Back in the lounge

I don’t really have much to say.  It’s been a while since I posted anything. I good, long while.  I saw this ad for Shiner Bock, and I wanted to share it.  It perfectly illustrates the idea behind this blog and its name. Enjoy. Prosit!

Miley Cyrus' Twerk Team Audition

Ok so maybe the Disney Darling isn't auditioning for the Twerk Team, but I think it's safe to say that little Hannah Montana is now all grown up and doing whatever the f*ck she wants.




I support it.

Mathematics and your future

Yesterday was Pi Day, and I’m a big nerd, so the above statement got me to thinking.

Remember when you were sitting in your high school algebra class, and someone said "Why do we have to learn this?  We're never gonna need this in real life."  Then you thought to yourself, "Hey, that guy's right" or if you were anything like me, you thought, "He's just making excuses because he doesn't get it."  If your teacher was worth a hill of beans she likely responded with “But the problem solving skills you will learn will be invaluable tools in your future” or something to that effect.  If not, your math teacher sucked! might have had a more cleaver response.

Well ladies and gentlemen, for most of your peers, it's a true statement, they will never need an algebraic function to do their jobs.  However for those of us that "got it" and even *gasp* liked it, those basic algebra skills and equations and our understanding of them, is currently paying the bills.  Not to mention opening up what I feel will be a major job market in the very near future.  I’m not the only one who thinks so.

Think about this: we live in the Information Age. We're raising a generation that has always had access to the "information super highway." All of this information is fluid, constantly changing hands, and being augmented.  Tracking those exchanges and changes, and understanding the “whos,” “whats,” “wheres,” and “whens” of this motion is the goal of every business entity at some level.  But how?  Synthesize this massive amount of information down to its most integral parts, and quantify it, and viola, data!  

All of those seemingly useless algebraic formulas are starting to make sense when analyzing data.  The companies with the best data analysts will know how to specifically target their customer base through marketing and advertising.  Think about the ads on the right side of your Facebook page.  Additionally, they will be able to better track their sales, expenses, etc. thus making them much more efficient businesses all because of a little math.

So while most of you will never use Pythagoras' Theorem (which, by the way, is how they determine the size of your television set), the rest of us will be getting paid by crunching numbers and telling the networks which commercials to shoot into your living room using linear equations. 

Let’s Pay Music Artists Less

I just wanted to drop this off on you.

Enjoy

My only response is: It's your fault for having a wildly successful, yet woefully unprofitable business model.  Don't punish the folks that make you viable.

The Nerd Bowl

Congratulations to the Baltimore Ravens on winning Super Bowl XLVII!

And a special shout owt to Jacoby Jones who had 2 touchdowns and tied an NFL record. Roo Sands!

As a football lover and a nerd, I found the following article very interesting, so I wanted to share.  Enjoy your Monday Folks!

Ravens + Analytics = Super Bowl

Pay it forward

I’m mad. I’m mad, like the quiet triplet when it’s time to eat. (The breastfeeding mothers will get that one.) I’m madder than a junk yard dog! I’m Jim Adler mad!

 

Truth is, I'm not that mad, but I needed an excuse to include that video because  I find it hilarious.  Anyway, back to the subject at hand…

I am a little upset about this radio spot advertising the Coca-Cola Pay it Forward Program. Have a listen:

Now, what the folks at Coca-Cola are implying from this advertisement is that a mother is “paying it forward” by helping her son with his homework. (They’re also implying that sixteen year olds don’t know how to pronounce “Versailles,” but that’s a rant for another day.)  Paying it forward is something you do outside of your own personal responsibilities.  Like mowing your neighbor’s yard without being asked or paid to do so.  Parenting doesn’t fall into this category.  Once a gooey blob of baby comes into this world that’s carrying half your DNA, along with “Brush teeth, Wash ass, and don’t kill strangers” your responsibilities now include “Parenting.”

Paying it forward is analogous to doing someone an unsolicited favor.  Like buying an extra taco on your way home because you know your roommate is still awake.  Contrary to popular belief parenting isn’t optional.  You have the responsibility to help your idiot child with their homework, and if you don’t know how, you and Junior team up to find him a tutor.  You aren’t doing your child any favors by helping them navigate the waters of life; you’re doing your job.

Now I’m aware that Coca-Cola may not have intended their little advertisement to come off this way.  I’m sure they were simply trying to encourage parents to nominate their youngsters.  However, there HAD to be better ways of making that point. This is how I envision the birth of this monstrosity:

Mr. Advertising Man listened to a team of idiots in marketing when they said, “We need to encourage African Americans parents to nominate their children, and we need to tie it to the theme of paying it forward.”  At this point, full of caffeine and inspiration Advertising Man went to his drawing board and thought to himself, “Hmmmm…Pay it forward… That’s like charity…and…They said they wanted to encourage parents…and…charity does begin at home… I’ve got it!”

And when he went back to the Marketing folks with this jewel, they were all like:

Yeah.

Do better Coca-Cola.

Heidi's House

The following is an excerpt from a novel my friend is working on, enjoy:

 

On many occasions I've wondered, if I hadn't been where I'd been that day would they have found me? If I didn't have such set schedule would they have even known where to find me? Had they followed me? If I had just stayed my ass home like my husband told me to instead of going to yoga, would it have really made a difference?

 

I never come up with an answer. I just end up a lot less sane than when I began to ponder about it. I had a permanent migraine from trying to see in the dark, and, the constant pacing coming from above us. My skin was ashen and dry. I could only imagine what my once luxurious sandy blonde hair looked like, for I hadn't seen my own reflection in seventy-two days. Even when we were let up and out to do their bidding or whatever else they needed, I never looked at my reflection in fear that all my beauty had packed up and left me the same way my sanity did.

 

Click here to read more…

 

-Lost1

Obama against football

Ok, title is a little too extreme, but check out this article about President Obama’sopinion of his hypothetical sons and youth football.

 There are a few things that I want to address here:

1.   Football is dangerous.

Serious injuries are prevalent, and yes, something should be done about it.  That fact is inescapable, but look at the first thing I said, "Football is a dangerous sport."  This is a fact that every man, woman, and child that decides to play this game should fully understand BEFORE they ever strap on a helmet.  Make them sign a waiver, and move on.  In the youth football arena, preventing children from suffering serious injury is the responsibility of 2 parties: The Coaches and The Parents.   All youth football coaches and referees should be certified and held accountable for teaching children the proper way to play the game, and instructing them in best practices to avoid injury.  Parents should ensure that their child is well nourished and healthy enough to play such a rough game. Furthermore, both parties are also responsible for teaching these children that football hurts, it’s dangerous, it’s violent, and that by playing you concede to being a part of the pain and calamity.

 

2.   Football is only truly understood by the players.

If you’ve never played football (looking at you Mr. Obama), you can’t really grasp the benefits that youth football can have on young men.  Football is the ultimate team sport. You can’t win football championships by having 2 or 3 superstars, and a bunch of scrubs.  *side eye to the NBA* There is a great deal of character building, and critical thinking involved in the game of football.   Among other things, football teaches conflict resolution, discipline, and pattern recognition.  Also, the violent nature associated with the game, will give children a choice to make: “Do something that I enjoy, but could maim me, or sit out for fear of injury?”  It’s cost benefit analysis at 9 years old.  What greater teaching tool can one ask for?

 

3.   Y’all ain’t got nothing better to ask the President of the United States than his opinions about football’s safety? 

Now I’m all for asking the President atypical questions, but given the current political climate, and all of the problems in our nation, why are we wasting this man’s time asking him about youth football?  I can think of a whole lotta BS I would ask the Commander in Chief if I had the chance, but it damn sure wouldn’t be about football.  Even if I did, why is this news?  This is entertainment pure and simple.  The president shouldn’t be thrust into the spotlight as a means of entertaining Americans.  There are thousands of overpaid, idiot celebrities out there that serve that purpose.  If he’s gonna be on TV it needs to be about the business of the US. I don’t care about his children’s grades, what kind of dog he has, who he favors in the big game, or any of the other irrelevant topics he’s been expected to address.  Let that man be president, and go ask Will Smith about youth football.  At least he has real sons.

In the end, this is a matter that we can debate until we’re blue in the face.  Fact is, unless they outlaw the sport, or change the rules so drastically that it’s no longer football, people participating will get hurt.  If you are worried little Johnny won’t grow up to master the secrets of the Space Time Continuum because of a few hard tackles, then encourage him to take dance.  Then when he grows up to be an idiot while the star quarterback has a successful chain of car dealerships, you’ll have to live with that, not me.

 

 

 

See through the BS

I love people, all people.  Black, White, Brown, and Green, no matter one’s nationality, ethnic group, vocation, education, or socio economic status, I simply love people.  I, as an imperfect being, make great efforts to evaluate people based on who they are, nothing more, nothing less.  As a child most of my neighbors were upper middle class white folk.  I spent a few years in the “hood” where all of my neighbors were lower middle class black folk.  I myself spent most of my childhood in a household who’s annual income was below the poverty line.  I was completely unaware of all of these facts when I was actually living this part of my life.  I was bullied by white kids and black kids.  I had schoolyard crushes on little girls of every background.  I’ve been the trouble maker, the model student, the delinquent, the jock, and the nerd.  All of these facts have molded me into the flawed, opinionated, intelligent individual that I have become.  Which is why, today I generally evaluate people on an individual basis.

I had great teachers and motivators inside and outside of the classroom, and that has turned me into a “thinker.”  I question everything, and I respect the opinions of all people.  Out of said respect, I try to see things from another’s point of view before I make any judgments about a situation.  This is why the following Facebook status unnerved me a bit.

 

This is a young lady that I grew up with.  We’ve been schoolmates since 3^rd Grade.  We had several classes together and I played football with her big brother.  She’s a great person, but the audacity of such a statement, almost made me think the contrary.  The comments and pats on the back she received from all of her likeminded friends made me never want to meet most of them, but that’s a personal issue that we aren’t going to delve into at this time. This was my initial response:

 

The more I read, the more I realized that this is a consequence of the “system” that she aims to fix.  That system created a situation that benefited her in such a way that it led her to make such a ridiculous claim.  This system has constructed categories, and molded the citizens of this country to fit precisely in one category or another.  This system creates charicatures of these categories and makes sure that the citizens only see these charicatures.  The societal issues this system has created have scarred us so deeply that we refuse to experience the world for what it is, and instead prefer to accept what we’re told as the truth.  It’s a brilliant system to those that benefit, a working system for those that follow the rules, and a bearable system for those that it punishes. 

 

There are however two groups that I have yet to mention.  Those that control the system, and those that refuse to accept its practices as the standard.  The former, will continue to do everything that they can to manipulate the system to maintain its structure.  The latter will likely die trying to educate their fellow man about the truth that surrounds them.

 

-Lost1

 

P.S. If you can't read the screen shots, *shrug* I'll do better next time.

 

Why you so lazy?

Laziness is a disease that is plaguing our nation, and disproportionately so among my generation. Why are people so lazy? I believe its because society has lulled us into this sloth like state. I take that back, it’s not society's fault...well not totally. Technology deserves quite a bit of blame as well. Think about it... when we were all living off the land, and had to hunt to eat, we didn’t have a laziness problem. We didn't have obesity, or diabetes, or none of that shit. You know why? Cuz the lazy muh fuckas died! If u didn't feel like going to hunt, the village didn't feel like feeding yo lazy ass. Ugh shit irks me son! LOL

These thoughts about laziness arouse this morning because I have a very lazy friend. I love him and all, but that is one LAZY NEGRO right there. His laziness is damn near world renown, but the reason it has come to mind, is because I've had to deal with lot of laziness lately. What I can't comprehend, is why would you do something, just to half ass it? Why put your name next to something that isn't worth your total effort? If something’s not worth doing well, and with gusto, why do it? Not my style.

Whenever I do anything I put my blood, sweat, and tears into it, no matter what it is. Even things that I'm not completely in support of, I still bust my ass to make it excellent. There's no other way. My mother gave me my first name, and my father gave me my last, so when they are attached to a product, not only does it reflect me, but it’s a show of them as well. Why wouldn't I want to do a great job? Between the two of them they did a good job raising me, so because everything I do, they—thru me—are attached to, I must make sure it’s great! Point. Blank. Period.

Bottom line is: Don't be lazy. You embarrass yourself, yo momma, ya daddy, and EVERYTHING and EVERYONE that helped you get in a position to do WHATEVER it is that you're doing.

In closing, if you are a lazy person, it’s not too late to change, you can still be great! All it takes is a little hard work. You can do it! :-) *thumbs up* don't be a bum all ya life...

New Year, same struggles

Happy New Year and shit.

 

Yes I’m aware that I’m about 2 weeks late, but my view is, as long as people are still struggling with writing “2013” when writing the date, then the year is still “new.” Beyond that, I can do what I want, so happy New Year dammit.

Writing is actually the subject of this post. @VeePharmD tweeted “The You're ... Your ... Struggle Is Alive!” and you know what?  She’s absolutely right.  With this being a new year, and with 35% of the world with access to the internet you would think that we are getting smarter.  However I would venture to say that the opposite is actually happening.  Since that statement can be debated and discussed for years, I’m not going to delve into that with this post.  What I do want to discuss is the fact that many internet users in this country lack a basic command of the English language. 

I am well aware that American English is, indeed, a bastardized language, with a whole heap of loose rules that are difficult to understand and hard to follow.  However, some of us have managed to get a handle on this daunting task with relative ease.  Maybe it’s because I had amazing English teachers in high school.  Maybe it’s because my best friend is someone that I refer to as “The Grammar Nazi.”  Maybe it’s because I’m some kind of genius.  Maybe it’s because I’m just plain awesome.  Whatever the case, I plan to share my knowledge with you all.  So, here we go:

Your vs. You’re

Your: This word shows possession.  Example: This is your computer.  See how YOU own the computer?

You’re: This is a contraction, and the shortened form of the phrase “you are.”  Example: You’re an idiot.  Get it?

Now that we’ve gotten that straight, let’s move on to a few more grammatical gaffs that chap my hide…

There vs. Their vs. They’re

There: In, at, or to a specific position or place. Example: The idiots are over there. OR The idiots stayed there for years.

Their: Another possession word folks.  Example: I saw the idiots using their computer. Who does the computer belong to?  That’s right, the idiots!  You’re catching on now. (See what I did there?)

They’re: Again, this is a contraction. It’s short for the phrase “they are.” Example: They’re all a bunch of idiots.

Whose vs. Who’s

Whose: Belonging to which person (possession). Example: Whose idiot is this? OR I saw an idiot yesterday, and wondered whose it was.

Who’s: Yet another contraction. Short for the phrase “who is.” Example: Who’s this idiot?

There’s a whole heap of others that really annoy me (hole vs. whole, hear vs. here, etc.), but honestly, I’m tired of typing.  So, I hope this post educates at least one person, although I’m sure it won’t.  So in reality I hope it at least managed to entertain those of you out there that are just as annoyed by these things as I am.  Here's to the New Year folks!

-Lost1