DBD 2.17.10 If You Went Back to Cal, Could You Handle It?
by Avinash Kunnath on Feb 17, 2010 6:39 AM PST
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PrintI've only been in school for a month and I'm already feeling overwhelmed. The workload isn't even that heavy!
I'm 30 years old and am taking 4 classes per week (12 credits) at a local community college. I dropped out of high school and have good blue collar job. I've always considered myself intelligent and am an avid reader. I just can't get myself to focus on homework - and when I do, I become distracted or discouraged easily.
I have an exam tomorrow and I've put very little effort into studying. There is a narrative essay (very easy - only 3 pages) that is due at the end of this week and I'm still looking at a blank Word document. I have the day off work and have been procrastinating doing school work since 10:00am this morning (it's after 4:00 now). These are all 100 level classes too. What am I going to do next semester with at a more difficult level.
In class, I try to concentrate but my mind wanders easily. I take good notes but don't think I'm retaining much of what the teacher instructs us. Last week, we wrote essay in English class and revised them with the students next to us. After reading his essay, I had nothing to offer him. I thought it was punctuated and composed perfectly (while he had more than a few corrections and suggestions for mine).
I'm not even doing anything productive with all this time I'm wasting. Today I reorganized my music library, spent about 3 hours browsing the internet (reddit, facebook, the onion, porn, stumbleupon) and eating. I've made myself a "to do" list but haven't even opened it.
School is my priority right now. I'm unhappy with my choices in life and have made very clear goals for myself. I was so enthusiastic leading up to the start of this semester, but now I'm not so optimistic about my educational future.
Am I lazy? Can anyone offer some advice on focusing all of my mental energy on completing quality school work?
If you went back to Cal now, do you think you could you handle it?
The opinions expressed in a FanPost are, in every way, reflective of the opinions of every California Golden Blogs Marshawnthusiast. Moreover, they are reflective of every employee of SBNation, including Tyler "Blez" Bleszinski.
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Jamal Boykin has plenty of time to dedicate himself to a Pac-10 title
In his last season with the Cal men’s basketball team, Jamal Boykin is taking one class on campus — Introduction to Human Nutrition — as well as an online statistics course. He’ll graduate in May.
The forward said at Tuesday’s media conference that his academic schedule affords him more time for basketball, and it showed last weekend.
After posting three single-digit scoring efforts in a row, Boykin had 20 points and 11 rebounds on Thursday night against Washington and recorded another double-double (18 points and 11 boards) in Saturday’s comeback win against Washington State.
He has five regular-season games left in his collegiate career, the next one coming on the road against Oregon State this Thursday, and he’s starting to feel a sense of urgency. So he’s making sure to focus on the little things.
“I just want to make sure I did my part,” Boykin said. "I’m icing my body after practice, making sure I’m eating right and getting more sleep, spending more time after practice shooting, getting in the weight room a little earlier so I can get a better weight routine going. If I’m not doing some form of stretching, icing, and taking a protein drink, I break down harder than some other guys.
“I’m not necessarily saying that’s gonna have me with 20 and 10 every game, but it can be the difference in getting a loose ball.”
Email: bearsnecessities@gmail.com
by Avinash Kunnath on Feb 17, 2010 6:40 AM PST reply actions
Thanks to Jeff Goodman of the Daily Cal for the article!
Email: bearsnecessities@gmail.com
by Avinash Kunnath on Feb 17, 2010 6:41 AM PST up reply actions
He sounds not only focused, but as if he has some excellent perspective.
by atomsareenough on Feb 17, 2010 9:55 AM PST up reply actions
Joseph Cannon of Daily Cal talks up Cal softball
Valerie Arioto leading the charge.
But this year — oh baby — is the show good. Arioto gets to play the host this season to an unbelievably star-studded line-up which added two high school all-Americans and an All-Pac-10 freshman team transfer from Washington.
Freshman catcher Lindsey Ziegenhirt blasted four home runs and drove in 11 RBI in her first five games last weekend. Not to be outdone, pitcher Jolene Henderson pitched 14 and 2/3 innings, walking only one batter, while striking out 19.
And might I remind you that the sophomore triumvirate in the outfield has improved as well. Sophomore Frani Echavarria, who struggled at the plate last season, adopted Arioto’s mindset of “no shame in getting extra work in.” Ninemire said that her hard work has really begun to show at the plate. Ninemire pointed to Echavarria’s improvements handling her slap and her abilities to juice some over the fence.
Reid, who crushed Cal’s single-season stolen base record as a freshman (47), has the ability to set the bar higher for herself this year, having stolen eight bases already. The bad news for opponents, is that Jamia has a twin, Elia, and the two are identical in more than just looks, they feed off of each other on the field as well.
That’s not even the best part yet. This team has three pitchers, something Cal has never had before. And they all throw differently.
Pitching coach John Reeves thinks that this is the best team that they’ve had at Cal since 2002�-the year the Bears won the College World Series. He’s not just saying that either; this team is stacked.
They will be playing at the World Series this year.
Email: bearsnecessities@gmail.com
by Avinash Kunnath on Feb 17, 2010 6:45 AM PST reply actions
I think a lot of the re-entry students at Cal (in my experience) did much better. It wasn’t their first time living away from home – the appeal of getting drunk every weekend and/or playing Starcraft until 5am has long passed. I think I could focus now and have a better idea of what is important and what isn’t.
I think the kids now might be smarter academically – but even when I was there the average entering GPA was 4.0. Time management skills are now a lot better after years of managing teams and projects.
I think I would do BETTER now than I did when I was an undergrad.
On the other hand, we only had UNIX – and just the beginnings of the user friendly internet (Mosiac was released in my sophomore year, I think)
I also think I would do better now, mainly because I wasn’t good at being a student until my senior year. I never had to try in high school, so I didn’t get any real studying skills until much later. (good topic, BTW, avinash). Being in school now has shown me how much I’ve retained of that ability (and focus since I’m not 19 and going ‘whoo! drinking! boys!’) though it did take me a little while to get back into a ‘homework’ mode.
Ragnarok: Great Man or Greatest Man?
My wife and I have discussed making our non-existent kids take a year off between high school and college, since everyone we knew who had taken that extra year to gain perspective or maturity got a lot more out of college.
I was thinking of saving a bunch of money (right, that’s happening) and going:
“okay, kid, here’s $XX,000. You should go to college and it will cost this much. BUT if you want to live on your own/travel the world/whatever, you’re responsible for your own decisions”
This will of course be reliant on whether kid can actually make good decisions instead of running off for sex weekends, but its a dream. But I do think you would get a lot more appreciation for school if you’re not in it. Because minimum wage jobs suck nuts.
Ragnarok: Great Man or Greatest Man?
yeah, um, what kind of post-highschool experience did AndBears have? Damn.
CGB: Wasting Your Potential, Your Time, & Your Life Since 2006.
I know. Is it any surprise that she’s in the condition she’s in?
by atomsareenough on Feb 17, 2010 4:10 PM PST up reply actions
Which non-existant college are your kids going to?
President Emperor Warlord Of The Sun!
www.CaliforniaGoldenBlogs.com
I suppose I won’t bother sending any informational material about South Central LA’s finest institute of higher learning that isn’t ITT Tech then?
Go ahead and send it, I hear those brochures come with hundred dollar bills attached and I don’t have the scruples to turn that money away.
Give it up, she’s not wearing that song girl outfit.
Am I known as Cugel the Clever for nothing?
by Cugel on Feb 17, 2010 9:52 AM PST up reply actions 1 recs
As a 13 year resident of the city of La Verne (longer tenure there than Berkeley, Houston, Hong Kong or Shanghai) I declare that joke Sanchez.
The correct answer, sir, is “and stop calling me Shirley.”
Quantity AND quantity!
by Spazzy Mcgee on Feb 17, 2010 12:49 PM PST up reply actions
Fuck. Well, my work here is done.
President Emperor Warlord Of The Sun!
www.CaliforniaGoldenBlogs.com
Thanks, Olaf.
Costs assessed against Twist
by CALumbus Bear on Feb 17, 2010 1:26 PM PST up reply actions
El Camino College, actually.
and come on Trojan, don’t you know it’s called South Los Angeles now? You gotta keep up!
CGB: Wasting Your Potential, Your Time, & Your Life Since 2006.
Like andbears I never tried in high school and got my ass (relatively) kicked.
One caveat is I have forgotten quite a bit of the prep work I did in high school – especially math/science wise. It’s distressing because I was really good at math and science in high school, just not at a level to major in it at Cal. but I tried looking at a calculus textbook a couple of months ago – I still understand the concepts but have no idea of how to get there math wise now.
by LeonPowe on Feb 17, 2010 7:43 AM PST via mobile up reply actions
As someone who only tried hard in math classes, that’s one fallback plan for me at least. Worst comes to worst, I can always become a great high school/community college calculus teacher. I’ll make sure you know your Taylor series by heart when we’re through!
Email: bearsnecessities@gmail.com
by Avinash Kunnath on Feb 17, 2010 7:50 AM PST up reply actions
This is so, so true. I was absolutely used to doing the bare minimum to still get an easy A, and at Cal that was not possible, so it definitely took some adjusting to.
by atomsareenough on Feb 17, 2010 10:01 AM PST up reply actions
This
Mrs. yorzepol recently went back to school and her happy experience was that she was much more prepared to actually work at school. She appreciated the opportunity to be able to finish her degree and had much more time to study and do her homework with out the full time job of drinking and partying that accompanies many people’s college experience (like mine.)
So I think that I too would do better. High School and my first two years came so easy that I was unprepared for the rigors of upper division classes. I had no idea how to study or any clue that I even should. I wouldn’t go to office hours either and for some reason I failed a lot of my courses. If I only knew then what I know now.
However, lost in this discussion is the better question: if you COULD go back, would you want to? I know emphatically that I would not. As much as I loved my Cal experience there is no way that I could recreate it and so my second Cal experience would be something that would never live up to what I remember. Besides, I am too old to try to recerate all the staying up and immature discussions I had in the Unit One dorms at 3am.
I would without question take the opportunity to go back. Aside from the outside of class fun which would likely not be the same, I really liked my classes. I would love the opportunity to take the dozens of courses I never had a chance to take. Also, STUDENT SEASON TICKETS!!!!!!!!!
It'll be just you, me, and Peter Nincompoop.
I felt the same for a long time after I graduated, but as the years have passed and I’ve experienced many other things (like marriage and kids,) the desire to go back is less and less.
Yeah, re-entry students and transfer students almost always do much better in school. THey’re usually more focused, and they know what they want – they’re more likely to be going to school for a singular purpose, and not for the ‘college’ experience.
CGB: Wasting Your Potential, Your Time, & Your Life Since 2006.
Tomorrows WBball game $3
Thursday’s night’s game will be the annual WBCA Pink Zone game. All fans wearing pink can purchase general admission tickets for $3 and the first 2,000 will receive a special Pink Zone T-Shirt.
Bears take on OSU Beavers at 7pm
Ragnarok: Great Man or Greatest Man?
I was thinking of getting the baby a onesie…although I think the mrs. would want to put him in a #4 jersey.
http://www.calbearsshop.com/categories-youth-infant-toddler.html
"We lose to Stanford in many sports, but if you want to make a Cal team quit, bring a weapon."
--Coach Clark
if your question is “should I buy more Cal themed clothes for offspring” I believe the answer is YES.
Ragnarok: Great Man or Greatest Man?
Now I’m thinking of taking old Cal T-Shirts and turning them into onesies… I like this idea. Sell you one for $5
Ragnarok: Great Man or Greatest Man?
Baby girl #1 grew up in old Cal T-shirts. We never went so far as to make them actual onesies…
But, we would tie the bottom and make it into a sleep sack. We also took one and rolled it up with knots to create her bed time chew toy, er, lovie.
Until she got old enough to go full on nuts into princess mode (sigh), she used to get really excited about “borrowing” one of Da-Da’s shirts.
Current Students?
I’m curious to know how many other current students are here besides me. Roll call, guys!
When it comes to succeeding in school, I think I’m able to succeed because I retain things I hear in lecture really well. My time management is incredibly procrastinator-y in nature (only in school, this doesn’t apply at work), but I always get things done. The thing I have the hardest time with is motivating myself to do the reading for classes. That’s the area where I can really get myself in trouble.
I've been Honked...
At 7:16 AM on a Wednesday morning???
President Emperor Warlord Of The Sun!
www.CaliforniaGoldenBlogs.com
what kind of college student were you?
Go Bears Go
by Rocksanddirt on Feb 17, 2010 1:06 PM PST up reply actions
The kind who didn’t wake up before 10!
President Emperor Warlord Of The Sun!
www.CaliforniaGoldenBlogs.com
damn slacker kids these days....
Go Bears Go
by Rocksanddirt on Feb 17, 2010 3:46 PM PST up reply actions
Oregon kicker who got the shit kicked out of him reportedly assaulted a 19 y/o female.
"We lose to Stanford in many sports, but if you want to make a Cal team quit, bring a weapon."
--Coach Clark
Could I handle it?
I am not sure I would get into Cal today with the same academic resume I had back then. It seems a lot more competitive now.
But if I were to get in, I think I could handle it. Being a student is the only thing I’ve ever been good at!
I am a Vereenian.
Okay, maybe you’re right about the legalese thing. But that’s about as useful as speaking Esperanto, is it not? ;-)
I am a Vereenian.
This is why they should fire you and make me Head Bitch In Charge.
President Emperor Warlord Of The Sun!
www.CaliforniaGoldenBlogs.com
Being a student is the only thing I’ve ever been good at!
I don’t think CALumbus Bear can be pleased hearing this.
Email: bearsnecessities@gmail.com
by Avinash Kunnath on Feb 17, 2010 7:32 AM PST up reply actions
Excuse me, after yesterday’s super secret meeting attended solely by me, it is now Bear, Bear, and NHook
President Emperor Warlord Of The Sun!
www.CaliforniaGoldenBlogs.com
CALumbus Bear has high-limit malpractice insurance, so he’s ok with this
Costs assessed against Twist
by CALumbus Bear on Feb 17, 2010 12:12 PM PST up reply actions
Larry Scott talks with Colin Schrutebag Cowherd
Pac-10 expansion, also says he doesn’t expect USC will get punished.
Email: bearsnecessities@gmail.com
by Avinash Kunnath on Feb 17, 2010 7:43 AM PST reply actions
Cal heads to the Oregons:
California Golden Bears (17-8, 9-4) at Oregon State Beavers (10-13, 5-7)
Thursday, Feb. 18, 7:30 p.m., Gil Coliseum, Corvallis, Ore.
Radio: KFRC 1550 AM TV: FSN/CSNBA
California Golden Bears (17-8, 9-4) at Oregon Ducks (12-11, 4-8)
Saturday, Feb. 20, 3 p.m., MacArthur Court, Eugene, Ore.
Radio: KFRC 1550 AM TV: CSN Calif.
Currently enjoying its third three-game winning streak of the season, first-place California treks up to Oregon this week with a one-game lead over Arizona State for first place in the Pac-10. The Golden Bears and Oregon State will face off on Thursday, Feb. 18, at 7:30 p.m. at Gil Coliseum in Corvallis, Ore.
After getting off to a sluggish start in the first half against Washington State last Saturday at Haas Pavilion, Cal erased an 11-point halftime deficit and shut out the Cougars in the final four minutes of the game to win, 86-70. Senior guard Jerome Randle capped off a tremendous weekend by leading the Bears to the comeback victory.
Randle, moved past Joe Shipp into third all-time on Cal’s career scoring list with 1,680 points, just eight points behind Lamond Murray for second. Sean Lampley is Cal’s current all-time scorer with 1,776 points. Randle also needs 12 assists to become just the third player in school history to record 500 assists, and he is six behind Jason Kidd for third all-time.
President Emperor Warlord Of The Sun!
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Monty press kwotes:
California Head Coach Mike Montgomery
On the previous game against Oregon State:
They caused a problem for us, and they get aggressive in that 1-3-1. They’ve got great size. It’s hard to pass, through. People are open but it’s real hard to get it to them. I think all the three games that we’ve played have been almost mirror images; we’ve gotten up, we’ve played well, and then it’s gotten dicey toward the end.
We just have to attack their zone. Now, if they’re not scoring, then they’re not back in the 1-3-1, they’re back in the 2-3 zone, which is pretty standard, so obviously playing a good defense would be a positive for us. They’re coming off a road win against Arizona, so they’re still playing very well and playing competitively and he’s made some lineup changes so we’re going to have to attack the zone patiently, consistently, and intelligently.
On getting closer to winning the Pac-10 title:
Well, I’m not responsible for the past. We wanted to give ourselves a chance to compete for the title and we’ve done that. There are five games left and really, whoever wins out is going to win it. There are probably three or four teams that are capable of doing that. Some of them have got to play each other so obviously they can’t do that, but we put ourselves in a position where it’s in front of us, and we`re going to have to go on the road and win. That’s all we can ask. The kids are excited about it, I think, not so much thinking ahead to a championship as much as just the fact that we’re in first and we’ve been there for a while, and it sustains us.
On whether or not Cal is playing its best basketball right now:
Yes and no. The key thing for us is that we’ve played well a lot, we just haven’t played well for 40 minutes. We’ve played stretches of a lot of different games where we’ve been pretty good and we’ve had stretches in games where we haven’t been as good. Maybe we’re sustaining it a little bit more. If we play hard, we’ve been pretty good. If we keep our focus, we’ve been pretty good. We’ve played well, gotten ahead, and lost our focus, and got ourselves in trouble.
But when we’ve played hard, and been mentally in to what we’re doing, and understand what we’re trying to do, we’ve been pretty good. Maybe the stretches of the time we’ve been able to play well has been a little longer. I know the Washington game was tough. That’s a good Washington team that came out and tried to do the same things to us here they did there. Having Jorge back, having Markhuri back a little bit longer, Omondi got hurt on Thursday last week so we need to get him back, and that will help us. That gives us more flexibility with guys who can give us different looks, so that’s still a key for us.
President Emperor Warlord Of The Sun!
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Randle named Oscar Robertson Player Of The Week, not to be confused with Oscar Peterson Player Of The Week, which always went to Joey Harrington:
BERKELEY – The U.S. Basketball Writers Association has selected Jerome Randle as its Oscar Robertson National Player of the Week for games ending the week of Sunday, Feb. 14. The USBWA’s weekly honor is presented by Blue Ribbon College Basketball Yearbook and has been handed out each Tuesday this season.
For being named the Pac-10 Player of the Week yesterday, Randle was nominated for the weekly award, which was chosen by a representative of the USBWA board of directors from a list of Division I conference players of the week.
Randle, a 5-10 senior from Chicago, Ill., led the Golden Bears to wins over Washington and Washington State. In Thursday’s 93-81 win over the Huskies, Randle scored 21 of his 33 points in the first half. It was his second 30-point game of the season and third of his career. Saturday, in the 86-70 victory over the Cougars, Randle scored 24 points while shooting 6-for-9 from the three-point line as Cal erased an 11-point halftime deficit.
Randle has now moved into third place on Cal’s all-time scoring list, just eight points behind Lamond Murray. For the week, Randle 53 percent (19-for-36) from the field, 64 percent (9-for-14) from behind the arc and 91 percent (10-for-11) from the free throw line.
This is the first season that the USBWA has selected a national player of the week. Later today, the USBWA will announce the finalists for the 2009-10 Oscar Robertson Player of the Year Award.
Since the 1958-59 season, the USBWA has named a National Player of the Year. In 1998, the award was named in honor of the University of Cincinnati Hall of Famer and two-time USBWA Player of the Year Oscar Robertson. It is the nation’s oldest award and the only one named after a former player.
President Emperor Warlord Of The Sun!
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Randle has now moved into third place on Cal’s all-time scoring list, just eight points behind Lamond Murray.
Am I the only one who remembers Lamond Murray? I always liked him and was disappointed he never had as much of an impact as his teammate (Jason Kidd for you youngins.) Notice I didn’t say surprised, just disappointed.
I remember Lamond Murray very well. Without him, Jason Kidd would still have been great. But there would have been no Sweet 16 for Cal.
Snobby Chick - Senior Division
True
I just realized that I forgot to put impact in the NBA in my post. Lamond was an intergral part of that sweet sixteen team( we eliminated Duke from the Tourney!) and he still contributed to their success after Jason Kidd left.
Actually, Lamond and Kidd left at the same time: after the 1994-95 season (which ended with the upset loss to UW Green Bay in the 1st round NCAAs). That was Lamond’s junior year, Kidd’s sophomore.
I am a Vereenian.
Oh, I remember Lamond. Very fondly too (or should that be Lafondly?).
Of course, I also remember Leonard Taylor, and think he is likely the least-remembered impact player in modern Cal hoops history.
Whose Axe?
OUR AXE!
I fondly recall Lamond. He had a good NBA career, just not HOF worthy. Kind of like Shareef, although I’m not quite as fond of the one-year-wonder.
Costs assessed against Twist
by CALumbus Bear on Feb 17, 2010 12:14 PM PST up reply actions
WOmens BBall opens homestand in PINKZONE:
The California Golden Bears (14-10, 8-5 Pac-10) open a two-game homestand on Thursday, Feb. 18 when they host the Oregon State Beavers (9-14, 1-11 Pac-10) at Haas Pavilion. Tip off is at 7 p.m. Thursday night’s game will be broadcast on Comcast California.
The Bears end the week with another game at Haas, taking on the Oregon Ducks (16-8, 7-5 Pac-10) at 8 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 20.
Thursday’s night’s game will be the annual WBCA Pink Zone game. All fans wearing pink can purchase general admission tickets for $3 and the first 2,000 will receive a special Pink Zone T-Shirt.
The WBCA Pink Zone initiative is a global, unified effort for the WBCA’s nation of coaches to assist in raising breast cancer awareness on the court, across campuses, in communities and beyond. The Bear players will be wearing special pink shoelaces. The officials will be blowing special pink whistles. Both coaching staffs and all Cal athletics employees will be wearing pink. The Bears’ fundraising efforts will be focused on supporting the Alta Bates Carol Ann Read Breast Health Center. Fans will have the opportunity to donate funds to this worthy cause as well as bid on a team autographed pink basketball.
On the court, the Bears are playing for Pac-10 Tournament seeding. Cal comes into the week in third place in the Conference, holding a half-game advantage over USC and Oregon. The Bears have won three of their last four games, including Sunday’s thrilling 75-68 overtime victory at Washington. The Beavers are in the midst of a 12-game losing streak, with their last victory coming in the Pac-10 opener against Washington State. In their last meeting, Cal and Oregon State battled through two overtimes with the Bears coming out with the 79-75 victory.
Freshman guard Layshia Clarendon has stepped up her offense, scoring 14 points against Washington. After going scoreless against Oregon, Clarendon has averaged 10.0 points per game in the last five contests.
President Emperor Warlord Of The Sun!
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Womens Lacrosse opens season at UC Davis:
This Week
California opens its 2010 lacrosse season with a Mountain Pacific Sports Federation match at UC Davis at 1 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 20 in Aggie Stadium. The Golden Bears defeated the Aggies, 13-6, on March 8, 2009, in Berkeley in their last match with their UC rival. The Bears hold a 15-4 advantage in the all-time series with UC Davis. They last played at Davis in 2008, when they beat the Aggies, 21-10.
MPSF Tournament Champion Earns NCAA Play-In Berth
For the first time in the eight-year history of the conference, the MPSF Tournament winner will earn a berth in an NCAA play-in game, vs. the Atlantic-10 champion. The 2010 conference tournament champion will host this year’s play-in.
Scouting the Golden Bears
Cal compiled an 8-11 overall record (4-2 in the MPSF) last season, which ended with an appearance in the MPSF Tournament championship. The Bears are in their third year under head coach Theresa Sherry, the former Princeton national champion who earned MPSF Coach of the Year accolades in her first season as the Bears’ boss in 2008. The 2009 Bears ended their season when they fell at Stanford, 13-6, in the MPSF championship game.
Returning for the Bears are three of Cal’s top four scorers from 2009 as well as its top defender in senior DennaFaye Herald. Senior midfielder Alex Tickner led Cal in goals (35) and ranked second in points (40) last year, while senior midfielder Alyse Kennedy ranked second in goals (30) and third in points (39). The two tied former Bear Sam Price for the team high in game-winning goals (2). Sophomore midfielder Vail Horn became one of just eight Bears to score more than 20 goals as a freshman when she scored 25 and ranked fourth in points (28) in 2009.
President Emperor Warlord Of The Sun!
www.CaliforniaGoldenBlogs.com
I must be so torn.
"We lose to Stanford in many sports, but if you want to make a Cal team quit, bring a weapon."
--Coach Clark
Mens Golf at John Burns Invitational:
Wed., Feb. 17 (8 a.m. HST/10 a.m. PST) – John A. Burns Intercollegiate (Honolulu, HI – Leilehua Golf Course)
Thu., Feb. 18 (8 a.m. HST/10 a.m. PST) – John A. Burns Intercollegiate (Honolulu, HI – Leilehua Golf Course)
Fri., Feb. 19 (8 a.m. HST/10 a.m. PST) – John A. Burns Intercollegiate (Honolulu, HI – Leilehua Golf Course)
SPRING SEASON CONTINUES AT JOHN A. BURNS INTERCOLLEGIATE
Cal continues its spring season at the 2010 John A. Burns Intercollegiate hosted by the University of Hawai’i this Wednesday-Friday, Feb. 17-19. The 54-hole event will take place at the Leilehua Golf Course with 18 holes scheduled to be played on each of the event’s three days with daily shotgun starts scheduled for 8 a.m. HST/10 a.m. PST.
RESULTS
Results for the John A. Burns Intercollegiate will be available at CalBears.com following the conclusion of action each day. There will be no live results available.
CAL MOVES UP IN NATIONAL RANKINGS
After winning its first tournament of the 2010 spring season Feb. 1-2 at the Arizona Intercollegiate in Tucson, Cal has moved up in the most recent national rankings released by Golfweek (Feb. 14) and Golfstat (Feb. 10). The Bears are now ranked No. 16 by Golfweek and No. 22 according to Golfstat after finishing the fall ranked No. 30 and No. 33, respectively.
President Emperor Warlord Of The Sun!
www.CaliforniaGoldenBlogs.com
Mens Swimming signs deal with Arena:
TOLENTINO, ITALY – Arena, one of the leading sports waterwear companies in the world, is set to supply technical equipment for the next two seasons to the University California men’s swimming and diving team, one of the United States’ most respected college swimming programs with its long and storied history of success, it was announced by the Italian-based company.
The Cal men’s swim team currently features some of the most widely recognized swimming talents in the world, including 2009 NCAA champion in the 50 and 100 free Nathan Adrian, considered among the top freestylers in the world. Adrian is the defending world champion in 100-meter (short course) freestyle. Recently, Adrian represented the USA squad this past December at the “Duel in the Pool” in Manchester, England, winning both the 50 (20.71) and 100-meter (short course) freestyle (45.42) wearing an Arena X-Glide suit. His time in leading off the 400-meter freestyle relay (short course) of 45.08 established him as the fastest man in the world in that event for 2009.
Alongside Adrian, the Golden Bears have Slovenian standout Damir Dugoniic, the 2009 NCAA champion and current NCAA record-holder in the 100-yard breaststroke (50.86). Another outstanding breaststroker for Cal is senior Sean Mahoney, who was the NCAA runner-up in the 200 breaststroke in 2009, narrowly missing an NCAA title. Additionally, the Bears have talented individual medley swimmers in Estonians Martti Alijand, the 2009 Pac-10 champion in the 200 IM (1:43.21), and Martin Liivamagi, who owns the Cal school record in the 400 IM (3:43.55). All told, Cal boasts 12 athletes who finished the 2009 long course season ranked within the Top 40 in the world in their respective events.
President Emperor Warlord Of The Sun!
www.CaliforniaGoldenBlogs.com
Q+A with mens gymnast:
BERKELEY – With his red hair and unique name, California men’s gymnast Raion Sabo stands out on the team for a variety of reasons. He is the only Golden Bear from Northern California but not the Bay Area, has had a bevy of injuries – six broken bones and three surgeries – and has the hardest name on the team to pronounce. Last year as a true freshman, Sabo competed in three regular season meets for the Bears on the horizontal bars and set his season high of 13.800 during his first meet at the Gold Country Classic. Thus far in 2010, he has already bested that high with a 14.050 at the Stanford Open on Jan. 30. CalBears.com recently caught up with Sabo to find out more about the 5-9 South Lake Tahoe, Calif., native.
CalBears.com: You’re from South Lake Tahoe, Calif. – what is it like to go to school in a more urban setting?
Raion Sabo: It’s definitely a change for the better. After 18 years of knowing everyone in the town, it’s nice to escape from small towns and experience all that the Bay Area has to offer.
CalBears.com: You have the most unique name on the team. What is the country of origin for Sabo?
RS: Sabo evolved from Szabo which came from my Hungarian grandfather. That is contrary to popular belief that Sabo is short for “Sabosaurus.”
CalBears.com: How many different ways do people mispronounce your first name Raion?
RS: It’s rare that anyone gets it right. I have heard: Rayon, Ray-I-on, Rain, Radon, Saabo, and many others that make zero sense. Usually I just end up with really lame nicknames like Rainbow, Ray, Sabosauraus, Crayon, Ry Ry, etc. For the record, my name is Ryan.
CalBears.com: If you know, what made your parents choose Raion for you?
RS: Raion actually means lion in a certain Japanese translation. My grandmother was full Japanese and my parents thought it would be “cool” to give me a unique name.
President Emperor Warlord Of The Sun!
www.CaliforniaGoldenBlogs.com
Hmmm, going back to Cal. Could I handle going back to Cal? Could I handle sleeping into 10 AM every morning? Could I handle barely doing any work during the week? Could I handle not having class on F or M (or in some lucky cases W)?
You know what, I think I could handle that.
President Emperor Warlord Of The Sun!
www.CaliforniaGoldenBlogs.com
Seriously. This question is better asked of people who are not doing things a lot harder than college.
True dat. You’re making me weep with nostaligia! Now I’ve got nostalgia boogers!
Costs assessed against Twist
by CALumbus Bear on Feb 17, 2010 12:16 PM PST up reply actions
For the boogers? I’d go for hot co-eds. I hear they’re really into men double their age who sweat while walking up hills.
Costs assessed against Twist
by CALumbus Bear on Feb 17, 2010 12:48 PM PST up reply actions
Thanks for the insight into what the life of 2022 HolmoePhobe will be like.
by HolmoePhobe on Feb 17, 2010 12:53 PM PST up reply actions
But then you can get into a nice car which you park at a nice house and you can mock students for sharing a room in a POS apartment. So there are tradeoffs.
Costs assessed against Twist
by CALumbus Bear on Feb 17, 2010 12:55 PM PST up reply actions
The moral of the story is: enjoy the fuck out of school, you will miss it when it is over, and there ain’t no going back
Costs assessed against Twist
by CALumbus Bear on Feb 17, 2010 1:07 PM PST up reply actions 1 recs
It isn’t like undergrad, it is more fun than work, and it could be BETTER than undergrad (my 3L year was the best year of my life, even though there was a lack of Cal football games). 1L year kinda sucks, tho.
Costs assessed against Twist
by CALumbus Bear on Feb 17, 2010 1:13 PM PST up reply actions
People at law school who had worked for a while beforehand or gotten a PhD said that law school was remarkably easier
President Emperor Warlord Of The Sun!
www.CaliforniaGoldenBlogs.com
I suppose it depends on the work, but 1L is NOT harder than working as an associate at a law firm of any size. Not even close.
Costs assessed against Twist
by CALumbus Bear on Feb 17, 2010 1:14 PM PST up reply actions
1L is not hard, its just incredibly time consuming. Endless waves of work, most of which ends up being unimportant.
I can tell you I cried much more my first year associate than anything even remotely close to my 1L year.
President Emperor Warlord Of The Sun!
www.CaliforniaGoldenBlogs.com
I can tell you I cried much more my first year associate than anything even remotely close to my 1L year.
But weren’t you also married during your first year as an associate, and not during your 1L?
If you aren’t careful Twist I may strip you of your associate status.
Quantity AND quantity!
by Spazzy Mcgee on Feb 17, 2010 1:26 PM PST up reply actions
My goal in teaching first year law students is to make sure they cry. A lot.
Snobby Chick - Senior Division
Depends on the work, I suppose. The first year is pretty hard, because you just don’t understand what it is they are trying to get you to understand. But for most people, somewhere late in the first year the light bulb goes on and they start getting it. After that, it’s not hard so much as time-consuming and boring.
Snobby Chick - Senior Division
Not necessarily…. just 40 hours instead of…. “I feel like lying on the glade instead of discussion today.”
My heart skips a beat every time I hear the band strike up 'Our Sturdy Golden Bear'.
by oskisunbear on Feb 17, 2010 12:17 PM PST up reply actions
Lost last night -- "The Subtitute"
Anyone watch it?
Man, this show creates more questions than it answers!
7
Man, this show creates more questions than it answers!
Hasn’t that been the premise of the show since Day 1?
Email: bearsnecessities@gmail.com
by Avinash Kunnath on Feb 17, 2010 8:20 AM PST up reply actions
You wouldn't be so doubtful if you'd ever seen Max Headroom
In that futuristic apocalypse, they paid people to record their dreams and then broadcast them as a TV channel. Maybe the Lost producers invented the technology and you ARE watching dreams.
That was a great show. I loved it.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cYdpOjletnc&feature=related
CGB: Wasting Your Potential, Your Time, & Your Life Since 2006.
holy shit, lamichael james arrested for domestic violence.
President Emperor Warlord Of The Sun!
www.CaliforniaGoldenBlogs.com
Nice to see Oregon has become Florida State.
So, Oregon, a wacky band of criminals finally overtook SC and got to the Rose Bowl. If that’s what it takes, I’m fine with what we are, just wacky.
It'll be just you, me, and Peter Nincompoop.
Hey, hey that's not the American way
We have a lot of lawyers here and I’m sure they would tell you that Lamichael is innocent until proven talentless, uh, I mean, guilty.
he’s going to need representation.
"We lose to Stanford in many sports, but if you want to make a Cal team quit, bring a weapon."
--Coach Clark
Let’s send Twist!
Snobby Chick - Senior Division
by CalBear81 on Feb 17, 2010 10:02 AM PST up reply actions 2 recs
If only it could be as awesome as the City of Berkeley meetings!
It'll be just you, me, and Peter Nincompoop.
by BeastMode on Feb 17, 2010 9:37 AM PST up reply actions 2 recs
DeAnthony Thomas, RB (Los Angeles, CA)
DeAnthony Thomas, Scout.com five-star running back from Crenshaw High School in Los Angeles, is listed as the No. 1 player in the country. Thomas holds scholarship offers from schools across the nation, but lists early favorites as UCLA, Southern Cal, Arizona State, Cal and Washington.
BUT, what does Jon Doss have to say about him?!?!?!?!?!?!?
It'll be just you, me, and Peter Nincompoop.
So uh...
Apparently I missed a gigantic legal circle jerk?
I had to shower twice to get it off.
Go Bears Go
by Rocksanddirt on Feb 17, 2010 11:15 AM PST up reply actions
I'd think I'd do well at Cal
Mainly because I was at Cal only 1 semester ago so I doubt that much has changed :p
In other words, Go Bears!
I would love to go back to college. I think I would do better because now I know what sorts of input would be required to do well. Also, I would manage my time a lot better because I’m better at that now, and I would get a lot more out of the experience by taking more advantage of the various opportunities at the disposal of a Cal student.
I would also jump at the opportunity to do high school over again. I would so own it so hard if I knew then what I know now. I would be the king of that place. I don’t just mean academically, necessarily, because I pretty much did own that part of high school. But socially/culturally, man. I would love to do that part over again.
by atomsareenough on Feb 17, 2010 10:36 AM PST reply actions
I would also jump at the opportunity to do high school over again. I would so own it so hard if I knew then what I know now. I would be the king of that place. I don’t just mean academically, necessarily, because I pretty much did own that part of high school. But socially/culturally, man. I would love to do that part over again.
Exactly my sentiments.
In other words, Go Bears!
INDIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIAN REGRET!!!!!!!!!!!!!
by HolmoePhobe on Feb 17, 2010 10:39 AM PST up reply actions
PROTECT YOURSELVES PEOPLE
OR THIS COULD BE YOU
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tq6IFNWLR4k
(NSFW language)
Remember, the enemy's end zone is DOWN!
I would totally go back to school!
i expect that i would do fine, and be less of a complete shy geeky dork.
i periodically toy with the idea of working on a PhD, but i don’t know if i care that much about any one subject.
Go Bears Go
Not in a million years
I was in a PhD program for not quite 5 years, of which 2.5 were a total waste wholly of my making. The only reason I’d consider another degree would be because I had literally nothing else to do, and money to spend.
Perhaps I should be more precise – it’s not that I have any inherent objection about the idea of going back to college, I just haven’t changed personally, which is why it would be unproductive.
As a current freshman at Cal,
I can definitely say that I am easily distracted, spending more time on MLBtraderumors.com CGB, espn.com and yahoo sports than on homework. I actually don’t do much homework on days other than Sunday, preferring to spend most of the other days playing basketball with floormates, or getting drunk and/or high. Oh, did I mention I fucking love it here? lol
Jack "The Must, Just has no Rust, ain't no Bust, after him the ladies Lust, turns pitchers into Dust, likes his pizza with no Crust" Cust
Frank? Is that you?
Snobby Chick - Senior Division
by CalBear81 on Feb 17, 2010 11:56 AM PST up reply actions 4 recs
Awesome. Need more cookies and unconditional support.
Costs assessed against Twist
by CALumbus Bear on Feb 17, 2010 12:45 PM PST up reply actions
Needs more orange slices and Hi-C.
President Emperor Warlord Of The Sun!
www.CaliforniaGoldenBlogs.com
you had way too much citrus in your formative years
Costs assessed against Twist
by CALumbus Bear on Feb 17, 2010 1:46 PM PST up reply actions
It continues to today! I had an orange for breakfast, an orange for lunch and then a sensible dinner.
President Emperor Warlord Of The Sun!
www.CaliforniaGoldenBlogs.com
When I hear “sensible dinner” I take it to mean “dinner with a really good wine.”
Costs assessed against Twist
by CALumbus Bear on Feb 17, 2010 1:51 PM PST up reply actions
Surely you can’t be serious…
Quantity AND quantity!
by Spazzy Mcgee on Feb 17, 2010 1:04 PM PST up reply actions
She might as well be named Goy McJew
Quantity AND quantity!
by Spazzy Mcgee on Feb 17, 2010 1:20 PM PST up reply actions
In the old country, it was Goyim VonJewstein.
President Emperor Warlord Of The Sun!
www.CaliforniaGoldenBlogs.com
And in the Netherlands, it’s Goyim VanJewstein.
by atomsareenough on Feb 17, 2010 1:48 PM PST up reply actions
CGB: going places since 2006
All aboard the Jerome Randle Smart Car!
by rollonubears on Feb 17, 2010 12:07 PM PST up reply actions
Speaking of going places, shouldn’t you be at school?
by HolmoePhobe on Feb 17, 2010 12:10 PM PST up reply actions
Long story.
All aboard the Jerome Randle Smart Car!
by rollonubears on Feb 17, 2010 12:42 PM PST up reply actions
Shorter: Lupu.
Costs assessed against Twist
by CALumbus Bear on Feb 17, 2010 12:55 PM PST up reply actions
CGB:goingplacessince 2006
Quantity AND quantity!
by Spazzy Mcgee on Feb 17, 2010 1:04 PM PST up reply actions
I had to stop taking my laptop to class because I wasted time reading CGB instead of listening to lectures
In other words, Go Bears!
This is why I started taking my laptop to class.
My heart skips a beat every time I hear the band strike up 'Our Sturdy Golden Bear'.
by oskisunbear on Feb 17, 2010 12:15 PM PST up reply actions
I was perpetually annoyed in class by people like you.
Quantity AND quantity!
by Spazzy Mcgee on Feb 17, 2010 1:06 PM PST up reply actions
Is there anybody who doesn’t annoy you perpetually?
President Emperor Warlord Of The Sun!
www.CaliforniaGoldenBlogs.com
Yes, people in class who aren’t on laptops checking facebook.
Quantity AND quantity!
by Spazzy Mcgee on Feb 17, 2010 1:16 PM PST up reply actions
What about people who check it on their iPhones?
President Emperor Warlord Of The Sun!
www.CaliforniaGoldenBlogs.com
back in my day they didn’t have iPhones.
Quantity AND quantity!
by Spazzy Mcgee on Feb 17, 2010 1:21 PM PST up reply actions
Back in my day we didn’t have years.
Quantity AND quantity!
by Spazzy Mcgee on Feb 17, 2010 1:28 PM PST up reply actions
Like every year, only worse.
HYDROTECH FOR DC
by Spazzy Mcgee on Feb 17, 2010 3:02 PM PST up reply actions
There is no September in the Jewish calendar.
President Emperor Warlord Of The Sun!
www.CaliforniaGoldenBlogs.com
It’s called Schleptember
HYDROTECH FOR DC
by Spazzy Mcgee on Feb 17, 2010 4:05 PM PST up reply actions
You are the ironic royrules
HYDROTECH FOR DC
by Spazzy Mcgee on Feb 17, 2010 4:42 PM PST up reply actions
I always preferred Adar. The crisp fall air, the color of the leaves, the mushiness of the gefilte fish packing slime-gel.
HYDROTECH FOR DC
by Spazzy Mcgee on Feb 17, 2010 5:16 PM PST up reply actions
before Oygust but after Ferklemptuary
HYDROTECH FOR DC
by Spazzy Mcgee on Feb 17, 2010 6:17 PM PST up reply actions
Dammit, in my day we took notes on paper and we liked it!
CGB: Wasting Your Potential, Your Time, & Your Life Since 2006.
I miss Cal….. this sounds like my old life…. wihtout cares…
My heart skips a beat every time I hear the band strike up 'Our Sturdy Golden Bear'.
by oskisunbear on Feb 17, 2010 12:16 PM PST up reply actions
Taco Bell & 7-11?
There is a man who knows how to show a lady a good time.
Am I known as Cugel the Clever for nothing?
QUESTION FOR DANZIG
where the heck are you!?!!!?!
Question for the rest of the board:
What do you think a new transmission on a 2000 Accord will cost to fix?
Quantity AND quantity!
Tiger's gonna talk
But there will only be one camera present when he says “I’ve made some mistakes, but I am a changed man and I’m going to try really, really hard to play more golf”
Costs assessed against Twist
Remember that dude who beat down some guy on an AC Transit bus?
Well an Internet flash mob is forming to find his bag, courtesy of 4chan’s /b/.
Email: bearsnecessities@gmail.com
by Avinash Kunnath on Feb 17, 2010 1:30 PM PST reply actions
I was trying to figure it out…is it like….Telegraph//W Grand?
HYDROTECH FOR DC
by Spazzy Mcgee on Feb 17, 2010 3:03 PM PST up reply actions
She claims to have returned the bag.
Also, epicness:
http://sfist.com/2010/02/17/ac_transit_fight_video_update.php
Graphs!
Email: bearsnecessities@gmail.com
by Avinash Kunnath on Feb 17, 2010 1:53 PM PST reply actions
I’m pretty sure that Mrs DC Trojan isn’t going to smile on me celebrating the revived economy that way, but there’s only one way to find out.
by DC Trojan on Feb 17, 2010 2:18 PM PST up reply actions 1 recs
Anybody else seeing a giant boob?
President Emperor Warlord Of The Sun!
www.CaliforniaGoldenBlogs.com
Uh-oh, shit just got real.
All aboard the Jerome Randle Smart Car!
by rollonubears on Feb 17, 2010 2:24 PM PST up reply actions
It’s a pissing contest! A pissing contest everyone!
All aboard the Jerome Randle Smart Car!
by rollonubears on Feb 17, 2010 2:25 PM PST up reply actions
heh, now do one of the deficit.
HYDROTECH FOR DC
by Spazzy Mcgee on Feb 17, 2010 3:03 PM PST up reply actions
The first one? Kinda, it could have been done differently, but I agree with the gist. This current “jobs” bill? Hellz no. Just saying that you have to show the flipside of why the economy has “recovered.”
HYDROTECH FOR DC
by Spazzy Mcgee on Feb 17, 2010 3:15 PM PST up reply actions
Meh. Everyone complains about the deficit but nobody really suggests ways to deal with it. As far as the economy “recovering” – I guess it depends on what your priorities are.
I know ways to deal with it…
HYDROTECH FOR DC
by Spazzy Mcgee on Feb 17, 2010 3:29 PM PST up reply actions
You’d have to either cut defense or Social Security/Medicare/Medicaid. Neither is politically feasible for either party…
Both parties are too pussy to do what’s right for the country.
HYDROTECH FOR DC
by Spazzy Mcgee on Feb 17, 2010 4:06 PM PST up reply actions
1. Cut spending: Greatly reduce the amount of care medicare/medicaid etc provides. Raise minimum age for social security by 10 years, phased gradually. Focus military budget on R+D and cybersecurity, cut military presence in places we don’t need to be. Ban public sector unions.
2. Increase/stabilize income: Flat_ter_ income tax (ie raise taxes on the lower/middle class, cut taxes on the rich), carbon tax, gas tax.
All these things will hurt like FUCK for a good 5-10 years, esp the tax increases on the lower/middle class, but the idea is that a budget surplus will eventually allow for more infrastructure and education improvements which will improve the stock of the lower/middle class long term.
The American people are going to have to wrap their head around a dirty 9-letter word that hasn’t really been uttered by a politician for the better part of 6 decades: Sacrifice.
HYDROTECH FOR DC
by Spazzy Mcgee on Feb 17, 2010 4:41 PM PST up reply actions
Except for your obsessive hatred of unions, I mostly agree with you. And I don’t see any upside to tax cuts for the rich.
The real question is: should politicians be blamed for not being willing to talk about sacrifice, or should voters be blamed for simultaneously demanding more spending and lower taxes, and punishing any politician who dares suggest otherwise?
come on! the former fire chief of Moraga has a 200k/year pension FOR THE REST OF HIS LIFE how is that fiscally responsible and/or good for the city?!?!?!
HYDROTECH FOR DC
by Spazzy Mcgee on Feb 17, 2010 4:53 PM PST up reply actions
He buys a lot of stamps.
All aboard the Jerome Randle Smart Car!
by rollonubears on Feb 17, 2010 4:56 PM PST up reply actions
I found this comment hilarious and that is all that matters.
All aboard the Jerome Randle Smart Car!
by rollonubears on Feb 17, 2010 9:42 PM PST up reply actions
Police/Fire tend to be overpaid in most places because any cuts in “public safety” would be political suicide.
by atomsareenough on Feb 17, 2010 5:03 PM PST up reply actions
Rank-and-file police/fire are rarely overpaid. Usually underappreciated socially and financially.
CGB: Wasting Your Potential, Your Time, & Your Life Since 2006.
Not in my experience. At least in California, police officers and firefighters are by far the highest paid public employees, with incredible benefits. (Retiring at full salary with full benefits for life at age 50 — meaning a person works 30 years and then gets full pay and benefits for another 30 years or more as a retiree. This is clearly unsustainable, as it means the public is essentially required to pay for two complete sets of police and firefighters at all times.) For decades it has been political suicide for politicians to oppose anything the police and fire unions want, because the voting public views police officers and firefighters as nearly angelic figures. Of course one can always say that a person who puts his or her life on the line to protect the public can never be overpaid or over-appreciated, but where does that end? Why not pay them all a million dollars a year? Or ten million?
Having represented cities and counties in their dealings with public employee unions, my experience is that the police and firefighter unions wield unbelievable power on behalf of their members, and scare the hell out of elected officials.
Snobby Chick - Senior Division
Well I can tell you that isn’t the case in Los Angeles. Neither LASD nor LAPD can retire at 50 years of age with full benefits or full pay. The guy I know who worked as a peace officer retired after 37 years, and had neither full pay not full benefits. Sure, he got decently close to full salary, but after 37 years of putting your life in danger to keep the rest of us safe, I don’t have a problem with that.
CGB: Wasting Your Potential, Your Time, & Your Life Since 2006.
Yeah, that’s how it is around here. Maybe it’s not like that in “most places” though. I probably shouldn’t have phrased it that way.
by atomsareenough on Feb 17, 2010 8:51 PM PST up reply actions
Having had my college experience culminate in the Rodney King riots right before graduation, I can assure you that I don’t think that police officers are nearly angelic figures.
What pissed me off most of all is that the horrific actions of four officers caused hundreds of other officers from several agencies to have to go out there and risk their lives night after night during the riots.
Way to completely screw your compadres, your agency’s public perception, and the entire City of Los Angeles. F***ing idiots.
The riots were (in the end) caused by the actions of 4 officers. Obviously, there were deep problems that led to that boiling point in the first place – but you shouldn’t let that skew your view of peace officers. The vast majority of peace officers are not looking to bust heads, or to get their jollies by lording it over the populace. Almost all peace officers are out there to keep their area safe. They actively put themselves in harm’s way every day, risking life and limb to try to make life better for everyone.
If they don’t deserve massive props, admiration and respect for that, then I just don’t think I know anything anymore.
CGB: Wasting Your Potential, Your Time, & Your Life Since 2006.
The LAPD sheltered illegal activities by officers for years before the riots. The LA Sheriff’s Department turned a blind eye to extra-judicial executions of gang members for years before the riots. FFS, the LAPD had to buy a whole new variety of flashlights so that the fuzz had one less opportunity to knock the shit out of so-called perps.
And that’s not even going into the existence of paramilitary outfits in most major cities’ police departments funded by, and essentially dedicated to the continuance of, asset forfeiture practices which are such an affront to the Fourth Amendment and the basic principle of presumed innocence that I can hardly even talk about it and remain coherent.
I understand that it can be a thankless task to be a police officer and that they suffer through dealing with what used to be called the dregs of society on a daily basis – but even the good officers participate in the us-versus-them culture in which they elevate themselves above the general public. I need them, I appreciate it when they do a good job, I’m happy to pay taxes to ensure that the salaries draw good candidates, but I cannot see a day when I will join in a lovefest for the police.
(This is why I am not allowed by my wife to discuss police officers with my kids, at all, beyond saying that if you get separated from us and need help, find a police officer… and even I’m not so cynical as to think that they would torment a child. That’s what TSA agents are for.)
I’m not denying any of those, but I suppose different experiences make for different perspectives. I know it’s difficult for many to see past the bad to see all the good, but it’s certainly worth it if you can. I’m not apologizing for ALL police officers – when growing up in LA shows you things Torrance PD’s former “driving while black” policies, it’s impossible to do that – but I’m trying to say that there’s more good done, by far, than harm.
On one hand, horrible actions by a few police draw public outcry for good reasons. On the other side, horrible actions by gang members, for example, will force police to detain them, and the police still draw public outcry because they’ve arrested a neighborhood hero. Admittedly, it’s tough for the public to know, sometimes, what to believe. Most police really do try to make relations better. The majority in the middle do the best they can to keep relations good. People should head down to the Western Addition sometime – see the cops laughing and playing ball with the neighborhood kids. Most police officers really do try to make neighborhood relations better, because no one wants to see more people die.
As far as the us-vs-them mentality – not everyone buys into it as much as you think they do. Sadly though, sometimes it is a necessary show of strength. Police officers have to know that they have the support of their fellow officers if they’re going to go out there and risk their lives every day. They have to know if something bad goes down, they’ll be considered innocent until proven guilty – and firefighters and soldiers need that same support. In the negative sutiations, it seems fascist to the public – but there’s always a whole lot that the public doesn’t see, levels of support that helps the officers do their job. Peace officers are mother,/fathers/daughters/sons just like the rest of us. It may seem like they think they’re better than us, but they don’t. They have to show a tough front most of the time – not only as an outward show of strength, but for themselves. There’s a lot of shit they have to put up with and a lot of bad thing that they see, and if they don’t have that mental armor up to protect them, they wouldn’t be able to handle it. I guarantee you there are thing they see that would haunt your dreams for the rest of your life. They’re not soulless automatons, they’re not evil – they’re people, and they have to deal with that stuff on a regular basis – no mean feat.
And guess what? If you meet some out of uniform, you might not even know they’re cops. I know a guy who’s always got a big grin on his face, always cracking bad jokes, and is gentle as a lamb – he’d give you the shirt off his back if you needed it. I guarantee you’d never suspect he’s been a police officer and a soldier for almost 40 years. Sometimes you just have to go into a different mode when you put on that uniform – it helps you survive.
CGB: Wasting Your Potential, Your Time, & Your Life Since 2006.
It’s not. And you’re smart enough to know that just because some public employees are wildly overpaid doesn’t mean that all union members are corrupt and overpaid.
No, it doesn’t mean that all are but this is taxpayers not shareholders we’re talking about. Governments CAN’T go out of business. Therefore it is unacceptable that even ONE government employee is wildly overpaid. I really don’t see your defense here: “it’s okay, they’re not ALL like that”?? So some are? And it’s totally cool because unions are important historically and blah blah and all that? Heck no.
Look we’ve had this argument before. Unions can make sense, they really can, but not in the public sphere. California has so many hyaHUGE freaking examples of $‘s spent on gov’t “services” without any measurable returns thanks to unions.
HYDROTECH FOR DC
by Spazzy Mcgee on Feb 17, 2010 5:12 PM PST up reply actions
By definition, you’re never going to have a system where 0 people are overpaid. That’s equally true for a private corporation. There’s always going to be somebody incompetent making a lot more than they deserve, with or without unions in the picture. I have no idea how you plan to eliminate that.
Let it be noted that I called this pissing contest hours ago.
All aboard the Jerome Randle Smart Car!
by rollonubears on Feb 17, 2010 5:16 PM PST up reply actions
It’s not a pissing contest until people call each other nasty things.
….bitch.
HYDROTECH FOR DC
by Spazzy Mcgee on Feb 17, 2010 5:17 PM PST up reply actions
Flagged for insulting someone and not calling Sweetness.
All aboard the Jerome Randle Smart Car!
by rollonubears on Feb 17, 2010 5:19 PM PST up reply actions
Flagged for not calling sweetness just there.
HYDROTECH FOR DC
by Spazzy Mcgee on Feb 17, 2010 5:21 PM PST up reply actions
Flagged for being ugly. Sweetness!
All aboard the Jerome Randle Smart Car!
by rollonubears on Feb 17, 2010 5:25 PM PST up reply actions
Don't you have some Clearasil you need to go buy?
BAM SWEETNESS
HYDROTECH FOR DC
by Spazzy Mcgee on Feb 17, 2010 5:30 PM PST up reply actions
Don't you have a transmission you need to go fix?
FAST FACT SWEETNESS.
All aboard the Jerome Randle Smart Car!
by rollonubears on Feb 17, 2010 5:36 PM PST up reply actions
Well this is awkward.
All aboard the Jerome Randle Smart Car!
by rollonubears on Feb 17, 2010 5:42 PM PST up reply actions
Yes, but in a private corporation the overpaid guy who sucks gets fired and is held accountable to shareholders, yes, EVEN in banking. What are you going to do, vote the police chief out of office? Vote the lazy Bart administrator out of office? Vote the shitty teacher out of office? No, you can’t.
Think of all the Deborah Edgerlies RIGHT NOW, who just haven’t been caught yet. Ugh, makes me sick.
HYDROTECH FOR DC
by Spazzy Mcgee on Feb 17, 2010 5:21 PM PST up reply actions
Yes, but in a private corporation the overpaid guy who sucks gets fired and is held accountable to shareholders, yes, EVEN in banking.
I don’t see how you can say this. Crappy executives get golden parachutes all the time.
I agree with you that it should be easier to fire public employees, but you’re saying (some public employees should be fired) + (it’s hard to fire public employees) = unions should be illegal.
more like
(some public employees should be fired, and get paid too much, and vote for politicians who award favorable contracts) + (it’s hard to fire public employees) = unions should be illegal.
HYDROTECH FOR DC
by Spazzy Mcgee on Feb 17, 2010 5:34 PM PST up reply actions
Yeah, still not seeing how you get from A to B. You’re really fixated on one attribute of unions. It’s kinda like saying because corporations and executives donate money to politicians who then give them tax cuts, corporations should be illegal.
Because corporations can go out of business. Governments cannot, therefore unions can demand more and more and more without being held accountable.
Example: take overpaid executive Joe from Evil Oil Company Inc.
Riding high oil prices, the company makes 100 billion dollar profit. Joe is awarded a $5 billion dollar bonus. The next year, on low oil prices, the company loses 10 billion dollars. Joe is a) not awarded any bonus while the company works stuff out b) he’s fired or c) the company goes belly up.
vs.
Riding high oil prices, the company makes 100 billion dollars. Joe is awarded a $5 billion dollar bonus, and signs a contract to be awarded $10 billion/year for ten years, and promises the CEO he’ll back every decision the CEO makes, so he can’t be fired. The next year, the company loses 10 billion dollars on low oil prices. They want to give Joe nothing, but he’s owed $10 billion under contract! So they try to fire Joe. Nope, can’t! CEO won’t let them. So the company loses another $10 billion. They’re now badly in the red. Repeat the following year. Repeat. Repeat. Repeat. The company restructures, reformats, rejiggers, plays games with revenue, but they still owe Joe $10 billion/year on top of their operating loss. FINALLY the company goes belly-up.
Well, the government is the 2nd example, except minus the part about going belly up. The end result is you get the chart that medvjed posted earlier.
Dude even CalBear81 agreed with me on this.
HYDROTECH FOR DC
by Spazzy Mcgee on Feb 17, 2010 5:57 PM PST up reply actions
If you were, I wouldn’t have had to use the word “even”, right?
HYDROTECH FOR DC
by Spazzy Mcgee on Feb 17, 2010 6:47 PM PST up reply actions
Whoa whoa whoa, you may be Frank Cohen’s mom, but not mine!
HYDROTECH FOR DC
by Spazzy Mcgee on Feb 17, 2010 7:09 PM PST up reply actions
Yes, but in a private corporation the overpaid guy who sucksgets firedsecures bailout money from the government and is never held accountable toshareholderstaxpayers
by atomsareenough on Feb 17, 2010 6:10 PM PST up reply actions
drops in the bucket and wastes of time.
HYDROTECH FOR DC
by Spazzy Mcgee on Feb 17, 2010 6:18 PM PST up reply actions
Btw, does this also mean that it’s unacceptable for any of the taxpayer-supported financial institutions to have even one employee that’s overpaid?
a) yes
b) do you really think it’s ONE?
HYDROTECH FOR DC
by Spazzy Mcgee on Feb 17, 2010 5:22 PM PST up reply actions
No, I said congress shouldn’t be interrogating bank execs about their bonuses because it was all for show and nothing would come of it (nothing did) and all they did was end up wasting time which could have been spent working out a health care deal.
And look what fucking happened!!!
HYDROTECH FOR DC
by Spazzy Mcgee on Feb 17, 2010 5:35 PM PST up reply actions
So, because the CA state senate and assembly have their heads up their asses and have gigantic budget deficits, and then have to cut back on the money that local governments depend on, and then the local governments decide to take it out on their employees because that’s politically the easiest thing to do, then the local gov’t employees should just bend over and take it because they’re not allowed to unionize and bargain collectively?
by atomsareenough on Feb 17, 2010 6:08 PM PST up reply actions
NOT making 200k pension/year is not “bending over and taking it.”
The BART contract was settled last summer when the union agreed to not get a mandatory raise for three years. I really don’t see that as “bending over and taking it.”
Guess what, no one in my company, from CEO on to PhD on down to technician got a mandatory raise for the last three years because we were low on funds. Am I “bending over and taking it?”
If I am, then I’m glad, relatively, because some of my coworkers got laid off. You know what would have happened if they hadn’t got laid off? Well we would’ve gone out of business. Could you say the same for BART?
HYDROTECH FOR DC
by Spazzy Mcgee on Feb 17, 2010 6:15 PM PST up reply actions
Yes, clearly every public employee makes $200k/year in pension. Obviously since they CAN bargain collectively, they have a bit of protection. I’m not saying that they should be completely insulated or that there can’t be some reforms, but let’s keep everything in perspective here.
Also, if BART “went out of business”, the entire economic fabric of the Bay Area would be thrown into chaos. It’s a vital piece of transportation infrastructure. Could you say the same for any individual firm?
by atomsareenough on Feb 17, 2010 8:59 PM PST up reply actions
I rather think the Obama administration took that view of General Motors, like the Bush Administration did for AIG.
And guess what, they didn’t have to “bend over”.
by atomsareenough on Feb 17, 2010 9:08 PM PST up reply actions
I really don’t understand you and HP. These are YOUR tax dollars. How is ONE overpaid worker okay? And you do realize it is, in fact, way, way, way more than one.
Moreover, if the entire economic fabric of the Bay Area would not be thrown into chaos if Bart “went out of business.” Bart has an average weekday ridership of like 300k, which is ~4% of the Bay Area’s population. You can’t really use that as an example.
HYDROTECH FOR DC
by Spazzy Mcgee on Feb 18, 2010 1:13 AM PST up reply actions
Ummm, yes you can. Think about it! That’s 300,000 more people on the roads, on cars and in buses. Imagine how trafic would be!! If BART suddenly shut down, productivity would drop, traffic would worsen, and money would be lost by businesses all over the Bay Area. You think buses are crowded and late now? With BART out of commission, forget about it – the bus systems would be useless. How would those workers get to that store? How would many customers even get to that store? Those are question that cost lots of money, dude.
CGB: Wasting Your Potential, Your Time, & Your Life Since 2006.
300k is not that many. The Bay Bridge (ONE road) handles like 300k vehicles (not people!)/day. Don’t get me wrong, traffic would be worse, but 300k people (which would probably translate to 200k cars) spread over the entire bay area is really not that much.
Either way, isn’t this extra indictment of the notion of BART employees being unionized? One strike (over something petty) and the region would be “thrown into chaos.”
HYDROTECH FOR DC
by Spazzy Mcgee on Feb 18, 2010 10:34 AM PST up reply actions
My filter is federal, since that’s the sector I work in. There are 2.7 million federal employees. For the sake of argument, let’s assume that they average out at a GS-10 step 10 with DC locality pay, which comes out at roughly $66k a year. That’s high, and it’s $178 billion a year. The proposed FY 2011 budget is something like $3.2 Trillion. Pay isn’t quite at the level of noise, but it’s close.
Does the military not count?
HYDROTECH FOR DC
by Spazzy Mcgee on Feb 18, 2010 10:39 AM PST up reply actions
I realize this, and also that unions have less effect on the Fed budget than local and state budgets. I think I read that something like 60% of Philly’s budget goes towards unioned employees. It doesn’t make them any less diabolical…
HYDROTECH FOR DC
by Spazzy Mcgee on Feb 18, 2010 12:16 PM PST up reply actions
and carry a big stick?
HYDROTECH FOR DC
by Spazzy Mcgee on Feb 17, 2010 5:22 PM PST up reply actions
You speak ill of Moraga, you risk the TwistNHook wrath!
President Emperor Warlord Of The Sun!
www.CaliforniaGoldenBlogs.com
Does this include not talking to me, ever?
If so Moraga’s teats are like giant, saggy carrots.
HYDROTECH FOR DC
by Spazzy Mcgee on Feb 17, 2010 5:31 PM PST up reply actions
I LOVE MORAGA WITH A PASSION UNKNOWN TO MANKIND
HYDROTECH FOR DC
by Spazzy Mcgee on Feb 17, 2010 5:36 PM PST up reply actions
I think everybody from Moraga should be given 200k/year for the rest of their lives!
The #1 greatest threat to America: BEARS
And a combination of both. Less “voters” than special interest groups and the people/corporations who fund campaigns. If these groups could see that, long term, they’ll suffer damage based on policies they push for from politicians, they might be persuaded to change their mind from a “Me. Now.” mindset.
Politicians, on the other hand, are greedy, corrupt motherfuckers who care about getting reelected and gaining power, ONLY, so they suck every special interest group’s dick at the expense (literally) of the taxpayer.
HYDROTECH FOR DC
by Spazzy Mcgee on Feb 17, 2010 4:58 PM PST up reply actions
The people are still the ones casting the votes. There’s nothing preventing them from throwing out the special interest-controlled politicians.
Politicians, on the other hand, are greedy, corrupt motherfuckers
As opposed to? I’m curious: you think that politicians are corrupt, unions are corrupt, special interest groups are corrupt – who are these hypothetical “non-corrupt” people who we could elect to office instead? You seem to be implying that corruption is an intrinsic quality of those specific people who currently participate in the political process.
The people are still the ones casting the votes. There’s nothing preventing them from throwing out the special interest-controlled politicians.
No, there is, and that’s the fact that the guy they throw out is replaced by a special interest-controlled politician.
HYDROTECH FOR DC
by Spazzy Mcgee on Feb 17, 2010 5:13 PM PST up reply actions
So your point is that…politicians are corrupt because they’re controlled by special interests, and politicians are controlled by special interests because they’re corrupt?
If these hypothetical honest non-politicians of yours exist, there’s nothing preventing voters from voting from them.
If these hypothetical honest non-politicians of yours exist, there’s nothing preventing voters from voting from them.
Yup, true. But usually they don’t get that far. To raise money for a campaign, you have to convince people that their money is “well spent” (ie I’ll rub your back.) Hey! Now you’re corrupt!
HYDROTECH FOR DC
by Spazzy Mcgee on Feb 17, 2010 5:25 PM PST up reply actions
I would argue that this is a pretty standard feature of any human institution. Try to name a system of government in the history of human civilization that was both democratic and free of corruption. I’m pretty sure it doesn’t exist.
There are only two possibilities:
1. It’s impossible to elect anyone to office who isn’t corrupt.
2. It’s possible and voters aren’t doing it.
The United States circa 1789.
HYDROTECH FOR DC
by Spazzy Mcgee on Feb 17, 2010 5:39 PM PST up reply actions
A loose, anarchic confederation of economically depressed, squabbling states with massive debt, no judicial system, and large gangs of angry armed men roaming the countryside? AWESOME!
Also, politicians sacrificing power for the good of the country.
HYDROTECH FOR DC
by Spazzy Mcgee on Feb 17, 2010 6:00 PM PST up reply actions
How is reducing taxes on the rich going to help with the deficit?
by atomsareenough on Feb 17, 2010 4:49 PM PST up reply actions
The line of thinking is:
Rich people have lots of money, with lower taxes they can invest/spend lots money on job-producing stuff that would have gone to gov’t stuff like medicare, welfare, unnecessary military (ie burdensome, inefficient gov’t jobs).
Make up the lost tax income by shifting some of it to the middle/lower class (it’s okay now because they have jobs because Rich Guy put up the capital for a new company). Since the company is for-profit it can find ways to do things more efficiently than the gov’t and its unions.
HYDROTECH FOR DC
by Spazzy Mcgee on Feb 17, 2010 5:03 PM PST up reply actions
Yeah, i was gonna say this. The poor spend their money more quickly and locally than the rich tend to.
by atomsareenough on Feb 17, 2010 6:03 PM PST up reply actions
This line of thinking is wrong for so many reasons. I mean, oh god… the idea that “trickle down” is still something people think is reasonable…-gasps for air-
“Trickle down” was thought up by two hack political columnists from the Wall Street Journal on a napkin in the 80’s. There is no empirical evidence that it works as an economic stimulus. In reality, rich people are more likely to save, keep their money isolated, or spend out of country than poor people. “Trickle down” is a way to get the federal government small enough the corporate conservatives can “drown it in the bathtub.”
And the idea that corporate CEOs are LESS corrupt than elected government is ridiculous. I’m sorry but most businesses are still privately owned and not even accountable to shareholders. And shareholder rights are incredibly weak in the US. They have even less power than the unions!
by paleodan on Feb 17, 2010 7:18 PM PST up reply actions 1 recs
You could make the argument, putting “corruption” aside, that the use of equity-based compensation for corporate executives gives them more of an incentive to fiddle the books for short term gain, rather than a long term incentive to run the company to smaller, more consistent revenue increases.
Then it’s not a question of corruption so much as of following the incentives.
You’re right that I’m mixing up old-fashioned corruption (cash in a freezer), with being a “bad-faith-actor” working without scruples to increase personal and corporate profits. The “logical” outcome of many corporate incentive systems is bad for the American people. For example, corporations should try to minimize their expenses—including those to taxes. But this just creates the incentive to create off-shore tax havens and accounting books manipulations.
It’s hard not to mix the two types when you’re getting stuck with the tab. It’s not that I have a dim view of human nature – well, I do, but that’s not my point here – it’s just that I’m a big believer in following the incentives and seeing where they go, rather than counting on people to “do the right thing.”
rich people are more likely to save, keep their money isolated
Rich people saving means banks have more working capital to make, for instance, home and small business loans.
the idea that corporate CEOs are LESS corrupt than elected government is ridiculous
I’m not really sure what definition of corrupt you’re using. Morally and ethically corrupt? Maybe, not for me to decide. But corrupt in the sense that their power can be bought? I guess I don’t really see it. Is a special interest group of employees going to try and pay the CEO more money to curry favor? Not sure that really happens. Just because a CEO is paid tons of money for good (or mediocre, or shitty) returns doesn’t make them “corrupt.”
In either case, corporations by their very nature have to be more fiscally prudent than governments because they can fail. If a CEO siphons off progressively a higher and higher % of company earnings as his personal salary, to the point where the company is in debt just to pay the CEO, he’s going to be a) fired and b) REALLY fired and c) the company will likely go under.
If a politician siphons off a higher and higher % of government revenues towards a big public union with the promise that the union will vote for him, to the point where the government has a huge amount of debt, guess what, the government isn’t going to go under and the process continues.
HYDROTECH FOR DC
by Spazzy Mcgee on Feb 18, 2010 1:28 AM PST up reply actions
banks have more working capital to make, for instance, home and small business loans
That may be the way it used to work, but in our modern economy, banks are so disconected from “real money” that I don’t think it makes a difference.
say what you want about the evilness of wall street, but a bank that has no capital cannot make loans. a bank that does, can.
HYDROTECH FOR DC
by Spazzy Mcgee on Feb 18, 2010 5:40 PM PST up reply actions
It’s true. The simplistic idea of banks that we all grew up (you know, I put my money in, they lend it to joe who pays it back at 10% and I get 1%) with is definitely not most banks big business. Community banks lend more to local businesses but have a much shorter reach.
Banks currently have much MUCH more liquidity than they did a year ago, but those level are representative of an extreme reaction now just as it was then.
Ragnarok: Great Man or Greatest Man?
Banks today have way more than enough working capital. The current “tight” lending is due to banks no longer making crazy-ass loans to people who really can’t afford them. It’s not due to a lack of money to lend.
I don’t think we will, at least in the next ten years, see loosened up lending again. Nor should we. One of the most interesting conundrums in this entire clusterfuck is that first banks were evil for lending to people who wouldn’t afford their loans, and now their evil for not doing that exact same lending. People and companies who can legitimately afford to borrow can still borrow. Easily.
Actual solution:
Bake sales! Sweetness!
All aboard the Jerome Randle Smart Car!
by rollonubears on Feb 17, 2010 4:57 PM PST up reply actions
Junk punching HolmoePhobe is NOT a way to solve the deficit.
President Emperor Warlord Of The Sun!
www.CaliforniaGoldenBlogs.com
Isn’t it Reid’s fault the jobs bill is for shit? Apparently the bipartisan one had promise, but he took a dump on it and pushed his idea instead.
Obviously it’s not that cut-and-dried, so if someone could shed some more light, I’d be appreciative.
CGB: Wasting Your Potential, Your Time, & Your Life Since 2006.
I heard that the bipartisan one was full of garbage like tax cuts for the rich that wouldn’t create any jobs but would add billions to the deficit anyway.
by atomsareenough on Feb 17, 2010 9:00 PM PST up reply actions
Is that chart supposed to be encouraging?
HYDROTECH FOR DC
by Spazzy Mcgee on Feb 17, 2010 4:07 PM PST up reply actions
You wanted a deficit chart! Obviously, it’s not going away anytime soon, but the baseline Obama inherited was pretty shitty.
by atomsareenough on Feb 17, 2010 4:10 PM PST up reply actions
Trick question…Like many others, I coasted in HS, and didn’t learn how to really study effectively until about halfway through. Dental school, unlike law school (I dated Mrs. Kodiak while she was a 2L and don’t take this the wrong way law people, but your professional school is Disneyland), was hell on earth. Over twenty units per quarter, year-round, and learning the actual technical, non-academic stuff was pretty alien. You either learn how to study very effectively, or find something else to do. The ortho was a lot easier in many ways, but I started to have burnout issues during my last year. I had trouble staying focused after about 5 minutes of a powerpoint. Still do, in fact.
After those experiences, I’m sure I could have done pretty well back at Cal.
But then, the kids showed up, and now my brain is fried. Hell, I had to scroll back up to the top of this darn post just to re-read what the question was before I completed my answer.
I guess that makes my overall brain-power about equivalent to the average pot-smoking post-party student…so I guess I’d survive, but perhaps not exactly thrive if thrown back into the pool.
So you’re saying that going to a school where they make you spend all day sticking your hands in the mouths of people who may be really disgusting is less fun than law school. I won’t argue that one.
Snobby Chick - Senior Division
Probably in the UK. I think dentists over there are actually pretty happy. Have you seen those teeth? Sweet mother of god…It’s like the land of milk and honey.
Have I seen those teeth? Every time I open my mouth – the miracles of American orthodontics were only able to do so much.
Sadly enough, there’s been a big trend in ortho towards being more of a business and less of a profession. It costs more money and time to make things less likely to shift over time.
would you like to give an opinion on the effect that Invisalign trays have had on your profession?
Ragnarok: Great Man or Greatest Man?
Invisalign is like the Philip Morris of the ortho world. Unethical company which faked their initial research(I was part of the clinical trial research team, so I saw this firsthand), and then bypassed the professional ortho association to market directly to consumers.
The trays do work, but the improvements are limited and are not particularly stable. Because the lab fees are so high that the average case costs about as much as I’d charge someone for braces. So, you’re effectively overcharging.
It’s not a bad thing as long as the patient knows up front that they’re overpaying to get an esthetic/trendy means of limited treatment. Plus, their needs should also be limited. The problem is that too many practitioners are trying to do cases well outside the scope of what the plastic trays can realistically achieve.
For those mild cases which could be treated with invisalign, I offer a non-braces alternatives like retainers. But they only cost $1-3k vs. 4-6k for invisalign. So, I don’t feel like a scumbag.
With the advances in tech, it’s really easy to do average to mediocre ortho. No one really knows until they shift back a few years later, or someone bothers to check the back teeth.(usually jacked)
Overall, I’m not sure about the +/- effect. On the one hand, it’s easier for non-specialists to do treatment, so that takes cases away from our practices. On the other, there’s more awareness of adult orthodontic treatment, so that brings cases to our practices. A steadily growing segment of my patient pool are the adults who were treated with Invisalign, had it relapse or never got their problem fixed, and now want to see me for a more definitive solution.
Personally, you can probably tell that I don’t care much for the product or the company. I certainly wouldn’t treat any friends or family with it, so that makes it a no-go for my patients.
by Kodiak on Feb 17, 2010 5:10 PM PST up reply actions 4 recs
Whoa. Chops BUSTED.
Informative and valuable info++. Rec’d.
HYDROTECH FOR DC
by Spazzy Mcgee on Feb 17, 2010 5:14 PM PST up reply actions
Wow, great stuff! I’ll make sure no member of this blog ever insults your father ever again!
President Emperor Warlord Of The Sun!
www.CaliforniaGoldenBlogs.com
Ironically, my dad called it right. When I was a know-nothing dental student working on the clinical trial research team, I was all gung-ho about how invisalign was the future of orthodontics. He was pretty skeptical – after all, how could plastic trays do the same type of movement as stainless steel brackets and wires?
When I moved to the other side and became an ortho resident, I realized that he was dead-on – it’s essentially a gimmicky as-seen-on-tv type product. More marketing hype than actual substance. The big deal is that the plastic trays don’t let you move the roots. If you just tip the tops of the teeth, the movement is inherently unstable. Moving the roots gives you a better chance at long-term stability. And, while you can do really mild cases like minor rotations or small spaces, you can get in real trouble with more complicated cases. One of my classmates had a patient who needed paramedics to cut the trays out of her mouth because they tried to do a case requiring extractions and the extra spaces created an undercut which locked the trays into place. I’ve also seen cases where the teeth get blown forward and cause permanent recession or damage to the gums. Because the company uses a computer simulation to create the trays, you’re effectively putting your license in their hands. You have no control over how the trays fit or what they’re going to do. The scary thing is that they have a bunch of non-orthodontists who come up with the treatment plans (my friend got hired there straight out of dental school, zero amount of ortho knowledge or training), so many of the intended movements are unrealistic, impractical, or flatly impossible.
The big scandal at our school was that the chair of our ortho dept was lecturing all over the country about how great invisalign was and how it could do everything that traditional braces could do…and then had to reveal months later that he owned hundreds of thousands of shares of stock options. We got to see firsthand that the records of the cases showing the “miraculous” improvements were all photoshopped or strangely altered when they got scanned into the powerpoint presentations.
Sketchy, sketchy stuff. If Lane Kiffin were an orthodontist, I’ll bet he’d be the #1 invisalign provider in the US. ’nuff said there.
Sketchy, sketchy stuff. If Lane Kiffin were an orthodontist, I’ll bet he’d be the #1 invisalign provider in the US. ’nuff said there.
Thanks for this look, I knew the business history and there were some concerns about the licensing and the ortho-reaction, but WOW, you make a great point.
Ragnarok: Great Man or Greatest Man?
Full disclosure, I have strong teeth but with lots of crowding, etc etc. Because when I was a kid my parents didn’t have dental, and secondarily they actually asked me if I wanted braces. Of course I said No! But I am okay with my smile and am waiting until it can be done in 20 minutes with lasers. I don’t know how but magic science will figure it out.
Ragnarok: Great Man or Greatest Man?
Well, I lost a tooth during the braces phase, and since I wasn’t willing to wear a retainer permanently and couldn’t afford an implant, there was never any chance that the surrounding teeth would stay where the orthodontist tried to put them.
I should have known not to go to an orthodontist who went to UCLA.
But then, the kids showed up
My bad.
All aboard the Jerome Randle Smart Car!
by rollonubears on Feb 17, 2010 2:08 PM PST up reply actions
You impregnated Mrs. Kodiak? You cad!
Costs assessed against Twist
by CALumbus Bear on Feb 17, 2010 2:12 PM PST up reply actions
But then, the kids showed up, and now my brain is fried.
So, this will actually be a good controlled experiment. Year 1 grad school – pre babygirl. Year 2 grad school – with babygirl. Rags can be the judge.
Ragnarok: Great Man or Greatest Man?
but the answer is known.
in another month or two, your brain will lose nouns.
by the time lil-andbears hits all you can think about is babies and breasts
after 6 mos…your brain will restart, and you will be all WFT? who is this child? and what happened to my hawt ass?
Go Bears Go
by Rocksanddirt on Feb 17, 2010 3:56 PM PST up reply actions
Only 6 months? I thought “mommy brain” was a much longer-lasting phenomenon than that.
by atomsareenough on Feb 17, 2010 3:57 PM PST up reply actions
I dated Mrs. Kodiak while she was a 2L and don’t take this the wrong way law people, but your professional school is Disneyland
No offense taken here. Looking back on it some time ago, it became clear to me that if you don’t care about your class ranking, Order of the Coif, or any sort of academic achievement, all you need to get a law degree are (1) tuition money and (2) a pulse.
I am a Vereenian.
But then you have to pass the bar, or the degree is kind of useless. The year I took it, only 42% passed. Bummer for the other 58.
Snobby Chick - Senior Division
Yes, I suppose there is that order of business. I passed both California and Ohio. California was more stressful because there was less margin for error. Ohio had so many essays, you could completely bomb two of them (at least) and still pass.
Only 42%?!? Wow, that’s low. I think it was in the high 50s when I took California. It’s in the high 70s generally in Ohio.
I am a Vereenian.
That was the lowest passage rate ever for a July bar. It came at the end of a long period of steadily decreasing passage rates, and provoked a considerable outcry. The State Bar said the reason for the low passage rate was that the applicants were getting stupider. (They put it more diplomatically, but that was the gist.) But amazingly, the next year the passage rate went above 50% and it has stayed there. The State Bar insisted that it had done nothing to make the test or the grading easier. So according to the State Bar, I must have been one of the lucky ones in the stupidest class ever to take the Bar exam. I so enjoy paying hundreds of dollars every year to the State Bar!
Snobby Chick - Senior Division
I always thought it was a fancy hairdo!
CGB: Wasting Your Potential, Your Time, & Your Life Since 2006.
I Don't think I Could Go Back to Cal and Be Successful
My level of focus and concentratrion isn’t near where it was at the end of undergrad. I find myself unable to pull all-nighters, and if I do I am useless for the following day or two. I’m also unable to find as much time to devote to school. I’ve found I need more rest, and genuine rest. During undergrad I could go out, and assume I’d be productive after 9/10 in the morning. If I go out now, and drink a little too much, the whole day is wasted. during undergrad I was also able to work for 5-6 hours straight without a break, now I need a break every hour. Therefore, often times I have to choose between having a life, and enjoying the perks of being student (non-rigid schedule) and doing well.
Bob Gregory is gone!
http://cal.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=1053358
“I appreciate Bob’s dedication and loyalty to the Cal football program over the last eight seasons,” said Tedford in a statement. “This was coach Gregory’s decision all the way to make what he feels is the best move for his family. I admire Bob both as a professional and a friend, and respect his value of family. I support his decision to do what’s best for his family and wish them all the best as they move forward.”
He is leaving to become a defensive assistant at Boise State? Should that read coordinator, or is it a similar position called by a different name? If not, that would be a giant step down.
I assume assistant is not the same as coordinator. It’s the defensive coordinator’s assistant.
by DavidsonBear on Feb 17, 2010 2:45 PM PST up reply actions
T-O-S-H TOSH TOSH TOSH!
All aboard the Jerome Randle Smart Car!
by rollonubears on Feb 17, 2010 2:39 PM PST up reply actions
+/- on smug 33SS comments tonight: 15.
All aboard the Jerome Randle Smart Car!
by rollonubears on Feb 17, 2010 2:40 PM PST up reply actions
Rick Neuheisel, is that you?
All aboard the Jerome Randle Smart Car!
by rollonubears on Feb 17, 2010 4:48 PM PST up reply actions
wow
Few things come to mind…
1) A few weeks before Spring Practice
2) We just brought in a monster defensive class…how are they going to feel?
3) Who do we get?
Go to the front page to discuss!
Email: bearsnecessities@gmail.com
by Avinash Kunnath on Feb 17, 2010 2:40 PM PST reply actions
The Gregory news
Email: bearsnecessities@gmail.com
by Avinash Kunnath on Feb 17, 2010 2:40 PM PST up reply actions
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Pac-12 On SBN
Pacific Takes (Pac-12) NORTH AddictedToQuack: (Oregon)
UW Dawg Pound: (Washington)
CougCenter: (Washington State)
BuildingTheDam: (Oregon State)
Rule Of Tree: (Stanford)
CaliforniaGoldenBlogs: (Cal)
SOUTH
BruinsNation: (UCLA)
ConquestChronicles: (USC)
HouseOfSparky: (ASU)
Arizona Desert Swarm: (Arizona)
TheRalphieReport: (Colorado)
Block U: (Utah)
Golden Bears Football Schedule
| Fresno St. | Sat 09/03 | W 36 - 21 |
@
Colorado
|
Sat 09/10 | W 36 - 33 |
| Presbyterian | Sat 09/17 | W 63 - 12 |
|
@
Washington
|
Sat 09/24 | L 23 - 31 |
|
@
Oregon
|
Thu 10/06 | L 15 - 43 |
|
USC
|
Thu 10/13 | L 9 - 30 |
|
Utah
|
Sat 10/22 | W 34 - 10 |
|
@
UCLA
|
Sat 10/29 | L 14 - 31 |
|
Washington St.
|
Sat 11/05 | W 30 - 7 |
|
Oregon St.
|
Sat 11/12 | W 23 - 6 |
|
@
Stanford
|
Sat 11/19 | L 28 - 31 |
|
@
Arizona St.
|
Fri 11/25 | W 47 - 38 |
|
@
Texas
|
Wed 12/28 | L 10 - 21 |
Pacific-12 Conference Standings
(updated 1.2.2012 at 11:12 PM PST)
| North | Conf | Overall | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| W | L | W | L | |
|
Oregon Ducks
|
8 | 1 | 12 | 2 |
|
Stanford Cardinal
|
8 | 1 | 11 | 2 |
|
Washington Huskies
|
5 | 4 | 7 | 6 |
|
California Golden Bears
|
4 | 5 | 7 | 6 |
|
Oregon St. Beavers
|
3 | 6 | 3 | 9 |
|
Washington St. Cougars
|
2 | 7 | 4 | 8 |
| South | Conf | Overall | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| W | L | W | L | |
|
USC Trojans
|
7 | 2 | 10 | 2 |
|
UCLA Bruins
|
5 | 4 | 6 | 8 |
|
Utah Utes
|
4 | 5 | 8 | 5 |
|
Arizona St. Sun Devils
|
4 | 5 | 6 | 7 |
|
Arizona Wildcats
|
2 | 7 | 4 | 8 |
|
Colorado Buffaloes
|
2 | 7 | 3 | 10 |
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