To get things started here is Time Magazine's Top 50 inventions of 2009:

http://www.time.com/time/specials/packages/completelist/0,29569,1934027,00.html

Some Highlights:

An AIDS vaccine

Vertical Farming

The Bladeless Fan

Spiderweb Silk

Some other "best of" topics to discuss:

Best Album of the Decade/Year

Best Movie of the Decade/Year

Best Video Game of the Decade/Year (I got my hands on my brother's PS3 and I really like Bioshock)

Best Sports Highlight of the Year

Best Game (Blazer or other) of the Year

Best Blazers Edge post (main page, sidebar)

or Make up your own!

Tragedy of the Blazers' Edge commons:

Consider a pasture used for grazing cows which is used collectively by many herders.  Each herder is trying to make as much money from his cows as possible which means maximizing their yield (fatter cows or more cows).  There are a positive and negative aspect to consider:

Positive: The herder gains profit for each pound

Negative:  Each cow degrades the pasture slightly

The distribution of the positive and negative results is unequal.  The individual herder gains all the profit from selling more or fatter cows, but the cost of (over) using the pasture is shared by the group.  A rational herder will see the benefit from grazing more cows outweighs the (shared) cost of the degradation of the pasture.  All of the herders will reach the same conclusion and put more cows on the field leading to overgrazing and a potential collapse of the pasture.  The individual gain outweighs the individual share of the total cost eventually leading to a disaster.

Now consider the Blazers' Edge sidebar used by Blazer fans for expressing their opinions about their favorite team.  Each poster is trying to have his/her opinion heard, appreciated, "rec'd" and commented on by as many fellow fans as possible.  There are a positive and negative aspect to consider.

Positive: The poster gains recognition/appreciation for his/her opinions for every post made.

Negative: The sidebar gets more crowded with every post made.

The distribution of positive and negative results is unequal.  The individual poster gains all the recognition/appreciation from his/her post, but the cost of (over) using the sidebar is shared by all of Blazers' Edge.  A rational poster (perish the thought) will see the benefit from posting more outweighs the (shared) cost of a clogged sidebar.  All of the posters will reach the same conclusion and post more leading to a highly congested sidebar where fanposts are not visible long enough to get many comments/recs thus negating the whole reason for posting.  The individual gain outweighs the individual share of the total cost eventually leading to a disaster.

The next edition of Magnum P.I. is in.  The first week of the season has been played and there are plenty of things to talk about already.  Some of my pre-season rankings were a bit off so a few teams have jumped around in the rankings quite a bit.

Some highlights:

The Lakers fell out of the top spot down to 4th

The Rockets, 76ers and Thunder all made moves into the teens after being ranked in the 20s previously.

The Bucks probably didn't deserve to be ranked 28th out of 30 teams.

Note:

This isn't my prediction for how the standings will look at the end of the year.  This is a ranking of how teams are playing up to that point in the season weighted toward recent performance.  In this case, it is how teams look heading into the season.

For example, the difference between power rankings and a prediction for the end of the season is that teams are far healthier now then they will be in April.  The Spurs are number 3, but could easily be hit with injuries again this year and fall out of the top 10, something I would take into account in a season end prediction.  

Continue reading this post »

No, it's not a list of the best commenters on Blazers' Edge, although that would be an entertaining list.  This is just another NBA power ranking.  There are two main reasons I have decided to put together power rankings here on BE.  First, the site has gotten popular enough that we could use our own rankings, especially one with a little more Blazer bias and a little less East coast +Laker bias.  Second, the level of discourse in the comment section will be many times higher than what will be found on ESPN or Yahoo.  I love hearing other people's opinions, but not when they consist of LEBRON IS TEH BEST!!1! CAVS PWN YOU!!!1111!

I will try to get these rankings out every Sunday during the regular season.  Hopefully that will give people who hate football a little more basketball related reading.  On to the rankings!

Additional Note:

This isn't my prediction for how the standings will look at the end of the year.  This will be a ranking of how teams are playing up to that point in the season weighted some toward recent performance.  In this case, it is how teams look heading into training camp.

For example, the difference between power rankings and a prediction for the end of the season is that teams are far healthier now then they will be in April.  The Spurs are number 3, but could easily be hit with injuries again this year and fall out of the top 10, something I would take into account in a season end prediction.  

Continue reading this post »

The idea behind this Junk Drawer is simple: name something you do (keep it clean, please) that you don't think anyone else does.  Or, if you're not sure you're unique just list a quirk, peccadillo, or strange habit you have.  Revel in your weirdness!

I'll start.  I hardly ever focus my attention on what I'm "watching" on TV.  I'll turn on a show I like, but then go to my computer and surf the interwebz.  I do the same thing with media on my computer.  

I think I'm the only person in my generation (which I'll call the i-pod generation for these purposes) who doesn't constantly listen to music in my room.  I like the sound of silence.

I talk to myself all the time.  It's not crazy mumblings though....more like narrating my own life.

I almost never finish a meal in one sitting.  I'll eat half my food and then save it for later (usually not more than an hour).  I hear multiple small meals keep your metabolism high.

When I type I cannot leave basic words misspelled.  I go back and fix words as soon as I notice that I've misspelled them.  This is part of a larger writing quirk.  I try to make each sentence "perfect" as I go.  Essentially, I don't need to do drafts or do much proofreading because I spend so much time on the first go through.  

That's all I have for now.

If I use farkle in a sentence I get a cookie.

This is one of those facebook "chain letter" type things, but I actually thought it was fun.  This is my life according to Radiohead.

Using only song names from ONE ARTIST, cleverly answer these questions. Try not to repeat a song title. It's a lot harder than you think! Repost as "my life according to (band name)"


Pick your Artist:
Radiohead

Are you a male or female?
In Limbo

Describe yourself:
Paranoid Android

How do you feel:
Optimistic

Describe where you currently live:
House of Cards

If you could go anywhere, where would you go:
Planet Telex

Your favorite form of transportation:
Climbing up the Walls

Your best friend is:
The Trickster

You and your best friends are:
All I Need

What's the weather like:
Permanent Daylight

Favorite time of day:
Morning Bell

If your life was a TV show, what would it be called:
Idioteque

What is life to you:
Fitter, Happier

Your last relationship:
I Want None of This

Your fear:
2+2=5

What is the best advice you have to give:
I Might Be Wrong

Thought for the Day:
Karma Police

How I would like to die:
Hunting Bears

My soul's present condition:
Everything in its Right Place

Most Faithful Companion:
My Iron Lung

Here's the blank version for easy copy pasting.

Pick your Artist:


Are you a male or female?


Describe yourself:


How do you feel:


Describe where you currently live:


If you could go anywhere, where would you go:


Your favorite form of transportation:


Your best friend is:


You and your best friends are:


What's the weather like:


Favorite time of day:


If your life was a TV show, what would it be called:


What is life to you:


Your last relationship:


Your fear:


What is the best advice you have to give:


Thought for the Day:


How I would like to die:


My soul's present condition:


Most Faithful Companion:

A new day requires a new junk, but really I'm making this fanpost for selfish reasons.  I'd like to have a Blazers' Edge Fantasy Football league and I want 2 posts in the recommended section.

I like 10 team standard scoring ESPN leagues, but you certainly don't have to join mine if you like other formats.  So far, Dirty Socks, phillyduck23, The Penguin, EvilKaramazov, cloudydays, rip city coming alive, vullkem116 and L-trainFTW are in which leaves 1 open spot.  The 8 of you should email me at xcrunningfool@hotmail.com so I can send you the invites.

Any level of experience in fantasy sports is welcomed, but I will ask that you be as active as possible in the league.  There's nothing worse than a league where half the owners aren't even playing.  So, first come first serve, just express your interest in the comment section.

For those of you not interested in fantasy football, you can talk about Michael Vick. 

Update:  I know there is a fanshot that is talking about advertisements on NBA jerseys, but I thought I'd bring this discussion to the JD and change the poll accordingly.  How do you feel about logos and advertisements on NBA (non summer league) jerseys?  Specifically, how would you feel about the Blazers doing this?

Got this link via Truehoop:

http://www.usatoday.com/sports/2009-07-28-jersey-ads_N.htm

The last few seasons we have seen our young Blazers improve their win total from 21 to 32 to 41 to 54 wins.  We all want to see another substantial increase in the win total, but it is just as hard, if not harder, to improve from an average team to a good team as it is to improve from a good team to a great team.  60 wins is a benchmark for a great team; it's not a perfect benchmark, though.  For example, the Orlando Magic finished with 59 wins last season and made the finals while knocking out the best regular season team.  Only 14 teams (unless I forgot how to add) in the last 9 seasons have cracked the 60 win mark.  Roughly 62 wins puts you in this kind of company.  Of course, winning a lot of games can be aided by an large underclass of terrible teams; a few haves can pillage a large number of have-nots to boost their win totals.  The '09-'10 season could have that phenomenon with the bad economy and many teams clearing cap space for the summer of 2010 FA bonanza. 

So, what can the Blazers do both as a team and as individuals to increase their win total next year?  I've put together a list of areas that can be improved, but it certainly isn't exhaustive and not everything on the list must happen to get to 60.  There are plenty of ways for the Blazers to improve that won't be covered below; for example, I did not list any coaching improvements.  Also, with the exception of Andre Miller and Greg Oden, who I believe could single handily bring us to 60 wins with enough improvement, I didn't try to estimate how many wins any one thing might contribute.  I will, however, put an asterisk by the entries I think are the most crucial.

Continue reading this post »

No, I don't mean that they were all accidents and that you dropped them on their heads as babies.  What are some things that you grew up with that have gone the way of the dinosaurs (or will go extinct soon)?

For example these are some of mine:

VHS tapes

Floppy Disks

Film cameras

Answering machines

Payphones and phonebooks

Phones that are only used for talking to people

Blowing the dust out of nintendo cartridges

Manually unlocking car doors

Public libraries

Using a road atlas and not google maps (or another service)

Add your own and if you're really old (over 30) be sure to include things like:

Using a horse as your main form of transportation

Using Morse code

Living in a time when only white men could vote

Films without sound

Polio

Sitting for portraits

American flags with fewer than 45 stars

Reading by candlight