O.A.R. - Live On Red Rocks

Music is one subject I have yet to write about and for those who know me, I'm a music fanatic. I listen to almost everything. I tend to shy away from classical, swing, jazz, basically anything pre-1970. Other than that, I listen to just about everything. With all that being said, my all time favorite band is O.A.R. (Of A Revolution). I began listening to them late in high school (about 2002-2003) and really got into them once I began college. I've been to close to a dozen live shows and personally, nobody does a better live show than O.A.R. That leads me to my next point, they're new live CD.

When I found out they had a new live CD coming out i was pretty excited but my favorite part was the DVD. I love Palladia, I can't get enough of live music on TV so this was a huge bonus for me. Needless to say they did not disappoint. The new album includes many old favorite's like Crazy Game of Poker, Hey Girl, and I Feel Home, but includes many new songs from recent studio albums that I've been dying to hear live. Program Director and Gotta Be Wrong Sometimes came out amazing as did Woke Up An Uncle.

So for those O.A.R. fanatics out there, get to the store and grab this, don't forget the DVD. It's worth the extra money.

Samsung Executive Using Apple Products at Home

PadGadget - MIT Technology Review recently interviewed Samsung Electronics’ Chief Strategy Officer, Young Sohn. As the newly appointed head of innovating for the Korean-based company, Sohn spoke candidly with MIT reporter Jessica Leber. Maybe a little too candidly. When asked about Samsung’s future strategy to dominate the technology industry, he told Leber that, at home, he uses a Mac, iPhone and iPad.
What, what, what? It’s true. Sohn described the importance of a solid ecosystem and pointed to Apple as an example of how it is done right.
“If you look at the strengths of Apple, in a way it’s not the product per se. It’s that consumers like their ecosystem such as iCloud. I like that my family 6,000 miles away in Korea is able to see my schedule and see all of my contacts and photos. It is sticky, but it is a proprietary architecture, he said. “At work I’m using Samsung devices; Apple at home, mainly because all of my systems and files are done that way. That’s sticky, you know? However, I did figure out how to sync all of my contacts and all of my schedules between the two different systems. You can do it. It’s a bit of work, but it is possible.”
Sohn was quick to point out that he believes that Samsung makes superior hardware, but that Apple has the market on what he considers to be a critical component to good technology, a connected ecosystem.
Apple’s ecosystem is exactly what makes it stand out from the rest. Reuter’s recent survey points to that same conclusion. While some may consider the hardware of the Samsung Galaxy Nexus to feature more advanced specifications, the general population is less interested in specs and more interested in ease of use. For that, Apple will always win big.

With all the Samsung-Apple drama going on, this is probably the last thing anyone at Samsung wanted to hear. Personally, I think it's great and he's absolutely right. Apple's "eco-system" is completely unmatched. There aren't any product groups that can compare to the iPhone, iPad, and Macs system of operations and co-existing together. I don't have a Mac at home but the whole reason I own an iPad and not another tablet is because I own an iPhone and they talk to each other seamlessly. Everything is extremely easy. There's nothing to set up except for checking off a few boxes for what you want to sync. That's it. All my text messages are available instantly on both devices. All my contacts, photos, videos, reminders, calendars are there instantly no matter what device I enter them into. Samsung is taking a big hit with this news and with Microsoft's recent moves with the Surface and Windows phones, it looks as though Samsung is last in regards to system architecture.

"The general population is less interested in specs and more interested in ease of use. For that, Apple will always win big." Couldn't be more right. As long as Apple has the easiest products to use, They will always be on top looking down.

NFL's Drinking Problem

Thing's just keep getting worse for the young stars of the NFL. After last week's tragedy involving Jevon Belcher, another life has been taken in the NFL. This time it was Dallas Cowboys linebacker Jerry Brown. Early Saturday morning, he and fellow Cowboys teammate Josh Brent, were out drinking and Brent decided to drive home drunk. He hit a curb while speeding and flipped the car over. Brown was pronounced dead at the hospital shortly there after. The irony of this story is that the accident took place a little over a mile away from the national headquarters of Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD). One of the NFL's biggest partners in the fight against DUIs. This begs the question, is the NFL doing their part to protect the players?

Since January 2000, there have been 624 arrests of NFL players. 177 of which were arrested under suspicion of drunk driving. That's over a DOZEN players every year that get arrested for drunk driving. Eighteen players have been arrested just this year for drunk driving. The NFL has put into place programs to prevent this from happening. From education, to discipline, even as far as having a chauffeur service available to all players that need a ride home. Clearly this isn't enough.

Personally, I'm 26, and I like to drink. A lot. Have I ever driven when I shouldn't have? Yes. Almost everyone has, even those who don't want to admit it. I like to go out and have a good time. At some point in the night you'd think we, as human beings, would say, "hmm, should I stop drinking so I can make it home safe?". Sometimes we do, but there are plenty of times we don't. I get that, I've been there. When you're out having a good time, you don't want to stop drinking. Especially the more you drink. I'm not a millionaire athlete who can just call up a chauffeur service to drive me home. Which makes NFL players look like fools. If I made even half of what they make, I'd be hiring a driver every night I went out, even if it was $100/hr. Just knowing I don't have to worry about endangering my own life, and more importantly, the lives of innocent bystanders

The NFL and NFLPA need to make a stand. They need to enforce harsher penalties for players who get into trouble. There's no excuse for it. Go out and have a great time. Party all night, nobody is taking that away from you. Just don't get arrested. Plain and simple. There are plenty of people in this world who would do anything to be a professional athlete. Don't take it for granted. Just take a little advice.

DVD vs. Blu-Ray

About a year and a half ago I got a Samsung Blu-Ray Surround Sound System but I was hesitant in buying one for a long time because, with any technology, I thought it was just a fad and something new and better would arrive soon. Not to mention I didn't believe my friends when they said I "have to get one" and that "it's way better". I couldn't really grasp how it could be any better than a DVD considering I have a 50" plasma. I figured it was my tv that made the movies look great. Well needless to say I got a great deal on a blu-ray + surround sound so I gave in.

Once I got everything set-up, I threw in a DVD and nothing seemed extraordinary. Sound was good, picture was good, but no better quality than my Xbox. I decided to do some research on why blu-ray is so much better and I found out that each blu-ray can hold more than 5 times the data than a DVD can. This allows for higher quality picture (480p vs. 1080i) and higher quality sound (2 formats vs. 7 formats). Most of the audio lingo didn't make much sense to me but the fact that a standard dvd was only 480p and a blu-ray was 1080i, made me go out and spend the money on a couple blu-rays. And yes, blu-rays are definitely more expensive, starting at around $25 for new releases, but not staggering.

The first one I watched was "Wanted" and I was absolutely blown away. I literally felt like I was watching it in the theater. Yes the picture quality was amazing but it was the audio was what really surprised me. It was incredible. I've seen this movie dozens of times on tv but never have I watched it like this. I'm not exxagerating when I say that there's no way to really describe it other than to see it and hear it for yourself.

With all that being said, I don't believe I'll ever buy another DVD again. The amount you pay for a blu-ray over a DVD isn't significant enough to sacrifice the quality that comes with it.

Andrew Luck - Rookie of the Year 2012?

It's getting to that time of the year where the race for MVP and Rookie of the Year really starts to heat up. Anyone that knows me, would think I'm crazy not to think Tom Brady is winning it (again). Going to be a close one with him and Peyton yet again this year. Anyone can argue all day long about who is going to win MVP, Rookie of the Year on the other hand is a totally different story. Andrew Luck deserves this more than RG3. Why? Because he wins.

Yea RG3 is breaking records for completion percentage, passer rating, rushing yards, blah, blah, blah. Andrew Luck takes chances, he's thrown 178 more passes so far than RG3. 178!! Anyone can have a high completion percentage when they barely throw the ball. Andrew Luck is possibly one win away from locking up a playoff spot for a team that went 2-14 last season. He'll take them to AT LEAST a 10-6 record this year, possibly 11-5 if they can split with Houston down the stretch. Meanwhile, the Redskins, who went 5-11 last season are only 6-6 right now. Ask any NFL player, coach, or owner and they will tell you how much wins outweigh individual statistics.

Some will claim the the Redskins defense is part of the reason they haven't been winning but the Colts are 21st in total defense, nothing to brag about by any means. Not to mention, RG3 also has another rookie standout in Alfred Morris to help with the offensive load.

RG3 is certainly an amazing player and is deserving of all his praise, but Andrew Luck is the real deal and deserves this award. He needs to be in the running for MVP too since right now, he is literally the Most Valuable Player.