Steven Engelhardt

Top of the 8th inning: Cubs tie the game at 7-7.

[12:43] <@ronin> what the hell are [the Cubs] doing, trying to win?
[12:44] <@SmooveB> ronin: no, they're trying to keep it close
                   before they blow it in heartbreaking fashion,
                   probably because dusty ran out of pitchers

11th inning: Game tied at 7-7.

Top 11TH B:3 S:2 O:0
Angel Pagan singles on a ground ball to left fielder Jason Bay.

Top 11TH B:1 S:0 O:0
Jacque Jones singles on a ground ball to right fielder Rajai Davis. Angel Pagan to 3rd.

Top 11TH B:0 S:0 O:0
Michael Barrett singles on a line drive to left fielder Jason Bay. Angel Pagan scores. Jacque Jones to 3rd.

Top 11TH B:1 S:0 O:1
Matt Murton grounds out to first baseman Xavier Nady. Michael Barrett to 2nd.

Top 11TH B:2 S:2 O:2
Ronny Cedeno out on a sacrifice fly to center fielder Chris Duffy. Jacque Jones scores. Michael Barrett to 3rd.

Top 11TH B:4 S:0 O:2
Marty McLeary intentionally walks Derrek Lee.

Top 11TH B:1 S:2 O:2
With Ryan Dempster batting, Derrek Lee advances to 2nd on defensive indifference.

Top 11TH B:1 S:3 O:3
Ryan Dempster [the pitcher!] strikes out swinging.

————————— MIDDLE 11TH

Bottom 11TH B:1 S:2 O:0
Xavier Nady singles on a line drive to right fielder Jacque Jones.

Bottom 11TH B:0 S:0 O:1
Ryan Doumit grounds out, pitcher Ryan Dempster to first baseman Derrek Lee. Xavier Nady to 2nd.

Bottom 11TH B:1 S:2 O:1
Jose Castillo singles on a line drive to right fielder Jacque Jones. Xavier Nady scores.

Bottom 11TH B:0 S:0 O:1
Offensive Substitution: Pinch hitter Humberto Cota replaces Marty McLeary.

Bottom 11TH B:2 S:0 O:1
Humberto Cota singles on a ground ball to third baseman Aramis Ramirez. Jose Castillo to 2nd.

Bottom 11TH B:1 S:2 O:2
Chris Duffy flies out to left fielder Matt Murton.

Bottom 11TH B:4 S:0 O:2
Jose Bautista walks. Jose Castillo to 3rd. Humberto Cota to 2nd.

Bottom 11TH B:1 S:2 O:2
Freddy Sanchez singles on a line drive to right fielder Jacque Jones. Jose Castillo scores. Humberto Cota scores. Jose Bautista to 2nd.

Final: Cubs lose 10-9.

FYI, the Cubs currently have a 0.318 OBP and 4.77 ERA, and the regression analysis predicts 66 wins.

The rise in popularity of 401(k) plans has revealed that Americans, by and large, fundamentally don’t know how to invest for retirement. People don’t save enough; they’re too conservative (or too aggressive) with their investment choices; they’re too concentrated in a particular asset (or asset class); they leave their 401(k) asset allocation as the default (typically 100% low-yielding money market accounts); they chase performance, etc.

To help people avoid these mistakes, financial companies have developed an alternative: the managed 401(k).

New research shows signs that a recent addition to some 401(k) plans — known as “managed accounts” — can provide a significant boost to workers’ retirement savings.

These programs are based on computer models that automatically manage portfolios tailored to match an investor’s age and appetite for risk. They also take into account any other retirement income they can expect — such as a pension, Social Security earnings, even a spouse’s portfolio.

…

Traditionally, investors in 401(k) savings plans were responsible for making their own investment decisions. But studies have found that too many people do a poor job of it — putting their own retirement at risk. The new managed-account programs are an attempt to fix that by using sophisticated models to make investment decisions on behalf of retirement-plan participants.

…

At American International Group Inc.’s AIG Valic, which has been offering managed accounts based on models developed by Morningstar Inc.’s Ibbotson Associates since 2003, the changes are translating into better returns for investors.

AIG found that for 12 months ended June 30, the average managed account gained 9.35% compared with a 5.36% return on nonmanaged accounts. In part that is because many of their clients can count on pensions, so the managed account puts more-aggressive stock holdings into their 401(k) plan.

Lauricella, Tom. “The 401(k) That Fixes Itself.” The Wall Street Journal 19 Aug 2006: B1.

Setting aside minor concerns about implemention details, this is a very good idea. These managed 401(k) plans provide, in essence, access to a professional money manager — something most Americans sorely need — while allowing the more sophisticated investor the ability to opt out.

Better defined-contribution plan defaults will do much to bulk up the physique of Americans’ scrawny retirement savings.

To counterbalance yesterday’s rather dismal post A Tank Of Gas, A World Of Trouble, here is an article from The Oil Drum which explores the technical viability of nuclear energy: Is Nuclear Power a Viable Option for Our Energy Needs?. The optimistic conclusion:

Technically, there appear to be no show stoppers for a considerable expansion of Nuclear Power throughout the world. It is a low carbon energy source with abundant fuel supplies. The technology works and has much potential for improvement.

A short excerpt from journalist Paul Salopek’s Pulitzer Prize-worthy article A Tank Of Gas, A World Of Trouble:

What are the hidden costs of America’s imported oil? The answer is complex. It may ultimately be unknowable. But this hasn’t daunted the likes of Milton Copulos.

A tenacious economist with the National Defense Council Foundation–a right-of-center Washington think tank–Copulos spent 18 solid months poring over hundreds of thousands of pages of government documents, toiling to fix a price tag on America’s addiction to global crude. He parsed oil-related defense spending in the Middle East. He calculated U.S. jobs and investments lost to steep crude prices. He even factored in the lifelong medical bills of some 18,000 U.S. troops wounded in Iraq as of March. (About $1.5 million each.)

Copulos is a highly respected analyst in Washington. And his exhaustive findings flabbergasted the Senate Foreign Relations Committee this spring.

The actual cost of gasoline refined from imported oil, according to Copulos?

Eight dollars a gallon.

Salopek, Paul. “A Tank Of Gas, A World Of Trouble.” Chicago Tribune 29 Jul 2006.