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The Daily Dose/April 28, 2010
By Gaylon Kent
The Writer's Shack
MONEY FOR NOTHING: As it does from time to time, the government is fussing with our money again, announcing recently that a new $100 bill will debut next February. It is the first major change to the C note since 1996.
Among the features will be a 3-D security ribbon on the front that, when tilted, will display bells and the number 100.
Old Habits Die Hard: Benjamin Franklin, on the $100 bill since 1914 and probably sighing in relief, was allowed to stay. He is joined on the obverse side by a quill and inkwell, with the inkwell also featuring the Liberty Bell. The now-standard watermark of Franklin returns as does the security stripe on the right side.
On the reverse side, a '100' will be written in really big gold letters running bottom to top on the right side.
Dry, Technical Matter: 95 percent of all new money goes to replace old or otherwise worn out currency.
Dry, Technical Matter II: This is the first major redesign of the C note since 1996, and follows the redesign of the $5 in 2008, the $10 in 2006, the $50 in 2004 and the $20 in 2003.
FunFact…Or Maybe It's Dry, Technical Matter: It costs the Bureau of Engraving and Printing about seven and a half cents to print a federal reserve note.
Please Pass The Dry, Technical Matter: There is not a federal law that mandates a business accept official US currency for payment.
Get Your Dry, Technical Matter Right Here: Although discontinued by the government in 1969, the $500, $1,000, $5,000 and $10,000 notes are still legal tender. They were last printed in 1945.
This Whole Segment Is Dry, Technical Matter, Isn't It? The government produced 1.785 billion $100 bills in fiscal year (FY) 2009, and 2.636 billion one dollar bills.
The government appears to produce $2 bills only from time to time, last producing them in FY 2006, when they printed 230 million of them.
WHAT THE HELL'S GOING ON HERE? We gave up on the NBA years ago, mainly because for years it hasn't resembled the game we grew up playing.
But for reasons we are still unprepared to explain we found ourselves Sunday watching a few minutes of the Dallas Mavericks-San Antonio Spurs game.
Whoa Nelly: Good gravy, it was like watching roller derby. One time down a player for Dallas, Dirk Nowitzki, drove to the lane and was rewarded for his efforts by having an opponent bring a forearm down on his face, an act that could get you arrested in some jurisdictions. As it was, the offender was merely penalized with a flagrant foul.
Book 'Em Dano: A few seconds later Manu Ginobili had the nerve to dribble towards the basket because nobody bothered to guard him and was rewarded for this initiative by being horse-collared from the side and thrown to the floor. This offender, who also could've been arrested had this happened on the street, was ejected from the game.
Ancient History: There was a time when a foul was a punitive action assessed for violating a rule. That hasn't been the case for at least a generation, when basketball ceased being played by basketball players and started being played by athletes more focused showcasing their immense individual skills than on playing team basketball.
Nowadays, though, fouls are part of an overall game plan. There was a time when a guy beat you to the basket you let him go. He beat you. He earned it. You might foul him trying to block the shot, but you didn't foul him as a matter of defensive strategy. There was no such thing as a 'good foul'.
Cutting To The Chase: While we usually enjoy enjoying criticizing something while sitting on the sidelines and being unwilling or unable to offer a solution, we do have a solution here.
Groove On This: And it's very simple: after free throws, give the ball back to the team that shot them. That will clean up this once-graceful-now-ugly sport right now. Players would be obliged to play defense, real defense, which is really fun to watch and hasn't been seen in the NBA in the memory of man. It will also put an end to the last two minutes of a close NBA game taking a half-hour to complete, which is about as tedious a sequence to watch as sports can muster.
We've got to be honest, we're pretty excited just thinking about it. Well, not too excited. It's not as if we're achieving and maintaining a state of arousal over it, but immediately and for good basketball would again become a game of skill instead of the game of thuggery it has become.
TOKEN ON THIS DATE ACTION: Maryland becomes the seventh state to ratify the US Constitution on this date in 1788. The new constitution would be ratified in June when New Hampshire became the ninth state to ratify it, and the Constitution would take effect the following March.
Thought For The Day: What is modesty but hypocritical humility?... No doubt when modesty was made a virtue it was a very advantageous thing for the fools; for everybody is expected to speak of himself as if he were one. - Schopenhauer
Answer To The Last Trivia Question: The Medal of Honor has been awarded to 20 officers of general or flag rank. Two have been awarded to Generals, three to Major Generals, five to Rear Admirals and ten to Brigadier Generals.
Dry, Trivial Matter: Additionally, four ranks are unknown. These Medals were issued to unknown British, French, Italian and Romanian soldiers.
Oh, Jesus H: Several recipients are listed as Assistant Adjutant Generals, however this is a title and not a rank.
Today's Stumper: The Dallas Mavericks joined the NBA in 1980. Before that, when was the last time the NBA expanded? - Answer next time!
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