Comments for Ben Facts http://ben.bemily.com I am the only source. Believe at your own risk. Sun, 23 Aug 2009 19:47:50 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0.1 Comment on If the only point of competing is to win, what is the point of competing at all? by Br'er James http://ben.bemily.com/?p=10&cpage=1#comment-37 Br'er James Sun, 23 Aug 2009 19:47:50 +0000 http://ben.bemily.com/?p=10#comment-37 This is why I love Michael Jordan and Rickey Henderson. Jordan's competitiveness is better-documented than anyone's, but coming back to play for the Wizards makes me believe that his competitive drive is less fear of losing and more pure love of the competition itself. Rickey Henderson takes the cake, though. If the offensive purpose of baseball is to score runs, Rickey is best offensive player in history. In his last season in the majors, he stole 25 bases. He was 42. Once he didnt make an MLB roster, with his Hall of Fame election absolutely certain... he went and played with aspiring Major Leaguers in their teens and twenties in the independent leagues til he was 45 or 46. In those two seasons he stole 54 more bases; he was caught only 4 times. This is why I love Michael Jordan and Rickey Henderson. Jordan’s competitiveness is better-documented than anyone’s, but coming back to play for the Wizards makes me believe that his competitive drive is less fear of losing and more pure love of the competition itself.

Rickey Henderson takes the cake, though. If the offensive purpose of baseball is to score runs, Rickey is best offensive player in history. In his last season in the majors, he stole 25 bases. He was 42. Once he didnt make an MLB roster, with his Hall of Fame election absolutely certain… he went and played with aspiring Major Leaguers in their teens and twenties in the independent leagues til he was 45 or 46. In those two seasons he stole 54 more bases; he was caught only 4 times.

]]> Comment on Dallas Tree Shopping by ben http://ben.bemily.com/?p=22&cpage=1#comment-30 ben Sat, 11 Jul 2009 18:29:28 +0000 http://ben.bemily.com/?p=22#comment-30 We didn't do more pecan trees. We got the biggest, fastest growing oak trees offered at our local nursery, and put them 8m apart, perfect for a hammock once they get thick enough. We didn’t do more pecan trees. We got the biggest, fastest growing oak trees offered at our local nursery, and put them 8m apart, perfect for a hammock once they get thick enough.

]]> Comment on Dallas Tree Shopping by Laura Hulgan http://ben.bemily.com/?p=22&cpage=1#comment-29 Laura Hulgan Sat, 11 Jul 2009 13:46:39 +0000 http://ben.bemily.com/?p=22#comment-29 So did you actually obtain and plant said pecan tree(s) post research? Our new place has two huge pecan trees in one of the front corners. They are quite nice. Produce a large amount of shade and a nice crop as well. So did you actually obtain and plant said pecan tree(s) post research? Our new place has two huge pecan trees in one of the front corners. They are quite nice. Produce a large amount of shade and a nice crop as well.

]]> Comment on Why the American Economy Needs to Fall by Emily http://ben.bemily.com/?p=34&cpage=1#comment-4 Emily Tue, 24 Feb 2009 05:58:58 +0000 http://ben.bemily.com/?p=34#comment-4 Without stopping to crunch numbers, I didn't follow precisely all the auto industry percentages, but I get the drift. Priorities do need to shift and it's been out of whack for a while. I remember when "Frasier" was about half-way through its run on the air and I read a piece in "Time" magazine or something talking about how Americans were going into debt at an alarming rate and some economist made the connection to people watching a show like "Frasier" that's central characters were wealthy and lived a wealthy lifestyle, and people wanted to emulate that. Not that consumers thought, "Frasier has expensive wine, so I want expensive wine," but a more subtle thought process that the characters weren't so different from them and seeing characters spend without repercussion, then the consumers, too, would believe they could spend without consequence. The extra inventory seems like pure hubris of the car manufacturers. If the sales don't support the numbers of cars produced -- change the numbers of cars produced! I haven't been reading a lot of articles about the stimulus, but I saw a headline on NYT about Washington getting pressured by more companies to add billions to the stimulus. I thought of that when I read the beginning of your writing about the stimulus slowing the fall. Would adding billions more to the stimulus defeat the purpose of the stimulus? I don't think the government can or should provide a safe landing for everyone. It's hard -- and it's hard to imagine -- but some things have to fail in order for others to survive. Without stopping to crunch numbers, I didn’t follow precisely all the auto industry percentages, but I get the drift. Priorities do need to shift and it’s been out of whack for a while. I remember when “Frasier” was about half-way through its run on the air and I read a piece in “Time” magazine or something talking about how Americans were going into debt at an alarming rate and some economist made the connection to people watching a show like “Frasier” that’s central characters were wealthy and lived a wealthy lifestyle, and people wanted to emulate that. Not that consumers thought, “Frasier has expensive wine, so I want expensive wine,” but a more subtle thought process that the characters weren’t so different from them and seeing characters spend without repercussion, then the consumers, too, would believe they could spend without consequence.

The extra inventory seems like pure hubris of the car manufacturers. If the sales don’t support the numbers of cars produced — change the numbers of cars produced!

I haven’t been reading a lot of articles about the stimulus, but I saw a headline on NYT about Washington getting pressured by more companies to add billions to the stimulus. I thought of that when I read the beginning of your writing about the stimulus slowing the fall. Would adding billions more to the stimulus defeat the purpose of the stimulus? I don’t think the government can or should provide a safe landing for everyone. It’s hard — and it’s hard to imagine — but some things have to fail in order for others to survive.

]]>