A Face Lift for Soccer Balls

As seen today on BusinessWeek.com . Let's say these balls are all they are said to be. What predictable impact could this have in World Cup competition? Is weather an issue in Germany, what's the typical summer like over there, amount of precipitation to be expected, in what region and so on (e.g. are all stadiums open?). In wet conditions, this should favor fast, run & gun teams, and hinder slower or technical teams. It will be impossible to isolate the specific effect of changing the ball, except maybe on free kicks, but I can't help but wonder why they introduce it without prior practice or experience - smells like a marketing coup to me.

If you follow the NFL you know they introduced a new ball rule few years back: all game balls are spanking new. Kickers hate it. Others don't seem to care much. Has anybody studied the impact of this rule on the game, e.g. percent completion of field goals, that sort of thing...?

NYC baby

Going to the big apple for a few days. Can't wait. Been there many times, but it's been a long time since last time I went, pre-9/11. Get ready for some pictures! [update: I've put a photo album on facebook]

Update

Not blogging these days... but keeping it so I don't lose this URL. Might start up again later, who knows. Godspeed... \_p.

Playlist - March

• Agaetis Byrjun - Sigur Ros
• Pirate's Life - Cpen
• Alone in Kyoto - Air
• The Distance - Cake
• Souvenirs - Architecture In Helsinki
• Chartered Trips - Hüsker Dü
• Light Years - Pearl Jam
• Careful Where You Stand - Coldplay
• A Plain Morning - Dashboard Confessional
• I've Tried Everything - Eurythmics
• Silver Angel - Helium
• Shook Ones Part 2 - Mobb Deep
• Indian Flute - Timbaland
• Creep - Stone Temple Pilots
• Say It Ain't So - Weezer

Technopolis

According to a survey conducted by Popular Science magazine, Minneapolis ranks numero uno in U.S. cities when it comes to technology. The criteria -- connected citizens, transportation innovation, high-tech jobs, education, use of energy, hospitals & emergency response -- are interesting. Some things are familiar to all who know a little about this city, like medtech (e.g. Medtronic) innovations, 3M, University of MN research , Skyway, Light Rail, etc. Other things might surprise you... Did you know the MOA has no heating system? Ot that downtown traffic is monitored and altered by underground density sensors? Read about that and more things we take for granted living here, in this article.

Can O' Whoop Ass

Tonight Green Team opened a can o' whoop ass upon Bitch Better Have My Money, the head ref's team. Apparently, tonight wasn't Mr. Pimp's payday. I must say it felt really good to beat that cocky s.o.b. who the week before, and I quote, had told me 'next week you will feel the wrath of my team'. We beat 'em 7-0, in the first half no less, so the game ended by mercy rule. Not bad given that we only had 1 guy sub and that only one of our girls showed up. We picked up a random girl to play so we wouldn't have to forfeit, but we still had to play 1 girl down the entire game. T'was a beautiful thing to watch, back there from my libero position...

Museum of Bad Album Covers

From Yahoo! Picks Weekly Wire,

Museum of Bad Album Covers

This one is fairly self-explanatory, although it does beg the question: What were they thinking? English music zine ZonicWeb presents a lovingly curated, jaw-droppingly ghastly gallery of hideous album covers. This stuff is painfully addictive. We suggest you jump straight to the Top Ten and click your way through to the near misses -- covers that didn't quite make the list. But we doubt you'll be able to stop there. General categories include heavy metal atrocities, including a classic ManO'War cover. Don't overlook new wave nasties, folk crimes, gospel horror shows, and just plain wrong. And if you haven't been blinded by these assaults on your visual senses, you may want to pay homage to those who offer comfort through song.