A Return to Blogging

                   

Some of my friends have been asking over the last couple of years when I would write another blog.  My response was always the same; I haven’t been inspired to write anything.  I have started more blogs than I can count over that time, but usually stopped because I was concerned about offending people and didn’t want to deal with it.  Finally last Saturday I had something I wanted to say so I wrote the blog that follows this one on my page.


I will say that I have no clue where the posts I will write in the future will lead.  The topics may not always be focused.  I’m going to write about things I care about, things I’m doing, and stuff I want to say.  If people don’t like it, well then don’t read it.  If there is something you would like me to write about, you can always message me and I will consider it.  


I know that after writing the blog on Saturday it kind of rejuvenated me a little and the flood gates opened with ideas.  So I hope that you will enjoy some of the topics that will follow.  I will try to write more frequently when life allows. 


To catch everyone up on the past couple of years, the Baron has taken a wife.  We have also recently had a beautiful baby girl.  I will not be posting a lot of photos of her on here, I want her to have a say in becoming an internet celebrity so if you are interesting in seeing pictures of her, my wife posts a couple a week on facebook for friends and family.  She usually tags me so that my friends and family can also see her.  We also bought a home this year.  One thing I may post occasionally is DIY tips for simple home repairs or projects.  Before my days as a government contractor I worked in residential construction, I picked a few things up along the way and figure I can share them.  I may incorporate some Video posts when appropriate as well.

So now that you are caught up, I hope to have a blog posted later this week.  Depending on how things go today I may get one out sooner.

Do Punishments Have A Meaning Anymore?

I started this as a facebook post, but I quickly realized I need more real estate to express myself.  I know some people will not agree with what I’m about to lay out here, but they probably don’t understand the argument I am about to make.

The last few weeks in sports some things have come to the forefront.  Society has said we are no longer going to accept millionaires running around and getting away with crimes the rest of society does not get away with.  If you have been under a rock these issues revolve around the issue of domestic violence.  Now I for one am glad that the NFL is taking a stance against domestic violence within their organization.  However, don’t think for a minute that its genuine.  They have swept this issue under the rug for too many years.  So there is nothing to be championed here.  The issue I have with what has been going on is the weak minded and gutless individuals running these teams and the league itself.  If you are going to punish and individual you do not then turn around and say oops I made a mistake I was not harsh enough on you.  The biggest reason is the message is then lost.  

First punishments should be used as a deterrent for a behavior.  In real life its usually jail time or a fine that keep most of us from committing crimes.  However everyone of us does weigh the penalty and figure out the risk.  The simplest example is speed limits.  If I get caught i will pay a fine, my insurance will go up, and some points go on my record.  But nothing terrible happens.  This is why many people read the posted speed limit and then pick a speed higher than it, whether it be 5 mph or 10 mph both are breaking the law.  But what if you went to court and were fined $50 dollars, then a week later the judge called and said, “people have complained I was to easy on you and we are now going to fine you $100.”  You would be pissed and thankfully we have this thing called the Constitution and the Bill or Rights that don't allow this to happen.

The thing is none of that applies here.  We are dealing with corporations that do not have to follow those guidelines.  

Let’s look at the Ray Rice scenario.  A video came out showing him dragging he now wife out of an elevator.  Every one of us knew what eventually happened in that elevator.  Ray Rice told the NFL and the Ravens what happened in the elevator.  According to reports the Ravens said nothing was seen in the new video that differed from what Ray Rice told them.  But the NFL suspended Ray Rice for 2 games.  He should have been penalized for his actions.  But when you think about the league and all of the domestic violence issues that occurred before this, suspensions are not typically handed out for this offence.  This time it was mostly due to the video.  The public was outraged by the penalty saying it was not enough.  So the NFL said that first offenses would lead to a 6 game suspension. Then someone leaked the elevator video and it showed us all what we already suspected happened in the elevator.  The Ravens then cut Ray Rice.  The Ravens have every right to do this as his employer.  They didn't want to deal with the mess that was about to follow.  The NFL then suspended Ray Rice indefinitely.  What may I ask did Ray Rice do to have his penalty extended?  Even if more occurred in the video then Roger Goodell thought Rice told him, doesn't the NFL now have a policy stating that the first time offense is 6 games?  Did Rice commit a second offense?  No.  

The other thing I would like to point out is through this whole process the story has always been pulled from Ray Rice hit his fiance.  The first time because the penalty wasn’t harsh enough.  Then when the Commissioner finally extended his punishment it was Roger needs to be fired.  So people are not even focused on the issue of domestic violence, they are focused on one person not handling the employee who committed the crime.  As much as I don’t like Roger Goodell, how did he become the villain in this and not Ray Rice?

Then there was the Peterson situation which played out much the same way.  Vikings suspend him, left the suspension, then suspend him indefinitely.  However the the way they suspended him this time he will still receive his full pay so really he just doesn't get to play football.  Some people out there are wishing they could find jobs where they still got paid to sit at home after being “punished” for doing something wrong.  Same thing happened here, the story is now how the Vikings mishandled the situation and not about how a pro athlete needed a switch to punish his child.

Surprisingly the issue that really broke the camels back on back pedaling punishments was not a situation that dealt with domestic violence, but about a college QB that shouted something inappropriate in a cafeteria.  Florida State punished their QB with a half game suspension.  They are playing a big game this week and need him.  They didn’t have the balls to punish him by suspending him the full game.  Everyone knew why it wasn’t a full game.  They pretended it wasn’t about the fact they were playing Clemson.  The mob went wild, the media was outraged, and Florida State has now changed their mind and suspend him for the full game.  Now I’m not an FSU fan or a Jameis Winston fan, but what lesson is he learning?  That he should watch what he says in public or that if others complain enough it won't matter what he does he will get punished?

The only thing good that can come from the events of the last two weeks is that institutions whether it be the NFL, an NFL team, the NCAA, or one of the colleges, that they grow a pair and punish people appropriately and learn to stand behind their decision.  Stop making decisions based on who the player is and who the team is playing.  

Fade To Black brokSonic: The Eulogy

Today I turned my office TV on to watch the news. To my surprise there was no sound and no picture. The TV that had served me for 14 years has now died. In High School I took the money from my 18th birthday and purchased a 19 inch TV so I could play my PlayStation and watch the shows I wanted to watch. I spent hours ignoring girlfriends on the phone while playing NCAA Football or MLB Baseball. But that was easy back then; high school girls can talk for hours without you having to say a word. At least this way I could occupy my time with something, it’s not like they were saying anything important. The 19 inch was the same size as my parents TV in the main room. Yes, at one time most people only had 19 inch televisions.

The next year I took the TV to college. It almost didn’t survive my freshman year. You see we had a roommate that we called the caveman. It had nothing to do with facial hair. He got to the room first and took the lofted bed. He then put his mattress on the floor strung some computer monitors up and used the actual bed area for storage. He closed off the open side of the bottom of the loft with his desk and dresser. To finish off his freshman dorm fort, he draped sheets all around it. So we called him the caveman. Well at some point the electro-magnetic field coming from the cave (aka Man Fort) started to mess with the picture on my TV. I thought it was the end. It had only lived such a short time. I didn’t know how I would ever replace it either. The caveman then was going to use a magnet to fix the picture. I know I don’t know much about TVs and magnets but I knew they didn’t go together. So I stopped him and moved the TV further away. Sometime in my sophomore year the picture readjusted itself and life was good.

Life continued on with this TV, move after move it survived. It had been dropped kicked and left in storage units for longer than it should have been. My senior year it served as the center for our NCAA Football and Madden Tournament. We killed hookers on Vice City on that TV. It was great. After awhile it was relegated to the bedroom TV because I had been loaned or bought newer, bigger, and flatter TVs. My first apartment from home it was a 40 inch that a friend let me use while he didn’t have a need for it. Then Circuit City went under so I bought my first HDTV a 40 inch Samsung which forever relinquished it to the bedroom.

When I moved into my current place it was the smallest TV between the wife and I. I put it in my office so I would have something to watch while I was working. It served me well in here. It allowed me to listen to sporting events on telework days that I otherwise would have missed. It provided the daily news so I knew what was going on in the world. Now today when the screen faded to black I am lost as to what will keep me from going crazy in the silence.

The brokSonic TV was survived by 2 Samsung HDTV’s, a Samsung computer monitor, a Sony TV, 2 HP Laptops, and 2 Samsung mobile phones. You will be missed.

Now the question is Golf Club or Baseball Bat?

One last note, brokSonic is owned by Zenith.

Sluggin' To Work.

Earlier this year I changed my method of commuting to work. For the previous 3 ½ years I was taking the Virginia Railway Express (VRE) to work. It was a comfortable and mostly reliable form of transportation. It was also nice because I could use pre-tax dollars from my paycheck to pay for my ticket. In January that changed and I was going to have to pay out of pocket for part of my ticket. So I decided to try the Slug Lines. In VA there are lines at various commuter parking lots where people will pull up and take however many riders they need in order to meet the HOV requirements on I-95/I-395. Basically I stand in a line and wait for a ride from a stranger, they drop me off near my office and then I do the same thing waiting for a ride from another stranger to drive me to my car in the afternoon. I always joke and call it legalized hitchhiking.

It has been interesting riding and driving in using the slug line for the last 3 months. The good part is that on most days I get in to work quicker and home earlier. The downside is I never know what size car I will be riding in or how good the driver is going to be. One day I road in and the driver told me my seat belt was broken but it shouldn’t really be a problem. Gee, Thanks, I hope I don’t die on the way to work. I’ve road in the back of a car when the passenger in the front seat sits with the seat all the way back in my lap, even though they are 5 foot tall. But usually people are considerate of other riders and adjust seats or allow you to sit up front. It’s always nice when the driver has a van or SUV though.

The next part is the conversation…which doesn’t happen often because there is an unwritten rule that you are not supposed to speak in the car unless initiated by the driver. But some of these people have been doing this for awhile and know many of the riders. The first day I learned what EAT, PRAY, LOVE was about or at least what these two older men thought it was about. All I can remember is there is a lady who goes to India to become an expert in Yoga and fall in love. Then I learned that the driver’s daughter was engaged and he didn’t like the guy because he was a yoga/hippie type guy. All I know is it was tough not to laugh out loud and I don’t think I’ll be seeing EAT, PRAY, LOVE.

One day I made my dad ride home with me. This was interesting just because he had no clue what was going on. Then a guy pulls up in a Toyota Corolla. This would’ve been ok if the guy knew how to drive a manual transmission. Its only one of three times I thought I was going to get car sick using the slug lines, the other times were due to me having to warm of a jacket on when the driver had the heat on too high.

Overall it’s not a bad way to get to and from work. Plus it is completely free as long as I’m not driving. Plus anything that keeps me from using the DC Metro is a good way to get to work.


Learn more about DC/VA Slug Lines.

Catching Up on Stuff, Oh and Kim Kardashian!

It’s been awhile since I’ve written here and I’m starting to feel like I say that at the beginning of all of my posts now. Life somehow got really busy. Anyway to catch people up on some stuff real quick it turns out my Grandfather doesn’t have cancer, he was misdiagnosed and has COPD which at his age is not fun either. So i guess I wont be as disgusted when Danica Patrick Twitter Bombs me with COPD information. In better news I proposed to my girlfriend a few weeks ago. She said yes and will soon become the Baroness. Hazah! Oh an apparently I was wrong about the Big 12 the Big East is apparently done.

Speaking of Marriage was anyone actually surprised that Kim Kardashian and Kris Humphries are now divorced. Honestly I thought it might last longer than the summer but it was on a one way course for distruction from the beginning. Also if you play in the NBA and nobody knew you before you started dating a Kardashian is it really smart to buy a 2.5 million dollar ring. That has to be close to his annual salary, not including the money he made while on any of the various Kardashian shows on the E! network. (Ryan Seacrest is a wealthy, wealthy man.) So back to the ring, its no wonder NBA players are always going bankrupt. The diamonds on the ring were bigger than Kim’s eyes...for another million he could’ve gone for a Khloe larger sized diamond. But looking at the ring wasn’t your first thought, how much South African blood was shed so that ring could be made. One last note on the ring. I read on TMZ that Kim put in the prenup that she would pay Kris the purchase price for the ring if they ever got a divorce. Her birth father was one of OJ’s lawyers. Yes that OJ. She didn't know that she gets to keep the ring anyways. So she put in a legal document that she would pay the 2.5 million dollar ring instead of just getting to keep it.

The real story is the length of the marriage, if there is a story at all. I saw a hash tag on twitter this week #longerthanKimsmarriage. Which got me thinking was anyone married a shorter time than Kim and Kris? I first thought about Brittany Spears but that marriage to Jason Alexander was annulled so it didn’t actually happen. Although after doing some quick research I found that there have been a lot of short celebrity marriages. Drew Berrymore was married to Jeremy Thomas for 2 weeks, Dennis Rodman was married to Carmen Electra for 9 days, and Dennis Hopper was married to Michelle Phillips for 8 days. The most interesting one I found was Eddie Murphy and Tracy Edmonds who were married for 2 weeks but divorced before coming back to the United States. I think the reason the Kim Kardashian marriage is such a big deal is the money that she made getting married from E!. She reportedly made 17 million dollars. Assuming the math is correct she made $236,111.11 for each day she was married. That breaks down to $9837.96 an hour, $163.97 a minute, or $2.73 a second that she was married. The most depressing this is the whole thing will happen again. Saturday Night Live did a spoof this week where E! aired a special Divorce episode for the couple. I wouldn’t put it past this family they will apparently take money for anything.

So back to the longer than Kim’s marriage hash tag. What did last longer than her marriage? Sticking with the Kardashian family, the OJ Simpson Murder trial lasted 9 months which is about 6.5 months longer than her marriage. Kim and Kris were engaged for 3 months which is approximately 3 weeks longer than their marriage. The NBA lockout has lasted 128 days which is 18 days from being twice as long. Although the Statue of Liberty was built, disassembled, shipped to America, and rebuilt the process to 9 years...much longer than the marriage. I could obviously go on much longer with things that lasted longer than 72 days but I think you get the point.

Stay posted I hope to start writing more and making time to post.

College Football Expansion and the death of the Big 12.

College Football Conference Expansion is back in the news again with Texas A&M making the move the SEC in a few years. It seems to me that the Big 12 may be a defunct league in a few years if they don’t find a way to keep some of its schools. It’s fun to think about where the other Big 12 teams might go if there is no longer a Big 12. Obviously in order to discuss this we need to make some assumptions. First let’s assume everyone runs from the Big 12 to other conferences. Let’s also assume that conferences will jump to 16 teams. Also let’s assume that Clemson and Florida State will move to the SEC with Texas A&M. (This by the way is a terrible idea for all three schools.)

Ok so in the last two years the Big 12 has lost Nebraska, Colorado, and Texas A&M. Based on the fact that the SEC, Big Ten, and Pac 12 all have 12 or more teams they will be staying around. The SEC is going to end up with 16 teams. So who do the Pac 12 and Big 10 pick up to keep pace. If the Big 12 becomes defunct that will likely mean that the Texas will become an Independent. Just like Notre Dame they have their own TV contract, recruiting won’t be affected right away and they have a national fan base. I think the Big Ten will still try to pick up Syracuse from the Big East. I also think Oklahoma would make sense too. (I’ve heard this rumor so why not). That means the Big 10 needs two more teams. It makes the most sense to pull from the Big 12 North. Missouri makes the most sense for the teams left in the Big 12 North, plus they already have a little rivalry with Illinois. After that I think the best option from the Big 12 might be Oklahoma St which brings one of Oklahoma’s rivals with them. It will take some realigning in the Big 10 divisions but that seems like a tough conference that could compete with the SEC any day of the week.

Now who will the Pac 12 pick up to get to 16 teams? If they take from the Big 12 Kansas and Kansas St. make a lot of sense. They also were talking about taking Texas Tech a couple years ago too. So that’s 3 teams without having to pluck from the non-BCS conferences. I also think if the Pac 12 came calling BYU would drop the Independent discussion. The Pac-12 is easy and difficult at the same time. In order to get BCS schools they have to pull from schools halfway across the country, if they stay on the West Coast they are looking at Nevada, BYU, Hawaii, and Colorado St.? There is no chance the Pac 12 picks anyone out of that foursome except BYU.
So now the SEC, Big Ten, and Pac 12 have their 16 teams. What happens to the Big East and ACC? Well there are still a couple of teams left in the Big 12, Baylor and Iowa State. Baylor makes more sense in the Big East than the ACC but only because TCU just joined them. Iowa State is the odd man out for sure though. They don’t make sense for the Big Ten because let’s be honest they are not a good football team. Outside of the interstate rivalry with Iowa they don’t bring a lot to the table. They might end up in the MAC or MWC. However bringing Baylor into the Big East doesn't finish it because there will only be 10 teams which mean they need 6 more to get to 16 teams. The other thing that the Big East needs to look at while expanding is how it will affect Basketball because they have a lot of schools that are Basketball but not football like Georgetown, Setan Hall, Villanova, etc. If the Big East goes to 16 teams then they will have to drop some of their Basketball only schools and I don’t see that happening unless a basketball school is ready for their football team to make the leap. Right now I think the only school in a position to do that is Villanova. So it’s more likely that the ACC plucks 6 teams out of the Big East. They took 3 teams a few years back when Va Tech, Boston College, and Miami from the Big East.

So I think it would make sense to bring Pitt, WVU, USF, and Connecticut. Which still leaves 2 schools to join? One question I have is can the ACC lure Kentucky and make a super basketball conference that would always compete with the Big East. If UK comes over then the ACC could also grab Louisville. This opens the door for the SEC to pick up one more school. I’m not sure that UK leaves though and geographically it doesn’t make sense to pick up Louisville or Cincinnati in the ACC and TCU and Baylor don’t make a lot of sense. This is where the expansion part gets confusing.

The one thing I am pretty sure of though is this will lead to a quasi playoff in college football. A team will need to win its Conference championship in order to compete in the National Championship game. Its fun to think about but it’s also sad to think about a lot of the tradition that I grew up with in college football will not be there anymore.

Comedians and Freedom of Speech

I am sitting in a training room proctoring an exam. Is there a better way to pass the time then by typing a blog? I say no. On a quick note this day of training sucks because I literally sit here and wait for people to finish taking their exam, but today is especially terrible because it’s a Friday and I’m going to be here until 5pm. Anyways I have some friends who have been asking for a blog so I figured I would try to come up with something. If it sucks I blame them.

I read this week that Adam Carolla was in trouble with GLAAD and the LGBT again for some comments he made at a Comedy Club and on his podcast that they found offensive. More than likely the comments were offensive but I’m going to venture out and say that the people who found it offensive do not subscribe to his podcast or pay money to go to his shows. While the Aceman made a comment about trannies during his show he also regularly talks about how Gay Marriage should be legalized. (As he says on his show he wants it legalized so they can all shut the hell up.) While I think he mostly states that last part as a joke he still supports the cause and I bet GLAAD or the LGBT never mention that when they are complaining about him making slanderous comments. Plus if you listen to his show you can easily argue that there are other groups of people who have a bigger complaint when it comes to Carolla’s comedic prejudices. I mean we all watched the Man Show back in the day it’s not really a surprise that he makes these comment.

But the bigger issue here is why comics can’t go on stage anymore and make outrageous jokes like they used. I mean it’s not like I get offended when Chris Rock or Eddie Griffin make fun of white people. If someone doesn’t think they are funny then they shouldn’t listen to them or pay money for their shows. But why should comedy suffer as a whole. Why is it ok for people to crack wise on people from West Virginia, Dumb Blonde, or Rednecks all the time but the minute you make a black joke or a gay joke its offensive. To be honest all of the jokes are playing on a stereotype and are equally mean spirited.

Lately we have all heard about Tracy Morgan’s issues with his standup act while making anti-gay comments or jokes about disabled people. Both of these situations I wouldn’t really put in the category of the situations in the previous two paragraphs but in both situations Tracy has issued apologies. Does this mean that every time a comedian makes fun of a specific demographic that they will need to apologize? Is that what it has come to in this society?

I listen to Adam Carolla on a regular basis. From time to time he will go on rants about religion and whether or not there is a God and making fun of the people who believe. I consider myself a Christian and I go to church most Sundays and yes at times I think the line is crossed. But at the same time a lot of it is funny and some of the people he is joking on I agree with. But he has never made a comment that has made me want to stop listening to him. If that’s all he ever talked about on the podcast maybe I wouldn’t listen but that’s only because it’s not entertaining to me.

I think it has gotten to a point where these groups that spend their time complaining about what a comedian, pro athlete, or an public figure has made in public to the media they are stepping over the lines. In grade school when kids would complain about everything someone else said or go to the teacher with something people called them a tattle tale and that nobody liked a tattle tale. Even parents tell their kids to mind their own business. To an extent isn’t this the same thing. Can’t people just ignore people they don’t agree with anymore? Does it have to make the nightly news?

Oh well just something I was thinking about the other day. If you don’t agree that’s fine you don’t have to that’s why it’s my opinion.