I think I’m going to start posting about my fantasy football league. I’ve got a good group of guys playing this year, and given how crazy this NFL season has been, and the effect this has had on my sanity, the posts should make for good comedy. Every Tuesday (mark your calendars!) I’ll post an update on my league and the results from that weekend. With my own unique brand of commentary of course.
For now, here’s a sneak-peak at my current roster:
QB - Aaron Brooks
QB - Mark Brunnell
RB - Eddie George
RB - Edgerrin James
RB - Michael Pittman
TE - Shannon Sharpe
TE - Chad Lewis
WR - Keenan McCardell
WR - Eric Moulds
WR - Joey Galloway
WR - Eddie Kennison
WR - Antwaan Randle-El
K - Adam Vinatieri
DL - Joey Porter
DL - Takeo Spikes
DL - London Fletcher
DL - Hugh Douglas
DB - Ken Irvin
DB - Chad Scott
DB - Shaun Williams
A block away from where I work, a Citibank had all of its windows shattered by a group of people participating the IMF/World Bank protests. Part of me wants to sit down with these kids and ask them how the destruction of property is going to achieve the goals that they have, such as forgiving third world debt. Another part of me wants to go to their homes and smash their windows. Have these morons accomplished anything useful since these protests started?
Here’s a quote by John C. Dvorak that blew my mind:
When Edison first released his prerecorded cylinders, they sold for $4 each. With mass production, he eventually brought the price down to 35 cents, nearly a 90 percent reduction. If the same ratio held true with $16 CDs, the cost of which has been perpetually propped up by price fixing, they would cost $1.40. Since it costs less than 25 cents to mass-produce a CD, $1.40 is reasonable and profitable… The industry can still make millions of dollars, just not billions. And many artists can go back to making money the old-fashioned way – by working harder and performing more.
Dvorak is saying two things: 1) that the price of an album should be tied to the cost of pressing a CD and 2) that the music industry should sit back and accept a drop in revenue by a factor of 1000.
On the first point, there are a myriad of costs associated with the creation of an album of music that have nothing to do with the medium on which it is delivered. Artist salaries, music video budgets, the list goes on. Likewise the record labels recoup this cost in different ways: CD’s, concerts, merchandise, etc. Ultimately, the cost of an album should be determined by the market. I find his price-fixing allegations to be the worriesome issue.
The second point I find more disturbing. I’m a believer that people will ultimately pay what they consider to be a fair price for legitimate content. The VCR, long feared by the movie industry, ended up being its primary profit engine over the last 20 years. DVD, once feared by studios who refused to release their films to the new format, is now the most successful consumer electronics story ever. I would argue that the ability to purchase music on-line, and have it be burnable and playable on multiple devices will ultimately enrich the music industry ,if they give consumers what they want. Dvorak’s view is essentially the one shared by Hillary Rosen and the RIAA, and it is this backwards, defensive attitude about consumers that will keep a mutually beneficial outcome just out of people’s reach.
Things have really busy lately, and I haven’t had anytime to update this site. I doubt that comes as much of a tragedy to most people, but I like updating this site and sharing my thoughts with the few who drop by.
Lately I’ve been thinking alot of my future. What do I want to do with my life, etc. Everything from a new career to going back to school has swireled through my head. Some of this has to do with seeing people I know doing these things, some of it has to do with feelings of dissatisfaction I have with my current situation.
Today I read an article on Lawrence Lessig, a lawyer and scholar who’s ideas about free speech, copyright law, and the Internet I find to be absolutely fascinating. Reading this article reminded me why I used to want to be a lawyer. The ability to succeed on the basis of one’s ability to rationally articulate a persuasive argument, and make a good living doing it, seemed like a no-brainer when I was younger. Then the Internet came along, and every dope who could code a line of C++ seemed to be an instant millionaire. Goodbye pre-law, hello computer science.
Of course, I still love programming. Which is the problem. I don’t know whether I should go get my MBA, JD, or Masters in CompSci. Too many options, too little time (and money).
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