Rules of Gunslinger: All players wear roller skates, except for goalies Players can use a tennis racket or a hockey stick, and can switch back and forth between the two at will, either by going to their bench to swap utensils or by going to their bench to substitute players Each team is allowed one Lone GunslingerContinue reading “Gunslinger”
A Forwards vs Defensemen NHL All-Star Game
The NHL is hoping to go ahead with its All-Star Game in Las Vegas on February 5, after cancelling last season’s All-Star events a year ago, postponing all of its regular season games this Christmas, and recently deciding that its players will not be allowed to participate in the upcoming Winter Olympics in Beijing. InContinue reading “A Forwards vs Defensemen NHL All-Star Game”
How to Heat Bus Stops Economically
Toronto built 16 large, heated, disability-friendly bus shelters in 2020, and is planning to build another 84 of them by 2024. Here’s what they look like: These are great. But there still some challenges: In the City of Toronto (not counting the rest of the GTA) there are about 5500 bus shelters and more thanContinue reading “How to Heat Bus Stops Economically”
Anduin Prime: Middle Earth in the Second Age of Amazon
Amazon has entered its Second Age. Jeff Bezos stepped down as CEO last year, a generation after founding the company in 1994. Amazon’s market value has become second only to Apple and Microsoft, its revenues and number of employees are both second only to Walmart, and its profitability – after being famously unprofitable or profit-neutralContinue reading “Anduin Prime: Middle Earth in the Second Age of Amazon”
Tesla’s Stone of Triumph
Tesla’s stock price rose sevenfold in 2020. It is now the fifth highest valued American company and by far the world’s highest valued car company. Whether or not this market valuation is warranted, Tesla’s cars have a snag: their battery packs weigh ~1200 pounds. That’s a lot of weight that each Tesla Model SContinue reading “Tesla’s Stone of Triumph”
How to best play roller baseball
Push the Outfield Walls way back; Pitchers and Batters and Catchers wear shoes; Fielders wear rollerblades Playing baseball on skates has a long history. Ice baseball used to be common back in the nineteenth century. Modern baseball’s rule of running through first base supposedly comes from wearing ice skates. Rollerblade baseball too used to beContinue reading “How to best play roller baseball”
How to Create a Professional Outdoor Hockey League
When the weather is right, pond hockey is maybe the best sport there is. It is especially good when the rink being played on is built specifically for hockey, instead of being placed in the middle of a huge football or baseball stadium, far away from the fans, like the NHL’s outdoor games have byContinue reading “How to Create a Professional Outdoor Hockey League”
The Whole Winter Rental Car
It seemed a few years ago that car-sharing services like Zipcar or Car2Go might catch on. But it turns out people don’t really like driving cars that strangers have used before them. Plus, it’s expensive for car-sharing companies to ensure that cars are kept clean and accessible. In cold, suburban areas especially – in otherContinue reading “The Whole Winter Rental Car”
On Big Z
Even in the most congenial divorce, the division of assets can hurt. When the Czechoslovakian men’s hockey team split after the country’s Velvet divorce in 1993, it was the Czech who ended up with most of the family fortune. With stars like Jaromir Jagr (second only to Gretzky in NHL career scoring) and Dominik Hasek (arguably the bestContinue reading “On Big Z”
Three NHL Overtime Ideas
If you can’t get rid of the shootout, at least add a 2nd OT with only players who didn’t play in the 1st OT. Third- and fourth-line players don’t usually get ice time during OT. Many top-line players on the other hand presumably tend to prefer a shootout to a 2nd OT period, because it’sContinue reading “Three NHL Overtime Ideas”
Future Economics 