Random Thoughts 12/13/11

• I like the idea of Tim Grunhard as an assistant football coach at KU.  That seems like a good hire.  Now let's see if KU also hires any big names for the coordinator positions and whether they all have to be Notre Dame alumni.
• I don't like the idea that KU's Ben McLemore, a freshman basketball player who's on suspension already for being academically ineligible, just got arrested for not showing up for court on a drinking charge.  Good grief, where do we find these shining jewels of maturity?
• The last F-22 that will be likely be built was rolled out of the production facility in Georgia today.  Perhaps the most formidable fighter plane ever built, it's costliness is legendary.  A mere 187 planes will take the place of several hundred 1970's era aircraft like the F-15.
• American Airlines will fly the first "iPad flight" this Friday in a Boeing 777.  The iPad will be used to replace charts and other reference materials and will be used throughout the flight.
• I'm not terribly sad to Todd Haley go as the Chiefs' head coach.  Personally, I was never a fan.  I hated his press conferences and interviews where his monotone droning sounded like someone in the recovery room coming out from under anesthesia.
• Happy 375th birthday to the National Guard.  You read that right, the National Guard (in Massachusetts) can trace its direct lineage back to December 13, 1636.
• We've watched two-thirds (almost four hours) of Ken Burns' documentary "Prohibition."  Wow.  It's hard to express how complicated, involved, and connected that Prohibition is.  It was lose-lose either way and for every problem it solved it caused five more.  It's amazing how formative the Prohibition era was for Constitutional law, law enforcement, and our culture in general.  Everything from immigration to soda pop, from state's rights to organized crime is tied up in this issue.  Fascinating.