Saturday, December 17, 2005

What's Love?

Wow. Figure this one out definitively in life, and you "win." To begin, it's certainly not a song from Ashanti worth recalling, but I digress. Here's my take: Beyond the clinical definition, don't confuse being "IN love" with love. Younger people make this mistake all the time--okay, older people do, too. The point is that when people are "falling in love," all is grand...particularly when "love" is new. Music sounds better. Flowers smell sweeter. Stresses go away. And if you're lucky, the sex is fantastic! Over time, though, reality sets in. Is he still "cute" when he leaves the toilet seat up? Is she still the girl of your dreams when you find out she can't cook or puts on fifty pounds? Is he still Prince Charming when you discover he smokes or bites his toenails? Is your mate a keeper if he doesn't have the makings of a pro athlete or rap star?

Love is more than physical attraction. It's a bond that is formed when you realize that you truly care about someone and love them unconditionally and--LISTEN HERE--you are certain that your mate feels the same way. Think of a relationship as a trial run. It gives people the opportunity to sample one another without worrying about alimony!
  • Love is not melodramatic. Love is pragmatic.
  • Love is not prejudice. Love is acceptance.
  • Love does not care about hair color (or skin color for that matter). Love takes delight in all shades.
  • Contrary to pop culture, Love is NOT blind. True love requires sight and insight.
  • Love is not jealous. Love is confident in knowing that mutual love is always faithful...always true.
  • Love is caring for someone when they're sick, or otherwise need you the most

I'll preface the Bibical excerpt by saying I'm a God-fearing man, but I'm not a zealot. People use the term love pretty loosely today. When you say you "love" someone--or think you might want to--consider whether that love would endure through time, or as you and your potential mate grow, evolve, and change. In other words, ask yourself if the "love" you have will persist. I've always thought love has been described best in the book of Corinthians:

"Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres." - 1st Corinthians, Chapter 13, verses 4-7.

The source notwithstanding, it just can't be said better than that!

Peace,
+THINKER

Wednesday, August 24, 2005

Reality TV at its best...almost!

So what makes a Reality Show worth watching? First, the show must exhibit a situation that is plausible. Second, the participants must be minimally talented or remotely interesting—better to have a little bit of both. Finally, I like the notion of sponsors supporting a show (or shows) where someone who is truly in need gets something out of the deal. That’s the criteria…short and sweet. And so, once again, for you, my Blog audience, I have compiled the Top Ten Reality Shows that are worthy of your time:

  1. Extreme Makeover: Home Edition – If this show doesn’t put a smile on your face, then you have a heart of stone. Kudos to Sears for sponsoring this show and providing so much gear to so many people in need. The show’s team of designers and engineers select families who have special needs and do renovations—and in some cases, complete demolition and rebuilds—of the recipients’ homes. The stars of the show are the families, as it should be. The designers are compassionate, and genuinely enjoy their jobs that allow them to help others. Ty Pennington, the beatnik design leader with spiked hair, keeps it all together and has great home-side manner with his co-workers and others on the show. Good people come in all shapes, sizes, colors, and capabilities, and when I watch this show, it reminds me of what Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. dreamed of. Few shows are compelling, have a profound impact on real lives, depict real compassion, and show how people of different backgrounds can come together to accomplish a common goal. I think this show is not only worthy of your time, it is, quite literally, “Must See” TV.
  2. American Idol – Some may quibble over this show, but it has all the key components. First, this show is plausible. From Ed Sullivan to Showtime at the Apollo, talent shows have been a staple in American culture. The judges ensure that the final crop of contestants are the ones with the best talent, but to keep it real: a lot of the fun in watching this show is seeing the train wreck auditions from contestants looking for five minutes of fame. Then there’s Simon, the ultimate antagonist. Personally, I appreciate his arrogance if only because he says what needs to be said. Can he sometimes be mean-spirited? Certainly. But consider Simon’s quips as 10-second therapy for those in need—because you KNOW some of those people really need it! This show ranks high on my list because the contestants who can sing are truly entertaining. The show evolves over the course of its fifteen-or-so episodes and has even evolved from its first season. Even the Paula Abdul controversy gave the judges an opportunity to do a parody short-film of itself, which let the audience know they don’t really take themselves all that seriously. Brilliant! No (Reality) show is perfect, but in terms of being unpredictable and entertaining, history will show that American Idol is as good as its spiritual predecessors as well. And of course, with handy, dandy, TiVO, you can always cut to the singing, see Simon rant, and bypass all that filibustering by Ryan Seacrest!
  3. Pimp My Ride – It’s said that imitation is the highest form of flattery, and MTV’s producers have hit a home run with this program’s version of “Home Makeover (Lite)” for watchers of MTV. Gangsta rapper, Xzibit, proves that a host need not look like Ryan Seacrest, and his urban edge always adds comic relief to the show. X, as he’s known, picks unsuspecting people with old, decrepit cars and gives the car complete makeovers care of West Coast Customs. Like the Home Makeover show, the people selected generally have a compelling story. But the real entertainment starts when the guys at West Coast transform vehicles. From 20-inch, chrome rims and plasma displays, to pile driver speakers and new engines, West Coast Customs does restorations to die for. And the look on the recipients’ faces when they see their new “ride”? Priceless!
  4. Big – I find myself watching channels I never would have watched before had they not been broadcast in high definition. Thankfully, I stumbled upon the show, Big, on the Discovery channel. Big’s premise is simple: take an ordinary, everyday appliance, scale it by several orders of magnitude, and set a Guinness World Record! Say what? You don’t need a treadmill that can support a Toyota Tacoma? Can’t find a good use for a 16-ft blender? Or a 20-ft Dyson vacuum cleaner? The hook to each episode is that the team of engineers has a self-imposed, 5-day deadline to design, fabricate, build, and test their devices. What’s interesting about the program is the process that the engineers go through to design the devices, obtain obscure parts, and finish under deadline pressure…that and the fact that all of the devices (to date) actually work in their scale form! Big typically has a guest builder, such as the chief designer of the Dyson vacuum cleaner…okay, okay… so he wasn’t Enzo Ferrari, but the guy helped the team fabricate a working vacuum cleaner, okay?!
  5. Pinks – Pinks, a Speed Channel show, is all about testosterone. Men like cars. Fast cars. In a salute to drag racing from the 50’s and 60’s, this show pits two car owners against one another in a high stakes, winner-(literally)-takes-the-other-guy’s-car, best of five, shoot out. The adrenaline runs high from the very beginning as the drivers negotiate head starts and engine modifications in an effort to level the playing field. To further keep tensions high, there’s quite a bit of poker-style bluffing that goes on as well. By the time one of the teams is facing “elimination,” you can see steam rising from the temples of the owner. Reality TV? It doesn’t get more real than losing the title to your beloved car, does it?
  6. The Apprentice – It took me a while to warm up to this program, but the “Real” in this reality program comes from what people are willing to do—and willing to compromise—in an effort to win the almighty dollar. And what better antagonist is there to orchestrate such a program than Donald Trump? Bad comb-over notwithstanding, “The Donald” does an honorable job of testing his potential protégés by pitting them against one another in contests that test their fortitude, instincts, marketing skills, and yes, their ethics. Also “real” in this elongated interview process is that there is no contrived voting by the interviewees, or by the audience. As the spectator, you get to see the real let down when the contestants on the losing end of the game hear those cutting words, “You’re fired!”
  7. [Tie:] PTI and Quite Frankly (with Stephen A. Smith) – Okay, so these aren’t exactly realty shows in the purest sense of the term, but as sports/talk shows go, these two are the cream of the crop.
    · Pardon The Interruption (or PTI) is hosted by Tony Kornheiser and Michael Wilbon, two sports writers from the Washington Post who moonlight on ESPN. Each day they berate each other in humorous fashion about the opinions the other has on the sports topics of the day. One could argue that the format of the program, with sidebar menus providing a virtual table of contents of forthcoming topics, and gimmicky games—Good Cop/Bad Cop, Mail Time, and Face Off are my personal favorites. But the show loses a step when either or both hosts are on vacation and a “fill-in” host takes over. The show chemistry between Tony and Michael is as entertaining as the topics themselves.
    · Quite Frankly, with Stephen A. Smith, is the new show on the block, but host Stephen A. Smith keeps things flowing nicely with his charismatic observations on sports topics of the day. Some think his bravado is over-bearing, but I like the fact that he isn’t afraid to challenge his guests intellectually. Take Ron Artest for example, Stephen gave him a national stage to show contrition and give America some insight into what was on his mind when he bolted into the stands in Detroit. Sadly, despite Stephen’s attempt to steer him toward the “right” answers, Ron simply took the proverbial rope and hung himself. Stephen’s restraint and integrity are admirable in a field of journalist who generally don’t know how to go for the jugular with style. I hope he has as long a run on ESPN2 as Bryant Gumbel has had on HBO.
  8. Last Comic Standing – What happens when you cross pollinate American Idol with late night stand up? Why you get Last Comic Standing, of course! Personally, I find the comedy of host Jay Mohr a bit bland, but he’s perfect in this role because he doesn’t upstage the real talent of the show: the contestants. Comedy is a pretty rampant on TV these days with Dave Chappelle, Saturday Night Live, and Late Night TV all vying for your guffaws. LCS gives the audience some insight into a comic’s soul, and answers the question, “What makes a comic laugh?”
  9. [None] – Yeah. I can’t believe I picked this “show,” either. I struggled mightily with this pick. I almost chose The Amazing Race—which isn’t so “amazing” —or America’s Next Top Model, but I just couldn’t bring myself to do it. Heck, I rather sit through an Oprah marathon than watch any of the other Reality TV fare. That I had to scrape by and pass two of our fair nation’s top sports/talk shows to round out my top ten list tells you everything you need to know about the state of reality television…but I digress. Reality is…well…not rocket science. Let’s face it, reality is best left to the pros: people in the real world.

And there you have it. Read. Watch. Enjoy...

Peace,

+THINKER

Thursday, August 18, 2005

Reality TV at its worst...

As busy as life is these days, I don’t watch the same amount of television that I used to—and this, I suppose, is a good thing. To my dismay, more and more viewing options are falling into the “Reality TV” category. “Reality” TV is cheesy, cheap (for producers to make), and sadly here to stay. Even my TiVO cannot seem to avoid these shows. While a few reality shows are genuinely entertaining and even help people in need—American Idol and Extreme Makeover: Home Edition respectively—the overwhelming majority of these shows, to make use of Bill Walton’s line, are “Horrrr-ible!” But for you, my blog audience, I have made the ultimate sacrifice, so that you might save your healthy brain cells for more productive usage. For your benefit, I have compiled the Top Ten Worst Reality Shows of all time:

1. Survivor (All editions) – Without question, the most insulting “reality” show of all, this show insults your intelligence regularly by pitting 10-15 no-name people with NO talent in fabricated situations where the participants “vote” one another off the show. The players have NO talent, the show is neither funny nor interesting, and the “drama” is consistently contrived. Did I mention the participants have NO TALENT? Why does anyone watch this inane program? Amazingly, this once, hugely popular show with people no more interesting than people you might watch walking by at your local shopping mall is finally on the decline. That’s right, you heard it here first: Survivor: Shop-a-holic Edition is coming to a cable box near you. Imagine the drama: The mall escalator doesn’t work, Starbucks is out of milk for lattes, and Border’s Bookstore is sold out of the latest Harry Potter book. What’s a Shop-a-holic to do??? Sound silly? So is this show!


2. [3-way Tie:] The Bachelor/Bachelorette/Average Joe – Any one of these three shows could have—and probably should have—been called, “How pathetic can I possibly be?” The premise is simple: a guy (or gal) gets to choose from a litter of ill-matched suitors. Events on these shows go well beyond good taste and rely almost solely on Americans’ penchant for voyeurism and pettiness. Average Joe gets a slight not for being a bit more disingenuous. Did anyone truly think believe that throwing people together like this would consistently—if ever—result in true, long-lasting romance? Are people that naïve? Judging from the recurrence of the Bachelor(ette) series, it would seem so.
5. The Simple Life – What happens when a millionaire’s sleazy daughter—best known for a tawdry sex video—gets together with her real-life girlfriend—who’s only claim to fame is having the good fortune of her Dad’s last name—participate in a farce of a situation for ten weeks? Why absolutely nothing! The only thing notable on this show is that is “exhibit A” of why many of today’s Gen X’ers have neither respect for authority nor personal accountability. What were the producers of this show thinking?! That perhaps Paris Hilton would have a wardrobe “problem” a la Janet Jackson? Their incentive certainly could not have been that Paris and Nicole are even remotely interesting or talented. Sadly, Ms. Hilton has parlayed what would otherwise be characterized as acting like a “skank” into a few movie roles as well as a hamburger television commercial. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not “Hating,” I just think a show like this makes movies like Bring It On look like Shakespearean theatre…
6. Being Bobby Brown – One word: Why? The producers of this show would have been better off doing a reality show on Mike Tyson. The “genius” of either is that every episode is a guaranteed train wreck. After all, America doesn’t have quite enough bad stereotypes of African Americans. So the producers clearly felt it was their civic obligation to show just how ignorant Black folks can be under the right circumstances. By now everyone knows the disappointing tail of Whitney’s spiral into drug abuse under Bobby’s watch. What’s sad is watching Bobby make feeble attempts at redemption, while his ignorant, diva, cigarette-smoking, wife acts like a petulant child. To keep it real: NO ONE watches this show to see Bobby—his career has been washed up for years. People watch to see the train wreck (a.k.a.:Whitney). What stupid phrase will Whitney say this episode? How will she insult her fans today? Wow! Does I’m sure Sissy Houston didn’t talk to Whitney like that when she was a child. Damn, is she really that out of touch with reality?
7. Elimidate – Was it that long ago that The Dating Game and Love Connection were doing this format, but in GOOD taste? I suppose so. This show is basically a low budget form of the bachelor(ette) series, but with fewer “casualties.” The show is condensed into a single episode, and the “fun” begins only when the cat fights ensue. Like the other dating shows of this era, it’s pathetic in that the participants are so shallow you see right threw them. Not to mention the fact the producers appear to leave it up the unimaginative contestants to come up with new and inventive ways to bore the audience on uninspiring dates. The jilted contestants consistently express denial that they really are better off as having been jilted—if that was the case, why show up on such a cheesy program at all?
8. The Swan – I reeeeally wanted to like this program. Honestly, I did. The problem is that this show is yet another reminder that looking average—never mind being ugly—is a “condition” that should be fixed, lest you be miserable for the rest of your life. Don’t get me wrong, I’m all for self-improvement, but the participants on this program don’t need surgery, they need psychological help. For instance, on more than one occasion, the man couldn’t “cope” with the woman’s newly constructed beauty, which resulted in a broken relationship or divorce. That’s just great. So much for a happy ending, but at least she’s “pretty” now, right? I just feel for the guy who missed the episode with these women. Reminder to all: Plastic surgery, Botox, and teeth whitening do not change your DNA! These women will eventually have more kids and the unsuspecting guy will wonder, “How the heck did this happen?”
9. Fear Factor – How low will TV producers go? Exactly $10,000, Baby! You’ve got a one in six chance to win that amount if you’re a contestant on “Sucker Factor”…err…Fear Factor. Alex Trebec cracks me up with his occasional sarcasm as he provides Jeopardy contestants with answers because he does so as if he already knows the answer to the question without having the benefit of the queue cards. I’d like to see the knucklehead host of Fear Factor try the same technique, but I don’t think he’s got the cajones. And will someone please buy him a life supply of Chapstick™? The problem with this program is that it’s not about conquering a fear, it’s about who’s willing to eat something totally disgusting for a chance at ten grand. The losers walk away doomed to obscurity with nothing more than the regret and angst from looking like the fools that they are.
10. Hit Me Baby, One More Time – Why this show isn’t called “One Hit Wonders Get a 2nd Chance” I’ll never know. I’ve only been able to sit through about ten minutes of two episodes. It’s just so painful to watch I can’t justify killing the brain cells. I was glad to see P.M. Dawn do their thing, but I think if you have to stoop this low to get publicity, then it’s truly time to think of a new career, isn’t it?

And there you have it. But if these are the worst of the Reality programs, then which are the best? For that, you’ll have to wait a day or two for that compilation. The results may surprise you…

Peace,

+THINKER


Sunday, June 19, 2005

Technology Woe(s) is me…

My friends know me as a super-techno-gadget-junkie. Alas, it’s true. PDA? Started with the original PalmPilot Professional. I roll with a Blackberry now. Digital Camera? Nothing less than 8X zoom and 5 megapixels will do. MP3 Players? iPod and iRiver both rock. Alternate Storage? Zip, JAZ, Imation, USB, SD, and MemoryStick all have a warm place in my heart. Digital TV? Had it for over ten years, starting with Primestar, a company subsequently purchased by DirecTV. Media room? Two THX-quality surround sound rooms are in the home we built, in addition to ceiling speakers in four other rooms and monster outdoor Bose cabinets on the patio. High Definition? Have three—CRT, Rear Projection, and LCD. So what’s my beef? What gives me agita? What is it that’s working my last damn nerves these days? HD compatibility. A little background is in order here.


[Those who are intimately familiar with video output formats can skip this section; otherwise, hang in there, hopefully the summary won’t put you to sleep]

There have been conflicting standards for some time for transferring signals from an HD receiver to an HD monitor, but most use one (or more) of three types: VGA, DVI, or HDMI.

  • VGA is an abbreviation of video graphics array, a graphics display system for PCs developed by IBM. VGA has long been one of the de facto standards for PCs. In text mode, VGA systems provide a resolution of 720 by 400 pixels. In graphics mode, the resolution is either 640 by 480 (with 16 colors) or 320 by 200 (with 256 colors). The total palette of colors is 262,144.
  • DVI, short for Digital Visual Interface, a digital interface standard created by the Digital Display Working Group (DDWG) to convert analog signals into digital signals to accommodate both analog and digital monitors. The standard specifies a single plug and connector that encompass both the new digital and legacy VGA interfaces, as well as a digital-only plug connector. DVI handles bandwidths in excess of 160 MHz and thus supports UXGA and HDTV with a single set of links.
  • HDMI is an audio-video standard with enough bandwidth to transfer content that is uncompressed between devices such as your HDTV and receiver or set top box. HDMI is built upon the existing DVI standard and can handle everything DVI can and much more, while also fixing some of the DVI incompatibility problems. What DVI problems you ask? Well here’s the deal: The DVI standard is very loosely maintained and enforced; many vendors have created different flavors of DVI while still calling it DVI and as a result some DVI equipment just won’t work together with other DVI equipment. So what the fix? Silicon Image is a semiconductor manufacturer in Sunnyvale, CA who developed the DVI standard back in 1999 with the help of Toshiba, Hitachi, Sony, and Matsushita. Silicon Image has identified DVI’s shortcomings and is set out to fix the compatibility issues by developing a backward compatible standard that would be more tightly controlled and have some added features, thus HDMI is the fix.
Like DVI, HDMI has built-in HDCP (High Bandwidth digital content protection). HDCP basically encrypts digital video to prevent unauthorized copying. Now the big thing with HDMI is that it not only carries Video but it’s capable of carrying audio as well. Yes, I said audio. It has enough bandwidth to carry 6 separate channels of audio on the same cable that it carries video. You have probably guessed by now that an HDMI cable can replace all the tangled mess of audio cables and video cables on the back of your equipment. Ready for another cool thing that HDMI can do? How about 2-way communication! This is huge because it will allow you to control all of your HDMI boxes with ANY other HDMI remote control. For instance, press the “on” button, on your DVD remote and not only will the DVD come on but so will your TV set and your receiver. You may be saying to yourself, “my universal remote can do that.” True. But you probably had to teach via trial and error codes, downloading, or other techno-voodoo. With HDMI, the components have the capability of understanding common commands because they are interconnected. Pretty cool stuff, but you’ll bet none of this useful information from the “Good” Guys, Circuit City, or Best Buy.



I tell people frequently that the single best gadget I have purchased in the last five years has been a DirecTV-
TiVo box. What makes the product so fantastic is its ease of use—and for the record, the recent crop of DVR knock offs distributed by the cable companies don’t even come close. That is until I purchase the DirecTV HD DVR (model HR10-250). Model HR10-250 is the ONLY DirecTV receiver that has both an HD receiver and TiVo. So here’s the dilemma: the receiver has an HDMI output, while my SONY WEGA LCD Monitor has a DVI input. The difference, in and of itself, is not the issue— the receiver comes with an HDMI-to-DVI adapter cable. The fact that the receiver HDMI output goes haywire every two months is.

After using the HR10-250 for 30-45 days, the picture deteriorates to something that looks like a
Leroy Neiman picture—limited variations of primary colors. You can still see the picture, but the picture is worse than an RGB video game. Since purchasing the HR10-250 receiver a year ago, I’ve had to have the receiver replaced by Best Buy seven times (and counting)! Best Buy is no saint in these transactions. Against my better judgment, I purchased a MonsterCable® HDMI-to-DVI adapter cable at the recommendation of one of the Best Buy “specialists.” $150 dollars later, I still have the Leroy Neiman problem and Best Buy won’t take the cable back! My only saving grace was that I purchased the extended warranty on the receiver; thus, Best Buy has had no choice but to continue swapping out the receiver boxes until the manufacturer discontinues making the model.

I’m hoping my anecdote and a few tips will save the reader the annoyance I’ve had over the past year.

Tip #1: Do your homework. Every time I walk into Best Buy, I fume over the fact that none of those knuckleheads understands enough about HD technology to sell monitors and receivers to consumers. Thus, the burden is on you. Research the equipment you’re interested beyond the made, model and price. Research how the components will be compatible with each other or with components you already have.

Tip#2: Stick with a common manufacturer. For years, I had always bought SONY equipment exclusively. It didn’t matter if it was a stereo, television, or clock radio, I always bought SONY. SONY products are almost always a little more expensive than comparable competition, but my SONY products seem to last forever, and have been consistently compatible with one another. My problems really began when I built my first media room around heterogeneous components. While I could program some remotes to control a few components, none of the programmable remotes were capable of controlling all the components.

Tip #3: Get the extended warranty only on “big ticket” components. Make an electronics purchase these days and you’re bound to be offered the option of an extended warranty. The extended warranty (a.k.a. service agreement) is what I call the “sucker’s bet.” In short, if you buy an extended warranty on anything that cost less than $750, consider yourself as having been suckered. Most electronics have (at least) a 90-day warranty, and the actuaries have shown that if a component doesn’t fail in the first thirty days, it will generally last 2-3 years or more. These components are “disposable.” The tide turns when you start talking about components above the $750 mark—of course, this figure may vary based upon the price of the service plan. For instance, if you purchase a $1500 television and the extended warranty is $500, that’s no deal…unless price is no object for your peace of mind!

Tip #4: Understand the store return policy. Most electronics vendors have anywhere from 13-to-90-day return policies, depending upon the store, the item purchased, etc. For instance, generally speaking, most stores don’t accept returns at all for software once the box has been opened. Others—e.g., Best Buy—accepts nothing back after 90 days. It’s important to know whether or not you need a receipt—Circuit City retains receipts on file—and whether you need to retain the original packaging. As a general rule, keep packages at least 30 days just in case you need to return an item—longer for more expensive items.

Tip #5: Don’t waste your money on high-end cable upgrades. I’m going to take heat from my audiophile buddies on this one, but the fact is most cables use copper at the core—this includes the popular Monster Cables. What differentiates the upgrade cables is shielding, gold-plated tips, upgraded insulation, and packaging. As blasphemous as this may sound, you can get most cables you need that work just as well as the name brands from Home Depot or Radio Shack. Mind you, you don’t want long runs of 24-gauge wire to your speakers, but that’s a topic for a later discussion.
Tip #6: Try key features out on the floor model. I can’t emphasize this one enough. If you need to break out a manual to do rudimentary tasks—[Are you listening Kenwood, Onkyo, Pioneer, and SONY?]—such as adjusting volume, changing surround settings, or taking pictures, then consider a different brand. Now this may conflict with Tip #2, above, but the fact of the matter is that you’ll generally less than half the features of most any device you purchase…okay, except for TiVo!

Epilogue
At the time of this writing, I am watching game five of the NBA finals in HD via HR10-250 number seven. The picture is great, but the cynic in me knows the party won’t last more than sixty days or so. The manager I spoke to at Best Buy indicated that he hadn’t heard of a problem with this model before. I politely retorted how interesting that statement was given that I had replaced all seven boxes at the same store. Furthermore, I spoke with DirecTV customer service, DirecTV technical support, Best Buy technical support, and Hughes electronics. I didn’t call them to chastise, I contacted them to inform them of the problem in the hopes that they would fix it for the next person. Unfortunately, no one seemed to care enough to direct me to someone with the ability to enact change. This, in and of itself, is pretty disappointing in the age of Customer Relationship Management (CRM) software and tools available to “improve” service.

Manufacturers have an opportunity—no, an obligation—to make components more compatible with one another. There really is no excuse given technological advances in the last five years. This is 2005 after all. Y2k was five years ago. Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) is up. Vehicles can go 100,000 miles before requiring a manufacturer recommended tune-up. Lithium batteries now come in conventional sizes AA and AAA. Personal and Server computer CPUs regularly exceed 3 GHz. All of these changes seem monumental when compared to the fact that manufacturers still have not produced the ideal universal remote! Woe is me? Not really…but there’s a great business opportunity for a corporate catalyst out there…and if you happen to work for DirecTV,
FIX MY PROBLEM, DAMN IT!!!

Peace,
J

Sunday, April 10, 2005

Tiger Wins the Masters…again.

Years ago, watching golf was generally a boring affair. But watching Tiger in the final round of a major is anything but. Tiger’s rounds at Augusta were sprinkled with shots that looked both brilliant at some points and like a weekend hacker at others. The difference, of course, is that Tiger Woods can recover on a high percentage of those occasions and make it look easy. Case in point: his shot on the sixteenth hole will be replayed for years to come. Here’s why: It’s the last round of the Masters, and Tiger is just a one stroke ahead of Chris DeMarco on hole number 16. Tiger’s second shot landed him in a bunker, and the shot out of the bunker put him in the fringe…easily twenty yards from the hole. The green on that hole had punished players for the entire tournament. Drop a ball close to the hole and it would reward with a favorable roll. However, miss the small window of opportunity and your ball rolls downhill and away, far enough to bring out a wedge! Tiger sizes up the hole, and pitches about 15 yards away and above the hole. The ball proceeded to roll down toward the cup, slowed, stopped at the lip, hesitated, thought about it for a second, and seeming said, “What the hell!” before finally dropping in for a birdie. In short, it was arguably one of the most amazing shots of the day—not counting Mike Weir’s whole in one, of course. Only by winning the tournament would the shot retain its proper significance. And given the statistics run by CBS—Tiger is 54-0 when leading in the final round of a tournament—there was no way Tiger would lose. Chris DeMarco sure made it interesting, though. He had several opportunities to “put it away,” but the Golf Gods kept messing with him. Just another walk in the park for Tiger. Another Green jacket. Number four, in fact. Nice job, Mr. Woods. Nice job, indeed.

Peace,
+THINKER

Thursday, March 17, 2005

Webber gets traded…Long live the Kings!

Webber gets traded…Long live the Kings!

And so ends an era. It seems so long ago that Chris Webber became the reluctant King, Jason Williams was stirring up white chocolate, Vlade Divac legitimized the notion of free agents coming to Sacramento, and Doug Christie was among the elite on-ball defenders in the NBA. That was then, this is now. All four of the original “new birth” Kings are gone, and the door has been officially closed on a team that missed a trip to the finals by just so many free throws. The recently traded Chris Webber was as reluctant to leave as we was to arrive. In as much as I miss number four, his black history collection, his charismatic smile, and his undeniable star power, there are several reasons why this trade—already condemned by Jim Rome and the TNT Crew—should prove to be favorable for the Kings:

1. Money. The Maloofs and Rick Adelman don't want to state the obvious, but they overpaid Chris Webber from the get go. His contract signing reminded me of the season A-Rod got the big money. To recap, Chris stood to make approximately twenty Meeeal-yun dollars over each of his last three seasons. That money is now distributed among three players from Philly, and the Maloofs will save reportedly save $10-$15M on the cap during that same period.
2. Health. Penny Hardaway and Allan Houston both had similar knee surgeries and are shadows of their former selves. Chris has had a fantastic season—all things considered—but…
· Chris has NEVER completed a full season in his seven years as a Sacramento King
· Chris’ knee and ankles will only continue to deteriorate at his age given the rigors of NBA seasons
3. Basketball Intelligence. Or lack thereof. This is the same Fab Five member who called “Timeout” when there were none to be had—he’ll never live that one down. This is the same guy who, after going 2-for-21 in a half, will come out of the huddle and shoot 10-15 more shots instead of playing on the block.
4. The Kings’ System. Now that the trade has had some time to ferment, the public is now seeing how the system made Chris successful—and not the other way around. The Kings offense, an implementation of the Princeton offense architected years ago by Coach Pete Carrill, makes them consistently successful because it is predicated on those principles that are so rare to find today in the NBA:
· Good Passing
· Unselfish play
· Movement without the ball
It’s these same characteristics that made the Triangle offense so successful. Couple the system with a player who consistently hogs the ball—Allen Iverson, Steve Francis, and Kobe Bryant come to mind—and all of a sudden the other four players on the court don’t look so good. Chris has his weaknesses—his lack of lateral movement makes him a liability on defense—but he still has offensive game to keep him on the top ten list of power forwards. He was having what was arguably a career year given his comeback from injury and penchant for triple doubles. And then “it” happened. He got traded to a team where passing to the point guard is akin to throwing the ball into a black hole. Typically, the ball is never to return unless said point guard is double-teamed and there are precious few seconds left on the shot clock. What AI needs is four spot-up shooters, not a premiere passing power forward. The Sixers’ coach is not making things any better. It’s the coach’s job to make the best use of his players, even if that means modifying the system to accommodate a player’s strengths. That’s not happening either, and for all of those reasons I feel bad for C-Webb.


The Sixers may still have a shot at the playoffs, though, despite Chris’ “bad” play. At the time of this writing, the Orlando Magic are in a six-game skid and just unloaded their coach—this is not a recipe for playoff success. For the Sixers to be a contended—which is a long shot by any stretch of the imagination—AI will need to come to grips with the fact that he has to get his teammates more involved. Recall that Michael Jordan didn’t win any championships until he accepted this notion as well. Any way you slice it, the Sixers have a tough mountain to climb with the Heat clicking on all cylinders and the Pistons being red hot—I know I should have reversed those analogies, but that would have been more cliché than it already is.

And so it is, I bid a fond farewell to C-Webb. He deserves better, but hey, he’s in the same town that booed Santa Claus!

Peace,
+THINKER

Tuesday, February 22, 2005

Note to Phil Jackson: Don't do it !!!

In case you haven't been following the debacle that is the Los Angeles Lakers, they've gone from title contender to 9th place in the NBA's Western Conference this year. The fall from grace is attributed to the once-loved, now-despised Kobe Bryant. Let's recap, shall we? Kobe didn't like the triangle and didn't like Phil Jackson. Phil is no longer the coach of the Lakers. Kobe didn't much care for Shaq. Shaq is now playing in Miami. Kobe wanted Coach K (from Duke), and Laker management was inclined to court him. They were subsequently spurned. The Lakers finally got a credible coach in Rudy Tomjanovich, but his tenure was short-lived due to "medical concerns." I'll give Rudy the benefit of the doubt here given his medical history, but...after one Hall of Fame coach declares the league's best shooting guard as "un-coachable" and another Hall of Fame coach walks mid-season, you have to ask yourself: How much longer is Jerry Buss going to kiss Kobe's BVD's?

Currently, the Lakers have a recycled coach--Frank Hamblen--filling in. Mind you, I'm not a Laker fan, so I hope they stay with Frank and stay out of the playoffs. What I find hysterically funny is that Laker management is actually considering making overtures to bring Phil Jackson back into the fold. On the other hand, how big a stretch is it given that Phil is still dating the boss' daughter.

*Note to Phil Jackson: DON'T DO IT!!! Let them beg, plead, and wallow. Heck, string them along, but for the love of Pete, don't go back there! After being a great player and an even better coach, 9 championships--equaled only one by Red Auerbach--you have nothing left to prove. That said, if you're reaaaallly looking for a challenge, might I recommend the Sacramento Kings?

Just as Flip Saunders' message had worn thin in Minnesota, the same argument can be made for Rick Adelman's mantra. Rick should be commended for some good seasons and has admittedly had some tough breaks with injured players, but so does everyone else in the NBA. The fact is that the Kings are still offensive juggernauts, but defensive softies. And there's no penalty in the Rick Adelman regime when players wave the purple cape, yell "Ole!!", and watch even mediocre point guards drive to the basket. Rick, the reported "Players' Coach", is also far too predictable. Amazingly, game after game, the Kings live and die by the jump shot, with little variation, even when the shots aren't falling.

The talent is there, Phil, and how ironic would be to have the former Lakers' coach bring a championship to a hated rival? Chris Webber is averaged close to a triple double last month and is having a career season, Mike Bibby can still drive to the basket at will, and newly acquired Cutino Mobley can shoot the lights out! We've got some great energy players on the bench, a more than serviceable center in Brad Miller, and hey, you can even trade Peja if you want. If you help Sacramento win it all, you get to shut Charles Barkley up on TNT! C'mon, Phil. You know you bleed purple!
Peace,
+THINKR