Short Story

My short story is titled "My No-Research Paper". I called it this because my story is really just a follow up to my research paper. I wrote my research paper on World War Two, and major mistakes that Hitler made that eventually caused him to lose the war. He changed his strategy in the Battle of Britain, and had all of his bombers bomb London instead of military targets. He halted his troops before they could engage Allied troops at Dunkirk, and he invaded the Soviet Union. Most of the mistakes that I analyzed I incorporated into my short story. My short story was mostly about what could have happened, and what I think may have happened if Hitler went about these decisions differently. It's really impossible to say what would have happened, but I think that my short story is a very scary possibility. It's probably pretty boring if you aren't really interested in military history, so I'm sorry to whoever has to read it. Hope you like it though.

Tactics v. Strategy

Two main topics in my research paper concern Hitler's military Tactics, and also his military Strategy. The two seem very interchangable but really they are not. Tactics relates more to the actual fighting and what is going on on the battlefield. Strategy is more of a big picture thing. It concerns all aspects of the war, and not just the fighting style of an individual battle. Dictionary.com describes these as..

Tactics: (usually used with a singular verb) the art or science of disposing military or naval forces for battle and maneuvering them in battle.

Strategy: Also, strategics. the science or art of combining and employing the means of war in planning and directing large military movements and operations.

Each term is very important and understanding them is essential to be able to understand warfare.

Badgers B-Ball

We all love the badgers right? Well, it's a good thing we do because the Badger Basketball team is ranked number 2 in the nation, right behind our Big 10 rivals, Ohio State. I don't know if everyone has noticed, but March is just around the corner, and with March comes the NCAA Tournament. I think that this is one of the most exciting times of the year, and personally, I can't wait for it to start. I would love to be filling out my bracket and notice that Wisconsin has a legitimate chance to win it all. How good are their chances though?

I think that next week's game is extremely important to the outcome of the tournament next month. Wisconsin will take on Ohio State, and the winner will probably be granted a number 1 seed in the tournament. I still don't know who I want to win that game. If the badgers win, they will (assuming they don't screw up any other games) get a number 1 seed in the tournament. I'm not so sure I want the badgers to have a number 1 seed. I think a number 2 or 3 seed would be much better, because number one seeded teams never seem to do that great. Tournament history shows that on average, only about two out of the four number 1 seeds make it to the final four, and one #1 seed makes it to the championship only about half the time. Most of the time, the national championship game is decided against teams seeded 2 or 3.

I think that a lot of number 1 seeded teams have too much pressure to win, and as a result of that, are eliminated later in the tournament. That is why I would rather have Wisconsin get seeded 2 or 3. There is also a major factor in win streaks. A lot of people think that when a team goes into the tournament on a big win streak, they tend to slip up at some point, and get eliminated. A loss to OSU would break a relatively long winning streak, and bring them into the tournament with a fresh streak, and it would bring OSU into it with a longer streak, both situations would be good news for the Badgers.

Of course I hope that the badgers beat the Buckeyes next week, but I'm not sure how disappointed I would be with a loss. The badgers have a great team, and they have a good chance to win the tournament this year. A lot of this article is based off of superstition, and whatever seed the Badgers get in the tournament shouldn't really matter. Lets just hope they can go out there and get the job done either way.

The Numbing of the American Mind

I thought that "The Numbing of the American Mind" was a really interesting article. I was most interested by the comments made about 9/11, and how it is strange that we have recovered so soon. When I first read that, I ultimately disagreed with him. I didn't really think we had gotten over 9/11 as fast as he had made us think. More than 5 years later, I still see commercials about it, pictures of it, conversation about it, and tons of other stuff to prove that we have not moved past that day. I did realize the numbness he was talking about though. A couple weeks ago, I heard about another suicide bombing in Iraq, and I didn't realize until reading this article how little I was affected by it. I bet it would be a pretty big story if it had happened 15 or 20 years ago, and everyone would have thought it was a much bigger deal than I did. I never realized how desensitized we have become, not because we don't care, but because we are so exposed to these kinds of things every day.

Everything that was talked about in this article is very strange to take in. You don't realize how unaffected we are by things that should have major impacts until someone finally realizes it, and comments on it. Although this article seems a little extreme in saying that the American mind is "numbing", it brings up very interesting points about today's society, and how we all live. But I guess we can't really do anything to stop it, and it is just the product of an ever changing lifestyle.

Bears v. Colts

As we all know, the super bowl is just around the corner. Being a Bears fan, I am extremely excited, considering its been over 20 years since the last time they have come this far. But how good are their chances? Everyone has been saying that the AFC is so dominant over the NFC, and that it doesn't really matter who they have to play. Although the AFC does seem to have stronger teams, it is the Super Bowl, and they are rarely dominated by one side.

Simulations and predictions from ESPN seem to favor the Colts but the odds don't look too bad. If you look at all the factors, I think you'll be able to come up with a pretty good prediction. First, lets look at the quarterbacks. This is kind of a joke. Rex Grossman is extremely inferior to Manning, who is considered by many to be the best QB in the league. Both Grossman and Manning have been known to choke, however. Luckily for the Bears, Grossman seems to do his worst against teams that are considered an "easy win". He played his two worst games against the Dolphins and the Cardinals...two of the worst teams in the NFL. Manning seems to choke more often in the big games, especially the playoffs, and hopefully the Bears defense will be able to capitalize if Manning decides to do so. Lets just face the facts though, if this game comes down to a throwing match, the Bears don't really have a chance.

The Bears defense is a critical factor in their success. The Bears are known for having the best defense in the NFL, but they've been slipping lately. Compared to the Colts, the Bears are ranked significantly higher when it comes to total defense. They allow less yards on more offensive attempts than the Colts. The ability of the Defense to stop Manning will be a deciding factor in the game. We can't forget Joseph Addai, the Colts' running back, either. The Bears will need to step up their rush defense as well as their pass defense in order to win this one.

We all know the Colts defense is not quite as tight as the Bears, but they aren't bad by any means. Grossman will need to be playing a good game, as well as the Bears' running game, which is consisted of Thomas Jones and Cedric Benson. Colts' corner backs will really need to step up their game in order to keep the points off the board. Bernard Berrian is a significant deep threat, and the Colts will have to keep up with him if they want to stop the deep ball.

Offensively, the Colts have a better Quarterback, a better line, and a better overall team. Defensively, the Bears have a better team. I believe this game will be decided mainly by the Bears ability to stop Peyton Manning. If they are able to, I think the Bears will be able to pull this one out. I hope the old saying stands true.."offense wins games, but defense wins championships".