Sungrazer Coming To a Star Near You!

It has been quite a year for comets, asteroids, and planets. If you think about it, even though I have complained about how little our government does for the space program, the private industry and astronomers have really been busy lately. Kepler has found hundreds if not thousands of possible Earth-like planets, and we have been quite the asteroid magnet of late. Now scientists are predicting that a comet coming around November 2013 will be so bright that it might be seen during the day or be as bright as the moon!

A comet of this type, one that passes close to the Sun is appropriately called a Sungrazer. Now of course for the comet to meet expectations and be as bright as the moon it must be sure to not pass too close to the Sun and get caught in it's extreme gravity! That could end the whole party. If it stays on it's present course and just passes the Sun instead of hitting the Sun, then we could be in for a show. Check out the very informative infographic below for more on this upcoming Sungrazer!

Is the Stay At Home Father Undervalued?

During the time that I have been writing about the "Stay at Home Father" experience I have generally spoke about the things we do as Dads, or what we do with our kids. One thing that I have stayed away from, mostly because I never ask for it myself, is recognition. Over the last couple of days however as I was thinking about what I should write about in the "Father" category it has crossed my mind that we are vastly under-appreciated in this role. I'm not looking for a pat on the back or for my wife to grovel at my feet shouting my praises. No. All I am looking for is for some acknowledgment of what it is that I do as a stay at home Dad. Let me elaborate.

Everyday we do our bit to help get the kids ready for school. In my house it is especially difficult because we have one bathroom and 3 girls! Normally this would spell disaster however the timing just happens to work out in addition to girl number 3 being in 3rd grade. That does not mean she is never in front of a mirror, just that she does not require the same amount of primping that my wife and my freshman daughter do. So the mornings are rough but doable. Once everyone is off for the day is when my day starts, just as it would for a typical housewife. I may start to lose track of what is PC so I am asking for forgiveness in advance.

The previous night always seems to somehow leave its mark on the house in the form of used dishware, a couple shreds of paper from my youngest and her 8pm art project. The dinner table has, after dinner of course, become a stopping point for graded school-work, mail, and the occasional ad paper that somehow made its way to our table as well. My son's baseball equipment, which he neglected to take back downstairs to his room now adorns the spot on the floor in front of the china cabinet. These are just a few examples of things scattered around the house from the previous day and nights activities. All of these "remnants" are now my responsibility to put away. I could leave some of it for the kids when they return from school and make them put it away. But if I did that I would have to stare at the things all day and I just could not deal with that.

So when everyone has departed for their school day and work day I start my day with a tour of the kids bedrooms as I wander around putting away all of the things they left out. This can take up a good portion of the morning, what with vacuuming, washing dishes and laundry not to mention folding the laundry (the thing I hate the most). Once I get this done to the point where I am satisfied I get on the computer and start to try and get some writing done. However, there are some things that must be done here that typically a woman would not do. At least I know my wife would not. This is where the recognition comes into the story.

All of the things that I had mentioned are your normal, everyday chores and tasks that need to be done in a family setting for whomever is the "homemaker". But, what differs between what I do and what my wife would do are what you could call the "guy stuff" around the house. Fixing the leak in the kitchen sink or the clog in the basement drain line. Is my wife going to do that? Would yours? How about fixing the bedroom door because it was rubbing on the door jam? Are the wives going to get the wood plane and bring the door down to size? I think not. Or let's say the leg on the dinner table is broken, would the wives take out the bolt and re-thread the hole so as to accept a new bolt? My wife never has. My point is this, all of the things  that the husbands do around the house we also do while we are the homemakers.

It can become quite the strain on a man to do all the household chores plus all the home maintenance, yard work, car work, and various other things that the husband would normally do. Now do not misunderstand me and think that I am saying a woman cannot do these things. I would never say that because I know women who have. What I am saying is that the typical wife that is out working while her husband stays home to take care of the house and kids, that woman is not going to come home from the office and start hanging drywall. We as husbands should get at least some recognition that in addition to the household duties we also bust our humps with much more.

So when you are considering the value of having your husband stay home to care for the kids and the house, don't forget that he is still a man. Don't forget that he will still have a need and a desire to make sure the house and everything in it is in perfect working order for his wife and children. Don't forget that in order to make that a reality he will have to work twice as hard in order to get it all done during the day. Do not ignore the fact that all of these things are difficult, even if he makes it look easy. Realize that if it wasn't for your husband you would be calling a plumber, carpenter, HVAC tech, and PC service tech, among others. He sweats his butt off for you and the kids because he loves you guys and wants you to be happy. So if he complains that his back hurts a little, or he is a bit sleepy after dinner it is because he was working hard all day long. Understand that none of this is easy, even though he might make it look like it is, that is just because he knows what he is doing.

Remove Bloatware the Easy Way!

There have been a ton of applications over the last few years that have promised to handle the daunting task of cleaning your computer. Sadly, most of them were just a ruse aimed at getting people to install the software only to pollute the computer with its own spyware, malware, and even a virus or two. Even when people go to download a software application from download giant CNET you have to be extremely vigilant. Every time you download something from them you are running the risk of installing a toolbar or other such junk that no one needs. Problem is, they try and make it seem as if the toolbar is part of the process of installing the software you actually wanted.

Of course this is not the only cause of what has long been called bloatware. Anytime you bring home a new computer the hard drive is polluted with crap that you do not need and will most likely never use. People spend hours deleting software using various means and different websites that promise to help. As a service tech myself I cannot count how many times I have been called because bloatware has caused some sort of problem on a system. The best thing that anyone can do is to delete anything you do not need or better yet, uninstall it through your control panel. This too can be a chore, especially if you do not know what you are dealing with. This can be hard even for a seasoned computer pro.

Well rest easy my friends. I have found a tool that will save the day. Not only will this application make getting rid of junk so much easier. But it will give you information about what you are deleting and what scores of other users have done with that same piece of software. Coupled with their website the application itself is priceless. I am referring to a piece of code entitled Should I Remove It?

As I said, the application and the website both do a wonderful job of first giving you information to help make your decision about deleting the software easier. Once you know what you are dealing with, you will know if you can safely remove the application without possibly making a mistake and uninstalling something you or your system may actually need.

The application is very easy to use and the best part about it is that it does not install or use any 3rd party applications to get rid of things you delete. The application will load the original uninstall software from the application you are removing. This way it is assured to get every file associated with the offending application because it is the application itself that is doing the deleting. The fact that this application does its job in such a simple yet effective manner is what makes it so great. If you couple this with a couple other great tools you will be able to keep your computer clean and running in top form for a long time.

The website is also a great place to start if you are still unsure about getting rid of things on your system. You can type any application that you find on your system into the search box and you will be presented with a bunch of information on that particular file. What else was installed with it, where it comes from and where on your system it resides. Of course you will still get the best piece of info in my opinion and that is what did other people do with it. What is so great about that piece of information is that even if you are not sure about the application or what to do with it, you can at least make a somewhat safe decision based on what thousands of others have done.

The website can be found HERE and you will find links on the home page to download their software also. That is up to you however. The application does a wonderful job of handling most of the tedious work of deleting the junk for you but if you would prefer to do it yourself you can still do that. Just utilize the web site and the information on it and you will be set to go.

Too Futuristic?

There are a lot of things that sci-fi writers have used or put into their stories that have actually ended up in present day reality. I am not just talking about devices from books but from movies and some cartoons even as well. The best example that I have that will resonate with the most people are the communication devices used in Star Trek. People often looked at these on screen and thought that it was a far-fetched idea to have something so small yet so capable that it could communicate with anybody, anywhere, and so quickly. With that said, I ask.. does that device resemble our modern day cell phones? I think so.

We often have a sort of disconnect with items that appear in stories. Because we are required to utilize our imagination so strongly in order to put the story into our minds eye it often puts ideas from those stories into a certain place within our minds. This "place" in our mind is sort of like a place where ideas are able to be understood and we can interact with our memories, but it seems that items or devices that we think of from this "place" are automatically deemed a work of fiction. This is my opinion anyway.

This being the case we need to work at moving these ideas from that place in our minds into our current reality. Take any device today that seems a bit out there. For example, the PoNS device. This is a device developed by neuro-researchers working with military patients who have suffered brain injury. The device works on a simple (yet complicated) premise. They place the device into their mouth where a plastic piece with sensors rests on the tongue. The device sends out signals and impulses through the tongue and into the brain in order to stimulate previously severed nerves and connections. The idea is that it will, over time, repair those once broken connections. Seems a bit like something from a science fiction story does it not?

Point here is this. There are often things that we read about in a story of that we see in a movie  that we automatically think, "this is too far out, it will be a very long time before we see something like that. Even then this particular device might be too much of a stretch." To be honest, in some cases it is very easy to think that. However, we must realize that there are plenty of things already out there that we might not know exists or that the research has been being done for years already. Just because society in a way dictates that something is maybe too futuristic does not mean that it is not possible. Most things today are possible, we just need to have the imagination and the drive to make them into a reality.

Lost

I put my hands down,

Cold, smooth,

I find my place in time,

Slowly, turning,

I give myself to the world,

Easy, scared,

I lost something I needed most,

Left, alone,

I no longer feel the pain,

Release, push,

I can still see what I left behind,

Give, lost,

I no longer want to try,

Forgive, cry,

I have given in, I will stay inside.

Family Requests

It is routine for me to have up to 5 conversations at once. This is the norm in my house where everything that happens, goes wrong, breaks, is cause for celebration, or just needs to be acknowledged needs to go through me. Being the filter, sounding board, firewall, and defender among other things for my family is, needless to say, very taxing on me mentally. Most of all, the multi-tasking of conversations... that is what gets to me the most. Like just now as I was preparing to come downstairs to my basement office to get some "computer-stuff" (which amounts to many variety of things) done I was bombarded with only 4 discussions this time. Each family member (my wife, 2 daughters and son) all wanted to say something, defend something, or ask for something. It took everything I had left at this point in the evening to make it past them to the stairs.

Moving past them still requires me conversing with them. There is no *avoiding* anything in this house. If it is an issue or need fixing - I am the one they call. Sometimes I should just turn away but that is difficult for me to do when I am given a request by anyone in my family. They are all my kids (and wife) after all. What kind of father would I be if I just ignored them for my own benefit? I complain, but without them (and their requests) I guess I would be nothing.

Sync Your Life!

I have written about this topic before, but it is one of those things that always bears repeating. Today it is common for people to carry with them more than one digital device. In the past, even as little as 5 years ago, the average device a person carried was one. However, it was about 5 years ago that it started to change, and now it is not strange for someone to have 2 or even 3 or 4 devices at any one time. Sure 4 might be a bit much, but I know people who have to carry them all or they will freak out!

Usually when this is the case, and someone needs to carry 2-3 devices it comes down to 2 cell phones (one personal and one strictly work) and a music device. What really gets me about this though is the fact that each one of these devices that people carry are designed and engineered to be a Jack of All Trades device. So this being the case what is it that makes people carry multiple phones and something else? Well, in some cases it is just habit and in others just technological ignorance. It drives me nuts when people ask me what type of music player to buy when I know they have an iPhone or Android phone in their pocket. I ask them, "what is the need for a dedicated music player when any cell phone on the market can do everything a music player can do?" Needless to say, they do not have an answer.

Synchronization is the key to keeping it all together in today's world. Not only with your hardware, but with your software as well. It is ideal for a person to only need one device. That one device should be able to do everything that the person will need. The only time you should need more than one piece of hardware is when switching from mobile to static. An example of what I mean is your cell phone and your desktop/laptop computer. There are still things that phones cannot do as well as your computer (believe it or not) and when that is the case you simply need to hop on the old keyboard.

There is nothing wrong in my opinion with utilizing multiple devices when it comes to your phone and your computer or your home entertainment devices. Of course, this is where the software part of syncing your life together comes in. The apps and the software that you install on your hardware should be able to simplify your life, not make it more complicated. Keep that in mind as we continue our discussion.

So how do you sync your life together? For me it is a simple solution, and there are plenty available today. I personally use Google to keep all of my "crap" together. Let me give a quick example. Next week I have a Parents meeting for a big trip my daughter's broadcasting class is going on. My wife entered the date on her Google Calendar through her phone and of course, it showed up on my phone's calendar right away. It also showed up on my Google web calendar AND my laptop Outlook calendar. I have all of these applications synchronized with one another so any changes made to one happens to all. The same is true for any other apps I might have running on my laptop or tablet even. Changes made to them are seen on my other devices too.

This makes for an easy life. When anything I do on one device appears right away on another I do not have to shuffle around looking for things that I think I lost. Makes my life a lot easier. The same can be true for anyone. Most apps worth their weight will have these features standard. There is no reason not to in today's world. You also have to consider how well these applications can keep it together when choosing what to go with. Will you use Google or some other company and their software? The choices are out there and most of them are pretty good. I personally choose Google because they have the most syncing options available and work seamlessly with all my hardware (tablets, phones, and computers).

There is no reason today why a person should have multiple devices and then have to struggle half the day keeping contacts synced from one phone to the next. The music players and options on todays phones are better than most stand-alone players and they can usually plug into a home entertainment center for louder sound and keeping your music in one place. Gone are the days of having a huge cd rack when all you need is a phone the size of a deck of playing cards.

US Air Force Has Been In Space For Some Time

Well, I bet once the Space Shuttle was retired you thought that the government had nothing going on up there. To be honest, and I try my best to follow this stuff, I had no idea. Sure, I paid attention to the private space industry. I paid close attention. I watched videos of SpaceX and their Dragon vehicle and the Grasshopper rocket as well. But to find out that the US Air Force was flying basically a drone up into orbit to carry out specific missions in space.. wow. Shocker.

Take a look at the story on Space.com. It details some of the mission and vehicle details as well as a small feature with one of the mission operators.

Space.Com Story on the Air Force x-37

China Denies Cyber Attacks

To many people it is really not a shock that China has been pointed to as the cause of the recent cyberattacks on over 140 American businesses and government buildings. It is also not a shock that China has denied having anything to do with the attacks. In a recent report put together by their defense ministry they basically gave this as a defense: "There has been no clear internationally agreed definition for 'cyber attacks',". Basically they are saying that they are not the responsible party only because we cannot say what the clear definition of the attacks would be and because of that we cannot say that it was them doing it, because we don't know what "it" is.

They must take us for idiots. Apparently there have been hundred of terabytes stolen in the attacks. That is a lot of data. A terabyte is 1,000 gigabytes, and we all know how much data we can store in 1 gig. It is ridiculous that China has responded in such a way and I really hope that as a country the United States does something to either clear this up and get to the truth, or punish the Chinese in some way. I do not have all the answers but it does not take a Harvard Professor to see that we are being treated like the playground victim here.

Golden Spike Aims For Moon

A company called Golden Spike is looking to use crowdfunding to get to the moon. They have posted their dream project to indiegogo in the hopes of getting the $250,000 plus they will need. Sure it is a lofty goal but it appears that there are plenty of people that want to get involved, and why not? Everyone wants their opportunity to get off planet Earth and a trip to the moon is perfect.

So why all the hype? That is simple, because there is more to the whole space exploration idea than the news media or anyone else gives credence to. People have wanted to get off of this rock for a very long time. The last 50 years of sci-fi popularity just goes to show that there is a vast interest in space. Furthermore, if you were to ask people, intelligent people, what their thoughts on sentient life in the cosmos are I would bet that most if not all of them would lean towards the fact that it is out there. Somewhere.

I'm always going to be the first to say that we need to spend more money on furthering our space technology as well as putting more missions together for the exploration of space and our Solar System. However, I am also the first to admit that right now we have more important things going on right here at home. We have a lot of poverty and people in the U.S. who could use the 1 billion dollars plus that a single mission to the moon would cost. As a matter of fact if we even used the money from every other moon mission to fund the homeless and unemployed I would think that we could put a large dent into those problems, if not solve them.

We need to move forward as a species and that cannot be done until we realize that there is more out there for us. Once we do that, fix our issues at home, then maybe we can finally move beyond our initial place of residence.

Hotmail Will Be Replaced By Outlook.com

Online email is big business. Well, at least it is for the big companies like Google and Microsoft. Speaking of which, Microsoft is looking to take a bite out of Google's share of the email market with the launch of Outlook.com. Microsoft has forever operated Hotmail as their free email offering and for a long time it was pretty popular. I had a Hotmail account once.. once.

Of course I dropped Hotmail a long time ago and now use Google. As a matter of fact, I use Google for most everything today. It gives me a self-perceived advantage to have all of my data on one service. Especially a service as robust as Google. Yes, I said robust - because it is. Have you taken a look at all the various things, data, and options your Google page gives you? If you have not, then you should. Back to email.

Outlook.com is hoping to take away from Google's reported 425 million users. Yahoo comes in at 293 million and Hotmail (Soon to be converted to Outlook) comes in at a measly 267 million. Well, I wouldn't call that measly, I would be happy to have that many customers for anything each paying me a penny for a service. I would be rich!

Either way we will have to wait and see how well Microsoft does with this new venture. I do not anticipate them hurting Google all that much but I do think this will be a good move for them and could revitalize their worn-down Hotmail service. So all-in-all this is a good move by Microsoft which is seen by many to be the old man standing on the popular corner with the young guys (Google, Yahoo, and Apple). Well.. actually I would equate Apple with a 30-something to Google and Yahoo's 20-something.

Daily News

As most blogs are based on the writer jotting down his or her opinion about a topic, why should this one be any different? Of course we all have our own specialized added bonuses. For instance, I plan on adding my published stories as they are produced. I have one in the works right now. I also include various articles and information on the area of my technical expertise, computers. However, I am now starting a new line of writing that will not only help to refine some of my skills, but will also do a couple other things for DBD that will hopefully improve our page rank among other things.

I will be spending a couple hours a day posting quick little articles on the various new stories of the day. Of course these will be picked based off what I see on the sites that I frequent daily. But it will also be based of my personal interests or what I see as a possibly interesting story. This is, of course, not too far off from any other blog writing articles based on personal opinion. There will be a strong focus on the topics that I typically write about so if you are a follower already, you can be sure that the topics will remain right up your alley. Enjoy!

Conforming to Individuality

Makers Mark. Consumer outrage. Social media. When you put all of these things together what do you get? Well, nothing really, but in today's society you can get change. It seems that people have really taken to social media to try and make changes. Are the days of the physical protest gone? Walking down the street with picket signs? Maybe. Social media and society's attention to it has changed the landscape. People (in number) can get the word out much more effectively today if the utilize the Internet. Remember Wisconsin a couple years back? Remember when they were protesting the disbanding of unions and they actually had Wisconsin government official leaving the state so they could delay a vote? That was a good one!

People today have changed. We have become an extension of our electronic selves. In many ways this could be a good thing. Providing we do not allow this to kill who we are or keep us from participating in things that we like and not just what they like. This is the biggest issue that I see coming out of all the social media hype. Conformity.

I spent most of my working career as a manager of one kind or another, for one company or another, and of varying sizes of groups. I learned a great deal about people during those years and one thing that sticks out in my memory is that people want to be lead. The majority of people do not want to be a leader. The majority of people want someone to take control and show them what to do. Sure, this does not apply to 100% of the people out there but most. This is where social media stands to cause trouble. Since people are more apt to follow, it stands to reason that they will do just that when a popular "movement" appears on their Facebook page asking for them to join.

So is this how some of these massive social media protests get so many followers? I'm sure that a large number of them join in this way. They might have no knowledge of what the organizers are protesting nor do they really care. All they know is that they are "in" with the rest of the crowd and that makes them feel part of something. But are they? Can you really say that you are a part of something if you just clicked a "JOIN" button on some webpage because a friend sent you a link on Facebook? I think not.

It is for reasons like this that most of the so-called online protests or social media protests should almost be taken with a grain of salt. Recently much hype was made about a Twitter "gathering" that coincided with the protest of the Keystone XL pipeline on the National Mall when 35,000 plus people showed up to protest. But you have to ask yourself, how many of the people on Twitter, Facebook, or any other social media outlet are just your typical, run-of-the-mill "followers"?

Conformity has been a part of our society forever. Although it has its stigmas it is not always a bad thing to conform to what society is doing or what society wants. You have to make your own decisions and your own choices. If you can do that and they happen to be in line with what the rest of society wants then so be it. You can still be an individual by conforming so long as the choices you make are your own.

Content

Blogger does not now and never did offer a blogger too many options as far as what one can do with their blog/site. Sure, if you are creative and have an understanding of HTML or other web design code you may be able to put together something other than what Blogger typically offers. But why? Who has the time to make all the necessary changes and adjustments to a Blogger site when all of that talent and energy can be better utilized elsewhere? Like on another site hosted by another service.. such as Wordpress. Well, WP is not the nest example because they are essentially just a beefed up version of Blogger.

Either way.. I guess this is just my internal justification as to why this site does not now and most likely never will be super flashy. Who has the time? I certainly don't. The content is the reason why this blog exists anyway. And the content is why people come and it is the content that I would rather spend my time and energy on. Wouldn't you?

Stay At Home Dads

When I made a couple changes to my blog about a year ago one of the things that I added was a focus on writing about being a Stay At Home Dad. I did it for a bit but it seemed that more often than not I was just writing about other things. Regardless, I still feel that the Stay At Home Dad is a powerful thing in our society today. Especially with the way things have been changing lately, the ability for a family to adapt is important.

My wife and I did it a couple years ago when I lost my job as a painter. In a way it was just fine with me because I was tried anyway. What? Did I think I was getting a break? Yeah Right! To be honest, the world was ready to accept me, Mr. Mom... but I wasn't ready to accept me. It is hard at first for a guy to accept the fact that not only is he not out in the world working hard and getting dirty to earn a buck; but instead I am at home, washing dishes, washing clothes, making beds, dusting, and cleaning the floor. Among many, many other things.

And I have to say it again, even though I am positive it has been said multiple times already. Women deserve a huge pat on the back for all they did while we were at work! I already had a pretty good idea what housework was before all of this. My wife and I have a pretty even relationship when it comes to taking care of household duties. We share a lot. I thought at first that would prepare me for taking it all over at 100% - boy was I wrong! The best way that I can describe it in terms that most men will understand is like this.

You know when you haven't done a physical job for a while, or you work all summer and are off for the winter (you know a season gig) then come spring it's time to get back at it? So when you first start working you hit it hard and get right back into the swing of things - right where you left off. But... and yea.. here it comes.. but.. after that first week of getting back to work. After that first week of putting your body through the physical hell that it was used to before.. your body was used to it before you sat around all winter soaking up the chips and salsa. But now your back to work and you weren't ready and your body is telling you just that. So after week number one you are laying in bed on Saturday and you cannot move no matter what comes rolling through. A freaking tornado couldn't get you out of bed. That is what it feels like to take on a woman/mother's role in a household.

It has been a while since that first couple of weeks that I took over for my wife at home. Things have calmed down immensely but that does not mean that things are not difficult. Life is hard as hell. It is hard as hell and I plan on telling you all about it. Again. Yes.. I will start a new section all about the stay at home Dad. See how the roller coaster goes up and down? I move from my Diverse By Design domain back to blogger where it all started and now I am bringing back old topics and features. I might also start including some of my story writing. I am currently working on getting a short story published in a weekly magazine. I'm just about done with it too. I just might include a story section too, why not.

The stay at home Dad is not going away. The economy has forced too many changes within our society and whoever can get work needs to take it. If that means the woman becomes the main breadwinner forcing the man to stay at home to care for the kids then so be it. Today there is nothing wrong with that at all. Matter of fact there are many couples that choose this route. They do not let life force them into such a change. I will try to speak with a couple of them someday soon and see what they have to say about society and how it has affected their way of life. If at all.

There is a lot going on around the DBD blog these days. I'm most excited about the short story I have coming out soon but there is much more than just that. It is going to be a busy month here. I look forward to hearing from some of you soon as well. Tomorrow I will be replacing the DBD Computer Service Link for those who wish to utilize our services. Of course this is for the local crowd only. OK ladies and gents. Time for me to go watch a movie with the wife and kids. I will catch you all on the flipside!

Grammys and Music - Everything Changes

So as is my standard posting schedule, subject matter, ideas, so on and so forth, I have a few things that I focus on and the rest is shall we say... "fair game". So at the moment I will take on The Grammys. Actually, to be a bit more precise, the music of today.

I will not (I can not) review the Grammys as a comparison to the shows of previous years. There is a simple reason for this, I have not watched an entire show before. After all we have to remember, this is a show that has some awards thrown in. Not that there is anything wrong with that. There is entertainment value in almost everything these days and music is at the core of entertainment. As a result, the awards ceremony in the music industry needs to have flair and excitement. It needs to wow it's crowds. I don't mean the fans watching from home. They need to wow their peers. The fellow entertainers sitting in the audience. They need to be in awe of what they see being presented. That is hard to do every year. As I stated earlier, I cannot speak to previous years, but I think this year... they did just that.

Ratings-wise the Grammys have historically been good for CBS. According to TV By The Numbers the show has averaged around 26 million viewers for the last 3 years (not including ratings numbers from 2012). I did not include the 2012 show in those averages because there was an unusually high viewership last year due to the death of pop star Whitney Houston. The show had around 40 million viewers last year. So what did the show do last night? Well, last night the Grammys got about 28 million viewers which is right in line with what they have been and just a tad higher. So it is safe to say that CBS was happy with the results of the shows viewers.

Of course, that means almost nothing to the average person like you or I. Either way, I still think it is interesting data to discuss. But we wont do it here or today. The Grammys is an awards show that if you ask me does it right. There are plenty of awards shows out there, big and small, that do things drastically wrong. However, the Grammys do it very right, and I will give you the one reason that I say this.

The Grammys are a hit because of the musical pairings they give fans and have over the years. They put classics together on stage with newcomers. Old with young, male with female, rap with rock, they will put it all on stage and the best part about all of it? The fans want to see it. In addition to the historical pairings and duets they put together, the tributes they produce really do the original performers justice. They pay homage to their heroes, icons, and idols and they do it well.

Take for instance last nights tribute to Bob Marley. Bruno Mars and Sting performed for a bit and the Ziggy and Damien Marley joined them on stage. It was truly a magical performance. I am not a Bruno Mars fan either. I have heard a couple of his songs, but I can't say that I like them. However, last night his renditions of Marley's tunes was amazing. He really did all the Rasta proud!

So what about the music? Well aside from the show aspect of the Grammys we have the music itself. Music is a wonderful thing. It truly is. It can be a form of communication, entertainment, relaxation, medicinal therapy.. music is really universal. But what has happened to music over the years is mostly evolution.

Many people will say or have said (myself included), "What has happened to the music today?" The answer is.. Nothing! Well, nothing out of the ordinary anyway. Music goes through it's changes and evolutionary periods much like anything biological would. Of course music is not a biological organism but in this way it certainly can act like one. In the earliest days of humanity music (whatever there was of it) was most likely just a collection of odd sounds that sounded pleasing to the person making the sounds. In some ways this definition could be also used to describe some music today - 2013.

Over many eons, music has changed, formed, changed again, stayed stagnant, had a revolution, changed again, etc.. there is no set pattern to any of it. Music changes along with the society that develops the music. As we change so does the music. So if someone was to really think about that question asked earlier, "What has happened to the music today?" You could in a sense say that nothing has happened to the music, but commercialization has taken shape around it.

Yes. This is a new term I am introducing to fray. Commercialization can be described in two ways when you are discussing it and music. In its most peaceful form ways for people to make money from the music. Now in another more drastic and dangerous way it can be said as changing the music in order to make money from it. See the difference? There are those who will do both through various periods in their career in music. But most times money will control all of it. That is what happened to the music today.

So let's consider what we figured out. The Grammys were a hit last night and if they continue with their current formula I don't see any reason why they wont be successful for years to come. The historical pairings are just that.. historical. If you choose not to watch for whatever reason that's fine. But you will be missing out on some of the best performances of our time. Music itself also has a history all its own. Even though it follows the society that it comes from, don't mistake it for conformity. Music by its very nature is rebellious in form and sometimes function. Regardless, it is always entertaining and that is both its advantage as well as its disadvantage. People will always try to make money and entertainment is a great money-maker. When music is the entertainment we have to be careful.. what if anything is going to change?

Ignorance - Part 1

Being that this is my first article on what will be an on-going series, I may have this one posted in multiple locations.

Ignorance is defined as the state or fact of being ignorant : lack of knowledge, education, or awareness. 

The very last word in the definition, awareness, this is what strikes me as the most common indicator of ignorance. In a way, ignorance can almost be seen as a thing. Although it is usually used as an adjective or a way to describe someone, I often see it as a state of being. Only because to me, most people seem to be lost in such a state.

We must be careful however when we are out to claim someone as being an ignorant person. The reason for this is because ignorance can be closely related to arrogance. These two traits share a prominent place in a persons psyche. You can often see one or the other on display in most any situation that require the individual to be either in charge of a situation or within a group of others while trying to stand out.

The problem with ignorance is that it is everywhere. I have a saying, and I use it quite often. The saying goes..

The entire world is filled with idiots and common sense is becoming increasingly rare.

I suppose it is more of a statement as opposed to a saying or a phrase to be quoted. But my point remains, and before you (or anyone else) jumps on board the let's bash Tony for being an arrogant fool himself, consider something first. When was the last time that you could talk to 5 strangers and have the majority of them exhibit more than one brain cell?

Wrong

When things do not go the way they are expected to go, it can make it even more difficult for anything to go right after that. This is not only a problem for me, but for many people everywhere. 

#Consiracy?

Conspiracy theorists. Or maybe just, a conspiracy theory. The definition of the conspiracy theory is the belief that some covert but influential organization is responsible for some unexplained event.

Personally I think that definition is a bit overdone. Reason being, in today's world it does not take much to be a covert organization. At the very least, technically being a covert organization could be a label placed on many organizations today. Now let's look at the nature of what a conspiracy theory is at its heart, and give it my personal definition. It is a theory or a description of an idea of something that has taken place or will take place due to a series of events occurring in a specific order to achieve a certain result, often to fulfill the goal or objective of someone else. And actually, the whole specific order thing can even be removed from the equation and my new definition would still hold true.

Using the above description (of either definition) you could place almost anything or any event into a scenario theory and it would fit. Let's try it. The hostage crisis that recently took place with the old man and the 3rd grade kid that was taken. Thankfully it all eventually ended up with the child being safely rescued. But looking at the entire situation could someone have come out and said that the old man was mentally ill because of something that was done to him during his time as a soldier during World War 2? Sure.. someone could say that. Would that make it true? Certainly not. However, this would not stop someone from claiming this and it would also not stop people from wondering, just how close that story was to the truth.

Could all of this be gibberish? Well of course it could. My suggestions are just the same as anyone else's.. just another attempt at a conspiracy.

When My New Year Starts

When does the new year start for you? Is it when the Ball drops in New York? Or maybe when you and your friends count-down the seconds at a party? No matter how you do it, there are millions of people out there who all have their own way of starting off the new year.

For me the new year does not start until after the Super Bowl. Once the big game has ended and we have crowned a victor, the next day - that following Monday is the first day of the new year for me. This is when I can safely say that the previous year has ended and I can start to move on with all of my projects, and other various "to-do lists" that are slated for the new year. In this case, 2013!

Of course everyone has their own ways to start the year. Superstitions, resolutions, bad or good omens, there are a myriad of ways for people to say it will be a good or a bad year for them and the world. I do not put much into these various "things" however I am not all that thrilled about the fact that I have lost my cell phone a few hours before the game. So I am starting off the new year on a sour note. Of course, I could always be the glass half full guy and say that this is not a lost phone, but rather an opportunity for me to upgrade to the phone I really want. I think I will choose to look at it that way. Then again.. it is going to suck going a couple days without a cell phone. Especially since we have all gotten so attached to them, me included.

So.. even though this has been done, and over-done about a month ago... I'm going to say it again because for me today is the first day of 2013...

HAPPY NEW YEAR

Attack on US Embassy in Turkey

So you have an explosion in Turkey at the US Embassy. Here is the thing, a terrorist group has come out and claimed responsibility for the attack. On a website that is supposedly "close" to the group the following was posted:

'Our warrior Alisan Sanli carried out an act of self sacrifice on Feb 1, 2013 by entering the Ankara embassy of the United States, murderers of the people of the world" (Reuters 2013)

So here is the thing though, if we are the so-called murderers of the people of the world then why are these groups killing people? Take a guess at who actually died in the attack... give up? Well.. this rocket scientist ended up killing a Turkish security guard and critically wounded a journalist. And on the website close to the group (according to Reuters) they are proud of the attack and are praising the guy who did it like he was a hero. A hero? For what, killing his own people? I guess this is why the United States is a superpower and Turkey is.. well... turkey.

'Nuff  said.

Say it aint so Ray

With the Super Bowl fast approaching I can't help but think about Ray Lewis. I'm sure there are a lot of people thinking about Mr. Lewis in one way or another this week. Ray Lewis is getting set to play in the biggest game of his career an d his life. It will be the last game of professional football that he will ever play and the last time that he will play a game representing the Baltimore Ravens. He carries along with him his team. A group of men that all have hopes and dreams. A group of men who have all worked very hard to get where they are. Who sacrificed various things in life in order to put themselves into a position to win the most coveted trophy in sports. Let's not kid ourselves however folks, there is a lot more surrounding Ray Lewis than just the football game on Sunday and the teammates that he will lead into that game. Let's not forget that Ray Lewis was a part of a situation that took the lives of two young men in 2000.


As the anniversary of that infamous date approached and Ray Lewis announced his retirement from the NFL,  news agencies around the country ran stories that highlighted the fact that Ray Lewis was not only involved in the incident but was also a prime suspect. It then became hard for many to discuss the fact that Lewis would be a first ballot Hall of Fame candidate at the same time that he is being talked about as someone who got away with murder.

When people are being considered for a position or if someone is a candidate for a position and they are being voted on by others, no matter what the scenario the one trait that we always look at is a persons character. A person's character is what tells the entire world what kind of person you are. This also comes into play when you are friends with someone. So what kind of friend is Ray Lewis? Well, he did accept a plea deal from prosecutors during the murder trial to testify against his two friends and co-defendants.

According to the way our justice system works here in the U.S. Ray Lewis was not charged with murder after working out his plea-bargain, only with obstructing justice. His two friends on the other hand were charged with murder. So I have to wonder what kind of friend Ray Lewis is and furthermore what type of character is he? Look at it like this; Ray Lewis and his two friends were charged with murdering two other gentlemen during a fight outside a bar. After about a week of discussions leading into and then during the trial, the announcement is made that Ray Lewis is no longer being charged with murder, but the other two gentlemen are. A bit narcissistic don't you think?

In the end of the saga both men were acquitted and no one was found to be guilty of the murders of Jacinth Baker and Richard Lollar. Only Ray Lewis was found to guilty of anything, and that was obstructing justice because he admitted he lied to police. In the court of public opinion the evidence that comes from the scene is enough to put Lewis IN the fight while he claims he was only NEAR the fight and came into it after the fact and only then to try and stop it.

None of us will ever know what happened that night. Who started the fight, who was involved, and who ultimately ended it. But  Ray Lewis did come to an obviously undisclosed settlement with the then 4 year old daughter of the late Richard Lollar as well as with Baker's family. This was done on his part to help him avid a civil suit that was undoubtedly being prepared. Lucky for Mr. Lewis that he has the money for something like this.

So why would I write a story like this? There is not question that this is certainly not the type of story that I typically write. Of course, I do occasionally post sports-related articles when the mood strikes me, however this one is a little bit different of course considering the content. I guess for lack of  better explanation, I am really not all that fond of Ray Lewis. With the Super Bowl right around the corner I have been hearing his name more than I would like to and it just made me think about the past and what happened in 2000.

I am not one to typically go out and aim my discord at any one individual, unless of course it is justified. In this case I believe it so. Every time I see him running off the field after a football game he always has the guy running with him. I don't know if it is his bodyguard or a friend. Regardless, the guy is with him after every game. So this begs the question; why does Ray Lewis get to have a "special" person on the field with him? Would it be allowable for say, Frank Gore or Patrick Willis to have a similar "friend" follow them around during the post game handshakes and festivities? I highly doubt the NFL or anyone for that matter would want the players to bring their entourage however small with them on the field. So why is it ok for Ray?

There are various reasons that I do not like Mr. Lewis as a public figure. I do not know him personally so I cannot, out of respect for the way the world should work, say whether I like him personally or not. Regardless, he will play in the Super Bowl on Sunday and the entire world will be watching as he comes away a winner or a loser and walks away into the sunset (bodyguard in tow). They will all be talking about his historic 17 year career. They will talk about his sacks, tackles, MVP awards, and Super Bowl Rings. But none of them will be talking about the two gentlemen who were killed in 2000 during an altercation that undoubtedly had something to do with Ray Lewis's presence. It might be a huge stretch and something that I should not speculate, but I would venture to say that if Ray Lewis was NOT at that party that night, those two kids would still be alive and living their lives.

Again, it might be unfair of me to say that Ray Lewis should not have been there that night because who could truly say if him being there is enough of a reason. However, two people are dead while he enjoys the accolades of his long career and all the money, fame, and love that it has brought him. What about the love that Lollar and Baker can never experience or the contributions they might have made? I am taking this too far and maybe placing too much of the blame on one person when there were 3 people involved. I'm sorry, but Ray is a public figure so it is just easier to pin point him. I just hope that somewhere and at some point during the celebration that he might have depending on the outcome, that at some point he will remember the two kids who are no longer with us.

Change

We all go through life in phases. We could call it whatever we want to call it, but no matter how you look at it our life is a collection of these phases. For some people these phases or changes take place because of something else happening in that persons life dictates it be so. For others these changes just seem to happen. Regardless of the how or the why the fact still remains that these life changes take place.

A long time ago my father (RIP) told me that every 7 years people go through some sort of change in life as he called it. At the time, as most kids do, I thought he was full of it and put what he said in the back of my mind. As I got older, got married, had children of my own and started examining what my life had become it was easy for me to see that my father was right.

Now of course this idea of a 7 year change is not something that is new or revolutionary. At the time that my father told me about this there was no Internet or anything. This was purely something in his head and something that he wanted to pass on to his son. Now that I look back on it as well as looking into the idea itself, it is easy for me to see that there is more to this than just some old folklore. Our bodies and our minds do certainly evolve throughout our lifetime and it just so happens that around every 7 years the cycle restarts.

So we all go through phases. We all experience life in a way that is personal to us. Either way these are all part of being who we are. I myself, I have gone through many changes and most recently I have started making changes that will improve my life. This is different from changes I have made in the past. I have finally realized that the things I am doing were basically taking years off of my life so I put a stop to them.

The biggest change that I have made is to have quit smoking. I have been a smoker for about 24 years and at no point during that time have I been able to quit for anything close to 24 hours. I have currently been smoke free for going on a month! In 3 days it will be 4 weeks. This is a change that I have made to improve my life and increase rather than decrease my lifespan.

So what is  the point of all this and why am I writing about it? The point is that we all make changes. It is natural for things within our lives to alter the path they are on. It is natural for us to change the way we do things so we can see a direct result of that change. In many cases people do not like change because it takes them away from what is comfortable. Change brings about work. Having to work in order to adjust to the way things have changed. I think it is safe to assume that most people are not too fond of having to work at something just because a change occurred and now the adjustment needs to be made in order to get "back on track".

Our lives are all about change. When we are born we change the way we breathe and eat almost immediately. As we grow we learn new things and we change in order to adjust to the new things that we have learned. Change is natural and the sooner we can understand the changes that are happening in our lives the sooner we can adjust and get on board. Life becomes easier after we have adjusted to a change. If something is not working we can make a change to correct it and bring it back to a functioning state of being. Change is what brings us closer to completion.