Aggies Make Mistake

Texas A&M fired Mark Johnson this week. He won more games at the baseball coach at A&M than any other man. He averaged 41 wins over 21 years, before he was coach they won 40 games in a season twice. I think you can judge a coach by what his former players and peers say about him, and in Mark Johnson's case, it is only good. From the Bryan College Station Eagle:

“ That’s my only explanation as to why this happened to Mark,” Garrido said. “It isn’t about coaching ability. It isn’t about him being a good teacher or his ethics. It isn’t about his baseball knowledge. My guess is that it’s about the evolution of the game and the expecations for coaches. You’ve got to win, and you’ve got to win every year.”

“ He’s an important figure in my life,” Rupe said. “I feel sorry for him, and I also feel sorry for the other coaches. It’s a sad day for A&M baseball. It really is. As much as everyone is going to look to the future, for his past players, it’s a very sad day.”

A&M has made a claim with this move, win our your out. Of course as Larry Dierker said in the Houston Chronicle about the Astros,

There are two types of fans: baseball fans and fans of winning.

It seems to me that A&M's new administration is a fan of winning.

Listen to My Wife...

This is interesting in our house, as we think about starting a family in a two career household. Granted, we are both civil engineers so our hours are not quite lawyer or investment banker hours, but it is still something we think about. Read the whole article here.

Maybe you know a woman (or a few million) like her. It's hardly news that the issue vexing talented people is the struggle to balance their professional lives with time for fulfilling lives outside of work. The shock is that after decades of wrestling with these tradeoffs, the obvious answer is the one everyone has been too skeptical or afraid to explore: changing the way top jobs are structured.

In a world where most people are struggling, the search for "balance" in high-powered jobs has to be counted a luxury. Still, there is something telling (if not downright dysfunctional) when a society's most talented people feel they have to sacrifice the meaningful relationships every human craves as the price of exercising their talent.

Of course my opinion is the situation is driven by greed, corporate greed and individual greed. If no one would work the hours or put up with the bs, then corporate America would be forced to change. As far as women, business is going to have to change the way they handle mom's or they are going to lose some of their best employees.

Why can't we be sucessful and have a life? I like my job, I think I'm pretty good at it - I don't want to brag, and I work with a top firm in my field. But my job is a job, and I want to have my weekends to spend some of the money I'm making, and I like to go home and have dinner with my wife. So far I've been lucky, but as I see where my career might go it is not pretty.

More on Muslim Views in the Middle East

From today's Wall Street Journal. Read it here. (Register to read, easy, painless, worth it.)

As a Muslim, I am able to purchase copies of the Quran in any bookstore in any American city, and study its contents in countless American universities. American museums spend millions to exhibit and celebrate Muslim arts and heritage. On the other hand, my Christian and other non-Muslim brothers and sisters in Saudi Arabia--where I come from--are not even allowed to own a copy of their holy books. Indeed, the Saudi government desecrates and burns Bibles that its security forces confiscate at immigration points into the kingdom or during raids on Christian expatriates worshiping privately.

The Saudi Embassy and other Saudi organizations in Washington have distributed hundreds of thousands of Qurans and many more Muslim books, some that have libeled Christians, Jews and others as pigs and monkeys. In Saudi school curricula, Jews and Christians are considered deviants and eternal enemies. By contrast, Muslim communities in the West are the first to admit that Western countries--especially the U.S.--provide Muslims the strongest freedoms and protections that allow Islam to thrive in the West. Meanwhile Christianity and Judaism, both indigenous to the Middle East, are maligned through systematic hostility by Middle Eastern governments and their religious apparatuses.

The lesson here is simple: If Muslims wish other religions to respect their beliefs and their Holy book, they should lead by example.

Too bad they have all that oil. It seems to me that what we are dealing with in the Middle East are facist and Islam is the medium to convert the masses. I always wondered how the Nazi's could get everyone to buy into their terror, but now I'm witnessing it first hand. Of course liberal America will not face up to this fact and want to make us out to be ugly Americans intruding where we don't belong. Of course our relations with places like Saudi Arabia are ridiculous because they have all that oil.

Middle East Hypocrisy

Great atricle in today's New York Times, imagine that. Thomas Friedman writes:

It is hard not to notice two contrasting stories that have run side by side during the past week. One is the story about the violent protests in the Muslim world triggered by a report in Newsweek (which the magazine has now retracted) that U.S. interrogators at Guantánamo Bay desecrated a Koran by throwing it into a toilet. In Afghanistan alone, at least 16 people were killed and more than 100 wounded in anti-American rioting that has been linked to that report. I certainly hope that Newsweek story is incorrect, because it would be outrageous if U.S. interrogators behaved that way.

That said, though, in the same newspapers one can read the latest reports from Iraq, where Baathist and jihadist suicide bombers have killed 400 Iraqi Muslims in the past month - most of them Shiite and Kurdish civilians shopping in markets, walking in funerals, going to mosques or volunteering to join the police.

Yet these mass murders - this desecration and dismemberment of real Muslims by other Muslims - have not prompted a single protest march anywhere in the Muslim world. And I have not read of a single fatwa issued by any Muslim cleric outside Iraq condemning these indiscriminate mass murders of Iraqi Shiites and Kurds by these jihadist suicide bombers, many of whom, according to a Washington Post report, are coming from Saudi Arabia.

The Muslim world's silence about the real desecration of Iraqis, coupled with its outrage over the alleged desecration of a Koran, highlights what we are up against in trying to stabilize Iraq - as well as the only workable strategy going forward.

Read it for yourself.

I would add that Americans attitude about this story is outrage, as it should be if it had in fact been true, too bad for liberal America it isn't, but what if someone had flushed a Bible down the toilet and Christians had rioted? I imagine the Christians would be called hypocrits. What if someone had written a novel about a Islam where they made something up about the prophet Muhammed that went against Isalm teachings?

Cheerleading

Letter to the editor in the NY Times.

To the Editor:
The Texas House of Representatives has it all wrong when it comes to elite cheerleading and sex ("Texas Legislation Adds a Bah! to Sis and Boom," news article, May 5).

The squads that engage in the "provocative" routines they seek to ban are elite squads - focused on competition, athletic skills and leadership.

These young women are athletes. Studies show that young women involved in sports - and make no mistake about it, in the South cheerleading is a sport - are less likely to engage in sex than their nonathletic counterparts.

As a former elite cheerleader, I saw more than one girl "kept out of trouble" by her participation on an elite squad.

These squads build leaders with self-confidence, lead to college scholarships and give young women the chance to value their bodies for their athletic abilities instead of their sexual appeal.

The routines may look sexy, but that does not mean the girls are having sex. Instead of banning routines and becoming the "dance police," the Texas Legislature should see the value in these squads for young women's futures and say, "Bring it on!"

Mary Alice CarrNew York, May 5,
2005

First of all, when did cheerleading become a sport? Second, call it sport, call it dance, whatever, but when will people face up to the fact that the reason there are girls in tight clothes rolling around on the ground at basketball games is so the men in attendance can see them as sex objects. Who wants this for their daughter?

NE "Fans"

After attending the Astros vs. Mets game at Shea last night in an Astros cap, and watching the Yankees vs. Red Sox tonight I can say on thing, fans up here are terrible. At the Mets it seems yelling obscenities at you for wearing the other teams hat is an o.k. A guy in right field just took a swipe at Gary Sheffield in Fenway as he fielded a ball. The most intelligent thing that Yankee fans, Met fans, and Red Sox fans can say is that whoever they are playing "sucks." So, don't buy the warm fuzzy Red Sox feel, or the Yankees win with class, the people in the stadium are terrible drunk immature people. It has nothing to do with baseball tradition in those towns, it has everything to do with alcohol consumption and trashy people.

Tired of the Red Sox

Who else is tired of the Red Sox? They are the only team in sports history that have come close to winning and then lost so we should all feel sorry for them. Now we should all rejoice because they won and they all got to call their dads after the game, blah blah blah.

I root for a team that has never played in a World Series and has been close several times. How about being up 3-2 last year in the NLCS and losing the last two games, one with Roger Clemens on the mound. Where is the national outcry for the Astros?

True Love

As Guy Clark sings, "Only two things that money can't buy, that's TRUE LOVE and HOME GROWN TOMATOES."

Kinky

From my book by future governor of Texas, Kinky Friedman, The Mile High Club, "Jesus is coming, look busy."

History Channel

Why does the History Channel have a show called "Modern Marvels?"

Breakfast Cereal

There are two types of people in this world, those whose parents let them have sugar cereal and those who didn't. Thanks Mom. We even put sugar on our non-sugar cereal. I guess our kids will be in the category of parents that let their kids have sugar cereal because Daddy will be having Count Chocula. Actually that will be better for me, then when I buy it I can say it is for the kids. But I won't get the prize once the kids learn to read.

Walmart and Barnes and Noble

New Yorkers are fighting to keep Wal Mart out of NY. They reasons, they force their suppliers to cut costs so they can undersell the Mom and Pop stores. Also, they under pay their employees, but that doesn't seem to be an issue with the employees. I wonder if the Upper West Siders who think Wal Mart is evil care that the folks in the Bronx may want a chance to save some money on house hold items.

An easy example is bookstores. Barnes and Noble is of course the Wal Mart of books. But, when I go to the Barnes and Noble at 84th and Broadway, it is packed with self righteous West Siders strolling through for their latest Al Franken books. But when I go to Murder Ink / Ivy's Books on Broadway and 94th, which I love, usually it is just me. So, if the big guys are evil, why do you shop there? There are still Mom and Pop alternatives. The truth is everyone likes to save a buck, some just don't admit it.

Subway Antics

Yesterday I saw a guy carry a 30" TV on the subway. My first thought, "I hope that isn't my TV."

Gates

The Gates in Central Park are coming down. I'm glad. They were "cool" for a while, but I'll be happy to get my park back and ready for all the tourist mobs to make their way back to Times Square. Central Park is a beautiful place, so you don't need to put orange shower curtains up to attract crowds. I went for my Sunday walk through the park yesterday and it was packed with camera tooting folks trying to catch the Gates on their last day. Without the Gates I would have been almost alone, seeing Central Park with some left over snow from Thursday's storm, enjoying being outside on a clear, cold Sunday in Feb. They say the Gates got people in the park that don't normally come in the winter, that is their lost because the Park is great in all 4 seasons. Granted in the summer the park is more crowded than Sunday with the Gates, but people are enjoying the park for what it was built for which was not to display "art." So, the Gates was cool because of the scale, but it was nothing spectacular and it is now time for it to go away and the park to become functional again.

Iraq Vote

WOW, the NY Times columnist Thomas Friedman has some positive things to say about the Iraq vote.

In other words, this election has made it crystal clear that the Iraq war is not between fascist insurgents and America, but between the fascist insurgents and the Iraqi people. One hopes the French and Germans, whose newspapers often sound more like Al Jazeera than Al Jazeera, will wake up to this fact and throw their weight onto the right side of history.

It's about time, because whatever you thought about this war, it's not about Mr. Bush any more. It's about the aspirations of the Iraqi majority to build an alternative to Saddamism. By voting the way they did, in the face of real danger, Iraqis have earned the right to ask everyone now to put aside their squabbles and focus on what is no longer just a pipe dream but a real opportunity to implant decent, consensual government in the heart of the Arab-Muslim world.

Who would have thunk it. Now if the lunatic fringe would get past their sore loser mentality and actually admit that the Iraq vote went well and was a good thing, we'd be o.k.

Put down your cell phone

I took a study break on Saturday afternoon and went downstairs in our building to run on the treadmill. Mrs. Bubba and I are studying for the PE test which we will be taking in April. It was still a bit too chilly to run outside, plus if I run on the treadmill I can watch college basketball while I run. I know that our apartment "gym" is not a real gym, but we have some nice equipment. I went in to run and there was one other guy in there doing free weights. He was wearing cargo shorts and flip flops. Flip flops, while he handled free weights. Ridiculous.

Then another girl came in talking on her cell phone with a big bag and the entire Saturday New York Times. She hung up the phone and got on the treadmill next to me. She then called her girlfriend back and talked while she was walking. The newspaper she had, why?, then fell onto the treadmill and off the back so she had to stop, get off, gather her newspapers so she could put them right back where they were when the fell. She caught them as they fell the second time. She then speed up the treadmill so she was walking fast, but had to jog a few steps to keep up every so often. All while she analyzed her date to her girlfriend.

We need some gym rules. No cell phones, proper gym attire required. Why are you even bothering doing this if you are going to talk on the phone the whole time? You are just going through the motions and you aren't doing yourself any good. You aren't taking your exercise seriously if you think you can combine it with your paper reading and phone talking. And damn it, can't any one do anything by themselves anymore without having to talk to someone all the time. You live a sad life if you are so co-dependent that you can't exercise by yourself, you have to be talking on the phone while you do it. Cell phones are not bad things, but I think they are destroying people's ability to enjoy being alone. Alone time is important, leads to self discovery, observation and helps you appreciate those that are around you.

Colder Than ... (Fill in Blank with something that is really cold)

So, good news, no more slush. Bad news, no slush because it is frozen. It was 11 going to work yesterday and 6 today!

We went out for Happy Hour (Happy Evening, really) with some co-workers and their spouses in the Upper West Side after work yesterday. We left the bar about 10:00 and it is 10 degrees outside, so quite chilly. This man runs by without a shirt on and his pants were falling down. We stand in amazement and watch as he crosses the street and someone else unzips his backpack and gives this man a sweatshirt. The man is jumping around trying to put it on, when the light changed for us and our friends from the Upper East Side jumped into a cab and we ran for the warmth of the subway station to take us home.

It was weird, I initially thought it was some sort of polar bear club thing, but it was obvious this man was homeless. But what happened to his clothes? It's been cold for a while and there are places you can go and get coats, etc. It all happened so fast, by the time you figured out what was going on it was over.

Snow

O.K. first everyone should know that I was the first to utter the phrase, "Blizzard of 2005." That was Friday night when we were out with friends. It was butt cold Friday night and the storm was coming. I think I should get royalty or something.

So, in New York City we got 14" of snow, that is a substantial amount of snow, but nothing to write home about. It is enough to blog about, but not to write home. We enjoyed the snow, or I did, don't know about Mrs. Bubba. When you grow up a Bubba, you don't see much snow. We went out on Sat. when it was snowing and took some pictures. We saw the frozen Hudson River, which was cool. Then Mrs. Bubba sang in Carnegie Hall on Sat. night, so we went down to Midtown for the concert. Sunday the snow had stopped by the time we got up and about. But we went sledding, which I have only done once in Crested Butte, CO on a ski trip. We took pictures there too. I did the double black diamond slope. Our friend took out 5 people at the bottom of the hill, it was like bowling. One guy was going down on a raft, that was cool. The disk is the most fun because you can spin around and circles and go down the hill. Lots of fun.

The not so fun part of snow is now, now that it will be around until Opening Day of the baseball season. Stained yellow, turned brown, gross. You try not to drop anything in the subway these days, as the floor is gross, wet and muddy. But fun things turn up, like frozen vomit, frozen pooh, etc.

We are suppose to get another 1" to 2" on Tuesday night and Wednesday morning and that will be a nice topping. It was snowing when I left work, but not when I got off the subway at home, so we will just get flurries tonight.

All and all, snow is cool, errr.... cold.

Thumb War

I can't beat my wife at thumb war anymore. Before we were married I dominated, I could beat her while I was driving. Now she gets me everytime. We "play" during the offering at Church, on the subway, or other slow moments.

More on Liar Beltran

From the Houston Chronicle Richard Justice:

"The thing that was disappointing is that we never really had any negotiations until Saturday night," McLane said. "We tried. We offered to fly to Puerto Rico. We've negotiated five contracts with Craig Biggio and four with Jeff Bagwell. Every time we did it with the player in the room. I thought if we could all sit down, Carlos included, we could get a deal done."

Funny, Beltran was quite impressed with the Mets coming to Puerto Rico, this from ESPN:

Boras suggested the two sides meet in Miami. Minaya, fresh off his successful recruiting trip to the Dominican Republic where he charmed pitcher Pedro Martinez with Thanksgiving dinner, said the Mets would travel to San Juan to see Beltran on his home turf.

Earlier in the day ESPN ran this as well, they have since taken it down, so you will just have to take my word for it.

Beltran said he was impressed that Mets owner Fred Wilpon and general manager Omar Minaya flew down to visit him in his native Puerto Rico.

So, the Astros were not allowed or welcome to come to Puerto Rico, which was apparently the deciding factor. What a loser.

Lets talk no-trade clause again, as Beltran is using that as his good guy out. This is what Drayton McLane says in Justice's piece in the Chronicle.

McLane acknowledged he had offered only a partial no-trade clause, but he emphasized there were a host of other unresolved issues. He considered all of them negotiable.

He said the real problem was that the two sides didn't really begin negotiating until the deadline was closing in. He said he tried to draw Boras into serious discussions several times but was always put off.

And from Richard Justice's Q&A on the Chronicle, you may have to scrow down...

Question: Do you really think that the no-trade clause was the primary reason that Carlos Beltran picked the Mets over the Astros?
Roger in Houston

Answer: I don't think the no-trade killed it, but it does make for a convenient excuse now. I'm sure Scott Boras wants everyone to think that's what did it. Based on what I've been told, Drayton McLane and Scott talked at around 8:30 Saturday morning and Scott agreed to get back to him. He did -- at 7 p.m. At that point, he started making big changes to the deal. He wanted more money moved up front. He wanted a longer contract. He wanted a no-trade clause. There were so many issues on the table that they never got down specifically to the no-trade clause. If they'd been able to agree on everything else, the no-trade clause wouldn't have killed the deal. In the end, they never had anything approaching real negotiations, at least in the usual sense. I think it struck the Astros late Saturday that Beltran never had any intention of re-signing with them. I'm not sure we'll ever know his reasons.

CARLOS, STOP THE LIES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

He states the Mets really wanted him, like the Astros didn't. He got the petition that everyone in Houston signed that said they wanted him back. Did he read any of the signs at the stadium? What a louse.

The bottom line is he had no intention of every signing with Houston. Boras wanted him in NY, so that is where he is. That is fine, it is life as a fan of a mid market team. I understand that, I never thought the Astros would sign him. But he doesn't have to drag the Astros through the mud and lie about everything like he did. Scott Boras is the devil. I'm sick of the lies. Come clean Carlos, stop the lies.