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2008-05-20 14:51
by Will Carroll

* Netflix pushed out a box today that downloads movies and shows them on your TV. Ok, that's nice. My Tivo does the same thing, albeit that I have to buy/rent them through Amazon's Unbox service (which I haven't found compelling enough to use aside from a one-time trial.) I can't figure out if there's HD content on them (looks like no, but I can't figure it out for sure.) Honestly, I don't watch enough movies at home or in theater for this to compel me. No, I don't have an Apple TV either, for precisely that reason. I could load up movies on the Tivo if I wished, but never seem to get around to watching them. I don't even have a DVD player, let alone a Blu-Ray. I think physical movies are dead, personally.

* I will watch things in HD that I otherwise will not. Yet somehow, the most compelling show on TV is also one of the best looking despite not being in HD. Top Gear is entertaining and beautiful. It's Maxim for cars. NBC is bringing Top Gear to the US -- as just "Gear" -- and will promptly ruin it. If someone could figure out a way to do Top Gear for sports, it would be the #1 Season Pass on Tivo for me. Ok, #2, since if I touched Gray's Anatomy, I would be thrown out of my house.

* Saw Scott Long at Cracker's the other night. He'll say he was off, but I'm telling you the dude is funny. Go see him if he's in your area. One of these days, I'm going to try an open mic night. Problem is, I think I'm funny and actually doing standup without any experience might relieve me of such an illusion in a hurry.

* The new "Amp" energy drinks are pretty astounding. They did their homework on these and right now have the best all-around product out there.

* It's interesting that Gene Upshaw is talking about the end of the salary cap in football. With the success of baseball, could the NFL (or NBA?) go back to an uncapped system? With the revenue sharing in TV, I think they could, but it would still stun me. I guess I'll see all my NFL friends here in 2012?

* I love Google, especially Google Docs and GrandCentral, but Google Health? That's past that comfort line I have by about three steps. Worse, the BALCO case actually has a piece that could end up invalidating some provisions of HIPAA, if the decisions on several points go for the government. I won't try to explain why, but it's regarding the seizure of testing results.

* I love Facebook, mostly. It's pretty much AOL, a walled garden of interesting stuff that I could probably do elsewhere but is just convenient and has enough critical mass that I put up with the annoyances. If Microsoft buys them, I'll congratulate Mark Zuckerberg and delete my account. I've come THIS close to deleting Microsoft Word, the last vestige of MSFT in my life, and will do it soon.

* Brilliance from the father of blogging.

* This whole Obama "Whitey" tape is an interesting meme. It's precisely the kind of thing that feeds my cynicism. Like Fox Mulder, I want to believe that it's not politics as usual, whether that name is Obama or McCain. I'm a guy who worked for Ross Perot, remember, so to me, change and hope (and a little bit of crazy) is a good thing.

* There are few guys who inspire me like Jim Webb. If he's the Vice Presidential nominee, I'm in. All the way in. Money, time, you name it. There's a list of about ten people in the world .... actually nine now that I think about it ... who I would take a bullet for. Webb's one of them.

* I had to explain to a friend of mine the other day that Emma Watson really does belong on the Hot 100 list. That said, the list is a mess. Alicia Keys at 77? Roselyn Sanchez at 70? I stopped there. Seriously. I don't even know where Julianne Hough rated. And yes, I probably should link some hot pics to all of those, but cmon, we all have Google.

* Chelsea! Go Blues!

* The Maxim list reminds me that I should re-do the Laminated List.

* Ok, one baseball note: The Pirates are collecting baseball minds in a way I haven't seen since ... the Rays three years ago. Just sayin'. The downside is that the Rays got better drafts out of Chuck Lamar than the Pirates ever did from the Bonifay/Littlefield eras. (Which is funny since Bonifay was (is?) with the Rays.)

Comments
2008-05-20 15:46:56
1.   williamnyy23
After years of being told how great the NFL was, and that MLB should use it as a model, the worm has finally turned. Not only has MLB almost caught up to the NFL in terms of revenue, but its future prospects are much brighter. Between the massive success of MLBAM and the upcoming MLB Channel, baseball has found success in two areas the NFL has not/ can not (the MLB channel will debut to more eyeballs than the NFL network has after several years; also, the NFL has little prospect for a successful internet platform).

The irony in the current NFL labor situation is that the owners are the ones who seem more interested in abandoning the salary cap. Why? In baseball, players make about 40% of total revenue, compared to NFL players, who make 60%. That difference is massive when you are talking $7billion+ per year.

The biggest pending decision by the NFL is to increase its available content by going to 18 games. Unlike MLB, games are a limited resource for the NFL, so adding to the schedule is clearly the most viable way to increase revenue.

2008-05-20 16:36:52
2.   joejoejoe
I showed my 77 year old mom Google Health yesterday and this morning she spend hours entering in all of her medical records. You don't have to input the results but it's got a real handy interface to keep track of all of your medications and procedures and test results. You don't have to share your Google Health record with anyone but it's handy to print out and have as a reference when filling out medical forms. My mom loved it.

I can see the privacy concerns of having more detailed records included. Google Health has the option of linking up with your pharmacist or doctor but those features are still very limited. You can use Google Health and just choose not to use the more involved features that give your privacy concerns.

2008-05-20 17:00:34
3.   MC Safety
Go Arsenal.
2008-05-20 19:30:08
4.   Scott Long
Thanks for the compliment, Will. My voice has been bothering me, so I was playing a little hurt, but the biggest issue was the audience. They sucked ass. I had to berate them to get the energy I deserved. Weird job I have. Insulting people to make them enjoy and like me more.
2008-05-21 06:39:21
5.   Will Carroll
Hey Safety ... Arsenal's done. Wake up. :)
2008-05-21 21:50:49
6.   Justin P
Well, Chelsea may be done if Abramovich gets tired of his toy- apparently the funding the team gets to purchase players is being counted as loans, so if he decides to leave, this would be Leeds United all over again.

What's so good about Amp?

Webb would be a stupendous choice, but I wouldn't count out Evan Bayh as a VP darkhorse.

2008-05-22 07:25:32
7.   Will Carroll
1. Abramovich isn't tired and there's plenty of buyers out there even if he were. The evolution of the team is going to be interesting to watch as Liverpool ramps up spending while Chelsea lets Drogba go.

2. Amp has a nice "power curve" and doesn't taste too bad.

3. Bayh? You don't live in Indiana do you? Bayh's campaigning (and pressure on local officials) was the deciding factor in Clinton's win here -- well, and Limbaugh. I don't think he'll even be considered. He can't deliver the state, he worked for Clinton, and has too many personal negatives to get past the vetting stage. Obama has to have a VP with foreign policy or military credentials, such as Webb, Kerrey, or Biden. I think Bill Richardson would be a good pick for a lot of reasons too.

2008-05-22 13:55:08
8.   Justin P
1. Fair enough. It'll be interesting to see what players (Berbatov? Barry?) Grant wants to bring to Chelsea, and whether he can deliver on Roman's desire for more attractive football (I doubt it..). But man, those loans...

2. I didn't realize how much Bayh did in Indiana- I thought he had a decent amount of foreign policy experience, plus he's more moderate/conservative. Besides, if I lived in Indiana I would be b*tching about how my property taxes didn't go up, but my house is now assessed at a higher value.

(BTW- I've also heard the name of Sam Nunn bandied about too- him, Webb or Richardson would be fine picks)

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