rickyleepotts…an opinionated realist

I want to touch base on an object that every single person, except for those who make these crucial pieces of hardware, take for absolute granted. And the only reason I wanted to talk about these things today is because of the image that you see above you. I am a long time gamer, and a full time computer user, and the little guy that brings me here to you today is the mouse.

The mouse that you see above you might be one of the coolest designs I have ever seen. Of course you have the standard black and gray and white designs that you see all the time, and even the ones that carry a brand name with them, like the Mighty Mouse from Apple. But that does not encourage, when it is time to buy a new mouse, some research and some patience in choosing the right one. Like for me, for example, I sit in front of a computer all day and all night working on web design, graphic design, blogging, and an absolute obsessive media presence for myself and my company. So this is something that my hand has fit itself into. I have actually, in the past, have been diagnosed with carpel tunnel. (If you have never had it, I do not suggest it. It is painful (especially when the seasons change) and sometimes the pain does not go away for days.)

But how many of you use a mouse on a daily basis? Everyone that touches a computer uses either a mouse or a touch pad, so if you said no, you are lying! But this raises a few more questions of just pure interest than the fact that this stuff is taken for granted. For instance, the amount of miles that your mouse travels in a life time. You are moving your mouse ALL the time. But have you ever thought that if you took your mouse on a road trip how far it would actually go? I do not know the exact answer, but I am sure that you would find numerous answers. But I do remember, a couple of years ago at least, seeing an article that said if you were to do just what I said that you could go to the moon and back three times in the amount of distance that your mouse travels. Can you imagine that?

The other thing that I wanted to touch on is a mouse that was released not too long ago by Logitech. This mouse was not just your normal mouse. You see, I for example, use a flash drive to store all my data. It is on my keys as if it were in my pocket it would for sure get lost. And this flash drive holds just about a gig worth of data. But this new mouse coming from Logitech is a wireless mouse, sure, but also a 2 gigabyte flash drive. You plug the thing in and the mouse works, the flash drive works, and your data is always moving where ever your hand goes.

Think about that for a second. How cool would that be? You are working on something and you simply save it to your mouse! What does that mean for the future of data storage? We are getting close (they say 10 years at most) to the end of the road as far as data storage is concerned. With over 200,000 websites going live each and every day we very well could run out of space sooner than that. (No I do not actually design all 200,000 of them.)

I just wanted to one, raise attention to the cool mouse design that you see above you, and two, tell you about the other mice that are hitting the shelves around the world. Logitech is a great place to find cool new innovative gadgets. They are a little pricey but in the computer world you really do get what you pay for. (Of course that is unless you have a Best Buy store discount that will get you about 85% off everything you touch.)

What kind of mouse do you use? Can anyone find a mouse that has a meter that measures distance on it? I would love to see how far my mouse travels in one day. or how many keys I have struck on my keypad. I mean, I assume that since the letters are beginning to wear out in less than a year that I hit the keys a lot more than I think. But it does make you wonder.

Tiger Woods is the best golfer on the face of the planet. He is the best golfer that has ever played the game. And I would be safe ins saying, at only 33 years old, that he will be the best player to ever touch a club for the rest of my life, your life, and anyone’s life. When everything is said and done in his career he will simply have records that can not be touched and will lead more categories, have won more money, and have won more tournaments that no one will ever come close to. Guys hit their prime of their career (the best golf that they will ever play) in their late thirties to early to mid forties. Tiger is 33. That scares me.

But there is another Woods on the plane. Playing in the top spot at Wake Forest is his niece, Cheyenne Woods. Take a look at how similar they are in both looks and swings. Do you think that is a fluke? I mean, think about that for a moment. If you could wake up and call your uncle and say, “Hey, Tiger, can we get some swings in before you head to Augusta? I want to work on my short game with you.” I mean, that is Tiger Woods she is talking to there. This makes me want to move to Wake and take every class she is in to just become her friend and meet the man. (I have to find a way to have dinner with Tiger before my life is over. It is not only on the top of my still imagined bucket list, but it is the sole item that I am afraid that will never be reached. So if anyone, at all, has any connection to a six degrees of separation from Tiger, please speak now.)

But back to the player at hand. Cheyenne, who is already, as a freshman, ranked in the top 100 amongst women college players, is making quite the name for herself. She seemed humble in the interview that is above you, but she has a certain Tiger based demeanor to her. I mean, do you think she doesn’t use her family to support her? Tiger goes to the majority of the home Stanford games to show support of his once college classrooms. So do you think he doesn’t try to make it to all his families sporting events? I mean, sure he is a celebrity in his own right, and can not go to dinner or to a movie anywhere he pleases, but he has a certain sense of responsibility when it comes to his family.

But think of what she goes through on a day to day basis. She has the last name Woods. Do you think she can go anywhere and not have to answer the obvious questions of who her family is or if she has ever met the real Tiger Woods. Yeah she has met him, it’s her uncle! But I tell you what, I would love to be able to meet her and act as if it was not a big deal that she was related to Tiger. And that is exactly how I would treat it too.

The way I have been so successful in the music industry to date is that I treat them like humans. I meet an artist and I appreciate what they do, and I enjoy seeing them perform, but I do not beg for an autograph, or scream at the chance to meet them. They are people. They take showers, they buy groceries, they go to the beach on vacation. They are human beings and are just like everyone else. Of course how many people treat them that way. I have met numerous celebrities and the only one that I was really star struck by was Max Collins. And I will answer this for 99% of you that do not know who he is, but he is the lead singer of the greatest band to ever play (in my ears at least) of Eve 6.

So let’s say that I add Cheyenne on facebook. (Yeah, I am going to do that right after I am done here.) We start to talk and find some common interests. Not saying that I am using her to get to Tiger, but she has an immediate connection to the man that I absolutely idolize. She is not a tool that I am passing off if that opportunity ever presents itself, but more of a resource that could build into a friendship. What do you think she says when someone asks her, “Who is the biggest celebrity name in your phone book?”

Before I even jump up onto my soap box, take a look at that little guy. How stinking cute is he? I mean, look at that little (pig?) nose and those cute little legs. This is why I like Sophie so much. She is just adorable! OK, enough of that.

Let me be the first to say, in at least a public sense, that I am sick and tired of hearing about this swine flu. It is everywhere. You turn on CNN and you hear of all the cases that have been reported around the world. You turn on your local news, and every single news station in the area for that matter, and you are hearing about the most recent out breaks and the current totals in your state. You turn on your lap top, in hopes of getting away from it and every site that you visit you find information on how to stop the flu, how to prevent the spread of the disease, and just simply information on what it is. (Does anyone actually know what it is?)

I happen to have given an ounce, and an ounce too many, of attention to this very recently. The flu, basically, works like a human DNA strand does. You take the initial virus, and it creates itself to fit that person it has infected. And unlike the regular influenza being the same strain in everyone it touches, the swine flu molds itself to fit each and everyone that it infects. This, in turn, makes an anti-virus (not computer related) impossible to create. It is like having a different disease in every single person that it infects.

So they are trying to track down the person that started this (and they think that they found a young boy in Mexico) so they can begin to understand the basis of this out break. But what do you think they will do with it? Let’s say they have found the boy. First off, Mexico City (where he lives) is one of the dirtiest places on the planet. How are they ever going to know for sure that he was the one that started it? I want to see that research.

But what I am sick and tired of seeing and hearing about is the disease itself. Quit talking about it for crying out loud. I get it; I might get sick. If I have a loss of appetite, a fever, and basically every single other symptom of the flu, then I might have the swine flu. So what do I do to prevent it? According to those in charge of the prevention of, and the spread of, I am to stop touching door handles unless I have to, I am to stop shaking hands, and I am to carry around a bottle of disinfectant with me everywhere I go spreading it all over my hands every few hours. Yeah, like that is going to happen.

I have a better way of preventing it. Get some rest every night. Take your vitamins. Eat healthy food and make sure that it is processed before you put it into your system. Wash your hands after you go to the restroom. And when you feel an ounce of sickness in your body, bite the self worth bullet and go to the doctor. It is better, for this or any other disease, to have early detection. It is much easier to stop before it spreads.

But let’s take a step back and talk about the regular old, yearly vaccine preventing (that usually never does anyway) flu. This flu, known by most as, well, the flu, kills thousands of people every year. Actually, to date, the swine flu has killed a fraction as the swine flu this year. We are only into the fifth (not quite) month of the year and over 15,000 people have already died, in the United States alone, from the regular old flu. But of course, that is not something to talk about.

It takes a three year old girl in Texas to get diagnosed with and die from the swine flu to gain any attention. I mean, what about all the thousands of people that die in car crashes every day? Or the people that drown, or are beaten to death, or die of just plain old age? Where is their media attention? Why are they not getting some time on the air?

I just don’t understand why we, as a people, get so caught up in, and basically become obsessed with, whatever the media tells us. I want you to remember this in three months. Remember the swine flu, how many people had it, and the city in which it is said to have started. You won’t be able to. The reason being that this is a fad. It will come, scare a few people, raise immediate alarm, and then will be gone. Of course, unless you get the flu yourself.

By the way, it has only been around for a couple of weeks and I am already starting to make jokes about it. Look at Facebook. Anytime that someone says, “I don’t feel well,” or, “I think I am getting a headache,” or anything at all in that nature, I throw a comment that revolves around the swine flu back at them. It is a joke and it has not even affected that many people.

Get over the swine flu, take your vitamins, and pass me the bacon so I can enjoy a pig the way it was meant to be enjoyed.

So I play golf. (How many of you did not know that?) And while I will not say, “I am good,” I will stand behind my 1 handicap that I have carried two years strong. (I was once scratch at Coffin Golf Club here in Indianapolis.) I hit the ball straight, bit not far. I throw absolute darts, but I putt like Sergio Garcia. I mean, in all honesty, if I could make 5 more putts a round, I could go pro. That is not a joke. For instance, this past weekend, I played a local municipal course (and while not the hardest course in the world) I managed to hit only 1 fairway on Saturday. I still fired a 69, but had two three putts. Then, playing the same course on Sunday, I hit 13 fairways (yeah, I hit my driver a LOT better on Sunday) but managed to three putt four times and left a good five birdie putts dead center of the cup an inch short.

But regardless of how I played this weekend, I want to touch base on how I played in high school. I played a fairly decent school that had a very deep squad. There were twelve of us on the varsity team and ten of us could break forty on a daily basis. There were three or four of us that could shoot under par every time we walked out on the course, and then some guys that just played for a score under forty. But all in all we were one of the top twenty teams in the state the four years that I was there.

But the thing that brings me to you today is the article that I read not too long ago about a team here in the Indianapolis area that has made a mark at a new golf course and has begun their trek to the yet another state title. This team was one that beat us time and time again during my days in high school and actually topped us three of the four years I was in school in the regional finals. (For those of you that do not know, you must win the regional event to move on to state. You can do this by either a team or an individual.)

The team that I am talking about is Nobelsville. The Miners have moved their home course to Purgatory (one of the longest golf courses in the country from their back tees) and have been trying to make themselves at home. The course, hard none the less, is not one that top high school players should not be able to shoot under par on. But the article that I read today begs to differ. The article stated that the Miners were throwing scores that were unheard of for high school players at this course and ones that need to be taken heed to. (Excuse me while I laugh out loud here.)

I am not one to brag, and I never have been. But I will do one thing. I will state that I will stand behind my ability to walk onto any golf course and break 80. (I have actually not shot over a 79 in the last two seasons.) To see high school varsity players come out to a course that yeah, hard, but not that hard, and shoot low scores still over forty, makes me want to be back in high school. And it makes me even more so want to be a high school golf coach.

Put me in front of a team of players that call themselves varsity (based on my experience as a varsity player) and have them shoot in the forties. See how many balls they hit next week.

I just want to know if this is a fluke that these reporters think they fired a low round, or if that is what is being considered average, or above so, in today’s high school market. Because it is, then I feel bad for these kids. Tiger Woods is at the top of the pile when it comes to golf. And anyone playing knows that. Hell, anyone walking knows that. But Tiger has not shot in the forties sine he was five years old.

So to the boys on the Nobelsville golf squad, I challenge you to go out to Purgatory and fire a 32 or a 33. Shoot the scores that I know you guys are capable of. You have the best equipment money can buy (and I know living in Nobelsville your parents are paying for everything anyway) and you need to use that to your advantage. I want to see some scores, team scores, where five of the top six players are in the thirties. I remember coming in on hole nine (or eighteen depending on the day) and having a putt to save 37 knowing that I needed to make it to score. (Scoring means that you are in the top four scores on the team that count to the final total. Most high school matches play five players (sometimes six) and keep the top four.)

Come on Nobelsville. You beat us year after year when we had Stanford graduates and Purdue Alumni (as of next week) walking you up and down the course. Show me some of that Purgatory skill.

I heard a story the other day. The story was about an organization that I had never heard of. And that is pretty shocking as how I am obsessed with media and the world that surrounds me both locally and globally. I was playing golf (I shot 69 by the way) with a good friend of mine, Ryan O’Banyal and he asked me if I had heard about the new case that was just pushed through by the NAACP. My first thought was, “What in the heck is the NAACP.” Then all I could think about was what the case entailed.

The NAACP is the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. Yeah, I had to look twice when I saw that too. (I am curious is the white folks have an organization like this. We do we not get the chance to advance?) They are a non-for-profit firm that specializes in the advancement of those that might not have the chance to make something of themselves. Better yet, they are in the business of advancing those that are hitting a brick wall because of the color of their skin. Believe it or not that kind of behavior still exists in today’s world. It is not as bad as it used to be with slavery, and segregation, but we (as in a people in general) look down upon African Americans. And not only African Americans, but all races other that our own.

But the NAACP has been put in place to save that from happening in a better and brighter, and mix culture. But when they provide cases (that is their main focus is law suits) like this one you can not help but one, laugh, and two, judge on whether or not to take them serious.

The case that I am talking about was put in to motion not long ago and involved the NAACP suing the makers and creators of angel food cake for their racism and image destroying antics. Let me explain. According to the NAACP angel’s food cake, which is white and generally with a light colored frosting, presents an image of peace, heaven, and longevity. While on the other hand, devil’s food cake is black, dark, and has either red or chocolate icing. Why is this important? Because of the image that these cakes are imposing on the African American folks. And the highlighting image that the opposite imposes on the white folks. (Is there a better word to use here than folks?)

Now, let me take a second to look at the details behind this case. (And no, I do not think that they have a case. Are they suing Betty Crocker here?) Angel food cake is white, plain, and has very little flavor. Yes, it is white, I get that part. And the icing that is usually atop an angel food cake is boring vanilla or lemon flavored. Now let’s look at the opposing dessert. (How often do you spell dessert with only on S? You know how I used to, and still to this day, remember that dessert has two S’s? Sweet Stuff. Yes, you can use that from now on. Paton is pending.) Devil’s food cake is called that because of how amazing it tastes, how guilty you feel for eating it, and how disgusting it makes you feel when you have eaten three slices after dinner. (They are like Lay’s potato chips. You can’t have just one.)

So where is there case here? What are we going to do, rename the cakes? They say that because angel food cake is white and is represented by the name angle, it places white people in a different category. And then devil’s food cake is dark, and titled with the all mighty demon. So because I enjoy a sweet delicious piece of low carbohydrate cake I am eating black people? I just don’t see it.

When I heard about this I took a little time to read about some of the other cases that the NAACP puts in front of a judge from time to time. And I suggest that you do the same. They are quite entertaining and some will make you just laugh out loud. I mean, growing up we all heard of the glass ceiling that women faced in the work force. That is no more, they have busted through that and are making strides toward world domination. (Look at Hilary Clinton and Sarah Palin.) But the African American people still have a chip on their shoulder about something my grandfather’s grand father was associated with.

I am sorry, but I do not believe in slavery. It is an idea that is way past it’s time. It is an idea that we, as a generation of technology and modern day living, can not even begin to comprehend. So I will not try and do so. But what I am sick and tired of is having to feel like I owe the African American community something. I am friends with a lot of African Americans, and quite frankly, I idolize one. (Tiger Woods for those who are not paying attention.) But do I need to write Tiger a check for $3,000 because his great great grandfather was a slave? No, I do not think so. they have risen above that and have gone on to be not only some of the most successful people in the world, but we are, as a society, starting to not even notice their color difference.

I could go on and on about African Americans and how they are affected by the way we treat them (we being white Americans) but look at the other races that are out there. Chinese, Mexican, and a melting pot of other races are all around us. I dare you to go to a restaurant on a Friday night after work and sit in the middle of the room and have every table around you speaking English. It is a harsh reality for some, but we are slowly moving toward what our fore fathers had wanted; a melting pot of immigrants from every corner of the world.

So as you sit back and think about all of the different races of friends you have and that you associate on a day to day basis (that is sort of my point here) realize that no matter what you do, the next time Grandma brings you over a piece of devil’s food cake on Sunday afternoon, you are a racist if you eat it. Do not eat devil’s food cake.

“Hey, can I get a piece of Asian Pear Strudel?”

I found this video today and I just had to share it with you. This comes not too long after an American Idol drop off that I felt had the talent, and the difference, to win. Blake Lewis is the guy that I am talking about, and even though he had a bad boy attitude and was simply a poster boy for boy band drop outs all over the world, he finished way out of the top spot.

The thing that Blake Lewis brought to the stage, and to his incredible and maybe one of the best albums of the last five years, is his amazing ability to beat box. If you have not heard Blake I highly suggest that you take a listen. His album is incredible and never too far from my head phones.

But there are people all over the place that can beat box, right? I mean, I can make sounds with my mouth that might pass to the uneducated as a beat box. (I think that is such a cool name for a music machine. Those two words together, while I think would make the start of conversation on an awesome band name, create a feeling for what you expect when someone begins to do just that.)

But when I am not practicing my beat boxing I enjoy finding hidden talent. Take Paul Potts for example. (I do not think we are related, but I should email him and find out. I could share in that fancy singing stardom. I am cuter than him, though, so he might get jealous.) Paul Potts hit Britain’s Got Talent a few years ago and blew Simon and the other judges away with his unexpected and sometimes tear shedding talents. Not singing an everyday accepted style of music, he challenged the masses. He brought something that God gave him the ability to do right to where he knew he would get noticed; in front of Simon.

But besides Paul Potts and Blake Lewis, this guy deserves some attention. This video shows what a true beat boxer is all about. His voice does a few things here that you do not hear in a lot of beat boxers. (Of course, I do not study the beat box market, but I assume they do not all do this.) His range goes from high to low and he adds what at some point sounds like three or four sounds at once. He has the ability to bring comfort in the sounds he makes by relating them to popular songs while at the same time get you almost laughing at how impressed you are.

After you watch this video, try it yourself. Of course, make sure you are either home alone or are really comfortable with the people around you, because you will not sound like him. You might hit some notes that match a sound or two he makes, but this takes God given talent, time to practice, and a spit screen because there is no way he is not throwing liquid all over his camera.

So guess what I enjoy doing? I absolutely love watching movies. Mainly because of my secret desire to write a script. And I am not talking about the kind of script that you see in theaters today, but an actual thinker. Imagine a movie that is at the Keystone Arts Cinema that no one likes or understands. That would be something I would write. Not saying that what I would write would be confusing, but most of what I write would be beyond the intelligence level of most movie goers. If it does not blow up and Pitt is not in the leading role, they will not like it.

But there was an article today that caught my attention. I am sure being used as another excuse to write about the oh so bad economy that we are assumed to be in, Netflix is coming out and saying they might be in danger. Netflix, for those not in the know, is one of the coolest inventions I have ever seen. Many have tried to copy it but nothing matches the quality of service, and the speed of delivery as Netflix. Here is the break down of the service.

For under twenty bucks a month you can subscribe to a DVD rental service that allows you to jump online and search through thousands of movies, TV shows, and documentaries. I have yet to search for something and it not be available. (Some things have a wait based on their popularity, but nearly every movie I want to see is available immediately.) You can browse through titles, actors, story line, genre, and pretty much anything else you can think of. Once you find that movie it goes into an interactive database that allows you to control what you want to see and when. Netflix has shipment centers all over the country and there is one right here in the heart of Indianapolis, in Carmel, Indiana. So the turn around is nearly a couple of business days at most.

So you click on all your favorite films and TV shows and just sit back and wait. Once they arrive in the mail, you take the DVD out and watch it on your schedule. There are no late fees, and you can keep the DVD as long as you want without having to worry about paying a late fee. The packages range from one DVD at a time to eight at a time. That plan is probably for the families that have children running around and can never agree on a movie, but that option is there. (It might also be for the loser no life that is asleep in his boxers on his mom’s couch right now.)

But the cool thing, and one of my favorite things, about Netflix is that you can write reviews of the movies you watch. You can also rate the movie on a 1-5 star rating. Now, the cool thing about this, is the more movies you watch and rate, the smarter Netflix gets. It will actually suggest films for you to watch based on your likes and dislikes. It will capture the style of movies you prefer, and it will suggest direct titles to add to your list of coming soon DVDs.

Enough about Netflix. (I sound like a commercial, don’t I?) The article that I read today was about how Netflix is worries that all these story side kiosks are going to take away from their business. (I have to interject for a second and tell you that the reason they might see issues in the near future is their decision to raise rates for Blu-ray movie viewers. They charge an extra $1 a month to be able to access their always growing collection of Blu-ray movies.)

But do you think things like Red Box will really make that big of a splash with the power and depth of Netflix? First off, Red Box is everywhere which is a good thing for them. You can get a movie at Marsh or at McDonald’s after you jump out of the ball pit. But they have a very narrow selection of films. And each Red Box allows you to rent from that machine and take to another one on the other side of town if you want. There are no rules to the DVDs that are put back into the machine once they are rented. I mean, sure, you are charged a dollar a night for the movie (which is a good deal and you can actually find a boat load of codes online to where you don’t even have to pay for the rental at all) but your selection is minimal. You do not have the option to rate the film, write a review, nor rent HD movies in the popular Blu-ray format.

Just this month Kroger has stopped their DVD rental business. They had something very similar to Red Box but it was failing and they are removing them from their locations. (Do not quote me on this as every Kroger is ridding of this issue. But the Kroger I shop at is.) So right there it shows there are not that many competitors to Netflix.

To me, Red Box is good for a few reasons. First, it allows me to rent a DVD for a short period of time and if I have a few hours to watch something that I have been waiting to see (and they actually have it available) I can rent it, watch it, and take it right back. Sort of a no worries situation. It is cheaper as well based on the number of movies that I do watch a month. But again, I continue to go back to the HD options and the TV shows that are endless on Netflix. Oh yeah, and I absolutely am obsessed with rating my films and shows.

The other thing that I like about Red Box is the convenience it provides. Going back to what I said about being able to rent the film and take it right back is nice. If I hear of the latest Chuck Norris film, and I do not want to wait for it to come via Netflix, I can simply run to Marsh and grab the flick right now.

Netflix is compared to the iPhone. It is a great invention that I would be lost without. Red Box is compared to a mobile application. I do not need it to be happy, but it sure does make it nice when I need something in a hurry. (I hope to goodness that you appreciate this, Josh. I figured you would.)

So what are we renting tonight? New releases every Tuesday!

This is a topic that has been hitting the air waves and news channels quite a bit lately. You have been hearing about the high cell phone bills and the irate fathers when they realize how many of these things their daughters actually send, but you have not heard about this new trend.

Before I get into the topic of this post, I want to talk to you about a new story that was unveiled today. I personally send about 15,000 text messages a month. (This is both sent and received.) That, to me, is a LOT of stinking text messages. A friend of mine sends maybe fifty a month and thinks that is too many. (Of course, most of you don’t realize (at least the ones of you that are not text message addicts) that I can send a few hundred in one conversation. I know, why not pick up the phone and call them. I will save that discussion for a later time but just trust me, it is necessary to send that many a month with the social life that I lead.)

The story that hit the news stand this morning was about a 29 year old and his best friend, who has reached the 30 mark, trying to break the single month text message record. The record, and I am not even sure if it was set prior to today, was somewhere in the fifty to sixty thousand range. (If someone can quote me on the previous record, you will win a prize!)

These two set out to break that record. And they made sure their T-Mobil (who has T-Mobil these days) plan had the unlimited message plan before they set out to break this record. So the guys set out to send as many texts as they can and spend the entire month reaching a grand total that is something that makes my thumbs hurt. They hit a total of over 217,000 text messages! I mean, think about that for a second. Of course, that record comes with a lot of single word responses, but my goodness that is a lot of text messages. Some thumbs are sore after this one. And some wallets.

These boys actually received a bill from T-Mobil that was shipped in a box! This is not the first time we have heard this story, of a cell phone provider sending a bill in a box (remember the girl that used her iPhone in the first few weeks to send as many texts as she could? Her bill came in a box as well.) This box, however, cost T-Mobil over $20 to send to the text message maniac. Who can guess how much that bill was? Give up? It was over twenty-sex thousand dollars! And they had an unlimited message plan. (There is a lot more to this story, but that is not why I am here today. I just wanted you to share in the glory that is 200,000+ text messages in one month. Never will I again say that I send a lot of text messages!

The reason I am here is this new trend that has surpassed anything that text messaging can bring to the table. This is something that I was unsure how to approach for a post. This was something that I wanted to make sure I understood the roots of before I began my research. And thanks to an in depth report and coverage on this topic by my friend Kim Iverson, I was able to think about a correct response. The fad that I am talking about has been coined Sexting.

Sexting involves guys and gals taking provocative images of themselves and sending them via text message. A standard text message is also known as an SMS (short message system) and these image based text messages are known as MMS (who wants a prize?) All of you loyal iPhone holders out there understand the pain of having to log in to see your MMS (but not for long with the new update coming this June) so this does not apply to you nearly as much. (I actually could care less about the MMS on the iPhone. The only reason I am excited to get it is simply because other people, who do not have iPhones, send me those all the time and I have to take the time to log in. Truth be told, I rarely do.)

So back to the sexting. This is a trend that caught on with younger cell phone users in the previous few months. It was not until a parent (of a young 17 year old girl) found a picture of her 18 year old boyfriend that you would not want your mother seeing. She immediately became outraged, canceled her daughters cell phone coverage, and threatened charges against the boy. (That is where they will have some leverage. They (again with the they) are going to have to take immediate action for the parent’s sake. Tell an 18 year old kid that he could go to jail for being a sexual predator and see what happens. That will threaten his chances of getting into college, getting a job, and even buying a home. Thanks to the hard work of Chris Hansen, once you are on the sexual predator list, you are on there for life.)

But the reason why this interests me so much is that the ones sending the provocative images are not the ones you might think. When I first heard about this my mind ran straight to College Humor. I see the images of people at frat parties taking picture of their best friend’s girlfriend doing something that alcohol induced. Or the images that a stressful relationship causes in hopes of saving it by sending long distance love. (I am sure this is something that web cams have been seeing for years with guys at war over seas and long distance relationships where the couple sees each other only a few times a year.)

But what is the sudden attraction to taking a stand against this? If you are 18 years or older it is perfectly legal, right? (I do not condone this sort of behavior but if you are an adult and are sending pictures of your body to another adult, then who has the right to stop you?) This all falls back onto the under age generation that has figured out how to use this technology for every angle possible. It is similar to the legalization of marijuana. It is illegal, so people use it. It is a rush to do something illegal no matter how it makes you feel. If they would make it legal, I guarantee that you would see not only a drop in the use of it, but a rise in our economy for those that feel they are addicted to it paying outrageous taxes on it. (By the way, it is not a substance that you can become addicted to.)

I just wanted to raise one, awareness about this, and two, get you guys talking about it. What are your thoughts on this taken for granted technology being used for sexual purposes? Do you text? Do you sext? Do you feel that there should be legal action taken to those that are under the age of 18 and sext to their girlfriends and boyfriends? And if so, what should their punishment be?

This has potential to be an interesting topic for discussion. I look forward to hearing your thoughts and reading your responses.

I already know one reader that will get a kick out of this post, but I will restrain myself from making fun of the reason I posted this blog.

The “exciting” sport that brings me to you today is NASCAR. (Why do they capitalize it?) They have decided, in conjunction with the 2009 Coca-Cola 600, to use a different kind of pace car than we are used to seeing. A pace car, in most instances, is a Corvette or the latest new hot rod from Chevrolet. You have to match the speed and energy of the race cars with a sporty and speedy pace car. But now they have opened the gates to all sorts of shenanigans.

This year, at the 600, you will be able to see a new kind of pace car. You will get to witness a hybrid car setting pace to all the blaring engines behind it. In an effort to go green with their image, NASCAR as teamed up with Coca-Cola to set a new sort of precedent. But do you think it will catch on?

I think this is getting to the point of becoming an almost joke in itself. I am getting so sick and tired of people in this plot to going green. Give it up already, will you? I mean, sure, Paris Hilton went green. Oprah went green. Oprah started a Twitter account. So does that mean you are all going to join Twitter? (OK, yeah, maybe you will. She is sort of a cult.)

Why do we keep going green to help this world when there is no proof of our efforts? I mean, do you think you are really making a difference by using a paper bag instead of plastic? Unless we are doing in in the millions, then we are not going to see a single ounce of difference. What about the new Walmart commercials. (I seem to be using them a lot in my examples.) They are using a new advertising campaign that is supporting all of these green products. But in the end of every commercial, they say something like, “And if only 200,000,000 Walmart shoppers make this change, we can make a difference.” Does that not just prove my point?

I mean, I believe pretty much everything Walmart says. (And that is another argument that I like having. More so in a face to face manner, but still. Walmart is the best store on the planet. You might say, “Oh, no, Walmart is the devil. They put my grandfather’s general store out of business. I hate Walmart.” Yeah, they put him out of business because they understand how to run a successful one. I am sorry, but I am not going to go to a local distributor for my necessities and spend twice (sometimes more) than what I can spend at Walmart. Who in their right mind would? Change with the times or figure out something else to do for a living. Something along the lines of, “If you can’t take the heat get out of the kitchen.)

The moral of this post, however, is just that I am sick and tired of everyone riding this going green band wagon. Our planet is either going to fall to our own pure stupidity (and that will not happen in your lifetime, your children’s lifetime, or their children’s children’s lifetime. It is something that will take billions of years. And by that time, the sun will die anyway, so why worry about it) or we will figure out a way to deal with it and live around it. I mean, I am not seeing the effects of it yet. I currently live in Indiana, sure, but it’s the latter half of April and it snowed today. And it is going to be 81 on Saturday. Someone explain that please.

There is nothing you can do. There is nothing I can do. There is nothing anyone can do in moderation. So I am not going to stop using plastic bags. I am not going to be eco-friendly light bulbs (they do not save a noticeable different on your light bill anyway). And I am sure as hell not going to condone the use of a hybrid car to kick off a NASCAR race. Of course, I hate NASCAR and I think turning left should be something that just comes natural, not something that is celebrated by a bunch of rednecks. (Sorry, Anita, you fit the mold!)

Boy is this something that I can relate to. I read an article yesterday that involved the study of an individual’s attention span. It focused on adults and was meant for those individuals in a more fast paced work environment. The study actually measured two things. The first being how short it seems an adult attention span can become, and is, and the ways that we can expand an already short attention span. It did not really touch on the reasons as to why we have short attention spans, but that is why I am here.

Before I go on, did you know that a gold fish (those cute little nine cent buggers that you see at Walmart all the time) have an attention span of four seconds. And by four seconds I mean that every four seconds their entire brain is erased and they start over. Imagine that for a second. Imagine living in a world where every four seconds your entire life and everything that you have learned has been deleted and is now obsolete. What can you possibly learn in four seconds besides the ability to breathe and to notice your immediate surroundings. It blows my mind away to think that these little fish live in a world where they have no idea what happens five seconds ago. (That brings up another good point. A good friend of mine, Mr. Tyler Burgardt, suggested a movie to me once called Single White Male. This movie is about a guy that wake up on the subway in New York City (please correct me if the city is wrong) and has no idea who he is. He does not know where he lives, what he does for living, if he has family or not; nothing. Now that would be a crazy way to wake up, huh? You would be given a fresh start. I just feel bad for his girlfriend.)

So why do we have such short attention spans? What makes your attention stray from a book, a TV show, movie, or conversation? Why are we always looking around when we are in a discussion and what keeps us moving along unable to work on only one task and not have some sort of mental or lyrical stimulation elsewhere?

I have a few theories. The first is that we live in a different time than our predecessors. First off, we live in an obsessive technological world and we are surrounded by new media and all of it’s pure young glory. Just think about it for a moment. Ten years ago did you have a cell phone? Did you have MySpace, Facebook, the weather in Japan, your FedEx tracking information, a level, a calculator, and an iPod in your hand; on your phone? Did you have wireless Internet every where you went? Did you have the ability to talk to your aunt who lives in Ireland on the Internet and be able to not only see her, but see her in HD as you talk and it not cost you a penny? Did you have the ability to browse for any ounce of data that you wanted in a matter of seconds thanks to the hands of Google?

We are changing and we are changing fast. And those that are taking heed to that are the younger generation. There are people out there that can design and code websites before they hit their tenth birthday. My mother has issues when turning on a computer but that’s OK. The older generation, our parents, grandparents, etc. do not have nor want the skill set that is not only required for daily living, but almost required to function. What excites me about that is five years from now. Ten years from now even. Where will we be then? What will our phones and lap tops look like?

But what does that have to do with a person’s attention span? Everything, that’s what. I read article after article on why the iPhone is a terrible device and one that should be thrown in the trash for it’s wasteful application development and it’s flashy interface. People say that playing Copter for three hours a day is a waste of time. To some, sure, but what about when your father was playing Pong when he was growing up? Same thing, you know.

But they are trying to place the blame of the newest gadgets on why our attention span is so low instead of basking on that fact and using it to our utter advantage. Why do we not try to learn from that? Try to develop tools that can provide a more productive day in the work place? Let me give you an example of how I use these tools to my advantage.

There is not too many days that go by that when I leave work (after a meager eight to ten hours) that I do not go straight home and sit on the couch. Once on the couch, I turn on my TV and flip on a movie. While watching the movie I have my lap top open working on multiple things at once (thanks to spaces and Expose) and I can knock out twice as much work rather than working on one thing at a time. Now, while this movie is on and I am writing, typing, coding, designing, etc. I have my phone sitting right there. With my wireless (not really wireless as they are my headphones) device I can talk on the phone. While talking on the phone I can send text messages. So I have a TV, phone call, text message, and multiple applications taking my attention from whomever may be in the room or the math book laying open on my table.

Can you see why my attention span is so short? It makes sense that I have a short attention span. Do I have ADD? Maybe; but I don’t think so. If I am working on multiple things at once then I am working 80 hours a week than 40. Sure, I could go to work and work nine to five and go home. But would I get anything done? Absolutely not. There are two quotes that I want to leave you with. One if from my boss and the other one is from an unknown source. (I actually know the source, but I would rather not say unless you ask me who said it.) They both relate to time, attention that is paid to a task, and what the possible consequences or reward might be from the detail in the work.

“When I was young, single, and working full time I would come into the office a couple hours early and stay a couple hours late. Adding that extra time onto my daily schedule gave me added experience and added productivity. In the five years that I did this I worked twice as many hours. So the guy sitting next to me, who worked forty hours a week, has five years experience. I, on the other hand, have ten. I lost nothing, gained everything, and it cost me nothing but my time that would be spent doing something unproductive anyway.” R.M.

“I am a designer. I work countless hours for nothing more than a meaningless thank you. I work all night and have lost the meaning of a good night’s sleep. But I am a designer. I communicate. I communicate my message to the end user who has no idea who I am. I am a designer. But at the end of the day, if I have been able to communicate any single message to anyone that has seen my work, then I have to consider myself a success. I am a designer.” – *Unknown