citizens, but the reality is that Washington is essentially robbing the poor to help the rich."

Well, well. Is this a surprise? As I've watched my retirement funds drop about 5% since halloween (in spite of continuing to deposit a hefty portion of my pay every month!), as I watch the value of my savings towards my son's college education and home renovation projects lag behind the inflation rate, it makes me pretty ticked off.

Last night, at a Greystone Ramblers practice, we got distracted into a political discussion. All of us are middle class working guys--none of us is headed for poverty (yet)--but none of us is "ahead"--all of us see the time coming when we'll be "behind." Possibly soon.

At the risk of sounding like a socialist, I think that if I were Emperor, the first thing I'd probably do would be to redesign our system of taxation. I'm a firm believer in the social contract theory of government--that is, we all give up some of our liberty in order to enjoy--nay, in order to REAP--the benefits of living in our society. But there are a lot of people unable to reap those benefits. Us "middle-class" folks could be headed there in the next 5-10 years, too. As more and more people are becoming disenfranchised by the economy, the government needs to revisit how it does business.... If not very many people see the benefits of what our government is doing, the contract is broken....

I've often thought out loud about a revised tax system--readers know I think schools should be funded from income taxes and that property taxes should help fund roads, utilities, infrastructure linked to property.... But the whole patchwork quilt of deductions and taxes and credits and loopholes and sacred cows that is the IRS needs to be reformed.

Therefore, if I were Emperor, I'd decree a flat income tax--for businesses and individuals--I don't know what the right per cent is--I'd have to have access to a bunch of economic data to figure that out. And I'd do away with nearly every deduction--slaughter the sacred cows! BUT I'd include a generous "exclusion" for each person. For argument's sake, let's say the exclusion is $10,000 for the first two people in a household and $5,000 for the next four people in a household and $1,000 for each person thereafter--then a family of 4 would only pay tax on their income over $30,000.

But that would only be the first step. Our government has moved so far away from being "of the people, by the people, and for the people." It's more about economic numbers and "averaging" so that, as wealth accumulates in the pockets of the few, the "average" looks good. Yeah, even as the gap between the wealthy and the rest of us continues to expand.

It's hard to dictate morals or values. But what's happened is that the government has become, for the most part, a tool of different business entities more interested in their own profit than the good of the citizens of the country. So, Save The Banks! Save Wall Street! But foreclose on the middle-class guy in Iowa. Is the purpose of our society to make money or to provide ways in which people's basic needs are taken care of?

Even if I were the Emperor, I'm not sure how much I could decree--greed and excess are the orders of the day for enough people that the rest of us are often screwed. Our national attitudes need adjustment....

Well, this rant has rambled around a bit, huh!

But the gist of it is

everyone should pay fair taxes--even the middle-class and the rich
our society should offer opportunities to all--not just to the upper class
our culture needs to have a "service ethic" as part of our moral toolkit--to help counteract the egoist perspective--"if it doesn't help me, fuhggetaboutit"
our government needs to be helpful and responsive to the people, not to the people who bet other people's money on the stock market.

Just not sure how we can get there.....

Time is.....

2008-03-10T07:09:00.000-07:00

If I were the emperor....

I'd outlaw the change to and from Daylight Savings Time!

I was fine yesterday--the day of the change; but today I am dragging.

I know. No one really cares how I feel today. But I wonder why the majority of the country subjects itself to the sleep and schedule disruption that is "the changeover." Here's an idea--leave it daylight savings time all the year. Or leave it "Standard Time" all the year like some locales do--certain entertainment and business establishments might want to modify their hours a bit as the daylight lengthens. But as I age, I find the switch to daylight savings time to be more and more disruptive. It has all the downsides of jet lag without any of the benefits of travel!

Not as important as our schools or intellectual property laws--probably not as important as our sports businesses.... But every year, I dread this changeover!

Rant over.

Patents and copyrights are changeable things....

2008-03-03T10:55:00.000-08:00

If I were the emperor, I'd definitely change the way we deal with intellectual property!

Marc Randazza's posting today about Alexander Graham Bell (link below) is a light example of one of the many problems with the old system.....

http://randazza.wordpress.com/2008/03/03/google-perpetrates-a-fraud/

I recognize that this is an old issue and not 100% relevant to the issues flying around today, but I'm not prepared to rant about specific changes to copyright or patent law. Not yet!

I just wish that rapacious organizations like MPAA and RIAA would tone down their rhetoric and recognize that copyright law is really about economics, distribution and control and NOT about morals.

Oh, OK, scofflaw behavior in one part of our culture can spread to another part and another part.... and I accept the social contractarian point of view re: following laws unless you're "disenfranchised," and even then you'd better be working to CHANGE the laws to enfranchise others! And wait a sec. As a teacher, if I see that all my students have screwed up an answer on a test, I don't condemn them all to failure; I look at the question and what I taught and see if there's a reason they all missed it. So, gee, RIAA and MPAA, if everyone and her brother and her UNCLE and her GRANDMA are no longer buying "albums" at a store, and if even people in their 60s download music outside the law, you think they are all evil or is the system a mess?

To close on a rabble-rousing point.... I admit that there was a certain amount of glee around here when the word broke that MPAA data about illegal movie downloading by college students was in error.

As you can tell from the newsfeed I've placed on this blog, this topic is one I'll return to again.....

Humility

2008-03-02T21:13:00.000-08:00

Tonight's rant is on a personal topic...

One of my colleagues at UD takes great joy in tweaking me when he feels my head may have outgrown my hat.... Once, on my birthday, he showed up at a video shoot I was doing to present me with a parody issue of Variety about the "Richard and Famouse"--recently, he told me that if he put "meta-mandocasts" (I called each episode of my brief foray into podcasting a "mandocast.") into a spell-checker, it suggested "megalomaniacs." He hasn't teased me about this blog--yet. But I'm sure he will soon.

I get very frustrated when I hear people being short-sighted and selfish about things like our school taxes. Or when I hear that Mr. Bush thinks the way to fix the economy is to send me (and a zillion other taxpayers) a check. (Uh, instead of pandering to our consumerist tendencies, how about an incentive to save/invest? Or how about tossing out the tax code and starting from scratch--without lobbyists for different points of view urging tax breaks for their clients only?) Or what about the way lots of short-sighted people "Killed the Electric Car" in California? (See the movie "Who Killed the Electric Car?" -- http://www.whokilledtheelectriccar.com/ -- web site about the movie.) Or what about the auto industry in general and its desire to hold onto the status quo? Or the music and movie industry, fighting to preserve copyright laws that have their roots in the censorship and oligopolistic control of the technology (printing press) in 15th - 18th century Europe? (Gee, fellas, you think digital media, the Internet, "Web 2.0-style" applications [that allow consumers to become creators], and high speed transfer might be reasons to look for new ways of managing things rather than bootstrapping the old laws and regs?)

I could (and probably will!) rant on and on about lots of things that bug me. But I hope my head isn't getting too swollen!

I'd actually be a pretty lousy emperor; the imperial trappings would make me uncomfortable. Having people wait on me makes me really nervous. I love the stories about Newly President Gerry Ford going downstairs and making his own breakfast (before moving into the White House). I'll always remember Dick Gephardt pulling up to campaign events during his run for Congress in 1976--driving himself in his decidedly NOT new Dodge Dart. (Or was it a Plymouth Valiant? Well, you get the idea....)

I'd also be a lousy emperor because I get along so well with 7th and 8th graders. I had a phone conversation with a friend tonight, and she said I sounded really happy. Well, I'd just come from a very successful youth group meeting at church--Fr. Russ and I had had 17 kids there! It is so cool watching kids develop and blossom--whether they're sixth graders or college seniors. I love watching them grow. It's humbling to think that I might have played a small role, maybe as a catalyst to speed up the reaction--as parent, uncle, coach, teacher, mentor, ref, general-ne'er-do-well or whatever--but it's their work, their development. That's so cool. But also so humbling.

I like having my e-soapbox. Even though, if I were the emperor, I'd want to change the world (from important things like how we fund our schools to little things like the way the NHL figures points), I hope I'm able to respect others' opinions and see the someone else's point of view. If I sound too one-sided--I hope SOME of you call me on it.

Leap Day (More about Red Clay Tax Referendum)

2008-02-29T10:51:00.000-08:00

Well, the Red Clay School District Tax Hike passed yesterday. The election was a hot topic at our exercise class at the Y last night. Our random sample of 11 voters were unanimous in their disdain for the amount of waste and bureaucracy in our county's school districts. Some of us, like me, voted for the tax hike as the lesser of two evils. Others were so frustrated that they voted against it, primarily because of their (our) perception of waste, misappropriation of resources (not criminally, but not where they would do the most good--in the classroom!), advertising for the tax hike that they considered deceptive, etc.

The discussion made me feel even more strongly that our system needs to be overhauled. Nationally, regionally, and locally. I suspect it would be easier to start locally and see what happens, and watch how our improvements spread across the region.... And they might not work in all situations (e.g., a more densely-populated urban area or a more rural area).

But here in New Castle County, Delaware, we do not need to have so many redundant layers of bureaucracy--each of our districts has a fully-staffed District Office. If they were to be combined, our districts would be able to divert more resources to developing programs in the schools themselves.

So, if I were Emperor, here's what I'd command.

1) Schools would be funded by the income tax and not by the property tax. Use property tax to finance infrastructure related to housing--roads, sewers, water lines, utility rights of way, trash pick-up, recycling, park maintenance, etc. Everyone benefits from having an educated work force, make school funding come from a source that would be perceived as "fairer." (Since everyone pays income tax and not everyone pays property tax.)

2) In New Castle County, our 6 districts (Vo-Tech, Appoquinimik, Brandywine, Christina, Colonial, Red Clay) would be consolidated into 3 districts: Wilmington, North Suburban, South Suburban--give them whatever names you want--but three districts.

3) Delaware's pupil:staff ratio would be decreased, allowing more money to make it into staff resources in individual schools.

4) Each school would have funding for magnet programs--for example, McKean HS could be the north suburban school with a radio/TV program, Mt. Pleasant could be the Wilmington school with a program like that, and Hodgson could be the south suburban school with such a program. Obviously, this implies continuing Delaware's school choice program (allowing students to bid on seats in our public schools), but a healthy and open competition between the schools and their magnet programs would improve the schools and, possibly, stop some of the "brain drain" to charter, private, and parochial schools.

5) Cooperation between the schools would be encouraged. For example, if Newark HS has someone capable of teaching Mandarin Chinese, the north suburban school district would use technology to get students from other schools participating via a technology link. If AI Dupont only has 3 students interested in AP Environmental Science, but there are 9 other students in other north suburban schools interested in that, they too could be linked up via a technology link. In these examples, there would be some benefit to having the teacher run the class from different remote locations (and having the "home" school become one of the remote locations) every so often.

So, my Imperial vision is one of
a) fairer funding
b) more teachers and program specialists in the schools and fewer admins in district offices
c) fewer students in each classroom (Uh, if the best way to improve writing skills is to practice writing, how's a HS English teacher supposed to give meaningful feedback on writing assignments from all of her 180 students a week??)
d) a combination of school-based and magnet-based programs that would allow for a wider range of programs ranging from vo-tech, trades, traditional academic subjects, business prep, med-tech prep, innovative academic programs, bi-lingual programs, tri-lingual (!) programs--AND would foster cooperation between schools!

In defense of my home school district, I will say that there have been times that Red Clay has done some excellent things. My son took advantage of some of those programs at Richey Elementary and McKean HS--I admit that I went into debt to send him to private school--primarily over some situations that have since been improved--for grades 3-8. Many of Red Clay's MS programs are much better now than they were in the '90s. My point being, I can see the benefits of changing and improving the system; but I am also appreciative of the things my son learned in the Red Clay Consolidated School District. Our public school SHOULD be a place we all would feel comfortable sending our children.

I know.... Dream on, mandorichard, dream on.....

Red Clay Consolidated School District Referendum (tomorrow)

2008-02-27T10:39:00.000-08:00

If I were the Emperor....

School districts wouldn't have to come to the taxpayers begging for more money. So, yes, I will vote FOR the Red Clay School District's tax increase levy tomorrow.

However, if I were the Emperor, schools would be funded a lot differently.

Take my home area of New Castle County Delaware.

First, why are we still saddled with so many different school districts? (That's a rhetorical question. I understand the origin of the deseg orders that led to the bizarre districts.) I'd compress our 5 districts into 2 (Wilmington and Rest Of The County _OR_ Northern New Castle County and Southern New Castle County) or, at the most, 3 (City of Wilmington, Suburbs, South of the Canal). We can consolidate a lot of the admin functions, leaving more $$ for the students.

Second, why are schools funded by property tax? The entire community is served by having a literate and competent population. Why are our schools not funded by an income tax that would apply to all? The property tax method is inherently unfair: some pay for all. An income tax to fund our schools would allow everyone to contribute. We should all feel like stakeholders in our public schools--never mind whether or not we have kids, whether or not our kids are in public school, whether or not we're renters or property owners.....

I know. Those are just a start. Consolidate, find a better source of funding. Good. But then the stage would be set for other improvements.... For example, increasing the number of teachers (and decreasing the number of students each teacher has in class!)....

So, yeah. I'll vote for the tax hike tomorrow. But I'd rather see the whole blipping system overhauled.

Musical Regrets (just to get a 2nd post out here)

2008-02-26T16:32:00.000-08:00

If I were the emperor....

I never would have needed to sell my Gibson ES-335. (cherry red with crazing all over the face--but I loved it just the same. Of course, it all started when I was saving money for a set of snow tires.... and a prof of mine got to talking about clarinet.... so I went out and bought one from a nice older couple with some of my tire money....but then I took it to a music store for repair--well, needless to say, once I saw and heard this guitar, I just HAD to have it.... returned the clarinet to its owners, and jammed for a while with Eric the blond-haired drummer and Ahmet the Turkish flutist.... Well, this was back in the day when Herbie Mann had a hit or two!)

I would have had time to practice a lead instrument more regularly. (Mandolins are a lot easier to lug about than 3/4 ton upright basses!)

I would have had a tutor to force me to really learn to read music.

My son would have kept taking piano lessons as a 6th grader--instead of taking a mere 7 year hiatus between lessons (and re-starting as a college freshman)!

I would have practiced more as a youth--particularly at learning the words to the song....

Well, you know what? Regrets or not, being in the rhythm section IS pretty cool.

Rhythm Rules!

My Soapbox

2008-02-26T14:29:00.000-08:00

Many years ago, I used to have a weekly technology column for the Wilmington, DE, News Journal. The best column I wrote was about the time I didn't back up my disk drive--and of course it failed one Halloween night.

The rest of the columns really were "disposable prose"; however, I really miss my soapbox.....

So, I'm going to try starting a blog and see how this goes....

I've entitled it "If I were the emperor" because there are so many things I think should be changed in the world--so this blog will be about some of those things, and how I'd change them. How's that for a grandiose mission.

To start, If I were the emperor, I'd decree that the major league baseball season would be scaled back to 148 games. I'd cut the rosters to 24 players each, but add two teams to bring the number of teams up to 32. Then I'd put the teams into 4 divisions (16 teams in the NL, two 8 team divisions; 16 teams in the AL, two 8 team divisions). Each team would play its division mates 7 times at home and 7 times on the road (7*14=98). Each team would play a 3-game home and a 3-game away series with the teams in the "other division" of its own league (8*6=48). On February 15, there would be a drawing in which the NL and AL teams were matched up for one 2-game inter-league series to be played just before the All Star game, thereby adding another layer of festivity to the "mid-season" festival that the All-Star game has been in the past. One could alternate which league's teams are scheduled to host these two inter-league games. Then draw the opponent out of a hat.

All play-off games would be played at 1pm, 2pm, or 7pm local time. No bizarre shadows. No "play the game after east coast kids are in bed" stuff. One could choose either of the following playoff formats:

A) 1v2

NL East 1 v NL West 2 and AL East 1 v AL West 2 (Best of 5)

NL West 1 v NL East 2 and AL West 1 v AL East 2 (Best of 5)

League Championships (Best of 5)

World Series (Best of 7)

B) 2s&3s

NL East 2 v NL West 3 and AL East 2 v AL West 3 (best of 3)

NL West 2 v NL East 3 and AL West 2 v AL East 3 (best of 3)

Winners meet the division champions (best of 3)

League Championships (Best of 5)

World Series (Best of 7)

That's about 170-175 baseball games. Much more likely to see the World Series happen in October this way! But still enough for people to make their $$$.

Next time, I might tackle something of greater significance--like the DH rules.