The Moral Fork In The Road

That's the result of a hit-and-run that occurred on April 9th, 2009--the driver was drunk and ran a red light and three people died.

The story gained national attention because one of the people who died was Nick Adenhart--a 22-year-old pitcher for the Los Angeles Angels. He had just pitched six scoreless innings that night.

In the time since the tragedy, we've learned more of the facts. Andrew Gallo, the driver of the vehicle that caused the accident, had a prior DUI. He also had a marijuana possession and a seat belt citation on his record.

Even worse, the driver of the car Adenhart was in, who also died, was later found to have been legally drunk at the time of the accident as well.

Now, we've all heard these stories before. We shake our heads and push away the horror of the thought--how many times have we all gotten behind the wheel after drinking--even if it was just one or two beers?

And it could have been me, it could have been you, on either side of the equation, and when it involves sports, even more is said.

We say, "Tragedies like this put it all in perspective."

We say, "Tragedies like this force you to not take the little things for granted."

We say, "Appreciate every day that you have."

--

This morning, I thought about all of this when I heard the news that the Angels had clinched the AL West.

And pictures like this started to come out:



And this is where I come to the moral fork in the road.

I understand and respect and appreciate the Angels players wanting to pay tribute to their friend and teammate, lost far too soon for not nearly a good-enough reason.

And I also understand and am fine with the traditional alcohol-soaked sports locker room celebration (although with all the hand-wringing over what professional athletes mean to children, it sometimes seems to me like a "Candy Cigarettes" type-of-deal).

But to combine the two--knowing the history and the facts and the reasons and the presence of television cameras, I don't know.

It doesn't feel right.

I wonder what the Adenhart family thinks about that picture.

--

Usually, I write these posts and know where I stand on the matter.

This time I don't.

But I do know that I'll be thinking of what happened the next time I have a couple of drinks and thinking about getting into the driver's seat.

That's a tribute.

--

All background information via Deadspin.


More soon.

JS

Technologial Evolution--Darwinian Concepts Applied To Cellphone Usage

My first touchscreen phone was the Samsung Glyde.

It was the only touchscreen phone Verizon had at the time and I was suffering from severe iPhone envy. I still wasn't in a Blackberry frame-of-mind yet, and my Palm Treo had become too obnoxious to use without a data plan. So I got the Glyde.

It sucked as a touchscreen, but the slide-out physical QWERTY keyboard was nice--real nice, actually. I liked the landscape keyboard better than the portrait style keyboard on the Treo. So naturally, when I got the Blackberry Drizzle--I mean, Storm soon after, I rotated that sucker into landscape mode just about every time I picked it up (and waited three seconds while the software followed suit--oh, how I miss you, Blackberry Drizzle).

(Yeah, not really)

Then, after the finance Gods smiled down on me, and I finally gave up on an under-supported, still-too-green Drizzle, I got the iPhone 3G. And there was a dilemma:

The iPhone didn't support a landscape keyboard (mostly).

I became a portrait guy again.

Fast-forward to when OS 3.0 was announced--the landscape keyboard would now be supported throughout: How exciting!

Fast-forward to when OS 3.0 was available for download: Can't wait to use that landscape keyboard!

Fast-forward to now: I never use the landscape keyboard.

Ever.

Except for the times where I think: Oh yeah, I could be using the landscape keyboard right now and rotate the phone to use it just that once.

Why did this happen? Because I was forced to use a portrait-style keyboard (that functions really, really well) and I adapted. And that's what I use, even when I have the option to use both, because it's what I like and what I'm used to.

I had the option to use both on the Drizzle--I didn't.

The portrait keyboard sucked.

And I promise, this all comes into play later.

--

So this morning, I was reading this article by Elinor Mills of CNET and that's what got me thinking.

I'm a iPhone fan. I loved the 3G and love my 3GS even more. As a matter of fact, I can honestly say that it's the ninth or tenth cell phone I've owned in my life and it's the first time I've never uttered the phrase, "God, I hate this thing" at some point.

I've used every major carrier, I've had flip phones, direct connect phones, smart phones, touch screens--everything. I went through the Nextel bleeping craze, the Palm PDA-to-phone craze, the text messaging revolution, the data plan revolution, and now the portable media device-as-a-phone revolution.

Still, to me, the iPhone is the head of the class.

Now, I've heard the complaints about AT&T's service. I've been told how much it sucks, how spotty the reception can be, the delays in text and visual voicemail, and I've got to say it:

I've never really had these issues.

Why? Am I am anomaly?

Do I happen to always inhabit a spot where AT&T's service is strong?

Is it possible that I'm so Apple-centric that I am blind to reasonable complaints and confirmed short-comings? (highly possible)

Or--

Am I experiencing technological evolution?

Because here's the thing--

I don't talk on the phone.

I know, I know--mind blowing, right?

But the reality is that I don't, or at the very least, not very often.

I pay for unlimited text messages. I pay for unlimited data. I have instant messenger, Facebook, and Twitter applications. As of this Friday, I'll finally even have access to MMS, which to be honest, I probably won't even use that much, also a result of my evolution.

Technology is a living organism. It doesn't exist in a vacuum. It takes into account what the user wants--our feedback and our complaints and our highlights and our lowlights--and it all gets filtered and applied.

I don't not use my phone as a phone because of AT&T's service. I use a host of other easier, faster options because they work for me, and from what I can see, a lot of other people too.

And this might be the reason why AT&T doesn't see the need to put out the "your service sucks!" fire as fast as some would like.

Think about it--the next time you text a friend, the next time you write on your sister's Facebook page, the next time you e-mail a picture to someone.

--

I forgot who said it, but I'm fascinated by the notion that humans tend to think of themselves as the end of the evolutionary line, when really, on a developmental level, we're still very much a beta version.

It's the same with phones--telecommunications now is light years away from where it was ten years ago, twenty years ago, fifty years ago.

It's no longer enough to say, "Kill or be killed."

More like, "Text or be deleted from contacts."


More soon.

JS

It's Here

My birthday is this Saturday.

Twenty-five.

Soon I won't be eligible for the "young, up-and-coming author" status, which keeps me up at night.

While I'm expecting good times and a good party and love from family and friends, I just got what will probably wind up being the best gift I receive.

It's here.

Live right now on Word Riot is a chapter from Whitney entitled, "My Bike Short Are Not Yours, Or My Bulge."

Read it here.

Listen to it here.

Tell your friends about it.

Tell me what you think about it.

Tell me what you think about it.

It's a great feeling to see your hard work pay off.

Share with me.


More soon.

JS

There's The iPod, And Then There's Everyone Else

Anybody who reads this blog knows I'm a fan of Apple products.

It's a strange place to be in the technology world. From a theoretical standpoint, Apple is the underdog, yet they have the public perception as being front-runners and elitists. It's the equivalent of the Pittsburgh Pirates being treated as if they were the New York Yankees.

One thing you can't take away from Apple is the iPod. There's the iPod and then there's everyone else, and now, as Apple looks to begin taking the brand into clear multiple directions (Shuffle for workouts, Nano for on-the-go music/amateur video, Touch for gaming, Classic for your car), we'll see if the competition can at least make it interesting.

And with Apple having already sold 220 million iPods (and counting), it will certainly be an uphill climb.

That's why today is so important.

Today, the Zune HD is available (16 GB, $220/32 GB, $289) for purchase. And normally I'd complete that sentence with something like, "at a Microsoft store location," but since that doesn't exist (yet), I'll just give the link for the Zune store.

Normally I'd also say that the Zune HD is clearly aimed at taking down the iPod, but that would mean it has to catch up to it first.

I look forward to playing with one, but for now, I'll rely on reviews to forge my opinion. And there's a bunch of good ones out there:

-Wired Review of Zune HD

-Gizmodo Looks at Zune HD (The full review should be available today)

-Cnet Review of Zune HD

-Zune HD disassembly by AnythingButiPod (with a really great story behind the Zune HD dedication)

From what I've read so far, I still don't see why I'd want to switch to a Zune, which will be a big problem for Microsoft going forward.

Plus, a few of the features highlighted as "new" to the Zune are features that Apple either already has in their iPods, or even worse, invented.

I still feel that there is only one power play move all the companies out there, Microsoft included, can make if they want to make money in the mp3 player game (although even that window may have passed):

Pay Apple to make the App Store multi-platform.

Obviously I say this without knowing if Apple would even sniff something like that--basically outsourcing their marketplace--or have the resources to pull it off, but for now, it seems like the only way to make it back into the mp3 player market.

Besides, you know, developing something--new.

There's just too much ground to make up at this point.

And that's with taking the Zune HD, available today, into account.


More soon,

JS

The greatest. Walk-off celebration. By a team. Ever.

There's been a lot of talk about how this year's Yankees team is more relaxed, having more fun, and has the right mix of personalities to really make a run. Gone are the days dominated by a stiff, corporate attitude that only added to the problem during slumps and losing streaks.

Whether or not that is the case remains to be seen, although the cult of Nick Swisher and the walk-off pie celebrations are certainly evidence in favor of it.

But something happened a couple of days ago.

And it's an occurrence that puts it all in perspective:

The greatest. Walk-off celebration. By a team. Ever.

I'm a fan of athletic celebrations of all types. Spiking a football, fist bumps, fist pumps, end zone antics, throat slashes, screams, moans, and jersey's pulled aside to reveal one's heart. NFL, NBA, NHL, MLB--you name it, I like it. And the more premeditated, the better.

When it's your team celebrating, it only adds to the joy. When it's the other team, it gets you fired up. Breeds anger/hatred and adds to competition and rivalry. That's a good thing. It's missing from sports. It's a win-win, unless you're some stodgy, old crud who pines for the days of under-handed foul shots, pitchers who pitched complete games, and racial segregation.

There will be some people pounding the podium over what you're about to see, but really, who cares? Sports are entertainment, plain and simple.

And it doesn't get much more entertaining than this.

For your viewing pleasure:



Thanks to Kerry for letting me know about this yesterday--I was waiting for some good footage to pop up.


More soon.

JS

The Hummer Of Cellphones

It's Thursday and it's dragging like David Wright's helmet and I've got a few good stories to share.

Know what that sounds like?

Sounds like a mixed bag to me.

--

-First up, I posted yesterday about my prediction for how the Yankees will close out their final 30 games of the season. With a 10-2 win last night, I'm right on track.

LoHud.com put up the pitching match-ups for the upcoming four-game series with Toronto, and I'm feeling pretty confident about a 2/2 split. We should get one win out of Mitre/Gaudin (probably Mitre) and I'll take Pettitte over Brett Cecil while conceding Halladay over Joba.

-Next is an amazing feature from Newsweek. Sergei Mikhailobich Prokudin-Gorskii was named royal photographer by Czar Nicholas II during the beginning of the 20th century. These are some of the pictures he took from 1907-1915.

This guy rode though pre-revolutionary Russia in a dark-room rail car--shooting in color, no less. He basically shot everything three times--with red, green, and blue filters, and then combined them. Pretty amazing stuff.

-I haven't had much to say about the Health Care debate because I'm not really sure which side I'm on. I wind up fighting for it with people who are against it and vice versa. Nicholas Kristof had a great op-ed piece in the Times yesterday that points out how we've got no problems (or very few, at least) with some other major government-run public institutions, and that health care could benefit in just the same way.

-Newsweek posted a excerpt from Judy Shepard's new memoir. From a technician's standpoint, I'm not very fond of the writing, but the subject matter outweighs the performance in this case. Everybody should be knowledgable about this topic.

-So--it's September.

And I have an iPhone, by far the best smartphone available.

And I still can't send MMS.

AT&T and Apple said I'd be able to do by now.

So--what's the deal?

Maybe it has something to do with the fact that, as Jenna Wortham points out:

Slim and sleek as it is, the iPhone is really the Hummer of cellphones.

Yikes. She's right.

-Just saw this now, haven't read it yet though. Bill Simmons? In Las Vegas? With his buddies? How could you not read it?

--

That's all for now, kids.


More soon.

JS

Trying Hard Not To Laugh/The Quest For 100

I'm not a Yankees fan who hates the Mets. Never have been. Besides the small pangs of sick glee I get from watching the Mets continually fuck up on an organization-wide basis, I usually root for their success, except for when they're playing the Yankees.

And that's why this season has been hard to swallow.

I like to have a "prev" channel that I can flip to while I'm watching a Yankees game. In past years, there's a good chance that would have been the Mets game.

Not anymore.

First, I find Keith Hernandez to be the douchiest of douches, and I've had about all I can take of him. And that's coming from a fan of a team that employs John Sterling, so that's saying something.

Second, and the bigger issue, is the fact that AAA baseball isn't very interesting. And I'm sorry, but that's the caliber of team the Mets are fielding at the moment. And some of it has just been rotten luck, but some of it has been a failure to plan beyond what's right in front of one's face.

Come to think of it, National League baseball, which as an elitist AL East fan I view as more of a AAAA league, isn't very interesting either.

Somebody might want to take a look at that.

--

What I never like to laugh at, is safety.

I'm all for improvements that bring down the number of times players are injured--especially life/career-threatening injuries.

I was not happy to see David Wright get hit in the head a couple of weeks ago by a 94 mph fastball. It was disturbing to watch more than once.

Okay, maybe three of four times.

But dear god, this cannot be the answer:



There's just no way.

There is no way something that ridiculous-looking will be adopted by professional athletes. Not a chance.

And just in case you thought, "Well, that's not that bad," here's a shot that gives some more perspective:



I'm sorry, but there's got to be a better way.

I'm an NHL fan. Goalies take frozen rubber discs traveling at 100 mph to the head all the time and their helmets aren't nearly as, um, portly.

If the MLBPA really cares about safety, they'll fix this.

Unfortunately, they won't be able to do a damn thing about the Mets season.

--

So why did I lead with a picture of a prepubescent Derek Jeter?

With 30 games left to play, I sat down this morning and laid out the remaining games the Yankees have left to play. I do this every season. I try and guess how they'll finish up when all is said and done, and as I realized last season, it's not nearly as fun when they're not winning.

But it's 2009, the year of the Swish, and they are winning.

So here we go:

-1 w/ Baltimore: W
-4 w/ Toronto: W,W,L,L
-4 w/ Tampa Bay: W,W,L,L
-3 w/ Baltimore: W,W,L
-1 w/ Los Angeles: W
-2 w/ Toronto: W,W
-3 w/ Seattle: W,W,L
-3 w/ Los Angeles: W,L,L
-3 w/ Boston: W,L,L
-3 w/ Kansas City: W,W,W
-3 w/ Tampa Bay: W,W,L

Going into tonight's game, the Yankees are 84-48. If they stay on track with what I've laid out here--19-11--they will finish the season at a super impressive 103-59.

And I was fair with this. I took into account their lack of winning in Los Angeles. I took into account that Boston will probably be hungrier as they try and stay on top of the Wild Card. I took into account the fact that the Yankees might not always be giving max effort--only two sweeps in eleven series--especially with 40-man rosters in play.

But still.

103-59?

Peter Gammons said that the Yankees weren't even the second-best team in the division.

Maybe $200 million does buy what it used to.


More soon.

JS

The Kind of Poetry God Would Read While She Brushes Her Hair

I know this guy--Brian Francis.

And we've been friends for a long time.

We've shared a lot, made some of the best music you've never heard, lost track, got re-focused, chased dreams, and now we're both just surviving, both finding our way, making sure to keep our paths intertwined, even if our locations don't always allow for the closest of connections.

Brian's a poet. A damn good one, at that.

And he's been making moves, and now today he's oficially launching that most-important of homes, his e-home.

Presenting, as of 9/1/09:

September's Harvest

I want you all to check out September's Harvest, and not because Brian Francis is my friend.

I want you to check it out because he writes the kind of poetry that will keep you up at night.

The kind of poetry that exposes the monsters under the bed.

The kind of poetry god would read while she brushes her hair.

The kind of poetry that fights the good fight.


More soon.

JS