Blogger appreciation

You sometimes forget or take for granted the people you've known the longest . The same goes for technology. Blogger was an early blogging platform, the first many bloggers who still blog elsewhere used.

I now write more frequently elsewhere but tip my hat to Google for keeping this service available.

Now, if my fellow "Stop Me When I Am Lying" cohorts would start posting as frequently as I do this project might amount to something. 🧐

What would we write?

The times have been so contentious, one would think we should say something. We have Twitter and Facebook for that. I chuckle to myself when I look back at the time just after Obama's election when I blogged about him here. Turns out his administration was just about what I expected.

I'll just leave you with this: it is just as plain to see Trump will also play to his stereotype.

The New Browns Logos

The helmet looks fine. The dog is only suited for the puppy pound. He looks like a neutered version of the old dog logo. Why did we even get excited? We should know better.

Browns management promises us that they will get more innovative and daring when they reveal the new uniform.

The best we can hope for is Ray Farmer will text his best public relations tips to the podium during the press conference revealing the new look.

Here we go, Brownies! Here we go, again.

Money where my mouth is...Browns won't win 8 Games this year

They've won three out of four preseason games. I highly doubt that the Browns will have a  75% winning record this year. I'm so confident that I've bet a coworker that they won't win 8 game. If they win more than 7 games Alan gets a crisp Jackson.

I'm still a Browns fan, but I'm also a realist. The way I look at it, I can't lose. Either I will have two sawbills in my pocket at the end of the season or my Brownies will be watchable. WOOF! WOOF!

The Indians - "Next Year" for another year

I am a Cleveland Indians fan. I've been a fan all my life. Therefore, I am used to disappointment. That doesn't mean I like disappointment.

It is the last day of August and my last flame of hope for the Tribe has been extinguished. They just can't beat Detroit. Hell, they can't even score enough runs to beat the lousy teams. Does that make them a lousy team? I don't think so, but it does mean I can't get excited about this season any more.

A couple nights ago there was a telling event in my house. My 10 year old son is baseball nut. He LOVES to play the game and loves the Indians. As I was tucking him in I turned the radio on to the Indians game. He asked me to switch to the Browns (fourth) preseason game. When they have lost the interest of my boy in favor of a meaningless game for his third favorite sport that is your sign that this season is over.

So you think Peyton Hillis isn't tough? I'm here to help.

I've lived in the Cleveland area for more than forty years and I've followed sports for almost as long. You can imagine I've seen and heard some pretty ridiculous stuff in that time and you would be right.

Sports fans in Cleveland like to tell ourselves and like to hear our teams say we are "the greatest fans in the country". While it is true we tend to come back year after year to see basically the same disappointing results, that does not mean we are particularly good at being fans. Bottlegate anyone?

I can honestly say one of the lowest points for Cleveland fans may have been hit these last two weeks. Peyton Hillis, the one bright spot of the Browns' season last year and Madden cover winner, is being called weak and heartless because he sat out a game because of strep throat.

Why do I feel this criticism is unfounded and unfair?

Follow my steps below:
1. Have you ever been sick? Yes? Go to 2. No? Shut up.
2. Have you ever had a job. Yes? Go to 3. No? Shut up.
3. Have you ever been so sick you couldn't work? Yes? Go to 4. No? Good for you. You have been lucky. (If you think this gives you authority to talk crap about Hills, shut up!)
4. Have you ever been a professional athlete? Yes? Go to 5. No? Me neither. Shut up.
5. Are you Peyton Hillis' physician? Yes? Feel free to say he should have played. No? Shut up.
6. Are you any one of the following; a sports writer, a radio talk show host, a blogger, a guy sitting a home reading blogs, listening to radio talkers and reading sports columnists? SHUT THE HELL UP!
7. Are you Peyton Hillis' agent. Please shut up. (This goes for all agents, actually.)
8. Are you Peyton Hillis? Keep doing what you are doing.

The rest of you clear on this? Good.

What? You're still here?

Well. I'm awfully glad to see you stopped by. It is a small miracle that I decided to stop by my own self.

Here is the truth > Twitter and Facebook have just about sated by urge to blog. Times change, people change.

I do, however, still value the medium of the daily web log (commonly known as a "blog".) So today I will commit to reinvigorating both this humble exercise as well as The MatthewK.com Blog.

My next post will concern the absurdity of non-athletes criticizing Payton Hillis as they have in the last two weeks.

The Keynes / Hayek Rematch Video

This is pretty epic and if the sergeant stripes were not inverted and it didn't flow over my template it would be near perfect.

What we've learned this month

I think a good blogmaster should post, at minimum, annually. I'm here to weigh in recent big news and our reaction to it.

Osama  Bin Laden is dead, and it was at the hands of the U.S. military acting on the orders of Barack Obama. My reactions follow.

1. Good.  Wish it had happened sooner.
2. The celebrations outside the White House was ridiculous. I honestly think some Spring Fling kegger just relocated at the word from CNN. What was more ridiculous was the news networks covering the party like it was reflective of how most Americans reacted. 
3. Release the pictures. It won't dispel the conspiracy theororists, but it will at least make them work harder.
4. I was saddened by my friends who immediately reacted by hoping OBL sudden exit from this life will bring about the end of the Kinetic Military Action to Mitigate Man Made Disasters. In other words, our troops are not coming home next week because their mission is not to get Bin Laden.
5. It is unfortunate that the White House/Pentagon press office seems to have changed details of the mission form say-to-day. Those who do not understand how and why this happens are also the same people who plant and fertalize conspiracy theories.
6. God Bless the Navy SEALs

Let's talk again in a few months or sooner.

My big announcement

It looks like I have to come out of the closet. I am announcing today that I am a fair weathered fan of certain sports. After the display the Cavs put on last night I decided that I don't not need to watch every game or check the score in the paper. LeBron left in July and so was our chance at a championship. Today's athletes are proving they are looking out for themselves and their families so I should not in the least feel guilty about being a fair weathered fan. I guess my true love in sports is baseball. The current status of the Indians is making it hard for me but at the end of the day I would love to watch a ballgame. Financially I can't afford to take my party of 6 to many major league baseball games but thanks to the TV deals I can still feel like I am contributing something by watching the game. Here's to hoping the glory days of all sports franchises in Cleveland return sooner than later!

YouTube's "Recommended for You" is Horribly Flawed

Recently, YouTube has introduced a prominent "Recommended for You" section on their homepage. They explain:

The "Recommended for You" module picks videos based on your viewing history. To see your viewing history, click on the History link at the top right of the page; if you want to clear your history and recommendations, click the "Clear Viewing History" button on that page.

Remember, you will get better, more specific, and more consistent recommendations by logging in (or signing up for a YouTube account, if you don't already have one).

That is all well and good, except for one major flaw. They seem to assume that you enjoy the recent video you watched. Being open to opposing viewpoints, I recently clicked on a video link from a blog that ostensibly supported a claim against Joseph Ratzinger. While slightly unflattering, it wasn't in any manner scandalous.

However, some of the videos that YouTube then started recommending to me were vile. Just "Because You Watched..." a video, it does not follow logically that you enjoyed it or desire exposure to similar videos.

Why ought I be compelled to shield myself from these bigots by clearing my history as YouTube requires? Perhaps YouTube and her parent Google should back off on this aggressive personalization by default.

I'm in the Hayek Posse

I can't pretend to be a smarty when it comes to collecting the Benjamins, but this is dope. (The boom plants the seeds for its future destruction.)

Dragnet Meets Obama

This is a bit of brilliant editing. Seems like we have passed this way before and we may pass this way again.

H/T The Anchoress

Go Captains! Play Ball!

The family went to see the Lake County Captains tonight. It was a great night at the ball park. A warm, muggy night, but some swirling breezes kept it bearable.

Before the game, the field announcer, Grover, asked the boys if they wanted to call "Play Ball" after the National Anthem. They did not have to think twice. They are big fans and a chance to get on the field was fun.

Later in the game we visited Mr Deas and Brother Drew in the booth. We must have brought a little luck with us. The Captains won 19-2!

Stars and Stripes Forever - Muppet Style

Wow. The Muppets celebrate Independence Day in the manner they are accustomed.

(Hat tip to Deacon Greg)

Flag Day and Baseball

I spent a good part of Flag Day at a ballpark today (Go Captains!), so it seems appropriate to post this.



(H/T Jonah Goldberg at NRO)

Reagan's speech on the 40th Anniversary of D-Day

"[T]here is a profound moral difference between the use of force for liberation and the use of force for conquest. You were here to liberate, not to conquer..."

Brad Daugherty

I'll preface this post by stating that I am not an NBA fan. At times like this, I sometimes wish I could get excited about the NBA, but I'm not the "bandwagon" type. That is not to say that I don't read articles about the Cavs, or listen to news reports, or even watch moments of a broadcast (I do like Joe Tate, and will listen on occasion).

Now to the issue.

After I poured my morning cup of coffee, I began to peruse the PD. When I turned to the "Sporty Page", I noticed the following headline above "Cavaliers Insider": Daugherty's Cavs come out a winner

That intrigued me. The article began, "Former Cleveland center Brad Daugherty thinks his Cavs teams would beat the current edition." Daugherty concluded by stating, "...there's just no way that they could have matched up with us to stop our offense because we were too efficient." The body of the article allowed that James would be a handfull, but that Price ran the perfect pick-and-roll and Harper would have been the "X-factor" (whatever that means).

What the....?

Daugherty wrote this gem on ESPN's Media Zone Water Cooler. In other words, he wasn't asked about this, he just came up with it on his own.

I'm certain that Brad knows much more about the NBA than I do, but I remember his "edition" of the Cavs. They were good, but never won a championship. Never came close. Odds are better than even that this edition will.

Perhaps he's been commenting on NASCAR too long.

My ACM recap

First of all I LOVE Reba. She is such a great host! I miss Vince Gill hosting. I think he hosts the CMA's. The opening song was cool with Brooks and Dunn sprinkled in with Sugarland, Taylor Swift and Carrie Underwood. I thought it was weird they were singing their hits that were from last year. Interesting tatoo on Jennifer Nettles from Sugarland. Didn't care for Kellie Pickler's dress. The gold matches her skin color making you wonder is there a dress on or not?? Jennifer Nettles dress when they accepted the Group of the Year award - wow - can really bend over at the waist on that one. When Jamey Johnson won song of the year the other nominees and people in the crowd looked shocked like who is this guy that one?? Brad Paisely gave a cute acceptance speech from home - can't blame him. I loved Matthew McConaughey's story and Carrie Underwood's acceptance speach for Entertainer of the Year. I must admit I didn't think she had a chance to win.

March Madness

So far very exciting. I can't believe Syracuse and UConn went 6 OT's and how about Pitt - they beat the #1 team twice and then stub their toe on West Virginia. I hope some of these teams don't peak too soon. I hope CSU makes it to the Sweet 16 again!