Author: sailorj

So today the NY Times has announced it will start charging for online content. Like drug dealers, they give it to you for free and when your hooked, you become compelled to pay. But what the NY Times fails to realize is that we’re only hooked on free news. There are just too many places to get your news, and paying for receiving advertising isn’t going to cut it anymore. People who pay expect to get distraction free material. It’s unbelievable that these titans of news haven’t taken a lead from their radio and television counterparts who have been using a free model for years. If you have something that’s worth having, then you can get the advertisers to help pick up the tab. But don’t expect both the user and advertiser to do it. When you already are paying for bandwidth, who wants to pay to receive advertising to make YOU Rich?
The fact is that there are plenty of news outlets that are salivating at this and are ready to send out the links to get you as a regular customer. USAToday, ABC, NBC, CBS, FOX, CNN, HUFFPOST, The DailyBeast and on and on.

So NYTimes, lock us out of your content! Trust me, we’ll find another dealer.

Well, i’m sitting at my desk, eating dinner… how terrible I know!  And i’m noticing my collection of nick-nacks is growing.  Do you have the same situation?  I sort of feel that we’re programmed to want to collect junk.  Maybe it isn’t fair to say it’s junk, but in many cases they are just sentimental items that have neither intrinsic or functional value.

I got a paperweight the other day from the blood bank for donating 10 gallons of blood.  It’s nice to look at, but seriously, who uses a paperweight?  In fact I think the term paperweight is obscene for what we should really call it… an object that we don’t want to call a token.

In the Navy and else where now, people are getting coins.  Coins are cool, but where do you display these things.  I mean it can get out of hand.  I’ll tell you I have some cool coins from ships, and just got a commemorative one for the 5K run I did the other day, but seriously… what am I going to do with it all.

We collect and keep things like:

• books of matches,
• coffee cups,
• tourist maps, and
• mini calendars,
• business cards,
• Keys to things we don’t know what they do,
• used perfume bottles,
• cables and cords,
• floppy disks,
• greeting cards,
• VHS tapes but no tape machine,
• decks of cards from casinos with the notch on the side,
• smashed pennies from a machine, and
• books to the ceiling,
• trophies and awards stashed away neatly,
• pins from theme parks or fraternal organizations,
• that first dollar we earned, and
• that rubber Geico gecko,
• your homework from 3rd grade,
• a report card with an A,
• a box of photos unlabeled where you’ve forgotten the names.

I could go on and on about what we collect and keep, and I wonder as we grow old who will care about these things.  My grandfather had so little keepsakes, and neither did my dad.  I know they were sentimental and cared of these crazy things, but what’s meaningful to one, may be meaningless to others.  Maybe I passed by some of those things that my Grandfather or Dad thought would having that great wiz-bang meaning.

I don’t know what to do with all of my stuff.  It is my stuff you know, and my stuff ain’t JUNK! 🙂

Today is Veteran’s Day. It is a time to look at your neighbor, coworker or friends who have served and thank them for their service.

But as a whole, Veterans feel that getting the opportunity to serve is a privilege. Not every person is qualified to serve, and not everyone understands the enormous pride one gets from serving their country. I know that those of you who are reading this now do understand.

As we watch our children who go off to war, and fight for liberty… And yes they do… We can more clearly understand the self sacrifice that the Veteran has made to ensure freedom rings throughout the land.

To my fellow Veterans! Thank you for your service.

So you do some social networking. And you might casually mention it in the work place because you think it might be cool as a conversation starter. But truth is, not so much…

Why????

1. While Facebook can boast 10’s of millions of users world wide, the reality is that the majority of Americans don’t maintain active accounts.

2. What’s the point? You boss has better things to do… Ie, they have a life, but they are being kind to tell you that they just aren’t into it.

3. Information overload, they read the news, have email, IMs and such at work, what the he’ll do they need that extra layer of crap with strangers for?

4. Too much personal info is out there. They don’t want something to bite them in the ass.

5. They just aren’t tech savvy.

In the end even with TV spots, and partnerships, this adventure is short lived. Facebook, twitter and more will give way to the next big thing, just you wait, and they won’t get on board with that either.

I watched 3 episodes of Conspiracy Theory with Jesse Ventura on Saturday.  It’s pretty interesting really when a person who has been a Governor and a Navy Seal puts together a show on these things.  

http://www.trutv.com/shows/conspiracy_theory/index.html

One thing that he says is that the reason that people believe in conspiracies is because when people leave room for doubt that’s why conspiracies come up.  I believe it.  In the episode on Plum Island they show 2 photos of a creature that washed up on shore on Long Island.  That’s a cryptozoologists dream.

If you have a chance, check out this show, because just as crazy as some of these theories are, you kind of wonder why a no-nonsense guy isn’t able to easily get to the bottom of these things.  

Is it just entertainment? or is Mr. Ventura entering a really crazy world that’s going to get him undesired attention by a shadowy world? That’s the real question, isn’t it?