Tag: money

Let’s Talk a Little Hockey

backinphillyLeave a comment

As many know, the NHL season was cut in half this season due to problems with a collective bargaining agreement, or CBA. It’s funny how in the past 2-3 years, labor issues have been a serious problem in professional sports across the board. The NBA and NHL lost games while the NFL lost certain preseason workouts. All three were greatly affected. However, this 48 game season of hockey (a full season has 82 games) has been nothing short of exciting yet confusing.

I’m a big New Jersey Devils fan. They lost in the Stanley Cup finals last year to the Los Angeles Kings, but I wasn’t torn up about it. I was excited to even get to the finals and win the Eastern Conference. That was way more than I was expecting last season, but it elevated my expectations for this season.

We aren’t the best team in hockey. But, we play very well. At least we can say we are better off than Columbus.

Regardless, the playoffs are fast approaching as there are about 10 games left for most teams in the regular season.

The NHL is ranked on a point system. A team is given 2 standing points for a win, 0 for a loss, and 1 for a loss in overtime or a shootout. In each conference, there are 3 divisions. This is the last year we will see this, as next year the league is realigning into four conferences. Anyway, there are three divisions in each conference, and the division leader in each makes the playoffs as the first, second or third seed. In order to finish off the playoff bracket, the next 5 teams in point standings are added to the bunch. 8 teams from each conference go to the playoffs, making a total of 16 teams.

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What is it all for?

charlieandthebirdLeave a comment

We look back to Neolithic age and see how simple the concept of what life meant to our ancestors was. It was all about the basics. Just enough to survive.

No social expectations, or rules. No technology, or government.

That same society has evolved in perceiving that life is about more than that, and life must be done a certain way. You must be educated. You must behave this way. You must be “civil”.

Well, who defined what that is?

Most  will say that the way of life is going to school, getting a job, having some kids then passing away gently in your sleep. We spend countless hours, memorizing and memorizing figures and representations we are told is our reality in order to achieve our goal of having an impressive alphabetical or numeric representation of our knowledge appear sufficient enough so we can attend school again.

And what is the purpose of the University?

Well, any dean will tell you it is to give students experience and knowlege so they can function in the real world, and do what they dream of doing. But when it comes down to it, what was the purpose of that dream? Was it to feel good at the end of the day, or did it all come down to achieving wealth?

Yes, starting from the day your parents nervously dropped you off at school for the first time as an eager child, the purpose of it all comes down to leading you on a path of financial success. Everything comes down to being about money. That is what we have evolved into.

I think reading J.D Salinger was a big mistake.

Image

http://humanorigins.si.edu/resources/intro-human-evolution

Worst Person 28-Elvis Dumervil Edition

backinphillyLeave a comment

I’m not calling Elvis the worst person. I’m calling his situation the worst thing in sports this past week. No, I’m not taking the March Madness angle on the worst things to happen. I made a bracket based on literally no knowledge. I rooted for Temple, and they’re gone.

I want to focus on one of the most bizarre stories I’ve ever heard. Yes, this beats Manti Teo in my opinion. Although, that one has an answer.

This one does not.

Elvis Dumervil and the Broncos were trying to renegotiate his contract in order to accommodate some of the new free agent signings that were coming to Denver, like Wes Welker. Elvis was set to take a 2013 pay cut from 12 million to 8 million. He agreed, and signed a faxed contract. The team had a deadline before being forced to pay Elvis the 12 million. They needed the contract done so they could save the extra 4 million bucks. But, everything was set. Elvis signed, and his agent was faxing the contract back to Denver.

Unfortunately for Elvis and the Broncos, the fax was six minutes late. So, what does Denver do? Should they suck it up and pay Elvis the 12?

Nope.

THEY CUT HIM!!!!

Because an agent was unable to send a simple fax on time, a man lost his job, which then led to the agent losing HIS job.

The Broncos then were forced to treat their All Pro defensive end as a free agent. He was fair game for the rest of the league. So they went ahead and offered him a fast contract to come back to Denver.

One problem though.

This time, Elvis said NO!!!!

Don’t get mad at me, Elway. This is on you guys.

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NFL Free Agency

backinphillyLeave a comment

Well it’s that time of year again. The NFL free agency market is about to open and this year, there are a TON of big names on the open market. Last season was a pretty weak year for free talent, but this year should be different. There have already been a ton of rumors swirling around, so let’s look at some, shall we?

First off, let’s talk a big trade. The Eagles are apparently the big name going after Jets All Star cornerback Darrelle Revis. This is a big one, but to be honest, I’m not overly confident nor impressed about this move. Yes, the move would give us a new All Pro corner, but the problem I see is that this looks oddly familiar.

Two years ago, Nnamdi was signed, who was the best corner in the league. We all know how that turned out.

I don’t know man. I’m just saying I’m skeptical. I love Revis as a player. I hate the Jets, and this is a win-win but there are risks, including his ACL tear.

We will see. This is all speculation for now.

More developments and details will come this week. The season starts now.

The Crashing Eagle

frog32 Comments

gg5

A nation’s spending out of control.

A flying spark of hope flies across the sky.

A weathered bird has served its time well.

Its has flown high in the sky.

It has been prey.

It has been a predator.

It survives its ordeals only to come crashing down.

It is shot down by bureaucracy

The replacement threatens to out shine it.

A mighty eagle, the replacement is swift and strong.

The hopes of the nation come crashing down.

The mighty eagle crashes, its strengths is its undoing.

Exorbitant costs and empty coffers force the nation to abandon the eagle.

In it’s destruction the eagle robs the nation of its hope.

Never again will hope rise so highly in the nation.

Here We Go Again!

backinphilly1 Comment

Well, this sucks. The Eagles, once again, are underachieving. Despite the firing of ex-defensive coordinator Juan Castillo, the Eagles have once again fallen far from expectations. The team just doesn’t look solid, and we are close to the halfway point.

One major red flag was this past weekend. The Eagles, with Andy Reid as head coach, have never lost a game following their bye week. This year was a different story. The team looked even sloppier following their bye, almost as if they hadn’t put in any extra work to help their cause.

I don’t blame this recent loss on Michael Vick. I blame this one on coaching and defense. I do not blame new DC Todd Bowles. He was given two weeks to turn a lackluster unit and completely transform them. That’s a tall task considering how much star power the defense has.

Let’s go down the list.

Jason Babin has been horrendous. He hasn’t been able to get to the quarterback at all this season. He’s far behind his 18.5 sack mark from last year.

The other defensive end, Trent Cole, hasn’t had any success either. However, if both pieces can improve, the entire defense will improve as well.

I now turn the attention to one of the most incredible busts (although still somewhat too soon to tell) I think I’ve ever seen.

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College Crap

therightliberal1 Comment

Throughout the entire process of applying to colleges I have been disgusted. The application process is one of the most bogus ideas ever conceived and it should be changed.

Firstly, the process is incredibly biased. I am a very middle class white male which puts me at the back of the pack to begin with. But I have always had good grades and tested well so I wasn’t too worried.

Then it came to the actual application-filling-out part. This was incredibly time consuming during a period in which I was studying for three AP classes as well as working. I struggled to find time to work on the applications but with the help of my mother, the English major, I managed.

Recently, I have been receiving my letters back from the colleges, and there is only one way to put it: it has been disappointing.

Now it’s not what one may think because it’s not that I have been rejected from my top schools. I was wait listed at a couple and got into the rest (minus Pomona who unsurprisingly rejected me).

But despite getting in, I can’t go to most of them because my family and I cannot afford it. They have given me both achievement and need-based scholarships but to no avail. This angers me.

We live in a society that is constantly preaching about how important education is. Yet a student like me, who would almost surely succeed in these schools, is not given a real chance because I don’t have enough money.

Now, I understand that it really is a business. But if our country wants to really go up in the education rankings we need to make it easier for motivated students to get the education that they seek.

But despite my disappointment with the system, I still count myself lucky. It looks like I will be going to Trinity University in San Antonio, Texas. They gave me a very nice offer and, despite being in Texas, is a very nice school.

Rah Rah Romney!

therightliberalLeave a comment

All the politicos are talking about the GOP so why shouldn’t I join in? I can think of some reasons but reasons be damned. I digress.

As the Great Divide among Republican questioning the validity of Mitt Romney as a candidate continues, people are running wild in wonderment of what the GOP will do.

The issue is simply that many members of the GOP feel that Mitt Romney does not hold true to their ideals and that is a valid concern. But they then look down the list and cringe, realizing that there is not a soul on there that is electable.

In this three horse race to the glue factory there is only one candidate that would have a chance against Obama and that is Romney. Granted, I don’t think it’s much of a shot but with American voters you just never know.

Santorum is seemingly gaining momentum but at this point it is borderline irrelevant. Gingrich can’t even see the other two, but in true nature of his sheer evilness, Gingrich is staying in the race in an attempt to spoil it for the other two.

I have no idea how many times I have written this but the GOP are a mess. I am on edge that there will be a sudden surge of conservatism and the GOP will regain their lost strength but I have not seen a hint of that happening.

It seems as though Republicans have packed up their guns and beer and decided that 2012 was meant for hunting anyways. Cheney will be delighted.

It is not as though the GOP doesn’t have the funds or the populous to draw from, they just don’t have a candidate. And in my eyes, its not as though they missed someone that should have run. Palin would have added to the hilarity but nothing more and Christie would have just made an ass out of himself.

Who knows, maybe I am completely underestimating the GOP and will be in for a shock come November. But for now I remain confident of the GOP and their mistakes.

The stress truly never ends.

Yourcupatea1 Comment

Stress !!

My college letters are due any time in the next few weeks. Yes this is very exciting, yes this is nerve racking and although my applications are in and basically completed the stress continues.

Two days ago I was told that I needed to submit additional material, my GCSE grades. This material must come from the official exam boards in an extensive, expensive process.

No my official certificates cannot simply be sent by me, instead they have to take 28days processing in England with postage, processing and other projects paid by me. This is truly ridiculous.

It’s not that the whole process that annoys me; it’s the fact that no one told me. Now I’m up late at night stressing out with no sleep filling out forms and wondering how on earth am I going to get into college.

The stress truly never ends.

Environmental Policies

therightliberalLeave a comment

I often question others sanity. Chances are it is me who is insane, but on occasion it seems that others are far off their rocker.

It was proposed, years ago, to build an oil pipeline from the oil sands in Canada, all the way down to the refineries in Texas. Luckily Obama delayed the building of it, but it is still being pushed for.

The reason for the proposed pipeline is far from surprising: money. And money in all sense. It increases the price that the oil sands companies get paid, it increases the refinery work in Texas and on top of it all, with all the transport, the overall price goes up.

But it is not the bogus price hike that will come from the ludicrous transportation; it is the environmental cost.

The whole process is full of pollution and dirty business. Tons of tar and other unhealthy things are pumped into the atmosphere as well as polluting water.

Oil is great, don’t get me wrong. I wish we could just keep using oil and not worry about it. But two things make that not possible. The first is that we are quickly running out and the second is that we are destroying the planet we live on.

And yet, we have no clear cut solution. Ethanol and biodiesel have to potential to replace gasoline usage for the most part. But that requires a lot of investing in switchgrass and distilleries.

There are other potential ways around oil but they all require us to change how we live everyday. With ethanol and biodiesel, we can keep our cars the same and we would not need to come up with a whole lot of new technology.

By doing these simple things, we can work to cut our dependence on oil as well as working to make the world cleaner.

But the key thing is that we need to wake up. It is not fun to admit but we are almost out of oil. We can choose to deny the facts and face a very harsh future or we can prepare and make the transition easier.