Why I'm an odd duck...

Well, one reason anyway...
Most people tend to kill time at work on any number of random websites, most commonly news or sports webpages. I, on the other hand, go wiki-tripping.
For those of you who have never spent a significant amount of time at Wikipedia, each entry has a series of hyperlinked words that will take you to another entry (like the one above, for Wikipedia! Ironical...). I'll jump on there, pick a topic, and start the journey.
Example: I started with the main page, which had a little blurb about the Space Shuttle Discovery. I checked it out, and went to the spacecraft entry, scrolled down to the "furthest spacecraft from earth" entry, hit up Voyager (or V-ger, for you Star Trek nerds out there), checked out the Golden Record (totally different from the "Golden Ticket," you dirtball), saw photos of most of the planets in the galaxy, found out what the heliosphere is, read about solid rocket boosters, the Prandtl-Glauert Singularity (too cool), explosive bolts, Soviet/Chinese/European spacecraft, NASA, the ESA, and on and on and on. I didn't even know I was interested in space tonight! I do this for HOURS. Were it not for the fact that I had to sleep/eat/raise a kid/go to school/etc., I'd embark on a wiki-trip that would last for eternity. I recommend it. Click on either of the hyperlinks above and start reading. THe most important part of it all is to move on as SOON as anything peaks your interest.

Enjoy your trip...Wavy Gravy is here for ground control if things get too intense...

So, Here are a few things...

What happened to needing talent to get ahead in this country? I just watched 20 minutes of a show, my hand to God, called "A Shot at Love with Tila Tequila." If you haven't seen it (and since you're reading this, I'm assuming you haven't), Tila Tequila is a diminutive bisexual who gained huge celebrity by having a myspace page and being a vapid whore. 16 guys (and they are amazing men, captains of industry every one) and 16 lesbians(...no complaints about that part of it actually) "compete" for a chance to "hit it." That's it. That's your show. Guess what network it's on? MTV. maybe I'm getting to old, but remember when the "M" in "MTV" was for "Music," not "Look! vagina!"

Everyone says that Pete Carroll is the greatest coach in college football these days. He coches USC, which might be the easiest school to recruit for in the country. Not to be a homer, but I think Jimmy T has a much stiffer challenge...Lets look at it objectively...
USC is nestled in kind of a shitty area of LA. Other than that, it is a lovely campus, it's always sunny and 70, and the student body is as attractive as they come.

Ohio State on the other hand, is in the middle of Columbus, Ohio. I love it here, but 70 and sunny it is not. Ohio State happens to have the largest enrollment of any degree-granting institution (that isn't on the internet...I mean, come on, really?) in the United States. The student body? Not...as...attractive.

And yet...
Career records at respective schools...
Carroll at USC...71-13 (45-8)
Tressel at Ohio State...70-14 (42-10)

End of season rankings...
USC (2001-current) NR,4,2,1,2,4,8
OSU (2001-current) NR,1,4,20,4,2,1

Conference Competition...
End of season rankings...(2002-current)
Pac 10 (AP)
2002 (USC Conf. Title)
Washington State (10)

2003 (USC Nat'l Camp. [split, LSU])
Washington State (9)

2004 (USC Nat'l Camp)
California (9)
Arizona State (19)

2005 (USC Conf. Title)
Oregon (12)
UCLA (16)
California (25)

2006 (USC Conf. Title)
California (14)
Oregon State (21)

2007 (through week 8, USC at 8)
Oregon (5)
Arizona State (7)
California (18)

Big 10 (AP)
2002 (Ohio State Nat'l Champ)
Iowa (8)
Michigan (9)
Penn State (16)

2003
Michigan (6)
Iowa (8)
Purdue (18)
Minnesota (20)

2004
Iowa (8)
Michigan (14)
Wisconsin (17)

2005 (Ohio State Conf. Title)
Penn State (3)
Wisconsin (15)

2006 (Ohio State Conf. Title)
Wisconsin (7)
Michigan (8)
Penn State (24)

2007 (Through Week 8, Ohio State 1)
Michigan (19)
Penn State (24)

The only seasons in which the Pac 10 had more teams in the top 25 than the Big 10 were 2005 (USC 2, OSU 4) and this year (USC 8, Ohio State 1). The Pac 10 had 12 teams in the top 25 at year's end during this span, with an average ranking of (13.75). The Big 10 had 17 teams in the top 25 at year's end with an average ranking of (13.18). It's kind of splitting hairs as to who's better, but I think the numbers do a pretty good job of showing it. Tressel has 3 fewer conference wins. That can be accounted for by level of competition. He also has one less win overall. Again, level of competition. I hope this was as enlightening to read as it was to research. I hope to revisit again at the end of the year, sucakfish!

I came to a realization today...

I made a mistake by limiting myself with this blog! I want to be able to slam out a "whatever I feel like" blog. SOOOO...that's what I'll be doing from now on. I'll still be taking a convenience out of my life and writing about it, but for those of you who have never done it, I can tell you that you burn out QUICKLY doing that every week with no rest.

I want to keep this alive, and I'd like to know that people are reading what I write, so I implore you, my dear readers, to leave a comment!