Hypothetical Bias

Gotta get those grades turned in

As soon as grades are turned in and I attend a kazillion meetings I'm heading to Chattanooga for the I-AA (sic) championship. Here is my reading list from the College Sporting News:

"2007 NCAA D-I Football Championship Info"

College Sporting News

Complete coverage of the 30th Annual Division I Football Championship. Updated bracket for each round. Links to recaps, stats, TV, online audio, Championship Handbook, Past Championship Records, and Game Results.

READ MORE
..http://www.collegesportingnews.com/article.asp?articleid=89142

12/12/07:
"CSN West: Chattanooga Has Made FCS Proud"
Kent Schmidt, CSN Columnist

A couple of years ago, I wrote a column stating that I felt Chattanooga was the perfect location for the FCS championship game.  I think it is even truer now.  Chattanooga has improved even more than what I wrote a couple of years ago and have made it a highlight of all the highest division with a playoff system.  The game has become the highlight of the year for all of the FCS.

READ MORE
..http://www.collegesportingnews.com/article.asp?articleid=89469

12/11/07:
"The CAA Today: Playoffs Week Three � Appalachian State v. The CAA"
Bruce Dowd, CSN columnist

I got the inside scoop this week. Here is how it is going to go down, the secret game plan that can have Delaware upset App State.

READ MORE
..http://www.collegesportingnews.com/article.asp?articleid=89466

12/10/07:
"CSN So South: Mountaineers Go for Number Three"
Myron Hosea, CSN Columnist

The culmination of one of the most exciting FCS seasons in years happens Friday night in Chattanooga as Appalachian State and Delaware square off in the national title game. The Mountaineers will be playing for their third consecutive national title, which would be the first time that has happened.

READ MORE
..http://www.collegesportingnews.com/article.asp?articleid=89458

Gameday weather: http://www.booneweather.com/Forecast/ASU

Quote of the Day

From the WSJ's Morning Brief:

"Page dispensed powerchords like an aged Thor lobbing down thunderbolts for kicks," the Times of London's Pete Paphides wrote about the moment last night at the British capital's O2 arena when Jimmy Page, Robert Plant, John Paul Jones and a reconstituted Led Zeppelin kicked into an "incendiary" rendition of "Black Dog." The first full set performed by the band since the 1980 death of drummer John Bonham -- with his son Jason Bonham filling in -- seemed to elicit universal raves among music critics, and prompted Mr. Paphides to posit that "with a synergy like this going on, it would be an act of cosmic perversity to stop now."

Led Zeppelin set list:

• Good Times Bad Times
• Ramble On
• Black Dog
• In My Time Of Dying
• For Your Life
• Trampled Under Foot
• Nobody's Fault But Mine
• No Quarter
• Since I've Been Loving You
• Dazed and Confused
• Stairway To Heaven
• The Song Remains The Same
• Misty Mountain Hop
• Kashmir
• Whole Lotta Love
• Rock And Roll

Friday night (I-AA) lights

Parking Arrangements Finalized for Unique Friday Night Game:

Appalachian State University has finalized campus parking arrangements for Friday’s NCAA Division I Football Championship semifinal between Appalachian and Richmond, which kicks off at 8 p.m. at Kidd Brewer Stadium. Parking for the rare Friday night game is complicated by the fact that ASU begins its final-exam period on Thursday and exams will continue into the early evening on Friday in many academic buildings on campus.

...

Due to final exams taking place across campus, tailgating is not permitted in any lot until 5 p.m.

I suppose I could roll out of my 3 pm final directly into a tailgater ...

Here is a link to the hour by hour game day weather forecast.

what a great birthday gift!

on my 35th (gasp!) birthday, jama gives me a special present:  more evidence that us with 10 (or so...) extra pounds will live longer than the "no thanks -- i don't eat cake" waifs -- provided we get a little exercise.  i jump to conclusions -- does that count?

The NOLA rental market

New Orleans hurt by acute rental shortage:

More than two years after Hurricane Katrina, New Orleans is suffering from an acute shortage of housing that has nearly doubled the cost of rental units in the city, threatening the recovery of the region and the well-being of many residents who decided to return against the odds. Before the storm, more than half of the city’s population rented housing. Yet official attention to help revive the shattered rental home and apartment market has been scant.