News That's Not Really News

I read one of the more bizarre news articles that I've read in quite a while today. Sony of Japan announced they are ceasing production of the Sony Walkman devices as of December this year. This is the same Sony Walkman cassette tape player that was introduced in the year that I was born. I went through a couple models of them growing up, too; my personal favorite was a bright yellow Sony Sports Walkman when I was in high school. I even remember loving how awesome it was that the later tape players that I had could automatically flip to the other side of a cassette instead of me having to remove the tape and flip it over manually (my, how times change).

Two thoughts immediately came to mind when I first read this article. First, I felt extremely old knowing that a device that I was very familiar with as a kid is going the way of Betamax, 8-track tapes, and the Nintendo Entertainment System. You know those articles that are released every fall that discuss what that year's incoming college freshman are too young to remember? The latest lists includes not knowing what life was like before the internet, cell phones, or Johnny Carson being on the Tonight Show. We are now on the verge of adding cassette tapes and cassette tape players to that list (if they haven't been added on the list already).

Second - and this thought is a bit ironic given my first thought - I was surprised to read discontinuing the Walkman wasn't done 10 years ago. Once iPods and MP3 players hit the scene, who even used cassette tape players anymore? They were as obsolete as videotapes were once DVDs became commonplace. Cars stopped having cassette players built into them over six years ago. Why still manufacture and sell cassette players?

Granted, Sony of Japan announced this, and Sony of America last produced a cassette Walkman in 2002, so it's not like I could've walked into a Best Buy or Wal-Mart in the last eight years to buy a Walkman if I had wanted one. I'm certainly not missing the Walkman or cassettes in general. And yet, at the same time, I feel like a part of my childhood is gone forever. I guess that is a sign of getting old(er) - when items I'm familiar with as a child are phased out completely.

The Law of Averages

It's official - my sister is having a baby girl!

I got a text message from her this morning with the news, and frankly I wasn't that surprised. We were kinda expecting her to have a girl for several (completely unscientific) reasons, but we're all still extremely excited. For one thing, her husband's side has all boys. He has an older brother who has a family of his own (okay, the oldest kid is a girl, but he's her stepfather anyways) with boys. He also has one cousin who's also a guy. No sisters, no female cousins, no aunts, nothing. Virtually all boys.

Naturally, somewhere along the line the law of averages had to even things out, and a girl would come around. To add to that, my sister had a boy's name already picked out, but was completely lost on a girl's name. Now she doesn't have much choice, but I'm sure she'll have fun picking out a name.

Of course, having a niece doesn't change my plans as uncle at all. I still fully intend on spoiling my niece rotten and giving her everything that my sister says she can't or shouldn't have. I will take her to Orioles games and feed her all the cotton candy and ice cream she desires. I will buy her the loudest birthday and Christmas presents imaginable, and my sister will hate me for it. Oh sure, she'll get me back in a few years when I have kids of my own, but like I said before I will enjoy this as much as humanly possible.

Pet Peeves

I'm on a list binge all of a sudden. I'm not sure exactly what put me on such a tilt, but since I've already listed my NFL predictions for the new season, I've been inspired to also list my biggest pet peeves in the world. These are far from being limited to the world of sports (though a couple are sports-related), but I wonder how many of them are shared by other people out there.

1. Passenger seat drivers. This is, by far, my biggest pet peeve. My father is a classic textbook example of a passenger seat driver. I loathe driving with him in the car next to me. I'm driving too slowly. I'm driving too fast. I'm tailgating too much. I'm changing lanes too often. I've actually entertained the idea of actually pulling over to the side of the road (even if we're on a busy highway) and offering him the chance to take over driving responsibilities if he wants. I can barely concentrate on driving if someone is sitting next to me and telling me how to drive.

2. People who wear baseball jerseys and/or hats to football games and vice versa. I was at Opening Day at Camden Yards in April - APRIL! - and had to use the men's room at one point. I saw another man standing in line in the men's room wearing Ravens gear head to toe. Okay, you're a Baltimore fan. You want to show your support for Baltimore. You obviously love sports since you're clearly a die hard Ravens fan, covered in a Ravens hat, jersey, and sweatpants. But this is APRIL. It's baseball season! Do you think in New York you'll find people wearing Giants stuff to Yankees games? I didn't really care that he was a fellow Baltimore fan. I wanted to knock some sense in the guy even though we were mutual Baltimore guys.

3. Celebrities who feel the need to stick their noses into politics and other social causes. I'm all for volunteering one's time for a cause to support change or offer assistance. When the earthquake struck Haiti earlier this year, I thought it was great that so many people donated whatever money or resources they had in order to send relief to the battered country. But I really detest celebrities who involve themselves in matters like politics or social issues. Maybe it's my own cynicism, but celebrities just don't come off to me as genuine when they campaign hard for these causes. I see them as getting involved in order to serve their own agendas instead of actually caring about whatever cause they are working on. I'm particularly annoyed with actors who discuss possibly running for political office, as if they somehow possess the necessary qualifications (and yes, I am fully aware of Schwarzeneggar and Ronald Reagan having had careers as actors prior to their political careers). Personally, I believe that actors and other celebrities should not get involved in politics at all, regardless of their political affilliation.

4. Reality television. All of it. I despite reality and unscripted television. There's no creativity behind it. There's no drama to it. There's no intelligence to it. I have to admit, though, I understand why networks love it so much: it's insanely cheap to produce. And reality shows almost always get huge ratings. People like watching regular folks compete since these programs show that anyone can make it. My beef with it, like I said, is that there's no creativity to it. Reality television really boils down to one of a couple different categories: an elimination competition; a dating show; or throwing a bunch of random people and have them live together, a la The Real World or Jersey Shore. It's the cheapest form of entertainment, and any time I've ever watched even a couple minutes of reality television (the most recent example of which was the godawful show Jerseylicious), I can literally feel myself getting dumber. I could only bear a few minutes of Jerseylicious before nearly wanting to throw my television out the window, so I chose to change the channel instead.

5. tHOse pEOplE wHO coMBiNe tYPinG LOwEr cAse leTTeRs wITH capITaL lEttERS. 'nuFF sAId.

6. The misuse of words such as ignorant, irregardless, and your. I'm not sure at what point most people thought the word "ignorant" meant "rude" or "cruel," but that's not even close to what "ignorant" really means. And since when did people even think "irregardless" was even a word to begin with??? "Irregardless" and "regardless" aren't interchangeable the way "inflammable" and "flammable" are. And it really pains me when I see "your" used in place of "you're," or "it's" instead of "its." I realize I'm being more than a little anal about the proper use of grammar, but when I see work emails where VPs are misusing words like these, I shake my head in embarrassment.

7. Noticing my number of friends on Facebook drops and I'm left to figure out who had deleted me. I wrote a blog post about this subject several months ago, and it continues to be a pet peeve of mine. I just would like to know who has deleted me when I notice my number of friends drops by a number or two. I'd be perfectly happy with getting an email notice that says something like, "Frankie Bobby thinks you're a tool and has deleted you as a friend on Facebook." Okay, fine. I have no problem with Frankie thinking I'm a tool. I'd just like to know that it was Frankie who thought that and not being left in the dark.

8. The ever-continuing process of the dating game. The concept of the dating game defies all sense of logic and order to me. I'm never fully certain of when to call a woman I meet for the first time, or when to call her after a first date, when to move in for a kiss, how to suggest a date idea, etc. I'm also too accommodating as a person, and I know enough about women to know that most women want a guy who will take charge (within reason, of course) and make decisions. I, on the other hand, am much more concerned with making sure a woman is happy, even with something as relatively menial as where we go out for dinner. To call it frustrating would be making a colossal understatement.

9. Nicknames like A-Rod, K-Rod, S-Jax, B-Rob, J-Lo, CarGo, etc. I've come to believe the fine art of the nickname for professional athletes is dead. The days of players such as Air Jordan, The Unit, The Rocket, or even King James seem far behind us. Now it's all using a players initials (e.g. T.O.), or some blending of the first and last name together. What kind of stupid nickname is that? Should I declare my nickname now to be R-Tch?

10. Eating while talking on the phone. I'm really particular when talking on the phone with friends or family members while I'm cooking dinner. I've had to end phone conversations abruptly sometimes because my dinner is almost done cooking, and I could tell sometimes that the person I was talking to at the time was caught off guard that I had to get off the phone to eat my dinner. The thing is, I think it's horribly rude to eat while talking on the phone. I don't ever talk on the phone while I'm eating lunch or dinner, and I've been on the other end of phone conversations where the person I was talking to was eating while talking to me. In fact, back in my days of working in customer service I once had a conversation with a customer while he was sitting in the drive-thru at a McDonald's. He put me on hold so he could order his breakfast. It's difficult to hold a conversation with someone while they're chomping on their food, and I honestly try to think of ways to get off the phone if I am talking to someone while they're eating.

2010 NFL Season Predictions

I'm changing my seasonal predictions a bit this time around. Normally I pick divisional winners and eventually a single champion, but this time I'm making random (and sometimes rather absurd) predictions of things that will happen with the NFL season about to start tonight. I make no guarantees that any of these predictions will happen, but if any of them do, I take full credit for prognosticating them.

1. The Miami Dolphins will win the AFC East. The Jets soaked up every last bit of limelight they could get their hands on this offseason and then some. Rex Ryan loved to talk as much trash and bring as much focus on the team as he could. The Patriots are still the Patriots, as well, and I see no reason why they won't compete this year. However, the Dolphins were relatively quiet in their moves, but they still put together a very strong team. They traded for Brandon Marshall. They signed Karlos Dansby. Chad Henne is entering his second year as starting quarterback, and will continue to improve. I really see the Dolphins stealing the division away on the last weekend of the season, especially since their final regular season game is at New England.

2. Brandon Marshall will have a better statistical year than Larry Fitzgerald. I wouldn't necessarily count this prediction as bold since I know many football insiders share the same feelings I have for Fitzgerald this year. Fitz is going to have a down year by his standards. I made sure to stay away from him while drafting for my fantasy teams. He doesn't have Kurt Warner throwing the ball to him anymore, and he doesn't have Anquan Boldin drawing coverage away from him. Oh sure, he'll get his share of yards and touchdowns, but they won't be as good as Marshall's stats. The Dolphins will throw to Marshall all year long, and his size and speed will help them win their division.

3. The Kansas City Chiefs will be better than you think. I'm not going so far to say they'll win their division or even make the playoffs, but they will finish somewhere around 7-9 or 8-8. They've been flat out awful for the last several years, but Matt Cassel is reunited with Charlie Weis, and Romeo Crennel is better suited as a defensive coordinator than a head coach. Eric Berry will be as good a safety as Ed Reed in his prime in a few years, and Scott Pioli is already turning the franchise into a new Patriots. The Chargers' dominance of the AFC West is coming to a close.

4. The Cleveland Browns have a shot at going 0-16 this year. My God, this team is terrible. I was watching the NFL Network last night and Steve Mariucci made an off-hand comment that the Browns "seemed to be improved." I can only assume that was his way of being polite to this team. They might be improved in a few years with Mike Holmgren calling the shots, but they look flat out awful this year. Jake Delhomme's best days are far behind him at quarterback. They have no backup quarterback to speak of. They have no receivers. They have no tight end. They have no defense. (I suppose other than all that, they're an okay team.) But have you seen their schedule? They open Sunday in Tampa Bay. Tampa will be a lousy team as well, but if the Browns don't win that game, they don't have another winable game on their schedule until December. In addition to their divisional opponents, they face Atlanta, New Orleans, New England, the Jets, Miami - the list goes on and on. Their first winable game after Week 1 is Week 14 against the Bills, and that game is in Buffalo. Their final three games are all against divisional opponents again, and there's no reason to think they stand to beat any of the AFC North teams this year. The Detroit Lions may have some company at a winless season sooner than most people think.

4. Eric Mangini will be the first head coach fired this season. This is almost like a 3(a) prediction. Mangini was suspected at facing the chopping block this past off-season when Mike Holmgren took over the Browns organization, but Holmgren kept him as coach. If the Browns are 1-7 or 0-8 by their bye week in Week 9, I don't see how Mangini keeps his job.

5. Brett Favre's consecutive games started streak will end this season. Have you watched any of Favre's press interviews the last few weeks? I try to avoid them like the plague, but what I've seen of them make Favre look like he's in his 70s. He sounds old, he looks old, and he doesn't seem to have the type of fire burning in him that he's had in the past. That may change when it's time to actually take the field, but his ankle is still an injury issue. He's going to take a hit at some point this season that will reaggravate that injury, and he won't be able to play the following week. He might be his typical Favre self and do his best to play, but there will come a point where Sage Rosenfels will have to start for the Vikings this season.

6. Drew Brees will break the "Madden curse." That is to say, Drew Brees will have another typical Drew Brees year where he throws for 48,000 yards, 850 touchdowns, and 9 interceptions. Ho hum.

7. Jerry Jones will have a conniption when the Cowboys lose to the Packers in the playoffs. Well, maybe not literally a conniption, but Ol' Jerry will go ballistic when the Cowboys are ousted from the playoffs yet again. He sure would love to have his 'Boys be the literal home team in the Super Bowl in February, but it's not going to happen. The Cowboys don't show signs of the drama they've had in the past, but where there's a will, there's a way. I'm not quite certain what will lead to the Cowboys' implosion this year, but my first thought would be Tony Romo choking yet again in a big game. Aaron Rodgers, on the other hand, will be his normal cool self and lead the Packers onward.

8. The Houston Texans will make the playoffs for the first time in franchise history. I was originally going to go so far and say the Texans will win the AFC South outright, but the more I see of the Colts, the more it pains me to say they will still win the division this year. The Texans will still win one of the two wild card spots this year, though (the other being the Jets). Arian Foster will become a household name by the end of the season, Andre Johnson will have yet another amazing year, and Matt Schaub will become a hero in Houston (if he isn't already).

9. Aaron Rodgers will be the NFL MVP. I'm somewhat bummed that Drew Brees will be shafted yet again only because he's deserved the MVP award each of the last two years and lost out on it both times. (I doubt Brees is shedding any tears on missing out though since he only won the Super Bowl last season) Brees will miss out on the MVP yet again this year to Aaron Rodgers. Rodgers has more than filled Brett Favre's shoes as the Packers' quarterback, and if he can avoid being sacked he will have an even bigger year than he did last year. One of the things I admire most about Rodgers is his ability to stay cool under fire, which is precisely why I predict the Packers will be the Cowboys in the postseason.

10. The Baltimore Ravens will beat the Green Bay Packers in Super Bowl XLV. I know, I sound like such a complete homer saying that. And isn't it odd that for what's probably the first time in the Ravens' franchise history, there are more questions about their defense than their offense? It's a justifiable issue, but I believe in Ray Lewis. I believe in Ed Reed. I believe that Terrence Cody will wreck havoc inside the line. I believe Haloti Ngata will give opposing quarterbacks nightmares. I believe Sergio Kindle will find playing time this season and will show what he's capable of. The Ravens clearly loaded up to make a serious run this season, and I really do believe it will pay off come February. I'd have a hard time rooting against Aaron Rodgers because I admire his skills so much, but he will eventually win a Super Bowl as well. It just won't be this year.

Bet You Thought I Forgot About Working on My List, Didn't You?

I'm sort of cheating (again) with listing another of my tasks being completed. One of my tasks was to frame and hang my MBA diploma in my place. The reason I had chosen to do this was because I've never framed any diploma I've ever had, and I was especially proud and excited when I had finished my MBA in 2007.

When I had graduated, I was working for the University of Phoenix, which was where I had been working on my MBA in the first place. As a surprise graduation present, my co-workers pooled their money together and bought me a really awesome frame for my diploma. The funny thing was that I had been shopping for a frame for a couple weeks prior to graduation, and when my manager found out he came up with a story in order to stop me from ruining my own present. I didn't think twice about his made up story about people passing out discount coupons for frames at graduation, and since I'm so gullable like that I even was looking around for such a display after the ceremony.

The following week we had a team meeting, and that was when I got my frame. The really funny thing was that the frame they had chosen was virtually identical to the frame I had in mind for myself. It was an awesome gift, and I couldn't wait to mount my frame on my wall.

However, instead of doing so, it sat in my parents' basement storage room. For months. And months. And months. I had wanted to mount it as soon as I had moved to Virginia, but it was nowhere to be found. I started panicking and worried it was lost somewhere during my move, but - go figure - one Saturday my mom was bored and decided she wouldn't rest until she found out. And she did find it buried in her storage room. I finally have it mounted on my wall and have it proudly displayed.

As a semi-related rant, going back to get my Master's Degree was always a plan I had since my final year of undergrad. I had originally planned on taking one year off and start the fall of 2004, but life got in the way as always (in other words, I was lazy) and didn't start until the fall of 2005. Even then, it was by complete accident that I ended up enrolling with UOP (that's another story in and of itself).

My point is that going back to finish my education was probably the smartest decision I've ever made. It's opened doors for me that never would have otherwise been available, and walking across the stage was easily the proudest moment of my life so far. I'm a firm believer in the power of education, and I highly encourage anyone who hasn't finished their college education to do so. Saying you'll do it in the spring or next fall may make you believe you'll follow through on your plans, but it's just another way of procrastinating. And when the next semester rolls around, you'll find a new excuse to prevent you from going back. I can honestly say that finishing my education has changed my life for the better, and I know it would do the same for anyone else who's ever contemplated it.

End rant. And strike off another from the list.

An Addition to the Family (Yeah, THAT Kind of Addition)

As excited as I was to officially have a future brother-in-law, I recently found out another reason to be super happy for my sister and her fiancee. A few weeks ago my sister called me to tell me that she and her fiancee are expecting a baby in addition to putting together their wedding plans! Yes, I am going to be an uncle in a few short months.

When my sister first told me, I had to immediately thank her since I know already what I'm going to do for her Christmas present (obviously, baby stuff - possibly even spring for a crib or stroller). As an added bonus, though, this past weekend my sister also showed us all her first round of sonogram pictures. I got to see the first images of my future niece or nephew....which all looked like a bunch of shadows and blobs (I swear, I never have the slightest idea of what I'm looking at in these things).

I've already decided on being that type of uncle who will take his niece or nephew to a baseball game when the kid is old enough, and promptly feed the kid a healthy dose of cotton candy, hot dogs, and soda. Then just as all that sugar kicks in after a couple hours, I hand the kid back to my sister, and a sugar-induced frenzy ensues. I also plan on buying the loudest, most obnoxious presents for birthdays and Christmas, such as Rock Band. Oh yes, I will relish this.

I suppose karma could come back to bite me in a few years when I have kids of my own, but that's something I'll deal with when the time comes along. Right now, I'm very excited for my sister, and even though a baby wasn't something she had been planning on for a while, I think she's warming up to the idea. My parents are absolutely giddy over the idea of becoming grandparents too, so I'm sure they'll give any support they possibly can. That has to be comforting for my sister, especially in the long run.

Writer's Block

I haven't been blogging over the last few weeks nearly as much as I had previously for a number of reasons. First, I've been seriously burned out from work. I nearly reached my breaking point a couple weeks ago, but I managed to get through it successfully. I've still come to the conclusion that my job is not where I want to be long term, and even though I've only been at my job a year and a half, I think it's time to look at moving on.

Secondly, and almost more importantly, I suffered from a case of writer's block. I would check out my blog, start typing something, and after a paragraph or two I just ran out of stuff to say. What's the point of typing out a blog post if I end up rambling for no real rhyme or reason? (One could make a good argument that most of my blog posts are like that already, but I digress.)

There is good news though. I'm taking vacation days from Wednesday through Friday this week, mostly because it's in time for my birthday. I had planned on driving off to the beach for a day or two and get away from everything and everyone, but - wouldn't you know - it's supposed to rain all throughout the week. While it's likely I won't be laying out in the sun much, that won't stop me from hitting up one or two of the bars in the area. I had even contemplated - GASP! - not taking my phone with me and really shutting myself out, but I'm sure I'd miss at least a couple birthday phone calls and/or texts if I did.

I'll see you on the other side of 31...