With a new Presidential election fast approaching there are tendencies for voters to vote for people from certain states. But what is interesting is how many Presidents have come from the different 50 states. It should be no surprise that the eastern seaboard rules this list but with the population moving south and west there has been a shift but only slightly.
1. Virginia (8) - This state has had 8 Presidents with the majority of them coming in the first 10 presidencies. Notables - Washington (1), Wilson (28), Jefferson (3).
2. Ohio (7) - At second this state did not produce it's first president until 1869 with U.S. Grant. Six others have followed. With the exception of Grant no other Ohioan president lasted more than 4 years in office. Notables - Grant (18)
3. Massachusetts (4) - There is actually a tie for third with four. Massachusetts is always a hotbed of political conjecture because of the wealthy families hailing from that state. Notables - Adams (2), Adams (6), Kennedy (35)
3. New York (4) - Tied for third New York has a storied history of politics, some with a dubious past (Tammany Hall). Van Buren was the fist President from the Empire state. Notables - Van Buren (8), Roosevelt(26), Roosevelt (32)
5. North Carolina (2) - Polk (11), Johnson (17)
5. Vermont (2) - Arthur (21), Coolidge (30)
5. Texas (2) - Eisenhower (34), Johnson (36)
8. The following states have each has one president :
South Carolina
New Hampshire
New Jersey
Pennsylvania
Kentucky
Iowa
Missouri
California
Nebraska
Georgia
Illinois
Arkansas
Connecticut
Our current president was born in Connecticut. The current Presidential front runners were born in the following states.
DEM
Joseph R. Biden Jr. - Pennsylvania
Hillary Rodham Clinton - Illinois
John Reid Edwards - South Carolina
Dennis J. Kucinich - Ohio
Barack Hussein Obama Jr. - Hawaii
REP
Rudolph W. Giuliani - New York
Michael D. 'Mike' Huckabee - Arkansas
John Sidney McCain III - Panama Canal Zone, Panama
Willard Mitt Romney - Michigan
Ronald Ernest 'Ron' Paul - Pennsylvania
Fred Dalton Thompson - Tennessee
Friday, November 30, 2007
Wednesday, November 28, 2007
Tuesday, November 27, 2007
Things I saw today while driving to work.
Traffic is bad anywhere you live but in Austin, it is notoriously bad. There could be many reasons why traffic is bad but I think it comes down to poor planning coupled with tremendous population growth. It used to be the rule that anytime someone gave directions that you always started with "get on MOPAC" (Loop 1), but even that has become the State's second biggest parking lot.
I usually pay attention to the road when I drive but I had extra time today to do some people watching while inhaling my daily limit of CO2. I noticed a few things that really bugged me about the commuters here in Austin:
* Women putting makeup on in the car.
- This is my single most biggest driving pet peeve. How selfish does someone have to be to endanger other people just so they can look better. I witnessed three women putting on makeup this A.M. and I only commute ten miles.
* Smoking and driving.
- As an ex-smoker I understand that driving and smoking go together but throwing your nasty cigarette butt on the highway is against the law. Why not put an empty can with liquid at the bottom in your car and then dispose of it later?
* People eating.
- This is preventable because you can eat at work or at home. If you cannot eat at work then eat in the parking lot when you get there. If you are going to be late by doing this then leave earlier.
* Aggressive Drivers .
- Men tend to be the most aggressive drivers because of testosterone but some women can be notorious culprits but in a passive way. I saw a man in a Mustang GT drifting in to my lane with about a third of a car length between my car and the car in front of me. He decided that he could just get in front of me with no blinker and I would know his intentions. Then when I didn't let him in he gets mad at me? WTF.
* Cell phone talkers.
- I am very guilty of this BUT I know when it is appropriate to talk and when it is not. Having a 30 minute conversation in traffic is not the appropriate time. A caveat to that is if a person is using a hands free device or sorts. This also causes a distraction but it is much less.
* Single occupant commuters.
- I am guilty of this everyday and we can make all of the excuses in the world but if 25% of the population in the Austin area carpooled then a traffic problem wouldn't exist but unlike other large metropolitan areas Austin does not offer HOV (high occupancy vehicles) lanes or a viable rapid transit option.
I think people are inherently good natured and that the people listed above were not behaving this way to intentionally anger anyone but if commuters could start paying a little more attention to their surroundings and a little less on themselves then we may all experience a safer and faster commute.
What is your biggest commute pet peeve?
I usually pay attention to the road when I drive but I had extra time today to do some people watching while inhaling my daily limit of CO2. I noticed a few things that really bugged me about the commuters here in Austin:
* Women putting makeup on in the car.
- This is my single most biggest driving pet peeve. How selfish does someone have to be to endanger other people just so they can look better. I witnessed three women putting on makeup this A.M. and I only commute ten miles.
* Smoking and driving.
- As an ex-smoker I understand that driving and smoking go together but throwing your nasty cigarette butt on the highway is against the law. Why not put an empty can with liquid at the bottom in your car and then dispose of it later?
* People eating.
- This is preventable because you can eat at work or at home. If you cannot eat at work then eat in the parking lot when you get there. If you are going to be late by doing this then leave earlier.
* Aggressive Drivers .
- Men tend to be the most aggressive drivers because of testosterone but some women can be notorious culprits but in a passive way. I saw a man in a Mustang GT drifting in to my lane with about a third of a car length between my car and the car in front of me. He decided that he could just get in front of me with no blinker and I would know his intentions. Then when I didn't let him in he gets mad at me? WTF.
* Cell phone talkers.
- I am very guilty of this BUT I know when it is appropriate to talk and when it is not. Having a 30 minute conversation in traffic is not the appropriate time. A caveat to that is if a person is using a hands free device or sorts. This also causes a distraction but it is much less.
* Single occupant commuters.
- I am guilty of this everyday and we can make all of the excuses in the world but if 25% of the population in the Austin area carpooled then a traffic problem wouldn't exist but unlike other large metropolitan areas Austin does not offer HOV (high occupancy vehicles) lanes or a viable rapid transit option.
I think people are inherently good natured and that the people listed above were not behaving this way to intentionally anger anyone but if commuters could start paying a little more attention to their surroundings and a little less on themselves then we may all experience a safer and faster commute.
What is your biggest commute pet peeve?
Tuesday, October 30, 2007
A-Rod, Manny and Bonds: playing for the game?
Not many of us can recall seeing the speech Lou Gehrig gave on the July 4th, 1939, but I am sure that we have all heard bits of the speech. Gehrig played the game because he loved it. He didn't have a multi-million dollar contract, he didn't need one. Gehrig played in 2,130 consecutive games a record that was once thought to be untouchable. Gehrig mentioned in his speech that he may have been given some bad breaks in his life but he was still the luckiest man in the world because of the opportunity he had to play the greatest game in the world.
Fast Forward 48 years. We now see players who have no heart or honor. Player like Manny Ramirez who exclaimed that if the lose the it is no big deal because there is always next season but the people who pay money to go see him play think it is a big deal. In fact as MLB itself put it a few years ago the average fan "Lives for this Game". Then there is A-Rod who has no respect for the game. He and his agent decided that game four of the World Series would be the day that they decide to exercise the option in his lucrative contract and become a free agent. He obviously thinks he is bigger than the game and for this I believe that A-rod will never win the World Series.
Many things have been written about the Barry Bonds situation so I will make this brief. Some people have made the argument that players in earlier years may have been taking Benzedrine or other stimulants to boost their performance or other unknown tactics were used in order to gain an advantage like sharpening cleats or using Vaseline on a ball to change it's trajectory. The argument is that they do not have an asterisk* by their name or they do not get ridiculed for their use of performance enhancing drugs. Those people who make that argument are the same reason why baseball is not what it once was and have no respect for the game. Anytime you as a player take or use a drug or product that is not available to other players whether it be because of mandates or legality then you are CHEATING and there is no room for you in sports period! After all it is only a game.
This brings me to my point of this whole blog. When will people stop paying for the ridiculous ticket prices? In Economics 2310 we all learned the principles of diminishing returns. This principle states, in simple terms, that ticket prices will continue to increase until people stop paying for the tickets and stay at home watching the games. Player's salaries will continue to get larger and larger and people will continue to complain about the large player salaries. When A-Rod starts making 40 Million a year will people care? When the first baseball player starts making 100 Million a year will anyone care? When a family of four has to take out a loan to go see a regular season baseball game will anyone care? The argument was made that Wall Street's top performers make 40 and 50 million dollar bonuses and that no one bats and eye but what does the Wall Street guy get if he does poorly especially in crunch time, or if he does something illegal like take steroids or if he loses the passion for what he does as a trade. He gets fired! So is it time to fire baseball? Not as long as people still buy the tickets.
Fast Forward 48 years. We now see players who have no heart or honor. Player like Manny Ramirez who exclaimed that if the lose the it is no big deal because there is always next season but the people who pay money to go see him play think it is a big deal. In fact as MLB itself put it a few years ago the average fan "Lives for this Game". Then there is A-Rod who has no respect for the game. He and his agent decided that game four of the World Series would be the day that they decide to exercise the option in his lucrative contract and become a free agent. He obviously thinks he is bigger than the game and for this I believe that A-rod will never win the World Series.
Many things have been written about the Barry Bonds situation so I will make this brief. Some people have made the argument that players in earlier years may have been taking Benzedrine or other stimulants to boost their performance or other unknown tactics were used in order to gain an advantage like sharpening cleats or using Vaseline on a ball to change it's trajectory. The argument is that they do not have an asterisk* by their name or they do not get ridiculed for their use of performance enhancing drugs. Those people who make that argument are the same reason why baseball is not what it once was and have no respect for the game. Anytime you as a player take or use a drug or product that is not available to other players whether it be because of mandates or legality then you are CHEATING and there is no room for you in sports period! After all it is only a game.
This brings me to my point of this whole blog. When will people stop paying for the ridiculous ticket prices? In Economics 2310 we all learned the principles of diminishing returns. This principle states, in simple terms, that ticket prices will continue to increase until people stop paying for the tickets and stay at home watching the games. Player's salaries will continue to get larger and larger and people will continue to complain about the large player salaries. When A-Rod starts making 40 Million a year will people care? When the first baseball player starts making 100 Million a year will anyone care? When a family of four has to take out a loan to go see a regular season baseball game will anyone care? The argument was made that Wall Street's top performers make 40 and 50 million dollar bonuses and that no one bats and eye but what does the Wall Street guy get if he does poorly especially in crunch time, or if he does something illegal like take steroids or if he loses the passion for what he does as a trade. He gets fired! So is it time to fire baseball? Not as long as people still buy the tickets.
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