Excitement!

I just received my copy of the 2012-13 NCAA Division I Manual!  It comes in at 315 pages, quite a reduction from the 426 pages of the 2011-12 Manual. I'm so excited I could cry.

Dengue Fever

It's possible that there will be a vaccine for Dengue Fever, a mosquito-borne disease that has a mortality rate of 1-5%.     Prior to 1981, there were no cases of Dengue Fever in the western hemisphere.  That has changed; incidents include an outbreak in Brownsville TX in 2005. 

The vaccine will be "live" attenuated, which will increase resistance to taking it. And even if many end up taking it, we'll end up with the free rider problem!  But still, anything is better than nothing.  

I Sing the Body Electoral

Obama currently runs an anti-Romney ad in which Romney weakly sings "American the Beautiful." At the same time, it shows purported amounts of money Romney has in foreign banks, and speaks of jobs outsourced by companies supported by Bain.

I don't find the ad effective.  The message is what?  Romney has a weak voice and he's rich.  He can apologize for the former and easily defend the latter.

As to outsourcing, everyone should reread Adam Smith on comparative advantage!

The Oxymoronic

The logician in me shuddered today, driving in to work.  Mike and Mike were noting a correlation between a city hosting a Super Bowl and that city's quarterback suffering an injury.  Here's what Greenie said, roughly: "it doesn't mean anything, but it's real!"

My hair loss is correlated with continental drift (the more the continents drift, the more hair I lose).  I know it doesn't mean anything, but it's real!  Stop the continents!   

Quote of the Day

"Knowledge is good.". Emil Faber

From the Ridiculous to the Absurd

The IRS charges an estate $40,000,000 on an item that can't legally be sold!  (H/t Radley Balko)

The Death Penalty De Facto, not De Jure

The NCAA just came down hard on Penn State:  60 million in fines, 4 year postseason ban, reduction of scholarships per year from 25 to 10, and the vacating of all wins from 1998-2011.  Harsh to say the least.  The justification was weak in my opinion: lack of institutional control, lack of ethical conduct, and lack of integrity. But the rules concerning those three aspects all refer to the rules set up to govern play, not life.  For example, here's the bylaw on institutional control (Bylaw 2.1):  "it is the responsibility of each member institution to control its intercollegiate athletics program in compliance with the rules and regulations of the Association."(my emphasis)  Penn State wasn't out of compliance; staff and administrators broke several criminal laws. 

I just received an email from the NCAA referring to the sanctions.  The bottom line: "We could not look to NCAA history to determine how to handle circumstances so disturbing, shocking and disappointing. As the individuals charged with governing college sports, we have a responsibility to act. As President Emmert will say in his remarks at the press conference, these events should serve as a call to every single school and athletics department to take an honest look at its campus environment and eradicate the ‘sports are king’ mindset that can so dramatically cloud the judgment of educators."