HortensePowdermaker

re: Does Peyton Manning's Regular Season Greatness even Matter anymore?

Posted by HortensePowdermaker on 9/24/13 at 10:55 am to LeonPhelps

quote:
So to base his legacy on how many rings he has is lazy analysis.

I agree. How many total playoff games has he played? Is it a statistically significant number? Luck dominates small sample sizes.

re: Dexter series finale

Posted by HortensePowdermaker on 9/24/13 at 10:05 am to hiltacular

quote:
I am actually okay with the general idea behind the ending (Dex realizing he can never live a normal life and that he kills everyone closest to him... so he runs away to isolate himself).

Me too. In theory, it wasn't terrible.

quote:
It is just the execution of it was pathetic. The acting and writing were laughable at times. For that ending to work you really have to feel the anguish in Dex which was impossible with his acting and the ridiculous scenarios that were happening everywhere (hurricane etc).

I kind of think you are just supposed to take the last 15 minutes as symbolic. They have been abandoning the confinements of technology and logistics for so many seasons now, that it must have made more sense for them not to even try.

re: Paul Dietzel has passed away at the age of 89

Posted by HortensePowdermaker on 9/24/13 at 9:31 am to TexasTiger89

RIP

Wiki not updated yet

re: Anyone have a still picture of onside kick

Posted by HortensePowdermaker on 9/23/13 at 6:21 pm to Geaux Tahel

quote:
I wouldn't say a full yard, but anyone who thinks he touched it AFTER 10 yards, is a complete retard... or Troll... or BOTH.

I think he touched it about a foot before 10 yards...I just don't think the angle shown on TV CONCLUSIVELY conveys this.

re: Even Alabama can't get its students to stay for a full game.

Posted by HortensePowdermaker on 9/23/13 at 6:18 pm to Draconian Sanctions

quote:
lack of booze is affecting everyone in the conference

When was this ever not the case?

re: Here's the full Shaq interview for those who missed it (Video)

Posted by HortensePowdermaker on 9/23/13 at 6:11 pm to LSUis2LeGiT

All the people bitching about the half-empty stadium affecting recruiting...it would be hard to believe that just this one Shaq appearance didn't literally DWARF the theoretical impact of that.

re: Anyone have a still picture of onside kick

Posted by HortensePowdermaker on 9/23/13 at 6:07 pm to AlwysATgr

quote:
Seemed like the only view ESPN gave was field level looking down the 45 yd line from the LSU side.

At first, I thought AU had made a play. On first review, I didn't think there was conclusive evidence to the contrary. But upon furthre review I think the AU kicker touched it prematurely.

This. Although I'm 99% confident that he almost had to have touched it before the 45, I don't believe the replay actually does show him conclusively touching it - because we have no depth from that angle. I was very surprised that they overturned it.

re: Fairfax to take Blackberry private

Posted by HortensePowdermaker on 9/23/13 at 2:53 pm to nolanola

I think these Canadian institutions get a lot of pressure to invest in Canadian businesses. Will be interesting to see. Prem is awesome, though.

Money Talk

Fairfax to take Blackberry private

Posted by HortensePowdermaker on 9/23/13 at 12:54 pm

quote:
BlackBerry Ltd. (TSX:BB) says it has signed a deal to be bought by a consortium led by its largest shareholder in a deal valued at U$4.7 billion.

The consortium led by Fairfax Financial Holdings. Ltd. (TSX:FFH) has offered US$9 per share in cash for the smartphone maker.

Under the deal, the consortium would all acquire of the outstanding shares of BlackBerry not held by Fairfax, which owns approximately a 10 per cent in the company.

Hard to know what to think. Seems like the ultimate melting ice cube, but the Fairfax guy is a legend.

LINK

Money Talk

re: Tesla - Buy or Sell?

Posted by HortensePowdermaker on 9/23/13 at 11:32 am to Tigah in the ATL

quote:
There may be electric car companies one day. Only time will tell if Tesla is one of them.

And there will be big competition from BMW and the like. I think that plug-in cars are here to stay and a lot of us will be buying them in the next 10 years. What's much less clear is if Tesla will be good at doing so. I say do not invest in this type of stuff.

Money Talk

re: Busting out the extended edition LOTRs

Posted by HortensePowdermaker on 9/21/13 at 3:32 pm to udtiger

The characters you listed do go through conflict, but it's always of the sort that is "powerful external evil making them not be themselves because they are actually good people". They all fell under the spell of the ring. Even Aragorn and Gandalf are tempted by it. To me, that doesn't really make them more complex.

But I would much rather watch LOTR movies than GoT TV show.

re: Busting out the extended edition LOTRs

Posted by HortensePowdermaker on 9/21/13 at 12:18 am to udtiger

quote:
LOTRs

I love the books and the movies, but Game of Thrones has really cast a shadow over these, IMO, and shown just how one-dimensional the characters are. Everyone is either totally good or totally bad with no shades whatsoever.

I guess the movies are faithful to the books in this regard.

Hard to beat the music. It really is great.

My favorite shot of all time of any movie is in FotR when Gandalf's wagon turns the corner as he pulls up to Bilbo's door. It's a slow zoom shot from a boom that is so perfectly framed and timed that it brings tears to my eyes.

re: Seinfeld characters who deserved spinoffs

Posted by HortensePowdermaker on 9/19/13 at 6:24 pm to WG_Dawg

quote:
Jay Remenschneider

Very nice. Could be about his horse-eating.

re: Derek

Posted by HortensePowdermaker on 9/19/13 at 1:22 pm to Dandy Lion

quote:
Dandy Lion

Merchant has a new show coming out too.

Streaming game on XBox?

Posted by HortensePowdermaker on 9/17/13 at 10:07 pm

I got roped into a function where the people (if you can call them that) don't have cable. Should I be able to somehow stream the game via ESPN through an XBox?

re: Imagine if LSU-Ala or any SEC game ended the same way Wisc-Arizona State ended

Posted by HortensePowdermaker on 9/17/13 at 4:03 pm to omegaman66

quote:
Wisc. qb should have spiked the ball. That is how you freaking stop the clock!

It's already been mentioned how shaky their kicker is - by doing what the QB did, he was placing the ball on the hash they wanted instead of reverting to the old one.

quote:
He was an idiot for not spiking the ball. What was he thinking!!!!

He kneeled the ball and the ref immediately blew the whistle. What else is there to know?

quote:
Wisc. coach was an idiot for not kicking the field goal. Time running out and he calls a running play? Any play???? Pure stupid.

20 seconds left. Any team that has practiced end-of-game management at all should be able to comfortably manage this series in the presence of competent officiating.

quote:
It was a long shot for any of that to happen.... but it did. Why give the other team a chance when it isn't necessary.

To get better placement for their kicker.

re: Imagine if LSU-Ala or any SEC game ended the same way Wisc-Arizona State ended

Posted by HortensePowdermaker on 9/17/13 at 3:29 pm to mdtiger1

quote:
mdtiger1

Man, you are a hard case. Just give it up already.

re: PAC12 Speaks about ASU/Wisky refs

Posted by HortensePowdermaker on 9/16/13 at 4:30 pm to Zamoro10

quote:
Nothing will beat the Oklahoma - Oregon on-side kick game which I was at.

Wow, you were there? I still say that is the single worst call I have ever seen - both on the field and from the replay booth.

re: Ozymandias Easter eggs and symbolism (spoilers)

Posted by HortensePowdermaker on 9/16/13 at 1:14 pm to DirtyMikeandtheBoys

Man, that is some deep @#$%

re: Was "Ozymandias" the best episode of television you've seen?

Posted by HortensePowdermaker on 9/16/13 at 11:33 am to joshnorris14

quote:
He's not a sociopath. He certainly has empathy. He was a broken person after watching Hank get shot and he was crying while he talked to Skylar on the phone.

Over the course of the series, he has clearly shown sociopathic tendencies. Yes, it was finally taken so far in the last episode that even he - as rotten as he is - reached a breaking point. If only he would have shown some of that over the past year.

re: Was "Ozymandias" the best episode of television you've seen?

Posted by HortensePowdermaker on 9/16/13 at 11:26 am to joshnorris14

quote:
The unspoken forgiveness toward Walt that Hank felt just before he died as Walt tried to buy his life for $80 million.

I didn't think it was clear that Hank granted that forgiveness.

quote:

The rashness of Skylar and idiot boy when dealing with Walt. (You know the shite has obviously hit the fan and your first reaction is to, instead of figuring out what's wrong, stab Walt/call the cops).

Meh. I don't see how Walt could have possibly thought they would just walk out the door with him - particularly Walt Jr. Look at it from Skylar's perspective...what the hell is in it for Walt Jr. to be on the lam with a criminal? IMO, she made the exact right call by drawing a bright line.

quote:

Walt's painful, forced vindication of Skylar in front of the cops before he knows he's going to get his fresh start. Think about that. The last time he talks to his wife he essentially acts as a sociopathic (Which he is not) abuser in order to clear her name. So gut wrenching.

Well, he has certainly become sociopathic - I suppose it's debatable that he's an abuser (although I think a strong case could be made).
I didn't find it particularly gut-wrenching to find an evil guy managed to find the slightest bit of non-evil for 5 minutes.

quote:
The only thing really unlikeable that Walt did was stab Jesse and twist the knife.

He also attempted to get his disabled son to go on the lam with him.

re: Was "Ozymandias" the best episode of television you've seen?

Posted by HortensePowdermaker on 9/16/13 at 10:54 am to DirtyMikeandtheBoys

quote:
Todd is just awesome. Dude DGAF, his ringtone really bumped him a few notches. It's like he is so psychotic that his actions are all out of amusement. It's like a big joke to him.

All of this is belied by his subservience to both Mr. White and his uncle. It seems like a cold-blooded kid-killer would be doing his own thing a lot more.

re: New Nightmare

Posted by HortensePowdermaker on 9/16/13 at 10:52 am to Draconian Sanctions

Yes. And followed by the brilliant Scream just 2 years later.

re: Was "Ozymandias" the best episode of television you've seen?

Posted by HortensePowdermaker on 9/16/13 at 10:37 am to OnTheBrink

quote:
The crazy thing for me is the love for Todd.

Yeah. What is the reason for the Todd love? Just because of the kid?

re: Was "Ozymandias" the best episode of television you've seen?

Posted by HortensePowdermaker on 9/16/13 at 10:30 am to The Seaward

It's crazy to me the hatred of Skyler.

re: Ozymandias Easter eggs and symbolism (spoilers)

Posted by HortensePowdermaker on 9/16/13 at 10:29 am to HoopyD

This is why I saw these shows are art and not just entertainment.

re: Was "Ozymandias" the best episode of television you've seen?

Posted by HortensePowdermaker on 9/16/13 at 10:23 am to DirtyMikeandtheBoys

quote:
I gained so much admiration for Walt, brought back the hate for Skyler and her bitch sister, gained a sliver of respect for Hank, can now fully hate Jesse, and still think Todd is one of the greatest characters ever put on the screen.

Weird

re: Oxygen on the sidelines

Posted by HortensePowdermaker on 9/16/13 at 10:12 am to SwaggerCopter

quote:
I'm good need cliffs of the podcast. Can't listen right now.

Some somewhat standard review of the Tommy John surgery hypocrisy.

Here is actually some better material:

Gadwell review from the New Yorker on "The Sports Gene"

Podcast abou the article

Oxygen on the sidelines

Posted by HortensePowdermaker on 9/16/13 at 10:07 am

Why is having the canisters of pure O2 (or whatever it is) not viewed as similar to "doping"? I hate how arbitrary our society's views on this stuff are.

Good Sports Guy podcast on the topic with Gladwell and Silver.