10 Thoughts for May 10, 2014

1. Watch an opera, any time, on your TV.  There are hundreds of full operas on YouTube and you can stream any of them to your TV using Chromecast.  Mind you, it's not the same as going to an opera, but on balance it's awfully nice to be able to hit 'pause' when needed.  
2. 11 USC Trojans; 3 drafted.  The rest signed free agent contracts.  Okay, so the one that excites me the most: Dion Bailey signed with Seattle.  Duh.  This one's got "special" written all over it.  Bailey was solid in coverage and a big part of USC's defense the last two years.  You know what's got me bummed, is that Morgan Breslin signed a free agent contract with the 49ers...would have loved to see him sign with Seattle instead, and show that always-on motor.  He's undersized as an end but as a linebacker he'd be ideal.
3. Speaking of the draft, for the first time since 1937, not a single Texas Longhorn was drafted.
4. Speaking of universities in the NFL draft, despite a surge of draft picks this year, Notre Dame still trails the top school: U S C.  The Trojans remain the top NFL factory of all time.
5. The US Postal Service is caught in a series of conflicting interests.  The more it cuts delivery service and raises prices, the faster people stop using their services.  They convey a necessary service but do not hold a monopoly to ensure its survival.  They accepted burdens in the 90s placed on them by politicians that weren't sustainable, but are now told by politicians that they cannot operate independently to slash costs as they see fit.
6. This, an awesome and hilarious comment, obtusely, on the naivete of the conservative SCOTUS justices who gave governments the right to invoke Christian prayers before meetings.  If you don't read it, you're depriving yourself.
7. Think about this for a moment.  Inequality has been rising in the US for several decades, now.  I was certain that we were on the precipice of a popular uprising, a la Watts Riots and Rodney King Riots.  But then Democrats took control of Congress in 2006 and the nation elected Barack Obama in 2008.  Even with the tumult of the last 6 years, Democrats were able to pass some legislation to push for some greater progressiveness in taxation and passed demand-based economic stimulus (backed of course, by supply-side Fed policies).  That seemed to stave off any popular response to inequality in the US.  But we're facing a possible -- though I really don't see it in the polls -- takeover of the Senate by Republicans.  I fear Obama will capitulate and break out the cuts to Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security while leaving defense untouched.  Without Democrats in control of at least one chamber of Congress, these cuts will be enacted.  Will we see an all-out uprising outside of the political process (voting) at that point?  I think that it is possible.
8. To recap the Oracle v. Google fight: An appeals court ruled this past week that APIs can be copyright protected, contrary to the EU's highest court and to district court judge Alsup's extensive ruling and considerations.  So, apparently open sourcing an API means nothing, because you're still required to pay out to Oracle the API's owner.
9. If anyone is listening, Petfinder's mobile website is badly broken, i.e. it doesn't work.
10. You're going to love (or fear) this report explaining the social networking involved in a chimp civil war that was heavily documented by the famed Jane Goodall.  In our human world I'd be the leader of a third group (a much smaller group) -- the one that left the confines of this conflict for better, greener pastures, in search of social justice and parity.