brewery33

RIP Dunn

Mon, 20 Jun 2011 12:25:13 -0400

RIP Dunn

Rogue Mentality: Thoughts on Opening Day 2K11

Thu, 31 Mar 2011 13:55:45 -0400

Rogue Mentality: Thoughts on Opening Day 2K11:

Author’s Note: This Bud’s for you Connor…

My enthusiasm for the A’s potential over the last two years has been about as earnest as Vince Carter’s dedication to playing hard has been for the past seven. In the last two years, YOUR Oakland Athletics dwelled in the cellar (‘09) and were just as…

Long live startups

Wed, 30 Mar 2011 17:16:53 -0400

Business is a definite roller coaster, especially when you do business with your family. Business has grown over the years and we have expanded. This expansion has created a sense of safety that what we have will never go away. This safety is a detriment to our future. We will never innovate or take chances when we are safe.

Om Malik has a great little newsletter called Om Says (BTW you should subscribe if you don’t already). In today’s installment he talks about when a company is dead. He waxes that companies are dead when they can’t stop the talent from leaking and taking all of the intellectual steam with them. This is very true.

Wired magazine has a feature this month regarding Larry Page taking the helm of Google as CEO. In the article Wired talks about the innovation and speed at which Page likes to move. This is interesting since Page is assuming the reigns of one the world’s largest companies. What comes with size is bureaucracy.

What I am getting at here is that the startup mentality is back. The aggressive and risk averse environment that is the early stages of successful companies is coming back en vogue. Big bureaucratic behemoths are beginning to adopt this nimble style. While the startup mentality never left the Silicon Valley, it did leave Main Street America.

It is kind of like when the hot girl from high school shows up to the reunion fat. She didn’t lose her hotness, she just got fat. She can work out and reclaim that fire that she used to wield, but she has to shed the weight that is keeping her from achieving just that. At least she knows what it tastes like. She just tasted it too much.

I am excited that my organization is making us do more with less. The collective will now be forced to be productive or become extinct. No longer will mediocrity be accepted. Our backs are up against the wall and I love the feeling. I feel like I am looking down the barrel of a loaded gun from the business reaper and giving a cynical grin.

Long live the startup.

Milestones

Thu, 24 Mar 2011 22:07:30 -0400

Filter Fairy has been a stupid project of mine for a while now. I keep overselling to people that I know and always underperform. So I decided that I will bootstrap and stop trying to woo investors. They would probably fuck it up anyway. What I am going to do is create a little milestone list and slowly build this service. I have stopped caring about the ultimate goal of a Super Bowl commercial and am just trying to get the service off the ground and some users. Below are a list of milestones that I hope to attain by 2011’s end.

1. Get the site functioning with all of the different plug ins. (Facebook, Twitter, Email)
2. Get a user other than a friend or family
3. Save the world

How does you respond to advertising?

Tue, 18 Jan 2011 21:37:40 -0500

Create your free online surveys with SurveyMonkey, the world’s leading questionnaire tool.

roguementality: GIVE ME FIVE GOOD REASONS: PUBLIC QUITTING In...

Mon, 16 Aug 2010 11:47:36 -0400

roguementality:

GIVE ME FIVE GOOD REASONS: PUBLIC QUITTING

In light of Steven Slater’s highly publicized exit from an airplane and his career as a flight attendant, my brother by law @Brewery33 thinks that public quitting is wrong. He challenged the world and the interwebs to a #GMFGR and Rogue Mentality was the only one with the cajones to stand up for the working man.

1) A Working Class Hero Means Something to Me- Regardless of the thankless jobs in the nation, the guys swinging the hammer, drilling the oil, or mining the coal make this country run but get the short end of the stick, while the big boss man reaps the million dollar benefits. Steven Slater was just speaking his mind and blowing off steam from 28 years of the grind.

2) Sensationalism Gets Results- If Mr. Slater wanted long term change in the flight attendant industry he had to make a splash and given the media coverage over the last week, he has succeeded. Sensationalism, i.e. The March On Washington, produced results by bringing a worthy cause to the attention of the masses.

3) Freedom of Speech- Speaking your mind isn’t having the feeling of entitlement (as some may say); it is Mr. Slater’s right as an American under the Constitution. If he wants to go down in flames, more power to him.

4) To Rebel Is American- Our founding fathers built America on rebelling against what is unjust or wrong. Just because Mr. Slater’s revolution is only in a niche area of society doesn’t mean it’s not just.

5) Comedy- From Half Baked to Jimmy Fallon (who has been crushing it this past week on Late Night #taketwobeersandjump) speaking you mind and sticking it to the man is great comic relief. Watch this and this.

#gmfgr The Slater Incident

Sun, 15 Aug 2010 19:58:00 -0400

There is a new wrinkle to this #gmfgr movement, the video. We have chosen to sum up our thoughts into a one minute maximum length video. Please enjoy the Slater Incident

This culture of quitting is perplexing. Please don’t misunderstand my sentiment. I want to stick it to the man just as much as the next guy or gal. Slater’s beer soaked ride off into the sunset resonated with much of America’s frustration with their situations. The way that we have accepted Slater as hero of the common man is proof that our social consciousness has devolved into a reality TV syndrome. While the tirade of Slater should be the brain child of the writers at SNL, these shenanigans are played out in real life for the army of talking heads to tell us that this is acceptable. What happened to respect of self? Where did the notion of lacing up your boots and giving an honest days work go? Since when do we expect that each and every aspect of our lives should be pleasant and pleasing to us? You see our misguided egos have inflated to the point that we have lost community. The status update culture is rearing its ugly head.

1. Two wrongs don’t make a right

By creating a right out of two wrongs, you have in fact created a genetically mutated version of what society says is ethically is accepted. The passenger that instigated the “take two beers and jump” moment, along with Slater are not the problem itself, but a symptom of an entitled culture.

2. Everybody is bearing a cross

Whether your problems revolve around money, or the emotional strife that Dad won’t accept your decision to pursue hand modeling, we all have issues that we deal with. In the rule book of life I have yet to find the section that provides the basis to be rude or inconsiderate to another individual based on the demons that I struggle with.

3. If Slater is a hero, then we are in big trouble

To call someone who was no better than the slimy passenger that ignited the “take two beers and jump” moment a hero, sets the bar pretty low for what we aspire to be. It saddens me that legions of weaklings that are emboldened by a petty outburst, yet we turn a blind eye and find bad things to say about moguls that gave up business in pursuit of purpose.

4. Integrity is lost in translation

A striking workforce is a group that has made a collective decision to band together and respectfully decline to work. A rogue employee that has bottled up anger and frustration and allows his wrath be unleashed upon the unsuspecting public is not respectful but quite the opposite.

5. Quitting is never good

If George Washington and his men would have listened to their inner Slater during the winter of 1776 while crossing the Delaware to show the Hessians what a good old fashioned American ass kicking feels like, who is to say that we wouldn’t be watching Soccer and driving on the wrong side of the road? Slater’s beer soaked slide off into the sunset is a polarization of the core issue behind our great and storied nation’s plunge on the social barometer, absence of hustle.

Roguecast 8/10/10

Tue, 10 Aug 2010 11:33:50 -0400

Roguecast 8/10/10:

(via roguementality)

Take the Stairs

Tue, 06 Jul 2010 15:49:06 -0400

I get a shifty look from all of the people congregating at the elevators as I pass by on my way to the stairs. I make my way past the crowd in pursuit of sparsely used door leading to the stairs. I hold no grudges or pass any judgment on the group that has chosen to take the assisted route.

I turn the handle and enter the cold and quiet hallway that houses the multistory building’s stairs. The passage up to the zenith of the building houses a road less travelled. Aligning this ascending route with a transcendental metaphor brings about a notion that can be applied to any discipline.

A long time ago my grandmother gave a short piece of advice that while simple in nature holds vast universal knowledge.

“Take the stairs.”

On the surface taking the stairs represents a little more work involved to attain a common goal. The elevator will most likely take you to the same location that the stairs will, with much less effort. So why then choose the latter?

While taking the stairs you expose your body to an elevated heart rate and test the limits of your cardiovascular system. Such is the case in embarking upon any endeavor in which we apply this theory. There is always a path of least resistance when faced with a decision. Upon which will result in a favorable outcome. But at what point is the outcome so trivialized that the means is not revered?

The means in which an end is satisfied has descended to that of a menial task. What used to be the litmus test of greatness now is a nuisance. The stairs offer a slower and less glamorous road in which to analyze the end. The end has become the focus of energy. Means in which are implemented to realize an end are irrelevant. What this does is compromise the integrity of the end.

Opportunities frequently arise, promising accelerated arrival to the desired destination, whatever the destination is. These opportunities strip the reliability of the end. The end’s importance has stolen our sense of presence. The sense of presence is the hallmark of a craftsman. If the desire for an effective end is valued, the means upon which the end is realized are paramount.

This neglect of the means in which we employ to reach ends is apparent in all aspects of life. From personal development all the way down to government, our processes have been trivialized. Change should be slow. Any change that is taken in an accelerated manner exponentially increases the margin of error. Even though error is essential, it is not beneficial to base means to an end on error.

Speaking metaphorically, taking the stairs is akin to employing a more traditional and proven method. Wisdom is gained through comprehension of the process. Shortcuts rarely offer the value of experience. Shortcuts will give an end that is not fully understood. The fruits of life are realized in the details. If those details are trivialized, what is the point?

Delving deeper into the metaphor of the stairs versus the elevator, control is relinquished upon the entrance of the elevator. Once you have committed to allow the elevator to carry you to the destination, you outsource the experience of the journey. If control is no longer managed the end is in jeopardy.

The next time you encounter an elevator, make an effort to find the stairs. You too will notice the herd’s confused look as they anticipate the elevator to deliver them to their destination. Who knows, we just might cross paths in echo filled stairwells of life.

Rogue Mentality: Give Me Five Good Reasons: U-S-A, U-S-A

Sun, 04 Jul 2010 18:08:06 -0400

Rogue Mentality: Give Me Five Good Reasons: U-S-A, U-S-A:

Today we celebrate the birth of America. The day, in 1776, we as a nation collectively told England to piss off. Since that fateful day in 1776, our country forged its own identity, battled each other, suffered gowning pains, endured, and grown into the most powerful nation in the world. In honor…

Give Me 5 Good Reasons...fourth of July

Sun, 04 Jul 2010 18:01:52 -0400

So it’s fourth of July and my brother in law texts me, “Five good reasons that USA is the best?” So me being the stereotypical guy that can’t back down from a challenge says, “OK, when is post time?” He indicates that he wants to post in the next three hours. As I write this I have had three New Belgium Arrow beers and the clock currently reads 2:48, with a deadline of 3:00pm. So if this sounds phoned in, it is in a way. I will say that I do love this country and this is an easy feat to give five good reasons that America is the best.

1. Freedom of Religion.

I am man of faith, I get my cup filled each week at the local Catholic establishment. Thank you George Washington for allowing me to worship Twinkies if I wanted to.

2. I can choose my own profession.

Unlike communist China or any other oppressive regime, I have the freedom to play in any industry as a career. How many other countries would allow a student to pull federally subsidized loans in a pursuit of attaining a degree in women’s sufferage?

3. I can vote.

Even though my vote is just one of the roughly 200,000,000 votes cast in a general Presidential election and means very little in the grand scheme, it pacifies me. I am able to gather with people that have the same slanted view as myself and attempt to make other people think the same way.

4. Your future lies in your own hands.

Opportunity is available to every single person in this nation, black, white, red, yellow, purple, rich, poor, medium, drunk, addicted, sober, rocker, hip hopper, punker, you get the picture. If you want something, the only thing standing between you and the object or career, or transvestite hooker is your own mind, no matter what you say.

5. The official start of fourth of July is a competitive eating competition.

I kept it pretty serious up until this point, but where else in the world does a nation celebrate the disgusting gluttony that is consuming 68 hot dogs, or over 20,000 calories, in under 10 minutes? Nowhere, because the rest of the world is starving, oppressive, arrogant, or just plain sucks.

Happy Fourth of July from the crew of one at @brewery33 Labs.

BTW it’s 3 o’clock.

CiL Test

Mon, 17 May 2010 19:31:21 -0400

This is what the internet was made for!

Test

Give Me 5 Good Reasons...Medical Pot in Stockton?

Tue, 20 Apr 2010 10:00:00 -0400

Another feature that I am going to do is to take a subject, pick a side and give five reasons that back up your argument. I call it “Give me five good reasons”. It works best as a battle between two individuals that are consenting, but it works well on its own as well.

For each reason you get two sentences to explain. You also get 50 words to start and 50 words to end. Twitter has taught me brevity.

This week we have medical pot in Stockton.

Local blogger/writer @slickDiaz who maintains “Reclaiming the Title” has agreed to have a battle of words in regards to the notion of medical pot ordinances in Stockton. Today being the equivalent of Chinese New Year for pot heads, what better way to spend your day than reading two completely obscure points of view on mildly viewed websites.

My five reasons…

5. Stockton’s Great, Take a Hit

Everyone’s favorite director of Stockton’s Convention and Visitor’s Bureau’s ears must have perked up when the puppy dogs known as the Planning Commission rolled over and pleased their masters at City Hall by creating the essential City ordinance for the booming industry of government pot. Now we finally have the credibility to attract employment minded marijuana merchants and over achieving purveyors of fine cannabis to our City with a slogan that will truly be in the spirit of celebrating Stockton.

4. Is this the City leadership’s way of playing hardball with the Police and Fire gangs?

Much to the displeasure of our City Council and taxpayers in general, our City Police and Fire departments exhibit a concerted effort to decimate the coffers of money that are generated through public funding for their “more than fair” retirement racket. The passive aggressive tactic of sanctioning the hippie equivalent of a liquor store and adding an element of potential crime as a submission move, rather than the City Council actually facing their pimps and airing the dirty laundry of collective bargaining, makes complete sense.

3. This is exactly what will fortify our landmark initiative of Strong Neighborhoods

When I think of the missing factor that is keeping our neighborhoods from interacting and strengthening the fabric of the community, I am embarrassed that I neglected to realize the obvious answer lies in the exiled close knit community of recreational drug users. Calling upon the reputation of ambition and organizational aptitude that marijuana users exemplify, we can hope to enjoy drum circles and jam band sessions with no particular regularity other than if it feels good and always benefiting the fight against corporate America, because we hate jobs.

2. Just what former most miserable City in America needs, legal drugs.

While the mortgage tsunami decimates Stockton resident’s financial lives and business owners stand in line at EDD, City Hall contemplates the important issue of how and where we are going to sell pot. Clearly this issue far more important than exploiting our humongous inventory of commercial lease space through aggressive outreach and benefits to potential employers, or bitch slapping the bureaucratic militias that disguise themselves as unions in an effort to negotiate a fiscally sound agreement that allows bargaining in times of need.

1. If it is such a medicinal necessity, why not dispense it through a real pharmacy.

If you are going to allow the sale of a mildly illegal substance within your City limits, why are we allowing loosely organized bands of hippies to facilitate sales and not calling upon the expertise of our legitimate pharmacy constituency? Oh, I know, government involvement in the regulation and distribution of the illicit substance tramples on the counter culture code of ethics in that “the man” will attempt mind control and fund his war machine.

With all of this said, I will not claim to be a straight edge prudish conservative. I only think that the current state of affairs our City is experiencing the idea that our City Council is even wasting their time on this non-issue is laughable.

Snap Judgment: Stockton's new City Manager

Sat, 17 Apr 2010 17:38:59 -0400

Over my hiatus from hyper connectivity, I realized one thing. My life was unbalanced. I would hamper my productivity by over using the tool of the moment. I wasn’t producing anything but a poor public perception of my cynicism. One of the many things that I vowed to change was to gain a focus. So with that, I have to find some sort of structure for my musings if I am to maintain a balance. Because even the Greek god Zeus had issues with balancing chaos, so I shouldn’t feel too bad of my inadequacy. (just saw Clash of the Titans in the theatre)

The first piece of the aforementioned structure that I am implementing in my repertoire is a feature called snap judgment. Here I will take a topic that has consumed my thoughts and pick my top five or bottom five (depends on my mood) opinions of the issue, and write short explanations supporting my stance. So here goes snap judgment #2*

Stockton’s new City Manager Bob Deis

When I grabbed this morning’s Stockton Record at my local Starbucks (see Ian) I became uncharacteristically giddy. They announced the new City Manager that all of us politic fan boy’s have been consumed with. Stockton’s leadership pulled an Apple and shrouded the entire process in secrecy, hence creating a frenzy of interest among the interested. The entire process is rife with events that rival those of an M. Night Shamalan WTF movie ending. Secret meetings, car switching, venue diversion and strict contracts of confidentiality. In that regard I was cynical, but in retrospect I give a golf clap to the leadership for using murky ethics to bring about awareness.

The City Manager is basically the boss in our current political structure. Since our Mayor basically presides over the Council meetings and takes pictures reading to kids, which is not a knock to Mayor Johnston. But literally she really only presides over the demigods that create policy from on high. The City Manager has to make their wishes come true. He is akin to the General in the field working among the peasants, taking and carrying out orders from the idealistic and disconnected policy makers. He basically has the shittiest job in the City. One of the only jobs that actually has the requisite of being a leader. It’s basically a job that you don’t want to give to the guy that everyone likes, because he probably isn’t a leader. Which leads me into my list.

1. Deis’ departure from his last position was applauded by labor groups.

This is my favorite thing about the guy. Apparently he has the balls to stand up to the street gangs that wrap themselves in the union collective bargaining agreement. Let’s face it, if our largest industry was the industry of government, innovation is basically strangled and left for our City morgue to deal with the remains. Government jobs should not offer the most lucrative retirement. It should be fair, because truthfully City employees are human and deserve a decent existence, but the reward for choosing to become a member of the machine hence abandoning the ranks of private commerce should not be greater than can be justified. What I am saying is that a person that basically served their community should not be able to retire with full pay at 50ish years old. Their job was beneficial to the community, but not so much to justify that much of an outlay of money. I am excited to see what Deis will bring to the bargaining table when our favorite unions, the Police and Fire, come to the table. Something tells me that it will be entertaining as they weren’t even represented during his hiring or interview process. Maybe the City’s largest gangs will finally be forced to play fair.

2. He is 54 and still in labor’s face

Strange thing to pumped up about, right? Well not really. You see it is a good age for a manager of that level. He has gotten out of his “I need to prove myself to the world because I am 30 and ambitious” age. He leveled up and surpassed the “40 year old burn out bureaucrat that is bought and sold to the man” test of endurance. He is entering the bureaucratic twilight and he is still kicking and punching. Only now with more pointed accuracy as he is still vying for top positions such as the City Manager in places such as America’s most miserable City. A City that has a history of possessing gigantic pussies that get elected and basically roll over to have their bellies scratched by soulless developers and street gangs like the Police and Fire unions. I say that if he is still lighting a fire under people’s asses in his mid-fifties where most guys in their mid-fifties are more worried about retirement and finally getting that red corvette. It is likely that he is not going to stop when our labor officials attempt to further decimate the general fund.

3. He is married

This is just a personal issue for me. It is my belief that married people are more stable. We are less likely to hire a raging alcoholic if we hire a married guy than if we hired a single guy. Marriage adds a sense of stability in life. I will not be surprised at the pot shots that I will endure from my single friends for this view, but they simply will not understand. Now his marital status is not a shoe in. For all I know he could be a power mongering dick head that has a shitty marriage full of lies and deceit. But to his credit he did tour Stockton with his wife and give the obligatory, “We are very impressed with the feel of the City” felatio to the press. I mean we are going to pay this guy handsomely to come and play in our current playground built by spendthrifts drunk on property tax revenue. So the fact that he embellished his Yelp review of Stockton is not scoffed at. At least Deis was playing the family man card, with wife in tow. We just have to make sure that we keep the desperate housewives at bay inside of our walls. We don’t want another Mark Lewis fiasco.

4. He left his last job

Deis isn’t all sugar plums and gum drops. The fact that he left his last job because the Sonoma County Board of Supervisors was still reeling politically from new members does strike a morsel of fear into my heart. I guess I would have to know how bad it was. It could have been the equivalent attempting to force a square shaped block through a round hole. I really don’t know, but I do know that he threw his hands up and walked. I kind of have a respect for that because maybe he is just goal oriented and the elected leadership didn’t like the ties that he donned, so they hatched a plan to discredit him through inaction. But still smells a hint like a quitter. This theory doesn’t sound too out of line, because we all know that elected officials are really just glorified pageant winners. They are usually self important and so far removed from the process, that they can’t understand why everyone isn’t just getting along and play together. So I guess my fear is really based in the fact that our elected officials have a history of infidelity regarding bed fellows. They preach and pander to the constituents but turn tricks for the Police and Fire unions. I hope this guy has the endurance of Lance Armstrong.

5. He is a cancer survivor

The fact that he wears a Live Strong bracelet is a little reassurance that his endurance is similar to Lance’s. Deis received a death sentence, but decided rather than be a pussy and succumb to the prognosis, he kicked its ass. It is so impressive to see a cancer survivor crush it. It’s like watching a master of their craft create. It is the ultimate live in the buff attitude. He understands life’s fragility. Death officially knocked on his door and Deis kicked him in the nuts. So we can have confidence that labor contract negotiations will not shake him. Contract negotiations pale in the comparison of mortality. His technique on the battlefield of life personifies his trait of strength. I love strong leaders.

So that is my snap judgment. Now here’s to hoping our short bus politics won’t scare him away.
* (first was the Masters site, I kind of used it as a beta)

In my humble opinion...

Sun, 11 Apr 2010 17:20:00 -0400

So I decided to take some of the Masters in online this weekend. While I was watching I tooled around on their site. Upon landing on the site I was not surprised by the quality of the site, I mean this is the Masters and most people at Augusta don’t even realize that money is hard to come by these days. While I began to dig deeper into the site I began to find some of the cool tools present. I decided to do a quick hit post about my experience. Let me preface that before you go any further and read my bullet points, I am not a golfer, don’t know anything about golf other than that you hit a ball into a hole, but yes I own a set of golf clubs that Mom bought me at Big 5. So here we go.

1. Pretty heavy site, loads slow.

I did a little research (I viewed the source), and found that the site is built Adobe Flash heavy. While this seems to be the standard for most sites that carry, pardon the pun, flashy animations, it is a resource hog. Plus the iPad owners might have a problem with the viewing, and in my opinion, a perfect use for the iPad. I am not rich so I don’t have an iPad, so my iPad problem is based solely on speculation.

2. Great easy to find statistics

Since the sole reason that I even tuned into the Masters was to see how Stockton’s own Ricky Barnes was faring against the best in world, the ability to easily search the players was much appreciated. I enjoyed that it was kind of real time stats as the current hole was displayed in the player profile along with position and total score (Masters site calls it status).

3. Why only video on two holes

In this day and age and the fact that the members of the Augusta National Country Club have the ability to pay off the national debt and still have money left over, why in hell didn’t they mic and camera every hole. Why be so presumptuous that I would only like to watch holes 15 and 16? Why not give me the option to follow my favorite player? Not only would this be a quantifiable way for the PGA to measure the popularity of the players American Idol style, but it would provide a viewing experience that is individual to each person. The possibility in this notion alone stands to change the sports viewing game. Maybe some big wig will read my stupid writing and bitch slap some of the board members at Augusta, telling them to loosen their grip on the money they love so much and create a user experience that they can sell to every other sport on the planet. You heard it here first, so I am officially taking credit for this idea, because trust me it will happen.

4. All the tools in the Watch Live video server did not work

When I landed on the Watch Live video player and noticed some tools present to customize my experience, I got excited. Then I tried to use them. Yea, they didn’t work. First, I already mentioned the video fascism of only allowing me view holes 15 and 16, but the Hole and Player button didn’t even work. It brought down a container that housed some information about 15 and 16, but I could only view whatever hole Firethorn is. I would have liked to be able to view any hole. That alone would have allowed me follow my favorite golfer through the entire course. The leaderboard button didn’t even work. I liked the picture in picture, but again the elitism of Augusta National permeated the tool as it only allowed for you see what they wanted you to see (Featured Group, Interview(which never worked for me), Holes 15 and 16, and the Amen Corner(Some sort of church reference? WTF)

5. The Masters web coverage is the evolutionary equivalent of Homo Habilis’ use of tools

This is the most diverse sports, if you consider golf a sport, coverage yet. What do I mean? The customization of the viewers experience is driving the broadcasting industry to toy with new technology. Apply this technology to another sport. Could you imagine watching a baseball game and being able to watch inside the dugout, or maybe go to the bullpen cam? What about a penalty box cam in a hockey game to see how bad a dude got messed up during a fight? This is a perfect fit for NASCAR, as the fan could follow the transmissions of their favorite driver. Too bad NASCAR fans think computers are some government conspiracy to become a socialist nation. The work the Masters started during this year’s telecast is only the beginning. I predict that as time goes on, the experience is going to distill into a personalized viewing event for all sports.

I will end with a standing ovation for the Masters. I applaud the innovation, but will nudge my neighbor and say that we still have a long way to go. With the introduction of personal web surfing devices that are pleasurable to look at (iPad reference), the game is changing. I can’t wait to see what MLB will do with the World Series, the NFL with the Super Bowl, the NCAA with March Madness (which by the way killed with this year’s March Madness web coverage), NASCAR with whatever they do with their car races, and the NBA with the Finals.

Mom always said to be nice to the smart kids. Now I know why. Nerds are slowly taking over the way we watch sports.

One man's garbage is another man's treasure

Sun, 11 Apr 2010 13:44:34 -0400

While I was paying my debt to the godfather at Podcast Stockton I came across some interesting things. Since I am loyal to the local tech scene and we have a Craigslist style site that is devoid of skanky prostitutes called Closet Goodies, I decided to post the treasures in the free section. This posting of items for distribution online is my first time. Do you remember your first time? Below is a link to the items that profile the social demographic of Stockton.

http://closetgoodies.com/ad.asp?AD_ID=749

Be a gangster and love your local scene. :-)

Rogue Mentality: Give Me Five Good Reasons: Nike v. Adidas

Thu, 01 Apr 2010 19:32:59 -0400

Rogue Mentality: Give Me Five Good Reasons: Nike v. Adidas:

In 2007, my buddy Andrew Blair sent me an email asking simply, “Nike v. Adidas?” At the time I just finished my first battle blog post called “Gat vs. Googs”(a four parter) and the next logical step was to do she battle. However, as it tends to happen, life got in the way, more specifically…

Give Me 5 Good Reasons...

Thu, 01 Apr 2010 10:00:00 -0400

The clash of the sports apparel titans. Nike v Adidas. @the_Rogue taking the side of America’s sweethart, Nike, and yours truly taking the Germanian powerhouse that is Adidas. Impossible is nothing.

5. 60 year family feud over misunderstood comment between Adidas founder Adi Dassler and his brother Rudi embody the notion of dedication.

4. Nike personifies all that is wrong with the American dream

3. Official shoe of the only reason that soccer hits my radar, the Chelsea Football Club

hooligans

2. Geek cred with Star Wars line

endorsement

Boba Fett

1. Adidas Track Suit

tracksuit

mobster

urban b-boy

Rogue Mentality: Give Me Five Good Reasons: Video Games

Tue, 23 Mar 2010 13:12:10 -0400

Rogue Mentality: Give Me Five Good Reasons: Video Games:

From the mind of Brewery 33 Labs, in conjunction with the Rogue Mentality Brain Trust (this is my epic voice), I proudly present the potentially weekly debate of life’s most polarizing topics: Give Me Five Good Reasons.

The premise is simple, pick a subject i.e. Nike v.s Adidias, take a side,…

Give Me 5 Good Reasons

Tue, 23 Mar 2010 13:11:00 -0400

Top 5 reasons Street Fighter 2 is the greatest game of all time.

5. Racial Stereotypes

Street Fighter 2 danced on the line of political correctness with its over the top representation of each characters ethnic and persona stereotype. While the game play is the standard at which makes a game great, the depth of the characters make the game timeless.

4. Game play was simple yet still sophisticated

Street Fighter 2 was the first game that incorporated character specific special moves in a fighting game, to my knowledge. While Street Fighter 2 paved the way for the one on one fighter, its special moves that were individual to each character are the standard of perfect sophistication that outshines the manic button mashing of its “special” spawn fighting game Tekken and the extreme example of requiring a PhD in order to complete a fatality in the gore fest fighter Mortal Kombat.

3. Rivalry between friends was heightened at the arcade by the entrance of this game

In the age of physical arcades where kids had to leave their homes to play their favorite game, Street Fighter 2 was first game to have someone actually kick the ass of someone else on the screen, hence decapitating the high score standard. Head to head gaming emerged, adding a characteristic of swagger and trash talk during the game, to the once individualistic nature of the classic arcade game.

2. Individual endings for each character

On many levels the detail of individuality permeated the game play of Street Fighter 2, but none more so than a personalized ending for each character. Not only did this mathematically substantiate the 69.99 price tag of the 16 bit SNES game cartridge by encouraging you to beat the game with each character, but it also sparked the revolution of taking a picture of the ending screen to prove to your friends at school that not only are you a nerd, but an accomplished video game nerd.

1. Bonus games

The mini game was a button mashing break from the action that paid homage to the high score and best time standard of its predecessors. Breaking what looked like a Subaru apart on a dock, or smashing barrels on a conveyor belt provided the foundation for a future of sophisticated gaming by dangling the proverbial hidden features carrot with diverse layers of game play.

I know it’s against the rules but here is a little extra that didn’t make it into the Top 5, but is more of a testament to the depth in which Street Fighter 2 permeated the video game world. Capcom rode this pony until the wheels literally fell off.

Edit to satisfy ruling of Interweb judges 3-23-10 1245p Pacific

Bonus: Only game to have sequels that chronologically stopped at 2.

The game’s name was so important to the franchise that it merely added a different description rather than an iteration. EX: Street Fighter 2: Tournament Edition, Street Fighter 2: The New Challengers (see we have more racial stereotypes to exploit), and Street Fighter 2: Champion Edition.

~~And we have a fan club. Game Over.~~