Debate: I Don't Have To Like You...Right?

  We all have friends (or think we do), and a part of life is meeting your friend's significant other.  However, like with other people we meet, it's up in the air whether or not we will like them...and I don't see a problem with that.  This could be a big problem or a small side note depending on how often you are forced to be in the same place, but it will come up at some point.

"Stupid Bitch" (Pic from Big Bang Theory courtesy of ausiellofiles.ew.com)

Anti-Social Networking

  Social networking has been around forever...literally.  The locations & list of approved electronic devices has grown, but it's nothing new.  I remember some of the other sites I would frequent to see what was new with my friends & flirt with girls:

Hold up, let me update my status real quick

  -The Playground
 This was the first sight I can remember craving.  All the users were my demographic, so it was easy to connect with them.  It had the best built in games that weren't obnoxious.  If I wanted to know how well Rico was doing on the monkey bars, I just had to walk over and find out.  If I wanted some multi-player games, I could play tag or get on the merry-go-round.  Site security was an issue sometimes though, as I had to get parental permission to access it, I had to watch out for pedo's offering candy, & I could easily pick up a virus from the hardware.  Not sure when...but I just outgrew it.

Extra Thought: Substantial

  I often think about life and how I want to move forward in it.  Every now and then, a certain word will stand out to me as a motivator/battle cry/attitude.  It humors me that a normal, every day word can randomly stand out and have a more profound meaning when you think about its definition. 

  The word that has stood out to me as of late is 'Substantial'.  There are a lot of things in life that we give our attention to, some more important than others.  My focus needs to be on those substantial things that will affect me the greatest.  I want everything that I'm associated with to be substantial. 

It Never Rains in Southern California...*Confirmed*

  I spent the last 7 days in California: 4 in the High Desert & 3 in So Cal.  I'm not going to lie, I had a good time.  I prepared for this trip by warning the handful of people I know in the area that I would be there, and asking my boy Andrew what places I should check out via text message...That's it.  No itinerary, no scheduled events...shoot, I didn't even book my hotel room until the day before.  I just went out there to be out there and see what it was about.

Godzilla could really catch them slipping right now

3 Factors Why People Oppose The "Ground Zero Mosque"

**Please note, I want to hear your opinions on this topic. Whether it be in agreement or objection to my comments, or just your thoughts on this matter in general, please post your comments.  You don't have to be a member of this site to comment, you can either sign in using your Google account, or you can just leave your name with your comment.**

  There is a lot of debate right now about whether or not a mosque (also reported as a Muslim community center, but in the grand scheme of things, it matters not) should be allowed to be built at ground zero of the September 11th terror attacks.  The pro side is trying to hold true to the 1st amendment to the constitution that promotes religious freedom in this country. The opposing side views this as a slap in the face of the 9/11 victims' families & survivors as the idea of an Islamic center on the site of a terror attack carried out by people of the Islamic faith is like saying the terrorists won (Background articles: Fox News & CNN).  Each side has been very passionate about their stance. Passion, however can also be used to cover ignorance.

  I feel like the opposing side's argument (in some cases, not every) can be boiled down into 3 factors which are as follows:

The LeBron of Softball

  Today I filled in on a coed softball team with a few co-workers.  I was a little reluctant to do it at first, because it was about a 30 minute drive from my place.  So as I was walking to the field, I see my friend Jamal walking to his car.  Turns out, the team I was filling in on was playing against a team of my friends that I decided not to play with (because of the distance, not because I don't like them...really...I'm serious...why would you even consider that?).  So needless to say, they felt a little betrayed by my appearance...I got shouted at by a chick I didn't even know.  Well, that wasn't going to stop me form fulfilling my agreement & helping the other team achieve victory.

  Side Note: I wonder if it will be this awkward when LeBron rolls into NY and stomps the Knicks.  They did so much to lure him there and they will still remember the heartbreak when they play the Heat. Probably not, LeBron doesn't have any friends on the Knicks...that I know of anyway...he may have some new ones, but as of last month when he was dog-sitting for me, he said he didn't (Yeah, that's right, I pay LeBron James $20/day to dog-sit...He doesn't need the money, he just uses it as an excuse to name drop me in conversation.)

  Afterward, I went out for some food with the friends I just helped hand an L to.  Turns out the team is pretty cool.  We ended up joking around and taking pictures (too many) in this little pizza spot for the rest of the night.
     
  Side Note: The service was stupid. Chick that waited on us looked like Kima from The Wire, so she had that going for her...but she didn't do anything for us.  We had to rearrange tables to fit, we had to clean them, we got 1 round of water refills, and we had to wait forever to get the bill with the gratuity included...But I digress.

The chick that shouted at me...shouting

  More pictures below & no, I don't know how to make the pics go in a straight line:

3 Reasons Why I Dislike Twitter

  I Hate dislike Twitter. I use it, but I feel like I'm forced to because a lot of my friends use it.  Whenever I check my time line, I'm always assaulted with the same issues that reinforce my distaste for the social networking soup de jour.  Here are some of my main annoyances:

1. Good Concept, Poor Execution
  The idea of Twitter makes sense, a free flowing sea of information generated by the users for the users.  But in action, this simplistic goal is bogged down and diluted by it's own technical shortcomings.  Any website that can only be tolerated by using a third party application has a major design flaw.  Nobody...well, nobody that knows how to set the timer on their microwave tweets via Twitter.  Whether it be Peep, Echofon, Tweetdeck, Twitdroid, Spaz, or whatever the hell you use...A home-grown solution is needed to make the site more bearable. Using one of these is like knowing how to swim before you jump in the ocean...if not, you bound to drizzown.

  My biggest problem is the fact that debates & conversations are very difficult to follow (no pun intended).  If you aren't following everybody that's involved in the discussion, you instantly missed everything they've added unless you go "Dog the bounty hunter" style and start checking the replies. If that person has protected tweets, then it's just a lost cause.  The other way around this is by re-tweeting what you are responding to. This method leaves you in a maze of @So&So, #'s, & RTs that will make it unclear who said what...all while trying to get a full thought across withing the 140 character cap.

  Speaking of the 140 character cap: it seems like the creators and the users have two different opinions of what should be tweeted.  The creators seemed to have intended for a quick, succinct statement of what you are doing or what you are thinking.  The users, however, use it differently. This often happens, where the designer will give people a tool and expect it to be used one way, but then the users take that tool to a new, higher level by making it more functional than planned.  This, however, is a gift and a curse.

I'm on a boat!!! I must tweet this!  (http://www.innyvinny.com/2010/08/10/oh-slate/)