Little League to Uchitel
Strap on your boots and get ready to run. Little League starts this week, and I'm the coach. Between today and June 30th: 29 games, practices, and coaches meetings. And that's just one kid. I have four other kids in four different soccer leagues, and I have a son in a different baseball league. I'm not coaching those teams, but I need to attend their games, get them to practices, etc. It'll be brutal, but I have taken preemptive measures to create some space by shortening my exercise time and suspending all other volunteer functions. * * * * * Since I get paid by the hour, a flurry of kid activities decimates the bottom line (my revenue will probably decrease 10% over the next two months). It's my fault for failing to get a TV in my bedroom earlier. Between funding college tuition and losing billable hours, it would've been a lot cheaper to hire call girls, maybe like the guys in this story. It's a fascinating account of the evolved high-priced nightclub life where courting, casual dating, one-night-stands, and prostitution blend together into a nearly-indecipherable sex culture. It was the culture Tiger Woods patronized. * * * * * Speaking of Tiger: Let's talk about the division of labor. It's crucial to a sophisticated economy. Some people do some things well, others do other things well. We're all better off if we all do what we do best. CBS should learn that lesson: It does a real classy job with The Master's. It completely bungles the NCAA basketball tournament. Watching the two events back-to-back, it's hard to believe it's the same network. The lesson for CBS: Focus on one-location sporting events (e.g., golf tournaments, Superbowl, World Series, etc.). Stay away from multi-location events (e.g., NCAA tournament, play-offs, etc.). * * * * * Fifty best books of the twentieth century? If you like conservative ideas, go here. I'm both pleased and ashamed that I've read all or a substantial portion of 18 of them. * * * * * American family unknowingly adopts a violent arsonist, then sends him back to Russia (via Mangan). The Russians are mad. I know lots of parents who have adopted children internationally, from all parts of the exotic world (China, Russia, Detroit). I've heard more than once that Russia is notorious for offering us their most-challenging public wards, without disclosure. This story would seem to corroborate it, though I'm sure there are many good adoption stories out there as well.
