I want to be very clear about this…if SOPA/PIPA is passed. Not only will I NOT vote for you in the next election (I may have voted for you in previous elections but since I’m posting this in quite a few public forums I reserve my right to keep my voting history private), but I will ACTIVELY CAMPAIGN AGAINST YOU. Not just by voting for your most serious contender but by giving money and helping their campaign team in any way I can, volunteering, etc. I have not made time for this in the past but thanks to this misguided legislation, I intend to in the future.

This legislation is ambiguous and dangerous. I urge you to watch the video at this link.
http://wordpress.org/news/2012/01/help-stop-sopa-pipa/

My wife and I agree on a great deal of things in this world. We usually agree that if you do something stupid, you deserve to suffer the consequences. But last night, Mrs. Goofy and I had to disagree.

The discord in our little utopia came about over the kid that ran onto the field at the Phillies game. That kid did not deserve to be tasered.

Look, he was wrong. No doubt about it. He deserved to be caught, cuffed and fined. I don’t know what the fine is but it should be a few hundred dollar to discourage people from doing it. Put it on his permanent record and maybe even hold him overnight in a cell (away from any other population, doesn’t the Eagles stadium even have it’s own holding cells?) to drive the point home. I’m pretty sure the financial hit and the sobering reality of being confined to a cell would have been adequate to drive the point home.

But for goodness sake, don’t taser him because you have inadequate security or security provided by an out-of-shape officer that can’t corral him. Tasers can kill for goodness sakes.

I say this not because I’m a person that thinks people aren’t responsible or shouldn’t be held accountable for their own actions, but because I’m a father.

If you read the link from the story above, the kid actually called his dad to ask him what he thought. The dad said he wouldn’t do it and the kid responded with, “it’s a once-in-a-lifetime experience.”

Just take a moment to think about that. Especially if you’re a parent.

A once-in-a-lifetime experience.

I’ve had what I think is a fairly unremarkable life by all accounts. Still, everybody has their moments. I’ve spoken in front of thousands of people. I’ve played on teams in arenas or stadiums filled with people. I’ve even had a couple thousand people chant my name. My individual name. I can tell you that these are all exhilarating experiences that I wish everyone could experience at least once in their life.

We’ve been to a bunch of games like everybody else and I can tell you that field calls to me. Take it from a guy with a horrible lawn, that perfectly manicured grass is just asking for you to go and roll around in it.

A friend of mine was telling me about her kid’s little league this year. The big selling point for the kids: they get to play a game at the local minor league stadium. They’re all buzzing about it. Who wouldn’t love that.

People will talk about Monica Seles, security, the safety of the officers, etc. All valid points.

But have you been to a game recently? The mouths on people as I’m trying to watch a game with my pre-teen and just-teen sons are not the types of mouths I’d prefer to have to listen to as I’m watching a game with my young children. Have I used that language before? Certainly. I’m not perfect and I tell my children that they can only control themselves and not the actions of others around them. I tell them how small those types of words can make you look. But it still bothers me to hear. Quite honestly it’s one of the reasons we don’t go to very many games anymore.

And the cursing is the smallest part of it. The stories of spilling, spitting, fighting, etc. are all pretty common. Again, the Eagles have their own holding cells. If those types of problems are so prevalent you need to install your own holding cells, well nuff said.

Quite honestly, I think running on the field is one of the great missed opportunities by Big League teams. They charge the shit out of us for everything else, parking, beer, food, etc. Why not charge people if they want to go on the field. During the seventh inning stretch, have sprint contests across for the field for an extra premium. I would pay good money if my sons and I could sprint across the field. What’s wrong with that?

Security. Pull the teams off the field if you’re worried about that. Send them to the dugouts for a few minutes. There already having kids or hot dog races in between innings. How would this be any different?

Don’t even talk to me about how it would slow up the game. How many stinking commercials do I have to sit through. They’ve made basketball almost unwatchable on TV. I think that’s an idea that could work. It might actually take me back to Camden Yards if I could sprint across the field with my two sons.

Look, the kid was wrong…but a taser. I’d like to think that when they invented the taser for police use, they were thinking about the criminal, high out of his or her ever-loving mind that they were unable to subdue. I’m hoping they weren’t considering a 17 year-old kid looking for a once in a lifetime experience.

YES. DO IT. RIGHT NOW. DO IT RIGHT NOW.

Really, that about sums it up for me. If I could literally drive somewhere and scream that same line in someone’s face, I would be running out my door right now. Really, is there anyone that would be against this?

Yes, I know I’m on record about my anger with apple…and I’m still pissed…don’t get me wrong.

But I love NetFlix. We already stream to our beloved Roku and XBOX 360. We watch it on the laptop when we’re on the road in a hotel. The phone is just the next logical extension. Though of course I’ll be watching on my Nexus One. I mean, if they figure out how to stream it to the iPhone, the Google phone has got to be next, right? And if you live in the county,  you know that you aren’t using AT&T down here. It just doesn’t work no matter how they edit their map (bracing for angry comments from County iPhone fans that swear AT&T works now, just not when they actually want to demonstrate it for me).

One last thought. Hey NetFlix! As a member since November 2003, I’ll assume I haven’t been surveyed since you can tell it would be a ridiculous question to ask me since I’m already streaming to so many places. Still, a guy does like to be asked.

February 5, 2010

Mr. Rush Limbaugh
1270 Ave of The Americas, 9th Floor
NY, NY 10020

Dear Mr. Limbaugh:

I incredulously listened to the segment in your show in which you repeatedly and offensively used the term “retard” in reference to our meeting with White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel.

As a public figure, you have the great opportunity to influence the hearts and minds of millions of people in this country and around the world.  People with intellectual disabilities – the largest group of people with disabilities in the world – have suffered generations of discrimination and humiliation.  In the 21st century, they, together with their families and friends, are continuing their battle for the simplest form of justice:  the justice that comes with a recognition of their full humanity.  In their eyes and in the hearts of millions of others who love and care about them, language is important.  So together, we have chosen to try to sensitize others to the pervasive but often ignored prejudice they suffer by asking for a change of language and a change of heart.  For you or for anyone else to mock those who strive, often against long odds, for the recognition and respect they deserve, seems gratuitously hurtful and degrading.

Our message is as simple as it is powerful: people with intellectual disabilities are human beings.  Gaining social recognition of that humanity continues to be an elusive goal for them and for those who love and care about them.  For centuries, they have borne the stigma of institutionalization, sterilization, social isolation, and bigotry.  The names associated with them – such as “retarded” and “retard” – have for too long been used as cruel taunts.

Despite the searing pain that this word (and others) has visited on millions, people with intellectual disabilities have nonetheless persevered to try to gain their dignity.  For half a century, mothers, fathers, siblings, and people with intellectual disabilities have worked to open the eyes of the world to the simple truth that each of us has gifts. They do not deserve to be mocked by you.

Our “Spread the Word to End the Word” campaign is aimed at changing the perception that the R-word is acceptable and the good news is that the world is beginning to slowly change.  Classrooms are becoming more tolerant, communities more accepting and the work place more inclusive as people with intellectual disabilities are slowly being seen for what we’ve always known them to be – people of value who help us all to understand we are each gifted in unique ways.  But this change is too slow and each use of the R-word as a synonym for a stupid action, a schoolyard taunt, or the punch line of a joke, slows our progress immeasurably.

Great heroes like Special Olympics athlete Loretta Claiborne, are visiting school after school to explain that “retard” and “retarded” are words that caused them unbearable pain as children and continue to reflect deep misunderstanding today.  Loretta has the courage to face her disability in public, to ask that others treat her with respect, and to ask for more sensitive and caring attitudes in the future.  In response, many are joining her, Special Olympics, Best Buddies, and a coalition of organizations in asking children to pledge never to use the word again – not as a joke, not as a description of behavior, not as an epithet.  In my own experience, when I ask people – be they first graders or media figures – to join in stopping the casual use of the word “retarded”, they universally agree to do so.  Most want to go further:  they want to understand better how they can serve as agents of acceptance and dignity.

Loretta is a role model and if given the chance to speak her mind on your program, she and many others like her would inspire you and your audience with her wisdom and toughness.  This is a teachable moment.  May I ask you to join her now by ending your use of this term and by further using your great influence and position to help others do the same?

Best wishes,

Timothy P. Shriver, Ph.D.
Chairman & CEO

I can understand why. I was a little upset myself (I’m more upset about the concept of copyright and intellectual property in general being used to kill innovation). But I can see why Netflix did it. And it’s probably a good deal in the long run and here’s why.

Streaming is where it’s at. I hardly watch the actual DVD anymore. We have a Roku and we watch that more than anything else right now. Maybe even more than cable in general. The Roku is cheap (around $79 now) and easy to set up. The picture quality is pretty good and it’s easy to work. If you don’t want to buy the Roku, you can stream through the XBOX 360 and it’s coming soon to the Wii and PS3. The new gossip is the service is also going to start getting built into TV’s. Can’t wait for that.

Still, I agree that it’s never a good policy to take features away. So, here are some things that Netflix can do to show me some love.

Get the New Releases out quickly after the 28 day wait period

Nothing is more frustrating on Netflix than the dreaded “very long wait” text appearing next to a movie you’d like to see. That’s why I wasn’t that upset to learn about this deal. It took three or four weeks on some movies anyway. We had gotten into the habit of hitting Red Box if we really weren’t willing to wait. I’d rather have more options for something anyway so maybe Red Box can stay alive and keep other services honest and a little fearful. It’s never good when a company gets too large and dominates one market (think my recent spat with Apple over my Ipod Touch).

Expand that streaming catalog quickly

As I said, we’re loving the streaming shows. So lets get more of them and figure out a way to get them more quickly. Work out some Hulu-like deal where where I can watch my show right away and I don’t even need to worry about my DVR. Get that movie that just came off the 28-day wait to the streaming catalog as quickly as possible. The thing that drew me to the streaming was the TV shows. The thing that got the rest of the family interested was the Starz channel new releases. Once Peggy found out she could watch Step Brothers on it, she wasn’t saying the Roku wasn’t a wasted purchase.

Netflix’s real need…advanced search

One of the best things about Netflix is the recommendation engine. Netflix awarded like a gazillion dollars (ok, a million) to some programmers that got online to “substantially improve the accuracy of predictions about how much someone is going to enjoy a movie based on their movie preferences.” That’s great. The problem I have is the search engine itself. It’s not bad but it needs to be expanded. First off, I want to only see movies I can stream.

My streaming queue list

Finally, how about some new sort options in my watch instantly queue. Really just one option. Alphabetize. I’ve got like 400 movies in my stream queue now because the Roku can’t hook up to Netflix and let me search while I’m on my TV. I have to go to my computer to find new things to stream. So, either hook up Roku so it can go online to my account and search for things that aren’t already in my queue or, probably easier, add an alphabetize option to my streaming queue so it’s easier to find the movie as I go through the queue on my TV. Really, haven’t you guys already thought of this?

So there ya go Netflix community manager person that has hopefully found this online. I mean I only used Netflix like four gazillion times so unless I’m getting blackballed for overuse by Google, you have to have stumbled across this post in whatever monitoring system you’re using. Since you just screwed me on the new releases how bout some new love.

Last year I jumped on the bandwagon to Save Chuck. I wasn’t the only one and finally the fans were able to save a show they really enjoyed instead of the Network just canceling the show (read Firefly and probably a 100 other shows for most of us).

Timing

Well, last night was the season premiere. We had all been looking forward to the show for weeks. We were upset at first when we saw it was on a Sunday night. Moving a show’s time slot around is never a good recipe to give it new life. We felt a little better when we saw that it was a two hour (really just back to back episodes) deal with the third episode running at its usual time tonight.

Sell Sell Sell

My first thought was, “Man, a lot of commercials.” That might be a good thing though. Even more important than ratings is if Chuck can get (and keep) a bunch of advertisers. There’s no doubt that people getting out on the social web and talking about saving Chuck had a huge impact. But I’d argue that people thinking about how to tie advertisers into the show was just as important. The idea to leave behind cards with Save Chuck on it and getting behind the Subway promotions for Chuck had to have an even bigger impact to the network.

The Toyota commercial at the beginning integrated the characters so well that that we had to rewind the DVR and watch the commercial to make sure we weren’t missing something important about the show. I now want to watch the Olympics.

The actual show

As far as the show itself, we really enjoyed it. Of course it had it’s moments. After all, we are talking about a sitcom. If you’re tuning in for “Gone with the Wind” that’s not what you’re going to get. But, if you’re looking for a show that you can safely watch with the entire family, this is it. Much better than the reality garbage I’m being forced-fed lately.

There was a part of me that was hoping Chuck and Sarah would get together but you know that can’t really happen. Once you get that, it becomes harder for the show to come up with the plot line that serves as the focus of the show. That’s the part of the show everyone keeps coming back for. To see if the nice guy can get the girl that’s way out of his league. It happens every now and again. Just not that often. So we hope it happens with Chuck.

Moving Morgan in with Chuck should present some interesting plot opportunities. Though, I like the Ellie and Awesome characters so I hope they keep making their appearances. I’d actually like to see more of them. I enjoyed the latter part of last season when they developed those characters a  little more, including Awesome finding out that Chuck was a spy.

I’d actually like to see more of Casey as well. Adam Baldwin does a great job and we were already fans from Serenity and My Bodyguard (yep, that was him). As a matter of fact, we all still call him “Jane” when we watch the episodes.

It looks like Chuck is going to be getting quite a few good guest stars this season as well judging from the highlights. Vinnie Jones is a good start. That guy was great as the soccer hooligan in Eurotrip. He has had a ton of other great roles (see Gone in 60 seconds, She’s the man, Smoking Aces, X-Men, etc.)

All in all, a pretty good start. I’m just glad it’s back so we can all enjoy it together. Oh, and if you heard a song you like, you can use this site to grab it from iTunes.

Suddenly, I’m hungry for cheese balls. I’ll have to tell Peg to pick us up some for tonight’s episode.

Lets start with a question. How does one brand reach the top of the brand heap and garner such fierce customer loyalty? By producing a superior product and providing superior customer service. Apple used to do those things.

I’ve worked in the creative field since the beginning of my career and I know those Apple fanatics. Heck, I worked with a pretty big one. He was the guy that would declare outright war on the IT department if they so much as mentioned moving the art dept to PCs. When they told him they wouldn’t support a Mac on the company email system (and this was a $350 million shop, not a tiny biz) he told ‘em, “I don’t need your stinkin’ email.” Or at least something similar. He posted his huge Apple logo on the door to our work area for all to see and never missed a chance to talk about how superior a Mac was.

I’ve never been that passionate about it but, back then, he was right. If you were doing graphic design in the mid 90′s you needed a Mac. You just did.

But that folks, is called history. No more.

Why Apple is evil

Apple is evil. Pure and simple. I’m not talking Darth Vader, Lord of the Sist evil, but they’re not far from it. Sour grapes aside (I’ll get to my story in a moment), I’m not alone on this.

Terrence O’brien over at switched.com has a great article titled, “Is Apple More Evil Than Microsoft?“ Among the reasons he lists, which are all pretty dead on by the way:

• Apple is less open than Microsoft
• Apple copies other companies, just like Microsoft
• Apple is a bunch of jerks
• Apple only cares about the money

The article is a great lead with many links to supporting arguments. Take the time.

How about the recent hubbub when Apple started to pick and choose which apps could enter their store. TechCrunch has a great write-up on it. Basically, Apple and/or AT&T blocked the Google Voice (of which I’m a fan and user) App from the App Store. It’s such a contentious issue, it has sparked off an FCC investigation (probably a good thing). I don’t even want to go into how evil it is that you tie your iPhone into only one mobile market provider.

Come to think of it, that might not even be evil…just dumb.

And as long as we’re on the subject of things I’m not going to comment upon, how about labor practices. Look, this is the 21st century. If you want to take your product to another country for production because it’s cheaper, I came to terms with globalization a while ago. But you can’t say you’re not an evil company if you allow these types of unfair labor practices to occur.

My personal Apple is evil story

I know you’ve been waiting for it.Why is this guy so upset that he jumps up on his blog box and starts yelling about Apple. The thing is you can already guess the story.

Go to Google and start typing out “ipod touch.” Before you finish, you’ll see it. ipod touch greyed out wifi. More than 9,000 results. This is not an isolated incident. My iPod Touch hasn’t worked properly in months. It started when the battery wouldn’t hold a charge. Again, go to Google and start typing “iPod Touch b” and watch the most common search results start to creep up. “Problems” and “replacement” start to pop up pretty rapidly. I decide to try an upgrade. It seems to have worked for some, and what have I got to lose. Who can’t see this coming, right? I try the upgrade but the battery still won’t hold a charge…but now I’ve got the bonus…the wifi was greyed out, too.

This weekend, I decided to make one final push to fix it myself. My warranty expires on the 20th so I figured I should finally tackle it before the warranty expires. I went online and spent hours researching, updating, restoring, uninstalling, reinstalling, patching, etc. All to no avail. Then I scheduled an appt at the “genius bar” figuring someone could either help me or at least tell me what I needed to do to get Apple to honor the warranty that came with my $400 (that’s what it cost me at my time of purchase) touch. In case you didn’t catch it, the iPod touch comes with a warranty. So I got that going for me, right?

The genius bar…not so much

So, I go to the Apple store in Annapolis for my appt. Needless to say I am less than impressed. The guy takes my touch and loads it up. I give him the brief rundown on my problem. It won’t load properly all the time, the wifi is greyed out and the battery won’t stay charged. He spends about five minutes getting it to load, going through the settings and talking with one of the other reps there that seems mildly interested. I hear them mumbling back and forth and can distinctly make out “hardware failure.” He brings the unit over to me and points a small light in the headsets hole. He says there is a small red line in there indicating that there is water damage. I’m told that this of course voids my warranty.

“So, I’m basically SOL. Well, I wouldn’t use those words but…[insert nervous laugh here].”

Of course, I can see no red line, but I’m old. I take his word for it. I have no idea how (or if) water got in there. First of all, I think I would have remembered dropping my touch into the toilet. Though, to be fair, I may go this route before choosing to mail the touch back to Apple. Could it have been a bad seal that allowed moisture to seep into the unit while in my pocket? Maybe. Could I be one of the thousands online now screaming about their iPod issues related to hardware failures, system upgrades or restores. More likely.

I wasn’t really surprised. My wife went through the same exercise some months ago. I thought I might be able to arrive at a different destination. As I walked out of the store with my oldest son, what struck me was how unfair it all felt. I had given good hard-earned money to purchase a product. A product with a warranty. A warranty that is basically worth…well you can guess. When did it become ok for a company, a global brand known for superior products and customer service, to ignore a warranty. I guess now.

Am I mad that my piece of geek love failed. No, not really. Gadgets fail all the time. Here’s why I’m mad:

• I’m mad because they’re not honoring their warranty
• I’m mad because I’m not buying this water horseshit but I can’t prove it.
• I’m mad because I wasted six hours of my time trying to fix my iPod brick (more than three million results to that, but I guess it’s not a common problem).
• I’m really mad that as I was going through my dozens of restore processes that I “bought” a system upgrade to 3. whatever hoping it would fix the issue. It did not. Add $5 onto my bill. Why am I even being charged for a system update like that.
• I’m mad that this is obviously a serious full-blow problem, yet the genius bar tech or Apple won’t even acknowledge it.
• I’m mad because I never even got a “sorry.”

Full disclosure: I own a couple shuffles, a Nano and an iPod classic. I may even have to replace the touch. I’m going to be looking…hoping for the company that can come along and give some legitimate competition in this area. Competition is good.

What happens next

I’m going to go back to apple.com, stumble my way around that poorly-organized excuse for a service-oriented web site, and submit my warranty. I’ll let you know what comes out of that if you can’t guess.

Lets be realistic. Apple still has good products and Apple dominates in most of the fields where their products exist. How many people still brag about their “MP3 Player” or their Zune? There are various rumors about their profit and profit margins but all of them have “good” or “healthy” in their somewhere. I don’t think they’re going anywhere anytime soon.

Still, companies start to falter when they forget that each customer contact is an opportunity for a good experience…or a bad one. Someone needs to remind Apple…quickly.