- Selling a 1080p television to an elderly person wearing bifocals is like selling uggs to a war veteran with no legs
- “Compliance compensates for times when normal market forces fail to provide adequate alignment of interests. For example, when organizations in a position to protect data aren’t responsible for the losses.” – Courtesy of Jeremiah Grossman
- Java is the current latin of programming languages
- Preparing code to change is a lot harder than making the first change without thinking about it
- When building onto a bad system, trying to do things right only makes everything more complicated
- The Unix terminal tab auto-complete feature is the best auto-complete implementation in existence. More systems need to mimic its functionality.
- Programming languages should never use single characters (e.g. $, @, %) to signify data types or other information about variables.
- Programming in pajamas or sweats is 100x more productive than programming in business attire.
- Some people draw ugly pictures because they cannot envision beautiful pictures.
- Some people write ugly programs because they cannot envision beautiful programs.
The Northern Iowa Panthers put the beat down on the Indiana State Sycamores 62-7 in front of the Panther families on family weekend. The score itself demonstrates how the Panthers came out on the right foot this week. The offense started with some underneath routes that worked well before airing it out later in the game. It is the easy games like these I keep mentioning that results in Pat Grace throwing down the field the entire time. The defense continued to do its thing. So rather than continue writing about how UNI dominated, let us talk about family weekend!
My sister’s family and my mom decided to come up for family weekend. My sister has two children, a boy who is nearly four years old and a girl who is two. The boy also happens to be into trains. UNI just so happens to have a model train lab in the Computer Science Department. I was going to demonstrate it for my nephew, but unfortunately, the professor had it in disrepair for hardware upgrades. We went in and took a look at it anyways. We also got to stop by the Biology open house to look at some various animals, insects, and bones. Then we swung into Lang Hall which houses the Earth Sciences. There were a lot of fossils, including the head of a Tyrannosaurus Rex, in the hallways. The boy, who is also into dinosaurs, enjoyed this. Then we hit the dining centers for free rootbeer floats. Eventually, we even made it to the game!
The game was a lot of fun too. I sat in the student section since that is where my free ticket is located. Fortunately, a friend saved me a front row seat since I was entertaining my family and could not get there in time myself. My family had reserved seats in the upper section of the dome roughly along thirty yard line. There was not much communication with them for the first half other than trying to get my nephew to see where I was after the first quarter while the crowd was sitting down. During halftime, I found my nephew and brother-in-law returning with popcorn and a drink. When I asked my nephew what he thought of the game, I was told “they need to start over because the one didn’t know what they were doing.” I am told he was repeating what he got told about a penalty, but I think the boy was simply being smart enough to realize UNI was dominating.
During the middle of the fourth quarter, I had my family move down behind where I was sitting because the crowd was emptying quickly thanks to the score. When I brought my nephew up to the front row so he could look down at the football players directly below us, he brought the foam finger my sister bought for him. Upon getting to see the players just a few feet below him, he was, quite frankly, in awe. As the game was winding down, a few past UNI football players came down next to us to talk to some of the current players. They took a liking to the kid and got a couple of the players to give my nephew their armbands. So he now has an armband from #88 Maurice Turner and two armbands from #13 Pat Grace.
Family weekend wrapped up nicely after the game. We went down onto the field and the kids played with a Panther football my sister also bought for them. They seemed to enjoy this to the point we were there until security asked us to leave. Then my nephew had a meltdown for a moment. However, to top off the day, we went to Pepper’s Grill and Sport’s Pub for dinner. This is easily my favorite restaurant in Cedar Falls for its amazing food and televisions everywhere showing any football game on at the time. In short, it was a great day and hopefully, my nephew has successfully been recruited as a Panther.
UNI went to Springfield, Missouri and beat Missouri State 35-7 in typical fashion. Fortunately, the game was broadcast on a local channel to allow me to watch it. Once again, the Panther offense started sloppy with Grace missing high on any pass of ten yards or less. A few triple option plays getting wide receiver Jarred Herring involved in the running game. UNI also decided to call a particular play several times, too many in my personal opinion. The play was a quick pass to a wide receiver out on the edge with a slot receiver to block. It was not a bubble screen because no linemen were sent out to block. The receiver was left with one receiver as a blocker and, otherwise, the open field to show what he could do. I believe this was an attempt to get Pat Grace some simple completions while also getting the ball in the hands of the receivers. Rather than constantly trying to make big plays by throwing down the field, Panther wide receivers are fast enough to gain some yards after the catch. Unfortunately, Missouri State was all over the play, and it rarely went for any yardage. However, eventually, the offensive coordinator seemed to figure out better ways to throw underneath in an effort to get the ball out to the receivers.
On the other side of the ball, the defense looked solid. “Bend, but don’t break” worked to perfection with turnovers coming anytime the Bears started to drive the ball. The only score came when Missouri State put the ball in the endzone with seven seconds left in the game against the Panther backups. It ended a scoreless streak by the Panther defense that lasted over 170 minutes or eleven quarters of football. The last score given up was on the first offensive play by South Dakota two weeks ago when they ran a flea flicker trick play to go approximately seventy yards for a touchdown. It was the traditional cover 3 by which coach Farley lives and dies. Missouri State demonstrated some ability to take advantage of it on occasion, but turnovers prevented them from capitalizing on it. It will be something to keep an eye on in the bigger games when teams do not make as many unforced errors. Farley’s strategy is to allow the other team to beat themselves. It works great until facing talented teams who seize the opportunity and make the plays needed to win the game. Be assured, I will be keeping an eye on it as the season progresses.
On the whole, the game was a nice progression. While still looking a little sloppy on the offensive side, there were signs of moving in the right direction. The defense continues to look strong while hiding its potential Achilles Heel for the time being. I suppose one good things about UNI’s offense started sloppy is the coaches do not shut it down at halftime. In the end, it was another win against a team with a bit more talent than the previous two opponents.
Sometimes we underestimate the power of sports. The documentary Kings Ransom just finished airing on ESPN. Its focus was Wayne Gretzky’s trade from the Edmonton Oilers to the Los Angeles Kings. The thing that stood out to me was how nonchalant Gretzky and others involved in the NHL were about the whole trade while fans were in a frenzy. To the athletes and others involved, sports are a job. It is the daily grind. Sure, some are passionate about what they do, but that it is true about any industry. The difference with sports is the passion felt by the outside observers.
What is it about sports that makes them so intriguing? Athletes are more than the role models parenting books make them out to be. Sports teams represent more than the players wearing the uniforms. People are naturally competitive. If we are unable to compete, we will designate others to stand in for us. We will cheer for them because we connect their success with ourselves. We make them out to be everything we want to be.
As stated before, athletes are not merely role models. They are heroes. Just as people are attracted to legendary figures such as Hercules, they are attracted to sports superstars. I could cite other notable heroes such as Achilles, Julius Caesar, George Washington, or Dwight D. Eisenhower from the American perspective. These are all historical people who we have bestowed mythical tales and heroic status. Athletes such as Wayne Gretzky, Michael Jordan, Tiger Woods, Roger Federer, Babe Ruth, and Joe Montana are exactly the same. While we may acknowledge at times they are ordinary people, when they step onto their playing field of choice, they become something else altogether.
Anytime a group of people put on a uniform, they instantly are representing more than those immediately surrounding them. A national army instantly represents its civilian population. A company’s employees speak on behalf of their company. A sports team is no different. The moment the athletes put on their uniforms, they represent not only their community, but all all of their fans around the world. When Michael Phelps dominated the 2008 Beijing Olympics, the United States was watching. We take pride in our teams. Whether the team represents our community, our alma mater, our family, or simply was our childhood favorite because of awesome uniforms, we have bonded with them. We win and lose with them. Ultimately, the team becomes a part of us.
We think it is only kids who get caught up in the heroics of sports, but that is merely a misconception. The next time you go out on the town, take a look around. Pay attention to how many people are wearing sports memorabilia. Perhaps more importantly, pay attention to the demographics of those wearing sports memorabilia. Kids love sports, but the next time you watch a game on television, look at the crowd. I believe you will find there are a lot more adults than children. Sports affect entire populations, not just children.
Sports are exhilarating because we connect with the athletes and teams participating. We imbue them with near mythical characteristics in hopes to make ourselves better. They are an escape from our daily lives. They are a part of our economies. They are a part of our childhood. They are a part of our schools. They are a part of our politics. In the end, there is one phrase that sums up everything I have said: sports are not just a game.