SB Nation User Blog: benmor78

37-29

benmor78 — Sat, 20 Jun 2009 05:27:52 -0000

Texas Rangers' Scott Feldman shows the preferred grip for a leadoff homerun.

Hank Blalock? Sign him to 3yrs / $30 million. Also, let's give that contract to Brandon Boggs, too, because I like the cut of his jib.

Gameday thread 3 6/19/09

benmor78 — Sat, 20 Jun 2009 04:23:47 -0000

Gameday thread 2 6/19/09

benmor78 — Sat, 20 Jun 2009 03:11:46 -0000

6/19/09 Gameday Thread 1

benmor78 — Sat, 20 Jun 2009 01:44:30 -0000

More photos » by Tony Gutierrez - AP

Houston Astros GM Drayton McClane examines former President George W. Bush for ticks during interleague play at Rangers Ballpark in Arlington.

Browse more photos »

Adam's not back from out of town yet, so I'm staging a coup. Go Rangers!

Blog Commenter Bestiary

benmor78 — Mon, 13 Apr 2009 06:25:48 -0000

I came across this, a Blog Commenter Bestiary, and thought it was pretty apropos. I think there are some of these that definitely apply to our little communtiy here at LSB.

”The Relentless Pol - Posters who can’t join any discussion without immediately using it to make a political point, i.e., “The current lack of sunspots is the direct result of the Bush Administration’s failed policies.”

“The Dismisser - The ultimate arrogant commenter, this person never actually engages with the topic, but merely declares it beneath anyone’s interest, already resolved, or improperly stated - and thus hardly worth the bother. The Dismisser’s only real message is: I’m smarter than you and you need to acknowledge that fact.”

“The Parser - What would we do without the Internet Grammar Police? These folks assiduously correct the online writings of others - never quite catching on that the Web is designed to be fast, fresh and sloppy.”

“The Lecturer - This is the buzzkill pedant who feels the need, even in a casual, light comments section to post a 1,000 word exegesis on what everyone should be talking about. Hey, thanks pal!”

There are some, though, that would be more specific to sports blogs. Like, what is philkid? The projection system apologist?

Josey Wales: An animated movie

benmor78 — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 16:41:46 -0000

I have created an animated movie, entitled Josey Wales.

The gentleman on the left in the sports jersey who speaks in a robotic British accent is Josey. I feel like the actor did a wonderful job capturing the "je ne sais quoi" that is quintessential Josey. The actor on the right is playing an amalgam of "normal" LSB posters, and is a real "up and comer." I think he's got a future in the movie business, which I call "The Show."

Anyway, here's the movie, tell me what you think!

Coffee's for closers...

benmor78 — Mon, 06 Apr 2009 08:54:36 -0000

You know what coffee is? It's not just the kickoff of one of the great movie scenes of all time. It's also a performance enhancer. And I don't mean, "wah wah, I get headaches and my vagina hurts if I don't get my coffee in the morning." I mean, it's a legitimate performance enhancer.

Exercise physiologists have studied caffeine’s effects in nearly every iteration: Does it help sprinters? Marathon runners? Cyclists? Rowers? Swimmers? Athletes whose sports involve stopping and starting like tennis players? The answers are yes and yes and yes and yes.

I've felt that the steroid controversy is ridiculous for some time. The furor about, say, HGH, even more so, considering the evidence suggesting HGH is "performance enhancing" is anecdotal at best, and the evidence that it's detrimental seems to be mounting.

But even if something is widely accepted as performance enhancing, like steroids, why should we care? Why are some things okay, and others not? Why was andro okay for a while but now it isn't?

The performance improvement in controlled laboratory settings can be 20 to 25 percent, Dr. Tarnopolsky said. But in the real world, including all comers, the improvement may average about 5 percent, still significant if you want to get your best time or even win a race.

It's stupid. It's the same blinkered, stupid thinking that goes into drug prohibition. Who gives a fig? Steroids or caffeine, why should we care? Baseball culture was apparently dominated by amphetamines for a significant amount of time, why is the current "steroid era" supposed to be some kind of dark time in baseball?

I hate this idea that athletes are supposed to be these mythical figures of purity. Jim Bouton said that if you gave a pitcher a pill and told him it would take five years off his life but he would win 20 games, he'd ask for a glass of water.

I say: take the steroids. Think it makes you a better ballplayer? Maybe it does. I don't care if you shrink your balls. Girlfriend put a hex on your glove? Maybe she did. Or maybe this whole thing is because sportswriters realize that sanctimony draws readers and politicians like to scowl indignantly into microphones during hearings on CSPAN.

None of our young pitchers would look this douchey in a mugshot.

benmor78 — Sun, 05 Apr 2009 10:39:33 -0000

None of our young pitchers would look this douchey in a mugshot.

Thank you, citizens of Mass. Sincerely, Everybody.

benmor78 — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 23:54:55 -0000

I thought this was interesting, a proposed law in MA that prohibits lascivious images of people over 60 or people with disabilities. Is that why the subject of this Awful Link of the Day is no longer online? Well, probably not... after all, it's from 2003.

It's definitely a weird situation, and one can't help but think that porn featuring 60 year olds and amputees probably fits the "I'll know it when I see it" obscenity standard, but, really, so does any porn. I mean, does it mean that Bridget can't come back to Cathouse: The Series?

Anyway, considering how most of MA probably felt about Lawrence, it's interesting the breadth of this proposed law considering it applies to consenting adults of sound mind, as well as retards.

OT - Fascist oppression fosters dirty word humor

benmor78 — Sun, 15 Mar 2009 06:03:38 -0000

I ran across this over at Hit and Run, which is Reason's blog. Who would have thought that oppressive government censorship would cause people to make high-school level dirty jokes as their only outlet for criticism of an oppressive regime? Although, too be honest, if my high school substitute teachers had the power to sentence me to hard labor or death, I probably wouldn't have written "I.P. Freely" on the attendance sheet.

Here's the wikipedia link to the "creatures" and what their names mean.

So the question becomes, is it possible to have a tyrannical government in the information age?