Page 51 of 86
It’s almost lunch time, so perhaps I might head down to Dad Watson’s for a Voodoo Chicken sandwich. But I am saved from being stuck in traffic by none other than KomoNews, who alerts me via Twitter (through my Digsby application) that there is a head-on crash on the Fremont Bridge.
This is much more valuable than the story they reposted from the AP earlier today, and shows that they are kind of starting to get the local aspect. Eventually, I believe they will have KomoNews_Seattle, KomoNews_Tacoma, and KomoNews_Wallingford (character issues notwithstanding) as a way for me to customize how niche I want the feeds to be. But this is a good start.
Now, if you want just plain humor, go check out ChuckNorris_
Really? How much work did you put into this….Your marketing guys must be pure genius.
A few things collided in my brain this week, and I think it’s time we admitted they probably are inter-related in some way.
Phelps
First off, Michael Phelps gets busted for smoking marijuana in October. The country flies into outrage. After all, why should a 20-something year old, who just accomplished the greatest feat in Olympic History, in a room full of other 20-somethings who admire him, sit down and do what they do? The nerve. And if the guy who has more Olympic Gold Medals than anyone on earth can do so AND smoke marijuana, should it really be illegal? Is there really someone saying, “Well you know, if he didn’t smoke dope, he’d probably be able to be a brain surgeon as well as Olympic Gold Medalist.”
The part that kills me now is that because of the photo, the county sheriff has had to haul in 7 people at the party and the guy who owned the bong, even though that guy wasn’t even there. You want to talk about a guy born under a black cloud. A guy who lives at the house DIDN’T get to party when a superstar randomly dropped by. But someone did grab his bong out of his room so said superstar could smoke from it. And then when he tried to sell it on eBay for $100k, he got arrested.
A-Rod
On the other side of the spectrum, there’s the guy we just KNEW was up to something, but could never figure out what. His breakup with Jeter was odd, getting caught with a stripper was odder, and being friends with Madonna was just plain bizarre. But it turns out all he was doing was taking steroids with 103 other players from 2001-2003.
And do you wonder why not one team has sued any players for breech of contract? Think about it. A guy has a monster year. You sign him to a 4 year, $40 Million deal. Then the Mitchell report comes out and spooks everyone off the juice. Now your $40 Million guy goes clean, and falls back to 15 HR a year. Well if you didn’t know he was on roids before you signed him, then found out he was on the list, wouldn’t you sue and renegotiate back to what a 15 HR guy should make?
Dow <8K
So we have illogical drug laws, cheaters playing and reporting about our national pastime and we honestly ask ourselves, “So how did our economy get so bad?” Obama supporters are already wondering and asking why they haven’t received a blank check in their mailbox to cover all their expenses in 2009. People think a national bank should be set up where every citizen who asks can get an ATM card to withdraw whatever they want. Then there are all of these CEO’s who managed to get the government to give them big piles of money, and are now faced with the choice of taking a 80% pay cut and digging their company out of bankruptcy, or taking a 100% pay cut and resting on the beach in Costa Rica.
Here’s what I don’t get about the $900 BILLION stimulus package. Obama is out their pounding his fist saying, “We must do this today or our people will be bankrupt.” The Republicans are out there saying, “Some of this makes sense, but I don’t get how $300M for STD testing stimulates the economy.” So, why can’t we agree on about $250 Billion that makes the most sense, shoot it into action and then argue about the next chunk? Any Senator who says they won’t approve a $100 Billion for construction and infrastructure projects unless the raises for Special Ed teachers are approved, is obviously gorging on pork.
Summary
So are these unrelated? I just think it shows a complete lack of logic in the whole structure. A guy making $25 million a year cheats, affecting 800 other ball players, 75 million fans, the seasons of 29 other teams, and the advertising revenue of several networks. And we seem to be upset that a guy who at most is putting three of his teammates at risk is able to smoke pot and still shatter Olympic records. And we’ll continue to drop billions into pretending to fight marijuana, arresting people, running them through trials and then releasing them to probation, instead of spending that money to hire a teacher to explain why you shouldn’t buy a house with zero percent down, especially if you don’t have a job. There has to be some logic somewhere.
I just don’t understand when people my age tell me, “Facebook is just for kids.” I will argue that the best part about Facebook is in fact lost on these newbies, and us more mature folks are getting the best it has to offer.
To wit: My friend’s daughter is 15. She has something like 700 friends. Basically every person she has ever met is on her Facebook page. There has never been a time in her life in which she was not keenly aware of what her people were up to.
No consider the 30-something year old who is tip-toeing into Facebook for the first time. First he finds some work friends and maybe some folks he plays soccer with. Then a few folks from his last job. Then a few people from the town he used to live in, then college guys and then back to high school and elementary school. People he hasn’t talked to or heard from in 20 years are now available.
I mention this because this has happened to me twice now in the last few weeks. An old friend from college disappeared off the planet, reappeared on Facebook and it allowed us to have lunch and catch up. Meanwhile, the next time I’m in New York in June, I will be able to meet up with a friend I last saw in New Orleans circa 1986.
Now, today’s 15 year olds won’t get to enjoy this type of reunion. So I’m sticking with my story – Lil’ Green Patches and SuperPokes may be fun and all, but it’s the reconnecting with long lost friends that makes Facebook as powerful as it is.
Not sure why I found this so amusing….
These guys are doing a nice job of complimenting their Super Bowl buy with some additional Social Media content. Check out these “outtakes” from the eTrade Babies.
2 Twitter posts in one day….must mean something, right? Anyway, proof of concept – I saw this on Twitter, posted by John Batelle.
Silly, but really why *shouldn’t* Congress be updating us in real time?
I know – it still makes no sense. And it still sounds dumb to say you “Tweeted” something.
But there are times when you have to admit things. Like when you realized the DVD was replacing the VCR, that EVERYONE would eventually have a mobile phone, blogging was going to be here forever, and you would never again buy music that didn’t come as an .mp3.
Twitter has reached that stage. It is here to stay. It has enough users now that business models are being built around it, even while it doesn’t have one of its own. And here’s the thing – it doesn’t need one. Someone will buy it. If you won’t listen to me, read the charts below – the ones that show 800% growth YoY. So go get your Twitter account and stop resisting. It’s free, it’s easy and it’s fun. Quit making fun of it and use it.
Well, I finally succumbed to the pressure.
Since it launched, I’ve seen proud and cheerful owners of the iPhone gleefully show off thier little toy. In bars, in meetings, in lines at Starbucks, they tauntingly stick it into your face, showing you all the magical things it can do.
I resisted.
I stayed true to my core Blackberry. I like the Blackberry. It’s easy to use. I don’t need real time stock ticket updates or the best way to walk from the Space Needle to Palace Kitchen. I need a phone and text, and maybe some Internet.
Saturday, something snapped.
Suddenly I realized that the phone had changed. I knew it before, but I finally admitted to the analogy that we’re in the mobile version of the shift from VCR to DVD, and I still owned a VCR. And there is no reason to buy another souped up VCR. It is no longer an issue of iPhone vs Blackberry. It’s become an issue of mobile devices in 2009 and beyond, vs mobile devices in 2008 and prior. I knew all of this already, but some light piece of straw finally made that camel’s back break. And the camel asked for an iPhone.
Now I’m simply a junior member of the cult. I look for and will listen to the teachings of those original iPhone disciples. And I have to admit to myself that I’m more than a little excited to play with all the toys and gimmicks.
Now, I haven’t yet stood in line and condescendingly scoffed at those simple “iNots” walking around with their pedestrian devices. But I’m sure one day, as I breeze through Google Maps or order a video before boarding a plane, I’ll have that smug look of a full fledged cult member.
If you are an iPhone Davidian and have a favorite “must-have” application, please let me know.