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New Elections in France: Will the Business Environment Get Better?
April 30, 2007
Nicolas Sarkozy, the moderate-turned-conservative candidate for the French presidency, is up against Socialist Segolene Royal in the upcoming second round of elections. In the first round, Sarkozy captured 30 percent of the votes, defeating Royal who lagged behind Sarkozy by five percentage points.
I've been wondering what that means since the first round of elections on April 21. And after having just spent a whole week discussing business-building strategies with 28 smart entrepreneurs, I've been thinking about the effect the upcoming election will have on the French business environment.
I have an interest in France. Thirty years ago, I learned to speak French while teaching at a French University in Chad and playing with a French rugby team. I was married in French West Africa and spent my honeymoon in Normandy. In the past 30 years, K and I have traveled to France at least a dozen times on vacation, and I have been there two dozen times on business. I have a partner who lives in Paris, and, through my relationship with him, I am invested in several French businesses.
Sentimentally, I'm an advocate of France. Intellectually, I am appalled by how it runs its economy.
Of all the countries I have invested in all over the world, France has given me the worst return on my money. It hasn't been a return at all, to speak the truth. It's been a loss. In one venture alone my partners and I lost more than $8 million. In another venture, the loss is currently at $2 million or $3 million and mounting.
France is one of the most difficult countries in Europe to invest in. The business markets are old and tradition-bound and heavily regulated. Taxes are high. Bureaucracy is daunting. It is extremely complicated and expensive to start a new business and very difficult to keep an existing business going. So many forms to file. So many new rules to comply with.
And the cost of being an employer is almost prohibitive. First-time employees get five weeks of paid vacation every year, reimbursements for travel and lunch, and a very liberal number of sick days for just about any malady you can think of - including stress. One of our French employees became stressed out because his supervisor chastised him for not working hard. He stopped coming into work altogether and filed a complaint with the government ... which forced us to allow him to work as little as he pleased and pay him full-time for the bad job he was doing when he did show up at the office. The idea of a fair day's labor for a fair day's wage is passe in France.
The cost of keeping an employee in France is probably 50 percent higher than it would be in the United States, and the cost of firing one is even higher. The combination of perks, guarantees, and prohibitions is so daunting that most employers are very reluctant to hire people in the first place.
I have French friends who fled to the U.S. because they could not make their small businesses bloom in France.
So what was I thinking? Why did I ever put one nickel into France?
Well, it wasn't me. It was my partner. He's the culprit.
And why did he get us into France? The official reason was that he intended to include the French market in our company's growing readership. That would have been a good plan - if, that is, we had taken a ready-fire-aim approach to our business building there. But had we done that - had we begun by trying to find out if the market could work before we hired people, rented office space, and subjected ourselves to a thousand French regulations, we would have concluded, very early on, that the French market wasn't ready for us. We would have pulled back and rethought our position and come out again a year or two later when we had a genuinely different and better idea.
Instead, we persisted in following a business model that worked elsewhere, but not in France.
I think we persisted despite Mr. Market's telling us to go home because we had an ulterior motive. You see, we are in the business of telling people what to do - with their money and their time. Plying that trade in France was a temptation we couldn't resist.
Our hubris has cost us money - millions and millions of dollars. But, luckily, the company can afford it. And the fight isn't over yet.
With each passing year, we move slowly forward, inching our way through the bureaucracy by means of a handful of very hardworking French employees who have the same hope-against-hope aspirations for the French economy that we do. These are bright, earnest people who don't get tied up in "what should be" but rather focus on "what is."
France is a country of self-styled intellectuals. Writers, composers, philosophers, and scholars are given substantial coverage in the press, sometimes rock-star-level coverage, and their ideas are seriously debated by panels of TV and movie personalities who want to be seen as serious. This has always seemed to me to be to be the most pretentious and embarrassing aspect of French culture.
French people love nothing better than to argue over dinner about the three subjects we are told to avoid: religion, sex, and politics. In most bourgeois circles, the preferred political orientation is far left by U.S. standards, although in France such a perspective is seen simply as "correct."
To get back to Sarkozy, his win, by more than five percentage points in an election in which 84 percent of the adult population voted, is significant.
Some pundits are saying that his win is due to the economy. For more than 25 years, you see, things have been getting worse for France. Since the early 1980s, France fell from having one of the world's most robust economies to standing 17th on the list. The drop became steeper and faster in recent years as the country spent itself into record-high debt (the fastest growing public debt in Europe, according to The New York Times).
And if that weren't enough, the French have a serious problem with a growing population of marginally employed Arabs and North Africans that burden the country's huge welfare system and gnaw at the hand that is feeding them.
French voters "clearly marked their wish to go to the end of the debate between two ideas of the nation," Sarkozy said after the results were announced, "two projects for society, two value systems, two concepts of politics."
Sarkozy's value system favors cracking down on crime and freeing up regulations so that small businesses can grow. He says that he believes France will progress only if its people "work harder." He has promised to lower personal and corporate taxes, eliminate obstacles to job creation. That sounds sensible to me.
On the other hand, he vows to protect French corporations from foreign competition - which, in the long run, will be bad for the French economy. And he has recently taken strong stands against immigration, which has been interpreted in some circles as an attempt to capture some of the vote that Marie le Penn, a right wing candidate, gets every election.
It seems to be working. Some French - perhaps those who live in or near the blighted immigrant communities - are fed up with the idea that the French government is supporting an increasing number of foreigners who hate France and the French but are more than willing to live off its social support system.
Segolene Royal - the Socialist who came in a close second in the election, but who reportedly has little chance of actually becoming President - has a very different vision of how to fix things. She advocates "participatory democracy," reducing presidential powers, and the maintenance of France's general welfare system and strong state involvement in the economy.
I don't think it takes much to see that, for the most part, Socialist policies in Europe have failed. Socialism's fundamental idea - that redistributing capital assets (either periodically through coups and confiscation or regularly through confiscatory taxing) can equalize wealth over the long term - ignores some simple human facts. We aren't all equal in any regard: in ambition, intelligence, tenacity, or the willingness to work.
If working hard is a key component of wealth building, then Sarkozy is right. To reverse France's 25-year economic decline, it must get its citizens to work harder, not come up with new schemes that make it easier for them to work less.
Socialist promises are most attractive to those who don't, for whatever reason, work productively. A society that establishes policies and protocols that reward the low end of the production pole is one that is going to get the economy it deserves.
Nature rewards the smart, the quick, and the productive. When France does that too, its economy will thrive.
You don't have to ignore or penalize the disabled to have a robust society. There is plenty of capacity to take care of them. What an economy can't afford is a policy that treats criminals and loafers as disabled and encourages able-bodied working people to take as much as they can regardless of how little they contribute. That's what France has been doing to its people for some time. And that - more than anything else - is the cause of its so-called "immigration problem."
I will be interested to see what happens. The second round of elections will take place on May 6.
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posted by M. Masterson @ 4:31 PM, ,
The Well-Stocked Wine Cellar
In ETR #1997, I explained the basics of starting a new wine collection. Then, in ETR #2001, #2002, #2006, #2007, and #2008, I gave you a crash course in how to buy specific types of wine.
Now you need to develop some practical knowledge by sampling a wide variety of wines. This will help you put together a well-stocked collection - one that will offer you and your guests plenty of choices, while favoring the wines you prefer to drink.
Read the rest of this article at Early to Rise
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posted by M. Masterson @ 8:14 AM, ,
The Descending Standards of Airline Travel
April 25, 2007
Ever since the U.S. airline industry was deregulated, service has deteriorated. In the old days, standard travel included comfortable seats with adequate legroom, helpful stewardesses, and free food. Nowadays, you are crammed into a seat that should be outlawed by the ACLU, berated by shiftless and threatening flight attendants, and charged money for junk food you shouldn't be eating anyway.
Read the rest of this article at Early to Rise
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posted by M. Masterson @ 1:24 PM, ,
Getting on a Plane and Pining for the Old Days
April 24, 2007
Returning home after a tour of colleges with our youngest son, K and I boarded a flight going from Denver to Baltimore. Because we were among the last to get into the first-class cabin, the overhead space was already tight by the time we got to our seats. There wasn't enough room in the compartment for both my carry-on bag and K's - so, since I had seen the passenger who boarded just ahead of us put two bags overhead (which violates the limit by one), I asked if he'd mind stowing his smaller bag under the seat.
He was perfectly willing to oblige.
While I moved his bag out of the overhead compartment, a man sitting in the next row - a guy about my age (which is to say in his 50s) - said, "You better not move my bag."
I looked at him in disbelief. "I'm not touching your bag," I said to him, trying to restrain myself.
"You better not," he said.
I couldn't take it. "You are a jerk," I said.
He said something back.
I shook my head and went about fitting our luggage into the compartment, but he kept mumbling. I stared at him for the longest time, trying to convey without words that I would relish the opportunity to beat the living crap out of him.
There is something wrong with the world we live in. Laws that are written to protect the weak can be, and often are, used by arrogant people to be arrogant with impunity. This obnoxious loudmouth was a prime example. He was able to speak to me as he did only because he was confident that I wouldn't punish him physically for his rudeness. In another time and place, I could have - and would have - given him the treatment he asked for. And afterward, I would have felt very good about what I had done.
Instead, I had to force myself to calm down and ignore him. By telling myself that the universe will pay him back. By reminding myself that people who are disagreeable live disagreeable lives, even if they have the trappings of happiness and success.
This miserable schmo probably spends half his time fighting with people, and the other half gloating over his bad behavior. That is no way to live.
Still, I can't help but feel that a feint to the head followed by a quick takedown followed by a two-minute pound-down on his face would have been good for both of us.
Read more!
posted by M. Masterson @ 9:46 AM, ,
Making Our Lives Golden
April 23, 2007
I have always been a strong opponent of television. But, as I told you on Friday, K and I recently started watching it together. Just a little bit here and there, but enough to get me thinking about the way people spend their recreational time... and make me wonder if the kind of activities we engage in during our down time really make a difference.
On Friday, I pointed out that the more time you spend working, the more successful you're likely to be - but acknowledged that even the most ambitious and hardest workers need to take at least a few hours out of the day to do something that gives them pleasure. Something that isn't work.
The question then becomes, "What should that 'something' be?"
As I said, just about any activity we choose to do can fit into one of three categories. It can:
- damage us in some way
- improve us somehow
- leave us more or less the same
It's up to you how much Gold, Vapor, and Acid you are going to have in your life.
When I think of my own choices - good, bad, and neutral - I notice that they have the following characteristics:
Read the rest of this article at Early to Rise
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posted by M. Masterson @ 2:18 PM, ,
The Choices We Have
April 20, 2007
Now that our last child is about to leave home, K and I are talking about getting television service. For about 20 years, we have been without TV. The idea was that our children would become better readers without the distraction - and that objective was achieved. All three of our boys are voracious and skillful readers.
So now, as empty nesters, we are thinking that it would be kind of fun to watch some shows together - to spend an hour after dinner, sitting next to one another, laughing at the same things.
To test this hypothesis, we jimmy-rigged an antenna connection for the set that used to play only DVDs, and we spent a few evenings watching it.
Read the rest of this article at Early to Rise
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posted by M. Masterson @ 8:10 AM, ,
How - and How Not - to Sell a Product
April 19, 2007
"You guys already know a lot about the academic program here at Colorado College," Max said. "So we can skip some of the routine stuff and get to know each other. You probably want to know about me. And I'd like to know something about you. So why don't you tell me something amazing that happened to you this year."
The college had appointed Max to lead an informational session with prospective students and their parents. "I wonder if they know how he is doing this," I thought.
Read the rest of this article at Early to Rise
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posted by M. Masterson @ 8:39 AM, ,
Get a Better Rate at Your Next Hotel
April 17, 2007
In ETR #2009, I described my distasteful experience with the Hotel Park City. They refused to give me the lower room rate I found published online, and even threatened me with cancellation penalties if I went to another hotel. Fortunately, most hotels are much more reasonable and will accommodate your request for the lower rate in such a situation.
Here are five additional tactics (recommended by Frommer's Guidebook Series) you can use to save money when booking your next hotel:
Read the rest of this article in Early to Rise
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posted by M. Masterson @ 10:31 AM, ,
How to Read the Daily Newspapers
April 13, 2007
Do you read a newspaper in the morning? Be careful if you do.
Newspapers are designed to be engaging. And the best ones are successful at pulling you in and getting you emotionally involved. By making you care about the news, newspaper publishers gain your loyalty. In getting your loyalty, they boost their circulation levels. That raises their ad sales, which ups their profits.
You may feel that you are in charge of deciding what you care about and, therefore, what you read about. But behind every story, there are several smart and skilled people working to get you interested in it and make you care. Good newspaper writers and editors are like good advertising copywriters. They know their customers and how to push their emotional buttons.
If you read the newspaper naively - that is, with the notion that you are reading "news" - you are putting your emotional intelligence to work for somebody else. But if you are careful about your reading - if you read selectively and purposefully - then you can earn dividends on the time you invest in the newspaper every morning.
(Note: If you watch the news rather than read the news, all of this applies.)
Let me give you an example of what I mean.
Reading today's New York Times passively (i.e., naively) creates the following experience:
I am upset by a photo of Arab men in Baghdad tearing an American flag to shreds. The mix of hate and glee in their faces scares me a little. I start thinking about my next trip to Paris, about how many Arabs I'll encounter there. I wonder if they will harbor this hate for me. I'm left with a swirling, emotional brew of fear and anger and despair - not a good way to fuel a day.
Reading an account of a family of Latino Americans on Long Island that were roused from their beds early in the morning by pack of shouting, gun-wielding federal agents looking for illegal immigrants, I am upset again. I imagine how those guys broke into the house, waving around their machine guns, breaking open doors, screaming at the little children, threatening to shoot. And for what? To arrest some illegal immigrant who came to America to work 60 hours a week doing work that other Americans on welfare find beneath their dignity? I think about how America is turning into a police state. And then I think about all the people who think this kind of tactic is good, who know so little about economics that they think these raids make any sense. Recognizing how ignorant most people are about how money works, I am exasperated.
Then, noticing a small story about a trial that continues for two cops who put 42 bullets into the body of an unarmed black man outside a Queens nightclub last November, I am upset again. I know lots of cops, and most of them are leery of using their guns. But each one of them knows someone - a stupid young buck, usually - who is dangerous. How can they not weed out guys like this from the force? Maybe because history has proven that, most of the time, bad cops can get away with murder. In this particular case, the defense is hoping to move the court venue away from Queens to get more whites on the jury. In 2000, four NYC police officers accused of shooting 42 bullets into another unarmed citizen, Amadou Diallo, were successful in moving the trial and were all acquitted of wrongdoing. I'm not happy reading this. I'm thinking about getting involved. But how?
Then I turn to a story on the Don Imus controversy. I never liked Imus, but I can't help feeling that he's not the bigot he's being portrayed as. He lost his television gig because he made a bad joke. It was degrading, yes. But it wasn't any more degrading - as he himself stupidly pointed out in his defense - than the lyrics that many rap stars use to praise both the black community and the liberal white community that supports politically correct speech. There is no question that black women in America don't get the respect they deserve, but going after Imus is an ineffective way of getting it.
I catch myself and think: "Why am I even wasting my energy worrying about Imus?" I don't listen to his show. And I don't care if he is executed by the political-correctness police.
All of these stories in my morning newspaper are upsetting. I haven't yet finished my coffee, and I am already in an emotional boil. None of the feelings I have is conducive to having a good day. I can't channel them into anything productive. As an American citizen, I am very much affected by the war in Iraq and the cultural shift away from personal freedom. But on a daily basis, there is no benefit in getting myself riled up about it.
"Screw it," I decide. "I'm not going to invest myself into these sorts of stories any more."
What should I do then? Cancel my subscription to The New York Times and subscribe to USA Today?
I could do that. USA Today is certainly more upbeat. But I don't want to give up the good stuff in the NYT. Instead, I will continue reading the NYT and The Wall Street Journal every day. But I'll read them actively and purposefully, not passively and naively.
For me, that means ignoring most of the news about war and crime and politics, and focusing on stories that are - or could be - useful to me.
When I say "useful," I mean useful in giving me information and ideas that can help me make better decisions and also give me stories that can energize and inspire me.
I see an article in the business section of the Times about American Home Mortgage, a Melville, NY-based lender of Alternative A mortgages (i.e., made to people whose credit ratings are good but not great) whose earnings are going down because they have to buy back and write down some of their loans. This is the first signal that the problem banks and investment firms are having with sub-prime loans is just the tip of the iceberg. I congratulate myself for getting out of the real estate market when I did - about a year ago - and remind myself that there will be big opportunities for me (and for you, if you have some cash ready) to invest in real estate when the second wave of the crash takes place in the next 6 to 18 months.
I spend two minutes reading a story in The Wall Street Journal about the emergence of a luxury car market in China and remember how awed I was by the wealth and immensity of Shanghai. The growth of China is not a temporary fad, I tell myself. In fact, the globalization of the world's economy is an inevitable trend. I'm glad that AGP is part of it. With the Internet linking us all together, the opportunity for international marketing will continue to grow. I spend a few moments thinking about other ways I can get involved in this trend.
I glance at the "Money & Investing" section of the Journal and am thankful that I am an entrepreneur and real estate investor. As such, I can put most of my risk capital into businesses and properties that I both understand and control. "Leave the fancy investing to those who have eight hours a day to get above-market returns," I tell myself.
I see that Bush is going to lengthen the tours of duty for soldiers in combat zones. But I'm not going to read the article, because I am sure there is nothing in it that I need to know - and there is certainly nothing I can do about it today. Every four years, I get to vote. That's enough for me.
In the NYT, there's a story about a man from Ghana that I probably shouldn't read but can't help myself. It seems he came to America to work and send money back to his family with the intention of bringing them over when he was financially able. Everything was going according to plan when his wife died in Africa. He redoubled his efforts to bring his children over and was making good progress when he discovered, through a new requirement - a DNA test of his children - that three of the four were sired by another man.
I review, very briefly, the physical characteristics of my own boys. I am quite sure each of them has at least one body part that resembles that of his father. "Enough is enough," I decide. Another half-hour spent, and nothing much from it except the conviction that I should continue looking for real estate and international business opportunities. The rest is turmoil. The papers go into the trash basket - except for the Arts section of the Times, which I will savor, as cultural entertainment, later on. I've invested 30 minutes in this roller-coaster ride. That is plenty. On to work!
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posted by M. Masterson @ 2:55 PM, ,
The Great Yellow Bike Experiment: Why Socialism, Even in Ideal Situations, Can't Work
April 12, 2007
While touring Colorado College with my youngest son, I heard a great story about a socialist experiment that illustrates something important about economics.
Several years ago, the school decided to encourage students to bicycle around campus. So they bought dozens of bikes, painted them yellow, and parked them all over the place for the free and unfettered use of any student who wanted to ride them.
The idea was that you could grab a yellow bicycle, ride it wherever you pleased, and then drop it on the ground and not worry about it. When you got out of a class, a bunch of yellow bikes would be lying around and you could grab one. Then you'd ride it to your next class and leave it there.
It was a great idea ... but it didn't work. What happened was this: In the beginning, all the bikes were the same. But after a few months, there were differences between one bike and another. If you had a good bike that wasn't banged up and had gears that worked well, you didn't want to give it up. And if you did give it up and then came out of class to find only junky bikes there, you were really disappointed.
Kids started hiding bikes, locking bikes, even fighting over bikes. And to make matters more complicated, they started branding them like cattle by putting decals on them.
It is hard to do away with the human instinct to differentiate products and attach value to them. It is harder still to tell someone that something he has can be taken away from him by anybody who wants it.
If you can't get people to agree to share bicycles when the "state" supplies loads of them for free, how can you expect them to cooperate with limited goods and resources whose costs must be paid?
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posted by M. Masterson @ 4:02 PM, ,
Losing Weight Slowly
April 11, 2007
Dr. Sears was in here the other day for a meeting. He took my body-fat measure. I was worried that I would make a poor showing since I'd only lost about three or four pounds in the weeks that have passed since I agreed to join him in his PACE program fat-loss challenge.]
As it turns out, I did pretty well. My body fat dropped from 29 percent to 22 percent. I accomplished that by watching my eating and working out really hard twice a day.
Dr. Sears did even better. He lost 14 pounds of total body weight (as opposed to my three to four pounds) and eight percentage points of body fat. But what's astonishing is that he did it without changing his diet and by exercising only a fraction of the time I did.
Naturally, I wanted to know what he had been doing.
Read the rest of this article at Early to Rise
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posted by M. Masterson @ 8:15 AM, ,
A Good Story From My Friend Alec
April 10, 2007
"I played full-court basketball until I was in my middle 40s. And, as my friend Michael Masterson has said about himself, I was better in my 40s than at any other time in my life.
"One day, around 16 years ago, I was playing full-court in one of the gyms I used to play in. The other guys were mostly in their 20s or early 30s, while I was in my 40s. I did not seek out this gym to play with younger men. I had played there for years. I kept getting older, but the other players' ages remained the same.
"This particular day, I was on the same team with a young man about 22 or 23 years old. I knew his father and had known him since he was maybe 15. He was a very good ballplayer. He played for his high school team.
"We played well together that day, and though there were three other players on our team it was his and my efforts that kept us undefeated. When it was all over, we were sitting on a curb outside the gym drinking Coke or water, which one I can't remember. We were going over our heroics - and in the course of the conversation, I told him that when he was my age he wouldn't be playing anymore. He said he would, and I again said that he wouldn't.
"Then he said 'Do ya wanna bet?' I said 'Yes' and bet him a dollar.
"I saw him maybe one or two more times since that day 16 years ago. Then last Saturday, while going through my mail, I saw an envelope from Portland, OR. I opened it and read 'You win' on a stick 'em note. It was stuck on a check made out to me for the sum of one dollar.
"How about that? The last honest man in North America. Sixteen years later."
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posted by M. Masterson @ 2:32 PM, ,
What If Everything You Believed About Investing Was Wrong?
April 9, 2007
That's the headline for an advertisement selling a book by Ken Fisher titled "The Only Three Questions That Count: Investing by Knowing What Others Don't."
Both the headline and the book title are good, don't you think?
Why? Because there they evoke curiosity - you want to know the answers. They work because they are relevant to the prospective customer for the book - an investor. And they promise a benefit: salvation from making mistakes. At a time when the financial markets are teetering, the implied promise is strong. ("Answer these three questions and you'll never again make the mistakes you've been making. Your portfolio will go up and up and up.")
After the "What if" question headline, there are three bullets:
Do you believe?
- High P/Es [price-to-earnings ratios] make stocks risky?
- Rising oil prices drive stocks down?
- Big budget deficits are bad for the economy?
If you were intrigued by the "What if" question, you'd be captivated by those bullets because they run contrary to conventional wisdom. You'd think, "Yes ... I believe ... but I guess I shouldn't believe. What does this guy know that I don't?"
And then your eye would move to the only other copy in the ad - Fisher's credentials:
- Long-running Forbes Portfolio Strategy columnist for 22 years
- CEO of Fisher Investments, a $35 billion money management firm he founded two decades ago
- New York Times best-selling author of four investment books
- Top ranked market forecaster as measured by an independent third party
- Self-made billionaire on Forbes 400 List of Richest Americans in 2006
"Holy crap," you'd say. "How can I not listen to what this guy has to say?"
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posted by M. Masterson @ 3:47 PM, ,
The Power of Partnerships
April 3, 2007
A great way to get something done that you can't do yourself (for whatever reason) is to find a partner. There are usually five elements to any enterprise: time, talent, tenacity, ideas, and capital. Figure out what you have and what you are missing, and look for a partner or two who can supply the missing piece(s).
To produce my first movie, I had the idea and the time, and I figured I could hire the talent. But I didn't have the tenacity to push it forward. So I joined up with a protege of mine who had an interest in movies, and he did all the initial legwork - searching and locating the talent, setting up the auditions, renting the equipment, etc.
Lately I've been thinking of partnering up with someone to write a book. I have the time to write one book a year on my own, but I have at least three or four good ideas. So I'm thinking I can produce at least one more book a year by finding someone competent to be my co-writer. I haven't done it yet - but that's what James Patterson does. And according to USA Today, he produces more best-selling novels than anyone else, including guys like John Grisham. If he were a publishing company, the paper said, he would have been ranked fourth in 2006 for publishing the most best-sellers.
The partnership arrangement works well for both parties. For example, Patterson's most recent novel, Step on a Crack, was co-written by Michael Ledwidge. Ledwidge wrote three previous books on his own that sold a total of 20,000 copies. The first print run for Step on a Crack will be 1.25 million.
Ledwidge and Patterson met 10 years ago in New York City. Ledwidge was an aspiring writer, and Patterson helped him find an agent. When Patterson offered him the chance to work together last year, he jumped at it "at the speed of light."
The book has Patterson's regular ingredients: a sympathetic hero (Michael Bennet, who has 10 adopted kids with his wife, who is dying), a mysterious death, and short chapters. Patterson wrote a chapter-by-chapter outline and Ledwidge filled in the words. After fleshing out the chapters, he sent them to Patterson to edit.
At 41, Patterson became the youngest CEO in the history of J. Walter Thompson, the ad agency. By then, he had written five novels. He gets mixed reviews, being more popular with readers than with critics.
Patterson has a business, Patterson Entertainment, which has five full-time employees, including two at Little Brown (his publisher) whose job it is to create books, movies, video games, and TV series out of his ideas. He made about $28 million last year, and has set up a few charities to promote reading and writing.
Patrick Anderson of the Washington Post says that Patterson represents "the absolute pits, the lowest common denominator of cynically, skuzzy, assembly-line writing." Patterson admits that his books aren't War and Peace, and says, "You can't make everybody happy."
Read more!
posted by M. Masterson @ 8:15 AM, ,


text:
Two Treasure Valley men are charged with trafficking in heroin after deputies found them then in possession of about 287 grams of the drug on Monday.
Adam Paul Esposito and Alejandro Valadez Mariscal are both being held in the Ada County Jail on $500,000 bonds. Preliminary hearings for both men will be set for early September.
Detectives began their investigation earlier this summer.
Deputies seized 100 grams of heroin and arrested the 28-year-old Esposito near a Boise-area hotel Monday afternoon.
They arrested 28-year-old Valadez Mariscal at Nampa home a short time later. Deputies later seized an additional 187 grams of heroin and a small amount of methamphetamine from a Boise-area hotel room Valadez Mariscal was staying at.
The crime of trafficking in heroin is punishable by up to life in prison.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Iphone Apps
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It was in the news that the appstore was down, so its not just you. Give it an hour or so and try again and maybe it will be resolved by then.
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Earlier today I downloaded 2 apps with no issues. I tried now to buy one and it acts like its starts to load and then stopped.
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Usually when I cant get apps to download, I just assume maybe the appstore is under maintenance or similiar, and I wait 30 minutes and try it again and it usually works.
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2017 is almost over and the year's crazy turn of events has been one to celebrate and ponder over but who says it should be in a somber sad mood?
And as tradition demands and judging from the past 4 to 5 years year-on-year roundup mixtape by DJ Vyrusky can't come at any better time than now.
For one, he ruled 2017 and took his career to another height with collaborative projects with artistes like Kojo-Cue, Kuame Eugene and Shatta Wale.
He found the magic and spread it to get the excitement on the dancefloor while keeping his radio fans high on his mixes daily on Starr Drive.
However, the beauty of 'Throwback Verseday' is not about the mixes or the tunes we jammed to in 2017 but the storytelling that comes with each song, their timing and memories from that particular moment you fell for the a particular song.
DJ Vyrusky has that effect on people and that is not to only say, he can make you dance any day, anytime but also get you to reconsider how you listen to music.
In 2017 like previous years, listeners get to be a part of the selection process. Suggest songs to be included with just a verse video from your favorite song and just leave the rest of the work with your favorite artiste's favorite DJ.


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All Films.All Above Board.NOW INCLUDES TV SHOWS & TV LISTINGS
Starry European co-production about a romantic triangle set in the literary world. Kate Bolton is a beautiful model married to acclaimed but unsuccessful writer Alec. Kate longs to be a writer in her own right and their fortunes are transformed when they meet up with the larger-than-life publisher Vanni who needs Alec's literary credibility to give his firm a lift. Vanni has the hots for Kate so he agrees to publish her first book, which enrages Alec. Kate is then left to decide between her husband and the crude Vanni.


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Sunday, July 23, 2017
- Sunday, July 23, 2017
Art in Washoe Park is one of the best shows in southwest Montana, with 80 juried art and craft booths from around the US. Ethnic foods, and professional entertainment is offered all three days. This show is set up in a beautiful park with lots of room and a playground available for kids. Bring your lawn chair and enjoy hours of professional music and a large choice of ethnic foods.Members show membership cards for free admission or a weekend pass is available at Copper Village or on Friday at any entry gate. Check our website for more information: www.coppervillageartcenter.com.
Mailing Address
Not AvailableStreet AddressNot Available
Phone: 406-563-2422
Art in Washoe Park takes place on the north side of Anaconda. Follow Commercial Street to Main, turn right and go to Pennsylvania and turn left. Signs are in place
Not AvailableHoursFriday: 12:00pm - 8:00pm Saturday: 10:00am - 10:00pm Sunday: 11:00am - 4:30pm
Not AvailableReservationsNot Available
Beer/Wine, Food Services, Handicapped Accessible
Arts And Crafts, Barbecue, Concert, Food And Drink, Local Cuisine, Music, Shopping, Stage Show
Southwest Montana Travel Information
Southwest Montana travel information and a free Visitor's Guide.
Central Montana Travel Information
Central Montana travel information and a free Travel Planner.
Big Sky Montana Hotels
Visit Big Sky, Montana this Winter!


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Finally, the first day of our hypertension course has come to an end, and I can go to a much needed repose. First I just have to finish my blogpost, and possibly check the twitter. So far it has been a very successful course. As is traditional we started with epidemiology, worked through pathophysiology and diagnosis. Treatment will come tomorrow.
Here is a brief summary of the conclusions from the first day:
Hypertension is developing better traction with the big agencies, WHO etc, as the largest modifiable risk factor for disease and death. Not only in the high-income countries, but globally.
Prehypertension (120-140 in systolic- and 70-90 in diastolic blood pressure) is an important risk factor for later hypertension and later cardiovascular morbidity and death. It should probably indicate a closer follow up and counceling about life-style, although, it is still not well studied enough to be an indication for pharmacological treatment.
Diastolic hypertension is the strongest risk factor for later cardiovascular morbidity and mortality in adolescents. In middle age systolic blood pressure takes over, and in greater ages the pulse pressure is stronger than either.
Hypertension is part of the cluster of risk factors sometimes known as the metabolic syndrome. Increased stress-hormone release may represent a common mechanism behind this syndrome.
High exercise blood pressure (>210 mmHg) in the absence of clinical hypertension may be a sign of masked hypertension.
Hypertension is both caused by, and leads to structural changes in the vasculature, which are important for the associated cardiovascular diseases and end organ damage.
Non-pharmacologic treatment, such as exercise, weight-loss and reduced salt-intake are effective components in the treatment and prevention of hypertension.
The work-up for a patient with hypertension should include ambulatory blood pressure if they are prehypertensive or if the indication for treatment is uncertain. For example, slight hypertension, no other risk factors and no target organ damage. A situation where current guidelines suggest to wait and see. A problem is that ambulatory measures are not included int the current guidelines. So, it is unclear how the results should be interpreted.
Secondary hypertension is a surprisingly common cause of hypertension, in particular hyperaldosteronism which may include 5-13% of all hypertensives.
Albuminuria is an important, independent risk-factor for cardiovascular morbidity all the way from sub-microalbuminuric levels.
In addition to these lectures we had some clinical cases and two panel discussions:
Is hypertension the most important global risk factor for disease and death?
Does living well improve your survival?
Both of these were answered with quite solid affirmative answers. Not really surprising given the audience and setting, but probably not wrong either.
Thursday, February 09, 2012
Course on hypertension
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Some would say that this show kicks the shit out of all the previous shows this year; but I'm not going to go there any more or make comparisons because it's too hard after the year of awesome tours we've had. Suffice it to say that it was killer. One thing about going to shows […]
Choose Mics @ Live on Light Square (Adelaide), 25 July 2009
Ok, so writing reviews of genres that I don't hit very often is a bodgy proposition. But I love to do it, so bear with me. On Saturday 25 July 2009, Foss and I headed down to Live on Light for the Hip Hop Live show run by Alcatrax. Foss had been asked by Hektic […]
More journalistic efforts – from May til the end of June 09
Wow, I have really neglected this blog in the whirlwind that has become my life! So much going on over at Metal as Fuck and Brascoe – but here are some of my other recent efforts to keep you entertained 😉 I've also posted shitloads of news items, but they're not quite so relevant. Stay […]
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Coconuts in all their glory. This is one that will leave craving more. Use in cooking or on toast, muffins, sandwiches. A topping on ice cream, yogurt, protein shakes.
Ingredients: coconuts, sugar, palm oil, milk ingredients,cocoa butter, soya lecithin, non-hydrogenated oil (palm and shea oil), titanium dioxide.
Posted by Charlene on 25th May 2018
When scrolling through the products, I came across "coconut butter". I had never heard of it before, but like coconut, so decided to try a small jar. I am definitely going to get the big jar next time! Absolutely love it on an English muffin with orange marmalade- pina colada toast !!!


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This content has been marked as final. Show 3 replies
Re: Helical coil heating simulationJared Conway May 26, 2014 6:51 PM (in response to Qi Hongming)
What have you tried so far? Where have you come up with problems?
This sounds very similar to the heat exchanger in the tutorials.
1 default subdomain for the water in an internal analysis
1 additional subdomain for the air in the tube at flow rate and pressure on the other end
Model heaters based on their heat into the system
Re: Helical coil heating simulationQi Hongming Jun 8, 2015 8:57 PM (in response to Jared Conway)
However,water is still, no flow, no inlet and outlet. how to set up water?
Re: Helical coil heating simulationAmit Katz Jun 10, 2015 8:14 AM (in response to Qi Hongming)
If the water isn't flowing, why not just set 90C on the walls of the coil and be done with it? Will save you a lot of computational overhead.


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Status: SoldType: Sites
(Site B (outlined in pink on map). 1.13 acre site.
View All 1 Images >>
Site B (outlined in pink on map). 1.13 acre site located at Ballynamona, Mourneabbey, Mallow, Co. Cork.
This is a very attractive site with full planning permission for a detached bungalow of C. 2,000 sq.ft.
The property is located just off the Main Cork/Mallow road, opposite the old Abbey, and adjacent to Mourneabbey,
Community Centre and Clyda Rovers GAA Club. The site is bounded by a Stream on the Southern boundary.
Full details and maps available from the Auctioneers Office.
Contact Hugh McPhillips.
This was last updated: 17 April 2015.


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December 28, 1997.
Quotes on Happiness.
"Consider man in every sphere,
Then tell me is your lot severe:
We're born a restless, needy crew;
Show me a happier man than you."
Gay: Fables.
"We are never so happy nor so unhappy as we imagine." (Rochefoucauld, Maxim 49.)
"Happiness is a clear conscience, unsullied by the reproach or remembrance of an unworthy action." (Gibbon, his autobiography at page 218.)
"[Happiness comes] by studying little things ..." (Dr. Johnson.)
"Nothing is more idle, than to enquire after happiness, which nature has kindly placed within our reach. The way to be happy is to live according to nature, in obedience to that universal and unalterable law with which every heart is originally impressed which is not written on it by precept, but engraven by destiny, not instilled by education, but infused at our nativity. He that lives according to nature will suffer nothing from the delusions of hope, or importunities of desire: he will receive and reflect with equability of temper...; and act or suffer as the things shall alternately prescribe. ... Throw away the encumbrance of precepts, which they who utter them with so much pride and pomp do not understand, and carry with us this simple and intelligible maxim. That deviation from nature is deviation from Happiness. ... To live according to nature, is to act always with due regard to the fitness arising from the relations and qualities of causes and effects; to concur with the great and unchangeable scheme of universal felicity; to cooperate with the general disposition and tendency of the present system of things. (Doctor Johnson, as quoted by Cecil.)
"... I hear you laugh at me for being happy in the country, and upon this I have a few words to say. In the first place whether one lives or dies I hold and always have held to be of infinitely less moment than is generally supposed; but if life is the choice then it is commonsense to amuse yourself with the best you can find where you happen to be placed. I am not leading precisely the life I should choose, but that which (all things considered, as well as I could consider them) appeared to be the most eligible. I am resolved therefore to like it and to reconcile myself to it... In short, if my lot be to crawl, I will crawl contentedly; if to fly, I will fly with alacrity; but as long as I can possibly avoid it, I will never be unhappy." (Sidney Smith, as quoted by Cecil.)
December 28, 1997.
Quotes on Happiness.
Peter Landry
December, 1997 (2011)


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Equal Time!
The Rail Hater's Club
Anti-subway No More Trains! terrorist bomb in Dayton excavates subway construction
Light Rail -Choo Choo to Debt
Light Rail for Eskimos
Elevated rail systems flop
Vic Vreeland's
RailRoading America
- A light rail hater's website
What's the score?
How cities are voting
on light rail.
The Transit Cabal
- not so much a rail haters club as a lighthearted look at the passions on both sides of the tracks


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Vishnu Lubbock never got a chance to assign crew to stand guard over the probe bay. Chief Technician Hayao Farb needed one of Grendelsbane's engineers tofil lin for hte injured tech team member twelve hours or more each day. Lubbock assigned him the two Assistant Engineeres to work 6-hour shifts, but told his engineeres to keep their eyes open while they were working on the probe.
First Engineer Pepper Sprey wanted to use Arghaz as a part-time assistant, before Farb vetoed the idea. Aside from the fact that a hairy Vargr possed certain problems in a sterile environment, they still did not have any idea as to who had committed the sabotage.
Mostly, he tried to stay out of everyone's way while looking reasonably intelligent even though most of their work was beyond his understanding. Right now, Farb was going over Pepper's duties. The First Assistant Engineer looked odd in the sterile suit, her pink curls tucked into the special cap. She had a clipboard tucked under her arm.
"Before and after each major test," Farb was saying, "the probe has to undergo a series of reference tests to ensure that the mode's mechanical, electrical and thermal properties remain unchanged."
"Yessir." She indicated the clipboard. "That's on the checklist."
"The reference tests ensure that the probe's subsystems have not undergone degradation at either equipment or sub-equipment level."
"Functional tests check quickly that the probe is operating as it should. Electrical compatibility tests involve checking at the probe level that the equipment and subsystems operate correctly and efficiently when used simultaneously."
"The electromagnetic compatibility test measures interference levels and checks whether the equipment and subsystems are operating nominally and efficiently when they are subjected to slightly higher levels of interference. The RF compatibility test checks that RF transmitters equipment and subsystems are operating nominally and efficiently."
"Roger that."
"The sign tests check actuators operation in response to changing sensor input sign --"
"I know about sign tests, sir. We have to analyze consistency in the direction of attitude adjustments made by the actuators. Roger that."
"Um, yes. We have to use measurement data to check that the probe structure, equipment and subsystems have not changed shape."
"Yessir." Pepper held up the clipboard and read from it. "There are software tests of both central flight software and decentralized software programs. We need to test for correction operation under nominal conditions or in event of anomalies, and in particular to ensure that information flows as it should."
"That is correct."
"And there are technical and operational qualification tests."
"Yes yes. You seem to have a grasp of what your duties are."
"It's all on the clipboard, sir."
Technician April Rayne walked up and addressed Farb. "We're ready to pull the software packages."
"Good good. Let's get to it."
"Well, there's a problem, sir. Although most of the instrumentation and equipment can be accessed through surface panels, the main data core can be reached only through a maintenance crawlspace. Uh, it's not very big, sir. It's a tight fit for anyone except Engineer Sprey."
Farb frowned. "You want to allow one of the crew access to our main data files?"
"No, sir. I just want her to fetch it for us."
Captain Lubbock cleared his throat. "If you like, Freeman Farb, I can stand by with a handgun, and if my engineer tries to run off with your data care I can shoot her legs out from under her."
Farb seemed to be actually considering the proposal. Out of the corner of his eye, Lubock saw Sprey and Rayne roll their eyes ceiling-ward.
"I don't think that will be necessary, Captain. As long as we keep a close eye on her while the data are in her hands there shouldn't be any trouble."
"I am so relieved to hear you say that," Lubbock said, and beamed an insincere smile.
Farb nodded, pre-occupied, then led Sprey over to the probe. The access panel was off, and the petite engineer peered into the dark interior. Rayne handed a light on a belt to Sprey.
"Tie this around your forehead. Here's your tool kit. You want to pull the data files for the Solid-State Imagine camera, the Photopolarimeter-Radiometer, the Near-Infrared Mapping Spectrometer and the Ultra-Violet Spectrometer to start."
"I want the data on the Attitude and Articulation Control Subsystem first," Farb said.
Lubbock positioned himself where he could watch Pepper boost herself up and into the cubby hole before slithering into the darkness. He had trouble, after that, getting the image of her wiggling butt out of his mind. He sternly reminded himself that dating crewmembers was against the policy he'd laid down for this ship. He also made a mental note to make an appointment at Ishtar's Garden of Earthly Delights when they got back to Port Whipsnade.
Instead of gazing longingly at the soles of Pepper's canvas shsoes, Lubbock decided to take a walk around the cradle and then wander into the lab. Not that he would really be able to tell if something was out of place, but it at least could look like he was on top of things. After five minutes or so, with everything appearing to be running smoothly, Lubbock decided to go be bored somewhere else.
Lubbock ended up in the passenger lounge outside the galley. He often wondered why there was a crew lounge on Deck 2; the only thing it was good for was as a conference room away from the ears of the passengers. Crew usually socialized where they ate their meals, and the only galley on the ship was on the passenger deck. Maybe he could convert the crew lounge into something else...
He spotted Isabelle Nguyen studying one of her cookbooks. "How's your patient today?"
"Awake and eating soup. I still have him on a mild pain killer."
The First Mate came bounding up the ladder from the crew deck. "'Lo, Captain. 'Lo, Izzy."
"Just came off watch and could eat a Siberian Tiger. How about cheese-burger and bowl of beet soup?"
"Anything you want, as long as you don't call me Izzy again."
"Yes, m'am." Smitrh dropped into a chair and slapped his thighs. "How are you today, Captain?"
"Fair. You seem to be in a good mood."
"Ah, gave sip-brain run for its money. It took computer long time to beat me this time."
"You still trying to beat the ship-brain at 3-D chess, Mohammed Ivanovitch?" Nguyen called over her shoulder from the galley.
"I will win someday soon, have no fear."
"Keep dreaming."
Smith grinned. He leaned back in his chair and linked his fingers behind his head. "What's new, Captain?"
"Pepper's crawled into the probe on a data retrieval mission. Listening to the engineering babble-talk gives me a headache if I try to understand what they're saying. Usually, I just nod my head in the right places and try to look like I'm following what's going on."
Smith laughed. "What I do sometimes is to ask, 'Are you sure about that?' Most times they look surprised and vehemently insist that their statement is unquestionable. Other times, they aren't so sure and start spouting out their reasoning and the alternatives they've dismissed as unlikely. I still don't know what they're talking about, but they think I do. In fact, after I eat, I'm going down to the lab and look over their shoulders with a frown while they work."
Lubbock turned up one corner of his mouth in a sardonic smile. "You're an evil man, Mohammed Ivanovitch."
"True, Captain. But God is merciful and forgiving."
Nguyen brought the First Mate's food on a tray and set it down in front of him. "This isn't a game, Moe. One of the techs might be a saboteur, and you should keep a keen eye on them all the time."
The hatch to the lower decks popped open just then and Stevens and Rayne came up the ladder and into the lounge. The techs gave the three crew members a brief but cold stare as they entered the galley.
"April? Jack?" Nguyen called out. "Can I fix you something to eat?"
"No, we're fine," Rayne replied. The two techs selected microwavable dinners from the freezer.
"You want anything, Captain?"
"Some tea, Isabelle. Thanks."
"Any special kind?"
"Surprise me."
Nguyen returned to the galley. When Rayne and Stevens had their meals in hand, they strode down the length of the lounge to the table at the far end. They ate quietly, casting hostile glances at the crew every so often.
"What do you make of that?" Lubbock asked softly.
Smith ran a finger over his trim mustache. "They must think one of us is responsible for the sabotage. But we don't get paid if we thwart the mission."
"True. But the possibility exists that one of us might be getting paid a lot more to see this mission fail."
Nguyen brought two cups of tea to the table. She set one down in front of the Captain and sat down between the two men. She raised her own cup to her lips, but eyed the techs over the rim. "Who do you suspect is the saboteur? Neither of those two look the type."
"No one on board looks the type, Isabelle." Lubbock sampled his own tea. It had a hint of cinnamon. "The only shifty-eyed person among us is Fenton, and he's out for the count, poor sod."
Grurrdzarg came up the ladder and over to their table. "Salutations, Captain. Salutations, First Mate Smith and Freelady Nguyen."
"Pull up a seat, Arghaz."
"Thank you, Captain. But I merely wanted to inquire if Freelady Nguyen had any chores for me."
"Have you cleaned the passenger rooms yet?"
Grurrdzarg barred her teeth briefly. "The technicians no longer want me in their rooms."
"Why of all the -- !"
"Calm down, Isabelle."
"Calm down?! Captain, I -- "
"I said to shut it." Nguyen clenched her fists, but fell silent. "The techs can make their own beds and do their own laundry if they don't trust us."
"And cook their own bloody meals," Nguyen muttered.
"Just so." Lubbock sampled his tea again. Definately cinnamon. He glanced at his chronometer. "I've got better than three hours before my watch. I think I'll catch a nap." Or lie in my bed and fret.
Lord Krishna was trying to explain something of supreme importance to Vishnu Lubbock, but the mortal had trouble understanding what the avatar was driving at. For a moment he teetered on the brink of enlightenment, but a sharp, double-tone whistle cut off Lord Krishna's words.
Lubbock struggled awake and stared beery-eyed at his alarm clock. He still had a full hour before his watch.
"Bridge to Captain."
Another bloody emergency. "Lubbock here. What's up?"
"Something's wrong in the lab, Captain," said Cheng Hua. "Technician Farb insists on speaking to you."
Shiva dancing! "Well, I guess I better run right down there. Tell the old... gentleman I'll be with him in five minutes. Captain out."
Six minutes later, Captain Lubbock strode into the lab module. Farb and technician Davout were huddled over a nest of monitors, cables and panels full of dials and switches. They did not look happy. Neither did First Engineer Sprey who stood off to one side shifting her weight from one foot to another in agitation.
"You wanted to see me, Farb?"
The chief technician's head shot up. If looks could kill he'd be out on parole in two or three centuries. "Captain Lubbock! The probe's data core has been tampered with! Some of the data storage cubes and chips are missing."
Did you look behind the sofa? Lubbock clasped his hands behind his back. "And just who do you think took them?" If he at all insinuates that it was Pepper I'll punch him right in the nose.
"Fool! Who else but the crew of that Seeker?"
Lubbock rocked back on his heels, stunned. "My gods, yes. We don't know when they arrived here. They could have -- "
"They could have tampered with the probe and stolen important instrumentation and data. And the probe would have used its active sensors to fry their electronics in self-defense. A recording of the event will be in the data core, but the relevant cubes are missing. Captain, we must board and search that ship!"
Lubbock pulled out his personal commo unit. "Captain to crew: General Quarters. Repeat: General Quarters. This is not a drill."


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Whether the Cowboys reach the playoffs or fall victim to yet another December swoon largely depends on the large men protecting Tony Romo Sunday against Philadelphia. Plus, the Week 15 player to watch and 10 things to keep an eye on
On the surface, the Eagles' beatdown of the Cowboys in Texas on Thanksgiving should portend very bad things for those hoping for a competitive night Sunday when Dallas plays a potential NFC East title game in December, at night, for the fourth year in a row.
First, the recent history:
• 2011, Week 17: The 8-7 Giants beat the 8-7 Cowboys 31-14 to win the NFC East. Dallas stays home. New York wins the Super Bowl.
• 2012, Week 17: Washington (9-6) beats Dallas (8-7), 28-18, to win the NFC East. Dallas stays home. Washington loses a wild-card game.
• 2013, Week 17: The 9-6 Eagles beat the 8-7 Cowboys (this is not a recording), 24-22, to win the NFC East. Dallas stays home. Philly loses a wild-card game.
• 2014, Week 15: The 9-4 Eagles host the 9-4 Cowboys in a game a lot more important to Dallas than to Philadelphia because of Dallas' 33-10 loss to the Eagles on Thanksgiving. A Philadelphia win Sunday night gives the Eagles a series sweep and a 4-0 division record; Dallas would be 2-3 in division games with a loss.
The one thing you don't want to do in the NFC East is leave your chances to a road game at the big, bad Eagles in December. But that's what Dallas has done. The one difference this year: In the previous three seasons, the NFC East title game has been the 256th and final game of the NFL regular season. This year, it's the 223rd game of the NFL season … but in many ways, it feels like it has the same sort of finality to it.
In watching the Thanksgiving game again, what was striking was the inconsistent play of the Dallas offensive line—and the penetration in particular of defensive tackle Fletcher Cox and end Vinny Curry. Conversely, it was an atypical day for the Dallas offensive line, which has shined most of the season. The Cowboys just seemed off. Curry sacked Tony Romo when center Travis Frederick snapped the ball slightly early to Romo. Left tackle Tyron Smith wasn't ready for the snap, and the leakage from Smith's side resulted in the sack.
I asked Frederick how much, if at all, was the poorly planned NFL schedule a factor that week. Dallas played the Sunday night game on the road in the Meadowlands the previous weekend, fought strong headwinds on the way home, landed in Dallas at 5:35 a.m. Monday … and had a game three days later. Philadelphia had to travel Wednesday, true. But the Eagles were finished playing at 4:15 Sunday afternoon, at home, and didn't have the kind of arduous week Dallas did. (By the way, the league has to put this proviso in next year's scheduling mix: No team playing Sunday night should play the following Thursday. Competitively, it just isn't fair. The Saints had to do it on Sunday night Oct. 26, followed by a Thursday game in Carolina.)
"The timing was a small portion of it," Frederick said after practice Thursday afternoon. "Pretty small, really. We both had issues. We had to travel on the front end of the week, but Philly had to travel on the back end. We both had to face issues that day. What happened that day, looking back, is we just weren't ready for some of the things in their gameplan. And we just didn't play well. We feel like we'll be better prepared for what they throw at us this week."
A little history on the line:
Left tackle—Tyron Smith was the ninth overall pick in 2011. He turns 24 Friday. At 6-foot-5, 308 and with long arms for his position, Smith is tough to beat around the edge and a competitive guy who jousts until the whistle—or a millisecond after. A pro's pro, with a long career ahead of him.
Left guard—The unknown guy, Ronald Leary, who has far outplayed his pedigree. He is 25. The only undrafted college free agent on the line, the 6-3, 318-pound Leary was found at Memphis by scouting director Tom Ciskowski's staff and signed after the 2012 draft. He spent the 2012 on the practice squad and won the starting job in camp in 2013. "He talks like a veteran, sees plays like a veteran, and gets overlooked because of the three first-round picks on the line, but he shouldn't," Frederick said.
Center—Dallas picked Frederick 31st overall in 2013, an upset because he was projected to go in the second or third round. He is 23. Good thing the Joneses didn't pick by the draftniks' board, because Frederick has been terrific, the glue to the line since the day he walked on campus. Frederick has started every game since being drafted—and played all 1,893 offensive snaps of the Cowboys in the past two years.
Right guard—Zack Martin, the 6-4, 308-pound rookie from Notre Dame, is an Offensive Rookie of the Year candidate. He is 24. As with Smith and Frederick, Martin was a ready-to-start player coming out of college (he started all four years for the Irish) and hasn't disappointed. "From the day he walked in," said Frederick, "he's never played like a rookie. He's got this really weird ability—I've never seen it before—to put himself in a bad position and recover so fast he gets in position to make the play."
Right tackle—Doug Free, the old man of the group (30), is 6-6 and 325, and he played left tackle before Smith in an up-and-down career since being the Cowboys' fourth-round pick in 2007. He's found a niche at right tackle, playing very well over the past month during some of the Cowboys' most dominant offensive performances.
"I think one of the real important things for us is how we've been able to mesh together pretty quickly," said Frederick. "We get along well as a group. We work together, we go out together—it started last year, and continued after Zack joined this year."
What's interesting about the Dallas line's play on Thanksgiving was how uncharacteristic it was compared to previous weeks. America watched that Sunday night game in New Jersey as the line was superb in keeping the Giants' four-man front at bay on the winning Dallas scoring drive. On two particularly memorable plays, the line gave Romo 7.61 seconds and 8.99 seconds (per NBC director Fred Gaudelli's stopwatch on the screen that night) to throw.
Re-watching this drive, the first play—the one with the 7.61-second time for Romo to throw—was particularly notable, because each side of the Giants' four-man front stunted, causing the guard and tackle on either side to change assignments. Execution was flawless, as Romo found Jason Witten for a 15-yard gain. The longer protection time saw Smith neutralize Jason Pierre-Paul in a classic mano-a-mano matchup that turned into a wrestling match.
In the next game, though, Philadelphia's interior strength was a big factor. Cox and Bennie Logan will be a load, again, for the interior three to handle this weekend. What's most important is for Dallas to control the ball so Philadelphia can't make this a track meet. With how fast Philadelphia plays (the Eagles ran 75 plays in the first meeting), Dallas has to play an old-fashioned, Bill Parcells-clockball game, controlling time of possession as much to wear down the Eagles as to keep the ball from the dangerous offense's hands.
"Every time we play Philadelphia, it feels like a playoff game," said Frederick, who has learned this in all of three games of the rivalry. "It's the next game on our schedule, but we know how important it is."
Important, too, for a very good offensive line to redeem itself.
About Last Night
Arizona 12, St. Louis 6. Let's just put it out there: The real triumph for the Cardinals is not being 1.5 games up on Seattle entering the weekend. The real triumph is virtually clinching a playoff spot with the amount of injuries the team has endured this year. It did so with a defensively dominating win featuring only field goals in St. Louis on Thursday night.
"I have never been prouder of a group of guys in my life—at any level of football, with any team I have been associated," Arians told me early Friday morning from St. Louis. "They listened to everything all week, like this St. Louis team was 12-1 instead of 6-7. How great they were. All that crap. Well, we're pretty good too. And our guys … we can run it pretty good. And they're not beating us with [Rams quarterback] Shaun Hill."
But who will the Cardinals use at quarterback the rest of the way? It appears as though the Cards have lost their second starting quarterback to a knee injury now. Drew Stanton is due for an MRI this morning in Arizona. "It could be an old injury," said Arians, referring to a previous Stanton knee injury. "We'll find out when we get him in the [MRI] tube." We keep asking, How many more injuries can this downtrodden team take? What would be amazing is Arizona hosting Seattle next weekend with Ryan Lindley (career: 51 percent accuracy, zero touchdowns, seven interceptions, 46.8 rating) holding the NFC West chances in his hands.
But watching the Cardinals this year, you have to know one thing: That defense means Arizona is never out of it. Watching the reborn Frostee Rucker and Larry Foote in St. Louis, it was evident that both have come alive under defensive coordinator Todd Bowles. And they may not beat Seattle next week. They may not win the division. But if the Cards are the fifth seed, they will make the NFC South champ shudder. This is shaping up to be a very interesting playoff race, even if Arizona has to play the third-string quarterback, with zero career touchdown passes, to win in January.
Player You Need To Know This Weekend
Derek Anderson, quarterback, Carolina (number 3). "He looks like a starting quarterback," said Tampa Bay coach Lovie Smith, and Smith would know. In Week 1, Anderson completed 71 percent of his throws, with two touchdowns and no picks and a 108.7 rating, in a 20-14 Carolina victory at Tampa Bay. The rematch is in Charlotte, and the Panthers have a legit shot to win this horrendous division, and Anderson could be the bridge between the Cam Newton car accident and the last two games of the season. Anderson is the most important person in the playoff scenario this weekend.
Bose Sound Bite of the Week
The end of Tony Sparano's post-game speech after the Raiders knocked off the 49ers:
"See you Wednesday, I want you to have a great time. Smile! The theme don't change, baby, they're just back on the bandwagon. We all we got, 1, 2, 3..."
[audio mp3="https://www.si.com/sites/default/files/audio/mmqb/2014/12/tony-sprano.mp3"][/audio]
Regular Old Quote of the Week
"It's like a Grammy nomination. It's an honor to be nominated for a Grammy. Whether you win or not, it's an honor to be nominated. It's a major thing. So, if you're talking about the ballot, why is everybody on the ballot and they haven't had close to a Pro Bowl year? It should be an honor to be on the Pro Bowl ballot. How can you have a Pro Bowl season if you only played in 10 games, right? I wouldn't start the fan voting until after Week 13. … Everybody had 12 games and their bye by Week 13, so the fans had 12 games to see who's playing well, who's been on the field, you got two weeks to fan vote, and then let the media and everybody else vote. Why do they need two months to vote 500,000 times?"
—Detroit safety Glover Quin
Wow. That is a beautiful, apt statement by a totally unfamous player who thinks: Shouldn't the Pro Bowl be a real reflection of who played the best in a particular year, and not solely a popularity contest?
Ten Things I'll Be Watching For This Weekend
1. Reports on Cam Newton's health. He has the same injury that robbed Tony Romo of a start earlier this year, and we can only assume that if the Panthers win Sunday against the Bucs that he'll play the last two playoff-deciding games. But we shall see after this weekend.
2. The Heisman to be handed to Marcus Mariota. Nothing to see here. The only question is: Is Mariota clean enough, and good enough, to be picked ahead of Jameis Winston?
3. The preposterous NFC South. It's possible, and indeed likely, that the four teams in the NFL's Awful Division will be 5-9, 5-9, 5-8-1 and 2-12 by Monday night. That happens if Carolina beats Tampa, Pittsburgh beats Atlanta and Chicago beats New Orleans.
4. The wild and wacky AFC North. It's unlikely, but possible, that the four teams in the NFL's Sameness Division will be 8-5-1, 8-6, 8-6 and 8-6 by Sunday night. Man, I hope so. What a story that would be.
5. Johnny Football. Take out the tape of what Kyle Shanahan did with Robert Griffin III two years ago. Insert Johnny Manziel. That's what we'll see Sunday, when Manziel makes his starting debut against the Bengals in Cleveland.
6. How can the Jets be favored in any road game? I need one of my gambling readers to answer this question: When is the last time a two-win team playing in December was a road favorite? The Jets find themselves favored at 2-11 Tennessee on Sunday … and the real winner could well be the loser in this game. With two quarterbacks likely to be high picks in the 2015 draft, and with the Jets and Titans both needing quarterbacks, wouldn't it be smart for the coaches in this game to NOT win? Well, Rex Ryan will try everything to win Sunday, because he knows he's getting fired after the season. But Ken Whisenhunt is likely to return. It's to his long-term advantage to lose this game. Not saying that's the way he'll coach this game; he won't. Just saying it would be better for Tennessee to lose this game than to win.
7. The Steelers turning a game in Atlanta into a home game. If you watch the Steelers-Falcons game Sunday, turn up the volume when Pittsburgh is driving. I bet it sounds pretty close to Heinz Field after a touchdown. Atlanta loves the Steelers.
8. Green Bay at Buffalo. I love this game. Just love it. Aaron Rodgers has never won in Buffalo—come to think of it, he's never played in Buffalo—and he'll be facing the most dangerous front in the game. You know and I know and the vast majority of western New Yorkers know it's a long shot for Buffalo to be able to score enough to win. But think of this: Every nine snaps, the Bills sack the quarterback. That's a lot. So Rodgers may want to use a lot of Eddie Lacy. Just a tip.
9. San Francisco at Seattle. Funny. This was the best rivalry in football about five months ago. A little less tasty today.
10. The Patriots, as always. New England will try to win its 11th AFC East title in the past 12 years Sunday by beating Miami. My only question is: You mean they haven't won the AFC East every year?
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