NPR’s All Songs Considered posted it’s best CDs, songs and listener picks for the year. They’ll be there for you to hear for another week.
Day: January 7, 2004
The clutter
By the Numbers, the College Game Has Less Action
The Sugar Bowl, won by Louisiana State over Oklahoma Sunday night, contained the following: 111 replays, 163 informational graphics, 262 changes in the corner score box (down and yardage, statistics), 86 crowd or marching band shots, 120 cuts to the coaches, 28 shots of cheerleaders and 20 sideline reports.
Oh, and 16 minutes 28 seconds of live action generated by 161 plays, or 8.1 seconds per rush, pass, punt, extra point, field goal or kickoff.
Through the prism of obsessive stopwatch analysis, that means that only 7.3 percent of the 3-hour-43-minute game contained real-life movement. It’s not a lot, but any more might require on-field triage.
Throughout the game and during halftime, ABC and its local stations left the Louisiana Superdome 25 times to show 79 commercials (can we ever shake the memory of Snoop Dogg in a series of Nokia commmercials?) and took 35 other diversions to promote its or ESPN’s programming 48 times (have you heard enough about “According to Jim,” the new “Celebrity Mole” and “I’m With Her”?)….
Indianapolis’s 41-10 victory over Denver featured 133 replays, 141 graphics, 222 changes to the corner score box (95 alone in the Colts’ 17-point second quarter), 107 shots of the coaches and 80 fan shots. CBS broke away for commercials 29 times, showing 78 advertisements, and offered 34 promotions for its other programming.
The Colts’ dismantling of the Broncos produced 12 minutes 18 seconds of real-time action. The 132 plays averaged 5.6 seconds each.
Great games
Tired of nothing unimportant to do? Eager to waste precious hours? Here’s the place — Orisinal. Each icon is a game. Try The Runaway Train, the icon directly under GAMES.
Clark Comes on Strong in New Poll
A new CNN/USA Today/Gallup poll finds former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean no longer holding a commanding lead among Democrats nationally in the race for his party’s presidential nomination, as Democrats who are registered to vote appear to be taking a second look at retired Gen. Wesley Clark. After leading Clark by 15 and 21 points in two December polls that asked Democrats whom they supported for their party’s nomination, Dean’s advantage has shrunk to just 4 points in the Jan. 2-5 national survey (24% vs. 20%) — within the poll’s margin of error.
This tightening of the race among Democrats nationally mostly results from increased support for Clark, rather than a decline in support for Dean. Clark gained eight points over the last two weeks, while Dean lost three points, and the number of undecided Democrats declined by three points.
Only minor shifts in support were seen for the remaining seven candidates tested. Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry, Connecticut Sen. Joseph Lieberman, and Missouri Rep. Dick Gephardt are closely bunched, with each receiving between 9% and 11%. North Carolina Sen. John Edwards receives 6%, while former Illinois Sen. Carol Moseley Braun garners 3%, and the Rev. Al Sharpton and Ohio Rep. Dennis Kucinich are tied at 2%.
Gibbs to Return to Washington
Damn! NewMexiKen doesn’t like the Washington NFL franchise. Never has. But, even so, I can’t argue with the proven success and generally class act of Joe Gibbs, who — at age 63 — is apparently returning to coach the team.
The Top Science Stories of 2003
From the Scientific American
Below, and in no particular order, are 25 of the stories that most impressed us here at Scientific American.com. Some are included on the basis of their significance, others for sheer fun.
Skulls of Oldest Homo sapiens Recovered
Gecko-Inspired Adhesive Sticks It to Traditional Tape
Four-Winged Dinosaur and the Dawn of Flight
New Drug May Mitigate Peanut Allergy
The Infant Universe, In Detail
The Cold Odds against Columbia
Pet Prairie Dogs Suspected in U.S. Monkeypox Outbreak
New Study Finds Agent Orange Use Was Underestimated
Large Fish Populations Imperiled
Harvesting Hydrogen Fuel from Plants Gets Cheaper
Electronic Paper Speeds Up for Videos
Number of Threatened Species Tops 12,000
Autopsies, No Scalpel Required
100 Years of Flight: The Equivocal Success of the Wright Brothers
Ink Analysis Smudges Case for Forgery of Vinland Map
Scientists Discover New Frog Family
E-mail Study Corroborates Six Degrees of Separation
Celebrating the Genetic Jubilee: A Conversation with James Watson
A Primer on Your Digital-Music Player
The Mossberg Solution has a pretty basic, but complete rundown on digital music.