bits and pieces

I am not from Texas. Nor do I expect I ever will be. But I really really like this song by Mr. Lovett. "That's Right (You're Not From Texas)" (Or 저것은 너가 택사스에서 이지 않는 권리 이다 as they like to say in Korea.) He is from Texas. And an Aggie as I hear. Sure do wish I could post it here so you could enjoy it as I do.

A River Runs Through It. What a fantastic bunch of words and sentences this turned out to be.

I learned something about me this week. I am an experimentalist. But I compare myself to conceptualists. That has not worked out well for me.

People that talk in 3rd person produce two distinct results in me. They either crack me up or annoy endlessly. I am especially humored when they are not famous. For instance, an aunt. Wife and I have at least one such person.

I would like to have a secretary. Or business manager. Or lackey. And a new pair of running shoes.

We're a hotbed.

If you didn't know, Ohio, specifically southwest Ohio is a hotbed of high school athletics and according to some, in the top 5 nationally for its high school hoops. For those of you that care about left coast athletics, our formerly local O.J. Mayo is heading out to Southern Cal to play a year of ball before jumping to the first pick in the NBA draft ('08 version). Many are saying he's the best to come out since LeBron.

Well, a buddy forwarded this article on to me. I love the ridiculousness of it all. It's fantastic. And look for USC to make a run at the national title next year.

I don't get it

It is NC2A tourney time again and for the 3rd straight year I have not filled out a bracket. I may never fill one out again. And I love it. There is no wanting to be right that consumes my brain, which leaves me free to cheer for who I want. And if I want to switch allegiances in the middle of a game, so be it. It's great.

However, I was watching the scoreboard at ESPN dot com today and noticed two strange occurrences. Now I am no longer an expert on the tournament, so maybe there is a good explanation. But, I am well versed in US geography, so....why is there a tournament site for the west region in Buffalo, NY? And why an east region site in Sacramento, CA.

It seems much like the time change to me, arbitrary.

brains are weird

I continue to find the human body more and more interesting. My relationship with God aside, I have a tough time buying into evolution. The intricacies of the body are just too great for me to do anything but chuck this theory as a legitimate explanation of what I see in the mirror. Every time I see the inner workings of the eye, or muscle structure of a leg, or heart, basically anything I learned in 5th grade science, I am amazed. Truly amazed. The complexity and balance and perfection of it all astounds me.

And then there is the brain. Woooeeee. Take a look at the picture below. Specifically boxes A and B.


Now get this. They are the same color. True. They are exactly the same shade of gray. How confusing is that? Check the gray line covering both squares below. My brain tries to believe the line changes color but I am assured it does not.


Didn't mean to go here with this, but I have recently begun to remember how much I enjoy and appreciate art and its creator. There are times (many recently) I am astounded. Whether it is nature or man made, beauty is coming to life for me again. A desire is blossoming in me that would attempt to capture and explore more of what I see. Even some of what I think in a physical manifestation. Just this morning, early, I realized how much I miss by always living through the same hours day after day. There are sounds and smells and sights I often don't see because I'm asleep. I see a simple beauty that sings in the stillness. If there has ever been anything that has called me to wake up early, this is one of the most seductive sirens I've heard.

So here, as I was looking into the explanation of these pictures by the designer at MIT, I was delighted with the crossover I was seeing. His explanation and my experience of the Creator's world found common ground. I feel like the LORD is revealing light and dark in me. And judgement. So what does this explanation shout out to me?

The first trick is based on local contrast. In shadow or not, a check that is lighter than its neighboring checks is probably lighter than average, and vice versa. In the figure, the light check in shadow is surrounded by darker checks. Thus, even though the check is physically dark, it is light when compared to its neighbors. The dark checks outside the shadow, conversely, are surrounded by lighter checks, so they look dark by comparison.

Do I play the comparison game? Yep. Certainly not proud of it, but I certainly do it.

And then this. I don't know that there's much for me to add.

As with many so-called illusions, this effect really demonstrates the success rather than the failure of the visual system. The visual system is not very good at being a physical light meter, but that is not its purpose. The important task is to break the image information down into meaningful components, and thereby perceive the nature of the objects in view.

My eyes are only as good as what the LORD reveals to me. I apologize for the continued use of the word "amazed" but I am. I am amazed at how He pulls from the stuff I see everyday to lead me where he wants me to go.

I am mystified at how this world is so fantastically connected. Father, keep showing me the good stuff. Back up the truck. I do love it.

SAT type analogy

Wife is to the weather channel as I am to SportsCenter.

** New ** Research says "yes"

There is a new research study that says the answer is yes.
Thanks for visiting. Hope that was helpful for you.



Right, right, the question: "Could Where You Live Affect Heart Health?"

Now that's a good way to get my attention. Thank you newspaper people for shocking me once again into reading something I already knew. These shock headlines annoy when they don't reflect the content of an article. Especially when the link headline is different than the actual article headline. It works, I read it, but it's annoying and makes me not want to trust you in the future.

It turns out there are particular states that have higher rates of heart trouble. So does the state determine that? Or education and diet determine that? Just asking. "Several of the states with the highest heart disease rates lie in a swath of Southeastern states known for high-fat diets." Uhhh, yeah, that's what I thought.

But here is what really struck me, even before I clicked on the link "Could Where You Live Affect Heart Health?" The answer I heard to the question was, "Yes." It's funny that I've been learning about this and then a USA Today headline catches my attention to lead me back there. And then here's where I went.

Where do I live? In bitterness? In judgement and condemnation? In jealousy? In unforgiveness? Yeah, I live there some. More than I even recognize. BUT, it's being revealed more and more. Which is disturbing...but good.

I'm in the process of moving but I've got lots of luggage still at the old place. And it's hidden away in a maze of closets I can't even find. The light hasn't been very good over there so I often don't see my bags. But I'm learning to pull them out when the light comes on. And I can't even turn the lights on myself. I guess it's good that I've at least learned that I'm no electrician, which saves me some heartache.

Simply, this is what I hear about this place. IT'S NOT GOOD.

I'd like to get on over to the new place. Forgiveness. Grace. Humility. Joy. It seems to be a pretty well lit place. Skylights and big, tall windows with a great view. There's even loot over there. You'd think I'd enjoy this place more, even out of selfishness, but I find myself at the old address frequently. Probably out of habit. (I really think there's more to it than that.) But it reminds me of Paul (Romans 7).

"The new survey, [the lead author] says, supplies the estimated prevalence of people 'actually living with heart disease.'" Yeah, funny thing though, how alive can I really be with this heart disease I'm speaking of? And I'd guess this heart disease is pretty rampant. Too bad an EKG won't diagnose this.

Could Where You Live Affect Heart Health?
Yes, I agree with this research.

Are you kidding?

I don't even know what to say about this. My brain is shutting down.

Tagline: There are 40 million sheep in New Zealand...and they're pissed off!

The final 5

What I'm about to say does not apply to the NBA All-Star game. It sucks. Bad. And there is nothing that the low to mid-level consumer can do to increase the entertainment value above high school girls hoops.



It may not apply to "your" team. But it should until tournament games start or if you hate the team wearing different colored uniforms. This is best used for good teams that you have no real interest in but as you'll see, works best for good GAMES.

I have realized how great basketball on tv is, IF watched appropriately. Basketball on the television drags for me. I tend to flip a lot when I'm watching games, so it's good that there are often 4 or more games on at a time. This applies to any level of tv ball. And this soon to be revealed method will come in mighty handy for all of us come the first weekend of the NC2A tourney. The patch, as PC users call it, would strike fear in the hearts of advertisers should they be made aware of its (correct use of the apostropheless "its" - and "its" is a funny looking word isn't it) genius.

We all should know by now that a large lead early, say 17-2, often means nothing when two competing teams are of similar stock. The 15 points are almost meaningless. Match ups change, foul trouble manifests, a team gets hot or cold, strategies change, and typically, the lead is chipped into over the next 30ish minutes to tighten the contest to a one to two possession game. This is often achieved by the last 5 minutes of the the allotted time of said leagues rules.

So get out your notepads. Here's how this works.

The goal: Don't start watching the GAME until there are approximately 5 minutes left in regulation.

Step 1 - Based on the start time, calculate at what time the last 5 minutes will be played.
Step 1 (alternate scenario) - If you accidentally stumble across a game, calculate at what time the last 5 minutes will be played.
Step 1a - Change the channel.

Step 1a is of great importance to the soundness of this maneuver. If you find yourself watching the game in the early minutes, for the love of humanity CHANGE the channel.

Step 2 - Check the progress of your game and recalculate.
Step 2a - Change the channel.

This is a finesse move that requires practice and discipline. For the newbie, it may be good to set the timer on your watch, stove or high end coffee maker for 15 seconds so as not to get sucked in. This "sucked in" phenomenon is a real and legitimate threat to the proper execution of Step 2. You have been warned.

Step 3 - Repeat Step 2 and 2a so as not to miss the final 5 minutes.

If you find you yourself repeating Step 2 and 2a, without the digital minutes changing on the game clock, do not be deceived, you ARE watching the whole game. And muting the game does not work. This has been thoroughly tested and has repeatedly been shown to be a miserable failure as an alternative method.

Step 4 - Enjoy the "Final 5."

Assuming there has been proper execution of Steps 1-3, Step 4 is cake. This is your reward. If you have missed anywhere up to the final 150 seconds, don't be concerned, there is still a good fifteen minutes of basketball left to play. But this is your time. Enjoy this, you are getting the good stuff.

And that's it.

Let's walk through some of the major benefits.
- Your significant others will be pleased at the free time and peace of mind you have, as well as the minimized times of Neanderthal action directed at "your" team. (By the way, neither the coach nor the players can hear you.)

- If the game does turn into a blowout, you have wasted no time on a stinker of a game. And if you have applied this method to "your" team you have saved yourself much grief and anxiety. In this situation, if "your" team happens to be the dominator, you have missed the destruction of a hated team. I will say a prayer for your loss. But rejoice in the final 5. However, my research has shown that the odds of a blowout in a rival game are less than 3.5%. So chances are good this will not happen to "your" team.

- Overtime games are the perfect fit for this skilled approach to tv basketball.
Example 1 - The recent Texas-Texas A&M, double overtime game is a prime exhibition of this approach. Down four with fourteen seconds left what does A&M do? Tie it up , we're going to overtime.
Example 2 - The recent Cavs-Mavs game. With Cleveland down fourteen to 13 wins in a row Dallas and 6:02 left, the game is over. SO over. Uhhh, no it's not, we covered that. Lead cut to three with 41 seconds left. Down to the wire as LeBron misses two free throws and two good looks at a 3 that would have sent it to overtime. (And I'll say it here again, LeBron MUST start hitting free throws for Cleveland to advance in the playoffs.)

All anyone really wants to see is the final 5 plus the overtime. A mini-version of the "Final 5" can be applied during bonus time, known to those in the...know, called the "mini-Final 5" or the "Final 1." It is risky, but can can be applied by veterans of the "Final 5."

- Sometimes you reap the benefits of networks having met their commercial quota and you are kept live on air to watch the players and coaches stand around in a tight huddle while you can hear nothing. Your imagination runs wild about all the scribbling of Xs and Os on the dry erase board. And the encouragement by Coach, it's still ringing in my imagination. All the while uninterrupted by adds for life changing products and services. Exhilarating if you ask this man.

- If you feel as though you may have missed an amazing highlight, they can often be seen on ESPN's Sports Center or at ESPN's online gathering place.

But don't be discouraged. If you invite me over to your place to watch "your" team play an entire game of hoops, chances are high I will come (chances are high I will come over if invited for any reason). And I will not feel the need to flip. You are in control and I am ok with that.

Actually, no, I will not say a prayer for your loss. And there was no actual research done in preparation of rolling out the "Final 5." All stats contained herein are based on...not much.