Valentine's Day

I am not a big "Holidays guy," and that is especially true with Valentine's day. I think the best thing my wife and I can do for each other is to not waste money on greeting cards, chocolates, flowers, etc., especially while her job prospecting continues.

We are, however, going to finally see Avatar today. It's a movie we would see anyway, but because it is Valentine's Day, my mother-in-law will be watching the little guys for us. Call me hypocritical, but I guess it's kind of nice that at least someone believes in "Hallmark holidays."

Bowling Revolutions

One thing I am trying to accomplish in improving as a bowler, despite being only a part-time bowler for now, is to educate myself in the game more than I did when I was younger. So I am paying attention to the finer things in PBA tour telecasts, league bowlers, and my own game.

Rev rate, expressed in revolutions per minute (RPM), is one area in which I'm paying more attention to lately. Not only am I seeking my own ideal rev rate, but I am also paying attention to what rev rates are required to succeed at the highest level. Ball speed is another area I'm paying attention to.

Some sample PBA players and their ball speeds and rev rates, from the Winter 2009-10 issue of USBowler:

Rhino Page - 17/18 MPH, 310 RPM
Tom Smallwood - 15 MPH, 350 RPM
Bill O'Neill - 17/18 MPH, 450 RPM
Wes Malott - 18/19 MPH (but looks like he's hardly trying; he's one strong dude), 400+ RPM

These were general estimated averages, which is about all I can come up with for myself without some high tech equipment. In a meeting at work this week, I scribbled out some estimates. (Don't worry; it was a meeting I was required to be in, but in which different groups reported on their status. My part lasted five minutes.) It's a good thing I remembered my algebra. I guess my teachers were right when they said some day I might use this stuff at work.

To figure out my RPM I need to use what little info there was available to me. The bowling center has a feature in which your ball speed is calculated. My shots averaged 15.5 to 17.5 MPH. Part of the wide range is because of my own inconsistency, but much of it is also in experimenting with the lanes and shot as I try to find the optimal way to the 1-3 pocket. My average and ideal speed did indeed seem to be right about in the middle at about 16.5 MPH.

So as with my golf game, my ball speed is not among the big boys, but somewhere in the mix of the elite. That's encouraging.

Back to RPM. My best guess as to how many revolutions my ball performs before hitting the pins is 12-13. With that knowledge, and my ball speed, I can figure out rev rate.

Thus rev rate = revolutions per minute
= revolutions per mile x speed in miles per hour / 60 (to convert hours to minutes)
= 5280(feet in a mile)/60(feet in lane length) x 13 revs x 16.5 / 60
= 314.6 RPM

Plugging in different numbers to cover the range of ball speed (15.5 to 17.5) and revs (12 to 13) give me a possible range of 272.8 to 333.7.

This has PBA potential, but it probably wouldn't hurt to up the rev rate another 25 or so RPM. Typically, the only lower-rev players who've made it big on tour are lefties, like Rhino Page. (Why that is the case for lefties can mushroom into sometimes heated discussions.)

The most successful PBA player in history is the right-handed Walter Ray Williams, Jr., whose rev rate is around 300 RPM (my best guess). But Walter is the exception that proves the rule. They call him "Dead Eye" on tour, because of how ridiculously accurate he is. Nelson Burton, Jr. used to always say direction is 95% of the game, and Walter's success seems to back that up.

How accurate is he? Consider this: Williams is a six-time world horseshoe pitching champion.

First of 101: Lose 40

I have 101 goals for myself in 2010. Since I failed so miserably to act on my minimal amount of goals last year, I thought I'd try something different. If I hit even half of these, it will be a good year.

I expect to share many of them over the year, but for now, just this one: to lose 40 pounds. A few people told me I'll be "too skinny" if I do that, but I know me better than that. I didn't let myself go too badly last year, but believe me...a 40-pounds-lighter me will be just fine.

Vikings Fall Short Again

Just a few thoughts right after my Vikings turned over a chance to return to the Super Bowl.

This one wont hurt anywhere near eleven years ago against the Falcons. I still have nerve damage from that game, which will no doubt help me avoid future pain in games like this.

I do hope Favre's legacy doesn't end up being that he fumbled away his last two NFC Championship games. But that is what happened, so it will be interesting to see how Vikings fans hold him in their hearts in the future.

I will be dreaming tonight that Brett decided to ramble, hobble, or hop six yards to get Longwell a chance to win it. I'm serious...I almost always have dreams after big emotional losses, and in the dreams the game isn't over yet.

Oh well. Not sure whom I'll pull for in the Super Bowl; probably the Saints when I'm over this. Let the fumble jokes begin.

What did Brett Favre order at the New Orleans McDonald's? A Hot Cajun Turnover.

Needs work, I know...

Air America

It appears Air America, the liberal radio network that wanted to offset Hannity, Limbaugh, et al, is going dark. As a left-of-center ex-radio guy, my honest feeling is good riddance.

I've always believed there is a huge market for liberal radio. It should be simple to fulfill, really: Hire good radio broadcasters with liberal leanings; don't hire liberal leaning folks and hope they'll make for good radio. Yet Air America never seemed to get it.

To wit: I love Al Franken's writing, and when I read transcripts of what he says, I tend to appreciate that, too. But he flat-out sucked as a radio host.

I don't mind conservative thinking; I have right-of-center views on more than a couple issues. But Limbaugh and Hannity, while I admit are very good as radio hosts, are scum of the earth in my book. I just want an honest argument, and right-wing radio fails miserably in that regard (not that liberal radio is perfect).

There is good liberal radio out there: Stephanie Miller, Rachel Maddow, and Ed Schultz immediately come to mind. Finding corporate sponsorship is no doubt more difficult for the format than it is for conservative radio. But the main problem liberal radio has had is that, so far, it has not found the right mix of talent and (lack of) scruples from its lineup to challenge the big boys on the right.

Late Night Stuff

In the Leno v. Letterman debate, I'm a Letterman guy. Jay's show is more polished, and the jokes are definitely more mainstream. Being in LA aids Jay in getting better names for guests, too. Dave did make his act more mainstream when moving to the earlier slot at CBS from his Late Night gig at NBC, which disappointed me a little, but I think was necessary to compete in the 10:30...excuse me, 11:30 time slot (you're welcome, East Coast snobs).

But Dave himself is a naturally funnier person, especially in impromptu moments while interviewing guests. Jay just bugs me whenever he delivers a line, scripted or not.

All of that being said, I found it a bit disturbing that Dave was going to great lengths to ridicule Jay on his program. We all know Dave wanted the Tonight Show when Johnny left, but he never seemed to hold it personally against Jay. They apparently no longer had been friends, but it was more likely due to their competitiveness.

All of that changed last week, as Dave was mocking Jay's high-pitched voice and large jaw, among other things. Jay fired back with a joke about Dave taking "shots" at him, but that he at least wasn't taking "shots" at interns anymore. A good one, I admit. I also enjoyed Dave's response tonight as to why he's been doing it so "mercilessly."

"Because I really enjoy it...that's all I've got!"

Two things are apparent: 1) Dave knows all eyes are on NBC for the moment, so he has to really push the envelope to keep people tuning in to see what he's going to say next. 2) Dave really feels Jay is in the wrong in all of this. I don't know why he would, but I wouldn't be surprised if he knows a little more than we do about all that has been going on behind the scenes.

What about the others?

Kimmel: Blah.

Ferguson: Took a while, but he's really grown on me.

Fallon: May as well have given Rob Schneider the show.

Daily: Never watch him.

Conan O'Brien: Has always bugged me in his impromptu antics. It's one thing to be a nerd and use it as your shtick so that it becomes cool. Conan tries to do that, and just comes across as more nerdy.

It's all opinion, of course, and I'll steal a Martin Mull line, appropriately (Mull was very good in the satire late-night talk show, "Fernwood Tonight"), which was originally meant for music as the subject matter, but relevant for comedy as well: "Talking about (comedy) is like dancing about architecture."

If you enjoy that line, I would guess you, too, are a "Dave person."

A Very Macro Microbrew

While in Columbus, Ohio on business last night, I went out to a bar with the work team I was meeting with for some after-meeting socializing. The young woman who greeted us asked for our order.

"I'm not from around here; can you recommend me a local beer?," I asked.

She replied, "Umm...Bud Light?"

Absolutely, 100 percent true.

Now, we all must remember that even the craziest thing a person says may have a reasonable story behind it. I found out later that Columbus has a large Anheiser Busch distribution.

Unfortunately for the under-dressed waitress, that actually precludes any possible excuse she might have for her hilarious response. You see, at first I thought perhaps she just misheard or misunderstood me. But knowing about the local Anheiser Busch plant, I realize she most likely actually thought she was giving me a "local" brand name.

That would be like me responding thusly to someone visiting Minnesota and asking me if I could recommend a good local restaurant:

"Umm...Dairy Queen?"