So, this week two national teams I follow replaced their head coaches. I have very different opinions on the potential outcomes of these country's results sure to follow.
First, Argentina fired Batista and brought in Sabella. Batista didn't do a great job. He made some of the same mistakes Maradona did with trying to rely on offense too much. Leaving key players out of the mid-field and back line. A balanced team is going to do better than one with a lot of firepower up top. If you can't keep the ball out of your back 1/3 how is your offense going to get anything done?
I don't know Sabella very well, but he'll get a chance to make his mark. If he builds a balanced squad instead of trying to put a bunch of big names on the field then they'll do well. If he falls into the same trap Maradona and Batista fell into, Argentina will fail to impress again.
The second coaching change was in the US. Bradely was let go and Klinsmann was named his successor. Many people felt Bradley didn't do a good job, but I saw some good coaching in the games we played. He put viable teams on the pitch and made adjustments when needed. That's all you can do as a coach. If you have a Freddy Adu on your team, no amount of coaching during the game is going to turn him into a Lionel Messi. The Messi has to exist before the coach gets there.
This is a change I'm not so sure about. Having coached (albeit at a much lower level) I can tell you that the level of players you have generally have more to do with the outcome of games than the level of coaching. Coaching can only foster and develop what's already begun. Players are developed over time, not overnight. What needs to happen in the US is at the youth level, not the adult, national team level. Those players have already been developed, we need to concentrate on the next generation if we want to see real success. Maybe Klinsmann will help exact change at all levels across the US. We'll just have to wait and see. However, my money is on Sabella fairing better in the near future.
Friday, July 29, 2011
Tuesday, July 19, 2011
Pay reduction
Well, it's even worse than I anticipated. Not only will I continue to work without a raise in pay, I actually got hit with a slight pay reduction. All this time I'm taking on more job duties and getting no pay increase. Now, I get a reduction in pay. Talk about kicking someone when they're down.
"How did this happen?" you ask. I'll try to break it down for you.
The state wanted to save money and make their budget look good. So they decided to stop paying the emplyee's share of the Virginia Retirement System contributions. That amounts to 5% of pay. They were going to shift that responsibility over to the workers. As part of that they would give a 5% increase in pay to all existing state employees. Future hires would just be expected to pay the contribution from the day they start.
Now, I didn't like the idea from the get-go because I know in a few years time (when I still haven't received any increase in pay) they'll claim I got a raise and that I don't need another in these "hard times." Technically that would be correct. However, my net income isn't increasing, so it's backhanded to say something like that, but say it they will.
In fact, what actually has happened is that I'm now taking home about $10 less per paycheck than I was previously. I didn't bother doing the math beforehand because it didn't occur to me how it would change my withholdings, tax rates and other aspects of my check. Now I'm looking at a check stub that is about $10 less than before. So, I now take home $20 less per month - I have over $200 less spendable income each year.
Goods and services are going up already and my pay is slightly decreasing now too!? All this time I'm being asked to do more with less and be happy about it. Well guess what, I'm not! I have to wonder how long it will take for a real revolt to form in these conditions? I'm just saying.
"How did this happen?" you ask. I'll try to break it down for you.
The state wanted to save money and make their budget look good. So they decided to stop paying the emplyee's share of the Virginia Retirement System contributions. That amounts to 5% of pay. They were going to shift that responsibility over to the workers. As part of that they would give a 5% increase in pay to all existing state employees. Future hires would just be expected to pay the contribution from the day they start.
Now, I didn't like the idea from the get-go because I know in a few years time (when I still haven't received any increase in pay) they'll claim I got a raise and that I don't need another in these "hard times." Technically that would be correct. However, my net income isn't increasing, so it's backhanded to say something like that, but say it they will.
In fact, what actually has happened is that I'm now taking home about $10 less per paycheck than I was previously. I didn't bother doing the math beforehand because it didn't occur to me how it would change my withholdings, tax rates and other aspects of my check. Now I'm looking at a check stub that is about $10 less than before. So, I now take home $20 less per month - I have over $200 less spendable income each year.
Goods and services are going up already and my pay is slightly decreasing now too!? All this time I'm being asked to do more with less and be happy about it. Well guess what, I'm not! I have to wonder how long it will take for a real revolt to form in these conditions? I'm just saying.
Wednesday, June 01, 2011
Daily reprieve
I made the comment, "almost time for the daily reprieve" about lunchtime to a coworker. Is that bad? Is it bad that I consider work in that manner at times? OK, most of the time. It's hard to get excited about eking out an existence. That's especially true when I see so many doing less work and getting paid equally, or better, while I'm told to produce more.
We live on a very tight budget. One that often sees us spending less than $10 for several days before a paycheck. Sometimes we put off things so we can afford them in the "next" paycheck. We have to plan things well in advance or rack up debt to do anything.
The lack of pay increases don't make things any better. I'm getting a raise this year, but only to offset the fact that I'm now paying my own pension. So, really I'm not gaining anything.
I think I'd feel less disenfranchised if I had any hope of change. Obama promised change, but all I see is more of the same. I never believed change would come anyway. I wanted to believe it, but I knew better.
I need more reprieves. I've been taking a reprieve from blogging. It seems so much of a chore to do anything these days. I'm feeling worn down. I think Bilbo Baggins captured it best when he said,
We live on a very tight budget. One that often sees us spending less than $10 for several days before a paycheck. Sometimes we put off things so we can afford them in the "next" paycheck. We have to plan things well in advance or rack up debt to do anything.
The lack of pay increases don't make things any better. I'm getting a raise this year, but only to offset the fact that I'm now paying my own pension. So, really I'm not gaining anything.
I think I'd feel less disenfranchised if I had any hope of change. Obama promised change, but all I see is more of the same. I never believed change would come anyway. I wanted to believe it, but I knew better.
I need more reprieves. I've been taking a reprieve from blogging. It seems so much of a chore to do anything these days. I'm feeling worn down. I think Bilbo Baggins captured it best when he said,
"...I'm beginning to feel it in my heart. I feel... thin. Sort of stretched, like... butter scraped over too much bread. I need a holiday. A very long holiday."
Thursday, March 10, 2011
Wrong with America
These are the types of things that are wrong with America.
ABC News has a report on hearings in Congress that appear to target Muslims. The chair of the committee is a Republican. They mention that similar hearings were held by Democrats, but not until page TWO of the story. There you'll find this tidbit as a cover-your-butt addition to the "journalism."
Next, is another article from ABC News (who I usually find better than the other two networks). It is a report about an alleged gang rape of an 11 year old in Texas. It appears to possibly have racial undertones since the victim is Hispanic and the accused are almost exclusively Black-Americans (I don't like the term African-American). This time I don't have a problem with ABC News, but with the person quoted. Apparently this case is not about the victim.
Interestingly, in both cases, it would appear that communities are not policing themselves. Say whatever you want about my comments, but I rarely hear speaking out against injustice in one's own community. I don't mean to pick on these two in particular, they just happened to be in the headlines, but the problem is pretty widespread. Believe me though, if someone from my community does something I'll be the first to say, "let'em hang."
ABC News has a report on hearings in Congress that appear to target Muslims. The chair of the committee is a Republican. They mention that similar hearings were held by Democrats, but not until page TWO of the story. There you'll find this tidbit as a cover-your-butt addition to the "journalism."
Independent Democrat Sen. Joe Lieberman, who is himself a defense hawk, chaired a series of 14 hearings on "Violent Islamic Extremism" from his perch as chairman of the Senate Homeland Security Committee. So Did Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, and Rep. Jane Harmon, D-Calif., who held six similar hearings.
Next, is another article from ABC News (who I usually find better than the other two networks). It is a report about an alleged gang rape of an 11 year old in Texas. It appears to possibly have racial undertones since the victim is Hispanic and the accused are almost exclusively Black-Americans (I don't like the term African-American). This time I don't have a problem with ABC News, but with the person quoted. Apparently this case is not about the victim.
"Every adult male that had sex with this child should go to prison, I don't care what the color is. But I do not believe black males are the only ones that had contact with this young child," said Quanell X, the leader of Houston's New Black Panther Party. "It appears to me there's only been the selective prosecution of one community, which is African American."
Interestingly, in both cases, it would appear that communities are not policing themselves. Say whatever you want about my comments, but I rarely hear speaking out against injustice in one's own community. I don't mean to pick on these two in particular, they just happened to be in the headlines, but the problem is pretty widespread. Believe me though, if someone from my community does something I'll be the first to say, "let'em hang."
Thursday, January 27, 2011
Terminally born
Odd title? Yes, but it is a new term I'm coining. Everyone is terminally born and there is no cure. Everyone is terminal; it's just a matter of how close you are to that end that differs.
Saying someone is terminally ill seems a little off to me. What are you really saying? You're saying that the illness the person has is going to end their life sooner than expected. Really though, none of us know when we are going to die, whether currently sick or not. Perfectly healthy people die all the time, at what we consider an early age. If you are not terminally ill, are you terminally healthy? It is an accurate statement after all.
Something people need to understand better is that life is about death. It's not a matter of if, but when it will come. You have to make the most of what you have been blessed with and try to live as if there is no tomorrow. It's been said that we start dying the minute we are born. Although, most people don't like to think about things in such morbid ways, it is true.
I've always said, "the two absolutes of life are birth and death, everything else is an outcome of you decisions." Do things happen outside of your control? Of course they do, but how you respond/react to those things is your choice. You choose to be mad. You choose to ignore. You choose to help another. You choose to live.
People try to prolong their lives, I think, out of a fear of death. Why fear it? Because it is the great unknown? It is the final frontier? Regardless of what you believe in, it will happen. Everyone has their beliefs about what happens afterwards, but the truth is that we just don't know.
We're all terminal; just some of us accept it better than others. I was terminally born and I’m going to make the most of the time I have left. How about you?
Saying someone is terminally ill seems a little off to me. What are you really saying? You're saying that the illness the person has is going to end their life sooner than expected. Really though, none of us know when we are going to die, whether currently sick or not. Perfectly healthy people die all the time, at what we consider an early age. If you are not terminally ill, are you terminally healthy? It is an accurate statement after all.
Something people need to understand better is that life is about death. It's not a matter of if, but when it will come. You have to make the most of what you have been blessed with and try to live as if there is no tomorrow. It's been said that we start dying the minute we are born. Although, most people don't like to think about things in such morbid ways, it is true.
I've always said, "the two absolutes of life are birth and death, everything else is an outcome of you decisions." Do things happen outside of your control? Of course they do, but how you respond/react to those things is your choice. You choose to be mad. You choose to ignore. You choose to help another. You choose to live.
People try to prolong their lives, I think, out of a fear of death. Why fear it? Because it is the great unknown? It is the final frontier? Regardless of what you believe in, it will happen. Everyone has their beliefs about what happens afterwards, but the truth is that we just don't know.
We're all terminal; just some of us accept it better than others. I was terminally born and I’m going to make the most of the time I have left. How about you?
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