(jmjbox) Tom Brady hasn't always been successful according to Lee Jenkins of SI.COM.

Jenkins described how Brady was a 2nd-string quarterback at 0-8 Junipero Serra High School in (San Mateo) California, moved on to University of Michigan to become 7th-string quarterback, and to being drafted by the Patriots in the sixth round of the NFL draft in 2000. According to his high school buddy, who quit after the 0-8 season to focus more on basketball, which gave Brady his first starting break, Brady's rise has been a "fairy tale" of sorts.

(DB Blas) Depression in the Midlife
According to an article in USA Today, many people in the Western world experience a depression around the age of 44 years of age.

Some researchers have suggested that adults who are in their forties may likely be coming to grips with an idealistic view of themselves, born from young adulthood, and the reality of future expectations based upon actual accomplishments.

Not social scientists agree, however. According to the same article,
some researchers suggest it's not an age issue, and more a regional, cultural issue.

(DB Blas) The News Hour with Jim Leherer, a news program on PBS, covers the 2008 primary like no other. For the 2008 Primary Elections, The News Hour assembled renown historians, for example, to discuss the historic context of this year's presidential selection process.

On one recent show, I posed a question regarding California's relatively late voting date and the selection of candiates in the primary election. Well my questions were posed to the panelists, and this is what transpired:

RAY SUAREZ: D.B. Blas writes, from San Diego, California, "As a Californian, I feel, as many of my friends do, that my state is somewhat voiceless during the primary season and selecting each party's candidate. Iowa and New Hampshire have more influence than the largest state in the union. If California was the first primary state, to what degree would it change the selection of the candidate, and how different would it appear? Do the primaries of later, larger states actually have an impact?"

[...]

MICHAEL BESCHLOSS: I think our writer should feel better this year, because one reason why California was moved up to the 5th of February from where it used to be, which was late in the season, sometimes as late as June, is to give it a much greater impact. And I think our writer will see that in 4 weeks.

The downside of having California first is, that's a state where there is very little retail politics of the kind that we've seen in Iowa and New Hampshire, very much dependent on who raises the most money, who can put on commercials. And I'm not sure that's the best thing for the first test in the season.

BEVERLY GAGE: I'd agree with Michael that the advantage of these early states, like Iowa and New Hampshire, which are -- as many people have noted, they're unrepresentative states, they're small states, but they do have a kind of personal door-to-door politics and a door-to-door political culture that's developed over the past few decades that you probably wouldn't get in a place like California.

On the other hand, there are really important questions to be asked as the primary system keeps changing. Right? This is something that was cobbled together from the first, and has now become this, sort of, competitive race between states, and it really seems like 2008 is a moment to take that step back to look at the system as a whole and to ask whose needs are being served, whose needs are not being served. And I think there's a good case that, for a state like California or New York, some of those needs, maybe, aren't being served.

This year, we'll have something -- the -- probably the closest thing we've ever had to a national primary, and we'll just see how that turns out.

It's not very often are questions are posed to informed and intelligent people. It goes to show the power of the Internet.

Download the podcast here.

No McCain no gain.

Steve Novick is running for a U.S. Senate seat in Oregon. I agree with him that NCLB needs to be re-tooled, and I also agree with him on the parts of NCLB worth salvaging. Like the part in NCLB that calls for districts to track student achievement by ethnicity and income levels is good. We do need to have other things, like full funding of federal education mandates to name one.

One Book One San Diego: Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson and David Relin is the read for the city-wide book club. Get it today at the library and start reading.

The San Diego Public Library had a book sale, from which four books, for a grand total of $9.00, were purchased yesterday. The sale was to benefit the library, to which I am a regular visitor.

Two of the books were Thomas Jefferson related: Thomas Jefferson: An Intimate History by Fawn McKay Brodie (1974) and Jefferson's Children: The Story of One American Family by Shannon Lanier (Author), Jane Feldman (Photographer) (2002). Of the other two books, one was Undaunted Courage by the late Stephen Ambrose (1997) and The Collected What If? Eminent Historians Imagining What Might Have Been (2001), which was edited by Robert Crowley.

All history books, and three of them are hardcovers. An excellent purchase, indeed.

Gabcast! DB Blas: Mobile Dispatch #12

Gabcast! DB Blas: Mobile Dispatch #11

Gabcast! DB Blas: Mobile Dispatch #10

(medalofhonor.com) While perusing bbc.co.uk, I came across oral histories of British sailors during WWII in Guam. Fascinating:

The last couple of days that we were on Guam we were sent to the harbor to wait for the Petrof Bay to come in from Iwo Jima. The evening before we were to shove off we went to the officers club there at the harbor. This club was right next to Admiral Nimitz's quarters and his swimming pool. Everything was going along fine until Al Godfrey had to empty his bladder and went into the bushes by the pool and cut loose. He was observed by the Shore Patrol and arrested. Since we were leaving the next morning he was released to the custody of the skipper. Once we were out to sea the captain of the ship received a message from Nimitz's office wanting to know what punishment the skipper had given to Godfrey. The skipper was forced to confine him to quarters for three days which didn't bother Godfrey because we would be at sea for those three days. Thank God, he didn't use the Admiral's swimming pool.

Chargers quarterback Philip Rivers' knee needs surgery, according to local sports writer, Kevin Acee, of the SD Union-Tribune.

Rivers, one day after his team's lost to the Patriots, was the prime subject of local sports radio, many calling him a hero for playing with an MCL injury. Apparently Rivers had knee surgery last Monday, and some people (mostly local writers and commentators) knew about it but didn't reveal it to the public.

On another note, the same Acee article reported that LaDainian Tomlinson will not require surgery on his hurt knee, just time (4 weeks).

Gabcast! DB Blas: Mobile Dispatch #9

lei back cafe, originally uploaded by D.B. Blas.

Lei Back Cafe opened in South Park in the Summer of 2007. In a year and a half, this shoe box-sized sandwich shop made a positive difference in South Park's quality of life. I will miss one of my favorite sandwiches: the chicken pesto sandwich. Good bye good place. And good luck to Justine, Jimmy, and the boys.

(maps-pacific.com) A new study by a international group of scientist concludes that the people of Micronesia, which includes the island of Guam, originated from Taiwan and coastal China.

Very little information as to the origins of Micronesians were available until this recent study. The researchers used DNA and a specialized computer program to analyze the data and form a conclusion.

This study was reported in an article by John Noble Wilford of The New York Times.

(AP)

Norv Pulls a Schottenheimer

Norv Turner spoke from the heart the night before the Chargers played the Colts in their AFC Divisional playoff game on Sunday. Charger players felt the emotional tone of Turner's speech and took it personally. So much so that the Chargers beat the favored Colts in a game all the pundits thought the Chargers had no chance of winning (Colts were favored by 10 points).

The Chargers felt as if Turner pulled a Marty Schottenheimer, the coach of the Chargers who was fired at the end of last year, and known for his heartfelt, pre-game pep speeches. The players responded with a win, and now the team seems ready to play an undefeated Patriots team, which will be their second meeting of the season.

At Hamilton's Tavern, South Park's unofficial Charger headquarters, where Charger fans assembled at 10:00 A.M. yesterday, the fans were a bit concerned after the Colts scored easily on their first possession to make the score 7-0. But all concerns flew out the window as soon as the Chargers mounted their first scoring drive in the 2nd quarter to tie the score. The Bolts played lights out the first half and it was clear that they were more physical, and ready to take on the Colts in the second half. And take the on they did.

For food, James Bryant, who is a regular food contributor, prepared a beef stew that was hot, healthy, and delicious. I personally had 3-4 servings. It was THAT good.

Turner has a .750 winning percentage in playoff games. The Chargers are most certainly primed to take the Patriots' record to 17-1, with their emotional victory over the Colts, and to raise Turner's playoff record to 4-1. The Chargers and Patriots tee it off at 1:00 P.M. on Sunday. Are you ready for some football?

American makers of craft ales are piling on. Piling on the hops or the malts in order to create "extreme beers," according to Eric Asimov, the food and wine critic at the New York Times.

Here in San Diego, where there is a large craft beer community, higher alcohol beers are many and varied. The first that come to mind include Dorado Double IPA by Ballast Point, Ruination by Stone, and Speedway Stout by AleSmith, just to name a few. These beers are higher in alcohol percentage (ABV) than average ales, and some can be described as over-the-top, while others can be pretty gosh darn perfect.

In Asimov's column, he writes that craft beer makers are going crazy, making so many extreme beers, and using exotic names that store shelves are now "so crammed with brews labeled Maximus, Monstrous and Imperial that you feel as if you’ve stumbled into a file of e-mail spam."

I can hear San Diego's craft beer lovers hollering: Bring it on!

Charger Fans Vindicated
Charger fans during the Marty Schottenheimer era were somewhat satisfied with regular season play, especially his last two seasons. But there's one gripe about which fans were most vocal--the team's inability to win in the playoffs. (Last year the team had the best record going into the playoffs, with home field advantage, then proceeded to lose their first game.)

Fans were vindicated in the calling of Schottenheimer's ouster with yesterday's playoff win against the Titans. Mind you, many fans were satisfied with the former coach's success, and were upset when he was let go. But yesterday's win is further evidence that management has been right all along.

2008



There is no doubt that election season is one of my favorite sporting season. 2008 is going to be (I hope) an exciting, extraordinary election season. It's been a very long time since a non-incumbent (pres or v.p.) has run for office (I think it might have been 1968 when L.B.J. decided not to run).

After the Iowa caucus, Change might be the big, keyword for election 2008. The two winners, Obama and Huckabee, are not your traditional, establishment, party candidates. I hope this election is a competitive one, and most importantly it is fair and transparent.

There's a new book out, called Science, Evolution, and Creationism, which is published by National Academy of Sciences. In it, the authors argue that religion and science can (and must) live together in harmony.

The book discusses the facts as it relates to evolution, and that we should discourage the teaching of creationism in science classes.

This book is a free PDF download.

Ruination IPA, originally uploaded by D.B. Blas.

Last Saturday, a group of us drove up to Escondido to tour the Stone Brewery. Here are some pictures I took from that tour.

The tour is free, and afterwards people are given tasters of Stone beer. It's an impressive display of beer making and architecture.