The Passing of Eras

 I finally finished (I hope) the megaproject at work today... this might be a bit premature, but I think my work on this is over.  This is good, as I have plenty of stuff on my project list -- not only do I have the stuff from before, but plenty more projects have been added.  Alas.  On the other hand, I have plenty of time to get them done, and many of them, once I get started, will progress quite nicely.  

The Southland Conference championship was quite entertaining, especially as these teams will mostly be 16 seeds.  On the other hand...it's what they play for.  I did note that Northwestern State had a player with one hand (amputated at 6); I couldn't help but think that the next time someone complains about not being able to do something... imagine playing D-1 hoops with one hand.  

Is it me, or was the retirement of Jim Boeheim... forced?  To be sure, I am no fan of the guy (too slimy, even for me) and I suspect that he, like a lot of older coaches, simply didn't want to deal with the new world of NIL.  But... everything -- his speech, his body language -- seems to me that he is being pushed out and that he wanted to stick around.  I don't know; has he won enough?  Probably not, nowadays, but on the other hand, given his record... he deserved to go out on his own terms.  I don't think he will coach again, alas...  I have to admit, I always was impressed by guys like Rollie Massimino, coaching at some D-3 school in Florida in his 80s.  Hoops get in the blood, I guess.

I am almost halfway through Caplan's The Case Against Education which is quite interesting, if a bit provocative.  His point is that much of college education is simply virtue signaling and wage inflation.  He notes that people aren't necessarily smarter, despite this education, and that much of the wage gap between those who have a college degree and those who do not is simply caused by the fact (maybe a bit less now) that traditionally those jobs have paid more, no matter whether or not they are important or needed.  I think he is correct in some, but I wonder if anyone (say a GOP governor) will work to reduce requirements for degrees, especially in those majors like engineering and such.  That and working to dismantle the diversity complex would make college much more affordable, and given the current conditions, I think it would be a winning political message.