Panopiticism

I've been reading Foucault lately about Bentham's panopticon while at the same time taking a poetry class. Here is my combination of the two. Enjoy.

We’re watching you

We’re watching you

With cameras

On the streets

At the supermarket

In the airport

It is for your protection

We watch everything you do

to save you

From the murderers

From the terrorists

From the people that run red lights

They’re all dangerous

They must be stopped

We don’t have cameras in the bathroom

Yet

That is why so many crimes take place there

Maybe next year

Maybe tomorrow

We’ll put cameras there

It’s for your protection

We might see you naked

Or on the pot

But its constitutional.

No violation of the fourth amendment

Kind of like the body scanners

You choose to go to the bathroom

Kind of like how you choose to fly

And be seen naked by TSA agents

Or molested.

You could not go number one

And not be seen naked

You will be safe

when you go to the bathroom

because we will have cameras there

and we will be watching

next time you go number two

we’ll know.

And we’ll be watching

Only to protect you.

Beck/Dalton Game Score

I recently read an article in NBC that claimed that Tim Lincecum in his recent 2 hit shutout of the Braves was more dominant than Roy Halladay in his no hitter the other week. They based their information on what is called the Bill James Game Score. I don't like the stat and I will explain why after I give a brief explanation of what exactly it entails. First, you start out with 50 points. You add 1 point for each out, 2 points for each inning after 4, and 1 point for each strikeout. After that, you subtract 2 points for each hit, 4 points for each earned run, 2 points for each unearned run, and 1 point for each walk. Once all the math is completed you now have a measurement of how dominant a starting pitcher was.
I do not like this stat for a few reasons. First, I feel it overvalues the strikeout, especially when compared to a groundout. It is much more economical and something that is highly valued in a pitcher and I feel greatly adds to his dominance on any given night. My major complaint is that it doesn't increase the value for not allowing any hits. I feel that we should give credit if a pitcher pitches a complete-game no hitter and even more for a perfect game. To do so I have created (With the help of David Dalton) the Beck/Dalton Game Score. We have modified Bill James' work by changing a few numbers here and there to something that we view more accurately reflects pitching excellence. Without any further ado, here is what will soon become the best way to measure a pitcher's performance:
Start with 50 points
+2 for every inning after 6
+ 2 for groundouts
+2 for K
+1 for every avg. pitches per inning under 13
+20 Perfect Game
+10 No Hitter
-4 ER
-6 Every run after 3
-1 unearned runs
- 2 for every H
-1 for every BB
-1 for every pitch per inning over 13
Now for my explanation. We feel like this accurately reflects what makes a great pitching performance. First, we feel like that this recognizes a pitcher that is able to throw a great game in fewer pitches. If we look at Edwin Jackson's no hitter, he threw 149 pitches and walked 8 people. Our Game Score would take away points not only for walks but for the high pitch count. Even though Jackson threw a no hitter, he still scores lower than Lincecum and rightfully so because his pitch count was higher. We feel this is fair and greater emphasizes efficient pitching. Second, it emphasizes throwing a no hitter or perfect game. Third, it de-emphasizes strikeouts, which look cool but are not always the most efficient out. It is a great tool for a closer or when runners are on base but we feel that they ground out is also very important and our Game Score reflects that. One of the downfalls with our metric though is that we are unable to account for fly outs vs. pop outs and we would include them in our Game Score but they don't show up in our box scores. Once they do, we will add points to a pitcher's score as well for that.
Overall, we think that our Game Score is much more effective than that of Bill James because of these changes.

Why I hate Columbus day and other thoughts

Hating Columbus Day is not a big deal; most people do nowadays so I know that I am not alone but my reasons are most likely completely different than those of most people. A lot of people complain because Columbus was involved in the slave trade, he aided in the destruction of the American Indians, and perhaps, many other reasons. I complain because there is no mail today. I have been waiting for my collection of Seinfeld's complete series for nearly a month now and it is in Provo/Orem but because of Columbus, I won't see it until tomorrow. Yes. I am very upset. The Post Office takes so many days off; why can't we just let them deliver my package to me today? I think it would solve a lot of the world's problems if I had the complete series of Seinfeld today.

Is McDonald's really the most evil corporation that is trying to kill us all? I don't think so; they are just trying to make a buck like I am so I can't really blame them. I have been thinking a lot about McDonald's lately because I noticed that San Francisco is trying to ban Happy Meal toys and when I commented on it, a colleague said that it was incentivizing killing yourself (not an exact quote). I, obviously, completely disagree. While a toy will attract more young children to the restaurant, it offers another option to sitting and watching TV or playing video games. In reality, I think McDonald's is saving the children by offering Happy Meal toys. They might become more active because they are playing with their Strawberry Shortcake toy, lose weight, and not die. Thank you McDonald's. I am truly lovin' it.

I posted about this on Facebook earlier but I feel it is important enough to reiterate. It has been happening for a long time now but Republicans are always complaining because Obama is going to Martha's Vineyard or Michelle is going to Spain or he is just playing so much golf. When he doesn't go on vacation, we hear he is spending too much money, ugh, I hate ObamaCare and even more. It would appear that there is nothing the man could do right. I think that if he were to balance the budget, lower taxes, and shrink the government, they would still complain. I, personally, would rather have him play golf than spend a trillion dollars.

Mario Vargas Llosa is one of my favorite authors and he just recently won the Nobel Prize for Literature. David, mi amigo, mentioned an interesting theory today: he feels that they wanted to choose a non-European, right-of-center author for the winner to show that they are not Eurocentric or leftist, but by so doing, they only further cement this. I don't know if this is right but Vargas Llosa deserves the award. Now I only really have one complaint left and that is that they should give Carlos Fuentes the award. He is now, in my mind, the most deserving candidate.

I have no more thoughts. Until next time.

Your hair

my wife is lucky because sometimes i write poems about here. today i woke up at 5 am and wrote this. what a lucky lady.

Your hair

I like the way you wear
That beautiful head of hair.
Even if you were mauled by a bear
You would still have the most beautiful hair.

I am an amazing poet. You're welcome Rianne. Hope you loved it.

swimming for ms

most of you know that in january 2009 rianne was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. before that she would be tired all of the time and life was not easy and while it hasn't gotten easier we have found ways to alleviate several problems that come with ms. nothing has come easy and we work hard for all of the happiness that we have. our friends and especially our families have been a wonderful support system as we have gone through these great challenges and we will always be grateful. since rianne has been diagnosed, we have dedicated a part of our lives to fight against ms and have joined the thousands of people who began this fight well before us. every year there is a walk ms that has been a great experience to help fund the national multiple sclerosis society. i recently received an email about swimming for ms; i have always loved swimming and have decided to join the cause. i am writing this post for a few reasons. first, i want to thank everyone that has been a great support for us. we couldn't do it without you. second, my main goal is to bring an awareness to ms and my swimming will hopefully do that but i also would like to raise money to find a cure for ms. if you want to help and you can afford to donate, visit this site. if you don't feel like you can afford to donate, then come swim with me. my plan is to be at the rb swimming pool m-f at 6.45 am to swim for half an hour before classes. anyone who comes to swim with me or donates will be given one of those cool, hip orange rubber bracelets to so that they can also raise awareness in a cool, hip way. hope you can join me in the fight so that together we can find a cure!!

To legalize or not to legalize

I recently changed my residence, abandoning Colorado (I miss you) for sunny California. When I registered to vote and had to choose the party with whom I affiliate, I also abandoned the GOP (good riddance) for the Libertarian Party. In the past 3-4 years my opinion of all things Republican has changed; at one time they could do no wrong, but now they very frequently do not end up on what I view to be the right side of the issue (with, of course, notable exceptions such as Ron Paul, Jim DeMint, and Paul Ryan). I wish that I could trust them when they say that they will be fiscally aware once they resume power, but I have not forgotten that the Bush administration spent the most money ever until the current one and now we disagree on other issues such as immigration or the NYC mosque.
So this year I will vote in California. I am excited to vote on the gamut of propositions but most notably for Prop 19. This is the bill that will legalize marijuana in the state of California. After having several conversations with myself and others, I am ready to announce to the world how I will vote with a rational explanation using my impeccable logic. Get ready world. For the 2010 election in the state of California, with regards to Prop 19, I am taking my talents to Yes. I have come up with three main reasons why I feel this way.
Police spend a lot of time fighting drugs. As the use of drugs has increased, law enforcement has been forced to spend more time combating drug use and not as much time fighting crimes that have a victim.
Using drugs is for the most part a victimless crime. When someone smokes a joint in his basement, he isn’t injuring anyone but himself and it is not the job of the government to protect me from me. Ludwig von Mises wrote “(O)nce the principle is admitted that it is the duty of the government to protect the individual against his own foolishness ... (w)hy not prevent him from reading bad books and bad plays ... ? The mischief done by bad ideologies is more pernicious ... than that done by narcotic drugs.” They shouldn’t tell people what to read or eat even though that could be dangerous to their health and drugs are no different.
Now, dear reader, you might be saying that drugs do have victims. Families are destroyed and the lives of children are ruined because their parents are addicted to drugs. I have witnessed this firsthand when I worked at a juvenile detention center. Many of the kids were ignored by their parents or took drugs with their parents and it led to other crimes that were far worse than drugs. For you, my dear reader, I will provide what I find my most convincing argument. It will surprise no one to know that I am a nerd, especially when it comes to economics. I love it. I have analyzed for myself through a cost/benefit analysis speeding and a bunch of other issues. Drugs are no different. Let’s begin with my analysis.
What are the costs of legalizing drugs? Some lives are ruined through drug abuse (not use just abuse). That is a horrible thing and I don’t want to make this seem trivial. Someone might get behind the wheel and drive and could seriously injure another person. If drugs are legal, driving while under the influence of them should and would still be illegal but it could still happen so I include this as a cost associated with legalization.
What about the benefits? Income from drugs can now be taxed adding much needed revenue to the government, albeit revenue that they wouldn’t need if they just spent money wisely but that is another topic. Billions of dollars would be saved because there would be no need to send that money to Mexico as aid to fight the drug cartels or to spend it to find local drug dealers. Jeffrey Miron, a economics professor at Harvard, has estimated that between what we will get from taxes and save will be over $30 billion. That is a lot of money. Another benefit is that the drug cartels will lose power. If you look at the famous, prohibition-era criminals, you will notice a commonality amongst nearly all of them: bootlegging. Dillinger, Capone, and others were all bootleggers and the mafias that made money through the practice lost power once alcohol was legalized. The same will most likely happen with cartels and gangs who are also financed through dealing drugs.
To summarize my analysis, by legalizing drugs thousands more people will keep their lives than lose them and billions of dollars will be saved or earned legally and lastly, drug cartels will lose power and money. For me, it is a win for legalization. The benefits far outweigh the costs.
Now a bonus reason for everyone but specifically tailored to Mormons like me. Richard Nixon started the war on drugs in the 70s and it has lasted now nearly 40 years with no end in sight. I agree that drugs are horrible and I would never take any of them but there is a more effective way to fight drugs. In The Book of Mormon we read “And now, as the preaching of the word had a great tendency to lead the people to do that which was just—yea, it had had more powerful effect upon the minds of the people than the sword, or anything else, which had happened unto them—therefore Alma thought it was expedient that they should try the virtue of the word of God.” If the use and abuse of drugs are to end, we must preach the word of God and not try and end it with “the sword, or anything else” which has heretofore been inadequate.
Hopefully, you now understand why I feel it should be legalized. I also like the idea of California legalizing it because it will be a social experiment in a smaller setting, and if it works, other states are then able to copy it. It is the way that the union is supposed to be. We will see what happens.

I need more SALT!!!!

Quick rating of movie. 2/5. 2nd star is earned because it is a so horrible it is funny movie.

Spoiler alert for anyone planning on watching Salt. Do not continue reading unless you want to know everything about the movie that I deem important to know for my post.


OK so here we go with my personal analysis of the movie. Now the obligatory recap of the movie. Salt is a Russian spy undercover in the CIA who has been outed by another Russian spy. She is on a mission to kill the Russian president so that we can relive the Cold War. I love this idea. Anything that involves US and Russia relations worsening is great as long as the US wins but this movie did not quench my thirst for action or Cold War.

I have two major problems. First, the movie could easily be condensed (and simplified) to a 30-45 minute beginning and then we could have an hour of her killing Russian spies. I love it. As it stands, the movie is more of a 1.5 hour trailer for Salt II. Dislike. Second, the movie is not very actiony. When I go to see a movie that is advertised as the feminine Jason Bourne, I expect it to be a female that kicks butt like Bourne did. I did not expect it to be a pansyfication of the Bourne genre. I have now learned that when a movie is labeled as the feminine that it is going to suck. Hollywood has now taught me that girls aren't as kick butt as guys undoing everything that my grade school education did for gender equality. You had your chance and you failed me. My last problem is that the movie is about Russian domination. The only characters that do any killing are Ted and Salt, the Russian spies. The Americans in the movie die, surrender to the powerful Russian spy or aid them in some way and the only thing to save the USA from certain destruction is another Russian spy. I wanted to see this movie because I thought it might be a fun play on regeneration through violence but it ended up attempting to subvert it in a way that I do not see fit. I will not spend the next sentence stating what the movie should have shown us. Americans are tough; Russians are not. You let me down tonight Hollywood but I will most likely forgive you next weekend. Curse me.

I que es la veritat?

I went to Spain this summer and visited three beautiful cities: Madrid, Granada and Barcelona. It is tough to decide which is my favorite so as to not offend the other cities I will not choose one over the others. It is much easier to choose my favorite places in those cities. La Alhambra (perhaps the most beautiful place on earth) in Granada and El templo de la familia sagrada in Barcelona are easily my top two. On the door to the Catalan temple are written several words and phrases referencing Christ and His Gospel; I found none more powerful than I QUE ES LA VERITAT? (and what is the truth?). This is a question that I constantly ask myself as I live my life. Is that true? Or maybe that is what is true? I find it always important to be searching for more truth all the time.

Truth is not just found in religious contexts but I also find a desire to know what is true in history. Who was Alexander the Great and why was he so "great"? Was Abe Lincoln really that honest? I am forced to search and try and discover what is true from all of the things that have been written about these figures. Sadly, with most historical figures much of the so-called biographies are just as fictional as the novels that I read.

While browsing the internet (much more convenient than browsing an actual store), I discovered Abraham Lincoln Vampire Hunter. It is a novel by the same author who co-wrote Pride and Prejudice and Zombies with Jane Austen (if Tupac can still come out with songs, Jane Austen can still write books).

I chose to read this novel because of many conversations that I have had with people about the mythification of Abe Lincoln. He has never been one of my favorite presidents; in fact, it might be said that I didn't really like him but his life is still fascinating because of the way in which many people deify him. This novel takes this to a whole new level. Now Abraham Lincoln is the killer that I have always believed him to be except now he is doing so to protect us from vampires and avenge his mothers death. I cannot think of many more noble causes and so Mr. Lincoln now deserves his place on Mt. Rushmore.

The question that this novel provokes then must be "Is this novel more or less true than other attempts at reviewing the life of the former president?" Other biographies discuss his talent for giving a great speech, his honesty, how he assembled his cabinet from his enemies and more. Are we to believe everything that those biographies purport to be truth as such. It is impossible to say that Abraham Lincoln was the perfect man as many people are prone to believe but that is what history books teach about him. His true history is now left for me to decide for myself and I choose to believe that he was the greatest killer the world has ever seen.


For those interested in regeneration through violence, my next post regarding this novel will probably be about RTV but will not occur until I finish the novel.

My first post

As an attempt to entertain my audience with my wit and charm I have thought over and over about what this blog will be about. Basically, I have lots of thoughts in my head that I like to share and if you love them or hate them or don't care about them, this is the place where you can find them 24/7.
This might sound narcissistic (it probably is) but I know that everyone wants to know what I am thinking all the time about a wide variety of subjects. I will most likely talk about sports, politics, books, movies and things that I find funny but I will not limit myself to those topics. It really could be anything. I hope you all enjoy my posts as much as I do.

And now a picture of me.