Amazon: 55% Off Kids' and Family Movies
As part of their Black Friday countdown, Amazon.com is offering children's and family DVDs, TV shows, and Blu-ray movies up to 55% off. Many DVD deals under $5, including The Goonies, Beetlejuice, Home Alone, and other favorites also available.
Best Buy: Save $100 on Smart 3D HDTV
Save $100 on a 60" Class LED Smart 3D HDTV at Best Buy and get two pairs of 3D glasses and a Smart 3D Blu-ray player for FREE. Universal remote with batteries, swivel stand, and other accessories included.
Reading Pile: 11/9/12
Battlefields: The Green Fields Beyond #1- You either have to be a big war comic fan, a history buff, or a diehard Ennis fan to really care about these books. They move a lot slower than your usual Ennis story as he actually likes to have the characters interact and talk relevant material having to do with their setting and particular role. On top of that, you have to be in the mood to read dialect. If you particularly enjoyed the Tankies stories in the previous Battlefields runs, then you’ll be interested in this third and (most likely) final chunk that takes the recurring character of Corporal Stiles into the Korean War. The Korean War hasn’t been the focus of too much comic fiction in a while either, so it’s interesting to see Ennis put a focus on it. Overall, this is a very particular book to like, but if you do fall into any of the categories Ennis is aiming towards here then you’ll most likely enjoy it. B
Iron Man #1- I like Kieron Gillen, but I don’t believe there is a writer on Earth that can make me enjoy a book with Greg Land art. Perhaps if it was another artist I wouldn’t have been bored to death, and I might have even cared a little about the plot Gillen is developing. As it was, I really don’t care about the Extremis sub-plot and I didn’t see a particular need to bring it back (maybe the movie focus?). I will say this, I didn’t actually mind the art where Iron Man was dressed as Iron Man. Apparently Land can’t screw that up, so good to know. Still, any other scene with actual people in it looks horrid, static, and lazy. Also, twenty pages of story for $3.99? Thanks for stabbing our eyes out AND stealing our money, Marvel. Side note: does anyone else think they dumbed down the design of the armor because the previous versions were going to be too difficult for Land to draw? D
Prophet Vol 1: Remission TP- In case you were wondering, this does read even better than the single issues as they were coming out. The story is fun and innovative, the art is amazing, and the price point of $9.99 is utterly fantastic for the content of this package. Go and do yourself a favor and buy this book. A+
The Legend of Next Usain Bolt
I never really studied logic much, so I don't know what to call this type of paired propositions, but I think this pretty much sets it out in college-entrance-exam style:
- Proposition A: Casper Wells is one of the several hundred best hitters of baseballs in the known universe.
- Propsition B: Casper Wells ought to be installed as an everyday corner outfielder for a Major League baseball team.
That really boils down the enterprise we're engaged in here. All these guys are good. All of them. Scary good. But only a hundred or so at a time actually become successful MLB hitters (which I define as someone who could successfully hit every day at a non-glove position).
Proposition A is surely true. Proposition B may, or may not, be true, but it is the ability to distiguish between the guys who are really good and the guys who are the very best that is the raison d'etre of this-here prospect analysis.
But since baseball has so many stats and variables, I concluded it's easier to explain what I'm driving at by going to a sport with only one stat. So ....
The Legend of Next Usain Bolt
First, assume you care about track. This may be a stretch, but just imagine you're back in the age when Bruce Jenner was known for something other than ... well ... whatever it is that Bruce Jenner is famous for now. Track used to be a big deal, but that's not our point.
Then, assume that the ratio of world-class sprinters to Usain Bolt is roughly the same as the ratio of minor-league hitters to successful MLB hitters. [Maybe it's not, but, as Dr. D points out, it's just baseball chat, not a peer-reviewed academic journal.]
Now, consider this: running 100 meters in 10 seconds flat is a big deal. It means you're super-fast. It means you're one of the fastest humans in the world. Running it in 9.8 seconds is a really big deal. You are elite. World class.
Except that it's not a big deal at all compared to Usain Bolt. Bolt runs 100 meters in 9.6. As in the picture, he leaves you in the dust like you're Jesus Montero with a twisted ankle. And, in this case, "you" means everyone else in the whole world who is not Usain Bolt.
But wait ... Bolt doesn't run 9.6 every race. Sometimes he runs 9.8 or even 10.0. The difference isn't that great, except for the fact that the difference is huge.
So, now that we are (based on our assumption) track fans, suppose we are given the task of identifying Next Usain Bolt. Of all the world-class sprinters, most will turn out to be Ordinary Super-Fast Guys (that would be the other seven guys in the picture) and only one will be Next Usain Bolt.
How, then, do we go about figuring who might be NUB, and distinguishing him from OSFG?
OK ... we said we picked track because it boils down to one stat. So we go with that stat.
What we can't do is just look at a bunch of guys who run 9.9 and say "well, it will be one of them." That's Casper Wells Proposition A. But we're trying to answer Casper Wells Proposition B.
What we would do is try to identify the guys who demonstrate the potential to be extraordinary. In other words, we'd look for the 9.75 or even 9.65 (in reality no one else has ever run faster than 9.69, but that's being picky). Or we may look for a time that is the equivalent of 9.7 in light of conditions. But what we would be trying to identify is the uniqueness of the performance.
Because, "lots" of guys can run 9.9 ("lots" being relative, of course), but only Next Usain Bolt will be pointing at 9.6.
Of course, the problem is there will be plenty of races in which NUB runs 9.9, too. There are even plenty of races when Usain Bolt his ownself will run 9.9.
In other words, running 9.9 is not inconsistent with being NUB. But ... someone who can run 9.7 is much more likely to be NUB than someone who never has run that fast.
So let's look at two guys:
Runner W: 10.1, 10.1, 9.9, 9.85, 9.85
Runner J: 9.75, 10.0, 9.7, 10.0, 9.7, 9.9
Which one is more likely to be Next Usain Bolt?
Runner W gets to the point where he's really good, but never breaks through with a performance that distinguishes him from all the other Ordinary Super-Fast Guys.
Runner J is not consistent, but he keeps flashing the likelihood that he could be Next Usain Bolt. Given the choice, we vote for Runner J as more likely to be NUB.
Going back to THE GRID, we see that Runner W represents the minor league career of Casper Wells and Runner J represents the minor league career of John Jaso. Of the two, we would nominate Jaso to be the guy more likely to be among the very best. His performances demonstrated the uniqueness that Wells' didn't. If we are choosing up sides, we pick Jaso.
Moving forward, we will cover the "matched pairs" that we forecast in the prior article.
Consider miniature farm animals
Picking out small animals for your farm can be a great thing to do. The problem you may have is not knowing about how great miniature animals can be for your farm. Once you learn about these animals though, it is easy for you to find the proper animal and know it will work for your needs around your farm.
Pine cat litter
Choosing the proper cat litter can be harder than you would imagine. This is when you should know more information about the pine cat litter and why you need to use this. Once you know more information about this cat litter, it is easy to see just why this is a great choice to make.
Bike paths save lives
Biking can be a great thing to do, but you may have trouble when you have to bike along the road. This is when you should know why bike paths are such a great option for you to use. Without knowing about these paths, you may not be able to bike safely around town.
Mom's coming over
I always try to keep my house fairly nice and tidy. But whenever I hear that either my parents or my in-laws are coming over, I always go on a cleaning frenzy. My husband always giggles to himself a little as he watches me go about like a cleaning person on steroids.
Both my mom and my mother-in-law are housewives. Therefore, they pride themselves on how well they keep their house all nice and clean. They also are more likely to notice anything that is out of place or a tad bit dusty at another person’s house.
I can’t help but feel a bit paranoid whenever either of them makes a visit. My husband says I act as if they are here for a cleaning inspection. I know he is only teasing, but in a way, I feel as if they really are there to inspect just how well I keep my house.
Prior to every visit from either my parents or in-laws, I always spend at least an entire day cleaning. I make sure to dust every nook and cranny. My husband often offers to help, but I usually decline. That is because I am very particular in how I want things done.
Even if he were to help me clean, I would just end up doing it over again. Hubby thinks I am a little cuckoo about it all, but I just cannot help myself. I do not want to have to hear my mom point out something that needs to be cleaned up, and I definitely do not want my in-laws to have anything bad to notice as they look around my house.
Tickets to see The Rolling Stones are just too expensive
In the weeks since the big announcement that the Rolling Stones would be heading out to celebrate 50 years together with several concerts, the backlash has been building. Why? Ticket prices. Specifically, ridiculously high ticket prices. What are fans to do? Do we work extra hours to try and get enough money to pay such prices? Where do we, as fans, draw the line?
I remember when the Stones first announced the big Steel Wheels tour. In 1989, I spent a night huddled in a tent with friends, waiting for the tickets to go on sale the next morning. I was rewarded with great seats, but wow they seemed expensive at about $40. Ha!My, how times have changed. Now, the starting ticket price for the upcoming Rolling Stones shows in Newark, New Jersey, are somewhere around $115 (and yes, I do include fees, because really, they are so ridiculous these days). Honestly, that's a steep price to pay for the so-called "cheap seats," don't you think? The expensive seats are going for more than $800. Call me crazy, but who has that kind of money lying around for entertainment? Granted, it's the *Rolling Stones* but I'm absolutely certain that even if I did have the disposable cash, I wouldn't pay it.
Am I alone in feeling like maybe the concert industry is pricing us all out? What are fans to do? For their part, the Rolling Stones are defending their ticket prices, with Mick Jagger in particular noting that "it's a very expensive show to put on, just to do four shows, because normally you do a hundred shows and you'd have the same expenses."
Look, I get that it's expensive to put on major concerts. I do. But at what point do we, as fans, say enough is enough? Until we stop going, musicians (and their management) will continue to raise show ticket prices to the moon. If you had the chance, how much would you be willing to pay for VIP seats to see one of the four upcoming Rolling Stones shows?
Affordable hair conditioner
Lately, I have been trying to use fewer chemicals on my hair. So besides cutting back on the number of times that I shampoo within a week, I have also decided to give a more natural conditioner a try. What is this green conditioner that I speak of? It is apple cider vinegar—a product that most already have sitting at home.
Apple cider vinegar is typically recommended over distilled vinegar due to the fact that it is less harsh. Yet it is acidic enough to clean out buildup in the hair and helps to get rid of flakes and dandruff. Therefore, I figured it would be the ideal conditioner for me to try.
So was I happy with the results? Right now, I sort of have mixed feelings about it. Conditioning my hair with the apple cider vinegar definitely made my hair soft and shiny. However, there was just one problem—the off-putting smell. The smell was at its worse during the shower—when I was applying the vinegar to my hair. The salad smell continued to linger even after I had thoroughly rinse the vinegar out of my hair. Only after I had finish blow-drying my hair did the smell go away.
Initially, I had thought that things were not so bad. I could take advantage of all the benefits of apple cider vinegar, and all I had to do was make sure to dry my hair thoroughly before leaving the house. However, it was not that simple. Anytime my hair got wet again, the vinegar smell was sure to come back. It was most obvious after my hair got all sweaty during a routine run on the treadmill. Even so, I am still going to give the apple cider vinegar another chance.