S. Evan Townsend's Blog, page 34

Get Tweetdeck

I have a twitter account that I use to attempt to promote my novels.

Because I follow a bunch of people, I see what others do with their Twitter accounts. And one thing that really annoys me is when someone tweets 20 tweets (or more) all in a row, seconds or minutes apart.

I think the reason they do this is because they have busy lives but have twenty tweets they feel they need to get out. So they shoot them all out at once. This is very annoying and I doubt very effective.

Now I tweet about 15 times per day unless I decide to tweet something funny or cute in addition. But I don't shoot them all out at once. I tweet about every two hours. How do I do that? I use Tweetdeck.

Tweetdeck is a Twitter app that works inside your browser.

Why use Tweetdeck? Because you can schedule tweets. I sit down every day and schedule my tweets for the next day. I have yet to hit a limit on the number of tweets I can schedule, nor on how far out you can schedule them (I've done them a week out).

That way, you don't have to shoot out 20 tweets all in a row in 20 minutes.

Also, you're more likely to get retweeted if you don't shoot out all your tweets at once.

You can also have more than one account on Tweetdeck. I suspect up to four, but I don't know; I only have one account.

It appears what you do is your type tweetdeck.twitter.com into your browser and then sign in with your Twitter account. Tweetdeck used to be a stand-alone app but as far as I can tell, now it only runs in a browser.

They've Gone Plaid!

Tesla Model SWhen the Tesla Model S introduced a "Ludicrous Speed" mode, I wondered if that term was inspired by the Mel Brooks movie, Space Balls. But nothing I read about the Model S mentioned Space Balls. I thought maybe it was just a coincidence. In Ludicrous Speed mode, the Model S (a four-door sedan) could go from 0-60 mph in 2.3 seconds. That's faster than many supercars. The advantage the Model S has is, being electric, 100% of its torque is available at zero RPM like all electric cars. This is unlike a gasoline engine where the torque usually maximizes around 1,000 or so RPM (depends on the engine design). This is why in drag racing the drivers will have the engine running fast ("rev the engine") when they take off to maximize the torque available.

So, I went for a few years wondering if Ludicrous Speed had anything to do with Space Balls.

But now Tesla has a faster mode that involves cars having three motors instead of the two required for Ludicrous Speed. And guess what they call it. "Plaid mode." That has to be a reference to Space Balls. If you don't know why, watch this clip from the movie (Warning: NSFW language).


So anyone who has seen Space Balls is in on the joke. And Elon Musk or someone at Tesla has a great sense of humor.

Of course, spending $100,000 or more on a car that can't go to Seattle and back without a long charging session still doesn't make sense to me.

Music...

I have what some might say is eclectic taste in music.

I like (some) opera.


I love a lot of classical music.


And

And so much more.

I like (some) country


And, of course, I love classic rock (at my age, you kind of have to)

And...


And so much more. But nothing since about 1994.

I don't like rap/hiphop. I don't like modern country. And I loath what's come out since the year 2000.

What do you like? Do you have any songs I should consider liking. Let me know in the comments below.

The Huskies are 7-5 to End the Regular Season

Note: I was going to finish this on Sunday after the rest of the Pac-12 played, but got distracted. Then had a minor family emergency which required me to drive to Seattle and back on Monday. So I'm finishing it and posting it today (Tuesday).

The University of Washington Huskies won their seventh straight Apple Cup game against cross-state rival Washington State University Cougars on Friday. Both teams went into the game with identical records: 3-5 in conference, 6-5 overall. So many WSU fans hoped this was their year. It wasn't.

On their first possession, after receiving the opening kickoff, the Cougars marched down the field and scored a touchdown. At this point, I was worried that the Cougars might win. Then the Huskies got the ball and did the same thing, tying the score are 7-7. At that point it looked like a high-scoring game might happen. But the Husky defense came alive and stopped the Cougars on their next series, holding them to a field goal. The score was 10-7 in favor of the Cougs.

As first the Huskies couldn't move the ball on the ground against the WSU defense. But by halftime, the offense figured that out and were able to run with the ball.

Then Washington answered with two touchdowns. Also, the UW defense made turnovers. The Huskies racked up points while the Cougars didn't. The final score was 31-13 for UW.

Some WSU fans complained about the officiating saying there were pass interference calls made when they shouldn't have been. I agree with one of those (not the four the WSU fans were claiming). But that's football. Until we have robot officials, there's going to be mistakes.

This is Coach Chris Petersen's sixth Apple Cup win. Cougar coach Mike Leach has lost seven and won one in his tenure at WSU.

Elsewhere in the Pac-12

The Apple Cup was on Friday. But the other Pac-12 games were on Saturday.

There were no surprises in the last games of the regular season. Oregon beat Oregon State, Arizona State beat Arizona, Utah beat Colorado, Nortre Dame beat Sanford in a non-conference game, and Cal beat UCLA. If Utah has lost to Colorado (it could happen), USC would be playing in that game, instead.

That means Oregon and Utah will play in the Pac-12 Championship game on Friday (5:00 PM PST on ABC). I'm rooting for Utah (but I always root against the Nike Ducks).

Washington is tied with Cal for second in the Pac-12 North.

Now we wait to see who wins the Pac-12 Championship and what bowl game the Pac-12 teams that are bowl eligible go to. That's seven out of twelve teams.

Big News

Yesterday (Monday) it was announced that Husky coach Chris Petersen is stepping down as head coach after six seasons. Defensive Coordinator Jimmy Lake will take over coaching duties (for now). Petersen will not even coach the Huskies through their bowl game.

This makes me sad. Word is that Petersen will stay at UW in a "Senior Athletic Advisory" position. I don't know, maybe he feels discouraged after this mediocre season. It's just sad, to me.

The Huskies are 7-6 to End the Regular Season

Note: I was going to finish this on Sunday after the rest of the Pac-12 played, but got distracted. Then had a minor family emergency which required me to drive to Seattle and back on Monday. So I'm finishing it and posting it today (Tuesday).

The University of Washington Huskies won their seventh straight Apple Cup game against cross-state rival Washington State University Cougars on Friday. Both teams went into the game with identical records: 3-5 in conference, 6-5 overall. So many WSU fans hoped this was their year. It wasn't.

On their first possession, after receiving the opening kickoff, the Cougars marched down the field and scored a touchdown. At this point, I was worried that the Cougars might win. Then the Huskies got the ball and did the same thing, tying the score are 7-7. At that point it looked like a high-scoring game might happen. But the Husky defense came alive and stopped the Cougars on their next series, holding them to a field goal. The score was 10-7 in favor of the Cougs.

As first the Huskies couldn't move the ball on the ground against the WSU defense. But by halftime, the offense figured that out and were able to run with the ball.

Then Washington answered with two touchdowns. Also, the UW defense made turnovers. The Huskies racked up points while the Cougars didn't. The final score was 31-13 for UW.

Some WSU fans complained about the officiating saying there were pass interference calls made when they shouldn't have been. I agree with one of those (not the four the WSU fans were claiming). But that's football. Until we have robot officials, there's going to be mistakes.

This is Coach Chris Petersen's sixth Apple Cup win. Cougar coach Mike Leach has lost seven and won one in his tenure at WSU.

Elsewhere in the Pac-12

The Apple Cup was on Friday. But the other Pac-12 games were on Saturday.

There were no surprises in the last games of the regular season. Oregon beat Oregon State, Arizona State beat Arizona, Utah beat Colorado, Nortre Dame beat Sanford in a non-conference game, and Cal beat UCLA. If Utah has lost to Colorado (it could happen), USC would be playing in that game, instead.

That means Oregon and Utah will play in the Pac-12 Championship game on Friday (5:00 PM PST on ABC). I'm rooting for Utah (but I always root against the Nike Ducks).

Washington is tied with Cal for second in the Pac-12 North.

Now we wait to see who wins the Pac-12 Championship and what bowl game the Pac-12 teams that are bowl eligible go to. That's seven out of twelve teams.

Big News

Yesterday (Monday) it was announced that Husky coach Chris Petersen is stepping down as head coach after six seasons. Defensive Coordinator Jimmy Lake will take over coaching duties (for now). Petersen will not even coach the Huskies through their bowl game.

This makes me sad. Word is that Petersen will stay at UW in a "Senior Athletic Advisory" position. I don't know, maybe he feels discouraged after this mediocre season. It's just sad, to me.

Pac-12 Dragon

First of all: Happy Thanksgiving in the U.S. Happy Thursday, elsewhere.

Now on with our blog.

During the fall, I watch a lot of college football, especially Pac-12 football because my beloved University of Washington Huskies are in the Pac-12 Conference.

This is the Pac-12 logo. You may have seen it on other post of mine in the fall about football: I'm not crazy about this logo. I think it's over-complicated. I wish we had a logo like the SEC or ACC. Nice and simple.

SEC Logo ACC Logo












I really like the Big 10's logo (even though there are now 14 teams in the Big 10).
Big 10 logo

Now, I'm assuming that the highlighted part in the picture below above the "12" is supposed to be a mountain: But do you know what it looks like to me? It looks like a dragon. Don't see it? Does this help? Now you see it? Every time I see that logo, I see a dragon. And now you can, too.

The Huskies are 6-5

"Bowl eligibility," the rallying cry of mediocre teams.

Of course, you only have to win six (out of 12) games to be "bowl eligible."

The University of Washington Huskies are still bowl eligible.

Last night the Huskies traveled to Boulder, Colorado to take on the Colorado Buffaloes. This was a game they were supposed to win. They didn't

Quarterback Jacob Eason rarely hit his targets. The receivers, when they were hit, couldn't hang on to the ball, and the Buff's defense shut down our running game. We were lucky to have scored as many points as we did. Oh, and penalties were an issue for the Huskies. The final score was 14 to 20.

What's ironic is now Colorado is 5-6. They will have to beat Utah next week to be bowl eligible. And Utah is on top of the Pac-12 South at 10-1 overall. So, not likely.

Some are calling for the ouster of Head Coach Chris Petersen. My question is, who are you going to find who's better?

The Huskies are bowl eligible for the tenth season in a row. That's tied for a record in the Pac-12.

Next week the Huskies play the Washington State Cougars at home in the Apple Cup. It'll be at 1:00 PM PST on Fox on Friday. The Cougars are 6-5 over all so tied with the Huskies. And, it's the Apple Cup. Anything can happen. Coach Petersen has yet to lose one. The Cougars haven't won since an overtime win in 2012.

Elsewhere in the Pac-12

Speaking of the Cougars, they played Oregon State last night. The final score was 53-54 with the
Cougars winning. I guess they didn't "coug it." That's brings the Cougars to their 6-5 record, making them bowl eligible.

In the Pac-12 North, California, Washington, and Washington State are all tied with 6-5 overall records (and 3-5 in conference records).

Oregon is still on top of the Pac-12 North despite losing yesterday to Arizona State. Oregon's record is now 9-2 (7-1 in conference). This eliminates any hope Oregon had of making it to the CFP. There hasn't been a Pac-12 team in the CFP since the Huskies went in 2016.

As you probably know, I loathe Oregon. So I'm glad to see them lose. But I'm also sad for the Pac-12.

Utah beat Arizona to maintain their lead in the Pac-12 South with a 10-1 record (7-1 in conference). If Utah's one loss hadn't been in conference, they might have had a chance at the CFP if they win the Pac-12 championship. But in 2016 the Huskies had an in-conference loss and still went to the CFP. We'll have to see.

Next weekend is the last weekend of regular season play for college football. The Pac-12 Championship game is December 6th. I guess I'll root for Utah (since I loath the Nike Ducks).

High School Football

Also last night, the Blackfoot High School Broncos lost to Kuna in the Idaho 4A State Championship game. When I went to BHS, the football team couldn't win to save their lives. See what 41 years of team building will do.

Lolita

I watched the movie Lolita a while back. And I was surprised at the plot.

**Spoiler Alert**

In the movie I watched (the 1962 version directed by Stanley Kubrick; there's a 1997 version that apparently has the same plot), a middle-aged professor becomes infatuated with the 14-year-old daughter of his landlady. That I knew going in.

What surprised me is what happened. The professor (named Humbert Humbert) marries the landlady (presumably to be near Lolita) but then the landlady sends Lolita off to summer camp and says after that she's going to boarding school. Humbert plots to kill the landlady, but then she is killed in an accident or suicide when she is hit by a car.  Humbert goes to the summer camp to pick up Lolita and on the way back, they are forced to spend a night in a hotel room together, even though he has a cot. But in the morning, they apparently have sex. The rest of the movie is about how their relationship deteriorates as she's a silly little girl who cheats on him with another older man. Then she disappears and he doesn't see her for years. I won't spoil the whole movie by tell where he finds her (and in what condition).

Which wasn't the movie I thought it would be at all. I thought it would go more like this:  Humbert Humbert is a successful professor, married, and somehow meets Lolita. He become obsessed with her, and tries to be with her. This destroys both his marriage and career. But he doesn't care because he is so focused on Lolita. Finally, he manages to have a relationship with her, that might not include sex, and he finds out that she is a silly, shallow little girl (as 14  year olds tend to be).

I was so upset by the actual plot of the movie (which I assume follows the plot of the book because the movie was written by Vladimir Nabokov, who wrote the book) that I am seriously considering writing a novel with the plot I imagined. But that's not the kind of novel I write. Plus, what would I name the girl? I couldn't call her "Lolita."

I guess I'll think about it more.

This Week in the Pac-12

The University of Washington Huskies had a bye this week, so there is nothing new to report there.

But there were games played in the Pac-12 including some interesting upsets.

The WSU Cougars demolished the Stanford Cardinal 22-49. This improves the Cougar's record to 2-5 in conference, 5-5 overall. They are still at the bottom of the Pac-12 North. They need to win one more game to be bowl eligible. So if they don't beat the OSU Beavers next week, it'll come down to the Apple Cup cross-state rivalry game against UW.

Stanford is now in fourth place in the Pac-12 North, moving the Huskies to third place.

The Oregon State Beavers (who have been improving all season), squeaked by Arizona State 34-35. That keeps the Beavers in second place in the Pac-12 North (after the Oregon Ducks).

In a no-surprise game, Utah beat UCLA 49 to 3. UCLA is actually still in third place in the Pac-12 South and, of course, Utah is on top of the Pac-12 South.

Oregon beat Arizona 34-6. Oregon is still on top of the Pac-12 North and Arizona is at the bottom of the Pac-12 South.

And USC beat Cal 41-17. USC is in second place in the Pac-12 South and Cal is tied for last place in the Pac-12 North.

So, other than the Cougars beating the Cardinal, not a lot of surprises this week. Remember when Stanford beat Washington?

There's just two weeks left in the College Football regular season. Teams with 6-6 or better records are "bowl eligible." Right now in the Pac-12 that's Oregon, Washington, Utah and USC. Oregon State, California, Washington State, and Arizona State are all one game away.

Next Saturday, the Huskies travel to Boulder Colorado to take on the Buffs. No time or station has been announced yet. Wouldn't surprise me if it were on the Pac-12 channel.

Get Rid of the Penny

A while back I explained how to measure the tread depth on your tires with a penny.

(Technically, in the U.S., it is the "one cent coin" but everyone calls it a "penny.")

But, basically, measuring tread depth is all the penny is good for. Pennies are pretty much useless and I wish the U.S. would get rid of them. Canada already did. Pennies basically exist to A) pay sales tax and B) keep the zinc lobby happy (pennies are made of zinc, these days). But it costs more than a penny to make a penny. They are so worthless I've seen people literally throw them on the ground. I'm, personally, too cheap to do that.

We've gotten rid of coins before. In 1857 we stopped making/using the half-cent coin. But here's the kicker: the half-cent coin in 1857 was worth more than the dime is now. So we could get rid of the penny and the nickle.

What they do in Canada, according to my Canadian friend, is round up to the nearest nickle unless you're paying by credit card. We could do this in the U.S. It would save money and hassle and time. Besides, eventually cash will be as obsolete as an Apple II computer.

So, get rid of the penny, please.

Agree? Disagree? Think I'm nuts? Let me know in the comments below.