What do you want to be when you grow up?

Oftentimes, when people find out that I'm currently studying mechanical engineering, they ask what it is mechanical engineers do. And the answer, as you may have guessed, is a lot of things. A mechanical engineer could create (design/build/etc.) anything from 1 small part in an ink-jet printer to the entire heating/ventilation system for a football stadium.

Oftentimes, the next question I get is something to the extent of "so what do you want to do?" And the answer, as you may have guessed, is I don't know. I'm just not sure yet. Currently, I'm thinking that I would like to be in some way involved with something like this. Or this. Something that has to do with the exploration of this.

What do you want to be when you grow up?

Also, there have been 7 different World Series champions in the past 7 years. Can football say that about the Superbowl? (no)

And finally, today, I am 22.5 years old. Let's get wasted.

On Baseball

Last night's NLCS Game 7 between the Mets and the Cardinals was the best I've watched in a while. I don't get to watch many baseball games, but the point is, this one was excellent. Good pitching, good defense, high stakes (obviously), clutch performances, etc. The first thing to comment on is Endy Chavez's catch. Check it out at mlb.com. In a game tied 1-1, with his team performing horribly on the offensive end, he saves a two-run homer by jumping a good few feet from the fence, and catching the ball that was well over the wall--his elbow was above the top of the wall when he caught it. And this was a snow-cone. Then they double up the runner on first. He turns a potentially crushing two-run deficit into an inning-ending double play. The problem is, the Mets ended up losing anyway. If the Mets were to win, this play would go down as one of the best ever, given the circumstances. As is, people will be talking about it for days, maybe weeks, but not years.

Next up is that curve ball by Cardinal 9th inning pitcher Adam Wainwright. That thing was nasty. I don't even blame Cliff Floyd and Carlos Beltran for striking out looking.

Thirdly, if you are a Met fan, you have to regard this season as a failure. Since the beginning of the season the Mets were supposedly the only good team in the National League. It was gonna be them vs. the AL rep in the World Series. What they forgot was this: teams tend to pick it up in the Playoffs. Not that the Mets didn't necessarily. But they were not challenged at all in the regular season. So to face a challenge in the Playoffs--they just weren't ready for it. Their bats faltered. Good pitching will beat good hitting in the playoffs, almost always. You saw it with the Tigers beating the Yankees. You could point the finger to injuries on the Met pitching staff; they were without their #1 and #3 starters. But pitching was not the problem. The replacement starting pitching did pretty well, especially in the crucial 6th and 7th games. It was the bats that were shut down.

And finally, here's why you have to love baseball: At the beginning of the regular season, how many people predicted Cardinals vs. Tigers in the World Series? Probably about 7. At the end of the regular season, how many people predicted Cardinals vs. Tigers in the World Series? Probably like 3. Out of all eight teams going into the playoffs, these were the two worst in the home stretch of the season. The Mets and Yankees clearly had the most talent. But to win a championship, you talent and you have to perform. The Tigers and Cards did that better than the other teams, and it's those teams I will be watching while drinking on Saturday night. Cheers.

Here's something to comment on...

So I was having a discussion the other day...is there a band that "defines" our generation? First of all, its a hard quesiton because generation itself is hard to define. I think they say a generation is 30 years, but thats bull. Lets define my generation everyone between 2 years below me and two years above me. If that's two narrow, make it 3 or 4 or whatever. But I think the pop culture scene of those born between 1982 and 1986 is pretty uniform and well defined. But I digress.

I would argue that if there is a band that "defines our generation," it's Green Day. Based on awesomeness and longevity. Who else? Nirvana? Too short lived. Metallica? A bit before our time. Green Day has been more or less the band from about 6th grade until now. Between albums their popularity shrinks a little bit, but every album is a big deal. What's also interesting is that the peak of their popularity happened with Dookie - around middle school. But now, with American Idiot, they may have even surpassed that popularity. The shame is that despite how big that album is, I don't think most people know how brilliant it is. And now with the social commentary they got going on, I don't think there is a better choice for "band that defines our generation." Am I wrong? Please tell me.

The other problem with the question is that the music scene is way more diverse now than it used to be. With our parents, you can be pretty confident that its gonna be the Stones, the Beatles, or Zeppelin. Maybe Hendrix or Pink Floyd. But now, not so easy. Take hip-hop. Our parents didn't even know that hip hop would, at some time, exist. I think you could make a case for Snoop or Jay-Z defining our generation. Im not sure if they reached a wide enough audience. Maybe they did though. I wonder if there are more people my age (if any) who have not heard of Greed Day, or Snoop Dogg. I guess you probably can't define an entire 4 years across the board. You probably have to get a more narrow demographic to find a band that defines it.

Lastly, I've noticed a lack of comments. Maybe because no one reads this. Maybe not. You should comment. It makes me feel important. And come on, this is a good discussion, no?

Bronx Bombers (bomb in a bad way)

Yesterday both the Yankees and Dodgers got eliminated from the playoffs. Awesome. I told my friends that if the Dodgers won the World Series, they were going to need to be on suicide watch for me. So I'm pretty pumped that they got swept in the first round, even though I never actually thought they would win.

But it is the collapse of the Yankees that is the real story. In game one of the series vs the Tigers, their line up featured a combined 42 All-Star appearances. I'll say it again. FORTY TWO All-Star appearances. That's an average of almost 5 per player. Robinson Cano was the only one without multiple All-Star appearances. He has only one. Note that he just finished his second season. Also note that he is the Yankees' number 9 hitter and that he hit .342 this season. This is likely the most talented line up ever assembled. And they get their asses kicked around by the Detroit Tigers, a team that lost 119 games three years ago. But that was three years ago. This Tigers team is legit, and I'm happy for them. Watching them celebrate last night made me want to be a fan in Detroit.
But the point is that the sky is somewhat falling here in the Big Apple. The Yankee payroll this year was $199 million. The next closest is $69 million lower. Four Florida Marlins teams could fit in that gap (the Florida payroll is a mere $15 million). Naturally, Yankee fans are pissed. I would be too. But there are a number of things that I would like to sound off on:
It's been six years since the Yankees have won a World Series. And people are absolutely freaking out. Six years? Big fucking deal. Try being a Giants fan where it's been over 50. The fact that six years is a big deal is a testament to how lame the Yankees, their media, and their fans are. Some people are criticizing General Mangager Brian Cashman for failure to produce a championship team despite virtually unlimited resources. This is highly unwarranted. He put together an All-Star team, literally. I'd say it's up to the players at that point. I think this whole story says a lot of good things about Major League Baseball though. It shows that just getting all the talent money can buy is not necessarily the right way to go. Team chemistry is important. I love that. What I also love is the whole A-Rod saga. The guy chokes bigtime. It's just as fun rooting against A-Rod individually as it is the Yankees as a team. He makes $25 million dollars a year, and is totally not worth it. And everyone jumps on him for it, and he lets it get in his head. Awesome.
Finally, from what I am hearing, it is likely that the Yankees are going to fire Joe Torre and replace him with Lou Pinella. Bad move in my mind. I think there is a valid argument in that perhaps just a general change is needed. But as far as second guessing his decisions, that should not be the reason. Maybe he made some mistakes, maybe he didn't. But he's still Joe Torre. What about him has changed from the dynasty era of '96 to '00? But maybe the Giants will get him. That would be interesting. Although I don't see it happening. For some reason I just don't think he would fit.

In other news, I hope the T.O. saga reaches new heights today in his return to Philidelphia. Maybe like a fight with a fan or something. Or going to spike the ball at the 50 yard line again as he did as a 49er against the Cowboys. Obviously the smart thing to do after scoring a TD would be nothing. But he's not the smartest guy. And he wouldn't get even more attention paid to him, which he wants so very badly. No, T.O., don't disappoint the casual fan, and especially don't disappoint the media.