Handicapped

From the When Pigs Fly Department, for the first time in AI history, all players have official GHIN handicaps!  For years, Gordon could only guess; Heimsch would post with the frequency of a 7-year locust; Paze always posts, but his handicap either doesn't travel well or he was as out of golf shape as he is out of shape generally; while Burke posts everything, but typically needs a hang over adjustment.  But, with the onset of the summer AI, Gordon's entry into the GHIN system and Heimsch's return to posting, we may actually have some usable data for AI-XVIII.

Herewith the current Indexes for the players:

Paze:  6.6
Burke:  9.3
Heimsch:  10
Gordon:  15.1

Translated into yellow tees at Bay Hill:

Paze:  8
Burke:  11
Heimsch:  12
Gordon: 18

Several players may opt to play from the Red Tees or the Combo Tees.  Adjustments for that can be made - typically 3-4 shots deducted for the Reds and 1-2 shots for the Combos.

Endangered Stans

The time for action is now - once they're gone, they're gone! We have all seen the remarkable outcome when  human beings  (except for most human beings) realize that we are about to wipe another species off the face of the earth and beat the world wide web drum to save it so our grandchildren can experience it. As we know from politicians and the national debt, Americans are obsessed with protecting our grandchildren; at least until they're born, then screw 'em, they're on their own.

But I digress. Herewith, a news item from Reuters worthy of our immediate attention; clearly a cause that needs a champion. An AI Champion.  Or possibly a village.  A village of idiots.  We must act!

Kazakhstan Name Change? President Nursultan Nazarbayev Considers Dropping The 'Stan'

ALMATY, Feb. 7 (Reuters) - President Nursultan Nazarbayev may drop the 'stan' from Kazakhstan to distinguish his booming oil-rich nation from the rest of Central Asia, where the other so-called stans are mostly mired in poverty.

"In our country's name, there is this 'stan' ending which other Central Asian nations have as well.  But, for instance, foreigners show interest in Mongolia, whose popoulation is just two million people, but whose name lacks the 'stan' ending," Nazarbayev's press service quoted him as saying.

THE TIME FOR ACTION IS NOW.   PLEASE HELP SAVE THE STANS