The Second Law of Thermodynamics applies to closed systems.

There's enormous amounts of energy coming into the earth via the sun. How does planetary energy usage compare to energy received via insolation?

It just happens that we don't have very efficient means of converting solar energy into usable energy -- be it solar cells, biodeisel, or 500,000,000 year old solar energy trapped in fossil fuels.

Extraordinary claims require extraordinary proof.

I pity the agnostic who has to burden herself contemplating the existence of God, Invisible Pink Unicorns, Odin, Zeus, The Flying Spaghetti Monster, Vishnu and all the rest.

90% of everything is crap. When the internet makes 100 times as much content available as before, there's 100x as much crap as before. There's also 100x as much good material as before.

Is there any data on how much pulling the return man for another rusher increases the chance of a blocked punt?

I don't understand why a professional athlete of Michael Vick's stature would ever carry his own drugs. Isn't that what one has a posse for?

Election fraud subverts one of the most crucial pillars of America - the fair vote. And the maximum penalty for this is 18 months?

I'll be seriously disappointed in the NBA if Shavlik Randolph isn't suspended for saying that.

David Stern wouldn't fine or suspend Shav Randolph because its the "tolerant" thing to do. He would do it because it would be good business to do so.

David Stern's job is to market the NBA and increase the value of the league as a whole. If the NBA is perceived as racist, that's terrible for the bottom line. One day, the same will be true for homophobia.

Shav Randolph is certainly entitled to his opinions, and he's entitled to express them. Whether he can do so as a representative of the NBA, without the NBA coming down on him for it is another matter entirely.

If you're throwing gasoline on a fire to try to put it out, the clear thing to do when the fire gets bigger is throw more gasoline on it.

Where running a 4.40 instead of a 4.38 _as timed by human reactions_ can cost you millions of dollars.

Man, to live in a world where its more practical to *weigh* your money...

"The baseball writers voted on these guys for 15 years and they did not get in," committee member Joe Morgan said. "Should we lower our standards to put more people in the Hall of Fame? I don't think so."

So according to Joe Morgan, the only people who should be in the Hall of Fame are those already in the Hall of Fame.

When someone on the Veteran's Committee says that, it sounds like there's no problem scrapping the entire committee.

Now I know what they meant when they said "Irony died on 9/11".

Miss last year's tournament, Big Old Geek?

The inbounds option keeps coming up as a way of eliminating fouls and free throw shooting at the end of the game. Its a good idea at first blush, but deeper analysis shows that it is flawed.

Basically, you're giving the defensive team a large number of chances to make a steal or force a 5-second call. I guess that becomes a value proposition for the team with the ball, but once they decide to inbound, it becomes a very very ugly series of inbound->foul, inbound->foul, over and over.

I'd propose the double bonus consist of one free throw plus the ball back on non-shooting fouls, if you want to get rid of weird fouling at the end of the game.

I think the high school kids have more than acquitted themselves.

Kobe Bryant, LeBron James and Kevin Garnett (who got it all started) have been considered among the best players in the NBA.

Jermaine O'Neal, Amare Stoudemire, Tracy McGrady and Dwight Howard are all annual All-Stars.

Josh Smith and Andrew Bynum look like they'll be Just Fine in the NBA.

Most of the rest range from journeymen to occaional All-Stars NBA players. Of that list, there's only a few true flame-outs.

I don't think you'd find much of a different percentage among college attendees. And certainly a lower percentage among 4-year college attendees.

The problem isn't the talent, its the hype. Not every high school player is going to be Kevin Garnett. Not every college graduate is going to be Michael Jordan. Remember Harold Miner? (unfair, I know...)

I, personally, hate drafting underclassmen. I only hate it though, because it has half-ruined college basketball (IMO) from a fan's perspective. I think it would have made for far better college basketball watching if those guys had all been toiling for some college for 3 or 4 years.

And people wonder why these kids are wanting to get paid...

Or why some might bristle at the thought of a bunch of privileged folks making billions from their labor while they don't see a dime of real cash.

Some of their ancestors might have been in the same situation, except more whips were involved.

I'm pretty sure Greg Oden was last year's O.J. Mayo. Everyone knew who he was. He was going as a high pick regardless.

Durant definitely got a boost this year.

But why not let the kids make their own valuations of whether to go to the NBA, or polish their skills/image in the NCAA?

...you don't have to live with them.

From my understanding of her cancer, Elizabeth Edwards is going to die soon. She will die whether or not John Edwards drops out of the Presidential race.

Katie Couric's questioning and disbelief of the Edwards family's decision in this regard is callow at best.

As much as this bobbing and weaving disgusts me, it paints Gonzales into another corner: either he's criminal or he's completely incompetent. Well, the real answer is both, but I'll be happy with him being painted with one of those brushes.

Wasn't the ridicule of Cricket was that the matches took three days, but they still all ended in draws?