Uh oh...dredging up Christmas 200?

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Marc on Brad on Marc the Amateur

1. Absolutely love the picture, it cracked me up! Okay Mr. High Speed Low Drag, you should probably get some work done now, since it probably took you ALL morning to make it.

2. I whole-heartedly agree on CBS Sunday Morning. It's a great show, and one that is recorded on my DVR every week. I will say, though, that I wouldn't call it a news show. It's more of a human interest show.

3. I don't think Keen's point was that the big broadcast news outlets aren't somewhat slanted, but they can be taken to task on outright slanderous and absurd reporting (get sued and lose a lot of money). In the book he cites the story of Jayson Blair, the New York Times reporter who was fired because of his lack of journalistic integrity. You can't get fired from your own blog. But I think we can agree that half the battle is understanding the source.

4. Mel Gibson and I were talking about you this morning. He was pissed. He might call you, but I told him that if he did, DO NOT LEAVE A MESSAGE on the answering machine.

Brad on Marc the amateur

Love the topic, and it dovetails nicely with a previous book recommendation you provided Marc, FARK. I'll say a career in the intelligence community has made you quite a conspiracy theorist. First off I want to start by saying that the mere suggestion that this should be your last post amounts to familial treason and I will hear none of it. Now that we have that out of the way...

I have some general thoughts on the conclusions you highlighted. I realize this is like a telephone game, so if my commentary is off the marc (intended) because I misunderstood the details behind your bullet list, I'm sorry about that. But in the interest of provoking thought (since Marc likes that so much)...

The idea of confusion about sources of information and credible news goes far beyond the Internet. I'll give you 2 examples:

#1 example - THEY. Nobody knows who THEY are but THEY are commonly referred to as distributors of knowledge or facts. THEY said its the most snow we've gotten since the 40s. THEY say anal glands in german shorthair pointers are worse than in vizlas. Examples are irrelevant, listen for the trusted source of information in your next conversation, the all-knowing THEY.

#2 example - "real" news outlets. I challenge anyone to find a news outlet that isn't slanted towards something. FoxNews - Fair and Balanced...not so much. CNN - the most trusted name in news...hardly. 60 Minutes, 20/20, Dateline - pure propaganda and scare tactics to get people to watch so they can sell Viagra and Levitra to their viewership (sorry Dad, everything Ann Curry says is NOT the gospel).

Now part of me feeling that way is because "news" is so damn negative. Accordingly, my new favorite show and credible information source is CBS Sunday Morning. Check it out, great show.

Part 2: I think there is a place for Wikipedia which is broad, general knowledge. You can type "wine" into Wikipedia and find out some basics about wine, choosing wine, and purchasing wine that can prevent you from looking like a buffoon when you go to the next dinner party. If you are writing a college paper based on Wikipedia then you should first go back and get your GED. Of note: Upper Iowa, a University for whom I teach, specifically references Wikipedia in their "do not use" list of resources. It is mandatory language for all syllabus'.

Part 3: YouTube. Pure entertainment baby. Has anyone notice the incredible things they can do in movies and make them look real? Yea, well about 90% of those tricks are available to the common video amateur. That's what THEY say anyway...

Part 4: Down with the Facebook! I'm not on it and I don't care what airport terminal in Dallas you are going to the bathroom.

Part 4a: Down with the Twitter! I also don't care that Paris Hilton just got a bikini wax.

Part 5: Down with Pampers!

Part 6: Down with Russia!

Part 7: Down with Kevin Bacon!

Sorry I got a little carried away...

Should this be my LAST post??

I just finished a book that boggled my mind. The Cult of the Amateur: How Today's Internet is Killing Our Culture by Andrew Keen. I came across the book while browsing in the bookstore and decided to make it my first purchase for my new Kindle. Written in 2007, the main points of the book are even more relevant today then they were at the time of the writing. It was a fascinating... I soaked it up in about three days.

If you read the reviews on Amazon, it has a lot more bad reviews than good, but I still enjoyed it. I scanned through the criticisms, and it seems that most people agree that Keen's content is worth discussing, but they don't agree with his conclusions. At any rate, it was thought-provoking, and that's mostly what I'm looking for in a book (either that or pure entertainment!). So here's a horribly simplified list of some points that he made in the book:

- Too many people equate the credibility of blogs with broadcast, vetted, and expert news, and that is muddling "truth" in our culture.
- There is absolutely no accountability in the internet world. You can say whatever the hell you want to and there are no consequences, as opposed to professional news sources who MUST be credible, otherwise they get sued.
- Blogs and amateur news sources on the internet are killing the industry of professional journalism.
- Social networking sites are incredibly narcissistic. America is obsessed with "broadcasting self".
- YouTube has become a sort of covert advertising industry, since many viral videos are actually "plants" from political groups or corporations that are selling something. Most people cannot tell the difference between what is credible and what isn't.
- Wikipedia is basically garbage, since a 19-year-old high school drop out holds as much authority as a Ph.D. in their editing process.
- Pirating is killing the professional music and movie industry.
- Our culture (wrongly) lends more credibly to something that is "amateur" than trusted professional sources, largely due to the "amateur" culture of the internet.
- The "cult of the amateur" is actually sucking money and jobs out of our economy.
- The internet is sucking up every detail of our lives and simply feeds us what we want to hear, therefore it further narrows our world view.
- There is very little (if any) regulation of what personal information can be stored by internet sites, how it is to be protected, the length of time it can be held, and disclosure of the information.
- It's too easy to be duped by the internet.

Here are MY conclusions:

- I should buy actual CDs from independent music stores, even though it is more expensive.
- I should spend less time talking about myself on Facebook, because in essence, it IS narcissistic.
- I'm going to pay closer attention to the SOURCES of information that I read on the internet.
- I'm going to check out Citizendium.com, which was created by the same guy who actually invented Wikipedia. It's similar to Wikipedia, but has some things in place to recognize actual experts instead of letting ANYONE be "the" authority.
- I just might subscribe to a newspaper.
- I would like to intentionally read a bit more from sources that are opposed to my personal stand on issues.

Whenever I write about books, I really wish that you guys were reading it too. I've realized that it's really hard to summarize a book! Here's an attempt to practically show you an example of one of the things the author laments about the internet:

Take a look at the FIRST review of the book on Amazon. It happens to be a very negative review and is written by someone at Publishers Weekly. You can also see that Publishers Weekly is copyrighted by Reed Business Information. Just out of curiosity, I did a little research on Reed Business Information, and became immediately aware of how much Reed Business Information is invested in internet publishing and advertising. They have a "Chief Strategy and Internet Officer" and "Director of Internet Business". Included in his job description is the following: "... drives e-revenue growth by leveraging best practices and e-competency across Reed Business, with responsibility for company strategy worldwide." Part of their stated strategy is to "provide a range of communication and information channels - magazines, exhibition, directories, online media, marketing services - across five continents."


Okay, here's my point: doesn't it make sense that Publishers Weekly, that is owned by Reed Business Information, would give a negative review to a book that heavily criticizes everything that they do to make money? As a matter of fact, two of Reed Business Information's proprietary websites were mentioned BY NAME (in a negative sense) in Keen's book. So, how many people read that review on Amazon and think, "Oh, this is some random book reviewer who didn't like the book. I'm not going to read it." When actually, the book review could have been written intentionally as a negative review by Reed Business Information because of the content of the book and the threat it poses to their industry. Then they could have employed a clickbot to get that review placed at the top of Amazon's editorial review list, so it becomes the first one that you see.


The good news about our blog is that I don't think our readership of two is terribly concerned with our journalistic integrity or fact-checking. Rants wouldn't be nearly as much fun that way.


Read the book!

Marc on Brad's "Holidays"

Did you say Thanksgiving? I'm not talking about that. It was over a month ago, at least I think. I don't quite remember. I only remember Halloween.

Brad on the holidays

The true spirit of Christmas is totally lost for most people between holiday parties, family expectations gone awry, and the insanity of shopping and gift giving. What a waste of a great holiday and a great time of year. All the stresses represented in the commentary are part of the reason I love Thanksgiving.

Yes Thanksgiving. This holiday is still relatively unblemished. Giving thanks...what a great reason to get together! The simplicity of enjoying great food, friends, and family is what makes this holiday my favorite!

[WARNING: CONSPIRACY THEORY TO FOLLOW] So why is Hallmark leading the conspiracy to squash Thanksgiving between Halloween and Christmas? Because they can't get people to buy a bunch of useless $h!t that nobody needs on Thanksgiving.

"As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them." -- John F. Kennedy

Three cheers for Thanksgiving!!!

Marc on Christmas and Family

Ed, I agree with you on the comments that you made about expectations. For whatever reason, people expect that Christmas needs to be "awesome", and the additional pressure can affect everyone's mentality going into it.

I don't know what it is about Christmas itself. It must be the memories that we all have from our childhoods, the fond memories of getting all those presents and how wonderful it all seemed. We want to experience those same joys at Christmas time, but I think that as adults, we realize the fleeting joy of things. As a result, we hope to find that same thrill in our family relationships. We want that ON CHRISTMAS, not in February, not over Independence weekend, and not at Halloween. There is something special about that time that we call Christmas.

We all know that much stress can come from the physical limitation of living in these bodies that we have; we can only be one place at one time. Given the opportunity, I'm sure that we would all choose to see everyone that is important to us on December 25th. But we can't do it. That leads to choices, and although a million factors can affect those choices. Unfortunately, the choice of where to be on Christmas can be viewed as a pick based on priority or importance. But that's not the case. The location where we end up on Christmas can never sum up the value that we place on a relationship, especially familial relationships.

Perhaps one of the greatest mistakes that we make (and I'm guilty of it too) is that we expect that all familial relationships should be hunky dory all the time. In reality, we all get on each other's nerves occasionally, and conflict is inevitable in the human experience. When we love people, we expect more. And as you mentioned Ed, when we have higher expectations, there is a greater opportunity for a "let down" or a failure.

If we learned anything from our Mom and Dad it's that family is family. We've all expanded that into our "married in" families as well. We talk about each other, we laugh at each other, we argue with each other, but we're still family. And we still get together over the holidays because we're family.

It's late on Christmas eve and here I sit in San Diego at least a thousand miles away from all of you, and I wish I was going to see you tomorrow. I love my family here too, and I'm happy to be with them. Guess what? We have the same issues on this half of the family. There's always drama, always some conflict, always some disappointments. But in the end, there is joy. Joy in the fact that we have family, people who we love despite their faults, and who love us despite all of our faults.

Have a Merry Christmas and remember that regardless of expectations or anything else, I don't think I've ever left a family get together without some fond memories, and over time, those are the ones I remember, not the bad ones. Blood is thicker than water. I love you guys, and you'll always be family.

Well, the Christmas break has finally arrived for me.

I wanted to post something here since I believe that our first posts on this blog related to New Years resolutions. No, I'm not going to share my resolutions for two reasons: (1) I don't yet have any; and (2) When I do create them they will probably be no more profound or worthy of reading than anyone else's resolutions. So, sorry to disappoint.

Instead, I wanted to post a blog about one thing that consumes most of our communications during this time of year. And perhaps one of those things we have blogged about the most ... No, not Favre (although that's another good idea) Nope, I'm talking about that most glorious of topics - one's FAMILY.

Family gets a lot of play during the holidays. Spending time with your family, particularly extended family, is something that's both cherished and cursed. The idea of spending the holidays with FAMILY is a challenging one for several reasons. First, there are big expectations. Big expectations lead to disappointment. And disappointment leads to the thought that "I'm not doing that again". But the holidays come again next year and spending time with family (especially given the expectations) is a hard habit to break. So we endure another season of a house full of FAMILY, small talk, and somewhat anxious and awkward conversations so as not to be a catalyst for a cataclysmic conflict or argument during the most sacred of holidays. Am I right?

One of my favorite movies depicting such frivolity is Chevy Chase's Christmas Vacation. There is no greater source for making you feel good about the family you have! It's funny and refreshing that Clark Griswold remains committed to his idyllic vision of "how Christmas should be" through all the trials and tribulations of the movie. One of largest of his trials to overcome ... that's right ... FAMILY!

Now I've been a bit negative about family get togethers so far in this post, and it's really a bit unjust.

Truthfully I believe most people really do enjoy seeing their families, spending time with loved ones, and recounting the greatest memories of Christmas pasts. Maybe enjoying a little sledding, eating and drinking too much, and relaxing with those who know us the best (good and bad!) Quite frankly, given the alternative of a Christmas alone I believe most would gladly elect to be spending time with a house full of FAMILY and would elect it again and again each year.

But the travel, the possible family conflicts, the awkward sleeping arrangements, the I-can't-believe-he-got-me-this presents, and the quirks of our individual family members sometimes get blown out of proportion. Never more true than during the holidays.

So I'm taking a positive and optimistic approach to this year's family get togethers. Yes, the basis for them is a bit trying but I'm going to put my best foot forward. It's a fabulous time of year and I'm thankful. Thankful for the many blessings I have in my life. And one of those blessings I'm most thankful for is ... FAMILY!

Merry Christmas!

My new life

This morning after getting myself ready for work and waiting for Sasha to wake up, I decided to open and put away the stuff from our most recent diapers.com order. This tower of pee and poop sucking up materials represents the building blocks of life with a 2 year old and an infant. Wow.

Specs on the rotary girder...uh snowblower

As requested, the specs on my bad boy snowblower are...

179 cc/4 cycle engine (note: they don't rate snowblowers by horsepower, only CCs. This happens to be one of Dad's favorite rants, just ask him about it sometime and be ready to be entertained!)

2 stage, 8 speed (6 forward, 2 reverse). 24 inch wide path, 21 inch high intake. Electric start. 12 inch serrated auger and 12 inch impeller (they tell me that is to break up chunks of ice). 190 degree chute rotation, because you know 180 degrees just isn't good enough.

And the most important update of all...no accumulated snow since the purchase.

Marc: Not in the Club

Brad, you're a better man than me. I would have bought a snow blower the day I moved into your house. It's a corner lot (lots of sidewalk) and your driveway is almost big enough to host a college basketball game. I'm surprised that it took you this long to get one. But then again, I'm not so sure.

I don't know what it is, but I LOVE to shovel snow. I can't explain it and I don't have the slightest idea of how I might have acquired this sickness. I just love it.

You guys probably remember that we lived in a townhouse when we were here before and now we're in a similar situation. Our association includes snow removal, but after talking that over with my neighbors, "removal" must be used pretty loosely. They apparently don't do much of anything, but that's okay with me. When we were here before, I would often shovel my walk, my driveway, the sidewalks of my two neighbors, and a parking spot or two across the street (it was community parking). Admittedly, when you live in a townhouse, the length of your sidewalk added to that of three of your neighbors probably doesn't equal your sidewalk Brad. But considering the fact that my current neighbors are a couple in their 80's and two divorced women with two teenage daughters, I'll probably be doing a lot of shoveling here too. I bought a shovel a couple of weeks ago and I am ready to go!

There are also some good hills here near my house so I'm looking forward to some sledding this year. I have seldom done it in the last 5-10 years but i love it… still need to buy a sled though.

Ed on I'm in the Club

Congratulations Brad. I'm pleased to say that I'm NOT in the club.

There are a couple of reasons why I'm pleased to say that. (1) Of the three of us, I live the farthest South. Now I know KC isn't exactly San Antonio in December, but it is noticeably warmer and generally gets significantly less snowfall than Iowa or Maryland. Now who's the level headed one? (2) I need the exercise more than you two do! But I'm also getting old so a 2-4 inch snow fall a half dozen times a year is plenty for my workout regimen - and I use "workout regimen" very loosely. I'm possibly one of the youngest people I know that can be sore the next day from picking up a laundry basket full of clothes and carrying it up the stairs!

Brad, I'm interested in some more specs on your snow blower. Looks impressive whether it gets fired up or not! One of those enviable "tools" that men love to google over. It's a great conversation piece, you know "what's the horsepower, maximum throw distance, revolutions per minute, and gear ratio? Oh yeah!

And I appreciate you doing what you can to keep old man winter from dumping snow into the Midwest. I only hope you aren't sending it South. You'll be firing that bad boy up even if it doesn't snow just so the neighbors can hear the throaty, roaring, snow eating machine. Only one catch ... instead of doing just your driveway and walk, you'll be doing two or three times that. After all, you're the one who has the machine and have been talking all winter about "wanting to get it out and use it!"

I'm in the club

2 horrendous Iowa winters and 2 small children later, I have officially joined the club...the snowblower owners club. When we built and moved into our new house 2 winters ago, I had the following set of thoughts: 1 - I need to exercise. 2 - I need to clear the snow. Why not kill two birds with one stone.

Then we built a house with 320 feet of sidewalk and a long, wide driveway...

Then we had two kids...

Then we had two of the largest snowfall accumulations in recorded history...

So I suffered my way through the last two winters saying that when the snowblowers went on clearance in the spring I would buy one. I'd debate the options of a single stage, dual stage, or blade for my lawn tractor with my father, my friend Nathan, and my wife. I'd come to a tentative conclusion on the best choice for me.

Then Spring would arrive. My back would feel better and I'd look at pricesof a snowblower and decide it wasn't necessary. After all I made it through this winter right?!?!

Then winter would arrive and I'd go through another season of grumbling about a sore back and all the snow I have to move. (Side note: I do realize that you can buy a snowblower at other times of the year, and as such you could file this story under "Dumb Things We Do".)

So now I have purchased a snowblower just like the one pictured. And much like purchasing a snowmobile, by buying a snowblower I have virtually guaranteed low/no snowfalls for the foreseeable future. Dad says that is money well spent!

Marc on "Technology and Communication"

Lack of communication skills: Totally agree with you there, but I think that for the generation coming up behind us, they don't understand any kind of distinction. In other words, they don't see a "lack" of communication skills because they don't know that there is any other kind of communication environment other than informal. It's easy to blame it on schools, but I think they are certainly contributing to the problem. Kids don't have to treat teachers like we did. But a lot of it (as with many other things) can be traced back to how children are taught at home at a very young age. When we were kids we all knew that when we talked to adults, we had to speak differently, address them differently, and even use a different tone of voice. We learned that from our parents. We called our aunts and uncles "Aunt whoever" and "Uncle Whoever". We said yes sir and yes ma'am. From a very young age we were taught that different situations required different types of communication, and that there were consequences if we were out of line. I'm not sure that kids are taught that these days. I personally can't stand it when our friends' children say, "Hey Marc." It should be "Mr. Marc."

Handwritten notes: I think they mean something simply because of the time factor involved. ANY gesture that takes a little bit of time (as opposed to the 8 seconds it takes to send a text or one-line email) is going to have more impact. Also, I would add that regardless of the time it takes for the gesture, the true value of it depends on the relationship that has been cultivated prior to the gesture in the first place. Admiral Mullen, who is the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, could send me a handwritten note and I would say, "Wow, that was a nice gesture." But in the long run he doesn't know me, and I don't know him; there's no relationship. As a result, it's value is limited.

Companies spending money of social media: I don't have an MBA like you smarty pants, but I'll give you an amateur's perspective. In this world of internet shopping, it's not enough to get a quality product on the shelves, because I (the consumer) may never go to the store to see it sitting there. So, let's just say I'm looking for a bike trainer (which I asked you about the other day Brad). If I plug in "bike trainer" on THE GOOGLE I get 4,160,000 hits and who knows how many brand names. Where do I start? Well, if I've been exposed to a certain brand through social media, that might be the brand name that I recognize and take a look at first. Or, I may even plug that name in my initial search to limit the results. I won't even see the other brands. That's the value of social media. I'll agree that I don't think you can quantify it easily, but I can see the value.

Technology & communication

This thread is very interesting in how the two topics of technology usage and communication have blended together. It would appear the sensitivity in this group is to improper usage of technology as a means of communication. I'll share a few thoughts, although they not be directly related to the previous comments:

I'm generally appalled at the lack of communication skills that young people have these days, which I attribute to usage of informal media like FB, twitter, texting, and email(although that is arcane for people under 20). Whether I'm volunteering in a high school classroom or teaching a college class, one of the basic lessons I spend significant time on is professional communication. The biggest offenses tend to happen on email, and people mistake email as a place where basic grammar and etiquette do not apply. Big mistakes for sure...

I am not a fan and not a user of THE FACEBOOK or THE TWITTER, although thank goodness for Al Gore who invented THE INTERWEB so I could use THE GOOGLE. It sure does make it easier to find movie quotes and order pizzas. I do use LINKEDIN, which basically is facebook for professionals. The reason I don't use FB is there just aren't that many people with whom I want to communicate, and those I do I have their email and phone number.

Although using technology for communicating sure is convenient, there just isn't a substitute for a good old fashioned handwritten note. I have personalized note cards and one of my 2010 goals (that's another well-debated family topic) is to write at least 3 personal notes to someone each week. In my experience a handwritten note solicits the greatest responses of appreciation of any way of communicating. Standing out to a potential client, impacting an employee, or lifting the spirits of a friend going through a difficult situation can be as simple as a 5 minute investment writing a note.

Companies are spending big dollars using social media. See a link here to an editorial on the topic. This is a question I've debated at length with so many people: How do companies actually make money by using social media? Aside from a very soft marketing benefit and perhaps enhanced brand awareness (although likely to people that already know your brand) how do they benefit? I'd like to see what some large companies are spending for social media consulting and use and how they calculate their ROI for those expenses.

To quote "the level headed one": I think I've gone on long enough for this round.

Marc on Technology

I agree that technology can be abused. After all, that's the plot line of so many movies, right? Some awesome technological discovery, could be used to do so much good, evil guy sees dollar signs through some evil use of said new technology, battle for the new technology ensues. Inevitably, there is always discussion about whether new technology is "good" or "bad", which of course is always an over simplification. I don't think technology itself is inherently good or bad, but rather its application can be good or bad.

Email, which amazingly is "old school" by today's standards, is a great tool. I can still remember trying to write a letter and feeling like I had to fill two pages front and back to make it a respectable letter. That standard (thankfully) didn't translate to email. Sending a two or three-line email is totally acceptable, and therefore it makes it much easier to keep in touch. I think it helped people communicate more, because rather than NOT writing letters, at least they send an email occasionally.

Ed addressed the misuse of email. "Shit sludging" (I just coined that phrase) is the worst abuse. Some people spend their lives never composing anything on email, but instead FORWARD loads and loads of crap. In reference to the cheesy email that we all got the other day, I always wonder who the person was that spent all the time to put it together! At any rate, there is no shortage of people that will forward all manner of crap to every email address they have stored in their address book. That's just one abuse. There are also solicitation emails (thank god for spam filters), phishing scams, outright lies (Barrack Obama refuses to sing the National Anthem), and other nuisances. So, any user of the technology that is email needs to have a good understanding of it and how to properly use it so that they don't fall victim of its abuse, or become abusers themselves.

Let's talk about Facebook (FB). Brad, pay attention. You might learn something. FB is not the same as a letter. It's not the same as email, and it's not the same as a phone call or anything else. It's a unique technology that has its own set of rules. And it's very frustrating when people don't understand those rules.

First, the very appeal of FB is that you can "keep in touch" with hundreds of people at the same time. Not the "keep in touch" of our Mom and Dad's generation. A majority of my "friends" on FB are people that I will never call on the phone, they'll never get a Christmas card from me, and they'll never come over for dinner. FB is a means to "keep in touch" with people through one-line interactions on totally random subjects.

People use FB to post different types of information. Some of it I like, some of it I don't. A great thing about FB is that it provides the "hide" tool. If you don't like seeing what some people post, you can simply "hide" them. You are still friends with them, and although you'll never see anything they post, they are none the wiser! It prevents a potential awkward situation of having to tell someone that you don't want to hear from them anymore. I only bring that up because I've offended real-life friends in the past by asking them to remove me from their email list (I got tired of all the stupid forwards). You don't have to do that with FB. Some people I interact with fairly often on FB because their comments spur my thinking, make me laugh, or are just plain entertaining. Those that I "hide" are usually people who are overly political (constant right or left-wing rants), over-the-top sappy (my wife is the sweetest 50 times a day), exceedingly boastful (today I ran 17 miles, then saved a drowning puppy, then taught my 2-year-old how to read), or tediously boring (I'm going to eat some toast, wash the dishes, cut my toenails, then walk my dog). For all I know half of my "friends" have hidden me. I'm okay with that. I don't have an expectation of level of contact on FB.

Now for my personal frustrations… I use FB as a totally informal tool. So when I "talk" so someone on FB, meaning that I made a comment on someone's post or they commented on mine), it doesn't mean that I have chosen that person as some kind of special friend. It's almost like small talk passing someone in the hallway at work. I don't expect that EVERYONE else will know about it. But at the same time I recognize that posting on FB you have to assume that anyone else COULD see it. A good example was last week when my "friend" in Spain (I haven't seen him since about 1999) made a comment on one of my posts asking if we were still planning on visiting Spain this month. I had made a comment to him in October (on FB) that we MIGHT be going to Spain in November and that maybe we could meet for coffee if we did. Mom read that and felt "out of the loop" because she didn't know we were considering going to Spain. We didn't really tell anyone else that we were thinking of going, but since she saw on FB that someone else knew about it, Mom thought she had missed out. She assumed that a passing comment to a FB friend meant that I was keeping him "in the loop" on my life and leaving her out. The problem is just that I don't think she understands how people use FB. I don't use it as a news outlet, and the people that I talk to through FB have no exclusivity or special association for me.

I think I've gone on long enough for this round.

Our Impersonal Virtual Communications

I want to preface this blog by saying I've done absolutely no research, and the content of this post is limited solely to my humble (ok, not so humble) opinions. But in a feeble attempt to match one of Marc's rants, I have some views on how our society is making use of our new virtual communications world.

First, I like and find value in most of the tools available to me today. But there are exceptions. I pride myself on staying somewhat current with the available technologies. I have Facebook, iTunes, Linked-In, yahoo (email and fantasy basketball) and we (I have to include Holly in this last one) also have several on line accounts with virtual retailers and suppliers - everything from paying our car or electric bill to perusing eBay for the latest "deal". But I don't use any of these tools to the degree some others do. I would consider myself to be somewhere in the range of novice to moderate in terms of usage.

Nearly all of these tools offer some level of CONVENIENCE and FEATURES/BENEFITS that are the reasons why people use them. But like all good tools with various bells and whistles, sometimes they are utilized for purpose that they should not.

Napster was a classic example of music downloading gone awry. On line marketing represents a nuisance in some of these applications, and a royal pain in the a$$ in others. After all, who wants 12 emails a day from Pottery Barn announcing their latest sales. Not us!

But business and businesses are the only guilty parties when it comes to mis-use of such tools. Sometimes friends and families are the culprits. You all know what I mean. Those harmless little twits/tweets/emails that are forwarded with little or no personal touch. So, personal touch has also been automated, optimized, and outsourced - and to whom? I'm not sure, really. Who actually comes up with Power Points synchronized to Enya music (thanks Brad) with catching stories, poems and pictures to emit a particular closeness among friends and family.

I can't help but reference my Grandma Strempke here. She doesn't even like cards from her relatives that are just signed! No, she wants a personal note! She doesn't want to read what Hallmark came up with to share sentiment and love. She wants to hear it from her family and friends that sent her the lousy card! Now, I'm not always aligned with my Grandma Strempke's views of sending technology, innovation and advancement of the modern world to a screeching halt by relying on your postman, milkman and newspaper for staying connected to the big world around us ... but on this one she has a point!

And that point is simply ... it's only a personal touch if its personal. That means you wrote it, you created it, and you sent it. You can tweet/twit/facebook/email to your hearts content, but please ensure that the message includes what you thought, what you wrote, and what you wanted to share. Not someone else's recycled (albeit entertaining) message.

I'm sorry if I've offended anyone who has sent such a message. Admittedly, I've sent a few. But I'm rebelling against it and we'll see how long I can hold out. The only people I was intending to offend were the authors of these crappy forwards in the first place. One word of advice for them - GET A REAL JOB!

That's it, I'm out. Brothers? Your turn to speak out against further atrocities of our virtual world and our obsessions of mis-use.

Dumb things we do...part 2

As my wife stared at me with her mouth wide open, I taught my 2 year old daughter Sasha how to jump on furniture. I followed that up with encouragement. From the ottoman to the floor, from the couch to the ottoman, these are essential skills for a 2 year old right? I don't know what the heck I was thinking.

Actually I do know what I was thinking. Sasha can be a bit shy and timid at times. So I try to find ways to encourage her to be a bit more adventurous and outgoing. In this case, I'm sure I'll regret my efforts soon enough.

Favre's demise...(part 3)

My last and final posting about Favre's pathetic tainting of the game. If I didn't see it myself (because I tune in just to see him fail), I would say he engineered these injuries just to keep the attention off his stats and the teams underachievement. That would be 58% completion percentage, 7 touchdowns, 10 interceptions, and leading the team to a 2-4 record.

He needs to go and go now, he is ruining prime years of winning opportunity for former Iowa greats Chad Greenway and Albert Young. For $16M they can get a pretty darn good QB in free agency.

As I said long ago, go away to Hattiesburg Brett, run your car wash, do your Levis commercials, and you stay classy with the voicemails and texts!

Mom, I need some money

Shocking headline: athletes on full-ride scholarships still end up spending some money at college. I haven't quite figured out the "shocking" part yet. As I started digging, I just got more and more irritated.

First, as with most studies, this one is funded by an organization that has an agenda, in this case the National College Players Association (NCPA). According to their own website, their number one goal is to "raise the scholarship amount." Again, directly from their website: "The NCAA admits that a 'full scholarship' does not cover the basic necessities for a college athlete, but it refuses to change its rules to allow schools to provide more scholarship money."

Within the statement is a big assumption, and that is that college athletes have the right (insert rant about our "entitlement" society here) to not pay a dime when they go to college for four - hmm - I mean one or two years. The study notes that the average Division I "full-scholarship" athlete has to pay $2951 annually in "school-related expenses not covered by grants-in-aid." Not surprisingly, I could not find a complete list of these school-related expenses used in the study, although the press release mentioned three things: parking fees, calculators, and computer disks. I cannot confirm it, but I suspect the list includes things like baggy jeans, snazzy boxer shorts, two pairs of Nike Air Force Ones, a MacBook Pro, an iPod, and two plane tickets home (for Christmas and Thanksgiving).

Second, if you go to the NCPA website to look further into this study, they throw up the scholarship "shortfalls" against the coach's income and bonus money. The implication is that coaches shouldn't get that money, that the players should get it so that they don't have to spend their own money at the iTunes store. My question is, what is it that normally draws an athlete to a particular school? I don't know that the coach is the number one reason, but it's gotta be in the top three. So for schools to get those big recruits in the first place, to grow a program to the point that it can provide scholarships in the first place, you've got to get top tier coaches. So why would you go after them? You both know that I've had my issues with college athletics in the past, but after doing my research, I fully understand that the bulk of athletic scholarships in any Division I school, and even many of the academic scholarships, are funded by the football and basketball programs. It's pure profit. Coaches are paid with pure profit. My point is, the coach gets much of the credit, in my opinion, for scholarships existing at all. Going after them in this pathetic "full-ride athletes don't get enough money" complaint is ridiculous.

Third, I think most of the population would agree that compared to the average joe that wants to go to college, I don't think athletes have much to complain about. Let's take for example USC. According the the 2010-2011 catalog, the average cost per semester for an undergraduate education is $20K. Yes my friends, that was for a SEMESTER. So you're looking at $40K per year if you're not an athlete. According to the U of I website, cost of attendance is around $36K a year, and ISU around $30K. Duke University will cost you around $55K. Clemson, who is listed in the study as the BCS school with the largest gap for "full-ride" athletes at $4700, costs around $26K to attend for a year. Keep in mind that these figures are also for in-state residents; the cost for many scholarshiped athletes would probably include out-of-state tuition costs.

In anticipation of my previous paragraph, the NCPA has a section of their website entitled, "The 'Free Ride' - Should We Complain?" In general, I think it's a joke, but the last line of the page REALLY pisses me off. It says, "We should not have to keep quiet while being subjected to unethical conditions." UNETHICAL CONDITIONS? Are you serious?

Look, let's quit beating around the bush and get to the bottom of this: College athletics is a multi-million dollar industry. It is money, money, money. No doubt about it. The NCPA has one agenda which it is trying to cover with a lot of smoke-screen issues like guaranteed four-year scholarships, medical coverage, unlimited transfer options, graduation rates, etc. But the REAL agenda is that the NCPA wants to tap into those millions of dollars that college athletes generate. That's it. Regardless of what they say, they don't give a crap about education or anything associated with it. They want college athletes to be compensated like professional athletes. They want the money. They can't stand the fact that big-time college athletes have to pay anything while at college.

Compensation for college athletes is a separate issue for another day...

Marc on Favre

Man, it was painful just to write that title! Favre can add one more to his long list of records and statistics: the most frequent topic on the Baldwin Boys blog.

I watched the game last night as well. I have to admit that during those last two minutes I was sure that Favre was going to rip the heart out of all of Green Bay again, if for no other reason than because I was hoping that he would fail. As Ed mentioned, I am definitely NOT a Brett Favre fan.

My reasons for disliking him in no way question the incredible career that he has had. I, like many others, have simply grown weary of his weeping press conferences year after year, and then the inevitable drama of July and August when he "suddenly" decides to play again. This year was even worse, with him joining the team just in time for the first regular season game. The fact is that I think he's never considered retiring; he's a superstar, loves having a long summer off, and knows that he can get away with not showing up until the last minute. And no one is willing to even entertain the question of how it hurts the team NOT having the starting quarterback around during training camp.

Unfortunately when he finally does retire, he will be talked about as a legendary quarterback "who threw a lot of interceptions, especially in the playoffs". Granted, you can make the argument that the greatest sluggers in MLB history also had the most strikeouts. In my opinion, Favre is one of the best when his team is in the lead. However, he's terrible when his team is behind, especially as he's grown older, because he tries to force things, and throws interceptions as a result. But hey, I'm not gonna a lie, I'd keep playing as long as someone was willing to pay me $16 million a year!

I'm interested to see whether or not he'll continue his streak of starts with his bum ankle, which didn't seem to bother him much as he celebrated what he thought was the game winning touchdown.

Favre, again.

Here's a quick message (Marc, I wondered if you would come up with this, after a scan through the headlines to find something to "light your fire") to say that I watched most of the game last night between the Packers and the Vikings, and paid particular attention to what the commentators were saying about Favre. One point they made is that every pass is historic for Favre - a completion, an interception, a touchdown, a pic six ... doesn't matter. He has now thrown for more than 40 miles! Whew, bet that was something we all wanted to know.

Now my brothers and I differ on this. I like Favre. Always have. But his recent off the field antics and slumping capability on the field has me believing more and more that it is his time to step away from the game. He's fun to watch, always, and has an attitude of "so there's a chance" even when playing from behind.

An ugly game from an old man last night, and the rust is showing. Brett, if you're following this blog (probably, right?) here's straight talk from a fan of yours ... It might be time to hang up the helmet for a pair of Wranglers, Sears commercials, and long and illustrious career of commentating.

I know my brothers will be eager to hear your take on the recent crackdown on defenseless headhunting rules or the Manning brothers rivalry! After all, gotta stay in the spotlight right?

Marc on Music

I think we’ve talked a little bit about music in the past, or maybe it was just about our top 10 list on our iPod, not quite sure. I’ve often wondered how in the world I ended up being such a big fan of rap. I think I’ve got it narrowed down to a few particular events…

I think the first rap song I really loved was “Jam on it” by Newcleus. It came out in 1983, but I have no idea when or where exactly I was exposed to it. I have recollections of listening to it over and over, not because I owned it, but at one time I was going to the weight room at the high school (that is funny in and of itself) and Joe Logan had it on tape. We played that song over and over and over. I loved it, and I guess that’s when I first got the bug for good rap. Amazingly, I remember asking for a Newcleus tape for Christmas sometime later and Mom and Dad actually got me one! In retrospect, I’m shocked that they did. Rap has never been Dad’s gig!

The next thing was the movie “Beat Street” and specifically the song “Beat Street Breakdown” by Grandmaster Melle Mel and the Furious Five. Ed, you may remember going to watch that movie with the Rogge clan (I still kind of think of them as the hillbilly family on the Simpsons). We all went to the Oelwein theater to watch it, and again, I’m amazed that they played it in Oelwein. I love that song – it’s on my favorites list on the iPod and I still listen to it often. I wish I could find the track because I would love to do it on the next Baldwin karaoke album!

Last but not least was “Walk this Way” by Run DMC and shortly thereafter, the entire “Raising Hell” album. That single and album came out in 1986 and I think it was the first tape that I bought with money from my job at Super Valu. I had to order it through Samar Music because they didn’t even carry it (a rap tape in Oelwein?) By that time, I already had a thirst for rap, and that album was like an ice cold Mountain Dew on a hot summer day! I could not get enough of it. I still believe that “Peter Piper” is the GREATEST rap song of all time. “My Adidas”, “Dumb Girl”, “You Be Illin’”, “Is it Live”… there isn’t a bad song on that album.

Incidentally, “Licensed to Ill” by the Beastie Boys was released at about the same time. I didn’t know much about them other than “Fight for Your Right to Party”, but I traded tapes with Kevin Wright on the bus trip to Disneyworld (I gave him "Raising Hell" and he gave me "Licensed to Ill") and that’s when my love affair with the Beastie Boys began.

On a side note, rap has gone sour over the years. I can’t put my thumb on it exactly. Crunk is junk, I know that. There is still some stuff I like (Jay-Z) for example, but on the whole, it all blows. I can’t even stand to listen to rap/R&B stations on the radio. It’s not worth it to hear one good song every 45 minutes.

That’s my rap story.

Ed on Dumb Things WE Do

Did you complete the work in flip flops while listening to your iPod? Did you let the neighbor use the radial arm saw directly below you while you worked? I can recall several of these experiences myself. And interestingly, most involve a ladder, cliffs and the possibility of falling to significant injury. Hmmm?

As they say, your picture is worth a thousand words. Lets challenge ourselves to produce stories (and pictures for extra credit) of our collective mastery in shedding common sense, abandoning reason, and recklessly going where almost every man has gone before.

I had intended to attach a picture of me hanging off the peak of my roof, 40 feet from sure disablement or death, to hang Christmas lights - but I couldn't find the picture. That will be my first entry.

Mixing Love of Music and Family

Why does almost everyone love music? And what elements in particular do each of us appreciate most that makes us love different types of music? Do you like the words, the instruments used, the beat, the voice(s)? To some degree all of these elements play a part in what type of music we listen to and appreciate the most. I've asked many people this question: How can someone try to remember something really important like a birthday, formula, recipe, or quote and find this almost impossible a week or two later (even with repeated effort) and yet they can remember the words to a song that they haven't heard in twenty years with almost no cognitive effort? It's amazing isn't it? I'm certain there are studies upon studies as to the triggers in our brain that cause such memory, love and enjoyment from music. But that's not really my point of posting this blog.

Instead, my point is that when you combine multiple things in your life that you love, you end up with the ingredients for a really great experience. That's what 'making music' with my cousins and brothers was all about. For me, spending time with my family and making music was a perfect combination of two really big loves of mine. Now, the 'making music' is in quotes because no one would describe the output of those two half days in the studio as 'making music', regardless of your musical taste. So I'm using this phrase very loosely. And you'll note, there is no music attachments available ... for good reason. But the experience was everything that I had hoped for and more - everyone of us having raw, unrefined and delightfully tacky fun!

So the next time you eat chocolate and caramel, you bike through the countryside to enjoy the fall weather, you read a really good mystery book, or you really enjoy a song for its instrumental and lyrical characteristics, you will be doing something I've come to realize: take two things you really enjoy and combine them. When you do, you won't be disappointed with the outcome.

I'm hoping for at least one more studio opportunity, not because of the music that gets created, but because of what these two experiences meant to me.

The Big One That Didn't Get Away!

Here's a couple of photos from a recent trip to the 'honey hole' fishing pond near our house. On this particular trip Dad went with us, and all of us caught some really nice bass. But the Big Daddy (Dad) caught the Big Daddy (probably about a 5 pounder) and I can't remember the last time I saw my Dad so smug. Maybe that's not the right description but you could see so much happiness, pride and satisfaction on his face. It was a great day, a great time, a great fish, and is a really great memory that me and my boys will always cherish.

Dumb things I do...first in a series

One of the more difficult aspects of being a weekend warrior when it comes to being a household handyman is not having the right tools and equipment. One example might be a 8-10 foot step ladder. So when I needed to mount two bike hoists on my 13 ft. ceiling, I had a few options:

1. Try to find someone in the neighborhood that has a ladder.
2. Make the 5 minute trip to Lowe's and purchase a ladder.
-----OR-----
3. Stack a bunch of stuff up and balance on that to reach the ceiling!

So my makeshift ladder consisted of:

- A radio flyer wagon (a children's classic!) with the wheels blocked by stips of wood.
- A children's plastic slide
- Several odd size pieces of plywood stacked thick enough to bear weight.
- A 10 year old rickety wooden 4 ft. step ladder.

It wasn't the easiest or most efficient option, but I got it done. Needless to say I shared this picture and information with my 9 month pregnant wife AFTER I had successfully completed the task without breaking my neck!

Favre's demise...(part 2)

The Vikings are 0-2, their offseason spending on offense has yielded 19 points in two games. Favre of old is looking more like old man Favre. 1 TD, 4 INT, and a paltry 56.1 QB rating. What a treat to watch him come back to reality!

Favre's demise...

Please join me in the anticipation of the demise of Brett Favre and the Vikings...

Based on their preseason efforts they clearly have gotten a late start with the Favre antics to start the season. Now there are reports surfacing that Favre and Childress are fighting. WR Percy Harvin looks more doubtful daily with migranes and other health issues. Favre's favorite target Sidney Rice just had hip surgery and is missing the first half of the season.

If they get off to a poor start, the Vikings circus could become quite a downward spiral to watch. Keep your fingers crossed that they implode, now that will be great TV!

National Basketball Association AKA NBA

So what do you think? I can still hardly control myself.

1) If I was David Stern, I wouldn't have put the Heat and the Celtics together in the season opener. Let it simmer a little bit, let them work up good records for a month or so, and then match them up in a Saturday night prime time game! It's like the NBA is already saying, "Let's get a taste of the Eastern conference finals on the first day of the season." And the Western conference day one marquee game: LA and Houston? I'm sorry, did you say Houston?? What the heck is that? Like we've all been waiting with bated breath to see a Luis Scola / Theo Ratliff match up?

2) Shaq claims that he's still a dominant force in the NBA. Come on big guy, it's time to let it go. I'm not saying he's garbage, but he's not a dominant force. If he was, we might have seen Lebron and the Cavs get a little deeper into the playoffs. More interesting is that fact that Shaq is talking with the Celtics! I have a new name for them: the Boston Geriatrics (and Rajon Rondo). The NBA is quickly becoming the "let's see how many big names we can get on one team" league.

3) I love it when articles use the term "crafty veteran". I saw it used today in reference to Jason Williams re-signing with the Orlando Magic. Is that media speak for "old guy that manages to get the job done"?

4) So who is dumber: Delonte West for ruining a $4.6 million contract by carrying weapons around or the Minnesota Timberwolves for taking him in a trade? At any rate, they cut him loose today. Good riddance for Minnesota AND the NBA. Some guys just aren't good for the sport... hmmm, wonder why nobody has picked up Allen Iverson. Practice? We're talking about PRACTICE.

5) Can you believe JJ Redick signed a 3-year $19 million contract?? Four years ago I would have bet that he wouldn't even be in the NBA in 2010. Amazing.

Please NBA, hurry up!!

And you believe it??

I've always said that I won't believe that Brett Favre is retired until an NFL season begins AND ends without seeing him in a uniform. I'm even tempted to change that to TWO seasons, because even if he sits out one, I'm thinking he'll miss it enough to come back; plus, he won't be able to stand NOT being in the spotlight.

I think it's worth noting that Favre has never actually retired, so let's put a stop to the Jordan comparisons. A Jordan comparison isn't fair, since Jordan actually missed a season or two following his first two "retirements". Favre has never missed a football game due to one of his "retirements". It just seems like he's retired since it's been an annual media frenzy for the last 6-8 years!

Let the celebration begin!

Brett Favre has retired...and we can only hope this time he is serious. I'm so tired of hearing about his poor aching 40-something body. The only redeeming part of Favre's on again off again relationship with football is how much it makes Marc mad.

Brett, enjoy Hattiesburg, MS, the car wash business, and peddling Wrangler and Grecian Formula. It's as easy as 1-2-3!

Family Weekend

This weekend my entire family (Mom, Dad, Ed & Holly & kids, Marc & Jen, Sheila, Sasha and me) were all together in Oelwein. The buildup was rife with enormous expectation thanks to Mom and Dad. There was an extended family gathering Saturday with some rock star guests expected, and another gathering on the other side Sunday. For my family, history would say this much expectation is a recipe for certain disaster and the fights and disappointment that come along with the expectations of a close family.

At the end of the weekend I can honestly say it was the most pleasant few days I've had with my family in recent memory. Everyone remained relatively calm. Of course Mom and Dad spent lots of time worrying about making sure everyone was comfortable with enough food, and something to drink, which is to be expected of such good hosts.

Highlights included cycling with Ed & Marc, hosting Marc & Jen at our house for a couple days, reconnecting with many family which we don't see often enough, and of course showing off our little daughter Sasha to everyone. As usual many promises were made to commit to see extended family more often which likely won't happen, but its still great to be able to see everyone we did.

What's your superskill?

When Marc was in Iowa City this weekend, I was reminded that Marc is able to smell deer (like knowing they are there without seeing them). Apparently one of his Maryland buddies has the same skill, what are the odds?

I'm not sure what my superskill is. Similar to a previous thread of conversation, I'm a jack of all trades, master of none. I suppose endurance via willpower might qualify, meaning I can run/bike distances or at speeds for which I am not adequately trained. But that's relative to my physical skill, there are people much more adept at running or biking than I. I'll bet Ed would say I have a knack for getting under someone's skin, I can be relentless if properly motivated.

Will have to give that one some more thought...

What's the Probability?

So today, actually about eight hours ago, I lost my money clip. Enclosed were three credit cards, $40 cash, £30 cash, Drivers licenses for the UK and US, and my Costco VIP card.

We've scoured Oceans of Fun today where I lost it. I suspect that I lost it in the parking lot. On occasions such as these what do you believe the probability of recovery is? 10%, 20% or more?

I wonder if the probability of it being turned in (either with or without the cash) had dropped, increased or stayed approximately the same from a decade or more ago. Certainly over the long term I'll bet the probability has gone down. But how much I really don't know.

If you found a money clip with the items I noted above, would you turn it in? Take the money and throw the rest in the trash? Take the money and turn it in saying their was no money in it? This would be a great straw poll for some TV show. But only after they actually observed 100 people come upon it and recorded what they did.

Because I lost it at a water park on a Friday I'll bet my chances of recovery are even more slim. Lots of teenagers at the park today.

Well, figured I could vent just a bit via blog rather than taking it out on someone at the park. The security guard specifically. When I wanted to go to the area where we had congregated for most of the day to look for it (it was after hours) he said "was there money in it?". I said yes and his response was "then I'm sure it's not there". Thanks for the vote of confidence buddy.

But in hindsight, he was right and would be right a lot more than he would be wrong in this case. Maybe he's a bookie or something.

Ed on 'What Would You Do'

C'mon, you all know what I would do. First of all if I'm that hungry and I've had a third of it I still haven't tasted it because of how fast I'm eating and second, I can count on one hand the number of times I've upchucked (is this the more diplomatic term for puked?) on bad food. Beer, yes. I have a much more stellar history here. Food? I really can't recall.

Dad said in the military he used to get 7 minutes to eat. 7 minutes? Piece of cake ... actually three, an appetizer (say, wings), main (16 ounce ribeye), a pound of mash potatoes (actually, twice baked), a trip to the toilet, and three cokes (diet, of course). I bet I could polish the whole thing off and still have two minutes to let my food settle. Marc, perhaps you can enlighten us with the current and updated military practice on the subject.

Hey, are we still doing the Krispy Kreme challenge???

Ed on Food

Now there are a lot of topics for which I have little or no knowledge. But as the heftiest of the Baldwins of the last three generations, this is a topic I have a rich and robust knowledge of ... so, enough of my credentials.

Totinos - their pizza suck, and Mom's oven added insult to the injury. Since when is pepperoni cubed? C'mon! But, I would opt for a Totino's pizza to this day compared to "roast jerkey" or fish sticks. At least the fish sticks didn't have any fish in them. But when you're eating a pizza and you order pepperoni, you actually want the pizza to have some real meat on the thing.

A couple of other food highlights for you two that I'm sure you will appreciate

#1 KOOZWAZZA! How does one come up with such a name. For all our blog fans (are there any?) you won't know what I'm speaking of. But for my two brothers, this name rolling off the lips meant the very best of Baldwin treats ... oh, yeah! HoHos! Ok, not a Hostess but still rolls of cream and chocolate in packets of two, or boxes of twelve. Want to know how I know that ... I'll let you imagine!

#2 Microwave popcorn - what brand did we eat anyway? Marc may be able to remember the popcorn that started it all. Not microwave popcorn, but popcorn that came in a tin foil skillet and you shook it over the stove for a meer twenty minutes at which time you would have 3 kernels of perfectly popped popcorn, and a ton of either unpopped kernels or charred to a crisp popped popcorn. Downright atrocious!

I have enjoyed this trip down memory lane as much as anyone. So with that, where are the little Debbies?!

Brad on End of an Era - Favre

I agreed with everything you said Ed right up until you put Brett Favre on that list. While I'm sure he's charitable in his own way, I just can't stand the guy. Shocking developments in Favre watch 2010: he's now practicing with a high school team. Aggghhh the suspense is killing me! Actually I could care less, and if it weren't for former Hawkeyes Chad Greenway and Albert Young being on the Vikings team I'd wish for a winless season and a new interception record for the Mississippi Ego-Maniac.

What a jacka$$.

Speaking of food...

I've had two flashbacks in the past couple of weeks to the same part of my highschool years that I had managed to expunge from my memory.

We're in Lynchburg at my in-law's house and last night at around dinner time Mom says, "I've got a couple of pizzas in the freezer, I'll make those for dinner." Hey, I love pizza, so I quickly added, "Sounds great to me!"

A few minutes later I wandered into the kitchen to see if I could help with anything. Nope, they didn't need any help taking the TOTINO'S PIZZA out of the box and putting them into the oven.

Totino's pizza?

I didn't know that they still existed, let alone that someone was actually still buying them and eating them. I swear that between the three of us we ate about 1500 of those things during our days at home.

The funny part for me is that what I remember about eating Totino's pizzas is that it seemed like I hardly ever cooked them enough... there was always a cold corner somewhere that was just nasty, but I ate it anyway.

I said that I had had two flashbacks so here's the other one: About two weeks ago when we went to buy our new car we decided to grab some lunch in the Target cafe/restaurant next door. We both decided to get pizza, and the lady said it would take about 5 minutes to cook them. Only 5 minutes? Okay, whatever. When we got them and I started eating, it just wasn't that good. And in my opinion, it takes a real lack of talent to screw up pizza! Anyway, the taste reminded me of something. As I thought on it, I suddenly realized that it tasted like Totino's pizza (and it probably was). I laughed to myself last night when we had the Totino's because in Target that day I told Jennifer that I was okay with NEVER eating a Totino's pizza again the rest of my life!

BTW, Totino's pizza has a Facebook page if you want to "become a fan"! I wonder if Mom still buys those things.

What would you do?

So here's the situation...

You are starving. You've just rocked a bike ride without any fuel in the tank and its time to replenish. So you stop at your local Jimmy Johns and get a sub. You sit down at your table at home and start attacking it like a pack of hyenas on a zebra carcass. About 1/3rd of the way in, something's a little off. Maybe the taste, maybe the smell, perhaps the mayo you slathered on there. What do you do?

I pounded that sub like Joey Chestnut on a hot dog and washed it down with some Diet Coke. We'll see if I regret that!

PEDs

There has been much ado about PEDs in the last 10-15 years, with baseball and cycling being two of the sports that seem to regularly be in the spotlight for offenses. My take on PEDs is a little different...

I have to start by conceding right out of the gate that the definition of "drug" is debatable. For the purposes of my thoughts on the subject, I'm using the term to mean any article taken that is intended to affect the structure or function of the body. Yeah, I know, that's pretty broad. But I have to start there so that the rest of the discussion makes a little bit of sense (hopefully).

There isn't a professional athlete on the planet that hasn't taken PEDs.

The real question for me that determines whether or not someone is "cheating" is whether or not they have taken a banned substance. And I mean during the time that it was banned by the governing body. Athletes are always looking for ways to enhance their performance with drugs that are not illegal or banned. I can't prove it but I would bet there is a pretty sizable industry out there of scientists and/or pharmacologists that make a living by staying a step ahead of the banned substance list.

By my definition, PEDs can be about anything. Are you sucking down a Gatorade Prime 01 before your ride? Are you taking a pain reliever before you start your run? Are you taking amino acids before you lift? You can see where I'm going with this, right? And that's why I think that every professional athlete takes PEDs. I'm okay with that. But I'm NOT okay with athletes using banned substances or abusing substances or methods that in and of themselves are NOT banned (for example, blood transfusions).

The debate over Lance Armstrong will never end. When people want to fight about it, I take the air out of their sails when I say right off the bat that I think he's taken PEDs. However, I don't think he's ever taken any illegal or banned substances. And I don't think that he won all those TDFs "only because he took PEDs". If winning the Tour was as simple as taking some totally legal PEDs, I don't think Lance would have dominated the sport for so long. That guy has to pee in a cup probably 450 times a year. He's not taking banned substances. Talk about a detailed health record... they have enough urine from that guy to tell you what he's eaten every day for the past 10 years!

Regardless of the PED issue, as you guys referenced, I appreciate athletes that do great things not only for the sport itself, but outside the sports arena. As a much as I rant about him, Brett Favre has donated lots of money over the years through his foundation and other organizations. Lance Armstrong's "Live Strong" foundation has grown beyond what anyone probably ever imagined. Andre Agassi built an entire academy in Las Vegas that gives full scholarships to underprivileged kids. And last but not least, your favorite Ed, Tiger Woods, gives away in excess of $10 million every year (he also agreed to give away $750 million to some lady named Elin Nordegren!).

This is a rabbit trail, but it's another thing that disappoints me about the athletes that earn $100 million during their careers and then are broke two years later. What that means is they haven't established themselves in such a way financially to be philanthropists for the rest of their lives. They can't even pay their own bills, let alone use the wealth that they once had to help others.

Sorry, back on track. PEDs aren't necessarily illegal, and if they're not banned, I don't see how you can really be mad at someone who uses them. Can we appreciate athletes who try to do it in a "pure" way? Sure. But you can't call someone a cheater for drinking Gatorade anymore than you can call someone a cheater for having a 13-pound bike. It's not illegal. Phil Mickelson was accused of cheating when he was using a 20-year-old club that was NOT illegal and he was pissed about it, and I think rightfully so. He was operating within the framework of the rules.

And I feel the same way about PEDs. If it's not illegal...

Ed on 'End of An Era'

Let me start by saying I'm a big Lance Armstrong fan. I like the guy and believe all the great stories and cast away those character discrediting ones. It's a little bit like Tiger Woods, I like what Tiger has done on the golf course, and for the game of golf. I like what Lance has done on a bike, and for the sport of cycling.

Both are tremendous athletes with a passion and history of winning - that's unarguable. The media allegations that neither could have achieved what they have other than by using PEDs is concerning. Can there not be any great achievement without them? At least to date, the answer is yes. And for Lance in particular since he's been drug tested probably more than anyone on the face of the earth.

Both Lance and Tiger have used their fame for good causes. And yes, they have used their fame. Perhaps they should have been selfless in their efforts, but they have done a lot of good with their fame. For that, I'm also a fan.

I hope Lance comes back and wins another Tour, whether that's this year or another. I hope that Tiger scorches St. Andrews and wins another major. And I hope Brett Favre comes back (again) and wins a Superbowl. These are some of my heroes. Maybe others would choose the Dalai Lama, Nelson Mandela or Barack Obama, but I'm a sports fanatic that has found greater good in these sports superstars than bad ... not to mention they are a lot more fun to watch. TV ratings and popular demand would prove that true.

End of an Era

We've seen the passing or retirement of a number of notable people in athletics lately, and today we saw the effective end of Lance Armstrong at the Tour de France. After being involved in 3 crashes and not being able to answer the bell, he sits far out of contention already early in the Alps. His tweets (I'm not a twitterer, it was referenced in an article) were surprisingly upbeat, almost as if he knew this would be a tough year.

7 tour wins, beating cancer and legions of critics who demand such performances must be supported by PEDs. It has been quite a ride for Lance. He has single-handedly elevated the sport to a global phenomenon for three weeks every July. Although many have been trying to get rid of him for years, the sport will almost certainly go back to the dark ages where nobody cares anymore.

Now he will be able to focus on his philanthropic efforts.

WOW - a lesson from Dan Gilbert on the dangerous mix of anger, liquor, and the internet

Cleveland Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert posted this letter on the team's website after LeBron James' announcement he was leaving for the Miami Heat.

Dear Cleveland, All Of Northeast Ohio and Cleveland Cavaliers Supporters Wherever You May Be Tonight;

As you now know, our former hero, who grew up in the very region that he deserted this evening, is no longer a Cleveland Cavalier.

This was announced with a several day, narcissistic, self-promotional build-up culminating with a national TV special of his "decision" unlike anything ever "witnessed" in the history of sports and probably the history of entertainment.

Clearly, this is bitterly disappointing to all of us.

The good news is that the ownership team and the rest of the hard-working, loyal, and driven staff over here at your hometown Cavaliers have not betrayed you nor NEVER will betray you.

There is so much more to tell you about the events of the recent past and our more than exciting future. Over the next several days and weeks, we will be communicating much of that to you.

You simply don't deserve this kind of cowardly betrayal.

You have given so much and deserve so much more.

In the meantime, I want to make one statement to you tonight:

"I PERSONALLY GUARANTEE THAT THE CLEVELAND CAVALIERS WILL WIN AN NBA CHAMPIONSHIP BEFORE THE SELF-TITLED FORMER 'KING' WINS ONE"

You can take it to the bank.

If you thought we were motivated before tonight to bring the hardware to Cleveland, I can tell you that this shameful display of selfishness and betrayal by one of our very own has shifted our "motivation" to previously unknown and previously never experienced levels.

Some people think they should go to heaven but NOT have to die to get there.

Sorry, but that's simply not how it works.

This shocking act of disloyalty from our home grown "chosen one" sends the exact opposite lesson of what we would want our children to learn. And "who" we would want them to grow-up to become.

But the good news is that this heartless and callous action can only serve as the antidote to the so-called "curse" on Cleveland, Ohio.

The self-declared former "King" will be taking the "curse" with him down south. And until he does "right" by Cleveland and Ohio, James (and the town where he plays) will unfortunately own this dreaded spell and bad karma.

Just watch.

Sleep well, Cleveland.

Tomorrow is a new and much brighter day....

I PROMISE you that our energy, focus, capital, knowledge and experience will be directed at one thing and one thing only:

DELIVERING YOU the championship you have long deserved and is long overdue....

Dan Gilbert

Majority Owner

Cleveland Cavaliers