Posts made by Jermofoot

@frimmel:

Pre-season AP rankings.

There are five teams from the SEC there. Auburn isn’t in the top 25. Florida is tenth and finished with 8 losses including one to an FCS team. Georgia has 4 losses. The SEC is good sure but they’re benefiting from a “pass” that other conferences just don’t get.

These are projections for a new season, which are more or less just a carryover from the previous season.  They aren’t going to be correct by the end, for the most part.  I wouldn’t use that in an argument.  However, I see 4 Big 12 teams, and 5 Big 10 teams.  Not sure I can pick out anymore off the top of my head, but there’s no bias there.  The defending champ is #1 (as they should be, especially after it was a repeat), SC is about where they should be, TAMU was ranked highly after a Heisman winner, Florida ended up having a rare off year, and LSU isn’t far off from where they ended.  And looking now, there are 7 SEC teams at the end of the season, so the estimate was conservative.

For frell’s sake. Bama got a shot at the NCG two years ago without even winning their conference. Without even making the conf. championship game to play a team that had already beaten them in an ugly bad football game. Just look back to the talk before the Big Ten conf. championship game this season. They were talking about a one loss Auburn jumping Ohio State. Granted Ohio State lost to the number 1 defense in the country but no one suggested that one loss MSU get to play FSU. Because the Big Ten is “bad” and the SEC is “good.”

Yes, but in 2011 they were unanimously ranked #1, and faced the SEC champs.  Who did you want in there instead?  Ok. State?  And they didn’t play in the SEC championship, because LSU beat them in head to head.  They can’t represent the other half of the conference in the championship game, that’s not how the SEC operates.  No one thinks the Big 10 is bad, but Auburn has beat higher quality opponents and has a better strength of schedule.  Sure, that may seem tautological, but after a season of play, the rankings are far more clear than the preseason projections.

And where was the biggest fount of that – ESPN or rather ESECPN.

The SEC benefits from a bias in perception and they’ve got their share of bad teams like any conference and A&M and Missouri are new arrivals to the SEC but seems to be holding their own quite well.

ESPN obviously goes where the money is, there’s no doubt about that.  But it’s not like they don’t talk about the other conferences.
SEC certainly has bad football programs (UK is a basketball school, Florida had a down year, etc.) but they are through and through a football conference.  Guess which conference had the best out of conference record this year?  That’s right - the SEC.

To be the best, so goes to the old sports adage, you’ve got to beat the best. But since only SEC teams are consistently declared the best, only SEC teams get the chance to prove themselves against “the best.”
It’s a chicken-or-the-egg situation. Does the SEC get favorable rankings because it’s so good? Or is the SEC so good because it gets favorable rankings? I argue for the latter.

I think there is more reason to see the rankings as they are based on teams and interconference gameplay, rather than bias or conspiracy.  I haven’t seen an argument for Alabama to be playing Auburn for the BCS, which would give weight to your argument.

Source: http://mcubed.net/ncaaf/tvc/sec/index.shtml

SEC records against other conferences

TEAM                          G    W    L    T    WIN%    PFPG    PAPG
ACC                          433  285  138    10    67.0    23.2    16.4
American Athletic          4    2    2    0    50.0    26.8    23.3
Big 10                        133    78    53    2    59.4    23.9    21.4
Big 12                        147    77    64    6    54.4    21.9    21.1
Big East                      54    25    29    0    46.3    26.4    26.6
Conference USA          135  112    23    0    83.0    30.5    16.3
Independents              932  624  287    21    68.1    24.1    15.5
MAC                          91    78    13    0    85.7    34.1    13.4
Mountain West            18    11    7    0    61.1    30.9    22.5
PAC 12                      113    68    40    5    62.4    23.8    19.3
Southwest                355  197  141    17    57.9    17.1    13.5
Sun Belt                    115  108    7    0    93.9    41.2    13.7
WAC                          82    71    11    0    86.6    35.8    15.5

NOTE: PAC 12 includes these former conferences: PAC 10 / PAC 8 / AAWU / Pacific Coast

Last updated: December 8, 2013

The Big East certainly has the better win %, but not by a significant margin.  Pac12 was incorrectly identified as having more wins against the SEC, however maybe that’s just since 2011 (when it became Pac12) and not a significant sample size.  The Big East has a worse record against the other conferences (http://mcubed.net/ncaaf/tvc/bigeast/index.shtml), so I don’t think there’s much of an argument there.

Just throwing that out there.

Auburn is proven, albeit with a bit of luck on their side.  FSU is not proven in my eyes.  Their strength of schedule wasn’t even close to Auburn’s.  I think they can contend, but believe Auburn will win out as they have against multiple highly ranked teams.

@ABWorsham:

@Jermofoot:

@ABWorsham:

@Jermofoot:

@ABWorsham:

I read Lincoln’s thoughts on Kentucky joining the South he had serious concerns. Even saying that if Kentucky fell he would feel obligated to discuss splitting the nation.

“I hope to have God on my side, but I must have Kentucky” is a popular quote around here.��  But like Wittman said, the majority was pro-Union.

Jermo, where in Kentucky do you live?

I live in Lexington, where the University of Kentucky is.�  Been here since we moved here from Texas in '89.

I’m in Madisonville Ky visiting my sister.

Nice!  Well in the future we may have to make arrangements for a meet up.  Not a terribly far drive, but enough to need some planning.

@ABWorsham:

@Jermofoot:

@ABWorsham:

I read Lincoln’s thoughts on Kentucky joining the South he had serious concerns. Even saying that if Kentucky fell he would feel obligated to discuss splitting the nation.

“I hope to have God on my side, but I must have Kentucky” is a popular quote around here.�  But like Wittman said, the majority was pro-Union.

Jermo, where in Kentucky do you live?

I live in Lexington, where the University of Kentucky is.  Been here since we moved here from Texas in '89.

@ABWorsham:

I read Lincoln’s thoughts on Kentucky joining the South he had serious concerns. Even saying that if Kentucky fell he would feel obligated to discuss splitting the nation.

“I hope to have God on my side, but I must have Kentucky” is a popular quote around here.  But like Wittman said, the majority was pro-Union.

@Cmdr:

As I do every year, I post my favorite Christmas Poem to wish you all a very Merry Christmas!

This year, I include a link to YouTube so you can listen to the music that has always accompanied this poem (in my mind at least.): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8D-OL-KQOt4

_With medals and badges, awards of all kind
A sober thought came through my mind.
For this house was different, so dark and dreary,
I knew I had found the home of a soldier, once I could see clearly.

The soldier awakened and I heard a rough voice,
“Santa don’t cry, this life is my choice;
I fight for freedom, I don’t ask for more,
my life is my God, my country, my Corps.”

So I took off my jacket, the one made of red,
And I covered this Soldier from his toes to his head.
And I put on his T-shirt of gray and black,
With an eagle and an Army patch embroidered on back._

A Marine stationed in Okinawa, Japan wrote this poem. (Allegedly, from what I have been told, in other words, don’t go b*tch’n and moan’n that some yahoo in Uzbekistan who was constipated on a Monday morning wrote it, I was told it was a Marine in Okinawa, Japan and that’s who I am giving credit too until informed otherwise.)

I had to look it up because the emboldened items are not congruent.  Apparently a Marine wrote it for Leathernecks magazine, and others have come behind and modified it, like this one.  Here’s the original:
Merry Christmas, My Friend

_Twas the night before Christmas, he lived all alone,
In a one bedroom house made of plaster & stone.

I had come down the chimney, with presents to give
and to see just who in this home did live

As I looked all about, a strange sight I did see,
no tinsel, no presents, not even a tree.
No stocking by the fire, just boots filled with sand.
On the wall hung pictures of a far distant land.

With medals and badges, awards of all kind,
a sobering thought soon came to my mind.
For this house was different, unlike any I’d seen.
This was the home of a U.S. Marine.

I’d heard stories about them, I had to see more,
so I walked down the hall and pushed open the door.
And there he lay sleeping, silent, alone,
Curled up on the floor in his one-bedroom home.

He seemed so gentle, his face so serene,
Not how I pictured a U.S. Marine.
Was this the hero, of whom I’d just read?
Curled up in his poncho, a floor for his bed?

His head was clean-shaven, his weathered face tan.
I soon understood, this was more than a man.
For I realized the families that I saw that night,
owed their lives to these men, who were willing to fight.

Soon around the Nation, the children would play,
And grown-ups would celebrate on a bright Christmas day.
They all enjoyed freedom, each month and all year,
because of Marines like this one lying here.

I couldn’t help wonder how many lay alone,
on a cold Christmas Eve, in a land far from home.
Just the very thought brought a tear to my eye.
I dropped to my knees and I started to cry.

He must have awoken, for I heard a rough voice,
“Santa, don’t cry, this life is my choice
I fight for freedom, I don’t ask for more.
My life is my God, my country, my Corps.”

With that he rolled over, drifted off into sleep,
I couldn’t control it, I continued to weep.

I watched him for hours, so silent and still.
I noticed he shivered from the cold night’s chill.
So I took off my jacket, the one made of red,
and covered this Marine from his toes to his head.
Then I put on his T-shirt of scarlet and gold,
with an eagle, globe and anchor emblazoned so bold.
And although it barely fit me, I began to swell with pride,
and for one shining moment, I was Marine Corps deep inside.

I didn’t want to leave him so quiet in the night,
this guardian of honor so willing to fight.
But half asleep he rolled over, and in a voice clean and pure,
said “Carry on, Santa, it’s Christmas Day, all secure.”
One look at my watch and I knew he was right,
Merry Christmas my friend, Semper Fi and goodnight._

Credit to Snopes.

@MrMalachiCrunch:

Looks like trolling behaviour to me….

You don’t say?

@Imperious:

I guess they got less than 5 warships….

Quebec should name her Navy after French Victories… oh wait NM.

Canada should name her ships after Ice Ages, or Ice Cube 1,2,3 etc.

Came out swinging for the fences.

@Uncrustable:

To each his own, but IMO starcraft is one of the most in depth rts games to have ever be created. StarCraft has won numerous Game of the Year awards, is often described as one of the best real-time strategy games made, and is widely credited with popularizing the use of distinct and unique sides�as opposed to sides of equal ability and strength.

The sheer number of viable and balanced units/strategies is mind boggling.
And each strategy/unit has a perfectly viable and balanced counter.
Leading to a mix of strategies and mix of units and a chess-like game play where scouting is key.

Most people who hate on starcraft do so because they do not know how to play it.

But IMO for online 1v1 there is no better rts.

It is the best selling rts of all time because of its incredible depth, combining 3 unique races to play along with incredible balance and an incredibly dedicated company.

This does not even consider one of the most in depth single player campaigns in rts…

There are drawbacks however, no naval, static air units, smaller scale than other rts (TA for one).
But with any rts there are pros and cons, but unlike most rts there are far more pros in starcraft.

I have to say i used to hate on starcraft because of (click spam fest), but IMO once you learn to play, you realize how untrue this is.

There is a reason starcraft even 15 years old is still by far the most played rts out there, and one of the few games ever to be considered both a national pastime and an international sport. Predicted by Forbes as a possible addition to the Oympics by 2020.

In summation it is one the most in depth rts game ever and on top of that one of the most balanced rts ever. Combine that with one of the most dedicated gaming company out there for polishing its product.

Bogus.  How can you say it’s the most in depth then go into what it’s missing?

Command & Conquer/Red Alert both came out before Starcraft and had faction diversity.  Dune (for Genesis)/Dune 2 (PC) also had side differences.  Starcraft didn’t pioneer anything new to the RTS genre - it had all been done before.

It is popular, yes.  That doesn’t make it good.  And half the players are in South Korea, what’s up with that?

It’s generic.  Give me AoE2 2vs2 with only one civilization per side.  Give me Savage: The Battle for Newerth for it’s FPS/RTS fusion gameplay.  Give me the tactical RTS Close Combat.

I’m not saying Starcraft is a bad game, just that it’s a bland RTS comparatively.

@Uncrustable:

@Jermofoot:

Starcraft though…pretty vanilla/boring.   How did that series make it through?  Oh yeah, EA…

What?

I’m not sure which statement boasts greater ignorance…

I’l refrain from feeding an apparent troll

What, that Starcraft is the most mundane and unimaginative RTS that I’ve ever played?  Or that EA wasn’t there to impede/cancel development/publishing (thereby, still existing)?

Blizzard games as a whole are pretty generic.  I guess that’s why they are so popular - least common denominator.

@Flashman:

Sorority Hazing 39

:lol:

I had to stop by a sorority yesterday (twice) for my other job.  Good lord - they were just kids (and I’m only 32).  But the sorority mother…now we’re talking.  :evil:

Not sure I played much after Red Alert, but it was a good series early on.

Starcraft though…pretty vanilla/boring.  How did that series make it through?  Oh yeah, EA…

@Emperor_Taiki:

Read Rush to Judgement by Mark Lane. Mark Lane exposed the Warren Commission as a fraud in 64’, why does anyone believe it fifty year later? Oswald scored a 191 on his marine rifle qualification, that is two points above FAILING. His sergeant said he was a horrible shot aswell. Stranger than the second bullet that caused seven wounds, is the first bullet that hit a bystander way up the road, so according the to Warren Commission Oswald must have not even been aiming at Kennedy’s car for the first shot. N one saw Oswald shoot the president or put him anywhere near the sixth floor, rather he was found by a police officer a minute after Kennedy drove by buying a coke on the second floor. He was more thirsty than commie.

-Scoring a 191 was two points above the minimum qualification as a marksman, not for failing.  That also was his score from almost 5 years earlier with a different weapon.  That is not hard evidence to preclude Oswald.  Either way, it took him 3 shots to complete his goal.  A skilled shooter would have taken 1.

-The bystander was not hit by a bullet, but fragments from a ricochet of the pavement/concrete.  That indicates a miss, and the Warren Commission did not say anything about Oswald not aiming for the President.

-Eye witnesses did put him at the 6th floor, and missing.  2 minutes after the assassination, a coworker saw him on the 2nd floor - the police officer was on the first floor with Oswald’s supervisor and let him by.  He would go on to leave the building, be reported missing by his supervisor, and eventually shoot an officer that had identified him as the suspected assassin (as Flashman pointed out - he also attempted to do the same with the officer that caught him in the theater).

@Flashman:

On the other hand, all these conspiracy theories simply give Americans a sense of security in that they cannot accept that their President was killed by a lone geek; it must have been an alliance between the CIA, the Mafia, the Cubans, the Soviets, the Mexicans, the Vatican, the arms manufacturers, the Disney Corporation, Uncle Tom Cobley & all.

Oswald did it: case closed.

Get over it.

I didn’t see your comment before I posted mine.  I agree this is a big problem in the US politically, critically (as in thinking), and progressively (as in, we aren’t getting things done due to this malarkey).

I have recently found so many of my coworkers are heavily into conspiracy theories - so heavily, they take it as gospel and simple news reporting is “them” pulling the wool over everyone else’s eyes.  I just want to slap some sense into these otherwise very smart and capable people.  I don’t know if it’s paranoia, fear, unresolved issues or what - but the political climate these days have devolved into such a dependency on conspiracy and extremely far-fetched and unsupported BS, that I don’t know what to think of the future.  I am honestly surprised that from the things I’ve seen people rant and rave about that someone hasn’t tried the same with the current president.

Occam’s razor.  Use it.

Lone gunman.  Even if you think Oswald didn’t act alone, he was clearly all/part of it.

There is a lot of speculation and dubious things people have purported over the years - the movie “JFK”, from which many have derived most of what they “know” from that event, stretches a lot of truth and relies on conjecture.  I think a lot of it clouds the truth and we get these conspiracies and it kills me we are more critical of actual evidence than the guesswork so many put faith in.

@Gargantua:

@frimmel:

Wasn’t there a documentary where they rolled out a bunch of scout snipers and tried to recreate the shot from the book depository and none of them could do it?

It wasn’t “the” shot they recreated, but rather “the shots”, and it was something ridiculous like 5 shots in 6 seconds.  Which is impossible with the rifle that was used.

And then there’s the one bullet theorum which is dubious.

The Warren Commission did extensive testing on the rifle that was used (matched ballistically), and found that it was highly accurate.  In testing, they were even able to improve on Oswald’s suspected time.  There was old evidence (as in years old) that pointed to Oswald not being a great shot in his marksmanship, but that doesn’t really hold much with me.  Too many variables on something that isn’t hard evidence, and all of the evidence we do have clearly indicates he fired at Kennedy.

Ballistic tests also confirm the one bullet theory, and any of the “magic bullet” distraction that has been voiced has been propped up on incorrect assumptions and conjecture.

Multiple eye-witness accounts have been corroborated that there were no shooters on the grassy knoll, just a minority of people (the majority agreeing on 3 shots from the book depository) reportedly hearing a shot from that direction, which doesn’t all match the ballistic evidence or the trajectories derived from the wounds of the victims.

Oswald had a motive, corroborating evidence from various sources, and already tried to assassinate another government official.

Now there isn’t evidence of every little detail, but enough to come to a solid conclusion, I feel.  Although we do seem to enjoy our ghost stories….

@Uncrustable:

Secret Weapons Over Normandy: Flight simulator

My personal favorite

That one was a good one, I think I still have it packed up somewhere.  It got ridiculous when you could use the ME-262 and experimental planes.  And then you find the codes for the X-Wing & Tie Fighter….well let’s just say there was no way in Hoth Hitler was going to win in that game.

@ABWorsham:

I would give up a years salary for an hour with my grandfather, an infantrymen from the 2nd ID 1940-45. He past away in 1997 and I was too caught up in chasing women during the final years of his life.

My other grandfather died on my birthday almost 7 years ago.  I would ask him about his time serving, but he never wanted to talk about it.  I didn’t push the issue.  He enlisted at 17 (lied about his age) after eloping to Kentucky with my grandmother to get married so young.  He served in the Pacific and piloted landing craft.  I’m not sure what he saw, but it was bad enough that he didn’t like to be reminded of it.

@ABWorsham:

Wow, I have seen Manfred on several shows and read about him in Trail of the Fox. Its alarming how many of the WWII era people have past away.

If you come across a WWII vet take time to visit with them.

This I believe is very true.  Not just to honor a veteran - any veteran - but also to document a key moment in history.  I believe I failed in meeting someone years ago that still haunts me.

I was supposed to meet “Tony” that was an Airborne vet from WW2 here in the US living in Ohio.  My grandfather, also an airborne vet that barely missed out on the Korean war, had tried to arrange it for me when I was in middle school for a project.  It was a simple report on key points in America’s history, and I was determined to do something good and beyond what I had already read about.  “Tony” had a hard time since he was in his 80s, and I never met him.  I don’t remember his last name.  He died before I could get the chance, and his name has never left me (near half my life ago).

This is it guys, one of our common threads in the fabric of our lives.  It is also a chance to glean wisdom and a chunk of history from our elders.

RIP Tony and all veterans everywhere:  you sacrifice was not in vain.

Just last night I finished The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy - the first book I’ve finished in a year (did start Don Quixote last November and had to put it down for work/study priority).  It was a refreshing a quick read - hope to complete the rest soon, more than likely the end of the year.

That reminds me of this, which was probably posted years ago:

http://www.strategypage.com/humor/articles/military_jokes_20057151.asp