College cheating scandal – my personal thoughts…

This is a post from my Facebook page concerning the college cheating scandal which recently occurred:

Regarding the elite college cheating scheme: I hope that both Felicity Huffman as well as Lori Loughlin get the book thrown at them in terms of fines and jail sentences.  Here are my some of my reasons why:

I attended De Witt Clinton HS during which time I ran cross country track.  The practices were long, hard and exhaustive as the cross country track team ran upwards of 30 to 50 miles in a day.  This was on top of my studies which were also not easy fair. Back in the day, the SAT test was harder and more extensive than what it is today.  Even still, I passed SAT with high scores on my own merit.

After graduating from Clinton, I attended The City College of New York.  Unfortunately, within two years I flunked out.  It is a long convoluted story as to why the aforementioned happened — so I’m not going to get into that now.  But I was determined to get my degree so I managed to get back into CCNY and graduate within two years of the flunk out.  BTW, if a student flunks out but manages to get back in — it is on average 6 to 8 years in terms of attaining a degree.  I managed to attain my degree within four years inclusive of the two year flunk out and getting back in.  Again, all on my own hard work and merit.

In my last days at CCNY, I decided to make a try for grad school.  Again, back in the day, most grad schools required students to take the GRE (Graduate Record Exam) for consideration.  Which, I did take the GRE and passed with high scores all on my own merit.  However, the GRE was so hard that it literally fried my brains. To this day I can’t remember how I got to the test site and back home.  I can’t remember if I took the Metro-North train or the express bus.  All I remember vaguely is getting off the BX-41 bus, stumbling down the three blocks to my house and flopping into bed for 18 hours straight. I did go to grad school and now have my MA in communications.

I was not the best of the best — but I worked hard to get those degrees.  I did not have parents who could pay someone to paste my face on another kid’s picture to prove they were interested in athletics.  As well, my parents did not pay someone to alter SAT test scores so that I could get an easy pass into college.  This cheating scheme is a slap in the face to every student who like me worked long and hard to get their degrees on their own merit.

Some additional thoughts:  In the few weeks since the college cheating scandal hit the fan – the blame game has been in overdrive.  Which, now the blame finger is being pointed at affirmative action.  This, IMO, is despicable – and the blame for what happened needs to be laid at the feet of all who are responsible – the officials, parents and students who participated in this scam.

Also in the weeks since the crap has been on the fan – Lori Loughlin’s fellow “Fuller House”  cast members have come out in full support of the embattled actress.  While accepting an award for “Fuller House” at the 2019 Kid’s Choice Awards – cast mates Candace Cameron-Bure, Jodie Sweetin and Andea Barber indirectly supported Loughlin by babbling on about family sticking together through tough times, blah, blah, blah.  The aforementioned I call as hypocritical, mind vomit BS.  This is because Loughlin didn’t have a lapse in judgement – she committed a crime with full awareness of what she was doing.  That being said – my question to those stupid, twit pixies on “Fuller House” who support Loughlin – so y’all are saying you support her in any criminal act she commits?  So if Loughlin was to put on a ski mask, run down to her local bank and rob it – y’all would support her in her actions – cause she’s family?  That’s a bit idiotic, IMO.  Just saying…

In any case, I stand by my assertions that Huffman, Loughlin and every other participant in this debacle should get stiff fines and slammer time.  This is because there are thousands of students who played by the rules, who spent long hours studying, who trained hard as athletes thus causing them to pass SATs, get their degrees, scholarships on their own worthy merit.  As well, the aforementioned did not have rich parents who paid off people to give their kids a leg up – rather these were parents who did everything they could to teach their kids to do right in a society which willingly accepts wrong over right.  If anything, stiff fines and slammer time would send a strong message to those who so easily cheat when it comes to college.  As well, there would be vindication for every student and parent who did the right thing.

I don’t think I’m being too hard on Huffman and Loughlin.  You,  however,  may think that I should ease up off their backs – if so – leave a comment as to why.

News source: ET.com.

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Note 7 recall is not the big issue…

If you are a smartphone user of any type, you will most certainly be aware of the new Samsung Galaxy Note 7  smartphone which can explode.  While the threat of the Note 7 exploding and causing anywhere from severe burns to one’s house being destroyed (or as in the case of one unfortunate victim – a car) is very real – I do think it is being blown out of proportion.

Don’t get me wrong, owner’s of the Note 7 should stop using this phone right away and return the device to Samsung ASAP.  As well, I applaud Samsung for immediately stepping up to the plate by doing a recall as soon as they realized there was an issue with the device.  And while the Apple camp is gleefully running around and cheering at the woes of Samsung – let’s be reminded that Apple has had it’s share of issues (exploding devices, etc) with it’s iPhone line.  More importantly, Samsung did what Apple has never done – immediately tell the truth about issues with the Note 7 line.  Given Apple’s historical reaction to issues with iPhones – an exploding iPhone would be due to user error.  Or in other words, Apple would have taken the HAL9000 approach  to issues, “Dave, these problems are due to human error…”

What I’m really getting at is the relative reaction proportion to the Note 7 recall in comparison to other recalls that are far more serious.  Take for instance, the Takata airbag recall which is the largest recall in automotive history. By proportion, the Takata airbag recall affects far more people than the Note 7 recall ever will because it involves a great majority of cars that are on the road today.  Chances are the car or truck you are driving right now is involved with the recall – I know the one I’m driving is.  And while I did get a recall notice from Toyota about the airbags – as a Toyota dealership employee put it upon me asking when the airbags would be repaired – “who knows?”  Thus far and unlike the 35 or so Note 7s that have exploded – faulty Takata airbags have killed and maimed drivers because of the shrapnel sprayed by the airbags.

Also unlike the Note 7 recall – the Takata airbag recall has been going on for years – both due to lack of government pressure to fix things, direct obfuscation by Takata management and finally, the auto industry itself.  As well, there seems to be an inordinate lack of concern by auto owners about the issue.  Again, those very same auto owners would be screaming bloody murder if it was their smartphone that was involved in a recall.  Making the aforementioned something that I truly cannot understand.

Do you think that more pressure needs to be put on the auto industry and Takata to fix the airbag problems?  Or do you think that it’s not much of an issue?  Leave a comment.

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It’s time for the Kardashians to go away!

Yesterday, I found myself in Kardashian hell.  Yup, everywhere I looked there was that pix of Kim K. and that butt. On TV, on Facebook, Google +, Twitter, etc and everywhere.  And it was not just Kim K. – it was also Khloe K. with her insipid “the only KKK to ever let Black men in” comment.

I don’t know about anyone else but I’ve just about had it with the Kardashian twits.  IMO, they are the worst bunch of non talented, insignificant idiots who don’t deserve the legitimate spotlight of attention.  In other words they are those moldy loaves of bread that you need to throw out cause they stink.

If you’re caught up with keeping up with the Kardashians – then let me give you one bit of advice: STOP IT – STOP IT RIGHT NOW!  Get up and go get a life – cause the Kardashians aren’t worth the time of day.

Do you think I’m being to hard on Kim and Khloe K?  Leave a comment.

The Hyper Critic Conundrum

At least once in your lifetime you will encounter a person who is hyper critical of you.  It may be a boss, co-worker, parent or whoever – but you will encounter a hyper critic.  And depending on how you react to them, it could lead to your needless destruction.  Here’s why.

The hyper critical person is basically one who is insecure in themselves and therefore thrives on pointing out the failures of others.  To them, everyone else is a failure except for themselves.  Which, because of the aforementioned fact, there is no way that you can ever please a hyper critical person when you become one of their victims.  Furthermore, a hyper critical person can and will destroy your sense of self worth – if you let them.

When a victim becomes tormented by a hyper critical person it is multifaceted.  For instance, the criticism could come in the form of incessant nit picking, constant public humiliation, etc.  Hyper critical people also like to torment their victims by comparing them to others who are seemly more successful.  But even as multifaceted as the attacks can be – they boil down to one main desire of the hyper critical person.  That is to mold their victims into the persona as they see them while trying to prove that they are the better person.  And it is this molding/besting process which is detrimental to the victim of an hyper critic.

One thing to remember once you become a target of a hyper critical person is that they are not all that.  In other words, they are not perfect. They have had failures in life just like you – so don’t let them get into your mind with the torment of their criticism.  The other thing to remember is that you are uniquely you – with different capabilities, talents and abilities which are unique to you.  Indeed, and often the case, there are abilities that you may have that the hyper critic does not have. Even if you have similar skills and abilities as the hyper critic – you may be better in a lot of degrees than they are.  Whichever the case, don’t let a hyper critic destroy your self worth by shutting down your creative juices. If you’re getting the “so and so has a better job, or whatever” comparison thing from the hyper critic – remember this – “so and so” is not all that either.  As well, “so and so” cannot be a measured condition on your life path because you are unique to yourself.

Finally, be who you need to be – not who a hyper critic wants you to be.  I don’t say this lightly, as the aforementioned task is daunting – but, again, you need to discover who you are – not what a hyper critic thinks you are.

Do you have hyper critical people in your life?  If so, how do you deal with them?  Leave a comment.

So you think you’re that great?

This is just a warning to the narcissistic “all that” people in this world.  Your time is coming. It may not be this instant, next month, or year from now – but your time is coming.

What got me going on the “what goes around comes around” topic this morning is the way that Robin William’s daughter, Zelda Rae, was treated on social media in the days following her father’s death.  This,  plus some issues that I have been personally going through in the last few weeks.  In short, Zelda was forced to stop using social media of any type due to the cruel and heartless comments about her father.

Whether it is a face to face confrontation – or from behind a computer screen – words can critically damage a person.  Particularly, when that person is going through a difficult time such as Zelda.  More so, even if you’ve done things to help the person that you are assaulting with your words – your aforementioned efforts are nullified by your words.  Furthermore, your “I’m better than you” premise that gives you the “so called” right to destroy people with words is in itself faulty.  Because you are not better than – and you have faults, skeletons, what have you – just like the person that you are assaulting.

But here’s the real kicker – by you unfairly railing upon whoever you are railing upon – you are opening the door for trouble.  Because, indeed, what goes around comes around – and the very same treatment that you put out to others is coming to you.  Even worse, you may find yourself in a “tables turned” condition where you need that aforementioned railed upon person more than they need you!

Just saying…

It can happen anywhere…

OK, to make ends meet while trying to get my business going, I’ve been working in retail.  And I work at a national chain store that suffered a data hacking attack over the past Christmas holiday season.  Needless to say, on a daily basis, I have been getting questions from customers about the safety of using their credit or debit cards in the store.  Which, at this point I’ve come to ignore the questions and negative reactions from customers because at this point it’s just stupid.  That was until yesterday when a relative of mine happened to shop in the same store I work at.

What got me going was an ignorant comment which my relative made later that day in regards to how safe it was to use her debit card at the store.  I had asked if she had payed for her merchandise with cash – because I would have been able to give her my employee discount if she did.  My relative responded with the typical “I’ll never use my debit card there because of the fiasco, blah, blah, blah.”  “It’s not safe, blah, blah, blah.”  At that point I just walked away because I didn’t want to hear all that crawl up my spine static – I was just trying to say I could have helped you out with your purchase.

What my ignorant relative needs to realize (as well as everyone else in this country) is that nothing is truly safe when it comes to data.  This is particularly with any type of financial data like bank accounts, credit cards, debit cards, etc.  As it stands right now, every institution that deals with financial transactions (banks, retail stores, you name it, etc or whatever) has been or will be hacked data wise.  In short, there is no place that is truly secure when it comes to making a financial transaction.  Heck, even good ole cash that you get out of a bank ATM can be counterfeit.  So again, nothing is safe these days.

There are security changes coming to credit and debit cards which I’m not going to get into right at this point – but for now the best you can do is closely monitor your accounts and credit history.  You might also consider investing in a credit monitoring service to provide additional warning if your accounts have been compromised. When it does happen to you – as it did to me earlier this year – don’t delay in taking steps to get things corrected.

Anyway, to that ignorant relative – you will never, ever get an employee discount from me again. I was just trying to cut you some slack because I know it’s tight for you – but from this time forward, you can just fuhgeddaboudit…

Do you feel safe when you use your credit or debit card when out and about?  Leave a comment.

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Tattoos a source of conditioning?

As I write this blog entry, I’m beginning to think that I’m the only one on the face of this planet that doesn’t have a tattoo. I see tattoos everywhere on everyone that I encounter.  I even see tats on people who I never thought would let a tattoo artist’s pen near their skin.  But before you run off thinking this a tattoo vs non tattoo post – slow your roll – cause it’s not.  This is merely a matter of thought from a geek as to what tattoos can lead to in terms of tech. So just bear with me a bit…

Let’s face it, we’re in a rapidly advancing technical age that is unparalleled in human history. That’s unless you believe in notions like previous technically advanced human civilizations existing prior to this one – AKA Atlantis.  Alas, that thought thread is for another day.  Anyway, tech is so advanced these days that we all now live in a connected, information filled world.  For instance, my Samsung Galaxy S4 smartphone can tell me where my car is parked, if I’m late for work, how much weight I’ve lost, recommend gifts for my girlfriend and even get snippy with me on occasions.  Which, when I think back to the first days of my mobile computing/communications life (now some 35 years), this is light years beyond what I thought cell phones would evolve to.  Put it this way, in those days I was just excited just to be able to make a call from a cell phone.

Mobile technology is now beginning to evolve beyond the realm of smartphones into the realm of wearable tech.  Right now a lot of electronics manufacturers are clamoring to produce smartwatches, smart eyeware, fitness bands, etc.  Which most of these are limited as standalone devices as they need a smartphone or tablet as a host device to fully function.  But there’s even a push by manufacturers to make these devices standalone capable meaning that a smartwatch, for instance, will have all the capabilities of a smartphone.  This evolutionary step in wearable tech is already in process as major manufacturers like Samsung are currently working on standalone capable smartwatches.

Now here’s where I go into a bit of extrapolation and try to tie this into tattoos.  I believe the next evolutionary step for mobile technology is going to be implantable tech.  And this is where I believe tattoos (and for that matter skin piercings) will play a major role in this next evolutionary step.  This is because just as tattoos are the norm these days – it will also be the future norm to have some type of tech implanted in humans to allow total connectivity.  Right now the implantable tech concept is not really acceptable to most – but then again tattoos were not really acceptable to most years ago.

I’m not going to get into all the ramifications of implantable tech (anything from Borg assimilation to Biblical mark of the beast) because they’re too varied.  Which, as an aside, I could probably write a book on the aforementioned.  What I am saying, however, is that there will be a convergence of acceptability when it comes to tattoos and implantable tech.  And although the future is not set, the acceptability of tattoos right now will cause the acceptability of implantable tech in the future.  Just as today’s smartphones amaze us with what they can do – implantable tech will literally blow our future minds.

Do you agree with me on my premiss?  Would you also allow implantable tech on your body? Also do you sport tattoos or piercings?  Leave a comment.

P.S., I’m au natural – no tat’s or piercings.  I don’t have anything against anyone that has the aforementioned – just love my body the way it is…

Ummm, Gwyneth you need to apologize…

A few days ago, Gwyneth Paltrow lamented in a E! interview on how hard she had it as an actress and a parent.  In that interview, Paltrow claimed that working moms with a 9 to 5 job could easily take care of business in the morning – leaving time for their kids at night.  Paltrow naively stated that “I think it’s different when you have an office job, because it’s routine and you can do all the stuff in the morning and then you come home in the evening.”  Say what!?

While this is a free country, with free opinion and speech – there are times where it’s best to keep one’s mouth shut.  Particularly when it comes to hot mess, bravo sierra comments made by the likes of Gwyneth Paltrow – who clearly don’t have any conception how working moms live their lives.  And no, the average working mom’s life is not “routine,” nor is it light stuff.

What Gwyneth needs to understand is that the working mom’s life is much harder than that of a highly paid actress – who gets to choose how and when she works.  Furthermore, they have little or no say so in terms of their work schedule or job requirements.  Or in other words, a typical working mom cannot choose to work on only one film a year – she has to do her job as required – or get fired.

More than likely, that typical working mom is actually working two jobs (to make ends meet) along with her job of raising children.  A fact that is inconceivable to a person like Gwyneth who has assistants, agents and whoever else helping her in the course of her work.

Finally, that typical working mom most likely has to put up with crap all day long because they’re in some sort of service job – which routinely requires dealing with the likes of Gwyneth who think they work harder than them.  In actuality, it is probably a person like Gwyneth Paltrow who could not survive a day in a typical working mom’s shoes.  This is because Gwyneth would end up as a hopeless pool of emotional goo due to an inability to take stress of the job and because there was no one yelling “CUT!”

With all the aforementioned in mind, Gwyneth needs to apologize to every working mom that’s out there. Big time…

Do you think that Gwyneth Paltrow needs to apologize to working moms?  Leave a comment.

News source: http://www.usatoday.com

Surface RT = another Microsoft epic fail

Perhaps you know by now about the nearly billion dollar Microsoft failure known as Surface RT.  Yup, almost a year since it was introduced, Windows Surface RT has become a dog that no one wants.  So much so that even Asus, a prominent computer device manufacturer, recently announced that it was throwing in the towel on Windows Surface RT.

The explanations as to why Surface RT failed are varied – ranging from the design of Windows 8 to the inability of Surface RT to run regular Windows programs.  Accordingly, the pundits have been all over the place with the aforementioned explanations.  Also accordingly, and to the credit of the pundits, all of the reasons why RT failed have been right – except for one.  The one critical mistake Microsoft made was to try to push users into the “post-PC” zone.  The “post-PC” zone, much like “The Twilight Zone,” only exists in the minds of people that don’t want to deal with reality.  In the world of reality, there is no “post-PC” zone and there is no “one size fits all” when it comes to computing.

Microsoft, however, was not alone in this blunder as many of the pundits agreed with the tech giant in this assumption.  Indeed, even in light of Microsoft’s massive failure, there are pundits who still believe that a “post-PC” era is occurring.  And Microsoft is not the only tech giant who is now pushing the “post-PC” era as Canonical, Ubuntu’s parent company, is also beginning to steer into that zone as well.  Incidentally, IMO, this is a big mistake that Canonical is making, given the issues that Microsoft is experiencing with Surface RT.

In any case, Microsoft now has a lot of inventory in terms of unsold Surface RT tablets on its hands.  Which, I expect that there are going to be some deeply discounted or even free RT tablets going out the door as the tech giant tries to unload them.  Hopefully, in the process of unloading all those RT tablets, Microsoft will see the error of its ways – because again there is no “post-PC” era.

How do you feel about Surface RT in general?  And are you going to get a Surface RT device now that Microsoft has begun slashing prices on them?  Leave a comment.

News sources: Mashable, Windows IT Pro and ZDNet.
Photo source: PCWorld.

Yes, you do need to learn from your mistakes Paula

By now, the world knows about Paula Deen as well as her food empire’s spectacular crash and burn which happened this past week.  The world also knows about Paula Deen’s use of derogatory language when referring to people of color, in particular African Americans.  So no need to go into detail as to how Paula Deen wound up in the predicament that she’s now in.

I do, however, want to address Paula’s cavalier attitude when it comes to race relations in America.  You see, Paula’s problems extend far beyond using the “n” word – because she embraces the attitude that human beings should be slaves. E.G., along with all the allegations of racial slurs – it came to light that Paula wanted to have a Southern style wedding for her brother Bubba.  She also allegedly stated “Well what I would really like is a bunch of little niggers to wear long-sleeve white shirts, black shorts and black bow ties, you know in the Shirley Temple days, they used to tap dance around,” when asked how the servers should dress.  Although the aforementioned was what Paula really desired for Bubba’s wedding – she did not go through with the plans because she feared harsh media backlash.

It is this Southern style wedding that I find more troubling than the use of racial slurs.  This is because it is the embodiment of a brutal period of racism and human servitude that America had suffered through.  One which clearly is still being embraced by people like Paula Deen.  The mere fact that in 2013, people would still rather see human servitude of this nature is disturbing.  It is even more disturbing in light of Deen’s family history of slave ownership – which she is well aware of.

With the culmination of the civil rights era – America had a long history of slavery and servitude when it came to Black people.  Not only was that history brutal, it resulted in a devastating civil war and again culminated in the with an equally devastating civil rights era.  Needless to say, thousands of Black people died, families were torn apart and for many, many years, a race of people were denied their constitutional rights as human beings.  For Black people, it was certainly not “good old Southern living” as Paula Deen would have it.

While it’s good that Paula Deen did apologize and beg forgiveness for her actions – she has a lot of work to do when it comes to her attitude towards human servitude.  For no race of people deserves to be enslaved to another, particularly in a country like America.

News source: www.dailykos.com.
Photo source: www.essence.com