Did the Detroit Lions Really Win Sunday?

My understanding of the NFL rule that was applied Sunday to take away the apparent touchdown by Detroit's Calvin Johnson is the following.

If a player goes to the ground in the act of catching a pass (with or without contact by an opponent), he must maintain control of the ball after he touches the ground, whether in the field of play or the end zone. If he loses control of the ball, and the ball touches the ground before he regains control, the pass is incomplete. If he regains control prior to the ball touching the ground, the pass is complete.
(Reference: http://espn.go.com/blog/nfcnorth/post/_/id/16142/like-it-or-not-megatron-call-was-right)

The defense of the call is based on the second half of the first sentence. My objection to the call is the "if statement" in the first half of the sentence - the premise for the balance of the rule - is not applicable. Mr. Johnson was not in the act of catching a pass when he went to the ground, he had already caught the pass. The rule cited, then, does not apply. Rather than being an incompletion, it was a touchdown. If what I view as the correct interpretation had been applied, the game would have changed significantly, but I do not know if it would have resulted in a Lions victory. No one can know that even though the odds are highly stacked to support such a conclusion. Football is a game of improbabilities. Had the Lions been given the touchdown, improbable as it would seem, the Bears - with a superb placekicker - could still have won. We will never know.

Dogs and Polling Data

I guess the context has changed.

November 2008
The other [criterion in choosing a dog as a pet] is that "our preference would be to get a shelter dog," which would point to the possibility of a mixed breed, or, as Obama said, "a mutt, like me."

Silverman, Stephen M. "President-Elect Obama May Get a Mutt 'Like Me' - Barack Obama." People.com: The #1 Celebrity Site for Breaking News, Celebrity Pictures and Star Style. Time Inc., 07 Nov. 2008. Web. 07 Sept. 2010. http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20239003,00.html.

September 2010
He [President Obama] said interest groups he has battled "talk about me like a dog."

Superville, Darlene. "Obama Assails GOP, Promotes New Jobs Program." Post Business. The Washington Post Company, 06 Sept. 2010. Web. 07 Sept. 2010. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/09/06/AR2010090600805.html?wprss=rss_business/economy.

Day Trip to Volo

Less than two weeks ago I read an article stating the corn crop was at its ideal picking. We had other plans that weekend and could not get away to sample the corn. Yesterday, Donna and I made the trek to Volo, Illinois, where the article stated the corn was especially good. Volo is less than an hour away, yet we made a day of it. The tiny town has an automotive museum and a large antique mall. The museum was not up to the standards of the Petersen Automotive Museum in Los Angeles or the Imperial Palace Hotel's automobile collection in Las Vegas, but considering it is in the middle of nowhere, it was a pleasant surprise. We found the cars too tightly packed for us to fully appreciate them. The acoustics were awful and we could not listen to any of the audio video displays. Yet the collection was nice, particularly if you have an interest in late-1960s and early-1970s American muscle cars. The picture is of Donna next to the Lotus Esprit used in Pretty Woman, starring Julia Roberts, and Donna's favorite, Richard Gere.


Aside from being next to a spot where Richard Gere had been, the antique mall was the highlight for Donna. She was unable to make it through each of the buildings but she added to her collection of tea cups. Amazingly, I made it through the mall without spending any money, although the temptation was great.

On the way out of town as the vendors were packing up, we remembered the reason for the trip and got a few ears of corn. The selection was fairly well picked over. I suspect we missed the prime time, but we are looking forward to trying the fresh corn tonight.

Summer Evening in Americana

Occasionally the America I knew when I was growing up can still be found. Last night was such an occasion. Donna and I went to a Summer Breeze concert at the Atcher park in Schaumburg, Illinois. The performance was by Frank Winkler and the Symphonic Pops Orchestra. They played Broadway favorites and light classics. It was also the premier of a nice work titled America's Hope. The weather was comfortable in the low 80s, with just a light breeze, and amazingly bugs were not a problem. Yesterday was a wonderful evening in the Midwest.

Hot Do(u)gs

I noticed Hot Doug's is closed through August 24 for vacation. Those of you outside of the Chicago area may ask why it is notable that a smallish, out of the way, hot dog stand is closed for a couple of weeks. To understand, you have to know the best hot dogs in the world are in Chicago. Forget Coney Island, New York, the arguments center around which stand in Chicago. I am not fond of Chicago-style dogs and regularly violate the cardinal rule of Chicago hot dogs by eating them with ketchup. That said, I am a fan of Gene & Jude's, where ketchup is not available and customers are thrown out if they bring it in. Yes, I am confined to eating in the parking lot and I hope this confessional does not put that at risk. I also enjoy the hot dogs and ambiance of Superdawg Drive-In even if Playboy's Girls Next Door are not there. Years ago when I first visited Chicago with my best friend, we ate at Gold Coast, yes, the hot dogs were so good I remember the place from more than thirty years ago. Nonetheless, they all fail in comparison to Hot Doug's.

In her last visit to Chicago, my daughter made me take her to Hot Doug's even though it meant driving past Gene & Jude's and Superdawg. We ended up waiting in line for 2 hours, 20 minutes for hot dogs! No one in line complained - neither the locals nor those who traveled from out of state just to eat there. Simply put we had the best hot dogs of our lives. We each ate two. I ate:
1) The Elvis Polish Sausage: Smoked and savory - just like the King;
and
2) The Marty Allen (formerly the Don Rickles) Thuringer: Hello der beef, pork and garlic.


Chelsea's selections were more exotic. She ate:
1) Hot Doug's BLT: Bacon Sausage with Avocado Mayonnaise, Iceberg Lettuce, Cherry Tomatoes and Hickory-Smoked Sweet Swiss Cheese;
and
2) The Thomas McKean (Celebrity Sausage for the day): Cherry and Apple Pork Sausage with Sweet Curry Mustard, Cocoa Cardona Cheese and Vodka-Infused Dried Fruit.

The fries look greasy, but they were fried in duck fat and were crisp. They did not even leave a hint of a grease stain.

Enjoy your vacation Hot Doug, you will be missed.

Among the Beautiful People

Thursday evening after work, I went with two colleagues to Javier’s Cantina and Grill at Crystal Grove in Newport Beach, California (http://javiers-cantina.com/). I am not saying I am cheap, but I am not one to spend four dollars for valet parking when there is free parking forty feet away. Biologists say cars are inanimate, yet I sensed my rental Toyota Corolla would feel inadequate if they positioned it next to the Phantom Drophead Coupé in the valet parking. The maitre d' pleasantly surprised me by allowing us to eat at the restaurant. I am sure I had nothing to do with our getting in. Perhaps he heard the hint of European accent in Sandy’s voice. Maybe the much younger Megan was sufficiently hip, in an Illinois way. Regardless, he chose to seat us instead of directing us to Taco Bell. Thankfully I did not blind anyone with the sun reflecting off my milky pale skin. Yes, I had on a long sleeved shirt, but if I sat at a different angle my balding head could be dangerous. I did not see a sign posted with the dress code but I am confident my party was the only one in which no one had plastic surgery. I suspect Javier’s selected us for an outreach program to those less fortunate in the community. The food was good and the atmosphere was relaxing, in an awkward way. As for the other clientele, at least physically, some of the beautiful people really are beautiful.

Type 3 Lie

This week the Executive Branch of the U.S. federal government claimed the economic stimulus of February 2009 "created or saved" between 2.5 million and 3.6 million jobs and raised GDP by 2.7% to 3.2% through June 30. (The Wall Street Journal) Rather than using established, accepted, non-partisan data on jobs, the Administration created an arbitrary, non-existent scenario against which they are to be evaluated - what would have happened had the stimulus not passed. Because the scenario is fictitious, it is only a matter of conjecture how many jobs may have been saved or loss. The Administration though has set a maximum threshold of 3.6 million. Given the stimulus was $862Billion, that means our government spent a minimum of $239,445 per job saved or created! Even when choosing to make up data, our government seems unable to do a credible job.

There are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies, and statistics.
Benjamin Disraeli, British politician (1804 - 1881)

References:
The Wall Street Journal. "Three Million Imaginary Jobs - WSJ.com." Business News & Financial News - Opinion. Dow Jones & Company, Inc., 15 July 2010. Web. 17 July 2010. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703394204575367421573463984.html.

"Quote Details: Benjamin Disraeli: There Are Three Kinds... - The Quotations Page." The Quotations Page - Michael Moncur's (Cynical) Quotations. Ed. Michael Moncur. QuotationsPage.com and Michael Moncur. Web. 17 July 2010. http://www.quotationspage.com/quote/487.html.