Month: August 2008

Byrne’s Conservation of Age Law

So, having been educated as an engineer, I find the notion of conservation of various properties to be fundamentally correct: conservation of mass, energy, angular momentum, etc.

Thinking about this year’s Olympics, I believe there is another quantity which is conserved: age of athletes. By now everybody knows about the controversy surrounding the age of the Chinese women’s gymnastics team. I mean, really, my seven-year-old has more mature facial features than some of those girls.

However, I think this is actually a necessary event. Why? Think of the Little League World Series; there’s an event with the opposite problem. Some of those “kids” have been shaving for five years, no matter what their Dominican birth certificates say.

I think, in fact, that’s what happened—since age can neither be created nor destroyed, and the Chinese needed a few extra years, they got ‘em from the Dominican Republic. Conservation of age.

I hear there are some hockey players in Ontario in under-18 leagues who have some years they’re willing to unload, cheap…

InCase Protective Cover vs. HHI Looper Cover

When I first got my iPhone I was leaving town the next day and so I needed a case right away. I wanted something grippy but which was small enough so that I could still keep the phone in my pocket, and to provide a little protection if (OK, when) I drop the phone. There were few choices in the Apple Store, so I left with an InCase Protective Cover, which set me back a cool $30. That seemed steep to me but I didn’t have time to order something on line or to go to another store, so I forked it over.

However, after returning from the first of my many trips, I discovered the HandHelditems Looper case, which comes in more (and better) colors, comes with a screen protector, and is one-third the price. Because I wanted the blue, I went ahead and bought one.

It’s almost exactly the same thickness as the InCase one and has nearly the same pattern on the back. The silicone is a slightly different composition but it’s just as grippy. The hole cut for the “ringer off” switch is better cut on the InCase but the strip across the bottom for access to the dock connector is better on the HHI case. These are highly comparable products—except of course on price.

Unless you really love the pink you can get with the InCase (but can’t for HHI), don’t make the mistake I did; go and get the HHI, not the InCase.