10 THINGS I THINK
1. Where were you the night Reddit when all to hell? I seldom frequent the website (I personally find it difficult to navigate), but it was interesting to see the uprising of the site’s moderators in protest of the administration. Who knew that underneath the immense success and traffic volume, lays such amounts of discord and dissatisfaction?
Judging from my Twitter feed, quite a few of the people I follow have sworn off Reddit for good. And good for them, because rather than spending inordinate hours of time in front of a computer screen reading message boards, people should go out and take in some of that fresh air while they still can - before climate change destroys it completely.
2. 11AM east coast baseball games should be banished from existence. This past Fourth of July I was extremely annoyed to wake up to a baseball game that has already gone on for a few innings, and it was only 9AM! Whoever did the scheduling for this particular day ought to swiftly walk themselves in front of a moving bus.
I understand baseball’s need to schedule a slew of games for the holiday, but they must take into consideration the home markets of the respective teams. MLB simply can’t schedule an early east coast game for a west coast team. I missed nearly a third of the Fourth of July Giants game, and would’ve been even more incense had the early innings been critical to the outcome. Get it together, baseball.
3. 50 wins might only get a team the 8th seed in the NBA’s western conference next season. It appears the Warriors’ historic season has prompted other westerly franchises to load up and retool. The Spurs became the instant favorites after the acquisition of LaMarcus Aldridge, Durant and the Thunder will be back with a vengeance, and the likes of the Rockets, Mavericks, Clippers, Grizzlies, and Pelicans will only improve from the previous season. There’s the x-factor of Kobe’s final season with the Lakers, too. Of course, with Draymond Green back with a long-term contract, the Warriors are doubly equipped to defend their recent crown.
More so than other years, it’s looking to be an absolutely gauntlet to emerge out of the western conference. And you already know the Cavaliers are coming out of the east.
4. I’m not overly fond of Fourth of July, because living in the hood means all through the night there will be a constant barrage of illegal fireworks from the neighborhood children. It’s literally non-stop bang after bang from around 7PM onwards until hours pass midnight. It must’ve been terrible for normal folks trying to get to their slumber but don’t possess proper earplugs (I’ve got a pack of them for this exact occasion).
Also, it must be said that people who dabble in illegal fireworks during the holiday are being massive assholes towards pets and war veterans with PTSD.
5. McLaren Group CEO Ron Dennis referring BBC F1 pundit Eddie Jordan as the village idiot of Formula One was completely hilarious. No one dishes out insults in the most prim and articulate manner quite like the British do. Big Ron could’ve simply used any of the common, single-word insults to disparage Edide. Instead, the audience gets to enjoy this roundabout yet elegant prose: "I consider F1 a kind of family and a village always has a village idiot and [Eddie Jordan] is the idiot."
6. Many congratulations to the United States women's national soccer team on their World Cup triumph in Vancouver this past Saturday. What a brilliant display of dominance from the first whistle on, with Carli Lloyd doing something (a hat-trick in a World Cup championship game) only done once before in either the men’s and women’s game. What an inspiration the team is for the many young girls in this country; that gender shouldn’t and isn’t an impediment to pursuing whatever they dream to do.
7. Starbucks raising prices on its drinks is coinciding perfectly with my recent decision to stop drinking coffee. Not by choice, mind you. Readers of this blog should know that coffee’s innate acidity is preventing me from enjoying the good cup. Even the less acidic cold-brew method has proven futile to stop the stomach’s protests.
8. Greece and China’s financial sectors better get their shits together, because my domestic and international investments are taking quite the beating thanks to their economic malcontent. Particularly, Greece should leave the Euro, default on their debt obligations, and start anew. For sure there will be immense amounts of financial hardship the first few years, but I reckon by allowing the free market to work, Greece will come out better and stronger than continuously accepting bailouts from European banking consorts.
9. Whatever labor/wage exploitation that Amazon is doing to offer Prime members free same day shipping, I don’t care - I’ve seen the future and it is awesome. I click to buy something in the morning and by the time I return home the item is there waiting.
This past weekend I ventured to IKEA to do some furniture shopping (needed a new bed-side drawer) and eat Swedish meatballs. While there I was reminded how hassling it is to wait in a long line to pay for your purchase. I’ve been so pampered and spoiled by the benefits of Amazon Prime - having stuff deliver right to my door in two days’ time - that Brick and Mortar shopping has largely been relegated to last-resort status. Now with Amazon offering free same-day shipping on certain items, I just might never leave the house to do shopping other than for food (unless I can get on the Soylent program).
10. "Our cars are meant to be driven, not polished." - Ferdinand “Ferry” Porsche