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Old Nas links and videos collected over the years

...had to delete so many broken links over the years...i should have downloaded every youtube interview and re-upped, instead of it being removed over time https://web.archive.org/web/20150331201259/http://www.last.fm/group/Nas+Discography+with+Unreleased+Material/forum/231251/_/685242
From early track listings of "Distant Relatives": Unreleased Tracks on the lookout:
  1. Intro (Something New) [2:01] (prod. Damian Marley)
  2. Revolutionary [4:54] (prod. Damian Marley)
  3. Belief Is Key [4:03] (prod. Damian Marley)
  4. Black Horizon feat. K'naan [3:45] (prod. Damian Marley)
  5. Our Generation feat. Joss Stone & Stevie Wonder [4:58] (prod. Damian Marley)
  6. Empowerment [2:38] (prod. Stephen Marley)
  7. AID [4:03] (prod. K'naan & Damian Marley)
  8. Lets End It (Poverty) feat. K'naan [3:58] (prod. 9th Wonder & Damian Marley)
  9. The Earth feat. Bob Marley [6:20] (prod. Salaam Remi, Damian Marley & Stephen Marley)
[UK Bonus Track] 14. Black Man's Paper feat. Erykah Badu [3:40] (prod. Afry)...wow, a sequel to "White Man's Paper," both unreleased?
[iTunes Bonus Track] 15. Weed On feat. Snoop Dogg [2:28] (prod. Damian Marley)
Snoop Dogg : "I'm down with you, Nas. Call me if you need a verse."
From early track listings of "Nigger": Unreleased Tracks on the lookout:
  1. I Have No Name (Intro) (Produced by Salaam Remi
  2. Moses (Produced by Sean C & LV)
  3. Gangstas Don’t Die f/ Rick Ross & Jadakiss (Produced by Cool & Dre)
  4. Janine f/ Chris Brown (Produced by Salaam Remi & Nas)
  5. Miles Away (Produced by Jay Electronica)
  6. Shout Outs f/ Ice Cube, DJ Premier, Naomi Campbell, Gil Scott Heron, Chuck D, Spike Lee & KRS-One
"America's Top Brothel"
Ice Cube : "I'm totally open to working with him. I just got back in town, I'm looking for him to reach out. I think me and Nas are, in a lot of ways, mirror images of each other. We try to make street knowledge and connect the streets with the politics of today. That's always a challenge. If we don't get together [on his album], we gotta tour together."
Here's the number of times Nas collaborated with producers someone else compiled (old):
25) L.E.S., 19) Salaam Remi, 12) Poke & Tone "The Trackmasters", 8) DJ Premier, 8) Chucky Thompson, 6) Alvin West, 6) Nas, 5) Large Professor, 5) Dame Grease
3 Havoc, The Alchemist, stic.man, will.i.am
2 Dr. Dre, J. Myers, Kanye West, Live Squad, Lo Ground, Mark Batson, Nashiem Myrick, Q-Tip, Ron Browz, Scott Storch, Stargate, Timbaland, Top General Sounds, Wyldfyer
1 Agile, Alicia Keys, Baby Paul, Bernado Williams, Black, Buckwild, Carlos Broady, Chris Webber, Claudio Cueni, Cool & Dre, D. Moet, Dave Atkinsons, Devo Springsteen, DJ Green Lantern, Dustin Moore, Eminem, Eric Hudson, Hangmen 3 Productions, Herb Middleton, Jamel Ergetten, Jay Electronica, Kirk Goddy, Lofey, Mark Ronson, Megahertz, Michael Herring, Mike Risko, Nut, Pete Rock, Precison, Pretty Boy, Polow Da Don, Rashad Smith, Rich Nice, Staff, Swizz Beatz, The Game, Toomp
other leaked track listings....
  1. Life Is Good (Intro) (prod by J.U.S.T.I.C.E. League)
  2. The Train (prod by No I.D.)
  3. Black James Bond (prod by Salaam Remi)
  4. Accidental Murderer (feat Rick Ross)
  5. How It All Got Started****
  6. Daughters (prod by No I.D.)
  7. The Don (prod by Salaam Remi, Da Internz & Heavy D)
  8. Nastalgia****
  9. This Kind Of Love****
  10. Summer On Smash (feat Miguel) (prod by Swizz Beatz)
  11. Street Shit (prod by Swizz Beatz)
  12. My Vantage****
  13. Knighthood****
  14. Nasty (prod by Salaam Remi)
  15. Blazing Scriptures (feat AZ)****
  16. Q.B. Confidential****
...had to delete so many broken links over the years...i should have downloaded every youtube interview and re-upped, instead of it being removed over time https://web.archive.org/web/20150331201259/http://www.last.fm/group/Nas+Discography+with+Unreleased+Material/forum/231251/_/685242
recommend installing reddit enhancement suite when going through these links https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/reddit-enhancement-suite/kbmfpngjjgdllneeigpgjifpgocmfgmb?hl=en-US
submitted by jensyao to nas [link] [comments]

Kentucky Derby 2019 Analysis

**Just a little background: I have posted my father's Derby write up the past few years and it seems to get a good response. If anyone has any questions I can see if he can answer them. Good luck!
"I have been writing this analysis of the Kentucky Derby since 1983, but as I sit down to write this year’s analysis, I am awed by the fact that this will be my 50th consecutive Derby. So, from that standpoint, this write up is very special.
First an overview of this year’s field: -The field will consist of 20 colts, 19 from America and one from Japan. -These colts will be trained by 16 different trainers, only 3 of these trainers have previously won the Derby. The other 13 will be trying to win it for the first time. -The colts entered in the race are a lightly raced group, much like last year’s entrants. However, this year’s colts are more lightly raced than last year’s – an average of 5.5 career starts (last year’s colts averaged 5.9 career starts before the Derby). -Last year I spoke about the way trainers were being very cautious in the number of races they are giving their charges. Well that trend is continuing this year. This year 10 colts have fewer than 6 career starts, half the field! -Additionally, 8 colts are going into the Derby with only 2 starts as a 3-YO. Back in the good old days (the 1980’s and 90’s), these lightly raced colts’ chances of winning the race were pretty slim, but today this is the norm among Derby entrants. -While the field is light on experience, they are long on earnings – 3 of them are already millionaires, a testament to the lofty purses colts are running for these days.
I will now begin my analysis of all 20 colts (no fillies are entered this year), listing them in the order of points they have accumulated going into the Derby. But please remember that the order I analyze them in is probably not the order that I see them finishing the race.
Tacitus: This son of Tapit is one of two colts in the race trained by Bill Mott who is seeking his first Kentucky Derby win. Tacitus has only 4 lifetime starts, including 2 this year. Many people felt that his win in the 1-1/8-mile Wood Memorial at Aqueduct was the best prep race of any of the 3-YOs this year. The winner of the Wood has gone on to win the Kentucky Derby 11 times, but the last Wood/Derby winner was in 2000. It seems like the “bloom is off the rose” as far as Wood winners repeating in Louisville. Though he has only raced 4 times in his career, his speed figures have increased as the distances have gotten longer – a good sign for a colt trying a 1-1/4 miles race in the Derby. I am a little concerned that he is untested against Grade 1 company (the Wood was a Grade 2 race), but I am sure he will take some play from the bettors come Derby day. I may have to use him in my exotic bets ( bets other than win, place & show) in the Derby.
Omaha Beach: This colt has never been out of the money in 7 career starts. However, it took him 5 tries to break his maiden – not necessarily an encouraging sign. He has been the favorite in 6 of his 7 races, so he is somewhat of a “money burner”. However, that being said, he may very well be the favorite in the Derby and he gets the services of Mike Smith who had to choose between Omaha Beach and Roadster. I believe that the betting money will follow “Big Money Mike” on Derby day. Note that Mike Smith has only won 2 Kentucky Derbies from probably 20 or more mounts – not a good record for such an established rider. A couple of things that I don’t like about Omaha Beach; he began his career with 3 races on the grass before switching to dirt, 2 of his 3 wins have come on sloppy tracks with his other win by a narrow nose on a fast dirt surface. On the other hand, he has beaten proven colts in Game Winner (last year’s 2-YO champion) and Improbable (winner of the GR 1 Los Alamitos Futurity). His trainer, Richard Mandella, will be trying to win his 1st Derby (he is 0 for 6 in the race) with this colt and I have to say that he has as good a chance as anybody to win.
Vekoma: Another lightly raced colt with only 4 career starts, including 2 this year, and, like Tacitus, he is untested against Grade 1 company. Trained by George Weaver, who is seeking his 1st Derby win, this colt won the BlueGrass Stakes beating Win Win Win and Signalman – two colts he may face in Louisville. The BlueGrass has produced 10 Derby winners, but none since 1991. He is a well-travelled colt, each of his starts has come over a different track. I have always liked this colt, he has a good late turn of foot (how fast he is) and being out of Candy Ride, the Derby distance should not be a problem. However, he has a weird way of “moving”; in the stretch he seems to “paddle” his left front leg. This may not serve him well in the long stretch at CD. Also, his trainer does not have a very good record in graded stakes competition, winning at only a 6% rate. I think he will present some good odds come Derby day and just might be a must use in the exotics.
Plus Que Parfait: This colt’s claim to fame is that he won the $2.5M UAE Derby in Dubai in March. He is trained by Brendan Walsh who is another trainer seeking his 1st Derby win. I’ve observed that horses that fly half way around the world to run in Dubai, have a pretty hard time getting back into racing shape upon their return from that trip. He got the big money in Dubai but I don’t see him getting any money in the Derby so I will pass.
Roadster: Roadster is one of Bob Baffert’s three possible Derby entrants and the colt that Mike Smith didn’t choose to ride in the Derby. This son of Quality Road (a very good sire), who will be ridden by Florent Geroux, is also lightly raced with only 4 career starts, including 2 this year. He did win the Santa Anita Derby over Game Winner and Instagrand and the Santa Anita Derby has produced 10 Kentucky Derby winners, including three since 2012 – Justify, California Chrome and I’ll Have Another. This colt overcame some breathing issues after surgery last year and had been ridden by Mike Smith in all his career starts, so when Mike chose Omaha Beach over Roadster it must have been a surprise to Baffert & Co. Obviously a very talented colt who might be the 2nd betting choice in the race, but I am unsure at this point how I will play him.
By My Standards: This colt has 5 career starts and took four tries to break his maiden – not very encouraging. He is trained by Bret Calhoun, who is also seeking his first Derby win. He did win the Louisiana Derby at odds of 22-1 beating Spinoff and Sueno. However, the Louisiana Derby has only produced 2 Kentucky Derby winners, the last one being Grindstone in 1996. I am a little concerned about his ability to get the 1-1/4 miles in the Derby based on his breeding. I can’t really say that I would recommend anyone bet him to win so I will pass.
Maximum Security: This undefeated colt, from 4 lifetime starts, began racing in December last year in claiming and optional claiming races (I guess his connections didn’t feel he was that good) and was not really tested until he ran, and won, the Florida Derby in a very good time. In that race he beat Code of Honor, Bodexpress and Bourbon War. All his wins have come by good margins (3-1/2 to 18 lengths. He is trained by Jason Servis who is also looking for his first Derby win. He has only gone two turns in a race once in 4 tries and has been ridden by 3 different jockeys in 4 races, again, something that is not that encouraging. I don’t think I will bet him.
Game Winner: Last year’s 2-YO champion has won three Grade 1 races in 6 lifetime starts so he is a very good colt. He has never been out of the money and his two losses were by a nose and a ½ length. He lost the Santa Anita Derby to Roadster and the Rebel Stakes to Omaha Beach, two colts who will be highly regarded come Derby day. He is the second of Bob Baffert’s three probable entries. All three have the credentials to win the Derby and he has a win over the CD track last November in the Breeders’ Cup (always a plus to have a win over the CD surface). In a race full of speed, he has a tactical advantage in that he can get good position and lay off the pace until they hit the top of the stretch. On a slightly down note, he lost his 2 starts this year, each as the favorite, after an undefeated 2-YO campaign. Though he lost to good colts (see above) I am not sure that Bob had him cranked up for either of those efforts. He will likely be a reasonable price in the Derby, and I may have to take a long hard look at him before I bet.
Code of Honor: A somewhat inconsistent colt, he has 2 wins in 5 lifetime starts, but 2 of his losses were in Grade 1 company. He has been beaten by Maximum Security and Bodexpress in the Florida Derby after he won the Fountain of Youth stakes over Bourbon War and Vekoma. He is trained by “Shug” McGaughey who won the 2013 Derby with Orb, and knows what it takes to win the Derby. His breeding is such that he could run all day so the distance shouldn’t be an issue. He will probably be a double digit price in the Derby and I am a little hesitant to do more than maybe put him in a trifecta or superfecta box.
Haikal: Trained by Kiaran McLaughlin this colt could be Kiaran’s 1St Derby winner. Yeah, read that again - Kiaran has never won the Kentucky Derby. However, I don’t think this is his year to score that elusive victory. This colt was beaten by Tacitus and Tax in the Wood, 2 colts he will face in the Derby. Haikal has always been in the money, in 5 career starts, but has not run outside Aqueduct. I am suspect of a colt who has wintered in NY – he can’t be that good if they didn’t ship to FLA for the winter. I will pass, on the win bet but maybe find a place for him in the exotics.
Improbable: Bob Baffert’s 3rd entry has finished in the money in all of his 5 career starts and has a win over the CD track. He won the Grade 1 Los Alamitos Futurity in December before going to Arkansas for his 2 starts this year. In the Rebel, at Oaklawn, he was beaten by Long Range Toddy and then he was a close 2nd in the Arkansas Derby getting beat by Omaha Beach. He will face both colts in the Derby. His running style (tracking the pace) should suit him well. However, I question whether he can get the 1-1/4 miles of the Derby as he is out of City Zip, a sprinter. Anyway, he is a good colt with a very good trainer so I will have to take a long, hard look at him before deciding whether to bet him or not.
War of Will: One of three colts in the race who have 8 lifetime starts, this Mark Casse trainee began his career with 4 starts on the turf before breaking his maiden at CD over a sloppy track. Casse has yet to win the Derby and I have doubts that this colt will give him his first Derby victory. This colt should not have any trouble with the distance, but he took a bad beating as the 4-5 favorite in the Louisiana Derby losing by 12 lengths to the likes of By My Standards, Spinoff and Suneo. His connections have always though highly of him. He was entered in three graded stakes races as a 2-YO even though he was a maiden, but I won’t be betting him in the Derby.
Long Range Toddy: Another colt with 8 lifetime starts, he will try to get Steve Asmussen his first Derby win. However, he was badly beaten in the Arkansas Derby over a sloppy track by Omaha Beach, Improbable and Country House, although he did beat Improbable in the Rebel. I believe that he is not as good as he looks on paper and I don’t think he will get the Derby distance based on his breeding. It should be noted that he has never been the favorite in any of his 8 lifetime starts. I will likely bypass him in favor of others.
Tax: A consistent colt who has finished in the money in all his 5 career starts. He began his career in claiming races, including one at CD, and was claimed for $50K in his 2nd start by his trainer Danny Gargan who is an up and coming trainer. It is rare that a former claimer runs in, let alone wins, the Derby. Tax’s last three races have been at a 1-1/8 miles all at Aqueduct so he should not have any trouble handling the Derby distance. He was beaten in the Wood by Tacitus, one of the likely Derby favorites, but was not able to get to the winner in the stretch. So, this is a colt who has plenty of potential, but I have to wonder if his trainer is ready to take on the big boys in Louisville. He will probably be double digit odds in the Derby and a 4th place finish might be as good as he can do.
Cutting Humor: One of the two Todd Pletcher colts in the race, this colt sports 2 wins in 6 lifetime starts and I have to wonder why Todd thinks he should enter this colt. He is not that consistent having been beaten nearly 9 lengths as the favorite in the Southwest Stakes at Oaklawn Park, behind Sueno and Long Range Toddy, and barely hanging on to beat Anothertwistafate in the Sunland Derby. He also lost to Bourbon War in an optional claiming race in January. This colt will be a longshot in the Derby and I will take a pass.
Win Win Win: This colt has never finished out of the money in 6 lifetime starts for trainer Michael Trombetta, who is another trainer seeking his first Derby win. Trombetta has not won a graded stakes race in his career so why would he prevail in America’s greatest race? Also, I doubt that this colt can handle the distance of the race based on his breeding and the fact that his 2 wins have come in one turn races. He has been beaten By Vekoma in the BlueGrasss Stakes and Tacitus and Outshine in the Tampa Bay Derby. He is always well backed at the windows so in some regards he is a “money burner” and I see him as a longshot in the race. Another one I will pass on.
Country House: Bill Mott’s second entry, this colt has only a maiden win in 6 lifetime starts so why is he in here? He has been beaten by Omaha Beach and Improbable in the Arkansas Derby, By My Standards, Spinoff and Sueno in the Louisiana Derby and War of Will in the Risen star. If he can’t win the Arkansas and Louisiana Derbies how is he going to win the Kentucky Derby? He seems to have trouble getting out of the gate and he lost ground in the stretch of his last two 1-1/8 miles races. Another longshot and another colt I will pass on.
Gray Magician: I doubt that Peter Miller will secure his first Derby win with this colt. In fact he might be the longest shot on the board when the gates open. He has one win in 8 career starts, was beaten by Plus Que Parfait in Dubai (you know how I feel about horses going to Dubai to race), was 5th in an optional claiming race in January and does not have the breeding to get the 1-1/4 miles. Again, I will pass.
Spinoff: Todd Pletcher’s 2nd entry in the race, this colt has hit the board in all 4 of his career starts. He was 2nd in the Louisiana Derby to By My Standards, after grabbing the lead in mid-stretch. In that race he finished ahead of Sueno and War of Will. His speed figures have improved with every start as the distances have increased. He is a son of Hard Spun, a horse who ran 2nd in the Derby so I think that the distance should not be a problem for him in the Derby. He will likely be double digit odds in the Derby and might be a sneaky price horse in the tri or superfectas. However, I don’t think I will be playing him in the exotics as there are other colts that I prefer over him.
Master Fencer: This colt got into the Derby by way of a racing series in Japan. He certainly seems like he can handle the distance as all of his 6 career starts in Japan have been at distances of a mile or longer, including two 1-1/4 mile grass races. All that being said, I have no idea what his competition was in Japan and I will have to pass on this colt.
In the event that there is a scratch or two before the derby, these two other colts might get into the race.
Bodexpress: He is trained by Gustavo Delgado, a trainer I know nothing about who has only started 36 horses in races this year. Bodexpress is still a maiden after 5 starts. The only reason he might get in the Derby is that he ran 2nd in the Florida Derby at odds of 71-1. His breeding suggests that he will not be able to handle the 1-1/4 miles in the Derby. Three maidens have won the derby, the last one being Brokers Tip in 1933. Eleven maidens have started in the Derby since 1937 and the best finish of those was 8th place. Can’t even fathom betting on him – even with someone else’s money.
Signalman: This Ken McPeek trainee has been fairly consistent in his 7 lifetime starts, being in the money in 6 of those races. However, he has been beaten by 7 other Derby entrants in his races, but he has been in the money in 3 races over the CD surface, including a win in the Kentucky Jockey Club and a 3rd in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile. If he gets in, he will likely be at double digit odds, and I might have to give him a long, hard look in the exotics.
Now the moment of truth, how will I play the race? It will be tough to leave Omaha Beach out of any discussion as to whom might win the race, but I have concerns about him as stated in my analysis. I have always liked Vekoma, but again, I think that his way of moving through the stretch may not serve him well. I will probably make a win bet on either Tacitus or Game Winner with a slight edge to Game Winner. So, my bets might look something like this - a win on Game Winner, an exacta box using Game Winner, Tacitus, Roadster and Omaha Beach. I will play a 5-colt trifecta box with these four plus Vekoma. OK, I know what you’re thinking, “This is a very chalky group of bets” I know that but the goal is to cash tickets and with this group of colts it is hard to look past the ones I have listed to find a “live longshot”. This is a very competitive race. Any one of 7 or 8 colts could easily win, so as usual I reserve the right to change my mind and make different bets than those listed above. Hopefully everyone will enjoy the event and maybe I will come home a WINNER!!!!!!!!!!
submitted by yanquisphan to horseracing [link] [comments]

NBA Finals Preview

Wrote this in my spare time this week and wanted it to be read. Hope y'all like it!
A friend of mine texted me recently, asking “Cavs or Warriors in the Finals? 1. Who do you want to win 2. Who will win”. It wasn’t like I hadn’t been thinking about this since before the playoffs started, but as I sat there articulating my answer, I could picture my friend sniggering to himself about having just baited me into writing a 500-word text. I gave him the tl;dr.
Who do you want to win?
Questions about personal preference should be the easiest to answer, but in this case I found it to be nearly as difficult as predicting the series. I am basically a basketball atheist. In general, I support my local teams, which would make me a Hornets fan, which would then make me not care too much about any one team. I am, however, a fan of amazing, which happens in the NBA apparently.
So I pull for LeBron like I would’ve pulled for Jordan had I been older than five when he was winning titles (my first exposure to Jordan was as ‘the guy from Space Jam’).
With that in mind, it’s easy: I want to Cavs to win.
Except Stephen Curry is the reigning MVP and the most exciting one-man-offense the league has ever seen. His combination of slick handles, unnatural vision, and lights-out shooting, all bundled into a cherub-faced, 6-foot-3 frame, is the most spellbinding thing that TV has to offer besides Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives at 11:30 on a Saturday night when all I had for dinner was kale salad and my depressingly empty freezer had me resorting to eating peanut butter with a spoon to satisfy my sweet tooth that night.
Curry is young and exciting, and I didn’t even mention how much fun some of his teammates (Draymond Green, Klay Thompson ) are to watch too. Now I want the Warriors to win.
This is when I had to go consult, Topol, the master of other hands.
LeBron may be one of the greatest players of all time, and if I want to see him win as many rings as possible.
On the other hand, Steph Curry and this Warriors team have played unspeakably beautiful basketball all year, gotten lucky with injuries (having very few serious ones themselves and facing less-than-100-percent-opponents) and may not be the same team in a few years with free agency pending for Draymond Green (will merit a max contract on the open market), David Lee, and bench guys like Marreese Speights, who have helped make the Dubs so versatile this year.
On the other hand, LeBron is nearing the back end of his prime, and Curry and company are here to stay.
On the other hand, this may be the beginning of the first real dynasty since Jordan’s Bulls.
Eh, who am I kidding? Golden State walks through raindrops, and they’re the only legitimate contender who hasn’t had to deal with any adversity this playoffs (and in the most injury plagued playoffs in recent memory!). It shouldn’t be that easy!
Go Cavs.
This brings me to no. 2
Who will win?
My short answer (that I was so proud of because it felt so over-analytical and pretentious) is: Golden State will win a series that lasts four, five, or six games, but if it comes down to a game seven, well I think I have to put my money on the greatest player on the planet.
If I need someone to manufacture offense in every possible way and with stupefying efficiency, I will take Curry (or Anthony Davis or Kevin Durant). Hell, I’ll take Curry to win me MOST games. But in a game seven of the Finals (I know LeBron’s only played in one, but bear with me), I want LeBron putting up another 37-18-13, even if it means he’s taking 37 shots because I know he’s giving me energy, defense, and all sorts of crazy intangible stuff out the ass!
Golden State is a better basketball team than Cleveland. They can, as people have detailed over and over again, win any way they need to: in a shootout, in a defensive slog, big, small, buzzer, beater, blowout, you name it.
Outside of the MVP v. real MVP matchup (Curry v. LeBron because, like Michael, LeBron COULD win the MVP every year because he is the most valuable player in the league), the Kyrie v. Steph matchup will be the most important matchup of these Finals.
Two of the best six or seven offensive players in the league, who can shoot, finish, play mediocre-to-ok defense, and put the team on their respective backs will certainly play a big part in determining who wins this series. The Cavs need Kyrie to have a huge series, not only offensively, but also defending Steph. Cleveland will likely spend a lot of time, like the Grizzlies, with their best on-ball defender on Klay, meaning Irving, not a great defender anyways, will have the unenviable task of guarding this.
This may not end up mattering that much, since Golden State forces opposing defenses to switch so much, but if Curry is torching Irving to the point that they have to put Iman Shumpert on him, Thompson will have more room to go off, and it could just be a horrible slippery slope from there.
On the other side, Curry is not a great defender either (although he’s probably better than Kyrie), so don’t be surprised if they hide him on Iman, J.R., and Dellavedova and let Klay guard Kyrie.
Thompson is a great defender, and since his offensive explosion this year (check out his numbers per 36 minutes), he has become one of the best two-way wing players in the league. Kyrie is a good enough offensive player that he can still have a major impact when being guarded by Klay, but a lot of that will be contingent upon his health.
That’s a really important last clause, by the way.
If Irving is not healthy and either missing games or playing at less than 75%, this could be a short series. There simply won’t be enough scoring without him and Love. The impact of Love’s absence offensively is mitigated by the much improved defense and rebounding (particularly on the offensive boards), but the Cavaliers can’t handle another blow to their offense.
The Cavs cannot rely on Iman and Dellavedova to put up 20 points per game against the league’s most efficient defense (note: Delly was only halfway to 20 in the game where he played well enough to get the post-game interview with Rachel Nichols!).
Kyrie didn’t play in two of the four games against Atlanta and played limited minutes in the closeout, which is either smart coaching or a bad omen. It either means that LeBron said, ‘hey I got this’, and Kyrie wanted to take a couple days off to recover before the playoffs, or it means that he’s really struggling, and a long taxing series against the Warriors might be too much for his knee right now.
Memphis played Golden State better than anyone else in the playoffs, which many people expected to be the case considering the Grizzlies’ massive front court would/did cause everyone problems this. The series would have been an even more interesting series had Mike Conley not broken his face and had Tony Allen not missed a pivotal game five, but Cleveland can take away a few things that Memphis did well in that series.
Defending Klay Thompson is something that Memphis (Tony “First-Team All-Defense” Allen, mostly) did very well. Thompson averaged 17.8 points per game (low this postseason), 3.3 turnovers (nearly double his average in the first and third rounds), and fewer than two free throws per game, while shooting his low from the charity stripe in a series (72.7%) per ESPN.com.
The big question for Cleveland then becomes, do you stick Iman Shumpert, probably your best defender, on Curry and try to take away some of what he does, or try to take Thompson out of the game like Memphis did. Iman is not as good a defender as Allen, who still didn’t completely take Thompson out of the game, but he’s good enough to seriously limit Klay’s impact. He will probably spend time on both, but odds are, unless things get out of hand, he’ll spend more time on Klay.
Something else to watch for that Memphis did well against the Dubs: GS is so versatile with its legion of 6-foot-6 athletes that they’re comfortable playing big or small, but when Cleveland goes big (Kyrie or Iman at point, JR or Iman, LeBron, Thompson, Mozgov), they could cause Golden State some problems.
Mozgov and Thompson are nowhere near the frontcourt of the Grizzlies, especially offensively, but they do a lot of things well, including defend and rebound.
Tristan Thompson has become one of the best offensive rebounders in the game and has been huge this postseason, grabbing an average of four offensive boards per game, and when paired with Mozgov, Cleveland dominates the offensive glass with unprecedented efficiency. Joe Mags quantifies a lot of this impact and Thompson’s increased role and impact since moving into the starting five here.
These lineups that feature Thompson and Mozgov (their starting lineup since midway through the Chicago series) aren’t without their vulnerabilities. Playing Kyrie and Iman leaves J.R.'s shooting (and after his eight 3-pointer performance, he looks like he might be the only Cavalier who could hope to hang with Steph, and that’s only if he’s scorching hot) on the bench. Kyrie would be a hole on defense and Iman’s scoring is streaky enough that Golden State could hide Steph on him defensively. If Shumpert can get it going though, this may be Cleveland’s best lineup against the standard Warriors’ starting five (Curry, Thompson, Barnes, Green, Bogut). Mozgov would guard Bogut in these lineups, which may render Mozgov a 0 on offense, but he’s quick enough to defend Bogut in transition, which could end up being hugely important. The last two matchups here would be LeBron and Tristan Thompson on Klay Thompson and Harrison Barnes, which could go either way depending on who’s hot.
If Cleveland plays Iman and J.R. they don't have one of the best 6 or 7 offensive players in the league, which is not a viable option. J.R. may a better defender than Kyrie (not really qualified to make that statement with any certainty), but he has the tendency to seemingly space out and get lost, which could be a nightmare against a Golden State offense with lots of moving pieces and action away from the ball.
If they play Kyrie and J.R., they lose your best on-ball defender. Iman is not going to play 48 minutes per game, so we will see some Kyrie and J.R., David Blatt needs to play Iman like the Bulls played Jimmy Butler on LeBron: whenever whoever Shumpert is guarding that night sits (Curry or Thompson) is when Shumpert sits. Playing 36 minutes per game during the last two series should have prepared Shumpert for playing longer minutes than he was used to for most of the season (although he was a starter in New York so minutes shouldn’t REALLY be a problem).
Cleveland will likely trot out all three of these combinations at some point, but the Kyrie/Iman starting backcourt that earned them a sweep against Atlanta should get the most minutes. With two big bodies and two guys that need to be able to work the lane (Kyrie has plenty of firepower from outside too, although LeBron’s jumper has been awful this postseason (17.6% from downtown!)), Iman will need to get his shot going. If not, GS can pack the paint and only have to worry about Kyrie on the outside.
Mozgov and Thompson don't post up much, but the offense that they create will come in the form of extra possessions. Even if they aren’t scoring points, a quick offensive rebound and kick to a shooter for three is bigger in terms of momentum than a big dunk.
When Golden State goes small with Draymond Green at center, Cleveland will have match and hope that guys not named Curry or Thompson aren’t hot that night. Those lineups have been unguardable for the Warriors, and Cleveland will need at least one of Kyrie or J.R. to make up some ground on defense.
Either Thompson or Mozgov at center, with LeBron at the four, Shumpert, J.R., and Kyrie will be Cleveland’s best bet here. They might be able to get away with playing the 6-foot-8 James Jones at a forward spot if Iman is in the backcourt because he wouldn’t a be a huge downgrade defensively from J.R., but frankly, if the Cavs are relying on him/playing Jones for more than 15 minutes a game, they may be in trouble.
It seems unfair to describe Cleveland’s chances in this series as a longshot, but Golden State, for everything that they have accomplished in the regular season and the playoffs thus far, is, deservedly, favored to win this series. Everything on paper though, can go out the window at a moment’s notice, as a result of an injury, a superstar taking over, a role player playing out of his mind, or just because basketball games aren’t played on paper.
I know I said that I wanted the Cavs to win a little while ago, but that’s only because I think LeBron would win a game seven, and I really want this series to go seven games.
Kirk Goldsberry of Grantland quantified how boring these playoffs have been, which may or not be true (there have certainly been some memorable moments), but that is neither here nor there. If these Finals are as good as they could be, it won’t matter what the rest of the playoffs were like.
Cleveland may need a lot bounces to go their way to have a fighting chance against an historically good Golden State team, but if anyone can pull it off, it’s a LeBron James led team.
Let’s enjoy what could represent the passing of the torch from King to baby-faced Prince and just hope for seven games.
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[Table] IAmA: I am Phil Plait, astronomer/author/blogger/some time TV host. AMA.

Verified? (This bot cannot verify AMAs just yet)
Date: 2012-04-24
Link to submission (Has self-text)
Link to my post
Questions Answers
When you go from being a ginger to being bald, do you get your soul back? In your case? Hopeless.
What is the craziest misconception that you have had people tell you that they believe? There is no craziest misconception, I'd say. People believed Nancy Lieder when she said you could see a giant planet everywhere in the sky (which turned out to be lens flares in pictures) but not the big bright comet Hale-Bopp. One guy claims comets are hot and bigger than planets, and he has followers. There's no idea so ridiculous you can't find people to believe it.
Also what is your greatest achievement in life? Greatest achievement (mushy, but true): I have a good marriage and a good kid.
What terrifies you the most in Astronomy? Gamma-ray bursts, no question. The sheer power of those beams of energy marching across the Universe, the lifetime supply of a star's energy packed into a blowtorch; that makes the hair on the back of my neck stand up. I'm glad they're so far away.
As an astronomer, you are comfortable working with big numbers. Are you able to quantify just how badass Neil deGrasse Tyson is? Yes. He is exactly equal to 1000 milliPlaits.
Considering your knowledge of the cosmos, what out there still makes you look up and just wonder in amazement? All of it.
Seriously, all of it. Seeing Venus shining in the west, the crescent Moon with the dark side softly lit by reflected Earthlight, a nebula through a telescope, Cassini pix of Saturn, Hubble shots of supernovae... it all still gets to me. The day it doesn't is they day you can bury me.
Your whole "Don't be a dick" speech caused quite a stir in the skeptic community. Do you think it caused any shift in the way people deal with others, or are things pretty much the way they were prior? I have heard from lots of folks who agreed with me, and lots who didn't. I got great feedback from people who reconsidered how to argue critical thinking topics, and that makes me happy. Of course, some of the others doubled down and dug in. That's to be expected. I don't have objective evidence of the outcome, but studies have shown not attacking your opponent tends to get better results. So I still think I'm right. :)
I'm a 24 year old doing my PhD in astronomy. My question is, what advice would you give on most effectively doing public outreach? Good question, and I'm not really sure past saying: go out there and do it. Writer a blog, hep out the local astronomy societies, find out what your department does for EPO. I got a huge start in face-to-face PO by doing the bi-annual star party at the University of Virginia, and I loved it. It taught me a lot on how to relate to the public and explain complicated topics.
I hope you can make it happen! We need lots more folks like you who want to show the public how awesome astronomy is.
What is your favored/most likely doomsday scenario for the Earth? Why are you known as the "Bad Astronomer"? "Most likely" = asteroid/comet impact, but it's also the one natural disaster we can prevent. We just have to choose to commit ourselves to doing it. They concern me, but I don't lie awake at night in a cold sweat. At least, not because of them.
As for my nickname, try here.
What do you think about the idea that our universe lies inside a black hole? and that the big bang was the creation of a black hole in another universe? Is there any evidence that points to this being plausible? Well, it's complicated :) but in very rough terms that may not be too far off. I don't think we're inside a black hole as most people think of them - the infinitely dense point where a star has exploded and the core collapsed - but it's certainly possible our Universe branched off as a quantum bubble form another metauniverse. I find that sort of thing fascinating, though I'm certainly no expert in it. What's neat is that there are astronomy missions (like Europe's Planck) designed to observe the cosmic background, the afterglow of the Big Bang, and may see subtle features in it that might indicate our origins. I wrote about that here
Sorry if you've covered this - link as response okay - but how did you get into astronomy/physics/all that jazz? Thanks! I love Hardwick and w00tstock. So much fun!
Loved you at W00tstock, btw. Edit: And on the Nerdist podcast. I got into all this when I was a wee lad, and my folks bought a cheap telescope. My dad pointed it at Saturn, and that was that. The lesson: always expose kids to science. You never know how far it will take them.
What are your thoughts on the asteroid mining venture that we have heard of today? Link to www.cbsnews.com (I remember watching your TED talk where you spoke of how we on Earth can deflect the killer asteroid; you also mentioned of the possibility of putting it in orbit for mining) My thoughts are here. I'll have more soon; the press conference starts in a few minutes!
How do you feel about education reform in the USA being fronted almost entirely by individuals who have never themselves been professional educators? Do you mean politicians or local School Boards? If the former, I'm not a fan at all, because of the vast partisan gulf going on right now, and how firmly the political right is denying science - and I want to be clear I do mean Republicans in charge, not necessarily people who just identify as Republicans. I have several pro-science Republican friends, and they hate what's going on with science in the GOP. Ideally, reform would be driven by people in charge who have lots of advisors with lots of experience, and they listen to those advisors. Instead, it tends to be driven by some educational trend with little evidence it works, or worse, a narrow ideology that excludes most of reality. Grrrr.
Hi Phil. What's your survival plan for when the zombie apocalypse arrives? I've thought about that, and decided just to join the crowd. I bet brains taste GREAT!
Hey Phil, what do we know about the precursor to our Sun; our TRUE mother(s)? Not much, to be honest. The Sun was formed 4.56 billion years ago, which is plenty of time for us to separate out from wherever it was we were born. Plus, the nebula we formed from is certainly long gone after that much time. There's some argument over whether we formed in an Orion Nebula-like huge stellar factory or a smaller, calmer cloud. I'm not sure where the current thinking stands on that. It's kinda neat that a) we can even consider stuff like this, and 2) it's possible we can figure it out!
Wouldn't mining helium-3 from the moon be more profitable than mining an asteroid?? Not yet. We have no use for helium-3! Once we have an actual working fusion reactor, then I'll cheer on anyone who wants to collect it. Until then, meh.
What do you consider your best memory/event of working with Hubble? Oh man, there are so many. I remember when my boss called me into his office, and showed me a picture of Jupiter's and Saturn's aurorae that were taken using our camera (this shot, in fact) and which hadn't been released yet. We had never seen anything like it.
I remember finding our first asteroid in the pictures, and figuring out how big and how far away it was (in the main belt, and a half mile or so across)... and not being able to follow up because it was too faint to be seen from the ground!
I remember when we thought we might have an actual picture of a planet orbiting another star. I worked feverishly for a month trying to pin it down, and ultimately couldn't do it. Eventually we found it was a background star, but those were exciting weeks. :)
So yeah, too many to write about!
Have you ever gotten to argue Joe Rogan about the moon landing again? It seems you never got far enough on Penn's radio show. Nah, after two segments I was done. The first one was light and funny, and it was a lot of fun. The second one he seemed a lot more aggressive, and it had a timbre I didn't care for. That's one reason I didn't do as well in the second one; his attacks surprised me. That was my fault; I should be prepared for such things when arguing against antiscience, and I hope the next time it occurs I'll be better prepared for it.
How could artificial gravity be achieved, say, on the ISS? The only real way would be to use spin/centrifugal force, and the ISS isn't designed for it. The stress would tear it apart. But there are some ideas for spacecraft to spin, or to have multiple units tethered together, revolving around the center of mass like two kids holding hands and spinning around. We may need to do stuff like that if we want to have long-duration space missions. There are medical problems with extended periods of microgravity, so we'll have to figure out how to so this.
What do you consider to be the best route of entry for a scientist wanting to convert to journalism? Do you think a journalism degree is necessary? Or do you think someone with enough experience in their field and a pretty good voice on the page is already qualified enough to do the job? Hmmm, good question, and I'm not entirely sure. Having journalism experience might be a plus, but I'm not sure it's necessary, especially since there are so few real journalists left. The best bet is to write, write, write. I know it's a cliche, but it's a cliche because it's true. Write for your local paper, write a blog, submit to group websites, whatever. Writing is like any other form of expression; you get better with practice.
Once your confident, talk to some of the science sites and see if they want contributions. If you have a strong, unique voice you'll have a better chance of getting heard.
Do you think Elon Musk has what it takes to get us to Mars? Yes.
Eventually. There's a long way to go, of course, and we'll see next week if and when Space X can get to the ISS. But he's got the right idea, and he's pursuing it carefully and logically. And if he can't , there are lots of others who will try. But I think he can.
Any advice for amateur astronomy total beginner? Easy: find a local astronomy club and join! Seriously, that's the best first thing you can do. You can learn a lot that way, and attend star parties to see the sky and get familiar with it and the equipment.
What's the strangest thing you've observed in space? When I was working on Hubble, by random chance we got an image of two stars next to each other of almost the exact same brightness. We also got spectra, and the two stars were almost exactly the same. It was bizarre, like a cosmic mirage doubling the image of a single star, but it was definitely two different stars at least a light year apart. They were evolved carbon stars, red giants, and I never was able to figure out why they were so similar. It haunts me to this day. Seriously.
Have you ever heard of /AskScience? We allow anyone to ask their own science question and we have knowledgeable people in their field of study answer them. I have a feeling you might enjoy it. Please give it a look! ...and feel free to answer some questions while you're at it, heh. ;) I know about that, and lots of other Q&A sites too. I think they're great and wish I had more time to do stuff like that. But with everything I'm working on, adding something like that to my list would kill me. And I prefer breathing. :)
Hi Phil, what is your favourite space pic? and why! That's tough, because there really are so many that are so damn cool. But I love this one and this one, which are the same object (NGC 3603) observed in different ways.
Here's one I've wondered about - not being an astronomy expert - but I understand it fascinates scientists that galaxies farther away are moving faster than the ones closer to us. If I understand that correctly, it makes sense to me - the ones farther away are also farther back in time, and would be showing less effect of gravity slowing them down, so they WOULD be moving faster....I'm sure I'm missing something. Can you set me straight? It's not that we see them in the past so we see them when they were moving faster, it's that the Universe itself is expanding, so the ones farther away are moving faster. Think of it this way: take a picture of a hand grenade one second after it explodes. The stuff moving faster moves the farthest in that time, so it's farthest away.
That's not the best analogy, but it gives you a sense of it. Every galaxy sees every other galaxy moving away from it, and there is no center to the Universe!
Here, this and this should help destroy your brain. :)
Am I correct in thinking that that famous "Earthrise" photo taken from the moon is misnamed, as the moon is in a tidal-locked orbit, and then Earth would always be in the same spot in the sky from the astronauts' perspective, thus preventing a "rise"? Yes, but no. :) Apollo 8 was orbiting the Moon at the time, so they did in fact see the Earth rise. If they had been on the Moon's surface, the Earth wouldn't appear to move. Well, not very much; it does move due to the Moon's orbit being elliptical and other factors, but that apparent motion of the Earth in the lunar sky would be small. Look up the term "libration"! That'll help.
If you had "full control", where would you focus money/time/effort as far as research/exploration/etc is concerned on a near term (<25 years\) timeline and on a far term (>50 years) timeline? Oh man, I don't know. The politics of that are very complicated, and even with full control there are hard choices to make due to limited budgets, time, personnel.
But if I could, I would support the idea of near-Earth asteroid exploration, coupled with putting an actual research base on the Moon and a bigger, better space station in orbit.
That's for crewed missions. Unmanned, I'd say keep ramping up Mars exploration, send probes to Europa, Enceladus, and Titan to look for life, and build monster telescopes in orbit to observe at all wavelength ranges. Y'know, the easy stuff!
Who is your biggest influence in the field of science at the moment? I don't think I have one, to be honest. It wasn't the specific people who motivated me as a kid, it was the topic, the ideas of science. It still is! But I have lots of friends who inspire me like Neil Tyson, Bill Nye, Carolyn Porco, Amy Mainzer, and many, many more. Mostly that's in outreach, not research. But that's what I do!
What are some of your favorite trails to bike in the Boulder area? I always see you tweet pics but its usually hard to tell where they are from. That's not by accident. :) But I bike all over. I prefer to head north, out of town, because that's quieter, and I'm more likely to see cool birds and animals and scenery. But seriously, biking anywhere in Boulder is a joy. I may go out today, in fact.
How do we know the universe expansion is accelerating? How do we know it will keep accelerating, rather than the idea that we are perhaps still in the phase of the Big Bang where stuff would not have begun to decelerate? I wrote about this on the blog, and the links (especially under "Related Posts" at the bottom) have your answer. :)
Should we strive to gain a broad understanding of the universe, but have it be limited to far-away observation and mathematical theory... or should we put all of our effort into one huge, but limited achievement (like sending a colony ship to another star system)? I don't think we need to make that choice. Why not do both? or at least, put money into understanding what we can while still going for big (but achievable) projects. Traveling to another star is probably not the best bet - takes too long, we don't have the right tech, it would cost too much - but putting a base on the Moon, going to Mars, exploring asteroids... that stuff we can do. And we could still push science as hard as we can by building probes and bigger telescopes.
Can you suggest some "layman" level experiments that people can do to to debunk popular physics and astronomy myths and misconceptions? Ex; the earth does not revolve around the sun, the earth is less than 6000 years old. Yup: go to my pal Moriel's site. She has some great stuff there.
Are there more episodes of Bad Astronomy coming anytime soon? And nope, no more "Bad Universe". We made three and that was it. New episodes of "How the Universe Works" will come out this summer, and I do talking head stuff in those. Stay Tuned!
How would you recommend an aspiring science writer break into the field? See here. :)
I've been amused by your reviews of Hollywood films and how their science often goes hilariously wrong (Armageddon for one) in the name of entertainment. What TV shows or movies, in your opinion, get it more right than wrong? Hmmm. Battlestar Galactica did a great job of at least trying very hard to be consistent (they had a science advisor who helped) Come to think of it, Big Bang Theory is pretty good too! For movies, Contact is probably the closest science/astronomy-based movie that got most of it right, and all the important stuff. 2001 did too.
Hey Phil! As someone who shares a birthday with the hubble (go IRL cakeday), I'm glad that you're here to answer some questions. I just have one; What do you think will be the next revolution in space exploration? I know you mentioned we have an ion drive, but what do you think the next "holy shit" moment of tech will be? Oooo, good question. I'm not sure. A lot of the stuff being worked on now is incremental, like bigger telescopes, more sensitive instruments, and so on. If we could combine high-thrust (like chemical rockets) and long-duration thrust (like ion drives) then you're really opening up the solar system. Fission/fusion drive? Maybe, but that's a long way off yet.
Or the Orion drive. That would definitely be a holy crap moment.
I enjoyed reading your supposition about what Planetary Resources, Inc. was going to be, and your follow-up. Is this the vision-based long-term thinking that will get us beyond the shorter-term profit-driven LEO arena? I'm hoping this will be long-term thinking. It sounds like it, and as I wrote on my post about it, it sounds like the investors know what they're getting into.
Can you give us some more insight into your [and perhaps the astronomer community] expectation and predictions to what it means for the future of the world's space programs? Can you tell us your hopes for advancements in technology as they relate to astronomy in the next 5, 10, or 20 years? If the company can do what they say, this will be critical. Needing water to live is a pain; it's heavy and can't be compressed, so having it already in space could save billions of dollars and make it way way easier to extend crewed missions (it's also good at absorbing radiation from the Sun). So this is an exciting possibility.
I have a 10" Dobsonian, but I'm stuck in the suburbs 99% of the year. What deep-sky objects would you recommend as targets for a almost-city sky? We've become close friends with the planets, but there's not much in the Messier catalog that we can see. Also, you're the man. Yeah, that's tough. At some point, there's not much you can do except load it into the back of a pickup and get away from the lights. But things like M42, M31 for fuzzies, clusters like M35, M41, M13 and others are still cool through a big aperture even in light polluted skies. like I've said before, find a local astronomy club! That usually helps.
Top 5 tips for aspiring science communicators? 1) Communicate.
2) Communicate.
3) Communicate.
4) Communicate.
5) Communicate.
IOW, practice. Get out there and do it. Write, blog, talk, whatever. The more you do it the better you'll get, and the more likely people will listen. If the most talented communicator in the world sits at home and plays video games all the time, they're not the world's best communicator. They're the world's least efficient one.
How concievable / plausible is panspermia? I think it's entirely plausible, but difficult to prove. It also pushes the origin of life problem back one step! But it's always good to know more - maybe it was easier for life to start on Mars than on Earth. If that's the case, wouldn't it be cool to know for sure?
What do you think of the fact that there is a sequel series to Cosmos coming out in a year or two (I don't remember the date that was mentioned)? Do you think you might be making an appearance on it? I think it's great! Neil Tyson will do a fantastic job with it, and Seth MacFarlane, the co-creator of the reboot, is a major science dork. I have no idea if they'll ask me to be in it, but if it's like the old show then it'll mostly be the host - Neil - in various astronomical situations. The old show didn't have interviews and such. I actually hope they go that way; all the other shows do interviews, and this one should be different.
Have you ever thought about changing your first name to "Yo"? Yes. It was my second choice; Dannon was already taken.
Do you agree with Stephen Hawking that we shouldn't attempt to contact alien civilizations or do you have a different opinion? What do you feel about the likelihood of other civilizations in our own galaxy? I think that the tech to find other civilizations isn't all that hard to make, so us broadcasting our existence doesn't make much difference. And if they want to come here and eat our resources, there's not much we can do anyway. :) ]I wrote about this briefly](Link to blogs.discovermagazine.com when he made that statement, in fact.
I think alien life is likely, but I'm agnostic about intelligent life as we understand intelligence. But the conditions for life to arise appear to be pretty easy to make, and we know there are lots of planets out there! So life is very likely IMO.
Do you remember your first really big "oh wow!" moment? Mine was pointing a telescope at a bright light in the sky and seeing Jupiter & Saturn for the first time. Yup, same here. It was seeing Saturn through as small cheap 'scope my folks bought. I was five, and I was hooked. :)
Just last night I watched your TED talk and you have got me extremely excited about humanities expansion to space! Well, if they can do what they, it's a very big deal indeed. Time will tell. I wrote a lot about it on my blog, including what it means for the future of space.
I've followed your blog on/off over the years: we need more "smart people" posting online. Question for you: I've found it easier to find stuff in the night sky lately; I live in the eastern part of Orlando, and I've been able to pick out a dim red Mars with little difficulty (Google Sky confirms when I see it). I took this pic a few weeks ago when Jupiter and Venus were out. As cities and people switch to CFLs and LEDs, are you hearing any reports of a decrease in light pollution? Decrease? Not really; as cities expand it tends to get worse. We need better lighting which are more efficient, cheaper in the long run, and provide better illumination of the ground without ruining the sky. Look up The Dark Sky Association! They're a good group.
As someone who has read both your books Bad Astronomy and Death from the Skies, I first wanted to thank you for writing a book and maintaining a blog that opened my mind to science and skepticism. I highly recommend the former book as a classic in teaching scientific method mixed with awesome humor. First thanks! Glad you liked my books.
now for the question, can you tell me what is your prediction for the status of skepticism in the future? Do you think there ever will be a world where at least most are skeptics and don't readily believe in superstition? Second, I doubt the world will ever be mostly skeptical. Our brains just don't work that way... and even skeptics have a hard time being skeptical about everything, including ourselves. The best we can do is try to minimize the damage done by blind belief, and work as hard as possible to maximize people's ability to think critically.
Did you ever figure out why the customer doesn't cheese? It is simply sufficient to know that CUSTOMER DOESN'T CHEESE.
Hi, Phil. With the retirement of the Space Shuttle program where do you think the future of American space exploration is headed? Is there anything in the works to replace the shuttle program or is America leaving the current era of space travel to other governments or private interests? NASA has plans on a next generation launch system. I wonder if we really need it; private space (plus existing launchers) may be able to build something for less money than NASA can. :) I'm not an expert in these things, so I try to be careful when I speak. But I'd like to see the case for just why NASA should build this.
Preface: You're awesome, thanks for doing what you do. Question: What's up with those ultra high-energy cosmic rays? I mean, seriously: A proton with the kinetic energy of a baseball going the speed of sound, and not even coming from the galactic core? That's just crazy! What could cause that, besides stray shrapnel from some kinda alien superweapon? I know! I don't think there's a good explanation yet. At those energies they can't travel very far without breaking down into gamma rays, so it's unclear what kind of thing might be creating them. You can bet black holes are involved! The total energy to create such particles is easy, but giving it to a single particle is pretty weird. It's like popping a billion kernels of popcorn, and having one with enough energy to launch into orbit. Bizarre.
I know your more of a skeptic than agnostic or atheist...but I would like your opinion as well. So, as a scientist, I wonder what your viewpoint is on this whole matter. Is it even important to get religious people to believe in science, and if so how should a serious debate be entertained, if such a debate were to even exist ? Is there a way to balance to obviously contradictory views ? My opinion on this is a matter of record.
Why aren't we launching more probes directly into Jupiter & Saturn's atmospheres? is it budget? lack of overall interest? Budget, mostly. Getting there is hard, and expensive. But we've dropped one probe into Jupiter (Galileo) and I bet at Cassini's end-of-mission they'll do the same at Saturn. It's sad in its way, but we also learn even more about those planets, even as the probe dies. I think that's wonderful and amazing.
I'm thankful to you both for bringing to peoples' attention the plans of American Airlines to air the views of the despicable Meryl Dorey and for helping to end those plans. What do you think can be done to combat that kind of scientific ignorance, whether it has to do with vaccines or the universe? All I can say is, keep fighting. Ignorance will always be with us. Some people have a loose grip on reality, some are easily influenced by others (especially with confirmation bias so strong in us humans), and others just don't know the real story. The best we can do is keep pounding away, keep getting the info out there, and try to make it as easy to understand and as easy to accept as possible. It's grueling, and frustrating, and anger-making, but it's really important. Successes like with AA make it easier sometimes, too. :)
Phil, thanks so much for doing an AMA. I've been reading your blog since before it went to Discover and you are a big reason that I now consider myself a skeptic and critical thinker. You, along with Adam Savage, are my personal geek heroes/mancrushes. Wow, that's nice of you to say! I have a crush on Adam too. I think he probably knows.
My question: Any chance we'll see more of you on Discovery? I'll be on Discovery later this summer in "How the Universe Works". I don't know for sure when it airs though.
How likely do you think it is that the observable universe is all, or nearly all, of the entire universe? Since the Universe is expanding, there is a whole part of it we can't see (this primer may help.) It's beyond our horizon, but it exists. That's why we talk about our "observable" Universe. This stuff makes my brain hurt too.
Alternatively, how likely do you think it is that what we currently consider the universe is simply one of many such structures, similar to galaxies making up galaxy clusters? OTOH there may be other Universe, like bubbles in foam, created like ours was but out of our reach. It's an interesting idea, and there's some math to back it up. I wonder if we'll ever know? It seems odd to think we might be able to find out, but from what I understand, it's possible.
Last updated: 2012-04-28 21:44 UTC
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To access the free soccer predictions tips and todays bet tips, If for instance, 3 games coincide, no matter how good they are, we still have to choose only one. Doesn’t mean the other 2 are not good, just that we have to go with only one. Hence we drop the other 2 full time draw football predictions here. And just so you know, these free draws may not be available daily, but ONLY WHEN Football tips on today s and this weekend s matches. Get all games of the major leagues. Free nfl betting tips. Www betnumbers gr free betting tips free football soccer tips reviews. Dear friends we would like to inform you that betnumbers gr has no any official page on facebook after deleting the last one titled betnumbers gr betting tips. The suggestions look exactly like the free of charge We also offer a variety of tips for bet types including Asian handicap tips, 1×2 tips, and over/under tips. The pure range and diversity of winning tips posted at bettingexpert is truly amazing. So if you’re looking for the best free tips available for free, bettingexpert’s Betting Tips page is the place to visit. Best Sports Betting Tipsters At bettingexpert. Our tips are the work of the Free Daily Bet Tips. Upcoming Tips . Over - Under Betting. App Packages - Subscription . A new App for Basketball: We are the best betting expert Team for Basket. About us. Betnumbers offers free daily bet tips on football (soccer) games all over the world with over 65% success rate. Our Partners. Golden Live Picks; Daily Fun; Quick Links. Premier League; La Liga; Serie A; Bundesliga; Europa Free Worldwide Soccer and Football Predictions, Statistics and Free Bet Offers. Menu. Home; Dropping Odds; Best Odds; Bet 365; PREDICTZ INTRO. PREDICTZ INTRO . WELCOME NOTE Welcome to our site PREDICTZ-TIPS.COM-professional betting company for successful soccer predictions- We are team of professional punters and tipsters and we will help you to make steady profit from betting tips. Our big BET 365; Home. betnumbers. betnumbers. betnumbers. betnumbers 24.07.2020 Kriens Grasshoppers 2 @ 1.80 4:4. FC Juniors Liefering 2 @ 1.72 0:5 NEXT FIXED MATCH. 2/1, 1/2, 2/X, 1/X. odds: 25.00-45.00. safe: 100%. Twice a week we have 100% sure HALF TIME / FULL TIME FIXED MATCH. The informations for the fixed matches are direct from the most popular european manipulated football matches sources Football Draw accumulator Betting Tips, Free Bets & Betting Sites with Freetips.com. Follow today's top football draw betting accumulator tips to help you build your bankroll and beat the bookies. How to bet using free super tips and Accumulator tips. Every day, George and Kimmy are putting up free betting tips on this page. They use our favourite betting markets like over 2.5 goals, Over 3.5 goals, Over 0.5 half time goals and corner betting. The corner tips are usually over 9.5 corners. The way you should use the tips is by choosing 5 or 6 games and place an accumulator. In our VIP Free Daily Bet Tips. Upcoming Tips . Over - Under Betting. App Packages - Subscription . A new App for Basketball: We are the best betting expert Team for Basket. About us. Betnumbers offers free daily bet tips on football (soccer) games all over the world with over 65% success rate. Our Partners. Golden Live Picks; Daily Fun; Quick Links. Premier League; La Liga; Serie A; Bundesliga; Europa Site for soccer football statistics, predictions, bet tips, results and team information. Cookies help us deliver, improve and enhance our services. Our site cannot work without cookies, so by using our services, you agree to our use of cookies.

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