Armed and Disgusting

Thoughts on the Slingbox

If you have not heard of the Slingbox, then you might want to crawl out from under the rock you are living under. From a business perspective, this is true genius. From my own affliction of pragmatism, it's a nicely designed paperweight. I mean, give me a break, am I that hooked on my cable that I essentially need a huge extension of AV to my home? Please. The funny thing is that many consumers have gone away from the wired model for their home networks and into wireless. I have both....on purpose, but not for the Slingbox.

The funny thing is that if you are a business traveler, the locales in which you would log in would most likely have a firewall that would kill your dreams of remotely viewing your cable/sat provider channels. So, is the thinking that I would hit up the nearest free WiFi spot and log in to my home cable to watch that must see episode of House? Uh.........lame. Or would I just impress my friends by logging in from their house and pat myself on the back? Again, from a business perspective, this capitalizes on the perception that people NEED to view a particular show at a particular time. DVR anyone? Sheesh. Hats off to the boys from San Mateo, CA who thought of this concept two years ago and are marketing the F out of it and moving product.

It's Friday....and it's Black?

...but many people are more in the Red at this moment than they were last night...

No one likes to get a good deal more than me. I live for paying less. Seriously though, it is truly a struggle at times for me to give my cash out for some consumer goods or services that I have not either exhaustively researched or have been given a thorough recommendation from a trusted source. The reason? I absolutely hate getting ripped off! I find there is a delicate balance of need-price-quality-want factors. I don't impulse buy. That lesson was learned many years ago. It's crazy, but even after an extensive research to lend support to an eventual purchase, I still feel sick to my stomach for a least a day and then I'm over it, but it's just some sort of innate reflex that I feel probably just grounds me and makes me not get so comfortable with spending money on a whim. As some have said, "You cannot take it with you" and I am well aware of that, but to purchase a "must have" item for a quick and temporary fix is not too smart and I just hate to think of myself as someone who gets consumed with consumerism. I find it to be pretty morally reprehensible when people are out there camping out to save 40% on a stupid electronic device or some item that will be in a garage sale in the summer months when they are one paycheck away from being evicted or are in such debt with frivolous use of their credit cards for mostly "lifestyle" purchases. How interesting that bankruptcy fillings increase each year. I know that not all bankruptcy can be attributed to morons who overspend on Black Friday, but it would be naive to think that several thousand fillings could not be attributed to that.

Bottom line: I saw no deals today worth throwing cash at...We'll see what the deals look like on "Cyber Monday" which is another stupid media label.

You gonna eat that......?

I was reminded of a somewhat interesting phenomenon that some of you may not have experienced yet in your life. We had a meeting at work today and food was brought in. Nothing too gourmet, but some edible deli sandwiches, a monster Greek salad and a dessert tray. Well, as I was filling my plate with some of the Greek salad, I thought about how as a child I seemed to avoid certain foods for silly reasons or I just legitimately did not find the taste of these foods to be worthwhile. The beets in the salad are what triggered my thoughts. I NEVER ate beets as a child; I really like them now. I suppose I can understand if one was sheltered from certain foods that may contribute to not being able to really determine if one liked or disliked a particular food, but I had a pretty assorted diet in terms of fruits and vegetables. Another food I did not like as a child was Pecans. I love them now. I'm not talking super sweet Pecan pie because I'm not a fan of that, but shelled Pecans are excellent and I was reminded of this recently when a friend of mine gave me a bag that his family from Georgia sent up from a farm they own. Man, those MFs were excellent! Lima beans would be the next food item I did not care for as a kid. I could eat a bowl of those any day.

Anyway, you get the point. Has this happened to any of you?

Who's your Lima?

In honor of my Tigers and the silly marketing campaign they used this year which was entitled, "Who's Your Tiger?", I ask the readers, Who's your Lima?

#1 Lima, Peru

#2 Adriana Lima

#3 Jose "Lima Time" Lima

They all just get along.....

I have to laugh at people who make the DISCUSSION or usually just a one-sided, ignorant rant of politics a huge deal in every conversation that they have in the belief that they think they can actually impact what happens on The Hill. It's usually just some moron who wants to sound clever, but it is just empty banter.....The politicians are laughing at us unless "us" happen to be in the circle of politics as well since they are the ones who get the social/professional/financial connections that many of us could never dream of being a part of. For anyone who thinks that politicians don't take each other to lunch on the tax payers dime and enjoy the excesses of life and then flip the script when the cameras are on are just really blind to the reality.

Come on, these people make more money "retired" than many of us will ever see in our lifetimes. And, you have these people outside of the political elite who insist on protesting certain issues thinking that getting dragged away in handcuffs is some badge of honor or some form of martyrdom...Wake up! My main reason for this post is to just point out that politicians know how to spin the public for their own personal gain...It's just the American Dream baby! Now where do I sign up?! :p

The immortalization of Halo's Master Chief

I submit to those of you who read this post that the piece to the left of stained glass art work is the freakin' coolest and I would love to have one, but not for $500. It was created by someone who is pretty obsessed with Halo. I do think Halo is one of the best games of all time...concept, graphic and sound-wise....and seems to offer interesting enhancements with each version that comes out. Agree?

There's a new Chef (or Sheff) in town

My Tigers have made a good move and signed Gary Sheffield for three pitching prospects. EXCELLENT move! The lack of power in the lineup is what contributed to the World Series slipping through our fingers...Sheff is a much needed addition. I know the guy is going to be 38 years old, but he can still contribute immediately. I know if Jim Leyland were not here, Sheff would not have signed with the Tigers. No way! It's nice to actually be discussing the Tigers in a positive light....It's been too long. I am already looking forward to next season.

Midterm Election Day

Let's hope the clowns we voted for bring us as much fun as sitting in the audience of the circus does....Such a shame how few US citizens vote....

Corporate Brainwashing

I was reminded of the reality I live in whilst reading a yahoo article discussing A Guide to the Latest Batch of Corporate Buzzwords and it is just amazing to me how these words evolve through the years. I have worked in the IT, Business and Education worlds and am never at a loss for a list of BS words and other terminology used in those fields. Seriously, it's as though you are just a Lemming and are almost looked at as being an outsider if you don't pepper your speech with some of these lame terms. Geez....it really drives me crazy! The funny thing is that these buzzwords or figures of speech tend to be initially uttered by some big wig, high-rank manager that people think if they sneeze around this person will impede their ascension in the company..Oh brother....I worked at a place where I must have heard "Here's a head's up..." and "An addendum to the last email.." about 10,000x!! I can agree with the yahoo article regarding the term "network optimization" and that just annoys me because I get calls on a weekly basis or spam at my work email about exploring the possibility of undergoing a network analysis for eventual network optimization....Sheesh! Will it ever end?!

The art of penmanship..

..is one "skill" I lack COMPLETELY. I wonder where I would be if I did not have a keyboard in my life the last 10-12 years. Sheesh...I was reminded of my cruel reality recently at work where I decided to write up something only about the total length of one page. Man, it was a mess and even a 5year old would have laughed. I felt like a complete amateur. I keep looking for words to show me a red, squiggly line underneath when I was sure that the word was misspelled...Microsoft owns my mind as far as word processing goes; we all know that OSX is the best OS out right now! You see, I seldom write on paper. Even in undergrad and grad school and the sporadic class/training I take these days is a chore when I don't bring a laptop to class and actually write using a pen or pencil. The funny thing is that I am not crazy about taking notes on my laptop. They just don't feel like they sink in as well as written notes do, but then my notes are a train wreck...Technology has spoiled me. I don't mind because my job rarely involves situations where I am actually forced to write on paper. It's primarily the use of a keyboard in the form of emails, reports or other respective memos. That works fine with me.

If I ever get a job with the absence of technology, I might starve. :p

Attack of the Clones!

Hide all babies and small dogs.....

P_I_M_P_O_L_O_G_Y 101

It was a funny instance at work that lends itself to the inspiration for this post...A coworker of mine asked me about another coworker's name plate and how someone had written "The Pimp" next to the person's name on the name plate with a dry erase marker. I knew who wrote it on there only because the person who wrote it on there is very close in age to the person who's name plate had "The Pimp" written on it and has a desk near this person as well. The coworker who asked me about this is not very close to the age of the two coworkers involved in the name plate incident. This coworker was very close to being offended by such an act almost to the point of informing upper management and was visibly shaken at the idea of anyone being called a pimp. I told the person that I also wondered who would have wrote such a derogatory thing about someone as I was yawning in my mind and wondering how lame this whole conversation was.

It's just kind of a funny example of generations not being aligned in terms of vernacular and slang that is harmless amongst people within the same generation. One could think of so many words that have changed (in terms of context) over the years and how generations disagree about the use and become offended. I understand the language of academia and business and calling someone “The Pimp” in a professional setting is probably not the best move, but a casual setting is a much different situation in terms of verbiage used amongst those “in the know.”

Where I COULD have been earlier tonight.....

, but lady luck did not whisper in my ear...

As some of you may know, the World Series began earlier tonight. I have a friend who knows somebody who knows somebody who has their hands into many prominent events in the city. Well, my friend calls me this morning to let me know that we could possibly be on the field tonight for the opening act (Bob Seger) since several dozen extras were needed to hold a giant American flag for the aerial shots and related situations during the singing of America the Beautiful. So, at first this situation is sounding like it's a sure thing and I was hyped about the prospect of being out there in front of 50K people in the stadium and millions of TV and Internet users, but then my friend gets a callback that makes it sound as though it's now more of a 50/50 shot because there seemed to be enough people confirmed and we may have not been needed. Anyway, when I heard that it was not a sure thing and I would have rearranged some things I planned to do for today just to go in the first place, I did not want to set myself up for the letdown if the whole thing fell through and we went down there and wasted our time, therefore, I told my friend he should go w/o me if he wanted to test his luck...Well, my friend was on the field and I was watching the game at home....Better luck next time, hopefully.

Just because....

This mechanical tiger in Brugge, Belgium is the wackiest thing that you have seen in your life today...Tell me otherwise and I shall call you a liar! :p

The land of Hugo Chavez produces great beisbol players...

Who said Maggs was overpaid?!

The Venezulano was clutch!

The brooms were out in full force over the weekend..

Well, well, well...The unthinkable has occurred in the world of US sport. My Detroit Tigers swept the mighty not really Oakland Athletics and are on their way to the World Series. Anyone inluding myself who thought this would be the destiny for this team in 2006 is crazy or on some interesting chemical influences. The best I was hoping for was just above 500 for the year. Man, was I wrong, but man, am I super-happy about the team this year. I was nervous when they choked out the end of the season to the Royals and did not secure the Central Division title, but I'll trade that in for a World Series victory appearance any day.

Contrary to popular just El Oso belief, I have been down with the Tigers since the days of Magnum P.I. in the 1980s when I was a wee lad playing T-ball and then to Little League...

The NLCS is tied right now and I am pulling for the Mets to win ONLY because I would love for the Tigers to KO another squad from the NY. That would be excellent.

Dave, it looks as though you should be pulling for the Mets also since they have the most Ricans on their team amongst the active teams at this time. Even though he's not a Boricua, I love to watch Julio Franco play. Man, that guy is a friggin dinosaur at 48years old. Amazing! Of course, if they do play the Tigers, I expect our pitching to remind him that he should have retired long ago. :p

World Series bound after today?

Hmmmmmmmmmmmmm. We have the brooms out and we are ready to destroy the city & make national headlines party it up like it's 1984.....The door is closing fast on those A's.

I respect the A's and like many of their players, but the Tigers look like they belong on that grand stage that is the World Series.

And the winner is....?

Ms. Minogue....

After


Before

In the Zone...

..as in have you ever had one of those days where things just go your way and you have no real explanation for it, but you accept...you embrace it. For those who play or are fans of sport, you understand me when I say that you can actually be "IN THE ZONE" for a period of time in which the opposition can do absolutely NOTHING to stop you. Of course this does not limit itself to the world of sport...let's say you nail a presentation or a major deliverable for a project at work or school. Or you cook something that is just absolutely money and your peoples are impressed by the feat. Or in a budding relationship when you are at that crossroad in which you decide is it time to change directions or move on in a common direction. Get my point? Those days occur to some more than others, but relish those days when they fall in your lap.

Who JUST advanced to the ALCS?

The Detroit Tigers.

Let me say that again....THE D-E-T-R-O-I-T TIGERS!

Who did my squad beat? The Yankees.

Let me say that again.. The freakin' highest payroll in MLB NewYork Yankees.

Many of you can NEVER understand what it is like to have one of your beloved sports teams have a losing season for the past 19yrs and then advance in the playoffs. It is freakin' crazy in the D right now!!!

Man, this is amazing and when you have been no where but bottom feeding in a league for so long, you can do nothing but improve...My boys are hungry and I have a good feeling about the next round.

Restore the ROAR baby!!!