High school football fans say…. WE SUCK!
It is the first football game of the season and the stands are filled with High School Football fanatics! They are cheering on their kids, their friends, their Alma Mater... GO DARBY GO! GO DARBY GO! ... The clock is stopped at 30 seconds with the score tied at 14 apiece, its fourth down and inches for Darby on the defenses 20-yard line... This is what football is all about! The teams break from their huddles and meet at the line muttering inaudible profanities and threats of 'taking you down' to the opposition.
Meanwhile... in the stands, a Hilliard-Darby student was showing his school spirit by passing out colored pieces of paper announcing to all that it read 'GO DARBY!' and should be held above their heads as they cheered!
The quarterback on the field is completely concentrated on the tail end of his center before calling out the play followed by the meanest sounding hike his puberty cracking vocal chords could muster. He grabs the cool leather and finds the laces while looking back and forth on his line, no opening... gotta throw. He finds a receiver running down the home side of the field and chooses his target. He is about to launch the ball for a touchdown and the nearly guaranteed win, when he sees the crowd lift brightly color signs above their heads and start cheering him on.
'... what's that say? ... WE SUCK! ... huh?...'
And no sooner than a cat passes gas after eating corn... he was pummeled to the ground by a 300 pound freight train with cleats senior, letting the football fall loose where then the opposing team picks it up and runs for an 80 yard touchdown, sealing their victory!
An interesting story, eh? I found this story on NPR today. Basically... the only truth in the story I told you was that a high school student went around handing out colored pieces of paper telling them it read 'GO DARBY!' when in all actuality it read 'WE SUCK!' Haha... you have to admit... that is pretty funny. On the downside for the kid, he barely made it into the school year without being suspended. But as the NPR commentator points out, at least now he has plenty of time to bask in full heat of his YouTube glory!
This story caught my attention because it is a high school in Ohio, up near Columbus. In fact, I actually think one of my roommates went to this high school. I'll have to forward the story to him; he might get a kick out of it.
The question that comes to my mind though, is... didn't people look at the signs before they started holding them up? Rarely does anyone hand me anything and I just start using it without first giving it a once over. Maybe the football attendants to the Hilliard-Darby football games should share a little bit of the blame.
Why of course I’ll use your blowtorch that has a giant ‘DO NOT USE’ sticker on it… Who cares if the flame appears to be going back into its own fuel tank?
I also think that being suspended is a little harsh. Yes it was extremely anti-school spirit... but really, getting suspended by handing out paper? That's pretty crazy if you ask me.
I wonder what would happen if I went to a University of Cincinnati football game and handed out pieces of paper and told people to cheer with them raised high above their heads... but on the pieces of paper I told them read 'GO UC!' it actually read 'I LOVE MY MOM!'? You think I'd make ESPN Sports Center? I don't know… I'll have to ponder this and figure out a good plan of action.
I'm out... Have a great long weekend!
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The Japanese Motorcycle Man (minus one limb)
Did you hear about the Japanese biker guy who while attempting to cut a tight turn got too close to the guard rail and amputated his own leg?!? If that's not enough to believe... he then rode on for 1.2 miles without even realizing that he lost his leg!
haha... moron...
Seriously, when you accidentally slam your finger in a door, what's the first thing you do? You look at your finger! Everyone does it, its not a by chance sort of thing. The article states that this guy 'felt excruciating pain, but did not notice that his right leg was missing until he stopped at the next junction'. So he felt the pain, but somehow he just didn't take the second to look down and realize his leg was missing.
And to make the story even better...
The one-legged motorcycle businessman has a friend who was out riding with him. This friend took the responsibility of being a good buddy and after seeing the gruesome scene stopped to pick up the leg.
Let me do one of my favorite things... let me paint myself into this picture...
[**Insert dreamy wafting away music here**]
My roommate Sean and I are riding our motorcycles down the highway. He's up front and I'm bringing up the tail. We're cruising, its a beautiful day with the sun shining past a few clouds keeping us warm with the cool mosquito-filled breeze rushing past our ears. We're going a little over the speed limit, but who wouldn't? It is gorgeous outside and we love to go fast. A sharp turn surprises the both of us. Sean, while trying to compensate the direction change gets too close to the guard barrier and slams his leg against the metal. He doesn't crash, but appears to be a little shaken. Then from out of nowhere something comes flopping and bouncing right at my bike. I swerve to avoid the UBO (unidentified bouncing object) and quickly realize that object was wearing a shoe... it was Sean's leg! I look up only to see a narrow stream of blood making a trail behind Sean's bike that would make Hansel and Gretel proud.
I quickly double back and pick up the dismembered limb and zip off in chase of my friend short of one leg. As I speed up doing my best to catch up, I am yelling his name as loud as I can and waving the bloody hunk over my head! Finally, after 1.2 miles of disbelief, Sean slows down only to realize that he's not going to be able to prop his bike very well at the stop. I catch up and when in close enough proximity kick him in the back with his own leg before just looking at him and saying... you moron!
[**Enough of the dreamy wafty music… you can stop humming now**]
Haha... seriously, how can you not realize you just amputated one of the thickest bones in your body!
I really do love finding random news stories like that... do you have any to share that you have found lately? Please do!
A little bit about the status quo…
Here me out on this one... let's look at our President, as the 'Dad' of the country...
Today I was reading through my blogs and ran across this article from whitehouse.gov about "Congress's Failure to Act on Comprehensive Immigration Reform". There is a definite somber tone in this article as President Bush puts on his fatherly voice of disappointment to talk about his wayward child, congress.
Ok... so congress doesn't really equate to the President's kid, but we do, don't we?
Think about it, what he (maybe soon to be she?) says goes... he's the commander of the armed forces and can declare war... he has power to veto any bill that comes his way... he is the head guy, big cheese, wearing the pants in our country...
My Dad did (and still does) use the guilt trip ‘punishment’ on me… its worse than anything.
If you think about him as the 'father' of the United States at the moment, many are missing out on the key parental demand of respect. Now I for one don't agree with everything that President Bush says or does, but I do respect the man. If you notice in most (if not all) of my posts regarding the President, I refer to him as President Bush, or some near, respectable title. Yes, you go back and look; it has been a conscious (and sometimes very difficult) effort. You don't hear me calling him names or referring to him as Georgie, or the 'Big W', or anything. He has a lot on his plate, and even though he hasn't made all the right choices in my eyes, he hasn't done a ‘two thumbs down’ job.... maybe only a ‘one-and-a-half’ thumbs down. Of course most negative opinions are from the war on Iraq, but I think positive accolades need to be given for his work on immigration. I really like the plan on the plate... although, apparently congress doesn't.
This post is kind of jumping all over the place... I'm just spouting random thoughts, so if you've made it this far congrats, it probably isn't going to get much better.
I've harped on the immigration reform many times already, but again I feel like I need to get my opinion across.
THE STATUS QUO SUCKS!
Let's hear one person give an argument against that.... seriously.
So the conservatives think that the reform is granting amnesty to those illegal aliens already here? I don't think it is... they have it tough to become a legal citizen... and we can't make it impossible or else no illegal aliens will want to let themselves be found
So the liberals think that the fine is too high for the illegal aliens? They've already broken the law... are you the ones trying to give them amnesty?
We need something right now that is better than the status quo, and that is what President Bush has offered.
Hello Congress, my name is Jason Pawlak… I have a request… Why won't you get off your high horses and learn to compromise...
…or else nothing will ever change.
I personally have a hard time imagining much change in the illegal aliens that are already in our country. Even with the so-called 'amnesty' I doubt many will let themselves be found. Our real plan should be centered on protecting the border. I've already given my plan there for securing the border... check it out here if you haven't seen it. It's a winner 
Talking about politicians always gets me frustrated... grr
UTube and YouTube – so close but yet so different
I heard about the troubles with UTube a few years back, but hadn't heard anything surface since... until now.
UTube.com is the website for Universal Tube, a tube and pipe manufacturing company found in Toledo, of northern Ohio. Back in 1996 Universal Tube opened its website http://www.utube.com to the public in hopes of driving buyers through an easy online purchase process. It was a success! About 75% of their current business now goes through their website which was getting about 1,000 hits per month... prior to YouTube.com.
After the launch of YouTube.com, Universal Tube's website popularity increased many fold. At first thinking that it was free advertising, Universal Tube did nothing... however, now, with their servers crashing under the weight of 150,000 hits daily raking up hosting costs upwards of $1,700 per month they are giving second thoughts. That's not the end of it though.
As smart as most internet users are... cough cough ...many that find UTube.com are not looking for pipes and tubes... surprise! I myself, an avid domain name checker for the common misspellings or similar words, just to see what sites there are, or to check domain availability, visited UTube.com once the video monster YouTube.com first came to popularity. And apparently users aren’t too happy to find giant green pipe making machines when looking for videos of people eating their own boogers.
Universal Tube is filing suit with Google for Time and Expense charges related to the site mishaps. Some users when finding UTube.com send nasty emails cursing and ridiculing them for not being YouTube.com… the world is full of morons.
I personally can't see much of anything coming from this suit though. As I said in a few posts ago (Read-Only Moderation is Crucial) "According to present day, internet law, website owners are not liable for comments users make on their site". Does this apply to other sites? I would think so. Google, being the company that it is, might decide to help out the little guy a little bit if the suit is dropped, along with a plan to help smooth the uneasy waters.
This is really an unlucky turn of events for Universal Tube.
If I were the owner of Universal Tube here is what I would do:
1.) Email all my clients telling them that we are changing our domain to a less known and less trafficked outlet
2.) Sell the domain UTube.com for tens of thousands (if not hundreds of thousands or even... millions) of dollars in a domain auction.
This would help the company in saving on server costs as well as putting a pretty penny in the pocket for the domain sale. I am sure Google would be willing to buy the domain for more than a few dollars. Just think of the 11 years spent at UTube.com as an investment towards the end goal of selling the domain.
Another option is to just park the domain and let it sit there raking in dollars through ads...
If only I was the one with 150,000 hits daily... what a day that would be 
Read-Only Moderation is Crucial
The internet can be an extremely educational playground when used appropriately. However, as in the second grade, there are bullies just waiting to steal your lunch money and walk all over you.
The latest example of this is from a site autoadmit.com which made NPR headlines in this article about the slandering of female law students at Yale. The site labels itself as "The most prestigious college discussion board in the world." which it proudly stamps at the top of its homepage. I had never heard of the site before listening to the story so I decided to check it out. My first reaction to the initial presentation of the site was positive. I liked the layout, it’s not the prettiest and definitely not the easiest to navigate, but that in itself can be a quality for a discussion board such as this.
I figured that since the site wasn't the most user-friendly, the comments might actually be viable and worth my time as a reader... a quick search proved me wrong. Of course being a student at The University of Cincinnati I immediately search Cincinnati to see what results are returned. I find a thread discussing why UC is such a rotten school that is only considered a backup school for local Ohio residents and that no one can understand how UC receives funding when average SAT scores are so low. It is true; UC was considered a backup school for many a few years ago, but not so much anymore, and only in certain fields (this is not going to turn into a post defending my university... but it was rather frustrating getting through that thread).
Back to the original story. Two females from Yale are suing > $200K for comments made about them on the AutoAdmit discussion boards which they fear has influenced possible employers to not pursue them for open positions. There is a board on this site where apparently local students talk about these girls in very derogatory terms, talking about what they wear and what they do before and after class. Comments make up facts about the girls having certain diseases or preferences... and when you search their name on Google, guess what shows up?
AutoAdmit refuses to moderate these comments with concern commenting, “deleting posts is a slippery slope that could lead to broad censorship”. According to present day, internet law, website owners are not liable for comments users make on their site. The poster themselves can be held liable, but herein lies the issue. The site has anonymous posting enabled, which is a serious mistake. With the internet being so open and possibly dangerous in this present day, I am a firm believer that identification is a necessity. I'm not saying Bush needs to be sent daily emails with your cookies and history (which I'm sure he would be very happy to sign a bill putting that into play) but I'm saying that when it comes to your comments, your discussion, only cowards hide their faces... and there are many cowards out there. If this discussion board had a mandatory log in feature, this issue could be dealt with in a professional fashion.
I know people can be more honest when from an anonymous face when dealing with the honest opinions about a university they might attend, but as long as you don't use a self-identifying alias you should have nothing to worry about. If you threaten someone, your information is then compromised through the terms and conditions of the board to the proper authority. No one would have to know who you are just from reading your posts.
I personally have never had a problem with my identification online... however, I see this as a very large issue in the very near future. Web admins need to start taking responsibility for their sites content and the safety of their users. I am against censorship, however, as made evident by AutoAdmit, a level of read-only moderation is crucial.
[edit: yes i am aware i have anonymous comments enabled on my blog... maybe if commenting ever takes off on this blog i'll rethink my security settings, but until then....]