The twins haven't had much pool experience and both nearly drowned to death on multiple occasions in the kiddie pool. They haven't quite figured out how to stand up after tripping in the pool.
We sauntered over to the Mambo Beach area which was extremely touristy. The faux cabanas at the man-made beach, the beach-side bars playing all the current hits like Ginuwine' s Pony, and the overpriced restaurants aren't exactly my idea of paradise, but it's what's nearby.
We're near a bunch of resorts, so there isn't a place to get cheap food or drinks close by. In the morning I walked a couple of miles to a grocery store, loaded up my backpack, and another bag, and trudged back to the hotel. The groceries' weight increased as I progressed, and the sun beat down on me.
Candace and I went to an Indian restaurant for Valentine's Day and we both enjoyed it. We walked back along the hotel's seawall and freaked out her sister by whispering "Red rum" before letting her in on the gag.
Thursday, February 14, 2019
Wednesday, February 13, 2019
Miami to Curacao
Things have exactly broken our way thus far. Apparently American Airlines charges to check a travel crib. When you have twins, that’s double the fee. A TSA agent in Baltimore said, “One at a time,” when we tried to all go together. I tried to give him the passports and then take the babies back to the line. “One at a time,” he snapped sharply. So I tried to look for Candace’s passport. “Give me the passports!” He grunted. “You said, ‘One at a time,” I answered exasperated. Apparently, that made me the bad guy. He saw my name and kept trying to “eaze” the tension in a way that people do when they’ve been given the upper hand after being rude.
Abie sat on my lap on the plane. He watched Blippie several times and tried to kick the seat in front repeatedly, but the man next to me gave him a good review. With car seats and cribs, getting to the rental car center in Miami was difficult. It didn’t help that a sea of people were frustrated that the Miami Mover stopped moving for an hour. We couldn’t get on the train and when it finally came and we had our shot, everyone rushed past the stroller and the wheelchair onto the train. That tels you something about about those people. We somehow missed the next one and I gave the doir a swift pound in frustration. The maintenance man yelled at me not to hit the door. I explained my frustration and her answered in a way that explains why he works with his hands and not with people. Words to the effect of “I don’t care about your situation, don’t hit the door.” I glared at him until we left. Tali and I made the next train, but Candace, her sister, and Abie still missed the next train. Needless to say I was fairly close to saving “Climate Change” the trouble and wiping out all of Miami myself.
We visited my Grandma in Coconut Creek. It was great to see the babies interact with her. The both loved each other very much. Tali read with her and Abie played in her walked. Tali injected occasionally with “more food” elongating the f and then exploding into the oo because she’s just learning the f sound.
Grandma’s community is protected by a gate with security. The first day I gave them my driver’s license and ygey gave me a pass, bodda-bing bodda-boom. When Candace put the license down on the cupholder lid or door or whatever it’s called in the rental Dodge Grand Caravan. Then the license disappeared. Apparently it slid into the nether rehions if the cupholder console. When we back to Grandma’s the next day, the guard wouldn’t accept my passport as ID. She kept telling me to get the license. Candace and I tried to explain that we’d love to get it but it’s trapped. The guard asked if I had a copy of my license. My just fell a little. Finally Candace thought to show the guard yesterday’s pass. That was sufficient. The guard said, “Try to get your license,” to which I replied, “ Obviously!” Because I didn’t want to scream “No shit!” With the babies in the car. I left saying, “ID is ID.”
We went to the beach in Pompano and had a good time. I felt like we left for the airport today withe plenty of time. 3 hours and 40 minutes before our flight. It was supposed to be a 45 minute drive. It wasn’t. It took about 2 hours. The rental car people saw a dent in the back of the car. I have no idea how it got there but they’ll charge us.
We got to check in and the man said the flight’s baggage closes in 20 minutes. Then there was a problem with the infant tickets. We got to cut the long security line, but it took a long time for someone to check Candace and her chair. I ran ahead. Abie only wanted to be with me, so I carried him what seemed lie the breadth of Miami or at least tge airport. “Daddy hat,” he demanded as he wanted to be on my shoulders. I made it and the gate agent said, “The others have 15 minutes.” They made it and the plane ride was. Except Abie had his first day ever without a nap. Tali napped a bit on the plane.
We got to cut the passport line, but waited forever to get a taxi. Other drivers shaed a driver into taking us in Papiamentu. Candace had booked a taxi, but they emailed us today that they couldn’t pick us up. The resort said we can only have four in our room, but I tried to plead that yhe babies shouldn’t count. They’ll make a decision tomorrow. We ate at the restaurant here and Abie and Tali were tired and not on their best behavior. The babies cuddled me in the room. We were supposed to have a partial sea view, but I maybe that means we can only view part if the sea because the view is pretty awesome.
Abie sat on my lap on the plane. He watched Blippie several times and tried to kick the seat in front repeatedly, but the man next to me gave him a good review. With car seats and cribs, getting to the rental car center in Miami was difficult. It didn’t help that a sea of people were frustrated that the Miami Mover stopped moving for an hour. We couldn’t get on the train and when it finally came and we had our shot, everyone rushed past the stroller and the wheelchair onto the train. That tels you something about about those people. We somehow missed the next one and I gave the doir a swift pound in frustration. The maintenance man yelled at me not to hit the door. I explained my frustration and her answered in a way that explains why he works with his hands and not with people. Words to the effect of “I don’t care about your situation, don’t hit the door.” I glared at him until we left. Tali and I made the next train, but Candace, her sister, and Abie still missed the next train. Needless to say I was fairly close to saving “Climate Change” the trouble and wiping out all of Miami myself.
We visited my Grandma in Coconut Creek. It was great to see the babies interact with her. The both loved each other very much. Tali read with her and Abie played in her walked. Tali injected occasionally with “more food” elongating the f and then exploding into the oo because she’s just learning the f sound.
Grandma’s community is protected by a gate with security. The first day I gave them my driver’s license and ygey gave me a pass, bodda-bing bodda-boom. When Candace put the license down on the cupholder lid or door or whatever it’s called in the rental Dodge Grand Caravan. Then the license disappeared. Apparently it slid into the nether rehions if the cupholder console. When we back to Grandma’s the next day, the guard wouldn’t accept my passport as ID. She kept telling me to get the license. Candace and I tried to explain that we’d love to get it but it’s trapped. The guard asked if I had a copy of my license. My just fell a little. Finally Candace thought to show the guard yesterday’s pass. That was sufficient. The guard said, “Try to get your license,” to which I replied, “ Obviously!” Because I didn’t want to scream “No shit!” With the babies in the car. I left saying, “ID is ID.”
We went to the beach in Pompano and had a good time. I felt like we left for the airport today withe plenty of time. 3 hours and 40 minutes before our flight. It was supposed to be a 45 minute drive. It wasn’t. It took about 2 hours. The rental car people saw a dent in the back of the car. I have no idea how it got there but they’ll charge us.
We got to check in and the man said the flight’s baggage closes in 20 minutes. Then there was a problem with the infant tickets. We got to cut the long security line, but it took a long time for someone to check Candace and her chair. I ran ahead. Abie only wanted to be with me, so I carried him what seemed lie the breadth of Miami or at least tge airport. “Daddy hat,” he demanded as he wanted to be on my shoulders. I made it and the gate agent said, “The others have 15 minutes.” They made it and the plane ride was. Except Abie had his first day ever without a nap. Tali napped a bit on the plane.
We got to cut the passport line, but waited forever to get a taxi. Other drivers shaed a driver into taking us in Papiamentu. Candace had booked a taxi, but they emailed us today that they couldn’t pick us up. The resort said we can only have four in our room, but I tried to plead that yhe babies shouldn’t count. They’ll make a decision tomorrow. We ate at the restaurant here and Abie and Tali were tired and not on their best behavior. The babies cuddled me in the room. We were supposed to have a partial sea view, but I maybe that means we can only view part if the sea because the view is pretty awesome.
Saturday, January 05, 2019
2019 NFL Playoff Predictions
AFC
Wild Card Round
5 LAC (12-4) over 4 Bal (10-6) 24-9
3 Hou (11-5) over 6 Ind (10-6) 20-17
Divisional Round
1 KC (12-4) over 5 LAC 34-31
3 Hou over 2 NE (11-5) 27-16
AFC Championship
KC over Hou 35-17
NFC
Wild Card Round
6 Phi (9-7) over 3 Chi (12-4) 12-9
5 Sea (10-6) over 4 Dal (10-6) 21-20
Divisional Round
1 NO (13-3) over 6 Phi 27-10
2 LAR over 5 Sea 38-21
NFC Championship
NO over LAR 41-33
Super Bowl LIII
New Orleans over Kansas City 38-24
Friday, January 04, 2019
New Format Final Standings
If the NFL moved back to two divisions per conference, we would get fairer and more exciting playoff games.
NFC South and East
1) New Orleans 13-3
2) Dallas 10-6
3) Philadelphia 9-7
4) Atlanta 7-9
5) Washington 7-9
6) Carolina 7-9
7) NY Giants 5-11
8) Tampa Bay 5-11
NFC North and West
1) LA Rams 13-3
2) Chicago 12-4
3) Seattle 10-6
4) Minnesota 8-7-1
5) Green Bay 6-9-1
6) Detroit 6-10
7) San Francisco 4-12
8) Arizona 3-13
The playoff seeding would look like this:
1) NO, 2) LAR, 3) Chi, 4) Sea, 5) Dal, 6) Phi.
In the new format, Seattle would have the home game in the wild card game as they beat Seattle earlier in the season.
AFC North and East
1) New England 11-5
2) Baltimore 10-6
3) Pittsburgh 9-6-1
4) Cleveland 7-8-1
5) Miami 7-9
6) Cincinnati 6-10
7) Buffalo 6-10
8) NY Jets 4-12
AFC South and West
1) Kansas City 12-4
2) LA Chargers 12-4
3) Houston 11-5
4) Indianapolis 10-6
5) Tennessee 9-7
6) Denver 6-10
7) Jacksonville 5-11
8) Oakland 4-12
The playoff seeding would look like this:
1) KC, 2) NE, 3) LAC, 4) Hou, 5) Bal, 6) Ind.
In the new format, the Chargers would have a home wild card game instead of a road game. In the current format, Kansas City is more likely to face the Chargers (the team with the second best record in the conference) in the divisional round than any other team. The current format is no only unfair to the Chargers, but also Kansas City, the number one seed.
NFC South and East
1) New Orleans 13-3
2) Dallas 10-6
3) Philadelphia 9-7
4) Atlanta 7-9
5) Washington 7-9
6) Carolina 7-9
7) NY Giants 5-11
8) Tampa Bay 5-11
NFC North and West
1) LA Rams 13-3
2) Chicago 12-4
3) Seattle 10-6
4) Minnesota 8-7-1
5) Green Bay 6-9-1
6) Detroit 6-10
7) San Francisco 4-12
8) Arizona 3-13
The playoff seeding would look like this:
1) NO, 2) LAR, 3) Chi, 4) Sea, 5) Dal, 6) Phi.
In the new format, Seattle would have the home game in the wild card game as they beat Seattle earlier in the season.
AFC North and East
1) New England 11-5
2) Baltimore 10-6
3) Pittsburgh 9-6-1
4) Cleveland 7-8-1
5) Miami 7-9
6) Cincinnati 6-10
7) Buffalo 6-10
8) NY Jets 4-12
AFC South and West
1) Kansas City 12-4
2) LA Chargers 12-4
3) Houston 11-5
4) Indianapolis 10-6
5) Tennessee 9-7
6) Denver 6-10
7) Jacksonville 5-11
8) Oakland 4-12
The playoff seeding would look like this:
1) KC, 2) NE, 3) LAC, 4) Hou, 5) Bal, 6) Ind.
In the new format, the Chargers would have a home wild card game instead of a road game. In the current format, Kansas City is more likely to face the Chargers (the team with the second best record in the conference) in the divisional round than any other team. The current format is no only unfair to the Chargers, but also Kansas City, the number one seed.
Monday, December 31, 2018
Top Ten Pound-For-Pound
Here's my pound-for-pound list. I take into account ability and accomplishment. The previous list was posted on October 6, 2018.
1. Vasiliy Lomachenko (12-1, 9 KOs) [1]
2. Saul Alvarez (51-1-2, 35 KOs) [2]
3. Gennady Golovkin (38-1-1, 34 KOs) [3]
4. Terence Crawford (34-0, 25 KOs) [4]
5. Srisaket Sor Rungvisai (47-4-1, 41 KOs) [5]
6. Naoya Inoue (17-0, 16 KOs) [7]
7. Leo Santa Cruz (35-1-1, 19 KOs) [6]
8. Olexandr Usyk (16-0, 12 KOs) [10]
9. Errol Spence (24-0, 21 KOs) [8]
10. Mikey Garcia (38-0, 30 KOs) [9]
Lomachenko moved up to lightweight in 2018 and beat two of the better guys in the division. Hopefully 2019 brings a super-fight for Loma.
Canelo maintained the legitimate middleweight championship with a win over GGG in September and the former welterweight beat a top ten super middleweight with ease two months later.
I thought Golovkin won the first fight with Canelo, but I thought Canelo deserved a close decision last September. Both guys showed they were among the best boxers in the world in both fights.
Crawford stopped the undefeated but untested Jose Benavidez in October. Crawford's best win was in 2016 against Viktor Postol to become the legitimate junior welterweight champion. But the supremely talented Crawford has mostly feasted on a certain class of fighter. Hopefully he fights a top welterweight soon.
SSR, the legitimate super flyweight champion, places #5 on this list due to his two wins over Chocolatito and his victory against Juan Francisco Estrada. There aren't a lot of boxers who have three wins so recently as good as those.
Inoue is blowing his opposition away. In two 2018 fights, Inoue didn't see the second round. He destroyed Juan Carlos Payano, his World Boxing Super Series foe, in the opening round in October. Payano has a win and a close loss against 3-time Olympian Rau'shee Warren.
Santa Cruz has a win over and a close loss to Carl Frampton and two victories against Abner Mares. He's beaten a lot of fighters one notch below as well. A big featherweight fight in 2019 would do wonders for his ranking.
Usyk, the undisputed cruiserweight champion, already has amassed a solid resume. Wins over Glowacki, Gassiev, Briedis, and Michael Hunter were all impressive. In November, he stopped Tony Bellew.
Spence faces Mikey Garcia in March. It's a bit of a no-win situation for Spence, who is the naturally bigger man. An impressive win against Garcia should keep him where he is on the top ten list. Anything less could hurt his standing. Despite his undeniable talent, Spence's resume isn't as full as some other top guys.
Garcia is taking on a herculean task of facing Errol Spence. Garcia has a lot of wins over good fighters, but no signature win. A win over Spence would vault him up the rankings.
Honorable Mentions:
Gvozdyk's stoppage of Adonis Stevenson for the legitimate light heavyweight championship put him into contention for the top ten. He had a nice win over Isaac Chilemba and a few over guys just a step below Chilemba, but his resume is a bit thinner than those above. He's in a rich division and another win against a top 5 guy will surely force his inclusion in the top ten.
The winner of Eleider Alvarez and Sergey Kovalev in February will warrant consideration in the top ten. Hopefully the winner will be an opponent for Gvozdyk in the near future.
1. Vasiliy Lomachenko (12-1, 9 KOs) [1]
2. Saul Alvarez (51-1-2, 35 KOs) [2]
3. Gennady Golovkin (38-1-1, 34 KOs) [3]
4. Terence Crawford (34-0, 25 KOs) [4]
5. Srisaket Sor Rungvisai (47-4-1, 41 KOs) [5]
6. Naoya Inoue (17-0, 16 KOs) [7]
7. Leo Santa Cruz (35-1-1, 19 KOs) [6]
8. Olexandr Usyk (16-0, 12 KOs) [10]
9. Errol Spence (24-0, 21 KOs) [8]
10. Mikey Garcia (38-0, 30 KOs) [9]
Lomachenko moved up to lightweight in 2018 and beat two of the better guys in the division. Hopefully 2019 brings a super-fight for Loma.
Canelo maintained the legitimate middleweight championship with a win over GGG in September and the former welterweight beat a top ten super middleweight with ease two months later.
I thought Golovkin won the first fight with Canelo, but I thought Canelo deserved a close decision last September. Both guys showed they were among the best boxers in the world in both fights.
Crawford stopped the undefeated but untested Jose Benavidez in October. Crawford's best win was in 2016 against Viktor Postol to become the legitimate junior welterweight champion. But the supremely talented Crawford has mostly feasted on a certain class of fighter. Hopefully he fights a top welterweight soon.
SSR, the legitimate super flyweight champion, places #5 on this list due to his two wins over Chocolatito and his victory against Juan Francisco Estrada. There aren't a lot of boxers who have three wins so recently as good as those.
Inoue is blowing his opposition away. In two 2018 fights, Inoue didn't see the second round. He destroyed Juan Carlos Payano, his World Boxing Super Series foe, in the opening round in October. Payano has a win and a close loss against 3-time Olympian Rau'shee Warren.
Santa Cruz has a win over and a close loss to Carl Frampton and two victories against Abner Mares. He's beaten a lot of fighters one notch below as well. A big featherweight fight in 2019 would do wonders for his ranking.
Usyk, the undisputed cruiserweight champion, already has amassed a solid resume. Wins over Glowacki, Gassiev, Briedis, and Michael Hunter were all impressive. In November, he stopped Tony Bellew.
Spence faces Mikey Garcia in March. It's a bit of a no-win situation for Spence, who is the naturally bigger man. An impressive win against Garcia should keep him where he is on the top ten list. Anything less could hurt his standing. Despite his undeniable talent, Spence's resume isn't as full as some other top guys.
Garcia is taking on a herculean task of facing Errol Spence. Garcia has a lot of wins over good fighters, but no signature win. A win over Spence would vault him up the rankings.
Honorable Mentions:
Gvozdyk's stoppage of Adonis Stevenson for the legitimate light heavyweight championship put him into contention for the top ten. He had a nice win over Isaac Chilemba and a few over guys just a step below Chilemba, but his resume is a bit thinner than those above. He's in a rich division and another win against a top 5 guy will surely force his inclusion in the top ten.
The winner of Eleider Alvarez and Sergey Kovalev in February will warrant consideration in the top ten. Hopefully the winner will be an opponent for Gvozdyk in the near future.
Sunday, December 30, 2018
World Leader Power Rankings: Year in Review
Below are the power rankings for world leaders for the overall year. Some explanation of the chart is probably necessary. In this the first year of the World Leader Power Rankings, there were ten top ten lists. 28 world leaders from 27 countries made the list at some point this year. Xi Jianping swept the top spot; Asia countries in general were well-represented.
The "Score" is based on the leaders' ranking on those lists- 10 points for a 1st place finish on a list and so on, then the total score divided by 10. "on List" is the number of times a leader made the top ten list. Only Xi, Kim, and Putin made the top ten list each time. "High" is the leader's highest rank on any one list and "low" is the lowest rank. Since only three leaders made the list each time, the other leaders' low was off the list indicated by a dash.
1. China was indisputably the most influential country in 2018 as the United States looked inward. Many countries jumped at the chance to do business with China, and Xi consolidated his power within his party this year.
2. Kim transformed his international image from crazy despot to a shrewd and legitimate leader on the world stage. For some reason, the hundreds of thousands of people in concentration camps and the rampant starvation inside North Korea didn't matter as much in 2018.
3. Putin oversees an autocratic kleptocracy in Russia. But he won an election convincingly in 2018 and had the President of the United States eating out of his hand.
4. Though his popularity in South Korea started to turn downward a bit, Moon's relentless efforts toward peace ont he Korean peninsula were tremendously admirable/
5. Aytollah Khamenei and the hardliners inside Iran were emboldened when the United States pulled out of the JCPoA rendering the moderates' attempts at rapprochement with the West a waste of time.
6. Macron did his damnedest to uphold the liberal order and seemed to be succeeding early in 2018. But by the end, Macron was forced to concede on some of his domestic principles as protesters filled the streets. His efforts to keep the United States in the JCPoA and the Paris Climate Accords failed.
7. MBS was initially touted as a reformer inside of Saudi Arabia and a player on the international stage. The U.S. turned even more pro-Saudi and anti-Iran in 2018. But by the end of the year, MBS's reformer image largely dissipated, his war in Yemen was an utter disgrace, and he became a pariah after ordering the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.
8. Despite leading the most power country in the world, Trump has done everything in his power to erode the United States's credibility and prestige on the world stage. His foreign policy is a mishmash of ideas from whomever was the last person he talked to on a given day. he seems to have committed crimes as a presidential candidate and many of his advisers have pleaded guilty during the ongoing Mueller investigation. According to the country's preeminent journalist and an anonymous senior adviser, his advisers within the administration actively work to thwart his most dangerous impulses. Now part of the American government is shutdown because Congress won't fund a wall on the border with Mexico that he promised Mexico would pay for.
9. Ahmed has begun to transform Ethiopia into a more liberal and democratic country. He's faced assassination attempts in doing so, so you know he's on the right track. Ahmed's leadership has been a rare bit of good news in 2018.
10. Theresa May managed to crack the top ten despite having an even worse year than Donald Trump. He had a good week when she stood up to Putin after it was determined the Russians poisoned people on British soil. But Brexit has been a disaster and she nearly was outed from office over her proposed deal. Britain continues to make themselves less relevant under May's watch.
11. Modi oversees an improving economy in India, but he couldn't seem to stay on the top ten list consistently because of his Hindu nationalist ideology. India has the second largest Muslim population in the world, and Modi's record with Muslims has been poor.
12. Netanyahu briefly entered the top ten when Trump backed out of the Iran nuclear deal. It was a win for Netanyahu, but a loss for Israel as it made an Iranian nuclear bomb an inevitable reality. he also managed to convince Trump to shift the embassy to Jerusalem in order to stir the pot a bit.
13. Sisi's main highlight from 2018 were that goofy orb picture with MBS and Trump, winning an election with 105% of the vote (+/- 8%), and according to a report, overseeing a populace that actually believes the government has the best interest of the people at heart.
14. Merkel didn't have a good year. Her battle in favor of immigrants finally seemed to sap her political capital. She announced that this would be her last term as German chancellor.
15. Lee's moment in the sun came when Trump and Kim met face to face in Singapore.
16. Trump still believes it's the 1980s and is taking out his anti-Japanese fervor on Abe. But Abe managed to forge a major trade deal with the EU int he summer.
17. Kagame is a technocratic autocrat. Rwanda has one of the highest female representation in parliament in the world. You don't want to get on his bad side, but he won't drop you into a tank of man-eating sharks or anything.
18. Erdogan has become more dictatorial as the Turkish economy plummets. But he's trying to help refugees and stood up to MBS during the Khashoggi murder.
19. Niinisto made the list twice. he hosted the summit between Trump and Putin and then later denied that Finland prevents forest fires with rakes.
20. Grabar-Kitarovic entered the global stage during the World Cup. She came across has a humble and passionate advocate for Croatia.
21. Mahathir became the oldest leader in the world this year, he also tried to stamp out corruption in Malaysia.
22. Alvarado became president of Costa Rica this year and is hoping to push through tax reforms.
23. Trudeau seemed posed to take command of the liberal order, but a couple of minor gaffes hurt his standing. he stood up to Saudi Arabia briefly putting him in the top ten.
24. Abdullah II was honored as an advocate for inter-religious harmony and peace.
25. Rouhani and the Iranian moderates managed to improbably find some common ground between the United States and the Persian nation. But Rouhani was neutered when Trump tore up the JCPoA and emboldened the Revolutionary guard and its allies.
26. Sanchez allowed a ship filled with refugees into Spain, which gave some hope that he would take over the pro-immigrant lead in Europe.
27. Imran Khan completed his unlikely journey from cricketer to Pakistan's prime minister in 2018. As with every Pakistani prime minister, he came in with high hopes behind him which were quickly dashed.
28. Many people in Nigeria believed President Buhari had died and was replaced be a look alike. Turns out he's alive.
The "Score" is based on the leaders' ranking on those lists- 10 points for a 1st place finish on a list and so on, then the total score divided by 10. "on List" is the number of times a leader made the top ten list. Only Xi, Kim, and Putin made the top ten list each time. "High" is the leader's highest rank on any one list and "low" is the lowest rank. Since only three leaders made the list each time, the other leaders' low was off the list indicated by a dash.
| Rank | Leader | Country | Score | On List | High | Low |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Xi Jiangping | China | 10 | 10 | 1 | 1 |
| 2 | Kim Jong-un | North Korea | 8.1 | 10 | 2 | 6 |
| 3 | Vladimir Putin | Russia | 6.1 | 10 | 2 | 10 |
| 4 | Moon Jae-in | South Korea | 4.8 | 8 | 3 | - |
| 5 | Ali Khamenei | Iran | 4.7 | 7 | 3 | - |
| 6 | Emmanuel Macron | France | 3.7 | 6 | 3 | - |
| 7 | Mohammed bin Salman | Saudi Arabia | 3 | 7 | 4 | - |
| 8 | Donald Trump | United States | 2.7 | 9 | 6 | - |
| 9 | Abiy Ahmed | Ethiopia | 1.9 | 4 | 5 | - |
| 10 | Theresa May | United Kingdom | 1.4 | 2 | 2 | - |
| 11 | Narendra Modi | India | 1.3 | 3 | 5 | - |
| 12 | Benjamin Netanyahu | Israel | 1 | 2 | 4 | - |
| 13 | Abdul el-Sisi | Egypt | 0.8 | 2 | 7 | - |
| 14 | Angela Merkel | Germany | 0.7 | 2 | 7 | - |
| 15 | Lee Hsien Loong | Singapore | 0.7 | 1 | 4 | - |
| 16 | Shinzo Abe | Japan | 0.6 | 1 | 5 | - |
| 17 | Paul Kagame | Rwanda | 0.6 | 2 | 6 | - |
| 18 | Recep Erdogan | Turkey | 0.6 | 2 | 8 | - |
| 19 | Sauli Niinisto | Finland | 0.4 | 2 | 9 | - |
| 20 | Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic | Croatia | 0.4 | 1 | 7 | - |
| 21 | Mahathir Mohamad | Malaysia | 0.3 | 2 | 9 | - |
| 22 | Carlos Alvarado | Costa Rica | 0.3 | 1 | 8 | - |
| 23 | Justin Trudeau | Canada | 0.2 | 1 | 9 | - |
| 24 | Abdullah II | Jordan | 0.2 | 1 | 9 | - |
| 25 | Hassan Rouhani | Iran | 0.2 | 1 | 9 | - |
| 26 | Pedro Sanchez | Spain | 0.1 | 1 | 10 | - |
| 27 | Imran Khan | Pakistan | 0.1 | 1 | 10 | - |
| 28 | Muhammadu Bahari | Nigeria | 0.1 | 1 | 10 | - |
1. China was indisputably the most influential country in 2018 as the United States looked inward. Many countries jumped at the chance to do business with China, and Xi consolidated his power within his party this year.
2. Kim transformed his international image from crazy despot to a shrewd and legitimate leader on the world stage. For some reason, the hundreds of thousands of people in concentration camps and the rampant starvation inside North Korea didn't matter as much in 2018.
3. Putin oversees an autocratic kleptocracy in Russia. But he won an election convincingly in 2018 and had the President of the United States eating out of his hand.
4. Though his popularity in South Korea started to turn downward a bit, Moon's relentless efforts toward peace ont he Korean peninsula were tremendously admirable/
5. Aytollah Khamenei and the hardliners inside Iran were emboldened when the United States pulled out of the JCPoA rendering the moderates' attempts at rapprochement with the West a waste of time.
6. Macron did his damnedest to uphold the liberal order and seemed to be succeeding early in 2018. But by the end, Macron was forced to concede on some of his domestic principles as protesters filled the streets. His efforts to keep the United States in the JCPoA and the Paris Climate Accords failed.
7. MBS was initially touted as a reformer inside of Saudi Arabia and a player on the international stage. The U.S. turned even more pro-Saudi and anti-Iran in 2018. But by the end of the year, MBS's reformer image largely dissipated, his war in Yemen was an utter disgrace, and he became a pariah after ordering the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.
8. Despite leading the most power country in the world, Trump has done everything in his power to erode the United States's credibility and prestige on the world stage. His foreign policy is a mishmash of ideas from whomever was the last person he talked to on a given day. he seems to have committed crimes as a presidential candidate and many of his advisers have pleaded guilty during the ongoing Mueller investigation. According to the country's preeminent journalist and an anonymous senior adviser, his advisers within the administration actively work to thwart his most dangerous impulses. Now part of the American government is shutdown because Congress won't fund a wall on the border with Mexico that he promised Mexico would pay for.
9. Ahmed has begun to transform Ethiopia into a more liberal and democratic country. He's faced assassination attempts in doing so, so you know he's on the right track. Ahmed's leadership has been a rare bit of good news in 2018.
10. Theresa May managed to crack the top ten despite having an even worse year than Donald Trump. He had a good week when she stood up to Putin after it was determined the Russians poisoned people on British soil. But Brexit has been a disaster and she nearly was outed from office over her proposed deal. Britain continues to make themselves less relevant under May's watch.
11. Modi oversees an improving economy in India, but he couldn't seem to stay on the top ten list consistently because of his Hindu nationalist ideology. India has the second largest Muslim population in the world, and Modi's record with Muslims has been poor.
12. Netanyahu briefly entered the top ten when Trump backed out of the Iran nuclear deal. It was a win for Netanyahu, but a loss for Israel as it made an Iranian nuclear bomb an inevitable reality. he also managed to convince Trump to shift the embassy to Jerusalem in order to stir the pot a bit.
13. Sisi's main highlight from 2018 were that goofy orb picture with MBS and Trump, winning an election with 105% of the vote (+/- 8%), and according to a report, overseeing a populace that actually believes the government has the best interest of the people at heart.
14. Merkel didn't have a good year. Her battle in favor of immigrants finally seemed to sap her political capital. She announced that this would be her last term as German chancellor.
15. Lee's moment in the sun came when Trump and Kim met face to face in Singapore.
16. Trump still believes it's the 1980s and is taking out his anti-Japanese fervor on Abe. But Abe managed to forge a major trade deal with the EU int he summer.
17. Kagame is a technocratic autocrat. Rwanda has one of the highest female representation in parliament in the world. You don't want to get on his bad side, but he won't drop you into a tank of man-eating sharks or anything.
18. Erdogan has become more dictatorial as the Turkish economy plummets. But he's trying to help refugees and stood up to MBS during the Khashoggi murder.
19. Niinisto made the list twice. he hosted the summit between Trump and Putin and then later denied that Finland prevents forest fires with rakes.
20. Grabar-Kitarovic entered the global stage during the World Cup. She came across has a humble and passionate advocate for Croatia.
21. Mahathir became the oldest leader in the world this year, he also tried to stamp out corruption in Malaysia.
22. Alvarado became president of Costa Rica this year and is hoping to push through tax reforms.
23. Trudeau seemed posed to take command of the liberal order, but a couple of minor gaffes hurt his standing. he stood up to Saudi Arabia briefly putting him in the top ten.
24. Abdullah II was honored as an advocate for inter-religious harmony and peace.
25. Rouhani and the Iranian moderates managed to improbably find some common ground between the United States and the Persian nation. But Rouhani was neutered when Trump tore up the JCPoA and emboldened the Revolutionary guard and its allies.
26. Sanchez allowed a ship filled with refugees into Spain, which gave some hope that he would take over the pro-immigrant lead in Europe.
27. Imran Khan completed his unlikely journey from cricketer to Pakistan's prime minister in 2018. As with every Pakistani prime minister, he came in with high hopes behind him which were quickly dashed.
28. Many people in Nigeria believed President Buhari had died and was replaced be a look alike. Turns out he's alive.
Friday, December 21, 2018
Apples and Oranges
People say "it's like apples and oranges, you can't compare," but they're wrong. You don't have to peel an apple. I've never had orange sauce. No one eats orange pie. Apples are better.
Thursday, December 20, 2018
New NFL Division Format Proposal
The NFL should have 4 division, two in each conference. That would prevent the possibility of the 2nd best team getting the 5th seed and starting out on the road and weak division winners from getting a home game when sometimes they shouldn't even make the playoffs.
In the AFC, the East and North merge and the South and West meld. Teams still play their current intra-division rivals twice and their new division rivals once. They play 2 teams from the other division and 4 from the other conference and two from the same Int he NFC, the East and South become a division and the North and West.
Current AFC standings
1) KC 11-3
2) Hou 10-4
3) NE 9-5
4) Pit 8-5-1
5) LAC 11-3
6) Bal 8-6
AFC in New Format
1) KC 11-3
2) NE 9-5
3) LAC 11-3
4) Hou 10-4
5) Pit 8-5-1
6) Bal 8-6
The current standings are absurd. The one ssue with the new format is the AFC NorthEast is unusually weak this year, so New England would be seeded ahead of two worse teams. Houston would prefer the current format, but it's certainly fairer for Los Angeles. In the Wild Card round, the home teams would have better records in the new format, but not int he current format. Pittsburgh, which is two and half games behind the Chargers, would actually get a home game against them.
Current NFC standings
1) NO 12-2
2) LAR 11-3
3) Chi 10-4
4) Dal 8-6
5) Sea 8-6
6) Min 7-6-1
NFC in New Format
1) NO 12-2
2) LAR 11-3
3) Chi 10-4
4) Sea 8-6
5) Dal 8-6
6) Min 7-6-1
In the AFC, the East and North merge and the South and West meld. Teams still play their current intra-division rivals twice and their new division rivals once. They play 2 teams from the other division and 4 from the other conference and two from the same Int he NFC, the East and South become a division and the North and West.
Current AFC standings
1) KC 11-3
2) Hou 10-4
3) NE 9-5
4) Pit 8-5-1
5) LAC 11-3
6) Bal 8-6
AFC in New Format
1) KC 11-3
2) NE 9-5
3) LAC 11-3
4) Hou 10-4
5) Pit 8-5-1
6) Bal 8-6
The current standings are absurd. The one ssue with the new format is the AFC NorthEast is unusually weak this year, so New England would be seeded ahead of two worse teams. Houston would prefer the current format, but it's certainly fairer for Los Angeles. In the Wild Card round, the home teams would have better records in the new format, but not int he current format. Pittsburgh, which is two and half games behind the Chargers, would actually get a home game against them.
Current NFC standings
1) NO 12-2
2) LAR 11-3
3) Chi 10-4
4) Dal 8-6
5) Sea 8-6
6) Min 7-6-1
NFC in New Format
1) NO 12-2
2) LAR 11-3
3) Chi 10-4
4) Sea 8-6
5) Dal 8-6
6) Min 7-6-1
The only difference is Seattle moves ahead of Dallas because they beat the Cowboys in week 3. But the playoff race would be far more competitive in the new format. Right now there is one division race in the NFC and the Wild Card race is a bit stunted.
In the new format Chicago and LA would be battling for the NorthWest crown. Dallas would be part of the Wild Card race. Seattle and Minnesota would be fighting with Dallas for a home playoff game. As of now, the best Seattle and Minnesota can hope for is a road playoff game int he Wild Card round, even if they finish ahead of whoever comes out of the East.
Sunday, December 16, 2018
Power Rankings of World Leaders
Here's the new power rankings of world leaders. The last one was posted on November 19.
There are some new names on the list as some familiar faces have had their share of trouble lately.
1. While Britain's Theresa May barely clings to power for now as Brexit plans become a horrific disaster, and Emmanuel Macron's principles and policies crumble in the face of protests, and there are increasing calls for Angela Merkel to leave power in Germany, and Saudi Arabia's MBS has turned himself into an international pariah, and it appears Donald Trump won't be President of the United States much longer, Xi Jianping maintains his firm grip on power even increasing China's influence in Latin America right under Trump's nose.
2. Despite being a brutal autocrat, Kim's international profile has transformed into that of a shrewd reformer... because this is the world we now live in.
3. Moon's popularity within South Korea has decreased somewhat lately due to a slight economic downturn, but his continued determination to thaw relations with his neighbor to the north fosters hope for a more peaceful world.
4. The Ayatollah remains relevant because of warmongers in Washington DC and Riyadh. Those same warmongers are on sinking ships in their own lands and are hoping to instigate Iran in order to save themselves. All they're doing is helping to prop up a stale regime by granting it viable scapegoats.
5. The Prime Minister of Ethiopia is attempting to institute political and economic reforms in transitioning the country into a liberal democracy. He's already survived an assassination attempt doing so.
6. Kagame is an autocrat who won nearly 100% of the vote in his third presidential election victory. But the courts recently dropped charges against a political opponent of Kagame's. He has turned Rwanda into a bastion of economic growth since the genocide and, despite the off-putting name, won a couple of "African of the Year" awards from different organizations.
7. Putin greeted MBS, fresh of his killing of Washington Post reporter Jamel Khashoggi, like they were old bros at the recent G20 summit. Putin can relate to murderers of journalists. Vlad exposed himself as a clown in the greeting. His country's economy is crumbling as he and his minions plunder his nation's wealth. But, he is the overlord of the United States, the wealthiest country in the world, so that should count for something.
8. Alvarado runs a democracy in Central America and is currently trying to push through tax legislation. Whether he succeeds or not, it's just nice to write something fairly normal about a president's agenda. As far as I know, Alvarado didn't pay off porn stars to keep quiet ahead of his election victory and didn't collaborate with the Russians to achieve said victory.
9. King Abdullah of Jordan recently won the Templeton Prize for his efforts to foster religious harmony. UN Secretary General Andres Guterres called Abdullah a messenger for peace and an outstanding statesmen. President Trump's own lawyers have called Trump a crook and "a fucking liar." So score one for Abdullah.
10. For the first time since World War II, a U.S. president has failed to crack the top ten on this list (Ok, so the list only started this year, but if I had been doing this list since World War II, then my statement would be true. Even during Watergate, Nixon probably would've been no lower than 5.)
Nigeria's Muhammadu Buhari makes the list for the first time because he's not dead. There were rumors that Buhari had died and was replaced by a lookalike, but it turns out he just needed to travel to Europe for medical treatment. He hasn't lived up to expectations battling corruption or Boko Haram, but he's alive and, well, that's something.
| Rank | Leader | Country | Previous Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Xi Jiangping | China | 1 |
| 2 | Kim Jong-un | North Korea | 6 |
| 3 | Moon Jae-in | South Korea | 7 |
| 4 | Ali Khamenei | Iran | 4 |
| 5 | Abiy Ahmed | Ethiopia | 5 |
| 6 | Paul Kagame | Rwanda | Nor Ranked |
| 7 | Vladimir Putin | Russia | 2 |
| 8 | Carlos Alvarado | Costa Rica | Not Ranked |
| 9 | King Abdullah | Jordan | Not Ranked |
| 10 | Muhammadu Buhari | Nigeria | Not Ranked |
There are some new names on the list as some familiar faces have had their share of trouble lately.
1. While Britain's Theresa May barely clings to power for now as Brexit plans become a horrific disaster, and Emmanuel Macron's principles and policies crumble in the face of protests, and there are increasing calls for Angela Merkel to leave power in Germany, and Saudi Arabia's MBS has turned himself into an international pariah, and it appears Donald Trump won't be President of the United States much longer, Xi Jianping maintains his firm grip on power even increasing China's influence in Latin America right under Trump's nose.
2. Despite being a brutal autocrat, Kim's international profile has transformed into that of a shrewd reformer... because this is the world we now live in.
3. Moon's popularity within South Korea has decreased somewhat lately due to a slight economic downturn, but his continued determination to thaw relations with his neighbor to the north fosters hope for a more peaceful world.
4. The Ayatollah remains relevant because of warmongers in Washington DC and Riyadh. Those same warmongers are on sinking ships in their own lands and are hoping to instigate Iran in order to save themselves. All they're doing is helping to prop up a stale regime by granting it viable scapegoats.
5. The Prime Minister of Ethiopia is attempting to institute political and economic reforms in transitioning the country into a liberal democracy. He's already survived an assassination attempt doing so.
6. Kagame is an autocrat who won nearly 100% of the vote in his third presidential election victory. But the courts recently dropped charges against a political opponent of Kagame's. He has turned Rwanda into a bastion of economic growth since the genocide and, despite the off-putting name, won a couple of "African of the Year" awards from different organizations.
7. Putin greeted MBS, fresh of his killing of Washington Post reporter Jamel Khashoggi, like they were old bros at the recent G20 summit. Putin can relate to murderers of journalists. Vlad exposed himself as a clown in the greeting. His country's economy is crumbling as he and his minions plunder his nation's wealth. But, he is the overlord of the United States, the wealthiest country in the world, so that should count for something.
8. Alvarado runs a democracy in Central America and is currently trying to push through tax legislation. Whether he succeeds or not, it's just nice to write something fairly normal about a president's agenda. As far as I know, Alvarado didn't pay off porn stars to keep quiet ahead of his election victory and didn't collaborate with the Russians to achieve said victory.
9. King Abdullah of Jordan recently won the Templeton Prize for his efforts to foster religious harmony. UN Secretary General Andres Guterres called Abdullah a messenger for peace and an outstanding statesmen. President Trump's own lawyers have called Trump a crook and "a fucking liar." So score one for Abdullah.
10. For the first time since World War II, a U.S. president has failed to crack the top ten on this list (Ok, so the list only started this year, but if I had been doing this list since World War II, then my statement would be true. Even during Watergate, Nixon probably would've been no lower than 5.)
Nigeria's Muhammadu Buhari makes the list for the first time because he's not dead. There were rumors that Buhari had died and was replaced by a lookalike, but it turns out he just needed to travel to Europe for medical treatment. He hasn't lived up to expectations battling corruption or Boko Haram, but he's alive and, well, that's something.
Friday, December 07, 2018
Top 10 Boxing Nations
Below is a list of the best current boxing nations. This is my first list of this nature.
| Rank | Nation | Top 10 | Champs | 5 Star | Best |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | United States | 4 | 1 | 28 | Crawford |
| 2 | Ukraine | 2 | 2 | 5 | Lomachenko |
| 3 | England | 0 | 0 | 17 | Joshua |
| 4 | Mexico | 1 | 1 | 10 | Canelo |
| 5 | Russia | 0 | 0 | 6 | Kovalev |
| 6 | Japan | 1 | 0 | 7 | Inoue |
| 7 | Puerto Rico | 0 | 0 | 3 | Machado |
| 8 | Cuba | 0 | 1 | 4 | Rigondeaux |
| 9 | Philippines | 0 | 0 | 4 | Pacquiao |
| 10 | Thailand | 1 | 1 | 3 | SSR |
Key:
Top 10: number of boxers from stated nation that are on my top 10 p4p list (as of Oct 6)
Champs: number of champions recognized by the Transnational Boxing Rankings (6 total)
5 Star: number of boxers who have 5 stars on BoxRec (take with a grain of salt, just meant to show a trend, nothing definitive.)
Best: In my opinion
1. The U.S. is still king even with the retirements of Andre Ward and Floyd Mayweather.
The U.S. has the most top 10 fighters and the most 5 star fighters. The country dominates the middle weight classes from 140 to 160 but is represented in all but the smallest weight classes. Just outside of the top 10 p4p list are Americans Shawn Porter, Gary Russell, Danny Jacobs, and Regis Prograis. The U.S. has plenty of hot prospects coming up including Shakur Stevenson. Las Vegas and New York are still the preeminent fight towns in the world. But the rest of the world is catching up.
2. Ukraine has had a number of decorated amateurs blow through the pro ranks. Lomachenko is the pound-for-pound best fighter in the world. Usyk and Gvozdyk are both recognized champions at cruiserweight and light heavyweight respectively. Ukraine basically has 3 top 10 fighters. Derevyanchenko is just a class below and there are several prospects coming up. The best Ukrainian fighters range in weight from lightweight on up.
3. England has three of the best four heavyweights. Super middleweight is another class of English domination. Half of TBR's 168 top 10 are from England including Callum Smith who just won last season's World Boxing Super Series.
4. While Canelo isn't the only high-level Mexican fighter, he is the clear standout. Miguel Berchelt, Luis Nery, Jaime Munguia, and Rey Vargas are the best of the rest. There aren't many Mexican fighters above 168. Between 115 and 130 is the sweet spot.
5. Russia looks to be moving up the list despite Kovalev suffering 3 recent loses. Cruiserweight and light heavweight are Russia's best weight classes. Though they haven't yet surpassed Kovalev in my book, Bivol and Beterbiev are on their way at 175.
6. Naoya Inoue won impressively since he made my top 10 list in October. He's the cream of the crop in Japan, but there are other strong guys including his brother. Almost all of them are 122 pounds or under.
7. Puerto Rico is an American territory, but treated as a separate nation in the context of boxing. Down from its heyday, Puerto Rico is nevertheless still churning out some good ones. Felix Verdejo suffered an upset loss earlier this year, so Emmanuel Rodriguez takes the mantle as the island's best prospect. He's in tough against Inoue in his next fight in the WBSS. Jose Pedraza faces Lomachenko tomorrow night, so it could be a defining couple of months for the direction of Puerto Rican boxing. Currently Puerto Rico is mostly represented in the lighter weight classes.
8. The top Cuban fighters- Rigondeaux, Lara, Ortiz, Barrera, Gamboa, Dorticos, Perez, and Rances Barthelemy- have all suffered losses in the not too distant past. Those losses have dimmed the star a bit of the once great hype surrounding the decorated Cuban amateurs defecting and going pro. Rigondeaux is still a fringe top 10 guy if he can bounce back from a loss to Lomachenko at a much higher weight than he's used to. Good Cuban fighters can be found from heavyweight on down to about 122.
9. Filipino boxing isn't at its zenith. Pacquiao is still relevant but no long dominant. Ancajas hasn't yet reached his potential. Donnie Nietes has always been good, but looked a little old last time out. On the other hand, Nonito Donaire has a chance to resurrect his career thanks to an injury to his opponent midway through his WBSS fight. Pacquiao is the heaviest Filipino fighter of note.
10. Thailand reaches the top 10 thanks to SSR's two wins over Roman Gonzalez last year and his follow-up victory over Estrada to cement his place in the top 10 p4p list. The two other 5 star boxers are minimum weight guys with mostly built up records.
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