Ted Kennedy: National Hero

America has suffered a devastating blow with the death of longtime senator Edward Kennedy. First elected to office for the state of Massachusetts in November 1962, Kennedy was elected 9 times and served a massive total of 46 years. Ted Kennedy supported a strong government and played a major role in the passing of several bills addressing topics like politics and health care.

Kennedy was born on February 22, 1932 in Boston, Massachusetts, the youngest of nine children. His siblings include the highly regarded John F. Kennedy and Robert F. Kennedy. He attended Harvard, but was expelled for cheating. He joined the army for a few years, before reapplying to Harvard and finishing his degree. He graduated in 1956 with a bachelors of history and government.

While in law school, Ted Kennedy met a beautiful girl named Virginia Joan Bennett. They were soon married, and they had three children together: Kara Anne, Edward Jr., and Patrick. Their relationship grew troubled because of her alcoholism and Ted Kennedy's womanizing.

Through his years in the Senate, Kennedy has always been a distinguished figure. He was someone people looked up to and always a good role model.

Sadly, in 2008 Kennedy was diagnosed with a malignant brain tumor. In spite of his health issues, Ted Kennedy played a role in the Senate till his death in 2009, at his home in Hyannis Port, Massachusetts. At the time of his death, he had come to be viewed as the voice and conscience of American progressivism. Ted Kennedy will always be a symbol of American inspiration.

Rockstar Games confirms Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars and Beaterator coming to iPhone and iPod Touch

GTA Chinatown Wars, the newest game in the ambitious crime-epic franchise, has been announced for Apple's portables. The game is confirmed for a fall release. No screens or gameplay have been shown as of yet, but it is safe to assume that the game will be nearly identical to the DS version that garnered such high reviews from critics. We'll bring you more details as we get them.
http://ir.take2games.com/releasedetail.cfm?ReleaseID=406130

Beaterator, Rockstar's new music-creation tool originally slated for PSP release this fall, has also been confirmed for release on iPhone and iPod Touch. The game puts you in the feet of a newbie DJ, mixing and matching beats and creating your own music. The game is being co-produced by famed producer Timbaland. More details will follow as we get them.
http://ir.take2games.com/releasedetail.cfm?ReleaseID=406125

The Economy and Sports: Soccer

Part 1 of a 3 part series....

Problem:
Soccer has been the most popular sport in the world for decade, and for good reason. The money and power behind football's best clubs have created the ultimate fan experience, by calling upon the best players they can to bring in their league's title. For years, this system of buying and selling players for hefty sums has kept the fans interested and the leagues competitive. However, in recent months, a glaring hole has opened up in this otherwise brilliant financial plan. Teams like Manchester United and Real Madrid have millions and millions to spend on whatever player catches their fancy, as they always have. However, things are looking bad for teams that sit on the fringe of contention; the teams that normally draw just enough profit to stay in the black.
These teams (basically everone except Real Madrid, Arsenal, and ManU) have found it hard to build around their one star player when they can no longer afford to keep that player under contract. The huge clubs sweep up that star for a hefty sum, leaving the lower level team with money but no talent. This has caused football to become increasingly polarized, with the good teams getting WAY better and the bad teams falling by the wayside.

Solution: This is one solution I know will never be accepted by the big teams, and therefore fail, but the idea has to be out there. International club soccer should initiate a salary cap plan. Under this plan, player salaries cannot exceed an amount set by a council that decides such matter. Any overreaching by teams, which will surely happen, should result in heavy salary taxes. There should be a revenue sharing agreement between clubs which allows the tax money to go to clubs which can't afford to reach the salary cap in the first place.
This shouldn't greatly hinder the big clubs, because they can afford the salary tax anyway. This will really help the teams at the bottom maintain a competitive environment. The teams in the 2nd division should create a second agreement, which will allow teams that get knocked out of the top division to let go of their best players to avoid salary issues with the lower payroll of the lower division.

The first problem solved by your friendly neighborhood businessman Garbanzo.

GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAALLLLLLLLLLLLLLL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Iraqis Feel Ambivalence Toward American Soldiers

According to the NY Times, Iraqi military leaders have been feeling ambivalence toward the American miltary. Many American soldiers feel Iraq owes a lot to them, especially because this war has cost America a trillion dollars, 4,000 American lives, and at least another decade ruled by insurgents or worse, Saddam Hussein. Iraqis have been frustated by some of the American soldiers' actions. In one instance, an Iraqi politician traveled with the Iraqi Army's chief of staff, and was stopped at Baghdad Airport by an American sergeant who did not allow them to board. Later, the Iraqi politician met with the commader in charge of Baghdad. During the meeting, an American colonel said that "there was nothing he could do about this."

The Iraqis have to listen somewhat to the American miltary, because without it, the insurgents will wreak havoc across Iraq. Right now, the Iraqi military is too inexperienced and cannot control the number of insurgents in Iraq. Even when the United States made an agreement with Iraq to not interfere in cities and population centers, on August 19th, two bombings of ministries prompted the U.S. to act even when it wasn't supposed to. In hindsight, this decision was both beneficial and hindering to the Iraqi military. It was beneficial because the insurgents were eventually killed, but it hindered the progress of the Iraqi army, which was exposed because it still cannot prevent insurgents from attacking, let alone external countries. One source said that "This whole incident should serve as a wake-up call that the U.S. still has a very important role to play in Iraq’s security.” This is not encouraging news for Iraq, which is scheduled to be free of American support by 2011.

Some people will wonder what external threats Iraq faces. As long as the American army remains in Iraq, nothing. However, once it leaves, Iraq will be surrounded by potential enemies. Turkey is currently bombing Northern Iraq, and Iran and Iraq fought int he 1980's. There are many other small middle-eastern countries that do not like the idea of a Shiite-controlled Iraq.

Even though some Iraqis may feel some resentment towards the U.S., they know that America will have to be in Iraq for a very long time. There will be more Iraqi deaths, and the U.S. and Iraq are trying to contain the insurgents. But for now, Iraq will have to remain friends with the U.S. if they want to make any progress going further.

Sony's New PS3 motion controller

Sony announced the new motion controller for the PS3 back in June at the annual E3 conference. The prototype looks like a wand with a sphere on top. It's works together with the Playstation Eye Camera, tracking its position on screen - this is very similar to the Wiimote, but that uses an infrared camera in the sensor bar which tracks an infrared light in the Wiimote. It's supposedly got sub-millimeter precision, making it far more precise than the Wiimote. Sony R&D has put together a video describing how it works, and the process undertaken to design it. According to Sony, games implementing the motion controller will be released in the Spring of 2010.

San Francisco Giants tie Wild Card lead in quest for a playoff spot

In dramatic fashion, the San Francisco Giants tied the Colorado Rockies for the Major League Wild Card, in their pursuit for their first playoff berth since 2003. This secured a sweep against the rival Wild Card contender. The starting pitcher for the Giants was All-Star pitcher Matt Cain against his counterpart Jason Hammel for the Colorado Rockies. The game's outcome was very similar to the Monday's 14 inning game which also was decided by a clutch grand slam, in which the Giants lost 6-4. This time the grand slam worked in the Giants favor. The much maligned signing of Edgar Renteria by GM Brian Sabean worked out well for the Giants Sunday afternoon. After many chances were wasted by the Giants, Renteria came up with the bases loaded in the 7th inning. On the 2nd pitch he saw from Rockies reliever Rafael Betancourt he blasted a long drive near the left field foul pole. The shot was Renteria's 4th of the season. The Giants scored again in the 8th with singles by Eugenio Velez and Ryan Rohlinger. The final score was 9-5. The first two games were also won by the Giants but just like this game weren't without drama. On Sunday a magnificent outing by Barry Zito almost came to naught when the Rockies scored 2 more in the 9th against relievers Jeremy Affeldt and Sergio Romo. The first game of the series was a pitching duel ultimately won by 2008 National League Cy Young Award Winner Tim Lincecum. This series sweep at home further tightens the National league Wild race which is currently a tie between the Rockies and the Giants. Other contenders include the Florida Marlins led by superstar Hanley Ramirez, the under achieving Chicago Cubs and the Atlanta Braves who possess one of the best starting staffs in the National League.

Mac OS X Snow Leopard

The newest update to Mac OS X, 10.6, has been released. Officially known as Snow Leopard, it promises to be the best update since 10.1. Snow Leopard uses a slew of optimizations to ensure that it is the fastest version of OS X that has been released yet, and actually reclaims disk space by deleting many unnecessary printer drivers. Upgrading from Leopard costs $29 for a single license, or $49 for a family pack of five licenses. Upgrading from Tiger costs $169 (for the entire box set) but the Leopard disc still works, however it violates the EULA bundled with OS X systems.

Installation is simple: Insert the disc and you are ready to customize your installation. Once finished, you can leave the Mac to do all the heavy lifting for you.

The New Look: Wait... what? There's no real new look. Unless you count slight improvements in Expose.

Features: Most every app (including Finder) has been rewritten and optimized for 64-bit. All future apps should ideally be written in Cocoa, as support for the archaic Carbon is being phased out.

Exchange Server support has been added natively, with increased out-of-the-box features than Windows. Mail, iCal, and Address Book all support Exchange.

Preview has had improved PDF support added. Annotations can now be added to documents as well.

Substitutions has been added as a systemwide service. It autocorrects spelling mistakes as well as punctuation errors.

Safari 4 has been added, with increased stability for plugin crashes and a more efficient Javascript routine.

A new Quicktime has been added, but it removes many features so Apple has added Quicktime 7 as an optional download.

The switch to 64-bit mode and Grand Central Dispatch has made Snow Leopard and its programs much faster.

A hidden malware-defense system has been added, but it's quite limited. It only protects against two kinds of trojans.

Tons of other tiny features have been added or improved.

Nett Result: Snow Leopard arrives and provides tons of features and speed for a low price. Buy it today!

Usain Bolt to the NFL???

Usain Bolt to the National Football League? Umm, who is he?

Usain Bolt. The fastest human being on the planet as of now, and probably of all time is 6'5" and weighs 190 lbs. But how do we know he is a one and done athlete? Well, lets take a look at his resume:

-won 200 m gold medal in the World Junior Olympics as a 14 year old

-too many achievements as a professional:

Olympic Games
Gold	2008 Beijing	100 m
Gold	2008 Beijing	200 m
Gold	2008 Beijing	4 × 100 m relay
World Championships
Gold	2009 Berlin	100 m
Gold	2009 Berlin	200 m
Gold	2009 Berlin	4 × 100 m relay
Silver	2007 Osaka	200 m
Silver	2007 Osaka	4 × 100 m relay
World Junior Championships
Gold	2002 Kingston	200 m
Silver	2002 Kingston	4 × 100 m relay
Silver	2002 Kingston	4 × 400 m relay
World Youth Championships
Gold	2003 Sherbrooke	200 m

Obviously, Bolt has had some achievements in his career, but can he play the role of a wide receiver in the NFL? I don't think so.

In our days, we have seen an array of NFL players that have been hyped so much because they are extremely fast. For example Devin Hester (pick 57), Darren McFadden(pick 4), and Reggie Bush (pick 2) were all picked extremely high because of their quick legs. We don't know if Darrius Heyward-Bey of the Oakland Raiders is going to be bust, but he has never had a year, including high school, where he has racked up 1000 yards. He is fast, has bad hands and hasn't proven himself.

Usain Bolt's best timed 100 meters is 9.58 and experts convert that to about a 3.6 second 40 yard dash. The fastest 40 yard dash recorded at an NFL Scouting Combine is in the 4.24s and Bolt can surpass that with ease, but you have to think to yourself, can he actually run routes?

In football, a receiver's role is to catch the football. Usain Bolt, not really known for catching, but for being caught. Cornerbacks and safeties would neverbe able to catch him, but can he run in any other direction but a straight line? We might never know, but if one thing is true, the routes for a receiver are never straight 90% of the time, but even if for Bolt it was straight all the time, would the quarterback be able to get it to his hands? Probably not, because of how fast he gets from one place to another. We also need to consider the fact that you play football in the NFL with pads and other equipment weigh 20-30 extra pounds. Bolt looks like he has the physical build to be successful, but he has clearly not been around the game.

We look at successful receivers in the league today such as Jerry Rice, Andre Johnson and Greg Jennings, who are labeled star receivers not because of their speed, but by how smart they are on the field. Yes, I know football players aren't the smartest beings out there... But here and there you have exceptions for very fast receivers with great hands like Randy Moss and Steve Smith who are great receivers because they use both their head and their mind.

All in all, Usain Bolt is the fastest man ever, but does he want to leave his sport in which he excels for another? We may never know whether he would make a great or even decent football player, but if he did, I would say he would be a bust. Mark Schlereth of ESPN agrees with me, but who knows, Usain Bolt is only 21 and he can learn.