Wednesday, April 29, 2009

Cheerios

Perhaps the most recognizable cereal of all, the Cheerio has long been the staple of "a well balanced breakfast." The supermarket cereal aisle staple knows many forms; the classic yellow box, the whimsical frosted cheerio, the much-loved honey nut, and even the long-forgotten team cheerio, a mix of classic, frosted, and some honey something-or-other. 

But while these heralded cheerios hold down the fort, the long forgotten, yet still classically delicious Apple Cinnamon Cheerio toils away, working hard to provide that magical mix of apple and cinnamon to the waiting taste buds of the early riser and midnight snacker alike.

 The quiet, yet much loved Apple Cinnamon Cheerio

So let's hear it for the underdog of the cheerio world, rising above the popular honey nut variety to triumph on our taste buds, and in our hearts.

Per usual, TFR.
Dis



Tuesday, April 21, 2009

Tuesday

I felt the urge to write, because I am sitting in the shade of a tree, in beautiful 84 degree weather, and enjoying the perks of wireless internet. We are discussing the benefits of having nature combined with fantastic technology. The internets really are a wonderful thing, as is sitting around with some friends, enjoying the sunshine.

On that note, things are busy, and the blog has noticably gone dry. I do twitter now, on occassion. Feel free to follow for more mindless thoughts.

TFR,
Dis

Wednesday, April 1, 2009

The Economics of Fantasy Baseball; or, how I learned to stop worrying, and love the bomb.

If we have ever met, there are probably two things you learn pretty darn quick: I love baseball, and I really enjoy economics. Usually the two don't cross paths in my heart- I don't often particularly care about the economics of baseball. Quite frankly, they're just boring.

Where the two do cross are in fantasy baseball, which is another of my loves (but really a subset of baseball itself). How, you ask? The margins. 

The very first thing I learned in high school econ came from my summer reading, from a book called Murder at the Margins. It's a cheesy detective story about an econ professor on vacation, where a murder happens, and he solves it based on people's economic choices. Super cheesy, but it taught me that in econ, absolute numbers are less important than the marginal unit of difference. 

Murder at the Margins. Or, an experiment with pictures in the blog. (from amazon.com).

Marginal values come in to play when drafting a fantasy baseball team. You want the best player, sure. But you decide this based on the marginal value of the best player at a position available, compared to other positions. It's how you decide whether to take the best second baseman next (scarcity, another economic issue), or whether to add on a second pitcher. Fantasy baseball, for me, becomes the perfect combination of my two loves that combine in an interesting manner about zero other times.

As the baseball season draws ever so near (four days, thank god), the time for drafts is upon us, and fantasy baseball has returned. In a short format, because this would be far too long otherwise, other reasons why I love fantasy baseball:
- Forces you to keep in touch with people you wouldn't otherwise.
- Gives you something to talk about with friends who also play.
- Allows you to beat your friends, and have proof that you did. Or, to trash talk about how you will beat them, next time, because you got whooped.
- Forces you to care about baseball games you otherwise would not. Kansas City at Detroit suddenly matters to a Padres fan.
- Makes summer less boring.

For these reasons, and more, welcome back, fantasy baseball.

Per usual, TFR.

Dis