So this new setting from Google is a move in that direction from what I can tell. You can see what it looks like below. This is from a google search of Georgia Bulldogs.
Social Graph Search
I may have missed this in the past, so this may be old new, but let me know what you think about this.
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via Flickr ( by ecerverab)As we move to a more mobile and digital world, the value of cellular minutes will be coming to an end. Just think about your plan 10 years ago vs this past year. I know for me, I got the lowest number of minutes with the highest data plan this year. In the past it was all about the minutes.
With services such as Skype and the new Apple FaceTime, where your call is just 1's and 0's, the need for a minute begins to lose it's value. It's all about the data. Ars Technica had an article regarding data usage on Skype vs minutes. Yes using Skype saves minutes, but it eats your data. But you can see where this is going.
Another example of this is the rumor that Apple will give FaceTime to the iPod Touch. This is a Wi-Fi only unit, so it's all about the data not the minutes. So seeing this in a phone with just 3G or 4G for just data handling is not that hard to believe (see the iPad 3G).
How do you select your plan, are you going low minutes and high data. I'm willing to bet you are. I'm also sure you are sucking down the data bytes as fast as you can. Do you think in a few years, that your minutes will continue to drop and your data usage goes up. I'm betting yes.
If you don't think the carriers aren't aware of this, just look at the pricing tiers. They are already beginning to use the subsets of data usage. They also are not promoting the 1000 Minutes or unlimited minutes. Because they know, people don't use the phone for a minutes phone. Another reason in that is almost all carrier to same carrier calls don't count against minutes. So the fact that they allow this goes to show, that they know they are not going to make their money off of minutes anymore.
What are your thoughts, I would love to hear them.
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Brandon Boykin and MeWell the Countdown to Kickoff has come and gone. This only means that we are that much closer to kickoff this fall. Players will soon be reporting to camp and the fans will begin to get their tailgate gear in order.
If you have not made it out to the Countdown before, this is a great chance to meet some players without the huge lines. It also has some activities for the kids. Turns out, my kids and it appears Bernie's Kids liked the rides and the games. The Cheerleaders, the Redcoats and Hairy Dawg all stopped by.
The Event was hosted by David Greene and the Stinchcomb brothers (Matt and Jon). I did get to see Jon's ring from the Super Bowl, I'll add a few more pics to the Flickr Page when I get them uploaded.
Thanks to Bulldawg Illustrated for the hook-up. If you have not stopped by their site or picked up the magazine, do so. It's a good read.
So here are a few of the sites and sounds from Fan Day 2010. Enjoy.
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For touch device, I'm talking about a computer or device that is just a screen. No keyboard attached, no mouse, just a screen.
Why do I say touch is the now, well if you have seen the iPhone/itouch or iPad, you have seen the latest in touch. For years others have had touch devices, but they never hit mainstream. For whatever reason, this time it took. Apple has put this touch technology in the hands of millions and it's rubbing off to other devices.
Just last night, my wife was using her netbook, the kids had her iPad, to show me some iPhone cases. The first thing she did was to reach up to the screen to make it scroll, followed by a tap to select. This didn't work, so we were back at the keyboard.
So with this touch technology already taking hold in the way we want to operate with our computers, can it be said that in the near future your laptop or desktop may have touch screens. I sure can see it.
Now, to be honest, I don't think the desktop will see the screen touch anytime soon. Many have that 24 inch or larger screen. So it's just not practical to touch it. Could it have a touch/virtual keyboard that implies touch, yes.
As for laptops, this is a no brainer. You could have a touch screen and a touch keyboard. The keyboard would have to have feedback or else the mainstream may not take to it. I know it took me a while to get use to the touch keypad, but now I can fly through typing. This is especially true on my iPad.
So when can we expect these new touch devices. I would say not now. The cost is too much, but within just a year or two, expect to see models coming out. The key will be the interface. It will have to be smooth and fast. Has to be zero learning curve or a rather small learning curve. And it has to be the full time computer. Today the Apple touch devices can not be used without a computer at some point during the day. Although the apps are there for all day use, sometimes it's nice to go back to the real computer. This new device has to be that real computer is power and function.
So, what do you think. Also let me know if you have ever reached up to your laptop or desktop to select something on-screen with your finger.
]]>Under the current rules, players with two years or less of eligible playing time left can transfer with a release without having to sit out a year. So USC should grant any request of other players to leave as well. The NCAA, should also allow those kids to play without having to sit out a year.
With USC being hit with a two year ban of post-season play, the loss of ten scholarships a year for 3 years and the loss of wins, what kid that didn't already have ties or a love for USC would want to stay.
If USC did the right thing, I could even allow restrictions on where they could go. For example, I could see them restricting UCLA from the list of schools they could transfer to.
On a side note, this hits USC at a bad time. With the Pac-10 expanding and the possible championship game that would come along with this, you know USC was just hoping to win the first one and expand on their recent controlling of the Pac-10.
PS: wow I got post happy the last two days
]]>Word has it, the Pac10 is going after 6 teams and most of those from the Big 12. This would totally do away with an regional aspect to these conferences. I can see the Pac10, going after the Colorado schools and maybe Air Force. Toss in a Utah and maybe Boise St. Hell toss in Fresno St to get your 16. I just can't see the Texas schools wanting to travel to Washington and Oregon several times a year. I know that some of those schools just don't fit the level of academics and athletics, but the Pac-10 better have this as Plan B.
So if the Big 12 drops only 2 schools, or rather is able to hold on to 10 schools, who do they go after. I think a good fit would be Arkansas and LSU. These fit the regional aspect of things. I know there is a lot of money in the SEC, but sometimes you have to make a change is the price is right. Or maybe they go after Iowa and Indiana.
Now a biggie would be if the SEC says, Texas, Texas A&M, Baylor, Oklahoma, OKie St, and Texas Tech, come on down. In doing so, we work Vandy and Kentucky into the ACC and Big 10+1+1. The SEC would have a new alignment in it's divisions. Take the Big 12 schools with LSU and Arkansas as the West and everyone else in the East. Now that's a power conference.
As I sit here and write this, each move forces another move unless it involves a mid-major school. As we all know, there are only so many Big Schools and only so many can actually fit into a single conference without totally killing college football.
I know in the end, that the Big 12 schools with go with that Pac-10, unless the SEC makes a better offer. I think this offer needs to be made, just to screw the Pac-10. And while we are at it, lets ban football at Notre Dame. If they would have just joined the Big10+1, this could have been put off for a while.
What are you're thoughts as we wind down this road.
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via flickr user vernhartIt has been one year since I started this blog. I have had more visitors and comments than I could have imagined. I started this just as a release from the daily grind.
Over the course of the year and it has flowed from sports to politics to tech to just random crap. And guess what, nothing is going to change in the year to come. I plan to continue to post on those topics and many others.
The one thing I have found is that finding the proper time to compose a great post is getting harder and harder to find. So thanks for sticking with me through this ride.
I will continue to try and post on a regular basis. I will continue to post about topics that I think readers will like and those that I know only I will care about. Comments are always welcome on both.
So what to expect over the next few weeks and months. We maybe in the slow time of the year with school being out, teacher out playing and the like, this happens to be a very busy time for me. So this is what I will be working on in the coming weeks.
So I look forward to seeing my readers swing by. In the meantime, you can find me on twitter for more just random crap.
As a side, I hope to finally migrate the family blog, so look for updates here on when it goes live (again)
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With all the talk about NCAA conferences expanding, I thought I better chime in with some reason. Everyone is talking about mega-conferences with 16 teams, but what some fail to see is that this could be a good thing. Now hear me out before you shoot me down on this.
I see in the end, lets say 2020, that there will be 120 teams in 8 conferences. This breaks down to 15 teams per. So with a little help, what you end up with is 4 with 16 and 4 with 14.
Do you see where I'm going with this.
You have 8 teams that would play for the National Championship. With eight teams, you have the perfect mix of weekends to end right at New Years. You can seed the teams 1 - 8, based on win-loss, schedule, etc.
Now you ask, what happens to those out of conference rivals, thinking you would be stuck in nothing but conference play. Well you can use the current system of 8 teams in conference and 4 out. This would also help calculate conference winning percentage. This is just another factor in setting the seeds.
I understand that you won't play everyone in your conference, we don't do that now. But you can play everyone in your division within a conference, with games left for out of conference play. With the ones that have 14 teams, you would rotate the 8th team through the other division.
See it's all pretty simple up to this point.
Now how to do decide who is in what conference. First it should be based on location, then strength of the teams. Not really right to have a Georgia paired with 7 other FIU teams. Nor would it be fair to have a division with Texas, Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Auburn, LSU, FIU and Troy. So we would have to spread that out a bit. I know teams come and go, but I think we could come up with something. I'm working on that now and if I come up with something good I'll post it.
Now do the Presidents and TV go for this, why not. Lots of dollar signs all around this. You can still use the bowls for those not in the Championship Series. Tell me, who would not watch a line up of Texas, USC, Georgia, Alabama, Ohio State, Penn State, Missouri and Oregon. I think that would be some good TV. This would also eliminate the smaller schools saying they don't have a shot. Just win your games and you are in.
This Friday might just be the first piece, but I think there are more pieces to be had and in the end, I'm betting my scenario plays out to being closer to the truth than some of what I have seen.
The other thing to think about is the NCAA is more than football. It has basketball, hockey, tennis, golf and many more. There are also the schools that are Division I, but do not have football. They can be added in as true mid-majors. They would have their own conferences and unlike football, already have a playoff style system to work through.
I know this is a very simple take on a more complex issue, but sometimes simple is better.
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As some have said, it's chicken and spice how could they mess it up. Well from past experience, it is possible to screw up a spicy chicken sandwich. In the case of Chick-fil-a, they hit it just right.
In the image above notice the spices.
My order : Spicy Chicken with just the pickles.
Next order : Spicy chicken with pepperjack and lettuce.
I went the more plain route to get a good feel for the heat. On Wednesday I will go with option number 2 to compare.
Now what did I think about this sandwich:
The first bite was a surprise. It didn't have the heat of spice that I was expecting. It wasn't until a few seconds into the bite that you feel the heat. It's not over the top, but enough that you should have a drink handy.
In full disclosure, it takes a lot for something to be "spicy" for me. So for the Chick-fil-a Spicy Chicken, they got it right for me. Now some will say it's too hot, but it's not called the "Almost Spicy Chicken."
As a sampling of the heat, I let both of my twins have a bite. They took the bite and walked away, only to return shortly waving their hands at their mouths and wanting a drink. Hence the delay I spoke of earlier.
As I write this, it has been about 30 minutes since the last bite and I can still feel the spice. It's not bad, but I know I had something spicy.
Overall I say this is a win for Chick-fil-a and a nice option on the menu. Also this is the first change to the menu in many years (1999 was the last addition?).
Now, I don't think I will order this everytime, but I can see it as a something I order every other visit.
Nice job Chick-fil-a.
]]>But with the NCAA, common sense does not apply, as we have all seen in the past.
So I'll leave it up to you and your comments to pass judgement on what this tweet by Trey Thompkins' really means.
Now that this has been said, here is my take.
I think it was a few tweets that came out recently about hanging with an NBA guy and a possible recruit, but I'm not an insider nor do I have contacts with insiders.
But if you want to still follow a few of the guys, just out this link - Dawg Tweets
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