College Sports

Some of the most well known commentators on college sports wrote about the end of amateurism in American college sports in today's NY Times in March Money Madness.  Bill Walton is disillusion in his idea that the ideals of the amateur remain alive in any way in today's NCAA basketball tournament. 

Professor Dowling writes about the damage to the university, but his argument is premised on what the definition of the university is.  He remains stuck to an archaic idea of what the university is.  His reference to real colleges makes clear that a university concerns itself with "academic and intellectual values."   Rutgers' own mission tends to support Professor Dowling's view point in that the state has not established providing spectator sports entertainment as part of the universities mission.  It does refer to "performing public service in support of the
needs of the citizens of the state," but I doubt anyone would truly claim that spectator sports constitutes public service.  But what if the state legislature revised the Rutgers Law of 1956 to state that providing the citizens of the state sports entertainment of a high level was part of the university's mission.  This would likely not happen in New Jersey, but does anyone doubt that such a proposal would have overwhelming support in a state such as Texas or North Carolina? 

Professor Dowling fails to realize that due to the unique manner in which universities came into being in 19th century America the definition of university has changed.  I'll compare to the United Kingdom since that is the country I know best besides the United States.  In late nineteenth century England, football clubs came about to provide the sports entertainment that people wanted, while the universities, which remained the purview to the small middle and upper classes, had nothing to do with professional sports.  Hence, football is the British working class sport while rugby so much more up the class scale that Rugby Union officially remained amateur until 1995.  In America in the late nineteen centuries states felt compelled to start universities that from their onset were far more open to all classes.  Yes, there were and still are class distinctions to education in American, but it was and remains less than in the UK. 

I wrote the above prior to rereading Mason Gross 's How to Frame an Athletic Policy available in The Selected Speeches of Mason Welch Gross, and must make sure that the reader knows that everything from this point onward has been influenced by this article. 

I just conducted a quick google book search regarding the relationship between the state and the universities.  There is enough information to write a book explaining how the different situation in the United States compared with the the United Kingdom brought us to our current paradigm despite culturally being a direct descendent of the United Kingdom.  For now, I'll just say that when one examines the college football teams in America that don't suffer economic competition from NFL teams, they nearly all had long established traditions prior to any NFL competition for football entertainment.  This, and the fact that unlike in the UK those the customers of sports entertainment had a positive relationship with the state universities, lead them to supply the economic demand of sport entertainment. 

Which brings me back to one of my original intents of discussing my experience in the United Kingdom for the 1997-98 academic year at the University of Bristol.  When I first learned of the fact that all sports were clubs - that varsity sports as Americans know them don't exist. - I was distraught at the fact that sports teams have to fund themselves.  As I relearned today in reading Mason Gross, this is due to sports participation "will contribute to the educational development of the students."  He also explains that spectators and coaches must know their role.  Spectators are permitted to watch, but the team does not exist for them.  Coaches are hired not to work towards "what his profession would consider success," but to develop young men physically and emotionally to be prepared for the ardors that life has in store for them. 

NNMC Post Office Hours

Today I attempted to find the hours for the post office at NNMC online.  The post office link on the NNMC website goes to www.usps.com.  Not very helpful.  I post the hours here in case anyone else is ever searching online.

Mon - Fri 0800-1600,    closed for lunch break from 1330-1400

IED Kits for Estonia

Many countries face different military circumstances the the United States and her large imperialist allies such a the UK and France.  (Note I do not intend anything positive or negative by use of the word imperialists; merely that we have, and intend to keep, a military designed to operate throughout the world)  Other modern countries, often smaller, merely want to stop or dissuade a much large neighbor from occupying their country.  In the case of Estonia, Lativia, Lithuania and George the big neighbor is Russia. 

The countries steadfastly support American endeavors with troops solely to gain a potential future supporter when they are next invaded by Russia.  Georgia lost their war with Russia the moment when the Columbia educated Saakashvili decided he did not want to turn Georgia into another Chechnya.  I don't blame him, but the only way to win a war is to be less willing to give up than your enemy.  Russia is willing to turn Georgia into another Chechnya so Georgia needs to be more willing. 

As part of such a plan Estonia, and any other country in their situation, should deploy, in a very public fashion, IED and MANPAD kits throughout the country.  Make a big deal out of it so that every Russian soldier knows that Estonia will present them with a plethora of IEDs and MANPADs.  These kits should be distributed via the Estonian Defence League such that no one person knows where more than a handful are.  Thus, just like a ballistic missile submarine at sea, it would be impossible for anyone to located them all. 

The kits should contain video cameras, satellite internet connections, explosively formed penetrators, laptops to connect the videos to the internet, instructions, and any other equipment deemed necessary for a IED.  Most importantly there should be multiple differe types of kits along with different employment guidance to minimize the chances that in the event the Russians invade, a standard modus operandi would be deciphered by the Russians. 

Two potential options to avoid having explosives distributed throughout the country would be to have all kits be locked with cipher lock.  The combination which could be distributed electronically throughout the country nearly instantly in the event of hostilities breaking out.  Secondly, no actually explosive could be included only plans and key ingredients to that when opened, untrained but capable citizens can easily manufacture explosives. 

The MANPADs could be bought cheaply since instead of purchasing so many of the most recent version, many different versions of many different systems should be acquired.  Thus, no enemy pilot will be able to assume a specific countermeasure will work. 

Fractured Prune and Arlington Uniform Shop

So this morning I went to the Fractured Prune in Rockville and the NEX Navy Uniform Shop in Arlington at the Navy Annex.  I had to go to this uniform shop because my local uniform shop in Bethesda does not carry the Brooks Brothers Service Dress Blues.  I had inquired with Brooks Brothers about getting them at the local Brooks Brothers location but was told that they are only sold via the NEX in order to verify rank.   

The donuts at the Fractured Prune certainly constitute a taste bud
joyride.  Although they are cake donuts, and I prefer dough donuts,
they we very moist and not too dense.  The toppings were super sweat and flavorful.  I had a blueberry hill and a french toast.  It will be sad to see their quality go down as they expand.  The Rockville location is the original so even now, the other franchised locations may have lower quality. 

The Navy Annex has extreme security and is staffed by some of the nastiest rent-a-cops I've seen in over eight years of military service.  One was so fat that he would have had trouble getting out of his chair.  His boots were barely laced, likely due to some type of edema of the extremities.  Both my wife and I had to show two forms of identity as if our military IDs by themselves might be suspect.  After signing it we were told to wait for an escort.  We waited for about ten minutes when two petty officers stationed at the Quantico Branch Medical Clinic came in for the uniform shop as well since the uniform shop in Quantico does not carry Navy items for the sailors there.  They commented that the last time they had come the escort was unnecessary.  All four of us waiting another ten minutes or so during which time another rent-a-cop came from the building, but only to accompany one of the fat ones in the guard shack on a tour.  After a few more minutes the manager, whose name I later learned to be Michelle, of the uniform shop came to escort us.  She commented that the policies regarding customer escort were haphazard and seemingly random.

Exterior of the Navy Annex.  You can see the corner of my car there.  We parked in some type of reserved spot, but were fine for over an hour on a weekend.  I think the parking down one level of the hill, behind my back when taking the photo, is open.





Inside the uniform shop Michelle took fantastic care of me and fit the uniform.  I commend her for her customer service.  I was surprised to see that they sold the tiara for women in mess dress as I had looked online and wondered wear one could purchase it.  It costs $203 and is made by Vanguard.  Michelle commented that she has had one ensign in recent memory purchase it and that if anyone tries to purchase it, she will discourage them.  I disagree with her but it's alway heartening when a sales person discourages the customer from purchasing something.  It tells you that they have the customer's best interest in mind.  After fitting the uniform she also offered to bring it to the Bethesda uniform shop so that I don't have to travel back there and go through such wretched security. 

She also told me that she could order a boat cloak at over $700.  I don't recall the manufacturer, and she didn't have one on had to show the quality.  I got mine off ebay for about $300.  It's very old, but in very good condition.  The Marine Shop in Quantico also sells one at $600.  I once inquired and was told it would take about six months for delivery.  I also read once on a discussion board a post by someone who went and looked at theirs in the showroom.  He said the quality was crap and not worth $600.

The also had these not doubt expensive emergency escape masks throughout the building, including the guard shack where no individual could get more than five meters from an exit.  Good job to the DOD for playing right into Osama Bin Laden's hands.  How many millions have been spent on these masks for not one gas attack.  We are gladly obliging in his plan to bankrupt our country.  You may think that what's the big deal about a few emergency escape masks, but when you add up all the ridiculous security measures sine 9-11 the costs are astronomical.

The Navy's poor public relations

So here we see a great example of why the Navy has serious trouble recruiting minorities and making the entire Navy - I'm talking about the enlisted and officer corps here - reflect the diversity of America.  The above photo is of the standard poster found in all NEX barber shops regarding grooming standards presented to remind sailors and officers of the standards when getting one's hair cut.  Cut off at the top are the two males, one officer and one enlisted.  Here the officer is clearly non-white while the sailor is likely white.  Now look at the ten females, five officers (1, 2, 4, 5, 6 numbered left to right top row then bottom row) and four enlisted (6 - 10).  Number 3's rank is indeterminable as she could be an officer or chief.  80% of the female officers appear to be white and 100% of the female enlisted appear to be minority. 

NNMC Customer Advocacy website lacks modern functionality

On several occasions I have spoken, for both good and bad, with representatives of the Customer Advocacy Program at the National Naval Medical Center.  Today I decided to email them about how wretched the CAT scan appointment line is.  So I went to the NNMC website for the CAP.  They have phone numbers on their website, but no email.  I guess the contractor who built the website didn't know about the mailto html tag.  I then called the number and got the email which I typed into the to: field of my new fangled program called an email client.  I then wrote an email about how much the people at the CAT scan office suck.  The email is customerserviceca@med.navy.mil.

Intellectual Property needs to go.

I've recently looked at two book covering intellectual property, Against Intellectual Monopoly and The Public Domain. There is no common benefit to granting intellectual property rights to authors or inventors. The James Madison and his compatriots erred when the granted the power to grant patents and copyrights to Congress. The prevailing idea that individuals need the protection of IP in order to have an incentive to create is not proven by the historical record. According to A Farewell to Alms very few of the inventors of the key textile machinery that formed the basis of industrialization made any money from their inventions. Inventors invent because it's in the psychology to do it. Think about the students who go to medical school or law school to make lots of money. How many people go into engineering to get rich. They may expect a decent salary, but they aren't looking to get rich. Elimination of IP would force entrenched businesses that rely on it to make money to change their business plans to more along the lines of a company like Red Hat because their potential competitors will have much lower barriers to enter the market.