2010 Winter Olympics

Television ratings so far for the 2010 Winter Olympics have been strong. The Opening Ceremony on February 12 drew a bigger share than the 2006 event and five days later the NBC broadcast of the downhill skiing, snowboarding and speed skating events drew a higher rating than American Idol, the first broadcast of any kind to beat Idol since May 2004.

For all the excitement over this year's Olympics, my interest has been warm at best. Don't get me wrong-- I love sports and I love my country. I just have a hard time getting excited over events that involve a broom (curling) or riding a sled (skeleton, luge and bobsled).

Even so, some of the greatest sporting events in history occurred during the Winter Olympics (1980 Miracle on Ice, Eric Heiden winning five gold medals in speed skating, Peggy Fleming and Dorothy Hamill winning gold in women's figure skating. So why do I prefer re-runs of Man vs. Food instead of watching the Winter Olympics?

• I hate the cold. Yes, I know I'm watching the events on TV in the comfort of my own living, but seeing cold and ice in HD makes me uncomfortable.
  
• I never ice skated. Never. Not that I wouldn't try it, but it's hard to be interested in something I have no experience in (i.e. basketball, football, baseball, you get the idea).
  
• As long as curling remains an official Olympic sport, it's hard to take the Olympics seriously. I mean, participants use brooms to slide granite stones across the ice, come on now!
  
• I don't understand how judges score performances. Case in point: I'll watch different figure skaters perform and in my eyes, one is just as good as or better than another. However, the judges will score them differently which only adds to my confusion.
  

All that being said, I do appreciate the U.S. beating Canada in ice hockey or Lindsey Vonn darting down a slope in record time (ok, I didn't know who she was until she appeared in the S.I. swimsuit edition, but let's not pull hairs here). Even so, watching Adam Richman eat a six pound burrito in under 30 minutes never gets old, either.

Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog

Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog is a 40 minute musical adventure that chronicles the exploits of Dr. Horrible (played by Neil Patrick Harris) and his quest to gain acceptance into the Evil League of Evil. Along the way he battles his arch-nemesis, Captain Hammer (played by Nathan Fillion) for the object of his affection, the beautiful do-gooder Penny (played by Felicia Day).

Captain Hammer maintains an upper-hand throughout the story, until Dr. Horrible confronts him with his freeze ray weapon. Hoping to kill Captain Hammer, win the girl and become a member of the Evil League of Evil, things go awry when the freeze ray wears off.

Captain Hammer takes Horrible’s death ray gun from him, but the gun malfunctions when Hammer attempts to use it to kill the evil doctor. The final twist occurs when Penny is struck by shrapnel from the blast, and is killed. The Evil League of Evil gives Horrible credit for her death and accepts him into their organization of evil-doers.

This short movie starts off slowly, but picks up quickly once Captain Hammer is introduced to the story. The connection between Horrible and Penny is fairly believable, but there is little chemistry between Penny and Captain Hammer. Although Dr. Horrible is the villain, it is easy to feel sympathy for him. On the other hand, Hammer is a character that we can easily root against—he’s pompous, conceited, and the awestruck Penny is oblivious to these faults.

The music is entertaining and the lyrics somewhat humorous. This movie has the feel of a children’s sing-along, but some of the language used disqualifies it from viewing by younger audiences. The plot is straight out of a super hero comic book, but Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog is quite different from the traditional battle between good and evil.

Network Effect

In economics, a network effect exists when the value of a good or service increases as more people use that good or service.

The term “network effect” is defined by marketingterms.com as “the phenomenon whereby a service becomes more valuable as more people use it, thereby encouraging ever-increasing numbers of adopters.”

The telephone is frequently used as an example of the network effect. Phone service would not be very valuable to a single subscriber, but as more people own telephones, the more valuable the service becomes to each owner.

More current examples of the network effect are online social networks such as MySpace and Facebook. As the number of people who subscribe to these sites increases, the more useful the sites become to those who are members.

As networks become more popular, they inherently become more valuable to both the users and the owners of the service. As popularity increases, an additional network effect may occur called the "bandwagon effect," otherwise known as trends and fads.

Resources:

1. Exploring Network Economics by Michael J. Mauboussin, Legg Mason Capital Management
   
2. http://www.marketingterms.com/dictionary/network_effect/

Fast Food Every Now and Then

The fast food industry continues to come under fire as diseases like childhood obesity and diabetes reach epidemic proportions in this country.

There are some who say these establishments should be forced to change their menus (and most have recently) or at the very least reduce the fat (i.e. the good stuff) contained in their offerings.

I believe, however, that as grown adults we have the ability to decide whether to eat this stuff and how frequently we eat it. Just like anything else we might enjoy in life, consuming fast food should be done in moderation.

With all the negative attention fast food has been receiving lately, I'd like to point out some of the positive things fast food has to offer:

• When you're really hungry, you can get food fast
  
• Fast food is cheaper than restaurant food
  
• Sometimes it tastes good
  
• It's a great employment opportunity for young or low-skilled workers
  
• Depending on what you order, you might get a cool prize or a movie-theme glass

Remember, like anything else, moderation is the key. And oh yea-- if you can help it, avoid the drive-thru. You know what happens when you use the drive-thru.

Did Taking Steroids Inflate Mark McGwire's Numbers?

Former Oakland Athletics and St. Louis Cardinals slugger Mark McGwire admitted recently that he took steroids on and off between the 1989 and 1998 seasons.

McGwire stated in his press conference that he took steroids for health reasons; more specifically, to recover from injuries sustained during different parts of his career.

But McGwire also said he believes the steroids he took did not improve his ability to hit the ball or hit it any farther. Big Mac said that he has always had great hand-eye coordination and that he was born with a “gift to hit home runs.” Shortening his swing and studying opposing pitchers led to more home runs, not performance enhancing drugs, said McGwire.

While I applaud him for finally coming clean about his steroid use, McGwire has to be insane if he really believes taking them did not improve his ability to hit home runs.

There is a reason why steroids and human growth hormones are called performance enhancing drugs.

If you look at McGwire’s numbers, he had his most productive years from 1996-1999, hitting 52, 58, 70 and 65 home runs respectively.

Incidentally, he was 34 years old in 1996, an age when most players begin the down slope of their careers. Two years later, at 36, McGwire would break one of Major League Baseball’s most sacred records, the single season home run mark.

Prior to that time, the MLB record for most home runs hit in a season was 61 by Roger Maris. The most home runs McGwire hit in a single season before 1996: 49, way back in 1987 (two years before he said his steroid use began).

Does Mark McGwire really believe that he would have hit the same number of home runs during his career without the help of steroids?

The numbers say otherwise.

Good Day, Mate

In different countries, people greet each other in different ways. Knowing the proper way to greet someone might be the difference between offending someone and making a good impression. What might be considered polite in one country can be seen as bad manners somewhere else.

Even in the same country, people in different regions may greet one another differently. For instance, in Canada, the most common greeting is a firm handshake and a smile. However, French Canadians are more likely to greet someone by lightly kissing them on the left cheek and then once on the right cheek.

This is because in France, it is customary for people to greet each other this way.

In Italy, people actually kiss four times, twice on each check.

In Egypt, three is the magic number: left, right, left with alternating kisses.

In Greece, back-slapping will sometimes take the place of shaking hands.

Bowing is considered very important in Japanese culture and how boys and men bow is different than girls and women. Basic bows are performed with the back straight, but boys and men put their hands at their sides while girls and women clasp them in their lap. The longer and deeper the bow, the stronger the emotion or respect expressed.


Even in America, there are different ways we greet each other. The handshake is still the most common way we greet one another; but custom handshakes, usually among friends, have evolved into very sophisticated salutations.

The high five has been around for years and it too has many variations. From up high, down low, to “you're too slow,” or in the hole—“you’ve got soul.”

And don’t forget the fist pump, which has become very popular in recent years.

Americans also have many variations in the greeting language they use. Here are some that I can think of-- please feel free to include additional greetings in the comments section of this blog.

• Hi
  
• Hello
  
• What’s up?
  
• What up?
  
• Wassup?
  
• Sup?
  
• Bro
  
• Dude
  
• What’s going on?
  
• What it is?
  
• What’s the good word?
  
• Howdy
  
• Hey
  
• Yo
  
• How goes it?
  
• What’s happening?
  
• How’s it hanging?
  
• Aloha (Hawaii)

References used to locate the different greetings included here:

http://www.brucevanpatter.com/world_greetings.html
http://www.hawaii.edu/hga/GAW97/greeting.html
http://socyberty.com/languages/unique-traditional-greetings-in-the-world/
http://www.kwintessential.co.uk/resources/global-etiquette/canada.html

Puff Puff Pass

The legal use of marijuana for medicinal purposes appears to be gaining some momentum in this country. There is a very organized movement supporting this cause, especially in California where Proposition 215 passed way back in 1996. This act made it legal for patients with a valid doctor's recommendation to possess and cultivate marijuana for medicinal purposes. The first medical marijuana super store opened in Northern California last month and President Obama has promised to end DEA raids where medical marijuana is manufactured.

But what about smoking cannabis for recreational purposes? Are we headed towards a a day where this too will one day be legal?

Proponents for legalizing recreational marijuana believe that pot is no different than alcohol. As a matter of fact, many believe it is far less harmful than alcohol.

Is smoking weed even harmful at all?

I am no medical expert, but what I do know is that smoking marijuana is a motivational killer.

Some argue that no one has ever smoked pot and then went out and committed a violent crime. Of course they haven't-- that would require getting up off the couch first!

Others say that getting high is not physically addictive. Again, I am no doctor, but I believe wholeheartedly that it is psychologically addictive-- I've seen it, in friends who can't perform their normal day-to-day activities without first taking a hit.

And still there are those who say that if marijuana use was legalized, it could be taxed for sale and distribution. This money could then be used to offset budget deficits and fund important programs. Well, I am all for balancing budgets and providing important government funded programs, but not at the expense of a “high society.”

One of the great things about our country is that we are free to debate issues openly in the public forum. As with most topics, there are compelling arguments on both sides of this debate. Legalizing recreational marijuana is not a new concept, nor is it one that will be going away anytime soon.

Legalize it
Don't criticize it
Legalize it, yeah, yeah
And I will advertise it

From “Legalize It,” by Peter Tosh