Big Blue Huddle

Right now Hurts is the best QB in the NFC IMHO and I didnt think he'd be a good pro.  Had a hard time thinking he would get much better after he got yanked in a national championship game only to see Bama roll after that move.

His throwing looks like it has improved significantly.  I am sure having a top 3 OL and excellent receivers helps.  The reason I thought he'd never excel in the NFL is that he had those things at Bama and still didnt look great.  Looks like he has worked on it and improved.   Giants will need to stop the Eagles run game if they really want to test his throwing.

Matt,

Nice job with this especially staying objective (which will not get many "like"s). I couldn't argue anyone more than a half point either way. 

As Ed said, hopefully next year their will be Giants who command a higher grade.

I think the Giants will overtake Dallas this in terms of record.  I think they may be as close as your scores have them.

Quote from: Jaime on August 01, 2023, 02:56:15 AMGood point Ed. Rook WR's have to learn how to handle Press. Some may not be able to, therein lies the rub.
Can't recall a WR getting a 10 yard cushion in the NFL

I think the Giants defense was giving 10 yard cushions on 3rd and 7 a few years ago.

Quote from: DaveBrown74 on December 22, 2022, 12:21:57 PMExactly.

Cash is an easy way to do illegal business if it's less sophisticated crime, not massive sums, and done at a local level. Mafia type activity and drug dealing within a specific local area is perfect for cash transactions. Much tougher when you're talking about higher level, more sophisticated, and more global type crime or terrorism. Crypto is perfect for that.

Yeah, nobody could get these things done before crypto, big cash transfers didn't exist.   

Again, if regulated, addresses could be only to registered people who had to prove identity, which is basically how the bank monitors things. 

As for the global crime type and terrorism, what exactly are you talking about?  Did 9/11 happen because of crypto?  What about the Oklahoma City bombing?

Quote from: DaveBrown74 on December 22, 2022, 10:09:40 AMOne very fundamental and basic but (I think at least) important set of questions that needs to be considered regarding crypto is the following:


What practical purpose does cryptocurrency serve? Why does the world need it?


I think this is important because all legitimately great discoveries and inventions, and ones that have soared in value over multiple generations, have served a genuine purpose that has helped mankind in some way. They have been something that people either need or very badly want. I am trying to understand how crypto fits into that axiom.


Obviously, to be able to make payments digitally is not a reason why we need crypto. We do that all the time now with regular fiat currency, and there are all kinds of technologically advanced ways to do it. So that's a non-reason.

Clearly, cryptocurrency is of great use to any individual or group of individuals looking to engage in illicit, nefarious transactional activity. No doubt it helps serve that purpose, but that is obviously not an acceptable, legitimate purpose or need.

What most crypto people will give you as their response to this question is that crypto currency is finite, unlike fiat currency, which governments can print as much as they want of. I get that, but that's more a property of it than an actual use or something that people "need" or even "want."

I still have yet to hear anyone make a coherent argument of why the legitimate, law-abiding world needs crypto currency. If anyone here wants to take a stab at it, I'd love to hear your thoughts.

That argument about illicit uses is the biggest crock of sh!t there is.  Every transaction is recorded on a blockchain and therefore completely traceable.  You know what the best payment for illicit activity is and always has been?  Cash.  Going to get rid of that?

If the addresses were regulated it would easily eliminate that issue.

People want a currency that is not dependent on central banks making decisions about interest rates or government heads like John Mugabe just printing the money into worthlessness.  I get that not everyone wants it, but a universal currency is not a bad idea.

Personally, I love the idea of a currency that is not attached to any country or government.  We have seen mulitple countries (albeit smaller ones) have currency crashes in the last few years.  Bet a lot of those people wish they were not dependent on a government to maintain their worth. 

Quote from: MightyGiants on December 22, 2022, 10:36:04 AMThat Crypto currency is finite is true if you look at a given type of crypto currency.  On the other hand, taken as a whole there is no limit on the number of crypto currencies that can enter that market

There are dozens if not more traded cryptos. If there is to be one used more widely, many of those will disappear. 

Quote from: MightyGiants on December 22, 2022, 09:58:33 AMMatt,

Wells Fargo engaged in some shady fee charges (from how I remember their issues).  I am not sure that's the same as FTX who told people they were a crypto bank, give us your crypto for safekeeping like in a bank, only to spend the money they got.   I think that's why Wells Fargo was fined and FTX had at least one arrest (that I am aware of).

In some ways, I would argue that the Well Fargo case shows that the safeguards that are put in place worked.  Despite some questionable practices by Wells Fargo, the regulators protected the customer's interests.

It was much more than just fees.  They took money out of customer accounts and started new accounts to show they had increased the number of accounts.  There was also some mortgage situation that I forgot the details. 

Really it shows the safeguards were circumvented for a period of time until someone reported it.

Quote from: MightyGiants on December 16, 2022, 01:10:16 PMFinancial regulation, at least to me, is akin to the regulations governing the airline industry.  Each time there is a scam or some event that costs people all or most of their money, there are regulations put in place to either prevent such an event from happening again or at least help people avoid such events.  This has been going on for nearly 100 years. 

Along comes Crypto with zero regulations.  FTX was essentially a bank for crypto-currency.  This would never have happened with traditional currency because banks are heavily regulated to protect banking customers.   That doesn't mean a new scam won't happen, but the chances of being scammed in the world of crypto are magnitudes greater than with traditional finance, in my opinion.

Wells Fargo did some very similar things to their customers.   They are still in business and for some reason people still use them.

https://www.cnbc.com/2022/12/20/wells-fargo-agrees-to-3point7-billion-settlement-with-cfpb-over-consumer-abuses.html

Quote from: GordonGekko80 on December 16, 2022, 12:38:20 PMI beg your pardon, but I respectfully disagree; If the markets and the brokers would've been regulated to the right extent, this wouldn't have happened. Initially, everyone was happy because of the lack of Regulations, the independence from the normal financial system... but now this happened and most if not all are now screaming for Regulations of the Crypromarket.

You are free to disagree and it may have been harder to do but Bernie Madoff did what he did with regulation and people reporting suspicions.  Further, things like Enron, Lucent, MCI/Worlcom have all happened in the 2nd half of my life while under regulations that are supposed to prevent it.

To say scams won't happen because of regulations is false. 

I think crypto markets should be regulated but I don't think regulations are some 100% insurance against scams

I have a bit of a different take on the crypto than most here.  I think some form of cryptocurrency will be widely accepted all over the world at some point, but I think we are a number of years from that.  Even now you can purchase a wide variety of things using some forms of cryptocurrency.  I don't think there will be more than a couple of crypto currencies worth much when this does happen. 

There is a lot of issues with it being unregulated as well as the number of various crypto assets that are being created and sold.  IT's very much a buyer beware area.

FTX was really a Bernie Madoff type of scam which really has nothing to do with what crypto is or isn't.

I do own some Ethereum but have not bought any in several years.   

On the other, I think blockchain technology is really helping in a lot of industries and will continue to grow.

Sad this will end this season because I think it's far and away the best season.  This weeks episode was great.  Did not see some of that coming. 

With the Sandpiper case being settled, I assume we will see Saul make some changes soon.

Quote from: Painter on August 04, 2021, 01:35:17 PM
Good to know that you're not John Clayton whom Sean Salisbury used to refer to as the Cryptkeeper, which was in reponse to his having been called, Mr. Backup. In any case, he was let go in Disney ESPN's big (300+) layoff a year ago. I think Clayton now has a Saturday Morning radio show devoted to the Seattle Seahawks. I wonder if he still has the poneytail?

As for Salibury, Mr.Dicpic was fired way earlier. Yet he too has a radio show.

In any event, we'd rather "listen" to you, Jess.

Cheers!

John Clayton has been making some appearances on NFL Radio when regular hosts are off.  There are other media people that host shows on that network, and in some ways they understand how to create a better radio program, but the knowledge base is very different from the ex- players, coaches and front office people that I find more interesting on that station.

Mine is Matt.  Nice to meet you all.

Quote from: ps11yat14 on July 23, 2021, 10:30:24 AM
How is it going to encourage people to get vaccinated when now they are starting to tell vaccinated people that they must start wearing masks again. Talk about dividing the country even more!

Bill

Whats the big deal about wearing a mask?  How does that cause division? 

Quote from: MightyGiants on July 16, 2021, 10:24:07 AM
Ed,

I don't wear a mask outdoors, but if I go shopping or I am indoors where I don't know if I will be around unvaccinated people I still wear a mask (I step down to a surgical level mask, rather than a KN95 level).  My feeling is the vaccine is like a bullet-proof vest.   The vest provides protection but that doesn't mean you want to test that protection by walking through a gunfight.

I can also tell you that Israel is back to masking up indoors.   Israel has a high vaccination rate and they vaccinated quicker than our nation did.  So they are sort of the canary in the coal mine, so to speak.   If you want to get a sense of what's coming in the future, watch what is happening in Israel.

Here is why:

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/07/06/science/Israel-Pfizer-covid-vaccine.html

"And on Monday, Israel

Quote from: DaveBrown74 on July 16, 2021, 03:21:19 AM
The idea that anyone would watch TV as a way of getting "information" with which to make the critical decision about getting vaxed or not, rather than simply listening to their own trusted doctor (or any number of other doctors), all of whom are infinitely more knowledgeable on this subject than any journalist, politician, or other medical layperson, and virtually all of whom are motivated by public health and not by politics, is what perplexes me the most. Why do people think they know more than MD doctors on this subject? Do they actually think every doctor out there is now complicit with the "deep state" and is deliberately spewing out harmful advice that is not in their patients' best interests? I find that both troubling and bizarre, to say the least.

However, what people choose to legally do or not do with their own bodies is their decision. Yes, they put others at risk by not vaccinating, but the overwhelming majority of others they are putting at material risk are other like-minded individuals who have, for whatever reason, made this same choice. That does not make their lives less valuable in my opinion, but they did make a conscious choice and therefore have indicated that they are prepared to live (or die) with the consequences.

I think you nailed it with that bold part.  There are plenty of places to get factual information about the vaccine.  I think those that are pulling information from TV opinion shows are the epitome of American apathy and intellectual laziness. 

I do have an issue with people that can get the vaccine (they are healthy enough and old enough) that are not because there are those that cannot get it and they are also being put in danger. 

Bottom line to me is that places with low vax rates are likely to have huge surges (already started) and potentially cause more shutdowns and/or hospitals to be above capacity.  We are already seeing more cases of advanced cancers because routine screenings were largely not performed during the pandemic. 

https://www.astro.org/News-and-Publications/News-and-Media-Center/News-Releases/2021/COVID-19-pandemic-has-led-to-more-advanced-stage-c