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March 4, 2013

Attention!

That's what someone needs to say to me sometimes, esp. in regards to this blog. I've been trying to keep "fresh" content as so to keep my thousands hundreds dozens of three regular readers entertained, but have been slacking off here lately.  I've got a bunch of stuff to post, especially trivia, but I just can't work up the motivation.  I could post a quiz, but I don't like to do too many of those, or a video, but I don't like putting more than a couple on one "page".   I probably should get out and take some photos, but I think I've photographed everything in a hundred mile radius - twice.

For the first time in months, I even forgot to play the quiz.   Good grief.  I even forgot to visit several of my favorite websites I try to hit every day.

I've also been having more U-Verse problems.   It's really frustrating trying to watch a movie or documentary on Hulu or YouTube and have it stop in the middle, then not being able to pick it up where the connection went offline. I've been checking into other options, but none really sound any better or close to the same cost. 

So, if I don't post, it doesn't mean I'm dead (I hope)...it's just that I'm either experiencing extreme ennui or my connection is playing up.

March 2, 2013

3 Second Rule - Lisa Gail Allred


A friend made a comment about pop music in another post and while doing some research on what was said, I ran across this video in a site where the author of the article said he detested country pop. I like to think I'm fairly in-the-know on most Internet memes and new phenomena, but I wasn't familiar with this video or the singer/songwriter.

Watch this please, then tell me what you think in the comments. Thanks!

March 1, 2013

Not For Sure

What these two similar clip-arts are.

They're either models at a Dodge truck show...



Or Princess Leia and her momma.

(lecturing her about why it's not a good idea to have an affair with her own brother)

Making Money Is a Snap!

Anyone who knows me or has followed this blog for any length of time knows I am a Dallas Cowboy fan. (there's a Cowboys news module in the right-hand side column) I don't post much about them because frankly, it's been hard to be a fan for the last decade or so and I don't want or need trolls coming in and blasting my favorite team. I know they've sucked for a long time, I don't need to be reminded of it.

That said, I'm still a fan, although not as much of one as I once was. As I've grown older, I've become less and less interested in football...and all sports, for that matter. I try to watch the Cowboys on TV, but if they're playing badly I have no problem changing the channel. I've done that a lot over the last 15 years. I'm no fair-weather fan, but I'm also not a glutton for punishment.

I still keep up with them, however, reading articles about them on the Dallas Cowboys website and subscribe to a few fan sites in my reader. I was glad to see this article yesterday: Cowboys Sign Long Snapper LaDouceur To Five-Year Deal. I couldn't find the exact terms of the contract, at least none that sounded correct. Most sources said it was a five-year deal for $4 million, but LaDouceur has been in the league long enough to get at least the veteran minimum wage and the math doesn't work for that number.

Doing some quick research, I found that he made $790,000 for the 2012 season. Considering that all he does is "long snap", I decided to research a little more to see how much he made per actual play he was on the field. I figure he played during 31 field goal attempts, 68 punts and 38 PAT (subtracting three 2 point tries) for a total of 137 plays....without making a bad snap. That works out to $5,766.42/play. Not bad wages, huh?

That made me wonder about other player's wages per play. I thought about figuring what certain of my favorite players made, but the task would have been daunting, trying to find out the exact number of times they were on the field, taking off their substitutions, injuries, etc. It was fairly easy to calculate the number for the team's highest profile player and quarterback, Tony Romo.

(and I don't care what other people think of him, he's a favorite of mine and a good player. I don't care if anyone disagrees with me on his worth to the team; you can point out his mistakes, but I'll point out your lack of football knowledge.)

According to the Cowboy website's statistics, Dallas ran 1,049 offensive plays in 2012. The site says the backup QB Orton attempted 10 passes, but there's no breakdown of how many times he handed off the ball. So, let's just say for the matter of simplicity that Tony Romo was on the field for 925 plays, taking off the extra point kicks, adding back the 2 point tries, taking away the punt plays and estimating however many times Orton handed off. 925 is close enough for me.

Romo's listed salary for 2012 was $9,000,000. Now, I'm not sure, what with the signing bonus and the "funny money" salary cap implications, if it was more or less than that amount, but again, for the sake of simplicity, let's go with the figure of nine million. That means he got paid $9729.73 per play.

(for all you anal-retentive stat freaks: if you have a problem with my figures for that or any of the other calculations I've done, send me an email with detailed corrections, screen captures of your calculations and verified links to your sources to: idonotgiveadamn@buzzoff.net)

That's a pretty decent wage, wouldn't you say? Especially considering that a good percentage of those plays were just handing off the ball and not getting touched. Then again, there were far too many plays like this one:




That wasn't even close to the worst hit he took this last year, but I'm sure he would have given up part of his per-play salary to have avoided that hit. Hell, I would have given it ALL back, plus another couple of play's worth. LaDouceur might make only half of what Romo does per snap, but it's a wonder Romo's neck hasn't been snapped.

March Quiz Begins!

The previous monthly tournament for the ToTG Trivia Tournament has ended and a new one starts now!

Go to the quiz and play today!  Easy enough to do;  register, log in and begin.  There are ten questions, each with four multiple choices.  Hurry as fast as you can, though, because your score for the game not only depends upon correct answers, but your time as well.

The quizzes are set to the hardest categories possible, so don't be dismayed by not getting them all right.  Even with the regular "big brains" playing, a perfect score is rare.

Let's see what kind of brain you have!