Helu Jr. Shakes Off Rust, Scores Twice In Preseason Rout of Bucs

The crowd gets excited as the Redskins only speedster-running back returns to the game field for the first time since the 2011 regular season. He lines up behind rookie preseason star Kirk Cousins, eager for his first snap. Kyle Shanahan calls a pitch to outside, hoping to utilize Helu Jr's speed and break a big one; break one he did, a good run of over 5 or 6 yards...in the wrong direction. His first snap in 2012 was a fumble that he ended up knocking out of bounds for a loss. Commentator Joe Theismann ignored the mishap by saying Helu Jr was simply shaking off the rust from not practicing a lot. 

He was right.

After that Helu Jr. took off, rushing for 90 yards on 15 carries. For you math impaired people that's an even 6 yards a carry. Stellar for a guy playing his first game of the season. This presents quite the conundrum as at this point the Redskins have all three running backs from last year healthy, along with 6th round gem Alfred Morris. That makes 4 healthy, starter quality running backs, Hightower and Morris didn't play in the finale as is custom for the opening day starters...or Shanahan just wanted to play his injured running backs a bit more after their injury. Either way I really don't want to see either one of them go but its going to interesting to see how the coaches handle cut day. 

Kirk Cousins continued to increase his stock by having another game worthy of an NFL starter. His stat sheet wasn't impressive. A dismal 60 something quarterback rating but he lead the team to scoring drive after scoring drive, he just didn't happen to throw any of the touchdowns on the drives. They were run in by Evan Royster and Roy Helu Jr., last years rookie wonders. He had great short, intermediate and deep throw accuracy, hitting Brandon Banks and Anthony Armstrong on deep routes for over 40 yards each. He won't start in front of RG3 barring an injury but keeping that in mind he is a mere two plays away from strutting his stuff in the regular season doesn't bother me at all.

Brandon Banks showed why the Redskins simply can't cut him. He is an electric playmaker, a DeSean Jackson-esque player without the DeSean Jackson attitude. Against the Bills, Banks got open on a couple of deep routes but never got the ball delivered properly. He didn't get a shot at receiver against the Bears but ran a punt for a touchdown in that game and had a bunch of good returns in the Colts game. He has the potential to break it on any play. Sure he fumbled but that doesn't really hurt his stock. Banks isn't a running back, he can catch tosses but hand-offs take some practice and reps to get a handle on. That was his first time and I can't fault him to not doing something perfectly he's never done before. Banks should make this team, we can't cut play-makers. 

Richard Crawford seems to be a lock as well, especially as the Kevin Barnes trade frees up a spot on the defensive back roster. Billy Cundiff is our new kicker and so long as he doesn't pull a Billy Cundiff in the NFC Championship game I'm fine with that. Next week we'll get to see how all this plays out in the first regular season game against the Saints. The first game everything counts. The first game we see our starters play 4 quarters. The first game Robert Griffin III gets an actual gameplan. It should be a fun NFL season for Redskins, better than any in recent memory. 

Grossman Gets Booed, Outshines RG3 While Gano Claims Starting Job

These guys are the future of their teams

As I took my seat with my little brother in section 452 of Fed-Ex field in the pouring rain, we watched eagerly as both Andrew Luck and Robert Griffin III did their pre-game warm-ups. Once everyone was introduced out of their respective locker rooms the chant of 'RG3!' rang out through the stadium, starting from the north end-zone section and slowly resonating through every inch of the stadium, welcoming Griffin to his first game in D.C. It was a sign of things to come as the most anticipated spectacle between this year's top two picks was about to begin.

Before I go into my analysis of the game I just want to point out how amazing the NFL in person is. The warm ups for the pro's don't change much, same quarterback tosses, same linemen rushes, practice plays as in high school, but the precision at which its executed is amazing. Every route run is crisp, every 5 and in route is a solid 90 degree angle, every pass thrown is a perfect spiral that hits the receiver right in the chest. Every punt and kick off is high and seems to stay in the air forever. It's insane really, the level these people play at to make the millions they do. And while it probably isn't worth the $70 tickets, $30 parking, 1 mile long walk to and from the stadium, $7 hot dogs and $10 burgers and sitting in the rain in the nosebleeds to watch a football game, it is still an amazing, unforgettable experience to see a team you've been watching for years on television in person. Now then, back to the game.

The first play of the game I examined at the formation and told my brother it looks like a run, and I was right. It sure looked like a run, until I saw Griffin load up and launch it some 60 yards to an open Pierre Garcon, the crowd stood, gasped, and awed as Griffin overshot Garcon by a few yards. This was the one negative to take from Griffin's game yesterday, he missed all of his deep ball shots by a few hairs every time. Other than that, he didn't take a single sack in two quarters, stood tall in the pocket and was sharp on his short and intermediate throw accuracy. His timing with his receivers was good, (minus the deep throws) and displayed good decision making and even rushed for a third down conversion. He finished with two touchdown drives (1 toss and 1 run by rookie Alfred Morris) and a solid lead over the Colts starters. 

The biggest statistic of the day was turnovers, or lack thereof. The Skins had a combined 4 over the past two games and had none this game. Zero turnovers, good, solid quarterbacking, a dominating defense and exceptional running game will win any game against any opponent this season. Usually this doesn't work out for one or more reasons which is why the Skins were under .500 last season. 

Sexy Rexy is BACK!....for two quarters anyway

Now, for the title, yes its true on the stat sheet but Grossman was simply a man amongst boys against an atrocious Colts 2nd and 3rd team defense. He went a perfect 8 for 8 with two touchdowns after being booed in his 2012 D.C. debut. I was pissed. You don't make your own players feel like crap before they've even thrown a pass in the game. Make them feel at home, support helps them play better. But Grossman looked like a decent back up for 2 quarters, 158.3 quarterback rating never hurt anyone. And he was cheered off the field. But the real show of the day was 6th round draft pick Alfred Morris.

Morris averaged over 7 yards a carry, with over 100 yards on the day on 14 rushes. Morris is simply another product of Mike Shanahan's magical running back drafting voodoo. Its quite possible he could start with injuries to Roy Helu Jr. and Evan Royster in the season opener. A real guy to look forward to.

Quite possibly the starting QB and RB combo Week 1

The defense was amazing, making sure solid tackles, attacking the ball and keeping the score down and even scoring a safety on a Chris Wilson sack of Mr. Irrelevant, Chandler Harnish. Punter Sav Rocca had all his punts land inside the 20 as per usual and Gano and Rackers didn't have any field goal opportunities but drilled each of 4 extra points. At this point I think Gano has the edge because of his age combined with Rackers 54 yard miss against the Bears. But who knows, maybe Gano misses an overtime kick next week and Rackers drills the next one...my money's on Gano though. 

I think last year's 7th round corner from Boise State, Brandyn Thompson, has a good shot of making the final 53 as he always seems to be around the ball and almost had an interception against the Colts and the secondary could use some depth. 

The sure starters won't play against Tampa Bay as that will be a game for the back ups and a last shot to make an impression on the coaching staff. That's all for tonight, and as always, thanks for reading!

P.S. I wrote this up late last night but was too lazy to proofread it and in that span of time time the Skins cut kicker Neil Rackers, assuring Gano of his starting spot. 

Why A.P. Lit Sucks

Romeo and Juliet, Candide, Death of a Salesman, Hamlet. These are excellent literary works by respected authors throughout the history of the English language, how can I, a 16 year old high school scrub, even attempt to battle this army of literary generals?

I can't.

Literature is an important field of study, I mean I'm sure Bill Gate's hours of high school reading cliff notes or whatever existed back then to translate Shakespeare easily catapulted him into his success in the job market. While this probably isn't true there are people who go to college and pay their hard earned money to study something with no job potential other than teaching that subject, Art History, Philosophy and the like. I have the utmost respect for these people as they are spending their (or their parents') hard earned money to study something they enjoy and that is absolutely fine. What I personally don't like about A.P. Lit is the structure of the test and the reading material itself.

Literature is not a definite science. Teacher and students alike spend many a class period wondering what the man in the yellow hat symbolized. Or what the theme of a novel is. There are in these instances more than one right answer, not always but it is a strong possibility. And don't get me started on poetry. Forty five percent of your score on the AP Lit exam is multiple choice, where you analyze passages and poems to see if you can think the same way the test-maker does. While it isn't an every question epidemic its more common than not that a wrong answer has proper justification based on your analysis of the literary piece, but since you didn't think like the test-maker you got that question wrong. Aw, there goes your 5 on the test, poor you. This type of error shouldn't be on a test where the sole purpose is grasp your understand of the class material as, in those instances, selecting the wrong answer still demonstrates a proper mastery of literary devices and the ability to read closely and analyze.

The essays I have no problems with, as you have a chance to support your justification in answer to these prompts, and while the grading may not be perfect it is on the same par as that of your English class and not subjective enough to cause concern.

I hate serial killers. My feelings toward complex writing and poetry are much worse. Today in my AP Lit class we were taking a diagnostic test and I had just finished the multiple choice (and got a respectable score of 47% right) and had moved onto the essay questions. Number one was some poppy-cock about how an author gives insight to a character. I read the passage. I read it again. Then a third, fourth and fifth time and still didn't get it. I'm not stupid either...well not in terms of school work anyways. I read books by David Baldacci, James, Patterson, Dan Brown, Khaled Hosseini regularly and hell for what its worth I got a 5 on the A.P. Lang test while maintaining an A test average. The style these "classics" were written in is simply an anachronism in today's literary world. The diction is old and outdated but the meaning to be conveyed is not told or shown but left for the reader to infer after reading a seemingly unrelated passage. All I got from the passage was that Gabriel's (the character in the passage) wife is ugly as dog but was attractive before he married her. How I was supposed to write an essay on that I don't know.

Considering my AP Lit teacher hasn't even had the chance to teach us anything I'm sure I'll be better off once  I actually get some instruction but my distaste here is writing shouldn't be complex. I blame not Shakespeare for writing in a manner that requires sparknotes to have translation for every page, as that was probably considered normal in the 1500's, but for me to have to sit here and make sense of 500 year old work is ridiculous. The great authors to me have books that are simple to read yet have a subtle complexity that keeps from being boring writers. Vivid images, strong adjectives, intense plots and strong characters are keys to a good story. If the goal is to inform then the information should be easy to understand. Learning a new subject is difficult enough without having to sift through the carnage of metaphors to understand something.

A good piece of writing is one that a common man can read but a sophisticated and educated man can appreciate.

The same thing doesn't apply to poetry though as the objective there is indeed to convey a meaning with a subtlety through various poetic devices I have yet to learn. Poetry is a skill few can master and I respect it tremendously. Shakespeare wrote BOOKS in iambic pentameter. Hundreds of pages, thousands of words all in the same meter takes skill. But I strongly favor my brain's left hemisphere and simply have trouble understand the confusing style poems are written in, and then seeing what that represents. If I want to get meaning from something Ill find something that tells me without all the red-tape in between. I might not get it in such a "Aha!" way but in the end I have the meaning don't I? If poetry's your thing then by all means keep writing and keep reading but I prefer writing that makes me want to turn the page, not crumple it up and practice my jump shot with it

All in all I think I'm going to have a tough time as AP Lit is different in the sense that English 9 and English 10 both prepared me for AP Lang and now I sort of have to adapt of a different style of writing, different from the past 3 years of English classes so this learning curve combined with all these college applications this should be an exciting senior year. As always thanks for reading!

Cousins Leads 21 Point Comeback in Last Minute Loss to Bears

3 Touchdowns, 18 completions in 24 attempts. Two hundred sixty four yards, 78 completion percentage,  no interceptions. RG3 clearly had a day suited to all the hype surrounding him in Washington since the draft in April. Wait...I'm currently getting word that  was in fact NOT Robert Griffin III but the Redskins 3rd string quarterback and 4th round rookie Kirk Cousins! Cousins even RAN for almost the same amount of yards Griffin did in the game; Fifteen and seventeen yards in 3 rushes respectively. Cousins made up for what was an abysmal first half for the Redskins, with two pro-bowl defensive starters injured and a pittance of 3 points scored by the first team offense while giving up 20 points in the first half.

Kirk Cousins a much better #12 than John Beck

Granted a big part of RG3's game isn't even being showcased during preseason (coaches game-planning is virtually non-existent during preseason) combined with the fact that the offensive line  is still short 3 starters it wasn't a terrible day, well it was a terrible day but Griffin didn't do as bad as the stats show. Preseason is about individual match-ups, coordinators call simple plays to see who wins. Does the rookie lineman hold against Julius Peppers? Can Brandyn Thompson cover Alshon Jeffery? This is what the coaches (and other teams' scouts) look for during these preseason games, which is why the score doesn't really matter. I still like what I see out of Griffin III, he stands tall in the pocket and keeps his eyes down field even when faced with a heavy pass rush. Considering he hasn't even played a full game yet one has to realize that Griffin III can only get better from here, accuracy in practice is one thing, but accuracy in a stadium with 80,000 cheering or jeering fans is another. He looked impressive on his 3 scrambles but needs to be aware of his surroundings, had he known that a defensive end was right behind him he wouldn't have attempted the pass that resulted in his fumble. This is my only worry, 2 games, 2 lost fumbles, I hope he works these issues out in practice because we can't afford senseless turnovers on a regular basis.

I'm disappointed. A playoff caliber team has certain characteristics, stuff that a veteran team does day in and day out without fail. The Redskins looked like a JV high school squad against a collegiate team (until Cousins came in of course). They missed tackles, took bad angles, the secondary was getting tore up by Cutler, they missed a field goal, you get the idea. Playoff teams know how to wrap up, they know how to plant their feet and go low and make the secure tackle, when 4 players touch the kick returner they don't all whiff and let him go for six, they don't drop balls that hit both of their hands. If the Redskins hope to have any shot this season they need to get their act together.

The 2nd half was some amazing football. Cousins didn't score in the third quarter but settled in, got his bearings together and put up a field goal opportunity. Then he shifted into 6th gear, turned on the jets and was off. His methodical passing opened up some running lanes, creating manageable short third down situations, and he had the poise to convert said third downs. He ended up throwing three touchdown passes and the defense held down the Bears to allow the offense to catch up on the score board. It was 31-30 late in the 4th but the Bears marched down to the 40 yard line and gave their kicker a shot to win it, and as usual he was good as Gould (see what I did there?) and the Bears took home the win.

Some notes:

• Our special teams coverage has been atrocious these past few games. Danny Smith's unit is usually stellar but people are taking bad angles and missing tackles and its unacceptable. 
• Sav Rocca was back to form though, as he nailed 3 of his 4 punts inside the 20 yard line.
•  Brandon Banks didn't get any playing time at receiver but showed why he's on the team to begin with, housing a punt and showing Devin Hester how its done. 
• The kicking game is still cloudy as Rackers drilled his short field goal attempt but hooked his long one wide left. Gano didn't attempt a field goal but drilled every extra point for what its worth.
• The running back committee looks to be a bit big with Tristan Davis, Alfred Morris, and the returners, Hightower, Helu and Royster. I'd consider keeping Morris on the practice squad as a safety in case of injury. 
• Next game's article will be interesting as I'm taking my little brother to the game and will report from that perspective.
• Eid Mubarak to all my fellow Muslims out there!

How Cars Work

I've been working on cars for almost a year now and I've learned a ton along the way. Cars aren't as complicated as most people (and mechanics) make them out to be. In this article I will attempt to break down the vital systems of the car and explain their functions.

1. Engine

The V shape is formed from the bottom
of the engine to the red covers

Everyone knows an engine powers a car. You can have a four cylinder a V8 or, if you have 1.2 million dollars, a W16. Lets start by seeing what these numbers and letters mean. If there isn't a letter before the number of cylinders (4 cylinder or straight six cylinder) it means that the engine is one big rectangle with all the cylinders next to each other. If there is a letter, the letter is the shape of the engine. A V8 engine has a V shape to it, hence V8. Same for the W16 in the Bugatti Veyron, W16, therefore, a W shaped engine. So how does it work? I won't go into specifics of the 4 stroke engine cycle but I'll make it so the average joe can understand what I mean. Each cylinder has: 1 or multiple intake valves, 1 fuel injector, 1 or more exhaust valves, 1 piston and 1 spark plug. The engine works by combining air from the intake valves and fuel from the fuel injector in the cylinder and then igniting the mixture with a spark from the spark plug. This results in a highly exothermic reaction which forces the piston downwards and turns the crankshaft. Then the exhaust valves open to release the by-products of combustion and the cycle repeats. A crankshaft is basically a hunk of metal at the bottom on the engine that is attached to the bottom of all the pistons which converts the up and down motion of the pistons to circular motion (the kind the wheels make when you drive). The combined force of all the pistons working in a perfectly timed fashion provides a tremendous amount of power that enables you to move with speed. Here is video with animation of how an engine works in more detail. It also explains the 4 stroke engine cycle quite well.

2. Transmission

Despite the fact the crankshaft turns in a circular motion the engine doesn't send its raw power to the wheels, it sends it to the transmission to manage it more effectively. There are two main types of transmissions. Automatics and manuals. I will discuss automatics as manuals work the same way except the driver manually changes the gears instead of a computer doing so. The spinning crankshaft is attached to what is a really big gear called a flex plate (flywheel on manual transmissions) pictured on the right. This gear is attached to the transmission which adjusts the gear ratios of the engine to the gear of the transmission. It then sends the power from the transmission gear to the axle which in turn moves the wheels. First gear has a high gear ratio to allow the driver to accelerate from a stop. It tends to be around a 3 to 1 ratio, meaning that for every 3 turns of the engine 1st gear moves one turn. It works the same way as a bike, when you gear down going up a hill pedaling is easier but you don't move as fast. That's because of the high gear ratio on your bike's first gear. The gear ratios slowly get lower and lower to around 0.7 to 1. So for every 7 tenths of a turn of the engine the wheels move one full turn, this allows cars to go at high speeds of around 70 miles an hour without wasting a lot of gas and revving the engine too high. Gearing up on your bike makes pedaling tougher but allows you to go faster and the same concept is applied when a car is in a high gear. So how does the car shift gears? The cars on-board computer detects the engine's speed along with the position of the throttle (how hard you're stepping on the gas) and based on that either allows the car to stay in gear for more acceleration or gears up to get a high speed without quick acceleration (to save gas).

3. Battery and Electrical Stuff

Alternator

Your car has a battery but how come it never runs out like your phone battery does? How come you never have to charge it? Whats the battery for? The battery powers all electrical components of the car, cabin lights, headlights, taillights, dashboard lights, radio, clock, the fan (NOT the a/c but just the fan) and the starter. The starter is a simple motor attached to the battery and the flex plate we discussed earlier. When you turn the key the starter physically turns the engine over a few times while the spark plugs and fuel injector fires fuel into the engine to get the whole cycle going, once that starts you let go of the key and your car is on. Now how does the battery stay charged? Remember our lovely crankshaft? One end was bolted to the flex plate but what about the other end? The other end is attached to a pulley which has a belt on it which turns accessories. One of this accessories is called an alternator. If you remember how a motor works from physics class an alternator is simply a reverse motor, you spin the coils of wire around the magnetic to generate electricity instead of vice-versa. The belt on the crankshaft is attached to a pulley on the alternator and when the car is on and the crankshaft is spinning the alternator is also spinning, generating electricity for the battery and keeping it fresh for the next time you want to start your car.

Shock and spring assembly

4. Suspension 
How come some cars can hit a pothole and feel nothing but others bounce up and down miles after the pothole was hit? There are three main parts of your suspension: shocks, springs and joints. Shocks are cylindrical with gas in them and and a rod that the spring sits over. This combination is behind each wheel of the car and is bolted to the frame. Basically when the road surface isn't smooth the spring expands or compresses depending on the type of deformity you hit; if its a bump it compresses if its a pothole it expands. In physics we learn that when springs are stretched, compressed and released the spring oscillates back and forth until it runs out of energy. (Simple harmonic motion at work!) This is where the shock comes into play, the shock expands/compresses with the spring but the gas and the rod work to stop the back and forth movement of the spring when the spring returns to its original position, this keeps your car from bouncing every time you hit a bump. A good test to see if your shocks are good is by going to each corner/wheel of your car and pushing down hard on the body so the car goes down and watch it come up. If it comes up once and stops your shocks are good, if it bounces a  bit, the shocks are wearing out, and if they bounce like a monkey on a pogo stick then you need new shocks. Then come the joints. Joints hold various suspension parts together while allowing them to move when needed. When the bearings inside the joints wear out the joints move when they're not supposed to, this is known as play. Bad joints can be deadly as they can break and separate car from the wheel resulting in a nasty accident. A good way to check for play is to jack up the car, inspect the wheel and shake it by hand. If it moves and wiggles, you have some bad joints. Also a car shaking at highway speeds could also be indicative of bad joints.

There are plenty of joints to worry about in a
suspension system

5. Cooling System

Burning all that fuel in the engine causes a lot of heat and as such the engine must be properly cooled. The 4 parts of the cooling system are the coolant, heater core, water pump and radiator. Inside the engine there are passages for coolant to travel through and holes for them enter and exit out of. Coolant is nothing more than enhanced water. Ethylene glycol is added to water to increase the boiling point and lower the freezing point of the water. The cooling system works by taking heat from the engine, transferring it through the coolant, and running it through the radiator to dissipate the heat with fans and the aluminum fins of the radiator. The cooled coolant goes back into the engine and the cycle repeats. The water-pump is driven by the timing belt and simply pumps coolant through the system. The heater core is another stop along the engine - radiator trail and is another mini radiator that draws heat from the coolant and allow the heat to be blown into the cabin. This is how the heater in your car works. Cooling systems are easy to maintain but failures can catastrophic to the engine so its maintenance is vital.

Large racing rotor with a 4 piston caliper,
overkill for most drivers but looks cool

6. Brakes

This is the last topic I'll cover for today. Stopping a car is just as important as making it move. Brakes are actually really simple devices. The parts of a brake system are the brake fluid, hydraulic hoses, calipers, rotors, and pads. The rotor is a shiny disk the is attached right behind the wheel. It is the part the brakes push on to create friction to stop the car. The caliper sits on the rotor as shown in the image and its bolted on by a bracket and houses the two brake pads (friction material to rub against the rotor), one for each side of the rotor, and has 1 or multiple pistons. When you push on the brake pedal you are pushing a large diameter piston which forces brake fluid through the hoses and into the smaller diameter end of the piston. This difference between diameters multiples the force tremendously and allows the small force of your foot on the pedal to translate to a large force of the brake piston(s) pushing the pads against the rotor until the car stops. During races this can cause a tremendous amount of heat and make the rotors look really cool. And being the awesome blogger I am I shall upload a picture for you guys to see it. Enjoy!

That is an actual rotor doing some hard core
braking. 

So I hope you guys enjoyed or at least learned something you didn't know before. A car is a lovely example of the wonders of applied physics and chemistry, and the fact prototypes were made in the late 1800's is astonishing as well. Or maybe it isn't and I'm just either a nerd, either way I love it. As always thanks for reading and if you have any car questions feel free to drop a comment! 

P.S. My next article will be in two days following the Redskins - Bears preseason match up.   

Indecision 2012. Why Campaigning is Stupid

You know what I could do with 5.3 billion dollars? Anything I damn well pleased is what. We hear billion and trillion dollars on the news so much I feel as though we've gained a numbness to the enormity of the number. Let the pictures and statistics refresh our memory.

Image from roundtree7.com

That picture shows you, in order, the size of a man, a thousand dollars, a million dollars and then a billion dollars divided into 100 million dollars crates. Mind you I didn't skimp and find pictures of 1 dollar bills. No sir these are the highest denominations of United States currency, the coveted 'benjamin'. Now that you grasped the enormity of a billion dollars add forty three more crates to that images and you have 5.3 billion dollars. 

Now being the Asian I am I want to do some math. According to the Social Security online website the average wage index for 2010 was right around forty two thousand a year. Lets say in 2012 the economy sky rocketed and that number jumped to 60 grand a year. And lets say the average size of a household is at 3 (Its currently around 2.6). Finally the life expectancy of an American according to the World Bank is 78.2 years. Now for the math, the family requires sixty thousand per year to live. Multiply that by 78.2 and you get 4.7 million dollars (roughly) for the parents to live out their lives with out working a day. Given that number approximately 1127 generations of that family could be supported with out having to work a single day of their lives. Assuming around 30 years gap per generation that comes out to enough to sustain the family for a good 33810 years. Without getting off their butts except to go shopping. Insane right? 

So whats my point? Five point three billion dollars is how much was spent on the 2008 campaign by Obama, McCain and all the various special interest groups according to Politico. Over 1 billion was spent in 2004 by Kerry and Bush and around 866 million by Bush and Gore in 2000 (Both of those stats from the F.E.C.). But its okay right? As these men were vying to be leaders of our great nation the money obviously, in some way shape or form, benefited American citizens right? No? That isn't what happened? How shocking. While obviously campaigning is not free the unregulated manner in which it is done is ridiculous. Candidates give speeches, travel expenses are expected (as a side note I had NO IDEA candidate was spelled can-did-ate I always thought it was can-id-ate. Praise the lord for spellcheck!) but what substance is behind these speeches? 

'See its voters like you who want to learn
about the issues that ruin my campaign!'

Most of the campaign speeches are vague generalities tailored to the simplistic minds of uneducated voters. Obama won 2008 by saying "Yes we can!" great, but he didn't close Guantanamo Bay, and he's been the biggest kick the pants of civil rights since the Patriot Act. Additionally Romney claims to have experience balancing budgets in Massachusetts and will balance America's budget the same way by cutting spending. I'm sorry what? Cut spending? Some one call the New York Times! Willard Romney (his real first name) has solved America's budget crisis in two words! All we needed to do was cut spending!

No.

Its clearly not that simple, yet Romney won't go into specifics because either he has no clue where he's going to take money out of, or he thinks his idea won't go well with the public because it won't work. Either way its not good. But the point I'm making is that these campaign speeches are so broad that they prove nothing and pamper to idiot voters who are too lazy eating fritos on the couch while watching the Biggest Loser hoping they will someday lose that weight. Okay that  may be an exaggeration but the point I'm making is most voters, myself included, aren't going to be doing much research on the issues independently in an unbiased manner and therefore don't really know who they're voting for. 

The biggest individual part of a campaign budget is television advertising. Campaign ads are ubiquitous on every major station and are usually just as substance-less if not worse than the speeches. They often are mud-flinging contests showing what dirt, real or not, the candidates can dig up on one another. Some of them maybe true but others are complete and unethical atrocities. Take for example Obama's infamous "You didn't build that speech." Romney takes something blatantly out of context and then attacks him for it. Here is part of the speech that puts everything in context:

Now lets look at what Romney did with this video:

Excuse me?! At the very least we can expect the candidates to play fair but clearly all they care about is winning. In case you didn't watch the video right after Obama says you didn't build that he says "the point is that we succeed because of individual initiative but also because we do things together." Its clear that Obama is in no way "demonizing" (term used in the Romney ad) small business owners for accomplishing what they did but simply saying that the government helped them by creating the system they can thrive in, for creating the roads they drive on for providing the fire and police services on call and such. All he is saying is working together is better for the country. I'ts this type of nonsense that can sway innocent voters into thinking Obama hates small business owners for no good reason and there isn't much he can do about it. We are seeing a common theme here, a ton of generalities, non specific crowd pleasing lines that sway voters but do nothing in terms of putting out their plans for the country. 

Given that I'm 16 I already can't vote but even if I could I wouldn't vote for either...I'd vote for...Ron Paul....or maybe Elmo. Who doesn't love Elmo? Probably has the same chance of winning as Ron Paul does as it is. Its sad how difficult and expensive it is to run for president. I don't recall George Washington, Abraham Lincoln or Thomas Jefferson ever spending a pretty penny to get elected. That's because they were great individuals with a proper vision for the country and the voters knew and could easily agree with their goals. Its quite possible the next Ronald Reagan or John F. Kennedy is lurking out there in congress or in some state as a governor or what have you, unable to run simply because they don't have 4 crates of 100 dollar bills. 

Seriously! You could buy 5 of these airplanes and
still have gas money left over!

As with my usual ramblings I have a solution. Earlier I posed the question of what could I do with 5.3 billion dollars, well lets tone it down and see what I can do for 1 million. That'll buy 27 thousand gallons of gas, 4000 one way plane tickets, 1667 weeks of rental car usage, heck it'll even give you 4-5 small used Cessna airplanes. That should be enough to cover travel expenses for a few months. But if there are no more campaign speeches or t.v ads then why are they travelling? Public debates, being the debater I am I truly adore this solution. Debating brings out positives and negatives of the topic. Everything is right there on the table, unlike in speeches when campaigners just cheer like fans at a Colts game (not last year but you know...back when they had Manning) at every mindless slogan the candidate says. Every week have a debate about some specific issue plaguing the country. Let the voters and the audience share questions with the moderators, let the voters get informed of the issues without all the muck in the middle. This creates a level playing at 0.000377% of the cost of 2008's campaign. Giving 1 million to each candidate for travel expenses and the like. With the rest of that money we can feed the hungry, create jobs, fund schools, give scholarships...or we could just keep making annoying and false television ads that get in the way of episodes of The Big Bang Theory or NBC's new comedy hit Go On. 

In essence I personally think there is too much garbage and yellow tape to go around in order to lead this country. Shouldn't being a solid leader be the one and only requirement? Agree, disagree or just love Elmo? Comment! And as always thanks for reading!

RGIII and Skins Kickoff 2012 Season

Just my thoughts on the rather boring 7-6 slug fest with the Buffalo Bills yesterday.

1. Robert Griffin III
All eyes were on RG3 as he made his professional debut. His stat sheet was quite impressive, 4 out of 6 completions for 70 yards and a score to boot, and a near perfect 145.8 QB rating. I'm not impressed and was not expecting to be. Lets go through the details. His first completion was on a short out route to Leonard Hankerson, this is was by no means impressive however, it's a throw that requires timing and is one that any veteran quarterback will hit 9 and half out of 10 times. That drive however ended when Griffin botched a hand-off to 2nd year running back Evan Royster. Royster never got the ball secured and that caused a turnover. While this seems like a Rex Grossman type thing to do Griffin has only been a Redskin since the end of April, and with reps those issues will work themselves out; never have I seen an NFL quarterback fail to master a hand-off. His two deep ins to a wide-open Pierre Garcon were good but again, not impressive. One throw actually made Garcon stop and kept him from getting more yardage. The final screen to Garcon was a 3 yard dump off that Garcon ran into the end-zone again, nothing stellar about a screen pass.

Am I bagging on RG3? Nope, I loved what I saw that day. Mike and Kyle Shanahan are both slowly easing RG3 into the NFL world and their plan is working. You don't see too many rookie quarterbacks looking that comfortable in their NFL debut. My favorite play was RG3's incompletion to converted tight end Niles Paul. He got immediate pressure but stayed calm, made his read and delivered a good ball. If he keeps this up in two or three years Griffin will be solid MVP candidate, an unheard of proposition for a Redskins player in recent years.

2. 1st Team Offensive Line
The 1st team offensive line to start the game consisted of a top 5 draft pick, last years 7th round draft pick, a free agent (Panthers 7th round pick in 2006), a rookie drafted in the 5th round and another free agent. 3 reserves and only two starters. Not much experience either. So obviously the line crumbled and Griffin left the field on a stretcher right? Surprisingly not, as this patchwork line held its own against a rather formidable defensive line including Mario Williams and Marcell Dareus, Griffin was not touched and once the passing game started to flow the linemen opened up some lanes for running back Evan Royster. This should be a good sign of building depth on what has been considered a shallow unit.

3. Brandon Banks
A speedster known for his electrifying returns on punts and kickoffs didn't get an opportunity to showcase either talent yesterday as Lindell's kickoffs went out of the endzone and Moorman's punts were either be fair-caught or let go for touchbacks. Banks needs to establish himself as a receiver that can contribute to the offense in order to make the team. He didn't make the best impression as his timing with the passers was off on many throws and nearly led to a Grossman interception. He got open on a couple of deep routes but passes were under-thrown and Banks was unable to make a play on them. He was targeted 8 times but only managed 2 receptions for a measly 7 yards. Stepping up against the Bears is a must if Banks wants to erase this game from the coach's memory.

4. The Replacement Officials
For those who are unaware there are new zebras out there on the NFL gridiron, in the same way the players needed a new collective bargaining agreement the referees' union also required a renewal. Due to disagreement over the new agreement the old officials we all love and know so well are currently locked out and replacements have been brought and instructed over a 2 month referee boot camp. This could spell trouble for the NFL season if the terrible calls (calling a ball that was downed at the 4 a touchback) and refusal to blow the whistle on time continue this could lead to many games being decided more and more by the zebras rather than the play of each team.

5. Other Odds and Ends
Kirk Cousins had a decent game for a 3rd stringer. I empathize with Cousins as the 3rd string quarterback gets minimal reps and doesn't get a chance to master the playbook or develop chemistry with their fellow players. Sav Rocca's punting scared me, he averaged around 36 yards per punt and dismal punting is not something the Redskins need to bring back. I'm eager to see the kicking competition between Rackers and Gano. Gano has the stronger leg but Rackers is battle tested veteran who has the mental capacity for an NFL kicker.

That about wraps it up for today. Stay tuned for my post about America's failing political system in a few days! 

If I didn't Get Into College

In most households in America the recipe for success is quite simple and formulaic: high school followed by college followed by a decent paying job. Maybe a little big of grad school to spice things up. But what if there were no college? What if every college sent me that dreaded "thin envelope" that starts off with "We regret to inform you..."? Being an Indian student with less than a 4.0 gpa this is a real possibility. As Murphy's law states: "Anything that can go wrong, will go wrong", therefore I need to prepare for the worst. Here is what I would do.

1. Save up some money

I work weekends making $250 a month along with my cell phone bill getting paid. So for starters I would keep this job and save up all the money I could while continuing to mooch off my parents (a very acceptable custom in India until one gets married....so in my case I'll never have to work a day again!). Using this money I would invest in cars, old and cheap junkers that need a ton of work. And as my weekdays are free I'd fix these cars up and resell them for a decent profit. I am mechanically inclined so in addition to this I would also  offer to fix cars for a lower price than any shop around. After all if you let a 16 year old fix your car why pay him like a 35 year old? With a little bit of street cred and low prices I could attract a decent clientele. I would continue this cycle until I saved up a good amount of money.

2. Start a business

Image from: cartoonstock.com

Everyone has some type of skill they have that an employer wants. Despite this many employers refuse to hire potential employees due to the lack of a diploma. In this case I would decide to cut out the middle man and offer my services directly to clients by starting my own automotive repair shop. A little bit of research shows that a 3 car garage can be rented for between three to four thousand a month. Let's take the higher number to play it safe. Four grand a month just to rent for an empty space with 3 hydraulic lifts and a tiny office. So that's four grand a month. Next would be to stock up each bay (each individual garage with a lift) with tools. Each bay would need an air compressor and a good set of air tools such as a cut off wheel, impact wrench, ratchet, rivet driver, air hammer all that good stuff. So here's a list for all the tools from harborfreight.com and their cost.

1. 29 Gallon 150 PSI Air Compressor: $350
2. 50 Ft. air hose: $90
3. 3/8ths Air Ratchet: $19
4. 1/2 Impact Wrench: $27
5. Air Impact Screwdriver: $20
6. Air Hammer: $15
7. Air Cut Off Wheel: $10
8. Air Riveter: $35
9. Metric Impact Socket Set: $11
10. SAE Impact Socket Set: $11
11. Metric Deep Impact Socket Set: $22
12. SAE Deep Impact Socket Set: $22
13. Total: $632

That about covers the air tools which make life a thousand times easier for mechanics. Next up are the hand tools. You simply cannot survive without a good set of hand tools. Lets run down the list shall we?

1. 301 Piece Mechanics Tool Set: $190. (Includes every SAE and Metric sizes imaginable. A good variety of Allen heads / hex keys. A breaker bar, 3 ratchets and good set of open ended wrenches in both SAE and metric. A decent assortment of screwdrivers and pliers and some socket extensions and adapters.) 
2. 14 Piece Metric and SAE Ratcheting Box End Wrenches: $54
3. 5 Piece Hammer Set: $16
4. 4 Piece Pry Bar Set: $10
5. Total: $270

That about covers the hand-tools. There might be some I'm missing but we'll cover that later. So these tools will need to be in every bay so I'll add up the totals and multiply by three. That comes out to $2706 if my math is right. Next we'll add in about $500 for specialty tools for specific jobs such as a ball joint press or an inner tie rod tool. That brings the total to  $3206. Now let's add the various bolt in shop tools. This is where the money adds up. 

1.     11 Drawer Tool Cabinet. $200 (Times 3 for each bay) 

2.     Workbench with lighting: $100

3.     4' Swivel Vise: $45

4.     6' Bench Grinder: $45

5.     20 Ton Shop Press: $200

6.     5 Speed Drill Press: $70

7.     Tire Changer: $40

8.     2.5 Ton Floor Jack: $80

9.     2 Sets of 3 Ton Jack Stands: $50

10. Engine Hoist with Leveler: $258

11. 800lb Transmission Jack: $140

12. 20 Gallon Parts Washer: $100

13. Total: $1728

And finally we have all the tools to surround our shop.  Total comes out to $4934. Lets add in disposable gloves, shop towels and hand cleaner and round it off to an even $5000. So at $9000 we have our first month's expenses. Lets add in a $1000 for electricity and water and $1000 to set up the office with a decent computer, a desk, chairs, file cabinet and bunch of files for customer records. Now let's see how much we can make with this 11 grand investment. I'll hire 3 ASE Mechanics to work in each bay and pay them $25 per hour they work. I realize that business might be slow for a while so I'll have to pay expenses with a loan and the capital I have accumulated. After a bit of advertising let's say they work half the day each day. While this is a rather low estimate it's a good idea for what happens if business is slow. So four hours a day times 3 mechanics equals 12 worked and billable hours per day. I charge $60 an hour to the customer for labor and they handle the cost of the parts. That makes a gross income of $21600 a month. Minus $5000 for utilities and $1890 for Maryland business tax we arrive at $14710. Then subtract $9000 for the total salary of all three mechanics and we have $5710 left over for me to take home. Not bad considering all I do is background office work. Keeping track of customers, ordering parts, handling tax forms, basic managerial task. All of which do not require a full 8 hour day allowing me to work at $60 an hour when there are an excess of customers. Subtract income tax and that leaves me with a good $5000 a month working 4-5 hour days. Not bad for a guy that got rejected from Harvard right? 

Image from: webmoneymaker.net

3. Expand The Business  

Now that I'm making a decent monthly salary and know the workings of running a business through my own trial and error (personally my favorite way to learn albeit I have many trials and tons more errors) I can now expand my business. I already know the costs of starting up another shop so I'll look for a garage in an area that won't take away business from my current store and open up a second shop. If my expenses stay the same and I manage both garages from one office I make around $10000 a month. Working basic 8 hour days. Or I could hire a separate manager for the second shop and make a net of maybe $1500. But at that point my pay is 6500 per month still working these half days. An above average salary with minimal work and no college degree, and no college debt for that matter, is a situation most wouldn't hesitate to be in.

So what have we learned here? College isn't everything. While most of us, myself included, do plan on going to college we shouldn't go with the hopes of just landing a job. The objective should to be put our parents hard earned money into learning something we can not only make a living out of but one that we enjoy learning and doing. After all who would you rather be? A tight business executive working wall street doing a job he hates making 150k a year or a nurse making 65k a year doing a job that makes him happy? Money can't buy happiness but happiness can buy money.......Okay that was a load of bull but the point is money shouldn't be your primary objective, doing what you enjoy should be your number one goal. Agree? Disagree? Post in the comments! And as always thanks for reading!

My Day at the M.V.A.

C72. As I walked into the train-wreck that is the Maryland Motor Vehicle Association I performed a quick survey of the pain and suffering my mother and I were about to endure. For starters the line to get into another line stretched beyond the portable railings and well into another section of the MVA where I began my dreary wait. A quick check of my watch revealed the time was 3:10,  it was go-time. Surprisingly the 4 window kiosk worked with a chipotle-esque efficiency and I was being attended to before I knew it. The personable attendant asked what I needed, checked my papers, and just like that I was handed a ticket.

C72. That was the number on my ticket. Considering how fast this line moved I figured it wouldn't be long before they called my number. I was wrong. A glance at the high definition announcement board showed that among the A's and D's and S's and I's C32 was currently being served at counter number 17. I also noticed that while there were multiple counters serving customers whose tickets began in A or D there was only one serving C's, counter number 17. A second check of my watch revealed the time was now 3:30 and my mother and I found seats and began the wait. We both had brought books to read as we assumed it would take a while, despite this my mind started drifting after about 50 pages of David Baldacci's The Sixth Man and I started observing the other patrons. Some were asleep, some unwitting or simply unfortunate parents brought their kids who were crying, running around and simply irritating people whose already short tempers didn't need anymore pushing. Others were on their phones and iPads, but i really felt sorry for those who had nothing. Those who wouldn't fall asleep for fear of missing their number yet had nothing with which to occupy their time except to stare at the message board that had various advertisements and the occasional health/safety tip. I, for instance, learned that a rowing machine is one of the best exercise machines you could own as it increases cardio and works both the arm and leg muscles. Or that drinking and driving don't mix. Which I find hard to believe because I see tons of people every morning chugging away their starbucks lattes on their morning commute. But I digress.

So I slowly drifted back to my book and finished another 58 pages before they called number C71. The time now was 5:05, 35 minutes past closing time. I closed my book and sorted out all my various forms and made sure I had everything to streamline my time at the kiosk. I waited another 7 minutes for counter 17 to clear up and then, by the grace of God, we heard the announcement for C72. I woke up my mother and we eagerly made our way to counter 17. There, I explained to the attendant what we needed and gave him all the appropriate paperwork. Then we stood there. And after we were done standing we stood some more. The attendant continuously made various entries into his computer and after another 10 minutes of silence and the click-clacking of the ancient IBM keyboard the man finally asked for our payment and handed us our tags. We left the building and got home around 6 PM.

Should I apologize for wasting your time by making you read another mindless rant about the bureaucracy involved with cars? Nope as I will provide what most mindless rants lack. A solution. The glaring detail that irritated me and and many of my fellow patrons was there there were 20 counters. Logic dictates that there be 20 employees to man each counter to maximize efficiency and serve as many customers as possible.  It soon become apparent that common sense isn't all that common. Ten counters were unattended. Ten. That  is half of the total capacity of the MVA. By this and this alone we see that they are already operating at 50% below their maximum efficiency. Not taking into account their methods for serving the customers but by the numbers alone we see that they are 50% below where they could be. Its like buying a pair of shoes but only wearing one. Or like having a 4 cylinder car that only uses two. Complete idiocy that makes no sense. Yes, I understand that this would require paying more people but in the long run this is for the benefit of the MVA. Lets say they serve 500 customers a day and spend 15 minutes on each customer. That amounts to a total of
125 hours to split among 10 people. That becomes 12.5 hours of work just to service customers. That doesn't include any behind the scenes tasks such checking driver records,issuing letters for emissions and inspections / renewal notices etc. Now lets say they fill up all 20 counters with staff. That becomes 6 hours and 8 minutes of work per member. What that means is that its the exact some cost per hour but those 500 customers get served in half the time. Instead of disgruntled employees working long days they can end their days at 3. This will keep them happier and more personable to the customers. They also have the ability to now service more customers in a day and this will increase the MVA's daily revenue while reducing the amount of people who need the MVA's services therefore decongesting the MVA for the future.

Getting more people to the counter is one thing, streamlining what goes on behind the counter is another. The MVA is rather prehistoric in terms of technology. Still grappling with the creation of electricity, the MVA should accept my challenge to try and utilize bar codes. Close your eyes. You are at Costco with your parents. You have a cart full of groceries, over 30 items, you wait to pay while the cashier manually types in each item by name. Twenty minutes pass before the cashier tells you your total. Needless to say this is archaic and just plain stupid considering this technology has been around since 1948. So how do we implement  bar codes in our automotive beauracratic tasks? Simple. Assign a code for the top 10 most common transactions. Be they registration renewals, car titling, turning in tags or what have you. This way instead of searching for a list of programs and then clicking up the right one a simple scan is all you need. Additionally, have a barcode on all our drivers licenses. I have no clue why the MVA still manually enters in our 13 digit license numbers when a simple scan would save time and prevent errors. Then lets add a barcode on our car titles so a simple scan will input all the necessary information on the title. And then have barcode labels for forms! Instead of typing in your tedious VIN number have a sticker than you paste to allow the MVA to scan it. And labels for your drivers license number can be placed  when buying or selling a vehicle, so instead of the poor staff member entering in all the data by hand they can simply scan the drivers license numbers and then check to make sure all the signatures are accurate. In essence  bar codes do two things to make life easier: save time by taking mere seconds to do what a human would do in minutes, and second: eliminate the human error factor making sure all entries and transactions are accurate.

In summary, the MVA sucks. I pray that one day a trip to the local MVA or DMV is considered routine and  painless like 10 minute run to the grocery store for a bottle of milk instead of the yearly root canal it is today. Maybe they'll use my ideas, maybe they'll find something better or, and lets pray this doesn't happen, they don't change a thing. What do you think? Post your opinions in the comments section! And, as always, thanks for reading! 

My First Post

Greetings internet! I thought I would being my blogging career by illustrating the myriad of things I will talk about. This way if you don't see a topic you like feel free to blog elsewhere. It's amusing really, I'm typing "you" but there isn't a soul out there who's going to read this anytime soon. Okay onto the topics, I'll definitely have a lot of editorial type posts about issues that concern me or that interest me and my opinions of various news stories. I'm no Jon Stewart but I'll do my best to keep things interesting. I'm an avid sports fan and I will post after each and every Redskins game and after any Caps or Nats game I want to comment on; my fantasy football team(s) will also be a part of these discussions. Speaking of which the first Redskins game of the season is in 5 days! So exciting. Additionally I shall post about random stuff no one cares about, this is probably one of those posts right here, just so I don't exclude any ideas that I have after this post. 

So that about covers my topics. In a world with 6 going on 7 billion people I am well aware that a majority of the population will probably not agree with me and I love that. Had it not been for disagreement I would've never realized my one and possibly only talent, debating. But I encourage people to give me their opinions in the comments section! Just keep it educated. Ignant comments shall be deleted. If you have an opinion you'd rather not share with the whole world feel free to shoot me an email. My email is on my blogger profile on the right side of this page.

So my blog name, whats a master debater? Doesn't that sound suspiciously like something else? Well I've been debating since the 6th grade in various competitions in the D.C. area and three on the national level. I've always placed 4th or higher and won a 1st place national trophy in 2011. I simply love debating. When I started in the 6th grade I had no preparation whatsoever and yet I carried my team to the final round of the tournament where we lost to a much better prepared team. The following year I was coached by the coach of the aforementioned team and really took off. That year my team and I won 1st place and I received the best debater award. Ever since then I've looked at life and its contents with an objective perspective and always ask "Why" or "What if?" and it's really shaped up a huge part of who I am today. And the blog name? Some of my friends creatively call me that to laud my achievement but also to poke some fun at me too. If you don't get it I'm sorry but you won't find it out from me!

I guess that sums it up for today. Please feel free to post grammar/spelling errors in the comments, I need to improve my writing skills. Thanks for reading!