Back in the Saddle

We are back, a day late but ready to go, thank you Cartoon Network, Ernest Hemingway, Bryan Ashton, and Ted Striphas for filling in for us while we were on holiday.

School starts this week, 94 students this term ranging from sophomores and juniors to a 55 year old M.B.A. student. What a wonderful experience it is teaching, to interact with students is simply the best. If only the faculty meetings could be as pleasurable.

CALIFORNIA POLITICS - Political shakeup looms in California, for decades now, Democrats and Republicans here have experienced statewide politics as an interminable waiting game, thanks to a gang of 70- and 80-somethings from the Bay Area who have dominated government for a generation. ... Rising stars in both parties have come and gone, but the state's chief power players have remained the same: Jerry Brown, California's 76-year-old governor ... [and] two senators - Barbara Boxer, 73, and Dianne Feinstein, 81 ... [and the] most prominent member of the congressional delegation, 74-year-old House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi ... Democrats here - along with a few tenacious Republicans - say there's a palpable sense that a changing-of-the-guard moment is approaching. It has already begun in some places, with the retirements of several long-tenured federal lawmakers and the defeat of 16-term Democratic Rep. Pete Stark in a 2012 primary.

ENGINE OF CHANGE - Google celebrated its 10th birthday as a public company last week. What began as merely a search engine has grown into an all-pervasive business behemoth. Take, for example, how a simple Google search for a hotel has changed. Just a few years ago, a user looking for a hotel room on the Google site was shown 10 text links to online travel agencies and hotel operators and his or her money usually went there. Now Google displays reviews, photos and an offer to book a room on the first results page of your search. The company has become less a Web index and more an Internet destination. But as Google builds out its own content, it risks its standing as a neutral arbiter of Web material and could potentially alienate advertisers. "All the value add is going to Google and everyone else becomes a commodity," said a former executive of an online travel agency.

APPLE HITS RECORD HIGH - Apple shares closed above $100 last week, beating their previous high after almost two years, as investors anticipate the launch of new products including wearable devices and a payments service in the coming months. After touching $100.68 in mid-afternoon trading, just shy of its intraday high two years ago, Apple closed at $100.53, which after adjusting for June's seven-for-one stock split tops September 2012's record closing price of $100.30. ... Analysts said the return to its peak marks an endorsement for Tim Cook, Apple's chief, and his growing team of executives including former Burberry boss and new retail head Angela Ahrendts.

However, the new momentum may also be fueled by opportunist traders buying in ahead of what iTunes chief Eddy Cue has called Apple's best new slate of products in 25 years. Apple stock often rallies in the lead-up to a new product launch, only to fall back once the new gadget goes on sale. It remains to be seen if Apple can conclusively break past $100 per share, which has previously proven to be a point of resistance for traders.

42 - Watch President George W. Bush get (surprise) dunked by Laura for the ice bucket challenge on the "Today" show after getting challenged by his daughter Jenna: http://on.today.com/1qsocVO

THE GAME PLAN - As video games become a spectator sport, Amazon just bought the world's largest arena. The e-commerce giant has agreed to buy Twitch, a popular Internet video channel for watching and broadcasting people playing video games, for about $970 million in cash.  Though little-known outside the world of tech and gaming, Twitch is the fourth-largest source of U.S. Internet traffic, behind Netflix, Google and Apple. To put the popularity of gaming into context, we note that 32 million people watched the championship of the game "League of Legends" on various streaming services last October—more than the series finales of television shows "Breaking Bad," "24" and "The Sopranos" put together.

RINK RATS POLL - The majority of 15-17 year-olds cannot change a tire.

BIRTHDAYS THIS WEEK – Birthday wishes and thoughts this week to: Ben Bradlee (93), Warren Buffett (84), Elliot Gould (76), Carla Gugino (43), Sen. John McKain (78), Lou Piniella (71).

LABOR DAY WEEKEND MENU – Ellie Krieger’s Lobster Roll

Ingredients

1/2 cup nonfat plain Greek-style yogurt or 2/3 cup regular, plain nonfat yogurt

3 tablespoons mayonnaise

1 stalk celery, finely chopped

1 tablespoon chopped scallion greens (about 1 scallion)

1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

1 pound cooked lobster meat or cooked shrimp, cut into 1/3-inch pieces (about 2 1/2 cups)

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

4 whole-wheat hot dog buns

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

Directions

If using regular yogurt, place it in a strainer lined with paper towel and set the strainer over a bowl. Let the yogurt drain and thicken for 20 minutes.

In a bowl, stir together the thickened or Greek-style yogurt, mayonnaise, celery, scallion and lemon juice. Fold in the lobster meat and season, to taste, with salt and pepper. Chill until ready to use. Just before serving, open the hot dog buns and brush the inside with olive oil. 

Heat a grill pan over moderately high heat and grill the bread, cut side down, until toasted, about 3 minutes. Fill each with 3/4 cup of the lobster mixture and serve immediately.

Per Serving: Calories 340; Total Fat 14 g; (Sat Fat 2g, Mono Fat 5 g, Poly Fat 6 g) ; Protein 29 g; Carb 25 g; Fiber 3 g; Cholesterol 85 mg; Sodium 720 mg

Excellent source of: Protein, Niacin, Vitamin B12, Copper, Magnesium, Manganese, Phosphorus, Selenium, Zinc

Good source of: Fiber, Vitamin B6, Calcium, Iron, Potassium

VINNIE – Vin Scully to return to Dodgers booth for 66th season, broadcasting legend Vin Scully is returning for a 66th season of covering Dodgers baseball in 2015. The news was announced in the middle of the second inning of last Tuesday night's 8-4 win over the Braves on the Dodger Stadium video board. ... Fans -- the first 40,000 of which received a Vin Scully 65th Anniversary Talking Microphone -- reacted by giving the American sports icon a standing ovation. ... Scully's 65 years of broadcasting Dodgers games marks the longest tenure in his field.

SPORTS BLINK - USA Today preseason college football top 25: 1. Florida State ... 2. Alabama ... 3. Oklahoma ... 4. Oregon ... 5. Auburn ... 6. Ohio State ... 7. UCLA ... 8. Michigan State ... 9. South Carolina ... 10. Baylor ... 11. Stanford ... 12. Georgia ... 13. LSU ... 14: Wisconsin ... 15. Southern California ... 16: Clemson ... 17. Notre Dame ... 18. Arizona State ... 19. Mississippi ... 20. Texas A&M ... 21. Kansas State ... 22. Nebraska ... 23. North Carolina ... 24. Texas ... 25. Washington.

SPORTS BLINK - Cowboys worth more than $3 billion [a record], tops in NFL: For the eighth straight year, the Cowboys are worth the most of all 32 NFL franchises, according to Forbes. They're valued at $3.2 billion; only Real Madrid at $3.4 billion is worth more among global franchises. Dallas posted the NFL's highest revenue, $560 million, and operating income, $246 million. That was far ahead of second-place New England, worth $2.6 billion and with $428 million in revenues, $147 million in operating income. But the Patriots had the biggest increase since last year, up 44 percent in value. Dallas was up 39 percent. The average NFL franchise value for 2014 is $1.43 billion, the highest in the 17 years the business magazine has tracked professional football.

RINK RATS NCAA FOOTBALL 2014 CONFERENCE PICKS:

ACC – Florida State Seminoles           

Big 12 – Oklahoma Sooners

AAC – Cincinnati Bearcats                 

Big Ten – Michigan State Spartans

Pac 12 – UCLA Bruins                     

SEC – Alabama Crimson Tide

Independents – Notre Dame              

BCS Champs – Florida State over UCLA

Ivy – Harvard Crimson                      

SCIAC – Redlands Bulldogs

COLLEGE FOOTBALL PICK OF THE WEEK – When Georgia State and Abilene Christian kick off Wednesday night in the Georgia Dome, the 2014 FBS college football season will officially begin. It’ll kick into higher gear on Thursday and hit its stride on Saturday with games spread throughout the weekend. We are off and running with another season of NCAA Div-1 College Football, who will The Swami like this year?

Saturday, 8/30, 9:00 PM ET, ESPN #14 preseason ranked Wisconsin Badgers vs. #13 ranked LSU Tigers. A big inter-conference tilt; we like the Tigers to win and cover the spread of five points, 28 – 21.   Season to date (0-0).

THE SWAMI’S WEEK TOP PICKS –

(NCAA, Aug. 28) South Carolina Gamecocks 32 Texas A&M Aggies 21

(MLB, Aug. 30)  Los Angeles Angels 4 Oakland Athletics 3

Season to Date (41 - 36).

JACK ASS OF THE MONTH – The adjunct group at a University, we cannot name, who propose to bill their College for services like a consultant. Ridiculous on many fronts, especially comparing Adjunct instructors to consultants…I need a drink!

Next week, words and quote of the month plus NFL preseason picks.

Until Next Monday, Adios.

Claremont, CA

August 26, 2014

#V-19, 228