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Integrity in Sport and Pinewood Derbies

eafarris — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 08:07:13 -0500

Mike and Mike’s relating of the story of J. P. Hayes and the resulting discussion of integrity when no one is looking reminds me of this story from my youth.

The Pinewood Derby was a competition we had while in Cub Scouts. Each boy is given a block of pine wood, wheels, axles, and some rules, and is to sculpt a racing car from it, and then to compete with the other Scouts. These are about 8” in length or so.

My brother and I were both competing in the derby this year, sometime in the early ’80s. This was not my first derby; I was using the same car that I used last year. My brother was new to the competition and Dad and he had fashioned a new car for him. The competition was very close to my birthday, and my car got the assigned number that was the same as the number I wore in pee-wee football. The Pinewood gods were smiling on me.

My car won its first round match. I remember Dad having a conversation with another parent about Dad’s pinewood season, having to craft two cars. Dad mentioned that I was just using my car from last year. The other parent didn’t think that was allowed.

Dad checked with the officials, and, yes, the rules state that you cannot use a car from past years; that each car must be crafted for that year’s competition. Dad disqualified me. I was crushed.

Looking back, I remember being very disappointed, but I don’t remember being angry. I remember very clearly that a village elder (pretty sure it was Leland) saying “There’s only one true winner here,” meaning me (well, Dad, anyway) for doing The Right Thing.

Could we have gotten away with it? Probably. Was it an honest mistake? Yes, absolutely. We did not have any intention of cheating by using a car from last year, it was just way easier for Dad to have to craft one car instead of two.

This incident has stuck with me on several different levels. The first, of course, is the integrity of my father. I suppose a young boy always has a pristine image of his dad. That this is still in my head as a concrete example of his integrity proves to me that there is more to my dad’s honesty than just the cloud of a young boy’s head.

The second way this hits me is with Leland’s comment. People are watching. People do notice. You can’t say you don’t have a favorable opinion of this golfer knowing he took himself out of qualification for the year because he made an honest mistake that happens to be against the rules of his sport, even when no one would know. You did notice.

The last way is the dreaded “life lesson” that came out of it. My dad sets the bar very high, continuously, but it’s still a bar we all see and we all strive to reach. I can’t say that I’ve always conducted myself with the integrity and honesty above all else, but those places where I have faltered burn me to this day. I think about them in the quiet moments; I relive those incidents in my past. There are constant reminders that, while it’s maybe easier, and perhaps a momentary advantage, to lie, it’s so much harder in the long run. Integrity, honesty, and truth can be a brutal thing at the time. Small price to pay to be able to sleep at night.

The Educated Candidate

eafarris — Sun, 26 Oct 2008 00:38:54 -0400

I’ve often said that I want my President to be as educated as possible. Call me elitist if you wish, but I believe that, between two people, the most educated of the two will make the best, most rational choice most of the time. While both of the major tickets fail to share my beliefs (no big surprise; my favorite fictional POTUS doesn’t either), in the matter of which is more educated, it’s pretty clear. From Pharyngula comes this scorecard:

Barack Obama

B. A., Columbia University. Political Science, specialization in International Relations.
J. D., Harvard University, Magna Cum Laude

Joseph Biden

B. A., University of Delaware, History.
B. A., University of Delaware, Political Science.
J. D., Syracuse University College of Law.

John McCain

United States Naval Acadamy, ranked 894th of 899 students.
United States War College.

Sarah Palin

Hawaii Pacific University, 1 semester.
North Idaho College, general studies, 2 semesters.
University of Idaho, journalism, 2 semesters.
Matanuska-Susitna College, 1 semester.
B. A., University of Idaho, Journalism (3 semesters).

My XKCD moment

eafarris — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 20:21:31 -0400

I’m having my XKCD moment right now.

One of my clients runs a website for comparative religion and related theist/non-theist discussion at a major university. As I’m going through cleaning up some code, I see the pitiful Giraffe’s Neck defense. Grr. Must. Resist. It’s not my site, it’s not my place, it’s not my job to educate these poor people.

But, someone on the internet is wrong. And yes, I’m aware of the syntactical error in that comic. How very meta. Sometimes I think Randall does that on purpose.

Spam subjects & first lines: 19 August 2008

eafarris — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 09:59:57 -0400

Satisfy her with your giant
Oyster Perpetual Cosmograph Daytona
Barack Obama the long lost nephew of Robert Mugabe
But it should prompt frank discussion about nutrition
Paris Hilton Infested With Cockroaches
BREAKING NEWS: nazi Toddlers Ruined My Birthday

Spam subjects & first lines: 3 August 2008

eafarris — Sun, 03 Aug 2008 08:22:37 -0400

Finest danny offer
Statue of liberty to return to France
Try also encounters each time new unforgettable impressions
Britney loses ear in freak accident
Man wakes up to find mouth sewn shut
Missed you, Wilbur

Follow site updates via Twitter

eafarris — Fri, 01 Aug 2008 15:18:10 -0400

If you’re not in to the whole feeds thing, you can be updated when new content is posted to the site by following it via Twitter. The site “tweets” as user oneinchframe.

Drupal 6 Theme: Rydell

eafarris — Sat, 28 Jun 2008 22:43:37 -0400

If I’m going to start getting in to the Drupal consulting and design business, I need to have a good response to “Do you have any designs you could show us?”. To that end, I’m planning on developing a series of themes for Drupal 6. The first one is nearing completion. Presenting “rydell:”

[inline: 1]

There aren’t any downloads as yet, and it’s not completed. But from the little snippet you can see where it’s headed. It will have lots of block regions, override templates for content types, good typography, and lots of other touches. Ready when it’s ready. The first in a series.

The birth of West Virginia

eafarris — Wed, 04 Jun 2008 21:59:23 -0400

I had always heard that the process by which West Virginia became a state was not exactly on the up-and up, and in fact, was unconstitutional. This evening, at the annual dinner meeting of the Mineral County Historical Society, Dr. John Stealey of Shepherd University presented this story to us. I found it fascinating and wanted to write it down to help me remember.

(This is my summary of his presentation, so it’s quite possible that factual errors result from my misremembering of his words, not that he was in error.)

The issue that divided western Virginia from the rest of the Commonwealth was one of loyalty and patriotism. When the Virginia General Assembly voted to secede from the union, which happened without the consent of the populace, people all over the western part of the state, which were loyal to the union, decided they would take a stand on this greatest of issues. When the entire Commonwealth later voted to affirm the secession, leaders in the western part acted shrewdly to form a new state, known as the Restored Government of Virginia. The thinking among these men was that, since the Commonwealth had removed itself from the union, its government no longer mattered to the United States, and the congressmen were no longer needed in Washington. So the leaders of the Restored Government decided that they would be known as the state of Virginia. They nominated senators and representatives, and sent them to Washington to be seated in the seats of Virginia congressmen. The U. S. Senate and House ruled to seat these representatives, giving (at least tacitly) legitimacy to the new state.

The executive branch, headed by President Lincoln, also gave legitimacy to the state when it recognized federal funds that the Commonwealth had not claimed, and disbursed them to Francis Pierpont’s government of the Restored Government of Virginia.

In this way, when the local leaders of the state would later vote to become the state of West Virginia, the leaders were all from the Restored Government, not the Commonwealth, as the United States recognized the Restored Government as the actual state of Virginia, the Commonwealth having earlier seceded and therefore not recognized.

I think that’s a pretty clever trick: the ‘old’ state leaving the Union, a sympathizing government swooping in to take its place. The United States, eager to build support, turned a blind eye to the shell game that Pierpont’s government had pulled, and recognized these men as leaders of the “state” of Virginia, basically telling the Commonwealth “you’re dead to me.”

Charleston, Again

eafarris — Sat, 12 Apr 2008 20:37:37 -0400

He got his packet today — his birthday. Anthony was one of 224 winners state wide in the Golden Horseshoe competition. He’ll be knighted in a ceremony in the state capitol on 9 May. Road trip!

Anthony: Top Five

eafarris — Sat, 05 Apr 2008 10:20:01 -0400

Our Charleston trip is over, and has left us proud and with many lasting memories. After getting in late Thursday night, things began Friday morning with an excellent breakfast at the hotel’s restaurant. Once registration and welcome speakers at the Charleston Civic Center, the preliminary rounds of the WV State Geography Bee were underway.

For the preliminary rounds, the 85 or so participants were divided into four groups, the goal of which were to find the top 10 finalists for the afternoon’s final competition. There were eight rounds of scoring competition, with questions ranging from basic general geography to more subtle questions regarding region, climate, and world events. The preliminary rounds were not elimination rounds; rather, cumulative scores were kept and combined with all the four groups to produce the top 10 finalists. In the group that Anthony was a part of, there was only one perfect score. His. Obviously, we felt that the other groups would have similar scores, and Anthony would be participating in the final rounds.

Between the preliminary and championship rounds, a tiebreaker round was needed. There were five students that scored perfectly in the preliminary round, and seven students that scored 7 of 8. These seven students competed for the final five spots open in the finals in a single-elmination round. After that, it was time for the final competition.

The final rounds were double-elimination. Each of the ten finalists could miss up to two questions, at which point they would be eliminated. One by one, up on the Civic Center’s Little Theatre stage, the students began dropping.

Anthony still hadn’t missed a question in the entire competition until his final two questions. Once he missed the modern name for Lacus Lemannus (Lake Geneva — which, I think, he should have known, but later he told me he just didn’t) he missed his second question in a row, causing him to be eliminated from competition. He and another young man were elminated in the same round, tied for fourth place. A top five finish. Very difficult to be better than that.

After a nice awards ceremony, some nice discussion with other parents and a local reporter, we headed for home. Exhausted, exhilarated, and very proud.

I’ll never get used to driving in the city, and, even though the Charleston Civic Center is a pretty easy place to get in and out of, it still took me a couple of tries to get back on the Interstate. Interstate driving is fun, though, and once on 79, the rest is easy. My brother Greg called us on the way home, and we met him, my sister Amy, and their respective SOs in Morgantown for an unexpected and wonderful dinner. Then it was “Back to the Interstate, Ben Stone” and back to New Creek, where cats and boys alike were happy to see us, and us, them.

We are expecting our next trip to our state capital will be for the Golden Horseshoe awards, should Anthony do well enough on that exam. The ceremonies for that take place in the Capitol building, where he would be knighted by the governor. I did not win a Golden Horseshoe award (stupid Grose-y beat me out) but Greg did, along with his best friend Chris, and I remember that ceremony very well. I’d like to experience it again, but we’ll see. I certainly like his chances. We’ll take the whole bunch to that.

I want to thank all of you that responded to my request for help. I think I’ve thanked all of you personally, but, in case I missed it, thank you very much. We weren’t sure how we were going to be able to make this trip. Your generosity made it a much easier trip.

Dude gets autographed Xbox 360 from Microsoft as apology

eafarris — Sat, 22 Mar 2008 10:36:29 -0400

It’s the same old story. Gamer has tricked-out Xbox 360, including custom artwork and signatures from the Bungie crew. Gamer has problems with Xbox, sends it in for repair, taking care to inform Microsoft of the value of the graffiti, and sending along a written reminder as well. Console comes back fixed, and completely clean. Gamer upset.

That’s not where this story ends, though — Microsoft and Bungie send him a very valuable care package. Case closed, right?

No, still not enough. Microsoft sends him a custom Xbox 360, autographed by most of the Xbox crew, and Bill Gates himself. (who, incredibly, has handwriting very similar to my first-grader.)

Microsoft gets a lot of criticism from a lot of places, myself included, and the vast majority of it deserved. Here’s the other side of the company. Nice one, guys.

Anthony goes to Charleston, and a request for help

eafarris — Wed, 12 Mar 2008 19:47:19 -0400

This year, my oldest son Anthony won his school’s Geography Bee. The top students from each school then took a written test. The outcome of the written test is that the top 100 students state-wide get to compete in the state competition. Anthony is one of the top 100 eighth-grade geography students in the state of West Virginia.

Obviously, we’re very proud. If you know Anthony, you know how bright he is and how hard he works in the areas he cares about. This is one of those areas. We’re all very excited for him. On Friday, 4 April, Anthony will be competing in the Charleston Civic Center in the State Geography Bee. With the costs of gas, food, and a hotel room involved, however, this is going to be a tough trip for us to take, and, budget-wise, a very bad time of year. We have asked the County Board of Education, the school, and the PTA for assistance, and so far no one is willing to step up — all expenses are coming from out-of-pocket, save for a light lunch/mixer the state DoE is providing for us on the day of contest. If you have the means and feel moved to help us out, please use the “Donate via Paypal” button over on the right of the page. It’s humbly and greatly appreciated.

Update

The County BoE has offered to give us a room, and pay for Anthony’s meals.

Honoring a teammate

eafarris — Wed, 06 Feb 2008 09:13:14 -0500

So the Denver Post is reporting that three members of the Washington Redskins will be wearing number 21 in the Pro Bowl this weekend in honor of Sean Taylor, who was killed in an attempted robbery. That’s very cool, and the league should be applauded for being uncharacteristically unstuffy in this regard. However, when three Denver Broncos asked to do the very same thing in the Pro Bowl last year, they were denied.

John Lynch, Champ Bailey, and Al Wilson all petitioned the league to be able to wear #27 in last year’s Pro Bowl in honor of their fallen teammate, Darrent Williams, who was shot on New Year’s Eve in 2007. They were told it was against league rules, and their petition was denied.

“The league can be funny about things sometimes,” said Bailey.

I’ve been very happy about the Sean Taylor tributes and the media coverage it’s gotten. But at the same time, I can’t help but feel snubbed as a Denver Broncos fan that the tragedy of Darrent Williams wasn’t given the same type of coverage, wasn’t afforded the same kind of tributes, and that teammates of his weren’t allowed the same rule bending that Taylor’s teammates are given.

I’m not bitter, not at all, but it is kinda strange.

Single Season Greatness

eafarris — Sat, 26 Jan 2008 21:00:14 -0500

After a conversation last week on Mike and Mike, and following the ten-year anniversary of the best day in the history of the Denver Broncos, I’m inspired to write about the best teams in the NFL.

It’s funny (and a bit unclear to me) how I became a fan of the Broncos, never having been west of the Mississippi, let alone to Denver. It was Christmas, probably 1977 or 1978, and my brother and I each got a bunch of NFL stuff from my Grandpa Jack. I remember a robe, pajamas, a banner, and pencils, but I think there was even more stuff. All Broncos stuff for me. (As much as I’d love to have some of that stuff today, my brother’s stuff would be even more valuable today; it was all Baltimore Colts stuff). Why I got Broncos stuff for Christmas that year remains a mystery to me to that day. The only reason I guess at the year was because the Broncos went to the Super Bowl in January 1978.

Anyway, there was a discussion last week on Mike and Mike about what was the best single-season team in NFL history. The discussion centered around this year’s New England team, and the only undefeated regular season since the 1972 Miami Dolphins, and the first team to win more than 15 regular season games. The question is where this team would be rated if it turns out they don’t win the Super Bowl next weekend (I have predicted that they won’t). It’s pretty much a consensus that the 2007-8 Patriots will be the best single-season team ever if they do win, but what if they lose?

I can’t really comment on the 1972 Dolphins, since I would have only been one year old when they won the Super Bowl. The knock against them is that they played a bunch of bad teams that year, on their way to being undefeated. The rebuttal to that is that it’s not their fault, that you play the teams in front of you. That’s obviously true. It’s not like collegiate sports where your AD can try to pad your record by playing Little Falls Community College and Recreational Center. But no one is suggesting that the fact that the Dolphins played poor opponents mars their perfect season. No one is saying that it should be ‘asterisked.’ However, what I will say is that it should be a factor in determining if they were the best single-season team in history. I certainly believe it does. I have no problem with a one or two loss team being considered higher than the zero loss Dolphins, if the one or two loss teams played against stronger opponents.

And so I will, but first I will go over some of the other candidates. Being very young, I do not remember much about the Pittsburgh Steelers teams of the 70s, but they were dominant year after year. I can’t really recommend them, but I’m sure one of those years should be in the discussion. They went 12-2 in 1975, and 14-2 in 1978. It’s probably that year, 1978, that would be considered. But, since I don’t remember those years in particular, I won’t nominate them.

In the 80s, we saw not only dominance, but some truly special seasons by several teams. Certainly the Joe Montana years in San Francisco need some mention. The first team that I remember as being dominant was the 1984 team. That was the first team to win 15 games in a season. I’ll also mention the 1988 season, where they finished a mere 10-6, but stormed through the playoffs before beating Cincinnati in the Super Bowl. It’s amazing to think that Steve Young was riding the bench, but he was still backing up Joe at the time. There were certainly some other special seasons by teams that made it into my list.

In the 90s, the feared team was the Dallas Cowboys. The best season they had was the 13-3 1992 campaign, ending in a Super Bowl rout of the Bills. I think a 13-3 season is pretty dominant, but I don’t really remember that season as one of the greatest I saw. The Packers were also a dominant team in the 90s, going 13-3 in 1996, and that season I do remember.

It’s also worth mentioning the 1997 Denver Broncos, going 13-0 before losing two of their last three regular season games. I remember, and gloried in, the hype that my team might go undefeated. But even at 14-2, they didn’t finish the season with the best record, with the Minnesota Vikings, behind rookie Randy Moss, going 15-1.

The next year was the first year of the “Greatest Show on Turf,” as the 1999 Rams started their mini-run. That was the year that Trent Green went down, and Dick Vermeil cried about it. The quarterback that came off the bench was Kurt Warner. In the 2001 season they were also dominant. The guys discussing this topic thought they were overrated, but as I recall, there wasn’t anything overrated about them. They dominated, at least ‘on turf.’ They went 14-2, and every game was a track meet, much like the 1998 Vikings. I believe they belong in the discussion.

So, how would I rank the best single seasons in the NFL? Well, I’ll start with the aforementioned 1998 Minnesota Vikings. I remember watching them run up and down the field, knowing that, at any time, Cunningham would hit Moss with a long bomb, or Chris Carter would take a 10 yard pass and go another 70. Any team can score at any time, of course, but you just had the feeling watching that team that they could score when they wanted to.

My next candidate would have to be the 1984 San Francisco 49ers. They also went 15-1, a first. What I remember from that team was Roger Craig running around everyone, and Ronnie Lott smashing the mouth of, well, anyone who dared go up against him. I particularly remember that Super Bowl, where Dan Marino and his two Marks, who we all thought were destined to win a lot of these championships, being no match for the 49ers. When a team like that beats a team like that, it’s special.

And I will put the 2001 Rams on my list. We forget how good that defense was, with that offense. Bruce and Holt were always open, way down the field, and Warner would put it right on them. It was fun to watch, and everywhere you turned there was talk on ‘How do you beat the Rams?,’ the same sort of discussion you hear now about the Patriots.

The number two team on my list is the 2007 Patriots, if they lose the Super Bowl, which I expect. I know they went undefeated in the regular season, but I think a one-loss team belongs above them. Part of that is, I’m sure, the historical nature of the ‘85 Bears, and, as I remember, other than that one loss to Miami, you just never thought the Bears were going to lose. There were a couple of games last season where the Patriots looked real vulnerable, against the Eagles and Ravens, two mediocre teams. And don’t forget that they had just one offensive touchdown (and that on the ground) against the hapless Jets. With the Bears, as I recall (which might be hazy, I’ll admit), you just never saw that. The Bears’ one loss was an aberration.

If the Patriots win the Super Bowl, then they belong at the top of the list. To me, one loss in the regular season can be overshadowed by one loss in the Super Bowl. If the Patriots finish the season without a loss, though, they’re the best single-season team in the history of the league, or, at least, the history of the league as I remember. Not only would a team never have won so many games in one season, but they beat some great teams on their way, including the Giants twice, the Colts, the Chargers twice, and the Cowboys. You won’t be able to say that the Patriots didn’t play anyone to go undefeated. But, if the Giants beat them on 3 February, I can’t consider them the best.

Psychic Predictions for 2008

eafarris — Thu, 10 Jan 2008 10:08:36 -0500

In the grand tradition of The NESS, I proudly present my psychic predictions for 2008. Here’s what my ancient magic Slinky sees for the year:

World Events

There will not be a major terrorist attack on American soil this year. We will hear, however, that our government stopped one. Evidence for this will be sketchy.
Major flooding in the midwest this spring will claim over 100 lives.
There will be a major earthquake in the Pacific rim this year.
The hurricane season will be below average.
The first palpable economic pressures of global climate change will be felt this year.
While oil will continue to rise in price, it will be water, and not oil, that will be the commodity that generates the most press this year.
Despite the promising start to the primary season, once again the U. S. will fail to elect a minority as President. This failure will be because of racial and gender biases, though not many pundits will say so.

Entertainment news

Celebrity deaths this year: Michael Jackson, Lindsay Lohan (ok, i stole this from the NESS dudes, but I believe it), and Walter Cronkite.
Tom Cruise’s continued slip from reality will start showing itself at the box office, as people begin to reject him and not go to his movies. He, or his ilk, will make a thinly-veiled movie about his craziness. Plans for a movie or a script count.
A rising young comic, largely unknown at this time, will be one of the top money makers for the year.
An indie movie, budgeted at under $500,000, will win an Academy Award.

Tech news

(hey, it’s my sector, i have to say something)

The first serious flaw in Mac OS X will appear. Serious, though, is relative. This will be the first flaw that causes pundits to recommend some sort of anti-virus or anti-spyware solution (not really needed today on Macs). Though serious, the threat will be short-lived. Apple will patch it (the Slinky says that it will be Mac OS X 10.5.4.1) within two weeks of the flaw’s publication.
Microsoft’s Vista SP1 will finally make Vista a viable option for people that, today, say it’s crap. It will still be crap, but it will smell a whole lot better. (this is kind of a gimme)
A previously little-known or new distribution of Linux will make a big splash. While not challenging Ubuntu as the de facto distribution, this new one will be in the running.
Firewire will die or be on life support by the end of the year. FW800 will be mostly irrelevant, as new prosumer Macs (the only ones really to have FW800 now) will ship without support for the standard. USB3 will take its place, but won’t be highly adopted this year. (hey, my first 2009 prediction!)
IT shops will continue to replace Windows servers with Linux (gimme). Windows Server 2008 won’t ship until very late in the year, and people that would ordinarily care, won’t.

Sports

The New England Patriots will not win the Super Bowl in February.
My beloved Denver Broncos will have a 10-6 record during the 2008-9 season. They will make the playoffs, but lose a wild card game to the Jacksonville Jaguars, in Denver, 24-20.
The NFL will have another high-profile athlete be involved in a performance-enhancing drug scandal (gimme). He will receive a meaningless suspension, and be right back on his team, and will win an award for his on-the-field performance.
The Boston Celtics will win the NBA championship.
The Cincinnati Reds will come out of nowhere, and be in second place by the All-Star break.
Ice hockey will begin its rise in the American sports consciousness. This is a multi-year prediction — it will be hockey that makes the Winter Games in 2010 very popular.
Some new idiot will pull an Imus this year and insult female athletes. Like Imus, this person will barely feel the slap on his or her wrists.

One more thing

Psychics and mediums will be loudly debunked, but no one will care. (gimme)

We’ll take a look at these in late 2008, and see how I did. We’ll also look at how my record fared against those “psychics” who presume to know about these things. In case you don’t know, I consider these to be absolute horse hockey, and think that my fairly random predictions will have a similar chance of being right.