Month: December 2018

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Dec 21, 2018 – Aquaman!

So, in case it wasn’t obvious, yes, I went to the late-night premier of Aquaman last night. And because DC has let me down so often, I sufficiently lowered my expectations. But much to my surprise, Aquaman was really entertaining! It is a sight to behold, visually, with colors that burst off the screen, and amazing special effects that make you really believe that people can do all of those cool things underwater. The story wasn’t exactly shocking or suspenseful, (as most films of this genre aren’t), and Jason Momoa and Amber Heard will not be mistaken for Spencer Tracy and Katharine Hepburn, but then again, I wasn’t there to see “Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner, Part 2.” (And Tracy doesn’t have Momoa’s abs, so I doubt he’d have been as good an Aquaman!)

The fact is, DC has somehow managed to screw up their movie franchise despite having some of the most iconic characters in the comics industry (Stop the next 50 strangers you meet and ask them to name 2 super heroes–odds are great that 30 or more say “Superman & Batman”, before, you know, calling the cops on you for being weird…) Basically, they’ve had the Christian Bale Dark Knight trilogy–which was awesome–and Wonder Woman…and little else to brag about. But this one will be right up there with those two (well, four) in terms of box office, and presumably, critical success. And hopefully, it leads to a successful re-booting of the Justice League, which, for the moment, seems to be in tatters.

I don’t want to give too much away for now, but suffice to say that I’ll be going back on Saturday to take my son, and I suggest you check it out as well! Then we can discuss it in more detail next week if anyone’s so inclined. Oh, and yes, there is an “extro” scene (my word for the end credits scenes that Marvel has made famous), but only one, so no need to sit through the entire credit crawl. I’m curious to hear what you all thought of it…

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Dec 18 – Who is college really for?

When I was a Freshman in college–Fall 1976–Syracuse University cost ~$6,500/year, all in. As I recall, the Federal Gov’t gave me $1,500/year, each, in BEOG & SEOG,  (the predecessors to Pell Grants), and NYS TAP gave me $1,500/year–roughly 70% of the total cost, altogether.  That left my family with ~$2,000 (~30%) to figure out how to deal with. (I also had a $500 NYS Regents Scholarship, but that isn’t available to everyone.) The point is, lower-middle income families could at least hope to afford to send their kids to a fairly expensive private college in those days because need-based financial aid could cover over 2/3 of the cost of attendance. Home-owners had an even easier path. Back then, 4 years at a private college cost ~$25,000 per child, so you could take out a loan against your home’s equity and send your two kids to college with the equity you’d built up in your home, since most homes were worth well over the ~$50,000 you’d need to come up with.

Fast forward to today, where schools like Syracuse cost upwards of $65,000/year (10 times more than I paid as a Freshman). NYU for example, costs $80,000 this year. That’s $320,000 for a 4-year degree (assuming the price stays the same for 4 years…which it won’t). Not to pick on NYU or Syracuse–they are the rule, not the exception. But do you think the government’s financial aid packages have kept pace? Um, in a word, no. The maximum Pell grant this year is $6,095. TAP caps out at $5,165/year. So, you can get, from the Federal & NY state governments, ~$11,250, tops, towards a bill that could easily be $65,000-$80,000. That is about 15% of the bill, whereas I was able to get ~70% of the bill covered by the government “back in the day.” Oh, and as for homeowners? Four years of private college now costs roughly 1/4 to 1/3 million dollars or more…per child. So unless you have over half a million dollars of equity in your home, that’s not gonna fly either for your two kids. (Yes, I know that NYC homes frequently DO have that much equity, but other than here, the SF Bay Area, & maybe Honolulu, where else do people have that kind of equity in their homes?) 

Put another way, for Syracuse Freshmen in 1976, four years of college would cost less than $30,000. A teacher or an accountant–classic middle-class careers–could expect to earn close to $20,000/year upon graduation–roughly 2/3 of the total cost of their bachelor’s degree in their first year of employment. Not a bad investment for 40 years of employment and subsequent salary increases. The American Dream lived on. Nowadays, that four year investment is over $250,000, for a salary that is likely to be closer to $50,000. (Why) would you make that investment?

The fact is, college costs are out of control! And since we are a nation that has essentially/effectively given up on manufacturing as its main industry and job provider, then we’d damn well better find a way to educate our kids, doncha think?

Some schools get it. Utica College, for example, cut its tuition by over 40% a few years ago: http://fortune.com/2015/09/22/utica-college-tuition-cut/  But that is a rare exception (though one we should make sure to note, and commend). But from where I sit, the overwhelming majority of private schools have spiraled out of control, as far as their tuition and fees are concerned. So, no matter how much lip service they give to “wanting to create an economically and socially diverse campus,” if we don’t find a way to close the gap between cost and aid, private college will remain a classic case of Have’s-vs-Have-Not’s…with essentially only the Have’s getting a chance to participate.

Maybe I’m missing something. Maybe it’s not as bad as I think. Maybe there’s a plethora of high-quality, affordable private colleges that I just haven’t heard about (very possible–there are over 2,000 four-year colleges in America–surely I don’t know all of them). Maybe there are huge, non-governmental sources of scholarships/grants (not loans) that pick up the tab for college. Or maybe we just have to make even more of the public schools–the SUNYs, CUNYs, & Rutgers’ of the world (not just the Michigan’s, UT Austin’s and UCLAs)–even more competitive, academically, so they continue to become increasingly attractive options for everyone, including the highest-performing students. (Or, maybe we’re already just royally screwed!) Please, let me hear what you think, and what you have experienced. I don’t mean to throw out a problem with no hope for, or discussion of, a solution. Let’s talk about it and try to find some ways to deal with it! This blog isn’t meant to be just all/only about my thoughts. What say ye?

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Dec 16, 2018 – My latest NY Giants off-season suggestions

Each week during the NFL season, I plan to add at least one post about the NY Giants. Yes, we still, technically, have a chance to make the playoffs this year. But the odds are overwhelmingly against it. This week’s foe, the Titans, are a good team, an actual “possible playoff team.” I’m hoping we lose a close game to them, which would officially eliminate us from playoff contention, and allow us to turn the page on this season. Then we can start Kyle Lauletta at QB next week against the Colts, and maybe have him split the Week 17 game (against Dallas) with Eli for what may be Eli’s last game as a Giant. We need to see what Kyle has going on, and that brief audition last week ( 0 for 5 w/an INT) didn’t do much to impress. And we could use some help to secure a better draft spot, so let’s root for the: Falcons, Bengals, Lions, Jags, Packers & Panthers. 

The key to next year, however, is the off-season/free agency period. There are some moves that we simply HAVE to make:

Step 1: Sign a QB–ideally, Teddy Bridgewater. There should be a decent crop to choose from. Potentially, we could also be looking at: Andy Dalton, Joe Flacco, Tyrod Taylor, Nick Foles, Derek Carr, Sam Bradford and yes, Colin Kaepernick as viable, available options. 

Step 2: Sign free agents: Rodger Saffold, Rams/LG, we simply HAVE to have him! He’s an All-Pro, and only 31 yrs old, and all it takes is money to get him. Daryl Williams, Panthers/RT would be nice too. Gettleman has a relationship with Williams (b/c Gettleman drafted Daryl while he was Carolina’s GM). And re-sign our own Spencer Pulley (RFA) and Jamon Brown (UFA) for depth.

Step 3: Trade for Rodney Hudson, Raiders/C. Possibly the best pass-blocking Center in the NFL–certainly in the top 3. Solder-Saffold-Hudson-Hernandez-Williams would be, arguably, the best O-line in the NFL, especially at pass-pro. That would allow us to bring Eli back, whether or not we get Teddy B. (It will actually make it a LOT easier to convince any QB to come play here.) And it will open holes for Saquon, on both sides of the line–imagine how great he can be with holes to run through, and when we don’t always to have to run traps off right guard! It also frees up the draft to be all about the D!

Step 4 – The draft: as I’ve said in earlier posts, there are several top-notch pass rushers coming out this year. There’s also a couple of fast, good-sized, solid tackling ILBs, and, a couple of really good DBs.

I want at least one of each!

We can get 3 of the top 10-12 picks, and maybe another 2nd-rounder, if we’re willing to let go of, say, 8 to 10 of the 25 picks (but not our first two this year) from the next three years’ drafts, plus a few current players. Olivier, Evan, Jack Rabbit, Sterling, Kareem, Rhett Ellison and Spencer Pulley probably have the most trade value (of the players I think we can afford to part with). I’d trade any/all of them, plus several draft picks, for any 6 or more of the following 12 players: Nick Bosa, Josh Allen, Dwayne Haskins, Devin White, Greedy Williams, DeAndre Baker, Juan Thornhill, Dalton Risner, Byron Murphy, Mack Wilson, Te’Von Coney and Germaine Pratt (in that order, pending their combine results, of course). Theoretically, we will draft two of these players with our own picks, so we should only need to trade for 4 of them. But the more of them we can get, the better!

Pull the trigger, Mr. Gettleman, and get us back into the hunt for a meaningful February!  Well, that’s how I see it. What say y’all?

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Dec 14, 2018 – more thoughts about music

I am both saddened and inspired by the passing of a legend, one of my late mother’s favorite singers, 3-time Grammy winner, Nancy Wilson. She was such a classy song stylist (for those old enough to remember that phrase). No need for background dancers or auto-tune. Her incredible voice–pristine and pure, the vocal gymnastics in her phrasing, fresh and surprising, yet comfortable and easily assimilated, were more than enough of a focal point. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wj05EY2aP7I     To think that she was what passed for “pop culture” in her day (she won her first Grammy as Best New Artist). She was a throwback to a time when talent was the fastball, and “marketability” was the changeup    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7CjL__M9Y1g       and to see what passes for such nowadays…saddens me even more. How far the mighty have fallen. Well, at least for the moment, we still have Marlena Shaw…  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7XIKBf5mQOM   

I work with high school students every day. So I hear them talk about their music–and laugh at mine–all the time. Which is fine, I don’t expect them to like what I like. Just as I certainly didn’t expect my parents to necessarily like the same music I liked as a teenager. But there are a few major differences in the distance between this generation and its predecessors, compared to my generation and that of my parents, that concerns me.

First of all, I was very familiar with, respected, and even liked my parents’ music. I just liked my music even more. No one had to twist my arm to listen to Ella, or Sarah, or Duke, or Satchmo, or Miles, or Trane. I wasn’t forced to listen to Sam Cooke, or Nat King Cole, or to the Platters, or the Drifters, or Chuck Berry, or Little Richard. I just thought that the Jackson 5, then Sly Stone/Graham Central Station, and onto the Hancock/Zawinul/Corea & jazz fusion era, and eventually, P-Funk, and finally, Prince, were cooler! But try to get a 15-year old today to listen to anything made before last Thursday, and you get a frown!  🙂  There is no appreciation for anything that came before their musical knowledge base began forming. That’s not good!

Secondly, as much as my parents may have believed my music to be inferior to theirs, they never doubted my music’s musicality or talent. They didn’t always like it, but they respected it. Because there was unquestioned talent in the music of the late-60s, and all through the 70s and into the mid-80s (after which I essentially checked out from listening to new music). You, like my mother did, may like Sarah Vaughan  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wDZ8jRbBjy8   more than Chaka Khan,  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9MGIvfQuxU4  but you wouldn’t presume to say that Chaka couldn’t blow! You may prefer Charles Mingus,  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sxz9eZ1Aons   but you couldn’t deny that Jaco was a bad mutha-plucka!   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nsZ_1mPOuyk  (and yes, that is all Jaco, in one take, on fretless electric bass–no other instrument or overdub is on that song). But teenagers nowadays don’t have very much that I can honestly say I want to hear more than once. Most of their music, well, isn’t actually music! (As in, “no musical instruments were harmed in the making of this record.”) That’s just a fact, and again…not good!

Third, teenagers (and Millenials in general) don’t have any idea who even makes the music that they listen to! This may be the most important, yet subtle, problem I have with “today’s music.” The delivery system. When I used to buy an album, it had lyric sheets, photos, and liner notes. I could, and did, read all about the record: who sang background but wasn’t really in the band; who played percussion on track #6 on Side B (ask your grandparents what “Side B” means); who engineered the record; who played strings on that one “artsy” song that never gets played on the radio, etc, etc. And I drank that stuff in like the last glass of water in the Sahara! Yes, I knew who played strings on Kool & the Gang’s 1974 album, “Light of World’s” (Noel Pointer), and who played horns on “Wanna Be Startin’ Somethin'” (the Seawind horn section: Williams, Hey, Grant & Reichenbach). And yes, when my son was a baby, we used to play this song for him to put him to bed: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AqsUncppEkk&index=3&list=PLNJzEjGDW2irAyw18ZqiFL7So_bBlu2dE  And yes, the first time I heard it, I said to my wife, “Those two guitar solos are by Carlos Santana.” She couldn’t believe that I could be so sure after one listen to a song I’d obviously never heard before. But I know Carlos’s style and sound so well that I had no doubt I was right (I was.) What’s my point? That people my age appreciate and relate to musicians, not just songs. For us, music is more experiential, more tangible, more interactive…and that matters.

Today, young people don’t ever actually own the music they listen to. They pay for a streaming service that rarely/barely tells you the name of the act/artist/band, much less the side musicians, songwriters, etc. So how are kids supposed to have any knowledge of who plays what, who can really sing, much less harmonize in the background, who writes clever lyrics, whose guitar sound they want to hear more of, when they only hear the songs and never learn anything about the songs? Couple that with the almost complete removal of musical instrument instruction from most public schools, and you have a generation who has no appreciation for how hard…but rewarding…it is to play an instrument (as opposed to a laptop). So where would they even get the impetus to study things like liner notes? When would it dawn on them that one could actually know things like: who wrote the lyrics to a song, or who (if anyone) played bass and guitar on some songs, but not other songs, on an album, or what specific synthesizers were used on each song, or on who played drums on a recording from a live performance? Or who sang background on Stevie Wonder’s “Creepin” on  the Grammy-winning album, Fullfilingness’ First Finale (Maya Rudolph’s late mom, Minnie Riperton). Or why any of that matters. But it does matter.  And like many other things that matter, it’s nearing extinction. Just sayin’…

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Dec 12 – Just sayin’ :)

Some Americans are known for being harsh and even cruel to people who struggle with our language, despite being, arguably, the largest population of people who only speak one language on the planet. Yes, we make fun of people who have a hard time with this, their second or third language, when we have a hard time mastering it, and it’s our only language. That’s arrogance on another level, of course, but it also overlooks just how hard this ridiculous language (I call it “American,” not English, because Brits speak something similar but not quite interchangeable) is to learn, especially later in life.  

Here are a few examples of things that would never happen in, say, Spanish. These words rhyme:  prey, gray, weigh, filet, and Renee. So do these–crew, due, two, too, to, shoe, and through. (By the way, go, toe, and though, also rhyme, just not with that last group.) You get the point. And I don’t know what’s up with all of those “sneaky” P words: Pneumonia, Pseudonym, Psoriasis, Psychology,  Pterodactyl, and Ptolemy, or those “subtle” N  words–I was gonna say “lazy” N words, but thought better of it,  🙂  words like: Gnarly, Gnaw, Knead, Knight,  Knob, Mnemonic, and again, Pneumonia and Pterodactyl, which proudly make both lists. 

Then there’s the fact that pitted means without pits, but salted means with salt (and I’m not sure what fitted means.) Taking a crap means leaving one behind, but giving a crap means, well, holding on to your feelings. Resign means you quit, but re-sign means you re-joined. And flammable means catches fire easily, but inflammable means…wait for it…catches fire easily! Then of course, “genius” has no “O,” but “ingenious” does?! That’s disingenuous, no? 🙂

In fact, the main reason I liked Math more than English in school was because Math rules rarely break, but English rules, well, they’re more like guidelines than rules, as in, “I before E, we-e-e-ll, except after C, oh, or when sounding like A, as in neighbor, or weigh…or on fourth Thursdays that don’t follow the fourth Wednesday, or…” 

So, before we judge the intelligence of, or make fun of, someone from another continent–someone who probably speaks two or three languages just fine, thank you, for struggling with speaking American, let’s remember just what an unbelievably hard language it is! 

My point? That maybe we shouldn’t be so hard on people who A) almost definitely speak more languages than we do, and B) had to learn this ridiculous language just to be able to speak to us. Just sayin’…

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Dec 10 – Crossing The Great Divide?

I wonder sometimes (oftentimes, actually) about where we are headed as a country. I’m sure every generation probably felt this way, but it seems to me that the pendulum is swinging wider and farther than ever before. Again, my guess is that people who had elected JFK & LBJ were kind of surprised to see Nixon win next. And the Reagan-Papa Bush years were followed by Bill Clinton–no doubt much to the Right’s chagrin & surprise. But Obama-to-Trump seems like the biggest, most dizzying “mood swing” in recent U.S. history. The questions I have are…how, and…why? And what can be done about it? How and why did a country where over 65 million people voted for Obama…twice…immediately thereafter produce 60 million votes for, essentially, his polar opposite? Of course, 63 million people voted for Hillary, but still, that’s a lot of people voting against the Hillary/Obama end of the spectrum all of a sudden, isn’t it? Or…is it?

Maybe what we’re learning is that there really are about 40% of us entrenched on each end of the spectrum–the Hatfields and the McCoys–and the side that temporarily motivates/persuades 11% in the middle wins each election. Maybe “The 40’s” on either end are so far apart, living within their respective bubbles, that they can’t find common ground on much of anything anymore.  From where I sit, that sounds sad, maybe even dangerous–but it seems like the reality nowadays–that there’s no middle ground for The 40’s in America anymore…just bubbles on each end. 

What can we do about it? How do we bridge perception gaps that are so wide that we can barely see, much less hear, the other side?

For example: House Republicans voted to repeal the Affordable Care Act over 50 times while Obama was President (when, essentially, actually repealing it was impossible). But since Obama left office, people on the Right have come out in droves to their town hall meetings to prevent their elected officials from over-turning “Obama-care” (the ACA). Has that realization of common ground–saving a health care plan that benefits nearly everyone–brought “The 40’s” any closer together? Not that I can see.

The Environment: So, raise your hand if you want clean air and water, for you and for your children? Raise it again if you’re against melting the polar ice caps that will cause flooding all along the coastal regions–some of the most heavily-populated locations in the country/world. Not a tough sell, right? So, why do we let people get us caught up in the false narrative  about whether Mankind is causing climate change? Mankind can obviously help fix climate change–and needs to, for its own survival, and that’s all that matters, isn’t it? The clean air & water, the reduction in the melting of the polar ice caps, the new jobs in burgeoning new renewable energy industries (jobs that, in most cases, can’t be out-sourced/shipped overseas), these are all things that benefit both 40s. Again, common ground is there, we just have to find a way to get to it. 

Gun Control: Polls (not that I usually trust polls, but these numbers are undeniable) show that the overwhelming majority–over 80% of Americans–even among NRA members–want there to be some semblance of restrictions: on assault weapons, on who can purchase guns, w/age, mental health status, “No Fly” lists, and criminal records being just a few of the reasonable restrictions we all seem to agree on, and, on what types of ammunition and gun accessories should be outlawed. But can we come to enough agreement to push elected officials towards actually enacting legislation to do these things? Can we, the voters on/from both sides of the aisle, put aside our differences for a moment and draft a list of demands that we can each hold our candidates to (similar to the Grover Nordquist “No New Taxes” pledge, but with, you know, some rational, universally-beneficial reasoning this time) with regard to common sense gun control limits?  I mean, there are 535 elected officials in the two Houses of Congress, representing 330 million of us. If we don’t have 1,070 people (a candidate from each major party for each office) who will each pledge to set reasonable limits on guns, then let’s get a new set of 1,070, until we do! “All” it would seem to take is a pledge across the aisle–from Hatfield to McCoy–that “I won’t vote for mine if you won’t vote for yours”..until we find two candidates in every race who will vote the way we tell them to on this issue! But again, that’s not possible in a world of two bubbles where the bubble inhabitants never speak to each other. Not possible if we’re just “40’s.”

So, what can we do to fix this…short of splitting into two countries? How do we find a way forward that takes the long view–that we’re not only better off when we find common ground, but that the whole Hatfield/McCoy, “40s in separate bubbles” mentality is actually more likely to make both sides lose, than to make one side win. (Remember, when we’re not just hanging with our 40, we are all much more alike than we are different.) So, where are they–these solutions–these centrist candidates–these mutually-beneficial ideas? We need them to step forward. Or is the gap already too wide to even recognize a solution if it was presented? Tell me, what do you think?…

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Dec 8, 2018 – another NY Giants rant

So, we play the Washington Football Team tmrw (I refuse to use that other name). As of now, we would have the 8th pick in the 2019 NFL draft. Not terrible, but we can do better (as in, by doing worse the rest of the year). So, let’s go Washington! Just this once.

The good news: a lot of teams that are ranked below or right near us, play each other in the next few weeks.  We have 4 wins–so do six other teams. In fact, only four teams have fewer than 4 wins right now. But by next Monday, several of the teams with fewer than 5 wins right now, will have played each other. That should help our positioning in the draft.

I’m also looking forward to a close, hard-fought loss to the Titans next week, hopefully with Kyle Lauletta at the helm for us. I love me some Eli, and I think he can still do the job (IF we fix the O-line next year), but if we’re 4 & 9 after tmrw–& clearly eliminated from any hopes of playoff contention–then why not give the rookie QB a chance, to see what he’s got? Eli can still start the last home game (Week 17 against Dallas) and get his well-deserved send-off from the fans, but for now, we need to see whether Lauletta has the goods.

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Dec 7, 2018 – What’s all the fuss about musical instruments?

Some of you have heard my thoughts about this before. The rest of you are welcome to hear them now and weigh in with your take. I’ll try to be brief, but I will start with some analogies…Eggo’s, and TV dinners. To be clear, I wuv me some Eggo’s! A day does not have to start any better than for me to wake up to the smell of Eggo’s popping up in a toaster. And I can’t tell you how many nights I settled down with a Swanson TV dinner while I was in college…and throughout my 20’s! (If I was smart, I’d’ve bough some stock in both companies, since, I was essentially keeping them afloat anyway!) So, I am not dissing either beloved product when I say the following: “making” Eggo’s and Swanson’s IS NOT COOKING!” A meal has been had, sure. A pleasant meal at that! But back then, if I were to have told a new date that I can really cook, and I brought her home with me, and my examples were Swanson’s for dinner, (with plans for Eggo’s for breakfast), she would’ve given me some serious, and well-deserved side-eye…and very little else. 🙂

Well, that’s exactly how I feel about “music” that doesn’t have any actual musical instruments in it. It can be enjoyable, sure. Please don’t misunderstand me. I would never presume to tell you what to listen to or enjoy! But it’s simply not music! Music happens on musical instruments (including one’s vocal chords, which are, well, at least can be, instruments). Those (typically/usually) young-uns who select downloadable, pre-sampled tracks from a laptop as their “beats” and then rap (or otherwise “vocalize”) over them are not making music any more than my TV dinners was cooking. Again, I’m not saying they shouldn’t “make beats” if that makes them happy. Making Eggo’s makes me happy. But let’s call it what it is, because , while all music is sound, not all sound is music. (Mic drop…)

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Dec 5, 2018 – Renewable Energy – an overview

Environmentalist Post:

I am a big believer in renewable energy. For several reasons:

  • They don’t contribute as directly or severely to climate change
  • They are a new industry that will create incredible employment opportunities as we re-vamp our infrastructure to accommodate them
  • They are, well, you know, renewable! Not like the fossil fools…um, I meant, fuels, that are clearly limited in supply, extremely costly to find and access, and oftentimes require destruction of Nature just to bring them to market (not to mention the whole, you know, burning]

So I plan to speak about renewables fairly often, both from an economic, and a social reform perspective. One thing I hope to convey is how readily we could make this switch if we really wanted to. For example, less than a 150×150-square-mile plot of land in, say, New Mexico dedicated to solar energy would generate enough electricity to power the entire country!

Now, I’m not saying that such a plan is feasible. First of all, we’d have to get the electricity out of New Mexico, and to the rest of the country. Not an easy task. But the point is, it wouldn’t take very much physical land and space, spread throughout the country, to re-invent just how we create and distribute electricity. In fact, it would take just over half the land than we already allot/lease to the oil and gas industry. It also, ironically, would be roughly the same size as the Mojave Desert in California—which certainly has no shortage of sunshine!

Don’t take my word for any of this. You can find links to evidence for these last two paragraphs here:

http://www.freeingenergy.com/how-much-solar-would-it-take-to-power-the-u-s/

or here:

https://www.sierraclub.org/sierra/ask-mr-green/how-much-space-would-it-take-solar-power-united-states

or here:

https://www.inverse.com/article/34239-how-many-solar-panels-to-power-the-usa

And then there’s the actual pollution reduction argument. Here’s something to read about that: https://www.vox.com/energy-and-environment/2017/8/18/16160456/wind-solar-power-saving-money

And here: https://phys.org/news/2017-06-money-potential-solar-coal.html

And here: https://www.solarpowerauthority.com/how-solar-power-can-improve-air-quality-in-urban-areas/

(To be clear, I do not receive any compensation for directing you to these sites. They, in fact, have no idea that I am doing so. I just think it’s the right thing to do.)

Our country has a plethora of laws, regulations, incentives, and policies regarding renewable energy.

https://www.solarpowerrocks.com/2017-state-solar-power-rankings/

Each state, at the very least, has its own laws on the matter. Many smaller municipalities do, as well. Here is a database that attempts to list/explain some of those differences on a state-by-state basis:

http://www.dsireusa.org/

One of my contentions is that, like charter schools, these state laws should be used as test cases, searching for best practices. New Jersey has had (but will soon end) an SREC program.

https://www.renewableenergyworld.com/ugc/articles/2018/08/29/new-jersey-bill-to-close-srec-program-increase-solar-rps.html

Wisconsin allows people to produce as much solar energy as they can/want to, and guarantees that the grid will purchase all of it from you at competitive rates (most states, like NY, only allow you to produce enough to offset your own bill. If you produce any more then you’re required to give it to the provider “for free.”)

https://www.solarpowerrocks.com/wisconsin/#incentives

What seems most obvious is that there are drastically different incentives and priorities from state to state with regard to renewable energy. We can learn from many of them, if we pay attention, and decide which ones worked best. Maybe we can find 3 or 4 successful ways to increase our renewable energy production regionally, rather than 50 separate initiatives that are unaware of anyone else’s results or track record? Just a thought…

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Dec 3, 2018 – Sports post

Sports Post – December 3, 2018

 

So, the Giants continue to toy with my emotions. Part of me wants them to win every game…a big part of me. But the realist in me says that if you’re not going to make the playoffs—and we’re not—then you might as well get the best possible draft position for next year…which means losing a lot of games this year (which worked out wonderfully for us last year—no chance Saquon Barkley falls much farther than the #3 or #4 pick). But yesterday’s game vs the Bears was just a brutal emotional roller-coaster! Would it kill us to just put a team away one week, with a solid, wire-to-wire consistent effort on both sides of the ball? To have both lines play well for 60 minutes, and to be able to relax enough to maybe even get Lauletta in for a series or two? Or, to play so badly from the outset that we are hopelessly behind in the middle of the 3rd quarter, again, so that Lauletta can get some “burn?” (also thereby moving us one step closer to a top 5 or 6 draft position)? Apparently neither of those are in the cards for us this year. Instead, we have to suffer through a battle down to the wire each week, torn between which outcome to root for, and pissed at our inability to get any pressure on an opponent’s QB when it counts the most. And as a result, we still have no idea if Lauletta can help us in the future.

 

And, much as I hate to say it (because he’s been our best defensive player for 3 years now), Landon Collins has lost a step…or 3…in terms of covering receivers. He needs to be moved to LB, where his tacking prowess (which has ALSO taken a slight dip this year, btw) can be emphasized, but his lack of coverage speed can be hidden. I’d be happy to have him replace Kareem Martin or BJ Goodson at LB, both of whom he is faster than, and tackles just as well as, so that we can trade one of them (if not both) for another draft pick. If we can use our glut of lower-round picks to trade up for a second 1st-Round pick (after the one we already have) and get Deionte Thompson, that would help a LOT on the back end in pass coverage. I wouldn’t want to use our first 1st-round pick on him though, unless we’re not picking in the top 8 – 10. Because the top 8 – 10 should still have a great D-lineman (the list being: Nick Bosa, Ed Oliver, Quinnen Williams, Josh Allen, or Jachai Polite), or, one of the 2 great O-linemen: Jonah Williams or Dalton Risner, or, one of the three elite ILBs (Devin White, Devin Bush, or Mack Wilson), any one of whom would be more important to us than a safety like Thompson would be. If we fall down to 11 or 12 (or worse), and those guys are all gone, but Thompson is still there, then fine. I think I’d even consider Thompson over Greedy Williams, the top-rated CB, but that’s a close call. (A CB can conceivably lock down the opponent’s best receiver, but a FS can help out in coverage all over the field.) But I don’t want a QB (unless Dwayne Haskins declares) No one else in this class seems like a lock to be great, and we need GREAT players from our first few picks. We have too many holes to pass up greatness at one position (O-line, D-line, DBs or LBs) for eventual/possible slight improvement at another (QB). So, Dwayne Haskins (if he comes out), then: D-line, O-line, LB, DB. See you in Nashville in April!  (Next up: free agency…)