Why covering Wireless Networks just became fun again…

I admit it… I follow Wireless Network Carriers with a passion.  But until this week, following the carriers was getting a little boring.  We knew how the players operated for the most part.  AT&T and Verizon were the biggest fishes in the pond being the two children directly linked with old Ma Bell, Sprint was the disruptive force trying to innovate, and T-Mobile was… well, we couldn’t make heads or tails of what they were trying to do.

Well, over the past year, T-Mobile’s executives tried to change those perceptions with a number of move meant to shake up the other 3 Tier 1 U.S. providers.  First, T-Mobile’s merger with Metro PCS and their subsequent launch of their own LTE network suddenly gave T-Mobile a critical foothold in the 4G battle raging across the country.  Then the new strategy of eliminating 2-year contracts and international roaming charges shook up the industry as T-Mobile sought to re-brand itself as the “Un-Carrier”.  But this week, T-Mobile’s Maverick CEO, John Legere, and CTO, Neville Ray, came out swinging at wireless rivals with a combative presence & presentation at CES2014 in Las Vegas.

First, Legere found a way to crash AT&T’s CES Party just so he could see Macklemore, and got thrown out, making huge headlines.  Then, on the stage at CES, Neville Ray went medieval on Sprint’s Dan Hesse, calling Sprint’s Network Vision’s Upgrade a “Sh!tstorm”, taunting Sprint’s slow LTE speeds, and saying Sprint is unwilling to sell Spark products, calling it a Treasure Hunt.  Then Legere continued the assault on Sprint while turning his attention to the company that threw him out of its party.  Legere claims that T-Mobile’s LTE Network is now the Fastest Network in the US (not AT&T), and that Government tests prove it.  He also took aim at AT&T’s plan to get T-Mobile’s customers to switch to AT&T by promising to pay for all charges customers would incur to break their contracts with the other Big 3 companies, up to $650.  In short, T-Mobile with their presentation, became the big attraction at CES.

Not bad for a company that 3 years ago was almost taken over by AT&T and now faces a possible take-over by Sprint.  Legere seems unconvinced that Sprint is a force, calling it basically spectrum that is waiting to be used.  Those words, and the words of Neville Ray may come back to haunt T-Mobile if Japan’s Softbank works out an agreement with T-Mobile’s parent company, Deutsche Telekom, to buy its US affiliate.  But for now, T-Mobile, is flying high, adding customers, and adding valuable spectrum through spectrum swaps with Verizon Wireless.

Can T-Mobile keep up the pace?  It’s not clear, but Legere and the rest of T-Mobile appear to be wanting to be a disruptive force. This could get interesting…

Same-sex marriage & the church collide at the Rose Parade…

Anyone who knows me knows how much I love the Tournament of Roses Parade every New Years’ Day in Pasadena, CA.  I had the distinct honor & privilege of decorating floats & attending the Rose Parade 10 years ago.  It just made me appreciate something I grew up watching as a kid.

This year, there was some controversy at the Rose Parade.  For just the third time in Parade History, a Wedding would take place at the Parade.  But, this Wedding was also the first same-sex Wedding that would occur, which is now legal in the state of California.  So, something that was largely considered taboo among society 45 years ago, would take center stage on New Years’ Day morning with millions watching on TV and in person.

As far as I was concerned, I hold a largely neutral position on same-sex marriage.  I don’t believe in it myself, but I will not openly oppose it, either.  As I had stated before, my Snellville friends have helped turned the tide in this argument showing a more positive light on same-sex marriage as opposed to the “I will make you like it” tactics of several of my Valparaiso friends.  So, seeing this happen today was likely to be more of a shrug than anything else… UNTIL I found out who was going to be immediately behind them.  That’s right, the Lutheran Layman's League, a participant of the parade for over 60 years, and something that my family and I have affiliated with since the Walther League days through several retreats up at Camp Arcadia in Michigan was the initial choice to be behind the Same-Sex Wedding Float in the latter stages of the Parade.

You can’t tell me that order choice was random.  The Rose Parade Committee knew EXACTLY what they were doing when they scheduled the two floats back-to-back at the Parade.  The Rose Parade Committee cannot be foolish enough to not know that the LLL is largely supported by the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod, which is currently opposed as a denomination to same-sex marriage (while the rival ELCA Lutheran denomination is embracing it fully).  This move had all the subtleness of a jackhammer.

At the same time, the Lutheran Layman's League has supplied the Rose Parade with something that helps several floats get completed in time: person-power.  Up to 5000 volunteers from Lutheran Churches in Southern California and across the country, known as the “Petal Pushers”, have helped decorate the floats for decades.  In exchange, the Float builders at the Phoenix Float Design Company help keep the float cost for the LLL Float at 1980s levels, and they even discount the float cost for every float the Petal Pushers finish in time for judging.  It is the reason the Lutheran Layman's League continues to appear at the Rose Parade every year.

So the stage was set for a potentially explosive situation along the 5.5 mile parade route.  But something happened as both floats appeared to get ready to be sent off.  For one thing, the parade was taking longer than expected.  When the floats were scheduled to go off at 12:45 pm EST (9:45 am Pasadena time), they were 6 units behind.  What happened next is unknown except to parade organizers.  The parade officials may have realized that the same-sex wedding float may not have made it to the starting blocks in time to receive TV attention.  Or they may have gotten some angry Social Media responses from people who realized what they were up to scheduling the two floats in the manner that they did.  Whatever the case, the Parade committee moved the same-sex Wedding float up one unit ahead of a marching band, giving the two floats just enough space.  In addition, the Rose Parade committee awarded the LLL float with the Princess Trophy, a major award for small floats.

And then the kicker happened.  While HGTV and KTLA covered both floats in particular, thanks to their commercial-free coverages, NBC & ABC decided to largely ignore both floats.  NBC covered the same-sex float without mentioning that a wedding was taking place on it.  ABC went to commercial break right before the wedding float appeared.  Neither NBC or ABC covered the LLL float, but that is standard operating procedure many years, so it was not that big of a loss.

At the end of the day, the LLL will return next year with their volunteers.  As for the other float sponsor, the AIDS Healthcare Foundation?  Whether they return next year is unknown and I really don’t care.  But on this day, my Christian denomination was a winner just by witnessing to people who just wanted to see pretty organic-covered floats… just as they have for many years before and hopefully for many years to come.  I’ll still watch the Parade as long as the Lutheran Layman's League continues to participate.

Playing the “Gotcha” game…

Let’s face it… We all have people or things in life we hate… and sometimes we want to take someone or something down a notch for whatever grievance we have against a particular person or things.  Political correctness is the manifestation of this “gotcha” game.

Both Liberal and Conservative People alike love to play this game.  Liberals play the game as a means to balance the world and promote fairness, justice, and equality for any reason.  In doing so, they also hope to elevate themselves in the subconscious of the masses.  At the same time it is a means to destroy people or things whose lifestyles or choices they despise.  It could be Paula Deen, Hank Williams Jr., or Phil Robertson.  All they have to do is find that weak link in the persona (whether it’s about race, creed, sexual orientation, etc.), twist it just a little bit, and BAM!   A career is damaged, a particular diversity group is elevated, and Liberals can feel good about themselves.

But Conservatives also play the “Gotcha” Game and play it just as well.  For Conservatives, their motivation is more of the “Expose the Liberal Hypocrites” who promote fairness, equality, and that everyone should love each other—except conservatives, and then they can call them every expletive and vile word in the book.  Martin Bashir, Alec Baldwin, and Bill Maher are just some examples of people who Conservatives believe show this double-standard.  Taking people down who willing to pass judgment without looking in a mirror themselves provides a certain level of justice in their eyes.

This game will continue because both sides feel that the scales need to be balanced in their favor.  Neither side will ever call the gotcha game and the back and forth will continue forever—which is sad because no one really wins in the long run in the gotcha game.  Whether it divine providence or just plain “Karma”, those who point the finger will eventually get paid back—in spades.  It may not happen immediately, next week, next month, next year, or next decade.  But the forces of the Universe always find a way to square the accounts of each and every being—one way or another, whether in this world or the next.

Just remember… while you are verbally chastising a star of “Duck Dynasty”, an msnbc host, or a Government Agency now, one day you will take your turn being the human pinata.  And then maybe you’ll understand that old phrase:  “When you point a finger at someone, three fingers are always pointing back at you.”

Just something to think about in this season of Hope and Wonder…

Tale of the Tape - Ohio State/Michigan vs. Alabama/Auburn

(stolen from and with apologies to Nick Bakay)
Everybody knows that the greatest College Football Rivalry of all time is Army/Navy and it will be as long as there is a United States.  But what is the greatest current rivalry in College Football?  Is it Ohio State/Michigan or Alabama/Auburn?  To find out, I put together a list of 21 different factors to determine which rivalry is better.  Each category will be rated either Ohio State/Michigan is better, Alabama/Auburn is better, or push with an explanation as optional.  Here we go...

1.  ALTERNATE NAME FOR RIVALRY GAME - OHIO STATE/MICHIGAN: "The Game"; ALABAMA/AUBURN: "The Iron Bowl".  ADVANTAGE: Alabama/Auburn. Most Americans know "The Game" is the title of the Harvard/Yale Rivalry Game, not Ohio State/Michigan.
2.  CONFERENCE - OHIO STATE/MICHIGAN: Big Ten; ALABAMA/AUBURN: SEC.  ADVANTAGE: Alabama/Auburn.
3.  VENUES - OHIO STATE/MICHIGAN: The Horseshoe & Ann Arbor; ALABAMA/AUBURN: Tuscaloosa & The Plains. ADVANTAGE: Ohio State/Michigan. Michigan Stadium seats over 113,000. Nuff said.
4.  NATIONAL TITLES - OHIO STATE/MICHIGAN: Combined for 30, but just 8 in Poll Era. ALABAMA/AUBURN: Combined for 24, but 12 in Poll Era.  ADVANTAGE: Push.
5.  HEISMAN TROPHY WINNERS - OHIO STATE/MICHIGAN: 10 (Archie Griffin counts twice); ALABAMA/AUBURN: 4.  ADVANTAGE:  Ohio State/Michigan.
6.  ICONIC COACHES - OHIO STATE/MICHIGAN: "Woody" & "Bo"; ALABAMA/AUBURN: "Bear" & "Shug".  ADVANTAGE: Alabama/Auburn.  Bo was the only coach of the four who didn't win a National Title.
7.  ICONIC PLAYERS - OHIO STATE/MICHIGAN: Archie Griffin and Tom Brady; ALABAMA/AUBURN: Joe Namath & "Bo" Jackson.  ADVANTAGE: Push.  Brady may have more Super Bowl Rings and Archie is the only player to win back-to-back Heismans, but Joe Namath won the biggest game in Super Bowl history under the bright lights of New York City and Bo in his prime will never be replicated on the football field or the baseball diamond.
8.  MODERN ICONIC MOMENT IN RIVALRY - OHIO STATE/MICHIGAN: "Hellooooooo Heisman!" (Desmond Howard in 1991); ALABAMA/AUBURN: "Bo Over the Top" (Bo Jackson in 1982).  ADVANTAGE: Ohio State/Michigan. The Heisman pose was brilliant in its execution.
9.  BANDS & ITS SONGS - OHIO STATE/MICHIGAN: "Script Ohio" & "Hail to the Victors"; ALABAMA/AUBURN: "Rammer Jammer" & "War Eagle" ADVANTAGE:  Ohio State/Michigan.  2 bonus points because Ohio State is the best band in the land and because of Script Ohio.
10. CHANTS - OHIO STATE/MICHIGAN: "O-H! I-O!" & "Go Big Blue!"; ALABAMA/AUBURN: "Roll Tide!" & "War Eagle!". ADVANTAGE: Alabama/Auburn. Any time you can add cuss words into the middle of the chant and it works is a bonus.
11. DOCUMENTARY - OHIO STATE/MICHIGAN: "The Rivalry" on HBO, narrated by Liev Schreiber; ALABAMA/AUBURN: "Roll Tide/War Eagle" as part of ESPN's 30 for 30 documentary series, narrated by Wright Thompson.  ADVANTAGE: Slight edge to Alabama/Auburn. If you have never heard Wright Thompson narrate a documentary, you are missing out. Wright Thompson is just as good of a narrator as Liev Schreiber is.  And Ohio State/Michigan's documentary was a little too Sunday School to be on HBO.  Jim McKay's Documentary is the only documentary on HBO that is allowed to be TV-PG.  Got it, Buckeyes & Wolverines?
12. TRADITIONAL BOWLS PLAYED FOR - OHIO STATE/MICHIGAN: The Rose Bowl; ALABAMA/AUBURN: The Sugar Bowl. ADVANTAGE: Ohio State/Michigan.  Pasadena is generally awesome in January.
13. GOLDEN AGE OF RIVALRY - OHIO STATE/MICHIGAN: "The 10-Year War"; ALABAMA/AUBURN: 2009 & 2010. ADVANTAGE: Alabama/Auburn. Little-known fact: During "The 10-Year War", Alabama won at least a share of more National Titles (2) than Ohio State & Michigan combined (1).
14. HAPLESS RIVALRY COACH - OHIO STATE/MICHIGAN: John Cooper; ALABAMA/AUBURN: Bill Curry. ADVANTAGE: Ohio State/Michigan.  How many potential National Titles did Michigan cost Cooper? At least 3...
15. SKULLDUGGERY - OHIO STATE/MICHIGAN: The whole Jim Tressel era; ALABAMA/AUBURN: Poisoning Toomer's Corner Oak Trees. ADVANTAGE: Auburn/Alabama. Tressel doesn't even rise up to the level of the Gene Jelks espionage scandal. And Michigan fans aren't insane enough to poison Buckeye trees.
16. BEAUTIFUL SCENERY - OHIO STATE/MICHIGAN: Um... um...; ALABAMA/AUBURN: "The Bear Bryant Twins" & Katherine Webb.  ADVANTAGE:  Alabama/Auburn (you have to ask?)
17. FASHION STATEMENT - OHIO STATE/MICHIGAN: Sweater vest; ALABAMA/AUBURN: Houndstooth Fedora. ADVANTAGE: Alabama/Auburn.
18. MASCOTS - OHIO STATE/MICHIGAN: Buckeyes & Wolverines; ALABAMA/AUBURN: Elephants & Tigers. ADVANTAGE: Alabama/Auburn. Seriously, who is intimidated by a tree nut?
19. RIVALRY GENESIS - OHIO STATE/MICHIGAN: Border war in the 1830s; ALABAMA/AUBURN: The Civil War and a 40 Year Stoppage due to arguing who should referee the game that ended when the Alabama State legislature forced the two teams to meet.  ADVANTAGE: Alabama/Auburn.  Ohio & Michigan fought over Toledo. Seriously, they fought a war over Toledo?!?  I hope Ohio lost the war and was forced to take Toledo!
20. RAISING FAN TEMPERATURES - OHIO STATE/MICHIGAN: Telling corny jokes about the opposition; ALABAMA/AUBURN: Screaming at each other on the Paul Finebaum Radio Network all year.  ADVANTAGE: Alabama/Auburn.
21. TRADITIONAL GAME TIME - OHIO STATE/MICHIGAN: Noon. ALABAMA/AUBURN: 3:30 pm. ADVANTAGE: Push. For most Buckeye & Wolverine fans, a noon start means they can leave at 3:30 pm in time to get to the Early Bird Special at Denny's. And a later start allow mostly Tide & Tigers fans to get liquored up good.

So there you have it.  In the end, the Overall Edge goes to Alabama/Auburn. And unfortunately for Big Ten fans, it doesn't appear that Ohio State and Michigan can match the intensity of Alabama and Auburn anytime soon.

A decision the Atlanta Braves will regret…

One of the great things about my childhood was my father taking me on the Marta Subway train on warm summer nights from the Avondale train station.  We would get off at the Georgia State/Capitol station, and walk past the Capitol working our way South, crossing over the Downtown Connector and I-20 to ultimately reach Atlanta Fulton-County Stadium to watch the Atlanta Braves play baseball games.  Sure, the Braves weren’t exactly good in those days and the stadium was a hellhole, but it was fun to watch those games and it was cheap entertainment in those days.

The Atlanta Falcons also played football in that stadium for many years as well.  I love to tell the story of how my dad and I watched a pre-season NFL game there against the Eagles in 1991 when a Rookie 3rd-string QB was trying his best to stay on the team by throwing darts all over the field.  That QB’s name?  Brett Favre.  I hear he went on to have a pretty decent NFL career…

Anyways, the Falcons left Fulton-County Stadium after the 1991 season for the Georgia Dome which was built closer near the GA World Congress Center and the Omni (later replaced by Phillips Arena).  And after five more seasons, the Braves would leave the place where Henry Aaron hit his record-breaking 715th home run to move across the street to the Olympic Stadium (reconfigured to a baseball stadium design and renamed Turner Field).  Fulton-County is long gone, and I never watched a game inside Turner Field, but knowing the Braves had not moved far was a comfort.

Or at least it was until this morning.  The Atlanta Braves announced that after the 2016 season, they will not renew their lease to Turner Field and will instead move to a new yet-to-be-built facility in Cobb County, near the intersection of I-75 and I-285.  It was pointed out to me that most Braves executive live in the County famous for taking very conservative stances on social issues in the 1990s, which made at least one of my GA friends suggest that neighborhood politics may have been involved in the decision.  But the decision are gives the middle finger to any fans who live south and east of the city of Atlanta, as well as those who live in the city and use Marta to commute to the games.   It’s a mistake.

Yes, I know the Falcons are about to leave the Georgia Dome to move to a new stadium, but at least they are staying in the vicinity of the old stadium, so new real new infrastructure has to be built.  But the Braves?  How are fans going to get to the games?  You are putting the facility near one of the busiest interchanges in the Southeast, you don’t have Marta access to the area of the Stadium, and you expect things to be OK?  Good luck!

In the 1980s we all saw the famous bumper stickers around Atlanta that said “Go Braves and take the Falcons with you.”  This was back when both teams sucked and were considering moves (the Braves to Tampa-St. Pete & the Falcons to Jacksonville).  Now that the Braves have been a good team for a long time, they have decided to leave Atlanta for good.  The impact will be felt and it will further strain the richer northern suburbs from the poorer southern suburbs.  It also is a blow for a city trying to revitalize a downtown area that is just now beginning to show recovery after decades of decay.

I wish the Braves would reconsider.  Turner Stadium by all accounts is a great stadium.  There is no need to build a new stadium or renovate Turner field for at least a decade.  Fulton-County survived for 31 years.  Why build a new stadium elsewhere?

The loss of little boys and girls walking down city streets to attend a baseball game cannot be easily replaced.  Those fans will never come back.  And you will lose fans for this, Braves.  Mark my words!  This is a decision that will come back to haunt the Braves.

Mourning a Video Rental Goliath…

By now, most people have heard that Blockbuster Video will shutter the last of its 300 company-owned brick-and-mortar stores AND it’s DVD-by-mail operations within the next 2 months.  The few remaining franchise stores will also likely shutter their operations around that time or shortly after, meaning Blockbuster won’t even make it to it’s 30th birthday, which would have occurred in 2015.

It’s a dramatic fall for a company that once dominated Video Rentals, Game Rentals, and even dabbed a little bit into Music Stores.  Blockbuster ran smaller Video Rental operations into the ground.  Turtles, Tower Records & Video, and other companies ultimately caved to a chain that less than a decade ago had 9000 stores.  Blockbuster was so popular once upon a time that people fought for parking spaces at the stores on Friday nights.  My wife even worked at Blockbuster for a time.

Ultimately, Blockbuster fell victim to similar circumstances that knocked Kodak out of the camera business and has left BlackBerry smartphones in tatters.  Blockbuster failed to adapt to changing circumstances, like those other two companies.  Kodak failed to adjust to the rise of digital photography, even though they were the first to create it.  Kodak has apparently survived, but it will never be the same company again.  And although BlackBerry created the first smartphone, their failure to adjust to changing demands left Apple and Google a path to run BlackBerry towards the cliffs of extinction.  In Blockbuster’s case, streaming Video over the Internet and cheaper alternatives like Netflix and Redbox destroyed Blockbuster.  There were other reasons for Blockbuster’s collapse, and I’m sure other people can explain why Blockbuster went from American titan to fading memory.

With Blockbuster now joining the pile of companies from my past that have come and gone, like Circuit City, KB Toys, Steak & Ale Restaurants, and others, I wonder if anyone will really care about Blockbuster’s demise.  What do you remember about Blockbuster Video Stores?

A Geek Looks at 40…

By now, you have seen my new FB Cover and Profile Pics.  With the Big 4-0 now just hours away, I thought it would be an appropriate time to pay homage to my past, look at the present, and wonder about the future in pictures…

The Cover Photo honors my past.  A picture was taken from approximately each year of my life, starting from my first year (Age 0) to my 40th (Age 39).  The first 18 years were easy, thanks to my sister, Sheri, putting together a scrapbook as part of my High School Graduation gift.  Because I got my first Digital Camera in 2003, the last 10 years have been easy to catalogue.  And thankfully, my sisters and I were able to fill in any gaps in-between with other pics.

The Profile Pic is my official 40th Birthday Pic.  It’s inspiration was taken from The Fab 4 and the cover of their 1963 album “With the Beatles”.  I knew to pull this off, I needed professional help.  Luckily, there is a Professional Photographer in the family whom I called upon to take the picture (thank you to Angela Zaloudek Photography). 

One interpretation is that it’s my way of saying that I exist in two worlds:  the world I choose to show, and the world I choose not to show.  Rarely do those worlds collide.  But another interpretation that I prefer is that it is my past and future colliding in the present.  Given that life expectancy for men is about or less than 80 at present, it’s probable at least half of my life’s journey is complete.  The part that is showing is my past, while the part that is hidden is my future.  And (hopefully) the future part will slowly reveal itself as time permits. 

Like my Blog Profile suggests:  “You think you know me? You don't know my full story, but maybe by following this blog, the complete picture will come into focus.”  Even I don’t completely know myself today.  The future can change me in ways that are unpredictable.  I hope I can retire, and travel the world someday.  But the future does not guarantee that.  This journey will be exciting and scary, but for now I am content that I will not be alone in my journey.  My wife, my son, my soon-to-be born daughter, my extended family, and my friends will be there as long as they can.  And I believe a Divine Power is also with me.

So while it is time to celebrate the past in the present, it is also time to begin revealing the future.  Time to let the rest of the picture come into focus…