Dont Fall for The AT&T Okie Doke!! [From the Blackberry Chronicles]

I'm always amazed how ape-shit ppl go over new Apple products. You couldn't even load the att website when the new iphone was announced bc all the iphone feens crashed the sight. Att is hilarious. They realized that they are utterly incapable of keeping up with the massive demands caused by the Iphone, so in an attempt fix it, their solution is..............stop using the network so much or we'll nickel and dime you out. But since they cant exactly cut your service against your will, they had to come up with a more alluring, seductive way to do pull this off.

If I believed in the market, I would have invested heavily in att about a month ago when they announced that they were no longer offering unlimited data to new users and revealed the new tiered data structure. Smart users will save a lot of money, but ppl who use their phone ignorantly will get raped. Once I get my new phone that will do all the things I currently don't do, the data calculator estimated me at 4.45 gigs a month. Att's "high end" plan is 2gs and $10 for every 1g over you go. Couple that with them raising the early termination fees on smartphones, (therefore, if you jumped ship just for the Iphone and are dissatisfied with terrible service, you're trapped or have to part ways with a kidney to go back to your old provider) att stands to make a killing.

Remember at one point, phone companies discontinued the unlimited nights and weekends (unless you already had it) bc of usage congestion and only offered 1000 nights and weekends. Remember when long distance wasn't included in your anytime minutes? Calling your neighboring state...and in some cases town, was an additional charge.

Sidenote: My first ever cellphone plan was 200 anytime minutes, long distance not included, unlimited nights and weekends, and I had it for a year before I ever went over (relationships are costly). My first txt msg plan was 200 msg... I average 1200-1700 txt msgs a month now. Can we agree that time and habits change?

Idunno about yall, but I would hold on to a grandfathered unlimited data plan (which they are discontinuing). At first glance, a $15 blackberry plan looks very enticing, but who knows what the internet will look like in 1-3 yrs. Look out for a few things here and on the horizon that will forever alter the next generation of cellphones. Here are a few reasons why you should hold onto your unlimited plan.

Video Calling: Although its currently choppy at best, if you can even connect a call, this is going to be the next mega-craze for smartphone usage. The Evo, Iphone 4 and a small handful others are a few that can video chat now. The quality is about as poor as pre-T1 speed webcam chat but will only get better. Soon, it will be as common as having a camera on your phone. You can't even find a phone today without a camera (they even have flashes that rival your actual camera). I would have preferred companies spent more R&D and fine tuned the concept first, but I credit these folks who pushed to be the first.

Tethering: It's bad enough that att charges you additional fees to do this, while other providers don't but with the tethering option, coupled with an unlimited data plan, you could make a wireless hotspot right at home without a cable or dsl internet plan. You can even use it anywhere with your laptop like an air card. You would definitely need an unlimited plan for this, otherwise whats the point? You think cell phone internet eats a lot of data imagine your computer internet usage? It transfers information to and from your computer even when you're not doing anything.

Video Texting: Att has a phone called "The Shine" and there are a few others that can already insert video into a txt message. Not a hyperlink, not an attachment. Yes. The actual video as streamline as those messages with pictures in it. After thinking "how fricken cool is that?" my inner nerd (shut up Denisha! He's inner I say!) couldn't help but think "that is going to consume a lot of data. Email can't even do that yet w/o youtube.

Wifi: If your wondering why you walk around with 2 spare batteries and bring your charger EVERYWHERE, its bc you probably have your WAP or wifi set to "on". Wifi is much faster than 3G (since its using a different network than what you use for voice) and can handle greater data transfers. This is perfect if you're trying to save $$ bc you can opt out of a data plan and just pick up a reliable wifi signal just like you do with your laptop. So what's the Achilles heal here? See first statement: since its doing more work and constantly checking for more reliable networks, its exorbitantly taxing on battery life, rendering it an unattractive option. As networks get faster and faster, unless companies do something to improve power management, more and more ppl will rely more on their data plans.

Blackberry Messenger: Yall know by now that if bbm was a woman, I'd massage her feet daily. I'm seriously about to get rid of or lower my txt msg plan (I haven't bc I had a conversation similar to this with myself) bc everyone I talk to most is on bbm. You can already have group chats, conference chatting, file sharing, send images, files and even record voice notes back and forth (how's that for a spin on free international conversations; feel free to steal that; you're welcome) its only a matter of time before video chatting is an option.

Multi Media Messages: Show of hands, how many ppl have more than 3 megapixels on their phone cam? Ok, now how many ppl have a phone cam that rivals most digital camera's? I remember when 3.0mp came out in the art/graphics/photography world, that was the death of "point and click" cameras and the 5.0+ was the nail in the coffin for film (outside of industry preference). Now they are making 5-10mp HD cameras on cell phones. Better quality = larger files = more data required to send those picture msg we send so frequently, a la "hey I bought some bomb ass new shoes - CLICK:::SNAP:::SEND- see!!??" You may not exceed 2gigs a month NOW, but 2 phones down the line you may. Which leads me to my last point:

Most users are oblivious of their data usage: Can anyone quantify the txt equivalent of 20 bytes of data?.......... The Final Jeopardy answer, "how are you?" I know this bc I had extensive conversations when trying to figure out an international data plan. Images and attached files are easy bc they tell you the file size but how much data is a 2 minute streaming video, Facebook page or even this blog? Plus these newer phones can do more like view flash, allowing you to watch hulu or netflix on your phone.

Sidenote: wifi and netflix kills my laptop battery life what pillage and desecration will it do to my poor wee lil cell phone battery?

Rumor has it that other carriers are looking to follow suite with the tiered data pricing. If history repeats itself, they may eventually bring back the unlimited plans as data/network supply catches up to consumption demands.....but what if we don't. Do we as consumers need to usher into a new era of limits, restriction, become more cognizant (thanks lady in red) and responsible and considerate about our data ussage?.............................................................MAAAAAAAAAAN, [UGHFFF] DAT!!! As much as we're over charged?!! Shooooot, I'll take a picture of my hand giving a middle finger, attach a voicenote of me singing "lalala," type "how are you" 100 times, and bbm that bitch to Mars if I damn well please!

Sent via The RrChitect by Some provider I refuse to advertise for.

Why Do Stereotypes Offend Us?

I've lived with and worked with many men of many races, religions and cultural backgrounds. Most notably in college, 4 guys + moi in a duplex apartment, which I called my, "Real World Apartment" bc it was the most diverse set of personalities I've ever had under one roof. Aside from a few conflicts of ideology on tidiness, we all got along very well, but we were THE most stereotypical band of ppl ever assembled since the power rangers. More stereotypical than GI JOE.

Roll Call:

DOWNSTAIRS
The Irish Guy - Who drank every night...and most days.
The Chinese/Asian Guy - AKA Guy Downstairs, AKA The Man under the stairs. He never left his room. The only time we saw him was through an opening over the wall/partition as you're walking up the stairs. Whenever everyone else is hanging out in the living room, we'd hear random punchlines and funny snaps coming from under the stairs. LOVE EM! BTW, he watched anime and played videogames all day long. I'm convinced he installed a bathroom on his pc. We all went to the same school, 3 art students, 1 architect and one engineer. Take a wild guess what major he was? Ok, you'd accuse me of exaggerating if I said he was good at math too, huh?

Sidenote: I don't know if he had a car bc we lived in Tribeca, but I'd bet money it was a regular or souped up Honda civic.

Upstairs
Black Guy #1 - Southern Black American from "Bawlmormyrrrlin", who fried EVERYTHING and ate fried chicken almost every day.

Sidenote: Translation: Baltimore, Maryland. Here's some ignorant, obnoxious New Yorker insight okay. To us.........EVERYTHING south of Newark, is SOUTHERN.

The Jewish Guy - Who was notoriously meticulous with money, penny pincher and really cheap. He handled all the bills so we'd all pay him. Most distinctly, I vividly recall an incident where he haggled black guy #1 bc he was 3 cents short on the phone bill. I literally picked up 3 cents off of the carpet (see previous comment about ideology on tidiness) and handed it to him, but he refused it and demanded #1 pay him.

Which leads us to....last but definitely not stereotypical least.....

Black Guy #2 (Gee I wonder who) - Brooklyn born Caribbean (or as one of my friends former racist Korean landlord would say "SAME KINDA BLACK!") who rapped, breakdanced, danced all the time, burned incense, blasted rap, reggae and soca music the few times he was actually home and had cornrows or a massive afro............from the hoooooooooood!!!! OH! And who also was the loud angry short-tempered member of the group.

Not to say that we represent the archetype of our respective cultures, but I could sit here and list a few dozen other cases. So over the years I've come to the conclusion that most stereotypes that we say about each other.............ARE TRUE! Not for everyone, but many are rooted in truths for large majorities of the population. If that's the case, why do we get so offended by them? Kumbaya little Timmy, that is a great question. I think I have an answer for you (where would we be without good old Timmy? He asks more questions than the rest of you). Quite simply, human beings don't take critique well from strangers. Forget critique, we're not a fan of any commentary period. No matter how true or un-true it may be. I've actually heard a female compliment my friend's outfit and she said to me "I don't need this bitch's opinion." It's the same concept of you calling your pal stupid, a slut, bitch, Laker fan, and then you turn around and get offended when a complete stranger says the same thing. That's one reason why I don't like the n-word and I think it lurks one of the greatest hypocrisy of my people. If you want to use the word all day and night, don't get mad at anyone outside of the race for using it.

After confronting all these racists online and in videogame online, I've learned to tune out the outsiders bc at the end of the day their opinions really don't matter. Why award a total stranger the power and privilege of ruining your day with their words?

Sticks and stones folks. Sticks and stones.

Why kids today are so DUMB!! Theory 6 [From theThe Blackberry Chronicles]

Previously in My $0.02................... Why kids today are so DUMB!! Theory 1

Followed by.................................Why kids today are so DUMB!! Theory 2

Then..................................Why kids today are so DUMB!! Theory 3

and............................................Why kids today are so DUMB!! Theory 4
And last time .......................Why kids today are so DUMB!! Theory 5


One of my biggest pet peeves is SPOILERS, so without giving one, everyone needs to see the movie "Brothers" with Tobey Maguire and Natalie Portman to truly understand the frustration and annoyance I experienced. See the climax of the story, then re-read this blog. If you have seen the movie....... keep in mind the most disobedient and unruly act in the history of children on film. What would provoke ppl to act the fool, wilding out in public, carrying and having fits.........what causes all of this?

Theory #6: No beatings!

At some point in time we decided that its inhumane to whoop our kids asses in school (despite the fact that every other country that does it kicks our butt in education) then it trickled into the households. My brothers and I grew up with beatings (we called it "licks) like we grew up on milk. We were never the type to act up in public, throw a temper tantrum rolling on the floor kicking and screaming. We got our asses kicked for far lesser infractions and my parents were never the type to beat in public. Could you imagine the thrashing that would have ensued when we got home if we pulled that tomfoolery?

Children, correction, babies do not understand English! Or any other verbal language you raise your kids around. They read, understand and interpret feelings. Socket example: [theses are little esoteric notes I leave myself in shorthand to remind me to add content....why am I leaving this? Why am I explaining this???] If you see an infant heading towards a fork....red flag.........the child has it....red light are flashing..........if the child with the fork is near a socket....the alarms are blazing by now, do you talk to the child, or do you slap the fork out of its flapping hand? Ppl sometimes respond best to action. This applies well into the early 20's with most ppl. Cognition isn't necessarily indicative of understanding.

I remember reading about a child who misunderstood what was said at school and called child services bc their parent punished them. What kid in my generation would have had the cajones to do that? First of all, you pick up a phone during a beating in my house you won't make it to the second "1" and you just inherited a new pummeling device once the phone was snatched out your hand. Secondly, how many of us heard the threat that if we successfully dialed, there would be nothing left for 911 to save once they got here? Third, we live in the hood. 911 aint coming no time soon. The folks could get in 3 rounds and intermissions by the time they arrived on the scene. The cost/benefit analysis was heavily imbalanced.

Now you have all these child disorders that keep psychiatrists gainfully employed, pharmaceuticals companies profitable and grad school/phd students funded. I have self diagnosed myself with ADD. A.D.D. = As I speak, I am on a train, mentally packing for my trip tomorrow, listening to some dance tracks and choreographing routines in my head. And working on ANOTHER reason why kids are so blasted dumb bc they're interrelated....but I digress.

If I had homework and I couldn't focus here are some surefire cures to ADD:

• Finish your homework or imma whoop that ass!
• - or I'll throw away all your toys!
• - or I'll throw away all your comic books!
• - or no TV, video games for you! [Sidenote: You remember when being sent to your room was a form of punishment? With my brothers and my creative asses, my parents punished us by making us come out of our rooms.....and watch the news.....and Jeapordy....and read]
  
• Pass this test or you'll fail
• Pass this class or you'll lose your scholarship!
• Do well in this class or you'll be kicked out of school!
• Finish this project or you're fired!
• Make this money or you'll lose you're house!
• Get this calculation right or ppl will die!

You think time and all these circumstances care what your conditions are?

So for the love of God, whoop yo kids monkey ass ( and their asses sure are monkey!) bc they need to understand consequence, causality and penalties. You think I'm evil? Send your kids into the world with no regards for respect and limitations..............then you wonder why yo lazy ass roommates don't wash dishes for days on end! Got yo place smelling like frog placenta.....no? No good? Too much?

Sent via some provider who doesn't pay me to do say who they are.

TOS: Facebook owns you. Get over it. Here's how.........Part 2

Previously on "My $0.02"............TOS: Facebook owns you. Get over it. Here's how.

ADDENDA!!! - 04/14/10

So here's a shocker, over a year to the date I originally wrote this, facebook has a whole new interface, look at navigation. YAAAAAAY....pay attention, they took away more rights.

Have you noticed that you're getting more random solicited friend requests and msgs from strangers, stalkers and ex's you've been trying to avoid? Are all the ppl you've tactically blocked finding you? Well, Mr. Zuckerburg and co., who are admitted huge fans of Twitter (insert frowny face emoticon) did away with many of your our privacy settings YET AGAIN. Gee......what a shocker....this is outrageousssss [insert uproar].

Sidenote: Why do I have a feeling that Twitter will bring about the fall of
mankind?

Well have we been violated? Well yeah, if you haven't read TOS: Facebook owns you. Get over it. Here's how. and applied those simple tips to safeguarding your information. For additional not-be-a-moronomics, also revisit: PSA: "Facebook/myspace/twitter/Blackplanet ruined my relationship." However, since the playing field has changed, we must now adapt. Here are a few more pointers that can help safeguard your privacy. Please, feel free to add any that you may have discovered.

Sidenote: The real question or rather commentary to ponder on your way home is, if you decided to make a public personal page on the World Wide Web (www.) then why in Lou Farrigno, are you so concerned about privacy, but I'm not going to be a jerk to point fingers and ask questions. I'm just saying. Personal accountability ppl.

-PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE take the year out of your birthday! I know I mentioned taking all biographical information out of your page, but for those reading for the first time (and the hard headed alike) along with your other info....which we encouraged you to take out, this is the last piece of the puzzle for your friendly neighborhood identity thief.

-Re-visit your privacy settings. A lot of them are still there, but have somehow, mystically been set to "public." Most of them are just a click away.

-Limited profile. I don't think ppl utilize this feature nearly enough. Some ppl, you just need their contact, but they don't need an all access backstage pass.

-Disable tagged pics. I did this for a project that was under great scrutiny.......but now that the project is over, I think I'll leave it the way it is. I think my photo albums and profile pics are more than enough for someone to identify me.

-Toggle your photo settings. I recently found out that a lot of my albums were reset to public, when a friend told me how her friend spent some time going through my photo albums. Make sure they're all set to "friends only."

-Stop linking accounts. I'm very wary about anything that requires putting a screenname and password from another account. Whats the point of a pseudonym or an avatar if it's linked to your biographical info? Is anonymity the modern duck-billed platypus?

-Disable your wall. What better way to keep raggedy comments off your wall, then to not have a wall? I see more and more ppl doing this..........or maybe they just put me on "limited profile" :-S

If worse comes to worse, I supposed you can delete ppl. I've clicked on contacts before only to find that we were no longer contacts anymore. No fall out or disconnect, they just decided our one or two interactions were not enough to bless me with the honor of their facebook page. Can't blame em. But once again, the greater question is, what are you so afraid of revealing? Are you a douche who goes through great painstaking lengths to conceal it? Hell, if a fugitive can evade authorities while updating his facebook page AND build a fan page with over 10,000 followers, what are YOU worried about simple person?

REF:
http://www.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/europe/12/23/uk.fugitive.facebook.prison/index.html
http://www.smh.com.au/technology/technology-news/facebook-fugitive-taunts-police-while-on-the-run-20091229-lhyn.html
http://news.cnet.com/8301-17852_3-10434345-71.html

Sidenote: He probably got caught by signing up to Twitter.
Sidernote: My friend and I have a number of theories where he may be hiding. Remind me to share.

Racism in America 3

Sidenote: I know, I know, but I couldn't help hold this one back. It'll be a quickie.

Previously on "My $0.02"................

Racism in America/ Black Eye of the Tiger 2

Black Eye of the Tiger

and

Racism in America

This health care bill is really devouring talk radio, news stations and turning the uninformed masses to madness. I still hold it under the microscope so I'll hold off on my ticker tape parade. I'm a Chronic line-in-between reader and master of connect the dottitry.

Sidenote= connect the dots lalalala is one of the greatest songs to sing ever bc of its gratuitous usage of lalalala.

Ppl always talk about "bringing america back." back to what? a time when you can burn, beat, lynch and hang, not necessarily in that order, black ppl and the law did nothing about it? a time when rape was something ppl looked the other way to? a time when women only had a "place" in the home and kitchen? a time when a person had to live their life in secrecy bc of their sexuality? a time when you could beat the crap out of your wife and kids to no reciprocity? a time when blacks, asians, latinos and anyone one darker than a khaki off white hue were not allowed to work eat, or live in certain areas?

Sidenote: And then the socially oblivious wonder why ppl have such a problem with the confederate flag.

So when ppl say "bring back america" or "destroying america" what type of america are they talking about? What are they REALLY saying?

MESSAGE!!!!

Why kids today are so DUMB!! Theory 5

Previously in My $0.02................... Why kids today are so DUMB!! Theory 1

Followed by.................................Why kids today are so DUMB!! Theory 2

Then..................................Why kids today are so DUMB!! Theory 3

and............................................Why kids today are so DUMB!! Theory 4

Here's a baby. Look at the baby!! LOOK AT THE BABY!! Cute aint she? (Scientific studies of extensive researching stuff state that cute babies are soothing on the eye and make ppl more susceptible to accepting theories) One of my newest cousins. Can you believe this little jerk doesn't like me? YET!? She's one of those stoosh "Imma play shy in front of company" types. But the one in the back is one of my favorite little girls in planet. Now its one thing to be ignored by the newbie (she'll come around sooner or later), but my fav was in another world bc as you can see, she was enthusiastically programming all her contacts into her new cell phone. This led to a very intriguing discussion btwn us about usage and habits of why a 12 old needs a cell phone. Which leads me to theory #5:


Theory #5: Everyone has cell phones

This might seem minoot, but technology impairs our memories. When I was in high school, I had about 40 numbers memorized at the tip of my tongue at any given time. Now, if you lose you phone, you might as well be in a tunnel on Mars. Pop quiz: without looking at your phone, how many phone numbers do you know by heart? PS, you parents or home phone doesn't count. Don't cheat...well it doesn't really matter bc if you are cheating, its pretty self evident that you failed this little social experiment.

I recall correcting a teachers spelling in high school and I always remembered him saying, "wait until you're out of school and have been using spell check for a few years" and I laughed at his warning. Now, how many ppl can get through a document without that red squiggly line? On top of the mental address book, I also had everyone's birthday memorized. These days, if I didn't sign into Facebook, you more than likely won't get a birthday greeting from me.

Kids do not need cell phones for the same reason students don't need calculators. I'm old school so as far as I'm concerned, until letteration starts popping up and your math class starts looking like some english class typos, you don't need a calculator. WHY? Bc you impair, or rather, stunt your learning growth in the embryonic stages of cognitive thinking. Let's be clear. 70% of what you learn up until grade 12 is utter bs and will be of no use to you in life. It's not the content thats important, its the methodology of learning. If you bifurcate the two and focus solely on content, sans the methodology, you birth a generation of droid who basically are programed with RAM (random access memory) and no hard drive (long term storage) mental computation.

I digress.

Why are cell phones problematic? Other than all the reasons I stated above? The brain is like any muscle, and lack of usage leads to atrophy.......after development. Lack of usage before development can lead to impotence if not paralysis (didn't I tell you guys I had no regard for the english language? It's misuse and mishandleage? - quote from my open mic slam days - TEEHEE!). I mastered 258 ways to cheat and not get caught without technology. Who knows what tomwreckery the youtes are doing these days?

I won't even touch on smart phones. When we have a generation that can't answer a questions with any critical discernment bc we've replaced "thinking" with "googling." Sad forecast. An armada of smartphone in the hands of dunce users.

Are you suffering from "Recession Body?"

I've noticed a peculiar trend over the last year. All the ppl who I know to normally be health nuts, fit freaks, gym rats, diet natzis have all slipped and slacked off. Myself included. Could this be another adverse affect of the recession?

"Recession Body" Diagnosis:

• Are ppl spending less time in the gym bc they are spending more time at work?
  
• Second jobs?
  
• Job searching?
• Are more ppl packing on pounds bc they are home and out of work?
• Are more ppl canceling their gym membership to cut corners in an attempt to save money?
• Are ppl generally less happy, and thus unmotivated to work out?
• Are ppl just so stressed that they are drawn to worry about more pressing matters than their physique?

I had to give myself a stern reminder, my whole get it shape campaign was by no means cosmetically motivated. I actually went through some serious series of events and health issues (I'll stop there in the name of TMIatry) that made me undergo a serious life and health overhaul and think of my life/health in the long run.

The thought first occurred to me during Carnival bc number one, I was not content with how I looked (never again!) and two, a lot of ppl who normally take Carnival serious and go all out to get in shape for it.........for lack of a better word, fell off.

Well fortunately here are two great motivators for fitness: New Years, and the one currently upon us, WARM WEATHER!!! There's just something about warm weather that just makes ppl want to get naked. And with much skin exposed, comes much responsibility. The weather hit 60 in NYC last weekend and you would have sworn it was 80. Ride that momentum and let it take you out of your current slump. The economy may be in shambles, but must you be? If the country is on the up and up towards recovery, how about you?

011110 - My Nerd Moment...well at least one of em

Do something with today's date!!!!

Start a relationship.

Tell someone you love em.

If you're pregnant, force that lil _____ out today.

At the very least, create a document and save it with today's date, write out a check, hell, even do some boring adult stuff today.

Get a letter post dated.

Save today's paper.

Take a photo or video with the date stamp.

Why?? Bc today will numerically (I'm 99% positive of this) will be the only perfectly numerically symmetrical date of your entire life.

01 11 10 011_110 01/11/10

Of course, not geometrically speaking bc even folded vertically its not perfectly symmetrical...well perhaps if you use a san-serif font...........AAAHHH BOLLOCKS!! This looked so much cooler when I hand wrote it.

Save the date. I think I'm going to post date an empty envelope to myself......yeah right. Except for taxes, I don't do anything at the post office I can't do online. This is probably my suppressed inner packrat talking.

Or worse case scenario....post a blog =D

Why kids today are so DUMB!! Theory 4

Previously in My $0.02................... Why kids today are so DUMB!! Theory 1

Followed by................................Why kids today are so DUMB!! Theory 2

Then..................................Why kids today are so DUMB!! Theory 3

Now........
I'm going to re-enact a few of the many traumatizing yet vital, character forming moments in my childhood:

Dramatic Dramatization 1

Me: (full of glee) MOM!! DAD!!! LOOK!!! I GOT A 95 ON MY TEST!!!

Parent A or B interchangeably: Where's the other 5 points??

Me: (absent of glee) [actually attempting to rack brain to answer pointless question]


Dramatic Dramatization 2

Me: (full of glee) MOM!! DAD!!! LOOK!!! I GOT A 98 ON MY TEST!!!

Parent A or B interchangeably: Where's the other 2 points??

Me: (absent of glee) [actually attempting to rack brain to answer pointless question]


Dramatic Dramatization 3

Me: (cautiously) MOM!! DAD!!! LOOK!!! I GOT A 99 ON MY TEST!!!

Parent A or B interchangeably: Where's the other point??

Me: (ambivalent....despite not learning that word for another 20 odd years) [walks away to play with toys or draw]

Sidenote: I actually did get A's and 100's from time to time. What's that you say? Ticker tape parade? Hang my test on the fridge? Not me. If I got a "good," "nice," "very well," keep it up," that was epic.

So my parents taught me inadvertently....in a low budget Pavlov fashion, two valuable lessons. First, how to deal with disappointment/rejection/defeat, and secondly slash most important of all, never settle for your current, average or bare minimum. Have you ever been at a point in your life where you want to fight a teacher for giving you an A- minus, but in the same week you get religious for the first time in your life and beg God, "if I can only just maybe get a 'D'"....... Am I the only one who's ever heard the phrase, "D is for D-ploma?" Got you in the teacher or professors office looking like the crackhead from "Menace to Society."

That's bc both mindsets are that of a winner: never settle and never give up. Granted, I may have cursed my parents under my breath many a time as a child and could possibly blame them for my "prodigal son" derailment years, but in my life (and I've been telling my students this for years) it doesn't matter what you do in that first 95% if you can't execute in that final 5%. And if you don't believe me, ask the '07-'08 New England Patriots.



So what is today's theory on why kids are so DUMB today?

Theory #4: Winners are Losers and Losers are Winners

I was shocked to learn recently about a soccer game... and then I found out other sports do this too......... they gave out trophies...................... TO THE LOSING TEAM!!! Are you kidding me? What happened to trash talking and rubbing in the losers face? I cringe to think where I would be today, how un-creative and lame my life would be had it not been for fierce and vicious name calling as a child. What incentive is there to win now? To keep on playing in the last 2 minutes when you're down one score?

It's not just sports. Some schools have a passing mark of 50 or 55! And the saddest thing is, college aptitude exams have a FAAAAAAAAAAAR higher passing bar. It's like we're setting our children up for failure. I recall the passing mark being 65 when I was a wee lil lass. And even that is quite horrible, in hindsight. That means my generation was subconsciously programmed that 65% of our possible output was/is acceptable.

Students would do so much better if school work was more life-applicable. Teach children percentages in kindergarten. Ask a student if they'd be ok, with 65% of their allowance? If you were on a plane and the pilot announced that they landed safely 50-65% of the time, you'd either jump out the plane yourself or have a heart attack.

And how excited would you be if there was a doctor on board....... who saved 65% of his patience?

Resolute over Resolutions

Happy New Year everyone!! For some reason, everyone feels like they have an automatic reset button and this is going to be the year for you. It's that time when you can get crackhead deals on gym memberships and a couple extra free weeks for weightwatchers. A personal trainers Christmas.

According to many of the personal trainers I know, January 21st is statistically the date when most, if not all new years resolutions are broken, forgotten or abandoned. Personally, I think unless you're running a company, or talking finance, new years resolutions are a crock, probably conjured up by some huge corporation to feed off of consumer greed and gullibility...like most holidays....like valentines day.

Sidenote: If anyone does not know by now that Valentines day was invented by Halmark and Hershey to boost sales during the great depression, then you just need to look that up on your own time. Yeah St. Valentines and blah blah blah, but last I checked, Jesus, didn't paint eggs at the last supper and the Easter bunny was not a disciple either.

Point of clarification: I am probably the biggest fan of goal setting and self improvement you can find, HOWEVER new years resolutions annoy me. I think setting a goal to improve yourself, primarily...rather, solely because.........[sidenote: I don't think I've spelled out "because" in AGES!!] its a new year is a piss poor reason. You're fine with your weight and eating hog-fried-hog on December 31 and suddenly at 12am you need to stop? When I used to do sports clubs [sidenote to self, write about why I hate sports clubs], there was a waiting line for the bench or any machine in the start of January. Come February, you could shoot an RPG from one end clear to the next, right through the treadmills and wouldn't hit a soul.

I love definitions. My favorite for "resolution" is "a resolve of determination." Why not commit yourself to year long, life long "resolve of determination?" If you need a solution to something, odds are you had the issues before December. Here's my recommended resolution, if you absolutely MUST make one: become resolute on personal development and self improvement 24/7-365. I understand the need to reflect at the beginning and end of the year but become more self critical and identify areas of improvement as they arrive. You can stomp out a brush fire when it starts much easier than when it becomes a forest fire.

Why You're Still Single - Ladies I

PROLIGUE <----(Please read before continuing)
1 - Choice.
As "the Architect" from the Matrix movies (no relation, I actually am an architect and RRC are my actual initials.........wow the assonance on that one..say that sentence outloud) appropriately stated: "the problem is choice." Many women have a harem of men at their will and bend, but CHOOSE not to embrace any of them. Partially bc of the other person (many specific reasons we will eventually get to), but also bc they aren't ready for the slow down and obligations that come with a relationship. Don't believe the hype, women have commitment issues too especially a busy woman with a lot going on in her life. It's a huge change to suddenly be accountable to and considerate of another person and lets be honest, women have issues with that just as men do. The reason I needed to start here was to make sure that we're clear, when we're crying and complaining, that many ppl are here, primarily by choice.

14 – You bottlenecked yourself by statistics.

If we haven't heard it eleventy-seventy times. What are the most common ones?

-Black women outnumber black men 12-1

-50% of marriages end in divorce

-The number of black women unmarried over 30 is double that of white women

But there are a few significant "soundbytes" that narrow the playing field that I'd like to touch on:

"% of men without a High School/ College diploma." I can understand why, but lets play devil's advocate here: Are you a university? Does this mean that there is no hope for redemption because I dropped out of high school or had responsibilities and financially couldn't go to college? Why are we wasting our time talking about careers and college!!? If we start going to middle and high schools right now and tell them no one will wanna date, marry or have sex with you without your diploma, we would have 90-99% graduation rates. I'll get started on the proposal. Shoot, Chris Rock dropped out of high school, imagine if his wife had that attitude about his millionare ass?

"% of men who have been incarcerated." DA: If you're job is an equal opportunity employer, why aren't you? Similar point, does that discqualify any one whose been encarcerated? There are ppl who change not to mention that many ppl are in prison or jail for non-violent offenses or have no prior criminal history. Martha Stewart and Michael Vick have jail records.

"% of men who are gay." Well there are gay women as well, so rest assure, the competition is thinning out too. Speaking of competition, there are factors that limit the types of women men look for also, so you don't neccessarily have to worry about the other 11 females. Just focus on the one.

"% of single men who already have children." DA: As with everything else, you're eliminating a lot of high quality potential before you've even gotten into physical or personality attributes. The older, you get, the more prevalent this becomes so at some point you have to decide are you going to let a good man go bc he has a child? Hopefully not too late, which spring boards to our last point of the day:

18 – Tunnel Vision: You woke up too late

There's a chapter in the book "He's just not into you" titled "Don't waste the pretty" and unfortunately I think many misinterpretted that and inadvertedly, wasted the pretty. Everyone has their "list" of things they are looking for in a mate. The main reason why you find attractive single people is because of their standards. There are the four leaf clover who are so pretty and humble but no one approaches them, but thats not the normative scenario. Now nothing is wrong with standards, but as you get older, you start to realize that a lot of your standards are superficial. Especially the specific ones. "He has to be 6'-4" and above....Are you a ride? What sport do you coach or do you anticipate storing things in high cubbards? Not only are your pre-requisites limiting, you've now illiminated more than half of your acceptable pool. My lil sis used to specify 6"-4"+ with slim athletic build, until one day I challenged her to keep a log of how many of those she actually saw per day for a week. But when you had "the pretty" on your side, your body was where some of you are trying to get back to now, you had the discretionary power to pick and choose as you saw fit. So you dated a little here, dismissed a little here, yada yada yada... Maybe it wasn't preference, but you told yourself you had to focus on your school/career/life and wrote someone off (that you could have made time for if you decided to) before they even had a chance.

Here's something to ponder when you're alone asking yourself "why?" Whether it was height, education, income, hair, complexion, whatever, how many wonderful men slipped right through your reach bc you didn't know how to spot them out?

A good man is like a stealth bomber. The irony of the stealth bomber is that it's the farthest thing from discrete. It's a loud, huge, BLACK aircraft...very discrete in the day time. However, most radar systems are completely blind to it. If you were in a tower, and used your eyes, you'd spot it a mile away, but alas, you were looking into the lens of the wrong device. Great, now you've been tactically nuked. NICE!!!

To be continued....