By Nick
The debate between and around Souhan vs. The Bloggers may have been downgraded to a Category 1 or even a Tropical Depression at this point, but I still have some thoughts on it.
I'm not going to re-hash the details. There are good points on both sides, and there were displays of unprofessionalism on both sides as the thing peaked.
I've been a blogger around the Wild scene for a long time, at least relative to the history of blogging, and the lifespan of the Wild blogging scene. What took the wind out of my sails was the realization that game or team "coverage", without access, wasn't going to provide any additional value above what the actual pros who were covering the team with access provide. And, at that point, all I had was opinions.
There's nothing wrong with that. But I ran out of opinions about the Wild that I wanted to explore via the majesty of the written word. Maybe some of that is because the Wild has played out the same performance arc for what seems like every season since PariSuter appeared on the scene. That set list of opinions just became different shades of the same color. Or reruns of the same episode with different commercials. But some of it also was due to a growing feeling that I was simply singing the same song over and over again. I would have gotten bored reading someone else singing the same song over and over again, I assumed people were getting bored with me for doing it.
Here's where I come down on this debate:
There are circumstances in which what I want to read about the team will be enhanced by the author having (and using) access to the team. Quotes - better to be able to read what a player/coach/GM actually said, as opposed to what someone imagined they might have said. Informed analysis about team strategy/thinking/actions. That kind of thing. Insider stuff.
But there's also a time when what I want to read about the team would not necessarily be enhanced by the author having/using access to the team. Ruminating on trades. The efficacy of the GM. That kind of thing. We're all armchair QBs. That is part of being a fan. I'm generally willing to read someone else's armchair QB analysis/opinions. But you just have to accept that, if that's all you're doing - armchair QBing - then you're just putting forth your opinion. Which is totally fine. Where I think some glorified armchair QBs (read bloggers) get ahead of themselves is when they lose sight of the line between informed analysis and uninformed armchair QBing.
What has really blurred that line is the emergence of analytics. Now you can "know" things about team and player performance without even watching the game - as long as you can compile the data after the game. And, once you know things, you can blog about them, presenting them as analysis without need of access.
I feel like I'm right smack dab in the middle of the analytics acceptance spectrum. But the critical juncture for me is the perversion/engineering of statistical metrics analysis that goes on. As soon as your process becomes coming up with a theory and then hunting and pecking for statistics that confirm your theory, and then claim that your theory is fact - as opposed to coming up with a theory and then invoking the sports analysis version of the scientific method to prove - or disprove - that theory, accepting whatever the outcome is, you're done. You've got nothing.
In hockey, stats/60, extrapolated to indicate greater value for 3rd and 4th line forwards, or bottom-three defensemen, is one of those things to me. You simply cannot say that a player who performs at a certain level while receiving an average of a handful of minutes of ice time, would continue to perform at that same level if their ice time increased. You can't. I'm not saying you can't run the math. You obviously can. You just can't make the blanket assertion that actual performance would follow the mathematical extrapolation. Not if you know anything about how hockey is played. Not if you're aware that, as a fourth-liner, so-and-so gets materially less time on the ice against the opposition's better defensemen than he or she would if he or she was a 1st or 2nd liner, for example. And, if you don't know that, you shouldn't be writing about hockey in the first place.
That kind of analysis leads people to claim breath taking things like "so-and-so fourth liner performs at the level of so-and-so star player, on a /60 basis. Ergo sum, so-and-so fourth liner is under-utilized, and probably under-paid. And so-and-so GM and so-and-so coach is an idiot for not realizing that and either paying or playing so-and-so fourth liner more." Every bit of the foregoing has been written by hockey bloggers among the analytics/non-access set. One thing that having access does for the pros is it enables them not to have to resort to such Tom Foolery.
I don't think access is the only criteria by which to judge sports writers. I don't think access gives sports writers licence to claim superiority over those without access. But it does lend credibility to what they're saying, if not how they say it. Credibility that the rest of us don't have. We can voice our opinions. But we shouldn't lose sight of the fact that that's all they are: opinions.
As always, we want to hear your thoughts on this topic on our message board.
Showing posts with label And Another Thing. Show all posts
Showing posts with label And Another Thing. Show all posts
Thursday, September 7, 2017
Monday, January 23, 2017
And Another Thing: Drive-thrus are not for me, and no, I don’t want a meal
I won’t make it a big secret that I prefer the convenience of picking up some dinner at a restaurant rather than cook at home. I don’t mind cooking; it’s really just the time factor that gets in the way. Oh, and the planning. Trying to figure out what to do for dinner at 6:14 p.m. isn’t ideal for cooking up some creation on the stove.
So anyway, I eat out a lot. Sure it’s unhealthy and isn’t helping me trim my figure, but it’s just a reality. Which brings me to the topic: Ordering fast food.
First of all, I always walk into the establishment to order my food. I park my vehicle in the parking lot, physically exit, walk into the building and step up to the counter to place my order. Is this exhausting? No. But apparently fast food is even more convenient if you order in the drive-thru lane. I know I’m probably in the minority here, but drive-thrus are just dumb to me.
Is it really that much quicker when there’s 10 cars in line? Then you often have to sit there past the window and wait for someone to deliver the food to your car anyway. (I also do not understand why people eating their parked cars in the parking lot is a thing. Just go inside and sit at a table! Or go home and eat!) The other side though, from a person that orders inside, is that the drive-thru can slow things down at the counter. I’ve waited to have my order taken while the drive-thru gets serviced first, or so it seems.
It’s also expanded to drug stores and banks. My family and I make jokes about what else could have a drive-thru setup, making it easier for lazy people to never have to leave their cars. “I’d drive into the building if I could,” we say, in a sing-song voice.
My apologies if you prefer using drive-thrus and don’t consider yourself a lazy human being. Like I acknowledged, I know I’m probably in the minority here.
Here’s the other thing about these joints that really grinds my gears: Meals. The old saying about fast food places was: “Would you like fries with that?” Well, that’s turned into: “Would you like a meal?” I don’t know who started it, but every menu board has a numbered list of meal options, the main food item with a side/fries and then a drink. What a deal! You’ll probably save 29 cents or something, too.
It’s like a reflex for workers to ask this question, even before you’re done ordering in some cases. I know what I want. When I ask for a cheeseburger and a medium drink, it means I don’t want any fries so why would I order a meal? I'm also not completely against these meals; I'll get them sometimes.
My dad ordered a cheeseburger, medium fries and a drink at McDonald’s recently. Right away, the fella asked about a meal. And then: “Well, the meal comes with two cheeseburgers, is that OK?” Um, no. He didn’t want TWO cheeseburgers. One unhealthy patty with melted cheese is enough.
I’m a fan of Arby’s, mostly for the curly fries. I’ll often order a sandwich with the snack-size fries, because it’s only $1 for the fries and there’s less of them, so it’s a way of tricking myself into thinking I’m not being as unhealthy as I could be if I get the larger order with a meal. Of course, ordering this way will usually get me the meal question.
This all may seem super petty and stupid, but that’s why this is filed under the “And another thing” category. Feel free to tell me in the comments why drive-thrus and fast-food meals are amazing.
Full disclosure: I have not worked in one of these drive-thru establishments, so maybe I shouldn’t be complaining about something when I don’t know the process firsthand. More power to those that do this work. But this is a blog, so I’ll share my opinion about it.
Now I’ll go order my single cheeseburger with a small fries. No, I don’t want a meal.
Please join us in the message boards to discuss this article, and everything else.
So anyway, I eat out a lot. Sure it’s unhealthy and isn’t helping me trim my figure, but it’s just a reality. Which brings me to the topic: Ordering fast food.
First of all, I always walk into the establishment to order my food. I park my vehicle in the parking lot, physically exit, walk into the building and step up to the counter to place my order. Is this exhausting? No. But apparently fast food is even more convenient if you order in the drive-thru lane. I know I’m probably in the minority here, but drive-thrus are just dumb to me.
Is it really that much quicker when there’s 10 cars in line? Then you often have to sit there past the window and wait for someone to deliver the food to your car anyway. (I also do not understand why people eating their parked cars in the parking lot is a thing. Just go inside and sit at a table! Or go home and eat!) The other side though, from a person that orders inside, is that the drive-thru can slow things down at the counter. I’ve waited to have my order taken while the drive-thru gets serviced first, or so it seems.
It’s also expanded to drug stores and banks. My family and I make jokes about what else could have a drive-thru setup, making it easier for lazy people to never have to leave their cars. “I’d drive into the building if I could,” we say, in a sing-song voice.
My apologies if you prefer using drive-thrus and don’t consider yourself a lazy human being. Like I acknowledged, I know I’m probably in the minority here.
Here’s the other thing about these joints that really grinds my gears: Meals. The old saying about fast food places was: “Would you like fries with that?” Well, that’s turned into: “Would you like a meal?” I don’t know who started it, but every menu board has a numbered list of meal options, the main food item with a side/fries and then a drink. What a deal! You’ll probably save 29 cents or something, too.
It’s like a reflex for workers to ask this question, even before you’re done ordering in some cases. I know what I want. When I ask for a cheeseburger and a medium drink, it means I don’t want any fries so why would I order a meal? I'm also not completely against these meals; I'll get them sometimes.
My dad ordered a cheeseburger, medium fries and a drink at McDonald’s recently. Right away, the fella asked about a meal. And then: “Well, the meal comes with two cheeseburgers, is that OK?” Um, no. He didn’t want TWO cheeseburgers. One unhealthy patty with melted cheese is enough.
I’m a fan of Arby’s, mostly for the curly fries. I’ll often order a sandwich with the snack-size fries, because it’s only $1 for the fries and there’s less of them, so it’s a way of tricking myself into thinking I’m not being as unhealthy as I could be if I get the larger order with a meal. Of course, ordering this way will usually get me the meal question.
This all may seem super petty and stupid, but that’s why this is filed under the “And another thing” category. Feel free to tell me in the comments why drive-thrus and fast-food meals are amazing.
Full disclosure: I have not worked in one of these drive-thru establishments, so maybe I shouldn’t be complaining about something when I don’t know the process firsthand. More power to those that do this work. But this is a blog, so I’ll share my opinion about it.
Now I’ll go order my single cheeseburger with a small fries. No, I don’t want a meal.
Please join us in the message boards to discuss this article, and everything else.
Sunday, January 1, 2017
And Another Thing: They Forgot Never Forget
By Nick
I lived in Westchester County, just outside NYC, on 9/11/01. I don't really want to re-hash the day. I'm fortunate I wasn't in the city yet that morning when all hell broke loose, and that I wasn't more directly impacted by what happened than I was.
All told, I lived in the NYC metro area for six years. I commuted into and out of NYC for five and a half of them. I grew up in Minnesota, which really couldn't be more dissimilar to NYC apart from that fact that both are in the United States. I love New York City. It really is a hell of a town. While the several months directly after 9/11 were terrible in many ways (the smoking, stinking pit a constant reminder of terrorism and a symbol of impending change in our lives), they were also some of the best of my time there, for one reason: the change in the people.
New Yorkers are not known for their niceness. They can exhibit kindnesses. But they cultivate and celebrate their brusqueness and arrogance. I suppose that's what happens to the native populations of massive metropolises. For a midwestern kid from sleepy St. Paul, there was a bit of culture shock when I first got to the city (which is another demonstration of the arrogance of New Yorkers. They refer to NYC as simply The City, as if it is the only one that matters and thus no further specification is required).
The constant cacophonous bleating - of people, of car horns, it's truly omni-present - the congestion, the jaywalking, the incessant assault on one's senses from every direction. Once you acclimate to it, it's intoxicating and habit-forming. To tap into the vascular system of a city like New York is to throw yourself into a constant roller-coaster ride of culture, craziness, and action.
But it is still a living, breathing organism. And it took quite a blow to the system on 9/11. And it reacted in a very human way: by embracing its own humanity. People in NYC became nice. Holding the door for the person behind you. Saying please and thank you. Slowing down to look around as if to remind oneself that one does in fact live in this amazing place, amidst a wonderful confluence of history and modernity - at least the parts that hadn't just been reduced to a charnel house nightmare. It was a great time to be in the city - finally a side of New Yorkers that the midwestern kid from sleepy St. Paul could relate to.
Every year since then, when the calendar turns over to September, and the remembrances and tributes marking the anniversary of that dark day start ramping up, New Yorkers are understandably right in the middle of things. In fact, it's become sort of a rallying cry. To the point where "Never Forget" is administered as a sort of test of one's patriotism. Like a challenge coin that New Yorkers carry around in their pockets all year, but only pull out during the first half of September. If you can respond by showing yours, you pass the test. If not, you may be a terrorist, and you for sure don't respect and honor the dead, their families, and the still-suffering. I don't really have a problem with that. You go through that ordeal, you probably have a right to get worked up about it when the anniversary rolls around.
I do have a problem with the way New Yorkers act the rest of the year, though. The average encounter with the average New Yorker from October through August is awful. They aren't just back to being tough, brusque city dwellers. They've gone so far around the bend of entitlement and arrogance as to represent the depths of civilized society on a daily basis. I saw a woman walking through the city, with headphones on, reading a book. Like looking down at the book she was reading, while she was walking. Just stop and think about the level of arrogance and entitlement one must attain in order to get to a place where that kind of behavior is acceptable. She honestly thought she was the only person in the world. That everyone else should have to get out of her way for no other reason than she was simply that important. Fuck you.
It is offensive to me for New Yorkers who act like animals from October through August to then get all frothed up in righteous indignity over 9/11. You act like you have completely forgotten 9/11 for 364, and then have the balls to yell at the world to Never Forget on the one other day? You shame the memory of those who were lost. You shame the struggles of those who lost. You shame yourselves for taking a horrific, terrible thing, that became an opportunity to do something beautiful and really fight back against the agents of terror, and pissing all over it most of the time and making an absolute joke of it that one other day.
New Yorkers have forgotten "Never Forget", except for the worst possible time: when it's convenient for them. That's disgusting.
Please join us in the message boards to discuss this article, and everything else.
I lived in Westchester County, just outside NYC, on 9/11/01. I don't really want to re-hash the day. I'm fortunate I wasn't in the city yet that morning when all hell broke loose, and that I wasn't more directly impacted by what happened than I was.
All told, I lived in the NYC metro area for six years. I commuted into and out of NYC for five and a half of them. I grew up in Minnesota, which really couldn't be more dissimilar to NYC apart from that fact that both are in the United States. I love New York City. It really is a hell of a town. While the several months directly after 9/11 were terrible in many ways (the smoking, stinking pit a constant reminder of terrorism and a symbol of impending change in our lives), they were also some of the best of my time there, for one reason: the change in the people.
New Yorkers are not known for their niceness. They can exhibit kindnesses. But they cultivate and celebrate their brusqueness and arrogance. I suppose that's what happens to the native populations of massive metropolises. For a midwestern kid from sleepy St. Paul, there was a bit of culture shock when I first got to the city (which is another demonstration of the arrogance of New Yorkers. They refer to NYC as simply The City, as if it is the only one that matters and thus no further specification is required).
The constant cacophonous bleating - of people, of car horns, it's truly omni-present - the congestion, the jaywalking, the incessant assault on one's senses from every direction. Once you acclimate to it, it's intoxicating and habit-forming. To tap into the vascular system of a city like New York is to throw yourself into a constant roller-coaster ride of culture, craziness, and action.
But it is still a living, breathing organism. And it took quite a blow to the system on 9/11. And it reacted in a very human way: by embracing its own humanity. People in NYC became nice. Holding the door for the person behind you. Saying please and thank you. Slowing down to look around as if to remind oneself that one does in fact live in this amazing place, amidst a wonderful confluence of history and modernity - at least the parts that hadn't just been reduced to a charnel house nightmare. It was a great time to be in the city - finally a side of New Yorkers that the midwestern kid from sleepy St. Paul could relate to.
Every year since then, when the calendar turns over to September, and the remembrances and tributes marking the anniversary of that dark day start ramping up, New Yorkers are understandably right in the middle of things. In fact, it's become sort of a rallying cry. To the point where "Never Forget" is administered as a sort of test of one's patriotism. Like a challenge coin that New Yorkers carry around in their pockets all year, but only pull out during the first half of September. If you can respond by showing yours, you pass the test. If not, you may be a terrorist, and you for sure don't respect and honor the dead, their families, and the still-suffering. I don't really have a problem with that. You go through that ordeal, you probably have a right to get worked up about it when the anniversary rolls around.
I do have a problem with the way New Yorkers act the rest of the year, though. The average encounter with the average New Yorker from October through August is awful. They aren't just back to being tough, brusque city dwellers. They've gone so far around the bend of entitlement and arrogance as to represent the depths of civilized society on a daily basis. I saw a woman walking through the city, with headphones on, reading a book. Like looking down at the book she was reading, while she was walking. Just stop and think about the level of arrogance and entitlement one must attain in order to get to a place where that kind of behavior is acceptable. She honestly thought she was the only person in the world. That everyone else should have to get out of her way for no other reason than she was simply that important. Fuck you.
It is offensive to me for New Yorkers who act like animals from October through August to then get all frothed up in righteous indignity over 9/11. You act like you have completely forgotten 9/11 for 364, and then have the balls to yell at the world to Never Forget on the one other day? You shame the memory of those who were lost. You shame the struggles of those who lost. You shame yourselves for taking a horrific, terrible thing, that became an opportunity to do something beautiful and really fight back against the agents of terror, and pissing all over it most of the time and making an absolute joke of it that one other day.
New Yorkers have forgotten "Never Forget", except for the worst possible time: when it's convenient for them. That's disgusting.
Please join us in the message boards to discuss this article, and everything else.
Thursday, December 29, 2016
And Another Thing: Fuck Off, We're Full!
I saw that lovely sentiment plastered onto the back of a lifted GMC truck today. Wanna guess if it had a 146 decibel exhaust?
I mean, I get it. We as a country go through this fit every couple generations: Italians, Irish, Chinese, Mexicans. I also get that you're a pathetic, scared little boy or girl, terrified of change.
But guess what? America changes, it's what we do. America is awesome because we adapt and change. America is great because we take the best of those who come here to ply their trades and we are greater than the sum of our parts.
"Fuck Off, We're Full?"
How about: "Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"
These are the words on the most iconic monument to freedom in the world. America is great not because we refuse entry to the poor and downtrodden, America is great because we accept all comers.
No, sir, fuck you. Your slogan is the antithesis of what makes America the greatest country on Earth.
Thursday, December 22, 2016
And Another Thing: Happy Holidays? Shut up.
By Nick Henry
I'm over political correctness. You want to know why? Because it's stupid. I can identify someone by an obvious identifier tag without impugning their character or casting aspersions on them, or the group behind that identifier. And I do not have to choose - and yes, it's a choice - to be offended when someone does the same to me. "You know, Nick. Asian fella. Likes hockey." If those qualifiers separate me from other Nicks in your circle of friends, what's wrong with using them? Nothing. Absolutely nothing.
You know what else is needless babying of people? Having to worry that I might offend someone by saying "Merry Christmas" if they don't believe in the nativity of the Christ Child. Unless you walk around wearing a sign that identifies you as a believer of a different religion - and I think we can all appreciate the dark history of that kind of campaign - then how am I supposed to know? You know what would be offensive "Hey you LOOK like you might be Hindi, so I'm going to make sure I say 'Happy holidays' instead." If you think about it, it's far less-offensive to think "I didn't want to profile you, and I wanted to spread the positive feelings appropriate to the current season, so I just said 'Merry Christmas' and trusted that you weren't some kind of religiously insecure baby."
To be fair, there are words and phrases to which we have generally accepted some ascribed pejorative value to over time, that should probably be respected. The N-word, when directed at an black person, should be a no-fly zone for most of us. The F-word, when directed at a homosexual, too. And, if you're using those words not directed at a black person, or a gay person, you need to recalibrate your "cool" meter. So, I'm not saying there aren't exceptions. But to me there's a difference between politically correct and being an anti-social asshole.
And that's the crux of it for me. I was talking about this with a friend of mine recently, and I realized that I really have one metric for whether or not I want to hang out with someone: the asshole factor. I don't care what color you are, what religion you are, who you love, what your IQ is, what your job title is, how much money you have. Just don't be an asshole. If you're a non-asshole gay person, I'm happy to hang out. If you're an asshole straight person, go away.
The beauty of this attitude is that it allows me to be judgmental of my fellow man. Let's face it, we're all judgmental. Why try to supress it? There's a difference between thinking something negative and acting on it, no? Sure, that's a fine line and a slippery slope. But instead of wasting your energy pretending you're not thinking those things, or trying to stop thinking them, how about spend your energy making sure you don't act on them?
This post is getting a little big for its britches. So let me go back to the main point: don't be an asshole. Don't be a baby. Treat each other like rational people. Respect will flow from that.
Merry Christmas.
Please join us in the message boards to discuss this article, and everything else.
I'm over political correctness. You want to know why? Because it's stupid. I can identify someone by an obvious identifier tag without impugning their character or casting aspersions on them, or the group behind that identifier. And I do not have to choose - and yes, it's a choice - to be offended when someone does the same to me. "You know, Nick. Asian fella. Likes hockey." If those qualifiers separate me from other Nicks in your circle of friends, what's wrong with using them? Nothing. Absolutely nothing.
You know what else is needless babying of people? Having to worry that I might offend someone by saying "Merry Christmas" if they don't believe in the nativity of the Christ Child. Unless you walk around wearing a sign that identifies you as a believer of a different religion - and I think we can all appreciate the dark history of that kind of campaign - then how am I supposed to know? You know what would be offensive "Hey you LOOK like you might be Hindi, so I'm going to make sure I say 'Happy holidays' instead." If you think about it, it's far less-offensive to think "I didn't want to profile you, and I wanted to spread the positive feelings appropriate to the current season, so I just said 'Merry Christmas' and trusted that you weren't some kind of religiously insecure baby."
To be fair, there are words and phrases to which we have generally accepted some ascribed pejorative value to over time, that should probably be respected. The N-word, when directed at an black person, should be a no-fly zone for most of us. The F-word, when directed at a homosexual, too. And, if you're using those words not directed at a black person, or a gay person, you need to recalibrate your "cool" meter. So, I'm not saying there aren't exceptions. But to me there's a difference between politically correct and being an anti-social asshole.
And that's the crux of it for me. I was talking about this with a friend of mine recently, and I realized that I really have one metric for whether or not I want to hang out with someone: the asshole factor. I don't care what color you are, what religion you are, who you love, what your IQ is, what your job title is, how much money you have. Just don't be an asshole. If you're a non-asshole gay person, I'm happy to hang out. If you're an asshole straight person, go away.
The beauty of this attitude is that it allows me to be judgmental of my fellow man. Let's face it, we're all judgmental. Why try to supress it? There's a difference between thinking something negative and acting on it, no? Sure, that's a fine line and a slippery slope. But instead of wasting your energy pretending you're not thinking those things, or trying to stop thinking them, how about spend your energy making sure you don't act on them?
This post is getting a little big for its britches. So let me go back to the main point: don't be an asshole. Don't be a baby. Treat each other like rational people. Respect will flow from that.
Merry Christmas.
Please join us in the message boards to discuss this article, and everything else.
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