Today the media got all hyped up and was ready to lynch someone who dared offend them. They posted their 'questions they would have asked' and demanded answers. And today, Alex Rodriguez gave a bunch of answers. Answers that in my opinion are plausible and a demeanor that seemed believable. He claims that he stopped taking something 6 years ago.
If this press conference was held 6 years ago, 500% more fans would care and 5000% more average joes would care. The fact of the matter is that I, like most people, am over it. I have other things to worry about right now (job, savings, a house, grad school, work...). I may have given an impassioned response in the past, but not these days. I think a lot of people have reached this point. Let's move on.
Back when ARod quit using banned substances...
50 Cent and Evanescence had successful debut albums with Outkast's Hey Ya being the most downloaded song of the year.
The Lord of the Rings movies finally closed, Pirates of the Caribbean came out, 2 Matrix films hit the theaters, and Finding Nemo defined a 12 step program for sharks.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers won the Super Bowl over the Oakland Raiders... yes the very same joke of a team that we have today.
Arnold Schwarzenegger was elected Governor of California.
I was in college that year.
I wasn't even engaged to be married until the end of that year...
Caring about juiced players is sooo 2003.
Showing posts with label music. Show all posts
Showing posts with label music. Show all posts
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
Saturday, December 13, 2008
Thoughts from Panera Bread
Free WiFi is awesome. It allows you to get out of the house and do the exact same thing as always, but with scenery. Panera Bread has given me the opportunity today and I am grateful. Obviously I am a little busy these days if I am posting from here, so let me throw some quick shots out today.
Sports
I am about footballed out right now. Being in Dallas, the Cowboys occupy 75% of the airwaves this time of year at a minimum. This team has done its best to take my little interest and step on it. The high school feuds that exist or are trumped up by the talking heads have me wishing for sports talk in place of the tabloid gossip.
The Ranger's off season so far has been non-dramatic which makes me somewhat happy. We sold on the down tick with Gerald Laird. His five tool player status along with his experience merits more than a high school kid and a slow to mature AA player. I don't think the return was horrid, but it was underwhelming. So far they have yet to sign a blockbuster player. Thank Goodness! Kerry Wood and his permanent spot on the disabled list went for over 10 million a year. Thankfully we are not weighing down our future with such contracts. I don't care how good you are (Teixeira, CC, etc.), 6+ year contracts are nuts in this league. It guaranteed... results are anything but. I for one would love to see contracts have a consistent base league-wide based on experience and then having significant bonuses tied to performance. 55 home runs one year brings in 8 million extra, the slump the next year to 21 homers only brings in 2 million. How much drama could we eliminate with such a system. How much easier to keep franchise players that build a fan base. Most likely it is too simple to actually happen.
Church
I have a structural engineer teaching our Young Marrieds class at church this quarter. This bodes well for both my excitement and my comprehension. I have a subtle feeling that some us may have to be translators if he gets too technical, but I bet his lessons won't be hard to understand.
Cinema
Once again the holidays are here and movies that technical have not been released are being considered for yearly honors. Just sad. I wish they would have awards that require 100 million in sales to get be eligible. No more artsy films that are only released in 17 theaters. I am not saying that all of these films stink, but at least talk about films that people have heard of. Using my new eligibility rules from above, here are the best films of the year based upon the buzz generated by the common man:
Roundhouse to the Oscars
The Dark Knight
Iron Man
Wall-E
Get Smart
Kung Fu Panda
Indiana Jones
High School Musical 3
Not the list that you will see anywhere near the Academy Awards, but certainly the list of movies that I have been hearing about.
New Laptop
I got a new laptop about a week ago. I am so pumped. The last computer purchase that I made was before I started college in the summer of 2000. I went with an Asus that I got off of NewEgg. It has an Intel Core2Duo P8600 processor, 4 Gigs of RAM, a 320 Gig Hard Drive, and a huge 1 Gig NVidia GeForce 9650 GT graphics card. The best games from my old system look like an Atari on an HD TV. Oh, and I got this since I started grad school this fall...
Heard While Making This Post
Weezer - Possibilities
The Calling - Wherever You Will Go
Jimmy Eat World - Sweetness
Sports
I am about footballed out right now. Being in Dallas, the Cowboys occupy 75% of the airwaves this time of year at a minimum. This team has done its best to take my little interest and step on it. The high school feuds that exist or are trumped up by the talking heads have me wishing for sports talk in place of the tabloid gossip.
The Ranger's off season so far has been non-dramatic which makes me somewhat happy. We sold on the down tick with Gerald Laird. His five tool player status along with his experience merits more than a high school kid and a slow to mature AA player. I don't think the return was horrid, but it was underwhelming. So far they have yet to sign a blockbuster player. Thank Goodness! Kerry Wood and his permanent spot on the disabled list went for over 10 million a year. Thankfully we are not weighing down our future with such contracts. I don't care how good you are (Teixeira, CC, etc.), 6+ year contracts are nuts in this league. It guaranteed... results are anything but. I for one would love to see contracts have a consistent base league-wide based on experience and then having significant bonuses tied to performance. 55 home runs one year brings in 8 million extra, the slump the next year to 21 homers only brings in 2 million. How much drama could we eliminate with such a system. How much easier to keep franchise players that build a fan base. Most likely it is too simple to actually happen.
Church
I have a structural engineer teaching our Young Marrieds class at church this quarter. This bodes well for both my excitement and my comprehension. I have a subtle feeling that some us may have to be translators if he gets too technical, but I bet his lessons won't be hard to understand.
Cinema
Once again the holidays are here and movies that technical have not been released are being considered for yearly honors. Just sad. I wish they would have awards that require 100 million in sales to get be eligible. No more artsy films that are only released in 17 theaters. I am not saying that all of these films stink, but at least talk about films that people have heard of. Using my new eligibility rules from above, here are the best films of the year based upon the buzz generated by the common man:
Roundhouse to the Oscars
The Dark Knight
Iron Man
Wall-E
Get Smart
Kung Fu Panda
Indiana Jones
High School Musical 3
Not the list that you will see anywhere near the Academy Awards, but certainly the list of movies that I have been hearing about.
New Laptop
I got a new laptop about a week ago. I am so pumped. The last computer purchase that I made was before I started college in the summer of 2000. I went with an Asus that I got off of NewEgg. It has an Intel Core2Duo P8600 processor, 4 Gigs of RAM, a 320 Gig Hard Drive, and a huge 1 Gig NVidia GeForce 9650 GT graphics card. The best games from my old system look like an Atari on an HD TV. Oh, and I got this since I started grad school this fall...
Heard While Making This Post
Weezer - Possibilities
The Calling - Wherever You Will Go
Jimmy Eat World - Sweetness
Thursday, November 06, 2008
Election Musings
Feel free to refine or poke holes in the following ideas.
The Primaries
Is anyone confused about the primary process? I know that I am. This process wreaks of a lack of planning. It just sort of fell together this way over time. I live in one of those states that doesn't matter in the primaries. Texas. The state that holds 34 electoral votes has virtually zero sway in the primaries. Who chose Iowa and New Hampshire as the king-makers of this country? Iowa doesn't even use a legitimate selection system (caucus) in my opinion.
So here is my plan. It is simple, and it is allows the nation (not a handful of states) to choose who gets to run.
Super Tuesday 1
The First Tuesday of February of the election year. All 50 states will hold a primary election. Candidates that can gather signatures amounting to 0.25% of the popular vote in the previous election are eligible for their party. That would be slightly over 300,000 signatures in 2012.
Super Tuesday 2
The last Tuesday of April of the election year. The top 3 vote getters for a party will be eligible. All 50 states will hold a primary election. The top popular vote getter wins the nomination.
How hard is that? You get rid of caucuses. You get rid of superior first choice states. You get rid of goofy delegates, super-delegates, and all that jazz.
Election Day
I think that everyone can agree on this one except for my boss. Let's make election day a federal holiday. This will help prevent the end of the day rush (when people get off of work). We don't have to sneak out during the lunch break to vote. This day is a celebration of our country's freedom. Let's celebrate.
Next, let's move election day to the first Friday of November. Why you ask? Because I want a 3 day weekend... just kidding. Most people stay up late and watch the results, most people also get little sleep, and most people spend the next day at work talking about the results. The result... a very unproductive workday.
Voter Registration
The most controversial measure on my blog today. Let's do away with Voter Registration! What?!? Why or how would you do that? Simple, use the same form of ID that everyone else requires... a Driver's License.
If I go the movie theater and look young, they demand it. If I go to 7-Eleven and use my credit card, they sometimes demand it. If I want to drive a car, I must have it. If I want to get on an airplane, I must have it (or a Passport). Whenever I get a new job, they make a copy of it. Everyone else accepts this form of ID, why not the election board.
Why do I want to do this? So we can simplify the process of voting and eliminate the occurrence of minimize suspicion of election fraud.
Issues to Overcome
Fake IDs - If high school aged kids can produce McLovin, we need to check for it. Answer: Every polling place uses an ID verification webservice that takes Drivers License Number, First Name, and Last Name. This webservice interfaces with the state's database and spits back a Valid or Invalid verdict.
Using the Same ID More than Once - This same webservice puts a little X next to everyone name as it is checked. After being checked once, it will return invalid.
Security or I Don't Trust Those Newfangled Machines - This is a valid fear, but it nothing more than that. I work in the financial software industry. I pull people's credit reports, wire money, send SSN numbers around all via a webservice. How is this allowed? Because we use secure methods (ones that I will not divulge here). If I can do it with that information, we could have the NSA whip up something better in no time I would bet.
This Disenfranchises People - I know, I am suppressing the vote of people who don't have an ID. I am against the poor, the immigrant worker, and the elderly. You know what, I think that would could figure something out here, I just haven't come up with it yet. Help me out.
What Band Would Play At Your Inauguration Party?
Ah yes, the really important question of the day. I thought about this one and came to the conclusion that the word Party was the key. So my initial verdict is:
Toby Mac
I could party to:
Let's Get This Party Started - to set the mood
Feelin' So Fly - I could do some goofy dance like them
Extreme Days - to go along with the urgency of things
Boomin - just to bring everyone together
Could you wish for a President that sang with him, I don't want to gain the whole world and lose my soul!
...and yes I am white... so is Toby Mac.
Please feel free to offer other suggestions...
The Primaries
Is anyone confused about the primary process? I know that I am. This process wreaks of a lack of planning. It just sort of fell together this way over time. I live in one of those states that doesn't matter in the primaries. Texas. The state that holds 34 electoral votes has virtually zero sway in the primaries. Who chose Iowa and New Hampshire as the king-makers of this country? Iowa doesn't even use a legitimate selection system (caucus) in my opinion.
So here is my plan. It is simple, and it is allows the nation (not a handful of states) to choose who gets to run.
Super Tuesday 1
The First Tuesday of February of the election year. All 50 states will hold a primary election. Candidates that can gather signatures amounting to 0.25% of the popular vote in the previous election are eligible for their party. That would be slightly over 300,000 signatures in 2012.
Super Tuesday 2
The last Tuesday of April of the election year. The top 3 vote getters for a party will be eligible. All 50 states will hold a primary election. The top popular vote getter wins the nomination.
How hard is that? You get rid of caucuses. You get rid of superior first choice states. You get rid of goofy delegates, super-delegates, and all that jazz.
Election Day
I think that everyone can agree on this one except for my boss. Let's make election day a federal holiday. This will help prevent the end of the day rush (when people get off of work). We don't have to sneak out during the lunch break to vote. This day is a celebration of our country's freedom. Let's celebrate.
Next, let's move election day to the first Friday of November. Why you ask? Because I want a 3 day weekend... just kidding. Most people stay up late and watch the results, most people also get little sleep, and most people spend the next day at work talking about the results. The result... a very unproductive workday.
Voter Registration
The most controversial measure on my blog today. Let's do away with Voter Registration! What?!? Why or how would you do that? Simple, use the same form of ID that everyone else requires... a Driver's License.
If I go the movie theater and look young, they demand it. If I go to 7-Eleven and use my credit card, they sometimes demand it. If I want to drive a car, I must have it. If I want to get on an airplane, I must have it (or a Passport). Whenever I get a new job, they make a copy of it. Everyone else accepts this form of ID, why not the election board.
Why do I want to do this? So we can simplify the process of voting and eliminate the occurrence of minimize suspicion of election fraud.
Issues to Overcome
Fake IDs - If high school aged kids can produce McLovin, we need to check for it. Answer: Every polling place uses an ID verification webservice that takes Drivers License Number, First Name, and Last Name. This webservice interfaces with the state's database and spits back a Valid or Invalid verdict.
Using the Same ID More than Once - This same webservice puts a little X next to everyone name as it is checked. After being checked once, it will return invalid.
Security or I Don't Trust Those Newfangled Machines - This is a valid fear, but it nothing more than that. I work in the financial software industry. I pull people's credit reports, wire money, send SSN numbers around all via a webservice. How is this allowed? Because we use secure methods (ones that I will not divulge here). If I can do it with that information, we could have the NSA whip up something better in no time I would bet.
This Disenfranchises People - I know, I am suppressing the vote of people who don't have an ID. I am against the poor, the immigrant worker, and the elderly. You know what, I think that would could figure something out here, I just haven't come up with it yet. Help me out.
What Band Would Play At Your Inauguration Party?
Ah yes, the really important question of the day. I thought about this one and came to the conclusion that the word Party was the key. So my initial verdict is:
Toby Mac
I could party to:
Let's Get This Party Started - to set the mood
Feelin' So Fly - I could do some goofy dance like them
Extreme Days - to go along with the urgency of things
Boomin - just to bring everyone together
Could you wish for a President that sang with him, I don't want to gain the whole world and lose my soul!
...and yes I am white... so is Toby Mac.
Please feel free to offer other suggestions...
Thursday, September 04, 2008
Oh the Diversity
I figure that it is time for a more lighthearted post. I get IMed and emailed links to cool or funny videos all the time. So today I will share a compilation of music from the 80s. Now I was very young during the decade, but I do have faint memories of some of this stuff. I am just amazed at the varied level of music that existed. Some are respectable, others I might attribute to Canada. Since I have so many to post, I will just post links and not embed them all.
- 1982 - David Frizzell - I'm Gonna Hire A Wino To Decorate Our Home - This is just the song, not video. But anything with a title like that is on my list.
- 1983 - The Police - Every Breath You Take - Perhaps the coolest use of a chello in pop culture. I can hear the critics of the day hailing the innovative film techniques. The official stalker video of a generation.
- 1984 - U2 - Pride (In the name of love) - The best stadium rock band of all time. Bono pre-glasses. A religious song. Its got it all.
- 1983 - Weird Al - I Love Rocky Road - Probably his first big music video. Watch out for endless cheese.
- 1985 - A-Ha - Take on Me - Awesome graphics here. A flipbook artist's dream. Falsetto... why!
- 1987 - Guns N Roses - Paradise City - Typical 80s rockers. Hair, festival crowds, good guitar riffs.
- 1987 - Rick Astley - Never Gonna Give You Up - Mr Youtube / Rick Rolled. This guy has all the smooth moves...
- 1987 - Kool & The Gang - Victory - Is this pop, R&B, Hip Hop? I am not sure. They use instruments that I have never seen before or since.
- 1988 - New Kids on the Block - This video is an instructional lesson on how to get yourself beat up. Since when is singing falsetto for an entire song cool? This one is painful to watch.
- 1988 - DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince - Parents Just Don't Understand - Does the rap community still recognize this? Can you see 50 cent doing this song?
- 1989 - Clint Black - Better Man - The quintessential country music video and song. This is what I think of when I think of the genre.
- 1989 - Metallica - One - The best metal band of all time shows off its crazy guitar skills and the crowd that goes with it.
Tuesday, March 18, 2008
2-Fer
I hit a sort of mini jackpot on Sunday night. I took out the trash to the apartment dumpster and found that someone had thrown away an entire collection of CDs. There were probably 75-100 of them stacked next to the dumpster. Well my curiosity got the best of me and I sifted through them and found a few that I wanted to listen to.
When was the last time that you listened to an entire CD from start to finish? In modern era of IPods and MP3 players, a custom order playlist is much more common than listening to an entire album of possibly less than perfect songs. So here is my review of listening straight through two very popular albums that I found on the side of the road. More reviews will come as I have time to listen to them.
Artist: Pearl Jam
Album: Ten
Year: 1991
This album is one of the most popular of the decade. It quickly took over the as the leader of the grunge movement, at least on the popular side of things. Ole Eddie Vedder was an instant pop culture icon with his passionate lyrics. The guitar of the period is very good and blends well with the songs rather than sticking out for the sake of having a crazy solo. This being the band's first album, they had a less time pressures and therefore had a good amount of time to perfect the sound. Here is my rating of each song as I listened yesterday.
Artist: Matchbox Twenty
Album: Yourself or Someone Like You
Year: 1996
This band features a similar vocal sound as the previous album. Rob Thomas presents a more soulful sound as compared to the rougher Vedder voice. The big difference in my opinion is the development or further emphasis of the singing. Popular Rock took a turn towards less of a guitar emphasis and this is one of the first groups to pull it off.
The hidden non-radio gem on this album was Long Day for me. Unfortunately the second half of this album tended to drag on in my opinion and left hoping that it would be over soon. The first few songs are all ones that you can sing along to and enjoy. The average song rating of this album is 3.17.
When was the last time that you listened to an entire CD from start to finish? In modern era of IPods and MP3 players, a custom order playlist is much more common than listening to an entire album of possibly less than perfect songs. So here is my review of listening straight through two very popular albums that I found on the side of the road. More reviews will come as I have time to listen to them.
Artist: Pearl Jam
Album: Ten
Year: 1991
This album is one of the most popular of the decade. It quickly took over the as the leader of the grunge movement, at least on the popular side of things. Ole Eddie Vedder was an instant pop culture icon with his passionate lyrics. The guitar of the period is very good and blends well with the songs rather than sticking out for the sake of having a crazy solo. This being the band's first album, they had a less time pressures and therefore had a good amount of time to perfect the sound. Here is my rating of each song as I listened yesterday.
- Once - 4
- Even Flow - 5
- Alive - 4.5
- Why Go - 2
- Black - 4
- Jeremy - 4.5
- Oceans - 3
- Porch - 3.5
- Garden - 3
- Deep - 3.5
- Release - 4
Artist: Matchbox Twenty
Album: Yourself or Someone Like You
Year: 1996
This band features a similar vocal sound as the previous album. Rob Thomas presents a more soulful sound as compared to the rougher Vedder voice. The big difference in my opinion is the development or further emphasis of the singing. Popular Rock took a turn towards less of a guitar emphasis and this is one of the first groups to pull it off.
- Real World - 4.5
- Long Day - 4
- 3 AM - 4
- Push - 4.5
- Girl Like That - 2.5
- Back 2 Good - 3.5
- Dam - 3
- Argue - 3.5
- Kody - 2.5
- Busted - 1.5
- Shame = 2
- Hang - 2.5
The hidden non-radio gem on this album was Long Day for me. Unfortunately the second half of this album tended to drag on in my opinion and left hoping that it would be over soon. The first few songs are all ones that you can sing along to and enjoy. The average song rating of this album is 3.17.
Friday, July 14, 2006
It's 5 o'clock Somewhere..
. : Free Day : .
Several thoughts come to mind today. But the first is that it feels like the Middle East is about to go nuts. It appears to me that Iran is funding people in order to bait Israel into attacking everyone. That way they have an acceptable excuse to retaliate. My only reaction is that this escalation is scary as all get out.
For the umpteenth time someone thinks Weezer is done for and never going to play again.
The Texas Rangers decided to hit once again. Since they are in a wide open division, look out! This might encourage the ownership to open up their pocket books.
I just finished the book State of Fear and would recommend it to you. I give it a 4 out of 5 stars. The language and adult themes kept it from 5 out of 5. It is a story that really emphasizes a need for a paradigm change among the entire environmental movement. It points out that there is a lot more phantom doomsday reports and a lot less constructive advances. It also is heavy into scientific proof behind any such theory. The action in the book is what really makes it good. Every chapter keeps you interested in spite of the huge amount of scientific data presented in the book. I hope you get a chance to read it.
Several thoughts come to mind today. But the first is that it feels like the Middle East is about to go nuts. It appears to me that Iran is funding people in order to bait Israel into attacking everyone. That way they have an acceptable excuse to retaliate. My only reaction is that this escalation is scary as all get out.
For the umpteenth time someone thinks Weezer is done for and never going to play again.
The Texas Rangers decided to hit once again. Since they are in a wide open division, look out! This might encourage the ownership to open up their pocket books.
I just finished the book State of Fear and would recommend it to you. I give it a 4 out of 5 stars. The language and adult themes kept it from 5 out of 5. It is a story that really emphasizes a need for a paradigm change among the entire environmental movement. It points out that there is a lot more phantom doomsday reports and a lot less constructive advances. It also is heavy into scientific proof behind any such theory. The action in the book is what really makes it good. Every chapter keeps you interested in spite of the huge amount of scientific data presented in the book. I hope you get a chance to read it.
Friday, July 07, 2006
Take Me Out
. : Friday Free Day : .
... is a great song by Franz Ferdinand and a beast to play on Guitar Hero.
... to the ballgame tonight. Getting to see the Texas Rangers and the Minnesota Twins tonight from around row 20. Should be fun.
For Sports I have 2 thoughts.
1. It is a shame that Justin Verlander did not make it to the All Star game. He is pitching quite well and is dominating, especially for a rookie.
2. It is great to see Italy in the World Cup final. Roots for them to kick the socks off of the French.
For Technology I want to recommend Thinwire to you. It is very versatile web framework. It makes writing web application easy and makes them look more like desktop applications than online forms.
In Politics, check out this National Review paragraph on the 9th circuit appellate court getting smacked around by the Supreme Court for just plain stinking.
On the home front I got a request to talk about how on Earth I handle conflict resolution now that I am married. This is quite a good question and one that I am learning more and more about each day. Once you become married you have to learn to switch from a What do I want? to a What do we want? mentality. This is much easier said than done and takes time to develop (2 years is not nearly enough for me). You have to learn that you can't ignore problems. For instance, I can't avoid an argument by skipping out to play golf and come back to find it resolved. It will still be there and it will still be an issue until I/She/We figure something out. I have also found out that in order to not go completely batty, you have to learn that is ok to do things separately. As in, I don't have to go to scrapbooking nights if she doesn't have to go the Mavericks game. And if you can coordinate those on your own activities to occur at the same time, all the better. I am rambling now but feel free to send more specific questions.
... is a great song by Franz Ferdinand and a beast to play on Guitar Hero.
... to the ballgame tonight. Getting to see the Texas Rangers and the Minnesota Twins tonight from around row 20. Should be fun.
For Sports I have 2 thoughts.
1. It is a shame that Justin Verlander did not make it to the All Star game. He is pitching quite well and is dominating, especially for a rookie.
2. It is great to see Italy in the World Cup final. Roots for them to kick the socks off of the French.
For Technology I want to recommend Thinwire to you. It is very versatile web framework. It makes writing web application easy and makes them look more like desktop applications than online forms.
In Politics, check out this National Review paragraph on the 9th circuit appellate court getting smacked around by the Supreme Court for just plain stinking.
On the home front I got a request to talk about how on Earth I handle conflict resolution now that I am married. This is quite a good question and one that I am learning more and more about each day. Once you become married you have to learn to switch from a What do I want? to a What do we want? mentality. This is much easier said than done and takes time to develop (2 years is not nearly enough for me). You have to learn that you can't ignore problems. For instance, I can't avoid an argument by skipping out to play golf and come back to find it resolved. It will still be there and it will still be an issue until I/She/We figure something out. I have also found out that in order to not go completely batty, you have to learn that is ok to do things separately. As in, I don't have to go to scrapbooking nights if she doesn't have to go the Mavericks game. And if you can coordinate those on your own activities to occur at the same time, all the better. I am rambling now but feel free to send more specific questions.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
