The Screaming Viking

I was in three Fantasy Football drafts over the weekend.  They went pretty much like I expected, the first one I was prepared for and all in to it.  The second one I was pretty in to, it was a group of new guys and my brother in law.  All the guys were younger than I am so it was pretty interesting to see how they approach the game.  The last draft was guys from work.  I was ridiculously hung over and burnt out on the whole draft deal.  I’d had enough…was looking to get it done with and my picks really reflected that.  I’m going to list the picks below for my first two leagues, the last one I can’t remember all of or get to right at the moment.  I’m a novice to the ff stuff, and I’m not trying to pass myself off as any kind of expert.  I fully expect to lose out on any money, but we’ll see how it goes.  I enjoy the jockeying around and the competition back and forth, a bit of smack talk..then there is always the chance to win a couple of bucks.  This is about the extent of my gambling for the year as well.  I throw a 20 at blackjack once in awhile, but I never go to casinos…seems like just throwing money away.  At Least with this I get a few months of entertainment out of it and I feel like I can actually affect the outcome…instead of just opening tickets or pressing a button. Read the rest of this entry »

I thought this article was pretty interesting, and since I’m having writer’s block the past little bit…it gets a feature!

link

from Wired Science by Jonah Lehrer

The 10,000 hour rule has become a cliche. This is the idea, first espoused by K. Anders Ericsson, a pyschologist at Florida State University, that it takes about 10,000 hours of practice before any individual can become an expert. The corollary of this rule is that that differences in talent reflect differences in the amount and style of practice, and not differences in innate ability. As Ericsson wrote in his influential review article “The Role of Deliberate Practice in the Acquisition of Expert Performance”: “The differences between expert performers and normal adults are not immutable, that is, due to genetically prescribed talent. Instead, these differences reflect a life-long period of deliberate effort to improve performance.” Read the rest of this entry »

A buddy at work hipped me to this today…

There was an article in the in-forum that people are being accessed some specials for the drain system required for the new school on the very south edge of Fargo.  Living in town, specials are “necessary” and dreaded.  Right now I “don’t have any”.  The specials remaining on the house when we bought it were less than 1k and were rolled in to the purchase price.  The first time I get a special assessed though…man I can already feel my blood pressure climbing.  It’s not so much that I don’t think sometimes it’s necessary…no the problem I have is a home owner has virtually no recourse.  I can try to argue and say I don’t think I should have to pay that much or that the work isn’t really necessary, but in the end it doesn’t matter what I think or say.  Someone somewhere will arbitrarily decide what I will pay.  I have the same problem with property tax assessments. Read the rest of this entry »

From m-w:

Main Entry: ²intangible

Function: noun

Date: 1914

: something intangible: as a : an asset (as goodwill) that is not corporeal b : an abstract quality or attribute (as loyalty or creativity)

I’ve always got my eye out for a “bigger better” deal.  A lot of people I talk to would like to make more money with less work/responsibility.  When it comes to evaluating the position you are in compared to a position you might take, it’s important to look at the over all bigger picture.  The position you will take almost always offers -something- better than what you currently have.  When I moved from a temp employee for IBM to a regular employee with my current company, I took a fairly significant pay cut.  While I was taking home less money over all I gained health insurance, the inherent stability that comes with being a regular employee for a company and (the biggie at the time) the potential for upward movement.  In the end this move paid off as it was 6 months till I moved into the position I have now which pays decently with some nice perks…but there are also drawbacks. Read the rest of this entry »