History made

Congratulations to the New England Patriots, Tom Brady, and Randy Moss collectively and individually for all that they have accomplished. The accolades they are about to receive are richly deserved. Also, kudos to my Giants and Tom Coughlin (who I am NOT a big fan of) for putting up a fight right up to the end. This was one for the ages. Let's hope the Browns win & the Titans lose tomorrow.

I might just need to put a rush on that home theater and step up the delivery on the big screen I just bought. More on that great deal later (suffice to say, I may have contributed to a Best Buy sales rep being beaten to death by his manager :-) ).

Four words: can't stop the signal

So, I read this item on Techdirt about the NCAA imposing seemingly draconian live blogging limitations on credentialed reporters. Then I read this thread on Slashdot discussing the situation, with all of the requisite comparisons of the NCAA to the RIAA, the MPAA, and every other "MafiAA".

The conclusion I came to is that they're both missing the point; these policies didn't spontaneously spring from the NCAA wanting to exert control over the spread of information about their events. This is the "fifth estate" desperately trying to stave off irrelevance. This is big business trying to protect their investment in broadcasting rights. This is the NCAA wanting to ensure that traditional media outlets continue to perceive these broadcasting rights as valuable, assuring the continued increase in bids for those rights.

It's all about the Benjamins. Good luck with that, NCAA....

Frist Psot :-)

Yeah, I'm doing the blog thing. I figure, what the hell, maybe somebody'll read this crap -- at the very least, it's a journal of my past, which becomes more substantial as time goes by.

Anywho, I discovered a few things tonight:

1. I can hoof it from W 6th St. to E 9th & Lakeside in 8:00 flat.
2. The 4:45pm #39F outbound can do it in 7:30. Sonuvabitch.

So, while I was standing at the corner with 20 minutes or so to spare, it struck me -- this town has what can best be described as a cubic assload of police forces. Every municipality has their own, RTA has their own, CMHA has their own, Cuyahoga County has the Sheriff's Department, federal offices have the Federal Protective Service, CSU & CWRU each have their own (with Case's being augmented by the non-municipal University Circle Police Department); the list seems endless. The kicker for me tonight was seeing an SUV bearing the livery of an agency I hadn't noticed before -- the Cleveland Clinic Police (the Clinic web site doesn't make much mention of them, though).

Now, don't get me wrong -- I don't have anything against the police in general, and you can be damn sure if I have a problem that requires professional law enforcement intervention, I want them there PRONTO. Unfortunately, since September 11, 2001, society in general has chosen to sanctify the entire class, forgetting that these are human beings inside these uniforms, with all of the failings and frailties that accompany that.

I have the utmost respect for those that go above & beyond the call, or even those who just do their job, but I don't give a free pass to anyone. If anything, I think if you put on the uniform, you're ASKING to be held to a higher standard, and should expect it.

Unfortunately, every once in a while, you get a yahoo that parodies like this are made of: