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November 27, 2005
OJ Simpson "Almost a Ute"If you are a college football fan, here is a strange story from the LA Times:
Almost a Ute: Before he enrolled at USC, O.J. Simpson went to the University of Utah on a recruiting trip. It was the summer of 1966 and Utah coach Mike Giddings, a former USC assistant, wanted Simpson. The coach handed the future Heisman Trophy winner over to several players for a get-acquainted session. Among them was an offensive lineman named Norm Chow, who would eventually become the Trojans' offensive coordinator under Coach Pete Carroll.
According to Giddings in "Conquest," Simpson committed to Utah that day, signing a letter of intent. But when Simpson returned home, a tenacious USC assistant, Marv Goux, persuaded him to enroll in junior college for one more year in order to join the Trojans.
Posted by Gordon Smith in Sports | Permalink | TrackBack (0)
Nano CameraMore nano news ... about a "Flying Spaghetti Monster"!
Posted by Gordon Smith in Nanotechnology | Permalink | TrackBack (0)
Google Bull is Tamed"If you don't own Google, resist the temptation to chase the crowd." So writes James Stewart in the W$J. He had Google as a "buy" last month, but $400 per share is too rich for his blood. I have been wrong about Google as an investment from the beginning, but even the bulls are starting to turn bearish.
Posted by Gordon Smith in Google | Permalink | TrackBack (0)
Nano SpringsAs we await the full promise of nanotechnology, stories like this keep us optimistic that nano will change the world dramatically:
Super-resilient foams made of carbon tubes only nanometers or billionths of a meter wide that act like springs could help cushion blows in artificial joints or dampen vibrations in microscopic devices.... Repeatedly compressing a cushion normally squashes it thin, making it lose its springiness. The nanotube foams retained their springiness even after 10,000 squeezes....
The feel-good story is artificial joints, but I envision a whole new generation of squishy toys.
Posted by Gordon Smith in Nanotechnology | Permalink | TrackBack (0)
Lego ThiefAnother example of eBay reselling, but this time the thief purchased Legos on the cheap by tampering with the bar codes.
A Target security guard stopped Swanberg at a Portland-area store on Nov. 17, after he bought 10 boxes of the Star Wars Millennium Falcon set. In his parked car, detectives found 56 of the Star Wars set, valued at $99 each, as well as 27 other Lego sets. In a laptop found inside Swanberg's car, investigators also found the addresses of numerous Target stores in the Portland area, their locations carefully plotted on a mapping software.
The total value of the Legos that he sold may reach $200,000.
Posted by Gordon Smith in Retailing | Permalink | TrackBack (0)
November 17, 2005
Academic BlogsRobert S. Boynton reflects on Daniel Drezner's failure to get tenure and other issues surrounding academic blogging. Not very original, but it has a balanced presentation of the issues.
Posted by Gordon Smith in Blogs and Blawgs | Permalink | TrackBack (0)
November 10, 2005
Hot Shot BusinessThis is an online entrepreneurship game from Disney.
Posted by Gordon Smith in Entrepreneurship | Permalink | TrackBack (0)
November 07, 2005
Goodbye, GroksterThe site now has the following statement on the front page:
The United States Supreme Court unanimously confirmed that using this service to trade copyrighted material is illegal. Copying copyrighted motion picture and music files using unauthorized peer-to-peer services is illegal and is prosecuted by copyright owners. There are legal services for downloading music and movies. This service is not one of them. Grokster hopes to have a safe and legal service available soon.
Posted by Gordon Smith in Music | Permalink | TrackBack (0)
November 05, 2005
Oyez BaseballThe tagline for this site is "building Supreme Court knowledge through America's favorite pastime." I found the site through this NYT article on the baseball passions of Supreme Court justices.
Posted by Gordon Smith in Supreme Court | Permalink | TrackBack (0)
