Bitchin Dave's Newsletter - September 2nd

In the US, we have the major sports (the NFL, MLB, NHL, NBA at the top) and there are teams that play in those leagues.

But the wild part is that there's no threat of being demoted or being discharged from the league.  Some teams, then, are basically incentivized to not even bother trying to win (and just roll with it),  to keep payrolls low, or to do what is known as "tanking" where they attempt to lose on purpose in order to get some return in the long-term

As fans, sometimes you get stuck wanting to root for the team you "love," but you know there's never going to be a championship, and you just accept it and maybe even remain hopeful that someday your team's fortunes will change.

For their part, the leagues also see an opportunity to generate revenue, by imposing hefty fees to relocate or to bring in a new franchise to that league (when they think it's the right time).  

But meanwhile, in many other leagues (the English Premier league of soccer being the most notable), there's a promotion and relegation system so the teams that are at the top have to play hard to stay at the top - and if they lose, they will get relegated down to a lower league.  And teams in that lower league can be promoted up to that higher league if they play well and win enough. 

So they're incentivized to put their best foot forward and always try and win because there's a threat that if they lose, they're going to get demoted and have a lower income level.

And why am I mentioning this?  Well, to put it bluntly, leagues that have promotion and relegation are a capitalist type of economy. You win to stay relevant. You win to keep making money.  You win to have the biggest TV contracts. You win to have the biggest fan bases. And there are no salary caps. So big money can (and must!) be spent to stay at the top.  Even a "small market" team can have success because that's the capitalist way.

Whereas teams in the United States are essentially a socialist system. TV contracts are negotiated by the league, and every team benefits from them through revenue sharing.  There are salary caps, and salary floors to ensure a level playing field. Teams are guaranteed an equitable portion of all proceeds from the league in which they play, so some teams are able to just coast along.

And the reason this amuses me so much is that most Americans rail against socialism as really, really bad! The worst thing ever! And yet sports are essentially socialist constructs in this country and people love the leagues, their teams, and could never imagine their team having to play just to stay at the top. I don't want my team to be considered an also-ran (just like I don't want to see my team abandon my city!). And the capitalist owners just see the money and don't care, either. 

To me, it's so funny how people get so hung up on an ideal that they can't even see it happening in something they get passionate about.

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Scientists unveil bioplastic that degrades at room temperature, and outperforms petroplastics


How clever of them! Using cellulose so it degrades easily at room temperature is a good answer. 

WashU's chemical engineers decided to introduce cellulose nanofibers to the design of bioplastics.

"We created this multilayer structure where cellulose is in the middle and the bioplastics are on two sides."


And thus you have something that may help with some of our plastic problems. 



Teen scientist makes stunning breakthrough that could slash costs of lifesaving drugs: 'I cannot describe this feeling'


This young guy came up with a way to use corn husks to simplify the early part of the drug manufacturing and was able to reduce the cost of this step from $75 to $12.50. 

With the ability to scale, the end result is that it should be cheaper to make drugs in the future. 

Now let's see if the drug companies actually use it AND reduce prices - or if they simply just enhance their profits. 



Scientists may have found a powerful new space object: 'It doesn't fit comfortably into any known category'


While studying a nearby galaxy, astronomers noted a peculiar object that they couldn't identify. They called it punctum (or "point") and continue to study it. It's some kind of light source, but isn't like other light sources we've seen before.  

"At the moment, Punctum truly stands apart — it doesn't fit comfortably into any known category, and honestly, nothing like this has appeared in any previous millimeter surveys, largely because, until recently, we didn't have anything as sensitive and high-resolution as ALMA."

Ooooohhhh. Something new that was discovered using higher tech / more sensitive equipment. Gotta love it!



You are being lied to.


Here's a good synopsis on social security and all the lies we're being told. 



Another day of stupidity


I am amazed at the breathless coverage of the truck driver who (very unfortunately - and sadly) killed three people. The coverage is hard to follow - but maybe he didn't have the right license or wasn't a citizen or couldn't read English? Whatever any of that has to do with anything is beyond me, but it's a problem dat gumit! 

So we simply must have more rules and tests because we can't allow an immigrant to kill people while driving a truck. We need more laws!

But yet the feds have decided they don't need to follow *existing* laws on gun ownership, licensing, and usage. Because that's a burden. 

Help it make sense. Anybody?


Disney caters to the wealthy


The New York Times wrote a piece about how Disney has changed, and I thought it was worth sharing.  

As a frequent visitor, I 100% agree with this assessment. I've watched them go from being a park for any and every one, at an affordable price, to being an expensive playground for the wealthy.  I had noted along the way, that the company was doing everything in its power to "tip the scales" toward the affluent.  And here we are.

Everything is an upcharge, and you can get more if you pay more. That's not to say it's not fun, it's just more expensive, and you really have to temper your expectations going in.

To that end, I took my daughter to visit, back in March. It was just the two of us, we moved quickly, and we had the advantage of my own experiences, in terms of how to navigate and which park to go into. 

Over the course of three days, we managed to see almost every attraction we wanted, without any upcharges.  
  • Yes, it was complicated.  We had to crisscross the parks, start early, and stay late, and make some changes on the fly.  
  • And yes, it seemed like it wouldn't be possible at times. 
  • And yes, there was definitely some amount of luck involved.  
  • And yes, we did miss out on some experiences, and never sat down for a meal.  That was our choice. 
In our case, we managed to squeeze a lot in (and had a ton of fun!).  

As they say, your mileage may vary.  Not everyone can pull this off, and I'm not sure if we'd have the same result if we went back. You really have to go in with an intended pace and realize you won't be able to do everything.  You have to consider party size (and age!), what your top things to do are, and balance how much you want "to experience" vs riding rides vs dining.

Again, I think setting expectations is the real key to making the most of a visit these days.




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