{"id":5604,"date":"2017-04-01T11:38:43","date_gmt":"2017-04-01T15:38:43","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/meadowparty.com\/blog\/?p=5604"},"modified":"2017-04-01T11:38:43","modified_gmt":"2017-04-01T15:38:43","slug":"stick-to-baseball-4117","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/meadowparty.com\/blog\/2017\/04\/01\/stick-to-baseball-4117\/","title":{"rendered":"Stick to baseball, 4\/1\/17."},"content":{"rendered":"<p>My <a href=\"http:\/\/klaw.me\/2nD9eDF\" target=\"_blank\">predictions for 2017<\/a>, including full standings, playoff stuff, and award winners. If you skipped the intro and got mad online about it, I&#8217;ll reiterate here: it&#8217;s just for fun. I do not run projections, and I will never beat a well-run model at the predictions game except as a fluke. I also wrote one post earlier in the week <a href=\"http:\/\/klaw.me\/2nelb1E\" target=\"_blank\">covering Cardinals, Tigers, and Atlanta prospects<\/a> I saw while in Florida; there will be another post coming this weekend. I did not chat because I was in the car or at games all week.<\/p>\n<p>My book is back from the printers! You can <a href=\"http:\/\/amzn.to\/2dtXS3S\" target=\"_blank\">preorder my upcoming book, <em>Smart Baseball<\/em><\/a>, on amazon, or from other sites <a href=\"https:\/\/www.harpercollins.com\/9780062490223\/?utm_source=Keith+Law&#038;utm_medium=athremail&#038;utm_campaign=Smart+Baseball\" target=\"_blank\">via the Harper-Collins page for the book<\/a>. The book now has two positive reviews out, one <a href=\"https:\/\/www.kirkusreviews.com\/book-reviews\/keith-law\/smart-baseball\/\" target=\"_blank\">from <em>Kirkus Reviews<\/em><\/a> and one from <em><A href=\"http:\/\/www.publishersweekly.com\/978-0-06-249022-3\" target=\"_blank\">Publishers Weekly<\/em><\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Also, please sign up for <a href=\"https:\/\/tinyletter.com\/keithlaw\" target=\"_blank\">my more-or-less weekly email newsletter<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>And now, the links&#8230;<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>This week&#8217;s big distraction was Mike Pence&#8217;s rule about declining to dine alone with a woman who isn&#8217;t his wife, a rule that <a href=\"http:\/\/www.vox.com\/the-big-idea\/2017\/3\/31\/15132730\/pence-women-alone-rule-graham-discrimination\" target=\"_blank\">employment lawyer Joanna L. Grossman says is probably illegal<\/a>.<\/li>\n<li>The House &#8220;Science&#8221; Committee held a <a href=\"http:\/\/www.theverge.com\/2017\/3\/29\/15109876\/climate-change-science-committee-hearing-republicans-consensus\" target=\"_blank\">sham hearing on climate change<\/a> that featured some of the dumbest anti-science questions you could possibly imagine. If any of these clowns is your representative, call his\/her office on Monday and voice your support for actual science.<\/li>\n<li>There&#8217;s <a href=\"http:\/\/scienceblogs.com\/insolence\/2017\/03\/21\/massive-measles-outbreak-in-romania-a-warning-to-the-us\/\" target=\"_blank\">a wide measles outbreak in Romania, with children dying of the disease<\/a>, thanks to lack of access to health services and idiot parents declining to vaccinate their children.<\/li>\n<li>How about real science? A new paper claims to have <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sciencedaily.com\/releases\/2017\/03\/170316112145.htm\" target=\"_blank\">discovered the cause of obsessive-compulsive disorder<\/a>. It&#8217;s a single protein that normally inhibits a particular pathway in the amygdala; when the protein is absent, the pathway becomes overactive and OCD results.<\/li>\n<li>Meanwhile, many states, all in the south and midwest, have at least seen bills introduced <a href=\"http:\/\/www.independent.co.uk\/news\/world\/americas\/us-states-texas-creationism-science-teacher-state-law-evolution-religion-a7632931.html\" target=\"_blank\">that would allow creationism or other anti-science crap<\/a> to be taught in public schools.<\/li>\n<li>The Cayman Islands are moving forward with a plan <a href=\"https:\/\/www.caymancompass.com\/2017\/03\/28\/plan-hatched-to-release-gm-mosquitoes-across-cayman-islands\/\" target=\"_blank\">to release genetically modified mosquitoes to combat the Zika virus<\/a>. The mosquito species in question, <em>Aedes aegypti<\/em>, also spreads dengue, chikungunya, and yellow fever. This is distinct from efforts to use specific strains of the <em>Wolbachia<\/em> bacteria genus <a href=\"http:\/\/www.sciencedirect.com\/science\/article\/pii\/S1931312816301573\" target=\"_blank\">to make the mosquitoes resistant to these virii<\/a>.<\/li>\n<li>This longread from <em>The Chronicle of Higher Education<\/em> dissects <a href=\"http:\/\/www.chronicle.com\/article\/Seeking-Closure-in-Verdict\/239637?key=YJrOHk3gW6aX-DS7gynrOXGrgKDzeuekbMpW4u_QL0vQKpO1zmHG6s1uaVDtBpvFWFRuY01JNUVmRDkzN0tIc2ZBWEtJT0hocERzMjhNV2QxSFhtMXpJSkVUWQ\" target=\"_blank\">the ongoing troubles at Penn State \u2013 caused by Penn State<\/a> in the aftermath of the school&#8217;s inaction on Jerry Sandusky.<\/li>\n<li>The glory of being on the road so much this week was that I missed <a href=\"http:\/\/nypost.com\/2017\/03\/29\/get-a-grip-crazy-moms-your-kids-wont-get-kidnapped-at-ikea\/\" target=\"_blank\">the crazy mom who claimed human traffickers were stalking her kids at Ikea<\/a>. This kind of mass hysteria mirrors the way anti-vaccine bullshit and right-wing fake news have spread online in recent years.<\/li>\n<li>Apple <a href=\"https:\/\/theintercept.com\/2017\/03\/28\/after-12-rejections-apple-accepts-app-that-tracks-u-s-drone-strikes\/\" target=\"_blank\">accepted, then rejected, an app that tracks US drone strikes<\/a>. The decision is bizarre, as the app doesn&#8217;t appear to violate any of the App Store&#8217;s terms of service, and speaks to the problem with a closed format. Even if the company itself didn&#8217;t make these decisions, it would be too easy for a government agency to force them to do so.<\/li>\n<li>The two &#8220;activists&#8221; whose doctored videos at Planned Parenthood made it seem like PP employees were selling fetal body parts <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/news\/morning-mix\/wp\/2017\/03\/28\/two-activists-who-filmed-undercover-videos-of-planned-parenthood-charged-with-15-felonies\/?utm_term=.ede14e946db8&#038;wpisrc=nl_&#038;wpmm=1\" target=\"_blank\">have been charged with 15 felonies for their actions<\/a>. Their attorneys claim they&#8217;re &#8220;journalists,&#8221; but it&#8217;s clear by their actions \u2013 and lack of any respect for the law or journalistic ethics \u2013 that they&#8217;re not.<\/li>\n<li>Speaking of abortion rights, Iowa Republicans have proposed a bill <a href=\"http:\/\/www.rawstory.com\/2017\/03\/iowa-gop-abortion-bill-will-grant-parents-of-unmarried-women-rights-to-control-adult-daughters-bodies\/\" target=\"_blank\">that would let an unmarried woman&#8217;s <em>parents<\/em>  prevent her from having the medical procedure<\/a>, even if she were, say, 30 years old. Meanwhile, Arkansas, the one state I haven&#8217;t visited and clearly won&#8217;t any time soon, passed a law <a href=\"https:\/\/www.reproductiverights.org\/press-room\/arkansas-governor-signs-first-of-its-kind-measure-forcing-doctors-who-provide-abortion-ca\" target=\"_blank\">that forces doctors to investigate a patient&#8217;s reasons for having an abortion<\/a>. Does it surprise you to know that Arkansas is also <a href=\"https:\/\/www.advisory.com\/Daily-Briefing\/2013\/08\/08\/The-states-with-the-best-and-worst-vaccine-coverage\" target=\"_blank\">one of the worst states for vaccination rates<\/a>?<\/li>\n<li>Why did Secretary of Labor nominee Alexander Acosta <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/politics\/labor-nominee-acosta-cut-deal-with-billionaire-in-sex-abuse-case-involving-40-underage-girls\/2017\/03\/21\/d33271a8-0d85-11e7-ab07-07d9f521f6b5_story.html?utm_term=.d090b7cc6e18&#038;wpisrc=nl_&#038;wpmm=1\" target=\"_blank\">cut a sweetheart deal with wealthy child molester Jeffrey Epstein<\/a>?<\/li>\n<li>I didn&#8217;t know what the Chinese dish <em>jianbing<\/em>, a sort of omelet folded into a crispy crepe-like crust, was before I saw <a href=\"https:\/\/mobile.nytimes.com\/2017\/03\/20\/dining\/jianbing-restaurants-new-york.html?_r=0&#038;referer=\" target=\"_blank\">this article on where to find it in New York<\/a>, but I&#8217;m interested now.<\/li>\n<li><em>Texas Monthly<\/em> barbecue editor Daniel Vaughn goes into <a href=\"https:\/\/tmbbq.com\/avoiding-dirty-smoke\/\" target=\"_blank\">the science of smoke<\/a>, and how smoke can be dirty or clean.<\/li>\n<li>Fellow fans of Studio Ghibli might enjoy this news item on <a href=\"http:\/\/mentalfloss.com\/article\/93743\/anime-lovers-can-now-sip-studio-ghibli-themed-tea\" target=\"_blank\">Ghibli-themed teas, available for sale in Japan<\/a>. I bet those tins show up as collectibles even without the teas inside. It&#8217;s not a Ghibli title, but the critically-acclaimed animated film <em>Your Name<\/em> (<em>Kimi no na wa<\/em>) will be released on Friday in the U.S.<\/li>\n<li>&#8220;Travel tips&#8221; posts tend to be useless, but I thought this <a href=\"http:\/\/time.com\/money\/4698767\/travel-tips-bizarre-foods-andrew-zimmern\/\" target=\"_blank\">list from <em>Bizarre Foods<\/em> host Andrew Zimmern<\/a>, who travels the world to some seriously off-the-path places, was unusually informative.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>My predictions for 2017, including full standings, playoff stuff, and award winners. If you skipped the intro and got mad online about it, I&#8217;ll reiterate here: it&#8217;s just for fun. I do not run projections, and I will never beat a well-run model at the predictions game except as a fluke. I also wrote one [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[385,828,800,859,929,190,807],"class_list":["post-5604","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-chinese-cuisine","tag-climate-change","tag-evolution","tag-gmo","tag-japanese-films","tag-links","tag-vaccines","entry"],"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/meadowparty.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5604","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/meadowparty.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/meadowparty.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/meadowparty.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/meadowparty.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5604"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/meadowparty.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5604\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5605,"href":"https:\/\/meadowparty.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5604\/revisions\/5605"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/meadowparty.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5604"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/meadowparty.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5604"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/meadowparty.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5604"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}