Thursday, November 27, 2008

Turkey Day 2008: a Smorgasbord

Synopsis of the Year:
Thanksgiving this year crept up on me. Seriously, two days ago I'm at work, talking to my boss, and I look over at the calendar and say "Holy crap, Thanksgiving is Thursday! Where did the year go?"

This year has flown by. Granted, they say time flies when you're having fun, and while some parts of this year were fun, others downright sucked. I've been on the cusp of greatness, only to be pulled back into the miry abyss that is life in North Georgia.

This year I started my final semester of my undergraduate career and subsequently graduated college with a Bachelor of Arts in English Writing. Then I decided that Grad School would be a fantastic thing. So I signed up for the GRE, took the test, and knocked it out of the park. Since then, I've been brought down a few levels thanks to a sucky economy in which someone who blatantly plans to screw the system can get by with it, but the people who are honestly trying to make it in life can't.

Yeah, it's been a crazy year.

Along with the academic changes, I've found my taste in pretty much everything changing. From sports to politics, music to books, I can actually say that I feel like I've grown this year.

Random Points: (this is the smorgasbord part)
1. Thanksgiving, in terms of sports, is supposed to offer good NFL football. Every year the Detroit Lions and the Dallas Cowboys play host to another team on Thanksgiving day. Problem is, Detroit sucks. They were 0-11 going into today's game against 10-1 Tennessee. Detroit accordingly got blown out 47-10. Dallas, who was 7-4 going into their game against 2-9 Seattle, dismantled the Seahawk defense, winning 34-9.

2. I saw that the federal government was preparing to inject $20 Billion into Citigroup. That's $20,000,000,000 for those of you playing the home game. Citigroup, though is preparing to layoff 53,000 people nationwide. The government's giving them $20 Billion, and they're laying people off. The worst part is this: Citi is receiving $20 Billion from the fed, but they're still planning to pay $400 million (that's $400,000,000) to get the naming rights to the new baseball stadium for the New York Mets. All I'm saying is, if the government is giving you $20 billion, then you should at least withdraw your name from buying $400 million worth of naming rights.

3. A few points on the rule changes for Formula 1.
a. With the new front wing design, drivers will be allowed twice per lap to change the angle of the wing.
b. The KERS system will be used to recycle kinetic energy from braking back into the engine. By using a "boost button" the driver can unleash this energy and gain 80 additional horsepower for 7 seconds. It doesn't sound like much, but it can mean a difference of tenths of a second in time, which is huge in F1
c. The new car design will lessen down force. The cars might not run as fast, but it should make overtaking a little easier, or at least a more regular occurrence.
d. Bernie Eccelstone's idea of awarding medals to the winners of races is preposterous. Former team owner Eddie Jordan has roundly criticized the idea, saying it would be the deathknell of the smaller teams, like Force India and (at this point) Williams.

4. Barack Obama has created the Office of the President Elect. I'm trying to give him the benefit of the doubt, but doing stuff like this is very egomaniacal.

That's it kids! Have a great Thanksgiving evening. Avoid all that Post-Turkey Day Exertion. Pray for those who will be out and about on Black Friday.

Until next time...

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